Birth of the Guardian (3 page)

“Yes, Lillian,” Ariel said, calming Lillian’s
fears.

“When do we go back?”

“Tonight,” Ariel said, “just after the sun
sets.

The sky was dark
,
covered in a thick blanket of swirling gray clouds, as Lillian and
Ariel swept in from the coastline. Thunder and lightning filled the
air around them as the wind driven rain pelted their bodies. From
five hundred feet in the air, the first town came into view. It was
a wasteland and clearly abandoned.
The buildings were
destroyed by fire
; many of the cars had been flipped over
and torn apart as if they were nothing more than a child’s toy.

“My God,” Lillian looked on with sadness.

“Focus, Lillian.” Ariel’s words distracted
her from the destruction below. “It is your blood that flows
through your brother. Allow that connection to guide us.” Ariel’s
right wing dipped slightly and they banked to the right, changing
their course.

“I feel
him,
” Lillian
smiled. “He’s scarred, but he’s alive.”

“Good.” Ariel’s soothing voice answered. “I
also feel him. Our bond is strong, and will grow even stronger with
time.” It didn’t take Lillian long to realize where she was headed.
Her brother was in the mountains,
in
the tiny
cabin that Jackson built.

“How long will it take us to get there?”
Lillian asked Ariel.

“Not long,” Ariel’s wings, pushed harder,
driving them even faster. Lillian smiled and became excited as the
wind and rain swept over her body. At their speed, the rain was
like thousands of tiny stones striking her eyes and skin, but she
felt no pain, no discomfort, only the sensation of water and wind
flowing over her. Ariel didn’t have to convey his thoughts, she
knew it wouldn’t take them long to reach her brother. As they drew
closer to the mountains, rain turned to snow. The air was cold, one
might even say
bone-chilling
, but it had no
effect on Lillian. She felt strong, unstoppable, and pushed on even
harder.

“There it is,” Lillian pointed to a ridgeline
in the distance, “go down, Ariel.”

Ariel ignored Lillian’s request and banked to
the left, flying higher. “They are not alone, Lillian. Look
closely.” He urged her, his tone was cautious and she knew Ariel
was concerned.

Lillian’s eyes focused, her vision was
clearer and crisper than she had as a human, and she zeroed in on
what Ariel saw. One of the men that attacked her and Jackson was
sitting on a log in front of fire while he sharpened a large knife.
The curved blade was almost as long as his arm and the light from
the fire
leaped
from
the
razor sharp edge as he ran the small sharpening stone across the
deadly blade. Like a damn bursting, fear and anger flooded
Lillian’s thoughts. She was overwhelmed with concern for her
brother, as well as her friends. They were in grave danger and she
needed to act, and act fast.

“Ariel,” she called out in her mind, “we have
to help them.”

Ariel growled, baring his sharp teeth and
snapped at the air; his roar was louder than thunder and shook the
trees, causing snow to fall from the branches. Then he tucked his
wings tightly against his side and dove toward the ground. Wind and
snow screamed by blazingly fast, as Lillian’s stare remained fixed
on her
adversary
. Her mind was focused, locked
on one objective, the threat below. She wanted him dead. He was a
hunter. The lowest of the low, he captured runaways and brought
them back to Armaros. If they refused to swear allegiance, they
were killed, or worse, held like cattle and feed to his dragon.

In mere seconds, Lillian and Ariel dove
several thousand feet. With only feet
to
spare, and at the last possible moment, Ariel unfurled his wings,
catching the air, and slowed their speed. A gust of wind slammed
into
the ground throwing up
an
enormous
veil of snow and ice around the hunter. Then, with
great force, Lillian hit the ground; a loud, thunderous crack rang
out over the ridge.

Expecting to see Armaros, the man rose to his
feet, his eyes squinted as he struggled to see through the cloud of
snow and debris that Lillian’s landing threw into the air. Silence
fell over the ridgeline as the man cautiously stepped closer to
Lillian and Ariel. He was about to kneel, to whom he thought was
Armaros, when the cloud of debris partially cleared. Shocked, the
hunter couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Just twenty feet away,
knelt Lillian; with one knee on the ground and her head down, her
hair
fell
over her face, hiding it from view.
Her fists were tightly
clenched
, her impact so
strong it fractured the large rock on which she had landed. Ariel’s
wings were swept forward, curving around her in a protective
shield. The hunter, immediately, noticed the color. They weren’t
the fiery red and black he expected to see. They were the color of
the most beautiful ocean waters — shimmering aqua blue and emerald
green, tipped with hints of gold.

“
Give-me-my-brother,
”
Lillian demanded, her soft, gentle voice conveyed her implied
threat, and she slowly rose to her feet. Ariel’s wings parted and
folded beautifully against his body. They were long and slender,
following the contour of Lillian’s body
flawlessly
, they stopped just below her knees.

“These souls belong to Armaros.” The
Hunter
announced, his deep raspy voice showed
no fear, no hesitation, and both Ariel and Lillian knew his
devotion to Armaros was absolute.

“Careful.” Ariel urged Lillian, “He is more
than human. He has been claimed by Armaros. Anointed by consuming
his blood; he will be stronger, faster and much more dangerous than
expected.”

The man’s posture changed as he squared off
to face Lillian and Ariel in battle. “I know what you are…
Guardian!” The man sneered as he fondled his razor sharp blade,
tossing it from hand to hand. He welcomed
battle,
and
the chance to measure his skill against the Guardian was
an invitation he couldn’t refuse. “Brother,” he shouted, calling to
the second man, “it’s time.”

Suddenly, the sound of heavy footsteps burst
forth from the shelter. It was the second man, the man who watched
Lillian fall from the cliffs. In his hand, he held a long chain,
five feet or so, and at the end was a solid steal ball covered in
four-inch spikes. Swinging the ball, the man slowly stepped closer,
his eyes locked on Lillian.

“Interesting,” he said. A sarcastic grin came
over battle scared face. “She’s much smaller than Armaros.” He
laughed, confidently.

Lillian stepped back, her heart pounded deep
within
her chest pumping fear throughout her
body.

“Easy,” Ariel said. “Have faith in our bond,
Lillian. We must fight as one, or we cannot fight at all.”

Lillian closed her eyes for a brief moment.
She understood — Ariel gave her the strength, the power, but it was
she that must put it to use.

Our left
, Lillian thought, her
beautiful eyes shimmered in the light of the fire as
she
and Ariel
leaped
into the air,
bounding over the first man, she landed directly behind him.
Instantly, the man twisted around to face her. His blade raised
high, it sliced through the air on a direct path toward Lillian’s
neck. Ariel’s right wing unfurled and swept around to shield them
from the man’s blade. A loud, screeching sound pierced the air as
the razor sharp edge raked across Ariel’s wing. Twisting at the
hip, Lillian turned toward the hunter, and extended her left arm,
striking the man in the center of his chest. Surprised by her own
strength, Lillian watched as the man’s body flew fifty feet into
the forest.

“You bitch.” The second hunter screamed and
swung his weapon at Lillian. Lillian reacted quickly and raised her
arm just as the
massive
spiked ball struck
her. The four-inch long spikes tore through her forearm, ripping
through flesh and crushing bone. Excruciating pain raced through
her body and Lillian screamed out in agony as she stumbled back.
“I’ll have your head, Guardian.” The hunter yelled confidently as
he pulled on the chain, dragging Lillian closer. Blood poured from
Lillian’s wound, covering the clean white snow in a river of dark
red. She had only seconds to defend herself, or her life would
end.

“I’m sorry, Ariel.” Lillian struggled to
think. “I’m sorry that I’ve failed you.”

“Faith, Lillian. Have faith, and trust in our
bond.”

With one hand dragging Lillian closer and the
other reaching for a blade, the man smiled, proudly, at the thought
of his, impending, victory. “A Guardian, huh,” the man said. “Your
kind is weak.” Lillian closed her eyes. She was ready to accept her
fate, ready to die. Until
she
realized,
she couldn’t just give up. She couldn’t leave
her brother to suffer at the hands of such a monster. She pushed
herself up and spun around.

“Now, Ariel…now!” Ariel’s right wing extended
out; and the razor sharp tip of one feather brushed delicately
across the man’s neck, just under his jaw.

The man’s eyes opened wide in shock, his grip
on the chain weakened, and it dropped to the ground, link by link.
For two, terrifying, seconds, he stood there, just staring, then
blood burst from his throat and he dropped to his knees.

“Oh God,” Lillian screamed out in terror as
she watched the hunter collapse. “What have I done?” She
fell
forward
on
her hands
and knees.

“We did what we had to do,” Ariel whispered
in Lillian’s mind.

“But we killed him… I killed him.” She cried,
the man’s blood continued to flow—gradually pooling in the fine
white snow, until it enveloped Lillian’s fingers.

“He was already dead.” Ariel tried to sooth
Lillian’s heartache. “His soul died the moment he was claimed by
Armaros. We,
only
, destroyed the body.”

From behind, Lillian heard the other man
stumbling from the tree line. She turned and watched as he
stumbled, struggling to run for his life.

“We must stop him,” Ariel said.

“No.” Lillian sobbed, her heart fighting to
accept what she had done, “There’s been enough death tonight. Let
him go.”

From her left, Lillian heard the creaks and
groans of the cabin door opening. She quickly turned away and
labored to pull herself into the darkness of the shadows.

“They can’t see me like this,” she said, her
fear filled Ariel’s mind. “They won’t understand.”

“They
will,
” Ariel
assured her.

Ariel’s assurance didn’t matter. Lillian was
convinced that her brother and her friends wouldn’t understand.
They would fear her and either
run
or maybe
even attack her. In their experience, there was no such thing as
a
good
dragon
— a guardian. Surely, they would panic at the very sight of her and
Ariel.

“Lillian.”
A voice
shattered the sound of Lillian’s sobbing. “Is that you?”

Lillian couldn’t bring herself to turn around
and look, but it mattered little. She knew the voice well. It was
her brother Derik. Only twelve years old, Lillian would do anything
for him. She would endure any hardship—suffer any anguish. She
loved him with all her heart and soul, but she couldn’t face him
like this.

“Derik, don’t.” Lillian whimpered as she,
desperately, tried to clean the blood from hands, using snow.
“Don’t come any closer.”

Ariel’s head turned to face Derik and he let
out a low rumbling snarl.

“Don’t scare him,” Lillian said aloud, her
words meant for Ariel. “He’s my baby brother.”

“I’m not a baby anymore. None of us are.”
Derik ignored Ariel’s warning and rushed to his sister’s side,
kneeling next to her. “What has happened to you?”

“Get away from that thing,” Jackson screamed
as he held Jessica behind him, thinking he needed to protect her
from Lillian and Ariel.

“She’s not a thing.” Derik turned, yelling at
Jackson
while still trying to comfort Lillian.
“She’s my sister.”

“That monster is not Lilly.” Jackson took
several steps away, pushing Jessica back as well. “That’s not your
sister, Derik.”

Lillian struggled to her feet and turned to
face Jackson. “It is me, Jackson,” she said, tears ran down her,
soft, pearl shaded, checks; and blood poured from her arm and
trickled along the chain to the ground. “It’s me… I promise you,
it’s me.” Lillian’s eyes glistened brilliantly in the light of the
fire—almost glowing. The beautiful mixture of colors caught
everyone by surprise as they stood in astonishment. Jessica gasped,
her hands rose, covering her mouth in dismay.