The Guardian Lineage

by Seth Z. Herman

  Mike popped another chocolate, wishing it were an Advil. He closed his eyes. His head killed, and all he wanted to do now was sleep.

  ***

  Mike woke to Mrs. Pottawattami, as the nurse had introduced herself, complaining loudly about visitors and the infirm and how they needed their rest. He rubbed his eyes and cracked his neck – the hospital beds were much more uncomfortable than his dorm room’s. He stretched, his head still pounding.

  “So you’re in here too, eh?”

  Zachariah was already up, reading a Jodi Picoult novel.

  Mike raised an eyebrow when he saw the book.

  “Oh, shut up,” Zachariah growled. “Annabella makes me read them.” He nodded at Mike. “What happened to you?”

  “Garzan gave me a concussion.”

  “The Headmage?”

  Mike shook his head. “His daughter.”

  “His daughter goes to Windham?”

  “Seems that way.”

  Just then, the voices in the other room got louder, and two figures entered the room.

  It was Steph and Annabella.

  “Speak of the devil,” Mike muttered.

  Zachariah’s eyes narrowed just a little. “Huh?”

  “Come on,” Steph said in an authoritative voice. Each girl was carrying what looked like a leather Guardian suit on a hanger. Annabella tossed hers to Zachariah, while Steph threw hers in Mike’s lap.

  “We have a mission, get dressed.”

  “Um, what?” Mike said.

  “My father wants us to meet him in the Portal Room in twenty minutes.” She looked Mike over, and her expression softened. “You okay?”

  “I’ll survive,” Mike said, throwing the Guardian suit off his legs and onto the floor. “This is for me?”

  “Has your name on it,” Steph said with a smile.

  Mike peeked over the side of the bed. Sure enough, the name “Prior” was stitched right underneath the shoulder.

  “Um, am I supposed to go with this?” Zachariah said, holding up his bandaged arm.

  “Mrs. Pottawattami will take care of that,” Annabella said. “Now hurry up, it’s almost time.” The girls started to leave.

  “Time for what?” Mike said as he sat up in bed.

  Steph turned, her face deadly serious again.

  “Time to warn the other clans.”

  Chapter Twenty Eight

  Considering he’d been in a semi-coma for the last few hours, Mike figured he could be in worse shape.

  He had a headache, and his body was kind of sore all over, as if he’d just run a marathon, but other than that he felt pretty good. After she’d outfitted Zachariah’s wound with a sleeker bandage, Mrs. Pottawattami had given the two boys some sort of medicinal candy bar on the way out, and even Zachariah admitted he felt more energized than usual. Mike felt his strength returning, which was a relief.

  It also didn’t hurt that he was dressed in the greatest outfit of all time – Guardian leather, with his name stitched on the top. He felt like he was on the varsity basketball team, only a million times cooler.

  Mike didn’t have a clue where the Portal Room was, but Mrs. Pottawattami gave them the proper directions. The two boys headed towards the back of the Manor, a silence between them that only wounded warriors could understand.

  We both got creamed giving our all. We’re tough. We can suck it up with the best of ‘em. And above all else, we went through hell and survived.

  Although, Zachariah’s hell was a lot worse than mine, Mike admitted to himself. I just got owned by a girl in a Sparring contest.

  They came to a metal door that looked like it led to the basement. Zachariah pounded a fist on the iron.

  The door swung open, revealing Aaron, Toadman, Julius Brutus, Steph, Annabella, and two girls Mike didn’t know. Stockton was there, too, as well as the Headmage.

  Garzan ran over when Mike and Zachariah entered the room.

  “I hope you’re not too badly injured,” he said, eyes sweeping Mike and Zachariah like a concerned parent.

  “I’m fine,” Mike said, thinking, you don’t know how badly injured we are, yet you have no problem sending us on a potentially dangerous mission to another Guardian clan? Sorry if I’m not feeling the love here. “Any news from my mom?”

  The Headmage studied him intently. “Yes. She’s safe, for now. Still with DuBois.”

  Stockton said, “We waited to brief everybody until you arrived.” He ran a hand through his black hair. “The reason we’ve gathered you here is because… we caught a vampire breaking into the mansion last night.”

  A commotion broke out amongst the gathered teenagers.

  “Whoa,” Mike said. “He got past the Gargoyles?”

  Garzan looked at Stockton out of the corner of his eye. “We are keeping it under wraps, for now. Although it may not be long before things get out, anyway.” Garzan cleared his throat. “Yes, he got past the Gargoyles.”

  “How did he get in?” Toadman asked.

  “Magic, of course,” was the terse reply from the Headmage.

  “But I thought vampires are not magical,” Mike said.

  Stockton scowled. “Bravo, Prior, bravo.”

  Mike ignored the Magus. His mind was churning. “So that means… the vampires and the Brethren are working together.”

  Garzan was silent. His eyes looked away, as if watching another scene entirely.

  Then Mike realized something. “Why are you telling us all this?”

  Another thin smile. Garzan interlocked his fingers and fixed his gaze on Mike. “The vampire was sent here to kidnap somebody. He was stopped by the stairwell leading up to the infirmary.”

  Zachariah smirked, then shook his head. Mike’s eyes grew wide with horror.

  “How do you know?” Mike said.

  “We have our methods.” There was a twinkle in Stockton’s eye. Then he grew serious, his eyes bearing down on Mike. “Somehow he knew you were in the hospital wing.”

  Nobody said anything. The spy we’ve been looking for…

  Garzan shifted his weight. “Has any of you seen somebody acting strangely? Missing for a few days? Any one of your friends, maybe someone who’s in Sparring class with you?”

  Mike tried to think. He realized he could’ve examined everybody’s habits and found something suspicious. Julius Brutus was a classic nerd, but maybe that was cover for his true identity? Maybe Aaron wore those weird contacts because he was one of the Brethren? Maybe Steph attacked him so hard because she was the enemy? Each thought made Mike laugh harder than the next, but for some reason, the last one stuck in his mind… Steph was never around, she’d withheld her identity from him, and she was mysteriously more powerful than any of the other students he’d faced…

  Garzan pursed his lips. “Michael?”

  Not exactly about to call out Steph to her face, Mike said, “I mean, I’m in a bunch of classes, and I don’t really know all the kids yet. Not to mention that half the school is in my Sparring class, so everyone knew what happened—”

  “Fine, fine,” Stockton interjected. “Just be on the lookout, all right?”

  Garzan turned to speak to those assembled. “And so, we have undeniable proof that the Black Brethren have allied themselves with the Vampire Hordes.” Garzan pointed at the lights, and the room went dim. “As such, we have decided to take action.

  “Know that you have been chosen because you have excelled in your personal fields, albeit in such a short time span.”

  Mike looked around at the kids in the room. The collection was definitely top notch. He wasn’t sure who was the best warrior after him and Steph, but it was either Zachariah or Aaron, and even Annabella had started to put her name into the conversation. JB had to be the best Espionage student, the kid never stopped reading his textbooks—well, except when he was reading Shakespeare. Toadman was probably second-best, and the two other girls, they were probably the top medicine majors.

  A rectangular screen appeared on the far wall. Fou
r rectangular logos appeared on the screen, each with a name and a location underneath.

  “The Gargoyle clans are named, historically, for several things. We have been forbidden to speak of our own designation because of our history, as you learned in your classes with the Magus. It is for that reason our emblem does not appear on the screen. However, these four guilds are the remaining strongholds of Guardians and Gargoyles.”

  Mike checked out the logos. There was a tall black mountain on a grey background, with the words Blackrock – Colorado, United States written underneath. Next to it was the Brownstone clan, from Scotland, depicting a brown Gargoyle holding a sword. A red wing on a black sky had the words Redwing - Russia written underneath. The last symbol was a grey gargoyle claw on a sky-blue base, with the words Grey Talon – France underneath. That was the clan Aaron had mentioned in Zachariah’s room.

  Mike clenched a fist. Magistrate DuBois, of the Grey Talon clan… I’m coming for you, pal.

  “As you also know from your History class, we do not have cordial relations with any of the clans. However—” Garzan rolled his wrist and three of the clans disappeared, leaving only the Blackrock clan on the screen. “We are, shall we say, least hated by our Blackrock brothers.”

  The lights came back on. “I am sending you to them,” Garzan exhaled slowly. “With five Gargoyles.”

  Stockton jumped off the wall. “Five? With all due respect, Headmage, that leaves us way under—”

  Garzan cut him off with a look that would pierce gargoyle stone. “We will be fine, Magus.”

  Stockton clammed up and returned to his original position, arms folded over his chest, eyes aflame.

  “Your mission is to inform the Blackrock clan of the Brethren-Vampire alliance. That is all – simply inform them. They will not receive you kindly, but that is not my concern. The other clans must be alerted. Whether they choose to aid us is, again, not the issue.”

  Aaron raised a hand. “Do the Blackrocks really not know about this? They must’ve been under some sort of attack too, right?”

  Garzan was silent for a moment. “We do not know if the Blackrocks have been attacked at all. We have no contact with the other guilds.”

  Mike rubbed his neck. So, if he understood right, all the other clans might have been destroyed already, and they’d have no idea.

  That was a cheerful thought.

  Stockton seemed to read his mind. “The other clans are much larger, and frankly much more powerful, than we are. It’s safe to say that the rest of the clans are doing just fine.”

  The Headmage cleared his throat. “Let’s not focus on the negative. This is not a mission that should require much magic, if any. I simply want you to notify the Blackrock clan of what we have discovered. Tell Magus Brick and leave, that is all.”

  Mike said, “If you don’t mind me asking, why aren’t you coming, sir?”

  A thin smile came across Garzan’s lips. “I do not want my involvement clouding the matter.”

  Um, okay… Mike thought. Care to elaborate? No? Hmm, what a surprise.

  “How are we getting there?” Zachariah asked nobody in particular.

  “Follow me,” said the Headmage. He went over to one of the stones in the wall and placed his palm on it. The wall swung open to reveal a staircase that led into the ground.

  “The portal room,” Garzan explained, and headed down the steps.

  The staircase led into a large antechamber. Its walls were decorated exactly like the Manor, with green and gold wallpaper and several portraits on the walls. Five Gargoyles were already there, dressed in battle gear, swords hanging from their waists and wings wrapped around their bodies. Amongst them were Jakkus and Yaris, as well as three smaller Gargoyles that Mike didn’t recognize. Straight ahead lay a gelatinous mass, stapled to the wall like a gigantic timepiece.

  “What is that?” Julius Brutus squeaked from behind the crowd.

  “It’s the portal, genius,” Zachariah grumbled.

  Garzan grasped Jakkus’s hand, looking him straight in the eye for a few moments. Then he did the same with each of the Gargoyles.

  “Jakkus will do the speaking,” Garzan explained to the group. “Hold your tongues, unless completely necessary. I cannot emphasize how a wrong word could lead to… unnecessary complications.”

  Mike nodded absently. He had realized out how delicate things were around here, and he was fine with letting Jakkus handle the situation. Besides, he didn’t think Garzan was going to let him or Zachariah lead this mission, not after how the last one turned out.

  “Now, if you will all line up, please.” The five Gargoyles took their places in front of the portal, with room on either side of them for a Guardian, so that they were basically Guardian-Gargoyle-Guardian all the way through. Mike was situated between Jakkus and Yaris, with Steph on Jakkus’s left and Toadman on Yaris’s right. Garzan muttered a few words, and the portal morphed to a flat rectangle, so that all fourteen members could enter it at once.

  “The Blackrock clan has a similar portal room in their castle. That is where you will exit. Good luck, and godspeed.”

  Mike took one last look at Garzan, who was standing against the far wall, a proud look on his face. Mike wondered how long he had been Headmage for. It seemed an odd thought, but Mike got the strange feeling that Garzan had been doing this for a long time.

  “Ready,” Jakkus growled. “And, enter.”

  Mike took a deep breath and stepped forward into the grey goo. The liquid mass enveloped him, causing him to lose his footing. He struggled for a moment, making swimming motions with his arms – he hadn’t expected this… eyes closed, mouth closed, Mike felt his chest burn… panic set in, and it occurred to Mike that he didn’t know how long he could hold his breath…

  Then a blast of air hit his face, and the portal started receding. Mike gasped for air, opening his eyes only after the liquid peeled off his body completely.

  They were in a completely different setting. This portal room was much bigger, almost like a cave. There was no wallpaper here. Only, well, black rock. The place was illuminated by torches that were interspersed throughout the cavern. Dark shadows danced across the walls, giving the room an ominous feel, but Mike could see a ceiling covered with stalagmites. The air smelled fresh, mountainous, and a gentle wind ruffled through Mike’s hair.

  Only, there was nobody there to greet them.

  Jakkus snarled and drew his sword, almost beheading Mike in the process. He took several steps forward, his Tyrannosaur-like legs thumping against the stone floor.

  Mike said, “What is it, what’s the matter?”

  Jakkus’s head snapped around in all directions. He sniffed the air frantically. “Stay behind me, something is wrong. Yaris, pick up the rear.”

  “Hold on, let me check the room for enchantments.” Toadman stepped a few feet in front of the group, then held his hands up like he was a shortstop signaling the cutoff throw. He muttered a spell or two.

  “There are three of them,” Toadman said with his back to the group. “Two of them are easy, but the last one might be a little tougher…”

  He muttered a few more words.

  Then he started to shake.

  It was slow, at first, so that Mike didn’t notice anything was wrong. But then Toadman’s whole body started trembling uncontrollably. He lifted off the floor, as if he was a marionette being shaken by its holder. His spell words started turning to jibberish, and then he was screaming.

  “Toad!” Aaron moved to help him, but Mike grabbed him by the arm.

  “If you touch him, that trap could get you, too!”

  Before Mike could protest, Jakkus jumped and tackled Toadman’s body to the floor.

  The spell didn’t seem to affect the gargoyle, but Toadman was still shaking. He had stopped screaming now, which made Mike all the more nervous. His body was convulsing… his lips were bleeding, then his nose…

  And then, it stopped.

  “Toad!” Aaron cried.

>   Mike ran over. Jakkus had gotten off of him, his teeth gritted and eyes red. Maybe the spell had affected him, after all. Mike saw that Toad was still breathing, although very slowly.

  “I… got them,” Toad managed, a weak smile in his eyes. There was blood everywhere, seeping from his mouth, his nose, his ears…

  “Can you heal him?” Mike said to Steph, the desperation clear in his voice.

  Steph and the two girls kneeled quickly by Toad’s body. The two girls joined hands and closed their eyes, holding one of Steph’s hands, while Steph placed her free palm on Toad’s chest.

  She gasped. Her mouth opened, but no words came out, as if she was unable to say them.

  “What is it?” Mike said, his eyes frantic.

  Steph let go of the other girl’s hand. “His organs were shredded,” she whispered, the shock evident in her voice.

  “You mean, you can’t do anything?” Aaron screamed.

  Mike said, “Maybe if the Gargoyles—”

  But then he stopped himself.

  Toadman’s chest had stopped heaving.

  And he had a glazed look on his eyes.

  No…

  Jakkus howled with anger, a sound so powerful Mike was sure it would’ve broken glass had they been at Windham. The Gargoyle grabbed a torch ran for the stairs. Mike stared at Toadman’s face, unable to look away.

  There was a sharp crack from overhead, then a smash. The ceiling rumbled, like a rocket had hit the cavern from above. Mike’s heart rate tripled, and he felt the power inside of him starting to surge.

  Whatever it is, I’m going up there, and I’m going to kill it.

  Mike ran after Jakkus, fingers twitching, ready to attack at any movement. He heard a clicking noise behind him, and saw Zachariah had flicked open a lighter and was right behind him. Mike kicked himself – he had to remember to buy one of those in the future.

  Where is everybody? Mike thought as he took the stairs two at a time. The sheer length of the staircase was intimidating. So was the emptiness of the place. It must’ve been a huge castle, just from the looks of the staircase, yet there were no inhabitants… could they all be on a mission? No, that wasn’t possible – even when Mike had gone on missions, they’d always left most of the clan at home. And what had Stockton said, about leaving Gargoyles behind to guard the manor? No, there was always somebody around…