Guardian: Darkness Rising

by Melanie Houtman

  Fear instantly clutched James’s heart as he jumped up and rattled the doorknob – he was locked in. There were no windows, and the only exit was locked. What was he going to do?

  The fear clutching James’s heart loosened its grip when James remembered what he’d left his family for. The Master had put James exactly where he wanted to be.

  The darkness in the room gave him some trouble concentrating – the only light source in the room was a torch fixed to the wall opposite the door – but eventually, the door clicked and opened. Using magic somehow now came as a natural experience to James – he didn’t even know how he did it anymore; he just did. But then again, the ease this door opened at... it almost seemed too easy.

  And it was. As soon as James had set foot outside the door, he was thrown back into the room, making a nasty fall on the floor. As soon as James had ended up there, thick, black roped wrapped themselves around his limbs, leaving him lying helplessly on the floor. No matter how much James struggled, nothing worked; he couldn’t break free.

  “I beg your pardon,” a deep, familiar voice said, which still manage to send a chill down James’s spine after twenty-five years. “I didn’t mean to be so rude... But I had to keep you inside somehow.”

  James felt that he was forcefully pulled to his feet, but not by a pair of hands. The Master entered the room, and lit the other torches with a wave of his hand, giving James a vampire grin in the eerie light. He hadn’t changed a bit in those years... which almost seemed impossible. The Master still wore the same, dark purple robes with the high collar and golden and black patterns he’d always worn. A dark red cape hung over his shoulder and his face remained unshaved.

  The black scar near the Master’s right eye stood out sharply against the man’s pale skin. The staff the Master held a staff made of dark wood, with black and red patterns printed on the hilt. A dark red orb was attached to the top of the staff, the hilt ‘tangling’ itself around the orb to keep it in place.

  “Hello, James,” he said, “it’s good to see you again.”

  James gloated at the Master as he lowered his eyebrows. “Then I’m afraid the feeling isn’t mutual, Asura,” he said, receiving a fake-shocked eyebrow raise from the Master.

  “James, my boy! Where are your manners?” he said.

  “Boy?” James spat. “I’m forty-one. I’m an adult now. Or did you just so happen to forget that?”

  The Master laughed. “Why, of course you are,” he sang. “In human years and experience, you’re a full-grown man. But, compared to me...” He paused a short moment to give James a sinister grin. “You’ll never be more than just a boy. And you know it.”

  James rolled his eyes in exasperation. “Just get to your point,” he said, tired of the Master’s charades. “Why did you bring me here?”

  The Master smirked. “Well,” he inquired, “don’t you think I should be asking you why you were heading over here earlier?”

  James snorted. “Well... I must say things didn’t exactly work out as planned,” he admitted, “but I will be honest with you. I came here to kill you.”

  The Master rubbed his chin. “I see...” he said, not giving away how he felt about James’s answer. “And now you want to know why I brought you here, don’t you?”

  James nodded. “Exactly.”

  The Master spread his arms out widely. “Well, then,” he chimed, “allow me to introduce you to my plan.”

  With a wave of his staff, the Master made the same black fog as before appear, causing the world to disappear in front of James’s eyes once again.

  James hated teleporting. It made him feel dizzy and nauseous. Although he hadn’t passed out this time, James still wasn’t sure whether the dizziness was any better.

  He found himself in a dimly lit throne room; the Master was standing in front of his throne. A golden ball was floating between his hands; when James looked closer, he noticed that the floating ball was actually a globe of Lunaria.

  “Look at this,” the Master said, as he slowly walked down the steps, where James was standing. “The entire globe is lit in a golden colour. The light and dark are... balanced. Disgraceful, isn’t it?”

  James tried to shrug, but the way the dark ropes tied his arms to his back prevented him from doing so. “Why do you think it’s so disgraceful?” he asked. “I think it’s beautiful.”

  The Master didn’t look at James. “That’s only because you don’t know the full truth,” he said disheartened, “and you never will. You don’t know how cruel the Spirits actually are.”

  James lowered an eyebrow. “What do you mean?” he demanded. “This is just another trick to get some pity out of me, isn’t it?”

  The Master sighed and shook his head, but couldn’t prevent a sinister smile from creeping up on his lips. “Your opinion is biased, my boy,” he scoffed. “But that’s alright. I won’t be able to change it anyway, no matter how hard I’d try.” Then, he suddenly looked up. James felt as if the two orange eyes – left seeing, right blind – staring at him were looking right through him. “None of that matters, however,” the Master whispered on a tone that sent chills down James’s spine. “I believe it’s about time for me to check what your friends are up to.”

  The Master walked away from the globe, back to his throne, and hovered a hand over something what seemed to be a large, glass ball. James clearly couldn’t see what the Master saw, because to James, it looked as if the Master was merely looking and grinning at an empty, glass orb. “Yes...” he mumbled. “Excellent.”

  He then turned to James, announcing happily, “your sister and friends are out there looking for you, James! How do you feel about that?”

  James sighed. He would’ve run his hands through his hair if he only could’ve. “I knew they’d head out there,” he said; he was in a cheeky mood all of a sudden. This mood was the only thing providing him with the courage to say, “what’s the holdup, Asura?”

  The Master turned his head in surprise. “What?” he said, obviously caught off-guard.

  “I said, what’s the holdup?” James repeated. “Why haven’t you attacked them yet?”

  The Master laughed. “Attack them?” he laughed. “And take away their opportunity to watch you waste away?”

  “Excuse me?” James demanded.

  The Master looked down at James, smirking creepily. This was the moment he’d been waiting for. “Don’t you know, my dear James?” he asked innocently, as he began to ascend the stairs once again. “In that case, you happen to be in luck; I’m in the mood for a story.”

  James gloated silently at the Master, waiting for more.

  “You see, James,” the Master said, “Lunaria’s light lives inside you... and thus... so does the darkness.” The Master suddenly put the orb of his staff to James’s throat, who couldn’t help but feel his heartbeat speeding up.

  “That’s right,” the Master breathed. “You clever boy. You know exactly what I’m getting at, don’t you? I’m going to bring your family here now... because I want them all to see.” I want them to see you, and to watch as the world crumbles around them – taking you with it.”

  “It’s never going to work,” James said. “there’s no chance I’d ever join you. Especially not since your theory has no proof to be backed up with.”

  The Master withdrew his staff and glared at James. “Oh, but I do have proof,” he whispered sinisterly. “Just have a look at the stones on your Golden Wing. They’re cracking.”

  James could tell his hands were shaking, despite being tied up. What if the Master’s theory was correct? If it was, then James and his friends would be big trouble. Reconsidering everything, there was a fair chance that the Master would turn out to be right – after all, the Master’s knowledge of Magic was significantly larger than James’s.

  In the meantime, James had disappeared into his own thoughts and worry to miss out on the Master summoning Samira, Thomas, Luke, Ince, and Akilah, who’d been outside searching for James.

 
“JAMES!” Samira yelled as soon as she realised where she was. The siblings ran toward each other, but the Master interfered by freezing James in place and raising a wall of black flames between Samira and her brother.

  “James?” Samira demanded. “What’s going on?”

  James’s voice trembled as he replied. “I don’t know, Sam.”

  “Asura!” Ince’s voice bellowed; he extinguished the black flames with a single wave of his hand while angrily walking forward. “What do you think you’re doing!?”

  Asura didn’t seem too impressed by his two angry older siblings. “You know exactly what I’m doing, my beloved brother,” he hissed. “And, just like last time, I’m starting with you.”

  The Master raised his staff, but Ince was faster. With a single move, the Master was thrown back against a wall.

  “I see,” the Master growled as he got back on all fours. “Brother didn’t come for a friendly chat. But what about sister?” He lashed out at Akilah; the spell arrived before Ince could stop it, but Akilah didn’t defend herself or strike back; she simply kept dodging over and over, until she’d ultimately fail to do so.

  Knowing that moment would arrive soon, Akilah tried to reason with her brother.

  “Asura, please,” Akilah pleaded. “You still have a chance to turn this all around. Give the good in you a chance!”

  “The good in me?” her brother sneered. “Please, Akilah, You and I both know that there’s no good in me left. And...” he paused for a moment. “Maybe there never was.”

  While the three Spirits were battling, James was being freed by his family. Thomas used his enchanted sword to cut the dark ropes, allowing James to hug his sister and son.

  “Dad,” Luke said, “where were you? We were worried sick.”

  James’s eyes flashed from his son to his sister and his brother-in-law – he felt utter embarrassment for the situation he’d created. “I’m sorry, Lucas,” he said. “I thought I could handle this. I thought I could face the Master on my own.” He sighed.

  “All I wanted was to protect you. And... I failed.”

  “No, James,” Thomas insisted. “You didn’t. We’re all still safe.”

  “Then where are the others?” James said incomprehensively.

  “Antonio and Bella are with Aoife, Aine and Aharnish,” Samira said. “The kids are with Violina – Lucas insisted on coming.”

  “I wanted to help find you,” Luke said after receiving a judging glare from his father. “And I’m glad I did, Dad.”

  James snorted and smiled at his son. “I am too, Luke,” he said. “It’s good to see you. All three of you.”

  Father and son shared a hug, missing out on all that was going down behind them.

  The Master had defeated his siblings once again. With a single tap on the floor with the bottom of his staff, the Master turned them both into...

  “Shadows,” James breathed. “He’s turned them to shadows.”

  “ASURA!” Ince bellowed. “What’s the point of this!?”

  The Master smirked at his brother. “You see, Ince,” he said, “now you can experience what it’s like to be me once again. You get to experience the punishment you designed.”

  “Don’t do this, Asura,” Ince warned his brother; he laughed it off, however.

  “There’s nothing you can do to stop me, Ince,” he laughed. “And soon, our dear siblings will be joining you in your pitiful, helpless state.” The Master laughed hatefully.

  “What is he talking about?” Samira hissed. James shrugged.

  “I don’t know,” he lied. Well, basically it wasn’t entirely a lie, but it wasn’t the truth, either. “But I think we’re about to find out.”

  “Well, I’m not waiting until everything goes wrong,” Luke said, and sprinted forward; his father wanted to grab him, but missed. “LUKE, DON’T!”

  Luke ignored his father; he lashed out with his sword at the Master, who had his back turned to Luke. Just as the blade would’ve made its impact, the Master moved his hand upward. The blade of Luke’s sword began to glow red, and mimicked the movements the Master made with his hand – sending the sword back where it came from, tearing the flesh of Luke’s temple.

  James and Thomas rushed forward to save Luke as the boy fell unconsciously to the ground. The two adults quickly dragged the boy away from the Master before the evil Spirit could finish the job.

  “Such courage,” the Master smirked. “Too bad he lacks any actual skill.”

  James looked at Akilah and Ince. “Get him back to the castle,” he told the Spirits, referring to his son. “Get him out of here. We’ll take care of the Master.”

  James didn’t have to tell the Spirits twice; despite the fact that they were shadows, they could still teleport and hold objects – which meant that they could take Luke back to safety.

  In the meantime, the Master attended to executing his plan.

  Using his staff, the Master summoned the globe of Lunaria; the red orb on the staff began to emit unsettling black smoke as he did so.

  James began to tremble uncontrollably. As he leaned Samira to support, she gave him a worried look.

  “James? Are you okay?” Thomas said.

  “Y-yeah,” James stammered. “We’ve got to get out of here. Now.”

  The trio didn’t hesitate; James grabbed his sister by the wrist and pulled her along. Unfortunately, they were already too late by the time they’d started running.

  The Master raised his staff and placed his hand on the globe, exactly on the Land of Light. “Now,” he breathed, “let’s see how fast I can change this world this time.”

  As the Master finished his sentence, the patch of land presenting the Land of Light on the globe began to turn pitch black.

  ...And so did the actual Land in real life.

  The air got an instant chill as the dark energy began to spread from the castle through the air – there was no stopping it.

  Thomas, Samira and James could instantly feel the effect of the world darkening; as the world darkened around them, so did James’s heart. There was no away of fighting it, as James felt his last grains of hope slip from his heart and mind, only to be left with an ink-black stain inside of him.

  The last thing James was able to tell at his family before being completely engulfed by the dark was, “RUN!”

  “DAD!” Samira yelled, trying to pull away from her husband, who had gripped Samira tightly; going anywhere near James now was a terrible idea. “Sam, you heard him!” Thomas yelled. “We’ve got to get out of here!”

  Samira continued to struggle, but quickly accepted that he had to leave her brother behind. “Don’t worry, James,” she yelled, before running after Thomas. “We’ll finish this, once and for all! We won’t let him take you, I promise!”

  “I’d love to see you try, my dear,” the Master laughed. James had been driven to his knees, and was sitting next to the Master, panting loudly. “James is mine.”

  Samira didn’t react, nor did she look back. She just simply couldn’t look back.

  The only thing she could do to help James now, was to keep Luke safe and find a way to cure James and save the world at the same time. After all, she still was a Guardian – and thus, she had to fulfil her duty.

  Whatever it’d take, Luke would get his father back. And Samira would get her brother back.

  Follow the Light

  The Master felt as if he couldn’t be happier. Everything had gone according to plan: the world was darkening once again, and James was his loyal servant.

  Yet, something seemed off. The Master was quick to discover the reason why; as he glanced at the globe, he was expecting to see a completely black ball, but only the Land of Light had turned black. The black colour was spreading, but it looked as if it was struggling to get past the borders of the Land of Light. The barrier the Spirits had put up had worked.

  “AKILAH!” the Master bellowed. “What’s the reason for this!?” he breathed. “AKILAH!”

  The
shadows took their time to appear; they didn’t seem quite impressed with the tantrum their brother was throwing. Obviously, they made sure Luke was in good hands first before returning to Asura.

  “Akilah, what did you do?” the Master said angrily, pointing at the globe behind him. “Why isn’t the darkness spreading?”

  “We had to keep you contained,” Ince said calmly; the Master looked as if he was about to explode. He just simply couldn’t stand the attitude his siblings had toward him, as if they didn’t respect him and everything he’d had achieved. They acted as if they were above him; the Master thought his siblings were arrogant and narcissistic.

  They’d always been, and they’d never change, either.

  “How do I break this barrier, Ince?” the Master demanded. “Tell me quickly, please. I don’t like having to wait.”

  “We all have to do things we don’t like sometimes, brother,” Ince said smugly, and after Ince had finished his sentence, both shadows simultaneously disappeared once again. On the inside, the Master was boiling with rage, despite the calm appearance of his face. How could his siblings be so arrogant, so full of themselves?

  They were blatantly ignorant – even after all that the Master had proven to be capable of, his siblings didn’t seem the slightest bit afraid or impressed; they just remained indifferent towards the Master. Annoyingly indifferent.

  The Master had no time to waste on hinting down his siblings; the darker Lunaria would become, the more weakened their powers would be, anyway. For now, his main concern was finding a way to bring down that cursed barrier. Once that would be done, the Master would regain full control over Lunaria, enabling him to permanently wipe his siblings off the map. They were insignificant little ants. No – they were cockroaches, because one cloud of pesticide would never be enough to wipe them out. But a cloud with the strength and capacity of ten clouds... yes, that would do the trick.

  The Master had plenty of time to work on bringing down the barrier, as the Guardians were no element of worry for him. James could take care of them just fine; with the dark energy flowing through his veins, he was almost as powerful as the Master himself.