Guardian

by Jack Porter

  I packed the ladder, figuring it could come in handy at some point on our trip.

  This gave the other girls and I hope. Maybe it hadn’t been too long since they’d been here. Maybe Hannah was waiting for us just on the other side of this peak.

  We pushed on with a new vigor.

  As we tread carefully up the mountain, we found there were catches and ledges every so often that could support all of our weight. We used them to pause and rest. Just because we could hear the rain beckoning us, that didn’t mean we had actually been rejuvenated by it yet.

  We were exhausted from little sleep and dehydration.

  It was on one such ledge that we were met with a dead end. The mountain sloped straight up, back into the cliff I had avoided climbing earlier. If we wanted to keep going, we’d have to climb, anyway.

  Luck was on our side. The rain had come to greet us, moving in the direction of the rainforest long behind our trail. Finally, we felt the first sweet kiss of moisture on our faces.

  Enthusiastic as children on a snow day, we held our tongues out and drank our fill. Then we collected the thick raindrops in our canteen’s until they were all as full as our stomachs with liquid.

  Even salty Salem, as I began mentally calling him after the cat toy incident, bent down to greedily lap water from Megan’s cupped hand.

  We all took the chance to let the rain wash away the dirt and grime of endless days of travel. I’d never liked a cold shower more than I did then.

  Yes, the rain was an amazing blessing—at first. Then lightning began to zig-zag across the sky and it suddenly wasn’t as welcome anymore.

  What seemed like minutes later, the rain took a turn for the worst. Where rain once kissed our skin, now it thumped and wacked, stinging each exposed part of us. The wind howled its rage in our ears and whipped the girls’ hair into their faces.

  It was a big storm like the one that threatened to sweep me away on that day fishing with Hannah in the forest.

  “Keep pressed up against the side of the mountain,” I yelled over the roaring winds. “This is going to get ugly.”

  Rain mixed with dirt to turn the ground at our feet slick with mud. We were safe enough for now, pressed up against the solid strength of the mountain’s side, but soon we would start slipping. It was a long way down and if one of the girls took a tumble off of the side, there was sure to be serious injury.

  Barely able to see Piper’s face in front of mine, I grabbed her and pulled her tight into my chest so I could speak in her ear. “We need to get to the peak and down the other side of the mountain. I don’t like the way this terrain is softening up.”

  Piper was shivering. I could hear her teeth chattering next to my ear and felt the cool temperature of her bare arms. “I’m so tired…but okay. If we have to.”

  I frowned, hoping she wasn’t coming down sick. This was unusual behavior for the gold medalist. But I guess weeks traveling with little rest, food, and no water would make anyone feel like dropping where they stood.

  Reaching for the bag that kept the girl’s clothes dry, I found my toes digging in through the mud to keep myself from sliding off the ledge we stood on. Shit. This is going to be difficult.

  I handed each of them their buckskin clothes, making sure no one slipped as they put them on. I took Salem as well. He was furious at the situation and alternatively switched from cowering into my warm body and biting and scratching the crap out of my arms.

  As gently as I could, I placed him in the bag with the most room, pulling the drawstring tight enough that he couldn’t squeeze through, but loose enough that he’d be able to breathe.

  The bag rustled a bit, but then quieted. My guess was he felt safest where the rain couldn’t get to him and the thunder wasn’t quite as loud overhead, muted by the bag’s thick buckskin lining.

  It took another fifteen minutes for the rain to lighten enough that I felt comfortable moving off of the landing.

  I looked up and tried to gauge where the best position to start climbing began. Again, this was Hannah’s territory. I would have given anything to have her expertise in this situation. But we didn’t have her. The other girls were frightened. I could feel it in the air as thick as the rain falling on us.

  They needed me to lead them to safety. I promised them silently that I would. If I could climb ahead and secure the ladder, I could make it easier for them. But I didn’t know how I would be able to fasten the ladder to the rock without more equipment.

  However, I didn’t think we had enough time for that. Striking my hand overhead, I grabbed the first bit of jutting rock. It was slick, but not as much as the mud forming below our feet. I searched for another and found after climbing a few more stones that this path would hold us. If it held me, it would definitely hold the girls.

  I climbed back down. “Okay girls, we are going to have to do a bit of work to get to the peak. I’ll go first. Megan, you come after me and touch the holds where my foot is. I’ll use the same ones that held my hands. Piper and Layla, you follow Megan in the same fashion. This way each of you can tell where the path is. Does everyone understand?”

  They all nodded. I shouldered the two remaining bags and began climbing. Hoping beyond hope that we could make it to the top without any snags.

  Twenty-Four

  The climb was slow. I had to take shorter holds than what I was capable of so that the girls didn’t have to stretch to reach me. It was uncomfortable, holding most of my ass end out in the air to do so, but I managed.

  My breath was coming in at ragged intervals, more like gasps than anything else. Sweat soaked my shirt as much as rain had. At a guess, we’d been climbing for nearly an hour and I knew we would all reach our limit soon. The girls were already moving on sheer willpower alone.

  I couldn’t draw on my crystal’s strength either. If I let go for more than the time it took to grab the next hold, I was a goner.

  The rain had lightened in volume, but the droplets began to transform into sleet. My holds on the rock became less sure. My fingers legs felt like fire from holding my heavy body at odd angles, and my fingers grew numb with the new cold.

  Once or twice, I heard someone squeak below me. Heart thumping, I called down in panic. I swallowed. The height at which we were climbing was dizzying. I could see all the way back to the rainforest.

  One by one the girls sounded off, and I took a gasping breath. So, far everyone was safe.

  But if I was feeling the pain and cold, then the girls must have it double. It wouldn’t be long until someone put a toe in the wrong place, or the strength in their fingers gave out. And there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.

  I wanted to smash my fist into the stubborn mountain and demand it to cease its endless stretching height. But that was stupid. You couldn’t bludgeon a mountain. Especially if you were only still attached to it by nothing but a prayer.

  Glancing up, I tried to gauge how far we had left to climb. Something else caught my eye instead. A gray shape that blew in the wind.

  A few well-placed holds later, and I let out a relieved laugh when I saw what it was.

  “Girls! I found the other end of our ladder!”

  All I got back was a series of ‘what?’ and ‘I can’t hear you.’ I shrugged it off. They’d see for themselves. I gave the ladder a good tug to see if it would support my weight even though I knew it would. The darkness wouldn’t have cut it if it hadn’t been a way for us to get to it.

  The rest of the climb was a piece of cake by comparison. I helped each girl up as she crested the edge where the ladder clung to spikes in the ground. Megan’s lips were blue. Her hazel eyes were a mixture of haunted and relieved. Piper was letting out a colorful string of curses, but otherwise she looked in great shape. Better than me even.

  Well, she didn’t get gold for sitting on her hands, now did she?

  I turned to help Layla up and let out a gasp. Layla looked like she was about to faint straight off the ladder. Her eyes were half-closed a
nd glassy.

  Fearing I might not make it in time, I shot my hand out to grasp her wrist when her fingers noodled around the next rung. I could feel no real grip strength in her hand, and not a moment too soon, her body slipped.

  That woke her up. It was amazing what the human body would do to survive. I had her full weight in one hand. Layla screeched, “Pull me up, Captain! Pull me up!”

  “I need your other hand,” I said, a sweat breaking out on my forehead. Layla wasn’t heavy, but I was afraid her shoulder would pop right out of her joint if I didn’t even out her weight.

  Layla panic-scrambled her legs into motion, trying to find any sort of purchase under her. “Your hand!” I said, a little louder even though I was sure she could hear me.

  “Dexter, I can’t feel my other hand.”

  On my other side, Piper lay flat on her belly and reached one long arm over the cliff to grab Layla’s shirt. This made me nervous. I couldn’t catch Piper and Layla if something went wrong. Thank the goddess nothing did.

  Together, Piper and I hauled Layla up and over the edge. I wrapped her soaking, cold body into my own soaking, cold body. What would I do now? I couldn’t keep her warm like this.

  “Uh, Dex, you may want to come take a look at this.” It was Megan, who’d gone a little further up the peak than the rest of us.

  Curious, I walked up the small snow-covered slope where she stood and looked over the other side. The peak dipped down drastically to a small valley. Like a god had pushed the top of the mountain down flat with his thumb, a set of steps carved into the mountain wound down toward a lush, grass-covered plateau. There wasn’t a drop of snow inside the valley, almost as if by magic.

  And I had no doubt it was touched by magic, because in the middle of the two-acre valley at the bottom of the steps was an extravagant Buddhist style shrine.

  There was nothing ruined about this structure. It stood tall, proud, and solid as the day it was built. At the bottom of the carved-out steps sat a Torii, something I recognized from my vacations to Japan. It was a gate that was believed to mark the separation of mundane to sacred.

  Excited about the prospect of a possible hot spring like under the ruins of the first, everyone but Layla and I rushed down to take a look. I followed at a more sedate pace, saying, “Almost there, Number Two. We’ll get you inside and warm.”

  Of course, when I said that, I hadn’t known that the large wooden doors would be locked. I turned the handle with every ounce of my strength, including drawing a fair amount of power from my crystal to do so. Taking a closer look, I noticed three identically shaped key holes above the handle. Looking around, I saw solid wooden blocks with lines of Japanese written on it, and on the opposite side were four keys.

  “Those are for the door, I assume,” Piper murmured, leaning in and taking a closer look. “I think we are supposed to put them in order. I don’t suppose anyone here knows Japanese?”

  “I’m rusty at best,” I admitted. “I recognize one of the symbols, it’s a fowl of some kind. A rooster?” Knowing this wasn’t in my bag of tricks, I shrugged. “That’s all I have. There would be steam pouring out of my ears if I tried to crack the other three lines.”

  There was only one person in the group who could help, and she was fast asleep in my arms, looking paler by the second. Reluctantly, I jostled Layla to life, “Number Two, wake up. I know you’re tired and cold. We can get you inside and warm, but only if you’re able to translate this.”

  One hickory colored eye cracked open. I was relieved to see the annoyance on her face. If she was angry that I was interrupting her nap, that must mean she wasn’t as bad off as I feared. “You can shove your translation up your—” Then, as if a bolt of lightning struck her, she sat straight up in my arms, sucking in a breath, she said, “My crystal, I feel it! It’s in there.”

  My skin prickled with excitement for her. “We just need to put these keys in the right locks. Then we can go get your crystal.”

  Layla tucked a chunk of soaked coffee-colored hair behind an ear and scrutinized the door for a long moment. “This looks like a Haiku. A poem, of five syllables, seven syllables, and then five again. My spoken Japanese is lightyears better than my kanji, but I’ll give it a go.” She held up one finger firmly. “The first one is a line of seven. It will go in the middle.”

  Piper was quick to do as she asked. The key slid in smoothly.

  “The second is some sort of reference to a chicken.” She added a second finger to the first, wiggling it with the other hand. “And the third and fourth...” She paused and squinted, as if that would unlock the secrets of the puzzle. “Hold on, this one is going to take a minute.”

  Layla curled back into me, trying to keep warm as she turned the haiku over in her mind. I could feel the softness of her breasts through our buckskin clothes and my pulse picked up slightly.

  “There are only two keyholes remaining, right? We could try one arrangement, then switch them around to form another?” Megan asked, reaching out to touch the block on the right.

  With reflexes that surprised me, Piper shot out an arm to smack Megan’s hand away. “Don’t be dumb. It’s unlikely the deities who built this place overlooked that scenario. Plus, the door could be booby trapped.”

  “I’m not dumb,” Megan mumbled.

  “Are too,” Piper whispered under her breath, but we all heard.

  Megan stalked over to stand directly in front of her, and even though she was shorter than Piper’s tall, proud self, the fire in Megan’s eyes was every bit as fierce. “Want to say that again?”

  I cut a hand in front of their identically irritated faces. “That’s enough, you two. Fighting isn’t going to help us get inside the temple.”

  Layla gave me a grateful glance, her full lips pressing together in a tight line. “I just need to study it a little more. I am sure I can crack this.”

  “Uh Layla.” Megan’s voice quivered. Such a different sound from the righteous anger from a few seconds ago. “Get cracking a little faster.”

  “Why?” Glancing over, I saw her backing up toward the door, almost bumping into Piper. “What’s wrong?”

  Following the direction of her shaking finger skyward, I tilted my chin up to see four misty black creatures soaring directly toward us.

  Twenty-Five

  Claws the size of a human finger stretched out from pronged feet. Wings, each as wide as Hannah was tall and engulfed in darkness pivoted gracefully as the giant birds swooped for us. “What in the fuck are those?” Piper squeaked.

  “Not going to think about it too hard,” I replied. Less gracefully than I meant to, I plopped Layla on the ground. “Finish the Haiku, Number Two. Our currently not mutilated faces may depend on it. Piper, stay with her. Put the keys in as she says and twist them in order.” Not waiting to see if they were following my orders, I ripped open the pack that had Salem sound asleep in it and pulled out the slings under him—which earned me an irritated yowl. “Megan, you and I have to hold those creatures off until we can hide in the temple.”

  Megan was shaking her head, denial stamped in the line between her brows. “I can’t. My aim is—”

  “Have some faith in yourself. You hit just as many targets as the rest of us.”

  Then we were out of time. I darted over to the rock garden, said a silent apology to the goddesses for soiling their sacred ground, and put the first stone in my sling. Trying to aim at a moving target was much more difficult than large immovable boulders. We were lucky that they were big moving targets with bodies the size of a mailbox and wings longer than any I’d ever seen. Their heads were featherless and an ugly pink all the way down their long necks, looking like the bird form of a wrinkled sphinx cat.

  My first two shots missed. One condor—I recognized them as such, now that they were unnervingly close—didn’t so much as flinch when one of my stones clipped its wing.

  Not normal animal behavior. Just like the buck. Damn it, that meant they wouldn’t spook off with a
couple of well-placed throws. Not that I expected them to. But it would have been nice. Still, the buck had shown some animalistic traits after the darkness took control. I wonder if that meant all of them did.

  The third stone I tossed hit the closest black bird square in the chest, but only succeeded in slowing it down, not dropping it from the sky like I wanted.

  Twisting, I bent for another rock and found Megan suddenly there, terror and determination wrapped up in one beautifully sculpted face. I was glad to have her by my side. There were too many to take down on my own.

  One brave condor dipped down and scratched my arm with his black claw. I touched my crystal and the dark magic floated away on the wind. Right. We need to kill them so I can cleanse their spirits. Fuck that sounds weird, even in my head.

  “Aim for their head and neck and wings as best you can. I need to get up close to finish the job and I want them to be good and immobile when I do it.”

  Megan nodded and let her first rock fly. It hit true. Right in the beak. The bird didn’t make a single squawk as it plummeted toward the plush grass of the shrine.

  “Great job, Megan! I knew you could do it!” I shouted, running over to the dropped bird. It was still trying to twitch and get up despite its neck having been twisted at an odd angle. Still alive.

  I made quick work of taking out my knife and plunging it into the condor’s skull. Then I touched my crystal and cleared the miasma of dark energy around it before it could try to get a hold on me.

  One down, three to go.

  Except the giant buzzard creatures were swarming Megan and I now, scratching and pecking with their beaks the size of my fist. One of the condors pulled Megan’s hair so her face twisted in pain. The others kept trying to take chunks out of flesh out of me.

  It was all I could do to keep the darkness from creeping into either of us. I had my guard up, not allowing the pull of power to affect me, but I could see a pleasured glint in Megan’s eye each time one of the condors made a nick in her perfect, pale skin. The darkness was trying to invade her body, I was sure of it.