by Steve Bevil
“Any luck?” asked Angela, excitedly.
“Actually,” said Jonathan, perking up in his seat. His sudden movement caused his glasses to slip down his sharp-angled nose. “I think I’ve figured out some of the parts that were destroyed by our blonde femme fatale.” He pointed. “I just can’t seem to figure out this symbol.”
“Let me see,” said Angela, leaning in. She placed a loose lock of curly blonde hair behind her ear and then smiled fondly as she looked back up at him. “It looks like two objects going around in a circle — a set of wings and a pointed tail.”
“Yes,” said Jonathan, “two entirely different symbols, but swirling in a clockwise circle as one.”
“Like the Yin and Yang symbol,” said Angela.
“Why, yes,” said Jonathan, surprised. “Neither completely black nor white.”
“Or in this case,” said Angela, while tracing over the pointy tail. “Neither completely good, nor evil.”
“Precisely!” said Jonathan. He had a huge grin on his face. “I think we just figured out the meaning of the symbol.”
“Oh, brother,” said Alan, while rolling his eyes. Angela frowned.
“Jonathan,” she said, looking down at her phone. She leaned in again but this time she kept an eye on Mrs. Devaro before whispering. “Why didn’t you give them something to cloak you? You can change into a fox, so we know for sure you definitely have powers.”
He paused to reposition his glasses, but Angela beat him to it, gently pushing them back up his nose. “Thanks,” he said with a huge smile. Angela and Jonathan both turned away from each other and their cheeks appeared to redden. “According to Malick, that’s why I don’t need one,” he said. “Besides the fact that it’s hard to track someone that can travel relatively easy back and forth from the Spirit Realm. The Scarlet Priests are looking for humans that can Pneuma Novo. Not an animal.”
Angela nodded and then looked up toward the well-lit doorway leading to the back of the store. “I hope they have my size,” she said, aloud.
“It sure is taking her awhile,” said Nathan, peering toward the doorway. He quickly perused the sale advertisement for Mireya’s Shoe Emporium that lay on top of the glass counter. “How much longer is this shopping excursion going to last anyway?” He mumbled. “We no longer have to keep up this charade.”
“We got what we initially came for, but explain that to Angela and Alan,” said Leah, positioning her back in front of him. She tilted her head forward and Nathan pulled out the gold necklace he had Madam Esmeralda cloak for her. “There, you’re all set. Now I just have to get these other items to Jonas and Bobby.”
“Thank you, babe,” said Leah, while positioning the necklace. She stood on the tip of her toes to give him a kiss, but suddenly did a double take of the doorway leading to the back of the store. “Is it me, or did that hallway just become eerily dark?”
“No, it’s not just you,” said Nathan, turning around. “The light was on just a second ago.”
“Maybe the light bulb burned out,” said Angela.
“I don’t think so,” said Leah slowly as she looked around. Her face grew a pale white as she took in the growing discoloration of the walls and ground around her. “Nathan … everything is turning black and white!”
Leah and Nathan continued to step back until they reached Angela and Jonathan, who now stood behind them. “Guys?” said Angela in a worried voice. “Why do I feel like I’m at the Justin Bloomer concert again?”
“Yeah,” said Leah, her voice quivering. Her chest heaved rapidly as she took several deep breathes. “It’s like that night at Lawrence Hall all over again — the night I was taken to the hospital.”
“I can’t lift my notebook off the chair or pickup my backpack,” said Jonathan. “It’s like … frozen!”
Quickly, Leah spun around only to find her brown knitted bag and the chair it was sitting on void of color. “Oh, no!” she cried, lunging for the bag.
“Leah!” shouted Nathan and the air appeared to ripple around her.
“How did you do that?” asked Jonathan, now staring at the brown knitted bag in her hand. “How were you able to pick that up?”
“Uh, guys?” stammered Alan. “Don’t you think this is our cue to run?”
“But what about my shoes?” whined Angela, and then out of the dark doorway flew the redheaded sales clerk. “Oh my God … is she dead!”
“Leeaah!” shrieked a metallic voice that echoed in the air.
Immediately Leah began to fumble through her bag. “I–I won’t be a victim.”
“Leah, no!” warned Nathan, and out of the darkness of the doorway appeared Lauren. The train to her long, white dress flowed behind her.
“Hello, little mouse,” said Lauren, eerily. Her sparkling green eyes had a hint of fire in them. “I’ll be taking that medallion.”
16
THE VANGUARD
Leah aggressively pointed the medallion at Lauren as she boldly strolled forward. “Over my dead body,” said Leah, and the gold and silver metals of the medallion began to glow a bright blue.
“So, the little mouse wants to play,” said Lauren. “I’m glad you already know the rules of the game!” She hackled. “I just wish Jamie was a bit more willing as you are to become a dead body.”
“Why, you evil witch!” screamed Leah and a white bolt of raging energy sprung from the medallion.
The kickback from the medallion was so strong that Leah fell backward, landing on top of Jonathan. Lauren was quick to move and the energy bolt missed her by inches. Out of the corner of Nathan’s eye, he could see Malick fast approaching behind him.
Quickly, Nathan produced a blue fireball, but before he could cast it at Lauren, more figures from the dark doorway appeared. “The Shadow Guard,” uttered Nathan. He raised his hand to strike again, but out stepped a tall figure dressed in a ruby red robe. “Luke!”
“Everyone, move back!” warned Malick, joining Nathan’s side.
“Now would be a good time for you to do that ring of fire thing that you do,” said Nathan, backing away. Malick looked confused and Nathan sighed. “You know — that swirly fire in the air thing that you do — that you tossed over Lauren back at Grimm Cemetery.”
Jonathan had gotten to his feet and with Nathan’s help, helped Leah to get up. “I knew this was a bad idea,” said Mrs. Devaro, rushing to them. She tugged at Nathan and Leah’s arms as Luke flashed a deadly grin at them. “We have to get out of here — now!”
Luke made his way past the Shadow Guard that appeared to be guarding the now pitch-black doorway to the back of the store. In a few quick steps, the 6’5 Fallen One had connected with Lauren. “Where is the medallion, Firewalker?” he grunted and Lauren’s fiery gaze zeroed-in on Leah.
Frantically, Nathan pushed the group back. He caught a glimpse of Lafonda trying to make her way to him. “Lafonda, no!” he yelled and shooed her back. “Alan, Jonathan … get them out of here!”
“Hello, Nathan,” bellowed a smooth, but spine-chilling male voice. It caused Nathan to freeze. Nathan looked up and hovering next to Luke and Lauren was a set of amethyst-colored eyes beneath a deep red hood. “Where is the medallion?”
“I’m out of here!” yelled Alan. He headed toward the front door, dragging Angela and Mrs. Devaro with him. “For God sakes, drop the freakin’ boot, Angela!”
“Nathan — Lafonda!” called Mrs. Devaro, and Lafonda eyed Nathan before reluctantly following suit.
“Laban,” said Nathan, with a smirk. “Considering what happened to you last time, I’m surprised to find you here.”
“Oh?” he snarled, revealing a set of perfectly white teeth. He arrogantly threw back his hood and Nathan gasped.
“W–what the…” stammered Nathan. Flabbergasted, his eyes traced over his perfect jaw-line and smooth skin looking for a flaw. “But your face — it was charred — badly burned!”
Leah stepped closer to Nathan, holding his arm. “He knows your name?” she asked. S
he pointed the medallion at them and Laban’s eyes burned blood red. “We’re all cloaked,” she muttered, pulling Nathan to keep moving back. “How did they know we’re here?”
Suddenly, Laban moved forward, like a tiger ready to pounce. That’s when Nathan saw him. Standing behind him was a man in a purple cloak. “The Soul Collector,” muttered Nathan.
“I see him,” said Malick, quickly producing an energy ball.
Nathan continued to stare into his vacant eyes. “The Soul Collector must’ve tipped off the Fallen Ones.”
“Most likely the Scarlet Priests,” said Malick, and Nathan looked confused. “Soul Collectors are a form of Shadow Creature, so they report to the Scarlet Priests.” Nathan still had a puzzled look on his face, but Malick just shook his head. “Never mind.”
“Aaaah!” cried someone and Nathan turned his head toward the screams.
The entire store was almost devoid of color, and was now filling up with a grayish, white mist.
“They’re surrounding us,” shouted Jonathan. “And it looks like they’re trying to pull us into the Space-In-Between!”
Nathan watched in horror as one by one, more Shadow Guard appeared. They circled his friends and prevented them from leaving the store. “Get them out of here,” he yelled. “Use your power!”
“I’m coming for you, little mouse,” said Lauren, and Luke charged toward them.
In an instant, Luke reached the glass counter and, with a light flick of his hand, it sailed through the air. Leah screamed as it went flying over her head. Nathan dove to the ground, but the tail of it hit Malick. The glass counter crashed into the ground, shattering into a million pieces. There was no sound. “Malick!” shouted Nathan, but he lay motionless among the shards of glass.
Leah looked up and Lauren was standing over her. Leah pointed the medallion at her, but Lauren was too quick. She grabbed Leah by the wrist and continued to squeeze until she dropped the medallion. “Ready to join Jamie?” said Lauren with a devious smile. “Tell me: how’s Jonas?”
“Let go of her!” yelled Nathan, and with all his might, he forcibly threw a fireball at Lauren.
The raging blue fireball hit Lauren in the back of her head. She immediately screeched in agony, releasing Leah. Lauren hysterically tried to put out the blue flames. Frantic, she made her way past the Shadow Guard and vanished through the dark doorway in the back of the store.
Nathan attempted to make his way over to Leah, but something hit him hard in the head, knocking him to the ground. “How did you like that, Firewalker?” said Luke, with an unusually deep laugh. Nathan tried to get up, but Luke used his foot to pin him to the ground. “That really felt good! Maybe I should keep you around and keep using your head for a punching bag. Or maybe I should just crush you like the ant you are instead.”
Nathan watched helplessly as Laban closed in on Leah. “Leah!” he yelled as Luke applied more pressure to his back, forcing the air out of his lungs.
“Well, well, well,” said Laban, while standing over Leah. Leah frantically searched the ground. “Did you lose the medallion?” With his eyes in a red blaze, he glanced back at Nathan, smiling before he grabbed a fist full of her hair.
“Ahh!” she screamed and Nathan reached out to her.
“What about Lauren?” asked Luke.
Laban paused, rolling his eyes. “She knows about the Firewalker prophecy and she knows about the fire. Besides, we’re almost entirely in the Spirit Realm. She’s just being overly dramatic because her hair is on fire.” He carefully ran his free hand through his well-groomed, long, whitish-blonde hair. “Not that I blame her.”
Nathan wheezed and tried to push back against Luke’s foot in an attempt to break free, but Luke was too strong. “Stop squirming!” he grumbled.
“Aaah! Did you see that, Angela?” shouted Alan, his voice echoing from the front of the store. “These guys have, like, no faces!”
“Shut up!” yelled Laban, still holding a fist full of Leah’s hair. “All this nonsensical human chatter. Silence that stupid human!”
The Shadow Guard closest to Alan drew his sword. “Oh my God … are we going to die here?”
“I’m so sorry. We should have never come here!” said Mrs. Devaro, bumping into Lafonda. “We should have just listened to your father and stayed at Black Manor.”
“J–just stay calm, Mom,” said Lafonda, taking her hand. “Jonathan!”
“Yes, yes, I know!” he stammered, his glasses slipping to the tip of his nose. He closed his eyes and took a hold of several of their hands. “I’m trying but….” He pointed to the corners of the room that were still in color. “But it only works when we’re completely in the Spirit Realm.”
“I–I just can’t believe this stuff is actually real,” continued Mrs. Devaro. She took a hold of the sleeve to Lafonda’s jacket and her hand continued to shake. “I mean, I’ve heard the stories about Jackson and LaDonda — their battles against dark and powerful creatures — but they sounded so fantastical. I just never fully believed it!”
“Wait, what?” asked Lafonda. Her eyes were wide and she had a shocked look on her face. “What are you saying about my grandfather and my grandmother?”
“Okay, well, even though I hate to interrupt this Lifetime-movie moment between mother and daughter,” stammered Alan. “We do have a more pressing situation here!” He gulped, after realizing they were running out of room to back up. “Lafonda, don’t you have powers too? Do something!”
Lafonda looked down at her hands and started to dramatically open and close them, exposing the palms of each. “What are you doing?” he cried.
“I don’t know!” yelled Lafonda, continuing the dramatic hand movements. “I have no idea how my powers work. This always works for Nathan.”
Laban furiously shook his head and his amethyst-colored eyes were no longer visible beneath the fire raging in his eyes. “This is why I don’t have humans as pets. Guards!” he yelled, and the remaining Shadow Guards that surrounded them drew their swords. “Finish them!”
“No!” Nathan cried, and gasping sounds echoed around the room.
“We’re going to die here!” cried Alan. He could see his trembling arms and legs in the reflection of their well-polished swords. “I’ll never be able to buy another pair of Burberry shoes again!”
Nathan’s thoughts raced. He tried to get up, but every time he moved, the 6’5 Fallen One put more pressure on his back. Laban continued to hold on to Leah and he appeared to be enjoying their impending annihilation.
“No,” he said, again, but this time the words escaped his lips only in a faint whisper as he gasped for air.
Angela and Alan drew closer to one another and were about to shut their eyes. In front of them, however, a sliver of light appeared. The Shadow Guards stopped in their tracks. The tiny blue light glimmered in the air for a moment before erupting into a long, bright blue doorway. “Yo!” said a young man, springing out in front of them. He had spiky black hair and his purple and orange track jacket seemed too small for his long, skinny arms. “Need some assistance?”
“Don’t hog the doorway, man!” said the young girl with dark sunglasses crashing into him from behind. She flipped up the white collar to her pink little blazer as she quickly surveyed the room. “Huntress was right — look at all these Shadow Guards!” Immediately, she crouched down and took a fighting stance as the bright blue door dissipated behind her. “We’re getting some action tonight!”
Angela and Alan both looked shocked as they stared at the two people that just appeared in front of them. Their faces then morphed into horror as the two closest Shadow Guards raised their swords to take a swipe at their heads. “Oh my God, watch out!” yelled Angela, as Alan winced.
“We got this!” said the young man and they both met the Shadow Guards blades with their swords.
“Eat dust!” said the teenage girl and boy in unison. Quickly, they spun around, plunging their long silver blades deep into the two Shadow Guards’ chest.
In a haze of black smoke, the Shadow Guards crumpled into ash, leaving behind only their swords. “Jax Sulu, at your service,” he said, peering over his dark sunglasses at Angela.
Alan stood up straight again and Angela regained her composure. They examined the clothes of the two people in front of them. “Are you two…?”
“Twins?” finished the girl. She twisted a couple of strands of her short, spikey black hair and then pulled at the long pink-colored bangs that ran diagonally across her forehead. “That we are. Jinks Sulu here!”
“Jax and Jinks?” asked Alan, mockingly. “Sounds like cat names.”
Abruptly, another Shadow Guard came charging in and Alan screamed. “Don’t just stand there, whining!” said Jax. He vanquished the Shadow Guard just before Alan lost his head. Quickly, he shifted through the remaining ashes and picked up the long, silver sword left behind. “Take this and fight!”
Alan frowned, reluctantly taking the sword. “But what am I supposed to do with this? I don’t know how to use a sword!”
“Duck!” yelled Lafonda, and a blue energy ball flew over their heads.
“A Fallen One!” yelled Jax, yanking off his sunglasses. “Sweet!”
“Shadow Guard!” yelled Laban, and the two guarding the dark hallway at the back of the store came to attention. “Get over there and fight!”
The two guards immediately abandoned their post to join the remaining Shadow Guard. Together, they filled the gap in the encroaching circle, raising their swords to strike. Jinks and Jax raised their swords and took an attack formation, but before the onslaught could commence, several more twinkling blue lights appeared inside the circle.
Just as before, each tiny blue light exploded into an elongated doorway and out stepped several more people with shiny swords. “The Vanguard!” shouted Laban.