The Knights of Gaia: Paragons, #1

By Ella Summers

Sixteen years ago, a terrible Curse struck the Earth. Humanity is still fighting it today.

 

Like every teenager, Savannah has lived her whole life dreaming of the day she would become a Knight. She's spent every waking hour studying, training, performing—anything she could do to convince the Government to put her on that elite list.

 

But she doesn't make the cut.

 

So Savannah comes up with a dangerous plan. If she succeeds, she will have a second shot at becoming a Knight. But if she fails, she'll be exiled to the Wilderness, the fallen ruins of civilization where cities crumble and the Cursed Ones prey on the weak.

 

The Knights of Gaia is the first book in the Paragons urban fantasy series, a tale of chivalrous knights, snarky heroes, supernatural drama—and one young woman's epic journey to defy the naysayers and seize her destiny.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Night Spark Media
• Release date: Jun 7, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224175260

Ella Summers

Ella Summers is the bestselling author of fantasy fiction that blends magic and romance with lots of action. Ella has been writing stories for as long as she could read; she's been coming up with tall tales even longer than that. One of her early year masterpieces was a story about a pigtailed princess and her dragon sidekick. She has lived in various cities all over the world. Many of those places have featured in her books. When she's not busy writing or hanging out with her family, she makes the world safe by fighting robots. She also spends way too much time cleaning up after her two sweet (but spoiled!) Ragdoll cats.

Book preview

EPISODE 1

THE INVISIBLE STRANGER

CHAPTER 1

THE CHOOSING

The soldiers of Gaia’s Army had another name, a name widely known but rarely spoken: the Watchers. Because they were always watching us.

The sun was just scraping the horizon when the armada of armored SUVs came to a roaring stop in the town square. The doors popped open all at once, and big, mean men in big, black body armor jumped out. They wore helmets that completely masked the humanity in their eyes. Assuming they even had any humanity left in them.

No one ran. And no one screamed. In fact, when the Watchers rounded up every sixteen-year-old in town and threw us at the General’s feet, people cheered.

Like every year, the whole town had shown up to bear witness to the Choosing.

Dante Winters. The General’s voice was sharp, serrated. Just like his face.

My heart squeezed deeper into my chest. They’d chosen my brother. I lifted my head to steal a quick glance. Dante’s eyes—one amber, one blue—met mine, and he winked.

Two soldiers pulled him to his feet and shoved him into one of the boxy black SUVs.

Thump. Thump. Thump. The General marched back down the line of teenagers who were kneeling in front of him, heads down. His frown hardened when he caught me peeking.

I quickly dipped my gaze again. Everyone knew the General was the most unpleasant man on the planet. It was mentioned nearly every day in the news broadcasts. Of course the General knew about it, but he clearly didn’t mind. In fact, he seemed to wear the title as a badge of honor—and he always tried his hardest to be worthy of that honor. People called him ‘the Iron Wolf’, and I could see why.

A pair of spotless black boots clicked to a halt in front of me. The sharp scent of aftershave hung heavy in the air, singeing my nose.

What is your name, girl? The General’s words sliced more than they snapped.

Razor-sharp gravel was cutting into my palms and knees, but I kept both hands and legs firmly planted to the ground. Savannah Winters.

The General’s eyes narrowed when I dared to meet his gaze. Then he glanced down at the bulky tablet he held in his hands and declared, You are not on the list.

No big surprise there. Of course the Government would never choose me; they would never make someone like me a Knight. Magic was way too precious to waste on people they couldn’t control.

Nevada Rey. The General looked down on the cluster of teenagers kneeling at his feet, waiting.

Slowly, keeping her head down, my best friend Nevada lifted her hand in the air. Her long, delicate fingers shook slightly, like wildflowers trembling in the wind.

The General watched his soldiers usher her into an SUV, his lips slightly parted. He looked almost startled by Nevada’s appearance, like he couldn’t imagine that the Government had chosen such a gangly girl to be a Knight.

That is all, the General rumbled, like thunder. Then he turned sharply on his heel and disappeared into the biggest, boxiest, ugliest SUV of them all.

The crowd waited in the town square—silent, as motionless as a forest after an ice storm—until the armada had driven away. Then, suddenly, everyone was moving and talking at once. Into each other. Over each other. Through each other.

My classmates peeled themselves off the ground. Some were crying. Others were screaming. Most moved aimlessly, their heads dangling in defeat, their shoulders slouched, crushed beneath the heavy weight of their fate being sealed.

They hadn’t been chosen.

Every year on the first of January, the Government rounded up thirty sixteen-year-olds—and only thirty—from towns all around the world, and they chained these Chosen to the Spirit Trees.

The Blending was the spirits’ gift to humanity. Because when the ceremony was over, when the chains came off and those thirty teenagers rose to their feet, they weren’t fragile human beings anymore. They were something else. Something magical. Something supernatural. They were the champions who would save the world and beat the Curse.

Every teenager dreamt of the day they would be chosen. They spent almost every waking hour of their lives studying, exercising, performing—anything they could do to convince the Government to put them on that elite list. They were determined to be chosen. They had to be chosen. It was the only way out of here.

The only escape from this nightmare.

The only path to a better life.

The only chance they had of ever being anything more than a slave.

So why didn’t I cry with the others when that promise of a better future drove away? And why didn’t I scream?

Well, you see, I didn’t need the Government to choose me. Because I already had magic.

CHAPTER 2

A RISKY PLAN

Bayshore was a cluster of towns that framed the bay, crisscrossed by a spiderweb of mostly-deserted, multi-lane highways. I lived just off one of those highways. Every day, a bunch of us would clamber onto the old abandoned overpass, squeeze our faces against the chain-link fence, and watch one of the Government’s supply trucks rumble along down below, a massive whale in a vast and empty ocean.

Mom said that long ago, before the Curse, over a million people had used those highways each and every day. Nowadays, the only vehicles in operation around here were Government owned and approved.

No ordinary citizen had a car anymore. Sixteen years ago, shortly after the Curse hit, the Government had confiscated all the survivors’ vehicles in the name of the common good. And whatever the Government hadn’t saved to drive themselves, they’d cannibalized for parts or melted down for materials.

Have you finished packing? Mom asked me.

The two of us were standing at my bedside in Slumber Hall, the open room I shared with all the other sixteen-year-olds in town. Mom slept just down the hall, in one of the adult common rooms. The post-Curse world wasn’t big on privacy or personal space.

All done. I patted the slim suitcase on my bed.

I’d packed anything worth bringing along with us, which, to be honest, wasn’t all that much. Just a few books, and a photo of Mom holding me and Dante the day we were born. I’d decided not to bring any of the ugly school uniforms they forced us to wear in Bayshore. I wouldn’t need them at the Fortress.

People called the Fortress ‘the City of a Million Possibilities’. It’s where we were moving to tonight, after Dante’s Blending ceremony. That was one of the perks of being Chosen; when Dante left for a better life, he got to bring his family along with him.

Ok, I’ll bring this to the front. Mom grabbed my suitcase. You just wait here, and try not to do anything rash.

I didn’t say anything.

Mom set my suitcase on the ground. Savannah.

Yes?

Look at me.

I looked. It was like gazing in a mirror—and into the future. Everyone always told me I looked just like my mother, and they were right. Mom and I shared the same amber eyes and the same long, mocha-brown hair that shimmered with caramel highlights when the sun hit it just right.

And when we met someone new, we both saw that same, undeniable I-have-no-idea-where-you-come-from look in their eyes.

Mom had ancestors from seven continents; one of them was even born in Antarctica, to parents who were scientists.

So when strangers asked her, Where are you from?, she always replied, Gaia.

And so did I.

We totally confused everyone.

I guess it’s because humans really liked to stick people in boxes—in categories—and Mom and I didn’t make sense. People couldn’t place us in one box, in one race, in one culture. We kind of totally disrupted all of their notions about the universe.

Promise me you aren’t planning on trying any shenanigans tonight, Mom said.

What makes you think I will?

She sighed. Because you’re my daughter.

Yeah, I hear shenanigans are genetic. I flashed her a grin.

Funny. But you’re not going to distract me this time, Savannah. We are having this conversation.

About shenanigans?

Yes.

"So you are going to give me tips on how to pull off shenanigans? Great!"

The corner of her mouth twitched, even though she tried to hide it.

Don’t worry, Mom. I gave her an easy smile. I can take care of myself.

A smile broke through her serious facade. I’ve never had any doubt about that. Mom surged forward and crushed me in a big, mama-bear hug. Just promise me you’ll be careful, she whispered into my ear.

I’m always careful.

Mom drew back, her eyes wet and worried. Ok. I trust you, Savannah. Do what you must. Then, with a shaky smile, she picked up my suitcase and walked out of the room.

I couldn’t tell Mom what I was going to do. I couldn’t make her an accomplice in my scheme. Because if anything went wrong—which was way too likely—the Government would arrest me. And if they found out she knew anything about my plan, they’d arrest her too.

CHAPTER 3

THE FORBIDDEN ZONE

T his plan is going to work, I told myself, tightening my backpack around my shoulders.

I sucked in a deep breath that rattled my whole ribcage, then marched across the room like I didn’t have a worry in the world—or a doubt in my mind.

I passed Dante’s bed. It lay empty now, not a snore to be heard. I stifled a sniffle. As stupid as it sounded, my brother’s annoying snoring had long been one of the pillars of my existence. At the Fortress, he would have his own place. Which meant I wouldn’t get to throw pillows at him when he snored.

Nevada’s bed was further out, close to the exit. She didn’t snore, but every night she covered her headboard with a chain of wildflowers that she’d gathered and woven that day. But tonight there was no Nevada and no wildflower chain.

I missed the sweet, earthy scent of Nevada’s flowers almost as much as I missed Dante’s snoring.

I slunk down the hall, careful not to make a sound, and soon I was outside the big, blue building. The building I’d called home my entire life. That would change tonight, when I left this place forever.

I took a moment to let that sink in—and say a quick goodbye to Dame Ikea. I didn’t know who she was, but she must have been a great and powerful Knight. Why else would her name adorn the building’s facade and the forest of flags outside the back entrance?

Just kidding.

Of course I knew there had never been a Dame Ikea. I’m young, not stupid.

Though, ok, so maybe I was just a little disappointed the day Mom told me our home was not a castle but rather a former furniture shop. Apparently, there’s something not entirely normal about that, but it’s the only life I’ve ever known.

I made my way across town, keeping to the shadows, passing empty parking lots and run-down buildings. Someone had painted the words Magic is Death on a half-collapsed brick wall. Beneath the red letters, I could still make out a few old advertisements: deals on ice cream, electric scooters, and a bunch of other Old World products I’d never seen in real life.

Graffiti blanketed Bayshore like a bad rash it just couldn’t shake.

Perhaps our most famous street art was ‘Lost Childhood’, a painting of a little boy standing alone at the center of a dilapidated playground. It spanned an entire block.

Oh, and who could forget the 3D, two-story-tall letters that spelled out the word Earth over a vibrant painting of our world from space? That old name for Gaia, a name from a time before the Curse, greeted anyone who walked past the old airport. It was a message from the Brotherhood of Earth.

The Brotherhood of Earth was…well, I guess you could call it the post-Curse religion. The Brothers wore ugly brown robes with ugly brown hoods attached to them. They stuck up posters all over town, calling on everyone to join them in public prayer for those we’d lost to the Curse.

Most grownups liked the Brothers because they did nice things like take care of orphans and cook for the elderly, but, honestly, they kind of creeped me out. Maybe it was their robes. They looked like greasy old dishrags. They smelled like greasy old dishrags too.

Finn, are you sure about this?

I’d nearly made it all the way to the gates of the Forbidden Zone when I heard that voice cut through the darkness.

Of course, Sean. It’s a brilliant plan.

I recognized those voices. They belonged to two boys in my class. I slowed my pace. The boys were close.

But it’s against the rules, said Sean.

The rules don’t rule our lives. We do.

We’re going to get caught, and then the Government is going to turn us into Scavengers and throw us out in the Wilderness.

Stop being such a sissy, Sean, Finn snapped. By the time anyone realizes what we’ve done, it will be too late.

I don’t know… Sean said, his voice wavering with uncertainty.

This plan will work, Finn assured him. The Black Knight promised us it would.

Black Knight? Who was that? And what were these boys up to?

How are you coming along with that lock? Finn asked.

Give me a minute, replied Sean.

I heard a fence rattling, like someone had bumped into it.

Hurry up, Finn said. If this is going to work, we need to get the timing just right.

I peeked through the foliage. The boys were standing in front of a chain-link fence. Sean held a bolt cutter, Finn a walking stick. Both had big backpacks. They stood in darkness, their faces cast in shadow.

But their intentions were clear. They were here for the same reason I was: to break into the Forbidden Zone, the restricted area which lay beyond that gate.

Finn turned slightly, and the moonlight illuminated his watch. The Ceremony is only an hour away. He adjusted his red scarf.

I’m working…as fast as I can, Sean grunted. The lock on this gate is thick.

The locks on the Chosen will be thicker. Finn began to pace. If we don’t get moving now, we won’t have enough time to break them before the Ceremony starts.

Those words were still buzzing in my ears when I noticed their overstuffed backpacks, hanging low, straining their shoulders. Each boy carried something heavy in his pack. Something like a big, fat metal lock.

That’s when I realized what the boys were trying to do.

Every year on this day, an hour before midnight, the General’s men chained Bayshore’s Chosen to our local Spirit Tree and left them there. The spirits wouldn’t come if the soldiers stayed. They wouldn’t perform the magic-giving ceremony if there were any human witnesses. The soldiers even had to knock the Chosen unconscious before the Blending, or the spirits stayed away.

Finn and Sean were going to unchain Dante and Nevada from the Spirit Tree and shackle themselves there instead. And then Finn and Sean would receive the spirits’ gift of magic in their place.

Almost there, Sean said. Just a sec…

I couldn’t let them rob Dante and Nevada of their chance to be Knights. I had to do something. But I didn’t like the odds of two against one, especially considering that both boys were a lot taller than I was and—I glanced at the bolt cutter and the walking stick in their hands—they had weapons too.

The only weapon I had was my magic, and it wasn’t much of a weapon at all. I only knew two spells, and they were both pretty pitiful. They wouldn’t help me here.

I had to find another way to stop the boys.

Got it! Sean exclaimed.

I heard a snap!, the sound of the lock on the gate breaking. And a thud! as it hit the hard, cracked ground.

Chuckling, Finn thumped Sean on his back. Then the two boys pushed the gate open and marched into the Forbidden Zone. I waited until they’d moved out of sight, until their voices had almost faded away. And then I slipped through the gate, clicking it shut behind me.

I had to stay quiet, stay hidden. I had to stop the boys from hijacking Dante’s and Nevada’s futures. And, somehow, between all of those impossibilities, I had to stake a claim on my own.

CHAPTER 4

THE SPIRIT TREE

One moment I was shivering in the cool, wet winter air; and the next I was throwing off my rain jacket and stuffing it into my backpack. Two full seasons separated Bayshore from the Forbidden Zone.

There was definitely magic at work here.

I was burning up. The moon beat down on me, as harsh and unrelenting as a desert sun. Sweat pasted my shirt to my skin, and I was pretty sure my sandpaper-dry tongue had permanently melted against the base of my mouth.

Beyond the gate lay an open field. There were no trees or bushes or flowers here. There wasn’t much of anything. It looked like fire had burnt everything to the ground, but it might have been that burning moon. The field was scorched, black, barren.

Mounds of raised, hardened earth littered the ground like a choir of geyser mouths. A foul, greenish fog billowed up from the holes. I decided to keep my distance from those plumes, in case they were as toxic as they looked.

This place totally freaked me out.

Anxiety haunted my every step as I zigzagged across the field. My heart hammered, my pulse popped, my bravery began to buckle. The pressure—the fear—was building up inside of me, just like the yucky green steam inside those holes.

I had to master that fear, or I might as well turn back and give up now.

I imagined myself as a great and powerful Knight on an urgent Quest, and that made me feel a little better. My hands were still trembling, but at least my steps were steady.

You can do this, I told myself, over and over again as I traversed the barren expanse.

Finally, I came to a stop beneath a tree unlike any I’d ever seen before. The Spirit Tree was enormous, stretching high into the sky, taller than any building in Bayshore. Sparkling blossoms adorned its black and white branches, and little lights twinkled around the tree—streaking and swirling, turning and twirling—like little colorful comets orbiting a planet.

Those little lights were the spirits. The air hummed with their energy; it tingled against my skin, swathing me in soothing waves, like a sailboat rocking me to sleep. I closed my eyes, and breathed in the magic of it all. And for one perfect moment, I forgot all my problems.

You’re not here for a nap, Savannah, I muttered to myself.

I quickly opened my eyes again. Dante and Nevada, bound by chains, enveloped in peaceful slumber, were pressed against the Spirit Tree. The tree’s smooth, shimmering trunk was at least twice as wide any tree I’d ever seen.

Actually, the Spirit Tree appeared to be made of two entwined trees—one as white as fresh snow, one as black as a raven’s feathers—each trunk braided around the other, mixing and merging all the way up. Until the two trees became one.

Dante was chained to the black trunk, Nevada to the white one. An archway adorned with brilliant blue blossoms bridged the two trunks. At ground level, the gap between them was enormous, wide and tall enough for a large truck to drive through it.

I turned in a full circle, searching for anyone else. There was no one. No soldiers. No General. No Finn or Sean. Just little me and the big tree of spirits.

Oddly, the spirits weren’t withdrawing, even though I was standing right here. We’d always been told that the spirits never allowed humans to see them. That’s why Dante and Nevada were unconscious. That’s why the General and his soldiers had left. Well, that settled one question, once and for all.

I wasn’t human at all.

Yeah, ok, so I guess my magic, lame as it was, should have been a dead giveaway. But my mother was human. She didn’t have any magic. Neither did my brother, who was my twin, after all. So why did I have magic?

Savannah, Dante muttered, and I rushed forward, setting my hand on his forehead.

He didn’t speak again. He was still deep asleep. Apparently, even in his dreams, I was on his mind. My overprotective brother couldn’t help but worry about me.

I turned toward the white trunk to check on Nevada, but stopped when I heard a twig snap behind me. I pivoted around, expecting to see Finn and Sean. Honestly, I was surprised that I’d beaten them here.

But I didn’t see Finn. Or Sean. I didn’t see anyone at all.

Who’s there? I asked, my hands shaking as much as my voice as I gripped the straps of my backpack.

I didn’t see see anyone, but I could sure feel something. A presence. I wasn’t alone out here.

CHAPTER 5

A MAGICAL ENCOUNTER

I know someone is there. I wiped my sweaty palms on my pants. Show yourself!

Interesting, a voice echoed out of nowhere.

I looked around for the source of the voice, but my eyes found no one.

The voice spoke again. How did you know I was here?

Whoever he was, he sounded amused…I think.

Can you see me? he asked.

You’re invisible, I told him.

Oh, I am well aware of that, he chuckled.

Yep, he was definitely amused. But at least he sounded friendly.

The question is: if I’m invisible, how could you know I’m here? he asked me.

I…I don’t know, I admitted. I just felt that someone’s here.

Interesting, he said again. Can you always sense invisible things?

I don’t know. You’re the first invisible person I’ve encountered. And wait. I chewed on my lower lip. "Did you just call yourself a thing?"

Of course not. You must be imagining things, he said lightly.

"Maybe I’m imagining you," I replied.

A pretty girl imagining me? I’m flattered.

I could sense the smile in his voice. And for some reason, it made me blush.

If you’re really here, I said quickly, "then who are you? What are you?"

Maybe I’m a spirit.

I looked up at the twinkling, multicolored lights orbiting the tree. No, you’re not a spirit. The spirits speak inside someone’s head. And your voice is coming from right here, from the world outside of my mind.

How can you tell?

Well, when I hear someone speaking inside my mind, it kind of echoes differently than when they speak normally.

The invisible stranger was quiet for a few moments. I bet he was studying me, which honestly made me a bit antsy. I tried not to squirm.

Finally, he said, You aren’t like other girls.

No. I sighed. I’m not like other girls.

Good. Other girls are boring.

I definitely wasn’t boring. Actually, most people thought I was a little too interesting. Ok, make that way too interesting. I certainly didn’t fit the mold of the perfect Gaian citizen. It’s not that I tried to get into trouble; I just had an unfortunate knack for getting to the truth, and that made me pretty unpopular. No one liked to be told they were lying. No one enjoyed getting caught with their fingers in the cookie jar.

I probably should have stuck to minding my own business around other people, but I wasn’t very good at that. My mom liked to say I was like a cat: curious, independent, impulsive…and always getting myself into trouble.

So you can turn yourself invisible. I’ve never seen anyone do that. I winced