The Guardians' Daughter

by A. M. McPherson

  I don’t think twice about chucking a blast at Johnny’s back. It explodes on impact, and he drops to the ground.

  Ember gasps for air. She notices me, and the color returns to her face. “Aiden!”

  Johnny jumps up to grab Ember’s arm; his back is smoking. He whips behind her, using her as a shield.

  Ember stomps on his foot.

  He winces but tightens his grip.

  My next blast will be perfect for his head. It crackles in my hand, ready to meet its target.

  “Now, now. I wouldn’t do that again.” He nods toward Ember. “It’d be a shame to hurt such a pretty face. But, dude … those eyes of yours, impressive. The way they glow! I guess I understand why this one here fell for you.”

  My mask fades. “What the hell are you doing, Johnny!”

  Why isn’t Ember using her abilities? What’s made her so helpless?

  Ember goes gray and collapses into him.

  A mixture of worry and anger shakes me uncontrollably. “Stop! What are you doing to her?”

  “Oh, this? It’s something they’ve been working on.” His eyes glaze over, hungry for power. “I can take any abilities I want now. They told me I was a perfect candidate. Or rather, I didn’t die or go crazy like the others.” His eyes radiate like a roaring fire.

  My heart is about to explode with anxiety. “Let go of her!” I take a threatening step toward him. “Why are you doing this? What has she ever done to you?”

  Ember closes her eyes, as if she’s going in and out of consciousness.

  “Not necessarily her, but sometimes you have to pay for your parent’s mistakes.”

  Ember’s eyes bolt open, but she gasps for breaths. “What … what does … that even mean?”

  Johnny gets too close to Ember’s ear. “One day you’ll find out, but I’m not the one to tell you, my sweet.” He runs his tongue across her ear.

  An inferno of rage erupts inside me.

  Johnny grins. “You know you can’t do anything to me without hurting her, right?”

  He has me trapped; he’s too close to Ember.

  “No … but … I can.” Ember’s eyes flicker, and her hands glow.

  Johnny’s hands mimic hers, but his are dimmer. His eyes return to their normal color. He brings his hand back to Ember’s neck. “You can’t fight me! You’re too weak!”

  Ember grits her teeth. “You want to bet?”

  I’m blinded momentarily by a bright light; heat flares my face.

  Johnny screams in horrendous pain.

  I barely see them drop to the ground as my eyesight returns and rush to Ember. She’s unconscious, and I eye Johnny. He’s out cold. I bring my ear to her mouth. She’s not breathing. I move her to her back, preparing her for CPR.

  She and the floor are still warm from her attack.

  “Ember, stay with me!” I put my hands on the center of her chest with one clasped on top of the other and straighten my elbows. I start the compressions, pushing about two inches into her chest for each one. After I do thirty, I tilt back her head and lift her chin. I pinch her nose, put my mouth fully over hers and blow.

  Her chest rises.

  I repeat the compressions. “Ember! C’mon!”

  She still doesn’t move.

  A shower of tears rain on her. “No! I won’t lose you!” I give her a small shock to her chest.

  Ember gasps and bolts upright.

  I choke back a breath. “Ember!” I grab her and bring her to me.

  She wraps her arms around me.

  “Thank goodness!” I can’t stop shaking.

  She sobs. “Aiden.” She retracts slightly and glances at Johnny. “He just came out of nowhere. I didn’t even have a chance to think before he started messing with my abilities.”

  I push back some of her hair; it’s soaked with sweat and covered with dust and black bags hang under her eyes. “Are you okay? Do you feel normal?”

  “I-I think so. But I don’t understand. He couldn’t take my abilities before. He only seemed to have some kind of mind control power.”

  “What? What do you mean, before?”

  She looks away. “When we were at the arcade and I went with him to play that stupid dance game. I never wanted to go, but I felt like I had no choice. My head was foggy, and I couldn’t think straight. Once we got to the game, I managed to get away from him, and that’s when I came back to you.”

  I try to keep my breathing calm, but it’s almost impossible. “Why didn’t you tell me about this?”

  “He … threatened you.” Her gaze meets mine. “I knew you would probably go after him if I said anything. So I just chalked it up to him being weird.”

  “Ember, if anyone ever makes you uncomfortable, don’t let them bully you into thinking you shouldn’t tell anyone. You should always tell someone.”

  She nods. “I see that now, but, at the time, I didn’t want to ruin our evening together.” A sad chuckle sneaks from her. “Even though it ended on a bitter note anyway.”

  My throat gets tight. “Ember—”

  “It doesn’t matter right now. Didn’t you go to school with Johnny? Did you not know about what he can do?”

  I clear my throat. “I did go to school with him, but to be honest, he was just an acquaintance. I didn’t know much about him, but now I understand why he was popular with the girls at school. Although, I’m surprised I didn’t hear any talk, especially if he was manipulating them.”

  “Well, supposedly his abilities weren’t working correctly on me. That’s how I managed to fight back.”

  “I wonder why they weren’t.”

  Her cheeks flush. “Yeah … I’m … I’m not sure.”

  I glance at Johnny; he still hasn’t budged, but his chest rises with his breaths. “I wonder what he meant by being a perfect candidate?”

  “I was wondering the same thing.”

  “What are you doing downtown anyway?” I stroke the side of her cheek. “I thought you never came this way.”

  “Eliza and I were having dinner at The Garage, and well, the evening didn’t really go as planned. Do you have any idea what’s happening?”

  “It seems to be centered around Mad Marie. A group of villains helped her escape while the guards were transporting her to a new prison. That’s all I really know. Wait—you said you were with Eliza? Where’s she now?”

  “I don’t know. We got separated.” Tears flow freely down Ember’s face. “I hope she’s okay.”

  I wipe away some of the tears. “I’m sure she’s fine. With all the dust out there, it’s easy to get disoriented. I’m sure that’s all.”

  “You’re probably right.”

  I bring her back to me and hug her tightly. “You really scared me there for a moment. I thought I lost you.”

  “It’ll take a lot more than some creep to take me out.” She smiles against my chest and closes her eyes. “I guess you’re stuck with me.”

  I lean down, needing the reassurance of her lips but not caring we still have things unsettled between us. “I’m fine with that.” We kiss, and her hands move into my hair. I grip her harder, never wanting to let her go.

  CRASH!

  We break apart and look out the window.

  A tall, lanky man walks by the shop’s picture window, his black hair hanging like seaweed down the middle of his back.

  Ember gasps. “Is that …?”

  A new fear travels through my veins. “Yes.”

  “Black Mold,” we whisper in unison.

  Chapter 33

  Ember

  Aiden stands and reaches for me. I take his hand; he pulls me up, and I sway into him. His arms move around me, providing me with an anchor. Johnny definitely drained me, and I feel like I could sleep for a week.

  We both stare at Black Mold as he passes. He doesn’t even glance inside the window, oblivious that the daughter of the woman he murdered all those years ago is right here. His world didn’t change. My mother’s death had no effect on him. My eyes bu
rn. “That bastard.”

  “Ember.” Aiden pushes back more of my hair, and there’s no ignoring the worry in his tone. “I can’t even begin to understand how you must be feeling right now, but we can’t go after him. We don’t have all the training we need to handle villains like him.”

  Johnny coughs.

  Aiden shoves me behind him, and his hands crackle with energy. Johnny doesn’t even get a chance to move before Aiden surrounds him in a forcefield molded close to his body to restrain him.

  Johnny squirms but quickly surrenders. His lips slither upward into a huge grin. “Well, it seems like I screwed up.”

  “Why does that make you happy?” Aiden’s voice showcases his disgust.

  “Because I’m not alone.”

  The door to the shop blows open. Debris hits my back, and I gasp in pain.

  Aiden pulls me against him, and a sparkly clearish blue curtain surrounds us.

  “Who the hell are you?” Aiden aims his question at someone behind me.

  A woman cackles, and my skin crawls. “Oh, my. Aren’t you quite the specimen!”

  I glance over my shoulder and swallow back the sudden bile that travels up my throat.

  The woman standing in the doorway looks like she is jacked up on some kind of drug. She’s wearing a brown tank top with a skull design and ripped blue jeans. Her left eye won’t stop twitching, and she’s twisting her finger in her ear. She looks like she hasn’t bathed in weeks. A grotesque buildup of grim and dirt has darkened her skin. Her yellow hair is the color of barnyard straw. And what looks like purple bubblegum is strung throughout, matted by neglect.

  “It’s about time you got here,” Johnny says. “I was thinking you guys would never arrive.”

  Aiden moves with me a few steps backward. One of his hands stays on my back while the other focuses on keeping the prison around Johnny.

  The woman cracks her neck to the side, and I squirm in discomfort at the sound. “Ha-ha! So, Johnny, you’re not as great as they say! You may not have lost your mind like the rest of us, but you’re such a fool.”

  Johnny’s face contorts with anger. “Shut up, Jill.”

  “Wait a second … Jill?” Aiden’s eyes widen with horror. “Are you Jill Peterson?”

  She claps her hands together in an excited fit. “I am! You’ve heard of me? Oh, that’s bloody fantastic!”

  Aiden’s lips barely move as he inches closer to my ear. “We need to get out of here. She can manipulate the weather.”

  “What was that, sweetie?” Jill skips toward us. “Did you say something? You really shouldn’t keep secrets.” Her eyes narrow with a threat behind them. “Because I hate secrets.”

  Everything happens so fast. I’m suddenly floating in the air, confined in a sparky bubble watching Aiden hurl Johnny out the front door.

  He removes the shield around him and blasts Jill backward in the same direction. Aiden’s eyes glow with such intensity I almost can’t discern his face anymore. Electricity crackles all around him, and a faint blue line connects me in the forcefield to him. He eyes the space behind him, and I follow his gaze to see a back door. Aiden moves me back to him.

  The bubble dissipates, and I land in his arms. I’m drenched with fatigue and cave into him. The urge to fall asleep is overwhelming, and I close my eyes, feeling safer than I have in a very long time.

  Aiden cradles me harder against him. “I need to get you out of here.”

  My eyes pop open as everything rumbles. Glass vases fall and shatter behind us. The flower coolers sway forward, and Aiden pushes them back with a forcefield. A sudden explosion jettisons a swarm of glass toward us. A new barrier ripples across me and molds close to my body. The glass shards fall to the floor, sounding like crystal clinking together, never touching me.

  Jill jumps into the broken window. Smoke flows in behind her, along with a sulfur smell. She crouches like an animal ready to pounce. “How exciting! A man who knows how to fight!”

  “What happened to you?” Aiden shouts. “You were once a student like us! Why are you doing this?”

  Johnny appears in the doorway, panting and clutching his side. “You both are idiots. You think Guardians are the best of the world, don’t you? They’ve taken too much from us, and you guys are blind to it all!”

  “What have they taken from you?” My voice breaks. “You know nothing of loss!”

  Johnny smirks, his green eyes glimmer, but the veins of them are black. “Oh, you sweet thing. You’re so oblivious.”

  Jill’s eyes swirl, like gray mist being sucked into a funnel. “Oblivious they are, but one day, I’m sure one of them will see it our way. It’s only a matter of time.”

  “Jill! Johnny! What are you two doing? We need to get Marie to safety!” Black Mold appears behind Jill outside the window, and my blood runs cold. He shifts, noticing me, and his lips purse. “Well, if it’s not the mini Emerald Blaze. What an honor.”

  “How dare you mention my mother’s name!” I stare down Black Mold. “You have no right, none at all to show your face to me.”

  “Ember,” Aiden warns. “Don’t.”

  “Yeah, Ember. You should listen to your boyfriend,” Johnny taunts.

  I notice his shirt is shredded in multiple places and a stream of blood coming from his side. “Seems like you can’t think for yourself, huh, sweets?”

  Grief and anger rips through me, and I grit my teeth together. “Fuck you.”

  A sly smile breaks across Black Mold’s face. “My, my. What a mouth.”

  Aiden grips me harder. “Ember, they’re just trying to egg you on. Don’t let them play on your emotions.”

  My emotions. They have ruled so many of my decisions in my life. There was a time when I risked both mine and Aiden’s life because of them. I won’t let that happen again.

  “I know,” I say softer. “But I have to say something.”

  Aiden’s glowing eyes crease with concern, but he sets me down. He expands the forcefield for me to stand comfortably between it and him. “Just … be careful.”

  I nod and face the group of tyrants in front of me.

  Jill smiles wickedly as her eyes swirl like two storms.

  Johnny looks pale, making him ghastlier with his green eyes piercing into mine.

  Black Mold’s small attempt at a smile remains.

  “What did she do to warrant such a death?” I yell in frustration.

  Black Mold dismisses me by turning to Jill. “We need to go.”

  “No! You won’t ignore me! She didn’t deserve to die at the hands of you!”

  Black Mold drops his head, an unexpected sudden sadness tugs on his frame. “She stepped where she didn’t belong.” His focus snaps back to me. “And you, my dear, are close to doing the same.”

  “What’s going on here?” a deep groaning voice comes from somewhere in the distance. Then he appears from nowhere, a giant from the shadows—Iron Forge. The dust dulls his silver skin, and his height would dwarf the average person. He’s holding a frail woman whose skin is cracked and yellow. Her face is sunken with malnourishment. She’s dressed in a lime green prisoner jumpsuit.

  She coughs. “Why … have we stopped?”

  Black Mold rushes to her and pushes back her hair, like a lover. “Marie, just hang on. We’re almost there. We have what we need to restore you.”

  I jump at Aiden’s touch on my arms.

  “Mad Marie,” he whispers.

  We stand still, both breathing hard. “What do we do?” The woman looks so close to death. How could this be the same one who almost killed Erik all those years ago?

  “I don’t know. We’re outnumbered.”

  A light shines like the heavens just opened up somewhere down the street out of my view.

  Black Mold rushes back and grabs Jill’s arm. The illumination highlights the green tint to his skin. “We need to leave! Now!”

  Jill pulls away her arm and uses her hand as a visor-shield for her eyes to ascertain the light source. “You g
uys go. We’ll make sure these two don’t move.”

  “Go!” Black Mold shouts at Iron Forge while pointing in the opposite direction of the light. “Get her safe! They won’t take her from me again!”

  Iron Forge takes off, his rushed steps sound like boulders dropping on the road one after another.

  “Moldy, leave!” The crazy in Jill’s voice is gone; she sounds strangely normal. “They will be sure to get her if you aren’t there to help protect her.”

  “There you guys are!” A woman chuckles from somewhere outside the shop. “You guys really are like insects. You can scurry away but can’t stay hidden for too long.”

  Jill pushes Black Mold. “Go!”

  He glances at me one last time. His oily hair is covering most of his eyes. Even so, a hint of regret flashes in his gaze. He turns and dashes into the unseen distance.

  Biv Valentino—aka the Prism—walks by, emitting a glow that cuts through the fog of dust. Her white clothes are stained with blood and dirt.

  ROAR! A white tiger runs by the window, ignoring all of us inside the shop.

  Startled, I fall backward into Aiden, and he holds onto my shoulders. I wasn’t expecting to see a tiger of all things.

  The Prism presses something by her ear, barely covered by her short bleach-blond hair. “We found them. They’re by the Purple Pansy flower shop.” Her attention snaps to the crazed woman in the window, but her red eyes grow round with recognition. “Jill. You’re alive.”

  Jill doesn’t flinch. “Of course, I’m alive, but what does that matter to you? You’re nothing but a worthless teacher, like the rest of your lot.”

  “It seems you really are lost, aren’t you?”

  “Lost?” Jill breaks into a fit of laughter and holds her stomach while rocking back and forth. I expect her to fall out the window any moment. “You’re so funny, Valentino!”

  “Stiles, can you handle this?” The Prism focuses on us, ignoring the comments. “Or do you need me to call more assistance for you? It may take a moment. They’re battling other villains who seem determined to turn the city into rubble.”