A singular thought passed through Cody, like a constant wave. “Have to get away. Have to get away.” His emotional state worsened with every passing parked car or perhaps by the increasing speed with which Ms. Cunningway drove. Despite his annoyance at her voice, it was a nice day out, sunny and bright, except for the tower of gloom behind them. But after looking back at the tower of red reaching for the sky over his house through the trees he was growing sicker, getting further and further from his friends. They wouldn’t be able to face the wizard alone but he could only daydream about traveling to the other side of the world where he couldn’t be found by anyone.

He was holding the helmet in his lap when Ms. Cunningway looked over, “Why don’t you wear the hat? Your dad’s hat.”

The hat he had given to him a few days ago. He tried to remember where he put it –on his dresser? — But Cody figured it didn’t matter at this point and he decided he didn’t need to offer her an excuse. There were more important things to worry about. “It’s too big for me and it’s old. It makes my head itch.”

“Hmm,” she was fixing her hair in the rearview mirror. “Your dad used to wear it all the time back in the day. He used to ride his bike up and down Culvert for hours. He was so cute with that hat. How is he anyway?”

Cody rolled his eyes facing the passenger window, his arms crossed. If he hadn’t been facing impending doom with an evil wizard after him, he wouldn’t have even gotten into her truck. “He’s…away. He didn’t say much before he left. I was playing with my friends when…”

“When you realized you should’ve been in school?” She raised her eyebrow. He didn’t have the energy to tell her she was wrong, slightly satisfied that he was using her to get to the meet-up spot at the playground, the way Phaeton and other adults had often lied to him or used him. All the smiles he had ever made under the deception of a lie came to his mind, the moment his father came home and told him the cat went to live on a farm somewhere, the time his mother told him that chocolate milk came from brown cows, and the wonder that came with believing in both, caused him to feel suddenly foolish.

“I never understood why kids hate school these days. I always loved school, learning about new things, meeting new people, being with your friends, making stuff in art class, getting to show off your new fashion…although…” She had noticed his strange outfit, covered in dirt, but completely neglected the fact that he didn’t have his backpack. Ms. Cunningway was always scatterbrained and not the least bit interested in actually helping Cody, only in impressing his father whenever possible.

The shark tooth in his hand was sending a pulsing wave of electrical tingling through his body even though the tooth itself appeared inert. He stared at it for several seconds making sure it wasn’t going to explode again and cut Ms. Cunningway’s car in half…The energy, if that’s what it was, went deep into his body, mostly feeling like his heart was beating fast for a moment and then fading and then increasing again. It was panic inducing and the only thing that distracted him was how pathetic his attempts to stop Phaeton’s portal had been. Cody knew that he was just a kid but he couldn’t allow himself to relax and get over it. Strength came from within and if he didn’t punish himself for failing then he wouldn’t be strong enough to face the evil wizard next time.

“You like sharks, huh?” said Ms. Cunningway, looking over at his hand. “Did you know sharks can go into a trance to hide from prey?” She didn’t wait for a response. “They relax their muscles and flatten their fins to their bodies so they can hide in plain sight. Bet you didn’t know that, did ya?”

He didn’t and it didn’t seem to matter as he stared out the passenger window. They were almost to school. If he couldn’t meet up with Tonya, Kumar, and Ryder then he would find a way into the school and hide out. Not that that would protect him for long since Phaeton or Phaeton’s dog, or whatever other creature he wanted to send after him, would easily catch up with him and drag him back to the house by his neck.

Cunningway was looking over with furtive glances, sighed, and finally interrupted his deep thoughts, “I’m sure your father will be back in time for dinner. You know he loves you very much.”

He looked at her confused and then turned away. She would have made a great teacher. They tend to always pretend to care, to turn a bad situation into a good one by tugging on their heart strings, to get bad kids to be good and good kids to shut up and stop crying. But there was nothing anyone could ever say to a child who’s lost his parents. “I’m fine. I’m not a kid.” He muttered quietly.

“What was that? Speak up.” she said over the rumble of the truck.

A burst of anger escaped his throat, all at once like a water balloon exploding, coming from the anguish in his mind, “I’m not a child!” His muscles quickly relaxed as he realized how stupid he sounded. The waves of energy had coalesced into a single continuous wave during that moment and there was a warmth in his hand…his hand turning blue. He shoved his hand in his pocket.

“I’m…sorry.” She hadn’t noticed and gripped the wheel in embarrassment. “You’re a sweet boy, Cody, I didn’t mean…”

He felt a hint of shame when he crossed his arms, and perhaps apprehension about telling her it was fine when he noticed the sky changing colors, slowly from blue to orange. The road ahead, an intersection of houses and stop signs, seemed to become dark. The gloom seemed centralized to the area as it was clear that the orange dissipated back into blue much further away.

“Gosh, that’s scary. Didn’t know it was going to rain today.” she laughed with a half-smile and downturned eyebrows. A gentle wind blew against the truck but Cody suspected there were more turbulent winds coming. He was afraid too but at least he didn’t have to hide it.

The radio sparked to life with its neon colors, playing static with distant voices. Cody couldn’t decide if he should be excited or afraid considering both Phaeton and Illyion had contacted him this way before. He took his hand out of his pocket and clutched the necklace tightly, waves of energy pulsing through his body. The weight of the world was suddenly on his shoulders and it became heavier with every breath. Whatever happened next was entirely up to him to survive, even though the portal was already open, he was the one who would have to close it. Ms. Cunningway looked confused and tried to turn the knob but the static didn’t change.

A voice broke through finally, a girl’s voice. “…getting worse but stopped — You have –Portal is open. The rift is small. —can’t be opened fully without you.”

“Tonya…?” His voice went up an octave, almost coming off as girlie.

“Sure sounds like it.” said Ms. Cunningway, cutting off the voice. Cody hushed her with a finger over his lips and got closer to the radio. It couldn’t have been Tonya though. The person she saw in the alley had a different body, transmuted from the beings from Paralaya. If the bodies were swapped Illyion would have Tonya’s body and her voice.

“–you are the guardian now. –run, won’t get far unless you can –to open small rifts, small portals –can do it. You have the power!” He heard her last words and his eyes perked up. The power he knew to be real was pulsing even stronger, almost like a second heartbeat, beating faster and faster, becoming a solid stream of energy through his body. He had dreamed about this most of his life, about having the power, some great magical power, to overcome hordes of evil villains or break away from the daily toil of going to school. But despite how silly it sounded he related to that urge now more than ever as the school came into view behind an open field of trees to the right.

Ms. Cunningway stared at Cody, obviously trying to interrupt the mystical transmission, probably thinking it was nothing but a kid’s program on the radio. He turned his head and listened closer to the voice. “…you…must not open…another rift.” Another one? Thought Cody. How could he open another rift anyways?…The energy he felt when he picked up the shark tooth, the tether, there was a deeper feeling inside him that changed him even when he didn’t have the tooth in hand. There were spells and other magical skills that his friends likely had that they didn’t know they had which was a result of Illyion and the Fallenshroud having no other choice. Like his friends he would need to trust in himself to learn these abilities since Illyion herself couldn’t seem to find a better transmission method…If he could open a rift on his own, a “small portal”, he would need to learn how to control it and fast.

Ms. Cunningway quickly pressed the power button on the radio and when it didn’t respond she removed the radio front panel completely. “I’ve heard enough of that. Must have something to do with the storm.” She was looking up at the orange sky, driving slightly faster.

“No.” he moaned to himself, loud enough for her to hear but she was busy biting her thumbnail. All this talk of doorways and portals caused him to daydream about the door to his father’s bedroom. The hallway was cold and dark but the light from the door filled the hall as it slowly creaked open and his father stood there with a big smile and warm, welcoming hands. Even during his darkest moments his father had always been there, guiding him, shielding him against disorder, injury, and death. Now that barrier was gone and he was alone to fend for himself. Unprotected, afraid, with a woman he barely knew, the sky literally turning red. The bump of the curb into the school brought him back to reality, the daydream disappearing as the door slammed shut.

The school buses were lined up in the side entrance, parked and unoccupied, as they had always been whether school was in session or not. There were a few cars parked in front of them as they pulled into the parking lot but not enough for a school day. “Hmm, I guess you were right.” she said, stroking her hair, “But you still shouldn’t be playing outside on your own. You could’ve been hurt. I’ll take you home.”

“That’s alright.” said Cody, his hand on the door handle. “I’m meeting some friends here.” The energy inside him was building to a solid thrumming feeling, his anxiety peeked by the orange clouds. He wanted to escape, away from Ms. Cunningway, away from anyone he could possibly hurt by proximity. Fresh air came to his nose as he opened the door. It was calming but not enough to stop his heart from beating, realizing he would have to go back to the house eventually to stop Phaeton from opening the portal any further. He listened and thought he heard the distant bark of a dog and instantly wanted to retreat back in the truck and stay there forever but he knew he couldn’t. The fun fact that Ms. Cunningway told him about sharks came back to him.

As his foot came out of the truck and hovered above the ground, he tried to put himself into a trance, a state of mindless relaxation, which did nothing to calm his nerves. How was he supposed to win against an ancient wizard with more power than he ever could imagine? “Hide. Hide. Hide” he kept telling himself. “Run and hide. Somewhere far away.” Streaks of hope blew away like the wind and were replaced by sudden dread, a chest-stabbing pain that strangled his heart, making him more aware and alert than he wanted to be. He pressed hard against his worried mind and clenched his hands and his eyes shut, pushing harder and harder to get away from this place, from himself, and from the evils that were tracking him. “Have to get away. Have to get away.” he kept saying to himself. “Somewhere else.” The pavement was below, about two feet down, so Cody, with the dark thoughts swirling through his mind, jumped down and, instead of hitting the ground, fell through it, into a portal that appeared suddenly around him.