Guardian

by Jack Porter

  She gasped in surprise and desire at the force with which I slammed into her. It caused her body to clench tighter around me and nearly pushed me over the edge. Her breath was coming faster. I could feel how close she was and I picked up my speed, drawing us both toward the finish we so desperately needed.

  We finished at the same time, both clinging to one another as if we were trying to hold on to this beautiful moment as long as we could.

  We changed again. Layla was as large as Hannah had been when her wings were set free. I’d grown to match and imagined if Piper or Megan were to stand next to us, they’d only come up to our hips. There were new black tribal markings along my chest to match the ones on my arms. The queen-sized bed was now too small. Our feet hung far over the side, and the mattress dipped low enough to skim the floor.

  Without warning, the bed collapsed under our combined weight, too heavy for the frame. I jolted a little. But Layla plumb disappeared.

  I looked around, a little worried that this was some trick the darkness had up its sleeve. “Layla?”

  “Could you move your elbow, Cap? My arm is going numb,” Layla’s disembodied voice said from somewhere underneath me.

  Jumping back as if I had been bitten, I blinked my eyes several times and then narrowed them. She wasn’t there, but she was. How strange. I took a long finger and poked in the place Layla’s voice had come from. My finger connected with soft flesh and I breathed a sigh of relief.

  Reality shivered around me where my finger met her skin. Then after a long moment, she shimmered into existence again. “What was that?” I asked.

  Layla blinked in surprise. She rubbed her arm, probably trying to bring life back into it. “What was what?”

  “Your little Houdini act.” I made a sweeping motion at her body with my hand. One of her fox ears twitched, and her brows came together in confusion.

  “Dexter, did you bump your head? You’re not making any sense.” She pushed up onto her elbows and slid her feet off the broken bed frame. She stood, tail sweeping behind her gracefully. Then she put a hand on my shoulder. “You do look kind of pale.”

  “Well, my lover did just turn invisible right in front of me.”

  Her eyebrows rose briefly, then knitted together again. “I did? Is it a crystal thing? Like Hannah’s flight?”

  “Sounds likely. Should we test it out? Hannah said as I grow in power, you’ll also be able to use your special abilities without needing to be near me.”

  “Neat!” Layla’s voice grew excited. “Yeah, let’s see if I can spook Megan and Piper.”

  I smirked and said. “First things first, try to become invisible again.”

  Her whole body stiffened, as if she were trying to force the change with solid will power. “Anything?” She let out a puff of air, as if she’d been holding her breath.

  “Not yet,” I said, holding my hand up when a disappointed frown crossed her face. “It may take some practice. I think you only did it the first time because the bed spooked you.”

  “So, I need to be scared?” she asked.

  “It could be a reflex. Like fight or flight,” I replied with a shrug. “Why not try thinking of something you’re afraid of and see if that triggers the same response.”

  Layla nodded enthusiastically and closed her eyes to concentrate. Instantly she disappeared.

  “Wow,” I said, unable to keep the awe from my voice. “That’s impressive. It was quick too. If I didn’t know you were there, I’d say you’d completely left the room between one blink and the next.”

  She reappeared. “Yes well, the image is fresh in my mind,” she said, her mouth twisting down.

  “Can I ask what you were thinking about? The darkness?”

  “No, though that might work just as well. I was thinking of the guardian from last night. The spider.”

  My nose wrinkled in distaste, remembering its giant hairy body and too many legs. “Yeah, I can see how that would work.”

  “Let’s hope I can get the hang of going invisible without the mental image helping soon.”

  I chuckled. “I’m sure you will. Do you want to go find the others now? You can travel behind me and we’ll see how long you can hold your invisible form. It might come in handy when we prepare to fight the darkness in a few days.”

  “Um, when now? You know where the darkness is?”

  Quickly I explained about Hannah finding me in my dream, the others she mentioned, and where the darkness had been for the night.

  Layla perked up, her fox ears forward facing the whole time while she listened with rapt attention. I thought of them as a second set of eyebrows, able to convey Layla’s emotions on a subconscious level. Honestly, they were so beautiful and intriguing, I got distracted from my own story and reached out to touch them.

  “Dexter,” Layla said, her face flushing a bright scarlet. “As much as I’d love round three, I think we should go tell the others what you’ve learned and head out as soon as possible.”

  A guilty smile crept over my face. “Sorry. You’re right. They’re just so soft. It’s impossible not to touch them. I imagine the girls will want to play with them too.”

  Her face grew a deeper red as if she were thinking all sorts of naughty thoughts now. “Well, they’ll just have to hold off until we get Hannah.” She frowned and all playfulness left her voice. “I am the cause of all this and I can’t stand the thought of her trapped somewhere alone in the dark. There will be plenty of time for fun after Hannah rejoins us.”

  I nodded, feeling bad for not remembering the important thing here, which was getting Hannah back. “You’re right, Number Two. I didn’t mean to sound insensitive. Let’s get dressed and go find Yua. Maybe she’ll know the safest path down the other side of the mountain.”

  Thirty-Three

  The girls and Yua were sitting in the main room of the shrine eating breakfast on a couch with what looked like handmade blue cushions. Layla was invisible, and I was just waiting for her to make her move.

  Megan and Piper were wearing their buckskin clothing, which Yua had washed and returned to them. Salem sat in Megan’s lap, licking his paws after a bit of smoked fish.

  “How come Salem gets meat?” I asked, putting on a mock air of jealousy and dropping down in the empty seat next to Piper’s tall athletic frame.

  Yua looked up from her pale colored tea. The staff she had last night was sitting beside her, and I noticed a couple new blood marks on it. “Salem is a carnivorous beast. You’re not.”

  “He’s a man, sugar. Of course he is a beast.” Piper’s voice dipped to a grumble, but she put her arm around my back in a friendly greeting. I noted she smelled like flowers and wondered what kind of lotion she’d used this morning. Whatever it was, I liked it.

  What I didn’t like was how pale she looked. She was a healer, so I doubted the symptoms would be amiss by her. Whatever it was, she was probably handling it. Still, I would pull her aside later and ask what was up.

  Piper’s jab earned a good-natured chuckle from all of us. I picked up a piece of flatbread with peach and honey on top and ate the entire thing in one go. It was too sweet for my taste, but I wouldn’t complain about food I didn’t have to prepare myself.

  “This is nice furniture,” I commented after swallowing. “Did you make them, Yua?”

  “Yes, I was tired of looking at traditional Japanese things and decided to take a page from the westerners’ book.”

  “You’re very talented.” I smiled.

  “Thanks.”

  Megan glanced between Yua and me, and a small knowing smile formed on her lips. Then she ran her fingers through Salem’s black fur. “Dex, the bags are all packed, but it’s snowing out there beyond the magic of the shrine, so you’ll want to put on your guardian cape before we leave.” She pointed to the bags beside her end of the couch. “Yua cleaned everything. She also gave us some supplies, a new cooking pot, some blankets she’s made from wolf furs over the years, a handmade bow and lots of arrows that
I think Hannah would adore. And a spear for Pipes.” She took a breath. “She offered me a weapon too, but I declined. I’ve grown used to the sling and think it fits me well.”

  “It does,” I assured her.

  Yua spoke. “I have an idea about weapons for you and Layla as well.” She pointed toward the twin god statues. “Kain has a long sword hidden in his statue for you, White Guardian. I think you’re just the right size for it, and I suspect it will even grow with you, given time. Zavier’s statue has some Sai, as well.” When she saw my confused look, she added. “Two small blades. Super lightweight and extremely dangerous when used correctly.”

  I nodded. “I think that will be perfect. Thanks, Yua.”

  She dipped her head in a pleased bow. “Happy to be of service.”

  “Where is Layla?” Piper asked, picking up another piece of the flatbread. “She’s going to miss out on breakfast because I’m literally going to eat it all.”

  Quick as a flash, the flatbread was snatched out of Piper’s grasp and flowed away seemingly by itself. Then it disappeared in two bites. Megan shrieked and clutched Salem so tight he let out a yowl.

  At the same time Piper yelled, “I knew this place was fucking haunted!”

  Only Yua and I seemed unphased—even Salem’s fur raised at the sudden uproar.

  I glanced at Yua and she gave me a wink. She was quick to catch on. Or maybe because she’d been around magic for most of her three hundred years, nothing much surprised her anymore.

  The air around Layla shimmered, and she popped back into sight. Megan and Piper were stunned to silence, but Yua grinned. “Love the new look. I can adjust your clothes to accommodate your tail before you leave.”

  I was liking Yua more and more. I regretted having to go away so soon. Maybe once we had Hannah back in our group and found the other goddesses, we could come back for a visit.

  Opening my mouth to ask directions for the cave I saw in my dream with Hannah, I abruptly shut it again and inhaled deeply. “Do you guys smell that? Something’s burning.”

  Yua frowned. “I didn’t leave anything on the stove. I’m sure of it.”

  We all stood. A feeling of unease took over me. Something I’d felt before. All at once, I was sure the darkness was approaching. But not the one that had taken Hannah. Something that moved fast and was much larger.

  “The spider guardian,” I gasped. “Zavier must have got to it and corrupted it, after all. It’s coming. Everyone out of the shrine.”

  Yua stood and put her hands on her hips, which looked odd given how demure she’d been only a few minutes ago. “This is my home. I won’t leave it,” she snapped.

  Black smoke began to plume into the room from several different doors that suddenly appeared. It seemed the magic of this place was being eroded by the fire. “You have to. This whole place is going up in flames,” I yelled, grabbing a couple of cloth napkins and handing them to the girls. “Maybe we can find buckets to put the fire out after Zavier’s guardian is taken care of, but for now, keep these tight over your nose and mouth and get to safety,” I ordered.

  Megan and Piper scrambled to gather our things and then strong armed Yua together, physically dragging her kicking and screaming her toward the exit.

  Layla stayed and shot me a look when I told her to go with the others. “This is my guardian. The responsibility is not yours alone to defeat it.”

  My shoulders slumped. I knew there would be no arguing with her. She’s a goddess now, anyway. I told myself. She can handle herself.

  After a few moments, the corrupted spider guardian forced his way through one of the doors. His whole body was engulfed in flames and dark mist. This had been the spider’s back up plan? Burn the entire place down? What a terrible way to die.

  And also a terrible idea. Not only was it complete overkill, it also wasn’t working. The darkness had taken over its body, anyway.

  The corpse of the arachnid was moving despite being mostly charred. I think the darkness was the only thing that was holding it together. The mists swirled around its body, keeping the zombie spider moving in an odd way, a way that was even more terrifying than when it had been alive.

  The flames came with the arachnid, catching every item they touched—the scroll-lined walls, the wooden floors, and even the statues of Kain and Zavier were subjected to the heat.

  Like with the ruins, even though my lungs felt the burn of the smoke, I was still able to survive. Layla too it seemed, though she was coughing and squinting her eyes. Her ears were pinned back flat to her head. Anger? Fear maybe? It would take time to learn to read her emotions properly.

  “You don’t have to do this, Number Two,” I said, crossing over to the statue of Kain, smashing it, and pulling out his sword from right where Yua had said it would be. I was pleased to note it felt strong and balanced, fitting just right in my hand.

  “I need to!” Layla replied as she moved to do the same to Zavier’s statue. She pulled out the Sai, which were slightly bigger than daggers and had rubies encrusted in the golden handles. These beautiful weapons belonged to Zavier?

  For a heartbeat, I imagined the darkness would seep out of them and consume Layla, but it seemed not everything Zavier owned had to be cursed, because nothing bad happened to her.

  A soft, scared mewl came from under the couch we’d been sitting on. “Shit.”

  “What’s wrong?” Layla asked, giving her Sai a couple of practice swings.

  Across the room, the guardian couldn’t see, being charred as it was, but somehow the darkness was able to sense us. It focused on Layla and scurried toward her. She ducked out of the way and managed to slash one of its legs, leaving it still attached but crippled and unusable.

  “Salem’s still here,” I said, responding to Layla’s question.

  “Damn it,” she swore, and rubbed her eyes as the smoke grew thicker, even as the fire lit up the room like a Las Vegas billboard. “That cat is never where he should be.”

  Despite the situation, I chuckled. “Looks like things don’t change much from wildcat to house cat. I’ll grab him. Can you keep the guardian distracted?”

  “Yeah, looks like it’s homing in on my crystal. It hasn’t spared you so much as a glance.” Layla slashed again as the big furry body lunged toward her, this time with its pincers wide open. I was proud of how Layla was holding herself together. The zombie spider was the stuff of nightmares.

  “Maybe we can use that to our advantage.” I fell to my knees and shoved my hand under the couch. My wrist wouldn’t fit very well, and I ended up having to tip the furniture back altogether and snatch Salem before he had a chance to scamper away.

  “Oh no you don’t, cat,” I said, shoving him into one of the pockets of the robe Yua had given us yesterday. “You don’t want to end up extra crispy like our friend here.”

  “Dexter!” Layla shrieked, before she darted in and took out one of the beast’s back legs. “Have some respect for the thing that wanted to eat us. You know what? Never mind.”

  I touched my crystal and pulled its power into me. Feeling suddenly giddy, I smiled before darting into the battle myself.

  The new goddess had just crippled the fourth leg, and the dark beast was wobbling unsteadily. Her dark hair whipped back, and I saw that her smile was vicious and sure.

  She was made for those Sai. She may not have known how to wield them properly yet, but she did a damn fine job of stabbing true with the pointy ends. I had to admit she’d come a long way in her self-confidence since we first crash landed on this island.

  One more leg, and Layla had it completely immobile. It teetered to the ground and landed with a thick thud.

  “I’ll take it from here,” I said, knowing my job of cleansing the dark energy away would require a lot of crystal power. The thing was massive, and even just taking the buck down by myself had been enough to put me to sleep for days.

  Something Hannah had said suddenly rang in my mind. The goddesses were supposed to be vessels for my po
wer. “Layla, come here. I want to try something.”

  She rushed over. “What is it, Dex? Need me to take it out?”

  I smiled when I noticed the hardened look in her eye. I had no doubt she’d do it if I asked. “No,” I said. “Take my hand. I am going to try and put some of my crystal’s energy into you. Then maybe we can dispel the dark energy faster.”

  The moment she touched my hand, I knew this was right. It felt right. White-blue light surged from my body into hers until she glowed from the tips of her sleek brown hair to the very toes of her shoeless feet.

  After a moment, I drew on the crystal for myself too, and stabbed my sword directly into the thorax of the guardian.

  Its remaining legs lashed out, looking for something to hold onto. This made Layla go slightly green, but she didn’t run away. Instead, she grasped the handle of my sword and together we pushed the energy through the giant tarantula and watched in amazement when a wave of power swept the darkness away in seconds.

  The remaining legs of the guardian curled into its body in that weird way spiders did, like even after death it was trying to protect itself.

  When the last of the darkness left, the corpse remained completely still, and then scattered into nothing but ash on the floor.

  How long had it been burning?

  “It worked!” Layla said, unable to contain her excitement. I felt the same way, and what was even better was I didn’t feel drained in the least.

  After a moment, Layla coughed heavily. “How’s Salem?”

  I felt in the pocket of my now-singed robe, and the ball of fur didn’t so much as stir under my touch. I pulled him out and gave him a once over. He was still breathing, but barely. The smoke was too much for his little lungs. “Not good. Let’s get him out of here.”

  “Right,” she replied, and went to drop the Sai.

  “No, keep them,” I said. “They look good on you, and I don’t think Yua will mind.”