The Word Guardians: and the Twisting Tales

by Lawrence Yarham

  Peter nodded, then looked to the rest of the group gathered on the bridge.

  “We need to figure out how to stop…”

  There was an explosion behind them. Instinctively they all ducked, bracing themselves for the flying masonry.

  Instead, everything changed direction. The explosion became a muffled ‘thwoom’ and started to suck everything back towards it. Masonry that had been flung outwards stopped and then flew backwards to where the wall had been.

  Whatever was pulling the wall inwards also pulled at Janine, Peter and the others.

  “Oh crap!” shouted Janine, falling to the ground and trying to hang on. Dai and Kierra, closer to where the wall had been, were not so lucky. They lost their footing and flew backwards, crying out as they did so.

  Penn dropped to the ground and transformed his hand into a talon to gain a better grip on the remaining stonework of the bridge. Yas’s dad, who was just in front of him, flew backwards too. He collided with Penn and they both flew backwards towards the vortex.

  “Dad!” called out Yas, hanging onto the ground as firmly as she could. Around her, she could see the others struggling but still holding on.

  The bridge continued to unravel, its stonework being sucked in. The unravelling was working its way towards them.

  “What do we do now?” shrieked Yas, looking at Janine.

  “Let go!” replied Janine.

  “What?” replied Sam and Peter together, shocked. “You can’t be serious!”

  “Trust me,” she urged. “I have a good feeling about this.”

  “Are you crazy?” Eddie shrieked.

  “Maybe,” Janine smiled. “But then isn’t everyone, just a little bit?”

  “Where is it taking us?” asked Eddie.

  “I don’t know for sure,” Janine replied, adjusting her grip to get a better look at the swirling anomaly. “But it’s a way out of here.”

  She let go.

  “Janine!” shouted Peter. “No!” He was torn between hanging on to try and help Sam or to let go and be with her.

  “It’s okay!” Janine shouted back.

  Yas felt something change within her too.

  “She’s right,” she reassured Sam and Peter.

  “What? Don’t let go!” shouted Sam. “Hang on!” He tried to make his way across to where she was.

  “It won’t do any good,” she replied. She could see the bridge continuing to unravel behind her. It was just a matter of time. Besides, she figured, if this was the same feeling that Janine had felt then they needed to do this.

  “Something is calling me,” explained Yas. “Us.”

  “That’s just another story taking control,” disagreed Sam, trying to dispel the madness.

  “No, it’s not. This is different. I’m sure of it,” she replied. She closed her eyes and checked in with the feeling. Janine had disappeared from view, but instead of feeling worry or loss, she felt that this was the right thing to do.

  She let go. It took Sam by surprise.

  “No, Yas!” he shouted out, changing his grip to try to catch her as she flew past. Then he lost his grip and went too.

  “Arghhhh!”

  “Let go!” Yas urged to the others, as she accelerated backwards into the swirling centre.

  Eddie let go, shortly followed by Akoni.

  “What the hell,” James shrugged to Raelinn. They let go too.

  “Oh crap!” Peter exclaimed. “I can’t believe I’m gonna do this.” He let go and flew backwards to join them.

  Chapter 9

  A call for backup

  Peter was the last to arrive through the portal. He fell onto the marble floor at the top of the Boston library stairwell. He sat up and looked about, confused.

  The portal in front of them had closed. The light that had been shining from the character above the doorway, ‘Enlightenment’, had shut itself off and then had retracted to Study and Contemplation, the two characters either side.

  The others were already up and moving around. James helped Raelinn up and Janine and Yas were already making their way down the marble staircase. Sam had got himself to his feet and was at the top of the stairs.

  “How did we get back here?” Peter asked, incredulously.

  There was a growl and a roar from below.

  Peter stood up quickly. “What the hell was that?”

  “Relax,” replied Janine, her head just disappearing out of sight as she headed down toward the sounds.

  “What?” replied Peter, feeling the love. He moved across the gallery towards the stairs and passed Penn, who started walking with him.

  “So, this is a Guardian hangout?” Penn asked, rubbing his hands with glee. “I must say you have nice décor. Very posh!” he complimented.

  Peter regarded Penn coolly. He didn’t have time to play mental chess with the man, Besides, if he’d had his way, he would have left Penn behind in the Publishing offices.

  Peter made his way down the stairs, following Janine and Yas. Sam was behind him.

  The others moved across to the edge of the gallery and looked down into the stairwell.

  Janine and Yas had made their way to the quarter landing and had walked around into the centre staircase. They were looking up at one of the lions. The lion dropped its head and looked at them

  “Will someone tell me what is going on?” Peter demanded, then stopped. He’d noticed the statue of the lion move.

  “What the?” exclaimed Peter. Penn stopped next to him.

  “It’s the statues,” replied Yas matter-of-factly, looking up to Peter.

  “The statues?” asked Peter, for more explanation.

  “They summoned us here,” said Janine. “The vortex. It was a doorway.”

  The lion behind them lifted its head and growled in confirmation.

  “Couldn’t they have just opened a normal doorway?” grumbled Peter, rubbing his back.

  The other lion followed Peter with its gaze as he rounded the corner, behind the plinth of the first lion.

  “No,” came a deep, male, voice. Peter jumped in surprise. The sound came from the lion nearest them. It had chosen to speak.

  “We needed to gather you together,” the lion continued.

  “Gather us?” asked Peter, walking round to meet the gaze of the speaking lion.

  “Yes, everyone in the same place so that the detectives can solve the mystery.”

  Peter puffed up his chest. He was a detective. It felt nice to be acknowledged.

  “Okay then,” Peter replied.

  “No,” replied the lion. “The chosen detectives must lead.”

  “Chosen detectives?” Peter asked, surprised.

  “I think he means Raelinn and I,” interjected James from the gallery above.

  “What?” Peter asked, looking upwards.

  James started walking down the steps, with Raelinn.

  “Y’an told us we had to become the detectives of the story, in order to escape the Void.”

  Peter looked at them, not understanding. “Y’an who?”

  “You met Y’an?” asked Yas, looking at Sam and then at James. “Sam and I met her in Alexandria,” she added, for Peter’s understanding. “Before the Battle for the Peacekeepers.”

  “Yes,” James nodded. “We believe her counterpart has been kidnapped by Orfeo’s soldiers.”

  “Y’in?” asked Sam, looking at Yas. “He was kidnapped too?”

  “Y’in and Y’an,” smiled James, realising the play on words “Yes. That makes a lot of sense. She was the custodian, but she also wasn’t.” He remembered his interaction when he had also met her in Alexandria.

  “How do you know this?” asked Janine, eager to test the story also.

  “We were sent to where he was kidnapped,” replied Raelinn.

  “Where was that?” asked Peter.

  “A boat. On the River Nile. A murder mystery,” explained James. “There were conflicting storylines. I think it was a smoke screen to cover Y’in’s disappearan
ce.”

  “So how do you know that this… Y’in… was kidnapped?” asked Peter.

  “I was able to detect the blood of Orfeo’s soldiers,” explained Raelinn. “There was a fight. Blood was spilled. It has a specific scent to… my people. The soldiers were half human and half not, to keep them loyal.”

  “Nice!” shot back Peter, sarcastically.

  “And what about Y’an and Y’in?” asked Yas, worried about their safety.

  “We met Y’an,” replied Raelinn. “And I do not believe her counterpart was seriously injured in the fight. The blood we detected… mostly it was part of the conflicting storylines.”

  “The storylines are twisting. Pulling. Breaking,” interjected the lion.

  “Why?” asked Janine. “What’s causing it?” She looked to the statues for insight.

  “Custodians help keep the structure of the realms intact,” explained the lion.

  “So, if they are not there?” asked Peter. “There’s chaos?”

  “Exactly,” replied the lion.

  “So how many custodians have disappeared?” Janine asked the lion.

  “We do not know for sure. Only that pathways between many realms have been lost.”

  “And that’s why we couldn’t create a doorway out of the publisher’s office,” Janine realised. It explained why she had tried many different doorways and none had worked. “So, any doorways to a realm that has no custodian present, won’t work?”

  “Yes,” acknowledged the lion, sadly.

  “So, it’s likely that many custodians have been taken,” chimed in James. He looked at Yas “You accused Orfeo of taking a Custodian?”

  “Yes,” she said, looking at Eddie and Sam. “We tried to prevent him from taking Prana from the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.”

  “Where did he take her?” James asked.

  “We don’t know,” replied Sam, stepping in. “We followed them. They travelled to the realm that we were all just in, and we chased their boat into a marina. But by the time we got there, they’d gone and everyone was searching for us.”

  “You were wanted vigilantes in that realm,” piped up Yas’s dad, also moving down the stairs to be within view of the party now gathered around the lion. “I see now. It was the storyline.”

  “Dad,” Yas smiled. It was good to have him back to more of his old self. She wanted to give him a hug, but with others in the way, she couldn’t get through to where he was. Instead, Sam, who had made his way down to join Yas and Janine, squeezed her on her shoulder. He recognised where she was at. She grabbed his hand in acknowledgement.

  Janine looked up at the lion. “You’re the custodian of this realm, aren’t you?”

  “Yes,” came the reply.

  “No, wait,” retorted Peter, reading the plaques below each. “Aren’t they…” he started, “you…” he addressed the lion, “to remember those who gave their lives during the Civil war?”

  “Another war triggered by Controllers. Yes,” replied the lion, gravely.

  Janine smiled. “We figured that the custodian of this realm was a book. But you were right here in front of us all the time?”

  “Yes,” nodded the lion. “Hidden, in plain sight. Like many of us are.”

  Yas looked up, remembering that her mom had said the same phrase when referring to her grandfather’s journal. She wondered if it was more than coincidence.

  “But there were clues, weren’t there?” realised Janine. “Another author’s stories. I should have seen it!”

  “Yes. A guardian in his time. He was here during the second World War, when safeguarding evacuees.”

  “Oh wow!” said Yas, realising who they were referring to.

  “So why did you decide to show yourselves to us now?” asked Janine.

  “Because, as in previous wars, the realms are in danger,” the lion replied.

  “Index?” asked Yas.

  “Index will come and go, as before,” the lion replied sagely. “It is the disappearance of the custodians that is of concern.”

  “Why is that?” asked Peter.

  “Custodians oversee the realms and communicate between them,” explained the lion. “We have felt connections being lost from some places and becoming concentrated, twisted, in others. Custodians’ magic becomes considerable when brought together.”

  “The magic that Orfeo was funneling into the publishing offices,” Janine said, looking up at Penn, putting two and two together. He refused to acknowledge her glance and if anything, looked a little sheepish. “That was considerable!” she added.

  “That was like nothing we’ve ever seen before,” agreed Dai. “It was literally forming and twisting stories in front of our eyes.

  “Exactly,” continued Janine. “And when we were in the castle just before, I was able to observe this realm.” She stopped and turned to look back at the lion.

  James understood where Janine was going with this.

  “So, you’re thinking that Orfeo was channelling the energy of the custodians, somehow?”

  “Exactly,” repeated Janine. “I can’t think where else that much energy could come from.

  Kierra gasped, realising the significance. “He’s trapped the custodians in the mirrors!”

  “What?” asked Peter, looking from Kierra to Janine for confirmation.

  She nodded. “That seems to be the most reasonable explanation.”

  “Bravo,” applauded Penn sarcastically from above. “That didn’t take long at all, did it?”

  The others stared at him.

  “You knew?” Janine accused him, moving around the back of the statues to get closer. “Why am I surprised?” she seethed.

  Penn faked shock.

  “Tell me,” Janine continued. “What do you stand to gain by us not knowing?”

  “It’s not like that at all,” Penn replied, half placating. “I suspected. Orfeo is clever, and he guards his plans fastidiously. I learned that to my detriment after the Battle for the Peacekeepers.”

  “Even if you had an idea, though?” started Janine.

  “If I had divulged that earlier, we would have missed out on all that teamwork,” remarked Penn slyly.

  “This is getting us nowhere,” said Peter, interrupting Janine, who was still glaring at Penn.

  Janine stopped and took a breath to calm herself. She walked back down the steps to where Peter, Yas and Sam were standing.

  “So,” James interjected, picking up the storyline as the detective again. “We’ve established that Orfeo is behind the kidnappings of the Custodians.”

  “Yes,” agreed Janine. “It would seem that he needed that power to create Index.”

  “He said that realms were being destroyed, that people would need a new guide. That it would be Index,” added Sam, wondering about the significance of what Orfeo had said.

  “Yes,” replied the lion, sagely. “He clearly believes that Index will be the key to a new order.”

  “And will it?” asked Yas, eager to hear the answer.

  “No,” replied the lion, its response echoing around the stairwell. “Power cannot be created or destroyed, merely transformed.”

  “What does that even mean?” Yas asked.

  “Orfeo’s magic must be unravelled to restore order to the realms.”

  “And we have to bring Orfeo to justice,” added Raelinn. “That’s what we were tasked with. By Y’an”

  “Tasked with?” asked Peter.

  “Yes,” replied James, remembering the conversation on the mountain top in the Zen garden.

  “So, why you?” continued Peter, surprised.

  “Yeah, I don’t know,” replied James. “Wrong place at the right time? To right previous wrongs maybe?”

  “And how exactly do you plan to ‘bring him to justice’?” asked Janine, quoting the words with her fingers.

  “We haven’t figured that out yet,” replied James, looking at Raelinn for help.

  “So, we need a plan,” said Janine. “Defeat Orfe
o and free the custodians.”

  “Sounds simple,” replied James, sarcastically. Then, on a more serious note, he added, “any ideas?”

  Peter thought for a moment. He looked at Yas.

  “At the publisher’s offices, you said you believed he was behind the protests in the city.”

  “Yes,” Yas replied. She was certain of that.

  “Do you have any evidence?”

  Yas felt uncomfortable and on the spot. She wracked her brains for anything that they could use. It was all hearsay though.

  “Sam, Eddie and I overheard him talking to the Police Commissioner at the celebration dinner,” Yas offered. “He wanted the Word Guardians exposed. Then at the library, the protestors were looking for us.”

  “But there’s no proof that he incited the protests,” added her dad. He looked at Yas and smiled sympathetically. “Unfortunately.”

  Yas nodded. She knew her dad was trying to help. He was a different man to the confrontational person she’d seen of late. It was nice.

  “So, we’ll have to draw him in, defeat him in battle,” suggested Janine.

  “Ahh, yes,” interjected Penn, rubbing his hands together, gleefully. “Now we’re talking!”

  Janine ignored him. “How powerful is he, really?”

  “Well, staking him didn’t work,” Peter quipped, referring to the hansom cab chase in Victorian London, before the Battle for the Peacekeepers. “I ran him through with a metal pole. He split apart into a million pieces!”

  “Yes. I was wondering about that,” replied Janine, looking at Raelinn. “How did he reform?”

  They all looked at Raelinn.

  “I don’t know for sure,” she replied. “He must have been able to regenerate. He has several resting places. He could have taken his essence to one of those to recover.”

  “So, we have to go and destroy his resting places, then kill him?” suggested Peter. “Like vampire hunters?”

  “No,” replied James. “I think there’s a simpler way.”

  “What’s that then?” asked Peter.

  “Well,” James replied, looking at Raelinn. “Back in the Void, when we met Y’an, we were in sunlight for a moment, and it affected you, didn’t it?”