Bound (The Guardians) (20 page)

‘Psst!’ hisses a voice from afar. I jump and scan the surroundings frantically. A figure creeps along the edge of the road. Deliberately it steps under one of the street lights.

‘M-momma?’ I ask.

My mother scurries over to me, wrapping her arms around me tightly. I hug her back before pulling away. ‘What…what are you doing here?’

‘I came to see you,’ she says. ‘I’m so glad you came outside. It was as if this was meant to be. The spirits are shining on us with a favourable light.’

I lift the corners of my mouth, but not in a smile, more like an uncomfortable smirk. The conflicting emotions are bubbling inside me again. This is my mother, I love her and I’ve missed her. But she didn’t do anything when Da slapped me. Did she just block that memory out?

‘No, Momma… what I mean is, why did you bother coming here? You let Da say those things. When I looked at you for help you turned your head away from me. You left me with no other choice but to come back here. I thought you loved me? A loving person wouldn’t do that to their own child!’

Momma abruptly pulls my arm and tugs me into the shadows. Softly she says, ‘I know! I know! Please forgive me. I should have stood up for you. I admit that I was a terrible mother, letting your father speak to you and then hit you like that. I’ve been in agony thinking about it ever since you left. Your father completely lost it that day and I was scared. I guess now I’m just making excuses. But things only got worse after that...’ My mother’s face shifts into a horrified look. She is no longer staring at me, as she is staring straight through me.

‘What’s going on Momma?’

My mother points to a large bag resting near her feet. It’s so full of stuff that the zip is jammed halfway.

‘After you left, someone came knocking on our door. I was downstairs so didn’t see who it was; I only heard them talking with your father. Next thing I knew, he was gone. No one in Pekkin had seen him and his phone was dead. When he finally returned home a few days later, he was acting strangely, almost deranged. When I asked him where he’d been, that’s when he told me Mellea. He told me about the MECHs and the images above Poridos. And then he showed me…’

My mother’s hands are shaking as she loosely presses her curled fingers against her cheeks.

‘He showed you what?’ I ask grabbing her shoulders.

With wide eyes she whispers, ‘He’s become a MECH. They tore apart his body. His arms… his chest… they been replaced with mechanical parts. I can still smell the open and half-healed flesh. It was disgusting.’ My mother fidgets uncomfortably. ‘He was talking about how they’ve shown him true power. Noran thinks he now has the power to fight against the Guardians, the power he’s always wanted.’

The slightest breeze could have knocked me off my feet. She might as well have told me he was dead.

Momma then says to me that Da came back to Pekkin because he wanted
her
to become a MECH as well. He wanted her to join and fight. But she refused, telling him he was insane. He left after that.

‘That’s why I came to get you honey,’ Momma says gently. ‘The MECHs are planning something terrible, I can tell. They’re taking good people like your father and turning them into monsters. This isn’t the place for you anymore. The Guardians are strong and powerful. They’ve battled against threats for hundreds of years. They can protect themselves. But you’re not a Guardian sweetheart. So come with me…I’m begging you. I know you need me. We can be a family again, the two of us.’

My mother holds her hand out to me. She smiles softly, her facial expression making me feel as if I’m staring into a mirror. I twist back towards the Tower. I’m torn and hurt. If the MECHs return it’s not like I can fight them. She was wrong for what she did. But she’s my mother. How I can I refuse?

Gently I place my hand in hers. She grins and we run along the road into the city. I can’t help but look back multiple times as the sun behind the Tower disappears. I only hope I’m doing the right thing.

Chapter Thirty-two

I sit on the floor of a small inn, directly west of Poridos and the Tower. My mother and I have walked to a random train stop at the Absotras Link Station and travelled on an unfamiliar line until the end.

The room has one large bed and a very small bathroom. There is an old projector that only gets one station. The show playing is a repeat of an old comedy film from two or three decades before my time. I flick it off and sigh loudly.

My mother comes out of the bathroom, drying her light brown hair with a towel. She hears my moan and puts her hand on my shoulder. Trying to cheer me up she says, ‘Did you know we’re close to a place called Port Thion? It’s got beaches and food stands. I even hear there’s a carnival every few months.’

‘I know,’ I reply. This is the place Anrella got the cake that I took to Leo.

Leo… I feel sick because I actually
miss
him. Has he gotten out of bed yet? I wonder if he knows I’m gone. Is he worried? He’s probably making that angry face he does. He’s going to be so upset with me when I go back… or… if I go back. Once more I sigh loudly, with a pain in my voice this time.

‘It’s going to be all right,’ my mother says softly. ‘You’re free now. We can start our own life. Maybe find a nice new home?’

I’m not free. She doesn’t understand. The Guardians are like bloodhounds. They’ll sniff me out eventually.

I scrunch my face. ‘Momma, I know Da has a history with the Guardians. I saw a picture from years ago with him and young Lord Neros. It’s time you tell me what happened. I need to know why he would become a MECH. I have to.’

Mother sits gently on the bed and flicks her wet hair over her shoulder.

‘I think so too. I wanted to tell you, years ago, but your father wouldn’t have it.’ She gently crosses her legs and says, ‘When we first got united, before you were born, Noran was a water miner. Do you know what that is?’

I shake my head. I’ve heard of it, but it’s never been explained to me.

‘It’s a technique that allows towns to gather water from underground springs to be used in their homes and for everyday use. It’s a delicate skill, finding streams and tapping into them. Plus there is the construction of the pipes which, in itself, is not easy. But he was good at it. So good in fact he was commissioned to tap into a water mine and create pipes, the biggest ever, for the most unbelievable of clients, the Guardians.’

I stare at her intently.

‘But…the project… was a disaster,’ my mother says painfully. ‘The Tower isn’t simply the pointy pillars at the top. It has a large underground section as well. You probably know this better than me.’

Not really. I have seen some of the underground areas like the kitchen, but I had no idea the crystal extended that deep.

‘During construction, crystal from those underground sections began to chip and fall into the water as they dug. Selyu, a small town east of Poridos, was also connected to that spring they were tapping into. The Selyu townspeople quickly became gravely ill from the fragments. The project team, including your father, was unaware of the damage they were causing. Within three days, almost everyone in that area was dead. Less than a handful survived and they were horribly crippled.’

Mother closes her eyes. ‘Your father…he never forgave the Guardians for putting that blood on his hands. He never forgot the faces of those parents who stood out in the streets, holding their lifeless children, crying for help. He feels responsible, like he killed them himself.’

I blink. ‘You could have told me this. We could have kept it a secret from Da.’

She glances at me. ‘Well, it’s not a story that’s easy to tell. I was there too, you know? Back then I was a new wife not much older than you, listening to your father throwing up at midnight from the disgusting dreams he would have. And even after you were born, and our lives became so much richer, your father was still haunted by those dreams. Knowing that, how could I possibly ask him to relive those memories? Perhaps the emotional scars from those dead children are why he’s always been over-protective of you.’

‘And now he’s joined the MECHs to fight them - no kill them - to get revenge. Did the Guardians even know that this was happening? That people were getting sick and dying?’

‘Your father always believed that they did.’

I think for a moment before asking, ‘Who was the leader of the Guardians back then?’

‘It was still Sir Dorkarn. However, those were his last few days in power. About a week after the poisoning he ordered the already installed water tunnels to be locked up and never used again. Then he stepped down and handed his leadership over to Lord Neros and Lady Lethia. The joy of a new leader swept the story of Selyu under the rug. All anyone could talk about was this beautiful new set of leaders, their adorable Successor son Arin and the big story of Lethia being pregnant with her second Successor child, Leo.’

I scrunch my face. ‘But wouldn’t people still be asking questions about Selyu? Friends? Family?’

‘It was passed off as a highly localised virus. The town was cleared of any health scares, demolished and never spoken of again. It remains, in the history books, as an unsolved mystery. Believe it or not, the virus cover-up was bought by everyone, except your father. He lost all his drive and passion for his work. Then we lost all our money, we had to sell our Poridos home and eventually we landed in Pekkin,’ says Momma standing from the bed.

Now things finally make sense. Why we had to move, why things have been so hard. Da lost his motivation because he knew the truth and was powerless to tell a soul. He knows what really poisoned those people. It’s clear as day that the Guardians covered it up. I can see why this hurt my father. I understand that someone has to be held responsible.

But is that worth joining those creatures? He won’t get what he wants, the closure, by killing innocent people like the ones in Selyu. Demmi, Anrella, Soren…Leo, they’ve done nothing wrong. But they live under the label “Guardian”. Now their lives are in grave danger.

I stand up and shuffle to the bed. Slowly, I slide in between the starched sheets. It doesn’t take long for Momma to join me and turn off her lamp light. It’s nice to be back with her, the smell of her sweet hair drifting over to me. But I can’t seem to close my eyes.

Chapter Thirty-Three

When I wake up it’s barely sunlight. I feel like I haven’t slept at all. The bed is uncomfortable and I’m too stricken with confusion and panic to relax.

I sheepishly stumble off the mattress and into the shower, changing back into my old clothes. Momma says to me we will get new clothes and continuously tells me not to worry. After a while it feels like she’s trying to reassure herself more than me. She has only what she can carry in a medium bag. I’m not sure if she plans to go back to the house. I don’t want to ask.

Mother fishes around in the bag. She’s managed to grab some cereal from home and we eat it by hand from the box. After our slightly unsatisfying meal, we wander down to the shoreline. The smell of the salt air bushes against my face. I can hear the sound of the carnival in the distance. Even if Momma asked if I wanted to go and see it, I would probably say no.

Before me on the dark sand I watch three children playing. Their parents sleep and sun-bake casually under a nearby tree. I see the children making something in the sand. A boy runs along the side of his sister and scoops more sand away. He’s building a tunnel. The other brother takes a small toy on wheels and rolls it down the other side. The little girl laughs as it gets wedged halfway, the two boys try to free it.

I gasp, feeling cold.

I mumble, ‘Tunnels…the tunnels… the underground pipes…’

‘What’s that?’ my mother asks me with her eyes closed and mouth soft.

‘Tunnels!’ I yell. She stares at me with a shocked face. I continue, ‘The water pipes Da built, they’re like tunnels, yeah? Of course! That’s how the MECHs got into the Tower. That’s how they broke into the vault. It was Da! He must have told the leader about the tunnels, Momma!’ I grab my face. ‘Oh, mighty, spirits! The Guardians and Sentry are focused on looking for the MECHs outside the Tower when the answer is underneath their noses! Everyone’s in danger!’

My mother turns to me. ‘What are you going to do?’

I shake my head. ‘I don’t know, but I have to go back. I have to tell them. I know what has happened with Da is horrible, but I’ve made friends with the people there. The Tower is more than the Guardians. There are other brides and maids and Sentry officers…they’re like me, innocent. I have to at least give
them
a fighting chance. If the MECHs attack again in bigger numbers it’ll be a massacre. And if the Guardians fall, there’ll be no one to stop them. We’ll all end up like Da!’

Momma glances at me and places her hands on my shoulders. Slowly she smiles. ‘You do what you need to. But I must keep travelling. The idea of painting new places is the only thing stopping me from checking into a mental ward.’

‘No, I understand,’ I reply. ‘You spent a long time in Pekkin putting up with Da’s crap, trying to look after me. You deserve to be happy.’

‘We all do. Oh, which reminds me,’ she says, sliding a ring off her hand. ‘I want to you have this. It was a present from my mother when I turned eighteen. Your birthday is only a few days away.’

I blink. She’s right, I’m nearly eighteen. I can’t believe I had lost track of the date so badly. Carefully I take the ring from her. It’s silver with a white stone in the top. I slide it on my right ring finger.

‘I love you,’ I say hugging her tightly.

She laughs. ‘I love you more.’

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

I walk back towards the train station with tears in my eyes. I push them back and step up onto the platform. Using money from my mother, I purchase a new pass from the machine and wait. I really hope that I get to see her again.

The morning is almost over when the train arrives. The carriage is only half full. I’m a mess in a grubby dress and tights. It’s a long trip back to Absotras, then Poridos City. I have a lot of time to kill. I stare mindlessly out the window. I can see everyone’s point of view, the Guardians’, my Da’s…even though I know the horrible truth about what happened to those townspeople in Selyu twenty years ago, I feel like I’m obligated to warn the Guardians about what lurks below them.