Guardian of the North

by Maggie K West

  I almost jumped out of my skin when the Rangerian slammed his hand into the wall and more stone shattered, shooting past me in a dark wave of water.

  “Jack, get back. And get out of the water!” Nick pushed me behind him and took a step forward. “Get out of the way, Daniel,” he ordered at the onrushing Rangerian, his voice ringing over the rushing water and clash of battle outside.

  The boy shook his head. “Afraid not.”

  He spun and threw his arms toward us. I made a leap for the window ledge. Water blasted overhead, rushing down the corridor. A jet of lightning arced through the air. Daniel leaped up. Nick’s lightning hit, flashing across the water in a wave of crackling light. My hair stood on end. I landed safe on the window ledge.

  Daniel didn’t stop. He hit the water and lunged forward. Nick faced him, and their blades clashed in a shower of sparks.

  Gathering myself, I jumped forward to Nick’s aid, but I was too slow. Nick’s sword suddenly flew from his hand, and Daniel slammed him back against the wall. A flash of fear arced through me. My legs stopped moving.

  I was seeing it all again.

  It was all happening again.

  Nick jerked against Daniel’s grip. I raised my sword and lunged forward with a shout, letting my muscles take over. Daniel threw out his hand. I dove aside, but not quickly enough. A powerful jet of water slammed into my chest, hurling me back into the stone, just inches from the open window. I gasped, the air rushing from my lungs. Painfully, I pushed myself to my feet.

  I saw lightning spark in Nick’s palms. There was a sudden flash of steel, and Nick gasped sharply. Blood streamed down his arm. He stopped struggling.

  Daniel raised his hand, and churning water swirled up in his palms. “You’re a traitor, Nicolas Krom,” he hissed.

  Red, streaming down Nick’s leather jacket.

  Fear grabbed my insides. I felt the North Wind begin to roil inside me, my hands shaking. Wind lifted Daniel’s hair. Then I heard a welcome voice behind me.

  “Jack! Move!”

  I spun to see Kara sprinting down the corridor toward us, her dark skin glowing in the light of the fiery inferno that surrounded her. Her sword was drawn, the Damascus steel seeming to flow molten in her flickering flames. She raised her weapon, and I dove off to the side. A jet of fire blasted past me, heat searing my skin.

  Daniel saw it coming and threw up a shield of water. The fire exploded against it, hot steam billowing through the corridor. Kara’s sandy hair came undone from her braid, rippling in the heat. The force of the blast shoved Daniel down the corridor. Kara fell back, panting in exhaustion.

  Daniel saw his chance. He pushed himself off the stone and raised his hands, foaming water whipping around his feet.

  Kara caught my eye. “Jackson! Down the walkway. Your Peryton got himself free!” Then she took a step toward Daniel, heat shimmering around her.

  “Kara, no!” I cried.

  “I can’t control it.... You’d better run!” She dropped her sword and raised her arms, flames flashing around her.

  “Jack, go!” Nick said through gritted teeth. When I didn’t move, he grabbed my arm and pulled me down the corridor. Fire and water exploded in the narrow space, clouds of steam blocking Kara from my vision, leaving only flashes of her silhouette as her fire lit the air.

  Nick and I veered around the corner and down a walkway, where wings flashed past the windows. I glanced out to find that the battle below had moved deeper into the castle, but the Hunters and Orin stood waiting. Waiting for me.

  “Perry!” I shouted, clumsily sheathing my sword. Without thinking, I leaped out a window My stomach dropped with the fall. Perry swooped up, catching me on his back.

  “Whoo!” I shouted, grabbing at his antlers. It had actually worked. “Nick!” I yelled. My deer’s brown wings burst open and we dove under the walkway. Nick saw us and took a flying leap. I slid forward onto Perry’s shoulders. The instant Nick hit Perry’s back, we shot upward. Nick grabbed at my sword belt, nearly toppling at the sudden acceleration.

  “You good?” I yelled back. I couldn’t understand Nick’s response over the roar of the battle. It sounded angry, twinged with pain. We flew over the corridor where we’d left Daniel and Kara, as blasts of fire and water exploded from the windows. I tugged on Perry’s antlers, and we banked hard, a fireball just missing us. I leaned forward, my Peryton responding to my slightest touch. Up, up, and over the walls we rose, as another wave of Ealdra Rangerians launched into battle, the pounding warning bell fading away into the distance.

  CHAPTER 5

  Perry’s wings beat in my ears. My head was ringing. I could taste blood. Pain rose in about six different places on my body as the adrenaline faded. We angled downward, landing in a small clearing among thick trees, out of range of the battle.

  I slid off Perry and sank to the ground, my hands shaking and covered in someone’s blood. Nick swung off and raised his hand, emitting a flickering light that cut through the darkness, casting our shadows against the rough bark of the trees.

  Just then, brush rustled behind us. I staggered to my feet, reaching for my sword, cold wind whipping up in a gale around me.

  “Stand down!” Nick’s Master called, his hands raised as he stepped out of the trees, leading his own panting Peryton. Nick sighed in relief and leaned back against one of the trees. The lightning in his hand died out with a faint spark as he clasped his hand over his shoulder, letting out a groan.

  Master Bancroft ran to him.

  “It was Daniel,” Nick gasped.

  His Master reached over and touched the back of his bloody shoulder.

  “The blade didn’t go all the way through. Sit down.” Nick slid to the ground, and Bancroft pulled a roll of bandages from his Peryton’s saddlebag.

  An explosion sounded behind us from the castle. I covered my head with my hands on instinct. My boots were drenched from the water fight with Daniel, and every inch of my body throbbed. My Master was dead… the Ealdra had found me… the Hunters were here….

  “Jackson.” Master Bancroft looked around. “Look at me!” I lowered my shaking hands. “Take a deep breath. You can’t be blowing trees over. You’re going to give away our location. Try to stay calm.”

  I closed my eyes. The wind died down around me. Bancroft bent down, pulled off Nick’s leather jacket, and began winding the bandage around his shoulder.

  “Nick! Jack!” a voice shouted. I shot to my feet. Wind roared around me.

  “Stay behind me,” Bancroft ordered, standing up and drawing his sword. “And keep calm, I said.”

  “Wait! That’s Natanian.” Nick half-stood with a grunt, a blazing ball of electricity igniting in his free hand. “Over here!” he shouted into the forest.

  Then Natanian stumbled into the light and fell to his knees, puffing. I rushed forward. He was alive! Natanian grabbed my shoulder, and in the light of Nick’s crackling orb, I could see his face was gaunt, his eyes wide with fear.

  “They’re coming,” he huffed. “They saw you leave. They’re coming!”

  “Hunters.” Bancroft’s single word sent chills down my spine. “We need to go now.”

  “Where’s Kara?” I demanded of my friend, ignoring Nick’s Master. “Did you see Kara?”

  “She chased that Water Rangerian into the castle. She went right into the thick of battle.” Natanian shook his head. “After that, I don’t know.”

  “We need to go,” Bancroft repeated.

  “Karalie—” I looked back toward the castle.

  “Kara’s recklessness fuels her control,” Nick whispered hurriedly. “If anyone can survive this, she can.”

  “You’re right.” I swallowed. “Can you stand?” I asked Natanian. Without waiting for a response, I dragged his arm up over my shoulders and began to lift him.

  Natanian protested and pressed his hand to his side. “Jack—” he said, so feebly that I took a closer look at him. He was hurt. Worse than I thought.

  “What happ
ened?” I eased him back down to the ground.

  Natanian looked up at me and smiled weakly. “Feels great, getting shot.”

  “Natanian…” I grabbed his wrist, pulling his hand away from his side. He had thrown on his armor in such a rush, he’d left a loose gap. That’s where the arrow hit him. “And you pulled it out?” I almost shouted. His face continued to lose color. “He’s not going to make it.” I looked up at Bancroft, pleading for help.

  “No.” Bancroft stepped up, planting his hand on Natanian’s chest. “You’re injured, you go back.”

  “I can’t go back,” Natanian breathed. “They took it.” His eyes met mine, despair and fear shining in his pale face. “I couldn’t get to my Master. The Ealdra took the throne.”

  My chest was cold. “Help me get him up.” My voice was dry, low. It wasn’t a question. I wouldn’t leave my friend behind. But I knew we had to go. Fort Calmier, taken. My parents… Kara… the king…

  Bancroft knelt down. I crouched on the other side and we lifted Natanian up. A cry escaped through his teeth.

  “Wait,” Nick called. “I can try to slow the bleeding.”

  “Are you sure?” Bancroft asked.

  Lightning crackled over Nick’s fingers. “I have to try. Or he’s going to die.”

  Bancroft ripped open the tear in Natanian’s tunic where the arrow had hit. Nick stretched out his fingers, narrowing his eyes. Lightning collected in his palm, sparking across his hand. Natanian’s breaths were coming short and fast, dark blood streaming down his side, staining his tunic. I looked away.

  Then I smelled smoke. I felt Natanian’s muscles tense. I heard him stifle his scream, clenching his teeth tight. His knees gave out. I opened my eyes, catching his dead weight before he dragged me to the ground. Nick stepped back, closing his fist over the flickering lightning.

  Natanian moaned in pain. Burn scars branched across his side, but he was no longer losing blood, the wound sealed.

  Bancroft whistled to his Peryton, who trotted over obediently. We lifted Natanian up, and Bancroft swung on behind him, holding the boy tight. Natanian’s face was deathly pale, his eyes closed. His fingers slowly spread across the Peryton’s neck.

  “I got him,” Bancroft said. I slid onto my mount and pulled Nick up behind me.

  “Where do we go?” Nick asked. I closed my fingers tight around Perry’s antlers, his wings shifting beneath me. I could hear the din of battle dropping by the second as the Ealdra seized tighter hold over the castle where I had grown up.

  I made a quick decision. “I have a great-aunt just across the Wyoming border. My great-grandfather’s daughter. She’s a nurse. She’ll give us a safe house.”

  CHAPTER 6

  I nervously glanced over my shoulder. The dirt road leading to my Great-Aunt Isabel’s house was dark. I saw our Perytons picking at grass in the ditch. The only light coming from the flickering porch lamp above my head.

  “Well, this isn’t creepy at all,” I muttered.

  “Jack!” Bancroft urged me on.

  I raised my hand to knock. Wind whistled through the forest. The light flickered faster, then flared bright before fizzling out. Natanian let out a low groan. His head hung on his chest. He was supported by Nick and Bancroft.

  “Welp.” I swallowed, and knocked on the door. When nobody answered, I banged again.

  The door creaked open an inch. In the dim light that escaped from within, I recognized my relative. “Hi! Nice and creepy tonight, isn’t it, Aunt Isabel?” I said in a rush.

  Her eyes went from me, to my sword, to Natanian behind me. She threw the door open. Bancroft and Nick pushed their way past me and into the house.

  “In the living room,” she said shortly.

  I stepped inside, and she swung the door closed, bolting it shut.

  We followed the others into the living room, and Isabel flicked on the lights. Natanian gave a faint grunt at the sudden brightness. “Sorry,” she muttered, grabbing a clean sheet out of the basket she had been folding and swung it over the sofa.

  Bancroft and Nick eased Natanian down on his back. A moment later, Natanian gasped in pain, and every light in the room burst.

  “I always forget you Rangerians’ effect on electronics,” Isabel said drily. “There are some candles in the kitchen. Top right drawer.” Nick left for the kitchen.

  In the gloom, Isabel quickly braided her graying hair, tucked it out of the way, and knelt down, fumbling with Natanian’s armor. “How do you take this off?”

  Bancroft bent down and unstrapped the armor, dropping it aside. Nick returned, carrying a handful of candlesticks.

  “Any other electronics you don’t want to short-circuit before I light these?” he asked Isabel.

  “Just light them.”

  Nick closed his hand around the tips of the candles, and they burst into flame with a flash of lightning. He jerked away, shaking his hand.

  “You good?” I asked, taking half the candles from him.

  Isabel looked around and flashed him a smirk, “Did you burn yourself, Rangerian?” Nick shot her a glare.

  Natanian suddenly jerked, breaking the seal Nick had made on his side. Blood streamed down his tunic. Isabel yanked it off to see his injury. Nick and I set the candles around him. I grimaced as light flashed across his wound. I quickly looked away.

  “How long ago?” Isabel asked.

  “Three hours,” Nick answered.

  “It looks like someone tried to cauterize it. Was that you?”

  Nick ducked his chin. “It didn’t work, did it?”

  “Not well enough.” Isabel shook her head, pressing her fingers to the injured boy’s scarred skin. He recoiled in pain.

  “Why did you bring him here?” She glanced up at me.

  “Um…” I set down the last candle. “You were closest.”

  She stood up. “I need to call an ambulance.”

  “No.” Nick stepped forward. A low rumble of thunder sounded overhead. “Jack said you could heal him.”

  “I’m a nurse, not a sorcerer!”

  Nick took a deep breath, “We need to stay low. If you take him in with a shot wound, the police will ask questions. And if they track Natanian back to you, they will find Jack. Then it’s only a matter of time before the ones who did this are here.”

  “Who’s after Jack?”

  “Can you heal him?” I interrupted.

  She sighed, bending down again. “It’s incredibly hard to tell exactly what was damaged. You said he was shot?”

  “An arrow,” Nick answered.

  “And you pulled it out?” she asked incredulously.

  “He did. It was the shock of it all, I think.” I sank down on an ottoman next to the wall. Its fabric was rough beneath my hands. I could smell the lingering scent of Isabel’s dinner in the next room. The candlelight cast flicking shadows across Natanian’s pale face.

  “He’s lost a lot of blood.” Isabel pressed her fingers to his neck, feeling for his pulse. “I can try,” she finally said. She looked up at Bancroft, acknowledging him as our leader. “But if he gets worse, I am taking him to the hospital.”

  “Fair enough.” Bancroft stood up.

  Aunt Isabel nodded. “I’ll get my stuff.”

  * * *

  I sat against the wall in the living room, a thick, blue blanket pulled up over my knees. Grandpa’s … no … my vial felt cold against my chest. The ceremony seemed a lifetime ago.

  Aunt Isabel slid down the wall to sit beside me. She blew on the cup of tea curled in her hands, “How did Natanian get shot?”

  I glanced across at my friend. He lay on the sofa, his skin pale, clean bandages covering the new stitches in his side. “There was an attack on Fort Calmier.”

  “That’s the castle where you live, right?”

  “Yep.”

  Outside, a gentle breeze ruffled through the branches, and crickets sang from the shadows. I pulled the blanket up further as a shiver ran through me. I had known Natanian for years. See
ing him like this ... these people would stop at nothing. First my Master Kane died, now Natanian was injured. How many more would there be? “They knew who I was,” I whispered. “They came looking for me.”

  “Why now?” Aunt Isabel asked.

  “My power manifested yesterday.” I pulled my vial from my tunic.

  “My dad’s necklace...” she whispered, and I opened my palm. The mist spun up into a tornado, spiraling in the tiny vial. Wonder filled her eyes. She looked up at me and smiled. “You are powerful.”

  “Not enough if this happens.” I gestured at Natanian.

  “That’s not true.”

  “There weren’t just Ealdra soldiers at the attack.” The tornado in the vial exploded into mist. I let go, letting it swing back into my chest.

  “What do you mean?” She took a sip of tea.

  “There were ... they looked like rogues. Hunters. I think they wanted my power. It’s the only thing that makes sense with their timing.”

  Shock and worry flashed across her face. “What for?”

  “I don’t know.” I exhaled, the cold breeze dying down around me. “They also took the throne. Whatever they found, whatever they’re planning ... it’s not just about my power. There’s something bigger.”

  “Jack.” My great-aunt moved closer, looking me right in the eyes. “This will always be a safe house.” Her gaze lingered on my vial. “I understand. My dad always knew there was danger attached to that power.”

  I looked down at my hands. As much as this Rangerian power was a blessing, it carried the curse from the Golden Arrow. And that would always be strongest in the strongest among us. In True Borns like Grandpa. Like me. Yet, I was scared, no matter how much I tried to hide it.

  She took another sip of her tea and looked across at the sofa. “Natanian is going to be fine.”

  I sighed in relief and was quiet a moment.

  “You can stay as long as you need to.”

  “I don’t know how much of that is up to me.” I grinned. “If anyone is going to get antsy about keeping still, it’s Natanian. I don’t think he can stand staying in hiding while he recovers.”