The Protectors

by T. N. Simmons

  “This dainty necklace caused all this mess?” Corbin took the amulet from me and inspected it.

  “How do we find this monster? I have a fight to pick with him,” I said, fury lacing my words.

  “We can’t just march in there hot-headed with no plan, dear,” My grandmother said.

  “She’s right. We need to sit down and find out everything we can about this amulet.” Corbin started searching through the scattered books. “Your mother did research, so that means she has information in here somewhere. We just need to find it. Mary, can you go get Walter?”

  “Yes, I can. Please call if you find something.” She gave me a pat on the back and walked herself out.

  While she was gone, we went through journal after journal. I read each line of my mother’s beautiful handwriting. My throat felt dry and my chest tight as read my mother’s written words from her childhood throughout adulthood. My eyes welled with fluid and I allowed the tears to fall.

  Even though she didn’t raise me, I had a feeling I was very much like her as I looked at the organized room. Tried and tested spells neatly outlined in books. Potion fails, and demon sightings were placed in organized bins on a desk.

  The thought of me being like her put a smile on my face for the first time since I found the amulet. But it didn’t last long. We were getting tired and feeling desperate for anything that even resembled useful information.

  “Here!” Excitement surged through me. “Look. This one is dated one month before my birth.” I opened the book wider for us to read together.

  I was given the most beautiful gift today but do not know whom I should thank for such a lovely offering. A necklace with a blue stone in the shape of an oval. I love it, but I feel there is something powerful about it. I fear there is more to this amulet than beauty.

  Three days later…

  Today, while wearing the amulet, I found myself in the future. I saw my end. I saw my child die at birth. I will stop this future from happening. I must! We will not die in our own home. I will not risk my unborn child’s life. We will leave our home never to return. Jimmy thinks it’s just my hormones. But I know it’s not.

  One day later…

  I was once again forced into a future image of myself. This time Jimmy was pulled in with me. He saw our death. He felt what the amulet can do. We decided to start hunting the things in our vision.

  We learned if we concentrate hard enough, we can trap the demons inside the amulet. They can’t harm us. My research shows it contains the essence of Aether, which is why we can create ripples in time and see the future.

  I am unsure if we are trapping the demons or sending them into another dimension. We need more time to figure this out. The baby is getting close. Mother says maybe another three weeks. Soon we will be unable to return home.

  Three weeks later

  We have confirmed that we are only sending the demons to another dimension. We also rescued several of our compound members. They were draining them of their energy. Something about opening the portal. They need this amulet to open it.

  I have seen the future, and it has since changed. They will still capture us, but I have devised a plan to keep my child safe. They won’t kill us. They want us alive, so they can drain us.

  Since we both draw energy from the elements, they could keep us for some time. I only pray someone finds us. No, no, the baby is coming. She can’t be born here. We must leave. Mom, Dad, if you find this, please know I love you.

  Until we meet again,

  Roberta

  “She knew what was going to happen. How would demons get in here? Isn’t it protected?” My voice warbled as I tried to calm my fears.

  “I’m not sure. Didn’t you mention she said there was a cosmic shift the night you were born?” Corbin asked.

  “Yes, that’s what my original letter said from her. Do you think that had anything to do with it?”

  “Perhaps, if it can open and close portals. And if that’s the case, maybe we need to keep it wrapped up, so our skin can’t touch it.”

  “Wait,” I said. “If they want the amulet, and we want our friends and family back, perhaps we can use it to our advantage. I have a plan.”

  My grandparents showed up moments later. We explained everything we had discovered and handed over the journals to them.

  “I have devised a plan. We will deliver the amulet, but only on our terms. They must bring my parents, Krista, and all our scouts in exchange for the amulet. They are drawing energy from my mom and dad, who are now fragile. The demons need this amulet or one or more of us to survive. I don’t think they can survive on their own without syphoning energy from someone. If we catch them in their diminished state, we may stand a chance.” As the plan took shape, my hope grew. Maybe I could get them all back—Mom, Dad, Krista, and the scouts.

  “I don’t know, Jai. If they get you or that amulet, we’re all doomed.” Gramps piled the books up into a box.

  “Oh, they won’t get me, I assure you of that. If there is one thing I learned in the system, it's how to be sneaky and survive. And Corbin is blessed with strength. Once we get sight of our family, Corbin will crush this amulet, rendering it useless. Then, we fight and send those demons back to hell where they belong.”

  “It might work,” Grams said. “We will need to plan a little more than that, but I believe you are on to something, my dear.”

  “Let’s all sleep on it and discuss it first thing in the morning,” gramps said.

  We all agreed and said our goodbyes for the night. After my grandparents left, Corbin and I decided to tour the house before bed.

  Finally feeling a little more upbeat about the situation at hand, I loosened up a bit. We ran from room to room playing hide and seek. I decided to hide in the master bathroom shower.

  He really wasn’t very good at the game. I had to keep whistling to send him clues of my whereabouts.

  Then he snuck up on me and yelled, “Gotcha!”

  I jumped, punched him on the shoulder, and then laughed. “You scared the crap out of me.” Then, seeking revenge, I turned the shower on and sprayed him with cool water.

  He grabbed the shower head and sprayed me back. It was so much fun to just relax and be myself. We laughed at each other a long while, and I only stopped when my cheeks got sore.

  “It feels so good to have hope again. I really think this might work.”

  “Yes, it is nice to have hope.” He looked down at me and put his finger on my nose to catch a droplet of water. His touch made me feel nervous and excited at the same time.

  We were focused on each other. I was mesmerized by his blue eyes and couldn’t look away.

  He raised his hand and brushed a wet curl from my face. As he did, he bent down and pressed his lips to mine. His arms pulled me into a strong embrace, and I lost myself in an amazing kiss. As we pressed ourselves closer together, he moaned, allowing his tongue to move freely with mine. My body ached for his touch, but I was afraid to go any further. It took every ounce of effort I had to pull away.

  “Jai.” He panted and ran his hand through his hair. “I am so sorry. I just couldn’t hold it in any longer. Please don’t be upset.”

  “Don’t be sorry. I think we’re great together. I just need to make sure we go slow. I’m not used to this.”

  “Used to what, exactly?”

  “You know, boys and kissing and stuff.” My cheeks burned.

  He just laughed. “It’s okay. I’m not, either. That was my first kiss.”

  “Seriously?” His confession both surprised me and warmed my heart. “You mean you never kissed Miss blonde headed fancy pants?” I teased.

  He just grinned and nodded ‘no’ to me.

  “Well, aren’t we a pair?” I said.

  “Let’s go get changed into dry clothes and figure out our sleeping arrangements. We have a lot to do tomorrow.” Corbin pulled off his wet t-shirt, reveling his bare, muscular chest.

  I wanted to touch him so badly. “I know
we talked about taking it slow and all, but would you mind sleeping in the room with me, fully clothed of course. It’s just that it's strange here, and I don’t want to be alone.”

  “I would feel much better being in the same room with you, but could you wear sweat pants and a t-shirt?” His face turned red. “I don’t think I’ll be able to control myself if you wear that satin nightgown.”

  “As long as you put on a shirt.” I laughed and grabbed the ugliest pair of jogging pants in the closet. We picked the master room. It had a large king size oak bed where the other rooms had queen or twin beds. We climbed in and snuggled together, my head on his chest and his arms around me. Listening to his steady heartbeat lulled me to sleep.

  The temperature dropped significantly, and I bolted up. I was no longer in the room with Corbin. I was somewhere else. A deserted park somewhere I’d never been before. The wind blew, and in the distance, the chains of a swing set squeaked. Darkness enveloped me, and the fog covered the ground like a blanket of white cotton. I rubbed my arms, attempting to calm the chill bumps that had emerged. Then I started exploring my surroundings.

  “Hello!” I called.

  No one replied, but a low humming sounded in the distance, so I walked in that direction. Someone sat on a park bench, but I couldn’t tell who.

  “I know you can see me, dear” the person said, in a scratchy deep voice.

  “Who are you?” I looked around, trying to figure out where I was.

  “I, my dear, am the void. I am what you all want. What you are all searching for.”

  “I’m only looking for my family and my friend. I don’t even know what you are. I assure you, I’m not searching for you.”

  “Oh, but you are. You see, you are more like me than you know. Your mother, she knows what you are. One day, you will see, too.”

  “Stop with the riddles. I want to go back home. Why am I here?” My voice echoed in the distance.

  “You are here, dear, because I need you to be here. I need you to see something of importance.”

  Although, I was frightened I walked closer to get a better look.

  The thing or person was just a shadow—no face nor features, just darkness in the form of a hooded human silhouette.

  “What is it I need to see?” I tried to sound stronger than I felt. Probably didn’t succeed, though.

  It lifted what would be hands to my temples and my mind clouded over. I had several visions.

  One was of my mother in a room, sitting on a rusted metal chair. Her eyes were rolled back into her head, and she was attached to what looked like a very big battery. My father was not with her.

  Then, the vision switched to Krista. She was crying and balled up on a rug on the floor. Her hands were stained with blood and her hair knotted around her face. She looked scared and cold. Hot tears rolled down my face.

  The vision changed again. To me. I was holding up my hand, closing what looked like a gray tornado of sorts. Then the vision faded away. I didn’t know what to make of it.

  “What does that mean?” I took a step back from the creature.

  “The first one is the past, the second one is the present, and the third one is the future,” the Void said. “I had to know for sure if you were the one. When you were born, your mother was wearing a gift from our world, and somehow that power merged with you, child. You contain the power of Aether inside of you. With this power, you can open portals to other dimensions. You can create ripples in time, slow it down or speed it up. You can see the past, the present, and the future.”

  “Why are you telling me this?”

  “I am telling you this because you will save the world from mass destruction. The demon holding your mother is very strong. He is an endolite demon. They are known for feeding off others’ lifeforces. He is working to open the dimension of the dead to release every demon your mother and those before her sent there. If this happens, the world as you know it will be no more. You must not let him capture you. He doesn’t know you contain this power, but he is smart. It won’t be long before he figures it out.”

  The next thing I knew, I was back in the bed. Had it been real, or had it just been a dream? Uncertain and exhausted, I laid my head back down on Corbin’s chest and fell asleep.

  “Jai, it’s time to wake up,” Corbin said.

  I sat up and wiped the crust from my eyes. My hair was frizzy and fluffed out all over the place. As I struggled to tame it, I filled him in on the dream I had. It had to be a dream. I mean, I was still in the bed.

  “How would we know if it was real?” he asked as he helped me make the bed.

  “I’m not sure, but Mom had written in her journal that she had seen the future. Maybe if I concentrate hard enough, I’ll see something, and that will verify the ability.”

  “Okay, let’s try that after breakfast.” He grinned about another delectable plate of food he had prepared for me.

  I sat down at the breakfast table and looked around the lovely kitchen. Everything perfectly matched in shades of pastel yellow and light gray. The sunlight beamed in from an open window above the sink, allowing the smell of the sweet morning dew to fill the kitchen. We ate breakfast then headed to the compound for another round of training.

  When we entered the training facility, I said, “I want to go see if I can tap into any future visions.”

  “I’ll go ahead and hit the gym, and we can meet there afterwards.”

  We went our separate ways. I entered the room and locked the door, determined to make sure I had total silence and no interruptions. I lit the candle with a match and turned off the light.

  The shadow of the flame danced along the wall. I sat on the floor with my legs crossed and closed my eyes, focusing on the future.

  My heartbeat sped up, and the temperature in the room dropped. My head filled with fog, and when it dissipated, I saw my mother, crying. She was bent down beside my father, holding his hand. He was unconscious, but alive.

  “Hold on a little longer, my love,” she whispered between sobs. “Our baby girl is coming. I can feel her strength. She has found us.”

  Then, the vision faded away.

  The next vision I had was of me holding a baby. I had a hospital band around my arm and was crying tears of joy. Then my head filled with black fog.

  The last vision was of a graveyard. I stood before a gravestone, but the name remained unclear. Then, I snapped back to reality.

  Well, that was jumbled up. How was I supposed to know what was past, present, and future? Or if they were all future visions, since that’s what I was going for?

  Obviously, I wasn’t having a baby anytime soon, so there was that. However, it was good to see I had a future. The graveyard vision had me in knots, but I knew I must stay strong.

  One thing for sure was that the void creature told me the truth. I could in fact see the past, present, and future. Perhaps once I learned to control it, it would be of significant use to me. I needed to speak to my grandparents about it further.

  I blew out the candle and allowed the scent of the diminished flame to calm my nerves before I stood up and exited the room. Then I met up with Corbin and Shaun in the training room.

  We followed the normal routine with taekwondo. My combat skills were getting better. I was already faster than Shaun. I never liked to fight growing up, but it didn’t mean I didn’t learn. I had a few ‘scrappy street tricks’ up my sleeve that they didn’t know about.

  “You are getting really good, Jai.” Shaun tapped out for the third time in a row. “I’m not sure if you’re a fast learner or if you’re just naturally gifted in combat.”

  “Do you promise you aren’t just letting me win?” I helped him stand up.

  “I promise. I wouldn’t be sweating like this if I let you win. I honestly believe you could take on most of the men in the compound.” Then we bowed and shook hands.

  “I agree,” Corbin said. “I’m going to make sure to stay on her good side from now on.”

  We a
ll shared a chuckle.

  “We have to go meet up with the Elders,” Corbin said. “Shaun, I’ll call you later to fill you in on the plan.” And we headed out the door.

  My grandparents met us in a conference room just outside the training hall. The room was connected to all the age group hallways. It was massive in size and had shelves from floor to ceiling piled with books along each wall. A library ladder rested in the corner, ready to roll along the wall so readers could reach any tome, no matter how high on the shelves. In the middle of the room sat a large wooden table encircled by twenty chairs.

  We sat together at the table as we ate our lunch and tried to decipher the maps from the house. I explained my vision with the Void and the other ones I had—except for the one with the baby. That one could wait for a more private meeting with Corbin.

  Chapter Eight

  Uncle Jonathan

  “Well, that tells us two things for sure,” Corbin said. “Your mother is alive, and they need her energy.”

  “For what, though?” I asked. “I mean these things were strong before they captured my parents. They had to be stronger than them to capture them in the first place. So, why would they need more energy? Unless, my previous theory is correct, and the demons can’t live without steeling others’ lifeforces.”

  “I’m not sure, dear,” Grams said.

  I stood up to walk around the room for a while, antsy as I thought about those things feeding off Krista.

  “How do we find this thing in the first place? Did the messenger have details?” I kept pacing.

  “I was so jumbled up, I don’t remember.” Grams fumbled through her purse looking for the crumbled piece of paper. “Ah, here it is. ‘Jaime is to meet me at the Silverstone Deli before sunrise on the twenty-ninth of October.’”

  “The twenty-ninth? That’s tomorrow! We need to get our crap together and have a true plan tonight.” I said with a sharp tone not meaning to sound rude, but we were running out of time.

  “Excuse me, Jai. I need to speak with you.”

  Not recognizing the voice, I looked around the room to find a short older man dressed in a brown suit with a matching beret on his head. His 1940’s clothing made me suspect he wasn’t from the compound. Again, I scanned the room, but no one else seemed to notice him.