Talking to Helena didn’t help as much as Felix had hoped. Once she was gone, all he had to keep him company was the weight in his chest. He’d been left alone with more questions than answers and no idea who he could really trust.
After a long, restless night of stumbling through his house in his dreams, he was awoken a final time by gentle rain on his window. Gray light spilled into the room through a gap in the curtains. Felix dragged himself out of bed and threw on a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and his sneakers. Before heading to breakfast, he forced himself to type out a reply to Jace’s text from the night before. I’m okay, I’m with some family. I’ll explain more when I can.
Felix was miraculously able to find his way to the dining hall, which looked to him like a glorified school cafeteria. Sure, there were chandeliers overhead, and the tables had fancy tablecloths, but it was still just a big room of tables packed with people carrying trays of food.
A line formed at the front of the hall, a mix of adults and kids dressed in everything from suits to pajamas. Good. Maybe Felix could avoid drawing attention to himself. He slipped into line at the back.
He was given a tray and the opportunity to pick from the wide variety of food set out. After settling on a scramble of eggs, cheese, peppers, and bacon, along with a mix of berries, Felix found an empty table in the corner of the hall to sit at and pick at his food.
He was lost in thought for what could have been minutes or hours, for all he knew, before someone spoke to him. “Hey, kid, how you holding up?”
Felix glanced up as Sebastian slid into a chair across from him. “Okay, I guess,” he replied. “I talked to my sister last night.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I was able to summon her ghost for a few minutes.”
Sebastian rubbed his chin. “Interesting. You like your room?”
“Yeah.” Felix stabbed a piece of egg and held it up. “I mean, it’s really nice.” The bite went into his mouth, and he was briefly grateful that the food here was delicious. Hopefully, that would make getting used to his new home a little easier.
“So, you’re not too bothered that the king didn’t really give you a choice?”
“Hm?”
“There was never any question about whether or not you would be staying at the castle,” Sebastian said. “It was just a matter of whether they were going to put you in a dorm or a cell.”
Felix swallowed and frowned. “Well, I don’t have any family nearby. I don’t really have anywhere else to go.”
“Sure. But the king didn’t ask.”
“Guess not.” Felix took another bite of eggs. He wondered how much he should let himself trust Sebastian. Kendra seemed to, but Archer certainly didn’t. Then again, Archer hadn’t exactly been the most supportive during the council meeting. Could Felix trust him?
After studying Felix for a long moment, Sebastian changed the subject. “Archer is insistent on supervising our first session, but he’s in meetings until two. In the meantime, you’ll get a tour of the place and meet your one and only classmate.” His gaze moved to something behind Felix. “Oh, there’s Kendra. Kendra!” He waved a hand.
Kendra approached the table and stopped next to Sebastian. “Still want me to take him to the library?”
“That’d be great. I talked to Arisa this morning. She said she could show him around.” Sebastian stretched his arms out. “I have a few other things to take care of in the meantime. Let Arisa know that Archer and I will meet them in the east courtyard at two.”
Felix quickly shoveled the last of his food into his mouth and rose to his feet. “Cool. Let’s go.”
Sebastian smiled as he stood up. A moment later, his expression fell, and he cleared his throat. “Oh, one last thing. The Guardians have set up a funeral for your family. It’s tomorrow morning, at a cemetery near your house.”
“I’ll take you,” Kendra added.
Felix’s stomach dropped. That soon? “Oh. Okay. Thanks.” He felt like he’d been plunged into an ice bath. “I think I’ll need to stop by my house first, if that’s all right.”
“Of course,” Kendra said. “Anything you need.”
It’s not like they’re really gone, he reminded himself as he and Kendra left the dining hall. All he needed was a little practice, and he’d be able to summon them at any time.
“Are you a fan of books?” Kendra asked.
“Uh, some of them,” Felix answered.
Kendra chuckled. “The library’s one of the big draws for some of the students. It spans five floors. My fiancée’s the head librarian. Which reminds me, do you know sign language by chance?”
“A little bit, actually. I took a few years of ASL in middle school. It was my dad’s idea.” Felix paused. “He was really into books.”
“Makes sense,” Kendra said. “Hana’s deaf, so the regular patrons tend to pick up sign language.”
Felix’s lack of confidence in his memory must have shown on his face, because Kendra added, “If you wanted to brush up on it, I’m sure Arisa would be happy to help. She’s Hana’s younger sister. And Hana can read lips pretty well, if needed, and she’ll talk if she’s worried you won’t understand what she’s signing.”
They turned a corner and walked halfway down the next hall. Two open doors led into the first floor of the library. Felix turned in a slow circle as he followed Kendra inside, taking in the stairs that led to the upper levels and the seemingly endless shelves packed with books.
The woman sitting behind the front desk was reading something on her computer monitor. She had a pixie cut of black hair and appeared to be Japanese. Unlike the other Guardians Felix had seen, she wore a simple black dress, though a black uniform jacket hung on the chair behind her. She looked up as Kendra and Felix reached the desk. Her face lit up.
Kendra grinned. “Felix, this is Hana Tamura,” she said. She signed something to Hana.
Hana smiled and waved at him. Turning to Kendra, she lifted her hands and responded with something that started with, “Yes.” Felix didn’t recognize much beyond that.
Kendra nodded. “Arisa’s probably on the third floor,” she told Felix. “Follow me.”
Felix and Kendra went up a couple flights of stairs and entered a maze of shelves. “Arisa!” Kendra called out in a half-whisper. “You over here?”
Felix looked around, admiring the colorful assortment of books. He wasn’t the world’s biggest bookworm, but he had to admit the place was impressive.
As he and Kendra entered an aisle, a girl popped out from behind a shelf at the other end. She bore a strong resemblance to Hana, sharing her round face, soft features, and dark eyes. Her black hair stopped just above her shoulders. “Hey, Kendra.”
“Hi, Arisa,” Kendra said. “It sounds like Sebastian already explained the situation with Felix.”
Arisa looked Felix up and down as she walked toward the two. She was dressed about as casually as he was, in jeans and an orange-and-black flannel. “Yeah, Sebastian told me all about him.” As she lifted a hand to tuck her hair behind her ear, the light caught a plain silver band around her wrist. There was a matching one on her other arm. Each bracelet held a single smooth orange gemstone.
“Nice to meet you,” Felix said.
“Nice to meet you, too.”
“Your bracelets are cool.”
Kendra tensed. Arisa let out a cold laugh. “Thanks, they’re cursed.”
“Huh?”
Kendra cleared her throat. “Arisa has a—”
Arisa waved her hand. “I can explain it.” She pointed at the bracelet on her right wrist. “This was found in a boarded-up room in the basement, along with a bunch of other artifacts. The historians were sorting through everything and identifying them, and they figured out the bracelet was a power amplifier. I tried it on—”
“After you were told not to touch anything,” Kendra added.
Arisa rolled her eyes. “—and it wouldn’t come off. The pieces of the latch fused together. Turns out it’s cursed. I have more power now, but if I use it, I…it hurts me. Among other things.” Her gaze flickered to Kendra. She raised her other hand to show Felix the second bracelet, which looked identical. “So, they made this counterbalance for me. I can still use some of the extra power, but this prevents me from using enough to cause problems.”
“Our historians are trying to figure out how to break the cursed bracelet,” Kendra said. “All curses have a way to be undone. It’s just a matter of time until they find an answer.”
“I’m on probation until then,” Arisa said. “Which is stupid, considering I’m stronger now.”
“We don’t know the full extent of the curse—”
“But I’m still allowed to train. I don’t get—oh, hang on.” Arisa bent down and picked up an orange teddy bear off the floor, which Felix swore hadn’t been there before. As she set it on her shoulder, its head turned to look at him.
“Whoa!” Felix took a step back in surprise. “That thing moved.”
“This thing has a name.” Arisa lifted her chin. “Clementine, this is Felix.”
“Can it talk?”
“No, she can’t talk.”
“Arisa has the ability to animate inanimate objects,” Kendra explained.
“Oh, cool!” Felix exclaimed.
Arisa looked pretty smug at that. “Thank you.” She folded her arms. “But you apparently have multiple abilities, so I think you have me beat.”
“Well, that’s assuming I can figure out how to use them.” Felix rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m still not sure how—”
Kendra’s phone buzzed, cutting Felix off. “Sorry,” she said as she pulled it from her pocket. Felix spotted Archer’s name on the screen before Kendra answered it and held it up to her ear. “Hello?”
Whatever Archer had to say put a concerned expression on Kendra’s face. After a few moments, she asked, “Do we know where it is now?” There was a pause. She sighed. “Yeah, I can track it down. I’ll meet you by the north staircase.” She hung up.
“Everything okay?” Felix asked.
“A group of students managed to summon a poltergeist.”
Arisa frowned. “I thought the castle wards made that impossible.”
“It is. We’re not sure how they got it in, but it’s already wrecked three rooms and now they’ve lost track of it.” Kendra tapped her phone screen and began typing. “Arisa, could you go ahead and show Felix around the castle?”
“Uh, what about the poltergeist?” Felix asked.
Arisa laughed. “They’re not too dangerous, just destructive.”
“They can be dangerous,” Kendra said sternly. “But they usually don’t wander, and this one was summoned in the upper levels on the north side of the castle, far from anywhere you two should be. Stay away from that area and you’ll be fine.” She looked up from her phone long enough to shoot Arisa a warning look. “Seriously, don’t go looking for it. If you hear or see any signs of it, go in the opposite direction.”
“Sure thing,” Arisa said. She set a hand on Clementine’s head. “I’ll just show Felix all the important stuff. Secret passages into the kitchens, the closets with the cool weapons, and that weird patch of mold on the third floor.”
Felix wasn’t sure Kendra fully heard Arisa. “Thanks, Arisa!” she said, eyes back on her phone as she walked away.
“Is that normal around here?” Felix asked. “The poltergeist summoning, I mean?”
Arisa led him to the library stairs. “Not inside the castle, but stuff pops up on the grounds sometimes. Never really anything to be concerned about, though. The wards at the edge of the Brightlands are kind of weak, but the ones protecting the castle itself are supposed to be nearly unbreakable,” she explained. “It’s a real challenge to summon anything interesting inside them. Kids do dare each other to try a lot, but if these ones actually succeeded, they must be pretty powerful. Or smart. They’re going to be in a lot of trouble, though.”
They passed the front desk. Arisa waved to Hana, and Hana smiled and waved back.
“Kendra said you could help me brush up on my sign language,” Felix said. “I remember a little from middle school, but not much.”
“Sure,” Arisa said. “I have a lot of free time, anyway, since they took me out of my regular classes.” Her face lit up. “Oh, I know some Japanese Sign Language, too, if you’re interested in learning that.”
“I should probably get caught up on American first,” Felix said. “But maybe after that.” He’d never had much success learning other languages, but he was willing to give it a try.
The two stepped out of the library. “The lower south portion of the castle is devoted to the Bright Academy,” Arisa told Felix. “It’s where the training yards and classrooms are located, and most of the student dormitories are in that area, too.”
“Are there a lot of students here?” Felix asked.
Arisa led the way down the hall, toward the south end of the castle. “Depends on what you mean by a lot. There’s around a hundred students right now. Parents usually send their kids to live here when they turn fourteen,” she explained. “If they don’t already live here, that is. A lot of families of active Guardians stay at the castle full time.” She fiddled with one of the buttons of her flannel. “Like my parents. When I became a student, all that really changed was that I got to move into my own dorm.”
“What makes a Guardian active? The king said my family was semi-active.”
“Depends on how regularly you go on missions and attend meetings.”
Felix’s brow furrowed. “Missions?”
“We use our magic to deal with monsters and spirits. Sometimes a mission is just investigating civilian deaths to determine if the cause was magical. Once the cause is identified, more Guardians are called in to deal with whatever’s responsible.”
“They let students go on those?”
“Yeah. It’s a good way to learn,” Arisa said with a shrug. “New students only go on easy missions, though. Violent ghosts, some monsters, the occasional weak demon.”
Felix considered asking Arisa to elaborate on what kinds of monsters the Guardians dealt with but decided against it. Just the word “demon” was enough to make him shudder. “So, if most kids start training at fourteen, I guess I’m a little behind on the student thing?”
“How old are you?” Arisa asked.
“Sixteen.”
“Eh, you’ll be fine. There’s not a strict timeline for students. Most people graduate and are made full Guardians around twenty, but it varies.” Arisa absentmindedly reached up to pat Clementine’s head. “I’ve been on probation for months now, so I’m probably going to wind up graduating a little later, too.”
The bear’s face shifted in a way that reminded Felix of a dog being petted. He still couldn’t decide if he found the bear creepy or cute, but despite his initial misgivings, he found himself mostly leaning toward cute. Mostly.
“What about you?” Felix asked. “How old are you, I mean?”
“Seventeen,” Arisa answered as they turned a corner. She stopped. “That big white door in the middle of the hallway leads to the courtyard where we’ll be training with Sebastian later today. It’s not one of the typical training yards, but it’s big enough to work for us.” She pointed to a smaller blue door on the other side. “That’s a weapon storage room. There are a bunch around the castle in case of emergency. They keep them locked, but I know how to get in.”
Before Felix could question that, Arisa continued down the hall at a brisk walking place. He hurried to catch up.
Around the next corner, Arisa showed him a door hidden behind a tapestry that did, in fact, lead into secret passages. “Allegedly, there’s a way out of the castle through them, but the basement is a maze and I’m not interested in getting lost,” she said as she let the tapestry fall back into place. The tapestry displayed a map labeled “The Brightlands.” Felix assumed it was whatever land Kendra had referred to yesterday that was now gone, given the vast landscape dotted with lakes and villages and even a small mountain range.
“I mostly use the tunnels to get into the kitchens where they keep the good snacks,” Arisa continued. “Or to get around without running into other students.”
“What’s wrong with the other students?” Felix asked.
“Most of them are fine. They just try to avoid me. But they can’t avoid me if I avoid them first.” Arisa tapped the side of her head. “It’s the ones that don’t want to avoid you that you gotta look out for.”
“Why?”
“Because they’re usually assholes.”
Arisa led Felix up a few floors and showed him a balcony overlooking a small courtyard occupied by a garden, a dining room about a quarter the size of the main dining hall, and a ballroom. And, as promised, she took him to a dusty classroom where a patch of dark mold had overtaken a corner of the ceiling.
“Why haven’t they gotten rid of it?” Felix asked, hating every second he spent staring at it.
“No idea,” Arisa said. “I think everyone is hoping someone else will do it.”
“Isn’t there cleaning staff or something?”
“Nah. They hired a witch years ago to put spells on the castle that keep it clean. Mostly. Every once in a while, a mess makes it through, and it always takes forever for someone to finally give in and clean it.”
“Why a witch?” Felix asked as they returned to the hallway. “Guardians have magic.”
“We have our innate abilities, and we know how to draw some sigils. But no one around here knows spellwork or potions or any of that.” Arisa sighed. “Sometimes I wonder if a witch would be able to figure out my curse faster than the Guardians, but they avoid working with outsiders as much as possible.”
Their next and final stop, according to Arisa, was the central courtyard. It was the largest one, and rather than a place for training, it was filled with stone pathways that wound around trees and benches and even a fountain spilling into a pond of fish. A few other Guardians and students milled about, enjoying the sun that had broken through the morning’s rain clouds.
The real showstopper, though, was the silver statue at the courtyard’s center, the top of which reached the fifth-floor windows. It depicted someone in armor similar to that of a medieval knight. In their right hand was a longsword with a wide blade.
“This is the Silver Paladin,” Arisa said. “She had the ability to transform any metal into silver and manipulate it.”
“What did she do to get such a big statue?” Felix asked.
Before Arisa could answer, approaching footsteps reached Felix’s ears. He turned his head as four kids walked up to him and Arisa. Arisa groaned.
“Do you know them?” Felix asked, his voice low.
“These are the assholes I was talking about,” Arisa muttered in reply.
The four kids all wore the same uniform Felix had seen many of the adult Guardians wearing. The first boy to speak wore a reddish-orange shirt with his. His black hair was cropped close to his head, and his light skin had a faint hint of a tan, which was no small feat coming out of winter in western Washington. “So, you’re Felix Carver?”
“Yep. That’s me.” Felix shoved his hands in his pockets. “And you are?”
“Jack Caldwell.”
“Caldwell?” Felix asked, heart skipping a beat. “Like the guy on the council? Abraham Caldwell?”
Jack laughed. “Yeah, that would be my dad.”
It was then that Felix noticed the band of dark wood on Jack’s right ring finger, similar to the ring his father wore. Felix threw a quick glance at Arisa, who was fidgeting with her counterbalance bracelet. Clementine stared at the kids from Arisa’s shoulder, managing an expression that was a shockingly good glare, for a stuffed bear.
Felix turned his attention back to Jack. “Your dad seemed to think it would be better if I were locked up in a cell.”
“Well, he’s got far more experience than either of us.” Jack shrugged. “But who am I to say? Congrats on winning the king’s favor, though.”
“Thanks,” Felix said, even though Jack sounded far from genuine.
“So, what are two kids on probation doing here in the central courtyard?” Jack asked.
“Avoiding poltergeists, I guess.”
Something flashed across Jack’s expression, but it was gone before Felix could figure out what emotion it was.
“I’m giving him a tour of the castle,” Arisa said coldly.
Jack shook his head, a grin crossing his face. “Arisa’s hardly the one who should be giving you a tour.” He pointed toward the statue. “Noah, tell him about the Silver Paladin.”
Jack was accompanied by two girls and another boy. One of the girls was short and pale, with long blonde hair pulled back in a braid, while the other was more muscular with dark brown curls that stopped just past her shoulders. The boy had short waves of blonde hair and bore similar features to the first girl, enough for Felix to assume they were siblings.
The boy—Noah—nodded and looked up at the statue. “In 1955, a powerful group of werewolves called the Supermoon Wolves were able to amass enough strength to break through the wards and attack the castle.”
“I know all this,” Arisa muttered.
Noah ignored the comment. “The Silver Paladin led the fight against them and was single-handedly responsible for killing most of them, saving the last of the Brightlands and earning her title. If it weren’t for her—uh, where are you going?”
Arisa had her hand around Felix’s wrist and was dragging him away from the statue. “I just remembered that I left a sink running.”
“What? Where?” Jack asked.
“In your mom’s room!” Arisa yelled back. If Jack had a response to that, Felix didn’t hear it.
Once they were back inside the castle, Felix asked, “They really hate you just because of your curse?”
Arisa let go of his wrist as they entered another hallway. “Nah, they were already kind of mean before that. They’re mean to other kids, too, but the others put up with it because Jack’s dad is so important. The kids who are really good at putting up with him get the privilege of being his friends.”
A portrait on the wall just ahead of them fell from its place and crashed to the floor. The frame shattered.
“Whoa!” Felix took a step back as splintered wood rained across the floor.
Arisa’s eyes widened. “I think that’s the poltergeist.”
The chandelier directly overhead exploded. Felix and Arisa jumped out of the way to avoid the ensuing shower of glass. Up and down the hall, other chandeliers followed, plunging them into darkness.