The Author’s Apprentice

I woke up in a hotel room. I looked around, my vision a bit hazy. Evelyn sat in the corner of the room reading a book. Logan was sitting on the edge of the other bed, gazing in awe at the TV screen as it played an animated movie.

“Evelyn, are you seeing this?” he asked. “It’s like a moving drawing. And they made this without magic!”

Evelyn sighed, not taking her eyes off her book. “It’s just a bunch of drawings shown one after the other. It’s not that hard to understand.”

“Yeah, but like—can you imagine how many drawings that would have to be?”

“You’re way too easily impressed.”

I sat up and rubbed my eyes groggily. “Guys…?”

Evelyn visibly relaxed when she saw me. “You’re awake.”

“How’d you sleep, Stormcloud?” Logan asked, grinning.

“Pretty good,” I responded sleepily.

“How are you feeling?” Evelyn asked.

“Better,” I said. “Kinda groggy.”

My stomach decided to take that moment to growl loudly. I blushed. “And apparently, very hungry.

Evelyn chuckled. “I think the breakfast buffet is still open downstairs. I’ll go grab some stuff for us. Be right back.” She put down her book and left the room.

Which left just me and Logan.

Logan cleared his throat, shifting his weight on the bed across from me. “So…”

I looked up at him curiously. “Yeah?”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “What you said back there, at the lake…”

I went stiff as a board. It all came rushing back—me, sleepy and stupid, cuddling Logan and rambling out all my inner thoughts and feelings without a filter. I put my head in my hands. “Oh, no…”

“No, Stormi, I didn’t mean…”

He was trying to reassure me, but I was too embarrassed to listen. My face was unbearably warm. I wanted to curl into a ball and die.

“Listen, Logan—” I said, hands still covering my face. “I wasn’t in my right mind, and I—what I mean is—look, can we just pretend that never happened? Please?”

“I’m sorry,” said Logan, hugging his elbows. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”

“What do you mean?” I asked. “I embarrassed myself.”

“No, you didn’t! I mean—” He shook his head. “I only brought it up because…I never got the chance to tell you how I felt.”

I looked up at him. “What?”

He grinned nervously, his cheeks turning pink. “I like you, too.”

I froze. It felt like someone had sent an electrical shock through my nervous system. “I—you—huh?”

“Yeah,” he said. “I’ve been crushing on you since you first arrived at the library. You were just so…smart, and strong, and brave. I grew up in the magic world—I can’t imagine being thrust into it so suddenly like you were. And not that this matters, but…you’re also really pretty.”

I blinked a few times to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. “R-really? You—you really think all that?”

Logan nodded, his face cherry red at this point.

“I-I mean, cause I feel the same way about you—you were so nice to me the whole time I was getting adjusted to life at the library, and you’ve always been there for me when I needed you, and you’re really really cute—” I stopped myself. “Sorry,” I said softly, “is that weird to say?”

Logan laughed. “Not at all.”

I smiled at him. “So…”

He grinned back. “So…”

The door burst open, making us jump. Evelyn walked in, carrying a tray of food. “Alright, I wasn’t sure what you guys wanted, so I—”

She paused when she saw our faces. She simply lifted an eyebrow and said, “…Okay. Anyways, I got some fruit, toast, and cereal. Take whatever you want.”

“Sweet,” said Logan, grabbing a piece of toast from the tray. “Thanks, Evelyn.”

I grabbed a banana. “Yeah, thank you, Evelyn.”

We sat down on the floor around the tray and ate together.

“Oh, and while we eat—” Evelyn stood up and grabbed something from across the room, then sat back down. “—we should talk about this.”

She held the object out to us, and my eyes widened. It was the small chest we’d recovered from the bottom of the lake—but now it was open. Evelyn reached inside and pulled out the artifact, presenting it to us on the palm of her hand.

It was a small golden compass. Instead of a compass rose imprinted in the center, there was the symbol of the Lucian Order.

“What is it?” I asked.

“That’s the thing,” said Evelyn, “we don’t know.”

“It looks like a compass,” said Logan, “but the needle is just limp. And it doesn’t seem to have an on-button.”

Evelyn handed it to me, and I studied it closely. “Maybe it needs to be triggered with magic?” I wondered aloud. I used telekinesis to whirl the needle around, but nothing happened; the needle just continued to hang limply.

I turned it over in my hands, studying it carefully. Suddenly, a small inscription on the back of the compass caught my eye.

“Wait, look at this,” I said.

Logan and Evelyn leaned in to look as I read the inscription aloud:

“Speak the name of that which you wish to find.”

“The Lucian Order?” Evelyn wondered aloud.

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, the compass shook. I turned it over, and the Lucian Order’s symbol was glowing gold. The needle at the center trembled, then whipped around and pointed south.

“Perfect!” I said. “We just follow the compass until we find them!”

“But how are we gonna get there?” Evelyn asked. “It doesn’t say how far we need to travel—it could be miles before we reach the Order.”

“We could rent a car,” I suggested. “Do either of you know how to drive?”

They both shook their heads at me. “We’ve never had to drive anywhere,” Evelyn said.

I sighed. I did, in fact, know how to drive. I even had my driver’s license—but I had only gotten it a month or two ago, and I still had severe driving anxiety. “Well, I guess I’m driving us then.”

Logan pulled a 20-dollar bill out of his pocket and held it out to Evelyn. “You’re up, money-printer.”

Evelyn rolled her eyes. She cracked her knuckles and took the bill. “Whatever you say.”

* * *

“Uh…Stormi? The speed limit is sixty miles per hour.”

“I know, why?”

“You’re going forty.”

I glanced at the speedometer, which read 40 mph. Whoops.

Evelyn looked out the passenger window, watching irritated drivers speed around us. “You might want to speed up a bit. Those weren’t the friendliest gestures I’ve ever seen.”

“Okay, I’ll speed up,” I said. I pushed down on the gas pedal a little more firmly.

The speedometer now read 45 mph. I groaned.

“You’re doing great, Stormcloud,” Logan said, patting my shoulder from behind. “Just…a little faster.”

“Sorry,” I mumbled. I hated driving.

“How’s the compass looking, Logan?” Evelyn asked, glancing over her shoulder at the backseat.

“Nothing’s changed yet—but the symbol seems to be glowing a bit brighter. Maybe that means we’re close!”

“Fingers crossed,” I murmured.

I’ll save you a long-winded description of the next few hours. Save for a jam session to the radio, a rousing game of “Guess Who,” and a pretty interesting discussion about the Missouri cheese caves (yes, those exist), the drive was pretty boring. The road eventually became empty as the few cars that accompanied us turned off the highway. The view was nothing but sand, tumbleweeds, and cacti for miles; being so similar to the landscape of New Mexico, it did stir up a familiar feeling of home, but other than that it was a bit uninteresting.

So of course, something had to happen. Y’know, to spice things up.

It was about the fourth hour when I felt a sudden chill fall over the car. I checked to see if Logan or Evelyn had turned on the air conditioning, but neither had—Evelyn was gazing out the window and Logan was fast asleep in the backseat. I decided it was probably in my head and ignored it.

Then I noticed a dark smudge on the rear view mirror. Confused, I tried to rub it off with my sleeve, but it didn’t budge. After staring for a few moments, I realized it wasn’t a smudge at all—it was a shadow.

And it was following us.

“Evelyn,” I whispered sharply, sweat beading my brow. “Do you see that?”

She turned her gaze from the window to the mirror where I was pointing. Her brow furrowed in confusion, and she glanced over her shoulder out the back window. Her breath caught, and I bit my lip. I knew what she was going to say before she even said it, and my gut clenched in terror:

“Okay, don’t panic…but there’s a monster following us.”

I let out a shaky breath. Of course there was. “How is it even keeping up with us?” I asked.

“It has wings.”

“What?”

“It has wings,” Evelyn repeated. “Not all monsters look the same. They can shift to fit their needs.”

“Great,” I muttered. “What do we do?”

“Try speeding up,” she said. “But do it subtly—not too abrupt, or it might anger it.”

“Okay…”

I gently increased pressure on the gas pedal, glancing fearfully at the mirror every few seconds. The monster just seemed to speed up with the car—if anything, it looked like it was getting closer.

“It’s not working,” I hissed through my clenched teeth.

“Don’t panic,” Evelyn said again. “Your fear will aggravate it.”

“I can’t just not be afraid!” I exclaimed, my heartbeat accelerating.

“Take deep breaths,” she said gently. How was she staying so calm? “Deep and slow.”

My breaths only became faster, bordering on hyperventilation. “I-I can’t—I have anxiety disorder, Evelyn!” I cried, near tears. “I can’t just—I can’t—”

Panic seized me. My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was trying to escape from my chest.

“Stormi, listen to me,” Evelyn said, placing a hand on my shoulder. “Focus on your breathing. In, out. In, out. In—”

Evelyn was cut off when the car gave a sudden jolt. My eyes darted to the mirror, and I saw a hazy black form latched onto the back of the car.

Logan jolted awake at the noise. “Huh..?” he murmured sleepily. “What was that?”

The car shook again, creaking and groaning as the monster crawled up to the roof. I shrieked as thick black claws broke through the ceiling above me.

“What do we do?!” I screamed.

“Just keep the car steady!” Evelyn said.

Before I could ask what she was doing, she summoned her bow, rolled down the car window, and stuck her upper half out.

“Evelyn, are you crazy?!” I shouted.

She ignored me, attempting to fire arrows at the monster.

“What’s going on?!” Logan yelled, still looking dazed.

“There’s a monster on top of our car and Evelyn is trying to shoot it,” I told him.

“What?!” Logan wasted no time grabbing Evelyn’s waist and pulling her back inside the car.

“Logan!” she shouted indignantly.

“You’re gonna get yourself killed, Ev!” he said. “I thought you were supposed to be the reasonable one!”

“I was being reasonable!” Evelyn shot back. “If we don’t kill that thing, it’ll kill us!”

Emphasizing Evelyn’s point, the monster tore its claws through the roof, leaving gashes big enough to see through.

“Okay, just stop being stupid for a second so I can take this thing down,” Logan said. Ignoring Evelyn’s look of outrage, he summoned his dagger and climbed up on his seat, jabbing his dagger through the scratches the monster had made.

“That’s not gonna do anything!” Evelyn shouted.

“It’s better than sticking myself out a car window!”

“Guys, stop fighting!” I cried, my grip on the wheel tightening.

Suddenly, a horrible creaking noise filled the car, like a fork scraping against a plate. I glanced up and saw that the monster had succeeded in ripping most of the roof off. We all screamed as it stuck its head inside, awful groaning noises emanating from its throat.

Logan jabbed his dagger blindly at the monster—by luck alone, he hit it right in the eye.

It let out a deafening screech and reared its head back, its arms flailing to regain its grip on the car. In its panic, it latched onto the steering wheel and yanked it to the left. I screamed as the car veered off the road and into the trees.

We slammed against a tree trunk, the force knocking the monster loose. I didn’t see what happened to it after that, but I heard the sounds of it scuffling away, its pained cries growing steadily more distant.

In a daze, I shifted around in my seat to look at Evelyn and Logan. They were both slumped in their seats, looking shaken but otherwise alright.

“Are you guys okay?” I asked.

Evelyn offered a slow nod, while Logan mumbled a “mm-hm” and rubbed his head.

“We should get out of the car,” I said, “just in case the engine is in danger of exploding.”

That was enough to break the two out of their daze. We quickly got out of the car and walked a safe distance away from it, ending up on the side of the highway in the middle of nowhere.

I looked around, trying to get an inkling of where we were. The trees were thicker and greener than they had been on the way there, and the terrain was more hilly and rocky. In the distance loomed giant cliffs, with stacked layers of orange-and-red rocks.

“Should we call someone?” I wondered aloud.

“What are we going to say?” Evelyn said. “‘Our car was attacked by a monster from another dimension’?”

“Fair enough,” I replied. “So…what do we do?”

Logan glanced down at the compass in his hands. “We follow the arrow, I guess. It’s all we can do at this point.”

“I guess you’re right,” I said. I gazed out at the road, which seemed to go on forever. Among the trees, though, I noticed a big brown sign. I got the others’ attention and pointed it out. “Look—there’s a sign over there. Let’s go see what it says.”

“Good idea,” said Evelyn. “Maybe it’ll give us an idea of where we are.”

We walked along the highway toward the sign. When we finally reached it, we were relieved to see the words:

Zion National Park

“Oh, thank goodness,” Evelyn sighed. “We’re near civilization.”

“That must be it!” Logan said. He held up the compass so we could see it. “The arrow is pointing towards the park! The Lucian Order must be in there somewhere!”

We walked a bit further down the road until we found ourselves in the park. We approached a sign that outlined different trails that snaked their way through the mountains. We used the compass to determine which path to take, then started on our way.

It took about an hour or two before we made any progress. We hiked through the mountains and cliffs, following the compass’s steady guide. We went past jagged rock formations, past rivers and trees. We got so high up that the air grew frigid and the view below spanned several miles. And during it all, I noticed a persistent stinging in my scar that was slowly escalating as we traveled. I decided to ignore it for the time being, though it was a bit troubling.

We traveled all across the park until we finally reached a hollow in the mountain that formed a sort of cave. The area was concealed by a curtain of ivy that hung down from the mountain and spilled over the cave like a waterfall. I pulled the vines aside to see a symbol carved into the rock. A symbol I’d seen so many times on this journey. A symbol that meant hope and safety. A symbol that matched the one on the compass, which was now glowing at its brightest point yet.

“This is it,” I murmured.

I scanned the rock face to see an oval indent in the rock directly underneath the symbol. Knowing instantly what it was, I pulled up my sleeve to expose my Story Gauntlet, and pressed it into the indent.

The blue glow from my gauntlet seeped into the carving, tracing the cracks in the stone and illuminating the symbol. The rock face shuddered and groaned, then was split in two. The two stone walls retracted, revealing a short stone tunnel leading deep into the mountain.

We walked down the tunnel in stunned silence, brimming with anticipation. After walking for a few minutes, the tunnel opened up into a torch-lit chamber with nothing inside of it, save for a large metal ring mounted on a stone dais.

The portal.

“We did it, guys,” I said breathlessly, a huge grin spreading on my face.

“Yes! Team Awesome!” Logan shouted, thrusting out his fist as if awaiting a fist-bump.

Evelyn cocked an eyebrow at him.

“That’s our group name,” he clarified.

“Really?” she asked. “That’s the best you got?”

“What? We’re a team, and we’re awesome. Enough said.”

I shook my head at them as I pulled the scrap of paper Nicholas had given me out of my satchel. I cleared my throat to get their attention and waved the key in front of them.

“Oh, right!” said Logan.

Evelyn rolled her eyes, but grinned. “Put it in, Stormi!”

Filled with excitement, I reached up and used my telekinesis to place the key into the slot above the portal. The paper shuddered, then began to levitate in the center of the slot. Tendrils of blue light reached out from the key and curled around the metal ring, filling the round hole with blue light that swirled like a whirlpool.

“This is it, guys,” I nearly whispered.

We started toward the portal, but I froze when the shadows around it began to shift.

“Wait,” I said, holding out my arms to stop the others. I swallowed dryly as my entire body began to tense up, anticipating the worst. “We’re not alone.”

The shadows rose off the ground and took on all-too-familiar humanoid shapes with glowing purple eyes. They floated forward and blocked our path to the portal.

We whirled around to see a dark-haired, dark-eyed boy walking into the chamber.

We quickly summoned our weapons and braced ourselves for battle, but eased up when we saw that his hands were held above his head in a show of peace.

“Relax, Storytellers. I’m not here to fight,” he told us.

I stepped forward, gripping my sword. “Then what are you here for?”

“I have good news,” Kai said. “I spoke with my brother, and I was able to convince him to make a trade. He wasn’t easily persuaded, but when I threw in the location of the Lucian Order…” Kai glanced at the portal. “…he became much more open-minded.”

I grimaced. We’d led him right to the Order.

“My brother no longer wants you dead,” Kai continued. “He has decided to spare your life, and the lives of your friends, for something in return.”

I eyed Kai warily, unsure of whether or not this was a trap. “And what would that be?” I asked skeptically.

Kai fixed his eyes on me. “Your magic.”

I flinched. “My…magic?”

“It’s simple,” he said. “I’ll take you to my brother, he’ll take your magic, and you three amigos walk away unharmed.” A sudden uneasiness crept upon Kai’s expression, and I caught a glint of fear in his eyes. “That, or…Plan B.”

“You mean, to kill me?” I said dryly.

“Listen, I don’t want to kill you,” Kai said.

“Oh, really?” I scoffed. “The fact you’ve been hunting me the past few days tells me otherwise.”

“Did you not hear me?” Kai snapped. “I changed Kievan’s mind — he wants you alive. Just — just take the deal, please.” Kai’s tone was rising, his voice wavering. “Or I’ll be forced to do something I really don’t want to do.”

“Stormi isn’t going anywhere with you,” Logan hissed, stepping in front of me protectively.

“Yeah — you want her, you’ll have to go through us,” said Evelyn.

Kai stared at the ground. “I really hoped it wouldn’t go like this,” he muttered. He then thrust his hand out toward me, dark smoke swirling in his palm.

Immediately, the scar on my face exploded with a searing pain, like someone was pressing a hot iron against my cheek. I screamed, falling to the ground and clutching the scar.

“Stormi!” Logan cried, dropping down and grabbing my shoulders. “What are you doing to her? Stop it!”

Kai’s eyes were closed, like he couldn’t bear to watch what he was doing to me. He curled his fingers in closer, and the pain intensified. I screamed until my throat was raw. I could hardly breathe, the pain was so overwhelming. My vision began to blur. I couldn’t feel anything except for searing, fiery agony.

“Fine, fine! We’ll do whatever you want, just stop it!” Logan shouted frantically.

Kai dropped his hand. The pain instantly subsided, though it left a stinging feeling in the entire left side of my face. “I tried to warn you,” he said. His voice was weak and shaky, and his tone sounded remorseful. I looked up at him and saw his face was streaked with tears.

“You’re a monster,” Evelyn hissed.

“I’m only doing what I have to, for my family,” Kai shot back, his voice cracking. “This is the only way.”

“If I…” I winced. My throat was raw and scratchy, and my voice trembled as I spoke. “If I give up my magic…do you promise to leave my friends alone?”

Kai looked me dead in the eyes. “I promise.”

“No,” said Logan. “No, no way. Stormi, you’re not gonna — ”

“I have to, Logan.”

“Storm, we don’t know what that will do to you!”

“It doesn’t matter.” I gave him a weak smile. “It’ll be okay.”

I squeezed Logan’s hand, then started toward Kai.

“I don’t think so,” I heard Evelyn say angrily behind me. She thrust her hand out and yanked it back.

Following her motions, an invisible force stopped me mid-step and pulled me behind her.

“You’re not getting Stormi without a fight,” she growled. And quick as lightning, Evelyn summoned her spectral bow and fired an arrow at Kai’s chest.

He tried to dodge, but was too late. The arrow embedded itself in his shoulder, and he cried out in pain, doubling over and clutching his shoulder. He groaned, then shouted, “Veni Umbrae!” and a legion of shadows appeared at his side. “Get them!” he growled. The shadows flew at us, their smoky arms outstretched hungrily.

Still weak from the pain, I held out my hand and tried to summon my weapon. “Arma spectris.” The glowing form of the sword appeared in my hand for a moment, but then it flickered and vanished.

“I got you, Stormcloud,” said Logan, summoning his dagger and standing in front of me.

He slashed through each shadow as they flew at us, vaporizing them on impact.

A pained shout rang out on my right; I whipped my head around to see Evelyn entangled in a flurry of shadows, quickly losing ground.

“Evelyn!” Logan shouted.

Evelyn rapidly locked eyes with Logan, her golden-brown irises holding a message. Logan’s brow furrowed, and he nodded to her.

Then she was lost to the shadows.

“No!” I cried.

More and more shadows surrounded us, forcing us back as Logan barely managed to keep them at bay. We soon found ourselves on the steps leading up to the dais. Logan threw one final blow at the shadows, vaporizing three in one hit, then backed us up onto the dais. We were cornered.

“Hey, Stormcloud?”

I turned and looked into Logan’s dark green eyes. He placed his hands on my shoulders and gave me his signature grin — only this time, there was a sadness behind it.

“I love you.”

Logan pushed me into the portal.

“LOGAN!”