Pyrus (13 page)

“Can I have a haircut sometime before I leave this place? I've lost track of time since I first came here, and it's getting quite long.” He stared at me for a moment, and then laughed at me. Actually, as I think about it now, I think he was laughing because he was expecting something important instead of something that silly. Well, it was quite sad that I hadn't just asked Leo to burn it all off, but that would involve pain on my part, and I don't like pain.

“I will see what I can do,” he said, still chuckling a little. “In the meantime, you will need to rest up; we are going to continue training tomorrow, and the next day, until you can no longer stand, let alone walk.”
Oh joy! That was exactly what I wanted to hear
, I thought grimly. But then my mental willpower decided to say hello.
Remember what you came here for. You learned Leo's name, and you need to learn how to use the power that you have.

With that in mind, I gave Gron a quick good-bye, and with a wave of his hand, a blue door came into view. I assumed that it led to what would be my bedroom for my stay, and I was absolutely wrong. When I stepped through that door, I entered what looked like a gauntlet of death. It had everything in it: spiked floors, boulders falling from the ceiling, and jets of flame spewing from the walls.

“Just a taste of what you will be doing tomorrow.” Gron said. At first I thought he was joking, but I realized that he wouldn't joke about something that deadly. Believe me, if I was any older, I would have had a heart attack—I almost did.

Keep calm, Jack. As long as we are together, the word “impossible” is thrown out of the equation
, Leo said. He sounded so confident and calm that I couldn't help but believe him. I felt a strong sense of affection for my new friend. He and I shared a bond that people couldn't even begin to describe—and not just because he was a flaming lion. I could speak to him without using words. I could feel his emotions through his thoughts.

A pink door appeared next to me. I decided that I wasn't going to assume anything anymore, and I walked through into the endless black completely terrified that I was going to come face-to-face with some giant monster. Luckily, I was spared this by the greeting of a blank room with a brown desk and a matching chair, a white bed, and a black dresser. Deciding to explore what I had been given, I walked over to my dresser. The doors looked ancient, with old-fashioned knobs, and there were dents in many places. The desk was in better condition. There was a red-covered book on top with a note attached to it and a quill pen in an ink bottle. The note read:

“Jack, you can use this journal to record your adventure here. You can write down your thoughts and emotions and keep the legend of the Kreydurs alive. Gron.” I was so excited to write down everything, but I was too tired to even remember where to start. With a quick
plop
, I fell onto my squishy bed and fell asleep with a smile that could light up the night.

Chapter 19: The Bait

For months I had remained on the same schedule. First, I would wake up and write a couple of pages in my journal. Then, Gron would summon me to the sitting room where I would learn what I was going to have to master for that day. Then, I would be sent to either the training room or the gauntlet of doom, depending on the day. I switched between them every other day. On the days that I was in the training room, Gron would help me learn the ways of the sword. I learned how to slash, block, parry, and much more.

The gauntlet days were brutal. It was all about endurance, whether it was dodging boulders and flames or dancing through spikes. What made it worse was that Gron added something new to the gauntlet every day I worked there. The most recent ones were balancing on one foot on a tightrope above a fiery pit of lava, and running across a collapsing path with blades twice my size on swinging pendulums in the way.

A couple of weeks ago, I finally got my haircut. My hair, which had grown used to be down past my knees, is now short and spiked up in the front. I like how it is now, thankfully. The reason why I say that is because Gron used scissors that still had some magii enchantments on them, so my hair will never grow until the enchantments wear off, which Gron said would take a while.

I don't see Centurion often. I understand his job is important, but he rarely speaks to Gron or me. The only time I see him is in the training room when Gron uses his arrows to help train. I don't stay secluded in this place, however. Rarely, Gron gives me a day to rest and relax, so I spend it going outside. Even outside I don't see Centurion, so where he guards remains a mystery. What I look forward to every day are the meals. Gron and I eat in the sitting room, but it is not the food that makes it amazing, it is the conversation.

Every day I ask Gron questions. Some are simple, such as where the true palace is located, while others are more difficult to answer, like the origin of the Kreysors and magii on this planet. I learned that Tereer was actually a single continent and that Pyrus was located at the bottom. The only ocean was the one in Tidran, and nothing existed beyond those waters because the world is flat. In between Pyrus and Tidran are Cyclos, the country of lightning, Toxicon, the country of poison, Bouldone the country of Stone, Forix the country of wood, Raye the country of light. The names of the countries continued. . Tundar rests at the far north of the continent, isolated from the other countries by its tall mountains.

Gron will summon us soon, it would be best to finish up.
Leo speaks in my head. I close my journal and place my quill pen back into its ink pot. I walk over to my dresser and cringe as I always do whenever I hear the screeching as I open the doors. I have received two more pairs of clothes, plus pajamas from Gron, who told me that walking around in a torn and tattered shirt and pants was asking for trouble. I chose my blue shirt with black pants and a red vest, ignoring the shoes. I haven't worn them since I first arrived here, so it felt uncomfortable to put them on.

Right on cue, the black door that leads to the sitting room appears before me. As I walk through the door, my mind gives me a quick nudge.
How long have you been here for? How old are you now?
I find it best to ask these questions to keep reminding myself that I was not originally a part of Tereer, but it fills my heart with the longing of home. I could be in university right now, or have a successful career, but I would never know. Tears run down as I remember that I am the Kreydur of Pyrus, the ambassador of this country.

Gron saw my tears as I entered the room, but he pretended to take no notice. Feeling my face grow hot, I quickly wipe my tears in shame at letting him see my thoughts. Although I consider him my mentor and love him dearly, Gron is a mystery to me. He never talks about his past, and when I made the mistake of asking him once, I didn't receive training for three days. Centurion is as equally quiet on that subject, but he is quiet in general. Gron can become impatient and has an annoying tone when he gets so. He begins to slow down his words when he speaks, and he becomes condescending.

“Today we are going to try something new,” Gron begins. Already I have questions, and I haven't even learned what we are doing. We never do anything different from training with Leo and my own physical training.

“I am going to introduce you to a new spell, and we are going to experiment with magic in general for the next few days.” I respond with a nod, completely in awe. Up until this point, my magii chambers have only been expanded from summoning Leo—not that that hasn't increased their size. I think my chambers are now five or six times the size that they were when I came here. I'm not concerned whether or not I can perform the spells, just concerned whether I can hold back my new strength.

With a wave of his hand, the door to the training room materialized, and I followed Gron through it. Gron had brought in a few mats a few weeks ago for practicing with Leo, but we end up passing the mats today.

“I want you to use Trublind to find the four magical artifacts that I have scattered across this room. Each one can only be seen by its magical energy and requires a different task in order for it to be obtained.” With a curt nod, I close my eyes and call out to my core. I forgot the tingle that passes through my body when I channel. The feeling was relaxing and tickling.

“Trublind.” When I say the word, I feel no change in my magii. There is no drain, not even the realization that I am losing magii. The only way I can tell that the spell is actually working is from seeing the blue aura pulsing around my body. I'm amazed at how much I've grown. Before I came here, I could barely hold the spell for twenty minutes, but now I feel like I can hold it for days. Gron gives me a quick nod and motions with his hand for me to leave—my quest for the artifacts begins.

I start to walk around the room, looking for anything pulsing bright blue. My eyes become fixed on a giant stone pillar that here yesterday. It doesn't look like it is climbable by a person, but that doesn't mean claws are out of the option.
Leo, I have a favor to ask of you. I need you to climb up the pillar for me if you can and see if there is a magical artifact hidden up there.
Leo materializes in front of me, his entrance way more subtle than Centurion's flaming tornado. He stretches his neck upward and judges the distance. He then says,

“It will not be an easy climb. That does not mean I cannot reach it, though. It will take a while, so please be patient and go search for the others while I attempt to go for this one.” With another short nod, I turn and walk away from him. I know he can make it, so I should take his advice and go find the other artifacts. I finally find the second artifact in the training mats. It gives off a green aura and hovers in the center of the mats.

As I walk toward it, walls begin to form around me, separating me from the artifact. The walls surround me and are capped by the ceiling. It's a maze obviously, but there is no air circulating through. I am trapped in here until I either suffocate or find the artifact—the latter being the more preferred option. I break into a jog and keep my left hand on the wall, using the exact same method that I have in the past.

Something's wrong this time; I don't seem to be getting any closer to the center. It actually feels like I am going in a circle. In order to try and see if I'm right, I leave a handprint marked by my magii on the floor. My breathing begins to get shallower as I start to breathe in carbon dioxide. I shouldn't have been running; it's causing me to intake more of the oxygen I need to survive. I think it's affecting my brain now, because I am forgetting my plan.

Thank god for instincts. After I forget my plan, I just decide to punch through the walls and hope I get lucky. It is surprisingly easy to break, and I just keep walking and punching until I finally see what took me forever to find. The green artifact is a wooden block of some kind. As I grab it, the walls recede and I am left in the center of the mats.
You were right Jack; there was an artifact up on the top of the pillar.
Leo's voice rang in my head. The emotion that he sent was one of success.
We now have two, but do not let your guard down.
He walks toward me with a crystal that pulses bright yellow between his teeth.

We continue walking on until we find number three. It is surrounded by thundering waterfalls. Behind the rushing water are geysers that spew out flames. I find it rather intriguing that Gron would use opposing elements to protect whatever lies in the basin's center. I know it's there from the red aura it gives off.

“Well, what now?” I ask my companion.

“It is hard to say. I think you should gain some momentum and rush through, like you did at the waterfall cave.” That was the one option that I wanted to avoid, although I don't say that out loud. Leo reads my thoughts, and he begins to tease and taunt me, only motivating me to prove him wrong.
Stupid reverse psychology! It works so effectively, and we as humans use it so frequently without even knowing how powerful it is.

Backing up from my Kreysor, I set myself into the running stance. I can't hear what Leo is saying anymore, but his mouth is still moving, and I am quite sure that whatever he is saying is not nice at all. Trying to keep control of how much magii I use, I decide to use a very, very tiny amount. Even with me using the smallest amount possible, I whiz past Leo so quickly that I don't think he notices.

“I guess even the smallest amount wasn't small enough,” I say to myself. Then reality kicks in. I am going too fast. I will pass right by the artifact and drench myself; well, that is if I don't burn myself to death first. Without thinking, I crouch into a ball to stop myself, but the moment my feet were off the ground, I was off. It is amazing how high I jumped. What was even more amazing was that the water was coming out of thin air. There was no top, and I pass right over the wall of water like it was the bar in a high jump competition. Now the only problem is getting back down safely. I can get down just fine, but it's the
safely
part that has me worried.

I had nothing to worry about. As I crash back to the ground, I call out Fuhrhealminok, and leave a small crater from my behind. Yes, I just did a cannonball from about a thousand feet. I have just proven that I have buns of steel. Whatever I damaged was repaired before I even knew it was injured thanks to my spell. Where would I be without magic? I was becoming as dependant on it as society on Earth is dependent on technology.

This next artifact was a sphere of some kind. Each one gives off its own auric color. Since the auras were all colors of the rainbow, I was looking for an orange, blue, or purple aura. I return to Gron with the three I had collected. I could tell from the soothingly warm air rushing down my back that Leo was trailing behind me, and I smile. I feel more relaxed, more confident.

“Gron!” I call out to him, “I have three of the …”I stop midsentence. For a split second I see something flash out of a bag he is carrying. Why didn't I notice the bag earlier? I don't know what's in it yet, but he quickly covered it up from me. I guess it was time for the lie-detector test. I take a deep breath and ask him head-on:

“Gron, do you have an artifact in the bag?” His eyes look like I've caught him in a criminal act. He knows that if I see that smoke turn red, he's caught. I know that he knows that I know that he would be lying to me if he says no. I take a few steps back, my eyes still locked upon his in this time-suspended staring contest for the ages. With a flick of his wrist, Gron's bow appears into his hand. I break eye contact with Gron and regain it with Leo, who nods and gives me a deafening roar.

“Leo, Kreysire!” I feel the softness of the cloth as it brushes through my hands. As I clutch the handle, the comforting warmth that comes and goes with Leo surges throughout my body.
Are you ready for this?
I ask him.
No one can be truly ready for what happens in life, but, yes, I am ready.
At his response I swing the box, the sword materializing from my magii and his power. Gron gives me a “bring it on” motion with his hand, but I remain fixed in my spot. Noticing my hesitation, he fires an arrow straight for my heart with a precision I have never seen before.

I instinctively raise my sword in defense and charge at my opponent, leaping into the air for a more powerful vertical slash. He doesn't move at all. He raises his bow and catches my sword, but his eyes seemed fixed somewhere else. He somehow has Leo trapped and unable to break free of the clash. With a gentle push, he shoves me aside, causing me to lose my balance. Not even a second later, he is replaced by the black door.

I walk through to find Gron pacing back and forth in front of the viewer's table. Already I knew the situation was not good if the calm but arrogant Gron was not sitting down in his chair, eagerly awaiting my questions. Being as impatient as I am, I quickly blurt out, “What's wrong? Has something happened with Tundar?”

“No. At least, I do not think so,” he replied hastily. He massaged his temples and began muttering to himself. This was the first time I've ever seen him like this; s a pacing back and forth, his eyes wild and terrified.

“The Shadow Riders are on the move,” was all he said. When I tried to press him for information, he pointed to the viewer's table. As I approached it, I saw what had Gron worried so much. The Shinso were pursuing someone—a woman upon closer inspection. The image was too dark for me to be sure. When the red hair flashed before my eyes, I knew who they were targeting. I felt rage well up inside of me. The warmth of Leo felt like ice throughout my body. My fists were clenched so tightly that I thought the cloth handle would break if I continued grasping it.

I did not hear what Gron had to say; by the time I think he was ready to speak to me, I was already gone.