Guardians of the Akasha

by Celia Stander

  They were in a storeroom. Wooden crates were stacked against one wall and, against another, metal shelves held tinned food and cleaning supplies. Marco beckoned at Keira to follow as he carefully found his way around brooms and mops lying on the floor.

  He slowly inched another door open, peered through the crack, and, satisfied that there was no one there, pulled Keira by her hand into the kitchen. Gleaming copper pots hung from hooks in the exposed wooden beams. A long oak table stood in the middle of the room; the edge of a worn woollen blanket was visible underneath it. They crossed the tiled floor and went up a flight of stairs on the other side of the room.

  Keira felt as if her heart was climbing into her throat and anxiety gripped her stomach tight. Then she looked at Marco’s broad back in front of her, his body alert to every sound and movement in the passage beyond, and she was suddenly very grateful he was there. She didn’t know how she could ever have done this by herself.

  “This way,” Marco whispered, indicating the long hallway leading into the heart of the castle. Keira had not been here before and had to trust Marco as he took them down twisting and turning steps, passages and corridors.

  Soon, she recognised the Library’s big double doors. They crept closer and Marco indicated that Keira should wait to the side, against the wall. He pulled one of the doors open and scanned the room; it was clear. He beckoned her closer.

  They slipped inside and Marco closed the door. Keira walked to the middle of the room, then slowly turned and looked at all the bookshelves surrounding them.

  “I don’t know why I thought we should start here,” she whispered. Besides the fact that this is the last place I saw Aunt Vic alive, she thought.

  Keira looked at Marco in despair. “I don’t know what to do!”

  They were both silent. A clock on the wall was ticking, reminding them that time was running out. The sounds of the battle couldn’t penetrate the castle walls, but that didn’t stop them from imagining what their friends were facing.

  “There must be a way—a reason—why only you can find the Gateway. Why Daemon can’t.” Marco paced. “Keira, when you were with Cassandra, did she teach you how to sense magick, the way that Victoria could?” He stopped, sudden hope in his eyes.

  “Yes, she did,” Keira replied. “Oh! The Gatekeeper is a creature of magick, so I should be able to sense that magic in the Akasha. But, why didn’t Daemon find it then? He’s been looking for it forever?”

  “It has to be something about your position as High Priestess. It could even be in your blood,” Marco said.

  “Okay, it’s all we’ve got. Marco, I will have to connect deeply with the Akasha to find that trace. It might take some time—”

  “You do what you have to, I’ll keep watch,” he replied and went to stand guard by the library’s door.

  Keira nodded, closed her eyes, crossed her legs, and extended her arms, palms upward. She took a few calming breaths, allowing her conscious mind to slip away and her unconscious mind to connect with the Akasha, the space around her.

  She immediately felt that warm, tingling feeling across her body. Even though her eyes were closed, she could see her environment through her senses. The air was a hazy colour of grey, and, through that, the multi-coloured ribbons of the Akasha that tied everything together shone like a glittering fisherman’s net. A particularly beautiful scarlet ribbon connected her to Marco.

  Keira left her body and drifted on the currents swirling through the room. Magick was everywhere, its scent as rich and varied as the people who used it, but Daemon’s brand dominated the room. Dark ribbons of sludge crept closer and wrapped around her corporeal form, dragging her down and threatening her control.

  Is this how Chloe felt when he trapped her?

  A sudden image of roses and dew and sunshine entered Keira’s awareness, giving her the strength she needed to kick the darkness away. Fresh grief hit her as she felt the lingering trace of Victoria’s magick.

  Free from Daemon’s influence, Keira extended her senses even more, beyond the room and down the castle’s hallways, outside and up until she was hovering above the ancient fortress. Beyond the drawbridge, a golden orb spun and was on the edge of being overwhelmed by the spread of inky blackness.

  Keira concentrated harder and entered a level of the Akasha that was deeper than she had ever gone before.

  There…. A hint of coldness caused goosebumps to break out over her physical body. Got it!

  She slammed back in her body. Marco still stood by the door.

  “How long did that take?” Keira asked, jumping up from the floor.

  “Only a few seconds. Did you find anything?”

  “Yes, let’s go. Daemon will know I’m here.”

  They ran from the room. This time, Keira led the way. She hadn’t seen any Watchers nearby while connected to the Akasha. But even if she had, there was no time for stealth.

  Keira was like a bloodhound on a trail. The cold ribbon called her in the right direction.

  Soon they were in a part of the castle even Marco didn’t know. They followed stairs up and down, ran along narrow corridors that twisted and looped, and crossed dusty halls that clearly hadn’t been used in years.

  The coldness was getting stronger. It was an arctic splinter in her mind and Keira’s insides slowly filled with dread.

  “We’re getting closer,” she whispered over her shoulder and slowed down to a walk.

  Marco nodded. “I feel something too.”

  They turned another corner and stepped into an empty, circular room. There was no other way forward. Bare, grey stone walls closed them in. The room must have been twenty feet across and the walls rose another twenty feet then met in a dome above their heads. The only light came from the passage behind them and even that was dim. They walked along the walls and pushed and prodded the stones, looking for hidden levers or buttons that would open a doorway, but there was nothing.

  Chapter 33

  Keira was freezing. She rubbed her arms, trying to get rid of the cold and the fear inside of her. “It must be here,” she said, swallowing hard.

  Marco wrapped his arms around her when he saw how cold she was. “Well, it has to. But where is the door—”

  “It must be in the Akasha. That would explain why we can’t see it.”

  “Yes,” Marco agreed. “Can you find it?”

  Keira didn’t answer immediately. Every fibre of her body was screaming, warning of danger. She nodded. “I’ll have to.”

  “I’ll keep watch,” Marco said. “Please be careful,” he whispered in her ear and gave her a last kiss, the warmth of his lips reaching through the frost in Keira’s body. He left to position himself just outside the arch leading into the passage winding back they way they’d come.

  Keira sat down on the floor, her back to the wall, crossed her legs and closed her eyes. Her body immediately felt as if it had been dumped in liquid hydrogen. She wanted to scream Marco’s name, but couldn’t. She was encased in ice, she couldn’t move or even moan to voice her fear.

  A battle raged in Keira as she strove to slow her pounding heart down and banish thoughts of death and destruction. Little by little, she clawed her way back to control until she was able to focus, calmly and clearly. A deep breath and she connected to the Akasha, seeing the room through her senses.

  A section of the wall directly in front of her shimmered and rippled like a mirage. Then, the stones slowly disappeared and revealed a tunnel, softly lit by a swirling mist a few metres in. Keira let go of her body and drifted into the tunnel.

  The Akasha wasn’t beautiful here. It was stark white. There were no scents, only a metallic vapour that burned her throat and nose. She couldn’t see beyond the mist and fought for control of her senses, trying not to get lost as she moved, in what she thought was a forward direction.

  After what could have been an eternity, Keira discerned a slight breeze touching her face. The Akasha shifted, as if it was lifting, and Keira eagerly drifted to
wards a shape in the distance.

  Blue….

  Keira wanted to sob in relief to see the blue gateway after the endless white. It stretched up so high into the mist, she couldn’t see the end of it. It was wide as well, at least thirty feet. As Keira got closer, she saw that every inch of its surface was covered in small, teardrop shaped tiles painted with intricate patterns and nazars, the blue, white, and black Turkish wards against the evil eye.

  A young girl stood in the gateway. Her eyes were the colour of a lion’s, a golden yellow that welcomed and warned at the same time. Long, waist-length black hair rippled down her back. Her white gown floated like gossamer in the breeze, and her small white hands were clasped in front of her.

  Welcome Keira.

  Who are you? How do you know my name?

  I am the Gatekeeper, Keira. I have been expecting you.

  Then…then you must know why—

  Yes, you have come for the Book of Knowledge.

  So, is it here?

  To find the answer to that, you have to enter the Void…and find your way back.

  What do you mean? Is it there?

  Keira tried to see past the girl, through the gateway…and was robbed of her breath. What she saw on the other side was beyond anything—it was nothing. The Void was exactly that—a black hole in space, devoid of matter, and it stretched away into infinity.

  There is nothing!

  Yes.

  How can that be?

  It is simple. It is like everything else, yin and yang, matter and anti-matter, Akasha and Void.

  Dim sounds reached through the mist to Keira’s awareness. She turned and peered through the greyness. She thought she could hear Marco’s shouts and the sounds of fighting.

  Marco!

  She immediately tried to reach back to the stone room.

  Stop!

  The girl’s voice dragged her back to the gateway.

  I have to go! Marco needs me!

  You have been followed here. You have opened the portal. If you go now, Daemon will enter the Void and may find the Knowledge. Are you willing to let that happen?

  No! But Marco…my friends!

  They will keep Daemon away from the Gate, giving you time to do what you must.

  I can’t let them die for me. I have to help them!

  Are you going to make the same mistake Victoria did? The girl asked very quietly.

  The realization slammed into Keira like a freight train.

  She—she was here.

  Yes.

  And…Roberto…he died here.

  Yes, in that room behind you, protecting her body from Daemon’s grandfather.

  And—the mistake she made—she never entered the Void, did she?

  No. She never found the Knowledge. She turned around, went back to the room, but she was too late.

  A moan dragged itself up from the deepest part of Keira’s soul, wrenching its way out her mouth. Victoria’s choice had repercussions, the biggest of which led to Keira being the one standing in front of the gateway, facing that same impossible choice.

  Would she do the same? Would she turn her back on the one thing that might save them all, to try to save the man she loved? Choices spun out before Keira, each leading to their own resolutions.

  Back in the circular room, a frozen tear rolled over Keira’s still cheek, unseen by her battling warrior.

  You have to choose, the girl whispered.

  Before she could change her mind, Keira flung herself through the gateway and into the Void. She was immediately lost. There was no sound, not even the rush of air as she kept tumbling…trying to find something to hold onto. There were no stars, no way to tell which side was up and which was down. There was nothing.

  Keira’s control fled as fear wormed into her like maggots and panic overwhelmed her. She was blind.

  Cassandra! Victoria! Help me!

  There was no answer to her plea. Despair robbed Keira of any hope and courage she might have had left. She would be trapped in the Void until the end of time, her body slowly rotting away on the earthly plane. Her friends and family would age and die, never knowing of her endless torture.

  It would be so easy to give up, to release herself from the pressures of responsibility and duty and other people’s expectations. She could float forever, not affected by the world and its insanity.

  The Void took Keira in its embrace, wrapping her in a cocoon of silence and isolation, tempting her soul with its lure of everlasting peace.

  In that moment before her complete surrender, a spark of defiance ignited. Keira could finally admit it to herself: she didn’t want to be alone. She didn’t want to die. She wanted to live and be happy and be a part of something bigger than herself, not because of duty, but because of her own free will. And because she believed in magick.

  With that thought, came a flicker of calmness. Keira grabbed it and held onto it as if it was a newborn baby.

  I will not die. I will get back.

  She felt something in her arms. It was the baby, born out of her hope. The child looked up at her and the moment their eyes locked, Keira understood.

  There is no Book… There is only Knowledge… And the Knowledge is now within me.

  She couldn’t help but feel sad for Victoria who never reached this understanding.

  Keira softly hugged the child to her neck and smiled. Overwhelming love and peace flowed through her in a river of emotion. Then she was left with empty arms as the illusion of the child shimmered and faded away.

  Keira looked up into the smiling eyes of the Gatekeeper.

  Welcome back.

  Thank you. I understand now.

  Good. You will need that knowledge in the future. Let it guide you and apply it well. And remember, others will covet that which you now carry inside of you.

  Keira nodded. She had to go. She flew back through the white barrier separating her from Marco. Back in her body, Keira’s eyes snapped open. Marco crouched with his back to her, holding off a crush of Watchers who fought through the narrow opening, two at a time. A heap of bodies lay around him, evidence of his desperate battle to keep her safe. Long gashes ran down his arms and across his body; blood stained his white shirt. She could hear him gasping in exhaustion, but he didn’t stop fighting.

  Her blast of power caught a Watcher in midair as he jumped over his comrades’ bodies, straight at Marco. The shockwave threw all the Watchers back like a string of connected dominoes.

  “Keira!” Marco cried. “Your—” but she didn’t hear what he said as the next wave of attackers pressed into the room.

  Keira and Marco fought their way back into the castle, their movements flowing together as if choreographed for an elaborate ballet. Their arms and bodies swayed with the rhythm of their combined power, creating an indestructible force that wiped Watchers out of their way as they advanced down the passage.

  As they broke through the last line of attackers, Keira saw a black suited figure fleeing in the distance. The man glanced over his shoulder, his face contorted in a snarl.

  “Daemon!” she cried and gave chase.

  Keira and Marco ran side by side, following Daemon as he tried to escape. Watchers appeared from side passages but were no match for the couple in their pursuit of their enemy. As Daemon threw energy bolts at them, they ducked behind statues and furniture, which exploded into clouds of shards and splinters.

  They were gaining on him, when he reached the front door, threw it open, and flew down the steps into the courtyard, into the midst of the raging battle. The Draaken had crossed the drawbridge and were exterminating the last of the Watchers who were desperately trying to regain lost territory.

  “Daemon!” Keira’s voice reverberated over the courtyard. Everyone froze and looked up to where she stood at the top of the steps, flanked by Marco.

  Daemon stopped as well, halfway to the drawbridge. He turned around and tried to smirk.

  “Yes?” he asked, nonchalant, but his heels inched backwards
towards the gate and his eyes slid from side to side, trying to find an escape.

  “Going anywhere?” Adam asked from where Chetan, Yoshi and he had taken position behind Daemon.

  “Watchers!” Keira called. “You have been misled. You were promised glory and riches…but there is a new Council in session. Drop your weapons, stop fighting and you will be pardoned! Go back to your Families and tell them what has happened here. I give them a choice: they can pledge their allegiance to us—to peace—or be banished!”

  It didn’t take long for the majority of the Watchers to nod their acquiescence; those with weapons dropped them. A few were defiant, until they saw her eyes. The last weapons thudded to the cobblestones.

  “Cowards!” Daemon screamed. “She is just a stupid girl! Attack! Fight!”

  But the Watchers were backing away from him. One by one, they reached the gate and fled over the drawbridge, down the road beyond. Soon only the Draaken were left.

  And Daemon.

  Keira walked down the steps, her head held high and her stride assured. She stopped at the bottom. Where Victoria had died.

  Daemon glared at her from a few feet away. “You think this is over—it will never be over! You think you know what it takes to lead…. You don’t have what it takes—you can’t do it!”

  “Please don’t presume to know what I think. Or what I can and cannot do,” Keira said politely.

  “Ha! I will get rid of you, the same way I did your beloved aunt,” Daemon spat and flung his arms out towards Keira. A ripple of power hit the invisible wall she had conjured in front of her. She stood looking at him as he tried, again and again, until he was panting with exhaustion.

  Only then did she move closer. She lifted her hand and a bolt of white light knocked Daemon to his knees.

  “Daemon, you are hereby charged with murder, treason against the Council and the attempt to use the Akasha for your own gain. How do you plead?”

  “How…dare…you!” he grunted. “You are nothing!”

  Marco stepped closer and took Keira’s hand. The Draaken joined them and together they formed a circle around the man kneeling on the ground, their hands linked. “We are the Council,” they intoned, “and we sit in judgment of your crimes.”