Anne gasped sharply, falling to the ground with her hands wrapped around her neck. For a moment she had felt as if she couldn’t breath, as if someone’s hands were choking the life out of her. She exhaled sharply, partially glad that no one else was near by to hear her.
“What was that?” she murmured. A sharp pain in her side told her that what ever had affected her was not over. And what ever it was, it wasn’t her that was being attacked. Unnerved, and a little curious, Anne reached for her power, intent on finding the answer.
Caitlin cried out, curling instinctively as she hit the ground. She was breathing hard, barely able to catch her breath. She felt the skin of her neck, knowing full well that it would bruise within the hour from the tight grip. Above her, with that infernal smirk on his face, Azriel raised a hand, preparing to strike her with a blast of his tainted power.
“To think a guardian would be so easily defeated. Lord Balthas was right, you are a joke,” he murmured lazily.
“Forgive me for the inconvenience,” Caitlin smirked, still out of breath.
“You could make this easy on yourself and just tell me where the others are,” Azriel told her, bouncing a glittering ball of tainted magic in his hand. Caitlin shook her head.
“I can’t tell you what I don’t know.”
“Very well, ‘Lady’,” Azriel sneared. “Then you’ll die here.”
*No you won’t,* a voice murmured in Caitlin’s mind. The light guardian’s eyes widened, then narrowed.
*Who are you?* she thought back, a little unnerved to find a voice speaking to her inside her head. Before her, Azriel was gathering more of his magic to him, preparing lazily for a stronger assault.
*Caitlin?* the voice asked tentatively.
*Who are you?* Caitlin demanded again, biting her lip. She didn’t have time to converse with crazy voices, she was in a little bit of a predicament right now.
*I know you’re in trouble, I can feel it. You’re too weak?* the voice asked her, ignoring her question.
*I haven’t eaten in two days and I’ve been wandering since I awoke, you figure it out,* Caitlin snapped. The voice chuckled.
*Right. Let me help you. I think I can channel some of my magic through you,* the voice replied. Caitlin shook her head. She was about to respond when Azriel spoke again.
“It seems this is where you fall,” he murmured, a gleeful glint in his russet eyes.
“Lady!” Renian exclaimed. The poor little sprite was terrified. He couldn’t do a thing and his guardian was about to be murdered. Caitlin screwed her eyes shut, waiting for the attack, not noticing the black lighting that had begun to spark around her. It never came.
Azriel cursed as sparking dark power blocked his attack. As the dust cleared, he could see his opponent clearly, though something had changed. Instead of the dull blue eyes that had been watching him a mere second ago, bright golden eyes now glittered with amusement. The ‘light’ guardian raised her hand, dark power gathering at her command. The blue haired demon cursed, lifting off the ground. A severely weakened guardian he could deal with, but there was something else going on here. He had to report this to Lord Balthas.
“I’ll be back, guardian. And next time your head will be mine,” he hissed, and took off into the dull gray sky.
“I’ll be waiting,” ‘Caitlin’ murmured in reply. There was a sharp gasp of breath, and the light guardian slumped to the ground, nearly unconscious. Renian flew forward, settling at his Lady’s side.
“Lady, lady!” he shrieked.
“I can’t move,” Caitlin whimpered.
*I told you, you weren’t going to die,* the voice in her head quipped gleefully. Caitlin smiled softly as Renian flew off over the field in an attempt to find anything remotely edible.
*Not yet. Thank you Anne. I should have know it was you,* she murmured in reply. Her eyes had completely faded back into their normal blue-gray.
*Do you know where you are?* Anne asked her nonchalantly.
*Not a clue,* Caitlin replied. She could sense Anne shrug in response.
*Well, if worse comes to worse, I can try to help you out again I guess. Just not anytime soon, I have a huge headache.* Caitlin laughed at that.
*Just warn me a little better next time.*
*Fine.* And with that Anne left Caitlin’s mind completely. Caitlin sighed. She wasn’t lying, she really couldn’t move. I guess channeling another’s, even my counterpart’s powers is extremely draining, she thought, her eyes drifting closed. She’d try to figure it out in the morning. And then, hopefully she would find at least some food… if she slept through the night.
Anne sighed, slumping to the floor against the wall of the small room she was in. That had been far more draining than she had expected. I’m not doing that again if I can help it, she thought to herself with a sigh. But now I do have an answer, sort of. I do have a stronger connection to the guardian of light than the others. Though just how strong it is… I don’t know. Slowly, carefully, Anne pushed herself up into a standing position, leaning heavily against the wall for support.
“Things are going to get worse here very soon,” she murmured aloud to herself. “I don’t know how, but I can sense it.” Very slowly, as to not aggravate her headache more she moved along the wall, making her way towards the main common room of the network of earthen caves that had been dug during the past ten years.
There was only one person in the common area when she managed to get to it. Rhodry was slumped against the eastern wall, a blanket wrapped tightly around his tall form and his eyes half closed in exhaustion. Clearly his injuries had taken more energy to heal then anyone had expected. He raised an eyebrow when she stumbled into the room and slid down the adjacent wall to the floor, his dull eyes asking a silent question.
“I managed to contact Caitlin,” Anne replied to his silent inquiry. The healer blinked, looking up with a startled light in his eyes.
“How? When?” he asked. Even his voice sounded strained under his surprise.
“I don’t know how, but it was just now, a few minutes ago. She was in trouble. I guess since our elements are in such a strict balance with each other that they’ve formed some kind of bond between them. Either way, I was able to channel my powers through her, though now I kind of wish I didn’t?” Anne replied. Rhodry tilted his head, his eyes glazing over with a silvery sheen. Anne could tell he was looking at her through his magic, trying to find an answer.
“Headache?” he asked finally, his eyes returning to their normal blue, if unusually tired state. He made as if to rise, but Anne stopped him, raising her hand.
“Don’t, I’ll get Marina to fix it later. You’re still weak from healing yourself.” The dark haired half-blood sighed.
“Well, that’s one more down I guess,” he murmured. “Do you have any idea where she is?” Anne shook her head, instantly regretting it as the room began to spin again.
“She didn’t know.”
“Is she alright?” Rhodry asked. Anne frowned, unable to meet his eyes. She didn’t understand why, after all Rhodry had only really known any of them for little more than a day. Why then was he so worried about them, and Caitlin inparticular? Did it have something to do with this past that the demon spirit woman had warned her not to trifle with?
“She’s weak,” she replied shortly. A flash of worry crossed Rhodry’s face. Anne repressed a smile at that. Then again, it might just be due to Rhodry’s nature that he was so worried about them.
The healer was quiet, yes, and not remarkably social. He had a devious sense of humor when he wanted to, and could seem almost detached at times, but despite that, he was a healer in heart and soul, and he would always worry about the living, particularly those who might be important to him.
“We’ll find her,” Anne told him, absently trying to calm his worry. “I have the feeling she won’t let a little weakness kill her.” In reality she didn’t know where that feeling came from. Like Rhodry, she too had only really known Caitlin for about a day. Why then did she feel as if she knew her nature so well? Why did she immediately see the light guardian as different from her twin sister, whom she had known a little longer?
Anne sighed. This dangerous past that the demon woman had warned her about, could it answer her questions? She had answered one, but now many more flooded her mind. Why did she feel as if she knew these people around her far better than she should? Why did she feel she could trust them? And why, despite that feeling of trust, did she feel wary?
What had happened in the past? Cassandra inparticular she felt uneasy around and yet she didn’t know why. Why did she feel as if there was some secret buried under all this power and pain? Now that she thought about it, that secret she knew was hiding behind what they were scared her. It was a secret she wanted to know, needed to know, and yet… why did she feel as if that secret could destroy them all?
“Are you sure?” Balthas demanded. Before him, in his darkened throne room, the demon lord watched his commander’s two most trusted spies as they relayed the information they had found. Emerald haired and golden eyed, the twins nodded in unison.
“The woman was undoubtedly one of the nine. We could feel her power, all of us. Dark hair, and blue eyes, she was weakened. She didn’t even try to fight us. There was a little light spirit with her, but Azriel sent us to report before she showed any of her own power,” Eris reported, standing as strait as he dared in the presence of his lord and master.
“Very well, dismissed.” The twins bowed and turned, leaving the room with barely a swish of their great leathery wings.
“It was the light guardian,” Balthas’ shadowy advisor murmured, still shrouded as he wished in the clinging darkness.
“You’re sure?” Balthas asked absently, not bothering to look at the shadow behind him.
“Your commander will not defeat her, not now. It doesn’t matter how weak she is. Darkness is unoccupied for the moment and still strong. They are bound to defend each other by this era’s law of magic, whether from others or from themselves,” the voice replied. Balthas sighed, sapphire eyes watching the darkness before him.
“I would know if Azriel was dead.”
“So you would,” the advisor replied. The sapphire-eyed demon lord snorted at the shadow.
“And what do you mean by this era? Surely this era is no different then the past,” he quipped.
“The past as you see it,” the shadow replied. “The ancient celestials manipulated the bonds of magic. In this era, the guardians are their descendants. Though their powers are stronger and more untamed, certain truths remain the same. Light may never kill Dark, nor Dark destroy Light. That law has lived for era beyond era. But these ‘ancient’ fools created a closer bond between them then has ever existed.”
“And what do you mean by that?” Balthas demanded.
“Keep Dark and Light separate, for then they are vulnerable. Only when their powers work in tandem do they become a force that may well destroy you. Balance must be broken to defeat them, that is the only way they can be destroyed, and without the destruction of those two beings, the others will remain as well.”
“What is so special about Dark and Light?” the blue-eyed demon murmured.
“They are the only two elements that can truly not exist without the other,” the shadow replied softly.
“Then to destroy one…”
“You will never succeed. They must be destroyed as one.”
“And why pray tell is that?” A soft chuckle answered Balthas’ question.
“The most brilliant light casts the darkest shadows, and even in the deepest night stars still shine,” was his cryptic answer. The demon lord scowled.
“Even if they were destroyed, as legend says, they would only be reborn,” he muttered, glaring at the darkness. There was no answer from the shadows. His dark advisor had left him for the moment, and it was just as well. He did not like being outclassed in anything, physical or mental, and his advisor’s mind games were enough to drive him to destroying the entire fortress and beyond. He closed his eyes, his mind drifting off into sleep.
Deep in a far darker room, a pair of mismatched eyes gleamed. A glint of pale skin flashed and then vanished in the shadows.
“They would be reborn should they be destroyed separately, yes, but what I have planned will destroy more then just their bodies. For the humiliation they have caused me, I will rend their very souls to dust.” A soft chuckle echoed through the darkened chamber.
“Come my pet, we have work to do,” the shadow murmured. And in the corner, a pair of brilliant emerald eyes flashed.
“Yes, my master.”
Cassandra sat against the earthen wall of the darkened room where the soul swords were kept, leaning serenely against the wall. They glittered in the dark, shimmering with their own inner fire, the only light in the room. At her side, Hope glittered faintly with it’s own power, as if trying to comfort her.
Something was wrong. She didn’t know what, but she felt… uncomfortable. First the attacks when they had awakened Marina, then Tooya’s mysterious disappearance… and she had only recently heard the news that her own sister was wandering lost in the wilderness with Anne as the only one who could contact her.
Blue-gray eyes narrowed. Anne. There was something about the dark guardian Cassandra didn’t trust. She had no reason to be wary of the older girl, but still… something… something just beyond her understanding made her wary of the dark eyed guardian. Hope’s blade shimmered brighter, than dulled back to its calm glitter.
“Are you telling me not to worry?” the death guardian asked idly, a wry smile on her face. “It may be to late for that. I wasn’t really meant to be your master anyway.” The blade flashed dully in response, as if knowing the truth to what the guardian spoke. Cass chuckled. “I think you and my sister will get along just fine.” The sword flashed again, an unseen nod.
“The sword is right you know.” Cassandra stood and spun, her scythe materializing in her hand in an instant. Her fighter’s stance relaxed slightly at the sight of the tall, ethereal, cloaked figure before her.
“Who are you,” the death guardian asked warily, lowering her blade an inch. A light chuckle answered her, echoing twinkling violet eyes that seemed to glow beneath the strange figure’s hood.
“I came to give you a warning,” the being told her calmly. Cassandra tilted her head, silently beckoning the spirit to move on. “Your friend is lost to you now. He will not return as he left you.” Cass frowned.
“I thought as much,” she murmured.
“There’s more…” Cassandra nodded, telling the spirit she was listening. The violet eyed being continued. “Beware....”
“That’s enough Morana,” a second, deeper voice hissed. Cass turned to find herself facing a scarlet-eyed demon woman with short black hair and olive skin. A scowl settled over the demoness’ face as she glared at the cloaked figure. “We can not guide you further. Heed her warning though, Lady Death. Those you know may not be who you think they are.” With that, the two spirits vanished, leaving Cassandra baffled.
“Why did you stop me?” Jayne’s scarlet eyes watched her cloaked companion carefully. Violet eyes beneath that shadowed cloak were glittering angrily, almost sparking with emotion.
“How much will you allow him to use?” was the hissed reply. Morana’s eyes narrowed at the comment.
“He will use their pasts whether you hide it from them or not,” she spoke firmly.
“You have no idea what he is capable of,” Jayne shot back, her voice rising. “He will stop at nothing until they are destroyed and he will use anything he can.”
“Have you ever stopped to think that maybe they can handle the truth?” Jayne froze, then sighed.
“You and Alemenia are too young to know what happened.” Her voice was quiet. “You know only the past of this world, not the one that came before. You were not there to watch the guardians destroy themselves.”
“This is a new life. They have a chance.”
“Can they defy a destiny foretold from before this world was born?”
“Do you have the courage to believe in them?” Morana’s eyes were glowing steadily with a firm fire. She had no wish to give in. She would never give in. Not until her soul ceased to exist. “Cassandra is my guardian Jayne. I believe in her. Isn’t it possible they might succeed?” Jayne smiled wryly.
“For the ancient celestial priestess of the dead, you are very optimistic Morana.” The violet-eyed spirit smirked in response.
“I have to be,” she replied. “It’s not a very cheerful job.” The comment drew a laugh from the demon spirit. Jayne’s eyes glittered with amusement.
“Maybe you’re right, little one. Maybe I do give them too little credit.”
“Will you at least assist the light guardian?” Morana asked. Jayne blinked.
“What…”
“She can’t go on much longer on her own.” Jayne’s eyes closed for a moment, before opening again. “Very well, but she will not know.”
Renian sat curled miserably on the ground beside Caitlin’s head, his tiny bird’s wings offering little protection from the wind. His guardian had yet to awaken, and he had failed to find any sort of edible thing in the plains surrounding the place she had fallen.
The tiny spirit was worried. At this rate, he didn’t know if his Lady would awaken. How was he to find his way home, if his guardian was gone? The little spirit rubbed his eyes, trying to resist a sniffle. He couldn’t cry. Crying wouldn’t help them out of this. He needed to get his guardian somewhere safe.
“Don’t cry little one.” Renian’s head jerked up, his small violet eyes darting around until they rested on the smiling face that hovered above him. He shrank back, wary of the strange being. The crimson-eyed woman smiled softly, reaching down to the spirit. “I won’t hurt you.”
Biting his lip, Renian warily placed his small hand in the woman’s and allowed her to lift him up. His eyes shot wide when he saw her fully. He bit back a cry of fear. The demon woman smiled sadly, petting his long white hair. “Don’t worry,” she murmured to him. Renian gazed at her, comforted by the sincerity in her eyes.
“Who are you?” he asked timidly.
The demon smiled, answering: “A friend.” She sat the tiny spirit on her shoulder and lifted a hand to brush Caitlin’s long hair away from her pale face. Dark circles lined the light guardian’s eyes and her lips were cracked and parched. Jayne grimaced. Morana had been right, the small guardian would never make it to her companions on her own.
“What are you doing?” Renian asked her suddenly, his voice still betraying wariness.
“Your friend needs strength,” Jayne answered absently. “I can give her what she needs to make it to her companions.”
“You’ll help her?” Jayne started, then nodded to the spirit.
“I will do what I can.” Crimson fire spilled out through the demoness’ hands and over Caitlin’s body, infusing itself within her. Jayne smiled slightly, noting that her own form had become more transparent with the use of so much power. She would have to return to the death realms after this, to regain her energy.
The crimson glow faded, centering itself on the hollow of Caitlin’s neck until it had formed itself into a strange, glittering scarlet gem. The jewel flickered with life and power, lending its strength to its bearer. Renian fluttered down from Jayne’s shoulder, touching the gem curiously and jumping back when it shocked him.
“What is this?” he asked, gazing up at her with eyes that reminded her strongly of Morana’s, just more innocent and child-like.
“It will support her body while you search for her companions.” Renian still looked worried. “Don’t worry little one,” Jayne told him. “It will be enough. For her at least.”
“How can I thank you?” Renian asked her. Jayne smiled.
“By not mentioning my presence to your Lady. She cannot know of me, not yet. It’s too dangerous. The less she knows, the safer she may be, and I can’t take the risk of my presence being discovered just yet.” Renian nodded.
“I promise.” Jayne’s form began to fade, dissipating into crimson mist.
“Good luck.”
When she finally managed to subdue her raging headache, Anne went to find her twin, curious as to how preparations were going. The entire underground fortress had been subdued lately, though Myrandel and the other men were working diligently to make the place more secure. Two of the nine guardians still remained lost, and Marina and Anna had set about preparing to find them.
Anne found her sister in the main room shuffling through small maps and pieces of tattered paper. Beside her, Anna looked as if she were about to set the book she was reading alight. Abby was also with them, her nose buried in an ancient map with burned edges.
“Do you need any help?” Anne asked. Marina looked up, a tired light in her eyes.
“If you have any idea where we can find something known as ‘Wounded Earth’ or a mountain whose peak reaches the heavens, then by all means, help,” the life guardian answered. Anne frowned, moving forward and running a hand over the unrolled map Marina was poring over.
“Wounded earth… it’s probably a valley or canyon of some sort… most likely one with some kind of spiritual significance. Almost all of us so far have been sleeping in a place that was sacred to some ancient people.”
“True,” Abby murmured, not looking up from her own map. “A cascade of stone could mean a place with frequent rock slides, or somewhere where stone has collapsed.” Frowning suddenly, Marina pushed away the map she was looking at and unraveled another, spreading it out over the table.
“Collapsed stone… like a building?” she asked absently. Anna raised her head.
“Maybe a destroyed shrine?” she suggested. Anne placed a hand on the map, pointing down to a small valley near the base of the old mountain range.
“Here,” she murmured. “See this marking…” Marina nodded, noting the star-like pattern just under her sister’s finger. “It’s an old shrine. I remember it from back when we were in school. It was a bit of a tourist attraction, though no one could go inside. The inner doorway had collapsed.” Abby set down her map and joined the two, watching over Marina’s shoulder.
“I recognize it too,” she stated. “Do you think that’s where Heather is?”
“Whether or not that’s the place…” Anna stood to join them, her voice frustrated. “We still have to find Liesl. If you have any suggestions feel free to tell. She’s at the top of a mountain, we know that… but the question is which mountain.”
Marina shrugged. “Yet again, something with some spiritual significance?” she asked mildly. Anne frowned, furrowing her brow in thought.
“It wouldn’t be anywhere near by. The closest thing we have to even a cliff is the river gorge,” she murmured.
“Figures that it would be the two who can actually sense each other through their magic that would still be missing,” Anna scoffed, resting her cheek in her hand and her elbow on the table. This research type work wasn’t really her thing. She’d feel much better searching the two out on her own.
“Any of us would be able to sense them at close range,” Abby reminded her disgruntled partner. “But you’re right… if one of them was awake then we wouldn’t have this trouble.” Anne sighed heavily.
“Well, lucky for us, they’re not here are they,” she growled.
“It would be pointless to revive only one of them now…” Marina murmured. Anne looked up, confused.
“Why?” she asked her twin. Marina shrugged.
“I just can’t help but feel that we’re running out of time.” There was nothing the other three guardians could say to that.
“Ah!” Three heads popped up at Abby’s exclamation.
“Did you find something?” Anna jumped out of her chair, leaning over the water guardian’s shoulder.
“I might have,” was Abby’s response. “See here?” She pointed to a mountainous part of the map to the north, a large range that stretched past the edges of the map. “This is the highest point of the mountain range,” she explained. “According to some of these papers Myrandel left us, there’s an old shrine hidden near the top of the mountain. Supposedly it was once used for sacrifices.”
“That’s pleasant,” Marina winced. Abby shrugged.
“It’s our best bet.”
“Liesl’s going to have a fit when she wakes up,” Anne chuckled. Marina grinned back at her.
“Let’s go find the boys. Once we find them, Balthas is going to have on hell of a rebellion on his hands,” she replied cheerfully. Anne grinned. *Yes… he will…* she thought. *He’ll pay… for everything he’s done to earth. We’ll make him pay.*
Author’s notes: Finally! The plot progresses! Gah… chapter 6 and we’ve barely gotten anywhere! *shoots self* Dangnammit!!! Ah well, hopefully the next few chapters will be nicer to me. I got some fun things coming. ^_^
PS: I just noticed… where the hell was Cass in that last scene? *sighs* I guess she’s feeling camera shy…
-Cat