Toby

1

Toby dropped the page in the fire. It engulfed him in a fury of orange and red. Pretty soon, the pale white would turn black, and then ash. The wind wasn’t strong and he hoped it wouldn’t pick up again like the last three times he had tried. Before that, the overseer hadn’t worked. 

Sun set in the horizon behind him. All of his back would have been glazed with red if he didn’t wear his white t-shirt. The jeans he wore weren’t helping with the heat either, but it was okay. The snow on the mountain ahead was thick. He knew the climb was going to be cold, but whether jeans would make any difference was debatable.

Toby returned his gaze to the fire. It wasn’t as strong as he wanted it to be. Not nearly as strong as it was before the two times he had already put it out. 

The wood was barely burning and now Toby doubted if there was still any left for the fire to cook food. The snow on the already scarce field didn’t make it any easier. In front of him, the field ended and the thin of pine trees canoe along. They hid at the foot of the snowy mountain. Two more stood behind them, tall and foreboding. They blended right into the dusky sky like shadows. Their shape through the trees, Toby imagined, would look exactly like the shadow creatures he’d faced. 

Toby reached into his tent and brought out his tattered copy of the Book of Time. Yellow stained pages, brittle as egg shells cracked at his hard touch. There was barely anything left of the first page. No matter how many times he tried to restore it. An object could take only so many restorations. His performance card with all his grades and subjects had already been thrown in the trash, gone through a glass of OJ and through three restorations, each one with various degrees of success. If it wasn’t important for his two more school years, he would have destroyed it hours ago.

Toby took out a blanket from his tent and put the fire out. He picked up his book and flipped through to the spell. It was there in his mind but the thought of screwing it up pulled it down. 

He picked the warm wood and tossed it aside. The ashes now gathered at one place, Tiny waved his hand over it.

“Transeuro tiempo,” He muttered.

A brilliant yellow glowed along the faint edges of ash. They flew in together. At the same moment, the wind picked up and the ash pieces started to fly away.

“No, wait!” Toby ran after the pieces. He thrust his hand forward to grab them but missed. Panic made his stomach lurch. Like a pool of water, his eyes reflected the image of ashes being torn apart in the wind. Lost now, lost forever. 

Toby stopped at the edge of the clearing, just where the trees curved around, their welcoming arms morphed into the bars of a cage. 

Toby stared into the trees. The ashes were nowhere to be seen. He could still go into the forest and look for them, but his feet didn’t budge. There was no use to going, anyway. He would not find the ashes in the snow and now that the sun had nestled back safely into the arms of the mountains, the beasts were coming around. Night, their territory. Everything that the darkness pulled over, their land. To hunt, to kill, to spread chaos. 

Toby turned back. The ashes weren’t worth it; he would take staying home rather than going back to study to harness the power of Delemis. 

A chill ran down his spine at the thought of staying home. 

He reached the campsite and sorted out the now-formed paper. It was strong white, to his surprise, but was missing a lot of chunks in between. The tiny hole-riddled paper now resembled a flat sheet of swiss cheese. Most of the grades were missing, along with his name and some subjects. There was no way he was going back to school next year. 

Toby turned back in the direction of the forest. He considered going back and looking for the ashes. His eyes wandered and stuck to the small black shadow rolling down the slope. A piercing howl tore through the wind. Without a thought, Tony ran in the direction of it. 

The howls sent waves of chills that started from his body and ended to the tips of his fingers and feet. His feet were especially weak, and it was not the snow. His heart, like the heavy magnet it was thumped against his chest. With each beat it surged forward and tried to reach out to the metallic howls. The fear didn’t stop in his heart. It climbed and settled in his brain. Toby didn’t know why he was running, but in his heart, he did. They fuelled his legs forward to the inside of the forest and didn’t stop. 

The wolves howled again and he knew the reason. They were calls. Toby’s mind wound back to the times he used to explore each corner of the outside of the city and the school. He’d not been in the area he was now, but the wolves were wolves. They were calling each other, forming a network of them that responded. In indiscernible voices, you could not tell how they were coordinating, only that they were. It was either food or an enemy.

Toby crossed into the forest. The howls intensified and multiplied at the same time. The wolves had found an enemy, but another three howls changed his mind. It was food. Whether dead or alive, with this number in the pack, it was food.

Toby slowed down to a halt just as his legs started to give up. It was fortunate for him that they were. If he had lasted just a second longer, the wolf would have heard him. In deep snow, Toby crouched behind a tree and looked up at the group of wolves surrounding a girl. 

The girl’s scarlet hair had snow in them, which had caused them to stick in to shoulders in thin strands, as if she had taken a very uncomfortable and cold shower. Her black leather tights were torn from a few spots on her torso, abdomen, arms and legs, but there was no blood under it. Her only visible injury showed itself when she leaned over with a heavy stance, ready to attack. Toby wished she wouldn’t because her one foot was twisted in an odd direction. She should have collapsed with the pain, since she didn’t appear to take pressure off it, but the snow must have numbed the pain.

The girl panted heavy. Weak arms held two broadswords, one up and one down. She glared at the five wolves in front of her. Her being on a raised rock was advantageous, but the two behind her didn’t care. They were on yet another raised ledge, wide enough that it was the part of the mountain rock itself. Her shoulders squared, she showed the wolves in front of her that she was not a prey they could just attack. Along with it, her swords were levelled in a way that she was ready to defend if attacked from behind. Here eyes, that flickered at each of them, stopped at one side as she tilted her head, as if listening to the wolves behind her. She knew they were there.

Wolves could smell fear. At that moment, Toby was sure it was just a myth, to keep young explorers like him out of the woods. None of the wolves turned to him. He was behind them, a few metres away. A singular Wolf’s ear flicked towards hum then back. The girl was their target.

Toby patted his jeans and cursed. He didn’t have his spell book. He owned two of them but had none. There must be another way to help her out. 

Toby’s eyes darted around to see if there was a way to fight a pack of wolves without actually fighting. Brute force was not the answer. Two against seven were bad odds. The chances of him digging a meter deep hole and finding gold were better. 

Toby’s eyes set to a tree and an idea began to form in his mind. He moved with cat-like stealth. The wolves didn’t notice. Like a crab he went to the side. Near the ledge, he bent down to make snowballs. His eyes were dead set on the wolf in front of him. Toby’s heart got way lighter, its thumping reached his ears. Either everything could go as planned or the wolves were going to have a feast. With the snow cradled in his arm, Toby climbed up.the ledge, making enough noise to grab the attention of.the pack and the girl. 

“Behind you!” Toby yelled. He hurled the snowball as fast as he could to deter the wolves in front away from the girl. 

The girl got his message. She swiped behind her in the open air. Whether it was because she understood his plan or was faked out like the wolves, he didn’t know. 

The wolves behind her now had their attention taken away and now focused on her instead. They jumped down on the girl. 

Toby didn’t have time to help or even see how she fared against the beasts, because the ones he’d snowballed had taken up after him. They climbed over onto the ledge, which gave him a much needed headstart. 

The girl down below fought against two wolves. Toby was in awe. He hadn’t seen anyone fight with such prowess. Her movements were lethargic yet swift. Thrusts, jabs, slashes, all were pinpoint. The only thing that kept the wolves alive was the fact that she couldn’t move her on foot from the snow. 

Toby dashed towards the tree. There was a speciality to the tree. So special that Toby was putting two lives in danger. He’d pit the most savage beasts of the snow mountain against a weakened fighter. If the plan was to fail, which was a very likely possibility, at least someone would be happy. He’d be too dead to be.

A wolf on his trail dived down to help its comrades. The girl was able to fend the two of them somehow, but the third tipped the balance in their favour. It pounced on the girl, taking her down in the snow. Her blades flew away from her hand.

Toby reached the slanting tree. It’s alignment was so off that it was tipping over the edge of the rock. He climbed it and the wolves followed. The girl below let out a scream. The wolf, now standing over her, had bitten into her shoulder. It was almost over.

The creak of the tree lit a spark in Toby. He balanced at the end of the tree and the pack followed. They growled and ran at him. Under their collective weight, the tree gave away and fell down on the three wolves. And the girl.

2

Toby dragged the girl’s limp body across the snow. Life had not yet leached down the ground. She was breathing but the cold that climbed from the snow beneath threatened to take it away. Her only thing wouldn’t be. Just like the sword she’d lost. One of her blood streaked arms held her sword cutting into the snow. Mixed with the blood, it was the perfect trail. Toby knew the wolves will catch them, they’ll know the scent. 

Finally, they found a cave. Setting the girl on the stone, but warmer ground, he got out of the cave. He knelt in front of the entrance and put two of his fingers on the ground. With his free hand, he pulled out his book and read the spell.

“Fuego Linea.” Toby dragged a line across the entrance and went back to his campsite. On his journey to and from the campsite to the cave, none of the wolves had attacked. Not one of them dared. He tensed when he saw one of them with brown fur passby. It didn’t take any notice, as if Toby was invisible. That’s what he’d hoped for anyway. It came through without the help of any spell. The wolf disappeared deep into the woods.

He returned to the cave with supplies. He lit a fire and got to work. The rest of the night went by in an instant. He tended to the girl’s wounds. His hands worked and so did his mind.

Toby remembered how the creak of the tree had given him an exhilarating feeling. The shaking of his nerves was uncontrollable long after the experience. His plan had worked. It was messy, complicated and tough overall. There were multiple ways it could go wrong, like the wolves not following, him slipping on the snow and falling, the girl not able to grab the wolves attention. Yet, it all turned out fine. A plan of his.

The last time he’d felt this way was so far back in time that he couldn’t remember it. It was not unlike the day he’d tried the book his professor had given him. The first spell he had casted with his power over time, a simple time reversal. A spark that doused him in happiness so strong, when he went to his home at the end of term he hugged his father and told him. What followed was a day without food or water and five days in his room, alone. His father threw away his book of time and threatened to beat him until the words “time magic” would make him cower under a rock. 

Toby shook his head. No good it would do to him to turn an achievement into a painful memory. He put his thoughts away and pulled into helping the girl out. So much time in the wild, you’re able to pick up a few skills that help you survive. One of them was packing the correct amount and quality.of supplies in case you get injured.

Toby spent the whole night with the girl. She was running a fever so he had to dip strips of cloth in water and cool her down. Light from the sun had started pouring in from the woods by now. 

Toby leaned against the rocky wall of the cave. The pointy rocks dug into his back and shoulders, but he didn’t mind. It was more like acupuncture therapy. Her fever was gone. With a smile, he dozed off.

When Toby woke up, the girl was gone. He turned around to see the line he’d made at the entrance of the cave was cut off. He cursed himself under the breath and went off into the woods again to look for her. 

The moans of pain helped him. Toby ran in the direction and found the girl, lying on her back, holding her thigh tight. The thigh had a big red and white patch of ghostly skin. Toby approached her with caution. A hurt animal’s always more dangerous than an angry one. The girl was already very dangerous. She came rolling down the mountain, probably already hurt. The way she was keeping seven wolves at bay told him plenty. Not one to mess with, even the wolves knew that. At the end of it all, after fighting two beasts, surviving when the third one joined, and coming out alive after a tree fell on her with tons of snow, Toby knew he’d done right calling her a fighter. She earned that title more than anyone he’d met.

Snow crunched into tinier pieces as Toby took a step towards the girl. Her sword shot up before her eyes. The point slanted to his neck, which was a little lower than he thought she’d strike but it was effective enough.

As slow as he could, Tony sank down to his knees. The girl lowered her sword, not to keep it on him, but because of the strain that was reaching her arm. Toby’s eyes flicked to the tremble in her arm and then to her face. 

Up-close he took in her smudged appearance. Her face was long, with almost flat cheeks. Her smooth jawline was interrupted by cuts and bruises, thanks to the fighting the night before. Under the dark blanket of night, her features were unnoticeable, they’d blended so well with the cold wood of the trees. Now, sunlight had left them with warmth, and with her beauty. A cute little nose bled over pink torn lips. An expression of distress, anger and intrigue caught her face in a pose that was best left untouched and unadulterated. 

Her face, an amalgamation of elements of nature. The beautiful harmonic lake that lays destruction when it floods the nearby inhabitants. Just like hot steel hammered in the shape of a chain that holds a pearl. 

Their eyes met and Toby caught his breath. Deep brown eyes and the slight pink of her hair that meddled with them. Caught in the snow were his feet, but his eyes were stuck somewhere else altogether. In the ground. Earth itself threatened to swallow him as he watched those eyes with a hidden lustre that his gaze caught.

Toby wished it did but good things don’t last, just like the sight in front of him. Pain plowed through the pitch perfect image of the girl and ruined it. She leaned forward, grabbed a fistful of snow and lifted it to her wound.

Toby moved forward and caught her wrist before she could do anything. 

“Don’t do it,” warned Toby. “The burn can become worse than it already is.” 

“What do you know about burns?” The girl pulled her hand free of his grip. Her glare questioned his words but her hand let go of the snow anyway.

“I’m a Pyromancer, that’s how.” Toby said. “Besides, it was the spell I casted in front of the entrance of the cave that burned your leg.”

The girl’s eyes widened. “What?!” 

She tried to reach Toby but he backed away and she winced. Her fists clenched so tight her sword shook. When the shaking stopped, she sat there panting as if she had taken a break from running a marathon. 

“You’re an idiot,” She half-snarled. 

Toby scowled. “For saving your life? Now I’m starting to feel like one.” 

“Saved my life? When did you ever do that? I had those wolves handled. The only thing you did was make me lose my sword.” 

“Yeah, because when deciding between a human life and a weapon, I made the wrong choice it seems.”

“Yes, you did,” The girl mumbled. 

Blood rose to Toby’s face. “You’re the idiot here. Out here, in the cold, even when you’re injured. All for a sword?”

“It’s not just a sword, okay?” she grabbed her leg and winced again. 

Toby turned to the wound and hovered his hand over it. The girl tensed. “I can heal it.”

“Can you do healing magic?”

Toby thought before answering. He couldn’t, obviously. Pyromancy was better at burning stuff than causing harm. He could cauterize a wound with a very tight and controlled spell, but doing that to a burned area didn’t seem wise. What could he do then?

“No,” said Toby. “But I can do something else.”

Toby ran back to the cave and brought his book of time back.

He pulled up the page where the time reversal spell was given.

“Wait,” The girl held his wrist. “How much experience do you have with this? Are you good at it?”

“Relax,” Toby patted her hand. “I just did this yesterday on my report card.”

With his two fingers, he traced around the wound on her thigh. He dug deep to get all of the damage if it ran deeper.

“And what became of that?”

Toby pursed his lips. “Half of it flew off as ash.”

“What?! No! Stop—”

“Transeuro tiempo,” Toby backed away. The area around the thigh turned brown. It streaked along the outlines of the wound, then layers of skin and burns. Pieces of flesh mended themselves as the colour passed over them; many stuck together and remained intact, but for others nothing happened. The girl yelped and gripped her thigh tighter.

Seconds later, the spell had done its job, but the wound was still distraught. 

“That’s the best I can do.” Toby sighed. The spell could not create something from nothing. Pieces that were left intact near the wound turned themselves back together, but gaps were still present. 

The girl gave an uneasy smile. “Thanks, at least you tried. The pain’s less, so that’s a win. Besides, I knew that I’ll need Intempor’s water for this.”

Toby didn’t listen to half of what the girl had said. He’d been so focused on the light tone of her voice.

“Intemp—what?” 

“Intempor. It’s a dimension that I can open. It has a magical pool of water that can heal any wound.”

“So why don’t you go there?” asked Toby.

“I want my sword first,” the edge in her tone returned. “At least the pain is much less than it was. I can walk a bit.” 

She took the support of the rock and balanced herself on her two feet with a lot of cursing and wincing. Toby’s arms went forward to catch her on instinct, but he held them back. 

The girl stood up on wobbly feet and turned towards him in steps short enough to lose to an ant in a hundred-meter dash. 

“This is not a good idea,” said Toby. “You have a twisted ankle in your other foot that I wasn’t able to mend properly.”

“I can take it,” the girl said. As an evidence, she held up her sword that didn’t shake anymore. It was strong and still.

Toby knew he could not convince her otherwise, so he gave in. 

“Let’s go I guess. ”

3

It was not long before they found the pack again, or at least a part of it. Two wolves faced another one, in what looked like a standoff. The single was the weirdest of sights, or it would be to a person who hadn’t seen a werewolf. Toby, on the other hand, had. The werewolf was large and bulky, over seven feet by his estimate. It’s arms and legs were thicker than some of the trees that grew in the tundra. Toby had no problem in believing that it could crush a tree or him with a hug. 

One of the two wolves held a long broadsword in its mouth, identical to the one in the girl’s sheath. The wolves had no chance, and no amount of swords could make it turn out any different.

The girl pulled him behind a rock.

Toby leaned towards her and whispered, “Don’t act harsh. Thats a Rabid werewolf. We need to assess the situation first.”

The girl’s hands rested on the rock in a calm and firm way. “What’s a Rabid werewolf?”

Toby raised an eyebrow at her. Did she not know what a Rabid werewolf is?

“Werewolf are usually calm and peaceful creatures, but there are some outliers. Filled with bloodlust, like the one ahead. Wolves and werewolves are on good terms usually, but they both hate Rabids.”

The girl nodded. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to.”

Toby didn’t know if by that she meant she would stay put or not. With a lingering look on her, he looked back at the wolves. They were still stuck in that position like a deadlock. Staring at each other. 

The hair on the back of Toby’s neck stood up. A crunch in the snow behind them. 

He turned but all he could see was a grey-white blur and white fangs. Then it went black.

Toby opened his eyes when he heard a small groan. His first thought was, How am I not dead? But it died as soon as it had taken form when he saw the girl, in front of her. Her blade stuck in the wolf’s  mouth. Her first reflex was to save him. 

With her one good shoulder, she pushed the wolf back. They stared at each other.

She gave her a sideways look. “Take out your spellbook or something, and get ready.” 

Toby was going to ask why but that question was answered a second later. Behind them, the two wolves jumped over. Each caught one of them. The girl retaliated with her sword, again  its mouth wide open, struck by her sword. 

Toby got the bitter end of the deal. The sword came swinging down on him. He held up his Book of Fire for defence. A loud crackle of lightning followed. An invisible force pushed him back against the nearby tree. Lungs now devoid of air, Toby kneeled forward, dissolving in a fit of coughs. Smoke rose from his hands buried in the snow. He pulled them up. Air seemed to be lost from him again. In his two hands he held the Book of Fire, split into two. It’s edges smouldered.

The grey one’s claws caught the girl’s neck. She screamed. Another one got on her back and sunk it’s claws deep. It reared its head to take one last nite and finish her for good. Toby could use a time spell to know what was going to happen next, but he didn’t need it. He knew.

In an unexpected turn of events, she swung her sword and stabbed the wolf on her back. The grey one attacked again. 

She raised her arm and let it catch the bite. Her other hand moved in a swift, clean stab and went through the wolf. It fell down. So did her. 

Toby ran over to her. He held his hands over her, ready to reverse her wounds. She grabbed his wrist with so much strength, Tony feared it was her last.

“The sword,” Her weak voice sank into the snow. “Please…” 

Toby nodded and looked for the sword. He found it in the snow, beside the charred body of the wolf. 

A black shape leapt out of his left. Toby barely stepped back in time. The werewolf bent down to pick up the sword. It stabbed the wolf’s body and set his eyes on Toby. 

Toby’s heart took a dip into the ocean. An ocean of not clear water or stinging brine, but oil. Those dark beady eyes stayed at him, made of oil that suffocated him. As if the monster could do magic of its own, the oil seemed to flow through the air and force itself through his nostrils and mouth into his lungs. Lungs that screamed bloody murder. It got harder to breath. The oil made its way to his heart and pulled it in. The malicious intent of the gaze outperformed any form of fear he had experienced before. The time he’d discovered his class was full of vampires, werewolves (the good ones) and gargoyles too. Or when his roommate had turned out to be a Gorgon. 

This moment trumped every other one. Combined.

He looked back at the girl to tell her it was over. That they were going to die here, in the cold, snowy graves. Flesh torn to pieces. The ground she lay on, where she bled, was going to be home now so no use in trying to stay alive.

The girl looked back in his hopeless eyes and nodded. 

She made a feeble attempt at speaking. “You can do it.”

Toby raised his head towards the werewolf. It raised the sword at him. He took out his spell book. Toby took a deep breath, wished why he’d declined the paradise known as his father’s home and charged at the monster.

The wolf didn’t back down. 

Toby waved his hand in front. “Aevum venidero!”

Brown waves spread around them. They took the shape of the werewolf. The image formed by the waves came at him and punched him in the face.

Toby ducked just in time as the real punch came and hit it in the gut. It hurt him more. But he kept it going. Toby took the  snow and threw it in the monster’s eyes. He backed up and waved his hand again.

The brown image used the sword this time. 

Steel of the sword sliced through but he turned right, then left and ducked. After every dodge, Tony waved his hand, took a glance, dodged and repeated.

He tried to get in close and get a hit, but there was no opening. Finally, the fatigue that had been rising in his muscles and digging through his bones got to him. It started out small, a cut on the shoulders.

The edge of the steel met hit his collarbone. Toby strutted back. In a split second he made the decision that sealed his fate. With the last bit of energy in his being, he ran at the werewolf. He closed his eyes and waited.

The pain came first and then the heat. A sudden smack in his gut. But it wasn’t a smack, but a stab. The werewolf stood over him, tall and pleased. 

Toby looked up. Lost? Despair? His eyes didn’t show anything. It reflected a silent scream of victory. 

He jabbed his palm on the monster’s chest and whispered, “Tiempo velox!”

Brown waves spread emanated into the monster’s chest. It’s heart, Toby’s target.

The monster stepped back. It let go of the hilt of the sword. It’s face contorted in pain as Toby expected it would. He could sense the heart growing older and older and starting to wither away. Unable to support that large, bulky body anymore, the lump of blood and muscle was starting to give away. 

It collapsed on the ground and assumed a foetal position. Only when it stopped shaking, Toby knew his triumph was final. He pulled out the sword from his burning gut. For a moment, he had an urge to stab the monster with it, but his muscle wouldn’t comply. 

Pain and fire enveloped his body. His hands shook at the effort when they reached down and drew a circle around the wound. His senses had gone numb because of the overload of pain. The world was white, but he didn’t know why. There were streaks of red mixed into the white. He didn’t care that it was his. He only knew the pain. 

Toby’s hands worked on their own. He heard himself say words he didn’t recognise. He collapsed on the snow which held him snug and passed out.

“Wake up, hey!” A girl’s voice came through the black. 

Toby opened his eyes and blinked. He looked up and saw the pink haired girl giving him her hand. 

“How are you feeling?” She asked.

“Considering I was stabbed by a werewolf,” Toby rubbed the front of his abdomen. It was as smooth as the day he was born. “Pretty fine, actually.”

His eyes wandered over to her. He took her hand. “And you look pretty great. Not a single scratch.” 

The girl smiled, which he decided wasn’t half bad. “I know right? Water from the river in Intempor is magic. I still have to wear the bandages though.”

She patted her thigh and shoulder. 

“This Intempor… is it a realm or something?”

“Realm?”

“Yeah, read about it in school. The immortals who lived millennia ago made spaces for themselves, that’s how powerful they were. It’s called a realm.”

The girl nodded, but Toby could tell she had no clue about what he was saying.

“Anyway, I didn’t tell you my name. I’m Karmen,” she offered her hand.

“Toby Isastey,” he took it.

“I cannot believe we survived that,” Karmen sighed and looked around. There were still stains of blood and carcasses of their fallen enemies in the snow around them.

“What was the fuss about anyway? Why couldn’t you go back without the sword?” asked Toby.

Karmen’s hand went to the hilt of her sword. “My Nani, my grandmother gave me this sword, showing up without them felt wrong. I’m sure I have disappointed her enough in the two years since I have taken this power.”

“She seems scary,” said Toby.

Karmen gave a small smile. “When someone lays as much as a finger on her china? Sure. Otherwise, no. She is cool. Anyway, enough about me, what are your plans after this?”

“Well, I’m already at the foot of this mountain, better cross it. I don’t think the wolves will bother me now.”

“True, especially with what you did at the end. You were amazing with it. What was that?”

“Time magic. Doesn’t matter how good I am with it, dad won’t let me do it.”

“Who cares for what he thinks? You should do what you want.”

“Are you doing what you want?”

Karmen looked at her shoes. “Well, I don’t want to do this duty I’m given, but I have to do this to get someone back.”

“You sure they should come back?”

Karmen shifted at her feet. “Yeah, why?” 

“I just believe in order to get someone back, if you have to do something you don’t like it might not pay off later. What if you find this person and they are not what you remember them to be?”

Karmen shook her head. “I don’t know anything about it, but I do know that I have to get her back. Even if it’s for making amends.”

Toby nodded.

Karmen grabbed his shoulders. “But you should do what you want. For both of us.”

Toby thought about it.

“I will!”

“That’s the spirit!” Karmen smiled. “Let’s make a pact. If we ever meet again, you will tell me all about what you did. Promise?”

How he was going to manage that, it was beyond him. There were so many things to think about, so many plans to be made. With those plans, came the insurmountable mountain of doubts. Not even a full day ago, he was burning his report card just for fun, and now this? There was so much that could happen in one day.

He raised his head at the mountain’s peak. It wasn’t visible from so close, especially throught the thicket of trees, but he knew where it would be. He’d fought monsters with nothing but a rusty book of time magic and his mind. 

Toby nodded.

Karmen smiled. He’d imprinted that smile in his mind, and Toby was glad he did, because he didn’t see Karmen again.