Guardian

by Sam Cheever

  I turned to Rapha, needing him to understand…and fast! “She attacked me in her shadow form. I was defending myself.”

  Rapha’s brilliantly colored green eyes stared intently at me for several beats.

  The first raven was mere inches from Ian and he’d pulled his sword. I noticed the shadow men had stepped away from us. Even they weren’t anxious to get too close to the king’s executioners.

  Ian swung at an outstretched piece of shadow but the thing jerked away and came back at him, ripping a long strip of flesh from his forearm before he’d even had time to complete the backswing of his sword. Ian grunted and swung again, with no better results. This time, though, he was able to anticipate the follow-up attack and dance away from it.

  It didn’t matter. He was surrounded by all five of the ravens now.

  I turned to Rapha. “Your majesty! I appeal to your well-known sense of fairness to hear me out! Call off your executioners so that I might explain.”

  Rapha smiled and I shivered. But he lifted a hand and the ravens gave one final squawk and shot upward, toward the vaulted ceiling.

  I watched them settle onto a series of perches along the base of the curved ceiling. The perches were built so that, when the ravens settled onto them, they all but disappeared, seeming to become part of the artwork on the walls and ceiling. I had to squint to see the dark outline of the shadow monsters behind them.

  Unfortunately, the deep red blood running copiously from Ian’s body gave evidence enough that they were real.

  I untied the soft belt at my waist and wrapped it tightly around Ian’s muscular forearm to stop the flow of blood. Not for the first time that day I wished I had my powers. With them I would have been able to heal him.

  Ian’s eyes found mine and flashed a question that was all too easily deciphered. Did I know what I was doing?

  Despite my inner qualms I gave him a brief nod in response. I had to didn’t I? We were out of options.

  Turning back to King Rapha I did the only thing I could to save us. I fell to one knee and bowed so low my forehead touched the floor in front of me. “I beg your kind forgiveness, your majesty. I injured your subject by accident. And as soon as I saw her condition we rushed her to Tana. She heals even as we speak and will soon rejoin you. I know how deeply you value each of your loyal subjects and came only to tell you of her whereabouts. If it is your desire, I will do all in my power to return her to you immediately.”

  A long silence greeted this nauseatingly submissive declaration. I bit my lip and remained in supplication. I knew I could not stand again until the king spoke, or risk his ire. To Ian’s detriment it seemed.

  That was the only thought which kept me on the floor as the seconds ticked by. If I thought Rapha would send the ravens after me instead of Ian I’d be up and kicking a little ass by that point…powers or no. The shadow king had just stomped on my last nerve and I’d decided I was deathly sick of being everybody’s whipping spirit.

  I sent Ian a silent plea to stay still and not speak. I knew his ego was being bruised by my subservient behavior in an obvious attempt to protect him. He wasn’t built that way. But I also thought he was savvy enough to realize that what I was doing was our only option. The question was, did he trust me enough to let it play out.

  Fortunately Rapha ended the uncomfortable moment before Ian’s ego reached a breaking point.

  “Rise, Monad Warrior. I accept your apology and your offer to escort my daughter back home.”

  Holy shit! As I stood up my gaze flew to Ian. He gave his head a little shake to tell me that he hadn’t known. I turned to Rapha. “Zillah is your daughter?”

  He smiled at me. “So you would have me believe you did not know, spirit?”

  The ravens squawked and Ian stepped forward. He apparently couldn’t take it anymore. “Your majesty.” He bowed deeply, showing the utmost respect without supplicating himself on the floor as I had. “Can you tell me why your daughter would have attacked the Monad and me?”

  Rapha’s face darkened to charcoal and my heart picked up with alarm. But the ravens remained on their perches.

  “I have not seen my daughter in over a year. She has rejected her place by my side.” I was surprised the king would reveal so much to us. It must have been an indication of his frustration and concern for his daughter.

  Ian nodded. “I assumed as much. Your majesty, may we approach? The Monad and I have things we need to speak of with you and I believe you will want these things to be said in privacy.”

  Rapha’s eyes widened slightly. He glanced toward his shadow warriors. Then he gestured toward the doors we’d entered through. “Leave us!”

  As the men turned and headed out of the enormous room the king let his gaze slide toward the ceiling in an obvious reminder that he was not unprotected.

  As soon as the doors closed behind our shadow escorts Ian bowed again, this time going to one knee. “Your majesty, King Rapha of RiverIsle, it is with humbleness and regret that I pass on the news I have of your daughter. Your invaluable help will certainly be needed, both with your daughter and with a growing problem the Monad and I have been constrained to resolve.”

  Rapha cocked his head again. “Constrained? By whom?”

  An odd question. Ian stood up. “I represent Queens Tana and Faerydae.”

  Rapha nodded. “And the Monad?”

  “I represent Olympus.”

  The king frowned. “Go on.”

  Ian explained as best he could what we’d been up against, without intimating that we thought the problem went as high as the Council of Gods on Olympus.

  “What do the humans have to do with your…problem?”

  I frowned. Another odd question. I suddenly wondered what Rapha knew of the problem we’d outlined for him. “Your majesty, what knowledge have you of this plot?”

  He turned a gray face toward me, his piercing green gaze pinning me with a nerve tweaking focus. Finally he sighed. “I know nothing specific. Only that some of my people have been drawn into it…led by my daughter.” His thin lips curled in disgust at this last admission.

  Ian nodded. “We were unable to get your daughter to tell us who she follows. We know who some of the players in this plot are, but we need to trace it back to the one who is pulling all the strings. We were hoping you might be able to help us with that, King Rapha.”

  The shadow king’s eyes narrowed. “Ah, so we finally come to the true cause of your visit here.”

  Ian dipped his head in silent concurrence.

  I glanced at the ravens. Still sitting quietly. I allowed myself a deep breath. Maybe we’d passed through the worst of it.

  “For example, what do you know of the meeting between Aubrie and someone high up in the plot… here on RiverIsle…tonight?”

  Rapha gave an outraged cry and the ravens lifted from their perches.

  I grabbed my long knife from the waistband of my faery breeches and glared at Ian. He stood still and tall, refusing to look at the approaching ravens.

  “Stop! Your majesty.” I screamed. “You must hear us out on this!”

  Rapha turned a hostile gaze to me and flung a hand into the air. The ravens whipped by close over our heads.

  I felt the sting of a shadow monster hit on my shoulder and flinched but it was a minor hit, merely a scratch. It could have been much worse.

  The ravens returned to their perches. I gulped and closed my eyes in relief. It was a lot easier dealing with hot headed idiots in the Council Chambers on Olympus. They weren’t allowed to bring their pets into those chambers.

  Rapha looked at me as he spoke, studiously ignoring Ian. “I know nothing of such a meeting. I will send my Shades, my warriors, out tonight. They will sit in the shadows and watch. If anything occurs that should not on this soil, you will know of it as soon as I do.”

  Ian lowered his chin in silent approval.

  I glanced at the ravens and bit my lip. If we survived that long.

  It hadn’t been easy to pe
rsuade Rapha to allow Ian and me to join the watch parties. We followed the very last party out of the castle. I gave a sigh of relief when we escaped the watchful eye of the eerie ravens and their deadly accessories.

  The air was thick with moisture as we left Shadekiind and stepped onto the road leading to the bridges. The night was so black, with a thick layer of clouds blocking out the moon, I wouldn’t have been able to see at all if it weren’t for the bright white of the stones beneath our feet.

  As we crossed the bridge and headed for the dense wood, a wisp of sound caused me to turn. To my shock Shadekiind was gone. All that was left in its place was a sparkle of water and the peaceful sound of the river dancing lightly over rocks on the shoreline. I turned to ask one of the Shades what had happened and saw that Ian and I were alone…or at least appeared to be.

  A voice whispered across the edge of my hearing, disabusing me of that notion immediately. “Use your powers, spirit. Someone comes.”

  I looked at Ian, he threw a hand up and sparkling dust fluttered over us just as an unwary footstep kicked a rock across the glistening water of the Isle River. “This is where the castle should be.” A woman’s softly pitched voice said. “I’m sure of it.”

  Deeper tones responded. “It doesn’t matter, we’ve only to find the place we were to meet.”

  I watched as Aubrie and Dawnia moved quietly along the river’s edge, looking worried and out of their element. The air sighed around us as the Shades moved past, falling silently in behind the unsuspecting intruders.

  Ian and I followed.

  I was concentrating hard on not making any sound and was proud of myself for how careful I was being. But then the ground beneath my right foot dipped and I didn’t notice. I gave a little gasp as my foot descended further than I expected and my right knee locked painfully under me as my foot hit the ground. I fell forward…right into one of the Shades.

  The inflexible air in front of me gave off a soft “oomph!”, followed with an expletive that quite unfairly questioned the validity of my origins.

  “Sorry!” I whispered harshly.

  Dawnia turned suddenly, her sharp gaze piercing the dark where I stood. “Someone’s there!” She whispered to Aubrie.

  He turned in our direction, looking slightly distracted. “You are paranoid.” He pointed inland, away from the river. “That rise there. That’s the place. Come.”

  I bit my lip as Dawnia’s worried gaze speared the darkness one last time in my direction before she turned to follow Aubrie. As she climbed away from the river her eyes kept swiveling in our direction.

  Since we knew where they were heading we gave them a few moments head start before following.

  “Stay back clumsy spirit.” Admonished one of the Shades.

  I frowned and resisted the urge to mutter something surly.

  Ian took my arm in a soft but firm grip and nudged me forward, chuckling. “Grace thy name is Nuria.”

  “Shut up!” I whispered.

  Aubrie stopped suddenly as we neared the higher ground he’d spotted from the river. The area where he stood was cleared of all vegetation, the ground beneath his feet smooth and smelling of rich, black dirt. He turned to Dawnia. “This is the place.”

  She looked around, grimacing. “Are you certain? It doesn’t look like much.”

  Aubrie scowled at her. “Are all faeries so dense?”

  As her aura deepened from pale yellow to pink, heading quickly toward a hostile red, Aubrie shook his head and swung his arm in a semi-circle. “Look around you faery. We stand in a charmed place.”

  He was right. I noticed now that the cleared ground beneath their feet was perfectly circular, and that the edges of the circle were marked by huge rocks, shaped like arrows, pointing Heavenward.

  “Holy shit! Ian, it’s an astrological calculator!”

  He nodded, “Like Stonehenge.”

  “Yes.”

  As we spoke, the dense cloud cover slid away and the immense light of RiverIsle’s moon flared through a tall archway built of stone, illuminating the circle where Aubrie and Dawnia stood. Aubrie turned to Dawnia and smiled smugly.

  The light did funny things to their forms, they paled under its force and wavered.

  I blinked, thinking the problem was with my vision, and a necessary adjustment to the focused light of the over-bright moon. But as I squinted at the elf and the faery I realized their faces had become slightly translucent…as if they were beginning to disappear.

  Realization hit me full force as I watched their forms waver and thin. “Holy shit!” I screamed, “Ian! It’s a transporter!”

  I surged forward, flinging myself toward the circle just as they started to disappear. I launched myself at the nearest upright stone and wrapped my arms around it, screaming as a thousand volts of electricity entered my body. Rather than fight it, I flung back my head and tried to absorb the immense power flowing through that stone, praying with everything I had that I would be in time.

  Hard, insistent hands grabbed my waist, and arms, like iron bands wrapped around me, pulling with inhuman strength in an effort to wrest me from the rock. The air filled with extremely colorful swearing as the voltage moved through me and into Ian. The air between us snapped and sizzled at the contact.

  I realized Ian was using his aura to pull me back. I opened my mouth and screamed, “No, Ian!” But the words barely made a sound as they petered from my lips.

  I was on electrical overload, my circuits were frying from the inside out. I could see the long, silky strands of my hair flying around me and smell the burnt cloth odor of my smoking clothes, but still I clung to that rock.

  I couldn’t let them escape.

  I almost made it.

  I felt myself moving…finally…into the sphere between layers of time.

  But then Ian growled my name and gave one, final, herculean tug and I popped loose from the rock, landing on my back on a warm, pleasantly firm, smoking surface whose heart pounded frantically against my back.

  I groaned, blinking as dots danced before my eyes, and shoved myself off Ian. “Damn it, Ian!” I screamed, “I almost made it!”

  I glared at him, hands on hips, but he wasn’t paying any attention to me. I followed the direction of his horrified gaze and nearly swallowed my tongue in shock and surprise.

  Wavering in the center of the mystical circle, her small, pale face wide with shock, Etta’s little monster face peered out at us. Then her image thinned, dancing as if on an invisible wave of air, and faded away.

  The surprised “O” of her pouty lips was the last visible thing as she slid into the next layer of time.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Through Time and Between Worlds

  “Etta!” I shrieked. “I should have known she was involved in this.”

  Around us the air thickened and the circle filled with reappearing Shades.

  Ian jumped to his feet and entered the circle, striding aggressively toward the leader of the Shade team. “What is this place? Where does it lead?”

  The Shade spread his legs in battle stance and his form wavered as Ian approached. It was obvious he was ready to kick Elfaery ass if he needed to.

  Ian realized this as soon as I did and threw his hands up in a placating gesture. “I just need to know where they have gone.”

  The Shade’s form strengthened and firmed but he retained his battle ready stance. “The circle works only one time a night, as the Moon moves across the land, it falls once and only once within the key.” The Shade motioned toward the archway built of rock.

  “Damnation!”

  I stepped up beside Ian. “And you stopped me from following them!” I glared at him. Frustration fizzed through my system so aggressively I was surprised my hair wasn’t standing on end. We’d been so close to catching them.

  He turned to glare at me.

  “Had you given even one tiny thought to what would have happened to me had you disappeared into another layer of time?”

  My
eyes widened with sudden realization. “Oh.”

  He gave me a mean, little smile, “Yes! Oh. And what of you?” He grabbed my arm, dragging it up so the band of metal on my wrist was right in front of my eyes. “How would you have fared alone, with no powers?”

  I bit my lip and jerked my arm from his grasp. “Well…I didn’t think…”

  “Exactly!” Ian interrupted.

  “Hey! I wasn’t finished…”

  Ian turned back toward the Shade, dismissing me completely. I resisted the urge to kick him on his well formed ass.

  Just barely.

  “How many of these are there?”

  The Shade shrugged and looked at his men. One of them stepped forward. “There are four in all, one at each compass point.”

  I caught on to Ian’s thought process, “And the moon will touch the keys each in succession through the night?”

  The Shade nodded. “Yes, but only two remain.”

  “How long until that happens?” I asked

  “Four hours at most. Two turns of the clock between each key”

  “Take us to the last one.” Ian said, already moving down the slope toward the river.

  The Shades followed and passed him, heading North.

  I caught up with Ian. “We don’t know which layer they took.”

  He turned warm chocolate eyes toward me. “I’m hoping we can catch Etta’s magic signature.”

  I frowned, “Can you do that?”

  “I’ve never tried before, but we have no choice.”

  Shaking my head I fell silent, buried in my thoughts. They weren’t comfortable thoughts. Too much was riding on our finding out where Etta and her fellow monsters had gone, and too little worked in our favor.

  I tried to think about historical times that might have been conducive to this type of plotting and magic. A further complication arose immediately with this train of thought. Was I looking at Olympian history, biblical history, or human history.