The Paladin Prophecy

THE TUTORIAL

The roommates packed it in after one in the morning, satisfied that they’d at least put a name to what they’d found. But Will lay awake worrying about the implications of the last piece Brooke had discovered: The original Knights were all Paladins. One of the contemporary Knights, dressed as a paladin, had come after them with an ax. The Paladin had been the school’s mascot since 1915.

Did this suggest that the school was somehow involved?

Then there was the even crazier stuff he hadn’t told them yet: The connection Nando had found between the Caps and the testing agency that had brought him to the school. The repeated appearances of his guardian angel, the monsters from the Never-Was, and this paranormal “war” that Dave said he was smack in the middle of.

Will heard a soft knock, moved to the door, and opened it a crack.

It was Brooke. “I need to ask you something,” she whispered. She was close enough for him to catch a sweet hint of peppermint on her breath. He stood aside, inviting her in. She wore an oversized white men’s dress shirt and floppy socks. She crossed to his bed and sat down, folding one bare leg underneath her. Will sat nearby, but not too close. She leaned toward him, her big eyes wide and bright with alarm, caught in a fragment of moonlight through the window.

“I’m lying there, staring at the ceiling,” she said, her voice low and trembling, “and I can’t stop asking myself, why did the Paladin show up down there?”

“Maybe he followed us,” said Will.

“But how did he know you were down there in the first place?”

“Maybe we set off a silent alarm—”

“I think Lyle has some way of watching you,” she said with conviction. “The same thing used to happen to Ronnie. Lyle always seemed to know where he was.”

Will shivered as he thought about it.

“And, Will, think about this.” Brooke put her hand on his. “If Lyle really is part of the Knights, and they’re working with the men who tried to kidnap you …”

Will felt a chill run down his spine. “Then there’s a good chance that word’s gotten back to them and they know I’m here.”

“I’m sorry if I haven’t been more supportive,” said Brooke sincerely. “I really don’t believe that rules are made to be broken. But this is different. You’re in real danger and I want to help in any way I can.”

“I’m really glad to hear that,” said Will. “There’s something I need to tell you, too. Chances are good that Todd’s part of this. With some of the other seniors from the cross-country team.”

She looked away and sighed. She seemed more saddened than surprised.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “Whatever’s going on between you is none of my business.”

“Nothing’s going on between us,” she said, eyes flashing. “Our families are close, that’s all. We’ve known each other our whole lives.”

“If you need me to help, I will,” said Will.

She looked at him again, her eyes full of concern. “All this is going down, and you want to help me?”

Will got lost in her eyes for a second before he looked away. She reached out with her other hand and held his.

“Seriously, Will. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Don’t worry about me,” he said.

“But I am worried,” she said. “I knew you’d been through something awful the moment we met.”

“Well, I was lying there with stitches in my head.”

She punched his arm lightly. “The technical term is emotional intelligence? Give me some credit. I don’t want to help just because it’s the right thing to do. I want to because I like you. Because you’re smart and nice and kind of, well, brave.”

Will had to look away.

“You haven’t heard that a lot from other kids before?” she asked.

“No,” he said quietly.

She tried to meet his eyes. “What about friends back home? People you’re close to?”

Will shrugged. “Don’t have any.”

“Not ever?”

Will shook his head.

“Okay, that’s just wrong. And not because there’s something wrong with you,” she said gently. “What were your parents thinking? Your life should have been filled with friends. From now on it will be.”

He hoped she couldn’t hear his heart beating because it was about to bust through his ribs.

“And if you ever want to talk about … whatever you’ve been through or football or eighteenth-century English poetry, just know I’m up for that. Because that’s what friends are for.”

She said it like someone explaining the concept for the first time in human history. She squeezed his hand and headed for the door.

“I’ll work on Todd and see what I can find out,” she said at the door.

“You be careful, too.”

She seemed amused. “You really don’t know much about girls, do you? Get some sleep, champ.”

Fat chance. After flopping around for half an hour, Will noticed that his tablet had turned on. He was certain he’d switched it off and laid it flat before he’d gone to bed. Now it was standing on its legs, pointed directly toward him with a message floating on-screen:

WOULD YOU LIKE TO BEGIN THE TUTORIAL NOW? (RECOMMENDED)

“I surrender,” said Will. He stumbled to the desk and sat down. “Yes, I’d like to take the tutorial.”

The screen dissolved into a curtain of bubbling effervescence that gave Will a strange visceral impression: It’s happy. A series of questions appeared, dissolving in and out at an increasingly rapid pace as Will responded:

WHAT IS YOUR HEIGHT? YOUR WEIGHT? YOUR BIRTHDAY? YOUR FAVORITE COLOR? YOUR FAVORITE SPORT?

When that ended, it asked him to put his hands on the screen, one at a time. A bright blue light issued from it each time. It instructed him to move his face six inches from the screen, hold still, and shut his eyes, and when he did he felt a symmetrical grid of intense light moving slowly across his features—

It’s mapping me.

One last message appeared: THIS DEVICE WILL BE ACTIVATED FOR YOUR SECURE AND PERSONAL USE. DO YOU STILL WISH TO PROCEED?

“Yes,” he said.

The screen dissolved to a deep, shimmering blue. A faint pulse began beating, creating rippling disturbances like pebbles dropped in a still pond. A tiny round pale dot appeared in the center. With each successive heartbeat, the dot grew in size. Then Will realized that the pulse on-screen was keeping pace with the beating of his own heart.

He couldn’t take his eyes off it; within minutes the spot grew to the size of a dime. Something about its rhythmic regularity relaxed his mind enough to finally let go. When his chin sagged onto his chest, he dragged himself to bed and instantly fell asleep.

A few hours later, he woke in sunlight. Will looked over and saw that the dot on-screen had continued growing while he was asleep. The pale shape that had formed overnight looked like the outline of a human body lying on its back, suspended in space. Vague, unfinished, but evolving.

That’s me. It’s growing my double.

After he’d showered and dressed, Will reached down to pick up the tablet and take it with him, but a harsh tone sounded and a warning appeared on-screen:

DO NOT ATTEMPT TO USE THIS DEVICE UNTIL ACTIVATION IS COMPLETE.

“The ancestor of every action … is a thought.”

Will jolted awake, instantly guilty. Thirty minutes into his first class with Dan McBride, the one teacher whose opinion of him mattered more to Will than any other, and he was fighting to keep his eyes open. He glanced around at the twenty other students in the amphitheater. No one seemed to notice his struggles.

“This is Emerson’s central idea,” said McBride at his lectern. “That everything starts in the mind. Everything you perceive, everything you create, everything you experience or believe … begins here. Inside of you.”

Will squirmed in his seat. A swampy mass swirled in his head. Sinister masked faces swam toward him as he struggled to stay awake.

A group that calls itself the Knights of Charlemagne. Named after the original Paladins from the Middle Ages. Members of a secret society within the school. Connected to the Black Caps and the Never-Was.

What’s their purpose? How long have they been here? It can’t just be coincidence that the Center’s mascot is a paladin, but how does this all fit together?

“You have to trust yourself,” said McBride. “Learn to trust your instincts when the world is telling you not to. ‘Trust your self beyond the reach of reason, or the opinions of others.’ That’s how Emerson insisted we live. Because your lives must first and foremost make sense to you.”

McBride’s words sounded as if they were meant just for him. One of Dad’s primary rules: #11: TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS.

That snapped Will back awake. He gazed over at Brooke, seated in the corner and watching McBride, listening intently. Looking so effortlessly beautiful it made Will’s chest ache. Then he felt a pair of eyes drill into him from behind.

Stop gawking. Show some restraint, you nimrod.

He turned and saw Elise staring at him. Busted. God, are my feelings so ridiculously transparent now?

Elise used her fingers to prop her eyes open, mocking him in his efforts to stay awake. He also noticed something else in Elise’s eyes—some unresolved pain behind the attitude—that made him feel like he was seeing her for the first time.

“Here’s what I believe Emerson wants us to do,” said McBride, moving away from the lectern, as sincere as if he were saying this for the first time. “He wants us to think for ourselves, without fear of ridicule or judgment. He wants us to make up our minds and ignore what the rest of the world is saying. Pay no attention to fads or fashions, and listen, always, to the voice of your innermost self. Learning who you are is your primary task. There are no mistakes in life, as far as Emerson’s concerned, only lessons. Once you master one lesson, you move on to the next. And the only place you can learn is right now. In the everlasting present.”

All we have is right now. McBride was really channeling Dad today. Will felt his spirits lift. When the class ended, McBride waved Will over to the lectern.

“Will, great to have you in class. Hope you didn’t have too much trouble staying awake.” McBride winked as he packed up his briefcase.

“Sorry, sir,” said Will. “Still adjusting to the time zone. Couldn’t sleep.”

“No worries. That reminds me, Dr. Robbins asked if you’ve connected with your parents. About your medical records and those additional tests.”

“Yes,” said Will, scrambling internally. “We spoke last night. They’ll mail them out right away. And they’re fine with more tests.”

“Splendid,” said McBride.

As they walked out together, Will decided to trust McBride with this question: “Sir, do you know anything about the … possible existence of any secret clubs or societies here at the school?”

McBride stopped in the hall, curious. “What prompted your asking, Will?”

“I heard a rumor. About some group called the Knights of Charlemagne.”

McBride nodded. “Well, I don’t recall one by that name specifically, but you could try the Archer Library. They keep an extensive archive on school history.”

“Thanks, that’s a good idea,” said Will.

“Check in over the weekend,” said McBride, putting a hand on his shoulder. “And try to catch up on your sleep.” McBride winked again. Will watched him hobble off, gamely battling his brittle knees.

Damn. Forgot all about the medical records. That was a problem. But there was one place he could look.

* * *

“Hey, Nando, Will. Is this a good time?”

“Hey, Wills, yeah, it’s good.”

Will was locked in his bathroom, whispering into his cell. “Got worried when I didn’t hear back from you yesterday. The Black Caps were headed your way.”

“I’m cool, my brotha. Me and Freddie gave ’em the slip. Made the run to Ojai last night. Back to the grind, doing my cab thang. Whassup?”

“They need some medical records for my dad and we think they’re at our house. Any chance you could swing by and pick ’em up if the coast is clear?”

“Happy to.”

“We’ve got a key stashed by the back door. Let’s get on the phone when you go in and I’ll tell you where to look.”

Will pictured their house in Ojai. It had been only three days since he’d been there, but it seemed like months ago already. That version of him—Will West 1.0—felt shockingly out of date.

“If you can receive it, I’ll figure a way to stream you some video,” said Nando.

“Great idea,” said Will. “I’ll work on that from my end, too.”

Will ended the call and went back to his bedroom to prepare for his last class of the day. The figure on his tablet had continued to grow, like a sculpture emerging from rock. Hair had appeared—the right color and length—and muscles gained definition with every passing second.

Another few hours and this little homunculus will be me.

Will moved the desk and opened the hiding place. As he set the phone inside, he noticed that the hole extended a few inches under the floor toward the wall. Will stuck his hand inside and probed around. He felt nothing until he turned his wrist to check under the floorboards and found an angular lump under a strip of duct tape. He eased the tape away and brought the object up into the light.

It was a small strip of silver metal, the length and about half the width of a domino. He replaced the floorboard and slid the desk into place. At that moment the black phone rang, startling him. He answered on the second ring.

“Will, it’s Dr. Robbins,” she said, crisp and efficient. “Mr. McBride tells me you got permission from your parents for the tests.”

“Yes, I did.”

“Excellent. Dr. Kujawa’s scheduled you for tomorrow morning. It’s Saturday, so you won’t miss any classes. Meet us at the medical center at eight o’clock?”

“I guess so, sure.”

“Good. We’ll see you then,” she said, and hung up.

Will didn’t know how he felt about that. He’d learned a lot from their first tests, but what would they reveal this time?

Heading out for his next class, Will stopped to knock on Ajay’s door. “Ajay, it’s Will.”

He heard locks thrown, the door opened a crack, and Ajay stuck his head out. “Yes, Will?”

Will held up the strip of metal. “Can you tell me what this is?” Ajay eyed it suspiciously. “Where did it come from?”

“I’ll tell you later. Just take a look and tell me what you find?”

“All right.” Ajay took the metal object. “Anything else?”

“I need a live two-way video link with a buddy in So Cal later,” said Will. “Can you handle that?”

“Does he have access to a phone with streaming video?”

“I’m sure he does,” said Will.

“Consider it done,” said Ajay, and started to close his door.

Will glanced over at Elise’s door and decided to play another—slightly more obscure—hunch. “So when did Elise hook up with Ronnie Murso last year?”

Ajay turned back, his eyes wide. “How did you know?”

“I think that’s why Elise is so sawed off at everybody all the time.”

“Very perceptive, old man,” said Ajay, impressed. “How’d you figure it out?”

“The way she reacted when we first talked about him,” said Will. “See you later.”

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