by Morgan, SL
They traveled on a gravel road that cut through the soft green grass of the rolling hillside for about ten minutes before Harrison, Samuel, and the other vehicles veered off the road suddenly, cutting through the grass. Levi continued on the gravel road as it ascended up the hillside.
It wasn’t until they crested the hill that Reece saw an enormous castle situated on the mountain top. Castle Ruin. It was obvious that this was a stately castle in its time, however, what seemed to be hundreds of years of neglect had left it in shambles.
As Levi maneuvered the car to the front steps of the building, two men descended the steps that led to the entrance. Levi was out of the car, and opening Reece’s door before they reached them. The men were very tall and very pale, and they smiled sinisterly at Reece and Levi as they approached them. Their eyes were vacant, seemingly lifeless.
Levi had his arm braced tightly around her. “Step aside.” Levi commanded.
As Levi guided Reece past the men to begin their ascent up the stone staircase, one of the men put his arm out to stop him. Levi stopped and exhaled. “Remove your hand from me, now!” He growled.
The man stood face-to-face with Levi. “Guardian, you will serve me, soon. I suggest you show me the respect a master deserves!”
Levi reached out and gripped the man’s neck. In the same moment, he lurched forward and head-butted him. As he dropped to the ground, Levi half-guided, half-carried Reece up the steps toward the other man, who backed away and let them pass.
His grip on her was starting to become uncomfortable. She looked up at his angry face, and touched his hand. The grip loosened, and he looked down toward her, “Stay focused.” He commanded.
He marched them forward at an extremely fast pace through dark halls, lit by widely-spaced flickering candles. Her heart was pounding in her chest. Nothing seemed to calm her, not even him. Levi warned her, but she had not fully comprehended the danger they were in. Yesterday, adrenaline had shielded her; today, with an extremely angry and mentally detached Levi, she feared everything.
As panic began to filter its way into every rational thought she had, she started to fight Levi’s grip. She felt claustrophobic, and she couldn’t catch her breath.
Without warning, Levi turned into a darkened room. Reece’s heart rate matched her breathing; she tried slowing them, but was unsuccessful.
Levi braced the back of her head with his hand, and brought his mouth next to her ear. “Are you all right?” He whispered gruffly. “I know you are scared, but need you to calm yourself down. This will be over soon, but we are currently in great danger. You must focus on what you learned in your training. I cannot be confident that I will get you to my father if you are panicking or fighting me.”
“I don’t know if I can do this,” she whispered, still trying to catch her breath.
“You don’t have an option anymore. You have to,” he commanded. “It’s imperative that you restrain your fear in order for me to protect you. Samuel and Harrison are facing the same dangers we are, and their plans depend upon our making it into that council. Ciatron defenders are scattered throughout, waiting for us to come through the castle. You must focus; I know you can do this.”
It was exactly what she needed to hear. Even though she was frightened far beyond what she could have imagined, she needed to gain her composure. “Yes,” she said as she took a breath. “Yes.”
“Very well, we must go. Do not be afraid; I will protect you. This is what I am trained to do.”
He took hold of her arm, led her from the dark room and back into the bleak hallway. The candles flickered eerily; shadows came and went where there seemed nothing to cast them.
A man jumped out of the shadows. As the man approached them, Levi thrust the heel of his hand into the man’s chest. The moment his hand struck the man, there was a loud crack. Levi threw him up against the wall, turned back to Reece, and gripped her arm tightly. “Quickly. Move.” He said in a deadly tone.
They marched on swiftly, hearing noises from behind. A grand staircase before them was lit by hundreds of candles. Levi led her up the steps. “We’re close,” he said distantly.
It seemed as though there was nothing left but empty hallways, and Reece began to gain confidence. Levi led them around a corner, and they began to walk down a narrow passageway. Then, it all happened in an instant. One moment Levi had her in his tightened grip; the next, she was torn from it. She screamed as she was dragged backward into a dark room. Her heart felt as though it had stopped. She tried to scream again, but nothing came out. As she tried to fill her lungs with air in order to call out to Levi, a large hand clamped down over her mouth.
The door to the room was open, and Reece saw bright flashes of light coming from the hallway. The arm that was wrapped around her abdomen was squeezing her back into her captor’s chest. “We’ve got you now!” A raspy voice snarled into her ear. She pushed against the arm with all her strength but was unsuccessful in freeing herself.
The doorway was now completely dark. Where was Levi? What happened to him? Her body would not respond to anything she forced it to do. She was paralyzed with fear. She forgot how to inhale; her legs felt numb beneath her. Her heart pounded so loudly that she could hear nothing else. Focus, Reece!
She stared into the darkness for Levi, but didn’t find him. She began to recall her training; she had to find a way out of this attack. She tried to spin out of the man’s grip, but was not successful in releasing herself; he was too powerful. She was, however, successful in removing his hand from her mouth, and she managed to scream. “LEVI!”
No sooner had she screamed before the hand seized her mouth again, wrenching her head back. As she struggled to break free, she felt a sharp blow to her kidney so forceful that she buckled, yet the captor held her so tight that she never fell to the ground.
As the captor dragged her backwards, Reece continued to stare into the darkness, hoping to see any sign of Levi. Her heart nearly stopped when she noticed a faint blue glow out of the corner of her eye. Levi’s eyes.
Her attacker stopped his backward motion. “Come any closer, and I will snap her neck!” His voice did not sound like the men they encountered at the entrance to the castle. It was normal, like Levi’s.
Reece kept fighting him, searching for a way out. The eyes she thought she had seen were gone. She struggled to breathe as the man’s large hand covered her mouth and nose.
“I know you’re in here, Oxley. Why don’t you show yourself? Are you the coward your father is? SHOW YOURSELF!” The voice screamed in her ear. “You know I will rule over you, Levi. They have made me one of them! Once we take you captive, Pemdas will be mine to rule!” The voice laughed darkly. “Once we get the map to the stone from the girl, we will control everything. Pemdas will be…”
Her captor’s body jerked, and in that instant, Reece was able to break loose and fall to the ground. As soon as she was on the ground, she twisted around, facing where the man was that she freed herself from, and scurried backward on her hands and feet until her back hit a wall. As fast as she could, she stood up against the wall.
She could hear nothing except for rustling and heavy breathing coming from the middle of the room. She struggled, without success, to see through the dark, and to interpret what she was hearing.
After hearing a loud, guttural moan, the room fell silent. Was it Levi who had ended the struggle? She couldn’t tell, and could not trust whoever was left in the room with her. She moved as quietly as she could, breathing slowly and shallowly, away from where she heard the scuffle.
“Reece?” It was Levi.
Relief flooded through her. “Levi!” She reached into the darkness, and found him standing in front of her. His hands found hers, and he pulled her into his chest, holding her tightly for a brief moment. “We must leave at once. Come with me now.” He said as he marched them briskly out of the room.
When two men advanced them in the hallway, Levi reacted without hesitation. In one fluid motion, he lun
ged forward and struck the first man in his throat with a powerful blow; he planted his foot solidly on the ground, and whipped his other leg around until it connected with the second man’s knee with a loud, resonating crack. Before the man’s body buckled to the ground, Levi followed up with his fist, and struck him in the jaw. Both men seemed to hit the ground at the same time, unconscious. Reece was shocked by how quickly the entire exchange had taken place. Levi was back at her side in an instant, clutching her around the waist, as they charged past the attackers.
They turned a corner, and walked down a short hallway, before stopping at a doorway. Levi shoved the heavy wooden doors open, and they stepped into a large room. Navarre and six other Pemdai men were waiting inside.
“Levi! Son, whose blood is on your shirt? The Ciatron do not bleed…are you injured?”
Levi responded, “It’s Michael Visor’s blood; he was part of their plan to intercept Reece.”
Navarre’s face became fierce. He reached his arm up around his son’s neck, and drew him in to meet his eyes. “Let us finish this, now! I will abide this no longer!”
The fury in Levi’s face mirrored his father’s when he nodded in response.
Navarre looked to his guards. “As soon as we enter the council chambers, go retrieve Michael. Take him directly to Pemdas.” He looked at Levi. Father and son’s eyes glowed fiercely.
Levi took Reece into his arms one last time. “Remember our conversation on the airplane this morning.” He reached into his inner coat pocket, and pulled out two tiny, gold ovals with arrows engraved on them. He placed one on each side of her forehead, and they adhered to her skin.
She looked at him quizzically. “What are these?”
“There will be many different languages spoken in this council chamber today; these will interpret the languages so that you can understand what is being said. I want you to be able to hear it first hand, instead of waiting for me to interpret it for you.”
“Oh, okay.” Her heart was pounding again.
He stared confidently into her eyes, and then gave her hand to his waiting father. Navarre escorted her toward two large doors, as Levi walked protectively at her other side. Their faces bore the gravest expressions she had ever seen.
The doors opened slowly, and Reece gasped at the scene before her.
Chapter 29
The faces that stared at her were not all human-like. Aliens. She had never considered the possibility that all of the stories—myths, legends, conspiracy theories—that she had heard about could actually be true. She supposed there was life out there, but the visual realization of it was shocking. Until now, her understanding of Aliens went no further than the Pemdai, who were much like the people of Earth. The room was filled with over a hundred different, strange entities; and it took Reece a moment to be able to comprehend the reality of the sight before her eyes.
There were beings in the crowd that resembled unfathomable creatures. Creatures that, despite Hollywood’s best imaginations, were more frightening to look at than anything she’d ever seen; real or imaginary. One had a dragon-like face, with bone-like spikes throughout it. It had scales covering his body, claws for hands, and a serpent-like tongue slipped in and out from between its slender lips. Another had a shiny brown, elongated head. It’s large, round eyes glowed red, and appeared to highlight its razor sharp teeth. These monsters looked like evil incarnate. As she looked away, she recalled the first time Navarre explained to her about the other dimensions and worlds apart from her own. He couldn’t understand why Earth’s leaders kept it all a secret from their people. At this moment, she understood why, and was grateful that they did keep it a secret from everyone. Even as she stood between the two fearless men who protected Earth from these things, she wondered; if she were to survive this, would she have nightmares for the rest of her life? She pulled her eyes away from the horrifying beings, and hoped she would easily forget what they looked like.
There were others that were more fascinating than they were frightening. One individual looked as though he, if it was a ‘he’, was transparent. His neighbor had an enormous sized head atop his tiny body. Another being’s skin was colored such a bright red that it made her eyes water just by glancing at it.
Her heart almost stopped when her eyes fell upon a group of well-known men that she recognized from Earth. From the faces she recognized, she could easily discern that all of the major leaders from Earth were in attendance. They stared intently and somberly in her direction. They sat close to the front, where long wooden tables stretched the entire length of the enormous, open room. Three long tables were arranged in horseshoe shape, with the opening facing the door. Behind the closed end of the horseshoe, another table stood on an elevated platform. At this table sat six individuals; two of them human-looking, the other four were not. Two of them spoke to each other quietly, yet stared darkly at Reece.
Whether or not she felt safe with Levi and Navarre, she wanted out of this room. She hoped that Harrison and Samuel would arrive with their men quickly, and this would all be over.
A voice spoke as if it was coming through loudspeakers, and the oddness of it startled her as the sound resonated through the dimly lit room. “Thank you for honoring our request, Navarre. Now, release the Key, and let her come forward.”
Reece clenched Navarre’s arm tightly, and her other hand, of its own accord, reached for Levi’s rigid arm. He brought his arm up to accept her gesture. She stood gripping the arms of the two tall men, staring into the crowd as a large, skinny creature stood up from his seat behind the table. His entire body was opaque gray, with long slender arms and legs. His head was elongated with a narrow face, and large black, oval eyes.
Navarre answered. “The woman will remain with us until this issue has been resolved. Then, she will leave with us.” He turned his commanding face to those who sat around the tables staring at them. “We are not here to honor anyone’s requests! We are simply here to demonstrate that the accusations against our kind are untrue. We also come to insist that all of our men, who you have unjustly imprisoned, be released immediately. We stand before you for no other reasons.”
The gray creature walked out from behind the table on the platform. He stepped down to the floor, and made his way through the center of the tables before he stopped. “Emperor Navarre, I see that you have come here today, believing, in ignorance, that you hold a superior position to the rest of us. Could the child clinging to your arm be the source of that delusion?”
“Do not fool yourself into believing that I will stand here and tolerate your frivolous accusations, Movac,” Navarre said sternly. “I demand an explanation for the imprisonment of my men.”
Movac laughed and shook his head. “Emperor, you and your men are no longer to be trusted. Therefore, we took the necessary precautions.” He stretched forth his long arm toward Reece. “Allow her to come forward, away from you, so that we may regain the trust we all once had. We need from answers from her, as well.”
Navarre growled back, “She is not here for the Council; I am! I suggest you find another way to regain your trust in us. Provoking me and dismissing my demands will not help this situation.”
Movac stopped, and turned his back to Navarre. “Interesting, isn’t it, Navarre?” He turned back around with a hostile look on his face. His tone changed entirely. “You forget who you are speaking to, Guardian! Do you not understand what you face? All the dimensions demand answers, and until they receive them, you stand here as an enemy!” His wicked mouth turned up into a sneer. “I suggest you choose your words carefully, Emperor.”
Navarre inhaled deeply, and Reece could feel him controlling his rage. “Very well, then. If there are questions of me, let them be asked. The woman will remain at my side.”
A strange voice spoke, causing Reece to search the faces in the room to see who it came from. She could not place it, until the transparent being stood. “Navarre, we have been close throughout all of our years serving as our lands’ trusted
leaders. These words are not so easily spoken by me, but unfortunately, I cannot apologize for my concerns.” He paused before continuing. “Since ancient times, we have always trusted the Guardians to protect Earth. Unfortunately, how can we trust anyone who holds the one thing in their possession that can give them supremacy over all of our worlds? I cannot believe that you would not be tempted in the least to unlock the information in this woman’s mind; therefore, I am forced to question your motives.”
Navarre turned a bit to face his accuser. “Before questioning my integrity, Misqualis, question your perspective. We. Are. Pemdai. ‘Guardian’ was not a self-imposed title; it was granted us by this very council, for our service of protecting all of you. Now you stand here and question those who have protected you? You fear being ruled by outside forces, and yet you are being ruled by fear itself. It is not now, nor has it ever been, the desire of the Pemdai to rule over other worlds; but simply to allow each its own autonomy, and to live in peace ourselves.”
He gently removed Reece’s arm from his, leaving her in Levi’s care. He walked a couple of paces in front of them. “I will not stand here and be told that the Pemdai can’t be trusted, after all our kind has done for every one of you. Have you all so quickly forgotten the battle that was fought many years ago, which necessitated the creation of this stone?” He waited for a response from the crowd.
The Ciatron leader stared at him fiercely. “Of course we have not forgotten what your ancient Guardians helped to create, Navarre! How could we? However, you speak of the past. Why must the Guardians believe that our kind still seek to control the Earth?”
“Movac, your kind has always sought power to rule over everything in its entirety. It is why the stone is hidden away, never to be found.”
Movac smiled widely. “Is it hidden, Navarre? I believe you have the answer in the Earthling, and you will soon take your place over us all; using the powers of the stone to manipulate the Earth, and therein, the junctions by which we all travel.”