Amity

Chapter 27: Tower of Flames

Dré looked from his brother to the entrance doors of the main tower; he couldn't tell why, but they looked more daunting than before, despite him already knowing what was behind them. Well, he knew what it looked like beyond those doors. That wasn't what worried him though. What did worry him was what awaited him in the classrooms. That worried him more than the Edge Walker's forest. Swallowing his fear, he went inside, seeing the familiar pearly-white foyer of Reiax Academy in front of him.

In front of the cafeteria were two transparent maps suspended in midair. A few of the students were looking at it before going through the doors on the wall or through the doors on either side of the cafeteria. There were signs posted above each of the doors. The sign to the left read West Hall Entrance while the sign to the right read East Hall Entrance. Above the doors on either side of the cafeteria read Courtyard.

"Cool! These things are holograms," Keiko said as she put her hand through the map on the right. Michael stood beside her, looking as if he was struggling to read it through her hand.

"She seems eager to go through this," Megumi said before Dré and Kimmy followed.

The map displayed a top view of the academy, showing the hexagonal shape of the six towers. Five of the six towers were named after the five elements; on the far left was air, followed by water, spirit, nature, and fire. "Looks like I'm going through here," Dré said pointing at the Tower of Fire. "I guess I'll see you guys at supper." With that, Dré left his friends, walking towards the opened door of the East Hall Entrance.

Beyond the door, Dré saw that, aside from the rectangular windows, the marble walls were bare. Golden vines were twisted around the black bars in front of the windows, with glowing yellow orbs scattered here and there on the vines. Dré looked closer at the peach-sized orbs, seeing a swirling white haze swimming inside. He felt something flowing from it, almost as if the air was somehow thicker the closer he got to it. He wished that the glass wasn't blocking him from it.

"Did you already get lost?" he hard Megumi's voice ask from the entrance. He turned, seeing both Michael and Megumi walk towards him. "I swear, I can let you get out of sight for more than a minute."

"I didn't get lost," he said with an edge. He turned back to the window. "Do you guys feel anything coming from this? Like, anything weird?"

Megumi stood beside him, looking at the vines. Michael, on the other hand, kept walking down the hall. Dré had almost expected that Michael wouldn't pay him any attention, especially considering that Keiko wasn't with him.

She stood on the tips of her toes, using the stone window sill to boost her up enough to see. "You know, now that you mention it, there is something weird about these things. What do you think they're used for?"

"I don't know. I can't even begin to guess. So, you have a class in the Tower of Flames, too?" he asked, both of them walking away from the window.

"Yep. It's my sword training class with someone named Koru Boltz. You?"

"I have the same class, but it's with your mom. I'll be on the second floor."

"Mom's a teacher?" she asked, incredulous. "I never would've guessed that. I thought that she'd be a mechanic or something."

"Why would she be a mechanic?"

"Well, that's what she is on Earth. She works on cars."

"Huh. Learn something new every day."

Before long, the two of them made it to the end of the hall. The tower's foyer looked the same as the main tower's, only there was an image of a phoenix midflight in the middle of the floor. Four leather seats surrounded the image. Two large, purple rose-looking flowers were potted between a bronze gate. Beyond the gate was a small, dimly lit room, almost as if it were an elevator. Dré wasn't sure what surprised him the most; the giant roses or the fact that Amity was technologically advanced enough to have elevators. Then again, all that he'd seen of Amity was the castle-like school and the Edge Walker's Forest.

"Man, I'm so ready to go to sleep," Megumi said as she walked towards the elevator. "I didn't get to sleep until about two."

"In the morning? On a school night?" Dré exclaimed. "Why didn't you go to sleep?"

"Hyrule's not gonna save itself." She closed the elevator gate, pressing the second-floor button.

"Hyrule? You been up since two in the morning playing Zelda?"

"Uh, last time I checked, I was a seventeen-year-old woman," she retorted as the elevator lurched forward, saying "woman" as if she was implying that she was an adult. "I don't need you telling me what time to go to sleep."

With a humph, Dré muttered, "Well, sorry for trying to look out for your well-being."

"Dude, I'm a semi-professional gamer," she said with a smirk. "I used to go to school with only about an hour's worth nap. I think that I can manage with five hours."

The elevator slowed. With an exasperated breath, Dré simply said, "If you say so." He couldn't imagine going a day with hour eight hours of sleep and a midday nap. The gate slid open, showing a long hallway in front of him devoid of students. Three doors stood before him, one on each side of him, and one at the end of the hallway. As Dré walked off the elevator, he turned to Megumi, saying "Try not to fall asleep in class."

He walked on the wooden tile floor, his heavy boots thudding through the hall. He could hear the voices of the teachers carry out from both sides of him, though neither of them sounded like Tiffany's voice, which meant that his class was the last room in the hallway.

Dré's heart pounded in his chest as he stopped in front of room 303. He couldn't tell if it were from excitement or fear. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door.