Chapter 9 - The Guardian

Had Noliea kept her eyes open, she would have been terrified at the sight.

The two masters who had whipped the young centauress to her death froze in terror at what they saw.

The slave master, who had been ordered to stay in his room, tucked himself as tight as he could, and hoped he had not been seen.

The last thing prince Kek saw before his body began its death spasms was the one thing he believed he would never see.

Every slave in the slave quarters stood absolutely still.

Second princess Quee, the most favored daughter of the dead king; spawn of Merek; and mate to the now warrior-king Kek, never saw it coming.

There had been a horrible crunch, and Quee lay on the floor of the slave quarters; literally snapped in half under the weight of the great fate himself.

And for an entire, eternal second... nobody moved.

Time slowed to a crawl. The great fate charged the two guards, punching one in the face so hard the carcass knocked the second one completely across the quarters. As the second hit the far wall, it tucked itself into a tight ball. The great fate didn’t seem to care. He leapt over to the guard and drove his fist through its body plates. Then, seeing no other masters alive, he turned his infuriated gaze towards the slaves.

The anger in Gabriel had overwhelmed him once again. The sight of the dead centauress had made him flush with rage. He had threatened to kill every last insect for the death of the giant centaur, and now he would carry out their death sentence.

But as he turned around to exit the barn, the sight he received instantly snapped him out of his fury.

It was the giant centaur.

He was standing in a stall on the opposite side where Gabriel now stood. And although the room was nearly dark because of the storm, he could see that the giant man was fully recovered. Most of the other centaurs were looking at him with expressions of stark terror. But the giant one simply looked back at him with disbelief.

Gabriel slowly walked over to the giant centaur, looking at the others as he went. Most were around seven to eight feet tall; having the body of a normal horse and a human half that seemed enlarged to fit. There were both male and female, and they were all very malnourished. You could see the ribs on both the human and equine halves.

Reaching the centaur he had freed before, Gabriel gently walked forward into its stall, talking softly as he went. The big man stepped to the side, and gave Gabriel room to enter. As luck would have it, he had given Gabriel room on the centaur’s left side; the same side where he had taken the spear. Gabriel looked down at the barrel chest and found no entry wound at all, not even a scar. The centaur in the next stall said something to the giant in a voice that was obviously full of fear. The giant replied back to him, even turning his gaze away from Gabriel for a moment. The giants voice was deep and powerful, and held no fear. Gabriel grabbed the thick ropes binding the massive man to the wall.

“Nah!” said the centaur, engulfing Gabriel’s hands in his own. Gabriel hesitated, and slowly released the restraints holding the centaur in the stall. The centaur grabbed the restraints in his own hands and slowly pulled them. Gabriel could see that they were being fed through a hole in the wooden divider to the centaur in the stall across from him. Had Gabriel pulled the restraints, he would have broken the other’s arms.

Gabriel grabbed one of the thick ropes with both hands and pulled it taunt between them. He had to strain a bit, but there was a sharp ‘snap’, and the rope broke. Three more snaps, and the huge centaur was free once again.

The centaur immediately moved towards a small room near the front of the barn. Just outside of the room lay a fourth insect on a large rug. The insect was belly up, and its legs were twitching like a cockroach. The thing was obviously near death.

Several of the other centaurs towards the front of the barn were talking in hushed whispers. The massive centaur stepped around the dieing insect and removed a small knife from the wall. He then moved to the third stall and freed the centaur there.

Gabriel was a bit surprised that the giant had passed two other centaurs before freeing another. He walked out of the stall, still much aware that all eyes were still on him, and headed towards the dieing insect. He had taken only three steps when the second freed centaur came out of its stall.

It was dead. Or more precisely, undead.

The face that stared back at him had no eyes. The flesh had rotted away so badly that the blackened teeth were exposed. Dark liquid seeped out of the nasal cavity and ran down the side of its face. The arms were nearly skeletal, with decayed muscle and bones clearly visible in the dim light. The equine portion had entrails hanging out of its lower belly, and large chunks of muscle tissue exposed under torn flesh on its rump.

Zombies had been one the horrors of Gabriel’s childhood. The maze had been flooded with them. But here, the context seemed completely wrong. This one wasn’t bearing down on him; arms outstretched and making the typical moaning sounds. In fact, this zombie was backing up, its eyeless gaze shifting from Gabriel to the giant centaur and back again.

Before it had a chance to kill any of the living centaurs, Gabriel attacked.

“Paul!” yelled the zombie as it scrambled backwards as fast as it could. The giant centaur jumped from the stall he was in and interposed himself between Gabriel and retreating corpse. Dropping the small knife he was holding, the giant grabbed the archangel by the arms.

“Nah!” said the giant once again, “Nah.” The huge centaur said a long string of words, but their meaning was lost.

“Paul.” said Gabriel, understanding that the zombie had called the giant by his name, “Your name is Paul.”

The centaur, surprised to hear his own name, loosened his grip. When he was sure that the zombie centaur was on the far side of the stalls, he released Gabriel, picked up the short curved knife he had dropped, and returned to the first row of stalls to continue freeing the others.

Gabriel watched as ‘Paul’ used the knife to free the first pair. He didn’t used the knife to cut the bonds, he simply inserted the metal tip into the ends of the ropes, and the thick rings that were wrapped around their wrists came free of the rope itself. It was more like the knife was...

‘A key.’ thought Gabriel, as the first pair was unshackled from the wall. Moving to the front of the barn he looked at the fourth dead insect on the mat to see if another key was on it.

The insect had nothing on it except two thin silver bands of metal wrapped around one of the lower legs just above the knee joint. The fatal wound was the obvious spear hole in the center of its underbelly. Had it been another time Gabriel would have studied it with interest. The thing definitely looked more like a trilobite than an insect.

Pulling back the cloth flap that covered the doorway, Gabriel searched for another key. If he couldn’t find one quickly, he would just go back and break the ropes with his hands. What he found was another insect, curled up on the floor. The moment Gabriel pulled back the flap, it tightened into itself even further. It looked like some medieval monster truck tire.

Gabriel grabbed the thing by one of the rough spikes along its back and hauled it into the barn. The thing hissed in protest, but kept itself tightly curled. This one looked slightly different than the others; the jointed plates along its back were grayer in color, and the pair of ridges that formed down the two sides of its back were chipped and flaked. It almost looked as if this insect was rusting. Indeed, several small pieces of the plating had flaked off where he had grabbed it.

The giant centaur had given the small knife to another centauress who had less of a problem fitting inside an occupied stall. She froze as Gabriel turned his attention back to the centaurs. Paul said a few words to her, and she slowly resumed her work; never taking her eyes off of Gabriel. Paul then pointed back to the small room and said something else to Gabriel; none of the words sounding familiar. As Gabriel turned back towards the room, a blue glow lit the interior of the barn. Spinning around, the glow instantly stopped. It had come from the other side of the stalls.

Paul tried to block his view of where several of the centaurs had gathered around a single stall. The massive centaur was now animate, his baritone voice saying a stream of meaningless terms. As Gabriel stepped towards the back of the barn, Paul would step with him, blocking his path. The look on the centaur's face was worried.

Seeing that the giant centaur could block either way around to the other side, Gabriel pointed to the huddled insect a few steps away, “What about this one?” he asked, knowing the centaur would not be able to understand him.

Paul looked over at the still huddled insect, and Gabriel leapt straight over the massive centaur and landed on the opposite side of the barn. The dozen or so centaurs gathered there scattered to opposite sides of the barn. The only two remaining were the dead centauress, and the zombie centaur kneeling next to her.

Gabriel had been relatively sure that the young centauress was dead. It had taken a whipping that had literally ripped its human back completely off. Now however he could see her breathing, and her back had significantly less damage that he had first seen. The zombie sat motionless; its hollow sockets fixed on Gabriel.

{She is our healer,} one of the centaurs said in perfect English , {Please, I beg of you, let her brighten the child.}

A centauress walked slowly up towards Gabriel. In her hand she carried a large gold coin attached to a long chain. Paul came up directly beside her. The rain had made the room so dark it became impossible to see their features.

‘That voice,’ thought Gabriel to himself, ‘Why do I know that voice?’

“If the zombie harms the centauress in any way I will rip it in half with my bare hands.”

The centauress holding the medallion paused, then turned to the zombie and nodded. The zombie turned its attention away from Gabriel and back to the injured centauress. Placing its rotted hands on the others equine back, it paused for a moment. Suddenly, its hands began to glow. The glow quickly brightened in size and intensity; spreading up the zombie’s arms and covering the injured centauress. The entire barn was lit by the eerie blue radiance. The light flared like an arc welder, the intensity so harsh it was impossible to stare directly into the stall. Gabriel looked away from the zombie, and directly into the eyes of the centauress holding the medallion.

Time stopped... literally. Across every dimension, across all space and time, across all things that ever existed, or would ever exist... time just stopped.

Nothing moved. The harsh light from the stall didn’t flicker. There was no sound from the rain. Gabriel couldn't even think. The moment he saw those eyes...

Those eyes... those incredible deep brown eyes...

The feeling that struck him at that exact moment was infinitely more powerful than simple ‘déjà vu’. His subconscious had already recalled the last time he had looked into those eyes, but the rest of his mind simply could not accept who was standing before him. He tried to look away; tried looking at her face, the wall... blinking... but his eyes stayed locked on hers.

Whatever, or whoever, that decided to stop everything for this moment chose to start time again. Across all of everything, time resumed its endless trek.

The arc light coming from the stall stopped and darkness enshrouded the barn. The rain continued to pound the roof and the last of the centaurs was released from his bonds. The centaurs all watched the great fate to see what he would do next. But the great fate just stood there; his face masked in bewilderment and shock.

Gabriel wasn’t sure just how long he stood there in total silence. It must have been a while. The next thing he knew, the giant centaur was touching his arm and saying something in his native tongue.

Gabriel looked around the barn. Both the zombie and centauress had vacated the stall next to him, and the remainder of the centaurs had moved to the far side of the barn.

“Wha...What happened?” asked Gabriel, feeling the adrenalin rush sweep over his body.

Paul looked over towards the centauress carrying the medallion.

{He asks what has happened,} she said to Paul.

Paul looked at Gabriel blankly. Not knowing how to answer the question, he motioned at the centauress. She tossed him the medallion, which he then presented to Gabriel.

{Hold this,} Paul said in English as he held out the chain and coin, {Then we will be able to talk to you.}

Gabriel took the coin in his hand. It was too dark to make out any details on the face, but it was about the size of a silver dollar.

{So now you can understand me?} asked Gabriel.

“Yes.” replied Paul.

{What did the zombie do to the centauress?}

Paul looked a bit nervous at the asking of the question. He looked over at the remainder of the herd for guidance.

“Does the great fate not know of healers?” asked one of the centaurs.

Gabriel wondered if the translator was working correctly. {What is the great fate?}

“Are you not the god of the masters?” asked Paul, looking as confused as Gabriel.

Gabriel shook his head no, “I am no god. I am-” He hesitated. Was he throwing away something here? If they thought he was a god, would he be able to... to... what? Control the nightmare? End it perhaps? He doubted he would be able to control it no matter what he said. “I am only a man,” he resigned, finishing his statement.

The door of the barn opened. One of the insect people leapt out of the door and into the downpour. Gabriel looked back at the spot where he had left the curled up insect. It was gone.

Flying up to the loft, Gabriel dove out the upper doors and landed directly in front of the insect man.

{Going somewhere?} growled Gabriel.

The insect man stopped with only inches to spare. “You are no god, half-slave,” it hissed, “I will not pay tribute to your deeds.”

{I don’t want your ‘tribute’,} Gabriel replied, the anger welling up inside of him again, {I want you to get your little bug-ass back into that barn.}

“And if I refuse?”

{You can either return to the barn in one piece, or two. Your choice.}

The slave master entered the barn, closely followed by the person once thought to be the great fate himself.

{In there,} said Gabriel, indicating the nearest stall. When the slave master refused, he simply picked him up and tossed him in.

{Paul,} he said, standing at the entrance of the slave masters stall to prevent his escape, {How many of your people are in the city?}

“Just the twenty-seven of us.” Paul said, indicating the others in the barn.

{Gather your personal belongings. We’re leaving.}

Paul looked at Gabriel like he had just sprouted a new head. “We have no personal things. We are slaves.”

“If we leave without permission,” said the centauress who had first held the medallion, “the guards will kill us.”

Even with such grim words, her voice held a softness that riveted Gabriel’s attention. She could have read tax return statements, and Gabriel would have been enthralled.

Gabriel looked at the insect person lying on the floor of the stall, then turned his attention back to the centauress, {Do these insect people think I am their god?}

“Yes.” she replied.

{Excellent,} said Gabriel, grabbing the insect man by the side of his plates and picking him up off the ground, {Then we just got permission.}

The plan was simple. They would walk out.

The slave master would lead the way, followed by Gabriel and the centaurs. If they encountered any guards the slave master would tell them that he had been ordered to take the slaves out into the fields to clean up the bodies of the worms. Gabriel would take care of any “problems” that arose.

{Let me warn you,} whispered Gabriel to the slave master just before they opened the door, {I haven’t eaten in three days. If I so much as think your double-crossing me I’ll have you as my next meal.}

They headed out into the downpour. Gabriel waited next to the barn until all the centaurs were outside.

‘Twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three... is that all?’ Gabriel asked himself.

{Is everyone here?} he asked Paul.

Paul quickly looked about him, “Yes, everyone is out.”

Gabriel shrugged. He could have sworn Paul had said twenty-seven.

The slave master was going to have a rough time from the start. The streets had turned to mud, and his thin, clawed feet sank instantly. At one point, he fell forward and nearly disappeared under the muck completely. Gabriel hauled him up and walked over to the side of the street and set him down on the wooden sidewalk.

{Walk on the wood. But I will be watching you.}

The group walked around the large central structure, and the road continued straight. Gabriel couldn’t tell how far it was to the gates; the rain made it impossible to see ten feet ahead.

He turned around and made sure all twenty-three centaurs were still with him. The zombie and the centauress who had held the medallion were leading, with Paul and another male centaur taking the last positions. The two centaurs in front hesitated when he had turned around and the entire procession instantly halted.

{Come on,} said Gabriel, motioning the two forward, {We can’t stop.}

The two started forward again, and the others followed suit. As Gabriel walked backwards, he looked at the woman next to the zombie.

Her hair was black, and the rain matted it to her shoulders and back. She, like all the others, wore a simple gray poncho around her human torso. Her cheeks were sunken and her arms were thin. Her equine chest displayed all her ribs. If centaurs had ever been in a German concentration camp in World War II, this is what they would look like. But those eyes hadn’t changed. He knew those eyes... that face... he knew who this woman was.

He spun around and trudged forward through the red mud. The anger had crept up on him this time, and he found his left hand had been cut by a sharp edge on the medallion as he clenched his fist. He put the medallion around his neck, finding it unusually long. It looked like something a rap-star would wear.

“What is your name?” came a voice just slightly behind him.

{Huh?} he said, his attention having been distracted. Looking over his shoulder, he saw the woman had walked ahead of the group, and was now just slightly behind him.

“I asked, ‘What is your name?’”

{Gabriel,} he choked, not realizing he had become so upset at their appearance, {My name is Gabriel.}

She nodded, and they walked on for a few more seconds.

{What is yours?}

“Noliea.”

Like a final piece to the puzzle, her name solved the entire picture in a single word. This was the woman who had always been in the far corners of his mind since he was twelve; the woman his “id” considered the ultimate concept of perfection. She was the woman he saw when Tracy had forced his absolute idea of happiness up to the surface of his mind. And now, here she was, standing next to him in the pouring rain. Filthy... drenched... in bonds... practically starving to death... and a centaur??

The epiphany of the nightmare suddenly became clear: Find the ultimate expression of beauty and love from the deepest corner of his mind, change her so there’s no chance of ever fulfilling that love, then slowly kill her in the nightmare of his own creation.

‘Can you hear me telepath? Whoever you are, so help me god if I ever wake from this nightmare I will spend the rest of my life making your death as painful as possible!’

“Why are you crying?” asked Noliea.

Gabriel was once again jolted from his own thoughts back into the nightmare.

{It is only the rain,} he said, turning his head away and wiping the water from his face.

Noliea looked down at the ground before her, “I see.” she said quietly.

Gabriel turned around and made another headcount: Twenty-Three.

Turning back around, he could see the dark wall that was the front of the city.

{And you need food,} he added in a low tone.

The comment made Noliea look up from the ground.

“May I ask you a question?”

{You may ask me anything.}

“Why did you save Paul’s life?”

Gabriel had to think on that one. Why had he saved the giant centaurs life? And why had the centaur’s death sent him over the brink?

{It... is my nature to protect people,} he replied, fumbling for the right words, {In my world, I am called a Guardian. My job is to save the lives of innocent people.}

Noliea was quiet for a time as they neared the front gates.

{May I ask you a question?}

“You may ask me anything.”

{Why is the one who walks behind us... um....}

“Dead?” asked Noliea, completing the sentence.

{Yes.}

“Her name is Shaniddia, and she is not dead. It is only an illusion.”

In front of the gates stood the slave master. However, it looked somewhat different. A bit taller, and a bit wider.

“Guards!” it yelled, and instantly no less than forty spear-wielding insect people appeared from out of doorways, around walls, and behind obstacles. They were surrounded.

“Slave master,” the one at the gates shouted above the heavy drone of the rain, “Take the slaves back to the slave quarters. And bring the false god before me.”

{Don’t move until I tell you to.} Gabriel said in a hushed tone to Noliea.

The slave master and two guards approached the front of the group. Gabriel advanced towards them, leaving the centauress behind. All three held their spears at the ready.

“Half-slave,” the slave master began. It would be the last words he ever uttered.

Gabriel stooped down and spun completely in a circle, his right wing extending as he moved. The maneuver was so fast there was a bullwhip-like crack. The two guards, along with the slave master, fell backwards into the mud; each of them split in half.

Gabriel was directly in front of the remaining insect before the top halves had even hit the mud.

{I am no god,} he growled as he pinned the insect against the gates, {But you have seen my anger when one of these people are harmed. And I swear by whatever gods you worship, if so much as one of them is touched, I will kill every last living thing in this city. Starting with you.}

He backed off, holding his wings partially spread to give him more size.

“A barter,” the insect started.

{NO DEALS!} yelled Gabriel at the top of his lungs, {Either we all leave, or you all die. Make your choice now!}

Merek looked around at her remaining guards, and at the three bodies behind the false god. The king, Hunn, Quee, Wikki, Kek, three of her sisters, and a third of the royal court... all dead. She also had to contend with the fact that in a few months, king Derit would declare a war on the city... if there was anyone left in the city to declare war on.

“Stand down,” she said to the guards, “and open the gates.”

It took several guards to force the doors open, their clawed feet simply could not find the traction. Gabriel grabbed the two doors and flung them open, sending guards skidding across the mud on their backs.

{Congratulations,} he growled to the one remaining insect, {You live.}

“What manner of creature are you?” asked the insect, surprised that the false god had kept its word.

{I am a Guardian,} he replied, motioning the centaurs to advance.

The archangel, and twenty-three centaurs began to cross the front fields as the rain came down in torrents.