Page 5

A Tale of Topaz

Ultima: Rio

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“A gain,” I demand.

Scotland huffs with a creased brow and races Clyde across the gym and back. They look at me for further instruction.

“Again.”

Clyde swears under his breath and sprints with Scotland across the black polished U on the gym floor and back to me. Scotland gives no signs of fatigue while Clyde is bent over, trying to catch his breath.

I nod at Scotland. “Your stamina is improving.”

“I would hope so! I’m rooming with the Commander for Superior’s sake,” he scoffs. “If I’m not on top of my game, I’ll never hear the end of it from you, sir.”

If Scotland continues at this rate, he’ll run longer at his speed. It’s just asthma that gets him.

“Why do we have to train? Our success rate in protecting dragons has increased by half this year. What gives?” Clyde grumbles. Strands of his raven black hair fall over his hooded, arctic eyes. A scar interrupts his cheek and lips, which often wears a scowl.

“And despite our best efforts, they’re still dying and at a faster rate now. We must always strive to be our best selves by training. Your turn, Clyde.”

He rolls his eyes. “I’ve been training. I’ll give you a panic attack, dude.”

I have my fair share of those. “Try me.”

With a mischievous grin, Clyde flexes his muscles under his black shirt that may be too tight. He stretches his arms, causing the shirt to ride up and expose his plaid boxers poking from his black cargo pants.

“Hurry up!” I snap. “And get a bigger shirt or wear your jacket next time.”

Clyde sucks his teeth while Scotland moves aside to sit on the bleachers, pull up his white calf socks, and tie his bulky sneakers. I’ll never understand how the fastest guy on Zeala can wear such thick shoes without falli—

Heat courses through me as sweat oozes from my skin. A fever breaks, but my head is foggy like an overdose of allergy meds. Each limb gains fifty pounds, so I collapse to the floor but catch myself with my knee. A distant ringing crescendo in my ears to the point of sickening nausea. The darkest pools of my mind spread like a rampant virus, whispering and telling me to be afraid. I want to run or hide; I don’t feel certain of myself. All I have is doubt, danger, and death.

“S-Stop!” I gasp, trembling.

The chilling sensation leaves my body in a quick, forceful pull. I get back to my feet and find Scotland perspiring in a pool of visible anxiety.

Clyde crosses his arms with the return of his scowl. “Is that enough for you?”

“Certainly, especially since training means no assignments for either of you.” I clear my throat. “You’re both dismissed. Remember to drink some tea to replenish your powers.”

Scotland scrambles off the bleacher and zips out the gym in a flash. Clyde grabs his jacket, but I catch his arm when he’s close to me. He winces and gives a look that can probably kill puppies.

“We’ve had many discussions on your attitude, so let me gently remind you that it’s not welcomed here, or I can hold you in contempt downstairs, Mr. Strife.”

Clyde relaxes his jaw as he nods. “Thanks for the reminder.”

He rips his arm away and storms out the gym, still swearing under his breath. It’s been two years, and this guy still can’t stand me. I don’t think I’ll ever get through to him, especially if the last Commander was as laid back as people claim she was.

But more dragons died on her watch.

The gym doors slam, snatching me from my thoughts. Katarzyna approaches with quick steps and a pinched mouth.

“Kate?”

“Rio. W-We have a problem.”

I follow her to the medical wing of the base until we reach a curtain she peels back. The twins, Derrick and Eric, lie in separate beds beside each other, coughing. Both smile in unison at the sight of me.

“Commander Rio!” they say.

“What the hell? What happened? I thought you two went partying on Topaz!” It’s practically all they ever do on their respite days.

“Well, funny story ‘bout that,” Derrick begins, pointing at me. “We kinda wandered from the spot and got lost. Then a few cuties said—”

“Dude, you’re telling the story wrong!” Eric interjects. I sigh sharply and fold my arms. The twins share a look before their eyes lock on me. “Do you remember when the second dragon death happened yesterday, we were closing off the area?”

“Yes,” I reply through gritted teeth. “That was indeed yesterday. You two are off TODAY, yet still in uniform! And you went to Topaz in that? Representing Ultima?”

“Okay, so after we finished our assignment on Garnet last night, we hopped on a train to Topaz. No way were we gonna backtrack to change clothes. We wanted to have a drink for the two dragons that died,” Eric explains. “Topaz is better at literally everything, as we all know.”

“Do we, though?” Katarzyna asks. She’s behind me, twisting two blond strands.

“AnYwAy,” Eric continues with an eye roll. “We went there and got SMASHED, stayed overnight, woke up still drunk, and kept going! The Nightlife District is amazing. We were in an underground club with bears roaming around!”

I tighten my crossed arms and try to unlock my tensed jaw. It’s something almost every day with these two. This is as absurd as when they released all the snakes from their cages at the pet store on Garnet last year. They were suspended for nearly three months.

A nurse passes by and peeks over my shoulder at the twins before writing something on her clipboard and speeding off.

“While drinking, we were dared to go to this creepy cave,” Derrick explains. “Long story short, we went and some Elite chick attacked us!”

“What?!” Katarzyna screeches.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! You can’t end a story that fast and drop a bomb like that.” My gaze swings between them. They look as dumbfounded as that story. “First, there will be discipline for misrepresenting Ultima in your inebriated state. Second, tell me everything that happened with this...Elite member.”

I leave the medical wing after half an hour of drilling the twins with questions. Katarzyna follows behind me but stops abruptly when I whip around to look at her. Her eagerness descends as she shyly tucks a strand of her pale, blond hair behind her big ears.

“S-Sorry, are you going back to your office now?” she asks.

“Yes, I need to file an incident report to Cedric.”

This is never supposed to happen. Elite stays in their business, and we stay in ours. Why would someone from Elite attack Ultima?

Katarzyna shuffles aside as nursing students walk by. The lobby is a busy blur of silver, navy, and black uniformed members entering and exiting the building. Remodeling is finished, so the floor shines with its newest ivory marble layout that matches the half-circle desk the receptionist sits at.

Two dragon deaths didn’t slow us down on Onyx Island. While we watched the news, my gut told me the decision. Even with the organization-wide announcement in the U-Knit app from Master Cedric, no one seemed surprised by our stance. Ultima is happy to maintain peace and protection for dragons when we’re needed. I’m sure Elite has their hands full with the basics of escorting citizens in need, providing security at opulent events, mediating complaints in HOA neighborhoods, and basically catering to the affluent crowd.

“Can I help with the report?” Katarzyna asks, tugging on the hem of her black shirt. Her lifeless, ashy eyes peer through her lashes. “You know, just in case you can’t remember all the details they gave. I was the second pair of ears.”

“Sure?”

She’s stiff beside me when we cross the lobby to the hall before going to my office. I offer to stop at the cafeteria to grab a snack, but she declines and keeps her gaze straight ahead.

“I’m worried,” she finally mumbles when I unlock the office door. She sits in the white pod chair and crosses her long legs. “This is bad.”

“What? The Elite chick? Well, yeah.” I move around to sit behind my desk and power on the computer. “Once I send the report to Master Cedric, he’ll follow up with Master Azul.”

I pull up my inbox to a flood of emails from citizens with dragon concerns. Whether serious or not, we have to follow up. Maybe it’s someone suspicious watching a cluster of dragons. Maybe a dragon is stuck in trees because of its wings. Maybe dragon eggs were left behind, and someone wants to report it. Emails are converted into missions and dropped in someone’s queue in the app.

Before I can start a new email to Cedric, one from Lynn Wu catches my attention. Quiet and always in the shadows, I flag her email to read later and start a new message to Cedric.

I look up at Katarzyna, still fiddling with her fingers. “Ready?”

She quickly straightens up in the seat, tucking her hands under her legs with a fervent nod and a big, thin smile. I type the opening greeting to Cedric and pause. Where do I even begin?

Twins Eric and Derrick Fincher were on patrol duty last night on Garnet Island. Upon hearing the news of the second dragon’s death via the radio, they wanted to have a toast for the sacred species we lost from malice. That sounds good so far.

“What was that part after they went to Topaz?” I ask.

“They uh...had a lot of drinks, passed out, and kept partying the next day.”

“Right. Thanks.” I continue. “So, they went to a cave because of a dare and ran into an Elite member. Name unknown due to low lighting and inability to read the badge. Did they say how tall she was?”

“Just that she had black hair and...gold eyes?”

Ah yes. Eyes of the richest gold one could imagine.

The twins did not exercise their best judgment and approached the mysterious member. This sparked retaliation from the woman as she... “projected a purple bubble” at them.

I look at Katarzyna again, unsure if Cedric will understand the verbiage.

“What would you call what that member did to the twins?” I ask.

“Um...blasted a purple translucent force-field, maybe?”

I nod. “Hmm. I like that better.” I continue typing the email but stop midway and glance back at Katarzyna. “Wait.”

She’s twirling a strand of her wispy hair, knees tucked together. It’s not until the silence sets in that she finally looks at me. Her eyes sing with admiration and shyness.

“What’s wrong? Need another paraphrase?”

“No, this member used her powers. The twins mentioned nothing about combat. Doesn’t Elite have the same code as Ultima?”

Katarzyna frowns. “I think so.”

Really, Elite? The same architect built our bases. Our uniforms look nearly identical, but they use different colors. I KNOW they have the same code as us. Combat first, powers second, and this member violated that. I don’t understand the animosity and why she jumped to such extremes.

This needs to be addressed immediately.

The second part of their story is the most intriguing section. I resume typing, recalling the part when the twins recovered from the blow. They tried to make peace. Their approach was all wrong, and they were still drunk, which I’m sure seemed threatening from a different perspective. That explains why she...she—

“Summoned a creature that appeared ethereal and untouchable.” Goosebumps rise on my arms with a twinge of pain. The twins wouldn’t hype up something unless it’s legit, and they delivered with this member. She’d be a great addition to Ultima.

“Sounds dangerous,” Katarzyna mutters.

Her brittle voice pulls me out of my thoughts. I grimace over my computer at her, but she just crosses her arms. The sparkling, innocent smile shifts into a pout.

“Okay, and?” I scoff. “We could use someone like her. My hope is the two organizations will merge someday.”

“Yeah, but doesn’t she sound reckless? Do we really want someone like that?” Katarzyna asks, adjusting in the chair. “She can’t follow a simple code.”

I stare at her dubiously. “As if that’s ever stopped us from recruiting or coaching former Elite members.”

“Elite hates us and resists our peacekeeping advances. If she’s already this powerful as is, then what makes you think she’ll stand for some ‘coaching’ and whatnot? The real questions are, what was she doing in that cave? What did she have to hide that she was so hostile to our team? Is she involved with the homicides? I don’t trust this one bit.”

My energy deflates from her negativity. She has great points, but coming from her feels like a big sister telling me she knows better.

“Let’s just finish this email,” I grumble. No way I can kick her out of my office now because it’ll be awkward. “The summoned creature and member carried an alluring glow.” Hmm, not sure if that’s relevant to Cedric. “The twins dodged the creature’s advances but were struck a few times as they attempted to retreat. They didn’t look back after they left the cave.”

“I think that’s it,” Katarzyna murmurs, going back to playing with her hair. A group of members shuffle by the office door, and a savory aroma lurks in the room.

“I’ll send this to him now.” I peek over my computer monitor. “I uh...have a meeting in a few minutes.” I swallow hard. “See you later?”

She nods and gets up. “Of course. M-Maybe we can get dinner?”

My brain catches up to my mouth, and I tense.

“No thanks.”

A flash of shock washes over her before she bites her lip and nods. I try to appear neutral and wave as she leaves. The traffic increases in the hall with the chatter.

I’m debating whether I want to dispatch anyone. It’s risky, knowing this girl is out there as a threat, but things need to get done regardless of the dangers.

I focus on the flagged email from Lynn Wu. My brows crease as I skim through the message, unsure of how to process any of it.

She wants to go to Emerald Island? For a...gem?

I grab my phone and text her to meet in my office. A few members poke their heads in to say hi before scurrying down the hall. Shoes squeaking against the floor are accompanied by giggles and shouts. Lynn arrives in no time, clutching her violin.

There are many members I don’t know well, including Lynn. She’s an incredibly talented violinist, and her Trace Mark is a little hard to see from the silvery undertones of her beige skin. Standing in the dark, the mark looks like watery music notes in a malformed cascade.

“Hello, Commander Rio.” She doesn’t move from the doorway but sweeps a black strand of hair from her face that must’ve escaped from her high ponytail.

“Hi, Lynn.” I point to my computer screen as if she can see it. “I saw your email. You wanna go to Emerald Island for a gem?”

“Yes. It is the actual stone—an emerald,” Lynn says. “Tess has family on Emerald Island. They found it embedded in the ground. It IS affecting the surrounding area, which is stated to be a dragon nesting spot. No one is sure what magical properties the gem is emitting.”

Huh, interesting. All the islands on Zeala were once a whole continent thousands of years ago. How ironic that an actual emerald is discovered on the island named after it.

I scratch my chin, feeling the stubbles scrape my fingers. “This sounds complex but easy to justify to Cedric. Let me check with him first to see if he’ll greenlight this. If he does, I wanna take the twins with us.”

Lynn frowns. “If I can inquire, sir, why them?”

“Trust my reason. There was an incident today where they spotted a unique Elite member. She can summon a creature and project some sort of force field.”

Her brows shoot up. “They...actually have decent members amongst them?”

“My thoughts exactly. Anyway, I’ll keep you posted on this.”

Lynn bows, keeping her straight face. “Understood. I reserve weekends for trips to Garnet Island. I await your response, Commander.” She slides into the hallway and disappears.

Newfound desire and excitement seep out of my pores with an electrifying surge. Without Katarzyna’s negativity, I’m more committed to my intrigue. I start a new email to Master Cedric with the details Lynn provided, hoping he’ll consider it.

I revisit the medical wing only to find the twins still in the same spot I left them, but now with chips, cookies, and soda. They make eye contact with me and light up all over again.

“Hey! You’re back!” Derrick says.

“I was only gone for an hour.”

“Right, right, well, we’ll be out in no time.” Eric scratches his head. “Whenever they release us.”

A nurse stops at the curtain, appearing dismayed. She looks at me and grimaces.

“I told these two to leave thirty minutes ago!”

I shoot a glare back at the twins, who sheepishly smirk at me.

“Finchers! Up and out, NOW,” I order.

Bed sheets fly in a tornado as they scurry off their beds, grabbing their snacks and whizzing past me and out of the medical wing. The disgruntled nurse sighs and calls for help getting the beds ready for new patients. I leave the wing where the twins wait by the reception desk like lost kids. My phone buzzes to a text from Cedric—a thumbs-up emoji.

The twins follow me to my room while trying to avoid the rush hour traffic of shift changes.

Scotland isn’t in the room, so I can breathe a little with the twins. They plant themselves on my lower bunk and sprawl out with their crumbly goodies. Maybe someday we can remodel these dorms so they aren’t forever eleven-by-twelve boxes with gray walls and black, vinyl-tiled floors.

“I hope your hangovers are long gone at this point because now, we have work to do.”

Derrick crunches on a sugary pastry that’ll get lost in my covers. “Cool, what kinda work?”

I smirk. “There’s a gem on Emerald Island that needs excavating. Master Cedric just greenlit the mission. You’re coming with me.”

“Can we see King Jonah too? He’s so nice,” Eric sighs dreamily.

“Anyone is nicer than that jerk, King Evan,” Derrick grumbles. Hatred is written all over their faces since they’ve been banished from returning home on Sapphire due to “excessive pranking.” What makes it worse is their family doesn’t bother to visit them here.

“No. We’re grabbing the gem and taking it to Onyx Island. You’re still in trouble, but this is your chance to redeem yourselves.”

The two smile in perfect unison, and for a moment, I almost can’t tell the difference between them. Usually, it’s easy to distinguish with the simple hair trick—Derrick having a lighter brown shade of hair than Eric. But with their dorky grins, every feature down to the long nose, square jaw, and brown down-turned eyes look identical.

“So, this Elite member you encountered,” I begin. “Anything else I should know?”

“Yeah, she’ll kick your butt if you don’t watch out,” Derrick says. His fingers are caked in orange residue, and crumbs litter the corners of his mouth. He looks tempted to lick his fingers.

“And she’s stronger than you, without a doubt,” Eric adds. I frown.

“I don’t know how else to describe it,” Derrick says. “It’s like a heavy layer of an ethereal aura.”

Eric snorts. “She’s like OP.” I furrow my brows, confused about the phrase. “Just avoid her at all costs. My guess is if she’s been with Elite for a while, and no one has seen her before, it’s for a good reason. Don’t go provoking people, Rio.”

“Yeah, seriously, just don’t,” Derrick adds.

A smirk creeps across my face. The excitement has fully resurfaced from the depths of Katarzyna’s hefty apprehension.

“Heh, nonsense. I don’t provoke people,” I say, juggling a lightning bolt in my palm. “I change them.”