Maia and the Xifarian Conspiracy (The Lightbound Saga Book 1) (8 page)

14: The Others

Maia shot a puzzled glance at Kusha and Dani, only to find them as surprised as she was. Hoping to detect the origin of the summons, they made their way across the crowd. The voice rang out again when they were nearer to the center of the hall; its clarity stood out among the muffled humdrum. The source turned out to be a wee little girl who stood with some papers in her right hand, and a red weapon case clutched firmly in her left. A cascade of auburn hair surrounded her head like a silken cloud, falling past her shoulders in curly waves. Her blazing green eyes narrowed when she saw the approaching trio, and she sighed loudly while brushing off the locks of hair from her forehead.

“About time you arrived . . . had nearly given up on you,” she announced. “I’m Nafi, from the Third Continent. Care to tell me about yourselves?”

She stood with her head cocked, listening to their introductions. When they finished, Nafi pulled out the topmost sheet from the small sheaf she held in her hand and waved it.

“Our team information—we’re Core 21 and all our stuff will be numbered per our core. Also got the week’s task list.”

“Thank you,” Dani said, smiling gratefully. “So nice of you to take care of all that.”

Nafi did not smile back. She simply thrust the piece of paper into Dani’s hand. Maia peeked at the sheet, which listed their names in order.

Core 21

Dani R. – V – 07656M

Kusha V. – V – 21356Q

Maia A. – V – 87243M

Nafi P. – V – 01938F

Ren L. – R – 110920D

Miir T. – R – 947430X

“These must be the numbers the Tokii assigned to us,” Maia exclaimed, noticing that the number on her lapel matched the one next to her name on the list.

“Yes. Those are unique random identifiers. Every person on this planet is allotted one. ‘V’ stands for Visitor, and ‘R’ implies a Resident,” Nafi explained.

“Ren seems to be a resident of Xif,” Dani said, shooting a questioning glance at Nafi. “Have you found him yet?”

“Oh yes, Ren . . . he’s a little busy showing off his swordsmanship in that corner.” Nafi rolled her eyes and pointed dismissively at the nook behind the staircase where a substantial crowd was gathered.

“Showing off?” Kusha raised a curious eyebrow.

“To say the least,” Nafi scoffed. “If he keeps at it, there’s no chance in the world for us to win this contest. I think—”

“Okay,” Dani interrupted, bringing Nafi’s tirade to an abrupt end. “So, we know who Ren is, but what about Miir?”

“He’s a mentor or team counselor. They assigned a senior from Circle Four to guide each core. Whether he’ll meet us here, I don’t know.” Nafi sounded a little disappointed. She tilted her head toward the staircase, clearly referring to Ren. “Was hoping that Mister Show-off there would be able to help us, seeing he is from Xif and all.”

“Let’s go talk to him then,” Maia suggested.

They walked to the corner of the hall where the crowd now stood in hushed silence. Finding an unobstructed view through the solidly packed gathering was not an easy job, but Maia eventually managed to peek inside. A boy stood at the center in a steady stance, wielding a pole sword that was twice as tall as he was. The curved blade at the end of the long burnished handle of his sword glowed with open menace. Maia could not see his face clearly because of the dark red hood that covered his head and hung over his brow.

“What is he trying to do?” Maia whispered to a girl who clearly did not appreciate the small talk at the crucial moment. She scowled at Maia before replying.

“He’ll split that liemeberri into four pieces . . . midair. Keep watching.” She pointed at another boy who stood with a small purple fruit in his hand, facing the boy with the pole sword.

The boy with the sword did not even flinch when his assistant tossed the liemeberri in the air. He did not look up, but simply sensed the trajectory of the fruit as it rose, reached the peak, and then started to fall. He moved when the target was a little above the level of his head. In a blur of action, the sword went up and down and then from left to right. The crowd stood in complete silence as the four pieces fell in a neat pile on the floor, forming the whole fruit like it had not been cut at all. The applause broke out immediately.

Maia stared in awe, dumbstruck by the precise execution. The boy stuck his sword casually into a belt that hung across his shoulders and walked up to a group of rowdy-looking kids. When he started collecting what looked like Xifarian money, Maia blinked, taken aback by his brashness. He was audacious, no doubt about that, daring to put up a wager on his first day at the academy, right before the opening address. Slightly flustered, she started to weave her way through the crowd toward Kusha and Dani who had found a spot to watch from the opposite side.

A frown was deeply etched on Maia’s face when she stepped on someone’s toes. Looking up, she stifled the gasp of surprise with utmost difficulty. It was a boy carrying a long sword on his back and a red hood over his head.
This has to be Ren, our fifth teammate.
His intense gaze was fixed on Maia—his dark pupils, bizarre with its spatter of white dots, widened as he studied Maia’s face.

“My eyes won’t burst into flames, if that’s what you are expecting,” the boy said in an odd raspy voice. He scrutinized her face one more time. “Oh wait, I get it. You’re not impressed with my little demonstration there.”

He has noted my disapproving look.
Maia wavered for a moment between lying and telling him the truth and decided to go with the latter. “I didn’t like your idea of . . . making money,” she said, trying to choose her words with care, “not that I don’t admire your skills.”

“A stranger dares to give me a sermon on my little financial venture. You have guts and . . . I like it,” he replied, a temperamental smile playing on his lips.

“Well, that’s good, seeing that you two will be working together in a group for a while.” Nafi had strolled over to the pair. “I’m Nafi, and the gutsy one here is Maia. The other two of our core are way over there.” Nafi pointed to the other side of the crowd. “That boy with the red headband is Kusha, and the shining angel with him is Dani. And by the way, I, too, thoroughly despised that betting action you had going. Stunts like these could have us disqualified from the contest. Don’t know about you, but I’m here to win.”

“I’m Ren,” the boy said smugly, ignoring Nafi’s lecture. He pushed the hood off his head revealing a shock of spiky silver-and-black hair. Five silver rings adorned his left ear, matched by rings that decorated each of his fingers. Maia had to admit that the flamboyant persona of their teammate from Xif was meticulously matched by his flashy appearance.

“Already know your name.” Nafi waved the piece of paper listing their group. “Some people have to work when you choose to play.”

“You seem too little to be here, even to play,” Ren retorted.

“I’ll be twelve soon, thank you very much.” Nafi’s eyes flashed. “And since you think I’m too young, let’s hear how old and wise you are?”

“I’m
already
twelve,” Ren replied with a smirk. “And if you’re looking for wisdom, look no more, you’ve found me.”

“We’ll see about that.”

As the two stood measuring each other up, Maia could not help but question the prudence of the Board. She wondered what could have driven them into matching two such abrasive personalities. This did not bode well for her or for the team. In the very next moment she banished the smidgeon of worry from her mind.
Why should I care if the team fell apart?
It would be the greatest possible way to escape the contest and Xif, and if it happened soon enough, she might even be able to catch the caravan to ThulaSu.

“Hey, you guys,” Kusha’s voice woke Maia from her wishful reverie. He was waving frantically from a distance, pointing at the staircase. Two men, one short and the other tall, walked down the steps as the crowd converged at its base. Maia recognized both men right away—the taller man was none other than Vice Principal Geir-Sei, and the shorter one was Principal Pomewege, who looked very different from the last time she had seen him. Today he was poised and looked thoroughly in control of everything around him. The men stopped a few steps from the bottom, and Geir-Sei clapped his hands to catch everyone’s attention.

“Participants of the Alliance Initiative, I am Principal Pomewege and I welcome you to the first leg of the series,” the principal started when the murmurs died down. “As much as I would love talking to you, I know that you are all tired from the long day of travel. So I will make this short.

“Your dining and living quarters lie behind that door.” He pointed to the second door to the right of the front gates, with an enormous “X” engraved on top. “Please make sure that you find your teammates before you retire. Your adaptation sessions start tomorrow, with a meeting with your team counselor and an audience with your resident master.

“Welcome again to Xif and the XDA. May your journey bring us peace and understanding.”

After the masters left, Maia and her teammates made their way to the dining area. Even with ongoing introductions between Kusha, Dani, and Ren, they quickly reached their destination.

Their dining bay was a small cubicle with the number 21 emblazoned on the outside in big, bold letters. It had semi-transparent walls on two sides, and a tall open cabinet stacked with boxes, plates, and other sundries flanked the third side. At the center of the small enclosure was an oval table surrounded by six shiny chairs. A huge, domed light fixture hung above the table, its soothing white light bathing every corner of the tiny space. Nafi walked directly to the cabinet, peeped inside, and let out a frustrated harrumph.

“Packaged food? Have to live off packaged food for as long as we’re here?” She sounded thoroughly vexed.

“You expected someone to wait around and cook for you every day?” Ren chortled. “You think people here have nothing better to do?”

At this point, Dani rushed past Nafi to pick her meal, loudly announced how wonderful the selection was, added the perfunctory line about how Hans had always spoken highly of the food on Xif, and settled down in one of the chairs. Maia noted how keen Dani was on distracting Nafi, perhaps a little too eager to avoid any disagreements within the team. She thought it was a little odd given the way Dani had stood up against Lex. Maybe she just wanted to make it work, Maia thought. Maybe Dani really did want to know more about the world outside Zagran.

Maia decided to follow Dani’s example and ignore Nafi’s continuing grumblings for a bit. She walked to the cabinet, pulled out a box labeled “FOOD,” and pried the lid open. Inside lay some packages, each labeled to announce their contents. There were slices of bread, a generous portion of meat, and a stack of vegetables. A small well-wrapped item sat in the farthest corner, small letters across the top said “CAKE.” While this was nowhere nearly as enticing as Emmy’s cooking, it was not shabby at all, Maia thought as she tasted the meat.

It was not long before they had all slipped into their seats, food boxes open, impatient fingers fiddling with the wraps. Nafi picked a meal box as well, and when she tentatively took her first bite, a small smile of approval formed on her face. The food was definitely scrumptious, and no one spoke another word until they finished. After that, Maia and her teammates headed toward their living quarters.

The compartments were along the two sides of a long corridor—about fifty rooms arranged in an increasing numerical order. Ren led the way to the far end of the passageway and when he reached the door marked 21, he placed his palm flat on a small pad attached to the wall. The entry panel slid open noiselessly, exposing a nicely furnished, round white room on the other side. A large area with five study desks lay at its center, and five more doors lined the far wall. On each of these doors hung a plate engraved with their names and badge numbers. Maia spied her name on one of them and assumed it to be her private bedroom. They were just about to file in when a bunch of girls walked into the corridor behind them, laughing and talking loudly.

“Oh look, it’s my little cousin with her new friends,” one of them said in a lazy, simpering drawl, making Maia and her teammates turn around to look.

The girl stood leaning on an open doorway, her right hand perched on her hip. Wavy brown hair framed her face beautifully, setting off her graceful yet proud nose, and the slight indent on her chin. A coy smile played on her lips. Her pale eyes shone with a deep, mysterious glint. There was something in the way the light fell on her face; it made her dark complexion seem luminous.

“Hello, Loriine,” Nafi spoke somewhat reluctantly. Her voice was low; something had suddenly subdued the girl.

“Guess you didn’t realize that I could be a student at the XDA,” Loriine said. While her words were simple enough, her tone sounded careless. “I’m also participating in the Alliance Initiative or whatever they named it. It’s such a shame . . . we can’t help seeing each other. ”

“She’s
really
your cousin?” Ren asked, raising a quizzical brow after Loriine waved and slipped inside the compartment.

“Yes,” Nafi replied before marching toward her bedroom door. She opened the one with her name on it, hesitated briefly at the threshold, and turned back to face her teammates. “She’s a very distant cousin, all right? And as you can see, we’re not exactly fond of each other.”