Knight School: A Mystic Brats Novel Vol. 1

King Myrion had Nara rushed to the Markson Clan’s nearest medical ward. For hours the greatest healers that the fairies had to offer hovered over her. Kevin never left her side as the rest of us waited with fainted breath to hear about her condition. Julie and I sat around a large fire pit with a few of the fairies and my classmates. Mr. Louis was off in a corner drinking shots of fairy nectar. A magical liquid used to heal those close to death, but a perfect way of getting drunk if you were completely healthy.

Earlier, during Nara’s attack, I heard Mr. Louis speak about a similar situation. ”Do you remember Tabitha?” Mr. Louis had said to Ms. Markson. Who was Tabitha, and what happened to her?

Julie cleared her throat gently. I put my hand in hers. There was something wrong with the way she gazed into my eyes. Something was amiss with us and I had an idea what it was. Mr. Louis had asked me of all people to calm Nara. Something that he should have asked anyone else to do. Why did he choose me? Why didn’t he ask Kevin? Kevin was Nara’s boyfriend. He had been for two months. They seemed so much in love that it was almost... irritating? But why was it so irritating to see them kiss or act affectionate? Julie and I acted the same way all the time. Something just doesn’t feel right about Kevin, he’s different. Maybe even stranger than all of us Mystic Brats put together.

“Jason?”

Julie handed me a cup of hot cocoa, bringing me out of my fogged up thoughts.

“Thanks,” I said.

I took the cup from Julie and took a sip. Warmth surged through my body, something that had left the Isle of Fairies after Nara’s attack.

“You need to keep your strength up,” said Julie. “That was a powerful ritual you went through with Nara. You could have died.”

“Really?” I asked her. “Funny, Mr. Louis forgot to tell me that.”

“He knew that you would have said yes regardless,” said Julie. “It’s just who you are.”

“Well, I would have died with everyone else anyway,” I said. “It hardly would have been called heroic. As I’ve said before, I’ve never been the hero type.”

“What are you talking about?” asked Julie. “Haven’t you learned anything about who you are?”

“Oh, yes, I have,” I replied. “The problem is I’m an enigma wrapped in a California Roll of bull-shit.”

Julie rolled her eyes. “You are such a pessimist, Jason.”

“And smart-ass,” I said. “Don’t forget smart-ass. It’s my defining trait.”

“You’re also heroic when you’re not constantly loathing yourself.”

“How so?” I asked.

“You saved my life and Nara’s on the night we fought the banshee,” said Julie, punching my shoulder playfully. “You’re not a total loss, so stop telling yourself that. Why do you think that we’re together?”

I didn’t answer for a while, I had to tell Julie what had been bothering me since that night with the Banshee.

“Technically, it was Nara’s enchantment that killed it. I was just a tool for its power. But after that, when it was just me and Ocron, I wanted to kill him so bad. I wanted vengeance for my mom... for my life.”

“What do you mean?” said Julie. “You didn’t kill Ocron. You may have wanted to, but you didn’t act on that impulse. Anyone who suffered under him would have wanted to do the same thing.”

“It’s not just him,” I said. “Sometimes I dream about killing the entire Order army. All of them. I’ve never taken a life before, and I never wanted to live with that, but what if I lose control one day. What if I become some kind of serial killer or assassin? I thought these feelings would’ve ended after I faced Ocron, but for some stupid reason they haven’t, and I’m starting to think they never will.”

“Well, you would never be an assassin.”

Barry joined us on the seat opposite of me and Julie. He had a bandage covering his rib cage. Nara had really knocked him for a loop.

“Nice of you to join us,” I said bitterly.

“Where else would I go?” He sighed. “Everyone blames me for what happened to Nara.”

“They should,” I said. “Why on earth would you film her like that?”

“It didn’t start like that,” said Barry. “Kevin got me a job setting up the new security system for the dorms. He told me that the headmaster wanted a system that would encompass the entire campus... and it came across my feed one day. I deleted both it and the one of Julie. I even disconnected that program, but the day after — the same footage returned to my tablet. I deleted it again and again, but each day it would come back. I reported it to the headmaster, but he dismissed it, blaming my programming skills.”

“It sounds like someone set you up,” I said.

“Someone must have wanted this to happen,” Julie agreed.

“Who on earth would want Nara to explode like that?” asked Barry, sighing in relief that we believed him.

“It could be whoever it was wanted Mr. Louis to look bad,” I said. “If he gets fired, that’s one less person guarding the Academy... and Nara.”

“You think that the Order orchestrated this?” said Julie. “All to get to Nara?”

“Think about it,” I said. “They sent Ocron to retrieve her for something important. We stopped him and Legend is protecting her. They must have sent an undercover agent to the Academy.”

“He’s right,” said Barry, whispering so only Julie and I could hear him. “It could even be that the mole has been in this position for a while. Just waiting for the right time to strike.”

“You don’t think it’s the headmaster?” said Julie.

“Could be,” I said.

“He would be in the perfect position to cause so many problems,” said Julie. “That could be the reason he wanted to install that security program, to keep us under his watch.”

“I just don’t get how Legend or the Academy can be infiltrated,” I said. “My grandfather was a member for decades.”

“You forget, my father was a member of Legend too and look what he did,” said Julie.

“Twelve years ago, an assassin named Yonus infiltrated Legend,” said Barry.

“How do you know that?” asked Julie.

“Because he was the one who murdered my parents,” said Barry. “He pretended to be an agent and their friend. He even babysat me occasionally. Then, when the time came, he shot Dad in the head and ran a sword through my mother’s heart.”

“Barry...” said Julie. “I had no idea.”

“He’s still out there, y’know?” said Barry. “Legend never caught him and since then, Yonus has killed countless more. So, even Legend isn’t perfect.”

“Yeah,” I said. “But still...”

“Darkness can be brought out in anyone or anything,” said Julie. “Even someone seemingly perfect.”

“I need some air,” I said, standing up.

I left Julie and Barry at the crowded fire pit, walking over to the corner of the Isle of Fairies where Mr. Louis was drinking, now joined by Ms. Markson. She saw me approaching and made haste to leave.

“Excuse me, Jason.”

“It’s okay, Ms. Markson,” I replied.

I tapped Mr. Louis on the back of his shoulder. “Can I have some of that?”

“You’re too young,” he said as he turned around to face me, still taking chugs of nectar. “Besides, I only have one bottle, and it’s nearly empty.”

“Did Ms. Markson say how Nara was doing?” I asked.

“The healers have applied a magic severing dust to remove her ill-fated connection to the archways,” said Mr. Louis. “She’s expected to make a full recovery. Ought to be up in a few hours, good as new. Just like I’m screwed. Huh, that actually rhymes. Few, new, and good as screwed.”

“I think that you’ve had enough nectar,” I said.

“I don’t know,” Mr. Louis held the now empty bottle upside down. “Is one bottle really enough, when you keep losing everything?”

“What have you lost?” I asked.

“My memories, my mentor, my rank, my love, and other things.”

“Like Tabitha?” I said.

“Exactly!” said Mr. Louis. “Tabitha was a terrible, horrible, loss.”

“Who was she?” I asked.

“Tabitha was a young and incredibly talented sorceress,” said Mr. Louis. “She was born in one of the Six Kingdoms. I expect you know what they are, Mr. Gardner?”

“Kingdoms that have been separated into different dimensions,” I said. “There’s Aria, the Isle of Fairies, the Nexus, the Other World, Skyrick, and the Shadowlands.”

“Correct,” said Mr. Louis. “Well, Tabitha was born in the Shadowlands, where the Order’s headquarters is secretly hidden. But she wasn’t just a descendant of any old Order member, no, she was part fairy too.”

“How is that possible,” I asked, “the Order and every fairy clan district are enemies.”

“It was Mary’s sister,” said Mr. Louis. “Her name was Elena. She fell in love with an Order member named Xander Eric. She became pregnant after years of dating him. Eventually, Xander became a double agent for Legend passing information to us. But, eventually, the Order discovered the truth and kidnapped both Elena and Xander. Mary and I, along with her brother Ripochire, and King Myrion journeyed to the Shadowlands to save them. We were too late to stop them from murdering Xander, but we managed to find Elena just as she was giving birth. The magical output from baby Tabitha’s birth was too much, though. Elena passed on before we ever made it back.”

“The baby was that powerful?” I asked.

“Any magical hybrid is,” said Mr. Louis. “For two years, King Myrion and I protected Tabitha. Legend made dozens of offers to take custody of her. They said for her protection, but King Myrion suspected that they only wanted her for the potential weapon she could become. Plus, she was born near an archway, causing her magic to be unbalanced if she ever crossed dimensions. Then, the Order attacked to take her back to the Shadowlands. For a brief moment, Tabitha was caught between the archways... and like that she died. In the aftermath, Ripochire disowned his father and joined Legend and Mary enlisted at the Academy. To this day, Tabitha remains my greatest regret.”