Guardian

by Abra Ebner

  Sam laughed and pointed as the frog whirled through the air, landing on a nearby log and shattering into pieces.

  Margriete gave Sam a disdainful look before turning the glare toward me, “Do try to be careful Elle, we’re not here to poach animals.”

  I sighed, my heart sinking, but also finding the humor as Sam continued to laugh despite Margriete’s warning. The little frog foot was still stuck in the frozen splash of water and I tried as hard as I could to stifle a smirk. With one last evil glare Margriete looked away, now ignoring us in her attempt to punish our actions.

  As I looked above me, a flying bird was still elevated above the trees, its wings caulked back as it pumped for air. It had seemed that the world had not only frozen, but had frozen in suspended animation. Sam jumped over the stream, his wings guiding him as he landed softly on the other side.

  Margriete leapt last, like a doe, with grace and agility I hadn’t yet learned. As we walked up the hill, Sam brushed his way through a cloud of gnats, each falling to the floor with a quiet ring as they hit the ice. I heard Margriete exhale irritably as she watched him, Sam’s face mused and alive as the remaining gnats crashed helplessly against his cold face.

  “I feel like it’s getting colder, do you feel that too Margriete?” I put my hand out as though feeling for rain, though no clouds even stood in the sky.

  She hiked toward me, her rubber soled shoes slipping on the ice, “I think you’re right, we’re getting close. Just keep your eyes open for any signs of… well, anything.”

  I looked through the frost covered branches, the leaves strangled by the cold, “What did you see when you came?”

  Margriete furled her brow, “It’s hard to say. It’s like a dream, when it happens it’s very vivid, but by the time you wake up, most of it fades, even the moments you never imagined. That’s what dreams are, your souls journey into their world. It’s there that anything happens.”

  I tilted my head, “So you’re saying I’ve actually been there?”

  Margriete nodded, “Essentially yes, but not in the flesh. You’ll see what I mean when we get there. There are hoards of dreamers filling their world, doing all sorts of things, quite literally to their heart’s desire.”

  I pursed my lips as I considered the fact and my mind went wild with imagination.

  We all pressed forward through a large grove of evergreens, their flocked branches pressing hard against my coat, like steel. Sam thrashed at a nearby bush that had hindered his path, his hands bleeding as the sharp ice cut through his skin, but it didn’t seem to bother him. The already cold blood froze in small drops on the forest floor almost instantly.

  I glanced back forward, staring at the back of Margriete’s head, still trying to remember her. To me, she was like a stranger, but to her, I was a sister and the typical over-conversation between new friends didn’t exist, leaving me in the dark. After all I had tried to remember from my journals, I had decided to give up, finding it was more important to live in the now and let all else fall in place.

  We traveled another mile before reaching what appeared to be a path, likely a hiking trail that crossed the Cascades and down into the Columbia valley. We turned on a natural curve and followed the path, finding it a solid lead in the right direction. My eyes scanned the frosty dirt, my boots stumbling over piles of solidified summer mud.

  As my gaze filtered up, I noticed Margriete had stopped up ahead, her head tilted down and watching something that was glowing on the ground. As I approached, I noticed there was a cloud of steam erupting from the source of the glow.

  “What is it?” I huffed as I reached her, my eyes now trying to make sense of where the steam had come from. I blinked at the now familiar object before me, smiling with recognition. A glowing feather was discarded on the path, burning through the cold frost and leaves.

  “It’s a Gr3phus, or Griffin feather,” Margriete replied in a plain tone, suggesting this was something she had encountered before.

  “A what?” I tried to recall the creatures I had been taught in Greek history.

  Her gaze looked away from the burning feather, her eyes glimmering in the cool air, “A Griffin. Half hawk, half lion and made of solid iron.”

  Sam crunched up behind me, “I haven’t seen one of those in ages.” His eyes were alight with happiness, as though it was a good thing, though something inside me felt it was anything but.

  I looked at them both, my eyes blank and my jaw hanging open, “Wait, what’s going on, I still don’t get it. I thought we were the only creatures out here?”

  Sam cleared his throat and stood up straight, narrowing his eyes as he began to recite his rebuttal, “The only mythical creatures maybe, but surely, there are others. Typically, they stay in their world, the God’s world. They only come here to hunt for sport, from time to time…”

  Margriete cut Sam off, “But the most important thing, is that a Gr3phus is the natural guardian of the divine, meaning we must be reaching the cave, they must be guarding it. They are appointed to watch over the most precious treasures of their world.”

  I wanted dearly to reach down and touch the feather as it smoldered before me, finding something about it irresistibly mesmerizing. Sam grabbed my arm, sensing my desire and shaking his head as I frowned.

  “Trust me honey, that thing will burn your fingers off before you even know what’s happening.” Sam released my arm.

  It continued to glow as we stepped past it, now continuing up the path. The Griffin had left no trail behind it, much like all the creatures of our world. It seemed as though we were just shadows, leaving no real trace of our existence among man as though a shameful afterthought.

  Margriete walked beside me, her hands clenched into anxious fists. “I just wish I could remember what happens next. I can recall what the Griffins looked like, like burning coals of death, but I can’t recall much else.” She let her fists thud against her thighs, “To most, Griffins strike fear into your very soul, but having Sam with us may be a huge advantage, he has no soul.”

  “So there’s more than just the one?” My fists now also clenched into tight knots at my sides, but more from fear than frustration.

  She nodded, “They’re sweet animals really, they’re just angry. It’s not like I can blame them, who is there to love something that burns as hot as the sun?”

  I nodded slowly, relishing the thought and allowing their image to grow across my mind. I cursed myself for not listening in class or for at least reading more into the ‘Mystical Creatures’ books that had been stacked endlessly on the second floor of the library. I could have been more prepared for this, for Edgar.

  Saying his name in my head sparked a cry of loss. It had been almost eight months now since he’d gone and his memory was fading from my mind though I grasped for it hopelessly. I longed to feel his touch, to energize his eyes to that brilliant blue. Wherever he was, I knew he was weak without me, which was why it was my job to bring my power to him.

  A breeze sliced through the frozen trees, blowing the hair away from my face and releasing the still silence form the woods. As the wind continued to blow, it was becoming obvious that it was not about to let up. Margriete and I both leaned hard into the breeze, Sam tucking his wings tightly behind him as he pressed us both forward with a strong hand on our backs.

  We walked slowly now, our efforts hindered and our feet slipping backward. As the minutes passed, I felt my muscles finally weaken from the effort, my feet now dragging. It was then that it all ceased and we toppled forward into a pile. We frantically scrambled to gain our footing as we struggled to detangle ourselves, Margriete’s golden journal burning through the ice as it lay on the ground.

  As we regained our composure and brushed ourselves off we all looked at the same spot at once, our movements halting. The warm glow that landed upon us revealed two silent Griffins, both commanding their spot before a blocked cave. The ground shook as their feet pawed at the earth, the ice melting around them as the trees browned
and died.

  My eyes were wide as I drew in a heavy breath, watching as one Griffin, nearly three times my size, reared before me. As it came down, its claws crashed through the ice, water now spraying out from beneath his footing and the earth violently shaking. I saw it all in slow motion, the feeling of fear collecting my thoughts and channeling them to my senses.

  I stepped back as the Griffin leaned its head down, close to mine. I put all my weight on my back foot as I leaned even farther away, its burning eyes blinking as my cheeks erupted with heat. The second Griffin was at its flank and Margriete tumbled back as it swung its head into the first Griffin, nipping at its back like a playful brother.

  Sam grabbed us both by the arm and ushered us behind him, reacting to his strong instincts to protect. Margriete and I slammed together as he circled us around his wings, grunting with pain as our heads smacked. The pain was short felt as I hastily positioned for a view over Sam’s shoulder. Both Griffins sat calmly now, their tails snaking through the air, leaving sparks in their wake that floated to the forest floor, sizzling as they melted into the ground.

  The front Griffin let out a sharp cry and Sam tilted his head as though listening to the tone in a manner of which he could understand. What happened next sent chills down my spine as a voice erupted from seemingly nowhere, but not just any voice, it was Edgar’s voice.

  “And what is your business here?” it boomed, my soul shaking more than ever, even more than when I had seen Edgar’s Ghost.

  “He stole his voice,” I whispered sharply to Margriete, her eyes scanning my face. “They’re tricking us, trying to break us down.”

  She nodded, “They take whatever voice they find the most effective, and steal it from your memory, to use it against you. Try to drown it out, you can do this, you’ve done great so far.”

  The tone rang in my ears, somehow more real than that of Edgar’s ghost, as though he were there, alive, and right beside me. I squeezed my eyes shut, wincing away the feeling and restraining my hand from reaching toward the sound. I felt the Griffin’s heat as it filtered past Sam’s cold arm.

  “We’ve come only to pass,” Sam finally replied.

  I opened my eyes and watched the two Griffins as they analyzed him with burning eyes, their empty souls seeing into all of ours. The lead Griffin tilted its head, the voice again erupting from seemingly nowhere.

  “Guardian, we do not sense that you are a threat. You are welcome to pass into the world of your kind, but you cannot bring the two half-hearts.”

  I felt Sam’s muscles flex beneath my anxious grasp.

  He leaned toward them, “I am delivering their souls to the gods, they’re of no harm to anyone, and their hearts are of no concern to you.”

  The back Griffin reared haughtily as the head Griffin nipped him back, containing his youthful fervor as they bickered amongst themselves.

  The head Griffin turned back, its fiery brows pressed together with irritation. “My brother does not trust your stand, but he is young, and I am certain you are of noble means and will not harm our great land beyond these gates.”

  I looked past the Griffins toward the cave, the rocks now tumbling open and crashing into the ice, shards erupting into the air. I shielded my eyes as they flew toward us, each hissing with hot anger as they crashed into the Griffin’s skin.

  “You can go,” the Griffin stepped back, its wings extended at its sides, the air steaming with irritation.

  Sam stepped forward, pulling us both behind him, his wings now protectively ushering us forward and shielding our skin from their searing heat. I saw Sam wince as a spark landed on his arm, the first sign of real pain I had ever seen from him. The Griffin’s powers were not of this world, Sam was no longer the invincible man he had been, but now just another face.

  We passed under the rocky eave of the cave, the cool dampness returning as the Griffins stayed calmly in our wake. Soon, darkness fell on us as the rocks reformed into a wall at our backs and we were now sealed into the next world, into the cave.

  THE CATACOMBS

  My feet stumbled across the ground as my eyes adjusted to the pitch black, attempting to reflect off what little light still remained, shining from deep within the tunnel. We stopped to briefly check our things and readjust. I threw the pack off my shoulders, finding the sweat that had formed as we stood before the Griffins now drying to my skin, causing a rash of irritation.

  Margriete flipped through her book, her eyes an inch from the page as she too struggled to find the light. Sam leaned against the cave wall, his eyes scanning the spot where the spark from the Griffin had burned his skin, his face twisted as though realizing his own sudden weakness.

  “There is a map in here somewhere, I know it,” Margriete now flipped through each page with haste. “The caves are large, like the veins of the human nervous system. If we become lost, we could be here for an eternity.

  She walked to the wall, her fingers brushing across the rough cut stone. She traced her way toward Sam, shoving him out of the way as she knelt toward the floor, the book lying open in her other hand. I watched as her fingers traced a rough circle that was carved into the rock where she then pressed all her weight into the stone. There was a velvety clank as the stone gave and a dim light shone through the space.

  Satisfied, Margriete stood, a heavy exhale escaping her lips and a smile creeping across her face.

  “Good job Grietly!” I stepped toward her.

  Her face snapped in my direction, her smile growing, “Oh Elle! You didn’t forget!”

  I gave her a strange look, not realizing what it was I had done, “What do you mean?”

  Margriete stepped toward me, “You called me Grietly! All this time you kept calling me Margriete and I was certain you had forgotten.” She wrapped her arms around me and squeezed the breath from my lungs before stepping back, “You never called me Margriete. It’s been so different lately; you’re not at all like who you used to be.” She shrugged, “But that doesn’t mean the new you won’t also be my best friend. At heart, you’ll always be the same Elle, and you are.”

  The small bout of excitement cut through the tension of our task, honoring us with a small light of happiness. My eyes began to well from Margriete’s words and I looked away toward the source of the new light. There were small jars hanging from the ceiling that were attached to a separate small cave where glowworms now poured out of.

  I gasped, my mind completely forgetting the previous bout of realization. “How does it work?” I asked, walking closer to one jar and peering up at it.

  Margriete walked up beside me, “They live in the earth I suppose. There are these hidden switches all over the caves,” she pointed back toward the indented rock circle. “They hold for about thirty minutes before releasing, closing off the network of gates that allow the worms to crawl into the jars.

  Sam smirked, “The ones left behind eventually disintegrate and die.”

  I let out a disgusted snort, looking at Sam, “Leave it to you to ruin a beautiful moment.”

  Margriete laughed, “Seriously, how did you get stuck with a martyr of a guardian? They’re typically a lot less sadistic.”

  “It’s my luck,” I winked toward Sam.

  He knelt and grabbed my pack off the floor. “At least this idiot of a guardian is willing to carry your things,” he retorted.

  Margriete rolled her eyes, “We better get going so that we can make it to the next switch; it’s rather uncomfortable for me to see in pitch dark,” Margriete added, slamming her book closed and strapping it to her back, refusing Sam’s offer to carry her things.

  “How will you know the way without the map?” I asked, stepping forward.

  Margriete walked beside me, the cave large enough to fit four men across and high enough that a Griffin could probably fly through. “You’ll know, as long as you can trust your heart. Most times, we refuse to believe the notions inside us,” she crinkled her brow, “Much like when you take a test and you know the answer r
ight away, but then spend too much time thinking about it and you second guess yourself. I’m sure you can relate to that,” she nudged me, “having gone through high school and all.” A smirk cut across her fair skin, her mused judgments like that of an annoying older sister.

  “Yeah, the good thing is, I always went on my notion and I was top of my class.” I said my remark with sass in an attempt to validate the fact that I had succumbed to human social norms and society.

  Margriete smiled at the challenging retort, “Well then, we shouldn’t have any troubles.” She winked before facing forward, our pace steady, but not fast.

  I quietly thought to myself for a while as Sam whistled, his song echoing down the long chamber. The walls leaked water, and between Sam’s breaths of whistling air, you could hear it trickle across the granite and marble. I never really imagined that the human world contained a whole other, tucked away beneath the surface. I chuckled at the general belief that heaven was above us, but at the same time, burying the dead in the ground began to make a lot more sense as well.

  I thought about Edgar and how the ground had claimed him. He should be dead, but something inside me refused to realize it until I knew for sure. My heart ached for his return, longed to feel his velvety touch on my skin. The Griffin’s knew what would drive my emotions, and they knew how to tangle me in their vicious web of lost souls. Had it not been for my friends, I fear I would have sat there for all eternity, listening to that beautiful voice and relishing the beauty. There was nothing I longed for more than to feel his face again, his body against mine. I sighed and Sam took notice, eyeing me as he read my thoughts on the matter.

  “You really love him don’t you?” he kicked a rock as it stumbled through the cavern.

  I nodded, pressing back tears. I had tried too hard to keep a bitter angry exterior, but as we continued to test our lives, my armor was crumbling and I was beginning to feel sad and weak.

  Sam sighed, “I guess I didn’t understand, time usually heals all wounds and we move on.”