Chapter 5  Out of Time...

 

“So... we’re just sitting around here waiting then?”

 

Brad looks around at Adam from his sitting position on the floor. He’s holding a hammer (which both Saphir and Arrowny had tried to keep away from him) in one hand, and he has a few nails (which both Saphir and Arrowny had begged him not to touch) in the other. A number of random pieces of wood are scattered around the training room in the basement of Arrowny’s house.

 

Arrowny steps out into the training area from his bedroom, and takes a seat in one of the chairs against the wall.

 

“What else are we gonna do Brad?”

 

“I don’t know,” Brad sets the hammer and nails down on the floor, “Maybe, try and help Crystal and Saphir.”

 

Adam laughs...

 

“Can you do magic?” Brad shakes his head. “Then, how are we going to help Crystal perform the Searching Spell with the technomage’s blood that was left over on Sky Render?” Brad is silent. “And, I’m guessing you’re not that good at research, so how are you going to help Saphir look into Morning Star?”

 

“Okay... I get your point. Still, I feel a little useless.”

 

Ryan shrugs his shoulders...

 

“You could always train up a little bit... get better at the fighting.”

 

A wide smile crosses Brad’s face. He stands, walks over to the weapons rack, and throws Sky Render at Ryan, who awkwardly catches the sword.

 

“What’s this?”

 

“You said I should train.” Brad picks up his own axe. “I figure I could train by fighting you.”

 

Ryan stares blankly at Brad...

 

“What are you... stupid!?” Adam laughs a little at Arrowny’s words. “I’m a Protector... I’m trained to fight... hell, I’m trained to kill the ones that I fight!”

 

“So... think of this as a test in restraint... try not to kill me. Adam can time how long the fight lasts. And... I mean... how worried should I be about somebody who tried to threaten a freakin’ Chaos Demon?!”

 

“Alright...” Ryan stands, letting Sky Render hang at his side... “Whenever you’re ready...”

 

 Brad smiles... and rushes at Arrowny. He takes a few swings, which all end up going wide thanks to Ryan’s fast dodging... Arrowny has yet to raise his arm.

 

One swing seems to be on target, by Ryan easily knocks it aside with his sword. The Protector pulls his arm back, and punches at Brad’s head...

 

... and misses.

 

Brad, having managed to move at the last second, now looks at the fist, which is only a few centimetres away from his face, and smiles...

 

“You missed!”

 

Ryan’s face contorts in anger, and he spins around, extending his right leg, and catching Brad in the side of the head with a powerful kick. The axe wielder spins in the air, and lands hard on the training mats...

 

Ryan glances over at Adam...

 

“Thirty one seconds...”

 

“GOD DAMIT! I should’ve been faster!” Ryan stomps over to the weapons rack, and hangs Sky Render back up. “I’ve been training for seven years! How could I have missed?!”

 

Adam laughs as they hear Crystal’s voice coming from upstairs.

 

“Hey, guys! We’re done!”

 

As Ryan starts to head off, Adam looks over at Brad...

 

“What about him?”

 

Ryan lightly kicks Brad in the shoulder...

 

“Hey, Brad... wake up.”

 

“hssssss... just five more minutes mommy...”

 

Arrowny turns back toward the stairs...

 

“Just let him be.”

 

Adam and Ryan head up the stairs and into the study where Crystal and Saphir are looking over a burnt and crispy table top, and what used to be a world map. Various magical powders and ingredients are scattered around the room, and Saphir has one book open in his hands.

 

“Um...” Ryan waves a hand over the mess... “Is this how the spell’s supposed to work?”

 

“Well,” Crystal shrugs her shoulders... “No... not exactly. The Locater spell didn’t work with the blood you gave me... but there is good news!”

 

Saphir points to a passage in the book...

 

“The spell will only react this way under one, very specific condition... the target is outside our time-space frame of reference.”

 

Arrowny scratches his head...

 

“So... this guy is outside of time... and this is good news because?”

 

“Well, there is a specific reference to a spell that WILL locate an object that is removed from our time... but we don’t have the text that contains it. So, we’ve got to go somewhere with a bigger library.” Saphir looks knowingly at Ryan, “A bigger library that’s close by... like... ‘just outside of town’ close by.”

 

“Oh...” Arrowny nods his head in understanding... “You mean the Academy’s library? They’re not supposed to let people who aren’t students or staff in... it’s part of the magical protection laws... they could get in a lot of trouble. So could we, though... if we try to sneak in.”

 

Crystal shrugs her shoulders.

 

“You spent seven years of your life there... don’t you know a way we could get in?”

 

“Sure... right through the front door.” Adam, Crystal and Saphir look at him like he has three heads... “Seriously... front door. There’s only ever one student on duty at the front. The staff is all around doing their own research stuff... so they don’t even know what’s happening unless the guy at the front lets them know. With any luck, the person on duty will be somebody I know. They might just let us into the library, as long as we promise not to steal anything.”

 

Brad walks through the door, rubbing the side of his head, just as the other four are turning to leave.

 

“Come on man,” Ryan pats him on the shoulder, “Get ready to go.”

 

Brad looks confused...

 

“Go?... where are we going?... and which one of you guys helped Ryan out and hit me in the head during the training fight?!”

 

*        *        *        *        *        *

 

The group, minus Adam, who decided that he’d best stay behind, gather at the beach just outside the town of Wolfville. Arrowny, Crystal, and Saphir are gazing out across the Bay of Fundy, each with a knowing look in their eyes... but Brad just sees water... and more land on the other side of that water.

 

“Um... guys... what are we doing here?”

 

Crystal glances over at him.

 

“Can’t you see it?”

 

“See what?”

 

Arrowny turns to the group.

 

“Brad doesn’t know about it... so he can’t see through the charms.” He looks at Brad. “I’m telling you that, no matter what you see, there is a very large castle out in the middle of the Bay.”

 

“Ryan... I’m pretty sure I didn’t hit you in the head... so why the crazy act?”

 

“Just trust me.”

 

Brad shrugs, and looks out at the water... trying to trust Arrowny...

 

And then there’s a castle in the water... a big honkin’ castle... with a tall tower at each of the four corners... just a few hundred meters from the shore on this side of the Bay. There’s even a stone walkway leading right up to the front doors.

 

“Hey!” Brad looks around at the others, “Did anybody else know there was a big castle out in the middle of the Bay?!”

 

“Yeah Brad... it’s the Wolfville Wizarding Academy.”

 

The four of them step out onto the stone walkway, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Anybody who happens to look out at the water now wouldn’t even notice the four people walking on its surface... it would just seem normal... and they wouldn’t even give it a second thought.

 

Brad looks off to either side of the walkway, still having a little trouble believing that he’s been living in Wolfville for a while now, and never noticed the great, big castle.

 

They reach the, rather unspectacular, front door. It seems quite a let-down, actually... a castle like this, with only a small, wooden door at the entrance... Brad wonders where the grand archway is... or the tall, double doors that take a dozen men to open...

 

“They just don’t make castles like they used to...”

 

There’s not even a lock on the door... Arrowny just turns the knob, and it opens. They walk inside, into an unremarkable room, much like the front desk of a hotel. There are a few lit torches set into the stone walls... but no windows... it seems rather dark and depressing.

 

And the one teenager who is sitting behind the desk looks up with a look of shock on his face. He stands up, straightens his glasses, and shakes his head at Arrowny.

 

“You’re not supposed to be here anymore. I was told to inform the staff if you ever showed up.”

 

Ryan shrugs his shoulders, and turns to each of the Dragoon Warriors in turn.

 

“Saphir, Crystal, Brad... this is Rob... he’s the student on duty. And,” Arrowny turns to Rob, “He’s gonna let us into the library and the supplies closet WITHOUT telling anybody that we’re here... isn’t that right?”

 

“Ryan... I can’t do that! I’m sorry, if it were up to me... I’d help you out... but it’s not my choice.”

 

Arrowny walks right up to the desk...

 

“I’m gonna have to hit you, aren’t I?”

 

Rob smiles...

 

“Just a little bit... I just want to be able to say that I tried to fight you off.”

 

Ryan nods... and punches Rob in the face, quite easily, but enough to leave a noticeable bruise in the morning.

 

Rob shakes his head, and wipes a small trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand... and then nods toward the hallway...

 

“Library’s this way.”

 

He leads the group down a long hallway, taking turns through the maze like castle. Arrowny has no trouble keeping up, as he did spend a number of years here, but the others are quite glad that somebody else is leading the way.

 

Eventually, they reach a large pair of double doors, which fit Brad’s image of what doors should look like in a castle, and Rob stops.

 

"Here ya go. There’s a supply closet just down that way,” He points to a small door at the other end of the hall, “And if that’s all you need... I’ll head back to the desk.”

 

“Thanks Rob.” Arrowny walks by, and pushes the doors open...

 

... Saphir gasps...

 

There are SO MANY books...

 

Easily twice as many as where in Morning Star’s library...  and larger tables scattered through the aisles.

 

Saphir rushes toward one of the shelves, and runs his fingers along the spine of the books, looking for the correct one. It only takes him a few minutes to find it. He pulls it from the shelf, and opens it on one of the nearby tables.

 

“Okay,” Saphir scribbles down a few ingredients on a sheet of paper, “Here’s what we need. You three go to the supplies closet and load up.”

 

Brad, Crystal, and Arrowny take the few short steps down the hall. The guys let Crystal open the closet, and run through Saphir’s list... not because they’re lazy or anything... but they just don’t have a CLUE what they’re looking for.

 

“Okay, some of this... a little of that.” Crystal takes various bags and jars from the shelves, and piles them into Brad’s arms. Ryan waits to be given his share of the supplies, but when she steps back out of the room, his hands are empty. She casually closes the door, and turns to Brad.

 

“Okay, there you go. You and Saphir have everything you need to do the spell. No... go on...” She gestures him back toward the library... Brad looks at Ryan, who just shrugs his shoulders in confusion, before turning to head away.

 

When he’s gone... Crystal turns to Ryan. She has this innocent look on her face...

 

“Well, now we can get on with the tour.”

 

“Um... tour?”

 

“Yeah... you’re going to take me on a tour of the castle.”

 

Ryan looks very, very confused...

 

“Why would I do that?”

 

“Because.” She seems to think that this is a perfectly good reason, because the next thing he knows, Ryan’s walking down the hall, with her arm wrapped around his, leading her to a round room that seems to be at the very center of the Academy. It takes them about ten minutes to reach the room... as it is a pretty big castle. Ryan stops walking here... and looks down each of the seven hallways which lead off of it... making sure that there are no staff members wandering around...

 

“Okay,” He speaks only when he is sure they aren’t being watched, “That way,” He points off to the left, “Goes to the classrooms. The student dormitories are that way, and the infirmary is that way.” He points down each hallway in turn. “The staff offices are down that hall... and the entrance is that way... and, of course,” He points back down the hallway they had just come down, “The library is that way.”

 

He turns to look at her... and has to shake his head as she moves a strand of hair away from her face...

 

“Um... is that all you wanted?”

 

“Well... I wanted an actual tour... but I guess that’s not a really good idea... what with the fact we’re not supposed to be here.” She starts walking back toward the library, “They’re probably done the spell now... we should get back.”

When they arrive, they find Saphir putting the book back on the shelf. Arrowny walks over to him.

 

“Did it work?”

 

“Yup! The spell compensated for the chrono-variance... I was able to get an exact location. It’s in Los Angeles... I’ll check out the street address when we get back to the office.” He starts to pack up the ingredients.

 

“Just leave those Saphir... we’ve got other things to do.”

 

Ryan sits on the corner of the table as the group gathers around him.

 

“We need to know how to kill Joseph. And, only Morning Star can tell us that. I want to go there, and try to beat the information outta him.”

 

“Ryan...” Brad shakes his head, “You can’t just beat Morning Star down... he’s a Chaos Demon... he didn’t even flinch when you shoved your sword through his neck.”

 

Saphir nods...

 

“Brad’s right. I’ve done a little research... he can’t be hurt... or killed.”

 

“We have to try... right?”

 

They come to a silent agreement... and walk back towards the castle entrance.

 

*        *        *        *        *        *

 

After making a quick stop back at their office to pick up Adam, and some weapons, the Dragoon Warriors Warp back to Morning Star’s temple.

 

Adam and Arrowny kick the door in, and they rush into the library...

 

... which looks rather like a tornado just ran through it.

 

There are books scattered all over the place... the tables are overturned... and there are... body parts... littering the floor.

 

It doesn’t take long to see whom the parts belong to... in the middle of the room, the head of the short man version of Morning Star is lying on its side...

 

Adam takes a deep breath as he looks around...

 

“What could have done this to him?”

 

“Jos... eph...” The voice comes from the severed head...

 

The group, weapons raised in caution, surround it... and it speaks again.

 

“Joseph did this... he has betrayed me... joined forces with the Children of Jove. He wishes to rule the world now... to bring order... and eliminate chaos...”

 

Ryan kneels down...

 

“How do we kill him? If he betrayed you, you don’t need him alive anymore, right?”

 

The head smiles...

 

“The book!”

 

Morning Star sticks his tongue out, pointing across the room a short distance... to his own severed hand... which, in turn, is pointing to a book which is lying open on the floor.

 

“That is what Joseph was after. It is my journal... it contains my dreams... prophecies about Joseph...” He moves his eyes to look directly at Adam... “and about you.”

 

Saphir picks the book up, and reads a little bit.

 

“I’ll have to translate it... but that shouldn’t take a great deal of time.”

 

Morning Star chuckles...

 

“Use that to bring justice upon Joseph. I would do it myself... but he has destroyed my earthly body... and it will be some time before I can manifest in this realm again.”

 

And, just as he finishes the sentence... he disappears... all of his body parts... his books... his tables... his bookshelves.

 

The only thing left in the building that even hints to the demon’s existence... is the journal in Saphir’s hand.

 

Arrowny stands...

 

“Okay... start translating that. We’ve gotta find a way to beat Joseph.”

 

*        *        *        *        *        *

 

Justin walks through the hallway connecting the elevator to Joseph’s office. He’s noticed a few... oddities... when running a security check on his computer systems that he feels the need to bring to the CEO’s attention.

 

 

But Joseph’s door is open... just a crack... but enough to allow the technomage’s enhanced hearing to pick up some of the hushed conversation.

 

“And the technomage has no idea,” It is Joseph’s voice he hears, “That the computer systems and weapons he has designed to protect the world from... extra terrestrial threats... will be the weapons I use to take control of the Earth.”

 

“That is good... he could be trouble if he learns the truth.” It sounds as though a child is responding. “And... what of the people who attacked him... and your other two assassins?”

 

“Kenneth was able to identify one of them, based on Justin’s description, as a former student at a magical academy in Canada. I will be dispatching Castor and Pollex to deal with the little group... there will be no survivors.”

 

“That is unacceptable! The leader... the one who holds Sky Render... must live! We are finished this discussion... carry out our orders.”

 

There is a bright flash of light from the room... it seems as though Joseph is alone now...

 

“I will do as I wish... and after the Sacrifice... I will give the orders.”

 

Justin turns around, and gets back into the elevator... his mind attempting to process this new information...

 

He was lied to... by the man he thought he could trust. He is being used...

 

He needs to help them... to stop Joseph... and... he needs to find out more about this Sacrifice...