Flash and Flame: Portals of Asphodel Series: The Guardian, Book 2

by Sadie Anders

  I leaned in closer, at my reflection looking back at me. Instead of my normal complexion, I saw something ghastly and different. Green, glowing orbs were staring back at me where my eyes should have been. I dropped to my knees, feeling compelled to be closer to the edge.

  Stretching out my hand to touch the water, I placed one fingertip on the surface. The still, glassy water became disturbed, with waves emanating out from the place where I had touched it. The water quickly settled back into a glassy sheen, and now, the image looking back at me was different. It was my own face, glamour-free, but far superior, like an incredibly beautiful version of myself.

  I didn’t want to stop gazing at it.

  I heard voices from behind me, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying, their words vague and unfamiliar.

  A strong hand grasped my shoulder, and I startled.

  “Lexi,” Raphael said. “Are you all right?”

  I looked up at him, his face full of concern.

  “Yes. Why wouldn’t I be?” I asked.

  “We’ve been trying to get your attention. You seemed completely entranced.”

  “Hmm.”

  He helped me to my feet, and I wiped the dirt off of my knees.

  “Let’s keep moving,” I said.

  The air shifted, and I heard a cacophony of swooping and screaming. I looked around, but I couldn’t see anything that would cause these sounds.

  A gust of air buffeted me, and something flew by my head, blowing my hair up. Raphael pulled me to the ground, and when I looked up at the tree next to me, I saw what looked like a feather, only metallic, lodged into the trunk.

  An ear-piercing screech echoed through the trees. More projectiles flew at us, and Kai and Cleon hit the ground.

  A flap of wings sounded. Two beings landed on the ground in front of us, a man and a woman, only they had massive wings made of bronze. As I looked them over, I noticed that their noses were pointy, like a bird, and they had talons on their feet that extended from underneath their robes.

  The woman cocked her head at me, studying me as closely as I had been studying her. Their avian eyes were unsettling, large, red-rimmed orbs that peered deeply into me. I tried to stand up slowly, not wanting to cause any problems.

  Reacting to my movement, the man spread his wings widely, fully extending his bronze feathers. He opened his mouth in an unnatural shape, which terrified me. A moment later, a deafening screech came out.

  The force of the sound waves hit me hard, and I fell down, my tailbone erupting in pain.

  I scrambled backwards, my hands scraping against the dirt as I tried to gain purchase. I didn’t have much room to retreat.

  If I forfeited any more ground, I would be in the water.

  I had to stand up and fight.

  I got to my feet and began focusing my power, concentrating on channeling whatever might be useful against these creatures. In terms of spells, I still didn’t have a lot to draw on. I was a novice. Yet, I had been told that I had a natural inclination to cast spells, a gift that was rare and coveted. There had to be something to that, something I could rely on.

  I thought of the outcome that I wanted, to defeat the creatures, and I felt my body growing warm. Heat spread from my guts, down into my arms and legs. Soon, light began pouring out of my fingertips in all directions.

  I heard Cleon cry out in pain. Turning towards him, I saw that he had grasped his arm tightly against himself, his hand singed and burning.

  I turned back to the creatures and tried to focus my energy solely on them. A cascade of force released from my body, knocking everyone to the ground. The creatures flew into the air and began swirling around me, attempting to peck at me with their razor-sharp beaks.

  I began punching frantically in the air, not sure what good it would do. The woman’s beak sliced the backside of my hand and blood flew in large spurts as I batted the beings away from me.

  A loud rattling noise frightened the creatures, causing them to land once more.

  Kai stood and crossed in front of the group, standing between us and the creatures. He began shaking an object at them, the source of the rattle, and its sound struck them silent.

  “Stymphalians,” Kai said, continuing to shake the rattle. “The krotala is said to quiet them, make them docile, sometimes even scare them away.”

  The creatures cocked their heads back and forth, assessing Kai. After a moment, the man lowered himself, dipping into a bow, and then the woman followed suit. Kai approached them with hesitation.

  “Troubadour. Forgive us,” the woman said. “We meant no harm.”

  “Why did you attack us?” Kai asked.

  The man pointed to me, his finger extending into a long claw. “She was violating our sacred pool. She touched it. It is ours.”

  I turned back to the water where I had become entranced. It looked no different than the rest of the marshes that we had been traversing through today. There was nothing to indicate that it was special.

  “It is our home. It is our purpose.”

  I looked up into the trees. Nestled into the branches of one of the tall cypresses was a nest, but it was large enough to fit perhaps eight to ten adult humans.

  “We understand,” Kai said. “We didn’t know, and we will not disturb or hurt you.”

  Kai looked at me emphatically, urging me to say something.

  “I didn’t mean to violate your space,” I said, taking a deep bow. Perhaps this act would show enough contrition for them to understand that I hadn’t intended to cause any harm.

  But hadn’t I?

  My first inclination was to fight them, to attack them with all of the power I had, to test out the boundaries of what was possible. Kai, on the other hand, had approached them differently. He distracted them, got their attention without violence, and then he had treated them with kindness and understanding.

  My actions were unsettling to me. I didn’t think of myself as a violent person, but my first response to something strange and foreign to me was to hurt it.

  Perhaps not everything was a battle, or it didn’t have to be anyway.

  Then again, they had attacked me first.

  “We will move on,” Kai told them. “We will violate your home no longer.”

  The Stymphalians nodded their heads. They walked back to the edge of the water, leaning over and looking at their reflections.

  “Lovely we are,” the man said.

  “Fairer than all others,” the woman agreed.

  They became lost in their own images, not paying us any more attention at all, their bodies leaning on one another as they gazed into the sheet of glassy water.

  Raphael went to Cleon, kneeling beside him and spreading a thick balm onto his hand. Relief spread over his face as the pain dissipated. I walked over to them, my hand still trickling blood on the ground below. Cleon breathed in sharply. His pupils flared, and he licked his lips. Raphael turned abruptly towards him and let out a low growl.

  “Have no fear, old one,” Cleon said, still eyeing me with desire. “I don’t intend on harming her. She simply smells delectable.”

  “She is not for you,” Raphael said. He was distracted by my blood, too, but then he seemed to shake it off. “She’s not for anyone. Push it from your mind.”

  Cleon raised his hands in defeat.

  Raphael stood and took my hand gently in his own. He placed some of the healing balm on my hand as well, and I felt instantly better. He ripped off a portion of his shirt and bandaged my palm in it, stopping up the flow of blood.

  “Thanks,” I said.

  “Are you hurt badly?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “No, we can keep going. It looks worse than it feels.”

  Kai approached us, wrapping his arms around both of our shoulders.

  “Well, that was exciting friends. Lucky for us, and for our storytelling when we get back home, more adventure awaits.”

  He set off down the path again, and we quickly joined him, forging on ahe
ad.

  We traversed the marshes for the rest of the day without further incident, but we were closely on guard for other bizarre creatures like the ones we had come across. We had been lucky to escape the encounter unscathed, but I couldn’t assume that would always be the case. It had made me aware that we were not alone in these marshes.

  Aside from our one brush with danger, I was grateful that everything seemed to be going to plan, for the most part, but fatigue started getting the better of me. My legs were aching, my feet were hurt and blistered. At home in Portland, I walked nearly everywhere I went, but this was different, and it never stopped. Continuous walking all day was quite a change for me, not to mention some of the terrain here was precarious. I couldn’t just sit down on a park bench when I was tired. I had to keep going, keep standing. There was literally nowhere to rest.

  My mouth was dry, and my stomach ached with hunger pains. My nerves were shot, and I didn’t want to deal with this anymore. Despair started overtaking me.

  I regretted having come back to Asphodel. All it took was one day of roughing it, and I found that I didn’t have what it took to succeed. Who was I kidding?

  I wasn’t some sort of adventurer or hero. I was just a girl who liked to read books and drink tea. Yeah, I loved to go camping, but trekking through a murky swamp all day wasn’t exactly pleasant nature viewing.

  The trees thickened into a denser, forest-like setting. I couldn’t see as far ahead as before, and we had to slow down to make our way through this thicker plant growth.

  As we turned a corner, the trees bent over into a beautiful arch, their branches reaching out to touch one another and creating a small tunnel. We walked into the mouth, not sure of where it led, but not having much choice otherwise. When we emerged on the other side, a large clearing opened up in front of us. The copse of trees lined a beautiful meadow, encircling this idyllic scene. A brook led to a small pool that bubbled in the center. The water seemed clean and pure, far unlike the murky water of the marshes surrounding us.

  It was like we had been transported to a different place altogether, an oasis, but not one in the desert. I ran to the little pool and plopped down beside it, lying flat and giving my body a chance to rest. Raphael laughed and rested beside me, while Cleon stood over us with one eyebrow raised.

  “As good a place as any to camp for the night,” Kai said. “Well, better than most, actually.”

  We all agreed.

  Kai and Cleon began unpacking things from their travel bags, getting comfortable. Raphael rolled over towards me, looking at me with clear hunger.

  “I’ve wanted you all day,” he said. “It’s excruciating not to be able to touch you, to have you so near me but unattainable.”

  “I know,” I said. “But hopefully it’s temporary. We have the rest of our lives.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Just that we can be together once we’re finished with this stupid journey.”

  Raphael’s face grew serious. A look of confusion crossed him. “I didn’t get the impression that you wanted anything out of this after you went back to Portland. Anything more than a fling, I mean. You’ve given me some mixed signals.”

  I was stunned. Why did he think that?

  “I have? What about you?” My anger had flared up, so I took a second to calm down and think about what I wanted to say. “That couldn’t be further from the truth, Rafe. Not only do I want you, I need you in my life. From now on.”

  He didn’t even let me finish my sentence before he thrust his hands in my hair and started kissing me. Before long, it was clear we couldn’t contain our passion, and I tried to slow us down some.

  “We have to be good,” I said. I looked over his shoulder and saw Cleon rolling his eyes as he pulled out his book and began reading.

  “Let’s sneak away,” Raphael said.

  “Seriously?”

  “I’m always serious about needing you. Do you want to?”

  I did. I pressed my lips against his ear and whispered. “Okay. Let’s go.”

  Raphael stood up and helped me to my feet. He led me by the hand just outside the edge of the meadow. When we were out of sight of the others, he pressed me against a large tree, kissing me passionately. I fell into him, wrapping my arms around him, my hands searching his body as I kissed him back.

  He pulled away from me, looking me in the eyes. “I’m sorry I was so cold to you when you first returned to Asphodel. After what happened when you went back to Portland, I wasn’t sure how to move on.”

  “After what happened…”

  “To tell the truth, it destroyed me. So, I fell into my work, trying to chase down the snatchers, find out more about what Tisiphone was doing. Yes, the Furies had banned travel between realms, but I think that I let that keep me from you. I was hurt, but I understood.”

  My head was swimming from his touch.

  He ran his hands up me and kissed me on the neck, speaking in between his caresses. “I’m happy that things have changed, but we should probably talk about what that means.”

  My confusion was battling with my desire to feel his touch. “Rafe, I…”

  A tree branch cracked, and we froze. At first I thought it was Cleon or Kai, but I could hear the two men conversing with one another a few yards away.

  Raphael became alert, his predator skills taking over.

  “Stay close,” he said.

  He took off down the tunnel that we had followed to come into the clearing. I ran behind him, trying my best to keep up. He wasn’t using his full vampire speed, undoubtedly wanting to make sure I didn’t get separated from him, but it was still difficult to keep up.

  When we were on the other side, there was still nobody around. Raphael stood there, not sure of what his senses were telling him.

  He took a deep breath in, smelling the air around him. A confused look came over him.

  “How?” he asked himself quietly.

  “What is it?”

  “It’s hard to put my finger on it. My normal tracking skills are disrupted. Someone familiar is here, but not here. I can’t see or hear them, but I sense their presence.”

  Raphael grabbed my hand, anchoring me to his power. He closed his eyes and extended his hand. I felt a strong force pushing against me. I concentrated and attempted to add my power to his own, focusing on helping whatever was hidden to materialize. The air warped and shifted around us, as if something were struggling to break through.

  A small blast emanated from us both, and a person came into focus.

  Uncle Julian stood before us, disheveled and ragged.

  11

  Uncle Julian’s breathing was heavy and labored. He looked at me skeptically, trying to make something out. He held his hand up about six inches in front of me and pulled it down, like a person wiping away condensation on a window.

  I felt my body sizzle, and I looked down at my torso and arms. The image that my glamour had been projecting shifted for a moment, showing my true self, then shifted back into the altered image.

  Uncle Julian sighed, then approached me, embracing me in a tight hug.

  “Dear Alexis,” he said. “It is you. I wasn’t sure. This place has given me the strangest sensation, as if I were shifting back and forth between realms. I could hear you, but I couldn’t see you. Then, suddenly, you were there.”

  “What are you doing here? How?” I stammered. I had no idea how he had found us so far from Aporia, or how he had even managed to get into Asphodel at all.

  He held up a small circular device in his hand.

  “The thura,” he said.

  “The one that Nick gave me?” I asked.

  He nodded.

  “I thought it was only supposed to work once. A temporary and extreme measure.”

  “Not to mention illegal to possess,” Raphael chimed in.

  Uncle Julian shrugged, looking sheepish. “I might have been able to reconstruct it. It took me a while, but I succeeded at last.”

  “
Did Nick help you?” Raphael asked.

  Uncle Julian didn’t answer him, but turned to me once again. Raphael grunted. He was still angry that Nick had given a thura out in the first place, and to a relative stranger to boot. Apparently, the punishment would have been severe if I had been caught with it.

  As a portal keeper, Nick was supposed to be a bit stricter with regulating travel to Asphodel, especially since the guardians had still not been able to track down how the snatchers were getting in and out of the realm. However, the fact that the thura had saved us all from the Foundry and from Heliodor’s machinations made Raphael agree to forgive Nick for the time being.

  “I’m glad the thura worked, but how did you end up here? In this part of Asphodel?” I asked.

  He pointed to the mark on the inside of his wrist and then touched the corresponding place on my own.

  “I told you, dear one, that I would always be able to find you. I will admit that your glamour had me confused for a second, but certain magical types will always be able to get around that. Never rely on them for your safety or protection.”

  “He has a point,” I said to Raphael. “These glamours haven’t done us much good so far, and I doubt that Heliodor is a threat out here. Maybe we should just drop the act and keep the potion for when we actually return to Aporia. And now we know we has been tracking us. We don’t need them anymore.”

  Raphael nodded. “As you wish.” He reached into his bag and retrieved the counter-potion, the one we had taken when we had gone to consult the Apollonian. I took a small sip and felt the effects of the magic wear off on me, like a burden had been lifted off of my shoulders. I hadn’t realized how much it had been weighing on my body, the keeping up of this mystical illusion. Perhaps my powers would work better without the subterfuge.

  Raphael followed suit, taking a sip of the potion, and his glamour faded from the head down to his toes, shimmering and revealing the man that I had come to know so well. I felt a surge of warmth at seeing his true image again.