Page 11 of The Song of Sunrise (The Prentice Teller #1)

Shadow Pass

W e travel westward, riding hard, only stopping to rest the horses and catch wild game. I find comfort in the predictability of our travels, leaving only the weather as an unknown element. To that, I usually can predict anyway. A true Midlander can smell the rain long before it arrives.

Luckily, the pathways along the Grass Plains are not troublesome, and I allow myself to finally relax atop Lux, letting go of that sense of impending doom I have been storing deep in my chest ever since the night of the Harvest Festival.

Nothing had gone right since then, really nothing until now.

Flat, expansive plains stretch ahead of me. Dew clings to the tall grasses, and the sky is dark and plump with clouds, rippling above in deep blue waves. Sprinkles of a soft orangey pink begin to highlight the edges of the clouds as the sun slowly rises impossibly far in the distance.

I’m always struck by the beauty of my favorite time of day.

“We should be passing the Watch border by nightfall,” Castor says from behind, his breath hot on the side of my neck.

“You are going to do it, right? Enroll in the Watch?” Leaf’s voice is full of anticipation.

My heart skips a beat. I cannot believe I’m doing this.

I know this is something Marrow would have been proud of.

I’m not abandoning my Telling entirely, but rather taking a more active role in the stories I’ve studied for so long.

Plus, I cannot help the electricity that coats my veins at the prospect of this great adventure.

There is something so enthralling about making a choice like this.

My choice.

I did not decide this for Marrow, but for myself.

Because deep down, below my pendant necklace, under layers of skin, bone, and blood, there is a spark.

A spark so blindingly bright and furious about what happened in Goldenpine, what happened to me when I was on stage, what happened to my family during the Underworld attack, that I need to find a way to harness this festering anger.

“Akemi?” Castor asks.

Right, I haven’t answered them yet.

“Yes.” I can feel something shift within me. A permanence. A destiny. “I am going to enroll in the Watch.”

Leaf yelps with excitement, startling Tiny as well as all the nearby birds.

Castor leans forward. “You are going to do great. They teach you all you need to know. We will be right there with you.”

“I call dibs on taking her weapons shopping. Oh! And her first pint at Anita’s!” Leaf says.

We continue riding for a while, each Watcher exchanging different specific events they apparently want me to experience with them.

First snowball fight, first sparring match, and so on and so forth.

Though I’m nervous about my choice to enroll, my chest swells with appreciation for these two Watchers who started as strangers but are now becoming friends.

They help pull the roots of doubt that are sewn into my mind.

Doubt that I’m not making the right choice.

Doubt that I’m not strong or talented enough to make it into the Watch.

None of that matters when you have friends to support you through it all.

I may not know anything about being a warrior personally, but I’ve memorized the stories.

And I’m a quick study.

The clouds part and the flat plains begin to slowly roll as the day goes on. Tiny and Lux continue their pace across the expansive hills without falter. Show offs.

Then rolling hills cut away to large rock formations and spattered forests. Though it is late autumn, my brow glistens from the persistent sun.

Leaf seems to be thinking the same thing and says, “I need to cool off. This will be worth the extra time. Follow me.”

Leaf turns us slightly northward off the path. Castor and I follow suit. We weave between the trees as birds, squirrels, and other small forest animals flutter away in our presence.

“Ahh, here she is.” Leaf guides us to an opening where a large, pristine lake is nestled amongst massive boulders. The tree line is thick on the other side and cloaked with the misty shadows. Outlines of towering mountains loom in the distance.

Leaf dismounts and ties Tiny to a fallen log, then strips off his shirt. His muscles gleam in the sun. “Last one in has to tell the Elder Council where we’ve been!”

Before I can process what Leaf just said, Castor leaps off of Lux so fast I question if he was ever behind me. They both bolt to the lake, alternating ripping off their clothes and shoving one another until Leaf pulls ahead and jumps in first.

“HA! I wi—!” Leaf whips back his hair once he rises from the surface, but Castor is already on top of him, pushing him downward.

I catch myself staring a little too intently at the two fully grown man-warriors tackling each other like brawling cubs. Muscles on display, fighting for dominance.

“You coming in, Kem?” Leaf calls.

I don’t stop the smile that forms on my lips as I unbuckle my belt, kick off my boots, and run toward the Lake.

“Akemi was the last one in. Technically this means that she has to present to the council…” Leaf teases me as we continue our ride to the Watch.

Castor rolls his eyes at Leaf but does say, “I will be doing the talking, but she should come with. They might want to hear her account of things. Plus, she is late for our enrollment deadline, but with her circumstances—”

“—And with your dad,” Leaf interrupts.

“… Yes, and with my father , we should be able to get her in.”

“Do you think there is a chance they won’t let me in?” I ask. I hadn’t thought of that yet. My pulse starts to race. I have no alternative plan.

Castor leans forward in the saddle until his chest touches my back, and I feel a zap of energy flow from my back to my toes. “I’ll make sure you have a spot.”

I gulp and nod a few times fast.

Get yourself together, girl.

I don’t know why I continue to torture myself and ride with him.

Sometimes the absence of words is ten times louder than a tale full of them. That is how it is with Castor. He only seems to speak after listening thoroughly, then carefully chooses words, conveying his message in the most efficient manner.

A man of few words.

Good thing I have plenty.

Well, I used to. It’s been hard to be my usual chipper self when the world around you melts away and shows you its ugly core. So I distract myself in the scenery or by asking Castor questions as we ride.

Since Redrock, I learned there are three different factions within the Watch.

Leaf is a Sun Watcher while Castor is a Moon Watcher.

Sun’chers and Moon’chers are the two primary factions of Watchers, both powerful and able to channel Source magic to protect wide sections of the human territories.

The third faction, Starwatchers, is so rare that no one has been studying those abilities in decades.

The clock is running out until we arrive at the Watch, and I have so many questions. The problem is that with each answer they give, two more questions arise in its place.

“You’ll be tested right away to determine which celestial faction you have the better affinity with,” Leaf explains.

“What happens if I don’t align with either?” What if I don’t belong?

“Nah. I wouldn’t worry about that too much. Everyone eventually finds a home. Sun’chers are a little more common, so I’m hoping you come over to the bright side with me!”

Castor scoffs. “As opposed to what? The dark side with the rest of us Moon’chers?” Then he breaks out in a rare laugh that gives me shivers.

“Or maybe she’ll be with the Starwatchers, if only they still existed,” Leaf jokes. “I bet my toned and bronzed bottom dollar that she’s with the Sun’chers.”

Castor snorts. “Leave your rump out of this. I’ve seen enough of it this summer during our travels.”

We continue to ride through the afternoon, Leaf and I taking turns sharing stories while Castor grunts his approval. A relatively peaceful ride despite my nerves growing with each mile.

“We are nearing the border of the Watch,” Castor announces, and within a minute, I sense something different about the air, like it’s easier to breathe.

“Finally!” Leaf exhales. “As much as I love traveling with you two, I don’t think my ass could take one more night of sleeping on the ground. No offense,” he adds, looking at me.

“None taken,” I say. “Honestly, I don’t think I could manage another night either.” I feign passiveness, but my stomach feels like it’s perpetually tripping, unexpectedly flopping to the side and spraining an ankle.

Another new place.

Another new start.

The sun lowers as we ride through shallow streams, across muddy patches of grass and small forest trails until ancient, layered red rock juts upward in large mounds on either side of us.

My lungs expand with the crisp night air. Stars wink awake through the dusky sky, the pinpricks of light preparing to observe their subjects below.

We trot single file through a narrow crack between two rock walls.

I wouldn’t have seen it if the Watchers didn’t lead me right to it.

I spread my arms wide like a bird until the rough stone of the passage lightly scratches my fingertips.

Leaf casts some sort of enchantment so that the pass illuminates in front of us. The darkness follows us closely behind.

“This is Shadow Pass. The Watch is just beyond here,” Castor murmurs behind me.

“Aptly named,” I whisper back.

The crevasse curves gently to the right, revealing a slightly wider path and opening beyond where two large silhouettes stand on either side, weapons ready.

“Good evening gentlemen,” Leaf waves his brightened hand, then closes it, extinguishing the light.

“Name and purpose,” a guard says as he steps into the center of the path, blocking us.

“My companions and I are expected by the council. Please notify them to prepare a room for a new recruit.” Castor lets out a short breath and nudges Lux forward into the moonlight. I feel him tense behind me.

The guard’s mouth opens then promptly shuts in shock.

“Mr. Washington! I apologize. Right away then.” He scuttles backward, leaving plenty of space for us to pass.

We continue forward through the opening.

Creamy lavender moonlight pools around us, and my eyes widen at the sight.

Perched among the ancient rock and billowing evergreens is an enormous castle.

The entrance, only accessible by a series of deadly looking switchbacks, is halfway up the polished white stone wall.

Three large geometric spires shoot upward so tall they pierce into clouds, two splitting the front entrance and another jutting from somewhere in the middle of the castle.

It is beautiful and terrifying… as if I’ve stepped off the stage, right into the stories I so often sing about.

A lush forest thick with pine trees that have to be over one hundred feet tall swishes pleasantly in the breeze as an owl hoots.

Mountains reach jaggedly toward the star-flecked sky, grasping for the moon only to find it sparkling the surface of a giant lake.

Castor leans forward, his lips brushing the tip of my ear.

“Welcome to the Watch, Akemi.”