The Guardian's Protector: The Chamber of Souls

by Debbie Kowalczyk

  ‘Whore!’ said the man to her right. ‘Allowing the Interference Squad to find you any mate…just so you could birth the scum! You volunteer to come here and challenge us? You deserve to die! When we take over the inner fields, you’ll be the first gifted soul we banish to the black fire!’ The man conjured up spit in his throat and she turned her head back to the side so it didn’t land in her face.

  She kept her head there and waited for the next lethal blow but instead, he released his stranglehold so the black mist, coming from their pendants, could enter her throat. She tried to speak; she wanted to call for Adaizi, but as if she’d inhaled sand, the mist suffocated her.

  As she focussed on the faint light at the top of the alley, it began to shimmer and grow in intensity. It then morphed into the shape of a man and, as he rushed towards them, the two men scurried into the doorway along with the rest of the spectators. After sliding down the wall, Amy pushed herself up and, with a quick glance to whoever the man of light was, ran.

  ‘Wait,’ he called after her, but she ran like an Olympic sprinter, through the derelict precinct, out onto the main road, all the way home.

  ‘I was worried sick!’ Jack snapped as Amy dashed through her door, locking it behind her. ‘Oh no,’ he said, taking sight of her. ‘What happened?

  ‘I…need…alcohol!’ She panted, rushing passed him, frantically opening her kitchen cupboards.

  ‘Mummy,’ Tom said, his bottom lip quivering.

  Amy stopped and stared at him for a moment, blood dripping from her nose and temple.

  ‘I’ll take him up!’ Jack said.

  ‘No!’ Amy said, snatching him from Jack and hugging him tightly. Tom pulled back and looked at her. Jack rushed to the sink to run a cloth under the cold tap.

  Tom looked at his hands then, as they glowed, placed them on her temple and nose. As the cold tingling sensation hit, she felt the blood dry up at once.

  As Jack turned with the cloth, he stopped, startled. ‘What on Earth is he doing?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Amy lied, taking his blood stained hands away. ‘Thanks for watching him, but I’m okay now.’ Amy took the wet cloth and wiped Tom’s hands first.

  ‘What happened?’ Jack asked again.

  ‘I fell,’ she said, not meeting his eye.

  ‘Get lost!’ he said, shaking his head.

  ‘I did!’

  Jack turned her head to check the bleeding and gave her a sad smile. ‘I know you, Amy. What are you hiding from me?’

  Amy blushed. She hated lying to her most trusted friend, but she knew what Adaizi would do. ‘Nothing!’

  He took a deep breath. ‘Keep that door locked and chained. I’ll change your locks tomorrow!’

  ‘Okay,’ Amy said with conviction. ‘Thanks for coming over.’

  As she closed the door behind him, she broke into floods of tears. Amy would remember this particular Christmas for the rest of her life. It was etched into her brain and her mind’s eye forever.

  CHAPTER 9

  THE LECTURE

  Amy woke with a shooting pain in her stomach, reminding her last night had been real. She turned to her bedside table and switched off the whirring sound of Adaizi’s CD, unable to believe it had lulled her to sleep.

  ‘Ouch, Mummy,’ Tom said as he opened his eyes.

  ‘What’s the matter, Tom?’ Amy asked, sitting to his attention, another pain ripping through her.

  ‘Ouch, Mummy!’ he said, opening and closing his hands to be taken from his cot. As she stood, the pain dug in harder. She groaned in agony as she lifted his weight over the bars.

  ‘Oh dear, Mummy needs to lie back down,’ she said, placing him by her side.

  ‘Tom do Mummy’s ouch,’ he said, lifting her pyjama top and placing a freezing cold hand on the huge, painful bruise she’d acquired. As Amy felt the soothing sensation, she grabbed his palm, which tingled in hers, and turned it to see the sparkling, white light running under the surface. She studied his concentrated expression then looked down at her stomach.

  Her huge, purple bruise had a tiny white handprint inside it. She pulled at her skin to look at it properly, mesmerised. Tom stared into her eyes and waited. Never once taking her stunned eyes off him, she slowly laid back down and released his hand.

  Placing the icy palm back on her stomach, Tom swirled his hand over the bruised area like a professional masseur. Every so often, he lifted his sparkling eyes to hers, his expression clear; he wanted her to feel better. She took another look at the bruise, which faded before her eyes.

  Pain gave way to a soothing sensation and her tense muscles relaxed. She wanted to close her eyes to savour the overwhelming relief, but she was captivated by his wondrous gaze. After only a minute, all her pain vanished.

  He took his hands away and, losing the concentrated expression, clapped his hands like a giddy toddler. The light glowed immensely and, after dancing under his skin, sank back under the surface, just like the glitter inside his eyes.

  Taking another look and seeing nothing left of her bruise, she stared inquisitively at him for a moment, not sure how to react. The fact that he knew of his healing powers frightened her but, with Tom smiling at her like he was proud of himself, all she could do was smile back. She suddenly felt more protective towards him. The thought that others may react to him with consternation tugged on her heart.

  ‘Tom clever?’ he asked, as if wondering why she hadn’t said anything to this new achievement.

  ‘Yes, Tom’s very clever,’ she answered, wiping a tear from her eye.

  After breakfast, Amy heard a knock at the door and her heart took a dive. She crept cautiously into the hallway, trying not to be seen through the window, and peeped through the spy hole. Her heart dropped again; Adaizi stood with a pleasant look on her face.

  Amy stared for a moment, not knowing what to do. Adaizi’s eyes gave a quick, knowing glance to the peephole and Amy felt her heart pick up pace. Feeling ridiculous for hiding behind it, Amy opened the door.

  ‘May I come in, beautiful?’ Adaizi raised one eyebrow and smiled. She did, however, have an apologetic look in her eye, showing Amy she remained aware of her promise to keep away.

  Amy didn’t know what to say. She stood, wondering how to refuse without hurting her feelings and without making herself feel guilty. The next moment, Tom brushed in front of Amy’s legs and, before she could react, he’d pulled the door wide and screamed with more enthusiasm and excitement than any of his presents had caused him. He made to run out towards her, but Amy held him back in panic, like Adaizi would harm him.

  Tom looked at Amy, his face screwed up in confusion. ‘Tom’s friend!’ he said matter-of-factly. Adaizi remained where she was, trying to hold back a grin. Amy looked from Tom to Adaizi and back to Tom, sighed, rolled her eyes, and opened the door fully.

  ‘Thank you so much,’ Adaizi said cheerily as she crossed the threshold.

  Tom threw his arms around Adaizi’s legs and smiled up at her. Adaizi took his dimpled cheeks in her hands, smiled at him with much care, then bent and kissed his forehead. As Tom took her hand and led her into the living room, Amy, tight lipped, followed.

  Adaizi turned, looked at Amy through half-moon glasses and asked, ‘May I sit, my beautiful gal?’ Her warm, sparkling eyes, hard for Amy to meet, pierced into Amy’s soul.

  ‘Please.’ Amy gestured to the sofa begrudgingly. Adaizi smiled almost giddily, making it frustratingly hard not to like the woman. ‘Can I offer you a drink?’ Amy added, her shoulders relaxing a little.

  ‘That would be lovely and ever so kind of you. I’ll have a black coffee with no sugar ‘cause I’m sweet enough,’ she said with a wink. ‘Thank you.’

  As Amy studied her for a moment, trying to figure out if she could trust her, a new realisation kicked in: She had seen her before the birth; she knew she recognised her! This woman, she now realised, had been following her all of her life! This woman had saved her life!

  ‘It was you!’ Amy said. Adaizi’
s eyebrows raised, inviting her to continue. ‘It was you who saved me from being run over. You grabbed me and placed me on the curb and said…’

  ‘“You need to take good care of yourself!”’ Adaizi finished. ‘Yeah, it was me. Funnily enough, that’s the same sentence I came to repeat to you today.’ Her head tilted, a wise you-know-what-I’m-talking-about look in her eyes.

  Amy stared in wonder. She’d never forgotten the day she was saved by a mysterious woman. She’d talked about it for years after the event. Everyone thought she’d exaggerated the truth when she’d said that the woman had come out of nowhere then vanished again.

  ‘People thought I was lying, you know.’

  ‘And you’d never told a lie in your life. I know, beautiful, I know.’ The calm, cool and confident manner almost burst out of Adaizi’s skin. She knew Amy, really knew her. It made her feel simultaneously at ease and uneasy.

  In an attempt to escape the lecture she was about to receive, Amy turned towards the kitchen. Before she left the room, she glanced back at Tom.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ Adaizi said, ‘I won’t run away with him.’ It was way too early for jokes, but Amy allowed her a smile.

  Trusting Adaizi, Amy left the room. No matter how unnerving it was to have Adaizi around, Amy knew she would only push as far as Amy would allow. Making the brews, she could hear Tom yapping away to Adaizi about his Christmas presents.

  ‘This wonderful boy did well, I see,’ Adaizi said as Amy placed the cups on the coffee table. Tom had placed seven different toys on Adaizi’s knee.

  ‘Yes,’ Amy said. ‘And thank you for the CD. I don’t think we’d have slept without it.’

  Adaizi smiled. ‘May I take a look at your head?’ she asked, her tone now business-like.

  ‘How did you…? It’s fine. Tom sorted it,’ Amy said, feeling where it had bled. ‘There’s no scab or anything. He healed my bruise this morning too.’

  ‘Oh,’ Adaizi said, looking at Tom with surprise. ‘Then may I take a look at Tom?’

  ‘Err…’ Amy said, not sure what the procedure entailed. At that point Tom stood tall in front of Adaizi as if he knew what she wanted. She turned him, checking his neck and wrists and then took his head in her hands. He closed his eyes and smiled as if savouring her touch.

  ‘He seems fine,’ Adaizi said with a look of wonder.

  ‘Shouldn’t he be?’ Amy asked.

  ‘Oh yeah.’ She reached for her coffee. ‘Guardians can’t use powers before age seven, but he is the Bright One and, if what Rose tells me is true, he has a lot more power than we first expected.’ She looked Amy square in the face, her eyes trying to hold back hunger. ‘May I see this amulet of yours?’

  Amy pulled it out from under her nightclothes and held it towards her. Adaizi placed her coffee down and held her palm underneath it. Even though Adaizi’s eyes showed much excitement, she remained calm. She looked down at Tom respectfully but she also seemed dejected, like she wished she could have an adult conversation with him or at least tell him he was brilliant.

  As if he knew, he smiled up at her and said, ‘Tom’s clever.’

  ‘He sure is,’ she said, stroking his cheek. He snuggled close to her and rested his head on her bosom. Adaizi then turned her attention back to a gob-smacked Amy. ‘I’m here to try and get you to see the importance of invoking the light.’

  ‘No,’ Amy said flatly.

  ‘You need to protect…’

  ‘I can protect Tom with this. It put a shield up when Luke came near us,’ she said, holding up the amulet. ‘Tom can protect himself anyway. So I don’t need the power of light.’

  ‘You need to protect yourself.’

  ‘I’m not bothered about myself. It’s Tom I’m protecting.’

  ‘You need to be able to protect him when the time comes…’

  ‘The time won’t come because I’m going to find a way out of this!’

  ‘Amy,’ Adaizi said, her eyes full of sympathy, ‘you have to accept…’

  ‘I’ll never accept it. I will never teach him to fight. And I will never fight!’ As Amy’s anger and frustration took hold of her, Tom left Adaizi’s embrace, climbed onto Amy’s knee and placed his hands over her eyes. As Amy felt a sudden calmness wash over her, she removed Tom’s lit hands. Amy took a breath. ‘I want him to have a normal life. Go to school. Make friends. Get a good job. Fall in love and get married.’

  ‘Amy, Guardians don’t come here for any of that. They come here for a specific purpose and, even when that’s been fulfilled, they’ll then help other Guardians with their missions.’

  ‘He’s too pure and gentle. There’s no way I’ll teach him to be vicious.’

  ‘Guardians fight with love, not hate.’

  ‘It’s still against hate. I don’t want him exposed to that.’

  ‘The degree in which you resist shows the strength inside your character, but it leaves us with a dilemma. Your lower self is clinging to what you know and understand, but you need to trust me. Once you open a channel, you can visit your higher self—’

  ‘How do you expect me to come to terms with what you’re telling me he has to face? It’s bad enough when I have to watch his little face when people treat him with contempt! Even if it’s just a look of disdain, he feels it. I can’t even handle that!’

  ‘Great souls of this world have always been revered or hated. It’s humanity’s way of dealing with the higher players. Great souls either inspire others to become more or they remind them they’re not the same. The souls that count—those on higher levels themselves—will treat him with love.’

  ‘I think there’s more lower players about!’

  Adaizi rubbed Amy’s knee lovingly. ‘You have enough love inside you for all those who can’t. You had that power in you before you were even born. You, Nevaeh, loved him then!’

  ‘Nevaeh?’ The name made Amy feel strange—like it should mean something. Then, as a vague remembrance to the dream she had come flooding back, a flash of the euphoria she felt in her vivid dream also came back.

  ‘Please, Amy, you must invoke the light…’

  ‘No, I don’t want to. Tom’s safe with me. I’m going to protect him and make sure he has a normal life. He’s going to school!’ Amy said defiantly.

  Adaizi’s eyebrows furrowed. ‘He can’t have a normal life because he isn’t normal and people won’t treat him like he’s normal. He’ll stand out too much in school.’

  ‘No he won’t…’

  ‘Ethan will end up at the same school as Tom. Even when Ethan’s not trying to kill him, he’ll be hurt by the way others treat him. Teachers won’t know how to handle him. I was called a liar so many times at school I had to lie in order to be believed! That’s hard for a Guardian.’

  Amy took a deep breath. ‘No one will treat my son badly! I’ll make sure of it! I’ll fight anyone who says a bad word against him!’

  ‘You’re fighting the wrong people! Ordinary people will act in an ordinary way to something so extraordinary. That’s normal.’

  Amy’s lips tightened, her frustration returning. ‘The simple fact is that you have to send kids to school. It’s the law,’ Amy said, feeling she couldn’t argue with that.

  ‘We have a qualified teacher in The Order. If you tell the authorities he’s being privately educated then it’s fine. People have private tutors all the time.’

  ‘Not people like me,’ Amy stated.

  ‘This teacher even has their own classroom set up in their home. Tom will feel like he’s at a real school.’

  ‘Minus the other kids, of course. Is he not entitled to any friends?’

  ‘All humans are entitled to friends, but it will be hard for Tom to make them with him being so different.’

  ‘He has a friend called Molly now! He always comes out of the ball pit when she comes in. They sit and pretend to read books in the corner. Then she serves him tea from the tea set. Every week he lets her order him around and she loves him!’

  ‘I know
,’ she said, her eyes full of sadness. ‘But Tom will eventually prefer the company of adults.’

  ‘I know you think you know what’s best for him, but I’m his mother and…well…who said you could interfere in my life like this?’

  ‘You did, beautiful,’ she said, stroking Amy’s knee. ‘You did.’ Amy was flabbergasted. How could she argue with what she couldn’t remember? She couldn’t believe she would’ve agreed to this.

  ‘I’m going to find a way out for him!’

  ‘Amy…’

  ‘I am. I mean, why can’t we just tell Kate her son’s evil? Tell her what he wants to do, then she can stop him herself. She could kill him now.’

  ‘Would you kill a child?’

  ‘He’s not a child!’

  ‘I see you can see that!’ Adaizi smiled. Her all-knowing expression irritated Amy. ‘It’s harder to see things when they’re so close, though, hey?’ She stroked Amy’s knee again, hoping she hadn’t offended her.

  Amy took a deep breath to calm herself. ‘I’d still want to know.’

  ‘There’s no way Kate would hear it, even if we told her. The Dark Army already has control of her. When Ethan jumped into the embryo she’d created, he infected her instantly.’

  ‘Why can’t this Omnipion stop evil souls from being born?’

  ‘Don’t you think we’ve tried to help mothers from gaining a level twelve player?’

  ‘How?’

  ‘The Governance of Disproportion team, who worked with the Growth of Development team to implement detectors inside a woman’s womb so they were able to recognise birth defects and abnormalities, created a detector to recognise dark souls upon entering.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘And it worked well at first. As soon as an embryo was taken by a lower level player, the womb discharged of it but, after Ethan gained the last few powers, he was able to provide a way in for them. They take a small piece of his power into the womb so the womb is confused into seeing the soul as perfectly good.’

  ‘Can’t you take your power and put it into Kate? Make her normal. We could tell her then.’