Portal Combat (15 page)

He rolled his eyes. "You wouldn't."

"You wanna try me, football?"

Travis grunted. "Fine. What do you want me to talk about?"

"Anything other than the GHA or how you tried to punch Dhiraj in the face."

"Hey, Travis, remember when your cult gave Ted's mom second degree burns and you and your friends cornered me in the bathroom?"

Natalie peered out from behind her menu and gave Dhiraj the evil eye. She'd been to O'Malley's multiple times with her family, but on this visit the lighting seemed dimmer, the laughter from the conversations around her more ominous.

Dhiraj ignored her glances and stared straight ahead at Travis, despite Jennifer's efforts to get his attention.

"I hear the chicken is good." Jennifer pulled on Dhiraj's shoulder. "Are you gonna get the chicken?"

Dhiraj gave one last stare to Travis before he nodded to his girlfriend.

Natalie heard Travis' breathing pick up its pace. She put her hand on his leg and held it steady, hoping its presence would calm him.

"They aren't my friends anymore." Travis looked back at his menu. "I think I'll get the chicken, too."

Dhiraj grumbled. "Fine, I'll get the fish."

"Seriously?" Natalie put down her menu and crossed her arms. "Are you really not going to get the chicken because he got the chicken?"

This series of evil eyes she gave seemed to make a little progress on wearing down Dhiraj's angry veneer.

His eyes darted away from her. "It did look good."

Natalie shook her head. "Can we talk about something else?"

Jennifer presented the date's first smile. "Great idea. Are you excited for Southern Ohio?"

"Of course," Natalie said. "Christina says there'll be some debauchery."

The comment piqued Travis' curiosity. "Really?"

Dhiraj sneered at Travis, but the other three ignored him. Particularly Natalie.

"So she claims." She tapped her menu on the tabletop. "I'm probably just going to watch." Natalie gripped Travis' thigh. "Probably."

After a several second lull, Jennifer piped back up.

"And Travis, what're your college plans?"

Travis looked at Natalie as if he was unsure he was allowed to participate. She glared at him until he started speaking.

"A lot of it comes down to football. If I don't get a scholarship, I might not go."

Natalie narrowed her eyes. "This is the first I'm hearing of this."

Travis chuckled. "That's because we don't usually talk that much."

"Ugh." Dhiraj made a face like he'd just eaten rotten eggs. "This is not dinner table conversation."

Natalie was getting the hang of ignoring Dhiraj. "So you might not go to school?"

Travis scratched the side of his head. "My parents don't really have any money saved up. I kind of need a full scholarship if it's gonna happen. It's not like I haven't been planning for this for years."

A waiter came by and took their orders. All four of them got the chicken. Natalie leaned down on her hand and rubbed at her temple. She couldn't believe she'd been dating someone for several months without knowing something so important.

After giving the final order, Dhiraj creased his forehead.

"What do you mean, you've been planning this for years?"

Travis cleared his throat. "You know. When I dropped all those honors classes freshman year. I wasn't in the top 10 percent of smart kids like you and Ted. I had a better chance of getting money for college if I focused on football. So that's how I've spent all of high school."

Natalie had essentially known she'd be getting a full ride for the last few years. But, if something had ever happened, she knew her parents would be able to pay for her education. She couldn't imagine what it would feel like to be financially dependent on her hoops skills. And anything she could come up with felt scary.

Judging by the silence, Jennifer and Dhiraj didn't know how to respond, either. Travis took the opportunity to continue.

"It sucks, though. I had good friends in those classes, but not anymore. And half the football team was in the GHA. Ever since I gave Ted that tape and got Cobblestone locked up… I'm not exactly their favorite person. Now I've got nobody."

Travis shifted away from Natalie and stood up. "Maybe it was a bad idea to do this. I'll walk home."

Natalie reached for Travis, but she wasn't the first to get to him. Dhiraj stood up and used his arm to block Travis from leaving.

"Wait, man." Dhiraj let out a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I didn't know about all of that."

"It's ok. I'm sorry for trying to beat you up and everything the GHA did."

Dhiraj nodded. "Why don't you stick around?"

"You want me to stay?"

"Want is a strong word."

Jennifer socked Dhiraj in the side.

"Ow!" Dhiraj rubbed at the forming bruise. "What I'm trying to say...." He looked at Natalie. "Maybe if we talk it out, I can figure a way for you to go to college with a partial scholarship."

Travis gave Dhiraj a dubious look. "You'd do that for me?"

Dhiraj looked back in her direction. "If Natalie's willing to give you the benefit of the doubt… then so am I."

Natalie realized she was holding her breath and let it out all at once. Travis smiled at her and extended his hand to Dhiraj.

"Thanks."

Dhiraj hesitated but eventually accepted the gesture. "You're welcome."

Everybody sat back down, and the next three hours were much lighter in comparison. As Natalie watched Dhiraj and Travis laugh together, she let all the tension melt out of her.

This is how it's supposed to be. 

She looked across the table at Jennifer, who raised her eyebrows and smiled. Natalie grinned back.

One more year. And it's gonna be a good one.

Chapter 25

Yoshi watched as Erica stared back at her parents' house. She looked every bit the teenage girl whose body she inhabited. He could hardly believe she'd bested him during their bedroom tussle. Yoshi wondered if Erica had felt the same attachment to the people around her when she died in Kikuchiyo's body so many years ago. After all this time, a part of her was still the best friend he ever had.

Yoshi pulled the car out onto the highway. "You've gotten soft."

Erica chuckled. "Can I blame it on being a teenage girl?"

Yoshi had gone years without hearing a single joke, but the last couple of weeks was starting to warm him back up to humor. He almost smiled. "No."

Erica looked at her phone before tucking it away. "I was part of a family, Yosh. If it hadn't been for the attacks, I might've kept up this lie for good."

Yoshi had been beside Kikuchiyo's body when the protector crossed over into his friend's life. There was no need for keeping secrets among the members of the Academy. They knew all there was to know about the Realm of Souls and the ongoing war. Yoshi's mind went back to the battle that pulled them apart. He thought of flames, blades of ice and the charred flesh of his dearest friend.

"Do you remember Japan well?"

Erica leaned her head back into the chair. Yoshi still hadn't gotten over the fact that this skinny teenager held the memories of over a dozen lives.

Yoshi felt Erica's eyes upon him.

"The memories of my other lives come in and out of this one." She took a deep breath. "Ever since you came here, I'm remembering a lot more from Japan. You fought well that day."

Yoshi felt the regret bubbling up to the surface. "Not well enough to save you."

Erica leaned her elbow against the passenger side window. "I was there to protect all of you. By sacrificing my life to save others, I achieved my mission. It's part of the job description."

Yoshi stared out at the cars ahead of him. "I knew you'd return in another form. I thought the only way I'd ever see my friend again was if I was chosen as the living soul." His blood simmered. "But Ted received the power. Not me."

Yoshi glanced over at Erica. He could tell she weighed her words carefully before responding.

"The light souls chose well with Ted. They would've chosen well with you, too."

Yoshi looked back at the road. "Who would you have chosen?"

Erica smiled. "Thankfully, I'm not involved in such high-level decisions."

Yoshi let out a small laugh. It felt good to do so.  

Erica cleared her throat. "So, what'd the school think of you leaving?"

Yoshi thought about his dozens of requests to leave the Academy and the equal number of refusals. He remembered the crimson that covered his blade after he'd slit the throats of two Academy guards. He'd wiped the sword on fresh snow before he took a path along the side of a slick mountain to get away undetected.

"They begged me to go. They knew my skills could help your mission."

Erica nodded. "We're glad to have you on board." She turned on the radio and blared music for the rest of the afternoon.

Later that night in the room of a four-star hotel – Erica's parents wouldn't have permitted anything less – Yoshi watched as his friend emerged from the bathroom. He wondered what he would have thought if Kikuchiyo had come before him wearing all pink with a suggestive phrase printed on the backside.

Erica took the toothbrush out of her mouth. "What?"

Yoshi realized he was staring. "It's nothing."

She finished brushing and spat into the sink. "I know. I'm a girl." Erica began speaking in Japanese. "But remember, I'm also an old friend. I'm glad we can take this journey together."

Yoshi grinned. "Me, too."

After Erica fell asleep, Yoshi took a long walk out on the balcony. The warm air reminded him of the Academy's heat training room, where they would fight with sweat dripping from head to toe. Yoshi wiped some perspiration from his brow just as his phone buzzed against his thigh. Yoshi noted the familiar number and walked far out of earshot of their hotel room.

"Yes?" He paced in the parking lot. "Everything's going as scheduled." Yoshi nodded as if the person on the other side could see it. "I won't let you down, Senator Kable. Goodnight." 

Yoshi hung up and looked into the sky. "It won't be long now. I'll have Kikuchiyo. I'll have the power." He looked back at the door to his hotel room. "And there's only one person who can stop me." 

Chapter 26

Ted brushed the dirt off his clothing and felt the sting of sweat pouring into another unwashed cut. His bleeding arm pulsated, but he did his best to ignore the pain and dizziness. He tried to levitate himself off the ground to see if his powers were still blocked. Ted strained his muscles and visualized himself soaring through the air. Despite his best efforts, his feet stayed firmly planted.

Back to average.

One of the Lychos let out a large growl and swiped in Allison's direction. Ted couldn't see her clearly in the darkness, but he heard the pop of her tranquilizer gun. A yelp of pain shot through the forest as a dart made a direct hit. But as with the first creature, the substance inside the dart seemed to make little difference.

"Ted!" Allison ran further away from the beasts, darts shooting over her shoulder as she went.

Ted dashed off in her direction.

Think. What would Erica tell me to do?

Ted passed by a three-foot long tree branch.

She'd say to use my surroundings.

Ted whistled as loud as possible. One Lychos turned around, and then the other. As the moon reflected off the hairy beasts, Ted could see three darts sticking out of one and five out of the other.

She is one hell of a shot.

Ted waved the stick in the air. "Hey, puppies. Good puppies."

Ted watched as the creatures' eyes followed the stick. "Just like big dogs. Let's see if they like to fetch!"

Ted tossed the branch in the opposite direction. The two creatures watched the piece of wood as it made an impact with the ground. Then they looked right back at Ted.

"It was worth a try."

Ted started to run, and the Lychos immediately gave chase. He placed each footstep as carefully as he could, knowing that one trip could result in death by giant dog. Ted's heart pounded and he could feel his lungs being pushed to the limit. The crisp, green smell of the trees was quickly being replaced by sweaty fur and dog breath. The growling and barking sounds behind him grew louder as he dashed through a patch of trees that were closer together. Ted sidestepped through them and looked behind him. The Lychos slowed down, unable to squeeze between the trees as Ted had.

Ted grinned as his chest heaved. "Looks like we need to put you guys on the diet dog food."

As the Lychos unveiled their claws, a sound like a perfect sword coming out of its sheath rang through the woods. They sliced several trees at once, clearing a path for themselves in just a few moments.

"Next vet visit, we're clipping those nails." Ted went back to running and spied the clearing in the forest from earlier. As the Lychos gave chase, he knew he couldn't keep this up forever. His heart was beating even faster than it had during his multi-state flight.

Ted reached the railroad tracks and heard a train whistle in the distance. He spied a faint white light that was getting brighter with every passing second. The Lychos exited the forest with a snarl and looked around for Ted. Seeing them outside of the tree cover made the creatures look even more intimidating. Their legs and teeth were twice the size of anything he'd ever seen on TV. It was something straight out of a nightmare.

Ted heard the train whistle again and stepped off the track. "This is where I make my last stand."

He pounded his hands together and screamed as loud as he could. The Lychos both jumped at the noise before realizing it was just the diminutive hero headed in their direction. One creature swiped at him, but Ted kicked his paw away. He rolled forward and kicked again with all his might. His shoes made impact with the beast's knee, causing the Lychos to fall forward. Ted jerked his body to the side to avoid being crushed.

The other beast immediately leapt on top of Ted. He gripped the creature's wrists to avoid being sliced. As it snarled in Ted's face, he wondered if he'd ever smelled something so putrid. It was like a landfill mixed with a gas station toilet.