The Alphabet Superset: Week 4: Declaration of Protection

 

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    Their wooden swords smacked into each other as the two boys practiced their well-choreographed fight. They had been practicing the set for weeks and the movements were becoming second nature to them. To David, it felt like a fight from a video game, trying to hit the right moves at the right time to get the most points. To Joshuah, it felt like a dance, the blows playing out over a silent beat neither could hear. 

    To their instructor, Sir Marshall, it was just another training session. He watched his pupils like a hawk, critiquing every movement down their wrists, ankles, and even their eyes. David was too rigid, focusing too much on copying the movements taught to him and not on why they were there. Joshuah didn't take this seriously enough. Joshuah was having too much fun, failing to recognize the importance of what he was learning. But Sir Marshall held his tongue. They were both just high school boys and the odds of any of this coming to play in a real-world scenario were hopefully very low. 

    So he turned his attention to Markus. Markus was not one of his students, but rather a student in one of the local clerical domains. He had volunteered to help with the paladin training sessions, citing a curiosity about how the paladins operated. Currently, Markus was working up a sweat of his own as he concentrated on maintaining the protective bubble around Sir Marshall's pupils. Sir Marshall could see the faint signs of fatigue settling in. The occasional muscle spasm. The focused breathing. The subtle shifts to get more comfortable without interrupting his work. Sir Marshall knew that if the training went on for much longer, the bubble would start to get weaker.

    "Alright pages, that's enough for today. You need to go get ready for your next classes." Joshuah and David returned to a formal standing position. They shook hands respectfully as the bubble around them dropped. Then they turned and bowed to Sir Marshall. Sir Marshall bowed his head in acknowledgment and then turned around. With formalities over, everyone relaxed.

    "Dude, I can't wait to start the new set next week. I am starting to get bored with this one." David rolled his arm as he spoke, hoping that would help with the soreness setting in.

    "I don't know. I think all of our fights are fun." Joshuah replied, clapping David on the back. "Maybe you just need to toughen up." He teased.

    "Oh yeah? Come here." David replied with a grin, trying to get Joshuah in a headlock. Joshuah slipped out and bounced back as the two began to grapple playfully.

    Sir Marshall grabbed water bottles from a cooler nearby as he watched the two horsing around. He walked over to Markus, who had taken to lying on his back on the ground and handed him one.

    "You aren't too bad yourself Markus. Must take a toll maintaining that barrier around them." Sir Marshall commented as Markus practically chugged half of the water he was handed.

    Markus all but gasped for air before replying. "It's fine. It's a nice workout and gets me out of the study halls for a couple of hours. Besides, it's cool seeing how much easier and stronger the barrier is getting."

    There was no warning for what happened next. Sir Marshall, David, and Joshuah all sensed it at the same time. An evil presence that called them all to action. They looked across the courtyard and focused on a boy with a flaming sword. Sir Marshall cursed his luck as he hadn't prepared the pages for this. David sensed the evil and assumed the boy was evil. Joshuah sensed it and was confused as to why it came from the boy. Only Sir Marshall knew that it was the sword, not the boy, that was triggering their senses. In a second, it wouldn't matter.

    David charged across the courtyard without warning, summoning a flaming sword in his hand. Joshuah and Sir Marshall, who were already caught off guard by the evil were in no fit state to react in time. Joshuah could only shout.

    "DAVID!"

    Joshuah was quick to run after David, trying to stop him from doing something stupid. He watched as David was blocked by one of the two guys with David's target. He didn't see the second one throwing his own spell. But he sure felt it.

    Before he knew it, he was flying through the air. He didn't feel himself slam into the wall per se. It was more one moment he was flying and the next was darkness. The darkness was cold like water and he seemed to be sinking into it. He wasn't scared. He was strangely calm, waiting for the white light to appear. But it never came. Instead, he was greeted with the unfamiliar voice of a boy around his own age. No, you don't! Get back here. He felt a hand grab his own in the darkness and pull him out of the cold darkness. As he looked up, he saw a red-haired boy with a faded green jacket. Then unconsciousness took him.

    He awoke to find himself looking up at a white ceiling. He attempted to look around but only succeeded in making his head spin and ache. He groaned. A weight lifted from his stomach and suddenly his mother was looking into his face. She smiled in excitement and relief as she cupped his face, tears filling her eyes.

    "Oh thank the Father you finally woke up. You have no idea how worried I was."

    "Mom? What do you mean? How long was I out?"

    "A week. That magic freak really did a number on you." Joshuah turned his head to see David sitting in a chair on the opposite side of his mother. David looked exhausted, but relief showed on his face. Joshuah could see that his hands were wrapped tightly around the silver cross on his necklace. David followed his gaze and must've just realized how hard he was holding it. He released it and rubbed his hands on his pants. "You gave us a good scare these past few days."

    "Where is Dad?" Joshuah asked, finally able to look around the room properly. The room's walls and floor were as white as the ceiling. Both David and his mom had blankets on the back of their chairs. He saw another one on an empty chair beside his mother's.

    "Your father has been in and out a lot the past couple of days. He has been trying to get to the bottom of the whole situation and figure out who is to blame for this." She replied softly. "But don't worry. He has been here every night since we heard you were here."

    "Things are weird right now. Sir Marshall and I have both been questioned about the fight. The school police have also questioned the other boys. The school is trying to say that we acted without provocation, attacking an innocent student on the grounds. But all three of us know what we felt and the Order has been defending us tooth and nail. The paladins have never attacked a student without provocation."

    "What about the guy who saved me? The red-haired kid?" Joshuah watched as David and his mother exchanged looks. Finally, David sighed.

    "Look, son. I appreciate what he did, but that only makes this next part harder. You have to stay away from him." Joshuah's mom said softly.

    "What? Why?"

    "The whole courtyard saw what he did. There are even a couple of videos of him online. He is a necromancer. The magic he used to save you is unnatural. It took a lot of convincing from Sir Marshall for the Order to not expel you on the spot. They think he might've bewitched you."

    "That's insane. I'm fine. I know I was groaning, but that was only because my head hurt." Joshuah joked, trying to lighten the mood. It seemed to work as both his mom and David seemed to cheer up and relax a bit.

    "That may be true, but I still say you should stay away from him. Necromancers are bad news and have caused a lot of trouble throughout history. No telling what this boy's motivations are for saving you." His mother said firmly. Joshuah could tell she felt strongly about this and didn't have the strength to argue this point with her. But he still disagreed with her. There was something he felt when the boy saved him that felt genuine. The fear and resolve were serious and raw. The boy who saved him was a good person and nothing would shake his belief in that.

    Even with magic, it would be another week before the doctors were comfortable with releasing Joshuah. They wanted to make sure that there were no other problems. They weren't the only ones nervous. Sir Marshall and several other members of the Order would swing by Joshuah's hospital room and grill him with questions. The intent was clear as day. They were doing everything they could to ensure that Joshuah was still himself. They even went so far as to sprinkle holy water on his head to see if he would burn. But the tests all proved what Joshuah knew from the beginning. The unnamed necromancer hadn't done anything to him.

    The staff of Myers High were just as nervous about the entire situation, at least from what Joshuah could glean from his dad at night. They were reluctant to share information on any of the students involved in the fight without a good reason. To the school, it was obvious that David was in the wrong and they had no reason to divulge information on the students to the aggressors. David and Joshuah's father insisted that the boy they attacked had to be a warlock, not a wizard. The school, in turn, insisted that the point was moot and that students still deserved to be protected in their halls until they gave the school a reason not to.

    What frustrated Joshuah was that no one seemed in the least bit interested in the necromancer that saved him. While suspicion behind his motives had died down, the fact remained that they didn't trust him. Joshuah hesitated to raise the issue further lest he draw the attention of those above him. That was the last thing he or his mysterious hero needed.

    When he was finally released, Joshuah knew exactly where to start looking. The library was where the fight happened and he hoped someone there would have the information he needed. When he entered the library, he was surprised by the greeting he received.

    "My, my, aren't you the young man who got hurt a couple of weeks back? How are you feeling?" The voice belonged to an aged woman with graying blonde hair. She had risen from her chair behind a desk near the entrance of the library with a look of concern and relief on her face.

    "I am doing well. They have finally released me from the hospital and I am as good as new." Joshuah replied cheerily, walking up to the desk where the lady was.

    "Oh, that's wonderful. I am so glad to hear it. So what brings you here today?" The lady asked, her professional voice returning as she sat back down.

    "Well, speaking of that day, I was wondering if you could help me find the red-haired boy who helped me out that day. I want to thank him." Joshuah dropped his voice low, not wanting anyone other than the lady to hear him.

    "Sadly, I cannot." The woman said, matching his volume. She reached for her sticky notes and scribbled something down before tearing it off and handing the note to him. "That said, I believe this may be of help. I am sure she is in her office now. Just walk up to the bookshelves and they will take you where you need to go."

    "Thank you so much," Joshuah said quickly before walking over to the shelves. As he walked, he looked at the note. It was a name. Mrs. Celia Livingston. Once he was in front of the shelves, Joshuah realized there was no actual path for him to follow. As if in response to his thought, the shelves opened before him like a mouth, leading to a small circular area. They then closed as Joshuah stepped into the room. The note then flew out of his hand and hovered for a second before disappearing in a puff of flame and smoke. The next second, the shelves in front of him opened up to a small, homey office. Behind the grand desk in the room sat a tall woman with long blond hair. She looked up as Joshuah stepped into the room and then rose to greet him.

    "Well, hello there. My name is Mrs. Celia Livingston. What brings you to my office today?" As she spoke, she directed Joshuah to one of the chairs in front of her desk. They both sat down as Joshuah began speaking.

    "Hi, my name is Joshuah. The lady at the front told me you could help me out. You see, a couple of weeks back, I got hurt really bad on the front steps of the library and a red-haired boy saved me. With everything surrounding the incident, the school is hesitant to give me any information on the situation. I was wondering if you could help me find him." Joshuah found himself having leaned forward in his seat as he spoke. His elbows rested against his legs and he gestured as he spoke, as if he could physically organize his thoughts while he spoke.

    "Indeed, I could help. But before I do, please tell me. Why do you want to find him?"

    "Okay, fair enough," Joshuah took a deep breath and then explained the entire situation to Celia. The circumstances that led up to the injury, what he saw when he was under, and everything he had learned at the hospital. He held nothing back and really hoped that she would both believe him and help him.

    In the end, Mrs. Celia leaned forward as Joshuah sat back in his chair. She took a moment to gather her thoughts before speaking. "That's quite the story. I can see why you want to thank him but also why you are worried about him. I did warn him this would happen if people found out about him. I just wished that I was being overly cautious. I will summon him here so you two can speak, but be warned. He has seen the necklace you wear and is already scared of running into you again. So be patient with him."

    Mrs. Celia pulled out her phone and sent a brief text. It would be another twenty minutes before the wall to the office seemed to roll open to reveal a small circular area surrounded by bookshelves. In the middle was Bryce, the red-haired boy Joshuah had seen when he was dying. He looked smaller in real life than he did in the vision. Bryce stepped into the office but stopped short when his eyes fell on Joshuah.

    "Mrs. Celia, what's going on?" Bryce asked. Joshuah could tell he was nervous to come further into the room. If what Mrs. Celia said was right, Joshuah could only imagine the thoughts running through Bryce's head right now.

    "Bryce, this is Joshuah. He is the boy whose life you saved a couple of weeks back." Celia responded calmly. She rose from her seat slowly and gestured to Joshuah, who took her lead and stood as well.

    "Hello, Bryce."

    "Hello, Joshuah. So what brings you down here?"

    "Bryce, he has something important to discuss with you and you need to hear him out. He has taken a huge risk just coming here today." Celia said calmly. Joshuah could tell Bryce was nervous about this meeting, but that piece of info seemed to get his attention.

    "Wait, what's wrong?" Bryce asked hesitantly, looking between Celia and Joshuah.

    "It's nothing serious. The words out that you're a necromancer. Members of my Order seem to think you have cast some magic spell on me and now I am nothing but a humble undead servant waiting for you to order me to destroy them." Joshuah spoke in an overly sarcastic manner, playing the whole situation off as a joke.

    "That sounds very serious," Bryce said in surprise, shocked at the nonchalance of the explanation.

    "I am sure it would be IF you had actually done the thing they're accusing you of. But I think all three of us know better. After all, last I checked, my heart is still beating and necromancers can only control the dead." Joshuah leaned against one of the chairs in front of Celia's desk, a confident smile on his face.

    "Wait, then what did I do?" Bryce and Joshuah both looked at Celia.

    "I suspect all you really did was stabilize his condition. Basically, you stopped him from dying long enough for medics to reach him and do what they needed to heal him. It's an often overlooked ability that necromancers can utilize." Celia responded confidently as a book floated from her desk to Joshuah's hands. He looked over the page it opened up to see a picture of someone in a similar pose to his with a lengthy passage below it. "Many necromancers have hidden themselves over the years by pretending to be clerics, using their abilities to mimic clerical blessings. They then become doctors or investigators to use their powers for good without drawing attention to themselves. Stabilizing someone who is dying is one of many tactics they use."

    "Which brings us to why I am here." Joshuah took over, rising up off the chair. "I know I am not under your control and I know you saved my life. But I also know that some people aren't going to see it that way and others won't care. There will be people gunning for you and I figured you could use at least one friend." Joshuah reached out his hand and Bryce hesitantly took it. Joshuah used the offered hand to pull Bryce close, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and touching their foreheads together. He closed his eyes.

    "Te benedicente Deo protegam."

    White bands of light grew from where their hands touched, wrapping around both boys' hands like a ribbon. Bryce could feel its warmth and swore he was connecting with Joshuah. This wasn't like when he reached into Joshuah and pulled back his soul. That was cold and forceful. This was like their souls were hugging each other as firmly as their physical bodies. It was comforting, sending a shiver up Bryce's spine. A moment later, the light and warmth faded. Bryce felt reality sinking back in as Joshuah pulled away.

    "What...what did you just do?" Bryce looked at his hand, expecting to see some sign of what just happened, but there was nothing.

    "The Paladins call it a Vow of Protection. If God allows it, I will vow to protect you with everything I have. Even my life if necessary." Joshuah explained, putting his hands in his pockets and taking a step back to give Bryce his space.

    "And...if he doesn't?" By every measurement Bryce had ever heard, Necromancers were evil incarnate. They were a violation of life, nature, and even God's will.

    "Why would God not allow me to protect a fellow human being? Besides, you don't need to worry about getting struck with lightning. If God didn't want this vow to happen, we wouldn't have gotten that little light show. So clearly, the big man upstairs approves of me protecting the guy who saved my life." Joshuah's confident smile didn't waver. And for the first time since their conversation began, Bryce smiled back.

    "So what now?" Bryce asked curiously "How does this vow work?"

    "From what I am told, that band should light up if you're ever in danger and help guide me to you. If I am being honest though, I have never really done this before. Vows are very serious business in my order and you don't make one lightly. Truthfully, I am hoping that we never have to find out."

    "Yeah, same here," Bryce said nervously.

    "Just to be safe though, let's exchange numbers so we can reach each other," Joshuah suggested, bringing out his phone. He pulled up his number and then handed it to Bryce.

    "Yeah, that's a good idea." Bryce took the phone and entered the number into his own phone before shooting a text back to Joshuah's phone. He then returned the phone.

    "Well, I have nothing else to do here for now. Mrs. Celia, thank you for the help. Bryce, thank you so much for saving my life. I know it probably put you in a weird position, but I for one truly appreciate it. I hope one day that I can return the favor." With that, Joshuah bowed and turned heading for the office door.

    "No problem man. Glad I could be there." Bryce couldn't stop the memories from coming back. The cold hospital room. The labored breathing. The heartbeat sensor going from a steady beat to a single endless tone. He smiled, hoping Kyle could see this now.