The Guardian (Coranite Chronicles) (4 page)

A boy shouted from the entrance, “We have to go! Lyonil says there’s trouble at the court. We must hurry back!”

“Killing Darek is the priority!” Layne shouted back. “You know that, Rex!”

Rex replied, “I don’t have time to explain! We have to leave
now!
”

Layne glared at Sorren. “It seems our time has been
cut
short. We’ll end this later.”

She darted out of the room, disappearing behind the rising fog.

Rex. Was it really Rex? Darek wasn’t able to get a good look, but the thought of him being here caused Darek to freeze up. Rex used to be one of his best friends when they were younger. But now…he wasn’t sure what to think of him. Rex had worked with that woman to capture him in the past. And now the two of them were still working together…and for something he never thought possible: to kill
him
.

Darek had heard her loud and clear.
He
was their target.

Darek ran over to check up on Elize. “Elize! Are you all right?”

Pushing off the ground, she groaned, “Yeah. I’m not hurt.”

“What happened?” Darek asked.

She breathed heavily, panting for air. “Some kind of paralyzing anti-law. Never felt anything like it. I could barely breathe.”

“Are you sure you’re not hurt?” Darek asked.

“I’m fine,” she replied with a faint smile. “Really.”

Darek gave a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank God. I was so worried. When I saw you guys on the ground like that…I thought you were…” He didn’t finish his sentence, but furrowed his brow at the thought. His eyes and cheeks reddened as he fell silent.

When Elize realized what Darek was about to say, she embraced on the spot. “Darek,” she whispered, “it’s all right. We’re okay. We’re—”

“Yes, yes, you’re all fine,” Sorren interrupted them, sounding quite annoyed. “Now, I really do suggest you all go back.”

Darek asked, “Go back?”

“To the court!” said Sorren. “Didn’t you hear them saying something about going to the court? There’s only one court in this land and that is the Court of Verras—your home, the home of the Judges.”

“You’re right,” said Darek. “They did say something about that, didn’t they?”

Slade grunted, “I fear the worst. I also heard them speak of that traitor, Lyonil. If they’re working together, there’s no telling what they’re planning.”

Darek nodded. Slade and Elize quickly left the chamber to pursue the assailants. Darek started for the exit, but stopped for a moment and turned to Sorren.

“Look…” said Darek slowly. “I’m still not sure what to think about you. But I owe you one. My friends are…all I have. They mean the world to me. And if you didn’t—”

“You don’t owe me,” said Sorren. “I hurt you before…while I was testing you. I was fully prepared to accept your wrath. I deserve nothing. If anything, I owe you for not taking my life.”

Darek hesitated. But then he remembered all the crazy times they shared together on that remote planet. He mused silently and then said, “No.”

Sorren blinked. “No?”

Darek beamed at him. “Let’s call it even…and start anew.”

Sorren chuckled.

“What’s so funny?” asked Darek.

Sorren shook his head. “Sorry, didn’t mean to laugh. I just didn’t expect you to forgive me that easily.”

“Well, I think I understand what you were trying to show me,” said Darek. “When we first met and I found out you were an assassin…I had in my mind all these crazy ideas about you. I was frightened and scared at the very thought of you. But now I understand. Sometimes a title is just a title.” Darek grinned. “To be honest, I think you’re a pretty terrible assassin.”

“Yeah,” said Sorren. “I think so too. I’m about ready to quit.”

Darek was about to run out again, but he turned back to Sorren and said, “Oh, you said some stuff and I wasn’t really listening. Can you give me the short version? You know, ‘cause I’m in a hurry.”

Sorren nodded. “I’ll keep it short. It seems to me that you
revere
the Judges. But keep this in mind: The Judges were and always will be human. They can be good…but they can also be evil. They can do the right thing…or they can make mistakes. So be careful.”

“Right,” said Darek, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“And before I forget…” Sorren stood behind Darek.
Smack!
Sorren slapped Darek on the back with all of his might. The force of the slap pushed Darek forward several feet and the sound of it echoed loudly.

“OW! WHAT’D YOU DO THAT FOR?” Darek cried out through clenched teeth.

“A good luck pat on the back,” said Sorren. “You’ll thank me later.”

Riding on his hover board, Darek sped through the forest. Pine trees blocked his path, but he had no problems dodging their branches and cones. A little further along, he broke into a clearing and saw a familiar sight. The Court of Verras was coming into view.

All of the buildings were interconnected with a series of corridors and were constructed on a single firm foundation. A tall iron fence surrounded the estate. Golden gates guarded the entrance. Two rushing rivers ran opposite directions along the front and back of the Court.

The main building at the center had a dome-shaped roof over brick walls. There were four smaller houses that surrounded the headquarters and were used as the living quarters for the other Judges. The Conclave—the three Judges who acted as the leaders—lived inside the main building and almost never came out. They were safely locked inside, and with the use of special devices, they were able to monitor the galaxy, searching for dangerous criminals that needed to be silenced.

Slade waved to him from below. With a burst of speed, Darek dove down and landed at the gates. He saw that Slade had his board tied to his back.
Oh, is mine the same way?
Darek picked up his hover board and found a thin strap along the bottom. He stretched the strap, tying the board around him.

Darek ran to Slade and asked, “Where are they?”

Slade replied, “Haven’t found anyone. They didn’t look like they were carrying hover boards. Either they didn’t come here, or they—”

“Teleported,” said Darek quickly.

“Exactly,” said Slade. “I bet they have a powerful anti-law user in their group. They could’ve gotten here instantly. Perhaps they’ve already escaped.” He glanced above. “I told Elize to look around just in case. But I want you to follow me into the main building.”

Darek considered asking Slade if he had heard Rex’s name or had seen his face. But then Darek decided maybe it wasn’t a good idea to make such an assumption. Maybe it was another Rex. Or maybe it wasn’t Rex at all. He could have misheard.

As they drew near to the main building, Darek said, “Wait, you don’t think they went inside, do you? No one should be able to get in. Didn’t you tell me that no one other than the Conclave has access to the main building?”

“If Lyonil is here, he could possibly know the way in,” said Slade. “He used to be one of us, you know. He was a Judge for over twenty years.”

“But why would they go inside?”

Slade didn’t answer. He stepped up to the front doors. “The entrance to the main building is locked at all times. In order to protect the Conclave, the only way to unlock it…is a secret known only by those of the Conclave.” Slade slowly pushed up against the doors, and they opened quite easily. Seething, Slade kicked the doors open and entered.

Darek had never been inside the main building before. The concaved ceiling was painted black and there were no windows, which left the interior rather dark. To light the way, there were two rows of lamp stands, one on either side of a long pathway that led down to a smaller dome at the center of this massive chamber. They followed the trail and entered the smaller dome through a wide opening.

A round table was situated in the middle of the small room with three chairs around it. On top of the table were three glowing spheres—one red, one blue, and one green—and they were situated in front of the chairs. Beneath the table was a strange contraption that looked extremely complex with its circuits and wires going all over the place; it appeared to be connected to the spheres.

Darek’s eyes wandered across the room before settling on the floor. Maybe he subconsciously did not want to see what was on the floor, but he could not ignore it forever. He forced himself to look.

Darek gulped.

Three bodies, the bodies of the Judges of the Conclave, were sprawled on the floor. Blood was everywhere.

“Too late. We were too late,” Slade rasped, his fists tightly clenched. He crouched over the bodies. “They’re all…” Slade fell with his face to the floor and slammed both fists against the ground. “THEY’RE ALL DEAD!”

Darek found it difficult to swallow. The Conclave, although they were Judges, were not warriors. They stood no chance. It was slaughter…pure and simple.

Slade closely examined the traces of blood on the floor. “Look at this. Hawkes tried to draw something in his own blood.”

“What is it?”

Slade shrugged. “All he drew was the number seven. I guess he didn’t have time to spell anything out. It could be a hint to lead us to the killer, or maybe a warning for what we may have to deal with.”

Darek mused. “A seven? What could it mean?”

“Maybe he’s telling us there were seven in their group,” said Slade, thinking about it. “With only the three of us, we’d be outnumbered.”

Darek examined it more closely. “Wait. What if it’s not a seven?”

“What else could it be? An incomplete letter?”

“What if it’s a…scythe? Maybe he’s trying to tell us that the killer used a scythe.” Darek reluctantly spoke. He was worried about the possibility it was true. The only person he knew that used a scythe was Windzer. And there was the possibility that all of the immortals, including Windzer, ended up in Lacuna when that black hole formed. After all, even Sorren had survived. Perhaps everyone else survived as well.

But would Windzer really kill Judges?
Darek thought.
Why would he?

Slade’s eyes widened as he stared at the blood. “Now that you mention it, this seven does look like a scythe. The top is curved slightly. The way these people are cut down…a sharp scythe wouldn’t be out of the question. It all adds up. My suspicions were correct. Then the murderer must be…”

Darek swallowed while he waited for Slade’s conclusion.

“Lyonil,” Slade hissed.

“Lyonil?” asked Darek. “The former Judge? He used a scythe too?”

“Yes,” said Slade. “Lyonil is a master of the scythe. Back when we were at the gravesite, I thought I heard those two mention Lyonil’s name. I never imagined Lyonil would be so stupid as to show his face here again.”

“Why would he do it? What reason would he have to murder the Conclave?”

“To protect himself,” said Slade. “Betraying the Judges is worthy of death, same goes for the Heroes. We were preparing to execute him. I bet he figured he could catch us by surprise. And he did. I never expected him to be able to sneak back into Lacuna. I thought the only way to reach Lacuna was through our portal.”

“I brought him here!” The terrible truth sunk in. Darek said bitterly, “It’s all my fault! Dionus was on that world of immortals. He could’ve brought the others with him. That girl and Lyonil—maybe they were his allies. And everyone on that world ended up here! If I hadn’t—”

“Don’t blame yourself,” said Slade, standing up. “We were careless. We had always believed no one would be able to find us…and we were wrong.” Slade smashed his fist against the table. “Without the Conclave, we cannot establish communication with the others. All the Judges are now left in the dark. And if we don’t know where they are, we can’t bring them back here. This must’ve been what Lyonil was counting on. He crippled us in one blow. The only thing we can do now is try to work the Conclave’s device, but the use of the device is another closely-guarded secret—”

Come quick!
Elize’s voice boomed in their minds. She was using her spirit power to mentally communicate.
They’re opening the portal!

Darek exchanged glances with Slade. “The portal?”

“They’re trying to get away!”
 
Slade took off in a hurry, dashing toward the back gate; Darek followed and tried not to lose sight of him.

They ran through the gate and took a flight of stairs down into an underground cellar. As they crossed the threshold of the entrance, Darek saw fleeting shadows pass through a brilliant light.

Elize was crouched over a stone lever, tugging on it with all her might. She grunted, “What took you guys so long? They already went through the door! Help me hold down the lever! I can’t seem to keep the door open!”

Slade and Darek helped her pushed down on the lever, but even though they held it all the way down, the lever continued to rise slowly against their might.

Elize said through gritted teeth, “We have to make a decision now! They destroyed the controls! If we go through the door now, we’ll never return to Lacuna! But if we don’t go, we’ll be stuck here forever!”

“We must go after them!” Slade shouted. “If we don’t get revenge, how can we say our justice is absolute? Whoever dares to mess with the Judges will have their fates sealed!”