Guardian Awakening (The Guardians Series) (4 page)

Romy seemed to hesitate before him.

“What more do you wish to know?” she asked blankly, folding her arms across her chest.

“I know your family are from the Asuriya...err, tribe who are servants of the Dark Master.” He stepped back but continued to look at her intently, wishing he had the ability to read her mind.

Romy swallowed hard
.

“They have followed the old ways, but that doesn’t mean that I do. We are no longer in contact.” Romy lowered her eyes to the floor. But Essen had not missed the tears that had started to build.

“Tell me why you are no longer with them, Romy.” He lifted her chin as a teardrop fell from her eye. He gently wiped the tear away. He wanted to hold her close, but it was too late. It had all gone too far now for him to turn around and back out. In his mind the only way was to finish what he had started.

Romy seemed to take a deep breath and then met his eyes, almost pleading for him to stop. Her eyes were filled with what seemed like painful memories. Essen would not be making this any easier for her; after all, he had painful memories of his own that needed to be laid to rest.

“They are also demons, humans who have over time assumed demon powers as warriors for the Dark Master, but I get the feeling you know that. My family kept their true nature well hidden even from me, but there were signs that there was darkness in them. They were power hungry, and greed was at the core.” Romy stopped, taking a deep breath.

Essen continued to watch her. So she was aware of her family. But how involved had she been? He needed to know.

“They, not you, you say?” he questioned.

“I chose not to go down that path; they wanted things for me that I did not want.” Her voice flickered with hesitation at first.

He pushed a little further. “I see, and what path was that?”

“At sixteen my training began, with the teaching of rituals and sacred prayers. Then darker arts were taught, like I learned to sense feelings, feed off people’s fears, and to control minds. I questioned at first, but my questions were met with harsh punishment, so I ceased to question. At eighteen I would assume my powers and become the servant of the Dark Master. This was through the Blood Ceremony, taking the life of an innocent at full moon. I...I could not do it, Essen... I just could not take a child and kill him on the altar. So I ran and have been running since. This is the longest I have ever been in one place. I thought I was finally free of all of that, until you showed up, to take me back to them, I had assumed. But I was wrong. So there you are; you have it all.” Romy let out a heavy sigh. “I suppose there are some things you cannot leave behind, no matter how much you want to.”

Essen thought about her words. Instinct told him she was telling the truth. Maybe she had been manipulated into being involved. Maybe Romy was an innocent. But now he was standing in the Gateway; the memories of what happened here could not be put aside. They assaulted him from all angles, not letting him forget. Those memories demanded revenge! So, on he must go.

He gestured to the surroundings. “One more question, do you recognize this place?”

He nearly added, “It’s the place you will die.”

Chapter Four

Up to this point, Romy had not surveyed her surroundings, so when she circled round, she was surprised to see lush green around her. They were standing in a forest glade, as clear as day. The sun was shining through the tree canopy; overgrown, majestic trees sent out their long arms in all directions. Some parts seemed wild as though nature had taken over and lay sprawled, waiting to be claimed.

“Oh, it’s beautiful,” was all she could say. “Are we still on earth?”

“We are between worlds; this place is earth, but it is a doorway to the other world, where my race originated from. You remember what I said? We are demons, but the originals. My family has guarded this place for centuries; to us it is a sacred place, full of old magic. It is the place where all Guardians are initiated, where we take our earthly body, and where we return to have our death ceremony when we no longer are needed on earth.” Essen spoke slowly. Romy felt all this was leading somewhere, somewhere to her, but why? What did the family she had escaped do to the Guardians here?

“How did we get here?” she asked.

“As a Guardian I have special abilities, which means I can travel anywhere quickly. It is a skill that the Dark Master has also gifted to the Asuriya,” Essen replied.

“And that place we travelled through, what was that?” Romy shuddered as she remembered the screeching of voices and the haunting faces.

“That is the place of the dead, where souls that are not at rest go. The Dark Master claims them,” he replied.

“So a sort of hell, is that what it is?” Romy asked.

“Yes, that word has been used, but it is just the doorway. Inside the Dark Master’s realm, it is much worse,” Essen turned, studying the land before him. “This is our home”

“It is truly beautiful, Essen; I can see why it is a special place.” She touched his arm and gave it a gentle squeeze.

But instead of receiving it as it was meant, a friendly gesture, Essen glowered at her as if her touch had been pure ice. Romy stepped away, uncertain of what to do. He was full of contradictions, angry and aloof but passionate in a way that she had never experienced before; her body had responded to a man for once. He had lit a fire in her that had raged for many hours last night. Yet he stood so distant and cold, but why? The answer, she knew, was linked to this place, the Gateway, and somehow her past or the family she tried not to remember.

“I’m sorry, Essen,” she whispered, not knowing what else to say.

He moved to face her, his eyes full of anger, cold and distant.

Romy swallowed hard and backed away; a shiver ran through her. How had the situation changed? Romy saw the blazing fury of a monster that was glaring as though she were the cause of his anger. But how, what had she done to deserve the murderous look that was directed at her?

“Essen...I... What did I do?” Her throat tightened as Essen’s large frame towered over her.

“It was your kind that drove us away from this place,” he spat through gritted teeth. “This is our sacred ground, loved by all, until your kind came, destroyed the peace we had here, and took her away.” He was breathing heavily, fists clenched at his side.

It struck her; someone he loved had been taken away, a lover or maybe a wife. He had been using her body to satisfy his needs; all that passion had not been for her. Damn it, the whole time he was thinking about someone he had lost. Romy had just been convenient in some horrible way. Pain tore through her; the one person her body actually responded to, craved, had used her. A fine justice, as she had been doing the same thing to other men in the hope to connect!

***

Essen spun around to watch his revenge standing before him, her face not visible to him. She was looking down. In his heart he was glad; he did not want to see the pain and confusion held in those mesmerizing eyes. Hell, he had not expected to have feelings for her. But now he must stick to his original plan. This place, their perfect place, was the right choice for what must happen next.

“We need to go on.” Without waiting for a response, he moved farther into the forest. The footsteps through the long grass told him she was following.

“Where are we going, Essen, tell me, surely I deserve that much!” she pleaded to him after twenty minutes of walking.

“You deserve nothing!” Essen ground out his remark. The less he explained, the better it would be, for him at least, he reasoned. Hearing her voice, the echoes of tightly held emotions in it, tore at his heart. He had been trying to blank her out of his mind. So he had drawn up his barrier, guarding himself from her.

The steps behind him stopped. Essen saw the fury in Romy’s face, her hands on her hips, and her breathing deep and heavy.

“You just wait a minute; I have tried really hard to understand what is going on. Each step of the way you stand there like a...bloody boulder! So right here, right now, spill. Tell me what this is all about.” She crossed her arms across her chest and waited.

The dying undergrowth reached to her knees, twisted branches of old, gnarled trees reaching out to her, death all around her, yet she stood firm.

He sighed. An invisible weight hung heavy on his shoulders.

“Take a look around you now, Romy, what do you see?”

Romy glanced around, not really seeing; then he saw a glimmer of change in her eyes. “What has happened? It was so green and fertile, but now it’s dying, ruined. How?”

“That is the story I must tell you, but we are not far from where it all happened. Come. I will tell all there. It will all make sense.” He gazed down at her; he could see she was processing what he had said and weighing the options. The nod to him spoke of her agreement.

They carried on for another twenty minutes. The landscape continued to change. There was no greenery or other signs of life; a dying land reached out to her. It needed her energy. He knew it was a sign that she was the key, that what he must do was for the land to enable it to flourish again.

They arrived at a rocky clearing, the center of this land, a once-important place reduced to rubble and ruin. Essen stopped by the tower of rocks and stroked them. The ancient power that had once resided in them was no longer there. The rough stone surface was cool to touch; Essen rested his head against them, and memories flooded him. Sacred times sang out to his soul, but others assaulted him, rage and pain and her blood splattered on these very stones. Essen bit back tears and gritted his teeth, the resolution firm in his mind.

Romy stood behind him, watching him intently, her arms crossed at her waist. Her beautiful face, so full of warmth and concern, fixed on him. Essen stood transfixed for a moment; a sudden gust of chilling wind washed away any hesitation he may have felt.

“This was our place, a sacred place to us Guardians. It was given to our people long ago to protect. You see, these stones are the Gateway.”

“Gateway? I recall hearing that word, but I never understood what it was.” Her voice was a mere whisper.

“I told you. We are protectors, the Guardians of the Gateway between the supernatural world and the human world. These stones are that place...or should I say were until your people desecrated our land.” Essen noticed shock on her perfect face.

“What...what have my people got to do with this?” Romy moved nearer to him.

“This is the place where Guardians are initiated, the birth into our role, into our human bodies. It is the place we come to before we go to our final home. The rituals are as old as the human race itself. We were put here after the Fallen Angels chose their own path, to become the Dark Master’s demons. We protect, we watch and stand guard. Our power flowed through this land, making it fertile and rich.” Essen frowned as he stared at the wasteland around him. The once-beautiful land was now rubble and ruin, a testament to the havoc and chaos brought on by her people. He looked at Romy, who stood in quiet concentration.

“But this all changed when your kind, the Asuriya demons, sought to gain the power of the stones. They watched and plotted over many years until a moment when we were protecting our own. Then they attacked, killing those who were here.”

“But did you not fight back?” Romy interrupted.

“We were protecting our own. She was about to give birth. Birthing is a special time when all gather to welcome the child into the world, a happy time. No one was prepared for an attack in our own home.” Essen spoke through gritted teeth, fighting the memories.

“I am so sorry.” She halted for a moment. “But what I do not understand is why.”

“For power! The Dark Master promises many rewards for those who follow him. If he controlled this place, he would be able to send many of his demons into the world. The very thing we have always promised Caeles, the Creator, to protect the world from. But your kind... They killed indiscriminately. They killed her! She was carrying an innocent! My blood!” Essen could not continue as pain ripped through him. He stopped, taking in deep breaths, calming him down. He must maintain control, especially now when he was so close to making this promise he made to her come true.

“Your wife and child were killed? I am so sorry, Essen.” Romy’s voice was barely audible.

“My mother and my sister that she was carrying! Female children are special and rare. They bring the promise of our continued fertility. But, no, they were not spared but murdered, their bodies slaughtered on these very rocks. I can still see their blood covering this place and the blood of others lost to us that day.” He spat the words at her, as the image of his mother dying appeared in front of him. The pain of that day was branded on his very soul. He had thought about nothing else for so long, not until last night with her, when for that brief time, pain was replaced with pleasure.

“You were there, you saw? Oh, Essen, I am so sorry.” Essen felt a warm hand on his shoulder; his body wanted to hold her tight. He longed to bury his face in her dark hair; instead he stepped away.

“Yes, I was there and survived, as did a few others, but I could not reach my mother until it was too late. I swore that day that I would seek revenge in the very place I lost them.” With this last statement, he faced her.

Romy stepped back, her eyes widening. He knew truth had dawned on her. She was his revenge!

***

“But why me, I have lived apart from my family and the heritage they would have me embrace. I didn’t want any of that and still don’t!” Romy pleaded. She could not see how this involved her; she had done what she could to be far away from all her family’s plans and had her own life.

“Exactly, you are an innocent just as my mother and sister were. An eye for an eye! Don’t you see?” Essen stood a few steps away near the tower of rocks. His arms by his side, feet apart, face set in a hard expression, eyes sparkling with malice, he looked like a tightly wound-up coil ready to attack. She was the prey.

Without thinking Romy bolted, running as fast as she could through the barren forest in whatever direction her feet carried her. Her heart pounded, and beads of sweat ran down her spine; she could hear movement behind her but she did not stop. Not even branches slapping at her as she ran hindered her steps until she saw a blur in front of her and she went straight into a wall. No, not a wall but Essen. She screamed, a high-pitched scream, but nothing seemed to hear her. Essen’s arms were around her in a vice-like grip, and he threw her over his shoulders. Romy kicked and screamed, struggling as much as she could, but he did not seem to hear or feel any of this.

“Please, Essen, let me go, please. I had nothing to do with this! Please.” Romy dissolved into tears. She had thought he was to take her back to her family, that they had finally caught up with her, but not this. It had never occurred to her that she would be the price for their sins. The unfairness of the situation hit her as Essen walked back to the rocks. She had led her own life when the pressures of what her family wanted her to become had been too much. They pushed for her to be initiated into the clan through the blood ceremony. It became the only way they would accept her. For Romy it was not what she wanted; their evil desires overrode any care or concern for others. She did not want to become like that, so she had finally walked away. But they still haunted her.

Within a few minutes, they were back, and he unceremoniously dumped her onto the dirt floor.

“Stay there,” he growled at her.

“What? Aren’t you going to tie me up to stop me from running?”

“There is nowhere to run to. I will always get to you!” Essen strode away, out of sight.

Romy adjusted her position and leaned on the rocks, her head back and eyes closed. So this was it, the end? There seemed to be no point in reasoning with Essen; he was closed off. She heard rustling from the direction he had gone, then heavy footsteps returning. She did not open her eyes; instead she kept them tightly shut. She did not need to look at the only man who had been able to awaken her body and not make her feel like she was abnormal. Especially since he had made love to her as part of his revenge!

“Open your eyes, Romy, and stand.” His voice was distant and cold.

Romy opened her eyes and saw his legs right in front of her, but as her gaze wandered higher, she saw what was in his hand. The metal blade glistened in the sun, sparkling like a diamond. Bile rose in her throat, and tears streamed down her face. So this was it. Determined not to beg, she stood up on shaking legs that felt like they would buckle at any moment.

“This was the knife that killed my mother, one of your people’s weapons. Only fitting it should end your life too.” Essen stepped forward, holding the knife for her to see. Romy saw the blade was etched with symbols she could not recognize and the handle was ornately carved with the face of a hideous creature at the hilt.

Romy tried to lean farther back into the tower, wishing it would swallow her. Tears continued to pour down her face. “I pray this brings you peace,” she whispered.