Guardian: Darkness Rising

by Melanie Houtman

  Not that far away, a man was tracking down his prey – James. He’d made it halfway through Louloudia by now, closing in on the teenagers that formed his target.

  He wouldn’t let them get away; he wouldn’t disappoint his master.

  James was unaware of the fact that Mari was near, despite the fact that she was hundreds of metres – at least – away from him.

  What James did know, was that the teenagers were near. Tony and Marco had studied Linmor Lake as they’d flown over it a few days earlier, and were guiding their friends to the shortest route across the lake. And James was planning to catch them exactly there.

  James was in no rush; he knew that despite the small distance the teenagers were going, it’d be quite a difficult task for them to get across. Rowing is heavy when you’re untrained.

  And James wasn’t wrong. The teenagers had come far, but they’d come hardly halfway through before Marco’s arms got too tired to row.

  “Can someone else take over, please?” Marco huffed. “I’m tired...” His eyes were focused on Luke as he spoke.

  The redhead Marco was looking at, however, was busy getting himself into trouble. He was leaning over the edge of the boat; he thought he’d noticed something moving under the water. As he bent forward, Luke’s cape slowly sank closer toward water level.

  Just as the red fabric of the cape hit the water, something yanked at it, catching Luke by surprise and pulling him under as he let out a yell.

  Luke tried to look for whatever had grabbed him as he was submerged, the water stinging his eyes; he quickly noticed multiple sirens, clawing at his cape, seemingly trying to choke him. Luke tried to kick them off, but ended up getting both his legs grabbed by the seemingly beautiful creatures.

  The sirens had got a stronger hold of Luke’s cape, pulling him down quickly, and Luke was starting to feel lightheaded. His fingers clawed at the brooch of his cape, trying to get it off; he was surprised to feel the tight fabric around his neck loosen before he’d loosened the brooch.

  Arrows seemed to be the cause; one the sirens hissed as she pulled back her arm. Blood was floating in the water. The other sirens met the same fate; some weren’t lucky enough to be just hit in the arm, though.

  Luke felt a pull on his arms; Daisy’s and Marco’s faces appeared in front of him. While Marco pulled Luke up, Daisy fended off the sirens with her daggers. Both the teenagers had taken off their capes before jumping in the water, in order to avoid getting caught the same way Luke had been.

  Luke returned to the boat coughing loudly. Marco and Daisy joined him quickly; mere seconds after he’d boarded the boat, Luke found four pairs of stern eyes looking at him.

  “What?” Luke said. “I thought I’d seen something move under the water. And I wasn’t wrong.” He shivered, both due to the cold and the thought of being drowned by fish-ladies.

  “Just be glad we had arrows to shoot into the water,” Felicity said, showing Luke her now half-empty quiver. “If we’d all had swords, we probably would’ve cut one of your limbs off.”

  “Thanks for saving me, guys,” Luke said. “...Again, I guess.” He then proceeded to do what Marco had asked him, and started to row the boat back to the shore.

  Luckily, Luke managed to get him and his friends safely to shore before his arms turned to limp noodles, too.

  The Guardians thankfully climbed out of the boat and got ashore. Felicity guessed that they’d been in the boat for about an hour, guessing by the height of the sun – it’d finally begun to rise above the mountaintops.

  “Then that means we’ve got plenty of time left before sundown,” Luke said. “Good... I wouldn’t want to face the Master in the dark.”

  “Yeah, but we’re probably not going to be able to face him until sundown, Luke,” Felicity said. “Especially not if he’s going to be blocking our way.”

  She was pointing at a figure in the distance, who was approaching the teenagers quickly. It didn’t take long for Luke and his friends to realise it was James approaching them.

  “Dad,” Luke gasped in horror. “Oh no.”

  Luke knew his father wouldn’t recognize him and would be likely to attack him, but Luke was still reluctant to hurt him. To Luke, the man that was approaching him with his sword raised was still his father. Luke was still convinced he could save his father.

  In fact, Luke was prepared to use a portion of the flower dust Queen Eloine had given him to do so. They had plenty of the stuff (since they had to cure their parents, too); so, if given the chance, Luke couldn’t think of any excuse not to use the dust on James.

  “Guardians,” James said, now close enough to the Guardians to be able to attack them, “you have come far, but not far enough. My master wants your heads...” He paused, and flashed a grin that looked eerie in combination with his glowing red eyes; it didn’t help that he moved the black blade he was holding to his chin. “...and I will be the one to deliver them to him.”

  “Well,” Luke said, trying his best to hide the shiver in his voice as he pulled out his glowing sword, “come and get them.”

  James responded instantly. He leapt forward, lashing out at the Guardians, who had to be quick to dodge the swinging blade.

  The teenagers weren’t sure what to do at first, because obviously, they didn’t want to hurt James. But with every sign given that James truly did want to hurt them, the Guardians slowly became less reluctant to attack.

  The fact that the teenagers were now defending themselves didn’t make James any easier to hit, however. James was more experienced, and his skills had been magically enhanced by the Master – but that didn’t mean he was unbeatable.

  Luke shouted at his friends to take advantage of their group; they quickly surrounded James, forcing him to focus his attention on five teenagers at a time.

  James couldn’t possibly block two arrows coming from two different sides at a time, despite his best efforts. Apparently the Master had ordered him not to use any magic unless absolutely necessary.

  Or he’d just had enough.

  James clenched his fists, creating a blast that was powerful enough to knock all five teenagers off their feet.

  “Did you really think you could beat me just like that?” James growled at them. “I’ve got to admit, you’re pretty good – but you’ll never beat me.

  “I am too strong for five petty children to defeat me.”

  “Well, what would you say if I told you there are six petty children?” Mari suddenly shouted, causing James to get distracted from his former targets – although probably not for long.

  “You...” he mumbled, obviously not recognizing Mari, “...would make no difference.”

  James attacked Mari, but she was quick to raise her sword and catch James’s with it. The power the two swords hit each other at sent Mari staggering backwards for a bit, but not too far for her to actually lose balance.

  “That’s where you’re wrong,” Mari said, her eyes flashing to the vial with golden dust Luke was clasping tightly. “Sprinkle the dust, Luke!” she yelled. “Cure your father!”

  Luke didn’t hesitate. Before James could react, Luke took about a quarter of the vial’s content, and blew it in James’s direction, who instantly starred. Luke, curious whether it’d worked, ran toward his father, who in the meantime had sunk to his knees and grabbed his wrist.

  When Luke was reassured that his dad was okay and looked up to thank Mari for saving them, she was long gone.

  Shadowed Guidance

  “Dad, are you alright?” Luke asked his father, because he didn’t quite believe he was. “Dad. Please tell me you’re alright. I need to know.”

  “This – won’t last for long,” James said to his son as he took off his glove showing the cut in his arm, which had turned pitch black. “It’s only a matter of time before the curse spreads and gets a hold of me again. It’s because of the Master’s blood – he truly wanted to ensure his control over me.”

  “Well, we’re not leaving you here,” Lu
ke said decisively. His friends seemed to agree.

  James smiled and hugged his son. “I wasn’t saying that I was leaving,” he said. “I’m sure we’ll find some way to solve this.”

  “We should be going,” Felicity said. “Mari just... vanished into thin air – well, black smoke, actually... I have no idea where she’s gone.”

  “I have a sinking feeling where she’s gone,” Luke mumbled, as he and James got up. “I think Mari is convinced she can defeat the Master on her own.”

  “Well, she is a Lost Soul now,” James said, talking as if the kids had any idea what he was talking about, “so she is strong. She basically shares a part of the Master’s power.” His eye shifted at his now gloved arm. “I wonder how this is going to work out, though.”

  “We’ll just have to wait to find out,” Luke decided. “But right now, we’ve got to go to the Dark Castle and save our parents.”

  “Wh-” James gasped; apparently, he didn’t know what happened to his friends. “What did the Master do to them?

  “I thought you’d just decided to split up to find Mari.” He’d probably figured that out due to Mari’s sudden appearance and disappearance.

  “The Master turned them to stone right after- well-” Tony mumbled. “You know. We’ve got to save them if we want to save Mari and this world.”

  “Why are we wasting time here, then?” James said. “We’ve got to go and save them, right now.” The teenagers agreed.

  With James at their side, for however long he’d be there at least, the young Guardians felt much safer.

  *

  Mari was surprised at her own abilities. She just simply thought about getting away from her friends as fast as possible, and suddenly, the world disappeared before her eyes, only to reappear before the Dark Castle’s gates.

  Mari was awestruck. She’d made it. Right to the Master’s doorstep. Nothing was holding her back now.

  But still... Mari was hesitant to enter the castle and confront the Master. Something inside of her wanted her friends to be able to make an advantage out of this, too. If the Master was distracted and fighting Mari, then perhaps he wouldn’t notice her friends saving their parents. The teenagers would have the Master surrounded without him ever knowing.

  But then again – waiting for them would probably take hours. And Mari just simply didn’t have any time to wait.

  With the dark energy that fuelled the Land of Light once again, Mari’s newfound abilities were enhanced and strengthened, and Mari felt the power running through her veins.

  Mari was powerful, and she would show the Master just how powerful she was.

  Entering the castle was simple; almost too simple, even. But Mari figured that the Master was interested in fighting Mari; he truly believed that he’d be able to win from her.

  As Mari made her way through the surprisingly empty hallway toward the doors of the Master’s throne room, she considered her chances. There was a certain chance the Master would win – considering he was a master of deceit, and he had more experience than Mari did. But Mari had something else: determination. Mari was fed up with the Master, and everything he’d done to her, her friends and her family. It was enough.

  Someone had to teach this ignorant demi-spirit a lesson. And Mari was the one to do it.

  Keeping those thoughts in mind, Mari entered the throne room.

  *

  The Guardians, accompanied by James, were running through the flower fields of Louloudia. As they got further into the realm, they noticed that the sky was getting darker and the flowers began to show signs of withering. The barrier had weakened further, and the effects of the dark energy that was seeping through the cracks were clearly visible.

  Obviously, it was impossible to run all the way through. The six Guardians regularly took small breaks to rest their feet, and eventually slightly changed direction. Their goal was to end up as close to the Dark Castle as possible – although James wasn’t sure where exactly the river in the Land of Void – James was persistent to temporarily restore the realm’s previous name – went. If the Guardians were to end up at the river, they’d have to walk all the way back to find the bridge – unless they’d be willing to swim across.

  It turned out that Felicity had been right earlier; the sun was starting to set when the teenagers finally reached the Land of Void. They were tired, and their legs ached, but it was too late to go back or stop now.

  This would all end tonight. By the crack of dawn, the Guardians would have freed Lunaria from the Master once again, and would be on their way home.

  The Guardians stood before the barrier; a shiver went down Luke’s spine as he looked aside to his father. “I guess... this is it, then,” he said.

  James looked at his son, knowing what he meant. Sweat was glistering on his forehead. “Just go, Luke. I’ll – be watching from the sidelines.”

  “Can’t you try?” Luke said hopefully. James shook his head.

  “Let’s not risk it, Luke.”

  Luke sighed. James was unable to enter the Land of Void for as long as it was corrupted; Luke knew that he’d have to leave his father here so he wouldn’t have to go through the pain he’d gone through before again, but still wasn’t satisfied with that solution.

  Luke had never been separated from his father for as long as he’d been in the past few days – or at least never forcefully separated. Luke was reluctant to leave his father all alone, but as things were now, there truly was no other option.

  James hugged his son. “Go knock ‘em dead, Lucas,” he said. “I’ll be right there as soon as the light goes back on.” Luke couldn’t help but snort.

  “That’s a terrible joke, Dad.”

  “Isn’t that what I’m a dad for?” James laughed.

  “Luke, are you ready to go?” Marco asked. Luke looked at his friends and smiled. “Yeah, you guys go ahead, I’ll be right there,” he said.

  His friends nodded back at him; they didn’t cross the barrier yet, however, but waited in front of it.

  “What’s the matter, Luke?” James said. “I assume there’s something you want to talk about.”

  Luke moved around his shoulders uncomfortably. “I... just...” he mumbled. “I just wanted to apologise, Dad.”

  James’s mouth opened slightly in surprise; a small gasp escaped from his lips. “Lucas,” he said, “it’s alright. You couldn’t have known.”

  Luke shook his head. “I know, Dad,” he said, “but it still doesn’t feel right. I treated you horribly, and then all of this happened...”

  James chuckled. “You treated me horribly?” he said. “You didn’t yell at me. I did that to you.”

  Luke shrugged. “It’s fine,” he said and grinned as he added, “I’m used to it.”

  “When we get home, things will change, Luke,” James said. “I’m not going to keep secrets from you any longer.”

  Luke smiled at his father. “That sounds like a good idea, Dad,” he said. “Keeps us out of trouble.”

  James smiled at his son and ruffled his hair. “Now go,” he said. “Go save the world. I’ve already had my turn; now it’s up to you.”

  Luke laughed and ran toward his friends; he looked back at his father as he and his friends crossed the barrier. “We’ll be back soon, Dad,” he said. “That’s a promise.”

  “Be careful, Luke,” James nodded at his son. “It’s dangerous out there.”

  The shiver that had gone down Luke’s spine before saying goodbye to his father was nothing compared to the one that went down his spine as soon as he crossed the barrier. He felt as if the energy was drained straight from him; the air was cold and damp, and the atmosphere just had an eerie feeling. He felt slightly lightheaded, and sought support on Marco’s shoulder.

  “I almost forgot what walking around in this place felt like,” Felicity said. “I can’t wait until we restore the light.”

  “Then I’d advise you better get to work.”

  The teenagers turned around; it was diffic
ult to see, but when Luke and Tony pulled out their swords, two shadowy figures were revealed in the light. Akilah and Ince.

  “Akilah? Ince?” Daisy said. “You’re still-?”

  “Shadows,” Ince said. “Indeed. The Master has... outsmarted us again, apparently.”

  “But that’s not why we’re here,” Akilah said, “we’re here to help you. After all, you teenagers don’t know the Land of Light like we do. And, since your parents aren’t around to help you, we will.”

  “I just left my father in Lou...” Luke had to take his time to remember the realm’s name. “Louloudia. He promised us to join us as soon as we’ve restored the light to this realm.”

  “A wise decision,” Ince agreed. “He would’ve turned against you again if he would’ve joined you here. There’s nothing we can do about that – it’s...” He suddenly stopped talking.

  “I’m tired of nobody telling me what’s going on with my father,” Luke said. “Are you going to tell me or not?”

  It wasn’t visible on her face, but Akilah smiled. “It’s simple, actually,” she said. “The night I resurrected your father, I used the Land of Light’s energy to do so.

  “He’s basically become like the Master; a demi-spirit. But your father is much more sensitive to magical influences than Asura is.”

  Luke shrugged, not sure how to react to this information. “Oh... that’s probably why he’s so much stronger than any of us.”

  “Well, his magic might be strong,” Ince said, “but the Master is still stronger.”

  “Because his magic is dark?” Tony insinuated. Akilah and Ince laughed.

  “That’s superstition,” Ince said. “Dark is weakened by Light. Light is weakened by Dark. But they’re still matched to each other. It’s the one who gets the upper hand who wins the battle.”

  Luke nodded. “Makes sense,” he said. “They need each other. That’s why the Guardians restore the balance instead of destroying the dark completely, right?”

  Ince nodded, although any movement was hardly noticeable in the dark. “Exactly.”