Polaris by Beth Bowland Read Free Book Online

do you mean?”
    “Meaning, I must abide by the rules.”
    Aaron squeezed his eyes shut, trying to awaken himself from a dream. “I don’t understand. Who are you and what is this place?”
    Mr. Kessler didn’t answer right away, but paused for a moment, probably to word his answer in a way so as not to frighten Aaron.
    “I was afraid this would happen. Sirius of Aurora Australis was deceptive and jumped ahead of the starting signal. Clearly against the rules.” Mr. Kessler shook his head. “No, this is not fair to you.”
    Aaron’s mind went back to Nakal’s words: You have to follow the rules. “Can you tell me who or what Nakal is? I mean, is he an alien? Why am I being attacked, and what happened to my mother and my friend Parker?”
    Mr. Kessler motioned for Aaron to sit on the floor. “I see you have a lot to learn about all of this, and we don’t have much time.”
    Aaron nodded.
    Mr. Kessler took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Nakal is known as the Leadman; he initiates the game.”
    Aaron’s hands tensed. “Game? My best friend was killed and my mother is missing. How is that a game?”
    “Parker is not dead. He’s just been voided ,” said Mr. Kessler. “Just like your mother.”
    “Voided?” Aaron said.
    “It’s like being out-of-play .”
    Aaron stood up and reached for the doorknob. “I gotta get out of here. Everyone has gone crazy! I don’t even know this Sirius person.”
    Aaron yanked opened the door, but Mr. Kessler quickly slammed it shut. “Please, sit down. You must listen to what I have to tell you.”
    Aaron sat, but moved himself as far away from Mr. Kessler as possible in such a small space. His mind raced with thoughts of the previous events. He was afraid to stay but also afraid to leave and face what awaited him.
    “I’m listening.”
    “I will make this as brief as possible. You will need to get up to speed quickly so you can battle your opponent,” said Mr. Kessler. His aged face showed much concern.
    “What is this game, and why do I have to play it?”
    “You accepted the challenge when you invited Nakal into your home. It’s really as simple as that. You do not choose. You are chosen.”
    Aaron pondered this for a moment before speaking. “Okay, so how do I stop the game?”
    “There is no stopping until it is finished,” said Mr. Kessler. “You must play through to the end.”
    “You said I was chosen. Who chose me?”
    Mr. Kessler leaned toward the door to listen for visitors. “You were chosen by the council members of the Legend. No one fully knows the criteria to be chosen.”
    “Where are they? Maybe I can just go tell them I don’t want to play,” said Aaron with a glimmer of hope.
    “These beings are not from our world. I’ve never actually seen them.”
    Aaron let out a sigh. “You must have, because you’re here with them.”
    “I’m unable to tell you at this time how I became aware of them. I must give you your tools. We haven’t much time. They will find you.”
    “Okay, what are the tools?”
    Mr. Kessler reached into his coat pocket and retrieved a small vial of liquid.
    “Drink this, and you will become invisible for five minutes,” he said, handing the vial to Aaron. “I suggest you only use it in dire circumstances, because you only have enough for one use.”
    Aaron briefly examined the vial. He placed it in the side pocket of his jeans.
    Mr. Kessler then reached up and removed a necklace from around his neck. It was a silver chain with one small falcon charm.
    “The falcons are your weapons, just as the annihilators are Nakal’s weapons.”
    “Do you mean,” Aaron interrupted, “those giant eraser thingies?”
    Mr. Kessler nodded. “Yes. You may call upon the falcons by holding onto the charm and thinking about them. You may call them up to three times.”
    “The falcons have already come to my rescue, and I didn’t hold any charm.”
    “Perhaps someone from your team received a free card , which can be