Knight School: A Mystic Brats Novel Vol. 1

Mr. Louis, Barry, and Jason were waiting for us near the transporters. Why is it that every time that I see Jason, it’s as if a knife is penetrating my heart? He was the love of my life for a good part of last year... but then he was cursed by the Heart of Aphrodite and nearly killed me. All because his feelings for Nara had been amplified. The girl whose body my mind is stuck in. Nara is genuinely a good person and the closest thing I have to a friend. So, the more I try to hate her, the more I can’t. Plus, being Nara isn’t easy. No. It’s the exact opposite.

Every day I have to meditate to try to discover which element my soul represents. Yeah, that’s not crazy at all. Secondly, I have to either gush out with my emotions or keep them bottled up, so I don’t throw people through walls. I’m a knight! How am I supposed to do that? Thirdly, I have to practice ancient spells, acrobatics and translating runes. All of these classes are advanced thanks to Nara’s superb victory against Merlin. In all my time as a T. A., I have never had to understand how to focus magical energy by speaking in old tongues. Fourthly, every guy in the Academy hits on me and stares at my butt. Barry is the worst out of all of them.

Then there’s Jason. After we saved him with the Lunar Necklace, I wanted nothing more than to talk to him about us. But I knew better. I’d always be a liability to him on missions with my brain disease. It was my fault Jason needed saving in the first place. The only way to be cured was to switch with Nara, so the illness would be destroyed in the process. My romantic relationship with Jason wasn’t meant to be, though, now we share something entirely new. As Nara, I have become Jason’s biggest confident. We talk about school, his mother, and Mr. Louis. Jason’s mother is a different problem. Thanks to the Lunar Necklace reviving her, she’s having a mystical pregnancy. It’s the first one in over a century. Her child may become one of the most powerful humans on earth. Jason can barely handle this kind of stuff, and the only person he tells that to is me. We haven’t even talked about his breakup with Nara in my body. Nara won’t even tell me too much about that.

“Ms. Brooks and Ms. Roman,” said Mr. Louis. “Arriving two minutes past departure time. Why are you so late?”

“Julie had to wake Nara up,” said Barry. “Same as usual.”

“That’s not true!” I shouted. Jason, Barry, and Mr. Louis all looked at me suspiciously. “I mean... I was trying to put on this special suit and I got really confused by all these gizmos.”

“That’s funny,” said Mr. Louis. “I was under the impression you had grasped all forms of technology. It was one of the reasons that the Council was so eager to allow you on this team.”

“What can I say?” I asked. “I guess I just mess up sometimes.”

“It’s okay, Nara, we all make mistakes,” said Jason. “Now that the girls are here, I say we go over the mission plan one last time.”

“What kind of mission is this anyway, Jay?” yawned Barry.

“An important one,” replied Jason. “We will be transporting to Egypt, where the Purifiers have sent Kevin Tyson to retrieve the Wand of Osiris. For those of you who didn’t read the briefing, the Purifiers are a mystical cult who worship a different deity for each of their divisions. Kevin’s particular group worships Osiris. The wand itself is said to contain all the Egyptian god’s powers. It is located inside an underground chamber that the Egyptians thought led to the underworld. Now, Mr. Louis, Nara, and I will be transported directly into the chamber. Nara and Mr. Louis will deactivate the magical traps with their powers. While Barry and Julie will monitor our progress in the sky by Hovercraft. If the Kevin gets the wand before we do or tries to escape... it’ll be your job to take him out.”

“Hey, I’ll have to see if he’s my type before I take him out,” laughed Barry.

“This is serious, Mr. Dickenson,” said Mr. Louis sternly. “One false step and each of us could die!”

“And on that happy note...” said Jason. “...let’s go!”

Jason, Mr. Louis, and I walked through the transporter. For those of you who’ve never used a transporter, it’s basically a giant stage with a glowing gate that houses a portal. All you have to do is walk through it, and it will bring you to any place on earth. In a way, they’re similar to the archways. The thought of facing this group of Purifiers was terrifying because they were the cult of mystics my father joined so many years ago. I tried to warn Nara, but Mr. Louis cut between us. What would Nara and I both do if we somehow faced my father today?

We were met with humid air and a torch-lit tunnel littered with hieroglyphics. The one thing I had never studied.

“Uh, Nara, are you okay?” asked Jason.

He had reason to be worried. I was breathing heavily as my eyes flittered between pink and green.

“I don’t do — well — in small spaces,” I said, trying to catch my breath. “I’m — Claustrophobic!”

Jason looked at Mr. Louis, who seemed to be thinking long and hard about something.

“We need to bring Nara back to the Academy,” said Jason.

“...We can’t,” said Mr. Louis. “The transporter is on a timer. It won’t open another portal for an hour. Ms. Roman will have to endure, or the Wand of Osiris will fall into the Purifiers’ hands. This is our only chance!”

“Fine,” sighed Jason. “Can you scout ahead, so we can give Nara some time?”

“I’ll see what I can do,” said Mr. Louis.

“No!” I said, steadying my breathing. “I’m a Mystic Brat! I can do this!”

“Nara, I don’t want you losing control and getting yourself killed!” said Jason. The look of concern in his eyes infuriated me. How could he care so much about Nara and not be in love with her?

“I don’t need your protection, Jason,” I replied coolly, “or your concern!”

Jason looked dumbfounded as I took the lead down the chamber. The communicator in my ear began to buzz as I heard my old voice speak to me.

“J.J. to N.N.”

These were our code names. J.J. stood for Joyous Julie (Nara) and N.N. meant Not Nara. Nara and I came up with them ourselves, and only the two of us knew what they described.

“I hear you loud and clear, J.J.,” I replied. “What’s up?”

“N.N.?” I heard Barry’s voice in the background. “Does that stand for Naughty Nara?”

“Shut up, big mouth!” Nara and I both shouted. “We’re getting a giant reading of dark magic down where you are. It’s surrounding you!”

“What?” I asked.

“NARA — GET DOWN!”

I ducked just in time as a Draughkine Knight tried to slice me into sushi. Mr. Louis threw a fireball at the demonic creature as three more took its place. Then, a bunch of things happened at once — Mr. Louis unsheathed his sword and began to fight one of the Draughkine Knights in a duel of blades. Mr. Louis got the upper hand quickly as he ran his sword through the demon’s heart. His eyes glowed fiery red as flames shot out of his sword and into the creature as it exploded with a loud blast! Jason had stabbed his opponent in its waist as his sword started to melt, like mine did all those months ago. Mr. Louis beheaded the monster just in time, saving Jason! Meanwhile, I was fighting my own battle...

“Nara — we’re coming!” shouted Jason.

“I do believe she has it covered,” said Mr. Louis.

I was fighting my enemy with every unarmed combat move I had ever learned since I no longer had a sword. I will say the acrobatics and meditation training came in handy as I kept my cool as an emotional battle raged inside me. Part of me just wanted to scream and claw my way out of the chamber as another tried to focus on keeping my new magic from killing us all and defend myself from the Draughkine!

“Nara, what are you doing?” yelled Jason. “Use your magic!”

“That — would be — easier said — than done,” I replied while dodging punches.

“Allow me.”

Two hands busted out of the Draughkine’s chest and ripped the creature apart. Standing over its carcass was Mr. Louis. “I’m sorry, Ms. Roman, but I was growing tired of that exercise.”

“Don’t worry, Kirk, next time I’ll be sure to present you with something a bit more challenging.”

Damien Drake had appeared in the chamber. He was dressed in typical Order armor with his dark hair spiked up, and his fiery red eyes filled with malice. Damien smiled wickedly as he walked around us. Jason stood beside me, his shield raised. I watched Mr. Louis’ expression change from calm to disconcerted. Something about Damien rattled him.

“What are you doing here, Damien?” said Mr. Louis. “Don’t tell me an Order agent is slumming with the Purifiers?”

“Oh, one must do what one must to survive,” said Damien. “I’ve only died once before... but even death couldn’t stop me. I arose from the ashes more powerful than ever before. I was truly reborn... Even after my brother deserted me.”

“Okay, it’s official, you’re a nutcase,” said Jason.

“While his sanity remains questionable,” said Mr. Louis, “his intelligence isn’t. He’s distracting us. Get the wand. I’ll handle him.”

Jason and I were blinded by burning light as Mr. Louis used his powers to transport us deeper into the chamber.

“I hate it when he does that,” said Jason.

“Who cares,” I said. “I — there it is!”

“What?” asked Jason.

“The Wand of Osiris!”

It was settled on a golden pedestal. The wand looked like a stick that had been painted a faded midnight blue with silver highlights. It was an impressive statue that held the wand. A tall, muscular, pharaoh that must have been twenty feet tall.

“Wow.” I stared at the statue with awe. Jason, on the other hand, felt what seemed like nothing.

“What’s the matter?” he said. “I would have figured that you’d seen stuff like this a hundred times before. Especially, since your mother’s the Lady of the Lake.”

“Oh, I have,” I said. “I guess some things never get old.” I need to watch myself. I can’t afford another slip-up.

“Okay,” said Jason, shrugging it off. “Let’s get the wand.”

“We’re going to need to be smart about this,” I said. “All the great mystics would place special enchantments to protect their treasures.” Yeah, I had been paying attention to my Nara classes. I wasn’t called an overachiever just for anything.

“I know,” said Jason. “I did the research.”

“You actually read something?” I said, mildly impressed.

“Don’t sound so surprised,” said Jason. “When there’s a need to step up — I can rise to the challenge. And there has been a lot of new challenges. Breaking up with Julie, becoming a field agent, and the fact that in a few months... I’ll be a big brother.”

“You’re still not over that bump in the road, huh?” I asked.

“How am I supposed to feel?” asked Jason. “My mother’s carrying the spawn of some magical necklace that keeps us alive. This kid is either going to be the most powerful person in centuries, a lunatic, or both. I thought that having my mom back would ease so much pain, but I was wrong. It’s only worsened it.”

“You don’t mean that, Jason.”

“Maybe I don’t,” said Jason. “But either way, I’m screwed.”

“Let’s just focus on getting the wand,” I replied.

“A sentiment that I share.”

A tall, hooded, figure had appeared behind Jason and me. He carried two swords in sheaths, a dagger attached to his golden gauntlets, and a crossbow aimed two inches away from my head. The man dropped a dead body to the ground — it was Kevin Tyson, blood still pouring from his mouth. Jason stared at the man with a combination of anger and dread. He knew who this man was.

“Nara, don’t move,” said Jason.

“I’d listen to your friend if I were you, girl,” said the man.

“Those are Basilisk Arrows,” said Jason, “aren’t they?”

“You’re a perceptive little brat,” the man laughed.

“Actually, I’m a Mystic Brat,” said Jason. “It may not be much of an upgrade, but it’s still better than being called an assassin.”

“You shouldn’t be such a smart-ass, Gardner,” said the man. “These arrows could kill the princess in more ways than one. Even her magic couldn’t stop them in time.”

“Who are you?” I asked.

“He’s the man who killed Barry’s parents,” said Jason. “Barry showed me his wanted poster a thousand times.”

“I’m Yonus.”