The sun had died and night was upon us. Every street way and alley corner was shrouded in darkness. Our only light sources came from the moon’s gunmetal glow and a few faint street lamps. The wind came and went. There was no one around and no sounds to be heard. Far away from our location was a cemetery, which made my spine tingle.

“Explain to me again why we’re searching for your sister?” my friend Blythe asked. “Correct me if I’m wrong but if someone’s trying to kill you, aren’t you supposed to stay far away from that person? And for that matter, are you sure Irma’s trail lead us here?”

“She’s my sister, that’s why” I said. “And yes Blythe, I’m positive.”


My name is Rosella Luna. I am a witch from the world of Spades. Every denizen is rather a witch or a wizard. Females are witches and males are wizards. But right now, I was on Earth, tracking my sister Irma’s trail. It had been a whole year since she attempted to kill me in a fire and then disappeared.

My childhood friend Blythe Spicer accompanied me on my quest. Blythe was a proficient wizard. He was somewhat muscular but surely skinny. Externally, with his lustrous blond hair, shimmering amber eyes and slightly tanned white skin, Blythe looked like your average boy, someone who enjoyed playing sports and daydreaming about girls. But internally Blythe was nothing like that… the playing sports part anyway.

“Do you have reasons to doubt my tracking skills?” I asked Blythe.

“Well, based on your lousy magic level, you haven’t given me a reason to be 100% reliable,” Blythe replied. “Remember our end of the year assessment last year? I let you lead and you led us straight into the snake pit!”

“Well excuse me for trying to take on a challenge!” I yelled. My relationship with Blythe was, in a word, complicated.

“This place is ancient,” Blythe said, changing the subject. He looked at the old buildings and lined up shops. “It’s like walking through a soulless graveyard.”

I was shocked upon seeing my reflection in a glass window. If my skin became any paler, people would start thinking I was a ghost. My green eyes looked like two perfect emeralds. My light brown hair, including the two curls, had gotten thinner. My face and arms looked bonier than usual. I didn’t recognize myself at all. Then, I started to fall back. I would have landed on the ground if Blythe hadn’t caught me by the arms.

“What’s the matter?” he asked.

“I… I saw something in there,” I said, pointing at the window. “I saw eyes… red eyes!”

Blythe raised an eyebrow. “Fine then, let’s go check.”

Blythe was insane. He was totally, completely and absolutely insane. You never went into a store where all the lights were out! Blythe pulled on the door handle but the door didn’t open. It was locked. I let out a sigh of relief. Blythe then walked over to the window and cupped his hands around the glass.

“There’s no one in there,” Blythe said. “It must have been your imagination.”


I stared at the window and then ran to catch up with Blythe. Maybe it was just paranoia. But I still had the feeling that something was not right. After walking about two more blocks, we saw a small store down the road. Unlike the rest of the town, the lights were on inside.

“Irma’s signal is getting stronger,” I said, looking ahead.

“So she’s in there?” Blythe asked.

I swallowed my breath. “There’s only one way to find out.”

I told Blythe to stay put outside but I wasn’t sure if he would follow my instructions. He hardly ever did. When I went inside, I was surprised at how clean the place looked compared to the outside. It looked as if I was in a restaurant, an empty one atleast. The square shaped tables were made of glass. There was a menu at each table along with salt and pepper shakers. Small colored lights hung around the entire restaurant. Aside from the squeaky floorboards, the place wasn’t half bad.

“Hello, is anyone here?” I asked. “Irma?”

“Don’t know anyone by that name.”

A man slowly walked out of the back kitchen and up to the counter. He had grayish hair but he looked strangely young, possibly in his late twenties. I couldn’t tell much because he kept his back to me. All I saw was that he was wearing a maroon vest. He slid something across the counter. I walked up until I was standing an inch away. It was the man’s nametag and the name on it was Scully. He leaned against the counter, still with his back to me. There was something odd about him. He didn’t seem like the kind of person you’d want to be alone in a room with. I put on a brave face.

“Can I help you with something dear?” Scully asked in a raspy voice.

“I was wondering… if anyone had been here recently, perhaps a girl.”

“Girls don’t really come here much. No one does. ”

“Are you the only one living in this town?” I asked suspiciously.

Scully nodded. “Folks abandoned this place many years ago.”

I assumed something like that. Even though some parts of the town were nice, most of the architecture looked old and run down. The apartments didn’t look too stable. The walls appeared as if they’d fall apart at any given moment. So this vicinity wasn’t exactly the safest place to live. But it was these thoughts that gave me all the more reason to be curious. If all the townspeople had left, then why was Scully still here?


At that moment, one of the lights in the restaurant fused out. It was the brightest light so the restaurant looked much darker. It also felt like the temperature had just dropped ten degrees just like that. Suddenly, I felt incredibly uncomfortable being in there. Then I heard heavy breathing. Scully turned around. His head was down on the counter. But the breathing was definitely coming from him.

“So then, where’s your friend?” Scully asked.

“He’s waiting out–” I stopped talking and realized I hadn’t told Scully about Blythe. “Wait a minute, how did you know I had a friend with me?”

Scully slowly raised his head revealing a devilish grin on his face. I gasped as I noticed something strange about his eyes. He didn’t have any!
 

Blythe sat against the wall of the restaurant. His elbow rested on his left knee and he had his palm on his cheek. The expression on his face clearly displayed his boredom. Spying a rock at the tip of his foot, Blythe kicked it with his shoe. The rock went flying until it hit a wall. Blythe sighed. This was going nowhere.

“So this is what it’s like being a guy; always the one to be bossed around.”

Suddenly, all the lights went out in the restaurant. Blythe heard the noise and shot up from the ground to his feet. For a minute, Blythe hesitated to go in because I had told him not to. And Blythe knew better than to go against me. But this time, I was glad he did. He burst open the door, ripping it off its hinges and saw Scully take a step towards me.

Blythe stepped in front of me, facing Scully. “You lay a finger on my friend and I will personally deliver your soul to the grim reaper.”


When Blythe noticed that Scully didn’t have any eyeballs, he twitched. Blythe still didn’t seem nearly as freaked out as I had been. Clearly, Scully was not normal. The inside of his eyes were hollow. A red glow came from them. It was the same glow I saw inside the store earlier.

“Rosella, now!” Blythe said to me.

I nodded. “Right!”

Following a red, illuminating glow coming from my palms, a weapon known as my Rose Scepter materialized. Made from stainless steel and including hard, glassy rose petals as a signature trade, my scepter was one of a kind. Blythe didn’t take long to summon his weapon, a scythe, his most prized possession. It was much longer than my scepter. The large curved red and black blade was menacing but promising. Blythe and I had tag teamed before but never like this. This was our first actual threat.

“I don’t know who the hell you are,” Blythe said to Scully. “But I do know what you’re going to be!”

Blythe took the first shot at Scully. He extended his arm to swing with his scythe. At first, Scully dodged the attack, which only angered Blythe. He hated it when he missed a target. Blythe swung again. It sent Scully a few paces back.

I aimed at Scully with my scepter. The rose petals on the tip of my scepter opened and a long red ribbon shot out from inside. The ribbon wrapped around Scully. He began to struggle, tugging at the ribbon.

“Don’t bother,” I said. “The ribbon can’t be ripped or destroyed in any way.”

Now what would you expect? I was from a world that functioned with the use of magic. Ribbons that couldn’t be ripped were just the beginning. My ribbon was probably the most useful feature of my scepter. The more a person struggled, the worse it became.

I released the ribbon. Scully started spinning. Blythe struck him with his scythe and sent him flying out of the restaurant. He hit the side of a large building. Blythe and I walked out of the restaurant. Blythe smiled in satisfaction.

I was starting to feel a little relieved but it didn’t last long. After hearing a loud growl, Blythe and I turned to look ahead. Scully was walking towards us. But he looked different. His entire body was surrounded by a black glow. His nails were sharper and he looked a little bigger. I could tell that Blythe was as surprised as I was.

“Blythe,” I said in utter shock. “This man, his soul… it’s corrupted.”

“You know what that means don’t you?”

“I know,” I replied, raising my scepter. “It means no holding back.”

I couldn’t move on from the fact that Scully’s soul was corrupted. It was no longer pure. What this means is that Scully had been exposed to black magic. Corrupted souls were classified as demons. I had never seen it happen back in Spades so it didn’t make sense to me how someone’s soul could become corrupted on Earth. There wasn’t much that could be done. Scully’s soul belonged to the devil now. I had Scully wrapped up in my ribbon. I gripped my scepter hard. The tighter I held it, the tighter the ribbon’s hold was.

“Blythe, let’s go,” I said. But he didn’t answer.

I turned around to see Blythe on the ground, sitting in crisscross apple sauce position. My eyes nearly popped out of my head. Blythe opened his palm and a hamburger appeared in it. For a split second, I forgot that Blythe could make food appear to his heart’s content. Blythe took a large bite, sinking his teeth into the soft bun and tender meat.

“What the heck are you doing?!” I yelled at Blythe. “Get up!”

“I can’t fight on an empty stomach,” Blythe said, his mouth stuffed.

Good grief, I thought. Something like this could only happen to me. Only I could get stuck with a partner who would stop in the middle of a fight to eat food just because he got a little hungry. I could not believe my luck. So many thoughts were going through my head that I didn’t know where to begin.

“We’re in the middle of a battle. This is no time to eat!” I kept yelling. “Now get off your butt!! Stop eating and start fighting!!!”

“There’s no wrong time to eat a hamburger!” It was obvious that Blythe wasn’t listening.

“Yes there is and it is now!”

Be happy you’re not me folks. It was times like this that I wanted to smack Blythe. But that wasn’t important. Just because he was getting distracted didn’t mean I could. I had a battle to win. I guess I was on my own for now.

In all the confusion, I had let go of my tight grip on my scepter. I looked up and saw that Scully was free from my ribbon. I refocused myself. When he came charging, I swung at him with my scepter. The hit didn’t do much. Scully raised his arms, his sharp nails coming down on me. I stopped them with my scepter, trying to push him back.

“You can’t win little girl,” Scully said. His voice was deeper. “Why not give up?”

“Giving up isn’t an option!”

I pushed up harder on my scepter but Scully was overpowering me. And of course, Blythe was still eating; that idiot. I mean seriously, what’s more important, saving your life or saving your stomach? You tell me.

After a hard clobber, Scully tossed my scepter out of my hands and sent it into the air. My scepter hit a wall and fell to the ground. Scully swung his arm, knocking me in the direction of the scepter. I hit the same wall with a loud thud. I reached out and grabbed my scepter. My vision was blurry and I couldn’t get up. I saw Scully heading towards Blythe.

“Get up kid,” Scully said. “Get up and fight.”

It was as if Blythe was deaf. He didn’t look up or even move. He just sat there eating his hamburger. I tried to call out Blythe’s name but I didn’t have the breath. I could only watch. Scully became greatly irrigated. He extended his arm and knocked Blythe’s burger right out of his hand. Blythe stayed still for a moment with his head down. Then he slowly raised it. His eyes were narrowed, his mouth was a straight line and his stare was cold.

Now we were in trouble.

Blythe Spicer: I’ve known him since were kids. Sometimes, he could act like a total drama king but he was generally a calm person … except when he got hungry. Blythe’s hunger was uncontrollable. When he was hungry, he was an entirely different person. He could be highly melodramatic and would gain one heck of a temper. Blythe hated it when someone told him to stop eating when he was hungry but there was only one thing he hated more.

“There are a lot of things you can do,” Blythe said, slowly rising to his feet. His voice had lost all sense of humor. “You can rob a bank, hotwire a motorcycle and even steal souls if you want but the one thing you never, ever do is… stop me from eating before I’m finished.”

That was it.

Blythe started spinning his scythe in his hand, first slowly, then faster. Then he swung at Scully with all his might. The end of the blade collided with Scully’s stomach and pushed him back against his own restaurant. The windows shattered as shards of glass covered the ground. Blythe repeated the attack and sent Scully in the other direction.

“Just who the hell do you think you are?” Blythe shouted. “You think you can knock my hamburger out of my hands just to start a freakin’ fight?” He swung again, banging Scully on the head with his scythe. “You bastard! You sicken me! You don’t deserve to live!”

Blythe gave Scully no chance to attack. He took full charge. With each attack, Blythe’s anger level rose until it finally went through the roof. I hadn’t seen this side of Blythe in a long time. It was his “dark side.” Scully came charging with his mouth wide open and his long tongue hanging out. Blythe raised his scythe and thrust the blade with all his might. Scully went flying again. But this time, he got up and fled the area.

“Yeah you better run!” Blythe cheered. He walked over and helped me up. “You okay?”

I nodded. “Thanks, I’m okay. But you know, you didn’t have to go all grim reaper on Scully like that.” That’s what we called Blythe’s “dark side.”

“It’s what he gets for making me waste a hamburger… and for having a stupid name.” Blythe looked at me and held his thumb up. “Don’t worry, I sent him running for the hills!”


That answer didn’t sound right. “Blythe, you idiot! Don’t you know that demons pry on more souls for strength?” I looked in the direction Scully ran. “He’s heading for the cemetery!”

“So, who cares? All the souls in the cemetery are already dead.”

“Not necessarily. Look around.”

Blythe and I were the only two people there. It took Blythe a minute to figure out what I was talking about. But soon, he too realized what I meant. I started running for the cemetery. Before Blythe moved, he turned back at his hamburger, which was lying on the ground… and was squished. I gave Blythe a look that said: come on or I’ll kill you.



Our friends Lilli and Raphael came with us on our journey. But they weren’t from Spades. We met them on Earth not too long after we arrived. I didn’t plan on telling them our secret but they saw us with our scepter and scythe. Once again, it was thanks to Blythe that our powers were exposed. He couldn’t control his hunger. Blythe suggested erasing their memories and then disappearing using our magic but I didn’t feel that was right.

“Raphael, are you sure we should be here?” Lilli asked in her soft voice. “Rosella and Blythe must be searching for us.”

“We’re doing them a favor,” Raphael assured. “They have their work to do and we’re helping them by staying out of their way.”

Doing unnecessary things that would only bring trouble: all these boys are the same. Raphael was a huge fan of magic so as odd and eccentric as he was, I didn’t get why he wanted to go in a cemetery. You never went into a creepy graveyard at night! The wind blew Raphael’s raven black hair back. He got an eager gleam in his blue eyes and stepped through the gates of the cemetery. Lilli followed close behind him, holding her black hair, which had been put into a ponytail. But unlike Raphael, Lilli’s brown eyes were full of fright.

There was a loud sound of someone breathing. Lilli looked behind but there was no one there. The breathing got heavier, slower and closer. Two red glows poked out from behind a grave, allied by the silent cover of darkness. I readied my scepter. Just as Scully lashed out at Lilli and Raphael, I sent out the ribbon, which Scully was then tangled in.

“My friend let you go,” I said, referring to Blythe. “But I’m not that dumb and I won’t let you escape twice.”

I released the ribbon just long enough for Blythe to land a hard hit on Scully with his scythe. Scully landed on his back. I pushed on a tree and jumped up in the air. Using the ribbon, I tied his entire body up. I did a flip and landed on my two feet all while tugging hard at my ribbon. A dark glow appeared around Scully and just like that, he was no more. The black magic flew away into the night. It was the last we’d ever see of Scully the demon.

“Are you guys alright?” I asked Lilli and Raphael.

“Yeah we’re fine,” Raphael replied.

“What just happened?” Lilli asked. They were both clearly in shock.

“Nothing worth repeating,” Blythe answered. In “celebration” of our so-called victory, he conjured up another burger. “Now, who wants a hamburger?”

I smacked him on the head with the side of my scepter. “Idiot! Now I want to knock that hamburger out of your hands!”

The four of us walked back into town. I felt a little bad. In the midst of that battle, I had forgotten all the damage we caused. Of course, Scully’s restaurant was ruined. The door had been broken down. The windows were glassless. The floorboards were smashed. The lights were fused. Furthermore, a lot of the buildings were damaged. We had also just destroyed the last person to ever live in this small place. Now the town really was abandoned.

“We should be heading back home,” Blythe said. “We only got a few days of break.”

“Really, we still have two more months,” Raphael said. “We’re on summer vacation.”

Blythe looked puzzled. “Summer vacation?”

“Yeah it’s when you don’t have class for like three months. Don’t you guys have it?”

Blythe shook his head. “We don’t get much time off school.” He turned in my direction. “Anyway, Rosella, guess it’s time to face the music. We didn’t complete our mission.” When I didn’t answer, Blythe called my name again. “Rosella? Ro? Hello, earth to Rosella!”

I heard Blythe calling me but there was a reason I didn’t answer. I bent down and picked up a black pearl that I found on the ground near the restaurant. Small and smooth, I held it in my hand. I knew this pearl very well. It belonged to my sister.

“Blythe, she was here,” I said, showing Blythe the black pearl. “I’d recognize this pearl anywhere. It’s from Irma’s favorite bracelet. She was wearing it on that night.”

Blythe took the pearl and looked at it. “If she was here, she’s probably long gone now.”
As much as I hated to admit it, Blythe was right. We had come to Earth to find Irma but we failed. Now, as Blythe said, it was time to face the music. I didn’t know where Irma was or even where she could be going. One thing for sure was that my sister had been on Earth. For whatever reason there was, she had unfinished business… and so did I.

While I had been away on Earth, all was not well back in my home world of Spades. My eldest brother, Rai Luna, paced back and forth in an empty room. Rai was the oldest child in our family. He bared a great resemblance to our father. He had the same amber eyes and the same red hair with a fiery temperament to match. Last but not least, whenever they were worried, they preferred to be alone.

The sky was not its usual, relaxing, serene shade of blue. It was a pale azure, so pale that it looked gray. The puffy white clouds had disappeared and in its place was mist. Rai sighed at the sight. Then, there was a knock on the door.

In came my other older brother Ari. At age 16, Ari was a year younger than Rai. Ari held the door open. He stepped inside with one foot. Ari knew just as well as the rest of us how serious Rai was about his privacy. So this must have been urgent.

“Rai, are you still in here?” Ari asked. “Class will begin soon.”

“Look at the sky,” Rai said in his casual, calm voice. “Tell me you don’t notice the color. It’s never been that dull before.”

“You’re flipping out all because the sky’s the wrong color?”

Rai realized it was no use explaining. “Never mind, what is it that you want?”

“Dad wants to speak with you.”

Rai and Ari walked down the long hallway. Ari skipped the entire way there, his longer blond strands of hair, swaying. Rai opened the door into daddy’s office. Ari didn’t go in. He waited outside. But as soon as Rai closed the door behind him, Ari leaned on the door, pressing his ear against it.

The room was dark except for a dim light coming from the lamp. Daddy was standing by the window. When he heard Rai, he closed the window. Daddy is the headmaster of our school, Soul Academy. In addition to being very diplomatic, he was a very powerful wizard in his day and he still is. One of the very first to get a picture in the Spades Hall of Fame, daddy is greatly respected. He always walks slowly and speaks in a formal tone. He usually had a stern look in his deep amber eyes. He never joked around.

“Your mother is worried about you Rai,” daddy said. “She tells me that you’ve kept yourself locked in your room all weekend.”

“I left the door unlocked,” Rai said in a dry voice.

“Not the point.” Suddenly, daddy’s expression became a lot more serious. He walked over and stood right next to Rai, facing the opposite direction. “There’s no point in hiding things from me, son. I can see directly through you. So tell me, what’s wrong?”

A rule that almost every person in Spades knew was this: Do not tempt Rai Luna. He was one of the calmest and most rational people I knew but if he ever got angry, it meant bad news. But daddy was the only person Rai allowed to push him around. Rai was strong, physically and mentally, but he never had the nerve to stand up to daddy.

“Why bother asking?” Rai asked. “You don’t really care.”

“Communication is a very important thing,” daddy went on.

“It seems to me that this family knows how to do everything but communicate. That’s how we ended up in this mess.” Rai’s voice became a bit louder. “Your little cover up isn’t going to work for much longer. Sooner or later people will find out the truth about what that girl did.”

“That girl is your sister.”

Rai had never let go of what Irma did to our family. We had to recreate our entire house after her fire. When asked, daddy told people that Irma was training on Earth. Our family had a reputation to uphold. After thinking it through for a couple of days, daddy came to a conclusion that no one outside of our family (except for Blythe) would know the truth. However, Rai made it crystal clear that he would never forgive Irma for what she did. He didn’t even want to hear her name spoken.

“Not anymore she’s not,” Rai said strongly. “There’s no way I will ever consider a traitor a part of my family. A long time ago, you would have said the same thing.”

“Well this isn’t a long time ago Rai,” daddy said in the same stern tone. “Hate won’t solve any of our problems.”

“She betrayed us!” Rai yelled. “She set that fire on purpose to have us all killed so she can rot in hell for all I care.” With that, Rai headed out of the room.

Daddy sighed. There was no getting through to Rai. When Rai opened the door, he saw Ari leaning against the wall, whistling. But Rai wasn’t fooled. The voices had become so loud that Ari didn’t need to eavesdrop pressed against the door. But Rai just walked straight past him and headed downstairs, thinking over the conversation that had just taken place.

More confused than ever, Rai was starting to question his judgment. He stopped walking for a minute. The thing that was on his mind was locks, of all things. Rai had always been fond of locks; tools that kept secrets sealed and kept others away from things you didn’t want seen. Rai thought for a moment that maybe he was keeping out more than he could take in and maybe the thing he was trying to lock away was something he needed to set free.

 

From the day a child is born to the day they die, the dream for the people in Spades is unanimous. Everyone trains in hopes of one day going down in the Spades Hall of Fame, only for witches and wizards who were the best of the best. And that was the goal of Soul Academy: to take Spades’ most elite young wizards and witches and turn them into legends.

It felt good to be home. Before Blythe and I left, we told Raphael and Lilli that we’d see them again soon. I planned to head back and continue our search for Irma as soon as we could. While walking down the long, black and white tiled hallway, I saw all the familiar faces. And yet, everything felt so foreign.

When we got to our class, there was only one other person there. It was my sister, Luciana. Of course, she was always the first to be in class. She’d come in minutes before class started and just sit in her seat and read a book, the same book.

Luciana, Irma and I were triplets. Growing up, we were such close sisters. We told each other everything. But things were different now. What can I say? We grew up. But Luciana had changed the least. Her blonde hair was still wavy and her complexion was still fair. She glanced over with her large green eyes and I saw a familiar sadness in them. Only one thing had really changed in Luciana. She never talked. When we were little, she was a chatterbox but then suddenly, she stopped speaking around age eight. She’s been mute ever since.

Blythe was standing against the door. Everyone in the hallway faced the same direction. I stood in the doorway and saw Rai and Ari walking down the hall, side by side. Since our father was the headmaster, everyone in the school knew us. To them, we were a step beyond being celebrities. As Rai entered the classroom, he gave me a brief glance. Suddenly, I felt the air around me become cold and thin.

As usual, our teacher, Zaka Nandi, was late to class. When he showed up, he was carrying a single clipboard in his left hand and a cup of coffee in his right, a beverage which he drank too much of. He wore circular framed glasses and was a slender man, most likely due to the fact that he was a vegan. He had messy, layered hair that was both black and white so it was hard to tell which his natural hair color was but most people had their bets on the white.

He taught class STAR, standing for Soul Talent Advanced Royals. It was the only advanced class in the academy. The reason being was because the curriculum of Class STAR was more difficult and fast paced than the rest of the classes. It was also highly battle-oriented while the other classes mainly taught about controlling one’s power and using it properly.

“Alright, welcome back class,” our teacher said. “Now as a refresher, who would like to state our school’s four rules?”

Soul Academy ran on four primary rules. They were essential in our learning. Every student was to have them memorized by heart.

“Mr. Nandi,” my classmate Azrael Ara asked.

“Azrael, as I’ve mentioned before, feel free to call me Zaka.” Mr. Nandi… I mean Zaka, preferred being on first name basis with students.

“How inviting,” Azrael said with a fake smile. “Mr. Nandi, no offense but what’s the point of reciting these rules over and over again? We are the advanced students.”

Azrael came from a wealthy line of aristocrats and he always looked the part. He always wore a black tuxedo, somewhat similar to Blythe’s own attire. He also always wore a red and black striped tie. Azrael hid his cockiness under charms and etiquette. He’d help students if they asked but his real intentions were only in helping himself.

Other students in our class that I knew fairly well included the 12-year-old boy genius Izzy Zapata; the mischievous and velvet loving Vivi Valentine; Vivi’s less sneaky cousin Geir Heartley; and the very feminine natured June Ota. And of course, my siblings Rai, Ari and Luciana were in Class STAR. Our class was very competitive; something Zaka took advantage of any chance he got. He wasn’t the sanest teacher in the world but he was skilled.

“We go over the rules so that by the time you all graduate from Soul Academy, the rules will be permanently edged into your skull,” Zaka explained. “Now I’ll get you started. Soul Academy Rule Number One: Silence is key. The best way to surprise your opponent is to not let them know you are there and then strike when they least expect it.” Zaka looked around. “Ah! Rosella, Blythe, why don’t you two tell us the rest?”

Of course he had to pick me. I stood up and stated the second rule. “Soul Academy Rule Number Two: Optimism is a sheer sign of strength. From start to finish, no matter what the situation, keep your head up, look to the light, persist and keep going.”

“Rule Three,” Blythe said, standing up. He had that same bored look on his face that he always had in class. “Underestimating or overestimating an opponent, a mission or a friend will only hold one back from their true abilities. Never compare oneself to another. One’s own soul is the source of true power.”

“Good you two,” Zaka said. “Now say the last rule in unison.”

Blythe and I exchanged looks and then said the rule. “Rule Number Four: Lust is the door to betrayal for even the purest souls. Never let your own desire hinder the mission ahead of you. Stay focused and determined to carry out a successful victory.”

“Definitely the most important rule to remember but also the most difficult to follow,” Zaka told us. “Good job guys. Now sit down.”

Zaka gave us the direction to wait for him to give his next set of instructions which apparently he had “misplaced”… again. I looked over at Blythe. He looked like he was about to fall asleep. Luciana was still reading. Ari waited patiently, looking up at the lights overhead, with his elbows on the desk.

The rows in our class were curved and went straight across, sort of like bleachers. The seating chart went alphabetically in order by first name. Zaka did it on purpose otherwise Rai, Ari, Luciana and I would all be sitting right next to each other and Zaka encouraged diversity. I looked over at Rai on my right. He was just staring at the empty desk. He looked like something was really bothering him and I pondered what. And then, an announcement came on.

“Attention Soul Academy,” a male voice said. I never knew who the announcer was, only that it was always the same person. “Headmaster Sage Luna would like a word with his four children in Class STAR: Rai, Ari, Rosella and Luciana. Again, the Luna siblings Rai, Ari, Rosella and Luciana come down to the headmaster’s office.”

At the sound of our names, the four of us simultaneously looked up. Zaka released us to go see our father. As we walked down, none of us said a word to one another. It was not like daddy to call us out of class. Now I had two things to wonder about.
 

It had been a long time since I set foot in daddy’s office. The four of us were surprised when we entered. Our mother, Julie, was in there. She was a slim woman with long, sleek brown hair. Sitting on the two chairs beside her were our 6-year-old fraternal twin siblings Nanine and Mace. They both had round faces and had brown hair just like our mother’s. Nanine had ice blue eyes while Mace had light green eyes. We hadn’t all been in the same room at the same time since… that night.

“Well what do you know? The whole family’s here,” Rai said. He paused and looked around. “Oops, almost the whole family.”

“Rai,” daddy said calmly, looking directly at his eldest son. His look said: enough. “Anyway children, I brought you in here to tell you something about the Stardust Dance.”

Every year, the school hosted a dance known as the Stardust Dance. It was in honor of the day Soul Academy was founded. I had completely forgotten about it, which was a first. I just had so much going on. I had always enthusiastically waited for the dance every year but for some reason, I didn’t seem to care about it this time.

“But first, Rosella tell us about your time on Earth. How did it go?”

“Well…” I said uneasily, trying to get the words out. “I tried but I didn’t find her.” I could tell they were all a little disappointed by the news. “But I did find this.” I summoned the black pearl and showed it to daddy. My family all gathered around. Just as I expected, they all knew it was Irma’s. “There was one more thing. While we were on Earth, Blythe and I encountered a… corrupted soul.”

“What do you mean?” daddy asked.

“There was a man in an abandoned town and his soul had been exposed to black magic. I’m not sure how but I have a hunch that Irma was there and it was somehow her doing.”

Daddy set his arms on the table and intertwined his fingers. “Well then, this makes what I have to say even more important.” This caught our attention. “Strange things have been going on in Spades. For example, the sky is much darker and dark skies are not common in Spade during daytime. But there is more. I sense a very sinister presence around here.”

“You mean around the academy?” Ari asked.

“I can’t seem to pinpoint an exact location,” daddy continued. “But yes, it is around Soul Academy, too and the night of the dance is on a night of a full moon. As you all know, that is when black magic can be at its fullest power. So I need Soul Academy’s five guardians to keep a close look out at the dance for any unusual activity.”

Since Rai, Ari, Luciana and I were all the children of Sage Luna and we were all in Class STAR, we were each a guardian. The fifth one was Blythe. And as guardians, it was our sole responsibility to protect the well being of the academy and make sure no soul ever became corrupted. Back on Earth, I had already seen what black magic could do to a person. It was a killer. The practice of black magic had been banned in Spades but apparently, it was back. In my entire life, I only knew one person who had mastered black magic.

“Don’t worry daddy, we will not fail you,” I said.

“I know you won’t,” daddy replied. “I trust my guardians.”

And with that, we were done with our visit to the headmaster. Rai and Luciana left immediately. Ari slowly walked out. My mom stopped me before I got to the door.

“Rosella, if you don’t mind, could I just see your Rose Scepter for a minute?”

“Of course mom,” I replied.

I summoned my scepter and handed it to my mother. Her face lit up at the sight of it. Mommy had used the Rose Scepter when she was a student at Soul Academy. Only the guardians of Soul Academy were allowed to wield weapons. Both my mom and dad had been guardians and so was Zaka. Some teachers said the fates had brought me to choose the Rose Scepter while others said they knew I’d choose it all along.

Whatever the case, I promised myself that I’d work hard in my time at Soul Academy and so did Blythe. I was only 14 and he was 15 so we both had a long way to go. But I vowed that I would one day become a stronger guardian than my mother.

“Don’t anticipate Rosella.” I looked up and saw Ari, standing down the hallway, looking somber. It was surprising that he hadn’t left. “It only brings disappointment. Just look at Rai.” With those few words, Ari vanished down the hall.

I didn’t understand. Why would Ari say that, of all people? And what did it have to do with Rai? I walked all the way down the stairs and through the hallway which seemed endless. My eyes traced the tiles and I barely looked up the entire time. At last I approached my class. It seemed like Zaka was still sitting at his desk, drinking coffee. The class was semi loud. Zaka looked up at me and smiled. He stared down at my hands.

“Ah Rosella,” he said as I walked in. “Is that what I think it is? You are becoming a wonderful keeper of the Rose Scepter just like your mother!”

I realized that I was still holding on to my scepter. I didn’t bother to dematerialize it after letting mommy see it. I slowly walked up the steps to my seat. I laid my head down on my desk. I glanced over at Rai, still with my head down. He looked exactly the way he did before we left.
 

“A single soul can blank the tears of blank and the laughs of blank,” Blythe said out loud, becoming stressed. “Damn it! Where have I heard this before?”

Zaka had prepared a test for us. Even though he told us constantly that we’d have the test today, he still gave it off as a surprise test. Sometimes I wondered what was in store for the future of some of the teachers at Soul Academy. I’d rather not give names. When I looked at the first question, I was surprised to see that it was a line I had made up myself. How in the world did Zaka get a hold of my quote? I smiled and filled in the blanks silently, thinking to myself. A single soul can sense the tears of joy and the laughs of lust.

Rai looked over at me and saw me writing away. He was surprised. Ari looked like he was really thinking. Then again, he was just probably gazing at the lights. Luciana felt nervous. It was her extreme case of test taking anxiety. Blythe was incredibly frustrated upon realizing that he didn’t know any of the material on the test. He had never been one to study.

“No worries!” He turned to his right. “I’ve got the genius Azrael sitting next to me.”


Blythe slowly scooted his chair and tried to sneak a peek at Azrael’s paper but it was blank. “Gotta erase all these marks,” Azrael said to himself and rubbed his eraser harder.

“Geez,” Blythe remarked in annoyance. “The freak’s trying to erase printer marks. How can smart people be so stupid?”

“Zaka, I need to go to the bathroom!” Izzy Zapata said. “Where’s the pass?”

“What are you? The hall monitor?” Zaka asked, taking a sip of his coffee.

“Occasionally,” Izzy replied.

“Then you don’t even need a pass.”

Izzy shrugged and then left. Blythe looked back at Izzy’s seat. His test was still on it. A clever smile spread across Blythe’s face. He quietly snuck away from his seat. Izzy had finished the test. Blythe smiled as he copied down the answers

Meanwhile, Azrael was still trying to erase the printer marks. Poor guy, if only he knew they didn’t erase. “Ah, why won’t these stupid marks erase!” Then he started erasing so fast that the paper ripped in half. Azrael fell forward, his face slamming down on his desk.

Blythe looked over and saw Azrael’s head down. “Uh Zaka, I think Azrael’s dead!”

“He will be missed,” Zaka said in a nonchalant voice. Yup, that was our teacher!

Soon, Izzy came back from the bathroom. He smiled at his test and turned it in. It made me a little mad. Izzy was the youngest in the class and still he always finished every test, quiz, exam and assignment first. He was a showoff but I didn’t let him bother me. I finished triple checking my answers.

“Perfect!” I said with a content feeling.
I was finally able to breathe easily after turning in my test. When I returned to my seat, I noticed a small piece of white paper by my chair. I picked it up. The word “The” was written on the front flap. I was certain it wasn’t mine.

“Rai, did you drop this?” I asked my brother, holding the folded paper.

Rai looked over. “That’s not mine.”


I was a little confused. I opened the paper and on the inside, it said the word “Soul”. Okay, now I was even more confused. The Soul… what was that supposed to mean? It didn’t make any sense… until I turned the paper over. On the back flap, the word was “Master.”

“The Soul Master,” I said, still trying to make sense of the phrase. Then, upon realizing the significance of the name I was holding in my hands, I gasped.

There’s an old legend about the first two inhabitants of Spades: the Soul Master and the Black Soul. They created Spades and kept our world in balance with their positive and negative energies. Although no one saw them, they saw everything. But the Black Soul wanted even more power. That lust grew to the point of complete corruption. The Black Soul started stealing souls of powerful wizards and witches. Those souls also became corrupted.

This led to the Battle of Souls, a fight to the finish between the Soul Master and the Black Soul. After taking a large blow, the Black Soul began to lose all power, giving the Soul Master the perfect opportunity to destroy the Black Soul. However, the Soul Master had lost too much energy to continue protecting Spades and so, the Soul Master also disappeared. Many people believe that neither the Soul Master nor the Black Soul are truly gone, which is something to be hopeful for and to fear.

“You look like you’re about to pass out,” Blythe said. I looked up and saw him standing over me. He took the paper from my hands. A dull expression was on his face. “Alright this is weird, even for you. What the heck are you doing staring at a blank piece of paper?”

“What do you mean blank?”

I came up from the ground and snatched the paper from Blythe. He was right. There were no words on it. That was impossible. Just two days ago in class on Thursday I had found this very piece of paper. It said The Soul Master.

“Calm down, it’s just paper,” Blythe said.

“No it’s not. This paper had the words The Soul Master on it.”

“The Soul Master has been gone for ages.” Blythe said and stood up. “I gotta go. See yah later.” Before leaving, he glanced back. “Get some sleep. You’ve been looking drained lately.”

After he left, I shifted on my back again. I know what I saw. Staring at the sky, I watched the delicate clouds pass by. They were a symbol of chaste and innocence. I closed my eyes for a moment and soaked in the quiet serenity. At sundown, I started walking up the fields when I thought I heard someone. I turned back but there was no one there. Then I saw a gleam out in the distance. I walked down to the seashore. At first all I could see was sand and sea.

I looked down and saw a bracelet at the tip of my toes. I picked it up. At that moment, it didn’t feel like I was standing in sand. It felt like I was sinking deep down in quick sand. The small, smooth and spherical beads on the bracelet were black pearls. I stretched the bracelet. Just as I thought, there was room for one more pearl and I had that thirteenth pearl.


That following Monday, Zaka had put us to work. The Stardust Dance was this Saturday. Preparations had begun. Zaka had assigned me and Blythe to polish the windows in the ballroom, which is where the main event would be held. He was the boss at being bossy.

“Zaka has to be drinking more than just coffee,” Blythe said. “I swear to the dang grim reaper, that man is drunk.”

“Blythe, look at this.” I held up my wrist, showing Blythe the black pearl bracelet. “I found it out on the beach. It’s Irma’s. The pearls match the one we found on Earth.”

“Rosella, listen to me, you’re becoming paranoid. That bracelet could belong to anyone.”

“Why don’t you believe me?”

“It’s not that I don’t believe you. It’s just that I think you’re becoming obsessed.” Blythe sighed. “We’ll search for Irma back on Earth. Why are you trying so hard by yourself?”

“She’s my sister,” I said strongly. “If you were me, wouldn’t you do the same thing?”

Blythe gave my question some thought. “No, I wouldn’t.” I didn’t expect that answer.

After Blythe and I were done, we headed back to class. Everyone else was already back. I found it funny that when we got in there, Zaka was taking attendance. Usually most teachers took attendance at the beginning of class. But Zaka had the tendency to “forget”.

“Alright Azrael, Geir… the four Luna kids, Ari, Luciana… Rai, Rosella…” But he paused after saying my name. “Well what do you know. June Ota is not here.”

I thought that was a little strange. Up until this day, June had never missed a single minute of school. I wondered if she was sick. But that was unlikely. I mean, of course, everyone gets sick at some point in their lives. That is, everyone except for June. The odd part was that June was absent the next day too and the day after that. The entire week went by in a blink of an eye. And guess what? June still didn’t show up.

That Friday after school, I decided to consult the school nurse, Nurse Naomi. She was a petite, elderly woman who wore large glasses and had grayish-auburn hair. Her cure potions were the lifesavers of Soul Academy. If June was sick, the nurse would know. I forced Blythe to come with me. When we arrived at the infirmary, Nurse Naomi was organizing her medicine cabinet. She wore a long white maxi with a matching nurse’s hat.

“Nurse Naomi? I asked.

“Come in, come in you two,” the nurse said. “How can I be of service?”

“It’s about our classmate June Ota,” I told the nurse. “She’s been absent for the past week and I just wanted to make sure she was feeling alright.”

The nurse opened her files and began rummaging through them. I recalled that Nurse Naomi was slightly disorganized and maybe just a tad bit dysfunctional. “I’m sorry kids but the last time June was here was during health checkups at the beginning of the school year. All her medical records say she’s perfectly healthy.”

I thanked the nurse. Then, Blythe and I left. We walked down the long halls. Blythe opened the door. I had stopped walking.

“Are you coming or not?” Blythe asked.

“It doesn’t make any sense. If June’s not sick, then where could she be?” I then knew what we had to do. “Blythe, we’ve got to check her room.”

I grabbed Blythe’s arm and ran in the other direction towards the main staircase. Our school was four stories tall. The first floor was mainly classrooms. The second floor included daddy’s office, the teacher’s lounge and the ball room. The third and fourth floors were student dorms. Including the roof and the basement, that was a total of six layers, symbolizing the original six guardians of Soul Academy.

The third floor was rooms for students with last names beginning with the letter A through M. The fourth floor was N through Z. June’s last name started with an O, so we had to go all the way up, lucky us. I was a little out of breath by the time we got there.

I knocked on her door. “June? It’s me Rosella.” There was no answer.

I knocked again but still no answer. There were no sounds coming from inside. I accidently twisted the knob. The door was unlocked. When we got in there, the room was empty. Everything was neat and clean. Blythe saw a picture frame on the floor and picked it up.

“Check this out,” Blythe said, handing me the picture.

I assumed the child in the photo was June. She was standing in front of a mirror, smiling. She wore white shorts, a full-sleeved black and white shirt with white buttons and black boots. She had a black witch hat on in the photo, too. I scanned the room. Everything still looked normal but something was definitely wrong with this picture.

“We have bad news,” Rai said.

Rai walked in to daddy’s office but he wasn’t alone. Another boy was with him. He was tall and had dusty blond hair. He wasn’t wearing a tuxedo like Rai. His attire was silver and black. His clothes resembled a knight’s suit of armor. He was a part of the watchers of Spades, a special group of guards that patrolled the cities.

“Well you see sir,” the watcher began. “The boy has escaped.”

“Which boy?” Even though he asked, daddy already knew the answer.

“The one who was banished; he’s Jin Ota’s son. His room was locked and there was no property damage but my father and all his guards had been knocked out.”

Rai folded his arms. “Wasn’t it your job to be watching him?”

“Yeah,” the watcher said, sounding a little embarrassed. “But it was my lunch break.”

“Dad, so what do we do now?” Rai asked, stretching his arms on top of daddy’s desk.

“We go into the ballroom and pretend like there’s nothing wrong.”

“Pretend like there’s nothing wrong?” Rai was both angry and appalled. “A juvenile mastermind is on the loose and you want us to pretend like there’s nothing wrong?”

“It is our best option.”



I stood in front of the gates to the academy, fixing my dark red dress. Blythe came running around the corner but he slowed down and started walking. I wondered if he had already been here. When he stepped out into the light, I saw his tuxedo. It wasn’t his usual one. The black clothing had a shine to it and he’d polished his black shoes. Blythe was wearing a red tie opposed to his typical rain-drop shaped black one with a four point spinner image on it.

“Hey,” Blythe said. “I have a surprise for you.”

Blythe looked behind us. I followed his gaze. Two teenagers stood by the steps of the academy. When they walked forward, I saw that they weren’t Soul Academy students. One was an aspiring tennis player and the other was a magic enthusiast.

“Lilli and Raphael,” I exclaimed in excitement. “What are you two doing here?”

“I realized that you were anxious about getting back to Earth,” Blythe said. “So I brought Earth to you. No need to thank me. But you’re welcome.”

I smiled and Blythe smiled back. The four of us went inside. Lilli and Raphael were amazed at the size and structure of Soul Academy. I had thought about bringing them to the dance but I forgot about it. I guess Blythe had always been one step ahead.

I was really glad to see them again. Lilli was dressed in a long, sparkly, yellow dress. She had curled some of her hair. Raphael’s outfit was distinct. He wore a navy blue robe and pants, a long cape, silver shoes and a navy blue wizard hat. He was dressed as an actual wizard! None of the boys at Soul Academy wore the old-fashioned look anymore so I wasn’t sure how Raphael’s outfit would show off. But hey, atleast he dressed the part.

The ballroom was full of people when we got there. The floors had been thoroughly polished. The walls had been completely cleared of any marks, a job Azrael had personally taken upon himself to do. There were three tables and they were all full from end to end. The first table was appetizers and drinks. The second table was our main courses, which were all on silver platters and had silver covers over them. The third table was desserts. In the middle of the dessert table was a six layer cake of white cream and light blue icing. There were light blue frosted roses on the cake. Every year, there was a cake similar to this one.

“If I could have your attention everyone,” daddy said, standing on the stage. “I would like to thank you all for coming tonight and I hope you all enjoy yourselves. That is all.” Everyone clapped. I noticed that daddy’s speech was comparatively short this year.

“Now, if I may say a few words,” Rai said, taking the stage. “As my father pointed out, we want you all to enjoy yourselves. I, Rai Luna, would personally like to give a great thank you to everyone who is here tonight at our annual Stardust Dance. As you know, this celebration is in honor of the founding of our precious academy. It is our second home so where would we be without it? Again, thank you for coming. I wish you all a pleasant night.”

Now that speech sounded more like the length daddy would normally say. After Rai finished speaking, the entire room burst out into applause and cheer, especially the girls. I clapped too. I realized Blythe wasn’t standing next to me like he was before the speech. I looked around and saw him standing outside, by the balcony. I made my way over there. As I neared him, Blythe summoned a hamburger in his hands. It was funny. There were all sorts of gourmet food inside and yet Blythe still insisted on eating a hamburger.

“Don’t worry, I heard your hotshot brother’s perfect speech loud and clear,” Blythe said before I could even say anything.

“I wasn’t going to talk about that,” I told him. “You don’t look like your having much fun tonight. Is there something on your mind?”

“No,” Blythe replied, still staring at the sky. “I just like gazing at the moon.”

“Well you know–” I was cut off by my dad.

“Rosella, Blythe, you’re supposed to be inside,” he said.

“Sorry daddy, we’re going back now.”

As we walked back in, my daddy stopped Blythe. “Blythe, you know you’re supposed to be protecting my Rosella and nothing else, right?”

Blythe waited before answering. “Yes sir, I know.”

I stood in the middle of the ballroom. When Blythe walked in, I noticed he looked a little depressed. All of a sudden, the lights became a little dimmer and that meant it was time for the Stardust Waltz. But I noticed that no one else was dancing. Then, a spotlight fell down on me and Blythe. I looked up. On top of the steps were Rai and Ari. Ari beamed while Rai’s smile was more of a light smirk. In Ari’s hand was the control to the spotlight.

I had never actually done the Stardust Waltz before. Every year, when the dancing started, I just stood to the side of the room by the food table. I looked around. Everyone had their eyes on us. I looked back at Blythe, who held out his hand. I placed my right hand in his left one. Rai pulled out another controller and pressed a button. The music started playing. Filling the room was a soft, harmonious sound.

“You’re hair… it’s straight,” Blythe said as we swayed side to side. “You haven’t worn it like that since we were little.”

“Yeah,” I said while I averted his eyes.

“Come on, talk to me. What’s bothering you?”

“I just have a really bad feeling.”

“Is this about Irma or June… or the Soul Master?”

“All of the above. I can’t help but think something really bad is going to happen tonight… that things are about to take a turn for the worst.”

A loud noise came from outside. It was followed by a bright light. Everyone ran towards the balcony. Raphael, Lilli, Blythe and I made our way to the front. I leaned outwards, placing my hands on the balcony. Far out towards the back of the school, there was a lot of smoke. Then, another explosion happened, sending sparks flying. The waves in the ocean had become restless. Leaves were falling off the trees. The wind was blowing harder than ever.

“No, not now,” I said, staring in the direction of the explosion.

The sparks made it clear that the explosion had been caused by magic. But who could have caused such a powerful blast? It was clearly a sign. It was the bait. I looked back at Blythe. He understood what had to be done.

I summoned by scepter and changed into my regular, shorter dress with long sleeves and red rose belt. Two thick strands of my hair at the top of my head became curly and were tied into ponytails with my rose clips while the rest of my hair was down, the tips curled. Blythe also summoned his scythe. His clothes changed back into his original tuxedo. I jumped up and off the balcony. As Blythe hung his scythe over his shoulder, Rai, Ari, and the watcher from before came to the front of the crowd. The watcher turned to Blythe, looking sympathetic. Blythe, a little surprised, just gave him a cold, scornful glare. Then he leaped onto a tree and headed towards the explosion.

Lilli and Raphael ran back into the ballroom. They ran down the stairs and went outside. The two then caught up with me and Blythe in the courtyard as well. As we were running towards the back, another explosion occurred in the opposite direction. There was one more down by the water. We realized that we had to split up.

“Wait, they need their weapons,” I told Blythe.

We had created weapons for them on Earth. Blythe had turned Lilli’s tennis racket into one with sharp spikes poking out from the net. Not only that but it could shoot spikes too. I had transformed Raphael’s magic starter kit into a literal bag of tricks. Raphael’s magic cards become sharp throwing spinners that worked like daggers. His fake magic wand became a real one with the power of levitation. His color changing magic rocks become miniature smoke bombs. After we all had our weapons, we split. Blythe changed directions and headed for the front of the school. Lilli and Raphael kept going to the back. I headed for the water.

When I got down by the sea, things seemed different. There were no more raging waves. The water was calm. In every direction I looked, I didn’t see any explosions. Blythe ran all the way up the steps. He saw a figure standing on the second level. From what he could tell, it was a girl. But when he got there, he was alone. From the back of the school, Lilli and Raphael looked up and saw a girl standing on the roof but she disappeared. Back at the sea, I heard Blythe’s voice. I had forgotten that our weapons allowed us to communicate when we were apart.

“Rosella, I saw her a minute ago,” Blythe’s voice said. “Irma, she’s here.”

“Yeah, we also saw her, exactly a minute ago too,” Raphael said through Lilli’s racket.

“Wait, hold on, that can’t be right,” I said. “There’s no way you all could have seen her at the same time. You’re in different places.”

A venomous voice came from behind me. “How right you are dear sister.”

I had never forgotten that night, not a single thing about it. From waking up in flames, to watching my pictures burn to hearing Irma say she’d kill me: they were all things I would never forget, no matter how hard I tried. That entire night became a permanent nightmare in my system. Whenever I close my eyes, I find myself surrounded by those black flames.

“It’s you,” I said, staring at my sister in shock. “Irma, you’re back.”

“Aw you remember my name, how flattering,” Irma said in a sassy, high-pitched voice.

I felt like I was face to face with a ghost. Seeing Irma one entire year later felt surreal. It was like watching a soul come back from the dead. Irma didn’t look that different at all. Her light brown shoulder length hair didn’t look any longer. Her white skin didn’t look any lighter. There was just one difference between this Irma and the sister I once knew. It was her nature.

“I’ve been searching for you for a year,” I said.

“Well… you found me.”



Blythe, Lilli and Raphael regrouped. Blythe thought I had been with Lilli and Raphael but they thought I was with Blythe. Back at the Stardust Dance, everyone was still shaken by the explosion. My parents and the teachers were trying to calm the students down. Rai looked out at the sea, deeply worried. Ari and Luciana approached him.

Ari rested a hand on Rai’s shoulder. “You thinking what I’m thinking?”

The three of them ran out of the school and made their way down the steps. After the first two sets, Luciana stopped. She put her hands on her knees and started breathing heavily. Rai and Ari looked back. Knowing that Luciana didn’t have much energy left, Rai walked towards her. He got on his knees. Luciana wrapped her arms around Rai’s neck and he hoisted her up on his back. The three of them eventually met up with Blythe, Lilli and Raphael.

“Where’s Rosella?” Rai asked. As he said that, a huge pile of sand went up in the air.

“I think I found her,” Blythe said and they all headed to the beach.



I tried to push myself up but Irma’s first attack had already made my entire body numb. I looked up at her. In her hand, Irma held a black handled sword with a sharp silver blade. When she attended Soul Academy, her sword was her weapon. Just like me, Irma chose a more personalized one. Her sword was called the Black Vine Sword.

I reached out for my scepter. I released the ribbon. Irma struck at it with her sword but she missed. She then brought out the double feature of her sword. Just like the ribbon that came out my Rose Scepter, Irma’s Black Vine Sword had more to it than meets the eye. Irma held her sword in front of her and her blade became thicker and turned a dark green, so dark that it looked black. Pretty soon, it was no longer a blade. It was a vine.

Irma whipped her vine at me. I tried hitting it with my scepter. I swung and was able to push the vine back. The vine came towards my feet but I jumped up. I tried slicing the vine in half but I forgot that, just like my ribbon, the vine couldn’t be cut. I jumped back again and released my ribbon but the vine sent it right back. Irma gripped the handle of her sword harder. Before I had the chance to release the ribbon again, the vine got me.

“Rosella!” Blythe yelled as he and the others approached the sea.

I could barely move. Irma’s vine had gotten much stronger since the last time I trained with her in class. The vine wrapped around my body and began squeezing it. I began to lose all feeling in my arms. I struggled to break free but it was no use. The vine was too strong.

“Irma!” Rai yelled upon spotting her. “Let her go!”

“Oh? And would you like to take her place?” Irma asked, turning around. “Well, that can be arranged. Better yet, why not take all of you?”

Irma released me. She aimed her sword towards the six of them. The vine came out once again. Before it could harm them, Rai summoned his Lightning Lance, a long yellow and black pole-arm with a razor sharp tip. He swung at Irma’s vine. Irma knew just how strong Rai and his weapon were and so she brought the vine back. It turned back into the silver blade.

Irma lowered her sword as two other teenagers walked up and stood behind her. The girl stood on her right. The boy stood on her left. They both had black hair and wore black and white clothing. The boy carried a black book in his hands. The girl had her arms down but I noticed she was wearing some sort of armor on her hands that showed part of her skin. I looked up in shock, upon realizing that the girl was none other than June Ota. I glanced back and forth between her and the boy. They looked nearly identical.

“Now don’t tell me you’ve never heard of the Ota twins?” Irma asked. She had always been able to guess exactly what I was thinking. “Jun and June Ota: the most troublesome twosome in all of Spades.”

“June has a brother?” Blythe asked, in shock.

“Jin Ota has a son?” Ari asked, in disbelief.

That’s when I realized that the picture Blythe and I found in June’s room wasn’t of June standing in a mirror. It was of her and Jun standing face to face.

Suddenly, Rai remembered what the watcher had said. He looked at Jun. “Wait, if you’re Jin Ota’s son that means you’re the one who escaped from the watchers.”

“I didn’t do it alone,” Jun said. “I had help.”

“Guilty as charged,” Irma admitted.

“Why would you help him?” Rai asked loudly. “He’s a criminal, just like his father was.”

“My father was a genius,” Jun yelled. “And after we resurrect the Black Soul, I’ll be able to bring him back.”

At the sound of the name Black Soul, my eyes, my brothers’ eyes, Blythe’s and Luciana’s eyes spread wide open.

“You moron!” Irma snapped. “Why would you tell them that?”


“You want to revive the Black Soul?” Rai was still yelling. “Are you out of your mind?"

Irma smirked. “Maybe but so what?”

“It was you,” I said to Irma, regaining my balance. “You corrupted Scully’s soul.”

“Scully?” Irma seemed a little confused. “Oh yeah that idiot on Earth with the stupid name; well that was a complete waste since he couldn’t even keep up a fight.”

“You also left that black pearl from your bracelet by the restaurant and put your bracelet on the beach. And also, you sent me a paper with the Soul Master’s name on it.”

“You’re almost right.” Irma’s vine came at me again, lifting me high in the air. Her bracelet fell off my hand. Irma caught it and put it on. “I did leave my pearl and my bracelet for you to find but never in a million years would I send you something that said the Soul Master and you’re a real idiot if you think I would. My intents are with the Black Soul.”

With that, Irma tossed me into the sea. Blythe and the others gasped. As my body sunk under the waves, I felt exactly like I did a year ago when Irma said she had started the fire. Her exact words raced through my head. A spell never harms the one who cast it. This was the exact feeling, being harshly tossed into a sea with no bottom, as if I kept drifting deep down losing one breath of air each second. But the difference was that this time, it was real.

Feeling the scorching heat circle me, I woke up to find myself staring at hell itself; a dark, enclosed space with flames in every corner. At least that’s where I thought I was… Suddenly, the fire was no longer an orange and crimson shade but instead a black color, unlike any ordinary fire.



“I only have one reason.” Irma turned away and started walking toward the roof’s rim. She gave me one final, grim look. The wind blew her light brown bangs in front of her face. Her green eyes were stone cold. “And although it didn’t work this time, mark my words Rosella; the next time we meet, I will kill you.”


I heard Blythe calling me but there was a reason I didn’t answer. I bent down and picked up a black pearl that I found on the ground near the restaurant. Small and smooth, I held it in my hand. I knew this pearl very well. It belonged to my sister.


I looked down and saw a bracelet at the tip of my toes. I picked it up. At that moment, it didn’t feel like I was standing in sand. It felt like I was sinking deep down in quick sand. The small, smooth and spherical beads on the bracelet were black pearls. I stretched the bracelet. Just as I thought, there was room for one more pearl and I had that thirteenth pearl.


“Never in a million years would I send you something that said the Soul Master and you’re a real idiot if you think I would. My intents are with the Black Soul.”

With that, Irma tossed me into the sea. Blythe and the others gasped. As my body sunk under the waves, I felt exactly like I did a year ago when Irma said she had started the fire. Her exact words raced through my head. A spell never harms the one who cast it. This was the exact feeling, being harshly tossed into a sea with no bottom, as if I kept drifting deep down losing one breath of air each second. But the difference was that this time, it was real.


The memories kept racing through my head, one by one, in a constant cycle. Each time, the scene became vaguer. The last memory was the most recent. It had just occurred. While I was squirming for my life entangled in a black vine, my sister Irma stood on a high, rocky shoreline, firmly gripping the handle of her sword. She had a sinister but content grin on her face. This is what she had been waiting for. She was smiling at my pain.

I wheezed, trying to get a hold of even the slightest bit of air but there wasn’t any. All that came out of my mouth were tiny bubbles that rose up to the top of the water, the opposite direction of which I was going. It didn’t feel like I would ever stop sinking. I turned my head and saw my Rose Scepter floating in the dark water. It was just a few feet away from me. I reached out with my right hand and tried to grab hold of my scepter but I couldn’t get much closer. And then, I heard a voice.

“Your mission is not finished,” the voice said. “You must persist.”

I couldn’t find the strength to move my body. I felt as if all of my muscles had been rendered senseless and useless. I could only turn my head from side to side. Suddenly, I heard the same voice all around me. It was quiet in sound but loud in resonance.

“The Black Soul must not prevail. You must break the corrupted.”

I became light-headed. The world seemed to be spinning around me at hyper speed. Just as my eyes were about to close, I saw a light. At first it was faint but the glow became brighter and brighter. Remarkably, I was able to reach farther. I stretched my arm and grasped my scepter. Slowly, I began feeling a change in direction. Instead of sinking below the waves, becoming further away from the surface, I was getting closer. The last thing I remember seeing underwater was a pale, ethereal figure surrounded by the glow.

Blythe was on the ground, on his knees. His head was down and his arms were outstretched in front of him. “She can’t be gone… this can’t be happening.”

Rai, Ari, Luciana, Lilli and Raphael just stood in place. Each one had a sad look on their faces. They had all watched the scene before them. They saw Irma wrap her vine around me and then toss me in the water without any care. It all happened so fast that none of them could do anything to stop it.

“Well that takes care of that,” Irma said.

As she turned to leave, I jumped out of the water, surprising everybody. I flipped on to the sand. As I gripped my scepter, my clothes became dry again. Blythe slowly rose to his feet. His expression was a mixture of delight and disbelief.

Irma was not amused. “How many times do I have to try to kill you before you keep coming back?”

I looked up at her. “You won’t have to do it again.”

She pointed her sword at me. “I wouldn’t bet on it.”

As a defense, I raised my scepter. I was still slightly dizzy from being underwater but I could handle myself. I got ready to release the ribbon but it wouldn’t come out. I tried again but still, there was no ribbon. I didn’t understand. Why wasn’t my scepter working? I knew I had to do something. If I didn’t get my scepter to work, I was done for.

The blade of Irma’s Black Vine Sword turned back into a vine. This time, a black glow surrounded the vine. Jun’s book was open. He seemed to be mouthing something. His right hand had the same black glow that surrounded the vine. That’s when the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. He was carrying a spell book and his spell was the source of the vine’s strength.

“Stop!” Blythe yelled as he jumped onto the sand. “You’re not going to hurt her again!”

He started running towards me but he was looking in Irma’s direction. As the vine came at me, Blythe ran right in front of it. The vine slashed him directly across the chest. At that moment, it felt like time had just stopped. I just stood there with my body frozen and my eyes wide open in shock and horror. Blythe dropped to the ground, his eyes barely open.

Irma, surprised, brought her sword back. “That fool! Oh well, it’s his own fault for getting in the way of my plans.” She looked at Rai and flashed a fake smile. “Oh and Rai, we’ll just see exactly who rots in hell.” Rai didn’t respond or react.

“That was a little harsh,” June said but Irma told her to shut up.

“What about the rest of them?” Jun asked Irma.

“Leave them, I don’t care,” she replied. “Then again, I never cared for any of them.” She looked down at me and Blythe and then turned back to the others. “Let this be a lesson. Get in my way and you’ll end up like your poor lifeless friend down there.”

I watched Irma, Jun and June disappear. Tears rolled down my face as I looked at Blythe, whose head rested on my lap. His eyes were closed and his right hand rested on his heart. I put my hand over his. I lowered my head, pressing my forehead against his. The others stood still. Rai looked where Irma had just been. His stare was grim. I looked up at the sky. The moon was gone, just like Irma was gone and I think I lost a lot more.

The sky was crying. It rained all last night and still had been raining all day today. Never had the rain gone on for this long in Spades. School had been cancelled that Monday for unknown reasons and yet, that’s where I found myself to be. I had spent much more time at Soul Academy. On weekdays, I stayed until dusk and I came back on the weekends.

Blythe had been in the infirmary for the past three weeks. He fell into a deep coma the night of the Stardust Dance. He saved me from an unfortunate fate but in doing so, he received a fatal blow. We had immediately rushed Blythe to the school infirmary. The doctor we called in confirmed that it was actually Blythe’s abdomen that had endured the most pain.

After the incident, every part of my life felt different, including Soul Academy. The hallways felt longer, the walls seemed wider and the ceiling looked higher. Class was no better. I couldn’t concentrate at all. I had spent much less time at home. I couldn’t be in such comfort and luxury knowing Blythe was still severely hurt.

I was almost at the infirmary when I stopped walking. My heart started beating faster than ever. It stopped for a few seconds and then started again. Blythe stopped walking when he saw me, too. He was putting on his shirt but stopped. He put his arms down, remaining shirtless with his shirt sleeves hanging around his arms. I looked at his bare abdomen and noticed his skin was red. He had also been limping. My eyes got wider. I could tell he was experiencing the same rush of emotions I was.

“Blythe…” I finally said.

Blythe raised his right hand. “Yo.”

Suddenly, I felt a wave of anger wash over me. “That’s all you have to say?” I shouted at Blythe. “Why aren’t you yelling at me? I yell at you about everything, even stupid things like when you eat three hamburgers at once! And all you can say is yo? Why aren’t you mad at me?”

“I’m not mad,” Blythe said sympathetically. “I could never be mad at you.”

“There you go again! God Blythe! You almost died that night! If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t have been in a coma or have a bruised abdomen and you wouldn’t be limping!”

“If I died, I wouldn’t have died for nothing. I would have died for you.”

“Stop staying things like that! I’m not that same little girl who always needed to be protected. You’re a guardian of Soul Academy, not of me!” My tone had gotten strident and I realized I shouldn’t be yelling at Blythe, especially not now. “I’m sorry,” I said and ran past Blythe and out the back doors of the academy.

The rain had ceased but the sky was still dark and gloomy. I jumped up onto the roof. I ran all the way to the top and sat down, wrapping my arms around my knees. Blythe stood on the ground. He watched me for a minute and then sadly headed back inside.

Despite saying such spiteful words, nothing was the same without Blythe standing next to me. He had always been by my side. We’ve been together through thick and thin. He had always been the best friend I always longed for and it pained me that I couldn’t be the same. He deserved more than what I gave him.

Not only had I failed Blythe. I had failed myself. I made a promise to find Irma and get her back but I couldn’t do that. I had been chained to a life of regret and melancholy. I thought back to the Stardust Dance when I heard that voice underwater. It said my mission wasn’t finished but there wasn’t much I could do now. I couldn’t win on my own. Irma was gone. She didn’t care about us. She had a new intention. She planned to resurrect the Black Soul.