The Protectors: Book 1 in the Protectors Saga

by Paige Dooling

  As much as Gumptin’s words had disturbed Avery, they had calmed the villagers, and they had begun to disperse back to their houses and work.

  When they were alone, Gumptin led Avery over to a small clearing on the outskirts of the village near the border of the forest. There were two small wooden benches in the clearing and Gumptin motioned for Avery to have a seat on one.

  Avery sat and Gumptin began to talk, “I brought you back here first, on your own, for a reason, Avery. I am going to need your help in bringing the other Protectors back here.”

  Avery snorted, “What are you going to need my help with?” She couldn’t begin to imagine how she would be able to convince someone to take a wild ride through a magical portal to another world, “Can’t you just jump out from behind some tree and scare them senseless until they agree to come with you?”

  Gumptin continued, unfazed by her sarcasm, “You are their leader Avery. You are the leader; the leader of the Protectors. You have to re-establish your leadership, gather your warriors, and get them back here to fight.”

  This was becoming too much for Avery. She didn’t know if she could handle the responsibility of being told that she was not only some magical warrior, but also the leader of these magical warriors.

  Avery stood up off of her bench, “Look, Gumptin, this is all just getting a little too crazy house for me.”

  “Avery!” Gumptin yelled loudly, stopping Avery in her tracks and capturing her full attention, “Look around you, young lady. You can no longer deny that this is real. It is not your imagination. It is not a dream, and you are not going insane. I know you know everything I told you is true. I know that you feel it as truth inside your very bones.”

  Avery looked around her at the houses built into giant trees, the villagers who were staring over at her as they pretended to work, and the thick green forest surrounding everything. Gumptin was right. Even though she’d never admit it to him; a part of her belonged to this place and she knew it. It played on her memories like a barely remembered dream.

  Avery was still lost in wistful thought, gazing at her surroundings, when Gumptin said, “Plus, there is also this you cannot ignore.”

  Then, Gumptin pulled the small dagger out from his belt and lunged at Avery. Avery reacted instantaneously, she spun to the right and grabbed Gumptin’s wrist with her left hand, while at the same time clasping his arm to her body with her right hand. Avery brought her knee up and slammed Gumptin’s wrist against it, forcing him to drop the dagger. He let out a small grunt of pain and she flipped him onto his back on the ground, all the while still holding on to his wrist, so that she was able to pin it. A second later, Avery had his other wrist pinned to the ground with her knee. She picked up his dagger with her free hand and placed the blade across his throat.

  “Are you insane?!” Avery shouted into Gumptin’s face. She was breathing heavy, more from the shock of being attacked with a knife than from exertion. “I knew I shouldn’t have trusted some creepy fantasy creature! You tried to kill me!”

  Gumptin lay on the ground calmly, not trying to struggle away from Avery or the knife she was holding at his throat.

  “I was not trying to kill you.” He told her, “I simply wanted to show you what you are capable of.”

  Avery looked down at Gumptin, puzzled, minutely easing the knife away from his throat.

  “I wanted to show you that you are truly a Protector.” Gumptin continued, “All of the powers and abilities that the Protectors possess are inside of you, a little dormant perhaps, but they are there. I knew that in a fight or flight situation you will always choose fight, it is who you are, and instinctually you would use your skills.”

  What Gumptin was saying wasn’t making Avery feel much better, “So, you’re saying you were testing me…with a knife!”

  “Oh, for Wizarding sake, girl,” now Gumptin did struggle a little to free himself, but Avery kept him firmly cemented to the ground, “I was not testing you, I was showing you! Look at what you did! In just a few seconds you were able to disarm me, throw me to the ground, and take advantage of the situation. Now, get off of me!”

  It was then that everything that had just transpired hit Avery like a lightning bolt. She had no idea how she had done what she did. She didn’t even really remember seeing Gumptin come at her with the knife; her body had just reacted. Avery had to admit to herself that being able to whip Gumptin’s little ass was pretty cool.

  “Get off!” Gumptin huffed for the second time, below her.

  Avery obeyed and released him, but as he stuck his hand out for her to give him his knife back, Avery threw it to the ground. Gumptin may have just been trying to show Avery she had warrior instincts, but he had still lunged at her with a knife, and that wasn’t something she was entirely grateful for.

  Avery sat back down on the bench; thinking about her newly discovered fighting skills. Gumptin picked up his knife from the ground, placed it back into his belt, and walked over to her.

  He placed his little hand on her shoulder, “You are the leader of the Protectors Avery. The Protectors are five beings created by the Elementals, a powerful group of sorcerers. You were created to keep the balance between good and evil. Before you and the others were born, darkness was taking over, becoming too strong for most of us to fight back. Demons, trolls, harpies, were beasts, and other horrendous creatures began to roam this world unchallenged, but then the Protectors were born and things changed.”

  Avery placed her head in her hands. Gumptin talking about Demons and trolls made her want to go back home to Earth and sleep away this whole experience.

  Gumptin sat down beside her, his hand still resting on her shoulder, trying to comfort her, “The Protectors have the power of the elements. You have the power of energy, another has water, another earth, one fire, and one wind. You can harness the power of your energy and use it as a weapon.”

  Avery looked up at Gumptin, “You mean I actually have power, power, not just strength and all that fighting stuff.”

  Gumptin shook his head, “Well, that fighting stuff is important,” he scowled, “but yes, you do actually have powers. Of course, none of you ever really learned to use them very well, just tiny things. I am afraid they will likely remain dormant until the day you die.” Gumptin caught himself, “Well, you know, die…again.”

  Avery thought that was one of the dumbest things she’d ever heard, “What’s the point in having powers if you can’t even use them!” She asked.

  “Avery, you are just a human, remember.” Gumptin told her, “None but the Elementals fully comprehend the complexities of your powers, but from what I understand; it takes complete mastery of one’s own body, mind, and emotions to even begin to know how to use a power like yours.” He paused for a moment, as if thinking about something, and then said, “If it makes you feel any better, I once saw you zap a troll with a small bolt of electricity, and it left a very nasty burn mark on his face.”

  Avery stared at Gumptin like he had just eaten a fly. She couldn’t believe he was so remarkably bad at making a person feel better.

  “Anyway,” Gumptin went on, not seeming to notice Avery’s dissatisfaction, “this world needs the Protectors. The Elementals know that; that is why they brought you back after the Emperor killed you all.”

  Avery wished Gumptin would stop bringing up the being killed thing; especially if he was trying to set her at ease, because that wasn’t going to work.

  Taking another tactic, Gumptin said to Avery, “The Elementals sent your parents to Earth with your souls so that you could be re-born. They were given jobs and a place to live, unable to age until they could come home to Orcatia. They were forced to live sixteen years on a planet that was not their home, keeping their secret, especially from you, just so that you could be kept safe and alive.”

  Up until this point, Avery had never even thought about her parents; which, looking back, she actually found rather dumb. She couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that her pare
nts had known about the whole Protector, being from another planet, thing for her entire life and said absolutely nothing. Her parents had never really talked about their past, but Avery had just always figured it was because it wasn’t very interesting, how wrong she was. She had never even questioned the fact that they looked the same now as they did in old baby pictures with her. All of a sudden, Avery felt very blind and stupid.

  “Gumptin, if my parent’s didn’t age on Earth and I did, does that mean that I won’t age on Orcatia?” Avery had this image of her looking like she was sixteen forever, and she wasn’t quite sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

  “No, you were born on Earth, so you are part Earthling now. Earthlings age and die no matter what planet they are on. You shall age at a normal rate on both Orcatia and Earth.” Gumptin told her.

  Typical Gumptin answer, Avery thought, full of certain death. Then, another thought popped into her mind, “Gumptin, what about my sister?”

  Gumptin looked surprised, “You have a sister?” He asked.

  Avery nodded her head, “Yeah, and she’s younger than me, which means she was never even born on Orcatia…ever. What does that mean for her?”

  “Nothing,” Gumptin said, still looking surprised by the knowledge that Avery had a younger sister, “like I said Earthlings age wherever they are. She will have the same manner of life here as she does there.”

  Avery snorted; she knew that wasn’t even remotely possible.

  “I can’t believe my parents never said anything to me.” Avery grumbled as she ran her fingers through her long hair, attempting to collect herself and her thoughts.

  “You know they could not.” Gumptin told her softly, “They could not risk anyone or anything finding out. Plus,” he added, almost absentmindedly, “you truly needed to be given a normal life.”

  That was one of the problems Avery was struggling with; all she knew was a normal life, and it wasn’t a bad life. Now, here was Gumptin, the Wizard gnome, telling her that she’d have to leave everything she knew, to become the warrior she didn’t remember being, to fight the thing that had apparently already killed her once before. She wished her parents could have at least prepared her to accept the fact that her cozy little life was just temporary.

  Avery wiped at her eyes, making sure to stop the tears before they had a chance to spring out. She didn’t know Gumptin well enough yet to allow herself to cry in front of him,

  “Gumptin,” Avery said, her voice slightly strained, “I don’t remember anything.”

  “I really do not believe you shall ever get your memory back.” Gumptin shook his head, “It was one of the prices for bringing you back to life.”

  Even though, Avery was acutely aware Gumptin said one of the prices, she decided it was best not to bring that up at the moment. She decided to ask him about it later when her head stopped spinning.

  “But, now,” Gumptin said, standing up, “we must go back to Earth and fetch the other Protectors.”

  Gumptin walked through the village entrance and back onto the main road, headed back towards the Gateway.

  “Wait a second!” Avery shouted, running to catch up with him, “You still haven’t told me who the other Protectors are.”

  Gumptin stopped mid-stride, “Have I not?” He asked Avery, and she shook her head, no.

  “Well, that is because I figured you would have already guessed it.” He told her, “They are Jade Kai, Skylar Bavol, Sasha Seraphina, and Bunny Claiborne.”

  Of course, Avery thought as realization hit her like a lightning bolt. That was why their parents were always forcing them together, always making sure they did things as a group. From before they could speak, their parents had been preparing them to be a unit.

  The thought of Sasha flashed into Avery’s mind, and the idea of being the leader didn’t seem so daunting anymore; because, if there was one thing Avery had longed to do all her life, it was to boss around Sasha Seraphina.

  Avery’s mind then began to drift towards another girl, “Hey, Gumptin,” She told him, “when we get back to Earth I know who we’re going to go tell first.”

  “No!” Was all Gumptin said, and he picked up his pace.

  “What?!” Avery asked, wondering why she had been so easily shot down, “Why?”

  “Because I know who you are referring to,” Gumptin told Avery, “and I am not going to deal with her until the very last moment that I have to.”

  Avery raised her arms in frustration, “How could you possibly know who I’m referring to?! I’m just telling you that I know which Protector I want to tell first.”

  “And I am telling you no, no, no, no!” Gumptin picked up his pace even more so that he was almost at a run.

  Avery watched him scurrying away down the road and let a huge smile break out on her face. She would let Gumptin protest as much as he wanted and act as childish as he wanted. All the while, she would revel in the knowledge that she and her car were going to be Gumptin’s only mode of transportation back on Earth.

  3.

  Jade Kai lived in the Rebel Moon Trailer Park, located on the far outskirts of town. It was a short fifteen minute drive through desert landscape down a two lane highway before Avery and Gumptin would reach the turn-off for the trailer park, marked by its old beat up blue and yellow sign, which hadn’t been updated since the sixties, standing large and tall, guiding people to the entrance.

  Avery rolled down the window of her old Challenger to let the desert wind blow warm on her face. Going through the Ora Gateway was bad enough once, but going through twice had left Avery’s stomach flip-flopping and her head thumping painfully.

  It hadn’t taken Avery too much convincing to get Gumptin to agree to go see Jade first. He had caught on quickly to what Avery had already known; that if Gumptin was going to go anywhere it was going to be in Avery’s car with her driving.

  Gumptin sat in the passenger seat, staring out the window the whole way to Jade’s place. Avery could tell he was fascinated with the scenery, the flat desert, the cacti, the craggy looming mountains in the background.

  “The deserts on Orcatia are not like the deserts here. They are really quite lovely.” Gumptin told Avery, still looking out his window, and a pang of remorse sliced through Avery’s heart. She didn’t want to have to think about leaving Redemption.

  “We’re here.” Avery said, turning into the dusty entrance of the trailer park, thankful to be able to put her mind on something else.

  Jade’s dad worked as a mechanic at the only auto repair shop in town and her mom as a clerk at the twenty-four hour grocery store. They both worked long hours, which meant Jade was alone most of the time. That time she spent either restoring motorcycles, listening to classic rock, or hanging out with Avery and her family. In fact, Jade spent more time over at Avery’s house than she did at her own. It had been that way ever since they were first forced together as children. They had become inseparable, seeing each other almost every day for the past sixteen years. They considered each other, not only as best friends, but also sisters.

  Avery knew the one person that she could count on was Jade. Jade had looked out for Avery her whole life. When they were little, she had beat down any bully who had ever tried to start anything with Avery. In second grade, Jade had given Alex Marquez a bloody nose for stealing Avery’s lunch box. Then, in the sixth grade she ended up giving Megan Dominguez a black eye for creaming Avery in the face with a dodge ball during gym class. This was a habit that had continued throughout their entire school years. The latest victim was Camilla Roberts who Jade had caught kissing Avery’s ex-boyfriend before he was officially ex. As for the ex-boyfriend, Alex Marquez, he ended up with another, much worse, bloody nose.

  They were protective of each other, but Jade had a tendency to get over-protective. This was the reason, as Avery stopped her car in front of Jade’s rusty blue trailer that her nerves began to dance inside her stomach. Avery knew she had to tell Jade everything, but she wasn’t quite sure how
Jade was going to react when she found out Avery had followed a magical gnome to another planet without even talking it over with her first.

  Avery told Gumptin to stay in the car, then got out and slammed the door shut. She spotted Jade lying on her back in her front yard, working on an old motorcycle that had definitely seen better days.

  Jade’s prize 2001 Suzuki Hayabusa motorcycle that she used to ride around town terrorizing the residents with speed and noise, was perched in its usual spot, under a large canvas shade covering next to her family’s trailer. Jade had purchased the bike relatively cheap two years ago, it was run down and broken, but she had spent two straight months fixing it up and airbrushing it a slick black. It was now her pride and joy.

  “Jade?!” Avery called out as she approached her. She grimaced a little as her nerves made her voice crack, something she was not expecting.

  Jade lifted her greased stained face towards Avery. Even smudged in grease and oil, Jade was still beautiful. It was a different kind of beauty than Sasha’s, whose looks were more sophisticated, or Avery, who always had a sort of ethereal beauty. Jade had none of that, her beauty was strictly dangerous. She stood a good few inches taller than Avery and had flawless pale skin covering her slender, but muscled body. She had straight midnight black hair that fell down to her mid-back and pouty vixen lips. Her cat-like eyes were a dark chocolate brown, but turned a dangerous black when she got angry.

  Jade knew her looks were intimidating, and she played it up, always wearing black and motorcycle boots, driving around town, breaking the speed limit on her bike, skipping school, and acting tough.

  The people of Redemption saw her as a troubled girl with absentee parents, too much anger, and no future. Jade knew what they thought of her, so she played the part, but Avery knew the truth. Avery knew that Jade was like a double sided coin. One part of her was the tough, motorcycle riding; devil-may-care girl from the trailer park, but the other side of her was sensitive, vulnerable, insecure, and even goofy. It was the people that were close to her who got to see that part, and that was the part of her that Avery loved.