Chapter 5

The Staff

“What do you mean, ‘breached’? What happened?”

“Get away from the window! Now!”

“Matthew, I’m raising the alarm for the Academy.”

The three adults, sans Matthew, were all authoritative and clipped with every action. Raymond grabbed his sister and Meredith could feel the yank on her collar, tossed behind the desk with Eddie, Emil and Vivian. Matthew pushed them to the side, protecting them from whatever unseen menace was out there. Unda was the first to leave the room, pushing into Emil’s mother before she could vanish. Raymond unsheathed his blade, listening intently to the conversation right across from him.

“We’re unsure. We were monitoring the airspace, when the temperature suddenly dropped and the barrier disappeared. Minister, there are two skyships in the area, not marked as Corps or Lacardia.” The news was concerning for the woman, her breath audible from her nostrils.

Meredith craned her head around Matthew’s figure, though her teacher attempted to push her back. The window suddenly shattered into the room, the cold now locking their limbs. From the little she could glean in her position, she could definitively tell the state of the wind core, unmoving. Raymond had seen it, too, as had the minister, both looking in its direction.

“No need to figure out how. I have our answer,” she said. The man on the other end of the tablet said nothing, waiting for any orders that woman might give. “Send units one through three to the Academy. Units four through six should be scattered around for the populace. Captain, can your Guardians-”

“Leave whatever needs to be done to us. We have our honor and reputation on the line.”

Whatever further agreement the two were coming to, Meredith didn’t know nor care. Rubbing her arms up and down, she inched past Matthew. He tried grabbing her back, but she was unrelenting in her approach of the window. With the glass gone, more was visible. The students had fled, and those that hadn’t were stuck in place, the ice droplets coating their pants or legs. Every part of the courtyard had turned into a winter wonderland of unceasing beauty and horror.

“How did they manage to get so close to the magic core without us noticing…?” Emil’s mother expressed, shaking her head with disappointment.

“They might not have needed to,” Raymond answered. “Between cloaking and the fact this looks more like an area spell…”

“Yes, captain, I’m aware of what an area spell looks like. This is magnitudes higher than a simple spell. The only people on this level are Unda and Matthew inside Lacardia.”

“You’re not saying I’m under suspicion, are you?” Matthew asked in shock. Emil’s mother must have dismissed the notion, but Meredith didn’t hear it. The sun over the courtyard slowly became dimmer, a shadow cast over the area and turning it yet colder. Eddie was at her side, his breath frosting.

“I know this feeling…” she whispered to him and he nodded. Though they hadn’t seen it in action, the very aura that had exuded from that woman was palpable. It was hardly the biggest threat, though, because more shadows were falling, and these were distinctly humanoid. “Get down!”

The shots fired quickly. Rocks, magical energy, light and other peppered projectiles of random magic puncturing the wall of Matthew’s room. He had ducked low, bringing Vivian and Emil with him while he did. Meredith and Eddie remained crouched under the window pane, Raymond joining them. Emil’s mother had retreated to the far side of the room, screeching commands into her tablet.

A crunching was heard, and Meredith could sense the souls that were approaching. She didn’t even need to see the black cloaks to know just who had arrived.

“Sorry, Mr. Matthew. I need your desk,” Emil could be heard saying. Matthew grunted, followed by the sound of cracking wood as his desk was lifted from the floor. With a noise of exertion, Emil sent the gravity of the desk hurtling forward. The cries indicated it had found its mark, the sound of fluttering paper and thundering books almost overriding them. “You’re up, guys!”

“Burning Arrow!” Eddie stood, his hands outstretched. Fire bloomed in the air, creating separate arrows of flame that were sent into the courtyard. They peppered whoever was there, and then were knocked over by Eddie thrusting his palm forward. The wind slapped some of the Order members against the pillars in the courtyard and offered Meredith the opportunity to stand and look out.

The courtyard had become its own warzone. Matthew’s desk was cracked down the middle, its splinters scattered across the ice. Other parts had given way to grass, where Eddie’s arrows had struck, while a number of the familiar black-robed cultists were struggling to stand. The wind core remained frozen. A crunching of glass next to her indicated Raymond getting his own surveyed opinion.

“Eddie, Baroné, you’re with me. Rescue the students in the courtyard, then help me thaw that courtyard out!” he ordered once he’d gotten a good look. Vivian coughed from behind Matthew, throwing off some pictured frames and papers. She caught eyes with Meredith, nodding to indicate that she was okay. Instead of checking on her, Raymond took his own tablet out. “Em, Jay, come in!”

No sound was issued.

“If the Order’s in the courtyard from a skyship, maybe they’re dealing with them?” Meredith suggested. “Wait…”

“Crap…Bruce, Trent, come in!” That got a response. Meredith’s mind, however, was racing faster than she could keep up with it. The Order had arrived by skyship, and had frozen over the entire courtyard. Yet already, the tiny strike force was knocked out. Emily and Jay weren’t responding either…

“Ray, the staff…”

“Yes, get into town, you two. We have an issue on our hands. What’s even going on with the squad?”

Raymond was lost, too busy shouting orders to listen to his sister. Eddie and Emil had climbed over the window, some shards of glass cutting into them in the process. That just left Vivian and Matthew, and the equally shouting Minister Baroné. She was less important as Meredith’s breath slowed. Her Soul Vision expanded, and she could see.

“They’re heading right for the Violent Staff, aren’t they…? The courtyard and elsewhere is just a distraction…” Vivian realized. Meredith nodded slowly, still unheard in the ambient yells. She looked up to her teacher, and his voice echoed with Terrill’s.

“Go.”

No further commands were given. The two girls sprinted from where they stood. Eddie and Emil yelled for them, and Raymond jerked away from his console, but there was no stopping the pair as they kicked through the double doors. A klaxon went off, the alarm whining around the Academy and alerting students to the impending threat. Meredith sped up, her hands finding the Earth-Splitter’s hilt and drawing it. She whipped her head wildly around, Vivian covering her back as they turned.

Unda was nowhere to be seen, but the different pockets of frost throughout the hallway spelled the story of just how far the ice had encroached. If adrenaline hadn’t been pumping through her veins, Meredith was certain she’d be wanting to take a nap. With so much on the line, she and Vivian faced front, sprinting for the entrance hall. The open doors allowed sound to filter from the courtyard and the lawn outside. There seemed to be some semblance of battle, but Meredith couldn’t see a thing, nor was it prudent to look. Their goal was in sight.

The Order had gotten there first.

“You know the extraction point. Lady Winter is waiting.”

“Yes, sir! This is too easy with her on our side!” The three cultists, robed and hunched over, were rubbing their hands in the entrance hall. Their leader, taller and lankier than the rest, had his hands outstretched. The stone around the Violent Staff cracked, breaking off as if pulled by a magnet, straight into the lead cultist’s hands.

Vivian slid along the floor with naught but the briefest of glances, her arrow of energy nocked. A ringing hum became audible within Meredith’s ears. Her friend fired.

“Oof!” The cultist was hit straight in the chest, thrown backwards from the maximum enchantment. The Violent Staff went spiraling upwards, each of the cultists trying to reach it. Meredith tapped her foot, a pillar of stone rising from the floor. She vaulted from it, bounding for the Weapon. Her free hand’s fingers wiggled, attempting to reach the staff. Having her position in the air, she was able to reach it first, only for the staff to be yanked forward, into the hands of one of the cultists. Their heads banged against each other and they fell to the floor, the staff clattering in an almost mundane fashion. “Go, you idiots! For the goddess!”

“Let us return to her side!” the two cultists left standing said. As Meredith recovered, one bent low, swiping the staff and dashing for the exit from the Academy. As if sensing them approaching, the doors attempted to shut in an effort to block them off. The leader of the cultists there passed out, having used what little magical energy he’d had to send the staff to his compatriots. The other cultist groaned before Vivian put him out with a foot to his face.

“You going to lie there all day?” Her brusque comment was answered by Meredith standing and setting off on a run.

The doors were continuing the shut, and Meredith knew how little of a chance to break through they had. She tapped her foot on the floor, apologizing to the faculty at Lacardia for ruining their entrance hall. A stone slope rose up, allowing girls to gain momentum as they skated down it and slid through the doors, tumbling on the further frozen grass. Sounds of the outside were now apparent, as was the chill that surrounded the school. People were frozen, either whole or in place, which made the fleeing cultists all the more obvious. Even the doors were freezing in place behind them once shut.

“Come on, Viv.”

“Don’t order me around.” She still followed. The girls were careful to not have their feet slip on the slick surface. A torrent of fire erupted behind them in the courtyard, and Meredith had to figure that Eddie was getting to work. They had their own quarry, and after a near-stumbling start, the girls began to skate across the frozen grass, unapologetically cutting away some of the flowers as they did so.

The cultists were less graceful, though the one with the staff retained enough presence to keep his forward momentum going, nearly at the edge of the school grounds. Screams were coming from beyond them, ones of both worry and fear. Meredith gripped her sword tighter, and Vivian transformed her bow into a blade to help her maintain balance. They continued to slide right on through, though both girls nearly fell flat on their faces when the frosted grass turned to icy cobblestone.

“Get those forge fires working!”

“What’s going on? Why’d the wind wall fall?”

“Monsters from the sky!”

Meredith pushed up from the ground, tracking the cultists now wending their way through the town before her eyes went up to see the winged beasts, usually contained and manifested by the presence of the magic core, streaming towards the city. Vivian stood.

“Max-strike. Thousand Strikes!” She swung her blade, and from it came numerous shards of light, enchanted air that rippled with each movement. They soared for the creatures, battering them with impunity. “Move, Mera!”

“Catch up when you can!” Meredith bent low and pushed off with her feet, skating once she’d righted herself. She passed the tables of a familiar café, entering the business district, where the cultists were shoving the confused and panicked populace out of the way. She could hear it, the closer she got: Violet’s soul was screaming.

Skreee! A creature from above was descending, and many merchants dove out of the way. Meredith prepared to slash at the creature, only for another figure to come hurtling out of nowhere to punch it in the face. Emily tumbled across the roofs of the buildings there, her red hair fanning out behind her as she struck again. Meredith kept moving, having the object of pursuit in her sights.

Gotta close the distance…Terrill! His soul shined, and Meredith connected. Beneath her feet, the ground howled and then sprung forth. She almost fell off, but once she settled, she realized what had happened: she had created a dragon of stone, soaring through the air. It’s every movement was within her control, and she angled the Earth-Splitter down, right for the cultists. “Soul Scream: Stone Dragon Descent!”

It screamed in the process, and once the Order members saw it, they screamed, as well. Bracing for impact, Meredith leapt off. The dragon’s maw opened wide, colliding with a cultist and sending him flying back towards the chocolate fountain. The other one with the staff was less lucky, as Meredith’s knee hit his neck from behind and sent him rolling until he hit a tree. The staff was once more sent into the air, and this time, Meredith had no trouble catching it without interference.

Long time, Violet.

Unbidden, and unexpected, Meredith found herself back in the Soul Realm, but not just with Violet. Terrill was there, too. Time was frozen, and Meredith’s breath was heaving, but when she looked up, she could see tears in Violet’s eyes.

“Un…Uncle Terrill…is it…is it really you?” Violet uttered, running forward. Her dark red hair bounced, and she threw her arms around the man. He patted her back. “I had feared that your soul was gone…like the other two…”

“Just a temporary setback, Violet. I’m here, now.”

“Someone’s after us.”

“Yes.”

“What do we plan to do? My memory isn’t what it used to be, uncle.”

“No need to worry.” Meredith watched the souls interact, feeling confused. It didn’t help that she was torn between two worlds, as the outside continued to move. Vivian was there, slapping her on the back and saying something, but she wasn’t listening.

“Uh, hey guys, can we have this conversation-”

“Mere-”

Terrill and Violet’s shout was preceded by the cold. Meredith’s legs were numbing up, and she was forcibly yanked from the Soul Realm to focus on her current reality. The chocolate fountain had grown brittle, the cultists from before frozen in its shallow pool. Next to Meredith, Vivian was trying to move, but found herself stuck on the pavement. Meredith found the same about herself, the ice traveling up her legs, almost at her stomach. She coughed, the cold reaching her lungs. Her limbs trembled, holding fast to the Earth-Splitter and the Violent Staff, trying to keep them out of the cold.

Then, she heard the clacking of footsteps.

“Three Weapons, all gathered in one place. How very convenient.” The voice was cold, and Meredith could only remember having heard it once before. It was unmistakable, however, because that very moment had left an indelible mark upon her. Even without their presence, the fear surfaced, and Meredith coughed. She looked up, and there the woman stood. Cold, ice glasses over her eyes, and platinum hair that belied her attitude. Her nails were stretching towards her, demanding. “I’ll be taking them.”

Meredith, you have to move, Terrill shouted. She grunted, but the lock of ice upon her made it impossible for anything more than tilting her head.

I’m kind of frozen here, Terrill…unless you’re telling me your magic can help me here.

He had no such reassurances.

Violet, however, did. But I do. Use me, Meredith. Use my soul.

Meredith managed to turn her eyes, locked on the Violent Staff in her hands. She could feel it burning, that heat radiating from every knot of wood inside it. The Winter came closer and Vivian was screaming for Meredith to do something, unable to break free.

Meredith screamed, too, just not in the way anyone there expected. Her soul and Violet’s made contact, the warmth of fire rushing into her mind and body. Flashes of her life, of happy parents and Terrill, and her younger brother…the regret of not being able to protect him as a big sister should. Then there was the defiance. She was a fighter, and she wasn’t falling here. Her and Meredith became as one.

“Soul Scream: Heat Wave!”

Steam rose, and Meredith felt her limbs moving, breaking free to tap the staff on the stones. The ground glowed red and their vision was obscured as the Winter’s chill was counteracted. Meredith stepped forward, breaking away from the ice, and she swung her blade. Stones rose from the ground and flew for the cold woman. She arched an eyebrow but snapped her fingers to freeze the stones in place.

She didn’t see the ones from behind.

“Mera, let’s run!” The stones, controlled by a heavy force of gravity, pitched the Winter forward, knocking her to the ground. The earth bent and wind rushed through it. Though still frozen, Meredith grinned, recognizing one of Eddie’s spells, and moments later, his hand clasped her own, pulling her forward. Emil had done the same for Vivian, taking them away from the fountain and down a side street towards the residential area. “Ray is cleaning up at the Academy. It’s chaos over there, but I haven’t seen too many other Order members…”

“He sent us ahead. Orders to reach the Defender,” Emil grunted. Meredith could believe that, holding fast to the Violent Staff. Once they had gotten outside of the frost zone, she could breathe again, letting go of her best friend. Vivian slapped Emil’s hand away and began to suck in deep breaths. As they did so, a roar returned to their ears, as if the wall of wind was beginning to reform.

When Meredith looked back, she could see some of the damage done. Trees looked partially withered from being flash-frozen, though her own spell had thawed out more area than she had imagined. Down one of the streets, Bruce and Trent were also seen, standing dumbstruck as the monsters screeched and headed back for the stratosphere. Things were quieter, and Meredith glanced to the Violent Staff, the woman inside it humming gaily, like she was enjoying a good workout. Terrill found it amusing, and Meredith joined in the amusement with a smile.

“Back to the skyship, you said? Do we have permission to take the Viol-”

It was like cold water suddenly doused them. Meredith’s fingers froze up, but not from cold. Tears pricked the corner of her eyes, and everything refused to move. The air had grown stale and silent. Eddie started huffing, clasping at his chest, but trying to remain standing. Emil couldn’t manage even that, vomiting his own saliva. Vivian stumbled, holding to the side of a building for support. None of them could truly know the reason why they reacted so, other than one emotion: fear.

But Meredith…she knew. She could sense them. She could see them.

After everything she’d been through, she thought it wouldn’t have scared her, but that thought was immediately dispelled with the water streaming down her cheeks.

She was still scared.

And they knew it.

“It would seem my priests underestimated you, children,” the voice hissed, every step a menace that controlled the senses. “But they needn’t have worried. I am here now.”

The Reaper was in Lacardia.