Circumstellar (12 page)

T
he week passed quickly since Ty’s initiation, but not so smoothly. Meissa proved herself to be quite the sadist and assigned Markus to be Ty’s mentor. Crazy is as crazy does, I suppose. Even after I tried to convince her – with yelling and demanding – to switch him with Kaira, all I got was “he’s the best option.” Perhaps she meant that in the same way one would poke a sleeping bear; Ty would be getting lots of practice releasing his inner cage fighter through anger. The whole situation just didn’t sit right with me.

“And you’re sure it’s okay?” I asked for the millionth time. Lock-whatever training or not, I didn’t want my friends getting into scuffles every day.

“Just like I told you five minutes ago, yes, it’s fine. The guy doesn’t even really hang around much. He just tells me what to do and goes off and does his own thing. Couldn’t be a better arrangement in my opinion,” he said, stretching out for his weight routine.

“But he’s your mentor. How’re you supposed to learn and get better if you can’t even carry on a conversation?”

“Does it really matter at this point?” he argued. “Hell, Ingrid, no one’s been watching you for the past week. Look, I know you’re just watching out for me, and I love you for it.” He winked at me. Why was it so hot in here? “But just relax, okay. You’ll see. Everything will turn out fine.”

“If you say so,” I said, reluctantly giving in.

“I absolutely say so. Now hurry on before Miss Meissa thinks you’re slacking again.”

“I appreciate the warning, but
Miss
Meissa always thinks I’m slacking, even when I’m running a marathon,” I told him, waving a quick goodbye. I exited what I dubbed the “work-out house” and started on the path to my fabulous dirt field.

As I had discovered shortly after starting here, each of the buildings had a different purpose. Some, like
Meissa’s, were reserved for living quarters, while others were made for training or some other purpose. There was a special bath house and even one that had been converted into a full kitchen and dining area. It didn’t see much use now, but at one time, I imagined it was the center of great social gatherings after a long day.

I rounded the corner to see a familiar shaved head and muscular form coming towards me.

“Hi, Markus,” I greeted, trying my best to stay friendly. Last time I had seen him, he was storming back to his room. “How are you doing?”

“Oh, it’s you, Sidewalk,” he returned, stopping in front of me. He was covered in sweat, and I could tell he had been training hard all afternoon. His hands and clothes were smeared with
dirt, and his breathing was heavy. “Good. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Well, um, after last week
– ”

“That was nothing,” he cut in. “Don’t worry. I’m used to being the guinea pig for
Meissa’s precious Lockkeeper trials.”

“I don’t think you’re just a guinea pig.”

“Well, thank you, Sidewalk. That’s sweet.” He chuckled. I blushed and looked down. For the first time in my life, I was glad I had to look so far up at someone. There was no way he could see my face like this. “But I know what I’m not, and I know what I am. Expendable.”

“No one thinks that,” I hastily countered. “You’re a great fighter. The temple needs you, and I know you and Ty got off to a rough start,” I started and he raised his eyebrows, “but you’re his mentor, and he needs you. Besides, I wouldn’t take anything
Meissa says seriously. She’s evil.”

Markus gave another laugh at my assessment and leaned down closer to me. “She’ll be shut up soon,” he whispered. “Can I tell you something, Sidewalk?” he asked, a husky tone entering his voice. A tingle went down my spine, and only one word managed to make the usually
unblockable route from my brain to my mouth.

“Sure.”

“I’ve been thinking lately that I need to do something big, you know? Something that will show everyone that I’m more than just some worthless Lockman surrounded by Lockkeepers. So, what do you think?”

“I . . . I think
– ”

“What do you think you’re doing?”

The obtrusive voice hit me like a tidal wave, and I sprang back from Markus, putting at least five feet between us. I turned to see an indignant Kaira glaring at me, her hands perched on her hips in the most pointed manner. Her sharp eyes bore into mine while I struggled to come up with some type of explanation.

“
Kaira,” Markus acknowledged and strolled over to her. I could see her expression soften when she turned her attention away from me to him. “I was just asking for some advice. Sidewalk here’s quite the inspirational speaker.”

I didn’t know about all that, but I couldn’t help but feel a rush of appreciation at the compliment. Not even
Kaira’s doubtful and disgusted glance could deter my happy high. Markus wasn’t so bad; he just needed someone to recognize how important he really was.

“I think you should do it,” I burst out.

Markus tossed me a smirk, much like the first time we met, and said, “Thanks for the permission.”

“
Meissa wants you to go to the forest path after you’re done running laps,” Kaira snarled at me, killing the atmosphere. There was an intensity to her dislike that wasn’t there earlier, and I wondered if she was trying to melt me with bad thoughts. This couldn’t have anything to do with my talking to Markus, could it? Who was I trying to kid? It totally had to do with Markus.

“Thanks for delivering the message,” I said cheerfully. “Where’s the forest path?”

“In the forest,” she snipped before turning on her heel and briskly walking away.

“That was helpful,” I muttered. I hoped that after my official welcome to the club,
Kaira might have been a little less antagonistic towards me, but it was all for naught. Whatever her problem with Ankida was, it ran far deeper than I originally thought.  Maybe it was for the best that the dynamic between us hadn’t changed. I wouldn’t want to upset the thin balance of abhoration and adoration around this place.

“It’s behind the Key Shrine,” I heard Markus shout. I looked around and saw him walking down the main path. He must have noticed my zoning out and taken the initiative to leave. I thought about yelling “thanks” at his back, but decided to just move on with my routine. I finished my short trip to the field and started running.

By “Key Shrine,” he must have meant the big building at the end of the grounds. I didn’t recall any mention of another place to house the Orion Stone, so that was my best option. I wondered if this was another one of Meissa’s weird tricks. It was the first time I had been told to do anything other than my usual workout laps, so did this mean she was bored or that she had come up with something else for me to do? It hadn’t occurred to me that she may be watching my progress, especially since now all of her time was spent with Lesia.

Speaking of
Lesia, I didn’t know what she was up to, either. The only thing I managed to pull from her was that it took a lot of concentration and was very difficult. To me, that indicated they could be doing anything from performing a séance to playing poker. According to Lesia, Meissa had specifically instructed her not to tell anyone what they were doing, including me and Ty. I assumed that was to keep knowledge of the Locksmith business to a minimum, but that didn’t make it any less annoying. I growled in irritation. How was I supposed to protect my best friend when she was being shut off from me?

I finished my laps faster than normal, my anger fueling my energy.
Well, time to find out what’s down this damn hiking trial
, I thought with a snarl. I stomped around the edge of the hill until I was behind the main building. This was the first time I had come back here, and I noticed that instead of the steep slopes that created the hill on all other sides of the temple, back here a gentle incline descended into the trees. I walked along the tree-line, looking anywhere for an opening. After some searching, I came to a clear patch that started a small trial into the woods.

I hesitated, eyeing the narrow path. I wasn’t one to easily believe in ghost stories or anything like that, but I’d seen enough
slasher flicks to know that willingly walking into some dark nature trail was a bad idea. I tried to reassure myself that no decent serial killer would possibly set up camp outside a temple made for teaching people to kick butt.
What’s the worst thing that could be in there? A couple of foxes? A wolf? Maybe a bear?
Okay, that wasn’t helping. I took a few deep breaths and balled up my fists. Knowing Meissa, and I had convinced myself that the short time I had known the woman I had her figured out, this was probably some test of courage or something: some kind of psychological thing. All I had to do was walk down it a little and prove I had what it takes to be a Lockkeeper thing. Before my determination had a chance to shrink, I pushed forwards into the trees.

Although the afternoon sun was still bright, the thick wall of trees managed to block out a great deal of light from the trail. That wasn’t a problem for me, as everyone should well know by now. It wasn’t the darkness that put me on edge – it was the unknown. My senses heightened and every twig
snap and rustle of leaves had my eyes darting around looking for any signs of movement. The further I descended down the trail, the more my fear rose, but I refused to give in. Turning back would mean failure, and the last thing I needed was that woman teasing me about nature walks. I pushed onwards and soon came to a little clearing. The light poured in through the gap of the treetops, and I stood in awkward silence, not knowing what to do next.

“You made it,” a voice I didn’t recognize announced.

My body went rigid as I searched for the source of the voice. I peered into the woods and blinked as two bright sky blue orbs pierced through the thicket. The lights came closer, and I realized there was a body attached to them. Those weren’t some fancy flashlights. They were eyes. I was staring right into Ankida eyes.

“W
hoa!”  I shouted, stumbling backwards away from the glowing eyes. “Don’t come any closer! I may not look like it, but I’m a highly trained warrior. If you don’t leave now, well, I won’t feel guilty about the epic beat-down you’re about to receive.”

I was, quite obviously, bluffing. They didn’t know that – hopefully.  But just in case they did, I made swift note of the exit path. Running away wasn’t something I was proud to consider, but I didn’t exactly have plans for dying, either. At best, I may be able to dodge some attacks until an escape opening became available. I was too far out in the forest for anyone to hear my yelling, so it was up to me to get out of this mess.
It’s all you, Ingrid
.

“Hey, it’s okay. Calm down,” the
Ankida said, stepping out of the brush and into the clearing. Like I was going to fall for that. Though I did have to admit, she wasn’t exactly what I was expecting. After all of Meissa’s tales and being assaulted by large cloaked guys, I convinced myself the Ankida were some kind of freakishly tall humanoid things. This girl wasn’t anything of the sort. She looked a few years older than me and only one inch higher. A long braid of shiny black hair descended down her back, and her coffee-colored skin gleamed in the rays of sunlight. If it wasn’t for those eyes, I’d think she was just another human.

“You think I’m some kind of idiot? I know what you want, but I’ve got news for you. I don’t have any keystone,” I barked, inching towards the path. So close.

“No, wait! You don’t understand, Ingrid.” Was my name common knowledge? “My grandmother sent for me. I’m here to help you.”

“Nice try,” I accused, “but I don’t know any grandmothers.”

“Not even Meissa?”

That one question was enough to clear the fight or flight from my system.
Meissa the Grandmother.
Meissa.
Before I knew it, a loud, mocking laugh erupted from me.

“I don’t know who you get your information from, but they need to be fired,” I jeered in wild amusement. “
That
woman is no grandmother.” Teasing aside, I’d never heard such an outrageous statement in my life. If this was the best the Ankida could do, it almost made me feel sorry for them.

“Yes, she is. I’m the heir to the Orion Temple, and Grandmother sent me to help you train,” she replied. The glow of her eyes prevented me from reading them, but her tone and posture indicated she absolutely believed what she was saying.

“You’re serious, aren’t you?” I asked, my amusement crashing down faster than a boulder being thrown out of a window.

“Excruciatingly.”
She smiled at me. “It’s nice to finally meet you. I’m Loxley Robins.”

“An extremely embarrassed Ingrid
Fairheit,” I groaned. “I’m going to kill your grandmother.”

“It would have been nice if Meissa had at least given me some type of heads up,” I complained from my position on the clearing floor. “I didn’t even know she had a granddaughter.”

Loxley smiled from across me. “I thought you would have noticed by now that Grandmother has a taste for theatrics.” She picked up one of the arrows lying next to her and studied the tip. “I think she likes getting a reaction out of people even if she’s not around to see it.”

“It still would have been useful to know I was meeting someone out here. I could have attacked you,” I pointed out, thinking about my earlier threat. I didn’t want to bring it up, but you’d think knowing she was Ankida would be on the need to know list.

“She wasn’t worried about that,” Loxley responded. “Please don’t take this the wrong way, Ingrid, but I would have been able to stop you. And that’s why I’m here,” she quickly added at my indignant look, “to help you learn how to fight.”

“Finally.” I grinned. “Running laps isn’t exactly on the top of my excitement list. So, when do we start? Are you going to teach me some ancient martial arts pressure point techniques or something?”

“I’m afraid not,” Loxley denied, picking up a strip of some type of metallic ribbon. “The purpose of a mentor is not to teach you a fighting style, but to give you the tools and instruction to develop your own.” She wrapped the ribbon around the arrow right behind the head.

“Come again,” I said, raising an eyebrow. Come up with my own fighting style? If I could do that, I wouldn’t be here in the first place.

“You won’t be totally alone on this. After all, that’s why I’m here,” she reassured me. “You will continue to exercise your body, and I will help you get started on the basics of hand-to-hand combat. After that, it will be up to you to develop those skills into a style that suites your talent. I will continue to monitor your progress and help you focus on areas I feel need improvement. This is the best method for Lockkeepers with different talents.”

“If you say so,” I said, feeling apprehensive. I still wasn’t so sure about this whole making my own style deal. “
Lockkeeper
– I keep hearing that. And what do you mean by talents?”

She wrapped a few more arrows with the metal before answering. “What better to call those who keep the locks to the Gate? During the war with the
Ankida, what set the five warriors apart from all of the rest were their unusual talents in certain areas. For the Therion warrior, it was his unmatchable swiftness, and for Leo, it was incredible strength. These talents have been passed down through the generations.”

That actually explained a lot. I thought
Meissa’s race challenge was a little random, especially after I won the thing. She never explained why she selected such a challenge, other than it meant I was this Therion descendant. But if speed really was my talent, I guess there was no better test. The same could be said for Ty’s strength in a wrestling match.

“So, what is Orion’s talent?” I couldn’t help but ask. This talk of skills had me intrigued, and I
was curious to find out what Meissa’s area of expertise was.

“Tactics,” Loxley replied with a familiar smirk. “We’re excellent strategists. And if I must say, not too bad at hunting and tracking.”

“That’s not fair,” I argued. “That’s more than one talent.”

“Well, it could just be natural skills picked up over time.” Loxley laughed. “Back to the main point, you can imagine how it wouldn’t be a very good idea to try and teach you a style designed for my advantage when speed is your asset.”

“You’ve got a point there,” I conceded. “Let’s get to it.”

“It’s getting pretty late, so I’ll evaluate you tomorrow. We can begin covering the basics after I’ve got a feel for what you already know,” she said, standing up and gathering her arrows. “I’ll walk you back to the temple. I need to head back, too.”

“Thanks,” I said, dusting off my clothes. “Do you always work all the way out in the woods?” I asked, eyeing the increasing darkness of the clearing. I knew the lack of light probably wasn’t an issue for her, but it was pretty isolated. I would have thought she’d stay as close to the temple as possible considering Ankida could be roaming around. Seeing Loxley continue to pile on her load, I offered, “I can help you carry some of those.”

“That would be great,” she replied, handing me a few arrows to carry. “Since I make my own arrows, it’s pretty convenient to have a plentiful supply of wood. At least,” she said, giving a sad smile, “that’s what I like to tell myself. The truth is I tend to make a few people unsettled at the temple.”

“Kaira and Rigel,” I stated. There was no need to say it like a question. Only two people fitting that description came to mind.

“So, you’ve noticed. It’s not much of a surprise.” She let out a sigh. “
Kaira’s been that way since she came, and Uncle Rigel, well, he’s devoted to tradition.”

“That’s no reason to treat you like some kind of alien invader. You’re the heir to the Orion bloodline. You’re his family!”

“Maybe, but I still have the blood of the enemy in my veins. Don’t worry,” she started when I opened my mouth to argue. “I’m used to it.”

“It’s still wrong,” I muttered, walking down the narrow trail that would take us back to civilization.
Or near civilization. Let’s face it, the Orion Temple wasn’t exactly a heavily populated area.

What Loxley said really bothered me. Was being
Ankida really so unforgivable? My family had never treated me like some type of outcast – up until recently, anyway. The afternoon with Aunt Kaline in the attic still left a bad taste in my mouth, and I knew it would be a long time before I could bring myself to forgive her. What was her deal, anyway? Attacking me because she hated my father. I guess that answered my question about being an awful Ankida.

“My dad was an
Ankida,” I blurted out, a bizarre need to talk coming over me. “Everyone except my mom hated him. I didn’t really know him, so I can’t say much about it. He died when I was a baby.” I didn’t know why I was telling her all this. Something about finally having a kindred spirit, I suppose.

“My father was actually half-
Ankida like you,” Loxley explained. “He had been traveling around the country when he stumbled upon the temple and fell in love with my mother. Grandmother refused to accept it and tried to chase him off. They married in secret, and as you can imagine, she was furious. My mother tried to keep the peace for a few years before finally deciding to move away with Father. They set off north on foot to find a place to settle, while Grandmother cared for me. There was a terrible blizzard that year. They didn’t make it.”

I stayed silent, not sure of what to say. It seemed I wasn’t the only one born into a world of tragedy. It was enough to give me a sense of connection to my mentor.
Meissa was right; we were suited to each other.

The sounds of grunting pulled me from my thoughts, and I looked at the wall of trees to my side. We were almost to the end of the trail, but this came from inside the woods. I pulled some of the foliage away, and the light of a torch greeted me. I pushed my way beside the torch and was met with a strange sight.

It was Kaira, and she was training. At least, I think it was training, but that’s not what was strange about it. She was perched atop a thin beam of wood suspended between two logs. The set up looked more like a makeshift gymnastics balance beam, but she wasn’t doing any fancy flips. She was practicing kicking and punching the air. Her form barely shifted the plank, performing the movements just as easily as if she’d been on a full concrete floor.

As usual when I saw the older girl, I was left with mixed feelings of dislike and envy. Normally I tried to ignore her and meet her distaste with amusement, but my recent conversation with Loxley filled me with something dark and vengeful. Who the hell did she think she was?
Being so beautiful and graceful on the outside and so hateful on the inside. Thinking about how she hated Loxley and me for who we were fueled me with anger, and I clenched my fists.

“Don’t even think about it,” Loxley murmured from beside me. “You’ll never beat
Kaira up there. That’s her domain.”

“Not if I knock it down,” I growled.
Let’s see how high and mighty you are when your tower topples.

“Listen, if you really want to prove yourself to
Kaira than do it in a sparring match, not out here,” Loxley advised. “Train and become strong. You’ll only lose if you try to brawl now. That’s the way – Oh, watch out!”

I stumbled backwards as Loxley jerked me back to the path. I could only stare at her open mouthed, trying to figure out what just happened.

“Sorry,” she apologized, helping me stand upright. “It’s just that you were getting the arrows a little too close to the flame.”

“What happens if they get too close to a flame?”

Loxley sent me a small smirk. “Let’s just say it’s an unfriendly combination for people like us.”

“Is it some kind of special metal? That’s what you were wrapping around the top?”

“I figured I’d give it a try and see what happens. Just promise me you’ll close your eyes if you see one of these fly into anything hot.”

“I’ll be sure to remember that,” I told her, shifting the arrows away from my body. Secret metal lined arrows. What will happen next? Hidden glass daggers?

I followed Loxley as we made our way out of the forest and into the temple grounds. Now that I was out of the tree cover, I could see that it had gotten pretty late while we were chatting in the clearing. The moon rose in the sky and the stars twinkled brilliantly.

“I trust you had much to discuss,” a voice called out. I looked ahead and saw
Meissa coming towards us.

“Yes, Grandmother, it was an eventful day,” Loxley replied, smiling at
Meissa. “I think we will make a good team.”

“I already knew that,”
Meissa commented as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I also thought you might be gone for quite some time, so I sent your friends home,” she said, turning her gaze to me. “I hope you’re not afraid of walking in the dark alone.”

“As if,” I countered.
If you could call that a counter. I handed Loxley her arrows and waved good-bye. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Bye, Ingrid. Be careful walking home. Do you want me to go with you?”