The Guardian (Coranite Chronicles) (3 page)

“But that doesn’t explain anything,” said Darek. “If one loses his place, another will replace him. Isn’t that what you told me? Why would they only bury six out of the first twelve?”

Slade shrugged. “We’re talking about something that happened over two thousand years ago. This is just one of those things we’ll never know.”

“Would you like to know?” said a voice.

“Is someone there...?” Darek wondered.

The three of them looked around nervously. Could the intruder be here with them?

The voice continued, “What if I told you that the six other Judges of the first generation…are still alive today?”

A young man walked across the watery bridge and knelt before the tombstones. His hair was white and his eyes were green. He wore a long dark-gray hooded robe and had a sword and sheath on his back.

It was someone Darek knew—someone he never wanted to see again. Sorren. Yes, the assassin who nearly took his life.

CHAPTER 2

Shadow and Ghost

Darek glared at him. “Sorren? What are you doing here?”

“Relax,” said Sorren, gesturing with a hand for him to calm down. “I didn’t come here for you.”

Darek pulled out his daggers from the hidden sheaths under his uniform. “If you really mean it, then just get out of here!”

Slade took a step toward Sorren. “I don’t know who you are, but this is our sacred ground. It is only for Judges to walk upon.”

Sorren nodded. “I will leave. I’ve only come to pay my respects, since I was responsible for their deaths.”

Elize said, “What?
You
were responsible? But they died nearly two thousand years ago!”

“So?” said Sorren. “That’s what it means to be immortal.”

“Immortal?”

Sorren was an immortal? Darek had his suspicions about that in the past. After all, Sorren knew of immortality. He knew that drinking the special water from the core of the planet would make someone immortal. But why was he revealing this to him now? What did Sorren have to gain from all of this?

“Anyway,” said Sorren, “I didn’t know you’d be here. But now—” He made an awkward pause. “I suppose I should apologize…but I’m not really good with these things.” Thinking for a moment, he paused again. “And it probably wouldn’t change your mind anyway. I’m sure you’ll find it hard to forgive me after I…tried to kill you.” Scratching his head, Sorren sighed. “This is…a lot harder than I thought it’d be.”

“Just go,” said Darek. “I don’t want to hear it.”

Sorren said, “Before I go I have one last thing—”

“No!” Darek shouted. “How many times do I have to tell you? I don’t want to hear more of your lies! Just leave! Or do you want to fight me again?” Darek gripped the hilt of his dagger tightly and moved into a fighting stance. “This time…things will be different. I’m different now! I don’t need Azura to protect me! I can protect myself!”

“I’ll leave,” said Sorren, raising his hands in surrender. “But let me give you a warning before I go. You may think there are only twelve Judges…but there aren’t. The Judges that exist today are different from the first Judges. And now that your power has awakened, some Judges from the old Order may be after your life.”

“Is that so?” Darek thrust his dagger at Sorren.

Shocked by Darek’s sudden attack, Sorren drew his sword and parried the blow.

“What was that for?” Sorren said.

Darek snapped, “I already told you to get out of here! I’ve had enough of your lies!” Darek furiously slashed away with his daggers and skillfully landed cuts on Sorren’s side. “You’re crazy! The first Judges were upholders of justice! They’re after my life? Are you insane? How dare you insult them in front of me! They would never do such a thing! Shut up and get out of here!”

“Darek.” Sorren backed away. “Please listen to me. Your life is in danger. Trust me on this. Don’t make the mistake—”

Darek growled, “My only mistake was to trust you. Windzer told me everything. I know the truth!”

Darek leaped into the air and slammed down with his daggers. Sorren’s sword clashed with both daggers in a successful block. While their blades touched, Darek uttered a whisper.

Fwooom!
A fire erupted from the daggers, enveloping Sorren in a fleeting, yet powerful, flame. Suffering from minor burns, Sorren tripped backwards and fell.

Darek knelt, pressing the blade against his neck. “You understand now? I’m no longer the Darek you knew. Now leave. I never want to see your face again. The next time you see me will be your last.”

Sorren closed his eyes.

Darek raised his brow. “W-what are you doing?”

“Nothing,” said Sorren. “I’m doing nothing.”

“Stop being unreasonable!” Darek groaned. “I don’t want to kill you! Get out of here!”

Sorren slowly pushed the dagger away. “And I’m just trying to warn you. Stop being a Judge. Your life is in grave danger. I want to help you, Darek. I’m sorry for attacking you last time. It probably wasn’t the best way for me to handle things, but I needed to understand something about you. I needed to confirm something.”

“Shut up!”
 
Darek snarled. “I don’t have to listen to you! Don’t you see? I just defeated you! I don’t need your help! Now scram!”

Elize screamed. Slade suddenly shouted, “Watch out!”

Darek looked over his shoulder. Slade and Elize were on the ground, lying there, motionless. His heart racing, Darek wondered if they were okay—if they were still…alive.

Then a grim-faced woman emerged from the opening of the wall. Black hair covered the right side of her face. Her left eye was gleaming.

Darek remembered her. She had taken him captive in the past as a Federation soldier. However, she wasn’t in Federation uniform this time. Wearing an armored dress, she was standing before them, her sword drawn by her side.

“Layne,” Sorren said. “This could be trouble.”

“What did you do to them?” Darek shouted. Seeing Elize and Slade on the floor infuriated him. He twirled his daggers impatiently, but Sorren stopped his hand.

“Listen to me, Darek,” said Sorren. “I know her. She is not someone you can handle right now. Let me deal with this.”

“I can handle a Federation soldier!” Darek snapped, his blood boiling.

“No,” said Sorren. “She’s not just a Federation soldier. Layne is one of the six Judges I was talking about. Don’t let your anger blind you—”

Darek furiously shoved Sorren away. He ran to his friends. He just had to see if they were okay. But before he reached them…Layne stood in his way, putting her sword in his path. Darek stepped back, keeping a wary eye on her sword. The sword was ghoulish-white, something he’d never seen before.

“OUT OF MY WAY!” Darek screamed.

Snickering, Layne pointed her sword at him. “Sorry, can’t do that.”

Darek stared at her sword. For a moment, he felt an eerie chill creep along his spine. Beads of sweat rolled down his brow as he gazed upon it.

What’s wrong with me?
Darek wondered.
What is this fear?

In the blink of an eye, the blade of her sword extended several feet. The razor-sharp tip aimed for Darek’s throat. Darek jumped out of the way, only to find that the long blade was swerving toward him. Once again, Darek darted out of its path. Each time he changed directions, the stretching sword would close in on him.

Finally, he decided to stop running. He swiftly parried the blade and sprinted toward Layne. By the time he reached her, the long blade of the sword was encircling him. He yelped as a bloody gash opened on his shoulder. Then he tripped and rolled along the ground. Wincing, he inched backwards along the misty floor and gripped his wound, blood running down his arm.

A black streak zipped across the room, swooped down and whisked Darek back to the gravesite. Then the black streak curved and settled on the bridge of water, becoming more of a dark mist. Sorren emerged from the mist as it faded, his sword was out and ready for blood.

“Sorren,” said Layne. “Long time no see. Couple of hundred years? Couple of thousand? I never kept track.”

Sorren narrowed his eyes. “I don’t want to fight you. Please leave Darek alone.”

Layne snickered. “What? You scared of me?”

“No, it just doesn’t have to be this way,” he replied. “Dionus doesn’t understand the truth. But I understand and I know…that killing Darek isn’t the answer.”

“You’ve changed, Sorren,” said Layne. “What happened? Hundreds of years of hiding have made you a coward?” Layne glanced at his sword and scoffed, “And what’s this? Huh. Are you for real? Where is
your
sword, Sorren? Where is
Daeseth
?”

Sorren replied, “Lost it.”

Layne’s face darkened. “Don’t treat me like an idiot. Our swords are not soulless. They have life. Even if we are separated from our swords, they will cry out to their master, begging to be saved! No matter where your sword is, even if it’s beyond the galaxy, you should know where it is. How could you possibly lose your sword?”

Layne swung her ghoulish-white sword from side to side; it gleamed with every twist of her wrist. “This won’t be as fun as I hoped. Without
Daeseth
…you don’t stand a chance.” Layne ran her tongue across her blade. “My phantom blade,
Rhekoir
, hasn’t been used in a while—hasn’t tasted much blood. The blood of an old enemy…will surely satisfy!”

They stared at each other, both frozen in place. Darek held his breath at the sight of them.

When he couldn’t hold his breath any longer, he exhaled. At that exact moment, Sorren and Layne both slashed at the ground, launching shockwaves that traveled through the white mist that filled the room. The shockwaves collided, causing a massive cloud to rise. They both leaped into the cloud and were shrouded by it.

Though they were both blind in the cloud, that didn’t stop them from fighting. It was a test of reflexes and senses—a battle where no one could see what was going on. They relied solely on the sounds of their swords and the movement of the air.

Darek marveled at the intense battle that was taking place. He heard the loud clanging of swords and imagined that they’d only be an arm’s length apart.

A minute passed. The cloud dissipated. Layne looked a little exhausted but was fine. The same could not be said for Sorren. He had a shallow cut across his chest. Even with that cut, Sorren showed no signs of pain.

Layne charged at him with staggering speed. Sorren flicked his hand up, conjuring a shadow to rise up and grab her. She tore right through the shadow and nicked him across the cheek with her blade. Sorren tripped her with a sweep of his foot, but she cartwheeled out of the way. Pointing her sword, she extended the blade to reach him. He parried Rhekoir, but it coiled around his sword and grabbed tightly onto it. Layne tugged sharply on the hilt and ripped Sorren’s sword out of his hands.

With a quick swipe of his hand, Sorren flung a bolt of black mass at Layne. She bent back to dodge the anti-law, but Sorren had already retrieved his sword while she was distracted.

Sorren ran up to her and slashed down, but Layne blocked the blow. As they struggled against each other with their swords locked in that position, Sorren scowled but Layne smiled mischievously.

Then the unthinkable happened. Sorren staggered back, his face in horror. He looked down at his robe. It had been stained red. Blood was streaming down a massive cut that began at his left shoulder and ended at his right hip. Layne kicked him in the chest. Blood splattered all over. Shocked, he howled and trembled from the immense pain.

“Sorren!” shouted Darek, concerned.
What just happened? How did she do that? He clearly blocked it!
Darek went and helped him up.

Leaning on Darek with his face strained with pain, Sorren gasped, “So that’s…the true nature of the phantom blade. No wonder it’s known for being impossible to block…but now that I know your secret…you can’t use the same trick twice…” He spoke with difficulty; the cut was deeper than he thought.

A trick?
Darek thought.
What’s he talking about?

“You can take that secret with you to the grave!” said Layne, charging at him.

Sorren knocked Darek out of the way. She brought her sword down on him, but Sorren successfully blocked the attack. This time Sorren’s eyes darted rapidly, moving from her to the point where the swords met. He saw it more clearly now: while the two swords touched, her blade, the Rhekoir, was actually passing through his sword as if it wasn’t solid!

Realizing that blocking was useless, Sorren pushed his sword forward. The two swords passed right through each other, causing Layne to jump back warily.

“I told you,” said Sorren. “That won’t work anymore. No wonder it’s called the phantom blade. It can actually pass through solid matter of your choosing. That’s devilish. It makes it impossible to block…because you can pass through swords and armor at will. It truly is a double-edged sword in more ways than one. When your sword goes through mine, you’re left just as open as I am.”

Layne said bitterly, “I had hoped to cut you down the first time.” Upon hearing a shuffling noise, she looked over her shoulder and saw Slade and Elize slowly getting back up. “Seriously? They’re already moving? That idiot! That worthless idiot! I knew Rex would be useless. I don’t know what Dionus sees in that boy.”