Personal Guardians

by Rachel A. Collett

  “Your mother believed that it was its own living entity,” Elisa interjected. “And I agree with her.”

  “It very well may be, but it has never chosen to speak to anyone,” Laith said. “But the insides, the landscape, change according to the needs of the people. It expands when the population is larger and provides more growable resource, but we must work to maintain it. It is not just given.”

  “The sanctuary does not have season changes. It is spring, day after day, which is why the residents used to leave every once in a while, to enjoy the different times of the year.” Elisa’s smile slowly slid from her face. “Unfortunately, the longer we have stayed here, the longer that becomes more dangerous for them to do so.”

  “Stay here? What do you mean?” My brows pinched together as I processed this new and almost unbelievable information. “And where is the sanctuary even… parked? Where is it stationed?”

  Laith laughed. “We have been stopped in Central Mexico for years. At the time, it was a prime position to be in. Now, not so much. Our location is known by too many dark powers. Because of the breakdown in our system, the capability to transport no longer exists.”

  “Why?” I asked.

  Darius slowed his pace. His head shifted to listen to the conversation.

  Laith looked to Elisa, concern etched in his face. “We’ll explain later.”

  When we exited the building, I shielded my eyes from the bright sun that had temporarily broken through the dark clouds.

  “Ava, once we step from the veil, we can be seen by anything that waits on the outside,” Laith said. “We must work quickly. Be careful and stay close to the group. The demons that seek those within our sanctuary know we are stuck here, and even though they cannot enter, they know the general area in which we hide.”

  I nodded my understanding, even though it was meager.

  Outside, a truck and an ATV waited, along with my favorite sparring pal Charlotte. I tugged on my muddied boots. A moment later another white truck came around the corner driven by a man with a baseball hat pulled over thick brows. I recognized him from the morning training session, the biggest of Charlotte’s group. He watched me as we neared, rolling down his window, awaiting instruction.

  “Is this enough security?” The doctor breathed nervously. “Hector.” He pounded on the hood, drawing everyone’s attention. “Where’re the rest of your men? There should be more than this.”

  The driver, who looked far too big for the mid-sized truck, glared, annoyed at the old man’s questioning.

  “You worry too much, Mannie, I’m sure they’re already at the site.” Laith patted the doctor gently on the back. “We’ll be there to protect you,” he said, jumping into the bed of the truck with Elisa.

  The doctor grumbled his answering retort, making his way to the passenger side door. “My Defender?” He gestured, offering the seat between him and the large driver, inside the safety of the truck, but I rejected it, hopping into the bed with my friends. Additional men climbed in behind. A few nodded their greeting but avoided taking the spot next to me on the rail. I didn’t mind. I didn’t know what I would say to them anyways.

  Instead of riding in the truck, Darius moved to the ATV. Charlotte followed and slid on behind him. Shocked, he glanced back at her, then around to me, and then he revved the engine. I gnashed my teeth when her arms snaked secure around his waist and they took off in the lead toward our destination. The truck engine rumbled to life and we started on a dirt trail driving into the orchards.

  None of us spoke as we traveled, but it would have been difficult to do so over the noise and the dust. The driver was careful enough as we made our way through the fields, but I still held tight to the side of the bed. Laith and Elisa scanned the land, looking for anything that called their attention.

  There was a break in the trees. My eyes grew large as we drove beneath a massive stone archway. A few moments later, a wave of energy pulsed as an extra layer of armor peeled away. I felt a physical change in my body, as if my skin had become too thin, leaving it more vulnerable than it already was. I quickly glanced around waiting for someone else to react in the same fashion, but no one seemed to notice.

  Laith, however, was watching me. “That was the veil,” he yelled over the roar of the engine. “We’ve passed the protective barrier.”

  I looked back, but the giant stone archway had disappeared. Only a faint glow of light, a wave-like energy, marked the border of our haven. Stunned, I pointed to the anomaly. “Can others see it? The light?”

  Laith shook his head. “No. Only those that the veil recognizes—those that we have permitted to enter—can see the entrance.”

  I nodded my understanding, my face growing red. Several days before, I had run to what I thought was the edge of the compound and called to my demon. And he had come. But I hadn’t realized there would be a physical warning when leaving the protection of the veil, and like a blasted fool, I’d relied on my own ability to gage distance. I had stopped too early. I pinched the bridge of my nose to relieve a sudden headache.

  What did this mean? That I had invited a demon onto the compound—brought my own personal monster into the safety of this sanctuary?

  “Are you okay?” Elisa asked.

  “I’m fine,” I called back.

  Thankfully Jonathan had left without coercion and no damage had been done. I would have to be more careful the next time. To ease Elisa’s concern, I tried to smile but was pelted on the side of the face by something small and hard. I shrieked, cursing to whatever god was listening. Laith bellowed when I touched the bug guts that had splattered across my cheek.

  Karma, I thought.

  This was karma for lying to my friend. Lifting the sleeve of my shirt, I wiped away the plastered insect guts as the others in the truck avoided eye contact, but I could see the humor in their faces. Apparently, it was a good thing I hadn’t bathed yet.

  The truck decelerated and the additional men jumped out before the vehicle stopped. Elisa and Laith followed.

  Elisa waved to the trees surrounding us. “They look like the trees inside the veil, don’t they?”

  I nodded, unsure I could trust my lack of knowledge of the sanctuary’s secrets to really make a comment.

  “The orchard wasn’t originally part of the sanctuary’s landscaping, but as we told you, this place is ever changing to suit our needs and desires.” She shrugged. “While the orchard isn’t necessary, it is nice. We gather that the veil got so used to being at this physical location that it has adopted some of the look of its outside surroundings.” She laughed.

  “What would it look like if we were to exit from somewhere else in the sanctuary?”

  “Oh, you can’t exit anywhere else other than a few yards past the stone edifice. The archway marks its doors. If you go for a walk anywhere else within our haven, after several miles, you would end right back where you started. It’s our own little weird world.”

  “Don’t people go a little crazy being… I don’t know, locked up in here, in a sense?”

  Elisa lips twitched up into a sad smile. “Most of our family members that live here call this a haven because it’s just that. A haven from the evils of the outside world, from the things that haunted them in their previous life. Most don’t want to leave anymore.”

  She stared off in the general direction the group was heading, letting the conversation end. Darius had disappeared, but Charlotte leaned against the door of another truck, watching from a distance. I looked away, ignoring the hateful glare she sent my direction.

  Maybe I had hoped the doctor had been misinformed, and that we wouldn’t find anything here at all. But as we neared the group, the body of a man came into view. He lay on his back underneath the shade of a large orange tree, staring unseeingly at the canopy of leaves above, a look of shock etched into his pale face.

  He wore no shoes, his clothes blood-stained, dirty and torn. A gun had fallen next to his side in the dirt, but it wasn’t a bullet that h
ad killed him.

  The doctor squatted, putting his well-worn handkerchief over his mouth and nose. Hands already gloved, the old man examined the corpse. I pulled the top of my shirt over my face to cover the stench and tried not to retch.

  “There are two stabs,” the doctor said, his voice muffled. “One to the stomach from a thrown blade, by the look of it. The other, a fatal blow to the heart. My guess is he died quickly.”

  “But he had a gun,” I said stupidly, staring at the firearm lying only inches from his hand.

  “Guns don’t do anything to a demon,” Darius snapped from the other side of the body.

  I gritted my teeth, wanting to call him all sorts of foul names, but my anger couldn’t stop the memory of Benjamin lifting his shotgun and firing at the demon John Stilmen.

  “Is she serious?” Roman mumbled to Charlotte. I tried to ignore their chortles, but my chest tightened in anger.

  “Doesn’t matter. I still carry my pistol, as well as my knife,” the doctor said, pulling out a small revolver the size of his hand. He placed it on the ground, then continued to examine the body. “Demons aren’t the only things that can kill you, ya know.”

  Laith cleared his throat. “Ava, a gun will temporarily wound the body of a demon, but cannot kill it completely.”

  My voice shook as I spoke. “Benjamin tried to stop John Stilmen, that day in the forest.”

  “Brave soul,” Elisa whispered kindly.

  “Yes,” Laith agreed, “and he bought you a few extra moments of time. But the way to truly kill a demon is to transfer your energy and power directed through an object attached to you.” He looked down at the man lying on the ground. “This poor soul and his gun didn’t stand a chance against whatever it was that hunted him.”

  “So, it was a demon?” I asked, swallowing the lump that had lodged in my throat.

  “By the look of it, I’d say yes, but we can’t know for sure. Whatever it was left no evidence behind and no tracks to follow. It’s because of that we believe it was a demon. The victim, however, left a perceptible trail. Hector is Darius’s best tracker. He, Charlotte, and a few others will scout out in search of the man’s identity.”

  I glanced to Hector, now standing in the group, his too-large arms crossed against a barrel-muscled chest.

  “If there’s anything to find, we’ll find it.” His deep voice reverberated, and I tried not to seem shocked at its depth.

  As I distantly watched the others lay the deceased into a body bag, Darius came and stood next to me, his hands shoved into his pockets. His jaw muscles flexed. I could almost feel his hatred for me rolling off his stupid, boorish form. Just as I was about to walk back to the truck and away from his insufferable presence, he spoke.

  “After you were born, bodies like this were dropping dead all around the borders of our compound. We were on high alert. Humanity needed aid from an unseen attack. The Healers had already been summoned on behalf of your mother but had yet to arrive. With the Defender sick, and the Guardian unwilling to leave her side, the Heralds left to protect those that fought to find sanctuary. Many here joined to aid in the battle and to assess where the attacks were coming from, but the strikes were quick and spread out, and we were unable to identify the source.”

  Shocked, I listened to him describe these events like he was there, involved in an incident that happened over nineteen years before.

  “During this time, your mother was adamant that someone was calling to her in her dreams. She believed that a mortal waited for her outside and that they needed her desperately. We searched for days, but the child in her dreams was never found. Unfortunately, it didn’t matter. Your mother wouldn’t give up—obviously, her tenacity is a trait she passed on to you. No one saw her leave the compound, but the moment your father found her missing, he woke everyone. They searched the complex then ran to the border but by then they were too late.”

  Who was this man? I thought as I glared at him.

  “Well, thank you, Darius, but I don’t believe I asked you to tell me my mother’s story, did I?” I hissed, my voice low and menacing. Shock flitted across his face before his expression hardened and he glared right back.

  “What did I say that was so offensive to you, my Defender? And why do I have the feeling that anything coming from me would be distasteful to you, Ava darling?”

  “Well, let’s see. Maybe it’s because you drugged me—twice. Maybe it’s just the tenacity I inherited from my mother—my plain bull-headed stubbornness. Or maybe it’s because I just don’t like you.”

  “What I said about your mother was a compliment. Rachel was—”

  “That’s enough.” Laith’s voice rang out loud and authoritative.

  My face reddened as I saw the audience our childish bickering had drawn. Hector stood behind Laith and the doctor, one eyebrow raised. Elisa and Charlotte watched from the distance of the truck, the latter with a smug satisfaction. The others in the group tried not to look at all, feigning ignorance.

  “This is not the time nor the place for such a discussion,” Laith said. “You can work it out later. Darius, we need to double the border security. Get outside reinforcements if necessary. I’ll trust your judgement. I’ll see if I can get ahold of the healers for a better ETA. We must address this right away. Hector, when will you and your group start the tracking?”

  “I am sending everyone back to the compound to eat and rest up while I walk the remainder of the perimeter. We’ll leave first thing in the morning.”

  “Good. We’ll go with you to the perimeter. Ava, I’m offering you a choice—come with us or head back with the others. We can send you word when we return later this evening.”

  “I’ll come.” I was tired of being left out of the loop, but more importantly, I didn’t want to be alone.

  3

  A ghost of a demon

  I gazed up at the brilliant crystal chandelier that hung directly over my bathtub, amazed at its beauty and perfection. I wasn’t sure if there was a need for one right at that location, but I wasn’t Elisa and had no affinity for decorating. The large suite’s snail shower held little interest for me, especially after a day like today, so the bathtub became my new best friend.

  The sun was near setting after our return from walking the entire compound perimeter. Most of what I saw was orchard, sprawling farms, and open barren land—but also the view of a sprawling lake too wide to cross. According to my calculations and my screaming leg muscles, we had walked a little over twelve miles that afternoon, and without stopping for lunch. Dinner was well on its way, but I opted for eating in my bedroom to avoid being seen saturated in my own sweat and thoroughly covered in dirt.

  I didn’t know how long I soaked, drowning the image of the recently deceased demon victim, but it was long enough for the water to cool and goosebumps to erupt all over my sodden body. At least my original shaking had ceased. Near delirious from mental and physical exhaustion, I dragged myself out of the stand-alone tub and trailed naked into the closet, unconcerned at the slippery mess I left behind on the floor.

  Someone had stocked the closet full of clothing and all manner of shoes in my size. By the look of it, this person had understood my style, or lack thereof. Opening each of the available drawers I found undergarments, socks, tank tops, and finally the sleepwear I had been looking for. I groaned when the soft fabric of the wide-leg bottoms and the matching tank top slid over my skin. It wasn’t hard to guess that Elisa had been my personal shopper. I would need to thank her when I saw her next.

  Taking time to dry off, I examined my reflection in the mirror. My wet, dark brown hair had grown to my waist. My eyes looked tired and a little red around the edges, but if the sketch was to be believed, they were my mother’s—the shape of them at least. Mine were hazel, and ever changing color to bluish-green, greenish-yellow. The only other similarities were her full lips and her smile. My oval face was different from her diamond shape, my nose not as delicate and with a total lack of freckles.
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  As I braided my hair over my shoulder, the lines of a door set into the back wall came into focus. I had completely missed it on my first scan of the apartment. The small doorknob didn’t budge. Grabbing the set of keys Elisa had given me, I tried the lock, but it didn’t fit. After knocking, I placed my ear on the door but no sound emanated from the other side, so I gave up. I would ask about it later.

  I left off my dream catcher, a Christmas gift from Elisa. A beautiful white, linen-wrapped hoop the size of my palm circled a delicate patterned web that shimmered in the light. In the center of the web lay a small onyx stone, similar in color to that of my mother’s pendant. Three small, white feathers dropped from the circle. A natural sedative, the dream catcher worked its magic and allowed me to sleep without interruptions. I touched each feather, before setting the token gently on my nightstand, but it was a while before I could fall asleep. A week’s worth of uninterrupted rest was a new luxury and not one I wanted to give up so quickly. But I had questions that needed answers and there was only one person who could answer them: Jonathan.

  Jonathan was my personal demon, had labeled himself as such. The man that once haunted my dreams and plagued me in life would now serve as informant about the other side and its inner workings. He hadn’t necessarily agreed to all of that, but I would use him as such. Manipulate him if needed. The Annihilator had killed my mother and had hunted both me and my father for years. When I had asked Jonathan to tell me about her, he had called her a wild-card, and a dangerous one.

  It was because of the Annihilator—the Destroyer’s mate—that my dad had made a deal with the Destroyer himself. A bargain to keep me from her—keep me hidden. It was a contract that benefited both parties. My father could keep me safe and the Destroyer was happy to get both the Guardian and the future Defender out of the way. It had worked until I was eighteen, but by that time I was tired of being controlled and wanted a real life. I had no idea that my pushing for my freedom, my right of free will, would void the deal and ultimately cause my father’s demise.