by Nicky Graves
“And we need the guardians,” Lawson said. “Which means we don’t need you screwing it up.”
“I promise not to screw anything up.” Dean shoved his hands into his pockets. His fingertips poked through a giant hole at the bottom of his left pocket.
“The only way for you to be helpful is for you to do what we say,” Lawson said.
“Fine, but make it something good,” Dean said. “You have no idea how boring it is in ghostville. Most of the ghosts I encounter just float around mumbling random words. I need a little action.”
Lawson eyed him. “Just because you’re bored doesn’t mean we’re here to entertain you. You can be a gopher for now.”
Dean didn’t seem thrilled by that proclamation, but he didn’t refuse either.
“What gopher task will you assign me?” Dean asked.
“I’ll introduce you to the others. Report to me with updates from them.”
“That’s what cell phones are for,” Dean said. “You do realize by making me a gopher and having me relay messages that I would basically know the entire inside operation of your team.”
“He has a point,” I said.
Lawson glared at him as he realized his error.
Dean casually stretched. “The thing is, I may look like a metalhead, but I was raised by an admiral. The tiresome man used to come up with strategy puzzles I’d have to figure out. It was annoying, but it was the only time I ever got to spend with him. So, if you want my help, and for me not to give away your entire operation, I suggest you let me stick close to Riley. I’m more than happy to be her gopher.”
“Fine,” Lawson said, giving up his argument. He probably realized he couldn’t control Dean. “If you want to get your ass kicked by the guardians, go ahead.”
Dean grinned, knowing he had won.
I shook the life stone out of the pouch and into my hand. It immediately melted into a pool of light, seeping into my body. My hand glowed yellow for a brief moment before returning to normal.
“Holy crap,” Dean said.
I felt the surge of power in me, but it was different from the other stones. But I wasn’t sure what that difference was. No person or creature materialized before me like with the other stones. However, a calmness swept over me. Instead of feeling anxious, I was relaxed.
“Time to go see the guardians,” I said, filled with optimism I hadn’t felt in a long time.
Dean reached out to take my hand, similar to what Lawson would do when we would shift together. Lawson glowered at Dean for a moment. I had nearly missed a flash of jealousy. I looked the other way, trying not to be pleased. Whether it was from brotherly protection or something more, Lawson liked me enough to be jealous of a ghost.
“Meet me back at my pod when you’re done with the guardians,” Lawson said. “I’ll get an update from the others.”
I gave a nod and shifted to a place past the painful path. Now that I knew where the guardians were located, I was able to pinpoint my shift more precisely. I certainly didn’t want to have to walk through the pathway of despair again.
“So, who are these guardians?” Dean asked.
“Possibly the only people who can defeat Azrael. There’s a legend about them, but I’m not sure how much of it is true. But basically, Azrael got out of hand with the whole death thing. Life made the guardians so that they could keep Azrael in check.”
“And obviously the guardians failed, otherwise we wouldn’t be here.”
“Azrael was stronger than Life anticipated. But the guardians are our only shot right now. At last count, Azrael has five of the seven life stones.”
“And what exactly are these stones?”
“It is said that Life broke himself into seven pieces and scattered himself across the universe.”
“Why would he do that?”
“Because Life created Death, who we know as Azrael. It was to balance the universe in life and death. But Life realized his mistake too late. He couldn’t control Death, and he couldn’t kill him either. Life had given the ability of death solely to Azrael. So, Life found himself in trouble because Azrael could kill him at his whim. Life then broke himself apart and scattered himself across the universe.”
“And now Azrael has five stones of Life?” Dean asked. “So, if he gets the other two, what will happen?”
“No one knows. But whatever it is, it can’t be good. Maybe Azrael will become even more powerful and take out the entire universe in one swoop, or it’s possible that he could reassemble Life and kill him once and for all. No one knows. All we do know is that Azrael wants me dead.”
“Because he doesn’t want to share his deathdom?”
“You could say that. He’s not very parental. But I don’t think he was ever meant to be a father. Before Life broke himself into seven pieces, he cursed Azrael with a human body and marked him. His human body comes with weaknesses.”
“And one of those must be women, if you’re alive,” Dean said.
I gave a nod. “Seems so. Azrael didn’t mean to have an heir, and he’s very adamant he wants me gone. Which is why I’m looking for the guardians.”
And if they still didn’t want to help me even while I possessed a life stone, I was out of ideas.
“So, we persuade them,” Dean said.
“They’ve been hiding for a long time,” I said. “Right now, they don’t want anything to do with me.”
“If they are Life’s servants, they don’t have a choice.”
“I was hoping to sway them with a life stone. That’s why Lawson and I were at the museum.”
“So, where are the guardians?”
I glanced around, not seeing the stone castle that had been here. We were definitely in the right place though.
“If they were here, I don’t see anybody now,” Dean said.
They wouldn’t run away again, would they?
Dean and I searched the area anyway. After an hour of wandering around, we stopped to take a break. Sitting in the soft meadow grass, I gazed up at the light-lavender sky.
“I think your guardians took off.”
“No,” I said, not wanting to believe it.
“They sound like a bunch of cowards. You’re better off without them.”
“There has to be a reason why they aren’t showing themselves.”
“I think you know what that reason is,” Dean said. “Cowards.”
“Perhaps they’re not showing themselves because you’re here,” I said, grasping for anything besides abandonment that would explain the situation. “Do me a favor and go back to Lawson’s pod. I’ll meet you there in an hour if I can’t find them.”
Dean looked as though he wanted to argue, but he gave a nod instead. “I guess it might work.” Dean stood and walked away. Within seconds, his body disappeared like fog in sunshine.
“Guardians?” I shouted. “Talk to me. I have a life stone.”
No one appeared.
I began walking again, wondering if I wasn’t in the right spot after all. But this had to be the place. It looked too familiar. And every time I neared the pathway through the forest, my mind tried to make me give up and leave. So, this had to be the right place.
After an hour of searching, I still couldn’t find the guardians. I had to finally admit Dean was right. They were cowards.
Anger and frustration welled inside of me.
“Guardians!” I yelled.
Were they really so afraid of Azrael that they would hide again?
“Life created you to keep Azrael under control,” I shouted. “Azrael has five of the life stones. That is not under control!”
I may have been just shouting in an empty forest. But it felt good to let out some of my frustrations. And if on the remote chance they could hear me, I wanted them to know what I thought about their cowardice.
“Do you have any honor at all? Or are you going to depend on an eighteen-year-old to take care of your responsibility?”
Clarness tried to calm me, but verb
al jabs were all I had left.
“Lucifer and Azrael are working together,” I continued. “Do you really think they won’t eventually come for you? Do you think you can survive when the rest of the universe has been wiped out? Your only options are to work with me or die at the hands of Azrael.”
Still, nothing.
Deflated, I was about to shift to the dead zone, but something in my peripheral vision glittered in the light. A form began emerging. I turned to face it. “Guardian?”
A guardian appeared; a different one from the last. While this guy was wearing the same outfit as the other one, his blond hair was pulled back into a ponytail. A scar cut across his cheek, making him look like a warrior.
“You’re either very brave or very stupid to come back here,” he said.
“I’ve been called both,” I said. “But I can’t call you guys brave, which only then leaves stupid. You had thousands of years to take down Azrael, and yet I find you hiding here. Why?”
He sneered. “We don’t have to answer to the likes of you, reaper.”
“No, but you have to answer to Life.”
“Life broke himself apart, abandoning the universe,” he said. “Do you know how many of us died fighting Life’s war?”
“No. Tell me.”
“We were an entire race. Millions of us.”
“And now?”
“A few hundred.”
“You know Life didn’t abandon you. He created you to be his champion. And you could have gathered his life stones and used them against Azrael.”
“We cannot use them.”
“Why not?”
“We don’t have the power to harness them. They were better off hidden.”
“They aren’t hidden any longer. Azrael has five. I have one stone with me. There’s only one more I need to find.”
He raised a blond brow. “Do you think you can beat Azrael with two stones?”
“No, but I have to work with what I have. There are no other options. Azrael is already too strong. The elders are weak, and they are siding with him.”
“The elders have always been weak.”
I glanced at him, crossing my arms. “So, what’s your decision? Will you help me or continue to hide like a coward?”
“I don’t make decisions,” he said. “If I did, I’d forbid you from returning. However, I’ll bring you to Kailin.”
Great. I was going to have to argue all over again.
The guardian barely flicked a finger and the domed stone structure appeared again. This time there was a golden door, and it was open. He pointed to it. “Go on. Kailin is waiting for you.”
I eyed him with a fair amount of distrust before I walked the short stone path to the golden entry.
When I stepped through the entrance, another guardian appeared. Without any kind of introduction, he bade me to follow him to a spacious circular room with a cathedral ceiling that seemed to jut up to the sky. The ceiling was marvelous to look at. It shimmered with a source of light that I couldn’t detect; not where it came from nor how it was powered.
In the middle of the room stood a woman wearing a similar ensemble as the men, only in a slightly more feminine cut. Her hair was white blond and her eyes were a clear blue. In Earth years, she looked to be in her thirties. But I knew she was vastly older than that.
“Riley,” she said, “we meet at last.”
20
I was surprised the woman used my name since we hadn’t been introduced. “How do you know my name? Are you Kailin?”
“Yes, I’m Kailin. And I’ve been watching you since you were born.”
Since I was born? Had she known my destiny before anyone else?
“Why were you watching me?”
Kailin smiled. “Come, let’s sit. There is much we need to discuss.”
She turned and walked to a door on the opposite side of the entrance. She held the door open for me and then closed it behind me once I passed through to an antechamber.
The room was elegantly decorated with a floral theme. A wave of calmness passed over me.
She offered me to sit on a padded chair that looked like it was woven out of delicate gold strands. She sat on another chair across from me. A low table, similar to a coffee table, sat between us. But this one didn’t have legs. It floated on air and yet didn’t move.
Before I could begin questioning her, a guardian walked into the room with a tea tray. The pot was tall and thin, and the handle was twisted like an old tree branch. The guardian set the tray on the table. Kailin gave a nod, and he retreated.
“You must be thirsty after your travels,” she said, picking up the pot.
Traveling wasn’t so much an issue, but it had been a long day, and I was thirsty.
I gave a nod, wondering if I could trust the tea. Gracefully, she poured clear lavender liquid into two white porcelain cups.
“What is it?” I asked.
“It’s a tea made from a flower here. Similar to the hibiscus flower on Earth.”
She handed me a cup and then took one for herself. She held the cup with both hands, so I mirrored what she did. And when she took a sip, I decided to go ahead and try it as well.
“So, you’ve been watching me?” I asked, taking a sip of the tea and then regretting it. It wasn’t that the tea was bad, but it was overpowering.
“Yes, I have,” she said.
“Why?” I asked.
“Because you are the one I’ve been waiting for.”
“What do you mean?”
“You are the only one who can truly bond with the life stones. Others may harness their gifts as trinkets, but you become one with the stones.”
“I might be able to bond with the stones, but I need help. I need training to fight Azrael. I can’t fight him like a reaper. I won’t win. I have to fight differently. Maybe like a guardian.”
She shook her head. “I’m afraid I cannot help you with that.”
I wanted to tell her she was as useless as her guard dogs in the forest. However, Clarness the Yellow began working its magic. The coiled tension that had me ready to demand action dissipated.
“Can you at least tell me how to defeat Azrael?”
“If we knew that, we would have done so already.”
“So, this is it? You can’t help me?”
“Riley, we will help you as much as we can. There are some things that we were never supposed to do.”
“Like what?”
“We were never supposed to defeat Azrael. Life knew we would always need Death in the universe. Because where there is life, eventually death must follow. We were never created to kill Azrael.”
Kilian set her cup down, so I did the same.
“Azrael’s struggle for power went horribly wrong in the beginning,” she said. “But after our war with him, Azrael eventually was able to balance his need for power and what the universe demanded from him. What he is doing now is an act of defiance for a circumstance that was brought on by himself.”
“I can understand his need to secure his power,” I said. “But he’s no longer in balance. He’s out of control. He’s working with Lucifer, and I don’t doubt there will be many lives lost, if not all. What can I do to ensure balance remains?”
“Had it been one of the other reapers who asked me, I might not have been able to give them any hope. But with you, I sense there is a possibility. But you have to understand it is very slim.”
“How can you help me make it less slim?”
She thought for a moment. “I suppose we can teach you what we know. The knowledge you learn will only help a little, I’m afraid.”
That was a better offer than I had gotten in a while. “I accept.”
When she stood, I stood as well.
“Come back tomorrow, Riley,” she said. “We will begin your training then.”
I gave a nod and was about to excuse myself when I realized I had no idea when their tomorrow might be. “What kind of time system are you running in this real
m?” I asked. “I don’t want to be late.”
“You will get a summons from us. That will be your invitation. Go home and get ready.”
“Do I need anything? Scythe? Nunchucks?”
“Bring an open mind and a peaceful heart.”
Before I could ask any more questions, she gave a leisurely wave of her hand, shifting me out of her realm. I thought I’d end up in the dead zone. But to my horror, I landed in my bedroom at my mother’s house.
Home.
Nothing in my bedroom had changed. Mom had left it exactly as I had, minus the pile of dirty clothes.
I walked to the closed door and listened. Muffled voices came from downstairs, possibly from the living room. Shielding myself from view, I snuck downstairs. And while I expected my mom and my brother to be there, I didn’t expect Larue and Finn.
“You are stunning in your prom dress,” Mom said to Larue. “I wish Riley was here to see you.”
“I hope I didn’t make you sad by coming here,” Larue said. “But you’re like a mother to me, and I know you miss Riley.”
Mom grappled Larue into a bear hug and then moments later scooted back. Her eyes were filled with tears. “I hope I didn’t wrinkle your dress.”
“My dress is fine,” Larue said. “Well, I guess Finn and I should go.”
Mom clutched a tissue to her nose. She watched as Larue and Finn walked out the door and down the sidewalk to his car.
Prom. One more thing I missed. I tried not to be sad. But homesickness weighed heavily on me. So, instead of going to the dead zone, I went to the school and stood just outside the gym, watching as people began arriving. From my spot, I could see snippets of the gym through the exterior doors.
Soon, the auditorium was filled with students. The music was loud enough I could hear it from outside.
I wanted to talk to Larue and thank her for visiting my mom, but I didn’t want to disturb her. Prom had been on Larue’s bucket list, and I would hate myself if I ruined it.
I’m not sure how long I had stood there, peering into a place I no longer belonged, but it was well into the night when Lawson appeared next to me.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, feeling his comfortable presence next to me.