03 Reckoning - Guardian

by Laury Falter

  “I told you,” she said snidely. “We do not tolerate misbehavior.”

  With a quick gesture from Ms. Barrett, I was taken from the chamber. Her bodyguards led me down a flight of stairs to a hall directly beneath the stage. There, what I saw made my chest crush inward.

  Barred cells made of fused stone lined both sides of the room. Inside each one was someone I knew and loved.

  The moment he saw us, Eran sprang to his feet, wings extended, seething through the bars that kept him imprisoned.

  “Release her,” he demanded, his chest rising and falling rapidly in anger.

  They ignored him, dragging me towards a cage at the end of the row. I was taken passed Ezra, Felix, Rufus, Ms. Beedinwigg, Mr. Hamilton, Alfred, and even Magnus, who had assisted us in our battle against the Elsics only a few short months ago. Ms. Barrett had found and captured everyone who could have been any help to Eran and me.

  One of her bodyguards opened the door and I was shoved inside while the lock was secured.

  Beside me was Ms. Beedinwigg, who was already at the bars separating us.

  “Are you hurt?” she asked.

  “No, are you? Are any of you?” I stepped forward, my hands coming around the cold stone bars.

  She breathed a sigh of relief before answering. “Not yet.” She went on to add something that caused the breath to catch in my throat. “Although I’m not certain about Eran’s army.”

  “What about his army?” I asked, tensely.

  “We’ve been told they are in the cells below us.”

  I felt my face fall in reaction to this news. “Then there’s no one…no one coming for us…” I deduced.

  Ms. Beedinwigg couldn’t muster the words to answer me, instead choosing to slowly nod her head in confirmation.

  Knowing no better time to break the news, I revealed, “The book of dossiers is gone. Ms. Barrett…” I swallowed back my body’s refusal to speak the words and went on. “Ms. Barrett burnt it.”

  Absolute dread swept across her face as she collapsed against her cage.

  I fell back too, allowing my hand to slide along the bars; giving myself time to digest all that had happened, to contemplate a way out. The bars, while cylindrical, were rutted, which briefly commanded my attention. “Stone cells?”

  She lifted her eyes, which now reflected a depth of sadness I’d never expected to see in this woman and then she rolled them weakly. My assertive, inspired mentor was slowly giving up. “Stone cells to counter Eran’s ability to operate metal objects,” she explained. “They thought of everything.”

  I remembered back to all the times he’d turned the lock to my French doors without having to touch them, always having considered it a blessing.

  Anger coursed through me then. “Why are you here? What cause do they have to hold you?” I demanded.

  Then I knew without having to be told. Ms. Barrett was the cause. She’d deceived them just as she’d done with me in the chamber. This was the case for all of them, with the exception of Eran. He had been taken captive because of me.

  “I’m so sorry,” I muttered, falling back against the stone bars, the weight of what I’d done squeezing the air from my lungs, pressing against my chest with excruciating pain.

  Finally, I realized what I had done. In an effort to save those I loved I had only succeeded in hurting them, imprisoning them, threatening their safety, and very likely threatening their lives.

  All I’d ever done was implicate others, drawn them to the treachery and dangers that permeated my existence. I felt my head shaking against the reality of it but there was no denying it.

  I was the one who endangered others. I was worse than our enemies, my friendship coming with strings attached that yanked them in to my world of deceit and despair.

  “No…” I heard myself mutter before everything around me fell away.

  All I was aware of – the cell, my loved ones, the ancient castle prison – all of it became a surreal existence and then inexplicably disappeared entirely. I was consumed by a void. A vague awareness of elements around me entered the void and then quickly fell away…Something told me that I had collapsed against the end of my cell and that same thing gave me an understanding that my name was being called. But, none of it could breach the misery that consumed me.

  Gravel crunching…

  Whispers…

  Water sloshing…

  I wasn’t sure how long I laid there until my eyes reopened, adjusting and blinking to clear the blur from them. My side ached but it wasn’t until I shifted did I recognize that the stone bars lined the floor of my cage and I had been lying across one.

  That movement caught the attention of Mr. Hamilton, in the cell across from me. He aggressively waved at Ms. Beedinwigg, who had never left my side of her cage.

  “Maggie?” she whispered harshly, trying to wrestle my attention back to her.

  That whisper caught the attention of Ezra who alerted Rufus who then alerted Felix. Magnus, whose cell was closest to the door and directly across from Eran, tried to alert Eran but there was no need.

  He’d already felt me coming back.

  “Ms. Beedinwigg,” I said quietly, crawling towards her to lean against the bars separating us.

  She bent down and placed a comforting hand against the side of my head. “Yes?”

  “Earlier you said they’d thought of everything in preparation for our imprisonment.”

  “Yes?” she urged, more excited.

  “Well…not everything.” A grin began to stretch across my face, something that felt uncomfortably good given our situation and the consuming desolation I’d just escaped.

  “What are you trying to tell me?” she asked.

  “Pass a message to everyone for me, especially Eran and Magnus. They’re going to need to be the first line of defense. Tell them…” I felt my smile deepen. “Tell them to be ready.”

  “Why? What do you have planned?” Ms. Beedinwigg was already beginning to break a smile too, hope returning to her.

  It was astounding how that simple gauge of happiness invigorated me further.

  “There’s one person they didn’t get to, one person who’s free that I can trust,” I said.

  Her head jolted back, astounded. “Who on earth would that be?”

  I gave her a wicked smile. “Oh…he’s not on earth.”

  Drawing in a deep breath, I enjoyed the feel of cool air in my lungs, reinvigorating me. It was affirming to know that my energy was returning. I would need it too.

  First things first, I told myself. First…I would need to subdue that rising energy and fall asleep. Sleep was the only way to the one who could save us.

  Working on finding the most comfortable position I narrowed my awareness to the feeling of exhaustion still with me. Very soon after, my breathing became more rhythmic and my muscles went flaccid.

  The instant I felt the warm, soft breeze so common in the Hall of Records, my eyes snapped open. It was as if someone had gently caressed my cheek, telling me it would be all right.

  Of course there was no hand comforting me and so I was on my feet before I could focus on my surroundings. In fact, it barely registered with me that there were two men hovering a foot above the ground directly in front of me. They halted their conversation in favor of watching in amusement the commotion I caused.

  Now on my feet, I flew down the hall towards a particular pocket containing a particular scroll. Moving along the wall faster than I’d ever done before, I reached the scroll and grabbed for it. It unraveled and I swept my finger over the name of the person I needed so desperately at that moment.

  Without pause, I was swept away to the edge of a stream surrounded by towering pine trees. Overhead, the sky was a clear, deep blue, nearly matching the rocks lining the stream’s floor. Spotted along the shore were massive boulders, seemingly dropped there from far away as no mountains were visible nearby.

  It was uncanny to be on a heightened sense of purpose, a rush to accomplish
what I’d come to do, in such a serene setting. Momentarily, I felt as if I were intruding but shoved it aside. There were more important issues to consider than my discomfort in being intrusive.

  Besides, it was deserted here with the exception of one person. Lying on the top of a boulder was Gershom, his hands folded beneath his head, his legs crossed at the ankles, his eyes closed in a seemingly peaceful rest, one that I was about to disrupt.

  “Gershom,” I yelled as I approached him.

  The tranquility shattered, he sat up in a rush, rotating at the waist in search of my voice. When he found me, he pushed himself to a standing position, hands on his hips.

  “Maggie, this is my time to relax…to meditate. Do I come screaming through your room in New Orleans whenever I need you?”

  “No,” I admitted and then countered quickly, “But that’s because you can’t. Listen, I need your help.”

  “Why am I not surprised?” he said, exhaling through his nose in irritation as he leapt from the boulder.

  I ignored his mood and walked up to him. “Everyone I know is being held captive.”

  That got his attention. Immediately, his face tightened and his eyes drew in sternly.

  “Abaddon?” he charged.

  “Alterums.”

  His eyes widened but he said nothing, waiting for me to explain.

  I did and by the end his expression steadily changed from amazement to dread. When I finished, he turned from me, his hand to his mouth in worry.

  “Maggie, do you understand what this means?” he asked under his breath, coming to terms with the reality of the situation they were in. “The Fallen Ones will be attacking a people at war within themselves. I’ve seen this before, Maggie. It…It will be catastrophic…”

  “This is why I need your help,” I stated, taking hold of his shoulders to rattle his attention. “I need you to release us…so I can get to the Fallen Ones before they get to everyone else.” For influence, I added, “You know as well as I do that once the Fallen Ones recognize their strength in numbers, they’ll terrorize not only those Alterums who are left but all human beings as well. Gershom…we need you down there.”

  I felt his shoulders slump beneath my hands then as the weight of what I was asking came over him. It was a request no one in the afterlife decided on easily and evidently his initial instinct was deep trepidation.

  “To release you would require physical aptitude…which would require me to fall back to earth…” he inferred.

  “Yes, it would,” I confirmed hesitantly.

  He sighed, openly adverse to the thought.

  “What about Eran’s army?” he asked suddenly optimistic.

  My hands fell from his shoulders, increasingly losing hope of motivating him. “They’re imprisoned too,” I said quietly desperate as I waited for Gershom to accept that he was the only answer. “We need you, Gershom. There is no one else who can help us.”

  “I think you have greater faith in my abilities than I do…” he said shaking his head, a frown stationary on his face. Then he shook his head in amazement. “Whoever would have thought I would be the one to help save civilization?”

  I drew in a deep breath, releasing it in a rush of relief.

  “I’m not sure I can help as much as you think but I’ll try…I’ll do whatever you need.” He turned towards me, still tenuous. “Exactly what is that, by the way?”

  I didn’t bother containing my grin, which didn’t make Gershom any more pleased.

  “Do you know where the Alterum’s assemble?” I asked.

  “That’s where they’re holding you?” Again, the feat seemed insurmountable to him.

  “Yes, get yourself together, Gershom. You must have been in more secure strongholds than that one,” I encouraged.

  “No, Maggie, I haven’t,” he replied, frowning again.

  “Oh…well…” I muttered. Having no further words of encouragement, I laid out the plan instead. “We need you to enter the fortress without being seen, find the key to unlock our cells, and then locate us. We’re being held directly below the assembly stage. Eran’s army is detained below us.” I paused, allowing the plan to soak in and then asked for firm confirmation, “Can you do that? Can you get to our cells without being seen?”

  He lifted his eyebrows at me. “I’m a tracker, Maggie. How do you think I found you in New Orleans before most of the other Fallen Ones could? I can find virtually anyone…” he declared proudly, “…certainly those who don’t know I’m coming. No, getting through the fortress won’t be a problem.”

  Good, I thought. He would just need to find them before they found him.

  “Well, let’s get on with it,” he said, no more happy about it than he’d been a moment ago. At least, however, he was moving.

  Our appendages weren’t needed here but in our haste we both used them. Gershom fled to a place we’d both been many times before, the very same place we greeted others on their return from the other dimension and the very same one where we left in our fall to earth. I, on the other hand, returned to the Hall of Records, it being the only place I could think of that might help me get back to sleep…and to my body on earth.

  Once in the hall, I noted that it was vacant, not that it mattered. It was vast and yet somehow voices did not echo here. They seemed to be absorbed through the stone walls, protecting its perpetual solitude. Lying down on the bench I always awoke on, I did my best to calm my nerves, slow my breathing, relax the body I held here in the afterlife. This last element in particular was a challenge.

  To say it was trying to occupy two bodies simultaneously in different dimensions would be an understatement. While all others had the benefit of leaving their bodies behind on earth after they had passed and filled the body they held here in the afterlife, I wasn’t given that option. As a messenger, it was a necessity to have ‘shells’ in both dimensions. On this side, in the afterlife, it wasn’t as difficult to maintain since this shell didn’t require feeding, bathing, or any of the other upkeep needed by bodies on earth. On the other side, my principal obligation to that shell was to protect it from the Fallen Ones, which continually proved to be a battle in and of itself.

  When I’d been on the road a few weeks ago hunting, my primary concern was to find a secure place to sleep. Without knowing Eran watched over me, it had become my responsibility to ensure our enemies couldn’t locate and kill me while I was asleep and occupying this body in the afterlife. I wasn’t certain what would happen to my soul in that case but I had no inclination to find out.

  My thoughts shifted then, to those waiting for me on earth. My mind took me through a tour of memories of my loved ones sitting in their cages. Eran paced the cell like a confined lion, while still keeping a watchful eye on me. Ms. Beedinwigg sat against the bars, her legs bent, her arms resting across her knees. Her head was tilted back deep in thought. The rest wore grim expressions, emanating nervousness that was so palpable I could feel it in the afterlife.

  They were scared, each one of them, and they had a right to be.

  “Maggie…?” Ezra called out in the darkness.

  “Wake up, Mags…” Felix urged.

  Something dug in my back hard and cold, which I vaguely recognized as the bars lining my cell’s floor.

  “Magdalene, wake up, my love.” This last voice was more insistent, thickened with an English accent, and the very sound of it pulled me out of my slumber.

  When I opened my eyes, I found Eran kneeling over me, his hand cradling my face, concern etched in his dazzling eyes.

  “It’s all right,” I murmured. “I’m all right.”

  Eran pulled me to a sitting position while remaining knelt beside me.

  “I was just returning from the other side,” I said, still a bit groggy.

  “I hadn’t seen you wake like that before,” Eran said, his eyes still evaluating me. “You were…shaking.”

  “Oh…” I breathed laughter. “My thoughts weren’t pleasant as I drifted to sleep.”
>
  Using my hands, I pushed myself to a standing position.

  “Are you sure you’re ready?” Eran inquired.

  “Yes,” I stated firmly. “Gershom’s coming for us. I need to be prepare…Wait, how are you in my cell?”

  Eran grinned, relieved to see my awareness had returned. He then stepped aside to reveal those behind him: A portion of his army who had been imprisoned in cells below us, Campion, his first lieutenant included, having fallen earlier to protect us; my housemates gawking expectantly to see if I was all right; and…Gershom at the opening of my cell. From his fingers dangled the stone keys custom designed for our captivity.

  “How did you…?” I began but he nodded his head towards the door and I followed his motion.

  Standing there, acting as lookout, was the older woman from the assembly.

  “You don’t have much time,” she whispered urgently, again peering around the corner of the doorframe.

  That message got us moving.

  While passing Gershom, I said, “Good job. How-How did you know she would have the keys?”

  “I didn’t,” he said with a shrug. “I evaded the guards, made it to the door of your confinement and found Evelyn here… She was already unlocking it.”

  The rest of us turned to her in unison, eagerly waiting for further understanding.

  She glanced over her shoulder briefly. “I disagree with your imprisonment…and I’m not the only one. But it will take time, or something calamitous, to convince others. Until then, once you’ve escaped, stay hidden. Gershom will remain with me so that he can locate you when it is safe.”

  “Sounds like a solid plan,” Felix agreed. “Now…if we could just find our way out…”

  “I’ll show you,” Gershom offered and I was pleasantly surprised to see him finally embrace his role as sentinel. “Since I’m the only one with the ability to sense others coming…it’s just logical.”

  “Thank you,” I said, placing my hand on his shoulder to show further appreciation. Then I spun towards the woman who had released us. “And thank you, Evelyn, for all you’ve done.”