by Elissa Daye
More difficult to manage? Had they actually been managing anything? Every time they destroyed one orb, another came swiftly in its place. A new portal, a new passage to the Land of Shadows, rose swiftly from the ground. They had to get a handle on this situation if they were to wipe away the misery that haunted the people of their world.
It was hard to agree yet disagree at the same time. Yes, she felt like they needed to attack as soon as possible, but as with anything else they had done to this point, it was entirely possible that they were already in preparation for an attack. This was not going to be an easy feat. There was a drive in her that wanted to rush through this process too, but in doing so, would the outcome be what they wanted? This should be something that was thought out, and as long as she didn’t spend too much time in the portals, she would be safe. Lyssa knew that entering this portal would have repercussions. People may be lost. Her very life could be forfeit, and she wanted to voice all these concerns, but she knew they wouldn’t let her fight by their side if they knew. Lyssa hadn’t gotten to this point for nothing.
Lyssa went to see Hunter after the Guardians left. She wanted to tell him what she had just learned, but a part of her said now was not the time. More than likely, he would want to jump into the fray, and she had no idea what the outcome would be with him already being banged up and bruised. If he knew about the danger she could be putting herself into, he would try to stop her.
When she entered his room, his eyes opened. He smiled as much as his battered face would allow him. “Lyssa.”
“Hunter.” She smiled softly at him and reached over to touch his hand. “I never gave up.”
“I knew you wouldn’t.”
“It looks like you’re going to be on the mend here soon.” It was polite talk. She didn’t want to tell him about what was on the verge of happening. Lyssa wanted to keep the danger of her pursuits hidden from him. He would need to focus on his recovery. If she told him too much, she knew he would drag himself out of that bed.
“I’m okay, Lyssa. I’ll heal.” He raised his hand to her cheek, and she was pulled back to a time and place friendlier than the present when their bodies were one, and the heat between them kept them warm from the cold. She could feel her lips turning up into a smile automatically. “So, what’s going on?”
“I’m sorry? What do you mean?”
“Well, there has to be a reason you have your thoughts on lockdown, Lyssa. What happened?”
She sighed deeply. Lyssa knew Hunter would not rest until he knew what had happened, but she felt like he should be protected from this moment. He had just gotten back from such a horrible mess. “I don’t think you need to know right now, Hunter.”
“You know I’ll find out; why don’t you just tell me?” His smile was quickly turning to a frown.
“I don’t know what to tell you, Hunter. We have found something that could be the power source of the Craven and the shadows. We’re going to destroy it.” That was simple enough. She did not need to tell him the whole kit and caboodle.
“Lyssa, if that were the only thing on your mind, you would’ve just told me. There has to be more.”
Lyssa looked away from him and took another breath. How could she expect him to let go of this if she would be just as adamant as he was under the same circumstances? “It could be dangerous, the biggest fight the Watch Tower has ever seen, but we’re not going to rush into it. We’ll go when we have an organized plan of attack.”
“When?”
“I don’t know, Hunter, but I expect it will be before you recover.”
“I’m going with you.” One simple statement and her head was reeling, her heart pounding. She would not be effective in any battle if she had to worry about Hunter.
“No, you’re not,” came a stiff voice from the door. Julius was standing there, glaring at Hunter.
“That’s what I was trying to tell him. Maybe he’ll listen to you.” Lyssa stood up briskly and was about to leave the room when Hunter interrupted her departure.
“Fine. But you’d better make sure she gets back to me.”
She turned back in time to hear Julius reply. “You have my word.”
Lyssa felt a tear in the corner of her eye, for she knew it was entirely possible that she would not be coming back to him at all. She couldn’t let that stop her. This was what they had all worked for, an end to the darkness.
Chapter 35
Lyssa sat at the table, doing her best to listen to what Julius was saying, but her head reminded her each second that it was all going to come to an end soon. She couldn’t figure out what had caused it. Was it the anticipation that something horrible was about to happen, or that they would be successful in their attempts to destroy the orb in the portal? If anyone noticed her discomfort, they never commented. For once, she was thankful that Jackson was nowhere around. He would be able to see through her the very moment he walked into the room.
“Tonight, it’s Sector Four on watch. Are we up for the challenge?” Julius looked around at both of them.
“Just the three of us? I think we can handle it.” Lyssa crossed her arms over her chest and nodded at him.
“We’ll replace Jackson soon. Not to worry.”
“No one can replace Jackson, but I know what you mean.” Lyssa tried to shake off the snark that seemed to enter her voice. Controlling her emotions had become difficult the past week. Heading into the last portal had almost been like a key turning in a lock. She’d kept her cool around the others, but something inside her was very wrong. Every morning she grounded herself in the brightest light she could manage. Lyssa carried a surplus of rose quartz and clear quartz to cleanse her aura from whatever darkness was attaching itself to her. She knew she should refuse to enter the portal, but Lyssa had to see this out. She hadn’t sacrificed everything to get here and not act.
“We leave in three hours, agreed?”
“Fine by me.” Serena chipped in. Her eyes were searching Lyssa’s, but she didn’t comment.
“I’ll see you then.” Lyssa headed to her apartment, where she intended to get herself under control. She didn’t hear the whoosh of air behind her.
“Lyssa, we need to talk.”
Lyssa turned around and found herself facing Serena. “What’s up, Serena?”
“Why don’t you tell me?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Lyssa moved away from her, and Serena grabbed her arm.
“It’s me, Lyssa. You can talk to me. I’m your friend too.”
Lyssa yanked her arm away. “What the hell, Serena!”
“Please. Tell me what’s going on.”
Lyssa looked away from her. How easy it would be to divulge the problems she’d been facing since that shard had imbedded in her spine near her head. Lyssa didn’t even know what was going on. How could she tell Serena anything when she had no real clue what was going on with her.”I wish I could.”
“You can tell me anything.”
When an angry jolt of pain pierced her head, Lyssa sat down on her bed and put her head in her hands. “I’ve just had a bad headache, Serena. It’s no big deal.”
“Let me help.” Serena stood next to her and put her hand over Lyssa scar. When she tried to feed her healing energy into Lyssa’s body, it rebounded with an electric shock. “What the hell?”
Lyssa looked up at her and shook her head. “Maybe I should just take a pain pill.”
“That’s one hell of a headache. How long have you had it?”
“A while.” Lyssa didn’t know what else to say. If she gave Serena too much information, she would tell Julius. If he knew Lyssa’s dilemma, he would refuse to let her help, and she knew she had to be there the day of reckoning. It might be the only way to get this alien shard out of her body.
“You’re leaving out something.” Serena eyed her speculatively.
“I do—”
“Then, you know that whatever is going on with me is not nearly as important as finishing this chapter in our lives, right?” Lyssa knew she was taking a chance in speaking. “I haven’t been the same since I was attacked. I sometimes feel like I am slipping away piece by piece.”
“Why didn’t you say something?”
“Because I don’t really know what is going on. All I know is I have to finish this. Please, don’t tell anyone. It hasn’t kept me from doing my job. Have you seen my work suffer?”
“No, but—”
“There are no buts, Serena. You have to keep this to yourself.”
“Fine, but if you start to feel worse, you have to tell Julius. You’re right, this mission is important, and I do feel like you are supposed to be there, but I will not let you put the rest of us at risk. Got it?”
“I do. If I feel worse, I’ll stay here. I won’t put you all at risk.” Lyssa crossed a hand over her heart and prayed that her circumstances didn’t change. She hadn’t lied to Serena. She would not put the others at risk, but Lyssa wasn’t sure she could pull herself away from the fray if her own life depended on it. She wouldn’t tell Serena that, though. If she did, Serena would more than likely tell Hunter, and if he put in his two cents, that would probably be the end of it.
“Fine. So what helps your head?”
“I meditate and surround myself with white light.”
“Sounds good. Should we do it together? We could fill up the room with more light together.”
Lyssa wanted to ask her to stay, but she really needed to be alone to rally up whatever strength she had left. “I’ll be fine. I think I’ll take a nap too.”
“All right, but if something changes—”
“You’ll be the first to know, Serena.”
A few hours later, Lyssa joined the other two at the Watch Tower. Part of her worried that Serena would say something, but she was relieved when her friend kept her mouth shut. Lyssa looked at Julius. “We ready?”
“Looks that way. Let’s move.”
The three of them teleported to where the portal was located. As they zipped through it, Lyssa felt a sharp pain behind her eye. She fought the urge to hold her hand to her face when they touched down on the ground inside the portal. The throbbing, usually reserved for the back of her head, seemed to be traveling through the rest of her body. Attempting to shake it off, Lyssa focused her eyes on the space around her.
They were sitting on the cliff of a massive ridge that seemed to curve around for about a mile. This ledge circled the clearing where the shadows were gathering below. Stones staggered like bricks were held together with an earthly mortar hugging them close together. These jagged rocks made the sides of the ridge appear more like a gentle mountain. Treelines surrounded the base of the ridge, providing quite the cover for enemy attackers. The roads cutting through the clearing were covered in shadows and Craven, all crouching over the largest orb she had ever seen.
While she was far enough away to provide cover and protection, Lyssa felt the shadowed presence even more now that she was here. The darkness that had been fighting its way to the surface was so overwhelming that she almost felt a hypnotic pull. Reaching into her pocket, she rubbed her fingers over the rose quartz and made herself think peaceful thoughts. This allowed her to regain control over her faculties.
Gazing down on the clearing, she stared the orb down. She could see the souls swirling inside it and wished she could get a closer look. Was Lana trapped in there somewhere? Was this where all the souls were taken in the end? Was it true that this was the primary source of all their power? If so, by destroying this orb, they could take out the Craven and shadows at the same time. First, they would have to deal with the entities blocking their path to the orb and any beings that came through the portal behind them.
What do you see? Julius interrupted their thoughts with his mind speak.
That thing is gigantic. Do you see the other orbs there? Serena nodded at the smaller balls of darkness that were pouring out of the base of the orb.
This is no good. How long before we take that out? Lyssa looked at both of them. Agitation was rising inside her. How could they just sit there and watch that thing birthing more evil into the world? She wanted to send that orb into oblivion, and the sooner, the better.
We move together. Not apart. We’re going to need everyone fighting. Look down there. Julius gestured to all the Craven and shadows gathered around it.
Fine. But I don’t have to be happy about it. Lyssa sniffed in irritation. She felt like a petulant child, but she had many reasons for feeling the way she did. That thing, or a smaller version of it, had taken a piece of her every day. How much longer could she withstand the pain sitting at the base of her skull? It was like darkness was seeping further into her blood, and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it. If the healers of the Watch Tower hadn’t been able to remove it, what were her chances that she would get better if the thing that powered the shard wasn’t destroyed?
Lyssa shook the cold chill away from her spine. She just needed to last a few more hours here. All they were doing was marking the movements from the ridge. From what she could tell, the Craven came in shifts of ten or so. They came in from another portal closer to the orb. The shadows never seemed to need a break, almost as if these beings existed as the orb’s guardians. From what she could tell, the only plan they had was to rally up a massive attack and fight their way down from the ridge.
They waited in silence for the rest of the time. Lyssa white knuckled the rocks in her pocket, gathering what little strength and comfort she could from them. Soon enough, this torment would be over one way or another. As they left the ridge behind, Lyssa felt a whisper run across her face.
Leaving so soon, Shadow Walker?
As she left the world behind, the buzzing pain in her skull became almost too much to bear. Thankfully, she had teleported back to her room, where she fell on the bed to sleep off the blackness that circled inside her head.
Chapter 36
When they had watched the portal for almost a week, the Guardians decided that the only action plan was to attack in numbers. The leaders had spent this time organizing the Guardians by skill set. Those that were best at defending would surround the healers that could send their energy into what they hoped would be a ball of light strong enough to obliterate the orb from existence. Lyssa had her doubts. The voice that had ripped through her defenses nibbled on her conscience. The right thing to do would be to tell the others about the voice, but she couldn’t afford to be left out of the fray. Lyssa’s need to see this through to the end was eating away at her like battery acid through her skin.
Lyssa knew that not telling the others was a disservice, but lately, her need for revenge seemed to take over reason. These shadows had taken far too much of her life from her. Its evil had manipulated the only good things left in this world, and she refused to let it continue to do so. Anger overruled common sense, and she couldn’t seem to separate it from the rest of her. No matter how much misery it might bring, Lyssa had to be on the forefront. For some reason, she knew that was where she had to be.
Today was the day, and her thoughts were running rampant. This could be the end of the shadows on Earth, no more darkness. Their world would be a much healthier place. Lyssa looked forward to putting a stop to the evil that fed on the weakness and despair of others.
The plan of attack was to move through the portal in waves that would allow them to spread out along the ridge. They knew that as soon as they entered the portal with such force, the enemy would be on them. This was their land, and they did have home field advantage. They could only hope they had the upper hand with their numbers.
Lyssa followed Julius through the portal and was not surp
rised to see Jackson standing beside the other Guardians who had already lined up around the portal. Lyssa raced over to his side and threw her arms around him. “I missed you!”
“Of course you did.” Jackson gave her a smirk and hugged her back.
“There’s so much—”
“No time for that right now.” Jackson stepped away from her and looked around at the others.
Thank god for that. Lyssa knew that if Jackson stayed too close to her, he would sense the change in her chemistry. “Right. For Lana?”
“For Lana.” They both walked over to the where the first line stood.
The Guardians were dividing up as they came through the portal: those that took the front line and those that guarded their backs. It didn’t take long for the shadows to notice the movement on the ridge as if they were anticipating an attack. The first wave of Craven came at them at the speed of light. Lyssa ducked a fireball and threw up a shield. The next one bounced off and hit its caster, knocking him from his feet. He stood back up with a snarl on his face and charged at her. Lyssa blasted him with her wand and watched as he fell backward over the ridge and plummeted to the ground below. She didn’t have time to reflect on his death, as more came to replace him.
A large whistle echoed around the Guardians, their signal to start creating a ball of light large enough to send to the orb in the middle. The energy started small, like a soccer ball, then grew almost as if air was being pushed into it. A shadow came close to the front line near her, and she cast a bolt of light that pierced through its dark exterior. It wailed painfully and targeted her. When it got closer, another Guardian sliced it in half with a bolt of lightning.
Soon, the healers had the orb to the size of a hot air balloon, and Lyssa watched as it rose in the air with all the might in their hearts. The healers lifted up every hopeful feeling and every loving memory of the world they knew and pushed it forward. Shadows tried to jump on top of the orb as it traveled through the air, but few were able to hold onto it.