The Guardian

by Quinn Arthurs

  I nodded sharply, rubbing my palms against my thighs to pretend they weren’t damp with nerves. “Sounds like a plan.” The creak of the door opening seemed to echo in the narrow hallway, and Onyx escorted me inside, a hand at the small of my back as he guided me into the dark. Though only light was what could filter in from the hallway, the clicker offering only faint streaks of light into the open doorway of the cell.

  “You are wasting your time, witches.” The voice in the shadows was a ragged growl, the sound husky and thick, nearly garbled. “Nothing you do will change my mind. I will not break. You will get no answers from me.”

  “Lucky for me, then, that I’m not a witch. Or at least, I’m only a sort of witch.” My voice was quiet but I knew he heard me, heard the ragged breath of air that he dragged in due to the shock.

  “Little half-blood.” The word was full of shock, though amusement tinged it as well. “This is unexpected.”

  “Who are you?”

  He chuckled, the sound dark and grating. “Quite an interrogation technique you have, half-blood. Many things have I been asked, my name has not topped that list.” Shuffling and creaking sounded from the recesses before a man stepped from the shadows, bound heavily by thick chains at his neck, wrists, ankles, and waist.

  I wasn’t sure what I had been expecting, though he looked surprisingly human. His skin was fair, almost sickly white, though that may have been due to his prolonged stay in this cell. HIs hair was dark and shaggy, falling across thick dark brows. It wasn’t until he smiled that I fought the urge to recoil. I understood now why his voice had been garbled. His mouth was overly full of teeth, all of them large, yellow, and pointed. His tongue protruded slightly, dangling over the edge of his teeth when he offered that twisted grin.

  “I am Ashborn.”

  I blinked rapidly, trying not to focus on his teeth. “Why did you break into my mom’s apartment?”

  “To kill you.” His response was blunt and flat, a nonchalant shrug reflecting how little he thought of it.

  “You don’t even know me,” I pointed out. “Why would you want to kill me?”

  He cocked his head, studying me. “Innocent as a pup. Ask your shadow.” I glanced over my shoulder to where Onyx stood guard.

  “I’m asking you, not him. Besides, he probably wouldn’t answer me anyhow.”

  Ashborn was studying me as if I was a puzzle, cocking his head one way then the next as if he couldn’t quite understand what he was seeing. “Lone wolves are hired killers.”

  “Lone wolves? You don’t have a pack?” I didn’t remember much about wolves, but I knew they tended to run with others and it would be as though he didn’t have friends or a family, no place at all in the world. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

  He turned his attention to Onyx, then back to me, shaking his head wearily. “What do you want, little half-breed?”

  “Answers.” I shrugged simply.

  “You don’t like what the fae have to say?” The words seemed to be a taunt, but I refused to rise to the bait. I hoped Onyx didn’t rise to it either.

  “It’s hard to make a decision about the truth when you’re told very little and what you’re told is clearly biased,” I pointed out to the wolf. “Why don’t you give me your version and we can see if they match up? You’ve already admitted you were there to kill me, so that at least matches.”

  “More will be sent,” he stated, though the warning appeared to be for Onyx, rather than me. “You may have escaped my claws, but you will not always be so lucky. They will not stop, and the next they send may not be as obvious.”

  “They.” I acknowledged the word with a shallow nod. “So, it’s not just one person after me.”

  He chuckled darkly, his tongue lolling. “Word of you is out, little half-blood. You will have thousands lining up to spill your blood. Your mother hid you your entire life and it still wasn’t enough. Pray for a quick death; it is the only mercy you will get.” I turned to leave, biting my lip to hide that he had managed to shake me. “For your kindness, I will tell you this for free. You are wise not to trust the fae — many have masters you know nothing about and hidden agendas far darker than you would believe.”

  I glanced back at him. “I already figured that out. It’s why I’ve beaten them down already.”

  He made a noise I took for laughter, though it was hard to tell exactly. “Keep that backbone. You’re going to need it. Come visit me again, half-blood, and maybe I’ll tell you more.”

  The door latched behind us, and I heard the wolf’s snarl before we headed back up the stairs. “Well, that could have gone better. He did seem to be hinting that it’s a fae who was out to get me”

  “Wolves lie,” Onyx muttered. “You can’t trust it.”

  “Look, I already know a fae has tried to kill me. I don’t think it’s a stretch of the imagination to assume more will be coming for me. So, I’m not going to doubt Fido.” I wanted to punch one of the stone walls we passed, frustration running rampant through me. “So I guess we’ll start our search with fae who would want to kill a half-blood. I’m sure this will be a short list…”

  26

  I sprawled on my stomach on the floor, debating throwing my pen at Onyx for some source of entertainment. Making a list of potential enemies was exhausting, and I was sick of listening to Terran and Reed debate faction alliances and Onyx’s grumbling insults in reply. Opal had winged her way out from the bedroom and had spent the last few minutes amusing herself by attempting to hoard my collection of stones, using her nose to hide them under the corner of the sofa and making little growling noises at anyone who came too close. She was adorable, and I appreciated the distraction she offered.

  “This is crazy.” I interjected Reed and Terran’s debate about which of Birch’s known co-conspirators were most likely to be be a physical threat. “All we’re doing is reinforcing Ashborn’s theory that hundreds of people would want to kill me. It’s starting to give me a bit of a complex.” I wasn’t lying, either. Anxiety tickled at the back of my throat, rolling over my skin like the track of bugs, making me itch and twitch at every sound outside of the room.

  Onyx sighed, rubbing at the tips of his ears. Interesting. I hadn’t noticed that nervous tick of his before. Curious, I tried rubbing at the tips of my own slightly extended ears, shocked at how tender they were. I rapidly pulled my fingers away from the sensitive skin, worried I may nick myself with a nail.

  “Tori is right.” My lips twitched at his statement. I didn’t think I’d ever get used to hearing him say that, and I hoped I wouldn’t lose any of my enjoyment in it. “It’s pointless to speculate at this point. We need to try and approach things from another angle.” He stood to pace, the fingers of his sword hand twitching as though he itched to be using it for action. “We wouldn’t go into a battle speculating about the possible enemies we may face. We’d search for more intel before the battle began. That’s what we need -- more information.”

  “Okay,” Terran said slowly as he twirled his pencil between his fingers, following Onyx’s train of thought. “So what other information could we try and find?”

  “What if we focused on her mother?” Reed’s voice was speculative, his eyes hazy as he stared at the wall. “It’s unlikely that they found Tori before they found her mother. It would make sense that whomever harmed her mother is the one who is after her.”

  “It makes sense.” I considered his idea, pursing my lips and trying to ignore the curl of dread that coiled greasily in my stomach. I didn’t like the idea that my mother had potentially been killed in my stead, so a part of me hoped that the lead would not pan out. Though, even if it only managed to lead me to her killer, that may have to be enough. I wasn’t sure what I would do with that information. A part of me hoped that I wasn’t violent enough to kill them, but at this point I wouldn’t put it past myself. I was finding a much darker and more twisted side of myself here in the Hold than I had known before.

  “All right, so let’s focu
s on her.” Terran leaned forward, tossing his pen aside and steepling his fingers together. “You said she continued to run throughout your childhood.”

  “Yeah.” I chewed on the inside of my cheek, trying to hold back tears as memories of her flooded me. “I put my foot down when I turned eighteen though. I wasn’t going to keep moving with her. I told her I was legally an adult. I would get my own apartment and I would let her ward it to make her feel better, but I was done running. I wanted to settle down in my own place, have a steady job, maybe make some friends…” I let the words trail off feeling foolish.

  “How often did you move?” Reed asked quietly.

  I shrugged. “About every four or six months. We stayed in a few places close to a year. Once or twice we were gone in about two weeks.”

  “Always big cities?” Terran asked with interest. I pondered the question, running through locations in my head before nodding.

  “Yeah. It was easier to get work there, especially under the table.”

  “It also would have made her magic harder to trace. Interference with electronics that are prevalent in the city would make small spells, even simple wardings, easier to conceal.” Reed’s voice grew louder in his excitement, his fingers tapping excitedly.

  “Huh.” I wasn’t quite sure what to make of that, but it was interesting to know why she had kept us there despite her obvious preference for open, green spaces and areas where she could see the stars.

  “Ok, so then who would be a witch who would intend harm to you or your mother?” Reed’s voice was considering. “A clan member who was slighted?”

  “Family maybe?” Onyx asked, causing me to stiffen. “Her own for abandoning her life here, maybe making a match they didn’t agree with or using a specialty they didn’t care for.”

  “She could have abandoned the cause. Some of the witches have joined the elves, just as many of the fae have,” Reed added. “Other groups have formed to fight the elves, and they wouldn’t take too kindly to anyone who didn’t follow their preferences.”

  “Could have been a purist,” Terran pointed out. “Some of the witches and fae don’t take kindly to those who mix the blood, weakening the power lines more.”

  “Wait.” I held up my hand. “You’re saying that more than likely my own blood relatives are the ones who were hunting her? Who may have killed her?”

  The three shared a glance, and Onyx gave a sharp nod. “It fits the best. It is possible she angered someone else before her escape, that she was running for another reason, though it would be much harder for us to track.”

  “It could also have been the family of a lover,” Reed interjected. “Maybe she was betrothed and broke the pact when she found out she was with child? Or even the lover, if he knew she was expecting a child?”

  I hesitated. Which would be the better option? That we still had no leads, no way of finding an answer; that my mother may have been hunted by her own family; or that my still unknown father may have been seeking to kill us? None of those sounded as though they’d make for a pleasant holiday.

  “So if it was her family — my family — how would we go about finding who they are?”

  Reed sighed. “Things are different here than the human realm, Tori. Your blood will tell us the level of magic in it, its potential, even who your Guardians are. Your own magic separates you from your family, however. It alters your blood. Think of it as a fingerprint — unlike connecting you to your family, it is what makes you completely unique.”

  I grimaced, shaking my head. “Got it. Paternity testing would be out then. What about census records, anything like that?”

  All three shook their heads. “Outside of the Hold, life is lived differently. We don’t track that kind of thing.”

  “Is there a possibility that she came from the Hold?” I asked, curious.

  Onyx’s mouth nearly fell open. “Are you suggesting she was a Guardian?”

  “Maybe.” I shrugged. “Or she could have belonged to one of the families here, even been a servant? I mean, she had no fear of the fae. She frequently would make offerings, usually flowers, herbs, or honey. She didn’t speak of them in a negative way, so wouldn’t it be odd if it was the fae she feared?” I gnawed on my thumbnail, trying to sort out my thoughts. “Though that is directly against what Ashborn said, since he warned me about the fae.”

  “It could mean more than what he said though,” Reed pointed out. “You do need to be wary of the fae and be careful who you trust. That doesn’t necessarily mean that they were involved in the attempt on you or in your mother’s death, simply that they could have been.”

  I growled, giving in to the urge and throwing my pen at Onyx who caught it neatly, much to my irritation. It would have been far more satisfying to see it hit him.

  “So, if she didn’t fear the fae, then most likely her relationship with her lover wasn’t negative,” Reed murmured. “That means the highest probability is something in regards to the witches; either her own family or someone within a clan.”

  “So that only narrows it down to the hundreds of thousands of witches in the world,” Onyx muttered.

  “Why did you ask if she could have belonged to the Hold?” Terran asked, curiosity tinging his voice.

  I shifted, unsure if they would take me seriously. “She specifically knew how to bind me throughout the course of my life. She had to have known how to bind her own powers enough to lower her risk of detection, but she obviously had some strength remaining to her. She knew how I would be able to call the Guardians, which I assume isn’t exactly common knowledge. All of that points to someone who lived here in the Hold.”

  “You think maybe she was a Guardian?” Terran’s voice was skeptical, but there didn’t seem to be any criticism in it.

  I shrugged. “Maybe. I mean, you have servants who are always around. It’s possible that was her role here. She would have picked up the knowledge even if she had no technical training. I mean, your servants pick up far more than you’d realize, and she had no classism — she worked easily as a servant in the human realm which, no offense, probably wouldn’t be possible if she’d been a Guardian who was used to being catered to, not the other way around.”

  “It’s possible.” Onyx spoke quietly. “Although you would think we would have heard of a family disappearing.”

  “You haven’t, but maybe River has.” I warmed to the idea the more I thought about it. “I mean, do the Guardians usually notice when servants go missing? I highly doubt it. I bet they talk amongst themselves though.” I was nearly bouncing now, causing Opal to give an irritated squawk at my movements before I sat more sedately.

  “Well, then we’ll find her and ask her.” Reed nodded, as though things were settled. “Even if she isn’t sure about whether someone went missing, it’s still a lead we didn’t have before this.”

  “It’s good thinking, Tori.” Terran’s voice was warm with pride, his brown eyes sparkling as he studied me. “You fit in here very well.” I ducked my head to hide the light blush that wanted to mantle my cheeks.

  “Does anyone know where she is?” I asked, curious.

  I hadn’t seen her since she’d given us some privacy to talk things through about the fantasizing issue. Guilt tugged at me for a second at that realization, but I pushed it aside. She had lived here her entire life and the current threat against us was gone. I couldn’t ask her to feel as trapped as I felt at the moment, always needing a chaperone. I bet she had family here, other friends, things she needed to be checking in on.

  “She was next door, but she probably went back to her own rooms,” Terran murmured distractedly. “It’s a fairly simple matter to call for her.”

  “Well, let’s check next door first, easiest first step,” Onyx ordered, stretching his arms in front of him as if attempting to keep them limber.

  I nodded, groaning only slightly as I pulled myself up from the floor. Probably hadn’t been the best idea to lay there the entire time. Opal muttered again, winging her w
ay up to wrap herself around my arm, her tail locking tight around my wrist as though I wore a bracelet, her claws helping balance as she gripped my sleeve.

  “Can I bring her?” I asked hesitantly. I knew they had wanted to keep her out of sight, but I liked having her with me. I’d have to have River show me how she knotted that scarf so I could carry her that way as well.

  “It should be ok.” Terran’s voice was warmly amused. “We’re simply going next door. Keep her close to your body, though, in case anyone else is watching. We’ll figure out how to handle going down to the servant’s quarters if we need to.”

  I grinned my approval, stroking a hand down Opal’s back. “Ready to go for a little walk, girl?” Her purr seemed to be agreement and I laughed. “All right then, let’s go.” Onyx led the way, snapping at the man who had apparently been hovering outside of the door.

  “Don’t worry,” Reed whispered in my ear. “The rooms are spelled against eavesdropping. Even if he had pressed his ear directly to the door, he wouldn’t have heard any of what we said.” The man had darted away at Onyx’s growl, and I shook my head at the grumpy fae.

  “You’re a real people person, aren’t you?” I asked dryly. He didn’t bother dignifying me with an answer.

  Onyx pushed open the door to his rooms, stumbling and cursing loudly, his sword appearing in his hand with a flash of silver light. “What in all the realms is going on?” He yelled as he stared into the room, his body still blocking our view.

  27

  I ducked under Onyx’s arm, scrambling past him in the hopes of rescuing River from whatever Onyx was staring at. I skidded to a halt, my mouth dropping open as I studied the view in front of me.

  River appeared to have been cuddled on the couch before Onyx roared, startling her. Another young woman was beside her, her hand clutching River’s protectively as she stood over her. The woman was obviously pretty, her dark hair cut short to expose the extended points of her ears. She was just as slender as River, though her skin was more golden and her chocolate brown eyes heavy-lidded, hinting at potential Asian history.