It was late afternoon when I returned to to the cottage on the lake. My bedroom was empty, and when I called out for Clem, there was no answer. Not that that was much of a surprise. She’d probably gone down to get some lunch for herself.

That left me with a few hours until dinner to occupy myself. I looked around the room for inspiration as to what to do next and spotted a scrap of paper on top of my laptop.

“Sorry! I borrowed some of your notebook,” I read to myself. “I got too hungry to wait anymore. Come find me when you get back from your meeting. I want to hear all the gory details!”

I chuckled at Clem’s enthusiasm and boundless curiosity. Then I grimaced when I realized I couldn’t tell her anything about what had happened. My expression deepened into a sincere frown at the thought of how Clem would respond to more secrets. She would dig and dig at whatever I didn’t tell her until I’d want to scream.

It would be awesome to not have to carry around a bunch of secrets.

The fact that I was an Eclipse Warrior.

The fact that what had happened in Singapore wasn’t exactly self-defense.

The fact that the Shadow Phoenixes served the Empyrean Flame as covert operatives.

And, of course, the fact that my clan wanted me to recruit me as one of their secret agents.

Those dark thoughts churned up dark worries from my Eclipse nature and set me pacing the confines of my tiny bedroom. That wouldn’t do. If I didn’t calm down, soon, I’d spend the rest of the day fighting dark urges. It was time to center myself.

I crossed the room, opened the closet, and pulled the Manual of the New Moon off the shelf. I hadn’t had access to the Internet the entire time I’d been on tour. The trainers and handlers hadn’t thought it was a good idea to clutter my mind with current affairs or social media, so I’d spent my nights reading, hanging out with Hank, and working out. I’d been dying to do some research about Eclipse Warriors, and now I finally had a chance.

It took me all of ten minutes to reread what I’d been able to understand from the Manual. Most of the book was just indecipherable to me, and I wasn’t sure what would let me understand more of it. Armed with what the little information I had about the Eclipse Warriors, I turned my attention to the quantic laptop.

The computer was far more advanced than the crappy desktops I’d struggled to use in the labor camp schools. My worry that I wouldn’t understand the operating system turned out to be baseless. The laptop instantly joined with my core when I laid hands on it, and my vision shifted to show me a dark background littered with icons. I mentally selected the browser symbol, and the whole Worldwide Web was at my fingertips.

With the sparse information I had from the Manual of the New Moon as a guide, I was able to research some more information about the Eclipse Warriors and the Utter War. The information I could gather was scattered all over the place and it was hard to verify how much of it was true, but one thing was obvious: the Empyreals had been terrified of the warriors they’d created.

I finally found a report of a battle involving a small squad of Eclipse Warriors that helped to understand why the other clans were terrified of their defenders. It was frustratingly vague, but included a line that filled me with a mixture of excitement and dread.

“Alone and faced with impossible odds, the Warrior made his last stand at the portal. While the Expeditionary Shock Force from the Resplendent Suns retreated from the Far Horizon, the lone Eclipse held the portal against a host of Locust Court warriors for seventy-three hours before reinforcements arrived. Though the name of the heroine of the Dire Portal battle has been lost, her deeds will never be forgotten.”

I tried to imagine that battle and couldn’t see it. Even with a fusion blade and serpents, one Eclipse Warrior would have been torn apart by so many enemies. There had to have been some technique known only to those with an Eclipse Core. Something that would allow them to survive a horde. I made a note to look for that, later, and went on with my research.

After the Dire Portal conflict, the handful of Eclipse Warriors that had remained on Earth were kept on military bases or in research labs. And, then, they’d been betrayed by the people they’d saved.

Frustrated by what little I’d been able to unravel of my real clan’s past, I headed to the bed. I sat cross-legged on the mattress, the Manual in my lap, hands on its cover, and began focused breathing to initiate my meditation.

The process was difficult at first. My Eclipse nature was built for action and didn’t like the quiet introspection of meditation. Even with the Manual nearby, it took me most of an hour to settle into the calm rhythms that pushed jinsei through my core in steady pulses that cleansed my aura and emptied my thoughts of worries and fears. In the darkness behind my closed eyelids, I filled my core a little more with each inhale and exhale cycle. The sacred energy pushed against the walls of my core, swelling it, pushing it to capacity.

My Eclipse nature roused itself and demanded I do something with all that power. It wanted to hunt and kill. There were enemies out there that needed to be destroyed.

Rafael.

Professor Ishigara.

Hagar.

The jinsei I’d gathered during meditation fueled the urge to lash out at those who’d wronged me. Before I could stop myself, I shoved the Manual off my lap and lurched to my feet next to the bed. I’d made it halfway to the stairs before I regained control of my body and froze in my tracks.

“No,” I said, loud and clear. “I’m in charge here, not you.”

My Eclipse nature raged at the words and nearly broke free again. The jinsei at its disposal made it so strong.

With a shout of frustration, I forced the jinsei out of my core and into my body’s channels. I poured it through my aura and into powerful serpents. My fusion blade consumed more of the sacred energy, leaving my core only half full.

That was better. My Eclipse nature receded into the shadows at the back of my thoughts. Satisfied my darker self wasn’t going to rip free of my control and go on a rampage, I banished my serpents and blade and flopped back down on the bed, frustrated and worried.

I’d struggled with this all summer. To advance my core, I had to fill it with jinsei beyond its limits. But when I tried to do that, my Eclipse nature forced its way to the surface. Every time I thought I was close to a breakthrough, I had to break off my meditation and fight back the urge to do something horrible. It was a frustrating cycle that I didn’t know how to break free from.

The problem tumbled through my thoughts as the light of the afternoon sun faded from golden red to the velvet purple of dusk. I was still no closer to an answer and closed my eyes to rest them. Just for a moment…

A shrill bleating exploded next my head. The sound jolted me up right, and I bounced off the mattress and onto the floor in a fighting stance. My Eclipse Core churned inside me, eager to fight off whatever had surprised it. Serpents burst from my core, and my fusion blade appeared in my hand unbidden.

The alarm clock on the nightstand next to the bed unleashed another shrill tone, and I groaned. I’d fallen asleep.

It took me a few moments to figure out how to shut off the alarm clock, by which time I was ready to kill the thing. At least I’d never have to worry about oversleeping and missing class with that obnoxious noise blasting in my ear.

“Five in the morning?” I groaned. Who had set my alarm clock for such an ungodly hour?

A dull booming echoed through the cottage. I went to the front window of the second floor and peered out through the glass. The booming repeated, and a faint flash of yellow-green light washed across the terrain outside my cozy little home. I couldn’t see through the trees, but I instinctively understood the origin of the noise came from someone banging on my door.

“Ugh,” I growled. The rich meal from the day before had left me feeling sluggish. I wanted to crawl back into bed and sleep off the meat hangover.

The booming came again.

“I’m coming,” I grumbled.

I shrugged out of the robe I’d fallen asleep in and crossed to the closet. There were an even dozen sets of robes inside, and I flicked through them to find something suitable.

Three of the robes were long and formal, my name scrivened down the left lapel in glowing thread and the words “School Champion” embroidered down the right lapel. A double string of glossy black buttons ran down the front of these robes from the high-collared throat all the way down to the hemline. Fancy, but impractical.

The next three robes were still long, but the buttons only went down to the waist, and they had a pair of matching black pants, perfect for more casual occasions.

The third set of robes were also opened in the front, with a shorter skirt that would have hit me just above the knees. Rather than buttons, they had a concealed zipper that vanished when they were closed. The pants that went with these were loose-fitting and comfortable, perfect for everyday wear.

The final set hardly qualified as robes at all. They didn’t even have sleeves, and the skirt was so abbreviated, it barely dropped below my waist. There weren’t even buttons or zippers. The super casual robe was made from a fabric so stretchy I could just pull it over my head. The pants were knee length and made of the same material. Those must have been meant for workouts.

A sudden rush of excitement ran through me at the realization of what those were for. I snatched the exercise gear off its hanger, pulled it on quickly, and slipped my feet into the short black shoes on the floor of the closet.

The booming came again, and I rolled my eyes and took off down the stairs. The cottage’s door had no lock, and it didn’t need one. No one could get into my private quarters without going through the dormitory tower’s front door, and that wouldn’t open for anyone but me.

The booming came twice more as I ran across the bridge and wound my way through the forest. The trip back to the dormitory tower was much shorter than the trip to the cottage had been. I wasn’t sure if that was because I was more familiar with the area, or if there was some sort of time and space bending weirdness going on. It wouldn’t have surprised me either way.

“You’re going to make us all late for our first martial arts class,” Eric said when I threw open the tower’s door. “Let’s go!”

Clem and Abi both gave me a sympathetic shrug from behind Eric. I waved at the three of them, stepped into the hall, and the door closed behind me with a sharp click.

“Lead the way,” I said. “Far be it from me to keep anyone waiting.”

Eric took off, and Abi fell in beside him. Clem and I followed the two of them, and she slowed down until a little space had opened between the pair ahead of us.

“Where did you go?” She asked. “I saw the portal suck you away, but not where you went.”

I wanted to be honest with Clem, but the geas would only let that go so far. I mulled over what I could tell her for a moment, then rolled out an abbreviated version of yesterday’s events.

“The portal took me to a fancy meal with the Elders,” I said quietly. “They want me to work for them.”

Eric’s single-minded determination to get to class on time pushed the school’s shifting architecture harder than I’d ever seen it before. We didn’t take a single corner or go down any steps. The hall rearranged itself just ahead of us as we made a beeline from my dormitory tower to the dojo. I filed that little tidbit away for later experimentation. If it was possible to get through the school faster, I wanted to learn that trick.

“What do they want you to do?” Clem asked her eyes wide with curiosity.

“I learned a lot of stuff working for Tycho last year,” I said honestly, then lied. “They want me to do the same sort of stuff for them.”

“Are you going to do it?”

“I don’t know,” I said, which was also the truth. “It would take so much time, and I don’t want to spend another year slaving away. I want to enjoy at least some of my time at school, you know?”

“This is a big opportunity for you,” Clem said, thoughtfully. “Working directly with the Elders of your clan will be a prestigious feather in your cap.”

“Maybe,” I said with a shrug. Everything I did would be a secret. I wasn’t sure how much of a reputation boost that would give me. Still, it would help people, and that was important, even if it was dangerous. I just wasn’t sure what I should do.

“I’m sure you’ll make the right choice,” Clem said. She threw an arm around my shoulders and gave me a quick squeeze. “Oh, we’re here.”

The School’s dojo had an elaborate, arched gateway instead of a door. The wide opening in the stone wall revealed an open floor covered in a soft, somewhat springy material. Older students were already practicing with one another, while the younger upperclassmen had gathered in small groups where they chatted nervously.

While no initiates ever saw the dojo, we’d all heard stories about what went on there, and spotted upperclassmen with bruised faces and bandaged limbs at mealtimes. This room was where Empyreals truly learned how to harness their martial capabilities.

As soon as we passed through the gateway, a gong reverberated through the dojo. A tall man with his long, gray hair pulled up into a topknot entered through a door across the room from us. His robes, like those worn by the rest of us, were clearly intended for comfort and ease of movement. His gaze swept across the fifty students gathered in his domain, then returned to meet mine.

A faint smile quirked his lips, and he gave me a short nod.

“Welcome to the dojo,” the man said. “I am Professor Song, and I’ll be instructing you this semester. Please, form a semicircle around me. I’d rather not shout to be heard.”

The Professor waited until we’d gathered around, then launched into the first class’s teachings.

“You should all be familiar with your aura, serpents, and swords.” He crossed his arms as he spoke and paced back and forth inside the semicircle. “Your aura is your defense against jinsei attacks. Your swords are your most potent offense and will become moreso as your cores advance. Finally, your serpents are the most flexible tool at your disposal, capable of attack or defense, and so much more. My goal for this semester is to help you understand how these three work together to become more than the sum of their parts. Today, we’re going to start by having you integrate your serpents into your defensive maneuvers.”

While all of this was interesting, I’d already covered most of it with Hank and my trainers during the Five Dragons Challenge. While Professor Song explained how to summon serpents quickly, an art I’d mastered weeks ago, my mind drifted back to the conversation with the Elders.

Their offer was an opportunity for me to do real good for Empyreals. Stopping the anti-Flame protestors would make everyone safer and stabilize a society that had been dangerously upended by my actions last year. And, if I did a good job, maybe the Shadow Phoenix Elders would help me find my mother. Now that the danger from defying Tycho had passed, I’d like to bring her in from the cold. She deserved a better life.

There were so many dangers to the job, though. If anyone discovered who I was, they could go after my friends or the school. They might even hunt down my mom to use against me. And then there was the very real danger that someone would discover my Eclipse nature.

I had no idea what I was going to do.

“Now that I’ve explained the concept to you, let’s see it in practice,” Professor Song said. The weight of his attention on my core had dragged me out of my internal. “Mr. Warin, would you care to help demonstrate the use of serpents as a defensive measure with Mr. Vilrose?”

“I’d be honored to be part of your demonstration,” the Disciple of the Jade Flame said as he stepped out of the semicircle and up to Professor Song. “I will be the aggressor.”

“As you wish, honored Professor.” My friends clapped me on the shoulder as I stepped forward. “I suppose I’ll be on defense.”

Everyone chuckled at that, including the professor. He stepped back, letting the Disciple and I square off with one another. It had only been two days since my last fight, and I fell easily into a read stance.

The Disciple’s eyes burned with excitement as he raised his hands and raised his clenched fists to protect his head. Aspects of energy and anticipation flickered in his aura along with a few dark sparks of fear. He was looking forward to his chance to prove himself in front of the rest of the students. If he could land even one punch on the undefeated School Champion, his clanmates would consider him something of a hero.

That wasn’t going to happen.

“Jace.” I offered my opponent my hand.

“Kyle.” He gave my fingers a squeeze but decided not to try to crush my hand when I squeezed back.

“Good, good,” the professor said as he stepped into the space between us. He raised a hand to each of us. “This isn’t a fight, it’s a demonstration. Mr. Kyle, your goal is to strike Mr. Warin at no more than half strength. Mr. Warin, you will defend yourself using only your serpents. Ready?”

We both nodded.

“Begin!” The professor shouted and leaped back.

The Disciple pushed jinsei into his legs to fuel a gliding step that covered the space between us more quickly than I’d expected. More of the sacred energy glowed around his right fist, which was cocked back to his shoulder. The power grew in intensity as he approached until the entire length of his arm shone like polished gold.

That was a lot more than half strength.

My Eclipse core responded to the threat instantly. The Borrowed Core technique lashed out to rats beneath the dojo’s floor. The connections clicked into place easily, and I cycled beast aspects through my core and into my aura with a single breath. My training during the Five Dragons Challenge had made me much more efficient with my use of aspects, and I used the minimal amount I’d gathered to conjure a pair of thin serpents.

The Disciple planted his feet, and his fist rocketed toward my face. The golden glow around his arm shifted to a deep shade of red as he activated a potent striking technique. He grinned with wild glee, sure there was no way my meager defense could block his powerful assault.

My Eclipse nature raged at this unwarranted attack, and my serpents struck without conscious thought on my part. One of them looped around the disciple’s arm, the other speared into his core.

My blood ran cold. It was Singapore all over again.

The Disciple tried to power through the coils of the serpent around his arm. He leaned into his punch, beads of sweat sprouting from his forehead as he poured every ounce of effort he could muster into the attack.

Against most opponents, that might’ve been an effective tactic.

Against an Eclipse Warrior?

It was pointless.

My serpent leeched the jinsei out of his arm’s channels before he knew what had happened. My unique power stripped the aspects from his technique and used them to harden my aura. In the same moment, my other serpent hit his core and began to siphon away the jinsei it found there.

If I didn’t stop it, my Eclipse nature would suck every ounce of sacred energy out of the Disciple. He’d be dead in a heartbeat.

Darkness erupted across my vision. I blinked hard to drive it away and willed my core back into submission. The urge raged against me, hungry for the sacred energy in my opponent. It was confused and hurt by my unwillingness to finish my foe. The Disciple had attacked me, it was my duty to defend myself to the utmost of my ability.

The Disciple gasped and fell to his knees. His face was white, and his eyes rolled back beneath fluttering lids. His breath came in shuddering gasps, and he collapsed onto his face.

I banished my serpents and severed the connection between me and my opponent. Denying the urge sent a shock of visceral pain through my core, and I stumbled away, hands over my face to cover the darkness I knew had flooded my eyes.

“Give me room,” Professor Song shouted.

“It was an accident,” I choked out. “He was going all out. I had to defend myself.”

“Class dismissed!” Professor Song barked.

My heart raced as I pushed my way through the semicircle of students and headed toward the dojo’s door. Clem called my name, and Eric and Abhi echoed her.

I didn’t stop. My control over my Eclipse nature felt weak and uncertain as the stress inside me mounted. Denying the urge had felt like tearing my core in half. I wasn’t sure I could do it again so soon. I needed space.

I didn’t want to kill anyone else.