Light & Dark: The Awakening of the Mageknight (9 page)

"It's beautiful, thank you," said Danny,
admiring the sharp blade as it glowed with a pale luminescence.

"It is for your protection," said Tyramear
before Danny could ask. "You must keep it on your person at all
times."

"I can't take this to school," argued Danny,
holding the dagger before him, raising both eyebrows in
question.

"It is enchanted. Those without the gift of
sight, will see a common ink pen. It is imperative that you keep it
with you at all times. Without it, you will be helpless against a
Shadow attack."

"...Helpless?"

"The Shadows are creatures of magic. They can
only be destroyed by magic. Crafted with Dwarvin skill, the dagger
in your hand is charmed for the specific purpose of felling
Shadows."

"Charmed?"

"It is magical. Only magical weapons can harm
a Shadow. Mortal weapons are useless against their kind."

"So that's why the rock went right through
the Shadow's head."

"Yes," affirmed Tyramear.

"Then how could Sabrina hurt it? She wasn't
using any kind of weapon that I could see."

Tyramear smiled and took his eyes off the
road to look at Danny. "Like me, Sabrina is of the Dragonic,
dragons are naturally magical creatures."

"Oh," said Danny, pausing for a moment while
thumbing the engraved symbol of Light upon the scabbard of the
dagger, a solid white chain interlinked with a black chain of
seeping dark flames. "What does the symbol of Light stand for?" he
was mesmerized by the emblem.

Tyramear followed Danny's captivated gaze
down to the small sheath. "At the core, the symbol is meant to
represent a balance of a sort, a union between both good and evil."
Glancing at the road and then at Danny, he continued. "You see…
good cannot exist without evil and vice versa. The white chain
represents the Light, the forces of good, while the black chain
represents evil, the forces of the Dark. The white chain is solid
and pure because we of the Light acknowledge the presence of the
Dark and strive to maintain the proper balance. However, the black
chain, warped with escaping tendrils of dark flame, symbolizes the
Dark's desire to overthrow that balance. Evil does not know
boundaries, Danny. The forces of the Dark will work tirelessly to
unravel everything, even at the risk of their own destruction."

"I see," said Danny, tracing his pointer
finger around the circular symbol of the Light. Tyramear's words
settled heavily upon his shoulders.

"If I am going to get you home, I will need
your guidance from this point on," said Tyramear, turning his full
attention back toward the road.

Forced from the burden of his thoughts, Danny
nodded, sheathed the dagger, and gave him directions.

back to top

anny awoke to the sound of his mother's scolding
and sighed as he fought the urge to try to go back to sleep.

"Come on, Danny, get up, you're going to be
late for school!"

The night had passed slowly, sleep had
refused to come and had only found him a few hours before he had to
awaken. The events of the past few days haunted his thoughts and
invaded his dreams, causing him more nightmares.

Throwing the blanket from his body, Danny
wondered if everything had just been a bad dream, or a really good
dream depending upon the point of view, but moving his pillow
aside, finding the dragon-hilted dagger beneath it, he knew
differently.

After a final warning from his mother, Danny
got up, dressed and began his morning routine. Bursting through the
front door with his right shoe halfway on, the bus was just about
to pull away. With a shout and a wave, he halted its departure.
Securing the dagger under his belt, he bolted for the bus.

He found a seat toward the back, sat down and
sighed. Pulling the sheathed dagger free from his belt, he caressed
the cool metal with his thumb, admiring the intricacies of its
design.

The bus squeaked to a stop but Danny failed
to notice anything because he was so engrossed with the gift from
Tyramear. Seconds later, Alonso plopped down beside him.

"Wow, is that what I think it is?" his blue
eyes were wide with awe.

Surprised, Danny swiveled in his seat and
yanked the dagger behind his back. "If you think it's just a normal
ink pen, then yes, it is what you think it is," said Danny, faking
a smile.

"No, it wasn't," said Alonso, shaking his
head. "That was a knife." Beckoning with his right hand, "Let me
see it."

From the seat in front of them, a head peered
over the hump. Danny recognized Michael Swaft, a plump boy with
black hair trimmed in the shape of an upside-down bowl.

"You brought a knife to school, Danny?"
Michael asked in a booming voice.

"No, I—" Danny tried to explain, but before
he could come up with an answer, the bus ground to a halt.

Moments later, the bus driver stood over all
three boys, glaring in Danny's direction. "Who has a knife?"

Michael and Alonso turned toward Danny,
singling him out. Danny appeared to be the most likely culprit with
his hand still behind his back.

"What's behind your back, Danny Firoth?" the
bus driver asked, stabbing her pointer finger through the air.

Sighing, Danny took his arm from behind his
back and presented the object in question.

"Is this some kind of joke, Danny?"

"No, Ms. Virginia."

"It's just a pen," said Michael Swaft,
pointing out the obvious.

"No, it's not. It's a…"

"That's enough," said the bus driver,
interrupting Alonso. "Bringing weapons on the bus is no laughing
matter. I suggest you keep that in mind and refrain from such
pranks in the future." Without waiting for Alonso's smart reply,
the bus driver turned and stormed back to the front of the bus.

"But…"

Danny's arm shot out; he covered Alonso's
mouth with his left hand before the boy could blurt out anything
else. Placing the dagger on his lap, he held his finger to his lips
indicating the need for silence.

Alonso's eyes narrowed in anger, but he
nodded that he understood.

Once the bus resumed its course with a hum of
the motor, Danny spoke softly. "You can see the dagger?" holding
the object in question before him.

"Why did Michael and Ms. Virginia think it
was a pen?"

Danny looked around to see if anyone else was
eavesdropping. "I can't tell you anything here." After a moment of
thought, he continued, "Can you meet me after school?"

Alonso nodded.

"Okay, meet me in front of the library after
last period."

The bus stopped in front of the school.

"I'll see you after school, Danny, and I
expect an explanation," Alonso said as both boys parted ways.

Danny sighed, making his way to the front
entrance. Navigating the halls, he sighed again, this time with
relief. Sabrina stood at her locker, placing a brown math book in
her bag. Danny scurried to her left side and slumped against the
lockers.

"Hey, Danny," said Sabrina, turning to look
at him.

She seemed different from last night,
carefree and light as opposed to focused and heavy. Danny concluded
that this was her disguise.

"I think there's something you should know,"
said Danny after a moment of hesitation.

"What's up?" the silky skin of her cheeks
creased in a smile.

"Alonso Martinez has the gift of sight as
well."

Sabrina did a double-take, looked in either
direction and slammed her locker shut. Dragging Danny by the arm,
she shoved him into a corner by the stairs. "Are you sure?" her
once-cheery demeanor returned to the serious state of the night
before.

Feeling shocked and a little unnerved at her
close proximity, Danny nodded. He could smell the intoxicating
aroma of her perfume, wild roses.

"How do you know?"

"While we were on the bus, he could see the
dagger your father gave me." Confirming his point, Danny pulled the
slender dagger from his pocket.

Sabrina stared at the blade, lost in
thought.

"I told him to meet me after school. I
figured we could explain things to him then."

"So be it. Then I will discuss this at length
with father later." Sabrina released Danny and added, "I'll see you
in gym class," she turned and disappeared into the bustle of the
hall.

Looking around, trying to act inconspicuous,
Danny made his way to his locker.

To Danny's surprise, the first two periods,
music and math, passed without incident. After making his way into
the gym locker room, he threw on his clothes for P.E. Unwilling to
leave Tyramear's gift behind, he stuffed the dagger into the folds
created by his right sock and his shoe. Satisfied, he made his way
into the gym and sat cross-legged in his assigned position next to
Chris.

"Hey, Danny," said Chris, turning to
acknowledge his friend. However, his eyes went wide with shock as
he looked down at Danny's right leg. Chris scooted closer. "Danny,
why do you have a dagger in your sock?" he asked in a whisper,
pointing at the object in question.

"You can see it, too?" Danny questioned as he
covered the dagger with his right hand.

"Danny Firoth," said a familiar voice.

Danny looked up to find Mr. Ingram standing
above him, his right eyebrow raised.

"You know the rules, Mr. Firoth," said Mr.
Ingram. "No pens or pencils are allowed on your person during gym
class. Please go and put it in your locker now."

"Yes, Mr. Ingram," Danny said, as he stood up
and walked back toward the locker room.

"And where do you think you are going, Mr.
Greene?" the gym teacher asked in an authoritative voice.

"I have to use the restroom."

"Make it quick, Mr. Greene, or I'll count
both of you tardy."

Chris moved at a jogging pace to catch
up.

Danny spotted Sabrina exiting the girls'
locker room. She shot him a questioning look. Danny shrugged in
response as he passed through the boys' locker room doorway, Chris
darting behind him.

"Okay, Danny, what's going on?" Chris asked,
once they were alone.

"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you,"
taking the dagger out of his shoe.

"Why do you have a dagger with you and why
did Mr. Ingram think it was a pen?"

"We don't have time to discuss it now," said
Danny. Once his locker was open, he removed the belt from his pants
and began strapping it around his waist, just above his belly
button.

"What're you doing?"

After securing the belt, Danny reached around
and slipped the dagger under it at the small of his back, pinning
it in place. Turning, he showed Chris what he had done.

"Just put it in your locker."

"I can't."

"What do you mean, you can't?"

"I just can't," said Danny again, closing his
locker. "Listen, can you meet me after school?"

Chris hesitated, "I guess so. I have football
practice so I have to stay after school anyway. Why?"

Chris was Danny's best friend, now more than
ever and it was killing him knowing that he couldn't tell him the
truth right away. "Meet me in front of the library and I'll explain
everything."

Chris shrugged, his face distorted in
confusion, "Okay, whatever."

Together, both boys left the locker room and
made their way back to their assigned seating.

Sitting back down, Danny found Sabrina
questioning him with that certain look on her face. Knowing that he
couldn't give her an answer here and now, he simply smiled.

She didn't return the gesture.

After gym, Danny dashed to his locker and
gathered the books he needed for science class. Midway through his
packing, Sabrina appeared beside him.

"Hey, I thought we could walk to science
class together."

Danny saw right through her act. "Sure," he
said, playing along. Gathering up his book bag, he set off with
Sabrina strolling beside him.

Turning at the base of the stairs, Sabrina
pulled him to the side, "What happened in gym?"

"Chris Greene has the gift of sight as
well."

Sabrina took a single step back and dropped
her head as if in thought. "Three in such a short amount of time
and all in the same area," she whispered to herself.

"What is it?"

Sabrina's head snapped up and looked around
to make sure that she wouldn't be overheard. Taking a step back
toward Danny, she said, "Those with the gift of sight are rare
enough, but to find three at the same time, within such a small
area… It has never happened."

"What's that mean?"

"I don't know, perhaps Father will know."

Before Danny could say anything else, the
warning bell rang. "We should get to class."

Sabrina nodded, both hurried to science
class. The tardy bell rang just as they passed through the
threshold of the science lab.