~ Episode Four ~
Fire’s Soul:
Eri’s Magical Powers Are Revealed!
Grover’s Mill Provincial Park sat in the dead center of town. It was a monumental piece of Shorebrooke’s history, once a famous tree farm in the early nineteen-hundreds. Now, it was a conservation area mapped with bike trails, two separate playgrounds, an outdoor theater, picnicking areas—and of course, plenty of parking.
According to Shinji, the Monsters seemed to be coming from the park’s forest—an arboretum fully-protected by the municipality. It lay in great patches along elevated hills near the rear of Grover’s Mill. He was leading Eri towards it.
“Two Monsters in a single day … things are starting to ramp up,” said Shinji. He and Eri strode side-by-side through the park. Dull-glowing lampposts served them visual aids in the night. The moon overhead showed them the way—full, and glowing crimson.
Eri shivered at just how casual he sounded about this whole thing. Her gaze found the park’s namesake off in the distance, a now-defunct windmill from when the Grover family farm still existed. It now stood a red-bricked monument amidst the open trails and playgrounds. “Hey, um—maybe we should wait for Macks and Evan to tag along? Power in numbers and all that?”
“You mean strength. I think we can handle this one on our own. Monster Dowser says Kyupo isn’t too far now.” Shinji regarded the ancient device as they headed towards the woods. The neon lights from within the darkened orb glowed against his face, hard-set with study. “Its only power is velocity—Kyupo’s lightning fast.” He turned a curious eye on Eri. “Nothing too devastating for a track star like you, right?”
Eri blushed. She tried to imagine the Monster in the shape of a cute and tiny rabbit wearing sneakers, a racing number pinned to its back.
They came to a stop at the arboretum entrance—an oak archway with large maps and info-graphics nailed to its pillars. It opened to a darkened wooded path.
Eri felt unease at the sight of it. Shinji said the Monsters were coming from the woods…
“Oh, here.” Shinji reached into his jeans pocket, balancing the Monster Dowser in one hand. “Meant to give this to you back at the house.”
He placed a small pine box into Eri’s waiting palms.
“What’s this?” She tilted back the lid on stiff hinges.
Within was a gold-chained necklace. Attached to it was a translucent pendant in the shape of a dark orb engulfed by scarlet flames.
“Ohh! It’s so pretty…” Eri lifted the necklace out of its box and examined the design against the moonlight. It looked slightly incandescent between her fingers, slowly spinning as the pendant glinted against the park’s fluorescent lamplight.
“The Fire Pendant,” said Shinji. He was studying her reaction with a kind of seriousness no kid his age should ever wear. “It’ll save your life.”
Eri blinked at him, confused. “…Save my life?”
A dull hum sounded in her ears. Then out of the blue, a patch of snow exploded before the arboretum entrance. The impact sent a supersonic wave past the two kids, a piercing hum in their ears.
“There!” Shinji pointed above the treetops. Eri followed his gaze and found a small yellow ball silhouetted in the crimson moonlight. The object slowly turned to face them amidst hunks of snow, dirt, and grass it had kicked up from the impact.
A split formed in the center of the ball, opening to reveal an oozing eyeball that stared directly back at Eri.
“Watch out!!” Shinji tackled her just as the ball came down at them a second time. Wintry debris exploded like a hidden landmine.
Eri rolled onto her backside, cringing from the fall. “That’s the Monster you wanna fight?!”
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“You’d rather another Nagamani?” Shinji leapt to a stand, leaving the Monster Dowser and his backpack neglected in the snow. With the yellow ball of destruction in his sights, he yanked free something from around his neck and shot an arm into the air. “Element—”
The ball struck him in the face, then launched back skyward. Shinji floundered into the snow, tossing whatever had been in his grasp. The ball arced over the arboretum treetops and vanished within the woods.
“Shinji!” Eri ran to him, shrieking. “Are you okay?!”
Shinji struggled to sit up. He winced, wiping his bloody nose on a sleeve.
Eri dropped to her knees beside him and inspected his face. “Oh my gosh, is it broken?!”
“Don’t worry about me,” he said. “You need to go after Kyupo!”
“Are you crazy?! I’m not leaving you like this!”
“You don’t have a choice!” Shinji barked at her. “This isn’t a game, Seruma. Kyupo’s on its way to find the Child of Destiny. You need to Seal it before that happens, understand?!”
Eri shivered at the sight of him. “But…”
“I’ll be okay. Go!”
She stared at Shinji. He stared back at her, his fierce eyes glimmering emeralds behind tears that fought to fall. The look he gave her now—there was something within it, a fire that formed Eri’s reflection back at her.
“You can do this, Seruma,” he murmured. “I know you can.”
Eri gave a short nod. It was all she could do now. She got up, backed away from Shinji, and made a dash towards the woods. “I—I’ll do my best!”
“Seruma!”
Eri paused to look over-shoulder at Shinji. He stared at her, bloodied ski glove clamped over his nose.
“Don’t forget your pendant,” he said, voice muffled. “Call upon the magic you were born to use—the flames that burn within its tempered glass. Unlock that which is your birthright as a Star Warrior. Summon the element of Fire.”
His voice sent a chill through Eri. She considered him, the seriousness of his words hanging like ghostly echoes in her still-ringing ears. Warmth blossomed in her mittens. It came from the flame-shaped pendant cupped in her cotton palms.
Eri took a deep breath. “Element Fire—R E L E A S E ! !”
A sudden gust of air formed around her as the necklace glowed to life. The gold chain vanished, leaving only the Fire Pendant spinning in Eri’s grasp. It emitted an invisible force that pushed away her hands, allowing the pendant to remain on the air weightlessly. She watched awestruck as it began to transform.
The warm gusts that consumed Eri erupted into fiery winds that did not burn her nor melt the snow around her feet. What appeared to be a long gray rod, tipped with a golden spike, stretched into existence out one side of the Pendant. What was unmistakably that of an orange dual-faced hammerhead took form on the opposite end. With it came another, longer, golden spike that surfaced from between the hammerhead’s bell-shaped curves.
The war hammer from her dreams.
It floated before Eri, whispering wordless secrets to her. She shivered at the sight of the weapon, her body hot with an alarmed feeling that had since replaced the quickly-dying winds around her.
Weight returned to the magical artifact. Gravity called the hammer’s head to tip and caused it to plummet into the snow with a light thud. The handle stuck out in the night, beckoning like Excalibur’s hilt.
Eri swallowed hard and approached the weapon on cautious heels. She glided cotton-clad fingers over the rod; it was hot like fireplace coals, but touching it didn’t bring any harm. Her grasp wrapped around it. She pulled the war hammer from the snow.
It came free without effort.
Like it was meant just for her…
“Seruma.” Shinji’s voice tickled her ears. “Remember—you need to weaken Kyupo enough before you can Seal it into a Monster Orb. Call upon the oath placed by the Original Five and command Kyupo’s power to surrender to you. Do that, and it’ll happen. Don’t worry—the Fire Hammer will keep you safe.”
Eri turned at the hip with the elemental weapon clutched against her body. She found Shinji watching her from where he sat in the snow, both hands now clamped over his bleeding nose.
“Are—are you sure about this?” she asked.
“I believe in you,” he said. “Here—”
He tossed Eri something that looked like a tennis ball from inside his backpack. She caught it in one hand, surprised by the unexpected weight of the object. It was the glassy red orb from before—the Monster Orb that contained the essence of the Kenah’dai who’d attacked the library.
Nagamani, the Monster of Bastion.
“In case you need some help,” Shinji said.
Eri nodded. She had no idea how a little glass orb could help her take down such an unassuming but destructive force. Then again, she’d no idea how a flame-shaped pendant could turn into a full blown magical war hammer, either. She turned away from Shinji and broke into a dash towards the arboretum. “I won’t let you down!”
Shinji hesitated. “…I know.”