The Protectors: Book 1 in the Protectors Saga

by Paige Dooling

  Avery took Markin’s hand and shook it, “Thank you.” She said, “I’m Avery, and this is Jade.” She nodded towards Jade who was standing next to her. Jade shook her head and smiled. She was terrible with thank you’s and was never quite sure how to handle them. Probably, because she never received many back home, “That’s Skylar, Sasha, and Bunny.” Avery pointed behind her to where they were standing. They each waved and said their individual hellos.

  After accepting Markin’s and the rest of the village’s thanks, Avery whistled for Phantom, and he came trotting up to her. She mounted, thankful to be able to go home. They had only been there for about an hour, but to Avery it felt like an eternity. She had Phantom walk the path home, unsure if her ribs would be able to handle a faster pace. The ride home was a silent one. Each of the girls was lost in their own thoughts, unsure of what to say to each other after living through an ordeal like that.

  When they finally reached Havyn, the sun was just beginning to set in the sky, covering the village in hues of purple and orange. It made the village look like it was on fire, which Avery thought was ironic, considering the village they had just left had actually been on fire. As they entered the village, dirty, disheveled, and bloody, a few of the villagers stopped and stared, but then quickly got back to whatever they were in process of dong before the Protectors had entered the village. It occurred to Avery, that it must be no new thing for the villagers to see them returning, looking like hell.

  Thomas and Pip came running out of the stables when the Protectors approached.

  Avery jumped down off of Phantom. She gave him a hug, scratching his neck, and telling him what a good job he had done today.

  Pip walked up to Avery, carrying Steel’s reins in one hand. Avery handed him Phantom’s reins in his other hand.

  “Ya look terrible.” Pip said, looking over Avery.

  Avery laughed weakly, “Thanks.”

  Pip shrugged and looked towards the ground, as if he was ashamed for what he said, “What I meant was, are ya alright?”

  “Oh, come on,” Avery said, “don’t tell me you haven’t seen us looking worse than this, before.” With everything Gumptin had told them, and after reading old Avery’s notes and journal entries, Avery found it hard to believe that they had ever gone more than a few days without looking as they did now.

  “I ain’t sayin I ain’t use to ya lookin like you’ve gone three rounds with a boulder.” Pip told Avery, and Avery cringed at the analogy, “I’m just sayin, that was the old you. I was askin about the you…you.”

  As ineloquently as he put it, Pip had hit the nail on the head for Avery. For what was just a normal occurrence for almost everyone else, having the Protectors go off and do battle, had been, up to this point, one of the most significant for the girls. They could no longer pretend they were just five girls from Earth, playing the part of a warrior. Today had made everything real.

  Avery smiled, appreciative of Pip’s perceptiveness, “I’ll be fine.” She told him, reaching over and squeezing his arm.

  She gave Phantom one last pat on his withers, before Pip walked the horses inside the stables. Avery turned around and gasped as she saw Gumptin standing almost directly in front of her.

  “Well done, ladies.” He said, smiling slightly beneath his bushy beard, “Well done, indeed.”

  The last thing Avery needed at this moment was another possible heart attack inducing bushwhack entrance by Gumptin, “Gumptin,” Avery shouted, “you really need to start making some noise before just popping up around us. Especially after today, my heart can seriously not take your little surprise appearance act. Shuffle your feet, or something.”

  Ignoring Avery’s mini rant, he asked her, “How did everything go?”

  Avery had to think about how to answer that. On one hand, they had just lived through one of the most horrible experiences of their lives. On the other hand, they had saved a lot of lives and kicked the asses of the most monstrous creatures Avery had ever seen.

  Avery decided it was probably best to keep her emotions out of her answer and just give Gumptin the facts, “Well, we saved most of the village and most of the villagers. Ninety eight percent of the flower fields were untouched. We killed the trolls, and we didn’t die. So, all in all, I think it was a pretty successful day.”

  “Yes, yes, this is very good.” Gumptin nodded energetically, “The Emperor will realize you are not as weak as he had thought. Did anything else happen?”

  “Actually, yes,” Avery said, “Jade met a tiny troll that infuriates her more than you do.”

  “Beetlebat,” Gumptin replied, without having to be told, “you have had encounters with him before. He has worked for the Emperor for a long while. He is from a clan of ancient valley trolls. They are very old and very rare. They are also the only breed of troll that can actually speak other languages besides that of troll grunts. That is why they are usually used as commanders for troll armies.”

  “See,” Jade said, walking up to Avery and Gumptin, “I told you we should have killed him.”

  Avery rolled her eyes. She knew Jade wasn’t going to let her live that down anytime soon.

  “You did not?” Gumptin asked, looking slightly surprised.

  Jade looked at Avery, slight annoyance in her eyes, “Nope, our moral leader told us to spare him.”

  Gumptin looked towards Avery, waiting for an explanation.

  “I thought it would be a good idea if he went back and told the Emperor how we had beaten the trolls and saved the village.” Avery said loudly, feeling herself getting somewhat heated. She didn’t want to have to explain her actions, especially considering she had the feeling Jade might actually be right.

  “Actually, that is not a bad idea.” Gumptin told her, “The sooner word of the Emperor’s troll army failing reaches him, the better.”

  Jade threw her hands into the air out of frustration. “You know it wouldn’t kill you to agree with me, just once.” She said to Gumptin.

  “What does it matter?” Sasha snapped, from behind Avery and Jade, “Who gives a crap that one little ugly troll was let go…not me. So, just shut up and get over it, Jade. I want to go home, already.”

  Avery realized Sasha wasn’t exactly taking her side, and that she just wanted Jade to stop arguing so they could all go home, but having Sasha Seraphina actually help her out in an argument was something Avery thought she would never live to see. It was now official; this day could not get any weirder for Avery.

  Jade, never one to be talked to in a way she didn’t like grabbed onto the hilt of her sword and said to Sasha, “You know, Sasha, I was already stopped once today from killing something that I really wanted to. I’d watch that mouth of yours; ’cause I ain’t gonna let it happen again.”

  Sasha just folded her arms, completely unaffected by Jade’s threat, “You’re all talk, Kai. After what we’ve seen today, do you really think you scare me one little bit?”

  “Alright, I think it’s time we all head home.” Avery said, deciding to stop things before they got any more heated, “We’ve had a really hard day.” She placed her hand on Jade’s bicep, squeezing it slightly, making sure Jade stayed put next to her.

  Avery didn’t need to say it twice. Sasha took off; limping towards home the second Avery finished her sentence. Bunny waved goodbye, telling them she would see them tomorrow.

  Before Skylar headed home, she strolled up to Avery. In a rare moment of seriousness from her, she told Avery, “You did a real good job today, you know. I’m glad you’re our leader.” She said goodbye to Jade and Gumptin and meandered towards her house.

  Jade and Avery were about to walk off together, when Gumptin called out, “Avery, could you stay behind for a minute? I need to talk to you about something.”

  Jade looked unsure about leaving Avery and Gumptin alone to talk without her there to lend her opinion, but Avery motioned for her to keep walking.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow.” Avery told Jade as a goodbye.

>   “Avery,” Jade said, before Avery turned around towards Gumptin, “Skylar was right. I just want you to know, that no matter what I say, you’re probably the only person I would ever actually follow.”

  “I know.” Avery said, and she did know.

  After a few seconds, Jade turned and strode towards her house, while Avery waited for Gumptin to tell her why he had her stay behind.

  Gumptin cleared his throat, “I thought you should know that I talked to the Elementals. They told me that they could not give me any information about the spell that had been cast.”

  Avery stared at Gumptin blankly. She had no idea what he was talking about or why he felt it was important enough to bring up to her.

  Gumptin, sensing Avery’s confusion, cried out, “Oh, for Wizarding sake, you have forgotten, haven’t you?!”

  “No!” Avery yelled, bristling. Of course, she had no clue as to what he was referring to, but she wasn’t about to let Gumptin think of her as an airhead. There would be too many instances where he could use that against her.

  The look in Gumptin’s eyes told Avery he didn’t believe her for a second.

  Gumptin pursed his lips before he spoke, “Well, then of course, I do not need to remind you of the spell that was cast at the Elysianth altar in the clearing…the one where you were so disgusted by the charred bird bone.”

  The scene burst into Avery’s brain, “Oh, that spell!” She gasped, excited to remember, “Ewwww, that was disgusting.”

  “So nice to see you did not forget.” Gumptin said condescendingly, “Anyway, the spell in the clearing had something to do with a spell that was cast before your deaths. Whatever it is, it is a very powerful spell, well beyond my knowledge, and that scares me. There are very few beings who would be able to cast a spell that I do not recognize.”

  The way Gumptin was talking about the spell was beginning to concern Avery. It seemed to be causing Gumptin anxiety, which meant there was probably more involved with the spell than just Gumptin’s ignorance of its purpose.

  “Why does this spell worry you so much?” Avery asked, “We’ve got a crazy Emperor with troll and Demon armies to worry about. What affect could this spell possibly have on us?”

  Gumptin shifted around on his feet, as if he didn’t want to have to tell Avery the next part, “When you died and the Elementals brought you back, there was a bigger price than just the loss of your memories.” Gumptin told her.

  Avery wasn’t so sure the loss of her memory should be considered a price. With everything she knew about her old self and life, she believed it to be a blessing.

  Gumptin went on, “Before you died, there was a very dark and very powerful spell that was cast. They told me it was a spell that could possibly shift the balance of good and evil. They could only right that balance one of two ways; either they reverse the spell, or they bring you back to life. I pleaded with them to choose the latter. I suppose you know which one they chose, but as a consequence, they cannot interfere with the spell that was cast. They cannot even give me clues or ideas as to what the nature of the spell was, or who may have cast it.”

  All the talk of spells and Elementals was starting to give Avery a headache. She understood the importance of Gumptin’s concern, but also knew very well there was no way they were going to figure anything out anytime soon. Avery wanted to keep her focus on the Emperor. If there was one rule she was going to enact as leader of the Protectors, it was going to be to focus on just one bad guy at a time. Avery rubbed at her throbbing head, trying to think of a way to make it sound to Gumptin like she cared more than she actually did.

  “Gumptin, I have faith you’ll figure it out eventually.” Avery decided that sounded like the best answer, “Like you said, a spell this powerful can’t go completely unnoticed. I’m sure someone will know something.”

  Gumptin scoffed, “Unlikely, this is a bone from a Hellrise Raven.”

  Gumptin reached into one of the pouches attached to his belt and pulled out the charred bird bone Avery had found in the bowl on top of the altar. He shoved it as close to Avery’s face as he could, waving it around in front of her. Avery scrunched her nose and turned away. The sight of it still repulsed her.

  Gumptin continued waving the bone around as he said, “Hellrise Ravens are very, very rare. They are only found in one place in all the universe, the Hellrise Mountains to the far east, across the Wasted Desert. They are magical and evil creatures. The application of their bones in spells is for the perversion of memory. It could have been used to erase memories, implant memories, change memories, or anything else involving memories.” Gumptin began to get worked up as he carried on, “I do not know who the spell affected or to what end, and that is extremely frustrating. I also do not know what other elements were used in the spell, everything was burnt too badly. Depending on how powerful the being was who cast the spell, it could have very far reaching affects.”

  Obviously, Avery’s first tactic at ending the conversation hadn’t worked. So, she decided to try a new one, “Listen,” Avery said sternly, “I understand that this is a big deal, but I just can’t deal with it right now. There is absolutely nothing I can do about it. Spells and Wizards are your department. I just want to focus on what you’ve been training us for…to kill the Emperor. So, can we just focus on that?”

  While listening to what Avery had to say, Gumptin seemed to calm himself down. He took a deep breath and placed his raven bone back in his pouch.

  “You are right.” He said, “One thing at a time. We will fine tune our efforts on simply defeating the Emperor.”

  Thank goodness, Avery thought to herself. The conversation had only taken around five minutes, which was five minutes too long for Avery.

  Before Avery and Gumptin walked their separate ways, Avery towards her home, and Gumptin towards the library, Avery said to him, trying to lighten the mood, “You know, Gumptin, none of the Protectors have any of our old memories anyway. They were taken away by the Elementals. So, if that spell was designed for any of us, then the spell caster is out of luck. They can’t mess around with something we don’t have.”

  Instead of agreeing or arguing with Avery, Gumptin simply told her, “I was very proud of the five of you today. Today, you were truly Protectors.”

  It was so unexpected and genuine that Avery was lost for words. So, instead, she simply nodded and smiled, before turning to leave.

  In her head, Avery counted the steps to her house. With every step she took, she realized she was becoming more and more nervous. Avery wondered how her family would react to her battle worn appearance. She wondered if they would seem different to her after what she had been through today. The thought that she might have left a piece of herself back in Lilydale, among the corpses and destruction, teased at her insides. Avery had counted up to step forty-two from the stable to her house, when she reached her front door. Before she entered, Avery rubbed at her face with her sleeve, trying to wipe off as much of the blood, sweat, and dirt as possible. She tucked in as much of her blood stained shirt as possible. She didn’t want Cinder to have to see her looking like a victim from some cheesy horror movie.

  One deep breath, two deep breaths, and she turned the doorknob and entered into her home.

  The crippling thoughts Avery had of being too damaged to think of her family as she had thought of them just hours before were dashed away in a fraction of a second as Cinder, along with their three dogs, came hurtling towards her, just as they did every other time she had come home.

  Avery kneeled onto the ground and swooped Cinder up into a crushing hug when the little girl reached her. She let the three dogs jump all over them, covering Avery’s already dirty clothes and face with saliva and fur.

  Cinder wrapped her little arms around Avery’s neck and held on tightly, “Why are you all dirty?” Cinder asked, speaking into Avery’s ear, “Mommy and daddy were worried about you. They wouldn’t tell me why, though. Why were they worried? Where did you go? Why are you so dirty?”<
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  Avery let Cinder keep asking her questions, without answering a single one. Avery just held on to Cinder like she was the last life vest on a sinking ship. She buried her head in Cinder’s shoulder and tried to fight back the tears that were begging to come.

  When Avery spotted her mom and dad coming out from the kitchen and walking over to her, she let Cinder go and rushed over to her parents, falling into both of their arms. Her parents clung to her, holding her tighter than she had ever remembered them holding her.

  “Oh, thank God.” She heard her mother whisper into her hair.

  Avery had never been so happy to be home and with her family in her whole life.

  When she felt like everything was getting a bit much, like she would burst into tears at any minute if she stayed around her family any longer, Avery excused herself. She told her parents that she would be fine, that she wasn’t hungry, and that she just needed to rest. She told Cinder to be good and that she would see her in the morning. Then, she rushed up the stairs to the second floor.

  The first thing Avery did when she got upstairs was to go into the bathroom. As she closed the bathroom door she caught sight of herself in the mirror above the sink. She didn’t think it possible, but she actually looked worse than she had expected. As she removed her vest, she saw that her entire shirt was covered in blood and dirt, so that she could barely see any of its original white color. Her wild curls stuck out in every direction and had bit of grass and debris tangled up in it. She shivered at the thought of having to try and brush it. Even after rubbing off her face before she had entered the house, her face was still a mess. There was a small cut above her eyebrow that had matted her eyebrow in dried blood. There was another scrape tracing her lower jaw line. Beneath the dirt, she could see a circular bruise forming on her right temple.

  She took off her tunic extremely painstakingly. Any little movement caused her chest to ache, and the wound she had received on her arm, from the troll’s knife, was still throbbing. She felt the skin on the wound separate slightly as she lifted her arms to take off her shirt. When she finished undressing she looked over her injuries in the mirror. Both sides of her chest were covered in deep purple bruises. The bruises on her right side ran all the way up to her collar bone, over to her shoulder, up her arm, and to her elbow. The slice on her arm had started bleeding again, leaving streaks of bright red trickling down her arm, over the dark red of already dried blood.