Walker, ever the class clown, reaches into a fountain on a school field trip and sees that the joke is on him when he finds himself in the middle of a training camp for soldiers, worlds away from his own. Niko wants to be a warrior, but his master insists he learn the ways of a philosopher. When he rebels against his master's quiet ways, he finds the path to his destiny, but the price he must pay for becoming a hero is greater than he ever imagined. Aurora can do simple gypsy magic tricks, but even she doesn't know the true depths of her power until a mysterious woman asks to have her cards read and begs Aurora to come to her aid. Drawn together by forces they don't understand to combat an evil they can't imagine, their only weapons are nine simple charms.