The Legend of the Firewalker (34 page)

Lauren gasped. “That’s impossible!”

Nathan took a hold of the rope around Jonas’s wrist and watched as it burned a bright blue, eventually turning into ash.

“Lookout behind you!” Jonas yelled.

Nathan turned around just in time to release an energy ball directly into Steve’s chest, hurling him into one of the archway pillars and knocking him unconscious. He turned back around to find Jonas smiling at him.

“Do what you can,” Nathan said, patting Jonas on the back. “And try to release the others.”

“Nathan!” screamed Angela. He spun around to find two Shadow Guards, swords drawn, closing in on him. Nathan ducked as one of them took a swipe at his head. He kept an eye on Jonas as two of the priests tried to subdue him. Nathan raised his hand to throw an energy ball at them, but suddenly, he was off his feet and dangling in the air.

“You!” screeched Lauren, while holding him up by his shirt. Her menacing face quickly melted into deadly r
esolve. “I’ve had enough of you. Your life ends here!”

She tossed him into the air like a rag doll. Nathan hit the ground hard, landing in the graveyard below. His head throbbed again, as he opened his eyes to a clear view of the stone steps that led up to the memorial plaza. Blood trickled down from the crest of his head and he tried to wipe it from his eyes with his hand. The two Shadow Guards that had a
ttacked him stared at him from atop the stairs, and on the staircase and approaching fast was the Scarlet Priest with the crescent-shaped medallion.

Nathan felt a sense of déjà vu and tried to get up, but fell back to the ground. He was dizzy and couldn’t gain his ba
lance. He remembered what happened next in his dream and started to panic. Any second he expected Lafonda to appear, followed by the Shadow Guards with their swords. “I have to try and prevent this,” he mumbled.

Nathan’s mind was racing. He rolled to his side, and in a last-ditch effort, cast an energy ball at the approaching priest. Pius smirked as the energy ball passed him by several inc
hes. The medallion around Pius’s neck glowed.

Nathan tried to get to his feet again, and that’s when he saw her. She emerged from behind the same tomb where he thought he’d seen a small black shape earlier.

“No!” he yelled, reaching out frantically, trying to wave her away.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a series of blue ene
rgy balls hurling towards him. Quickly, Lafonda dove to the ground and tried to move him. When she realized it was too late, she shielded him with her body.

Lafonda rolled over, and Nathan had a clear view of the pink-and-gray sneakers on her feet and the shiny gold locket around her neck. He also caught a glimpse of the dissipating purple energy shield that surrounded them. Lafonda attemp
ted to help Nathan to his feet. She looked amazed.

“Did that come from me?” she asked. 

Nathan quickly looked around, and just like in his dream, Pius lay slumped against the staircase, knocked down by a rebounded energy ball. Nathan gasped. He looked up towards the plaza and the two Shadow Guards were gone. “Lafonda!” he yelled, while trying to push her out of the way. “You have to get out of here!”

Lafonda looked confused, but continued to help him. B
ehind her, a Shadow Guard appeared, revealing his long silver sword. Nathan was able to force her out of the way but then another one appeared. The two guards raised their swords, and in a blue blur they were gone, nothing left but their swords, smoke, and ashes. 

“Are you two okay?” asked a familiar voice.

Nathan turned around to see Malick standing there with both his hands stretched out. He could still feel the heat from the ashes. Lafonda and Nathan both nodded, and Malick hurried them behind the closest mausoleum. 

Nathan glared at him with intense eyes, and Malick r
esponded by raising his eyebrows.

“What?” Malick asked defensively and out of breath.

“You know this means you are a cheater, right?” asked Nathan, glancing down at Malick’s hands.

An energy ball slammed above Malick’s head causing him to flinch. “Um, can we talk about this later?” he said.

Lafonda inspected the bruise on the side of Nathan’s face and the bloody cut near his hairline.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” he said. “I am fine, Lafonda.”

“Good,” she responded, whacking him on the back of the head.

“Ow!” he yelled.

Lafonda pursed her lips. “If anyone will be doing any talking, it will be you Nathan Urye!” she protested. “You have a lot of explaining to do.”

Malick peered out to the plaza and ducked again to avoid another energy ball. “You guys!” he exclaimed. “Now is not the time.”

Nathan glanced from behind the mausoleum wall and saw that Jonas had a sword in his hand and was attemp
ting to hold off the two priests. Leah was making her way towards the stairs, and Lauren was in hot pursuit behind her. The remaining Shadow Guards were positioned along the top of the plaza, while Pius continued to throw energy balls from the staircase. 

“The priest with the medallion is the one attacking us,” said Nathan. “He’s blocking Leah’s escape, and Lauren’s right b
ehind her.”

“He’s back up again?” asked Lafonda. “I thought he was knocked out.”

“Apparently not,” commented Malick, while peering out from behind the wall.

Nathan quickly glanced out from behind the tomb wall again. “We have to do something to help Leah!” he e
xclaimed.

The three of them suddenly heard barking and looked at each other in bewilderment.

Malick smiled. “I know,” he said. “And it sounds like now is our chance.”

Malick peered out and then stepped from behind the pr
otection of the wall. Nathan followed behind him apprehensively until he saw the snarling black fox at the base of the stone steps drawing Pius’s attention.

“Jonathan,” he said with a grin.

Malick didn’t hesitate. There were only a few moments before Lauren reached Leah and Pius on the stairs. He formed a blue fireball in the palm of his hand and hurled it straight at Pius. It hit him in the center of his chest and Pius screeched in agony, leaving behind only his gold-and-silver medallion and a pile of charred dust. 

Leah hurried down the steps, but stopped for a moment when she reached Pius’s remains.

Quickly, Malick headed halfway up the stone steps. He tried not to step on the pile of dust, and noticed the medallion was gone as he passed Leah. He raised his hand and a blue flame appeared. Rapidly, he motioned his arm in the air, and soon the blue flame over his head coalesced into an enormous ring of fire. Lauren froze as he cast it over her, stopping her in her tracks. 

A whooshing sound echoed across the plaza and the graveyard below. Several red energy bolts sprung from one of the plaza archways, destroying parts of the stone steps and barely missing Malick. Out of the darkness stepped Lucas, his eyes glowing red underneath his red hood.

Nathan and Malick quickly joined Leah and Lafonda behind the mausoleum wall while particles of tombs and red energy bolts flew around them.

“What are we going to do?” asked Nathan. “We have to save the others.”

Leah held out her arms. There was blood on her hands and shirt. She winced a little from the pain, but nodded reassuringly at Nathan. “He’s right,” she said. “We can’t leave them.”

Malick attempted to look out from behind the maus
oleum wall. “We have a plan,” he said.

“We?” asked Nathan.

Lafonda also looked confused.

Everyone jumped after Jonathan suddenly materialized in a swirl of blue and white lights. He was human again.

“My apologies,” he said. “I haven’t yet figured out how to make an entrance without scaring anyone.”

“Perfect timing,” commented Malick. “I was just about to explain our plan.”

Nathan looked shocked. “Uh,” he mumbled, “you and Jonathan have a plan?” He raised his eyebrows in suspicion and pointed at both of them. “You and Jonathan?”

“When did you guys develop a plan?” asked Lafonda, while crossing her arms in protest. “And when were you g
oing to tell me about it?”

Malick responded by shaking his head at both of them.

“You know what to do,” he said, turning to Jonathan. “Nathan and I will distract them and draw fire while you rescue the others.”

“Wait, what?” asked Nathan, still surprised. “Draw fire?”

Malick peered over the mausoleum wall again, returning quickly to avoid the continual line of fire. “The guards on the right are still knocked out, so you should enter there,” he said.

Jonathan fidgeted nervously with his glasses. “Um, are you sure this is going to work?” he asked. “I’ve never done this before.”

“Trust me,” said Malick. “All Spirit Walkers can. Now please, take them back to the monastery.”

Nathan remembered the conversation he’d had with Jon
athan in the caves earlier while fighting off their mysterious attacker, and he realized what he was planning to do.

“Don’t forget Steve,” Nathan said. 

Jonathan nodded.

“Wait, what? Hold on!” protested Lafonda.

Jonathan squeezed his eyes shut, placed a hand on Leah’s and Lafonda’s shoulders, and they were gone. 

“Spirit Walker?” asked Nathan, turning to face Malick. 

“This isn’t the time for a Pneuma Novo lesson,” he responded. “We have to distract them long enough for Jonathan.”

Malick eased his head out from behind the wall and quickly retracted it in time to avoid a shower of stone caused by L
ucas’s energy bolts.

Nathan followed suit and peered out from the other side. With just a wave of his hand, Lucas removed the ring of fire from around Lauren.

“He’s distracted!” Nathan shouted, and he and Malick both cast energy balls at Lucas and Lauren.

Lauren faltered backwards after deflecting Nathan’s e
nergy balls with her hand. Lucas did the same, but quickly returned fire, and Nathan and Malick dove for cover again.

“If we keep this up,” commented Nathan, while glan
cing at the rubble around them, “there won’t be any wall left.”

“We just have to do this long enough to help Jonathan,” said Malick.

Nathan nodded and then abruptly returned fire. “I saw Jonathan,” he said, trying to catch his breath. “He has Angela and Eva Marie. Jonas and Andy are holding off the two priests.”

“Let’s try to make it over to one of the other tombs!”

“What?” asked Nathan and before they could move, a blanket of red energy bolts rained down on them, causing them both to retreat.

Nathan caught a glimpse of Lucas standing on top of one of the mausoleums in the graveyard. He scurried behind Malick and returned fire.

“How did he get up there?” he shouted.

They had almost reached cover, but suddenly there was a paralyzing sting in Nathan’s back, launching him forward. He hit the ground hard and could barely keep his eyes open. He felt himself being pulled, and that’s when he saw Malick.

“Hold on,” said Malick. “I got you.”

“W-What about the others?” Nathan stuttered.

Malick propped him against the wall and stared at the blood that oozed from Nathan’s hand. “Jonathan has them,” he said. “He should be here any second.” 

Nathan tried to focus on Malick’s face, but his vision was blurred. A sharp pain rippled through his arm, fo
llowed by a prolonged burning in his hand. “Who are they?” he mumbled.

Red bolts of energy flew over them, and Malick shielded him from falling debris.

“Remember when I told you about the dark and powerful forces?” Malick said.

Nathan nodded and fought to keep his eyes open. 

“Well, that’s them,” he said. “And he’s one of the Fallen Ones.”

Nathan attempted to frown, but the wound near his hai
rline pulsated. “You told Jonathan that was just a myth,” he mustered the energy to say.

“Well, I guess myth just became reality,” Malick said.

Malick turned as if he was talking to someone, but Nathan couldn’t make out what he was saying nor keep his eyes open. He attempted to speak, but his speech slurred.

“Hold on, Nathan,” said a familiar voice.

Nathan’s eyes closed, slipping into darkness.

22

LOOSE ENDS

Nathan slowly opened his eyes and blinked a few times, allowing his eyes to adjust. He could tell that he was lying down. He waited for a second for his mind to reconnect with his body. His thoughts started to come back to him as well. Soon his heart started racing and he abruptly sat up in bed.

“Look who decided to join the land of the living,” said Lafonda.

He blinked a few times while looking at her and then quickly scanned the room. “What are we doing back at Lawrence Hall?” he stammered. “And where are the others? Is everyone safe?”

He threw back the bedspread that was covering him and attempted to get out of bed.

“It’s okay,” said Lafonda, pausing to place a hand on his arm. “We’re okay; everyone is safe.”

He stared at her for a moment and then slowly sank back into bed. The back of his head slightly throbbed. He raised his hand to massage it, but noticed the white bandages around his hand.

“Jonathan and I cleaned and dressed it,” she said with a smile. She pointed at his head. “And the cut on your forehead.” 

He lifted his bandaged hand to touch it. “Thanks,” he said. He sat back to relax, but winced a little when his back touched the pillow.

“Your back and the side of your face are still bruised,” she said. “But from the looks of it at least some of the swelling has gone down.”

Nathan looked down and noticed he didn’t have a shirt on and that his midsection and back were wrapped in a white bandage. With his eyebrows raised, he gave her a puzzled look.

Lafonda grinned. “It was Jonathan’s idea,” she said. “He said we needed to check for injuries.”

Nathan’s cheeks started to redden.

“Don’t worry,” she said, standing up and heading over to the wooden desk and bringing back a glass of water. “I didn’t stay for that part; I left the room.”

He took a gulp of water and she handed him two pills. “For the swelling,” she said.

“How come Jonathan’s a doctor all of a sudden?” he asked, pausing to take a drink of water to swallow the capsules. 

She sat near him on the edge of the bed again. “I asked him the same thing,” she smiled. “He said being out in the field so much with his dad, they both became certified in CPR and First Aid. Of course, Jonathan went the extra mile to become an EMT.”

There was a gentle knock at the door, and Malick walked in. “Hey, you’re up,” he said. “How are you feeling?”

“Okay,” said Nathan, still sounding groggy. “Aside from being slapped in the face, tossed around and ele
ctrocuted, I’m good.”

“Well, it sounds like you’re back on track to your old self,” announced Malick with a grin. 

Nathan took another drink and nodded. “So how did I end up back in my room?” He gently massaged the back of his head. “How did we get back here?”

Lafonda glanced over at Malick.

“Bobby,” Malick said.

“Bobby?” asked Nathan, almost spilling his drink. “J
onas’s little brother?”

Malick laughed. “Yup,” he responded.

“But how?” he asked. “How did you know about Bobby — I mean, his ability? And how did you know where to find me?”

Lafonda uncrossed her legs and leaned over to take the glass out of his hand. “Well,” she said, turning to glare at Nathan. “When I got back to Lawrence Hall, after f
inally talking to you on the phone, I was surprised to find the police and the paramedics here, especially since someone had refused to tell me what was going on.” She paused to lean over to place his glass on the floor. “I knew something was terribly wrong after Alan told me Angela, Jonas, Eva Marie and Andy were missing and that you had gone after them. What I couldn’t figure out was why you just didn’t go to the police. It wasn’t until Erin tried to stop me from going after you that I knew you were in trouble.”

“Well, she obviously did a good job holding you back,” N
athan said sarcastically.

Lafonda rolled her eyes and dramatically laid her hand on the bed. “We were all worried for you and the others, N
athan” she said. “All she knew was that some gang or possibly some fraternity boys had taken them.”

He was silent for a moment and then slowly nodded. “What story ended up sticking with the police and L
aDonda anyway?” he asked. “And what about me and my injuries? She’s bound to notice.”

“Don’t worry,” Lafonda responded confidently. “I mod
ified your gang story a little and said that it was a fraternity prank on Angela, which is more believable because she’s in a sorority. So, as soon as we reported that to the police, they seemed less interested. Plus, I’m sure it helped that Erin’s dad is chief of police.” 

Lafonda paused to cross her legs again. “And as far as your injuries,” she said, “I figured we would tell my gran
dmother you were with Jonathan and Dr. Helmsley during the cave accident.”

“So, LaDonda doesn’t know yet?” he said, surprised.

“No, not yet,” she replied, sounding a little more concerned. “We’ll have to see how well that goes over. Both of you were supposed to be at Lawrence Hall and not at the caves last night.”

“And what about Angela, Andy, Eva Marie and Jonas?” he asked. “How are they handling it? Are they okay with that st
ory?”

She looked away for a second, but looked at Nathan again. “I guess everyone is dealing with it in their own way,” she said. “See, after Jonathan got us back to the monastery
— well the monastery in the Space In Between — Bobby was the one that brought us back to the monastery on our side.”

“Bobby?” he interrupted.

“Yes, Bobby,” she said. “Jonathan went to our side to tell Bobby to make another door so we could pass through.”

Nathan’s forehead wrinkled and he winced a little from the pain from his cut. “Wait,” he said. “Where was Bobby?”

“At the monastery on our side waiting for us,” she said. “That’s how we crossed over.”

“You took Bobby to an abandoned monastery and left him there in the middle of nowhere!” he exclaimed.

“No,” she said. “Well, yes, but he was fine. Alan was there with him.”

Nathan relaxed his forehead a little and then shook his head. “I told Bobby after I left not to open the window for strangers,” he protested.

“He didn’t,” interrupted Malick with a chuckle. “He told us he couldn’t open the window for strangers, so he opened the front door instead.”

Nathan shook his head again and grinned.

“Well, like I was saying,” she continued, slightly annoyed, “after we got back to the monastery on our side, we all decided on the car ride home — after Jonathan declared you were okay, of course — that that would be our story.” 

Nathan nodded slowly. “But you still haven’t told me how you guys knew where to find me. Or about Bobby.”

Lafonda grinned. “I was just getting to that,” she said. “After Erin and Alan told me what was going on, Jonathan confirmed my suspicions that something was wrong.”

“Jonathan?” he asked, sounding surprised. “I thought he was at the caves with Dr. Helmsley?”

“I guess after they picked up Dr. Helmsley, the paramedics dropped him off here,” she said with a shrug. “He came up to me shortly after I got here and said that you were going to need all of our help.”

“How did he know?”

“And after that,” commented Malick, “that’s where I come in.” He stood closer to the foot of the bed. “I learned what had happened to Angela and the others and had gone to the lobby to find you. I didn’t learn that you had gone to rescue them until after I heard them talking.”

Lafonda laid her arms across her chest. “Yeah,” she said with a frown. “More like eavesdropping.” 

Malick grimaced and huffed in protest. “Then I heard Lafonda say something about her friend Leah being missing too,” he continued. “After I heard what Jonathan had to say about it and his theory about Leah, and Jonas and his dad, I remembered your dreams about Leah and what you had told me about Jonas and his abilities. It all just clicked.”

Malick sat down on the edge of the bed. “After I clued Jonathan in on Jonas, it clicked for him too,” he said. “We both figured that, like Jonas, Bobby must have an ability too, and that’s where you must’ve gone.”

Lafonda looked confused. “What dream?” she asked. “You never mentioned dreaming about Leah. How is that even possible? You didn’t even know her.”

Malick raised his hands as if surrendering. “I’ll let you explain that one,” he said.

Lafonda gawked at Malick, then at Nathan. “Okay,” she said sarcastically. “Don’t all speak at once.”

“It’s complicated,” Nathan said finally.

She rolled her eyes.

“But,” he said, before she could respond, “to make a long story short, I didn’t want to tell anybody about my powers or my dreams until I had a better handle on what was happe
ning to me. Plus, I didn’t want to endanger anyone.”

She thought for a second. “So how did you know it was Leah when you had never met her?” she asked. Lafonda’s eyes lit up. “Wait!” she blurted out. “The yea
rbook!”

Nathan smiled and Lafonda smacked him on the arm.

“Ow!” he yelled, while trying to rub his arm with his bandaged hand.

“That’s why you were acting so strange!” she exclaimed. “You could have told me, Nathan. You didn’t have to go through all of this by yourself.”

Nathan inspected the small red bruise forming on his arm. “I wasn’t totally alone,” he said, while grinning at Malick. “I had a little help along the way.”

Malick smiled back, and Lafonda glowered while pursing her lips.

“I also suspected that it was Leah in my dreams after hearing you and Amanda — I mean, Lauren — talk about what had happened to Leah the night of your birthday party.”

Lafonda nodded. “Speaking of Amanda, aka Lauren, and her band of creepy friends,” she said, “who are they?”

Nathan turned to look at Malick and Lafonda responded by rolling her eyes.

Malick took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before spea
king. “They’re the Fallen Ones,” he said finally. “Well, at least one of them. I don’t know who Lauren is. I had never heard of her.”

“Wait a minute,” Lafonda responded eagerly. “Like the Legend of the Fallen Ones? Like what Jonathan was talking about?”

Malick nodded. “Yup,” he said. “The very ones.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me
!” she said, turning to seek confirmation from Nathan.

Nathan shook his head. “No,” he said. “He’s not jo
king.”

“Then, what do they want?” she asked.

Nathan looked at Malick.

“I’m not sure,” Malick said with a shrug. “But I did hear them say they were looking for someone, and they thought that person could be Jonas or Leah, but why the others, I do not know. Does this mean they have powers too?”

“I’ve asked them,” Lafonda said. “And none of them knows.”

Malick stood up. “Regardless of whether they have po
wers or not,” he spouted, “everyone should stay low and refrain from using their powers. And that includes you, Lafonda.”

“Me?” she said, sounding puzzled.

Malick nodded and leaned against the desk. “Yes, you too,” he sighed. “I’ve seen people use Pneuma as a shield to reflect energy balls, for example, but as an entire body shield? That is unheard of.”

“So what does that mean?” she asked, looking concerned. “I didn’t even know I could do that.”

Malick stood up straight. “Well, somebody did,” he said. “The ability to perform Pneuma Novo is hereditary, and I find it hard to believe that it’s just a coincidence that so many people in one location would possess the ability to use Pneuma and not know about it.” He paused to take a deep breath again and sighed. “I know my grandmother was a member of the Order, and since our grandmothers are good friends, I would start there.”

Lafonda spun around and the frown lines in her forehead deepened. “Are you implying that someone in my family, sp
ecifically my grandmother, is hiding something from me?” she asked defensively. 

“I don’t know,” said Malick with a shrug. “But somebody in your family or Nathan’s has to know something.”

Lafonda stood up and headed towards the door.

Nathan had a befuddled look on his face. “Lafonda,” he said, “are you okay?”

She stopped to cut a look at Malick before opening the dorm room door. “Yeah, I’m fine,” she said. “I’ve just reached my limit on this conversation.” She glanced in the room again before shutting the door. “I guess I’ll see you tonight then,” she said.

“Tonight?”

“Yes,” she said, “at the closing ceremony.”

Nathan nodded. He still looked surprised by her sudden exit.

“Yeah,” he said, raising his bandaged hand. “But I can’t promise how good I’ll look.”

She forced a smile and then shut the door.

“What just happened?” asked Nathan. “She does that all the time. She says she’s okay, but is she really?”

Malick laughed. “She seems like her normal self to me,” he said. He grinned, but suddenly got quiet. “But she was pretty shaken up last night when Jonathan and I brought you to the monastery,” he said. “I’m sure it was just because she’d never seen you like that.”