The Guardians' Daughter

by A. M. McPherson

  “Of course I may care a little more about her because of who she is.” My throat stiffens. This is the girl who I had failed, the girl whose parents I couldn’t help. Reflexively, I swallow to try to lessen the feeling, but it doesn’t help. “Also, I don’t know … Maybe I owe it to her to be her friend?” I say softer.

  Billy’s lips move into a tight line. “You don’t owe her anything. Nothing more than normal politeness you would show anyone else.”

  That’s easy for him to say. I focus on a small piece of paper on the carpet. “I guess.”

  “Aiden, you could never be honest with her, and what would that do to you? I’m sure it would eat at you.”

  I remain quiet and Billy sighs loudly. “I’m just concerned for your mental well-being, that’s all. Especially after how hard you’ve worked to be where you’re at now. I’ve seen you at your worst. I don’t want to see that happen again.”

  I jerk my head back up and notice Billy’s skin is shifting, wanting to blend in with the chair he’s sitting in. The hues of red and black remind me of blood, and my stomach turns sour. “I really don’t need your lectures, alright? It’s not like I plan on being her best friend or anything.”

  Billy looks at the floor with a small frown, probably thinking of what to say next. I really don’t understand why I snapped at him like that. He is just looking out for me; he always has, like a brother.

  I relax slightly. “I’m sorry. You’re right. The less I talk to her the better. I really did just want to clear the air between us so we could put what happened on Saturday behind us.”

  Billy grins. “Yeah, I know I’m right, but fair enough.” He shrugs. “It’s only one semester you’ll have to see her anyway. The chances of you having another class with her again is slim to none, since she isn’t in the Defender program.”

  For some reason, my chest tightens at his words. “Yeah. Only one semester.”

  Chapter 7

  Aiden

  Billy and I walk into our next class, Developing Your Abilities, which will be an all year class. The classroom reminds me of my high school gymnasium but a lot larger. Fluorescent lights are the only light source, which gives the room an almost sterile vibe.

  From nowhere, Billy jabs me in the side with his elbow. “Man, isn’t this stupid? I mean really, how much more can we develop our abilities? That’s what we’ve been doing for the past five years!”

  I shake my head. “There’s always more to learn, especially when someone different is teaching you.”

  “I guess.” He sighs. “Still, this class shouldn’t be a requirement. It’s just a waste of my time. Plus, this outfit is a pain in the ass, literally!” Billy tugs on his one-piece black training suit; it hugs his body like a wetsuit.

  I can’t help but laugh at him. “Yeah, I’ll agree with you on that. It definitely rides up in the most unpleasant places.”

  From the corner of my eye, I see a petite girl approaching and staring at me. Her light pink skin and her dark pink spiky hair capture my attention, and her eyes match her hair color. “Hey, aren’t you Aiden Stiles?” She stops a few feet in front of me with her hand on her hip.

  “Um … yeah. I am.”

  She smiles and steps closer to me. “I’ve heard a lot about you. I guess you’re the one to watch out for.” She bats her eyelashes in a flirtatious way.

  My eyes widen. “How have you heard a lot about me?”

  She looks at me longingly. “Well, you are the one who won the Youth Abilities Competition this past summer, aren’t you?”

  Her closeness causes me to squirm, and I step back from her. I was expecting to be recognized from the competition, but I didn’t realize I would get fangirls. “I am.”

  “Well, this is my lucky day! Not only do I get to be in class with you, but I’ll also get the chance to get closer to you.” She winks at me.

  Throughout the years, I’ve dealt with girls hitting on me but not to this extreme. It’s helped that I’ve been so focused on my training, girls get tired of me ignoring them. But this girl will be in my class all year, and I don’t want to be rude. “So, what’s your name?” I ask, hoping to change the topic.

  She giggles. “Oh, well I’m Carly. Carly Marzolla.”

  Billy steps between us with his hand out toward her, giving her his notorious smoldering gaze. “Hi, Carly. I’m Billy. Billy Prinn.” He smiles, and his pearly white teeth shine like a beacon against his shifting skin colors.

  I roll my eyes, using this moment to step back.

  Carly ignores Billy’s hand. “That’s nice.” She refocuses on me. “We really should train together sometime. I’m sure we could teach each other a lot.”

  I scrunch my face in disgust, but I try to relieve the tension. “Um, sure. We’ll see.”

  Carly’s face falls just the tiniest bit, but a new determination sparks in her eyes. She lifts her chin higher and drops back her shoulders, causing her to stand straighter. “Oh, we will, and you will find out just how talented I am!” She huffs, turns on her heel and walks away.

  I turn to Billy with my face scrunched again. “That was really annoying!”

  Billy’s mouth drops open. “What? Seriously? She’s hot!”

  “Maybe to you.”

  “Man, you’re crazy! No girl seems to be good enough for you,” he teases and chuckles.

  I cock my head. “What? What’s so funny?”

  He rubs his eyes while trying not to laugh more. “It just dawned on me. The only girl I’ve ever heard you mention is one you’ll definitely never be in a relationship with. It’s just kind of funny how that works out.”

  It takes me a moment to realize who he means. “Are you talking about Ember? Are you serious? Why would you even bring her up?”

  The slight smile he had disappears. “I know, I’m sorry. It’s just … you’ll be alone forever if you keep going at this rate.”

  “Dude, you seriously need—”

  “Well, well, here’s my class of little future guardians. How cute,” a disinterested female voice interrupts from the direction of the entrance.

  I quickly turn and see our professor, Biv Valentino—also known as The Prism—standing there. Her tall, thin frame is dressed in a similar outfit to ours but is brilliantly white. Her skin is even paler than mine, and, with her short bleach-blond hair, she appears to emit light. The most intimidating factor about her is her blood-red eyes; they stare at us like a hawk eyeing its prey. This strong Guardian is now my professor. I won’t lie; I am excited—and terrified—about this.

  “Didn’t she stop Hammerhead last month from using his head to break into a bank vault?” a green-colored girl donning thorns all over her face asks a guy next to her.

  “Yeah! She blinded him with a light blast then camouflaged the back of a police van to look like the vault. The idiot ran in there thinking he would make out with a large payday but, instead, found himself with a one-way ticket to jail.”

  Valentino approaches us. “Listen up. I want everyone to line up against the wall over there.” She points with her pen to the wall on the right. “I’ll be taking attendance in no particular order. When I call your name, I want you to step forward, state your ability and do a small demonstration. Wait for your turn.” Her red eyes focus on a few students standing close to her.

  They seem to shrink from the intensity of her stare.

  “The first half of the year, I’ll work with each of you to develop your abilities, but the second half, you’ll train together, so you might as well know what you’re up against. Alright?” She looks at the rest of us and pauses, as if waiting for something. “Do you need me to say it again? Line up!”

  Everyone runs to the wall. A few people bump into each other, but otherwise, it goes pretty smoothly. Billy and I manage to stand next to each other. Carly is only a couple people down from us. I feel her eyes on me, but I keep mine on Valentino.

  “Okay, nice to see you guys can take commands so well. As a heads up, be prepared to defend y
ourself if needed against another student’s abilities. This will be lesson one; always be on alert. In the real world, anyone can attack you in a moment’s notice.”

  I lean toward Billy. “Uh, do you think this may be a little too intense for our first day?”

  He shrugs. “Nah, man. We got this.”

  Valentino spies her clipboard. “Sing Lee, you’re first.”

  A thin, fair-skinned guy with black hair walks forward. When he reaches a few feet in front of us, he turns, and a few students gasp in surprise. The right half of his nose is missing, and he has a good number of scars on the right side of his face. It looks like an animal may have attacked him at some point in his life.

  “Hi, everyone. I’m Sing, and I can phase through any object. I also have a black belt in kung fu.” His voice sounds a bit stressed, like he rehearsed what he would say multiple times. “I guess I’ll show off my phasing ability.” With a blank stare, he approaches another student.

  The guy tenses up as Sing effortlessly walks right through him and the wall. The poor guy blinks in shock and puts his hands on his chest, as if to comfort himself that he is still in one piece.

  We all look around looking for Sing. He’s taking a bit longer than anyone anticipated for him to show back up. A few people murmur to each other while the rest of us stand around awkwardly, not knowing what to do.

  Suddenly, Sing phases up through the floor close to where he originally stood.

  Some react to his appearance with a light gasp, others don’t seem impressed, but a few students clap, and eventually, everyone joins in.

  He gives a little bow.

  “Man, that didn’t seem that impressive,” Billy whispers to me. “I wonder how he got in here with such a simple ability, since the program is so limited, y’know?”

  Valentino stands beside Sing. “Thank you, Sing. That’ll be enough for now.”

  Sing nods. “Oh, by the way, my uncles say hello and thank you for your help.”

  Valentino nods. “Of course, anything for your family, but we can talk more later.”

  Sing gives her a polite smile and returns to the wall.

  Valentino eyes her clipboard again. “Lewis Knox!”

  Another guy walks forward, dramatically different from Sing. His skin looks rough and jagged, pointing in all different directions like a porcupine. It is clear and reflective, like broken glass. His skin has punctured his training suit in multiple spots. He has no hair, and I barely can discern his coallike eyes.

  When he reaches the same spot Lee stood, he zips around to face us. “So, yeah. I’m Lewis Knox, and my skin is made of glass. I can use shards from my body as weapons.” His skin juts farther from him as the points become longer and sharper. He smirks. “Intimidating, right? I can make them even longer!” Instantaneously, most of the spikes double in size. “I can also shoot them from my body toward my enemies.” Long and short glass shards fly at us in every direction.

  I create a forcefield to protect most of the students from the glass while others use their abilities to avoid them. The ones that hit my forcefield drop to the floor and shatter.

  Sing lets one phase through him while another student collapses into a pile of silver metallic-looking goo on the floor.

  I shoot Lewis a look of disbelief that he actually just did that with zero warning, but I guess Valentino did warn us to be prepared for this very thing.

  Lewis doesn’t look concerned that he just tried to impale us but rather proud. “Don’t worry, guys. I won’t shoot anymore at you.”

  Good. I enjoy not having to worry about being stabbed. I close my hands, severing the blue lines of energy to my forcefield, and it dissipates quickly. It baffles me that Valentino is okay with people using their abilities like this on the first day.

  Valentino removes a smaller glass shard that impaled her clipboard and narrows her eyes at Lewis. “That’ll be enough. Now grab a broom from the hallway closet and clean your mess.”

  Lewis drops his head in shame and heads for the door.

  “Okay, let’s move on,” Valentino says plainly. “Carly Marzolla.”

  Carly steps forward, looks over her shoulder and winks at me.

  I glance at Billy to avoid eye contact with her. Of course, he is focused on her like a dog watching a tennis ball about to be thrown.

  Carly reaches the same spot Sing and Lewis stood and turns around with a little jump in her step. “Hi, everyone! I’m Carly, and I can make gum-like bubbles from my skin.” She closes her eyes, and about a dozen little pink bubbles form from her arms like they are her personal bubble wands. They float about two feet from her, and she opens her eyes to watch them. “Now, that’s not too impressive, but I can also control their movements and size.” One bubble floats down in front of her, and she raises her arm with her palm facing the bubble. She makes a push motion, and the bubble moves forward, expanding to double its size. “Again, not too impressive, right?”

  I roll my eyes. She just needs to get on with it.

  Like she heard my thought, Carly’s head snaps in my direction. Her bubble flies at me so quickly I almost don’t register it. The bubble slams me against the wall and pins me a few feet above the floor, encasing my entire body from the neck down.

  I struggle futilely against the goo to break free. The bubble is sticky, just like bubblegum, making it near impossible to break.

  Carly approaches me with a huge grin. “My bubbles can trap anyone, and they can also suffocate anyone I choose.”

  The top part of the bubble crawls upward. Within a few seconds, it manages to cover my entire face, and I cannot breathe. This whole demonstration is now officially getting on my last nerve. She is probably right that she could suffocate anyone.

  Anyone but me.

  Using all the energy surging through my now bright, blue electric veins, I shoot it in all directions, resembling lightning bolts. The bubble bursts, collapses and falls to the floor in smoldering brown chucks, sounding like wet cement. I drop to the floor and land on one of my knees, electricity shooting out. Students near me step backward, and I realize I probably shouldn’t electrocute my fellow classmates right now. A forcefield forms around me so no one will accidentally get hit.

  As I stand, I simmer with anger. All I want to do is to scare Carly so she learns not to mess with me. I drop my shoulders, and the effect I wanted to have on her seems to be doing the complete opposite.

  She just stands there with her eyes full of wonder and amazement.

  Well, this has backfired on me—horribly. With a deep breath, I rein in the energy. I close my hand, ending the connection to the forcefield, and it vanishes. “Next time, let’s not use me for your little demonstration.”

  Carly seems to be still trying to get over me using my abilities and has a hard time forming a sentence. “Your … your eyes. They were amazing! They looked … looked like mini suns!”

  Valentino walks up behind her. “I think that’ll be all from you, Carly, and from you too, Aiden Stiles.”

  I nod and step backward against the wall. I make the mistake of looking at Carly.

  She winks at me again and smiles suggestively.

  I rub my eyes and forehead, sighing loudly.

  Billy leans toward me. “Man, Carly is really stuck on you.” He laughs to himself.

  I stop rubbing my eyes to look at him. The urge to punch him is overwhelming.

  “Jomo Jelani!” Valentino yells.

  I know my face isn’t hiding my shock. Jomo? How did I not notice him before?

  He steps forward, and his presence immediately dominates the room. He is taller than me, and his overall body mass reminds me of Billy but a bit heavier. His golden dreadlocks hang past the middle of his back, but his most prominent feature is his vibrant catlike yellow eyes. They stand out like two stars against his dark skin. When Jomo reaches the same spot where everyone else stopped, he immediately focuses on me. His stare reminds me of a cat eyeing its prey.

  “Hey, that’s the guy yo
u beat when you won the YAC, isn’t it?” Billy mutters.

  I nod slightly.

  Billy snorts. “Man, this class just got a lot more interesting! I can’t wait to see how it goes!”

  Suddenly, I really wish I didn’t have to take this class.

  Jomo closes his eyes as he looks away from me, as if to show his disapproval of my presence. “Hello, everybody. I’m Jomo. You may recognize me from the YAC.” The swirl of arrogance is thick around him as he raises his chin.

  A few people nod and murmur in agreement.

  “In that case, you would already know my ability is body control.”

  Two long yellow arms with hands triple in size erupt from his back and hover eerily over his head while still connected to him. Their ominous quality and see-through material make them appear ghostlike. The arms aggressively soar through the air and find their mark on another student’s shoulders.

  She stares wide eyed at the hands on her. All her facial features drop, making her appear zombielike. Her eyes turn a bright yellow, indicating she is his puppet now. She approaches Jomo, clearly not in control of her own body. Her movements are slow, and her arms hang like dead weight at her sides. She stops when she’s just a couple of feet from him.

  Jomo surveys her while biting his bottom lip.

  “Ha, I wonder what he really wants to make her do,” Billy whispers to me.

  “Don’t be gross, Billy,” I retort quietly, but I can’t help thinking the same thing.

  Jomo closes his eyes while angling his head downward and shoos her away with his hand.

  The girl about-faces, returns to the wall, spins and stands at attention.

  The hands leave her shoulders and quickly reel back into Jomo without him moving.

  The girl blinks rapidly, and her eyes return to their normal color.

  Jomo grins. “Just a simple demonstration of what I can do. I’m sure there will be many opportunities to show you more later. I’ll prove who the true winner of the YAC should’ve been.”

  Valentino sighs loudly. “Okay, Jomo, we get it, you have amazing abilities, but you didn’t win. Let’s move along.”