Guardian 2

by Porter, Jack

  I grinned. “How does it feel not to be human anymore?”

  “Only fucking amazing.” She laughed as I lay Cyanne’s sleeping form next to the other girls, who were all cuddled and sleeping under a single deerskin blanket by the fire. “I gave them your blanket, by the way. Hope you don’t mind.”

  “Not at all,” I said, thinking that maybe I should have offered that to them to make into clothes instead of my cloak. Maybe if I’d thought about it at the time. I put my hands on my lower back and stretched until I felt a pleasant pop. “We’re going to be too busy to use it, anyway.”

  “We are?” Megan’s smile was sly and her eyes predatory as she ran them down the length of my body.

  I grinned at her. “I believe I promised you a trip into the spirit realm.”

  Megan’s hazel eyes lit up, playing off the green and purple scales that never left her face even after she changed back from her mermaid form.

  “Oh my goddess, it’s finally happening!” she sang, then giggled when I motioned for her to quiet down so she wouldn’t wake the others. “Whoops. Sorry,” she whispered, putting her hands over her mouth.

  “It’s fine. Come, we’ll sit over here,” I said, leading her to the opposite side of the fire from where the human goddesses slept. “You’ll have to bear with me. I’ve brought no one in with me before and Yua’s not here to coach me. So it might take a little trial and error.”

  Together we sat in the sand across from one another with our legs crossed. I closed my eyes and thought for a moment.

  How am I supposed to do this? Didn’t Yua hypnotize me? Yeah, those jingling rings on her staff put me right to sleep.

  “I think you need to be relaxed first. Like, in a hypnotic state. Like you get into when you’re falling asleep,” I said, peeking open one eye to see Megan practically vibrating with excitement.

  All at once, she deflated. “I’m tired of sleeping,” she pouted, jutting out her pink lower lip adorably.

  “Don’t worry,” I said, grinning. “Once you’re asleep, or close enough to it, I can call to your unconscious spirit and draw you into the spirit realm.”

  She nodded and closed her eyes, finally settling down. While she waited to get into the right state of mind, I slipped silently into the spirit realm.

  Megan must have been more tired than she gave herself credit for, because she was out like a light moments later. Her body swayed and fell back onto the white sand and her gentle snores filled up the silence left behind by the crackling fire.

  Walking over to her sleeping form, I stretched my hand out and brushed her hair out of her face. It didn’t move, of course, because I was in my astral body.

  “Come on out, Megan,” I said.

  At the same time, I thought back to my first efforts, remembering that I’d had to learn how to maintain a coherent astral form. I wondered how I might make that part easier for Megan.

  Touching my crystal, I worked on making a safety net to hold her astral form together until she could handle it herself. Once I felt that net was solid, I sent it her way, layering it over her body like a blanket.

  Then I scooped her spirit self out in a way I was sure Yua would yell at me for later.

  “Ahh! What’s happening?” Megan asked. “Where am I? And who am I?”

  Shit. I’d forgotten to remind her she needed to focus on her sense of self.

  Without her memories to bind her astral self with my own, her loose, watery form broke apart, rendering my safety net useless, and she floated off toward one of the pathways as if pulled there by some magnetic force.

  “No, no, no,” I called, running to get ahead of her.

  I projected a series of mental images toward her, some of our strongest memories, like helping her taste herb mixtures that would go best with the gamey taste of wild deer. The first time she discovered certain forms of intimate activity could be performed when I’d first reached a size not made for human form. And her face when she laughed at some corny joke I made, even though it wasn’t funny in the slightest.

  “Dexter?” Megan’s voice was disembodied at first, then her body started to take form.

  I wrapped my safety netting around her so she wouldn’t float off again. “Ready for the VIP tour?” I asked, grinning as she turned her head left and right, trying desperately to see everything she could.

  “It’s—I’m not going to lie. I’m not seeing the appeal of this place,” she admitted.

  “That’s because you’re not getting the full picture,” I said, feeling my grin split from ear to ear.

  “You promised me galaxies.”

  My grin softened to a warm smile. “And you’ll get them. You just need a little practice first. I’ll help you to start with. The space works differently here, so you may feel like you’re floating.”

  “You forget I’m a girl born of water. And from what you told me, most of the elements here are driven by the mind. I think I can grasp that concept well enough.”

  She was right. We hadn’t been at it more than an hour before I was able to release her entire consciousness from my protective netting. Glancing at my surroundings and the graying sky, I figured a few hours had slipped by in the physical realm.

  “You’re holding your form well. Think you can take on a quick trip through the pathways?”

  “To see Hannah and the others?” she asked, voice squeaking with excitement.

  “Yeah, just a quick one though. Come on.”

  I led her to the small yellow current that I knew would take us home. My steps were confident, but Megan was tiptoeing as if she were walking on eggshells.

  I took her hand and prepared to take her through the current, only for Yua to burst out of a large red pathway nearby, startling me into stillness.

  The former monk rushed over to us, her swirling multicolored eyes wide with panic as she grabbed onto my shoulders.

  “Dexter! Thank Kain you’re here!”

  “What’s wrong?” I demanded. I hadn’t seen Yua this distressed since our run in with Thornarm.

  “I entered the spirit realm to check on you and the others. Everything was normal one minute and then the next, a wave of darkness came towards me. An enormous wave. Zavier is making his move. He blew right past me, and was so strong I think he’s in his physical form. He’s coming to the island. I don’t know where he’s going to land but I have a feeling….”

  “He’s going after home,” I interrupted. “He said as much when we first met in the spirit realm outside of the cabin. And I’ve left it wide open. Undefended.”

  Thirty-Four

  “How close are you?” I asked. “Piper and the others will need your protection until I can get there.”

  Hannah and Layla had the protection offered by their crystals, but Piper did not. And it was clear that that protection was not absolute.

  “About a thirty-minute flight. My dragon stopped for a snack. But at the speed Zavier was going,” she paused, face growing pale. “I might not make it in time.”

  “How am I supposed to get there? It will take us weeks to retrace our steps. How is Zavier traveling?”

  Yua’s voice trembled. “I-I don’t know. I didn’t think it was possible, but there was a lot of information lost over the ages. A lot of scrolls I never had the chance to read.”

  My body tensed instinctively, muscles bunching. I could hear my physical body’s heart rate pick up in my ears. Even unconscious, I was ready for action, but had no one to slice.

  Well, I’ll change that soon enough. So help me, if he harms a single hair on their heads I’ll rip him apart.

  Snapping back to the present, I said to Yua, “Get to your physical body and do what you can until I get there. If Zavier’s physical body can travel that fast, then mine should be able to as well. And I think I know someone who might be able to help.”

  Yua gave an affirming noise and stepped into the yellow current without another word.

  I picked Megan up bridal style and carried her back to our b
odies by the campfire. “Just touch your forehead, you’ll sink right back in. You might be a little sore at first, so take it easy standing up,” I cautioned.

  Megan nodded. “Got it.”

  Making sure to watch that she had fully merged with her body first, I then slipped into mine. If I thought I’d have any trouble waking after that, I needn’t have worried.

  My eyes snapped open the moment my soul connected.

  The sky was the same color I’d left it in the spirit realm. At an estimate, three thirty in the morning.

  I had no idea how long it would take Zavier to get his physical body to our home, but I wasn’t going to waste any time.

  “Girls! Wake up. We need to go!” I commanded, getting to my feet.

  Megan woke with a snort and groaned as she sat up. “You’re right, it feels like getting hit with a firetruck,” she moaned.

  The other girls were light sleepers and responded quickly to my command. Maybe I had some sort of subconscious control over them, the same way Cyanne had. Or maybe it was just that they heard the authority in my voice.

  I walked around the fire to kneel by Cyanne’s side. “Zavier is heading for our home base in his physical form. How do I travel fast enough to get there in time?”

  Cyanne was up and on her feet, not a grain of sleep marring her eyes. “You need to travel the spirit lines.”

  “The what lines?” I asked, before I realized what she was talking about. “Do you mean the pathways that run along the island?”

  “Yes.”

  I shook my head. “No, I mean physically. Not just in spirit form.”

  She studied me closely. “That’s what I mean.”

  I blinked at her, slightly baffled. “It’s possible to do that?” I asked. I couldn’t help it. This information would have been useful months ago. Our trip would have been cut to days instead of weeks.

  “Of course. How do you think Zavier brought me to God’s Palace and back to Atlantis in the first place?”

  Having never thought of it, I shook my head. I assumed God’s Palace referred to the husk of a castle Zavier had been holed up in when I met him last.

  “How do I see them in the physical realm?”

  A look of worry crossed Cyanne’s expression. “You mean you can’t already?”

  “No. But I’ve never tried. And now’s as good a time as any to start.”

  Touching my awareness to my crystal, I sent a slow wave of magic creeping along the beach, searching for any thrum of magic I might have missed before.

  It took only moments. There was a line running diagonally up toward the cliff face that Megan, Yua, and I had hiked down a couple of days earlier.

  I slipped Kain’s sword on my back.

  “Let’s go, Megan,” I called. “We have some evil god ass to kick.”

  With that, I turned to go.

  Cyanne hurried to catch up with me, passing Megan’s slow lope with muscular legs propelling her forward despite the difference in size. “The girls and I are ready whenever you are. With your amount of power, you should be able to carry us all,” she huffed.

  “No. It’s too dangerous. You girls do not have your goddess form yet.”

  “We know how to handle ourselves. Besides, you might have questions only I can answer along the way. And there is safety in numbers, even if some of us are human.”

  Closing my eyes, I thought for a moment. Maybe there was actually a little wisdom in her words. As much as I wanted to keep them here, it would be best not to split up. What if I sent Zavier packing, and he went after this group instead?

  I motioned to the girls to quickly follow.

  “Everyone put their hands on me. We are going to step into the pathway on my mark, then w—Kara!” I groaned as she fondled my balls through my pants. “Not the time, honey.”

  “You said to touch you,” she argued. “Kara was only following orders.”

  Several girls rolled their eyes at their friend. I cleared my throat. Maybe she needs specific instructions. “Okay then. Platonic touching only.”

  At once Kara adjusted her grip.

  “On my count,” I told the girls. “One, two, three!”

  All at once we all stepped into the line, which was invisible to the naked eye, but which I could sense with my crystal’s magic. Blue-white light raced up our bodies like a flame of pure energy. It crawled over my skin and made the girls’ hair float upward as if they were in the water.

  “Now set a protection bubble around us so we can travel at high speeds without harm,” Cyanne instructed, tightening her grip on my arm.

  Thinking it wasn’t much different from the bubble I’d created for myself under the ocean, I rushed to erect a shield for the girls and myself.

  “That’s good. It feels right,” Kara said. I remembered that like Cyanne, she’d probably traveled with Zavier in this manner as well.

  “You’ll have to figure out how to start moving yourself,” Cyanne added, giving me a sheepish look. “That’s something only you can figure out.”

  “Well, if it’s like anything else on the island, all I have to do is think about traveling and—”

  My words cut off as the bubble took off like a bullet. Some of the girls squealed, but more in delight than terror. Because of my bubble, no wind hit my face, and we passed through what seemed to be blurs of landscape as if they weren’t there at all.

  I concentrated on keeping the bubble up and trying to keep track of exactly where we were. I hadn’t taken this spirit line before, but I was sure the concept was the same. If I aimed for a certain direction and timed it right, we’d step off right near the cabin.

  “Everyone alright?” I asked, turning half of my attention to the girls.

  “Yes, Dexter,” they chorused. But one thin voice raised above the rest with a miserable, “No.”

  I glanced around at the girls and found who the voice belonged to. “Elsie, what’s wrong?”

  “Too fast. Going to hurl,” she answered.

  “Oh, don’t be so dramatic, Elsie,” Velma said, waving her off. “This is fun!”

  “I’m allowed my opinion!” Elsie’s choppy blonde hair flipped out of her eyes as she turned to face Velma. I got to see the color of them for the first time, since she was no longer clinging on to my head for dear life. One was baby blue, the other was deep green.

  Heterochromia. My mind supplied the name from the dredges of my memory of life before the island. Interesting.

  Velma stuck her nose up further as if to make the most of their difference in height. “Not when that opinion is whiny and childish.”

  “Take that back you—”

  But we’d never get the chance to hear what she was going to say, because Elsie stepped toward Velma as if to push her.

  There wasn’t enough room for movement, and it was Kara who paid for it. I felt her hand leave me as she yelped and tumbled out of the protective bubble.

  We were going too fast. Undoubtedly, she was hurt. Now I had a difficult decision to make. Leave Kara and come back for her later, at the risk of her wounds being serious. Or stop now, find where she’d fallen out, and run the risk of Zavier getting to home base before we did.

  Fuck.

  Thirty-Five

  Seconds later, I slowed us down. I couldn’t abandon any one of my goddesses.

  I just hoped Yua and the others could hold Zavier off long enough.

  Once we’d fully stopped, I dropped the bubble and, in a voice that was a little more harsh than I meant, told the girls to stay put while I ran back to get Kara. They all agreed, Velma and Elsie looked guilt stricken. The fire burning in Cyanne’s eyes told me they’d get a decent lecture as soon as I was out of earshot.

  I recognized the land as where Yua, Megan, and I had cut through to get to the canyon, so I knew my way around well enough. And we were closer than I’d assumed in the spirit line.

  Not the right circumstances, but I’m glad we stopped. I would have overshot the cabin, I thought.

&nb
sp; After about ten minutes, I found Kara crumpled up in a bush. It wasn’t hard. She stuck out like a sore thumb with pink skin and pink-purple hair against the green backdrop of the trees.

  Heart pounding in my chest, I rushed over to her and pulled her into my arms. The bush was covered in thorns and I was careful about plucking them out of her skin. I sent my mists over her body, looking for any injury. It shocked me to find there were none. Not even the tiny pinpricks of the thorns I’d pulled out.

  “Kara? Are you okay?”

  She opened her eyes and smiled. “Kara’s okay. Kara’s durable.”

  “Y-your skin,” I balked. “It’s like rubber.”

  “Very durable,” the pink goddess repeated. “Zavier had grand plans of using that to his advantage once he made Kara his wife.” She shuddered. “Thank Kain that Kara found a crystal first, eh?”

  “Yes, thank Kain indeed.” I forced a grin so she wouldn’t see how sick that thought made me. Is Zavier’s only goal in life to maim and destroy?

  But from viewing his trophy room, I already had the answer to that question.

  “Are you good to go?”

  Kara bounced up as if she really were made of rubber. “Yes. Kara’s ready to go. Anytime. Any place,” she informed me. She clapped her hands together, violet eyes lighting up excitedly, and part of me wondered if she and I were talking about two different things.

  She did seem to think about sex a lot.

  To her credit, she didn’t pout when I told her we had to run back to the other girls.

  We made it back with little trouble and it looked like Cyanne’s ass chewing had just finished. Even the girls that had done nothing wrong looked thoroughly chastised and refocused on the battle to come.

  I can see why she would make a good supreme goddess, I thought. Then I shook my head. That was a problem for another day.

  Quietly, I snapped the bubble back into place and took us the rest of the way to the cabin at a slower pace.

  Of course, Zavier had beaten us there.

  Thirty-Six