Behind the Curtain Read online

  He saw his mother’s stone from where he stood. Yet the distance between them seemed impossible to close. His feet seemed frozen in place. He hadn’t come to see her stone since the service. He hardly remembered the service.

  He recalled a lot of people from the town had been there. Many people spoke to him, but he hadn’t heard them or their awkward condolences. His body had been there, but the rest of him had been somewhere else, in an angry place.

  His mother had been a nurse and well loved by her community. She had died in the care of the system she had worked for dutifully for two decades. That didn’t seem fair to Rowdy. He remembered the times she worked late or did overtime to cover shifts or rushed to the hospital in the middle of his bedtime stories.

  He felt himself approaching her stone. He crumpled to his knees before it. He read the inscription through blurry tears.

  Beloved daughter, wife, and mother.

  He traced his fingers along the stone, searching for her but feeling only cold emptiness.

  He was forgetting her face. The details. He remembered her dark hair and sparkling brown eyes, but he couldn’t grasp the details of her nose or the shape of her face.

  He remembered her laugh.

  He remembered the hospital staff placing a bench in her honor in front of the building where she had worked for so long. The place where he had been born and she had died. There was a gold plaque with her name on it on the bench. His dad said it was very pretty, but Rowdy didn’t want to see it. He avoided the hospital. He was angry they hadn’t saved her.

  A rustle of wings pulled him from his dark thoughts. It was Rose. She bounced across the grass to him on her wide, awkward legs and hopped into his lap. She fluffed her feathers and nestled in, resting her beak on his knee.

  “Oh, Rose,” Rowdy said, feeling suddenly lifted. He kissed her on top of her head. She gurgled from the back of her throat.

  They sat silently together, watching the sun go down.

  They headed home through darkening streets that swelled with the sounds of life. Winter was gone, and the evenings were lengthening toward the long-awaited summer.

  Rose nuzzled his cheek when they got to his front step. Then she flew off into the cool night with a soft rustle.

  “How was your first day?” Rowdy asked his dad, noting he was already into his booze.

  “Too early to tell, son. Where have you been?”

  Rowdy toed his wet shoes off.

  “Running,” he said, then admitted, “I went to the cemetery.” He sighed heavily and went to the sink for a glass of water.

  His dad stayed silent.

  Rowdy fixed himself a sandwich.

  “And?” his dad said at last. He already looked disheveled in his cheap suit.

  “And she’s still dead,” Rowdy said, suddenly angry. He tore into his sandwich like an animal.

  His father looked at him with hurt and shock. He shook his head, alarmed by his son’s sudden outburst. He downed the booze in his glass and put the empty glass down hard on the table.

  “When are you going to stop killing yourself with that crap, huh?” Rowdy’s face was flushing, and his voice was rising in volume and intensity. All of his pain welled up, and he took it out on the only other person he could.

  “None of your damn business!” his dad yelled, rising to his feet. He stumbled, reaching for the bottle.

  “You look like the drunk bum on the sidewalk downtown,” Rowdy said icily, gritting his teeth. He stood up, threw the rest of his sandwich at the sink, and picked up his pack.

  “I have homework to do.” He went down the hall and slammed the door. He heard the television flick on.

  He stretched out on his mattress and cried angrily over his math, then threw it on the floor and turned off the light.

  He awoke the next day still grumpy.

  His dad had already left for work. There was an apology note and a plate of cold scrambled eggs on the table.

  Rowdy scrunched the note up irritably, not knowing what to feel. He huffed to the bus stop with his head down and his fists jammed into his pockets.

  He was rude to Jordyn, and when Jess approached him about Hugo, he cut her off before she got started. He looked her in the eye with a scowl.

  “Look, you dumb bunny, Hugo is a jerk. Everyone knows he is a jerk. If you’re too dumb to figure that out, then you deserve what you get.” He blew past her to the school.

  * * * *

  “What is your problem?” Jordyn demanded when they got off the bus that afternoon.

  Rowdy ignored her, feeling guilty he was taking his foul mood out on her for no reason.

  She followed him to his house, both ready for a fight, but they both stopped short when they saw Rose on the stoop with a note in her beak.

  They were to go to Granny’s house.

  Rowdy’s anger diffused and was replaced with curiosity.

  The pair was amiable when they arrived at Granny’s kitchen. The warmth and aromas of the house diffused his anger further. They all had a snack and followed Granny up the stairs.

  It was training day for Jordyn.

  Each of them armed with a blade, Rowdy used shadows to train her, just as Boc had done for him. In the flickering candlelight with the glittering gems humming behind them, all of the regular world was far from their minds as they practiced before Granny’s watchful eye.

  Time seemed to have no relevance. The two danced, slashed, and jabbed; they blocked and dodged. Each time the blades collided, they flashed orange and white, tingling in their palms. Rose swooping into the room with a liathroid broke their concentration at last.

  She shook a dust of snow off her feathers and plopped the liathroid into Granny’s hand.

  “Well done, Rose.” Granny applauded her, stepping between the fighters to the liathroid vases.

  “Not bad,” Rowdy said to Jordyn, panting. He wiped the sweat off his brow with his shirt.

  “Not bad?” Granny interjected. “She’s better than you!”

  Rowdy frowned, and Jordyn snickered.

  “I have a good trainer, Granny,” she offered modestly.

  “True that,” Granny agreed. She told Rose to guide the youth home for the night.

  “I’m sorry I was such a jerk to you today,” Rowdy said sincerely, hoping she would forgive him.

  She did. She wrapped her arm around his waist and leaned into him as they walked through the pretty, dusky streets. He smiled and pulled her to him for a kiss.

  “You’re the best.”

  “I know it.”

  “Good night, beautiful.”

  “Good night, jerk.”

  “Good night, Rose!”

  “Caw!”

  * * * *

  The pair trained together again the following day. When they met at Granny’s on Thursday afternoon, they were both having troubles at school.

  “Jess is angry at me. She says I’ve ditched her for a boy, which is against the rules of our friendship.” Jordyn tucked her hair behind her ears.

  They were approaching Granny’s house on another rainy, dismal day. Rowdy was getting sick of the spring rain. He kicked at the puddles irritably.

  “At least you don’t have Hugo after you,” he said. “I guess telling Jess he was a jerk hasn’t gone over very well. We’re back at square one.”

  “Except he’s afraid of you now.” She snickered at her comment and shoved herself into Rowdy playfully.

  He smiled. Maybe she was right. Maybe piggy eyes was afraid of him. Good.

  “What are you going to do about Jess?” He looked at her pale face. Drops of rain were clinging to her lashes. Her blue hoodie was slowly soaking up the drops.

  “Oh, have another sleepover this weekend. Listen to her whine about Hugo. Try to patch things up, I guess.” She looked up as Granny opened the door for them, greeting them with her sweet, mysterious smile. They entered the house and gratefully removed their wet gear.
r />   “This will be your last training night!” Granny said. She braided her long hair and tied the end with a pretty piece of silk. “Tomorrow we have a meeting. Tomorrow we make a plan of attack!” Her little eyes twinkled with anticipation.

  *

  Rowdy and Jordyn groaned fearfully. Rose cawed in agreement with the young warriors. They were getting good at their fighting moves, but Granny wondered if that would be enough to protect them in the heartland.

  Granny stuffed them with thick lentil soup and led them upstairs for their last training session. The pair was fairly even in skill, but if anyone had the upper edge, it was Jordyn, and everyone knew it. It frustrated Rowdy a little but not a lot. She was good, and he would rather that than try to hone his skills with an opponent who wasn’t. Plus, they were on the same side.

  Granny was confident in the pair, though still wary of Jordyn’s snake shape and serpent symbol. They would have to keep her on track. They would need her skill and the power she held that hadn’t been released yet. It concerned Granny that Jordyn could grow into an adult snake, one large enough to swallow a little white mouse. But she had no choice but to progress with the guidance of the spirits.

  They were a good pair. All of their personal relationship they easily put to the side, embracing a fighting partnership built on communication and knowledge of the other’s strengths and weaknesses.

  Jordyn was braver than Rowdy but more impulsive. He thought more and planned his moves quickly in advance. She tended to jump in but then was more skilled at defending herself. It was like a performance that Granny could never tire of watching. But it was soon to be over. Tomorrow they would pull the map out and form a plan. She had kept Rose in this night, to watch the training and rest up for the tasks ahead.

  “Behind!” Jordyn yelled, dodging behind her partner to defend him from an invisible foe.

  “Three advancing on the right!” he shouted back, stepping to the side to let Jordyn come up beside him.

  “Back,” Jordyn said. The pair went back-to-back.

  “Feet,” Rowdy called out, and they dipped low to protect their shins.

  “Too slow,” Granny critiqued. “Do it again!”

  They repeated the sequence until they could block low hits with speed. Granny threw them another scenario.

  “You need to trust Rowdy more,” she said to Jordyn. She nodded. The warriors ended their session and sat with the women to hear their feedback.

  “You are a strong team.” Granny nodded at them with satisfaction.

  * * * *

  The next morning, Rowdy had to wake his dad for work. He left the house wondering if his dad was going to be in trouble for being late.

  Jordyn was a bit glum when he met her at the bus stop that morning, despite the beautiful sunny day. Her green eyes didn’t have their usual luster.

  “What’s up?” he asked her, putting his arms around her waist. She forced a weak smile for him, the shade of her lips matching her jacket.

  “Jess called last night. It was bad. She doesn’t want to be friends anymore.” Jordyn got a little teary and looked at him with a pout.

  “Now what?” He didn’t want Jordyn to lose her best friend, but they couldn’t tell Jess about Sionnin.

  “I don’t know yet. We’ve never fought like this before.” She bit her lip.

  Rowdy wanted to kiss it. They looked up at the school bus approaching. Next year he would get his driver’s license and never have to ride the crowded, stinky bus again.

  “Wanna sit with me?”

  “Yeah, I guess. Don’t know what else to do.”

  They climbed aboard and found a seat together. Jess was at the back with her arms folded across her chest. She was staring out her window.

  Hugo was looking upset too, staring out his window.

  Rowdy and Jordyn sat quietly in their seats, and Rowdy thought about Sionnin. Their journey to Sionnin was about to begin. It made Rowdy’s stomach flip when he thought about the vast, frigid world he was about to dive into the heart of.

  He squeezed Jordyn’s hand with a sudden burst of uncontainable excitement.

  She looked at him with flushed cheeks, and the sparkle returned to her eyes. She was thinking about Sionnin too.

  “Going to be a long day,” he whispered. She nodded and squeezed his hand again.

  The bus came to a stop in front of the school finally. Jess scowled at Jordyn, and Hugo glared hotly at Rowdy.

  How could they possibly know he and Jordyn were soon to risk their lives trying to slit the throat of a powerful timber wolf?

  They both kept a casual demeanor as they crossed the schoolyard; they did a decent job of keeping the peace that day or at least avoiding confrontation. It was a day that felt like forever. The hands on the clock dragged. It was hard for Rowdy to focus on history.

  “Rowdy, you awake today?” The teacher called him out in front of the class.

  Rowdy had been staring into space, thinking about the saber-toothed tiger’s teeth and claws. He had the good spirits behind him. He had his master. He had his fighting companion. He did his best to pay attention, but he ended up missing a lot of the lesson.

  Later, Jordyn told Rowdy she’d had trouble concentrating on her French class and had given up. She was at a loss as to what to tell Jess. She was aching to reach the heartland of Sionnin. To fight. To make a difference. To turn the icy wasteland back into a green paradise.

  They hustled to Granny’s after school for the meeting.

  Granny and Rose were waiting for them with a sense of excitement and urgency. They pushed tea into Rowdy’s and Jordyn’s hands to keep them alert. They drank it down, burning their throats.

  They followed Granny up the stairs into the candlelit world of Sionnin.

  Rowdy drew his blade, filling the room with a blast of orange light while Jordyn stood straight-faced, reciting the words of her oath.

  The glimmering gems sounded louder than before, and when Rowdy donned his belt, it was tingling even before he’d buckled it.

  Jordyn drew her blade and smiled fiercely at Rowdy. He pressed the blade to hers, and the blades blazed together, orange and white.

  “You feel that?” he asked her, his brown gaze boring into her green gaze.

  “I do,” she said. The blades were buzzing. Rowdy’s boots and belt were vibrating.

  “You hear the gemstones?”

  “Yes.”

  “He’s here. I can taste blood on my tongue.”

  They smiled at each other and looked over at Granny and Rose. The sorceress nodded, pulling out the scroll and opening it for all to see; humans, sorceress, and spirits.

  Granny put her finger on the picture of Boc’s cave.

  “This is where you will begin at first light tomorrow morning. Jordyn will offer her sacrifice to the master as the final part of her oath to Sionnin.”

  Jordyn nodded. The candle flames blew sideways briefly.

  “This is where Rose can’t go any farther. It will be up to each of you to know what form you will need to take and when, but keep in mind, the more Jordyn can use her human shape, the less heat she will lose.”

  Rose nodded thoughtfully and spoke. “I think there’s an underground maze of tunnels here.” She pointed at the map. “The mice used them. I used to hunt there.” She cast Rowdy a swift look of apology.

  “We need armor,” Jordyn said, and Rowdy nodded his agreement.

  “There are supplies in the second entrance from the top of the Great Mountain…” Rose began doubtfully.

  The room lit orange and white. The floors trembled. Boc was saying something. They looked around the room, then at each other.

  Granny nodded wisely. “I think Wizard Boc will guide you to the supplies you need, goodness knows how.”

  They sat in silence, memorizing the map.

  “The Great Mountain is full of Sorceress Cern’s evil creatures. They are not big or smart, but there are many, so yo
u will need to be wary at all times.”

  Jordyn and Rowdy looked at each other.

  “What are they?”

  “Ah, they used to be goats, long ago, living happily and peacefully on the grassy fields in the west. Of course, Cern has them under a spell. Such trusting animals they are. It wasn’t difficult for a brilliant unicorn to convince them to eat the poisonous feed.”

  “That’s sad,” Jordyn said.

  Granny nodded.

  “Will they return to normal when the spell is broken?”

  “I don’t know. Hopefully, we’ll find out.” She winked at their worried faces calmly and rolled up the map.

  A great, huge shadow engulfed the room then, blowing the candle flames sideways. Rose recoiled in fear; Granny narrowed her eyes.

  “Master!” Rowdy cried, holding up his blade and falling to his knees. Jordyn mimicked him, the two bending dutifully before the master’s shadow. Granny and Rose kneeled. The song of the gemstones soared around them, filling the room with sound and light.

  “Fight!” he commanded.

  The young warriors fought with focus and energy, eager to show their master what they had learned. He tested them separately and as a team. The room was flaming with orange and white, the warriors moving in and out of the moving shadows.

  “Behind,” Jordyn said, crossing behind him.

  “Going in,” Rowdy said, thrusting a jab forward, Jordyn defending him. They worked together tirelessly with determination until Jordyn at last pierced the master’s heart.

  There was a tremble and a burst of light. Boc’s laughter boomed and echoed away. The armor they needed clattered to the floor.

  The room was suddenly silent, aside from the panting of the warriors as they caught their breath.

  Then Rose and Granny applauded them. The warriors turned their sweaty faces to them and took a bow. The armor lay shining on the ground at their feet.

  It didn’t look like much. Jordyn and Rowdy picked up heavy shirts made of interlocking rings that jingled. They waved them in the air at Granny.

  “Chain mail. Put it on.”