Wind Warrior (16 page)

Xander climbed out the window and onto the
red clay shingled roof. His sandaled feet clicked against the
shingles as he climbed toward the pinnacle of the house. Just short
of the peak, Xander sat down and laid back. Far above his head, he
could faintly see a circle of twinkling stars. He had often looked
out the window of his home in White Halls and admired the stars on
cool nights like this. On the island, however, there were virtually
no lights. The painted strip of the Milky Way was framed behind the
brightly glowing stars. Somehow, he knew that Sammy would have
loved sharing this view with him.

He was so engrossed in his stargazing that
he didn’t realize someone else had arrived until he heard the click
of feet stepping on the loose tiles.

Xander sat up hastily and began summoning an
orb of air between his outstretched hands.

“
Calm yourself,” Uncle
Giovanni laughed, his arms held out wide defensively. “It’s just
Uncle Giovanni.”

Xander sighed and shook his head. Giovanni
had scared him nearly to death, which was exactly what he didn’t
need after the past couple days.

“
Can I sit?”

Xander nodded and the Italian took a seat
beside him. For a long moment, he didn’t say a word. Giovanni
craned his neck backward and enjoyed the same stars that Xander was
admiring.

“
I used to come up on the
rooftop too, when I was younger. But when I was younger, I came up
here usually to get away from my brothers and sisters.”

Xander looked over at the older man. “Did
you have a lot of brothers and sisters?”

Giovanni laughed into the still night air.
“We are Italian. Of course I had a lot of brothers and
sisters!”

He smiled at the Italian. Like he had always
felt with his grandfather, Xander instantly felt a connection with
the man.

“
What happened to them?”
Xander asked hesitantly.

Giovanni waved a hand dismissively. “They
passed away some time ago. We have many brothers and sisters
because we don’t live long enough. Too much good Italian food and
wine.”

“
Were they all Wind
Warriors?”

“
Some. Not all. But we
loved each other like we were all of the same caste.”

Xander smiled at the man. He tilted his head
back and stared back up at the stars. He couldn’t imagine what it
would be like to have a huge family, wrestling and joking together.
There was a time when he really thought he wanted a family.
Granted, Xander knew he was too young now but sometime when he was
older, he could envision kids of his own. Of course, that seemed
less and less likely now. Inexplicably, his thoughts drifted again
to Sammy and a small smile spread across his face.

“
What is her name?”
Giovanni asked.

“
Excuse me?”

“
When a man comes out here
on his own and stares up at the stars with a wistful smile on his
face, he is always thinking of a woman, no?”

Xander blushed in the darkness. “Her name is
Sammy.”

“
Sammy,” the Italian said.
“It’s a good name. So tell me about this girl.”

“
It’s
complicated.”

“
So, make it simple for
me,”

“
She’s a Fire
Warrior.”

Giovanni whistled into the night air. “Oh,
yeah, that makes it complicated. It’s a good thing you have me for
a teacher.”

Xander propped himself up on an elbow. “Why?
What is it you’re going to teach me?”

“
First thing I will teach
you is how to pick a better girl,” Giovanni laughed. “But later, I
teach you how to fly.”

“
You’re going to teach me
how to fly?” Xander asked, sitting straight up on the
rooftop.

“
Of course. How do you
think I got onto the roof?”

Xander hadn’t considered it before. He had
just assumed that Giovanni had climbed out the window, like he
had.

“
Teach me now.”

“
About the girls or about
the flying?”

Xander smiled. “The flying.”

“
Okay. Come to the edge of
the roof.”

Together, they cautiously slid down the
sloped shingled roof until they were at the edge of the rooftop.
Xander looked over the edge as he stood and realized the ground was
a dizzying distance below. In the gloom of the night, he could
barely make out the tall bushes below.

“
So what do I do? Do I make
a wind to keep me aloft? That seemed to be what my grandfather
did.”

“
Sure, do that,” Giovanni
said.

The Italian shoved him from behind and
Xander tumbled from the roof. He tried to focus on creating wind
but his mind was gripped with panic as he fell head over feet. With
a crash, he slammed into the bushes before landing hard on the
ground.

Giovanni floated down to the ground and
landed lithely beside him.

“
How do you
feel?”

Xander groaned. “Like I just got run
over.”

“
It was a good start. We’ll
do better next time.”

He pushed himself up until he was on his
hands and knees. His ribs ached and his shoulder was bruised but he
didn’t seem to have any other injuries.

“
What do I need to do
different next time?”

Giovanni scratched his chin. “Next time?
Focus less on falling and spend a little more time flying. Now,
back to the roof.”

Xander groaned as he walked back into the
house and climbed the stairs back to the second floor.

Sammy sat in one of the tall towers of the
underground castle, staring out her narrow window. The cavern
beyond was swelteringly hot. The heat rolled up the tower in waves.
Each scorching pass stole the breath from her lungs and left her
mouth dry.

Her room lacked any lights but it was
strongly illuminated by the glow of the lava flow far below the
castle’s precipice. By the light of the flowing illumination, Sammy
could see countless men and women moving hurriedly around the
castle grounds. They were clad in dark leathers, their blonde
hair—like Sammy’s—was pulled back in functional buns and
ponytails.

As she watched them from her tower, she was
surprised by the overwhelming sense of sadness she felt for her
fellow Fire Warriors. Only a select few had ever left their cavern,
as Sammy had. Most lived their entire lives within the sweltering
cave, awaiting the death of the last of the Wind Caste and their
chance to rule the Earth. They had been told their entire lives
that the Wind Warriors were evil; that it was their job to
eliminate them to make way for the new elemental rule.

She felt sorry for them because they would
probably never have the chance to learn the truth as she had
learned it. The Wind Caste wasn’t evil, as she had been led to
believe by her father and General Abraxas. Of course, that same
misguided belief was evident in Xander as well. He judged all the
Fire Caste by the actions of a few under General Abraxas’ command.
He had no idea the sheer number of Fire Caste that were dispersed
throughout hundreds of underground castles just like this one.

Her heart ached at the thought of Xander.
She had genuinely felt connected to him in a way she didn’t think
possible. The knowledge inside her throughout their short-lived
relationship that she was going to betray him ate at her core. She
wished she could see him again, at least under better circumstances
than her pending mission with General Abraxas. He deserved to know
the truth about how she felt and not just remember her for trying
to kill him.

Sammy slid from her seat at the window and
walked over to her bed. It barely yielded at all as she sat down.
She stared around the barren room without really seeing the sparse
and utilitarian decorations. Her mind was lost in its own memories
as her eyes passed over the room.

She replayed her father’s reproachful gaze
in the throne room over and over in her mind; the way he callously
killed one of her fellow warriors for the failure that she alone
brought about. A sting of tears caused her to blink heavily in the
smoky room. She blamed it on the soot in the air, something she had
grown accustomed to living without over her month away. In her
heart, though, she knew the truth.

A swift knock on the door was all that
preceded Lord Balor as he opened the door and entered Sammy’s room.
She quickly wiped away the threatening tears and coughed politely
to clear away any semblance of emotion that might remain when she
spoke.

She quickly climbed to her feet in the
presence of the castle’s Lord.

“
Sit,” he ordered as he
closed the door behind him.

Sammy did as she was told, taking her place
back on the firm bed. Lord Balor retrieved the room’s only chair
and sat across from her.

They sat in silence as Sammy eagerly waited
for her father to speak. It was unusual for him to visit her in her
room. Most of their interactions were reserved for when she was
kneeling before his throne.

Lord Balor cleared his throat and crossed
his arms over his chest. “I don’t think I need to tell you how
disappointed I am at your failure. Your mission was instrumental in
us assuming our reign of the Earth.”

Sammy felt her ire rise in her chest. The
father who had once been so doting and loving as she grew had
become so incredibly distant recently. He spoke to her now as
though she were a common warrior instead of his only child and heir
to the throne.

“
I can’t have you fail me
again. I may have kept General Abraxas’ wrath at bay this time but
I don’t know what will happen if you fail again.”

Sammy huffed. “My day was
fine, Father, thank you for asking. And
I’m
fine too. I appreciate your
obvious concern.”

“
We don’t have time for
your childish tantrums!” he yelled as he stood before her. The
chair, upended by his sudden movement, slid across the stone floor.
“It’s time for you to grow up and assume your place as a Fire
Warrior!”

“
I am acting like a Fire
Warrior. But right now, I’m also trying to have a conversation with
my father.”

“
Right now, I need
competent warriors far more than I need a daughter,” he replied
harshly.

“
Why are you acting like
this?” Sammy cried, the tears spilling past her cheeks. “You never
used to be like this. It’s like I got my powers early and now you
want nothing to do with me.”

Lord Balor turned away from his daughter and
pinched the bridge of his nose, as though warding away a budding
headache.

“
Sammy,” he said, his tone
quite a bit softened from the start of their conversation, “there
are things going on that you don’t understand.”

“
Then explain them to
me.”

Her father sighed. “I can’t.”

Sammy stood and walked to the window. She
gestured outside, toward the cavern beyond. “Then go explain it to
the other High Lords. The other clans of the Fire Warriors are as
confused as I am about what you’re trying to do. Why are you
suddenly so interested in killing the Wind Caste? We’ve spent all
this time waiting our turn. Now, all of this sudden, they can’t die
quickly enough for you.”

“
I don’t care what the
other clans think,” Balor replied angrily. “Our clan has been
chosen to lead the way for the rest of the Fire Caste. You should
be proud!”

“
Chosen by whom?” Sammy
asked, perplexed.

“
By powers that you
couldn’t possibly begin to understand!” he said angrily, turning
sharply toward her.

Sammy’s expression softened and confusion
crept into her eyes. “What powers? What could possibly hold power
over one of the Fire Lords?”

Lord Balor waved his hand dismissively.
“We’re done here. You’ll leave tomorrow with General Abraxas. Don’t
fail us again.”

He walked to the door but paused in the
entryway. Slowly, he looked over his shoulder to where his daughter
still stood by the windowsill.

“
Is there anything else you
need before you leave?” he asked with genuine
compassion.

When Sammy didn’t respond, Lord Balor walked
out of the room and closed the door softly behind him.

After he retreated, Sammy turned back toward
the room.

“
Yeah, there is something,”
she said softly. “I need my father back. And I think I know where
to go to find out where he went.”