by Lady Lilium
‘Snap’ he shot, before Reuben had time to think.
‘Dammit’ Reuben hissed, balling his fist in annoyance.
‘Come on’ Lucas said throwing the rest of the cards down. ‘We should be getting to our lecture now.’
‘Yeah I suppose’ Reuben huffed disinterestedly, picking up the cards. ‘I'm not really in the mood though.’
‘I know.’ Lucas rose from the grass, brushing flecks of dirt from his jeans. ‘But we can’t miss too many classes; the lecturer won’t be very pleased.’
‘Screw him; he talks a load of rubbish anyway.’
‘What are you talking about? You like physics.’
‘Only at the best of times’ Reuben said, putting the cards back in their box.
He handed Lucas the deck of cards as they made their way off. Reuben slinging the bag up his shoulder began strutting across the field.
‘You know I think we should go away after the exams’ Reuben started.
‘Oh yeah? Where did you have in mind?’ Lucas asked keeping in line with him as they walked.
Reuben fell silent.
‘You don’t know?’
‘I just think it would be a nice break from this town’ Reuben shrugged.
‘I thought you liked this town.’
‘I do’ Reuben said defensively.
They walked up the steps side by side and entered the building, with its cheap carpeted floors and walls filled with pictures and diagrams that were all contributions from every subject. Science with pictures of atoms and body parts, psychology, ancient history, art, even Latin, one of the many languages offered by the college. There was a balcony with glass walls overlooking the lower level, and automatic doors leading to the other exits which opened as the brothers went past.
The corridors now were fairly busy, some of the classes had just finished and people were milling out of a few of the doors set in a row along the wall.
‘Well what is it then?’ Lucas questioned his brother.
‘It’s just…’ Reuben struggled for words. ‘There must be more out there.’
‘Is that it?’ Lucas scoffed. ‘More than what?’
‘More than this, here, what we do.’ Reuben indicated everything around them as he spoke. ‘Our powers certainly didn’t come from around here. Not originally anyway. They must have come from somewhere else.’
‘You mean another world?’ Lucas offered, not bothering to keep his voice down.
‘It’s not impossible’ Reuben shrugged, uncertain for a moment whether or not his brother would laugh at him. But he didn’t.
Someone ahead of them in the corridor lit a cigarette, the match burning brightly.
‘I mean since we first changed’ Reuben explained, ‘it’s got me thinking, there must be a lot more out there that we don’t know about.’
‘You're probably right.’
As they talked they passed a small group hanging around outside one of the classrooms. One of the boys blew a cloud of smoke as they walked on. Then suddenly both brothers felt something. A sharp and sudden pain on their hand, like they had been burned. The brothers turned in unison, staring back down the corridor.
Jacob looked back, frozen as he noticed their stares. He stood as part of a circle with his friends. In his mouth was a burning cigarette, in his hand, a shrivelled black match.
Reuben glanced to his brother as Lucas gave Jacob a calculated expression. He then turned and continued walking, Reuben followed suit.
‘There must be more out there than just us and Drake’ Lucas went on, as if nothing had happened.
‘And more keep appearing’ Reuben added.
Chapter Two
Monster in the Park
It was late by the time Jacob left the college after attending a revision class. The college was mostly empty now, and Jacob was one of the last to leave. The lecturer gave him a nod as he made his way gradually out of the computer room. His bag heavy with books made it uncomfortable to carry, and he switched it from one hand to the other often.
The corridors were eerily quiet. It was strange to be in the college and see it so empty, it almost felt unnatural. His footsteps echoed in the deserted building, and he felt a tingle down his spine as he passed the art classes, seeing a model of a young boy with a crow’s head outside one of the doors. It seemed nothing but a trivial amusement in the day, now when the place was deserted; it stood out like a freakish shadow all in black.
‘Creepy’ he whispered to himself, averting his gaze.
He thought he was alone as he exited the building, however just as the automatic doors slid shut behind him, Jacob was stopped short. One of the brothers blocked his path. Lucas, he gave Jacob a cold hard stare.
‘We need to talk.’
Jacob was used to that tone, mostly from the girls he dated. He heard movement behind him. Glancing back he saw that it was Reuben. The brothers as always, working together.
‘So this is where you live.’ Jacob absorbed the surroundings critically.
The apartment was small and modest. The first room they entered was the sitting room, bearing only neutral colours. It opened onto the tiny kitchen and the hallway that led to the rest of the apartment. Glass double doors led out onto a pitiful balcony with dying plants, and below was a filthy alleyway filled with rubbish and bad smells.
‘It’s nice’ Jacob said.
‘Don’t be sardonic’ Lucas droned. ‘We didn’t bring you here for you courtesies and compliments.’
He dumped his bag on the floor and slumped into one of the large sofas, sinking into it. Reuben trailed away into the kitchen, leaving Jacob standing uncomfortably in the middle of the sitting room.
‘Sit’ Lucas drawled flatly, and Jacob did so. Descending in one of the armchairs and eyeing the room again from this new perspective.
Everything in the room was designed with a modern feel, and everything was neat and tidy.
‘A place for everything and everything in its place’ Lucas recited, watching Jacob as his eyes rolled around the room. ‘That’s how our bitch mother likes to put it.’ He immediately put his shoes up onto the clean glass coffee table.
Reuben returned to the room a few minutes later carrying three mugs of tea, frowning at his brother’s feet.
‘Lucas what are you doing?’
‘What I want for a change. Now sit down, I don’t want a lecture.’
Reuben sat beside his brother on the sofa. Leaning forwards he slid one of the mugs across the table towards Jacob. Jacob stared at the sloshing liquid uncertainly.
‘It’s not poisoned if that’s what you’re thinking’ Reuben said, drinking from his own mug. ‘It’s only tea.’
Jacob picked up the mug, drinking from it tentatively. It was sweeter than he was used to, and still piping hot.
‘Why did you bring me here?’ he asked putting the mug down.
‘Because there is something we need to tell you’ Lucas replied reclining back into the sofa.
‘Oh yeah?’ Jacob swirled the contents of the mug. ‘How many sugars did you put in here Reuben?’
‘Five.’
‘Five!’
‘Hey’ Reuben shrugged, ‘we need the sugar rush; we use a lot of energy. Sorry it’s just a habit.’
‘Energy? Doing what?’ Jacob sighed. ‘Or would I rather not know? Anyway what was it you wanted to tell me?’
‘Earlier today’ Lucas said, ‘when you burned yourself on that match, we felt it.’
‘Felt it?’
‘You're a guardian now’ Reuben added. ‘That means you're one of us.’
A swirl of emotion rose through Jacob, and he thought back to that strange man he had met in the park. His voice was running through his head.
‘I, am a guardian, and I pass my powers onto you now.’
‘You’ve heard of guardians too?’ Jacob breathed in awe. ‘And I thought I was going crazy.’
‘We’ve not just heard of them’ Lucas groaned, as if he was already bored with having to ex
plain. ‘We are guardians, we’ve met other guardians. Not many mind you.’
‘Why?’
‘Do you think that if guardians were that common you wouldn’t have met one before now?’ Lucas tutted and turned his head away, tapping his foot on the table. A habit of irritation.
‘So what happened?’ Reuben took over. ‘You’ve not been a guardian for very long obviously. Where did you get your powers?’
Jacob bowed his head, thinking back to that stranger, who had called himself Venom. How strange he had dressed. How strange he had acted.
‘I met someone yesterday’ Jacob began. ‘I've never seen anyone like him before, like he was from another world.’
Reuben stiffened, glancing to his brother beside him. Lucas wore an expression unreadable.
‘You said you felt the match burn me’ Jacob hurried on, swiftly changing the subject at the brother’s reaction. ‘What did you mean by that?’
‘Guardians can feel other guardians around them to varying degrees. Their pain…strong emotions…When you burnt yourself holding the match, both Reuben and I felt it in our own hands. Like we were holding the match ourselves.’
‘Really?’
Lucas seemed unconcerned as he stirred his tea, chasing the end of the spoon around the mug with a fingertip. ‘You said you met a guardian yesterday. Where was this?’
‘In the park…near here…’ Jacob trailed off, gazing out the window. ‘He said he passed his powers onto me.’
Reuben grinned slyly. ‘How exciting’ he sighed. ‘I remember the day I first became a guardian, so does Lucas. Right Lucas?’
‘Hmm’ his brother replied.
‘I remember it like it was yesterday’ Reuben said. ‘I felt weak suddenly, terribly terribly weak, and then strong, like I had never felt before. It was good.’
‘Who were the guardians that gave you your powers?’ Jacob asked the brothers.
They faltered at this, glancing to one another. Lucas was the one to answer.
‘We are…’ he was silent in thought for a few moments. ‘Different…’ he chose, ‘than other guardians. We’ve asked Drake and other guardians we’ve met before how they first became, and they all say that they were given their powers by another guardian, those who were older and weaker.’
‘Drake is a guardian?’ Jacob asked incredulous.
‘Don’t interrupt. The guardians who pass on their powers tend to be handicapped in some way,’ Lucas went on. ‘Something that prevents them from being at their best.’
Jacob thought back to the guardian he had met, and remembered his milky white eyes.
‘When a guardian doesn’t want to be a guardian anymore’ Lucas continued, ‘they pass their powers onto another. One they think is worthy, someone who matches their character. Someone they’ve grown fond of. And then they themselves retire.’
‘And what does a guardian do exactly?’ Jacob asked the older brother.
‘The truth is we don’t know’ Lucas replied reluctantly. ‘We’ve been guardians for many years now, perhaps ten or so. And we live here and carry on with our lives, occasionally meeting others like us who come and go. Drake is the only one who stayed when others have gone. When we were young, we used to believe there was something great for us out there, something big that would happen, some adventure.’
Lucas lifted both his hands before him, staring down at them. He flexed his fingers slowly, and the air between his hands began to glow. From nothing grew a beautiful blue light. Bright and sparkling, it grew larger and more fabulous the more Lucas teased it. ‘Like some kid I believed once that there was more to this life, we both did. But in the end, all it came down to was a child’s imagination.’ He closed his fists, and the light snapped out of existence. ‘We keep our magic secret. If anyone other than a guardian were to see this, it would drive them mad. It’s like there’s some sort of barrier placed upon normal people. No one notices it as long as it’s in the corner of their eye, but if they were to look at it directly…well, put it this way. You wouldn’t want it to happen. Trust me.’
Reuben leaned forward, speaking to Jacob now in a whisper. ‘Our mother once saw-’
‘Shhh!’ Lucas hissed. ‘That’s none of his business. Don’t you know when to keep your mouth shut?’ He balled his fists, gritting his teeth and glaring at the wall away from his brother.
‘How are you different from other guardians then?’ Jacob asked hastily, ignoring Reuben’s discomfort.
‘When other guardians we have met gained their powers from older guardians who willingly gave them their magic, people they spoke to and interacted with, we knew no one.’ Reuben glanced at his brother. ‘My brother and I received our powers, one shortly after the other. On both occasions it happened in the day, with no warning.’ Reuben shook his head. ‘But we saw no one, no guardian, nothing. It irks me even to this day, but there is nothing either of us can do to solve that mystery, even back when it first happened. It’s not like there was anyone we could have asked.’
‘I, am a guardian, and I pass my powers onto you now.’
‘How many guardians are there then’ Jacob asked them. ‘And how come I've never seen them before?’
‘Were you not listening?’ Lucas said breaking his silence. ‘Guardians come and go occasionally though they aren’t common, and you’ve never seen them before because you cannot see magic. Unless you’re a guardian. Which you now are.’
‘So I can use magic?’ Jacob said uncertainly. ‘Like you?’
‘Like both of us.’
‘How?’
Lucas cocked his head, considering Jacob. ‘You will know when you are ready. Each guardian has specific abilities, specific magic that they can perform. It will become as natural to you as breathing. Trust me. What was the name of the guardian who gave your powers to you?’
‘Venom.’
Lucas nodded. ‘A good name. Many new guardians take on the name of the one who gave them their magic, and so the name lives on.’
Jacob was silent in thought, hardly daring to believe what was happening to him. ‘God this all seems so surreal’ he said, putting down his steaming mug. ‘I feel like this is all a dream.’
‘Imagine my surprise when I fell from my swing and fire shot from my hands’ Reuben said. ‘And I didn’t even burn.’
Jacob lifted the mug again; the steam was hot against his face as he took another sip.
I, am a guardian, and I pass my powers onto you now.’
‘He said I was the one.’
‘The one he chose to pass on his powers to.’ Lucas spoke as if he had heard this all before. Like old gossip.
‘But why choose me?’
‘Already been told’ Lucas sang.
‘He probably picked you because your personality was similar to his’ Reuben explained, ‘or he liked you for another reason. Maybe you resemble someone he cares about. Whatever the reason he was sure of his choice, if a guardian wants to pass on their powers to another, they want to know the person first. He’s probably watched you for days.’
‘Look’ Lucas leant forward putting his mug down on the table. ‘It doesn’t really matter why he picked you. What’s done is done. You're a guardian now.’
‘What powers do I have?’ Jacob asked.
‘Each guardian has different magic’ Reuben told him. ‘It’s like a signature which defines the individual.’
Jacob hummed thoughtfully, biting his lip.
‘You are one of us now’ Lucas clarified. ‘We guardians should stick together.’
‘It’s strange’ Jacob smiled nervously. ‘I've never really spoken to you two before. Never had a reason to.’
‘Isn’t it funny where life takes you eh?’ Lucas said sardonically. ‘When I was young I wanted to be an archaeologist. I loved dinosaurs.’
‘So…’ Jacob digressed as he surveyed the apartment again. ‘You live here with your mother I presume. What about your father?’
‘To say we live with our mother wouldn’t be en
tirely accurate’ Lucas told him. ‘She’s out so much of the time she barely lives here. We don’t know where she goes, when she’s coming back, or even what she does for work.’
‘Probably whoring’ Reuben mumbled.
‘In fact I think it’s fair to say that we own the place’ Lucas continued. ‘We certainly spend more time here than she does.’
‘And as for a father’ Reuben added. ‘We’ve never met him. Don’t even who he is or even if we have the same father.’
‘So…where’s your mother now?’
‘Don’t know’ Lucas dismissed. ‘She has these bursts of anger sometimes, and for the thousandth time she’s walked out on us. Last time she didn’t come back for months.’
‘So you're here alone?’ Jacob asked.
‘Are you worried about us?’ Lucas questioned with a smirk.
‘No.’
‘It’s better without her anyway.’ Lucas stretched his muscles, yawning and clicking his fingers. ‘You should probably be going now. We’ve told you everything we wanted to tell you. You should go before your family begin to worry where you are.’
Once Jacob was gone, Lucas let out a heavy sigh. ‘Reuben’ he said. ‘I think life is about to change for us very soon.’
‘I think you're right.’
Reuben stood and groaned at the room. ‘We’d better keep an eye out for her in case she comes back when we don’t want her to.’
‘That bitch…’
Reuben relaxed his body, watching his brother still seated with his feet on the table.
‘You're not going to get yourself hurt again are you?’ Reuben asked.
Subconsciously Lucas’s hand moved to his left arm. She had broken it many years ago when he was younger, defending Reuben over something he had done wrong.
‘We’re older now’ Lucas answered quietly. ‘She can’t hurt us anymore.’
Outside in one of the parks within the town, was the most unusual group one could have seen, gathered together around a child’s climbing frame. There were four of them, and they paid no heed to any of the people around them, who neither saw them, nor heard them. There was a group of teenagers by the swings drinking and smoking, and the occasional passerby late home from work. It was a typical scene at the park, save for this group.