Shadow Walker (Neteru Academy Books) (45 page)

But before her grandmother could speak, Sarah shut her eyes against the pain and held her forehead and calmed her breathing. And then, in her mind’s eye, she saw Beep and Bop frantically trying to get Hyacinth’s attention before she entered the Shady Path. But Hyacinth couldn’t see them, and she and the other girls just kept going.

“The Shady Path is booby-trapped, Nana,” Sarah said, opening her eyes. “If a teacher went through there, he’d get sick, too.”

Nana Marlene stared at her and nodded; it was a silent confirmation that what Sarah had shared was also what she’d heard. Nana Marlene snapped her fingers and made the images on the wall fade back to the original pristine white paint.

“That’s why only your father, your mother and Professor Raziel can go through there now. They have genetic barriers to all dark consciousness contagion, just like you and your brother. You were meant to be hell warriors, Sarah, so I’m all the more disappointed in your behavior. I thought you would rise above peer pressure, that you’d be a voice of reason instead of going along with the crowd to make yourselves look cool.”

“I
did
rise above peer pressure!” Sarah suddenly shouted. She pointed at the wall where the images had been. “This wasn’t about looking cool, it was about finding Ayana! You said we’re supposed to be Hell warriors, supposed to hunt the darkness. Well, as far as I’m concerned, the darkness has my sister, and I can’t just sit around and do nothing! But I can feel it, Nana. Something evil is trying to pry open my mind.”

Her grandmother rushed over and placed her hands on either side of Sarah’s head, then began to loudly chant a prayer of protection. “A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come near you.”

Immediately recognizing Psalm 91, Sarah said it in her mind until she could get the words to coordinate with her mouth. Soon she was speaking the words out loud, and the fog that battled her mind, along with the pain, rolled away.

She slumped against her grandmother’s body, and after a moment she felt a gentle kiss brush the crown of her head.

“Better?” her nana murmured.

Sarah nodded and looked up into ancient eyes holding wisdom. “We had no idea there was a booby trap in there. We wouldn’t have sent people in there to get sick, no matter how upset we were or how badly we wanted to help.”

Nana Marlene closed her eyes. “Oh…child…you girls shouldn’t have been playing cops and robbers when you were so upset and angry. It takes a lot of maturity and self-discipline to deal effectively with one’s attackers.” After a moment she opened her eyes and sat down beside Sarah. “Sit back and hear me well,” she commanded and then rubbed her temples. “I want to explain to you, here and now, how dark consciousness works, all right?”

Sarah sat back slowly and simply nodded.

“Malevolent intent is a dangerous thing. If anyone goes in there wishing for payback or vengeance, then the dark consciousness already swirling in there simply magnifies itself, feeding on those emotions. This is why our medical team is working overtime to keep the infected girls from flat-lining. When you’re walking between the realms, until you’re strong enough to stay focused, you can get hurt.”

“Nana, I swear,” Sarah said quietly, “none of us knew that was in there.”

Nana Marlene leaned forward to grasp Sarah’s hands between her own palms. “Negativity has its own dark tendrils, its own black grid. Demons and nasty little creatures run along its axis of evil. That’s why we send out love, not hate. Love will burn away anything that’s not right.”

Pain and worry and disappointment filled Nana Marlene’s gaze as she stared deeply into Sarah’s eyes. “But we must never, ever, ever get caught skating the razor’s edge between the light and the dark while using our white-light gift to exact a dark consciousness energy, like vengeance. That is an oxymoron… Light and revenge. Bad juju. The light doesn’t do vengeance. Can’t coexist in the same time-space, and the attempt will lower the vibration and leave you vulnerable. Some of those girls who went in there after Yaya took that dangerous vibration through the door to the Shady Path with them.”

Nana Marlene released a long breath. “Who- or whatever is abducting students got to them through the illegal portals. Apparently they got wise enough to booby trap their travel route after they took Ayana, trying to make sure we couldn’t send in seers or actual hunters behind her. We’re pretty sure that Ayana’s abduction was a blunder. Every child taken before, even the faculty members and Rogues, were loners or without families. What they didn’t bank on was our love of those people, too—that this institution is one big compound where everyone is connected to everyone else. Even those poor boys we lost. The thing that got them up on that platform was that they wanted to look for the students who were already missing. It was in the very fabric of their spirits to help. Everyone here matters.” Her grandmother wiped her eyes, which were beginning to tear up. “Everyone, Sarah. Even the kids with problems.”

“How can I help ‘Cinth and everybody get better?”

“Pray,” Nana Marlene said, standing. “Now, what happened in the hall by the gym? I want details this time.”

“A few of us left the library early,” Sarah admitted, eyes downcast, each word weighed by despair. But she still wanted to protect her friends and brother; there was no reason to drag anyone else into this. “We decided to take a walk by the pool.”

“Ummm-hmmm. Our indoor Lovers’ Lane,” Nana Marlene said, sounding weary.

Sarah glanced up and then went back to studying the floor. That wasn’t why she and Val had been there, and she wouldn’t bust Tami and Al. If nothing else, it wasn’t relevant to everything else that was going on.

“We were walking, and something came out of nowhere. It was huge, a creature with a long snout and long teeth, but it stood upright like a man. I freaked out and a spontaneous discharge from me hit the wall—the next thing I knew I was screaming for Mrs. Gillison and half drowning.”

Nana Marlene leaned forward. “You said the creature had gray eyes?”

“Yeah.”

The older woman sat back and looked off at nothing. “And a snout?”

“Yes, Nana. It was like half-person, half-wolf.”

Her grandmother closed her eyes. “I have suspected for a long time that students taking contraband into the Shady Path were weakening the integrity of the barriers. We’ve expelled some students from this academy, have purged the portals, and created strict rules about who could enter, and then only with an instructor involved. Apparently more have been sneaking in than we’ve known, and with the addition of drug use, it may have had especially deleterious effects on one student in particular.”

“Nana, that other portal that was opened in Mr. Everett’s room—the one that’s gone now because the uncles shut it down—I could see shadow scratches on the floor where the opening had been.”

“What!”

Sarah shook her head, feeling completely foolish for not thinking to disclose the information earlier. “I thought I was seeing things because nobody else could see it. That’s the way my life has always been—I see stuff other people can’t see and then they tell me I’m crazy. So I kept my mouth shut. Then, when Yaya went missing, we were all hysterical. That was the last thing on my mind.”

“Oh, baby…I know, I know,” her nana crooned softly, grasping her hand. “But if you see anything, anything at all, you have to tell me. It’s vital.”

“When I went to class and Mr. Everett opened up a dimensional moment, I saw shadow scratches on the floor then, too.”

“Dear Lord…” Nana Marlene held out her hand. “Please give me your PIU so I can dry it. Kids are playing with fire, moving vortices around the school and letting in God only knows what.”

The tone of Nana Marlene’s voice was so resigned as Sarah got up and riffled through her wet clothes that there was simply nothing left to say to her. Sarah took the pin off her sweater and tucked it into her robe pocket, not wanting to lose it in the laundry. Being a Shadow meant something. Right now it was the only thing she had left to be proud of. But as she stared at the water-logged unit before handing it over to her grandmother, she noticed that the alphabet was backward.

“Nana, are you sure I can’t get sick?”

Nana Marlene accepted the PIU from Sarah and held it between her palms, causing a warm purple light to surround it as she closed her eyes. “No, child. I told you. Your system doesn’t allow for that.”

“Then how come the letters on my PIU are backward, and I’m seeing blue streaks all over your pretty Oriental rugs, and I feel nauseous. Even that spontaneous zap that hit the mural…I—”

Sarah took two steps, then stumbled and collapsed on the floor.

Nana Marlene opened her eyes at the sound. “You’re seeing shadow echoes?” she whispered, getting up to help Sarah off the floor.

“Huh?”

“Come, child—into my kitchen with you. Tea is in order.” Nana pushed a button on Sarah’s PIU. “You need to read the help notes,” she said. “Each unit now contains a guardian within the crystals. That’s our spiritual version of a GPS. We added that feature after we lost those two Valkyrie students, Peter Matthews and Gregory Duncan, in the woods. Your unit protector is Sarina—Mr. Hubert’s wife.”

Sarina spilled out of Sarah’s PIU in a colorful, coughing haze. “Oh, my goodness—sakes alive, headmistress! I thought those children were going to drown!”

Sarah just stared at the tiny being in the middle of the floor. Her PIU had a genielike little entity embedded in its crystals?

“Are you all right, Sarina?” Headmistress Stone said, her tone worn and somber.

“I believe so, but that was just an awful experience.”

“She did it without you, Sarina,” Nana Marlene said with no small measure of pride in her voice. “Sarah had enough electromagnetic charge on her own under battle conditions to bring the murals to full life. Most of the time not even my most advanced Upper Sphere students can do that. It requires pure white light, laser intent and selfless sacrifice—a willingness to give every ounce of your own life force to save another. Not bad for a Blend…or a Shadow.”

The small multi-hued nymph did the happy dance in the middle of the rug, stamping her teeny-tiny feet.

“She’s also seeing shadow echoes, plus she’s beginning to read backward.” Nana Marlene went to Sarah and hugged her.

“Oooooh…” Sarina gushed, then covered her mouth. “Like the old texts were written in relation to current-day English?”

“Yes, this child is beginning to read in ancient text—from right to left, instead of left to right, as well as horizontally from top to bottom and bottom to top like many of the old hieroglyphics were presented, so please help her in her normal classes when it’s time for her to read assignment or copy notes from the board. This may be a permanent development or it could self-correct, I’m not sure. But Sarah will need your help to navigate through this.”

“She’ll be reading in the Tehuti Library in the capstone in no time! Oh, Sarah, I am so proud.”

“We
are
proud, Sarah,” her grandmother said, releasing her. “But, Sarina, since she is determined not to divulge who her partners in crime in the hallway were, would you visit those PIUs and help dry them? They’re expensive equipment, as you well know, and the students need them for class.”

“Yes, headmistress,” Sarina said with a squeal, and then disappeared in a rainbow-hued, opalescent streak under the door.

Nana Marlene placed an arm over Sarah’s shoulder and began walking her toward the kitchen. “We will have a cup of tea, over which we will discuss what these new talents that are beginning to bloom truly mean—and the responsibilities that go with them. And you will dwell on what I have said, as well as this very unfortunate incident that you had a hand in exacerbating. I have not even begun to assess the punishment that something so serious requires, but perhaps seeing how quickly things can get out of hand is enough laceration for one soul. I honestly don’t know, Sarah. But I do know that tomorrow at 3:30 a.m., Titan Troy will escort you to your detention—if you are still going to take Professor Raziel’s advice and go. With everything going on, no one would blame you if you didn’t.”

Sarah’s and her grandmother’s eyes met. Sarah knew her nana was so bone weary and so upset that she didn’t have it in her to enforce a punishment that now seemed moot, given all that was going on.

“Maybe not right now they wouldn’t,” Sarah finally said after a moment of reflection, “but in the long run they would. I don’t want them thinking you play favorites. I could care less about what they think about me at this point, but I don’t want them thinking badly of you. I’ll go.”

“If that’s what you want, I will respect your wishes.”

Sarah stopped walking and stared at her grandmother. “I don’t mind doing the detentions. I just want to know how we can make ‘Cinth and the others get better.”

“You can’t do anything, Sarah—and I want you to promise me that you won’t. But the staff here, while holding each student’s life-force in the light, will send a dispatch to find the source of the contagion. And we will be scouring the school to shut down all additional unauthorized portals. We never found the PIUs from the two students who died in the forest, and having those crystal-lit units out there in a den of negativity is of deep concern. They didn’t have a crystal keeper in them like yours does, and we must find them, which will take time—something I fear we don’t have. And all of this while we try to save your friends’ lives and find the missing students.”

Sarah’s room had become the impromptu command center. She said good night to Titan Troy, opened her door and was greeted by an entire cadre of overwrought friends. Tami quickly shut the door behind her and locked it, while Allie and Jessica shushed loudly to bring order.

“What happened?” Tami asked, thrusting a chair forward so Jessica and Allie could make Sarah sit down hard in it.

“It was all so messed up,” Jess said, not allowing Sarah to answer Tami’s question. “The moment you guys left, we got old Hogan away from the front desk on a phony stables call, then the Upper Sphere crew went in without you.”