by Holly Martin
‘Nevertheless the prophecies of the end of the world were of me saving it, have you seen differently Sebastian, do you see Adam saving it now?’
Sebastian shifted awkwardly. ‘Adam will be a great leader. He is strong with great power.’
I noticed that he had not answered my question and so had my Guardians, they were muttering quietly between themselves.
‘I feel we can learn a lot from each other Adam, I know I will save the world, and if you want to, you can help me, maybe we can join forces and save the world together.’
Adam’s eyes bulged, and his hands shook with a furious anger.
Ok, maybe not.
Sebastian laughed. ‘Adam doesn’t need your help.’ He deliberately turned around what I had just said, making it sound like I wanted to help Adam, rather than Adam helping me. ‘He is far stronger than you are.’
A tiny childish part of me wanted to challenge him to a fight now, and then we would see who was still standing at the end. I saw Lucas suppress a smirk as he looked down at the ground.
‘Adam has been The Sentinel for just one day and already he has made a difference. His new castle is being built amongst the villages at the bottom of the mountain. He wants to make a stand against the Putarians that are causing terror to the villagers.’
‘What?’ I asked.
‘So many Donum and Zeki have been slaughtered down there, many have been publicly executed. The Putarians are systematically killing every Donum and Zeki that lives down there, and anyone that has links with this place. Many have fled from the villages, but many more were rounded up and killed. We hoped you would do something about it actually, but you were too wrapped up in your own world to care. The arrogant queen in her ivory castle, not caring about anyone but herself.’
Quinn snarled next to me. Seth stepped forward, but I held him back.
He was trying to discredit me in front of my Guardians.
I turned back to Eli. ‘Is this true?’
‘I… I don’t know Eve.’
But as I turned back, I saw him exchange glances with Lucas. They knew something.
I turned back to Sebastian. ‘I had no idea this was happening. If I had known I would have done something.’ What if this was true? How many had died? I felt sick. I was sitting up here, so close to where they all lived, I could have done something to stop it, I could have helped.
‘That’s a lie and you know it,’ Sebastian said. ‘I came to you and told you what was happening, weeks ago, you said you were too busy dealing with your own problems to go and help anyone else.’
My Guardians muttered angrily.
‘Sebastian what are you doing?’ Eli hissed, angrily. ‘You know this isn’t true, Eve had no idea what was happening in the villages, how could she?’
Sebastian shook his head. ‘Well, since Adam has made his presence known in the villages, the killings have stopped. He has made it very clear that any more murders will be dealt with most harshly.’
I felt my fists clenched at my sides, trying to ignore the furious anger coursing through my veins. Raising Adam as a hero and making me into an arrogant cold ‘queen’ was very clever. Not only was he turning my Guardians against me, but also the villagers too.
‘Enough of this,’ Adam said, speaking at last. ‘I didn’t come here to boast. I want to know I have your support. I want to know I can be Sentinel without having to look over my shoulder for a knife from my jealous sister.’
‘I mean you no harm Adam,’ I said. Though I couldn’t say the same for Sebastian after his little speech of lies.
‘I want you to pledge to me. You say you want to work together, I want you to get down on your knees and pledge that you will do as I say.’
‘I do want to work peacefully together, but I will not pledge to do your bidding, not when I don’t know whether your bidding will be for good.’
‘So your answer is no then,’ he growled.
‘It’s a no.’
Adam’s hand clenched at his side and then it glowed red. The anger that had coursed through me over the last few minutes filled me and ignited my powers. I felt my hand glow hot. But I wouldn’t be the first to strike. I would only do so if I had to. I still felt I needed him. Before the end came, I knew he would be at my side.
Sebastian stared at Adam’s hand in horror. ‘Adam, what are you doing,’ he hissed, his voice barely a whisper. ‘We never agreed to this. You can’t kill her.’
Adam’s hand filled with flames and impossibly Sebastian moved to stand in between us.
‘Adam, no, I can’t let you do this,’ he said.
My Guardians shuffled tighter round me and the Guardians on the floor all moved, all tensed, poised ready to fight.
I flexed my shield, everyone I had shielded was still protected.
Suddenly Quinn stepped forward from my side.
‘Adam,’ he paused, then with his jaw clenched angrily, he bowed his head. ‘Do you know who I am?’
Adam’s attention waivered for a second as his eyes snapped from mine to Quinn’s. He stared at his brother, the brother he had never met. The resemblance between them was startling, for Adam it would have been like looking at an older version of himself.
Adam’s eyes flicked back to me and then back to Quinn again.
The fire in Adam’s hand winked out.
‘I’m Quinn, your brother.’
Adam’s eyes widened. He had never been told either. To the Oraculum, Quinn was just a mere shape shifter, someone of no consequence. To me he was so important, my brother, my only family. I loved him so much, and though he was shielded, I suddenly felt scared for him.
‘My brother?’ Adam said, quietly. He was clearly confused, but there was no denying Quinn was telling the truth.
Sebastian turned and looked at Quinn, with distaste. ‘Yes Adam, this is, technically, your brother, you share the same parents. He is… a shape shifter.’
There was a silence then.
I looked between them, staring at each other and I stepped forward and caught Quinn’s hand. He didn’t even notice.
The silence stretched on, uncomfortably and I looked back at Seth and Eli in confusion. Seth shrugged fractionally.
‘Quinn,’ Adam finally broke the silence. ‘I am the Sentinel now, I am stronger than she is. I see this in your head, in your heart, you know the power I hold. Will you come with me?’
I let out an involuntary laugh, Quinn was loyal I knew this.
Quinn squeezed my hand for a split second then snatched it away from mine as he stepped forward.
‘Yes, I will.’
My heart crashed into my stomach.
He was leaving me? He had been with me ever since I was born and now he was leaving me because I was no longer the Sentinel. Betrayal twisted in my heart. I felt sick. I felt that I had been punched in the stomach.
Even the Guardians standing on the floor looked stunned.
‘Quinn?’ I said, my voice betraying my emotions.
My brother, refusing to look at me, stepped closer to Adam.
‘What the hell are you doing?’ hissed Eli.
Quinn turned back and looked at Eli. ‘What I’ve always done, what I will always do.’
Adam laughed. ‘Shape shifters always look after themselves, eh Quinn?’
Quinn nodded as he walked slowly towards Adam’s side, playing nervously with his lion necklace.
‘Well,’ grinned Adam. ‘I think we will go. I guess we will meet again at some point Eve, so if I were you, I’d watch your back,’ he winked at me, a cruel smile playing on his lips.
Adam put his hand on Quinn’s shoulder.
I ran forward, feeling pathetic and desperate. ‘Quinn, wait, you can’t leave, you’re pledged to me. You pledged to stay with me.’
Quinn shook his head. ‘No, I didn’t, I never pledged that.’
‘Quinn please… I love you.’
His face darkened.
Adam laughed. ‘Brilliant.’
Adam tighten
ed his grip on Quinn’s shoulder and they vanished, as did Sebastian and all of Adam’s Guardians. It was as if they were never there in the first place. The room was silent.
I stared at the space where Quinn had been in horror. My brother had left me.
Chapter 5
I turned back to Seth, hoping that he would say anything to make this ok, to make it better, but he looked as stunned as I felt.
I let my shields wink out. I was horribly aware of all the stares of my Guardians. I stood numb unable to comprehend what was going on around me until I could hear the voices of my Guardians getting louder and louder. I looked up in confusion.
‘Seth, get her out of here,’ Eli growled.
And I was pulled so firmly from the throne room that I nearly fell over. Persia, Alexandria, Isaac and Lucas followed me out.
The shouts of the Guardians followed me, until the great doors closed behind me then it was just a muffled noise.
‘What happened, my Guardians, what are they shouting about?’
‘You didn’t hear?’ Seth said, looking towards the door uneasily.
I shook my head. ‘I was thinking about Quinn, I wasn’t paying attention.’
‘A few of them…’ Seth started.
‘More than a few Seth,’ Lucas muttered.
Seth sighed. ‘Some of them are wondering what’s the point of being your Guardian if you are not actually The Sentinel. Some of them have felt this way for a while, that if the Oraculum are turning their back on you, then maybe they should too.’
‘Oh,’ I said quietly.
‘Some are angry that they have wasted so many years protecting you for nothing,’ Lucas said.
‘Oh,’ I said, again, tears smarting my eyes.
‘Traitors,’ Alexandria snarled.
I raised my chin, defiantly. ‘Well then they should just go, if they feel that way, they can leave.’
‘They are pledged to you Eve, they can’t do that,’ Lucas explained.
‘Well, it’s not much of a pledge if they are feeling this way,’ I muttered. ‘They had a choice didn’t they, they weren’t forced to pledge, they chose to?’ I asked.
Lucas nodded.
‘But now they are trapped by it, if they want to leave they can’t?’
Lucas nodded again.
I shook my head. ‘I don’t want to keep anyone against their will. There has to be something we can do, like Mason, he just left when he was ordered to kill me, why can’t they leave?’
‘Mason’s desire to keep you safe was stronger than anything else. I don’t think their desire to leave is that strong, that fierce,’ Alexandria said.
‘Can’t we break the pledge?’ I asked.
‘No,’ Lucas said, way too quickly.
Persia looked at Lucas and shifted awkwardly. ‘Yes, we can.’
Lucas glared at her.
‘Lucas, she has the right to choose,’ Persia insisted.
Lucas shook his head angrily. ‘Eve we need them to fight for you.’
‘Lucas, I need them to be loyal to me. If they are kept here protecting me against their will, they will soon grow to resent me, and that resentment will turn to hate. How effectively do you think they will fight for me if they hate me?’
Lucas sighed.
I turned to Persia. ‘Can you do it?
Persia nodded.
I turned to Seth.
‘I think you’re right Eve, I have a hard enough time protecting you from the Putarians, Reapers and the Oraculum’s Guardians, I don’t want to be checking over your shoulder for an attack from one of your own,’ Seth said.
‘That wouldn’t happen Seth, and you know that, they can’t hurt her if they are pledged to her,’ Lucas argued.
‘Mason left Lucas, he was ordered to kill her and he left, how strong do you think these pledges actually are?’ Seth said.
‘Eve’s right, get rid of the stinking traitors,’ Isaac said.
‘Isaac! Some of these Guardians have given nearly twenty years of their life to protect me, that’s more than enough, if they want to go, they can go, no hard feelings.’
‘Maybe not from you,’ Seth muttered.
‘Persia, can you do this now?’ I asked.
Persia nodded. ‘It’s really quite easy, I can lift the pledge on all of them at once.’
‘Now?’ Lucas protested. ‘We don’t know if Leon was telling the truth about the Oraculum not wanting to hurt you, let’s not rush into anything hasty Eve, we’ve just got the Guardians back.’
I shook my head. ‘No, let them go.’
Eli suddenly appeared out of the air. ‘Eve please don’t do this, we need them. We can’t protect you alone.’
I smiled weakly. ‘Eli, you do a fine job of protecting me. I have the best Guardians in this room with me now.’ I paused. ‘I’ll be releasing you from your pledge too, all of my personal guard, whoever wants to go, can go.’
Eli’s eyes widened. ‘You will not.’
‘Eli, I don’t need a pledge from you, if you are loyal to me then you’ll stay with me regardless, if not then… well me and Seth will be fine, we’ll find a tiny island somewhere and wait for the end of the world to come, where I’ll step out from our little hut and do my best to save it.’
I caught Seth’s eye, a tiny ember of panic starting to spread in my gut, Seth would stay wouldn’t he?
Seth smiled at me, and waggled his wedding ring. ‘To the very end, my love, till death do us part, remember?’
‘I’m not leaving you Eve, regardless of the pledge,’ Eli said. ‘Unless of course you want me to go?’
‘No I don’t Eli, not at all. I have a feeling you will all stay until the end as well, but at least this way, you have a choice.’
‘And Noah, Jacob and Philip,’ Lucas said. ‘I imagine they’ll stay with you as well.’
‘Let’s do this then,’ I said.
I walked back towards the door and Eli, Lucas and Seth followed me.
I pushed the doors open and everyone inside grew silent, some of them stared at me in confusion, some in anger.
I made for the raised platform again, my heart racing at the prospect of addressing my audience.
I climbed up the steps and turned to face them, my mouth feeling dry.
‘I… I appreciate your concerns over this announcement, but you should know this changes nothing for me…’
Angry mutterings broke out in the room again.
‘Let her speak,’ Eli roared, and silence fell over the room again.
I was thrown by this. I had never heard Eli raise his voice. Clearly the Guardians disloyalty bothered him more than I had thought.
‘Erm… This changes nothing for me, I still intend to save the world. I might not be The Sentinel by name, but the prophecies were of me saving the world, not Adam. I was created for this purpose and I fully intend to live out my destiny.’ I paused, wondering how to proceed next. ‘I want to say how much I appreciate your loyalty over the years, I am alive now because some of you have fought for my life and I can never thank you enough for that. And those that died for me, your friends, brothers, sisters, I can never repay them for giving their lives for me. The only thing I can do is to keep fighting for the world. If I was to stop now, to fade away like the Oraculum want me to, then they would have died for nothing and that’s not something I can allow.’
There was more mumblings, but possibly less angry than before.
‘However, for some of you, I know that staying with me, now the Oraculum have denounced me, is not something you are comfortable with and for that reason I am going to break the pledge that binds you to me. For those wishing to go, either to Adam or to simply go back to your old lives you can do this. Those wishing to stay, I’ll be eternally grateful. But you have a choice now, I’m not going to make you stay with me against your will.’
More mutterings, but nothing coherent, nothing I could make out.
I turned to Persia. ‘How does this work?’
‘I will seve
r all bonds and pledges to you, even those that are not in this room, the pledge will be broken with them too. That means Quinn, Izri, some of your old teachers and any others Guardians that have pledged to you over the years, the pledge will be broken with them all.’
‘Will it happen instantly?
Persia nodded. I looked out on the sea of faces, some I knew very well, some I didn’t know at all. I could see the Guardlings too, I wondered how many of them would stay.
I stood silently on the stage, wondering what I could say to make them stay. But the time for speeches was over, they had already made up their mind.
I turned back to Persia and nodded.
Persia closed her eyes and seconds later I could feel a cold sensation drift over me, as if an ice cube had slid down my back.
Persia opened her eyes. ‘It’s done.’
I turned back to the Guardians. ‘You’re free to go if you wish.’
There was silence for a moment, then a few Guardians near the back turned and stormed out, followed by a few more. Soon there was a steady stream of people heading for the exit. Some stormed out angrily, some left awkwardly, embarrassed, some came and bowed to me before leaving.
I turned to talk to Eli, but every muscle in his body was exuding a furious anger, his fists clenched tightly at his side. As he watched the Guardians leaving, his eyes filled with a venomous hate.
I had never seen him like this. I eyed Lucas at his side, who was watching the Guardians leave sadly.
‘There’s so many of them leaving Lucas, have I done something wrong?’ I asked in his head.
Lucas shook his head. ‘I think some of them feel they have wasted a long time protecting you, and now they realise it was for nothing. They all believed you were the Sentinel, but with the Oraculum trying to kill you, then disowning you, well you’ve lost all credibility now. They’re not really angry at you though, more the situation.’
I turned back to the room, which was now almost entirely empty
A lump rose in my throat and my eyes smarted with suppressed tears.
I looked over to the Guardlings and smiled to see they were all still standing there. But then one of them turned and made for the door and to my immense disappointment Zach ran after him, quickly followed by Deacon.
