Dreams. She couldn’t escape them. They were terrifying, and so real. Caitlin shot up from her resting place beneath the thick branches of a half-dead pine, her body covered in sweat. Beside her, Renian looked up, a worried expression on his pale face.
“Lady?” the tiny sprite asked her. Caitlin shook her head, both to reassure the little spirit and to clear her mind. That dream… she had seen a similar one every night for the past three, always a little different, but everyone still held that pair of glowing, mismatched eyes that made her cringe in fear and shake in fury.
“I’m alright Renian,” she told the sprite. The violet-eyed spirit nodded, not pressing further. He was worried about his mistress, but felt that forcing her to talk would only make things worse. Caitlin sighed heavily and lay back across the hard ground. She had wrapped her wings around her as a protection from the chilling night air, laying one between her and the ground and wrapping the other around her like a blanket since her guardian robe was little help against the cold.
Something about these dreams frightened her to the point of nightmares. She didn’t really understand it. They were flickering images, flitting from one moment to another. The first scene she could remember was the face of a kind young man smiling down at her, guiding her towards a village covered in color. The village itself looked like something from medieval Europe. A village of straw, wood and earthen huts with a small council house in the center. It was heavily decorated that day, with bright streamers and ribbons, and children ran too and fro.
Then suddenly the scene changed. The sky darkened and from nowhere thousands of demons filled the streets. She was running, being tugged along by her sister Cassandra, the only person she recognized. Behind them, the young man from the earlier vision turned and confronted a tall, black skinned creature. She could hear him tell her to run…
Then she was in another village, a darker village, back in an alley with a bundle of glowing crystals spread out before her. She reached out to touch the clear one…
Then there was a dark room, with no windows. There were three people watching her… Was that Anne? She was being covered by darkness, shrouded by shadows, it was cutting her off from the outside. Her skin began to glow…
She was surrounded by light, just like when she had first transformed. There were shouts around her, cries and sobs from humans nearby. She broke out of her transformation…
And found herself facing an inhumanly beautiful vampress with cold, calculating eyes. She looked down at her hands, then looked up again and found herself facing a mirror. Her eyes had turned golden. She could see Anne smiling in the mirror beside her. Her counterpart’s eyes were blood red, and had an insane light in them.
Another flash and she found herself in the cool room of a castle tower, stonewalls surrounding her in a perfect circle. She could see the desolate world from the window nearby. A shadow moved beside her, revealing a blue-eyed demon. Caitlin… the creature whispered to her, leaned down to catch her lips in a chaste kiss…
She was in a field, a battle waging around her. She could see her guardian companions, they were struggling against something. And then she realized…
She was knocked to the ground, only to look up in time to see a young male vampire take a fatal blow for Anne and fall. Someone knelt beside her. She watched as Anne was locked in battle with the female vampress from earlier. It was a fight to fast to even see what was happening. She called for them to stop…
And then Anne’s fist went right through the vampress’ chest…
There was a dark room. She could see the male demon from before, except now…
Now he wasn’t a demon. His wings had changed, one becoming the crystal feathers of an angel. There was a shadow, an obscured figure before him, tearing the skin…
A child, a child lay dying in her arms. A child with her blue eyes, and deep, deep midnight hair. Tears were running down her face as another figure, whose face she couldn’t make out knelt beside her and placed a hand over the child’s wound. It was too late, the child was going to die…
She was floating in a sea of crystal light. Light so like the crystal she had slept in while in space. All around her she could feel it shifting and moving, rippling as it touched her power. There was a portal before her, a dark, clawed hand reaching out…
She was floating again, this time in darkness, her power the only light around her. She could see Anne a little way off. Why? she could hear herself ask. Because.... I won’t be in anyone’s way..... Anymore. Anne answered her. The world went black…
Everything was gone, she had failed. She knew there was no hope left…
A pair of eyes, mismatched, one sapphire blue, one blood red stared out at her. A dark chuckle echoed through the darkness. It was then that she would always wake up. Caitlin sighed, sitting up again. “I have to find the others,” she murmured. “Then… maybe these dreams will make sense.”
Anne, Cassandra, Aria and Joe stood before a small tropical forest, the only seen of life the four had seen since Balthas had conquered the human world. It was a jungle, with tangled vines blocking their path at every turn.
“I can sense her,” Anne murmured, glancing at Cassandra. The death guardian nodded in agreement.
“So can I,” she whispered. There was a strange longing in Cassandra’s voice, an almost desperate wish…
“Let’s go,” Joe murmured, nodding towards the forest. The three guardians nodded and followed him into the dense foliage. The trees and plants were so close to each other that Anne could barely see through them. Eventually, after a good deal of walking and more than one trip, they came to what seemed to be the entrance to an ancient temple dug into the ground.
“What do you think?” Cassandra asked Anne. The darkness guardian nodded.
“She’s here. It’s stronger now,” she answered. Cassandra smiled and beckoned to Aria.
“Come on, let’s go,” she said, taking hold of the child-guardian’s hand. Aria followed, with Joe at the back of the line, watching the jungle as they entered the small shrine. A flitting movement caught his eye, but he ignored it as they entered the temple. The time it took to find Marina’s crystal coffin was much shorter than the walk to find Anne, mostly since there was no spirit to block their way. Aria approached the glowing green coffin, only to jump back as a small green vine reached out from the wall to wrap around her neck.
“Don’t take another step,” a voice told them. Anne’s eyes narrowed.
“We don’t have time for this. Show yourself spirit,” she demanded.
“Identify yourselves first,” the voice snapped back. Anne growled in her throat. Various vines along the walls began to move, snaking towards them. “Identify yourselves, or the child dies,” the voice hissed. Cassandra placed a hand on Anne’s shoulder, the expression in her eyes telling the dark guardian to back down. Anne complied, relaxing.
“Fine,” she growled. “My name is Anne, the guardian of darkness. This is Cassandra, the guardian of death and a friend of ours, Joe. The one you’re trying to strangle is Aria, the guardian of spirit.” Cassandra smirked. Anne was obviously not in a good mood.
“The death guardian?” The spirit’s voice sounded surprised. The vine around Aria’s neck retreated and atop the glowing green coffin, a small female sprite appeared. Aria tilted her head and looked at her.
“Who are you?” she asked innocently. The spirit smiled.
“My name is Erenath,” she answered. “I’m a forest spirit. I was charged with guarding the guardian of life from the demon kin.” The spirit glanced over at Cassandra and smiled. “Your counterpart is a good companion. Though I’m sure she’s bored to death from sitting in this temple.” Cassandra raised an eyebrow.
“What is this temple for anyway?” she asked. Erenath shrugged.
“I don’t know. It’s been here as long as any of us can remember,” she answered. While the guardians were speaking to the little spirit, Joe was examining the walls. He had come across a strange pattern in the symbols, one depicting something he recognized all to well.
“Erenath, did there used to be a large crystal-like stone in this temple? Before Marina was sent here?” he asked. Erenath nodded, blinking in confusion.
“Yes, why?” she asked. Joe shrugged.
“Well. I think this may have been the original hiding place for the souls swords,” he answered. Anne tilted her head.
“Interesting,” she murmured. Aria stepped forward with a smile.
“So, can we wake her up?” the spirit guardian asked. Erenath smiled and nodded, lifting herself off of the coffin with her delicate, sheer green fairy wings and fluttering over to Cassandra’s shoulder, where her greenish-blond hair made a vibrant contrast with Cassandra’s near black hair. Vibrant green eyes watched, intrigued by Aria’s actions. Aria placed a hand on the coffin, willing her power into it to awaken the guardian inside.
Anne’s eyes narrowed. Something didn’t feel right. She looked on, senses jumping from thought to thought as her sister’s crystal coffin began to glow and whirl, then split as if into hundreds of emerald green ribbons before dissipating and leaving Marina to sit up rubbing her eyes where the crystal had once been. Despite her awkward feeling, a smile crept into Anne’s lips.
“Anne?” Marina asked, groggily. Anne smirked and stepped forward to help her sister from her resting place.
“You alright?” the dark guardian asked. Marina nodded and glanced at Aria, ruffling the girl’s hair.
“Thanks Aria,” she murmured. Aria smiled back and Marina looked up, only to lock eyes with the absently smiling guardian of death. Cassandra shook her head, a light blush painting her cheeks. She had zoned out for a minute there.
“Welcome back Marina,” she said with a small sheepish smile. Marina smiled and glanced at Joe.
“Hey Joe. You guys doing alright?” she asked. Joe shrugged.
“We’ve been better,” he replied. Anne smiled wryly at the thought, then stopped. Something struck her senses, sending them reeling. Marina’s head wiped around when she felt her twin falter.
“Anne? What is it?” Anne didn’t reply. She focused on her dark power, sending her senses out through the jungle surrounding them. Her eyes snapped open.
“Something. Something’s coming,” she answered. She spun, facing Joe and Cassandra. “We have to get out of here. Balthas’ army’s after us.” Cass nodded and immediately turned, heading for the entrance. A deadly shriek caused her to stop.
“They’re already at the entrance!” she yelled back at them.
“Get us out of here Cass,” Anne yelled back. Cass nodded, her scythe materializing in her hands. She ran back to them and whirled the blade, gathering the scarlet mist around her. Marina edged closer to her twin, not really knowing what to do. The gate spell was taking longer than usual.
“I can’t control it,” Cass yelled in frustration. “Something’s blocking me!” Erenath appeared at her side.
“There’s a back exit inside the main chamber. Use that to get outside. You’ll be able to use your power correctly once you’re out of this place,” she told the death guardian.
“What about you?” Marina asked her. Erenath smiled and winked.
“I’ll hold them off as long as I can. Take care Lady, and do your best,” she replied.
“Erenath!” Marina yelled after the jungle spirit as she took off towards the main entrance to the temple. Cass grabbed her shoulder to hold her back.
“Come on. We can’t help her now,” she told the life guardian and tugged her back into the main room where Anne had already opened the back exit. Marina tore Cassandra’s hand off of her and glared at the death guardian.
“How can you just let her go to her death! You know she can’t fight them! You’re heartless!” she shrieked. The look Cassandra gave her bordered between deep sorrow and worry, and deep-seated knowledge of what must be.
“If there was something I could do, I would,” she replied. “But I evidently cannot use my powers within this temple. It’s more important that we find the rest of the guardians and defeat Balthas. Erenath understands that. All we can do now is promise her we’ll do everything we can to stop him in the end.” Marina stared at Cass. Joe tapped her shoulder.
“We have to go now Marina. The least we can do is make sure Erenath’s sacrifice is not in vain,” he told her. The life guardian nodded and followed her sister and Cassandra out of the cave. In the distance towards the true entrance, they could hear the demon’s screams as the very forest lashed out at them. Cassandra whirled her scythe, crimson mist gathering around her.
“Thank you Erenath. I won’t forget your gift,” she murmured, before sending them into the realms of the dead.
In a darkened room within their deep hide out, Tooya’s eyes flickered open. He felt… different. A small light near the corner revealed Kevin, who was reading. The teal-eyed psychic looked up at smiled at him, and for the first time in his life, Tooya felt threatened by it.
“Are you alright?” Kevin asked him, hiding the apprehension in his voice. The psychic could sense something wrong in the room around them, something that seemed to come from Tooya. The redheaded half-blood nodded and stood, teetering a little on his wobbly legs. Kevin jumped up, eyes wide with worry.
“I’m fine,” Tooya assured him, not wanting the psychic to get any closer. If he touched him he might sense it… he might stop him… Stop him from what? Tooya wondered. There was just this sense that if Kevin touched him something bad would happen.
“Rhodry said you probably wouldn’t be awake for another few days,” Kevin answered, not hiding the worry in his voice. “Are you sure you’re fine?” Tooya nodded.
“I’m going out,” he told the psychic. Kevin’s eyes widened at his harsh tone of voice.
“Tooya you’re still weak! If you get caught…” he reached out towards the half-blood. Tooya snarled and lashed out, knocking the pale young man into the earthen wall.
“Stay out of my way,” he hissed, before stalking out of the door, leaving the psychic unconscious inside.
In a darkened room, a shrouded figure watched Tooya through a sphere of dark energy. The being was completely hidden in the darkness, not even it’s eyes showing. An amused chuckle echoed through the shadows.
“Come to me my little puppet,” a silken voice, filled with hatred and manipulative intent spoke through the night. “With you in my possession, soon, soon I will have my revenge.”
Cassandra and Anne were surprised to find Jason waiting for them when they returned with Aria, Joe and Jason. He looked frightened, his eyes wide and his body trembling.
“Joe!” he shouted, hugging his twin brother. By the look Anne gave her, Cassandra knew this wasn’t normal behavior. Evidently so did Joe.
“Jason, what is it? What’s wrong?” he asked, voice barely containing his panic. Jason never acted like this, not unless something was seriously wrong.
“It’s Tooya,” Jason replied, gasping for breath and trying to calm his nerves. Anne’s eyes went wide.
“What? What happened?” she demanded. Jason looked at her sadly.
“He’s gone, vanished. I went to check up on him and Kevin like Rhodry asked me too and I found Tooya gone and Kevin unconscious. I think he threw Kevin into the wall,” he replied frantically. Joe hugged his brother tightly, trying to calm the younger twin’s nerves.
“Where’s Rhodry?” he asked. Jason shook his head.
“He tried to stop Tooya from leaving. If it wasn’t for his healing power…”
“And Myrandel? What about Anna” Cassandra asked. Jason sighed.
“He was asleep. Woke up just in time to see Rhodry hit the ground and Tooya take off. He’s gone insane. Whatever that curse did to him, it made him crazy. Anna went out earlier for supplies from town. Said it would be best if we were stocked up,” he replied. Aria clung to Marina’s robe, her eyes wide with fear.
“Are they going to be alright?” she asked. Marina’s golden eyes narrowed.
“Jason, take me to Kevin and Rhodry. I’ll see what I can do to help them,” she told the mage. Jason nodded; nodding to his brother to tell him he was all right. Joe nodded back and released him, watching as Jason led Marina out of the room. Cassandra caught Aria as she tried to follow the life guardian.
“Come with me Aria,” she murmured, and turned down another tunnel towards the room where the soul swords were kept along with other various items of importance, including the riddle as to where the last five guardians were. Anne glanced at Joe, as the two were the only ones left in the room.
“What do you think happened?” the dark guardian asked him. Joe shrugged, eyes betraying his worry.
“Something. Something bad. We’re going to have to be extra careful now, if our enemy can turn one of our own against us,” he replied. Anne nodded, shivering at the lingering sense of what had cursed Tooya that still hovered in the room. Rhodry was right. It did feel oddly familiar. But why?
Marina frowned as she entered the room where Rhodry and Kevin were sleeping, Jason following quietly behind her. She checked Rhodry first and saw that his wounds, due to his healing abilities, were almost completely sealed over. Her eyes narrowed at the slash marks. They were obviously created by a sword, and the two best sword masters in the underground hide out were Tooya and Mark, her older brother. Marina frowned for a moment.
“Jason? Where is Mark?” she asked him. Jason looked down at her and blinked.
“Oh, he went with Anna into the village near by to get supplies,” he answered. Marina smiled; at least he had survived.
“How is he?” she asked. Jason shrugged in response.
“He’s been pretty quiet lately, but he seems fine. He hasn’t even seen Anne yet,” he answered. Marina nodded, moving over to Kevin, who was bleeding sluggishly from a wound on the back of his head that Jason had loosely bandaged. Green-gold light glowed at her fingertips as she touched the wound, healing it with her power.
“He’ll be alright, he just took a hard blow to the head, no brain damage. Rhodry will be fine once he heals. I don’t want to disrupt his own magic with mine,” she told the mage. Jason nodded. He was acting unusually subdued considering his usual nature.
“What are we going to do about Tooya?” he asked. Marina stood and looked him in the eye, golden eyes searching his.
“We’ll do nothing for now. We don’t know what did this to him, much less where he is now. We should revive the rest of our friends and then go after the bastard who did this,” she replied sternly. Jason nodded, catching the hidden message in her gaze. He would not go after Tooya; it was too dangerous. And he knew that Marina wouldn’t allow him to leave.
Caitlin’s shoulders fell as she gazed out at the desolate expanse of grayed hills before her. She had been walking for days, just following the faint magical traces in the land around her, hoping that they would lead her to her companions. She shivered slightly in the chilling wind, pulling her wings around her for warmth. Though her guardian form was more conspicuous, if she got into a fight it would be better to be ready rather than having to transform.
“Are you alright Lady?” Renian asked her, settling on her shoulder. Caitlin nodded, eyes downcast.
“I’ll be fine, I’m just tired,” she replied. And she was tired. Tired of the decaying scenery before her, tired of the darkened, grayed sky above, tired of walking and traveling on with no knowledge of where she was going. For all she knew she could be following nothing. She smiled, chuckling at the irony. Renian tilted his head.
“What is it?” he asked. Caitlin shrugged.
“It’s just funny. I’ve always thought of my self as kind of a lone wolf, not really very social, not really needing company, but now… It’s just so lonely here. Just us, no life but us… I never thought I could be this weak,” she murmured, eyes downcast. She clenched her fist. She was supposed to be strong, a defender of earth. She was supposed to be able to protect the people she cared for, but now… now she couldn’t even find them.
“You’re not weak Lady,” Renian told her. Caitlin snorted.
“Then why do I feel so useless?” she scoffed. “We’re lost in the middle of no where. I can’t find them, I can’t sense them, I can’t even find our enemy. And what would happen if I did? They would probably destroy me anyway. Why do I have to need others to help me?” Renian brushed her cheek with his wing in a small gesture of comfort. He glowed slightly, sending her a feeling of warmth from his light magic.
“Would it really be better if you didn’t need anyone?” he asked. Caitlin nodded.
“Then they wouldn’t get hurt defending me. If I didn’t need anyone I could finish this here and now and everyone would be safe,” she replied. Renian sighed.
“I’m not so sure that would be for the best,” he told her, gazing off into the darkened horizon. “If you didn’t need others, then it would be a very lonely life.” Caitlin shrugged.
“I guess,” she murmured. “I just wish I could end this, end it now.”
“I know,” Renian answered. “They probably wish for the same thing. Let’s find a camp. You need to rest.” Caitlin scowled at him.
“I’m fine,” she replied. Renian smiled at her.
“Yeah, but it’s getting darker. It would be better to find a place to spend the night while we can still see well,” he told her. Caitlin sighed.
“Alright,” she murmured. “Why couldn’t I have been the dark guardian?” she wondered idly. “Then at least I could see in the dark.” Renian laughed.
“I’m sure your counterpart wishes she wasn’t what she is as well,” he told her. Caitlin raised an eyebrow.
“You think?” she asked. Renian shrugged.
“It’s just the impression I get. All of you are very young, too young for this kind of responsibility. I bet most of you wish you could just be normal teenagers,” he told her. Caitlin smiled.
“Well, I guess there are some perks,” she sighed, flexing her wings. Now that she had felt the wind beneath them, known the joys of soaring, she wouldn’t give them up for the world. She frowned, crinkling her nose at Renian. “And what do you mean too young, mister spirit,” she growled playfully. Renian chuckled, swinging his legs on her shoulder.
“Well, I’m pretty young as spirits go, but I’m still older than you,” he replied. Caitlin raised an eyebrow.
“And how old is that?” she asked. Renian chuckled.
“Let’s just find a camping spot alright?” he pleaded.
“Fine, fine…”
“Cass? Are you sure we should be doing this?” Aria asked the death guardian as she followed the taller woman deeper into the manmade caves of their base. Cassandra’s eyes were glittering with fierce determination.
“We can’t let them know what we’re about to do Aria. With Tooya possibly turned against us, we need as many defenders for this base as we can get. We can’t let Balthas get his hands on the soul swords,” she answered. Aria looked up at her, blue eyes glistening with worry.
“But… Myrandel asked that we take one of the guys with us. I don’t want to leave without telling them,” she told Cassandra. The dark-haired woman sighed.
“I would rather tell them too, but… They’re tired; they need rest. I’ve been sleeping for ten years. Plus, we don’t technically need a large group to find and reawaken the rest of the guardians. If it’s just us, we can get in and out quickly without the demons noticing. I can transport us and you can awaken them. Plus, I already know where Abby is,” she explained. Aria nodded, looking down.
“Alright. If it will help,” she murmured. Cassandra smiled as they reached the end of the tunnel. Her scythe materialized at her command and she winked at Aria.
“Come on Aria, let’s go find Abby.”
Author’s note: Woo Hoo!!! Chapter four! This is starting to come much more easily now ^_^ I hope you’re enjoying!
-Cat