by Elissa Daye
“Don’t thank me. It was Hunter that convinced me that you would need proof of her safety before you could move forward with us.”
“You okay then, Lana? Any shadows follow you home?”
“No shadows, but I did get a phone call from someone unexpected.” She lifted her eyes to her knowingly and winked.
“Oh? Was it that new guy you’ve been eyeing in your political science class?” She would miss the guy surfing with Jackson and Lana. They’d sit on the quad and look out at the sea of men before them, picking the hotties from the not so hot, and the straight ones from the ones who were pretending to be straight, but were quite clearly closeted.
“Actually, it was someone I met at the bowling alley a few weeks ago.”
“Wait, which one was that? Is he as cute as the guy I met at Pride last year?” Jackson asked Lana inquisitively.
As it was clear that they were going to spend some time talking about their lives before the shadows entered them, the other men decided to leave them in peace. She could have sworn she heard Hunter’s thoughts whisper: Does this mean she is unattached? Lyssa shook her head slightly and crinkled her eyes.
“What’s wrong, Lyssa?” Lana asked her.
“Well,” she started to say, but then lowered her voice to a whisper. “It’s that guy, Hunter.”
“You like him, don’t you? Already daydreaming about the stud muffin?” Jackson rarely got the chance to tease her about these things, so it was no surprise that he did not skip a beat. His head turned at an angle with a bright smile and teasing eyebrows.
“Shut it.” The blush crept up her cheeks anyway, and the heat in her face made her feel like she had just eaten too much sugar.
“He seemed to stare extra hard at you, Lyssa.”
Sadness overcast her face. “That’s not funny, Jackson. If anyone ever understood me, it’s you. I’m not his type.”
“You’re unlimited, Lyssa. In every way. You’ve never seen the beauty that others see. No matter what your shape or size, you are beautiful. And my god, honey, you could eat butter off those curves.” He snapped his fingers in the air and then said, “M’kay?”
Lyssa immediately burst into a giggling fit and covered her mouth quickly. “Have I told you lately how much I love you?” Jackson always knew what to say to her. He never let her feed her inner demons whenever he was around. He held her up when the only person who pushed her down was herself.
“You never have to. It’s mutual, my dear.”
“Oh my god, can we please stop with the love fest already?”
“Gagging, are you?” Lyssa poked Lana on the arm and laughed.
“What do you think?” Lana shook her head while looking up at the ceiling.
“So, you really think we should do this?” Lyssa could not help but change the subject to the topic they all seemed to be ignoring.
“Yes, I do. You were always destined for something greater.” The seriousness of Lana’s tone was not lost on her.
“Greater than what? I never imagined my path could go in this direction. Hell, I don’t even know what direction I’m going in. I mean, do you see any roads from here?”
Jackson turned his head over his shoulder, searching for any eyes that could be prying into their conversation, before turning back to her. “Look. The way I see it, we were unhappy down there with the direction our lives were moving. That was not going to change any time soon. Let’s just see if this road takes us somewhere interesting. You were born to shine, darling!”
“So were you!” Lyssa took a deep breath and really listened to what Jackson was saying. Never, not in her entire life, had Jackson ever told her something if he did not believe it.
“Well, I hate to cut this short, but I do have a class to get to. We have a test in psychology today, and I can’t afford to miss it.”
“This is goodbye again, isn’t it?” Lyssa let out a deep breath and shook her head.
“Not forever. You can still see me when you need me.” Lana patted Lyssa’s arm, but it was small consolation.
“How will we not need you?” She wanted to fight the grown up inside, for she did not want to be strong. Lyssa did not want to change, but the fight was short-lived. The adult persevered.
“You’ve survived far worse than this alone. You have people surrounding you here. Learn what you can, and then you can share it with my coven. I’ll always be here, Lyssa.”
Jackson stood up and put his arms around both of the girls, then hummed a few lines and sang, “No matter how far apart we are.”
Lyssa put a hand over his mouth and cut him off before he could belt out any words. Laughter left her mouth once more, for his antics always kept her amused. Lyssa smiled softly at him and lowered her hand. “I suppose that’s a compromise I must make. I know you’re right, Lana. I’m supposed to be here. It may not have happened the way it should have, but I do think I would have found my way here eventually. But seriously, did you look out the window?”
“Yeah. Those stars underneath us are a little trippy. I’ll be quite happy to return to the ground. Don’t worry. You’ll both visit soon. I’m sure of it.”
“They’ll have to chain me up to keep me away. Besides, I’ll have to check out this new guy of yours.”
“Speaking of guys, here comes yours.” Jackson poked her in the side of the ribs.
“Shh!” Lyssa poked him back, glanced toward the door, and tried to shut her mind off. If only he would move a little faster and less like a panther prowling for his dinner. She could see the muscles under the shirt he was wearing today, and while she was not normally a muscle girl, his pecs were fantastic. Shaking her head, she cleared her thoughts, for she did not need anyone reading those.
“It’s time.” Hunter gestured to Lana, and she nodded at him. Lyssa knew she had to go this time, but this goodbye was easier.
Chapter 6
Hunter didn’t take long to return. As soon as he did, he gestured for them to follow him and led them to the library. The walls were lined with books, from the bottom shelf all the way to the top. Various chairs were available to sit in, and a few lamps lit the room brightly enough to read in any corner. A fireplace was set amidst more inlaid shelves, and its light flickered around them.
In the middle of the room sat a wide round table with a large sphere set into the center that rotated slowly. She could see the sphere spinning through an opening on the top of the table. When she expected to see the bottom of the sphere underneath the table, she was surprised to see the flat underbelly of the table. Lyssa should have known better than to expect things to be as they appeared. This was not an ordinary house.
“Sit, Lyssa. Jackson.” Julius, who was already seated at the table, gestured to the chairs opposite him. Walking quietly over to the chairs, she tried hard to ignore all the eyes that were boring into her. Serena and Logan were already seated at the table. Jackson sat down in the chair to her right.
“Okay, then.” Lyssa looked at Julius and raised her nose higher in the air in her best effort to show she was being serious, to demonstrate that she was, in fact, ready to hear what he had to say, whereas before, she had only wanted to shut their entire world out. Looking at them, each in turn, she took in the solemn faces. Even Serena had a calmness about her that she would not have suspected before.
They placed their arms on the table, and Lyssa could see that each one had a tattooed number four on their forearm. This must have meant something, but she had very little time to ponder this strange tattoo before they closed their eyes, and a faint hum of energy started to swirl around them. The black ink on their arms changed slowly at first. The ink appeared to be shifting out of their skin, and a white light was coming in to fill its space.
Lyssa had many questions, but they all seemed to still within her, for she sensed that now was not the time. As she closed her eyes, she took a deep breath. T
hen she let a calm rainbow of light run from the top of her head to the bottom of her toes, grounding her in its positive light. Lyssa felt it swarm around her, a gentle companion in her darkest hours. The energy streamed in front of her and added itself to the ball of light that was swirling around the group.
When she felt the heat on her left forearm, she tried to push aside the nagging feeling that something was touching her. The energy around her changed as the warmth carved its way into her arm. She opened her eyes and tried not to panic as a number four started to appear on her arm. The ink was sliding into her skin, much like ink from a pen to paper, painlessly. Part of her wanted to rebel against this magic, but she knew it was inevitable that this was par for the course. The biggest question she had right now was, why the number four?
“It’s our sector number. We hold these things high: Life, Love, Peace, and Balance.” Julius opened his eyes after he uttered those four words. “All Guardians have always held these four beliefs among the highest. We treasure life. We do what we can to promote peace. We bring balance when chaos reigns.”
“And we love those who often cannot see love for themselves.” Hunter spoke without opening his eyes.
Lyssa almost shivered at Hunter’s interruption. Something about him made her want to run. Jackson must have caught her discomfort, for his foot tapped hers lightly under the table.
“So that’s it? Life, love, peace, balance? Four things. And we track down things that do not coexist with that philosophy. Sounds simple enough. Where do we start?” Lyssa tried to make her sarcasm ring out in a more appropriate tone. While her guide had told her to relinquish her past, it had formed her into the woman before them. If they expected her to suddenly morph into the perfect woman, they would be sorely disappointed. That would take some sparkling miracle, and Lyssa felt fresh out of those.
“Don’t be too eager,” Serena warned her. “You still have much to learn.”
“But the shadows—”
“Are always there, Lyssa.” Julius looked at her seriously. “You have to train before we send you out. If you go off all half-cocked at the shadows, as you did yesterday, you could do serious harm to yourself and others.”
“Fine. What then?” Lyssa wanted to clash with him, to spark some kind of reaction from Julius that would distract from the lack of experience she had. Deflection—she was good at it. This had served her well her entire life, helping her deal with the firestorm around her. She had felt so powerful among her friends at college, safe and content with the path they were traveling together. They were young; they thought they could take on the world with no consequences at all. Lyssa had felt so sure of what she was doing then, and while that part of her life was just twelve hours ago, it seemed far away. Now, she felt as if she was at the low end of the totem pole, someplace she had never wanted to be again. Being a missing Guardian had sounded so important, but clearly, she was just a small piece of this collective puzzle.
“We start your training.” Julius moved his hand over the globe in front of him, giving it a small push to make it spin faster. “Find them.”
“Find who?” Did he want her to find the shadows? They could be anywhere right now, especially if they rose from the ground. Was he kidding her?
“Find the shadows.”
“Seriously? You want me to just look at this globe and tell you where the shadows are?” Lyssa started to laugh nervously like it was some joke she was pretending to laugh at because she didn’t quite understand the punch line.
“Show them, Lyssa,” encouraged Jackson.
Lyssa looked over at him and nodded, then turned her gaze from his face. She reached out to touch the large globe that stretched across the table. Closing her eyes, she let her mind free itself from the moment. Lyssa ignored the sounds of each breath of air around her and felt herself letting go of any preconceptions she had about this exercise as she let the moment take her. Electricity entered her body when her hand ran across a specific area on the globe. The spot felt threatening, but it was not the feeling she got from the shadows. “There is something here, but it does not feel like the shadows. What could it be?”
“Probably another source of corruption. Evil exists in many forms, Lyssa. Different sectors are more than likely dealing with them. At this point, Sector Four and several others are sanctioned to deal with the shadows.”
“All righty, then.” While she felt her fingers pause on the spot once more, she knew she had to keep moving. Lyssa let more of the globe pass through her fingers before she felt something that made her stop the globe mid-spin.
“Here.” Lyssa pointed to the spot where she felt the darkness and opened her eyes. She was surprised to find that she had pointed to a place she was actually quite familiar with: St. Louis, Missouri. The energy pulsed from the dot on the globe to her fingertips.
“Well done. That has been one of the top ten places where we’ve detected them.”
“So, now what? Do we go after them?”
“You must start your training first.”
“Fine. Where do we begin?” Training, ha. No worries. That would be a piece of cake. She could handle anything they threw at her. Bring it on.
“For now, you return home.” Julius extended a hand to each of them to teleport them home.
Chapter 7
When Lyssa opened her eyes, she was surprised to find herself standing inside an unfamiliar room. “Where are we? You did say we were going home, right?”
“I did. But your circumstances have changed. The dorm rooms you were living in are no longer your home of residence. This is for your own protection.”
“Okay, so where are our things then?” Jackson looked around them with curious eyes.
“On their way. First, they will go through a cleansing process, so none of the previous energy can attach them to you. Again, this is for your—”
“Protection. Got it, but all my clothes better be here when it’s all said and done. I’m not going to be rocking this outfit for the next week.” Jackson gestured to the tight jeans and black polo, and Lyssa fought the urge to strangle him. His smirk in her direction made it clear he got the message.
“So, where exactly are we then?”
“Off-campus housing, with a little magical intervention. We’ve made sure that it’s guarded against all prying eyes.”
“I could barely afford the dorm. How am I going to pay rent?” Lyssa flared her nostrils and fought the urge to stomp her foot. Did these people even stop to consider the consequences of their actions on other people’s lives? Lyssa barely had enough to buy herself anything extra when all was said and done. Paying for an apartment was not something she had in her plans at this time.
“Not to worry. This apartment comes completely furnished and paid for by the Watch Tower. Trust me, when magic is involved the natural economy you’ve become accustomed to no longer exists. You each have an account with money to pay for any extra things you might need as you continue your existence on this plane. You are to continue along as regular college students while you undergo training at the Watch Tower in your spare time. Now, you’ll excuse me, but I really must be getting back.” Julius was there one instant, then gone the next.
“Well, that’s certainly a lot to take in.” Lyssa sat down at the kitchen table and took one of the brass keys from it.
“Yes. It sure is, but I don’t have time for that.”
“What do you mean?”
“I think I have a history test today.” He glanced at his watch and tilted his head. “It is Tuesday, right?”
“I think so.”
“Okay. I have three hours. First, let’s see where we are in comparison to the rest of the campus.” Jackson grabbed one of the keys and pointed to the door.
“We better not be in bufu. Please let us be closer than the towers.”
When they left the building, they found themsel
ves standing on the corner of University and Main. “Wow. We’re actually closer than we were before.” Lyssa couldn’t believe their luck. First, their apartment was paid for, they got to continue their lives as if nothing ever happened, and they still got to enter a magical world and learn how to use their powers to fight the darkness that had almost devoured the only light in her life. Times were certainly looking up.
“Well, now that that’s been determined, I think I’m going to head to the library to get some extra work done on my paper.”
“Right. I’m just going to go rest, I think. I don’t have classes today.”
“Lucky bitch…I meant witch.”
“Sure, you did.” Lyssa stuck her tongue out at him and waved him off with her hand.
The next few weeks went pretty smoothly. Both of them continued their daily routines, as usual, assuming a dual identity to protect their roles at the Watch Tower. With their feet on the ground during the days, they were able to keep an eye out for activity around them while pursuing their educations. Lyssa was surprised how easy it was to get back into the swing of things. When she was in the real world, her time at the Watch Tower seemed almost non-existent.
That was until she saw Hunter walking around campus. When she stopped in her tracks, Jackson was unprepared. His arm bumped into her, making her books drop from her hands. Lyssa fell to her knees, her long brown hair falling in her face as she picked up her books.
“Here, let me help you.” Hunter walked over to her and bent down to help her.
“I’m such a moron. Thank you. I really should pay more attention.” Lyssa stood up and dusted off her cream-colored leggings and straightened the brown tunic.