The Trials of Ildarwood: Spectres of the Fall Read online

  It was the high-pitched tone shrieking incessantly inside Aiden’s ears that finally stirred him, though he could hear little else. He scanned the forest for any lingering signs of danger, but he could hardly move his body. Then a boy he actually recognized emerged from a path nearby.

  “You all right?” Daevis asked, but Aiden could barely hear him. “Aiden? Hey, look at me. I said, are you all right?”

  Ever so slowly, Aiden’s senses came back to him, just in time for another boy to approach with an Ildarglass sword at the ready.

  “What happened to him?” Jenson asked, walking over to Aiden and inspecting his head and face.

  “No clue,” Daevis replied. “He’s got a little bit of blood on the back of his head, and I’m pretty sure he can hear us, but he’s not sayin’ anything.”

  “That’s probably ’cause he’s in shock,” Darrick explained, limping over with one hand on his stomach. “Where’s everyone else?”

  “Last I saw, they were chasin’ the other Windrunners,” said Jenson.

  “Go help ’em,” Darrick instructed. “I’ll take care of Aiden.”

  “What about Van?” asked Daevis.

  Glancing over at the unconscious boy several yards away, Darrick scoffed, “Don’t worry. He’s not goin’ anywhere for a while.”

  “What’d you even do to him?” Jenson asked before rolling the attacker over with his foot. It was the first time Aiden had been able to see the boy’s face clearly, and the most surprising thing about it was how innocent he appeared without the spectral mask to hide his features.

  “I guess I just lost my temper,” Darrick replied, his eyes deliberately avoiding Aiden’s.

  “Okay, well, call us if they come back for him,” Daevis said before he and Jenson ran off into the woods with their swords ready to attack.

  They had been gone for only a moment when Darrick finally turned his attention back toward Aiden. “How did you do that?” Darrick asked, but Aiden was at a loss for words.

  Limping toward the unconscious boy, Aiden was surprised to find charred splinters of Ildarwood all around him–the shattered remnants of Darrick’s staff.

  “I’m really sorry,” Aiden managed. “I was just tryin’ to help. I . . . I didn’t know it could do that.”

  “That’s just it, Aiden. My staff couldn’t do that. It was made out of Willowood.”

  “So?” Aiden asked, unfamiliar with all but the most common varieties of Ildarwood.

  “Willowood is like Ranewood, only stronger,” Darrick explained. “It’s only supposed to calm people down or put them to sleep. I could never make it do what you just did.”

  “I . . . I’m sorry. I just . . . I don’t know what happened,” Aiden said, his eyes welling up with tears as Darrick knelt down to inspect the fragments more closely. Only once he touched one and recoiled from the resulting shock, though, did he finally seem to understand.

  “I think I do,” he said, though he did not seem eager to continue. “Do you know what Silver is, Aiden?”

  “Yeah. It’s what souls are made of,” Aiden replied, thinking back to his earliest lessons as a child. “They use it to make money and Ildarglass and Goldenfire, right?”

  “Well, yeah, but . . .” Darrick began, but his expression betrayed the conflict raging inside him. Staring off into the woods for a moment, he shook his head with frustration. Then his eyes found Aiden’s once more, and the look of terror he observed upon the young boy’s face left Darrick helpless to hold back any longer.

  “Here’s the thing, Aiden,” Darrick said. “Pretty much everyone has at least a little bit of Silver inside of ’em. Otherwise, they’d just be alive without a soul, like the Broken. But what nobody teaches you until your Trials is that every soul is a little bit different, and most of ’em aren’t just made of Silver . . . They also have at least one of the eight other spectral elements mixed in.”

  “You mean like Goldenfire?” Aiden asked with surprise as he struggled to imagine little fires in people’s chests.

  “Yep,” Darrick answered with a nod. “Why do you think Rennie always gets so mad? It’s all that Goldenfire he’s got stuck inside of him, and no matter how hard he tries to get it all out, his soul just ends up makin’ more of it, so it just sorta builds right back up.”

  In that moment, Aiden suddenly realized why Rennie’s eyes always took on an alarming shade of gold every time he became upset, but he struggled to comprehend the full implications of what Darrick was telling him. “So . . . what? You think I’ve got too much Goldenfire mixed in with my soul too?”

  “Not exactly,” Darrick somberly replied. “I think your soul has a whole different kind of Silver in it–a really rare kind that almost nobody out there knows how to control. They call it Stormspark. It’s kinda like lightning, only different, just like Goldenfire’s different from normal fire. Now, I could be wrong, but if I’m not, then it’d explain why my staff exploded when you used it to hit him, and why my bracer vibrated the second you touched it. My soul and Willowood both have a special type of Silver in them called Kingswash. Think of it like a purple spectral water that can calm people down. The problem is, Stormspark is the spectral opposite of Kingswash, so if you ever try and mix the two, then there’s a pretty good chance they might explode . . . kinda like . . . well, that,” he explained, pointing to all the smoking debris at their feet. “Does any of that make sense?”

  “Yeah, I guess so,” Aiden replied, increasingly unnerved by what Darrick was telling him. “Is havin’ Stormspark inside of me bad?” Aiden dared to wonder, and the moment he saw Darrick wince, he realized that whatever he was about to hear would most certainly not be good.

  “I mean, it can be,” Darrick answered, “but not always. The thing is, Stormspark is by far the most unstable spectral element, so that makes it the hardest one to learn how to control. In fact, I’m pretty sure I only know three other Ildarbound who definitely have Stormspark inside of ’em, and all three of ’em are so messed up that the Preceptors might end up havin’ to Break ’em or send ’em away if they can’t figure out how to stop hurtin’ people really bad every time they get upset.”

  “So . . . you think I’m dangerous?” Aiden asked, beginning to panic even more.

  “No, no, no! I didn’t say that,” Darrick answered, desperate to reassure Aiden without actually making contact with the trembling boy. “I’m just sayin’ you need to be careful. If you really do have Stormspark inside of you and everyone finds out, most of ’em are gonna end up bein’ really afraid of you, and the last thing you want out there is to end up alone, ’cause that just makes the Trials a whole lot harder.”

  “Great,” Aiden replied, terrified that such an outcome would only give everyone else one more reason not to be friends with him. “Isn’t there anything I can do to stop it?”

  “You are the way you are, Aiden. You can try to hide it, but sooner or later, everyone’s gonna find out.”

  “So what should I do?” Aiden asked, more desperate by the minute.

  “Whatever it takes to keep it under control,” Darrick replied. “Once the Preceptors figure out what you are, you’ll get branded just like the rest of us.” Showing Aiden the back of his right hand, he revealed another Ildarglass symbol–this one affixed to a thick leather flap at the top of his bracer. “This is how the Preceptors make sure everyone knows you can do things with one of the spectral elements that most of the other kids can’t.”

  “Wait! Does that mean you can do stuff with Silver too?” Aiden asked, suddenly finding some small glimmer of hope.

  “A few things,” Darrick answered. “This symbol means I’m a Serenite, and the light purple color shows people I know how to soothe souls.”

  “How?” Aiden dared to inquire.

  “Like this,” Darrick replied. Reaching out, the older boy reluctantly placed the tips of his fingers on Aiden’s chest. A sub
tle vibration followed, then Aiden could not deny the overwhelming sense of calm that somehow instantly washed over him. “Feel better?”

  “Yeah, a little bit,” Aiden answered, wiping the shimmering tears from his cheeks.

  “The most important thing to keep in mind is that every single one of the spectral elements can be used to hurt people in the wrong hands, even Kingswash. But in the right hands, they can be used to do all sorts of incredible things . . . including some things you never even dreamed were possible. It all depends on the person, and if there’s anyone I know who can figure out a way to use Stormspark to make good things happen, it’s you.”

  “Thanks,” Aiden managed, his heart still comforted by the serenity of Darrick’s momentary touch.

  “You’re a good kid, Aiden, and you’ve got a good heart. Just promise you won’t let the Trials change that, okay?”

  “I’ll try,” Aiden said, not entirely convinced he could actually succeed.

  “I have faith in you,” Darrick replied. “Now, you should probably head back home before any more of Van’s friends come lookin’ for you. Just don’t tell anyone what I told you, okay? You’re really not supposed to know any of this before your Trials start, but I just couldn’t live with myself knowin’ you were goin’ out there unprepared for at least one of the challenges you’re gonna have to face.”

  “Thanks, Darrick,” Aiden mumbled, heartbroken that he might not see the older boy again, especially after Darrick had saved him so heroically from the strange boy still lying unconscious nearby. “So, what’s gonna happen to him?”

  “We’ll have to have the Asterguards come pick him up. Now that he’s been expelled from the Trials, his life is pretty much over. The Asterguards will make sure of that.”

  “But he’s still so young,” Aiden noted, inexplicably sympathetic, if only for a moment.

  “In the Ildarwood, even kids can be dangerous.”

  For the entire walk back to his house, all Aiden could think about was the lessons he had learned that day. Where before he had been looking forward to the Trials, the things he had seen and heard since escaping into the forest that morning had all but dashed any lingering hopes he had once had about his forthcoming time in the Ildarwood turning out to be a long but exciting adventure.

  Then one final knot took shape inside his stomach when he arrived, at last, at the edge of the forest behind his house, for that was when he realized for the very first time that he would still need to sneak back into the house undetected if he wanted to avoid his mother’s wrath. For several moments, he stood there, lurking in the shadows and desperately thinking of a plan while kicking himself for not thinking of that very problem before he had left.

  It was in that moment, though, as a deep and sudden panic began to set in once more, that a subtle rustling in the bushes nearby caught Aiden’s attention, nearly stopping his heart with fear. Crouching down to reach for the nearest sturdy greenwood stick he could find, he prepared to unleash all his flailing might upon whatever dangers might await him within. Only then did his younger brother finally reveal himself, leaping out of the brush with his hands in the air while shouting, “Wait, wait, wait! It’s just me!”

  Dropping the stick and clutching at his heart, Aiden was hardly relieved by the revelation. “Seriously, Torrie? What are you doin’ out here?”

  “Lookin’ for you,” Torian timidly replied.

  That was when a sudden pang of terror shot through Aiden like an arrow. “Wait,” Aiden said, his face turning pale. “Exactly how long have you been out here lookin’ for me?”

  “A while,” Torian mumbled while looking down at the ground.

  “How long’s a while?” Aiden pressed, his heart now racing.

  “Ever since you left.”

  “What?” Aiden shrieked as the implications of those four words began to sink in. “What’d you see?”

  “Nothin’,” Torian replied, though Aiden knew better than to ever trust that answer.

  “Seriously, Torrie. I need you to tell me exactly what you saw.”

  “Nothin’!” Torian answered once again, this time more firmly than before.

  “Torrie, please! If Mom finds out what happened, she’s gonna kill us.”

  But Torian had no response for his older brother. All he could do was stare down at his feet and hope for a swift and sudden end to their uncomfortable conversation.

  “You know what? Never mind,” Aiden said finally. “You couldn’t keep a secret even if you wanted to.” And without another word, he stormed back into the house and locked himself in his room to await his inevitable punishment.

  When Evalina returned home from work that night, she wasted no time prying off her shoes before collapsing into her favorite rocking chair. It was a routine her boys knew all too well, and it was always followed by them welcoming her home with eager hugs and lots of kisses. Then, just as soon as she was sufficiently reminded of just how much she was missed, she would line them up in front of her and ask, one at a time, what they had been up to while she was gone.

  “Nothin’,” Rennie replied as calmly as ever. “I had to stay here and keep an eye on Aiden, so that kinda killed my plans to go out and practice with all my friends.”

  “Well, I appreciate your doin’ that for me,” Evalina replied. “Did he behave while I was gone?”

  “Uh, he tried to sneak out at one point, but I caught him and sent him back.”

  “Good. And did you learn your lesson, Aiden?”

  “Yes, Mom,” Aiden begrudgingly replied.

  “Good. Now, apologize to your brother.”

  “Sorry, Torrie,” Aiden mumbled.

  “Thank you. Now, give each other a hug.”

  “Seriously?” Aiden protested, eliciting a glare from his mother. “Okay, fine,” he finally conceded, embracing his brother for as brief a time as possible.

  “There we go,” Evalina said with a satisfied smile. Then last came Torian, her baby boy. “How was your day, sweetie?” she asked, more lovingly than either time before.

  “Good,” Torian answered in a soft, cooing tone.

  “What did you do today?”

  “Nothin’.”

  “Nothin’? Did your brothers behave while I was gone?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Aiden swore.”

  “What? Aiden!” Evalina shouted as Aiden’s jaw hit the floor.

  “I . . . I did not! He’s lyin’!”

  “Do you wanna know what word he used?” Torrie asked innocently. “It was a really bad one.”

  “Oh, for the Heavens’ sake, no! I don’t want you to repeat it. I just . . . Aiden! You know how I feel about swearing. Go back to your room right now, and don’t come out until I say so.” Then, turning her attention toward Rennie, she added, “And you go too.”

  “What? Why? What’d I do?”

  “You were obviously tryin’ to cover for him, so you’re grounded too.”

  For a moment, the two stood there, incredulous, before huffing and stomping up the stairs side by side. It took them both a few minutes to realize that Torian had, in fact, saved them both from getting into any real trouble by confessing to something far less severe.

  Evalina, meanwhile, simply sighed and shook her head as she watched her eldest boys vanish from sight. “I swear, I just don’t know what I’m going to do with those two, but at least one of you is honest with me. Thank you so much for that, sweetie.”

  “You’re welcome,” Torian said, giving his mother a big hug. “Can I please have somethin’ for dessert tonight?”

  “Of course you can! I’ll make you anything you want!”

  “Chocolate cake?”

  At this, Evalina could not help but laugh, for she loved her sweet and innocent boy with all her heart and all her soul. “Okay,” she answer
ed cheerfully. “Do you want to help me make it too?”

  “Yeah!” Torian gleefully replied.

  “But no eating the batter. It’s not good for you, remember?” That was when Torian’s smile turned immediately upside down.

  “Please, Momma!” he begged, melting Evalina’s heart even more than before.

  “Oh, okay, fine, but only on one condition.”

  “Anything for you, Momma!”

  Then Evalina leaned forward, looked deep into his sparkling silver eyes, and said, “I just need you to tell me exactly what those two were really up to while I was gone.”

  IV

  The Troublesome Seeds We Sow

  What’d he do this time?”

  It was a refrain Willen Osombra had grown accustomed to hearing in the years since the riots in Silvermarsh. Yet as he sat there beside three older boys in one of the cold, dark cells of Ranewood’s Astercourt, he simply could not manage to wipe the mischievous grin from his face. And it was not because he was particularly proud of what he had done–far from it. If anything, he was frustrated beyond belief that he had not caused more damage before being arrested.

  No, the true source of Willen’s amusement that night came from his realization that the Asterguard on duty had never before had the privilege of meeting his infamous mother, Harriena Osombra. So it was with endless mirth that Willen sat patiently inside his cell and waited, eager to see the man’s expression the moment true justice was served.

  “I’m afraid we caught him and some of his friends throwin’ stones at the old Barton place, ma’am,” Willen heard the Asterguard explain just out of sight. From his tone, Willen could tell that the man felt sympathy for the poor woman whose son was too difficult to control, no doubt in spite of her best efforts.

  So Willen could imagine the look upon the Asterguard’s face when his mother finally replied. “That’s it? I thought you said this was serious.”