He rested his hand on her chest. He could feel her heart struggle to beat. Her pulse slowed and after a few moments, it stopped. Thad sat there in disbelief.
“Mirdy, Mirdy” Thad screamed, trying to wake her.
Thad sat there dazed, covered in blood, holding Miss Mirdy’s hand. He began to sob. “REMY” He hollered. He could hear Remy’s tiny footstep flying up the stairs. “I am scared Remy. What’s going on?” he asked as the Gnome appeared in the doorway.
“I am not sure Thad,” Remy replied as he gently knelt beside the boy. “Did Mirdy say anything about your Grandfather or Leath?” he asked.
Thad shook his head. “She just said that he tried… they took him and he’s gone,” repeating Mirdy’s last words. He wiped the tears off his cheek with the back of his hand. “What did she mean gone?” he asked sniffling. “Where are Leath and Mathias? Who did this?”
“I am not sure,” Remy repeated, his mind a whir of activity.
Thad remembered Zyphera, and inquired how she was doing.
“She is a tough lass that one,” Remy assured him, “She‘ll be alright. I managed to stop the bleeding and close her wound.”
Thad nodded his head. A moment later he went to the linen closet in the hallway and grabbed two white sheets. He laid one over Miss Mirdy, than walked downstairs to Mrs. Osborne. He turned to leave the room when he remembered something. He went back to Mrs. Osbourne’s side and pried the blue stone from her cold stiff hand, carefully placing the object in his pocket. He found Zyphera lying on the large couch by the window with an enormous icepack on her forehead just as Remy said.
“Zyphera,” he whispered.
She opened her eyes and looked at him. Tears began streaming down her face. She reached out weakly and brushed his cheek with her trembling fingers. “You are too young to have suffered this greatly. I am sorry this burden has been placed upon you.”
“What happened, Zyphy?” he pleaded, desperate to find out the answer.
“They created a doorway. I don’t know how, but they did,” She said wincing in pain. “They were fast. I barely saw them, till they returned with the Professor. We tried to stop them…” She couldn’t continue.
Zyphera covered her face with her hands trying to forget the events. Thad reached over and held her hand. They sat there drawing comfort from each others presence. A short while later Remy entered the room with Zekiel close on his heels.
“Hello Zekiel,” Thad said recognizing his Grandfather's friend.
Zekiel rushed to their side. “Zyphera,” he said not responding to Thad, “Do you remember anything about what happened?”
She winced as she tried to sit up and face Zekiel. “I remember darkness, yes it got very, very dark and I could here voices. Then it went silent. Next I could hear screaming. It was the Professor’s voice. Mrs. O and I ran to see what was going on. Next thing I remember is waking up to you,” She said looking over at Remy.
“So you don’t know where they took the Professor?”
Zyphera shook her head.”I am not certain, but my guess is they have gone to Neptus.”
Zekiel and Remy looked at each other as if she confirmed their suspicion.
“Neptus,” Thad voiced his surprise, “I remember Gabriel telling me the story about that planet.”
“Do you know where Leath is?” Remy asked “We can’t seem to find him.”
“Leath left to go fishing,” she replied. Suddenly her face changed, “Where is Mirdy? Is she okay? What about Mrs. O?”
From the looks on their faces Zyphera knew something was terribly wrong.
“Mrs. Osborne and Miss Mirdy are both dead Zyphy,” Thad answered, bursting into tears.
Zyphera bite her lip to keep herself from crying. “What do we do now?” She barely choked out the words.
“We need to get a hold of Mathias and Leath and let them know what’s happened. Then I will need to seal the door.” Zekiel said.
As if hearing his name, Leath came bursting into the house. “Professor, Thad, Mirdy, Zyphera, anybody here.” He yelled.
“Living room.” Thad called out quietly.
“Are you guys alright,” Leath panted breathlessly, “One of the Gargoyles is missing?” He stopped to catch his breath. As he did he glanced around the room, his eyes fell upon Zyphera. “What happened?” he asked resisting the urge to rush to her side, “Where is everyone else?”
“Miss Mirdy is, is……..” Thad said trying to answer Leath’s question but couldn’t continue.
Remy stepped in to explain. “Both Miss Mirdy and Mrs. Osbourne have been killed. It appears a group of Shadow Breathers created a new door and kidnapped the Professor.”
Leath stood rooted to the spot in shock. “How could this happen?”
“We don’t know for certain, but we are leaning towards the possibility that an old enemy named Madron had a hand in it,” Zekiel replied with conviction.
“I agree,” Remy added. “Mathias returned to his home world yesterday, due to news of Madron’s escape. It was his people guarding Madron on a special facility built on one of Fairum Celest’s moons.”
“You knew. You both of you knew he was on the loose and did nothing to protect us,” Thad shouted accusingly.
“I don’t think it would have made a difference Thad,” Zekiel said gently trying to calm Him “Even with all the tricks your Grandfather knows, the Shadow Breathers would have been too much.” He knew he couldn’t reveal to Thad the knowledge The Professor shared with him a day ago, even if it would help the young boy understand and cope with the current circumstances.
“You could have tried,” Thad sniffed his eyes full of despair.
“Don’t worry, we’ll get him back. You’ll see,” Zekiel said trying to reassure Thad.
The human got skillz
The old Keeper turned away from Thad to address the rest of the group. “I need someone to come with me to the Barathrum door,” he announced, his eyes already resting on his victim, “will you come with me please,” He asked, well more or less told Leath.
"I guess so,” Leath mumbled turning to follow Zekiel. His mind was still trying to comprehend the recent events.
“Well let’s get a move on,” Zekiel said grasping Leath’s arm firmly.
The pair left the room and quickly disappeared up the stairs heading for Bartholomew’s study. On the far wall of the room loomed a very sinister door.
“It is almost beautiful isn’t it,” Zekiel stated, noticing the awe in Leath’s eyes.
Leath nodded his head in agreement. The door was made of mahogany wood, stained and polished such a dark burgundy it appeared black. It shimmered like a mysterious pool of water reflecting everything in the room. Upon closer inspection Leath discovered an elegant script scrolled delicately across the door. “What does it mean?” Leath asked.
“In this darkness death runs wild and the shadows breathe with evil,” Zekiel explained, “well that is more or less what it says,” he added under his breath.
Leath stood there, chills running up his spine “Creepy.”
Still captivated by its dark beauty, Leath hardly noticed the old Keeper placing four metal rods between the door and its frame. “What are those for?” he asked.
“I am sealing the door,” Zekiel stated without further explanation.
“What,”
Without looking up from his work, Zekiel replied. “Each door in the house leads directly to another world or realm. This is the only place in the entire universe where you can access any world from one destination. There is limited travel to other worlds, and to access the realms within them you need to know where to look and have the password,” He paused to see if Leath was following.
He saw Leath’s face dawn a look of understanding “So you’re saying passwords and locations are known mainly by the inhabitants.” Leath’s replied. “If someone wanted to “travel” to a realm and he or she didn’t know the code they would be denied. If someone wanted direct access to every world, then
taking over the house would be easier than trying to learn every password and location.”
“Exactly,” Zekiel replied, impressed by Leath’s deductions. “Certain doors do have a safe guard in place to allow only certain people through from realms that are considered a threat. Since the Shades figured out how to override the safeguards in their realm the only option is to seal the door,” Zekiel explained.
“How do you do that?” Leath wondered, intrigued by the whole idea.
Zekiel’s eyes sparkled. It had been awhile since he had such an eager student and he enjoyed the company as well. “Hold this,” Zekiel directed Leath, handing him a thin line of copper wire attached to two of the metal rods.
Leath took the wire in nervous anticipation. He watched as Zekiel attached a similar wire to the other rods and then grasped the opposite end in his hand.
“Now, I want you to concentrate on channeling your body heat into your hand,” Zekiel instructed, standing beside him.
Leath tuned out everything in the room, staring determinedly at his hand. He jumped, startled.
He could hear Zekiel chuckle “Feel that?”
Leath nodded his head, eyes wide in amazement. It felt as though a small fire started in the palm of his hand. “Holy Jersey cows,” Leath exclaimed looking at his hand which was beginning to glow a soft orange.
“Stay focused on that feeling. Now send it forwards along the wire to the rods,” Zekiel encouraged.
Leath did as he was told and watched as a white energy bounced down the wire and igniting the rods causing them to crackle and glow with the same orange color as his hand.
“Now I want you to focus on the tone of my voice and repeat after me, Clausus Infinita,” Zekiel ordered.
Leath listened intently to the key in which Zekiel’s words were spoken. Confident he could match, his voice rose along side the Keeper’s. The room boomed with the synchronized hum of their voices. A soft electrical drone pulsed through out the room. The rods began to shine a brilliant red, melding into the crack between the frame and the paneling. A loud splintering resounded. The walls shifted as the darkly beautiful door fused with the wood around it. All at once the rods clattered to the floor the door vanishing among the many panels of wood forming the study walls. It took only seconds to seal the door.
Leath still held the wire, his body buzzing with a rush of adrenaline. “How, what, that was incredible,” he finally gasped.
Zekiel smiled. “Each world vibrates at a particular frequency. In order to allow passage between them the doors were harmonized or tuned to the frequencies of both worlds. In short we cancelled out Barathrum’s signal, sealing the bridge.
“I can’t believe we just did that,” Leath said shaking his head, “I mean I had no idea I could produce and channel energy,” he said giddily, helping Zekiel pack up his gadgets and ensure the door was sealed.
“Well not everyone is capable of focusing their energy the way you just did,” Zekiel said giving Leath a little ego boost. “Many try for years unsuccessfully.”
“So I have a natural ability,” Leath stated proudly, “Wicked.”
“I wouldn’t get to cocky. Something like this may never happen again. It takes great discipline to harness such power. If you like I could try and teach you?” Zekiel suggested.
Leath’s face lit up, “I would love that. Thanks.”
The pair finished in the study and sauntered down the stairs.
“Is the door gone?” Remy inquired as they entered the living room.
“Sure is, and I helped. It seems I have a natural ability for that sort of thing,” Leath replied puffing his chest out in pride.
Zyphera snickered. Leath sliced through her pretty little smile with a double edged glare.
“Remy,” Thad said suddenly interrupting the conversation, “before I forget I found this in Mrs. Osborne’s hand. Do you now what it is?” He reached into his pocket revealing an opaque blue stone sitting in the center of his palm.
“I am afraid not.” Remy answered scratching his head.
“I know what that is,” Zyphera piped up, lifting the stone from his hand. “This is called an Exsilium stone, or in your terms, a banishing stone,” She answered, her voice laced with sadness. “See, your Grandfather hired Mrs. Osborne for a reason. Her real name is Asmia. She was one of the greatest and oldest Guardians to have ever lived.” Zyphera’s voice filled with admiration.
Everyone stared at her bewildered.
“You mean to tell us, you’ve been keeping this a secret the entire time?” Leath mumbled a wave of emotions washing over him. He’d spent a great amount of time with the old woman. She’d taught him so much. He considered her a wonderful friend. It hurt to find there was a secret lingering behind her kindness.
Thad was more interested in the stone than Zyphera’s revelation. “What exactly does this Banishing stone do?” he wondered.
“It ensnares your target, immediately transporting them to the prison world Hadius,” She explained.
“That is the world guarded by the residents of Fairum Celest,” Zekiel added.
“So Mrs. Osborne was like you then,” Thad stated flatly
Zyphera nodded, picking up on Thad’s underlying accusation. “I am sorry,” she whispered. She sat there for a moment her head bowed, rolling the stone over and over in her fingers.
Leath gently laid a hand on her shoulder. “You both did the best you could. No one blames you.”
“I do,” Thad said angrily, his eyes brimming with tears, “You’re all supposed to be the best, be able to serve and protect. Every one of you knew there was a threat and did nothing.” Thad pushed past everyone, flinging open the veranda door.
Outside the bright July sky contrasted the mood of the house. It was alive with color, and birds merrily singing to each other. Thad sat on the warm brick stairs of the front porch. Every nook and cranny held a special memory. Hide and go seek among the trees, cannon ball contests into the deep pools of the river, lying in the grassy fields watching the meteor showers, and just exploring the simple beauty of nature. Tears escaped the confines of their ducts and rushed wildly down his cheeks. Leath slide in beside him, gently boosting him onto his lap.
“I think I am getting a little big for this,” Thad said in a small voice, not trying very hard to push Leath away.
“Never,” Leath replied as Thad tucked in under his chin. They sat there in silence, rocking back and forth drawing comfort from the hush around them.
Zyphera watched from under the draping branches of the weeping willow tree rooted on the banks of the tiny stream that escaped the swirling activity of the river choosing instead to cut a path through the manicured grounds a few yards from the house. She remembered the first time she met Leath. He was a handsome, over confident, nineteen year old testosterone filled boy. The first words out of his mouth were proof of that. But the way he smiled made her heart skip a beat. Even in a time of great sorrow she found comfort simply looking at him.
It irritated her. She was a Guardian. A powerful, independent women, trained to survive a battle against a universe of foes. Yet the sight of a simple human boy made her gush. She let out a sigh. It was forbidden to marry outside the world of Aetherius. To do so would incur the wrath of the entire nation.
It seemed unfair. Her duty bound her to this world, a world with forbidden love. Even in the sprawling 18,362 square foot mansion she could not escape the cosmic pull drawing her and Leath together. As hard as she tried to resist, nature appeared to have a destiny in mind for the pair and she felt that the current circumstances were guiding them closer and closer together.
Her feelings were beginning to over whelm her. The usual sense of calm and tranquility that swirled through her blood had suddenly vanished. She watched as Zekiel and Remy joined the boys on the stairs, then gently leading Thad back inside the house. Leath lingered on the steps. She debated joining him when his voice echoed in her ears.
“He didn’t mean what he said, you know tha
t right?”
Zyphera stepped out from behind the branches. “How did you know I was there?” she asked. Her tone was a mixture of emotion.
“How long have we been living here? I know a thing or two about you,” he replied winking.
Zyphera’s face flushed. Her skin felt hot. “You don’t know me,” she found herself shouting as her hand reached for the opal. “It’s been eight years and you don’t have a clue who I really am. He is right. I should have and could have protected him.”
Leath was used to the way he and Zyphera interacted, her yelling was nothing new. “I know you would do anything to protect Thad and the rest of us. You are the most strong, kick a…..”
Zyphera cut him off. “Stop!”
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