Guardian of the North

by Maggie K West

  He stood up, “I’ll get us out. Keep away from the bars,” he advised.

  I took a step back.

  Nick grabbed the bars around the lock of his cell, and lightning burst across the iron. A strange light shone behind his eyes. Flashes of electricity shot across the damp walls, crackling down the hall, into my cell. The iron beneath Nick’s hands grew red hot. He let go, leaned back, and slammed his foot against the lock. It flew open, hitting the opposite wall with a resounding clang that echoed all the way down the corridor.

  “Oh, okay.” I grinned, the terror falling away. If we could figure a way out of these cells, we could surely figure a way past the guards. Or just melt them like those bars. He strode across the corridor and grabbed hold of the bars of my cell.

  “You couldn’t have done that earlier?” I complained. “We’ve been sitting here for how long?”

  He eyed me. “You’re going to need to bust these open once I get the lock loose.” Lightning flashed across the iron, arcing up his arms. The bars turned red-hot in his grip. I moved forward and gritted my teeth, shifting my weight on my bad leg and slamming the other foot into the lock. It jarred, damp air steaming against the hot metal, but didn’t give way.

  I took a deep, shuddering breath. “Can’t you melt it a little more?”

  “Jack, I’m not going to get molten metal all over my hands.”

  “Fine.” This was my one chance. I moved forward, leaned into my bad leg, and slammed my foot into the lock with every bit of force I could muster. I fell back, stifling my cry of pain. The lock swung free.

  Nick moved forward and wrenched it open the rest of the way. He stepped inside and reached down. I grabbed his arm and he pulled me up. I slung my arm around his shoulders and drew my sword. We took off down the corridor once more.

  Shouts rang from the staircase as the guards realized what was happening.

  “We have to move,” Nick whispered. He dragged me forward, breaking into a run. My leg screamed with every step I took. We rounded the corner, torches flashing past.

  “Is there another way out that’s not up a forty-foot staircase?” I murmured.

  “Nope. We just have to draw them away. Then circle back and … hope for the best?”

  “That’s your plan?” I shouted in a hoarse whisper. “Hope for the best?”

  “Do you have a better one?” he snapped.

  “Well, I’d think you could come up with a better one, seeing how you grew up here!”

  “This is my better one.”

  I smacked him in the chest with my sword hand. “Shut up. There he is. Our Master.” We stopped in front of a dark cell. Bancroft recognized us and jumped up. He looked a little battered, but other than that, pretty much unharmed.

  Nick unslung me and moved forward. “Stand back,” he ordered. He pressed his hand to the lock, and the metal began to glow beneath his touch. Bancroft slammed into his cell bars, and they flew open. He caught the edge before it hit the stone.

  “Nick?” Bancroft asked. Nick waved him off. “I thought I’d lost you,” Bancroft whispered, crossing over to me as Nick strode up and down the hall, searching for the last cell he needed to bust open. “Are you okay?”

  “Where’s Natanian?” Nick demanded.

  “They got him.” He turned around. “They took him away.”

  “No…” I gasped through the pain.

  “Guys,” Nick warned. I looked up. Drifting fog appeared at the end of the corridor, rolling toward us. “We need to get out of here,” Nick muttered. Bancroft slung my arm around his shoulders, taking Nick’s place, and we took off down the corridor.

  CHAPTER 23

  We turned the corner, and the sorcerer’s fog pooled against the wall behind us. I could hear the Ealdra guards’ pounding footsteps echo down the corridors. We rounded another corner. “Almost there,” Nick said. We were nearly to the staircase.

  “Nick!” someone called out as we raced past.

  I looked back over my shoulder, “There’s someone there.” Nick, Bancroft, and I all stopped and turned.

  A figure appeared out of the darkness of the cells.

  “Nick,” I called as my friend strode toward it, back down the corridor.

  “Khadija?” He stopped in front of the cell. I pushed Bancroft off and limped down the corridor to see.

  “Get me out.” A girl’s voice.

  “Are you sure about this? You know what happens.” There was a long moment of silence.

  “Yes,” she said.

  I stopped beside Nick. I saw a girl, her black hair cut short, streaked with red highlights. Bleached blonde was revealed underneath, woven through braids. She was small in stature … maybe just over five feet or so, and thin. She was younger than Nick, probably my age.

  Nick melted through the lock, and she stumbled out. Her eyes flew between all of us. I saw fear flash across her face. She threw her arms around Nick, holding him tight.

  “What happened?” Nick whispered, wrapping his arms around her. He glanced up at us.

  “Not now,” she shook her head. She smiled up at him. “You can’t imagine how good it is to see you.”

  “Did it happen? Your Manifestation?” She stepped away from him with a nod, that fear returning to her eyes.

  “So, who are you, ma’am?” I demanded.

  “She’s my sister,” Nick answered shortly. He held out his hand toward her. “You know you’re giving up the throne by coming with me.”

  “I can’t do this anymore.” She clenched and unclenched her hands.

  “So, you are the lost prince.” Another voice echoed in the flickering torchlight. My eyes came around, and I stepped back in shock. A large, black panther stepped up to the bars, its yellow eyes glinting as it watched Nick.

  Nick glanced at Khadija. She nodded. He stepped up to the panther’s cell. “I’m not lost.” He grabbed the bars and they began to glow red beneath the flickering sparks of lightning.

  The panther looked up at him, his yellow eyes shining in Nick’s light. “This is not your time. You do not belong here.”

  “What is an Azomien doing here?” Bancroft demanded. “How did they catch you?” The panther crouched back, then pounced on the cell bars. They crashed open. He landed, swishing his tail and blinking his bright eyes.

  I saw the thin, golden outlines of cheetah spots scattered across its back. I couldn’t say anything. I never thought I would see an Azomien. They were supposed to be myths, things you threw in a bedtime story to spice it up a little.

  The myth suddenly froze, staring up at me. His eyes seemed to bore straight through me. “I am Daetho. What is your name?” he asked in a voice deep and smooth, startling me.

  I swallowed, “Jackson Laudius Marcrombie.”

  Daetho looked around at Khadija, then back to me. “I see great power in you, Jackson.” His voice rang low.

  “Um … thanks.”

  Just then, a call came from nearby: “Find the traitor prince!” an Ealdra soldier shouted. He sounded close. Too close. I caught Nick’s eye. His face paled slightly.

  “Nick?” Khadija asked, her voice trembling.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll get us out. We’re almost there.”

  Bancroft slung my arm around his shoulder.

  “Khadija,” the panther called. He crouched down.

  She hesitated a moment, then swung up on his back, laying against his neck. We took off, sprinting down the corridor.

  The panther bounded alongside us. We reached the foot of the stairs and raced up. I gritted my teeth, forcing down the pain that shot up my leg with every jolting step.

  Finally, Nick stopped at the top of the stairs and pressed his ear to a door.

  “Hurry up!” I hissed, glancing over my shoulder down into the darkness. I could hear soldiers racing up the steps toward us.

  Nick waved at me to shush. A moment later, he threw open the door and we rushed out of the dungeons. “This way!” he called quietly, hurrying down the long corridor.


  The door slammed open behind us, and fog spilled out onto the stone. The sorcerer stepped out of the doorway, his cloak trailing through the fog. Nick whipped around and sent a blast of lightning at him. It missed, ricocheting off the stone. The sorcerer stumbled. We tore around the corner.

  The pain in my leg was gone. Adrenaline pounded through my system, my heart hammering against my chest. This was it.

  “I can run!” I shouted.

  Bancroft let go. I staggered a step, then kept running. A group of Ealdra soldiers raced around the corner.

  “This way!” Nick skidded around the corner.

  We sprinted after him. I could feel my power beginning to grow stronger again. A gust of cold air raced down the corridor, rippling through my hair. The stale smell of dust clung to the ground.

  Another group of soldiers appeared ahead, and Nick tore around the corner. I could smell fresh air now. He sprinted around another corner. We followed until he skidded to a sudden stop.

  My heart dropped.

  A group of Ealdra soldiers stood before us on the edge of the wall. Two of them held the ends of poles that were bound to a young man ... it was Natanian. One man stood in the center of the legion, the tip of his sword pressed to Natanian’s side. He wore a tall, golden crown on his black hair.

  “Natanian!” I gasped.

  He looked up at us, his eyes wide with terror. I could feel rage building in Nick beside me, the air growing heavy with electricity. I waved to the king. “Nice crown, Your Majesticity.” A shiver of fear raced through me.

  “We aren’t going to let you get away that easily.” The king’s eyes were fixed on me. I braced myself and raised my sword, feeling the ice-cold energy spread out to my fingers, up my blade. I had no idea if I was about to be able to control it, but I was not going to let Natanian die.

  I did a double-take. Two more soldiers held tight to ropes bound to Perry. My Perry. He looked fine. A bit bruised and scraped, but fine. Maybe we had a chance yet.

  The king glanced at Nick, worry in his eyes.

  I grinned. He should be afraid.

  “Kneel,” he commanded shakily. “Or we push him over the edge.”

  The soldiers pressed into the poles. Natanian staggered on the stone. His foot caught the edge of the battlements, and he slipped.

  I lunged forward. Bancroft caught me in the chest, holding me back. Natanian swayed, his eyes growing wider. He regained his balance, perched precariously on the very edge of the wall. Ice crept down the poles held by the soldiers.

  “Father.” Nick took a step forward. His voice was dangerously low.

  “Stop,” the king ordered, his voice ringing across the wall.

  More soldiers moved forward, raising their swords. Nick clenched his hands, and lightning flickered up his arms. The soldiers froze.

  “Where is it, Nicolas?”

  “You know what happened to it, Father.” He forced the last word out. The king shook his head, and I noticed with a shock how much Nick resembled him. The same jawline. The same hair. The same long fingers.

  “Too long.” The king raised his voice, his eyes moving back to me. “Too long you have evaded us, Jackson. We won’t wait any longer.”

  Nick suddenly lurched forward, seizing one of the soldiers’ swords. The soldier staggered back in surprise. Nick raised the blade, crackling with electricity.

  “Jack, when they make a break for us, run,” he whispered. “There’s a way out to the right. Down the stairs, through the door beside the bakery. I’ll free your Peryton.”

  I gripped my sword tight, “What about you?”

  “I’ll be right behind you. Trust me.” There was a strange note in his voice.

  “Take them!” The king shouted.

  The soldiers surged forward.

  I took one last look at Natanian and spun on my heel.

  CHAPTER 24

  I sprinted down the last few yards to the stairs, with Khadija, the Azomien, and Bancroft right behind me. A deafening clap of thunder echoed across the stone, ringing in my ears. Bancroft let out a loud whistle for our Perytons. I saw the bakery Nick had mentioned, ahead. The guard standing in front of the door beside it drew his sword. Without warning, Bancroft swung, knocking him down.

  I burst through the door. A scream rang out.

  Natanian had toppled off the wall and was falling through the air. Perry dove from the walls, soared, and then tucked his wings, aiming straight for Natanian.

  Lighting slashed the sky. High, terrible screams ripped the air. “Nick said he’d be right behind us!” I shouted helplessly to Bancroft over the screams.

  “Don’t worry about my brother!” Khadija called.

  Then Bancroft’s Peryton appeared above the tree line, soaring towards us.

  Bancroft grabbed her arm, “Can you get another Peryton?” She nodded and pulled free of his grip, slid off the Azomien’s back, and swung up on Bancroft’s Peryton. She held her hand down to me. I grabbed hold, and swung up behind her, and we launched into the air.

  Shouts rang out. Archers flocked to the walls. We arced high over the castle. I saw Nick below, his sword drawn, the air around him burning with electricity. Soldiers lay dead at his feet. He wielded his blade as if he had been doing it for a thousand years.

  “Hold on!” Khadija shouted. We rode a downdraft. Cold air rushed past us, the Peryton’s wings beating in my ears. I saw the stables flash past in the other courtyard. There would be more Perytons there.

  “Khadija, we just passed the stables!” I yelled over the wind. She ignored me, diving down. We landed in a long hall, intricate pillars rising and curving up the ceiling high above us, sunlight streaming between them. “Colton!” Khadija yelled, sliding to the ground and breaking into a run. It was a boy, probably a year older than me, with kinky, curly hair, wearing a sharp Ealdra uniform. He stood looking through the pillars at the lightning battle raging on the outer wall. He turned at the sound of Khadija’s voice.

  “Khadija! How did you…” He ran up to her and grabbed her into a hug, holding her tight.

  “It was Nick. My brother broke me out.” She glanced back at me. Colton’s eyes flashed over my dirty clothes, and he took a step back. “No, no, Khadija…” He let go of her, backing away. “Your brother deserted.” Colton nodded at me. “He’s Áccyn.”

  I rolled my eyes, “Really, buddy? You haven’t even met me yet! Maybe I’m awesome. Also, probably hurry it up, Khadija!”

  “I’m leaving,” Khadija told him firmly. Colton opened his mouth, but she cut him off. “I know what that means. Are you coming?” He looked up at me. I raised my eyebrows, waving at them to hurry it up. An electric boom echoed through the hall. I glanced nervously up at the outer wall.

  “Yeah.” Colton nodded. “I’m coming.”

  “Jackson, go! We’ll grab our Perytons and follow you.” Khadija and Colton took off down the hallway, headed back toward the stables.

  “Alright, just you and me.” I spun Bancroft’s Peyton around, and we shot out through the pillars into the open air.

  Nick was slashing through the lines of soldiers a ways off. Lightning cracked around him. His sword flashed. Soldier after soldier fell at his feet. Nicolas Jaskian Krom. True Born Rangerian of Lightning. The Traitor Ealdra Prince.

  Khadija and Colton shot out of the courtyard below. I banked hard, soaring out toward the walls.

  “Nick!” I shouted. Nick didn’t seem to hear me. He threw out his hand, sending a bolt of lightning into the last soldier’s chest. Now he stood alone before his father. And Nick did not look to be in a forgiving mood.

  The king raised his sword, glinting with gold. Even from here, I could see the paleness of his face. He was scared. Terrified. He thought he was going to die.

  “Nick, leave him!” Khadija screamed, banking below me.

  Nick took a step forward. Lightning arced up his arms. I took a deep breath. I was not going to leave him.

  I dove. Wind whipped at my face as I plummeted for t
he castle walls. I shot past Khadija. I pulled up right above the walls, the Peryton hovering in the air.

  “Nick!” I shouted, “Grab my hand!” He only stood there, his hands clenched, lightning sparking up the Damascus blade he held, the metallic burning smell rising up around him. “Nick, come on!” I screamed.

  The king suddenly lunged, raising his sword to strike his own son. Nick met my gaze, and grabbed my arm. The Peryton veered away. The king’s blade slashed through empty air as we arced up and left him behind.

  I saw another wave of archers sprint up the stairs. I held tight to Nick’s arm as we soared out over the forest. Colton and Khadija launched from the trees below, the Azomien settling behind the Ealdra princess. Bancroft and Natanian fell in below us, riding Perry.

  “Go!” Bancroft shouted. Nick didn’t look back as we took off into the sky. I let go of him, sure now he wouldn’t do anything drastic. He sat perfectly steady behind me, his hands gripping my waist. The air was heavy with electricity. Beneath us, a flock of arrows was launched from the battlements, falling short.

  The smoke from the burning forest rose high in the morning sky, the glow of the flames still visible in the distance. A low rumble of thunder sounded overhead, and still we flew on, away from the fire.

  Away from the palace.

  Away from the king.

  CHAPTER 25

  Cold water splashed across my face. I lowered my hands and sat down on the bank of the river, undoing the makeshift bandage on my leg. The heavy electricity lingering in the air around Nick had faded. It was incredible how much power could reside in one Rangerian.

  I shut my eyes tight. I could still hear the shattering cracks of lightning, the screams ringing across the battlements, the dull rumble of thunder in the air.

  I opened my eyes at the wince of pain as I pulled the bandage free. I couldn’t believe it only took two years, give or take, for most Rangerians to fully control their power. I wasn’t surprised it had taken Nick longer than that. I had seen what he could do, I could still feel the tingling electricity from when he had lost control in his rage.