Paraworld Zero (47 page)

    “I don’t require magic to heal…” Griffen said, trying to concentrate on the
task at hand.

    A light from his body entered into Tonya, and she suddenly gasped for air.
Griffen lifted his hands and smiled at the young girl. Her skin was fair and white once
more.

    “You’re a Marmasuelian,” she whispered with a smile. “I thought your
paraworld was destroyed.”

    “I’m the last of my kind,” he said, stroking her cheek with the back of his
hand. “You’re going to be just fine. Rest now and dream of happier things.”

    She closed her eyes and slept.

    “God has smiled upon us today,” Griffen said to the others. “The kingdom owes
you all a debt of gratitude. In fact, I’m sure the Guardians of the Crown would like to thank you
in person.”

    “That sounds good to me,” Thornapple said with a grin.

    “Sounds good,” Har repeated.

    Simon looked at his friend sleeping peacefully at their feet. “Thanks for
saving her,” he said. “I don’t know if I could have—” He stopped in midsentence and gasped in
shock as a green swirl appeared on Griffen’s face.

    Sensing their alarm, Griffen spoke with gritted teeth. “Don’t worry. This
will soon pass. I just need to rest.”

    Tabatha explained further, “When he takes upon himself the afflictions of
other people, a part of their suffering stays with him for a little while—just until his body can
fight it off.”

    “Wow,” Thornapple said in amazement, “my dad would love to meet you.”

    “Perhaps… someday.”

    A sudden burst of blue light flashed around them as the ship entered a large
portal.

Chapter 29
    

    

    Imperial City, located on Paraworld Seven, was breathtakingly huge. Nestled
within the network of tall buildings stood the royal palace, looking far different—ancient,
even—from the futuristic buildings that surrounded the tranquil spot of land. Simon, Thornapple,
and Har sat nervously on a bench. They were all dressed in fresh clothing and were feeling
extremely out of place—especially Har, who wore a white shirt and a tie for the first time in his
life. Har couldn’t stop rustling in his seat as dignitaries and politicians passed by.
Paratravelers from all over were discussing the recent events, and more than once, someone
recognized Simon from his picture on the front-page news.

    Then, from at the end of the long hallway, came a vision of loveliness,
walking with a bald man at her side. The teenagers became speechless as Tonya and her father
approached.

    “This makes me so mad,” they heard her father say. His stubs of hair turned
red.

    “It’s okay, Daddy,” Tonya responded. “I’m not ready to advance to the next
level anyway.”

    “But a whole year—wasted!” he said. “You’ll be older than everyone
else.”

    She smiled as all three boys stood up with gaping mouths. “I don’t think
that’ll be a problem.”

    “What happened to your hair?” Thornapple managed to ask.

    Tonya played with her shoulder-length hair and said, “Oh, I decided I needed
a change. Besides, those stupid disks in the cave hacked it all up anyway.”

    “It looks nice.”

    “Looks nice,” Har repeated.

    Thorn nudged Simon in the shoulder, which brought him out of his daze.
“Beautiful,” Simon blurted. Tonya blushed, as did her hair.

    “So is this your father?” Thornapple asked.

    “Yes,” Mr. Doyle answered, shaking their hands briskly. “It looks like my
daughter has grown attached to you three… even to the point where she’s willing to be held back
in school because of you.”

    “
Daddy,
” Tonya scolded.

    “Well, at least she’s safe. Shall we?” he said, opening the door for
them.

    The darkness in the spacious room gave Simon an eerie feeling. He looked up
and saw thousands of empty seats. They were in some sort of coliseum.

    Mr. Doyle left the teenagers in the center of the room and joined the adults,
who sat behind tables. Simon could make out Tabatha’s long white hair in the dim light. She was
sitting next to Griffen.

    An older woman arose. “My name is Cassandra Vaylen. On behalf of the royal
family, I would like to express our gratitude to you for helping to save our city.” The teenagers
beamed. “Please accept these medals in your honor.”

    She snapped her fingers, and four decorative awards materialized in the air
in front of them. The teenagers took the medals and placed them around their necks.

    “Simon, Thornapple, and Har,” she said, her voice turning somber. “We’d like
to now discuss your requests to attend Imperial School of Magical Learning. Though it is
irregular for us to accept new applications after the deadline—”

    “Highly irregular,” one of the prominent-looking men spoke up.

    “Leander,” Lady Cassandra said sternly. “Please.”

    “Sorry, my lady.”

    “As I was saying,” she continued. “I think we can make an exception in your
case.”

    “Quite right,” an elderly man said, standing up. “Let me introduce myself. My
name is—”

    “Ezra Bromwell!” came Holo’s excited voice from within Simon’s shirt pocket.
The old woman appeared in the air without any coaxing from Simon.

    “Holo-649,” he said in astonishment.

    “I can’t believe it’s really you,” she cried. “You were just a baby, last I
saw you.”

    “I was 241 years old.”

    “Amazing. Simply amazing! And you’re still kicking after all these years? I
didn’t expect you to live past five hundred—with your wild ways and all.”

    A surprised look appeared on Tabatha’s face. Griffen raised an eyebrow.

    The old man blushed. “Well, I have matured a bit since those days. Tell me,
what are you doing with these children?”

    “Simon’s my new master. I’ve been locked to his DNA.”

    “Interesting,” he said. “Very interesting indeed.”

    Leander Payne scowled. “I hate to interrupt your little reunion, but I have a
school to run. May we continue with the proceedings?”

    “Yes, of course,” Councilor Bromwell said.

    “I’ll talk to you later,” the old holographic woman said with a wink. “We’ll
do lunch sometime.” At that, she disappeared.

    “Children,” Ezra Bromwell said, “I am the committee chairman for the school.”
He looked over at Principal Payne and added, “Which means, I have the final say regarding who is
admitted and who is not.” He turned back to the teenagers. “That being said, you must still
convince us that you are worthy to attend.”

    “Oh, they’re worthy,” Tonya said.

    “Thornapple Troodle,” one of the committee members called, looking over a
piece of paper. “I see here that you have no magical background… at all. In fact, no one on your
planet has performed magic for over a thousand years. What do you possibly have to offer the
school?”

    Thornapple stood as tall as he could and said, “Well, I may not be very good
with magic, but I bet I’m smarter than any of the students attending your school.”

    “Really?” asked an old woman in disbelief. “Tell me,” she said, “are you
familiar with story problems?”

    A flat screen appeared in the air, showing a long page of text.

    “I’ll get you some paper and a pencil,” she said.

    The old woman reached for her handbag but stopped when Thorn announced, “3.14
hours.”

    “What?”

    “It’ll take Mrs. Redlock 3.14 hours to reach her grandmother—assuming she
doesn’t stop for a snack or a bathroom break.”

    Leander Payne whipped his head around to examine the story problem. Simon
hadn’t even read through the first sentence before Thornapple had answered it.

    “Well, Mr. Troodle,” the old woman cooed, “very impressive. Maybe you do have
a place at our school. Our academic scores are not exactly up to par with the other
schools.”

    “But this is a school of
magical
learning,” Principal Payne argued. “Academics are secondary. If he’s not magically
inclined, then I don’t think we can accept him.”

    “Wait,” Tonya exclaimed. “I’ve seen Thorn perform magic. He saved his entire
paraworld by casting a spell.”

    “And what spell was that?” Leander asked with an unpleasant smirk.

    “The Foonati spell,” Thornapple answered uncertainly.

    Several of the council members laughed, but Councilor Bromwell intervened
with a bit of wisdom. “Even the greatest event is preceded by a series of smaller steps.” He
cleared his throat and continued, “Though, I must admit, the Foonati spell is one of the most
basic of spells.”

    “What is your relationship with Har?” one of the committee members probed. “I
see you’ve submitted an application for him, but it doesn’t appear that he has anything to
contribute to the school.”

    “Well, he’s my… uh… he’s my—”

    “Body-guard,” Har said slowly.

    “Yeah, he’s my bodyguard.”

    “You have need of a bodyguard?” Leander Payne asked suspiciously.

    “I am pretty small.”

    “Hmm.” Councilor Bromwell pondered. “Tell me, son, what is the nature of the
collar around your
bodyguard’s
neck?”

    “It’s a… well… it’s a security collar.”

    “For what purpose?”

    Thornapple looked at the ground and mumbled, “To enforce obedience upon the
wearer.”

    Several members of the council gasped at his response.

    “Slavery is strictly forbidden,” Lady Cassandra said. “Not just here but in
all the paraworlds under our command.”

    “Har’s not a slave anymore. He’s my friend.”

    “Then you wouldn’t mind if we removed that collar?” asked Lady
Cassandra.

    “
NO!
I mean, yes—I would mind. He’ll die if you remove that collar. It’s specifically
engineered to secrete a synthetic enzyme that inhibits his brain capacity. A side effect is that
his body now craves that enzyme. His brain would literally shut down without it.”

    “Very disturbing,” Leander Payne noted. “And this is the paraworld you
represent?”

    “My world is changing. That’s why I’m here: to help my people get a different
perspective on life.”

    “If that’s so, then why did you bring your servant with you?” asked Principal
Payne bluntly.

    “To protect him,” Thornapple admitted. “My people have been forced to
readjust their thinking. It’ll take time before they learn to treat everyone as equals. If you
sent Har back to Pudo, he’d probably get exiled to the mines.” The little boy looked up at Ezra
Bromwell and begged, “You have to believe me, sir. Most of the security features on his collar
have been disabled anyway. I can’t even control him anymore… I mean, not that I want to.”
Thornapple tried to take his foot out of his mouth. “I don’t want to control him… and I can’t…
even if I wanted to.”

    “How compassionate of you,” Principal Payne said mockingly, “but our school
is not a refuge.”

    “I beg to differ,” Councilor Bromwell countered. “The paraverse is in
conflict, and the Raiders instill fear in the hearts of many, but our students take comfort in
the knowledge that, here, they can leave the troubles of the paraverse behind. Is this not then a
refuge?”

    “You’re mincing words.”

    Lady Cassandra raised her hand. “Gentleman, we will discuss these matters
later. For now, let us continue with the interview.”

    “I, for one,” said another man, “would like more information about Simon
Kent. I’ve never heard of this
Earth
you come from. What is its numerical designation?”

    Simon frowned and said, “We’re not aware of magic on my planet, let alone the
paraverse. Until Tonya came, I’d never even seen magic before.”

    “So there are E.M. waves on your paraworld, but nobody has ever discovered
how to use them?”

    “Oh, yeah—there’s lots of E.M. waves on his planet,” Tonya answered in
Simon’s behalf. “More than anywhere else, I’d say. For an hour, I felt like the most powerful
sorcerer in the paraverse.”

    Some of the committee members chuckled, but Councilor Bromwell froze like a
statue. Griffen turned his head and whispered something to Ezra that made the old man’s
expression grow even more solemn.

    The ultramage spoke. “In a normal entrance exam, the applicant would be asked
to perform certain magical spells to demonstrate his or her skills. Simon, I have been told that
you have a unique talent with magic. I would like to see what you can do.”