Soulguard

by Christopher Woods

  I looked at the massive back in front of me and looked to the left, at Kyra. She had tears running down her face. I’d seen her sad, mad, happy, even depressed, but I’d never seen her cry. I knew that this was my family, my father and mother in all ways except blood. I looked to my right to see Mattie, knives dripping with Soulfire, loyal because that is what Soulguards are supposed to be. I turned and looked at possibly the bravest man I have ever known, who not only escaped Hell, but ran right back in to save others, my friend.

  Kelvin Rourke had found the same thing I had, something worth dying for.

  “What are you talking about? What are you gonna do?” Trent asked, worried.

  I turned back toward the Demon pounding on my shields.

  “Burn,” I said softly

  Then I reached deep down into that writhing mass just below the surface of the Earth and Pulled.

  Burning agony surged up from the Earth and engulfed me, my shield exploded outward destroying everything in its path. The Wraith, carried backward, screaming, burst into flame. It still clawed at the shield until, it too, exploded. All the Demons were incinerated along with the portal, the gymnasium and about half the school.

  I was one with a roaring mass of life and death, twisted together to create a great pyre of destruction. From a great distance I kept hearing a voice.

  “Shut it down! Shut it down!”

  I felt something on my arms and looked down to see two huge hands holding my arms and shaking me. Blisters were already forming on them. I fought to close off the Source but it was massive and I was so full of that awesome power. It was like a high you might get from some drug. I wanted to keep it forever but I couldn’t hold this much power and it was killing me.

  I formed a shield in the shape of a tube just around me and Kharl was flung back, his arms blistered and smoking. Then I looked up and released it all with a scream. As the flow moved through me I finally forced myself to close the connection to the Source. Power flooded out of me for minutes after the link was severed, straight up into the sky. Finally it was over, all that remained was pain and the memory of Power.

  As darkness closed in on me I heard Kyra’s voice.

  “Soulmage, my ass,” She said as she caught me, before I could slam into the floor.

  Chapter 6

  I heard voices in the dark.

  “...not a Soulmage...something else...Mage can’t channel that much power.”

  “What else would you call him?” I heard Kharl’s voice.

  “I think I’ll call him Sir,” I heard Trent say and I tried to laugh.

  It came out more like a rasping cough and I felt coldness against my face. Then I was gone again.

  The next time I came to, I was in my bed at home. When I opened my eyes I found that it was dark but I could see perfectly well without the light.

  I’d always had better night vision than regular folks, but this was much more. My hearing was sharper as well and there was a horrible noise in the corner where my recliner was.

  I looked over to see Trent sleeping there, snoring loudly. Mattie was sitting on my sofa in the dark glaring daggers at Trent until she noticed me moving around.

  “Wake up!” she threw a pillow at him.

  “Wha...” He snorted as he jerked awake

  “You’re not an ox, no, you sound like a moose. I can’t believe your family didn’t strangle you in your sleep!”

  “What, what’d I do?”

  “I think you woke the dead,” she answered as she turned on the lamp on the end table.

  Turning toward me he said, “Well, unless he died with that goofy smile on his face, I’d say he’s awake. So how you feeling Col? After, uh, blowing up the school.”

  “I feel like I was hit by a train. Or Kharl.”

  “That guy is awesome, Col. I saw the trail of destruction he and that crazy woman left behind on their way to the school. Looked like a tornado had come through and demolished everything in a straight line from the road to the school. And what they did to those things in the gym,” he shook his head, “I saw you fight those two in the hall, but they killed forty or fifty before that other thing showed up.”

  I could detect a little hero worship going on here and I figured Kharl had definitely gotten a new fan.

  “I now know why you guys are so tough, though,” he said, “I think your mom’s been putting carburetor cleaner in your food.”

  “Oh God, don’t say anything to her about it,” I said with a snort. I would never dream of telling her, but Kyra’s cooking is truly wretched.

  “Too late,” Mattie chuckled, “You should have seen it. Everyone was sitting in the living room and your mom said she would fix some dinner. The moose over there jumped up and offered to fix it. He actually said something about gasoline and rat poison.”

  “You could have heard a pin drop. Three mighty Soulguards cringed in fear and looked at your mom. She just looked at Trent for a minute, and then just busted out laughing,” She giggled, “I do have to admit, moose boy can cook.”

  “Why I gotta be a moose? I think you’re just jealous, since you’re about the size of a squirrel.”

  I laughed aloud and made myself sit up. I started to stand up and realized I was naked. I snatched the covers back around me, my face burning. Mattie smiled and winked at me then turned and ran upstairs. My face got even redder.

  Trent laughed loudly, “That one’s all yours, buddy, she’s way too mean for my taste. The way she plays with those knives all the time is scary.”

  “I have to ask, is there some way I can get what you have? I always planned to join the Marines but this is much bigger. The way Kharl and Jack talk, there’s a huge organization here. I want to be a part of that.”

  “Yeah, they recruit from everywhere and I’d say Kharl already has ideas on the subject, but I’ll put in a good word for you if you want me to,” I answered, “and who’s Jack?”

  “That’s Mattie’s dad. He got back from the west coast earlier today.”

  “How long have I been out of it?”

  “It’s been two days and we’re waiting for my dad to get here. The group upstairs is trying to do damage control, but some very important people’s kids were killed and a lot of their kids are telling some very scary stories. I convinced them that they really could use a Senator as an ally and that my dad is one of the few with scruples.”

  He got up and headed for the stairs, “And Kyra told us to tell you when you wake up to get your shield back up.”

  I opened my Inner eye and gasped, my Soul stream was the size of a tree trunk and every tendril of the weave I’d spent so much time creating was swollen almost as big as a Soulguards Soul stream. I guess my body had adapted to the power output I was subjecting it to.

  My passive privacy shield was in tatters. I began weaving a new one, slowly building around my soul stream and much bigger aura.

  When I finished, I stood up shakily and began getting dressed. As I walked by the mirror I stopped, I hadn’t come out of this unscathed. There was a livid scar on my face running from my hairline, down across my eye, and along my left cheek.

  On my chest was a patch of scar tissue from a severe burn. I turned around and there were two more of these scars on my back.

  A Soulguard heals fast. If it doesn’t outright kill him or her, they can generally heal from it. As severe as the scars were, I think I healed much faster than I should have. The enlarged soul stream probably caused that.

  Why did so many people have to die? Was it because I had dropped my shields to let Mattie see I was Guard? I still had the metallic smell of blood in my nostrils, or maybe I was just remembering it. Was it really all my fault? Did they want me dead so badly that they monitor that closely for me, or was it a huge coincidence? I don’t believe it was a coincidence, they attacked a place with not just one but two Soulguard trained kids. I just don’t know.

  I could sense Kyra on her way down as well as hear her. I never used to be able to hear her coming. My
hearing was affected just as my sight was, it seemed.

  She stopped at the foot of the stairs and looked at me. I could see all the emotions flash across her aura, relief, joy, and love. I almost broke down right there. I walked to her and hugged her tightly.

  Most people take for granted so many things in life. When you come so close to losing all of those things, you really learn how to cherish them.

  She stepped back and looked me in the eyes for a moment, then smiled and shot back up the stairs without saying a word.

  I finished dressing and made my way upstairs. I had to concentrate to keep from going too fast. It had taken a few days to get used to the extra strength and speed a Soulguard gains when he twists his Soulstream to enhance himself. And it looked like I was about to have to do it again. The enlarged stream amplified me to a much greater extent.

  With some concentration I kept myself to a normal pace. With my Sight I could detect six auras in the dining room, sitting around the table and two of them were strangers. I checked my privacy shield once more and walked through the door.

  Kharl smiled and I could see the relief flash through his aura.

  “Welcome back to the living,” he rumbled. He stood up and met me with a hug, “We thought we lost you, Boy.”

  He turned to the two men sitting at the table. “This is Jack Riordan, Mattie’s dad.” He motioned toward a Medium sized man with black hair. He was, in appearance, just an average man. Average height, average build, but his aura was almost as intimidating as Kharl’s. “He’s an Elite, like me and Ky.”

  The Elites were the best of the best. They are at the top of the heap in the Soulguard hierarchy, outranked only by the Mages, and judging by his stream and aura he was probably as old as either Kharl or Kyra.

  I’d never really nailed down how old the two of them were yet but I was making progress. It’s hard to use my Sight as a lie detector if they won't even answer the question. Both of them were older than one hundred years and less than two hundred, I was sure.

  “Good to meet you, youngster, and I’m glad to see the shield back up. It was hard to concentrate with all that racket,” Jack Riordan said with a smile.

  Kharl motioned to the other man, an Asian, but I couldn’t tell from where in Asia he’d come from. His aura was also huge and very tightly knotted.

  “This is Tien Yueh, also an Elite and the Weapon Master of the Academy.”

  The small man nodded at me and I saw no emotion pass across his aura. It had a shiny sort of film around it and I realized that it was a complex shield that even shielded his aura from my Sight. But judging from what I could see, his aura was possibly even bigger and older than Kharl’s.

  I nodded back to Yueh and turned to the others, Kyra, Mattie and Trent. Trent jumped up and started toward the kitchen.

  “I’ll get us something started for dinner.”

  “There’s some carburetor cleaner under the sink,” Kyra smiled, “It makes a great base for a soup.”

  Kharl snorted and Mattie laughed aloud. Trent’s stride picked up and he almost ran into the other room.

  “Crazy women...hear everything...bionic ears...” mutters came from the kitchen.

  “Son, where’d you find him? I really like that boy.”

  “He’s the only person at that school I liked, at least till Mattie showed up. And I’m not really sure about her yet. She may still want to stab me.”

  “Nah, I think I got most of that outta my system, now,” She grinned, “But things may change, so don’t rush to any judgments yet.”

  “I’ve been around him all his life, and I’m still not sure whether to stab him or not,” Kyra shook her head, then looked at me, “Speaking of stabbing, I think a little sparring, to see how well you have recovered, would be in order. Don’t worry, I’ll be gentle”

  “In all seriousness, Boy, the Mages will be here soon. We need to see if you can defend yourself if you need to,” Kharl said.

  “Defend myself?”

  Kharl nodded, “Protocol is to block any one who channels early from the Source, if they survive it. This is not acceptable, not with Demons actively searching for you. So you may need to defend yourself, depending on who they send.”

  “What the hell,” I returned, “I thought we were all on the same side here.”

  “It’s complicated,” Tien Yueh said softly.

  Chapter 7

  Our house is located in the middle of a five hundred acre plot of land, mostly timber. The clearing in the center couldn’t be viewed from outside the property. Kharl had done this for the sake of privacy. We didn’t have to hide what we were at home. The inside of the tree line was my running track and I’d worn a path from use over the last ten years or so.

  I spent several hours running laps around the tree line to get used to my new speed. I’d never been able to run that fast before and it took some time to adjust.

  Luckily, I was on the far side of the clearing and out of sight when the car with Senator Samuel Deacons pulled up the driveway.

  It could be quite a shock, to see a boy run across in front of your car at ninety miles per hour.

  Two hours straight, and I hadn’t even broken a sweat. That was definitely different from my norm. I guess I needed to push harder, but that could wait till later. I felt ok with the higher speeds by then and probably needed to get the tests over with.

  I was worried about the Mages. I had no idea there was so much friction between the Soulmages and the Soulguards. I mean, really? We’re here to fight Demons and protect humanity, this is what the Guard was formed for.

  I guess you can’t get more than ten people into something without stupid politics getting in the way. Nothing ruins any organization faster than organizers. I hate politics, but we were right in the middle of a huge pile of it. Between the problems with the Mages and having an actual Senator at the house, I was a little distraught.

  Then pile on the fact that I’d just seen so many people viciously slaughtered by the Demons. And I’m pretty sure it was my fault. I really didn’t understand why everyone wasn’t told the dangers and made aware of us. The people in Morndel were so scared of me, after seeing what I did, that I couldn’t help some of them.

  That’s just plain ridiculous, if people knew we were there they wouldn’t fear us and maybe, just maybe we could save some lives. It’s just my opinion but who am I? No one will listen to a seventeen year old boy, anyway.

  I really should have been paying attention, because I turned the corner in my track to find Trent and the Senator walking along it toward me. At ninety miles per hour, there’s really no way to stop so I just veered into the trees. A couple of oak trees slowed me down sufficiently, although the trees didn’t fare too well.

  I picked myself back up and turned back toward the path. Trent was smiling from ear to ear and his dad was looking at me with wide eyes and a pale face.

  He recovered his composure a lot quicker than most people would though and stepped forward with his hand stretched out to me.

  I opened my Inner eye and felt relief as I saw no deception in the man’s aura, only a slight fear and a lot of gratitude. I shook his hand and he had a firm grip.

  “I understand you’re the reason my son is still alive and for that you have my eternal gratitude, Young Man.”

  “I don’t know if you know it, Sir, but Trent is the reason a lot of those people are still here. He is the bravest man I have ever seen and he saved more lives than any of us.”

  Trent’s face was red, and I guess he hadn’t said one word about what he’d done because his dad turned to him, not really in surprise, but with a questioning look on his face. I could see pride flash across his aura as he looked at his son and I smiled.

  The Senator turned back to me, “I wouldn’t talk to anyone in the house until I was allowed to thank you for what you’ve done for me and my family.”

  Trent had given him an, apparently, much shortened version of what happened.

  “But I’ve also
interviewed several people who were there, including a chemistry teacher named Thomas Warren.”

  “All the versions point to the fact that you and a young lady were their saviors. That you attacked these,” He paused a second, “Demons, as they appeared. And that the young lady led them out of the school while you held off the Demons. They also made me aware of my son’s actions and I am quite proud of him.”

  “I wondered at first why they were saying that the three of you went back in, and then I talked to Mr. Warren. But this is where it got shaky. He was quite lucid, but he was talking about magical force fields and flaming swords.”

  “And so I’m here. And Trent has started explaining some of it but most of what I have learned from him is that the Marines are going to lose a good man to this Soulguard of yours.”

  I looked deeply at his aura and there was, surprising in a politician, no deception in this man. So I told him the truth.

  Twice in one week, I thought, Kharl is gonna strangle me.

  I told none of the details about the Soulguard. Officially, I’m not Soulguard yet, so that isn’t my tale to tell.

  But all that had happened at the school, I told him. As I was telling him about Trent’s decision to walk right back into the fire, Deacons was looking at his son as if he was seeing him for the first time and was greatly impressed. I could read the pride flowing through his aura and I could see the embarrassment in Trent’s aura.

  Real heroes are like that, they are modest and they will do what is right without looking for reward or praise. And they deserve it much more than most. Trent Deacons was more a hero in this than I could ever be.

  Yes, I had risked my life, but for my family. Up until the Wraith had shown up, I wasn’t at risk. Killing Demons is what the Guard does. He’d risked his life for strangers. He was at risk throughout the ordeal and had shown me what true heroism was really about.

  His father had a right to by proud of a son like him and the Guard would be lucky, indeed, if he chose to join their ranks.