The Sentinel (13 page)

A loud bang on my door distracted me from the horrifying scene played out on the bonnet. Alexandria had landed on the outside of my door, clinging on to the edge as if she was wind surfing. Another loud band indicated Caleb’s arrival on the other side. As soon as Lucas was clear of the seat, Mason clambered into it and taking control of the car he started bringing it to a stop. The Guardians were clearly turning against each other, and there was only one reason for that, one or more of them wanted to kill me. I looked out onto the bonnet where Eli had Lucas pinned down by the throat. Eli suddenly punched Lucas in the face, but where his hand should have made contact with his nose his hand just kept going into Lucas’s head. I couldn’t even see Eli’s hand anymore. There was no face; there was just a hand shaped hole. I felt physically sick. I suddenly realised that I was still connected to Lucas, telepathically, that he’d been talking to me the whole time.

‘
Eve, are you ok, Eve
…’

I watched in horror as Lucas seemed to melt around Eli’s hand. Eli tried to hold onto him, but it was like trying to grip onto water. One second Lucas, or what was left of him considering he had no face, was there, the next he was gone, leaving only his clothes behind.

‘
Eve
!’ That was Lucas again.

I’d forgotten how to breathe.

‘
Breathe Eve, it’s ok, you’re safe now
.’

How was it ok? I’d just seen Lucas die at the hands of his brother, yet I could still hear him in my head. The Guardians that had stood by and watched him die were quite likely to turn on me next. I really thought I was going to pass out.

Mason got out the car and he and Caleb seemed to be checking the road and the surrounding woods. My door opened and Alexandria leaned in. Eli leant down and ripped out the remainder of the windscreen. I’d had training for this, my powers were there to save the world, but they were also there to save me too. In a moment of crystal clarity I produced a shield that burst from me, like an explosion sending the Guardians flying through the air.

‘
Eve no!’
shouted Lucas in my head.

I quickly clambered into the driver’s seat, slammed the car in reverse and took off down the road. When I was far enough away from the Guardians, I violently jerked the wheel, then slammed down the brakes and clutch at the same time, as the wheels locked I shoved the car into first gear and sped off down the road. Somewhere at the back of my mind I was able to thank my Dad, David, for teaching me evasive stunt manoeuvres like that j-turn.

We hadn’t gone far from the church and within seconds I was bumping back up the dirt track again. I got out and ran in. I had to get Quinn and Persia to safety too. Quinn was nervously pacing the church and Persia was sitting, anxiously with her sisters. Quinn ran to me as soon as he saw me, gripping my shoulders tightly as relief washed through his face.

‘Eve, are you ok?’

‘No, the Guardians, they’ve turned against each other, I think they’re trying to kill me.’

‘What?’

Persia was at my side. ‘Eve they can’t, they’re pledged to protect you.’

I shook my head. ‘I think they’ve changed their mind. What happened here?’

‘I don’t know love, we were all sitting here and then they heard something in their head and disappeared,’ said Quinn. ‘But Persia’s right, they can’t do anything to harm you.’

‘Quinn I just watched Eli kill Lucas, his own brother, he ripped him out of the car, strangled him, and punched him in the face and Lucas just melted. I had no idea Guardians died like that, he melted into nothing.’

Quinn’s face turned to thunder and his grip tightened on my shoulders. ‘Lucas melted?’

Persia swore. Something I’d never heard her do before.

‘Eve listen…’ Quinn started but was interrupted by the sudden appearance of my Personal Guard, well the four that were still alive. I turned towards them, ready to attack, but Persia jumped in front of me, and Quinn held me back. Though that wasn’t going to stop me; my greatest power was not in my hands but in my mind.

‘Eve no, we can explain everything, just listen,’ Persia pleaded.

I raised my shield instead and with a lot of concentration quickly flexed it to stretch over my friends as well.

‘Damn it,’ Caleb grunted, kicking a brick into one of the walls. It shattered into dust.

‘Nice one Caleb, that’s not helping make the situation any better,’ Quinn mumbled.

Caleb turned back to face me, angrily. ‘Why did you take off like that for? We’re trying to protect you and you just run away. I feel like I’m babysitting a bloody child sometimes.’

I took an involuntary step back. I was expecting an attack; I wasn’t expecting verbal abuse.

Eli grabbed Caleb by the shirt and pushed him hard against the wall.

‘You will not speak to her like that again,’ Eli growled through gritted teeth.

Caleb nodded, all the anger fading out of him. ‘I’m sorry Eli, you’re right, that was inexcusable.’ He turned to me. ‘Eve I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. I’m not angry at you at all, I’m just angry he got away.’ Eli released him.

I stared at them, in bewilderment. What was going on? To make matters worse, Lucas appeared. Was there no end to this madness?

‘You shouldn’t have come; you’re not fully rested yet?’ Eli scowled at his brother.

‘Eli, she thinks you killed me, I thought this was the easiest way to show her you didn’t.’

‘Oh! That’s why you ran away. We couldn’t understand it.’ Alexandria suddenly smiled.

‘She thinks the Guardians have turned against each other, she thinks we were going to turn against her next,’ Lucas said.

Eli turned back to me. ‘Eve we would never do anything to harm you, I thought you knew that, we’re sworn to protect you, we would die for you.’

I gritted my teeth, flexing my shield. I could feel anger surging through me. My hand was zinging with energy. ‘Will someone please explain what the hell is going on?’

‘Eve, that wasn’t me in the car with you just then, I was still lying at home in bed. When you started talking to me like I was with you, I started to get scared. I spoke to the other Guardians, asking where you were, as soon as they heard me, they came to you. I was going to come too, but Eli figured two of me would freak you out somewhat. The man in the car was a shape shifter, he had taken my form. Very clever really. It never occurred to us they would try something like that. He even fooled Eli and the other Guardians. They had no reason to doubt me, or someone that looked like me.’

I looked at Quinn for reassurance. ‘The shape shifters can do that, take someone else’s form?’

Quinn nodded. ‘Yes, well some can, some can’t do people well at all.’

‘But he just melted.’ Then I remembered Quinn changing from a panther into a dog, and how he melted from one form into the next.

‘Yeah he shifted into a wasp or something and flew off. If I’d been quicker I would have swatted him.’ Eli shook his head angrily.

‘As I said before, the shape shifters are notoriously dodgy characters,’ Quinn said, releasing his hold on me as he sensed I was getting calmer.

Feeling his grip lessen made me realise I could release my shield now as well. I quickly imagined my bubble winking out. ‘But why would a shape shifter be interested in me?’

Quinn shrugged. ‘He would have just been a hired hand, working for the Putarians or the Reapers. Generally the shape shifters go wherever the most money is, they don’t take sides they just take jobs.’

I looked at the Guardians. ‘I’m really sorry guys. You save me and I hit you with my shield again.’

‘No Eve, we’re the ones who are sorry. We never thought our enemies would walk right into our midst and take you from under our noses, we weren’t expecting it. If you want I will speak to the Oraculum about getting you a new personal guard. Someone who won’t let you down. Josh is very good and you know him or there’s Noah…’ Eli shook his head regretfully.

‘No Eli, I don’t want anyone else, you guys are fantastic. What you guys did out there was amazing, I’ve never seen anything like it. The Oraculum have given me the best, I know that.’

‘I think you think too much of us, but very well, if you are happy for us to stay.’ Eli nodded.

Just then Seth appeared in the church, the air spitting him out. He had obviously been informed as he moved to my side, putting an arm round my shoulders.

‘You should have called me,’ he glared at Eli.

‘We had it under control.’

‘I guess we should find somewhere else to practice. Now they know we are here every day, we’re kind of making it easier for them,’ I said.

Caleb nodded. ‘I was just thinking the same thing, but wherever we go, we will have to keep moving on, not stay too long in each place.’

Eli nodded.

My stomach rumbled loudly and I realised that I still hadn’t eaten anything. Lucas looked at me, smiling at the sound. ‘Come on, maybe we should head home, get you some food, you must be tired after today. By all accounts it’s been a busy day.’

Soft white snowflakes had just started to fall, swirling gently between us. Mason had been right about the weather. Everyone looked up at the snowflakes and then looked at me. I grinned. ‘No that wasn’t me, not this time.’

Persia looked at the snow on the floor. ‘There’s certainly enough there to get a day off school tomorrow.’

School. That seemed like another world to me now. School was part of the nice safe world I no longer belonged to. There really was little point in returning now. School was part of the ‘get an education, get a career’ plan. Now that plan was never going to happen, what was the point in continuing. My training was far more important now.

‘I don’t think I’ll go back to school,’ I said quietly. I was always very studious; I never thought I’d hear myself say those words.

‘What tomorrow?’ Seth asked.

‘No, ever.’ I looked at Persia and she understood instantly. She nodded.

‘Really?’ Seth was stunned. ‘What about the big plan, go to university, become a doctor, the house by the beach.’

Of course I’d spoken to him about my plans, my dreams for the future. Of course he would remember. Had I really not seen that he was such a big part of my future as well, well he would have been.

‘Seth, there’s slightly more important things like saving the world that I have to concentrate on.’

‘Yeah but that might not be for years yet, you shouldn’t give up on your dreams.’

I swallowed a huge lump in my throat, because that was exactly what I had given up, I had given up him. ‘Well once the world is saved I can always go back to college or uni then, I’ll be a mature student.’ I smiled cheerily, forcing my voice to sound natural and calm.

He nodded, clearly confused. This was not like me to shirk school.

‘Oh by the way, that was some neat driving earlier,’ Mason nudged me.

‘Yeah my dad, David, taught me years ago. All my life he has been putting me through extensive training. I never realised how much of it would come in handy one day.’ I never realised I’d put my trust in someone and they’d turn out to have an evil twin, I thought wryly.

‘Well it’s not supposed to come in handy, that’s what we are here for. But it’s nice to know that you can look after yourself to an extent, if we should fail you again,’ Alexandria smiled, ruefully.

‘We won’t fail her again,’ Eli muttered, through his teeth.

I sighed. Death literally waited for me at every turn. If I didn’t burn myself out or kill myself by overusing my powers, if the Guardians continued to save me from the Putarians and Reapers, if by some miracle I was there at the end of the world, I would never see the world I had saved. My future was bleak.

Seth took my hand. ‘Let’s go home.’

Part 2

12. Sliding into darkness

I was running. It was dark and I could barely pick out the hill in front of me. I couldn’t run any faster but I knew he was following me in the darkness. I could feel his breath, I could sense his hunger for my death. How had it come to this? I was going to die and there was nothing I could do to stop it. My Guardians were dead, I had lost everyone I had held dear. And still they wouldn’t stop.

I heard laughter. Not just behind me now, but all around me. They knew they had finally won.

I tried to produce my shield, but nothing happened. I tried to produce the lightning but I was quite literally powerless.

The laughing got louder. I ran up the hill, the peak not seeming to get any closer no matter how hard I pushed myself.

Finally I broke the peak and the hills behind me went silent. There was an eerie orange glow that lit up the sky in front of me. As I approached the edge of the cliff, I looked down at the scene below me. The land, the houses, the trees, everything as far as I could see in every direction was on fire, great flames licked the sky, hungrily consuming everything it touched. The end of the world was upon us and there was nothing I could do. Two little children were scrabbling up the hill towards me to escape the flames. The flames were chasing them, so close on their heels I could almost smell their skin singeing. I ran down the hill to help them but I knew I wouldn’t get to them in time. I stopped and concentrated on pulling them to me with telekinesis. I held out my hand to direct my power and a great beam of fire shot out and ripped through their bodies leaving nothing but ash. I screamed so loud that it echoed round the flickering sky, and the laughter started again.

*

I jerked awake and immediately as I registered where I was my dreams faded away. My heart slowed and I knew I was safe. The muted greys of the early morning filled the room. It was cold outside, but I was toasty in my bed. I quickly closed my eyes again, hoping that sleep would take me for another few hours, a dreamless sleep.

It had been nearly two weeks since I had been introduced to the strange new world of having powers, of Guardians and Shape Shifters sent to protect me. Nearly two weeks since I had started my training. I hadn’t been back to school. That part of my life seemed redundant somehow. The end of the world was coming and I had to be ready to face it. Going to school and learning algebra didn’t seem like a priority anymore.