by Lady Lilium
‘I wanted to…..um…’
Lauralie tilted her head to the side, seeming to be only curious.
God she’s so dam beautiful, I'm surprised she’s not already with someone.
He took a deep breath.
Perhaps it’s because everyone keeps chasing her….should I really do this?
‘I really like you. I was just….I wanted to know if…..’
He looked up.
Can’t chicken out now.
‘Do you want to be my girlfriend?’
‘Hu?’
Lauralie gave a slight gasp of surprise. ‘Go out with you?’
She rubbed her chin, as if appearing to think about it, doing so for several seconds that were agonizing for Diz.
‘Alright’ she said at last beaming. ‘In fact, if you wanted to know the truth; I've wanted you from the very first moment I laid eyes on you.’
‘Really?’ Diz said perking up, after letting out the deep breath he had been holding. ‘Do you really mean it?’
She suddenly shoved him away in mock annoyance.
‘What took you so long?!’
‘Sorry!’ he shot back automatically, feeling awash with relief. ‘I didn’t realise…’
‘Oh you men’ she huffed, ‘so blind.’
She took him by the hand suddenly. Her skin was so soft and smooth.
‘Let’s go deeper into town.’ She laced her fingers with his, grinning at his sudden shyness. ‘You're so cute’ she giggled. ‘I always thought so.’
They left the scene. Lauralie skipping and dragging the shorter Diz with her, who struggled to keep up with her long legs.
From around the corner near the heart graffiti was Adrian, watching the two go. He grinned to himself, tossing the red spray paint into an open topped bin, as he set off on his way home.
Near the centre of the town, in the almost complete darkness were the new couple, wrapped up in each other’s arms. Diz kissing Lauralie’s lips tenderly.
‘Oh Diz’ Lauralie grinned slyly, though Diz could not see in the dark. ‘You’ll learn in time not to be so gentle.’
The sun was sinking further and further towards the hills, the sky was a sheet of changing colour, growing ever darker towards the horizon. The grey clouds were outlined in gold, and a chill was setting in. Ebony drew herself tighter, hunching her shoulders and crossing her arms.
‘So what's your final decision?’ Indigo asked impatiently.
‘I have longed all my life to meet another one like me’ Crystal spoke. ‘I go, where Ebony goes, and if she chooses to stay,’ she bowed her head, closing her eyes. ‘Then I will also stay.’
‘And you Ebony?’ Indigo asked her. ‘Do you still want to stay?’
‘I do’ she said.
‘Why?’ Indigo asked her.
Siren watched them quietly, glancing from one to the other. Crystal had also now fallen silent.
‘Why?’ Indigo repeated. ‘Why do you want to stay here, when you know you will be hunted? You will be safer in the Ancient Worlds. Its where you belong.’
Ebony’s attention diverted, drifting towards Lucas, the others followed her gaze.
‘You want to stay’ Indigo said incredulous, ‘because of him.’
‘He is the only one I have ever known to show me true kindness’ Ebony replied.
‘And for his kindness’ Indigo spoke through gritted teeth, ‘you would risk your own life, and his, and Crystals?’
Ebony shifted uncomfortably on the spot.
‘What is the matter with you?’ Indigo said, smacking her forehead with the back of his hand. ‘It’s like I'm talking to a cloud. Siren’ he turned to her. ‘You cannot surely support this.’
‘Mother said we can’t take her against her will’ Siren replied.
‘No’ Indigo shot at her. ‘She said we shouldn’t, but…circumstances change…..’ His lips curled a sneer at Ebony. ‘There’s something not right here. But I can’t put my finger on what it is.’
He shook his head, turning from them. Indigo cast his hand out, opening the portal that was nearby, the portal to the Ancient World.
‘Indigo what are you doing?’ Siren asked him.
‘Whatever will happen will happen’ Crystal said, opening her hands as the mechanical dragonfly landed on her open palms. Her sentinel, the familiar she had named Cid. ‘We may as well enjoy ourselves along the way.’
The portal shimmered behind Indigo, the gateway to the Ancient World. The path.
Indigo turned back to the three. He glanced from Crystal, to Siren, and finally Ebony.
‘I will no longer play these games with you’ he told her. ‘We are leaving.’
‘What?’
Indigo strode forwards, grabbing Ebony by the wrists.
She screamed. ‘Let me go!’
At that exact moment, Adrian was returning home with mixed emotions. His heart was heavy, yet his feet light. He practically skipped along his way, slowing down as he reached the group of houses he was most familiar with. A place he had always known as safety and happiness. It was dark at this time, and he found it strange how none of the lights on his street were working when they would usually have all been lit. But he spared it little thought. Adrian slid through the gate at the bottom of his family’s driveway, trying to be quiet, though the hinges still creaked.
Adrian also found it strange that all the lights were off inside his home. His parents would normally be watching TV, and his sister would be in her room…..perhaps they were all on the other side of the house for some reason.
He marched up the steps and opened the front door to absolute silence.
‘Dad?’
The curtains were all shut, and the moon above was hidden by clouds. It was totally dark inside the house, and Adrian could see nothing at all.
He took a step forward; there was a squelching under his foot as he did so.
The carpet was wet.
Adrian noticed movement to his side. The last thing he saw was a dark figure, swinging back a clawed fist.
‘Well, I’d better go home now.’
‘So soon?’ Lauralie pouted, ‘surely you can stay with me just a little longer.’
‘Awww now don’t make me feel guilty’ Diz whined.
‘Then why do you have to leave?’
‘Because…wait, you're not going to make fun of me are you?’
‘Of course not’ Lauralie said defensively. ‘Why would you say that?’
‘Well….my mother worries. She knows I'm seventeen, but in her head I'm still her baby.’
‘Naaawww that’s so sweet.’
‘Not when you have to put up with it.’
‘Hold on a second, did you say you were seventeen?’
‘Yeah?’
‘Wow’ she beamed, ‘you're the same age as me. You look much younger though. I guess I should have checked your age before I agreed to go out with you. Don’t want to be dating a minor now do we? I thought for a brief moment that I should ask your parent’s permission…ha ha ha!’
She waved her hand, leaning back and laughing hysterically at her own joke.
‘Awww’ she sighed finally, wiping away a tear. ‘I'm so silly.’
‘Have you finished making fun of me?’ Diz pouted.
‘Hu?’ she blinked at him. ‘Oh don’t take it like that, I was just teasing you.’ She shook his arm lightly. ‘Would it be ok if I walk home with you? I want to see where you live.’
‘I see no problem with that.’
‘Yey!’ She leapt up, circling around him and clinging onto his arm once again. ‘Come on then, lead the way.’
Lucas tensed at the sight of Indigo grabbing Ebony by the wrist.
He made to run forwards, to protect her. But Sian grabbed his arm to stop him; and he looked back at her. Even in the failing light Lucas could see her eyes, deep dark and beautiful, and full of so many emotions. One stood out more than the others.
Grief. She knew that she was losing him.
Lucas
turned back to the elder guardians. He watched as Ebony was dragged away towards the portal that led to a new world, to places unknown.
Feeling helpless, he watched as Sian still held him. He was so close to losing Ebony forever, so close to never seeing her again.
His heart wrenched in his chest as Ebony screamed, he watched her trying and failing to pull away from Indigo as he dragged her. Crystal and Siren watched uncertainly. Neither of them intervened.
‘Ebony!’ Lucas cried, as his heart bled.
He saw her. There was terror in her eyes. She was afraid, afraid to leave his side; afraid that she would never see him again; as he was afraid for her.
‘Lucas!’
Sian let go of his arm, acting so deliberately.
‘She’s calling for you Lucas’ Sian told him. ‘What are you going to do?’
Lucas stared back at Ebony, as she was dragged closer to the portal.
Indigo hesitated suddenly. He let go of Ebony, staring at the portal before him.
Siren faltered, giving a slight gasp and stepping back.
The portal before them flickered, once, then again, then died, fading away as if it had never been there.
‘What the hell is going on?’ Indigo demanded.
‘It’s Lagoon’ Siren voiced.
Ebony moved sharply back towards Crystal, the two of them clung to each other, suddenly frightened. The dragonfly Cid darted back and forth above their heads.
A short distance away, Lucas let out a sigh of relief.
‘That was lucky’ Sian said flatly behind him.
There was a buzzing sound then, and Venom glanced about him, then towards Reuben who stood beside him.
‘It’s coming from your pocket’ Venom said, as Reuben patted himself down.
Reuben pulled from the inside of his jacket the mobile. He answered the call.
‘Hello?’
Lucas tilted his head, listening carefully.
‘What?!’ Reuben’s eyes grew wide.
‘What is it?’ Lucas called to him, raising his voice so that he may be heard.
‘Lauralie’ Reuben said. ‘…she’s….she needs our help…its Diz, his family are dead.’
‘The others’ Siren said to Indigo upon hearing this, her voice breaking in panic. ‘Lagoon, Kreas and Arran. They’ve done this!’
Indigo snarled, baring his teeth in savagery. ‘Where are they?’ he demanded.
‘There’s a group of houses at the edge of the town’ Reuben called back.
Indigo marched towards Reuben and Venom, calling back to Siren to watch over the others as he did so. He grabbed both their wrists and the three vanished into thin air.
They approached the house.
It was quiet.
‘Wow your neighbourhood is really deserted’ Lauralie noted.
Diz took in the scenery around him, glancing nervously at the houses on either side.
‘Why is it so dark here?’ Lauralie asked. ‘I can barely see where I'm going.’
‘We’re nearly there’ he told her.
They reached the house on the end of the road. It was very dark and a little unsettling. Lauralie felt glad now that she had Diz with her.
Very little of the house could be seen, and there was nothing to light their way. The moon still hid behind the clouds and none of the streetlights were working. The unusual thing that both of them noticed right away, was that all the lights in the house were off. Indeed the house looked deserted, but more than anything else, the thing that was most alarming, was that the front door was left open.
It took a few seconds for them to take it in, though neither of them questioned it openly.
Diz tentatively approached the house, opening the front gate. It squeaked on its hinges.
Moving closer, Diz walked reluctantly up the short flight of steps towards the front door.
There was darkness in the room within, and nothing could be seen from where they stood.
‘Diz?’ Lauralie voiced uneasily pulling back, reluctant to go any further.
Diz stood at the threshold of the open door; still he could see nothing inside. There was not a single light on, and all the curtains had all been shut.
The place seemed deserted, and there was not a single sound, besides the rasping noise of Diz’s own panicking breath. Diz tried his best to control himself. He held his breath, lifting his hand towards the wall.
He switched on the lights.
What he saw would change him forever. No longer would he be known as a friendly happy go lucky boy who smiled at everything. Now….
Diz laid his eyes on the scene before him.
His parents, both he had known well and loved dearly, lay dead. His father, a stocky man with shorter greying hair lay facedown, his mother slim and young with a stab wound to the heart lay on her back. They appeared to have been trying to escape.
His sister, was collapsed sideways on the sofa, throat slashed. And his brother. His dear beloved brother lay before his feet. The slash laid upon him was fatal and would have killed him in seconds. It ran from his collarbone diagonally up to his jaw and severing his throat.
There was blood everywhere, almost too much. The carpet was moist, soaked in red and shining in the light.
He exhaled, letting out all the breath in his body, feeling he could not take another, feeling his lungs turn to lead and his heart to stone.
The beating stopped, the shock of it.
His stomach lifted in fright, and a sudden sense of unreality dawned on him.
He shook his head, gasping wordlessly.
No. This isn’t real….
This isn’t real!
He backed away, shaking his head. He lost his footing and fell backwards down the steps.
‘Diz! What is it?’
He rolled over and heaved, throwing up the entire content of his stomach as Lauralie ran forwards. She stopped just short of him, glancing into the room within the house and gasped, clapping her hands over her mouth, she began to tremble violently, eyes watering.
‘Oh god…’
She pulled out her mobile and furiously began to dial, fingers fumbling on the buttons.
It took her several attempts to get the number right.
When Reuben came finally, he found them at the foot of the steps. Sobbing hysterically was Lauralie, holding Diz in her arms; the two were on the floor, backs to the home.
Lauralie looked up as Reuben, Venom and the elder guardian Indigo approached. Reuben paced towards them panicked, behind him Venom shared his fear, and Indigo tailing after them remained controlled and expressionless.
Reuben’s heart raced as he lay eyes upon them. ‘What's happened?’
‘He hasn’t said a word’ Lauralie whimpered as they drew closer.
Diz had shed not a tear; frozen in a state of shock, he had simply fallen completely silent.
Indigo walked past them and towards the front door. ‘Stay back’ he told the others, ‘and don’t look.’
Obeying his word without question, Reuben remained standing where he was, as Venom knelt, putting his arm around Lauralie and sitting between her and the house.
Indigo reached the threshold.
He stood there for a moment, before switching the light off, and closing the door.
Chapter Twelve
The Elusive One
‘Where’s he taken them?’ Lucas demanded.
‘I don’t know’ Siren replied calmly.
‘But he could hurt them.’
‘No’ Siren shook her head. ‘He would never do that. He is trustworthy.’
‘Not from what I saw’ Lucas argued back, glancing at Ebony, remembering the way Indigo had dragged her against her will towards the portal.
She had been so close to it. Lucas feared for an instant that he would lose her forever.
‘We can trust him’ Siren repeated sternly. Clearly she was absolutely convinced of the words she spoke.
‘We have to find him’ Sian cut in.
‘I think I know where he is’ Crystal spoke up. All eyes turned to her.
‘Where?’ Lucas demanded.
‘I can feel Indigo’s magic hanging in the air, though it’s fading fast.’ Crystal took a deep breath as she tried to feel the spell around her. ‘I do not have the magic to take us there, I am too weak. I've used too much of my power fleeing from my hunters.’
‘I can take us there’ Siren offered.
Crystal nodded, ‘I can guide you. I have power enough for that at least.’ She raised her arms. ‘We must hold hands.’
She took Sian’s and Siren’s hand as they stood either side of her. Sian took Lucas’, and Siren took Ebony’s. Lucas lifted his hands towards Ebony for her to take. She hesitated for a moment, oblivious to Sian’s cold hard stare boring into her.
‘It’s ok’ Lucas whispered to her, quietly so that only she would hear.
A smile flickered within her, and she reached towards Lucas, taking his hand. Lucas could feel her palms were sweating, and her arm was shaking slightly as he held her.
She was afraid.
‘Are we ready?’ Siren asked the others, summoning the magic within her to transport them to that place.
Crystal took another deep breath, brow furrowed in concentration as she used what little magic she had left. She guided their path, as Siren summoned her magic to take them all away.
‘I fear we are too late’ Siren mumbled, as they stepped onto the tarmac of this new place they had arrived at.
Around them were many houses where many people slept, oblivious to anything that was out of the ordinary.
The five let go of each other, approaching with caution one of the houses, where Indigo, Reuben and Venom could be seen standing in the garden before the home.
Siren stopped just short of the pavement, reluctant to proceed further.
‘Crystal, Ebony’ she said to them. ‘Stay behind me, I’ll protect you.’
The two philosopher’s stones obeyed quietly, sticking close to one another. Crystal lifted her arm around Ebony’s shoulders, bowing her head at the tragic scene before her, with sadness in her heart.
