Avery followed Jade’s gaze out towards the landscape, she couldn’t believe none of them had told her that before. They must have thought she was a complete weakling while growing up.
“Anyway,” Jade continued, “Remember that day, I think we were about six or seven, and my mom was babysitting you and I, and we were out in front of my trailer, building a fort out of old car parts.” Jade smiled warmly at the memory, “You wanted to walk out into the desert behind the trailer park and look for the perfect stone to place upon our fort. I didn’t want to go, because I didn’t want to get yelled at by my mom, but I followed you out there, because…well, because that’s just what I do. We kept walking and walking, until the trailer park became nothing but a speck in the distance. Then, out of nowhere we came up on that big feral Akita dog, standing over the pack rat he had just killed, and he started growling and snarling at us. I jumped in between you and the dog and pushed you out of the way.”
“I remember that,” Avery said, replaying the memory in her mind, “you pushed me on the ground and I skinned my hands.”
Jade rolled her eyes, “You would remember that part. Anyway, the dog eventually picked up the rat and ran off with it, but that was the moment everything became clear to me. I didn’t put myself between you and danger because I was told to, or because I thought it was the right thing to do. It was instinctual, and I realized, that even at that age, you were the most important thing to me. You weren’t just my friend, you were my sister. When I think of my family, I think of you.”
Jade turned her face towards Avery, a small tear forming at the edge of one of her eyes. Avery gave her a little pouty smile, and fought back the tears from forming in her eyes as well.
“I love you, too.” Avery told her.
Jade laughed and wiped at the tear in her eye, “Of course,” She said, looking back out to the sunset, “about a week after that, I come over to your house and that crazy Akita dog is laying on your living room floor. You felt so bad for it. You begged and begged your dad, till he went out with you and set a trap in desert and caught that stupid dog.”
Avery laughed, “Yeah, Bear, he was my first dog. He was such a good boy.”
“I was so mad at you.” Jade said, “I had just put my life on the line, jumping in between you and this wild beast, and what do you do…you go out, trap the wild beast, and bring it home.” Jade smirked, “That dog loved you so much. After I got over my anger, I realized something else. I realized that you were the best person I knew, or ever would know. Both those realizations have lasted till this day. You’re still the best person I know, and you’re still the most important person in my life, and both those things will always be true. So, those are the reasons I follow you. Those are the reasons I’d die for you. Those are the reasons I don’t ever want to hear you tell me that your path is too dangerous for me. Your path is my path.”
Avery couldn’t help but understand. She felt the same way. There was nothing Jade could ever do or say that could cause Avery to abandon her, so how could she ask that of jade.
“Plus,” Jade added, “I get to kick ass and save lives, which, let’s face it, is a lot better than any prospects I had on Earth.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Avery said, trying to control the smile threatening to take over her face, “I think your path from juvenile delinquent to downright social menace seemed to be going well.”
“Be careful, Kimball,” Jade warned, standing up and grabbing onto Avery’s hand, to help her up, “we’re standing at the edge of a very high cliff, and you look like you just lost a fight with a tiger. Pushing you over would be more than easy.”
It was past dark when Avery and Jade finally rode back into the village. Avery was thankful for the darkness. She felt it would allow her to make her way home, without people noticing the monster claw marks on her neck and the trail of blood leading down from them. All of her hopes for an inconspicuous entrance were dashed, however, when Gumptin, the other girls, Pip, and Thomas came rushing out of the stables to meet them.
“We were about to send another search party out for the both of you.” Sasha told them, an expression of slight relief unfolding on her face. It was such a rarity for Sasha to show any sign of concern, Avery knew she must have been really worried.
“Avery,” Skylar gasped, “you look horrible!”
“Are you alright?” Bunny asked.
Pip ran up and grabbed onto Phantom’s reins and Avery hopped down.
“I’m fine, guys.” Avery told them, uncomfortable with the fuss being made over her.
“Are ya sure?” Pip asked, looking concerned, “If ya want, I could…”
“I’m fine.” Avery said, cutting off Pip. She felt slightly guilty when she saw the hurt in Pip’s eyes, as he lead Phantom back into the stables, but she had just wanted the subject dropped. Thinking about her injuries made her think about the fight, which made her think about what the Demon had said to her. Her talk with Jade had made her feel better, and she didn’t want to be brought back down with dark thoughts.
“So,” Gumptin inquired, walking up and inspecting her, “what did happen to you?”
Avery sighed, resigning herself to the fact that she was going to have to relive the fight, no matter how hard she tried to avoid it.
“Sasha encountered an ogre.” Gumptin told Avery.
From what Gumptin had taught them, all Avery really knew about ogres was that they were slightly bigger, more agile, and human looking version of a troll. There weren’t near as many ogres as there were trolls, and they were known for their glutton appetites, which, at times, consisted of feeding on human beings. Avery’s mouth fell open, and she looked towards Sasha. She couldn’t believe Sasha had encountered one on her own and still managed to look so calm and unharmed.
“Do not look so awed Avery.” Gumptin told her, giving Sasha a discouraging glance, “Sasha, although, claiming to have been thoroughly vigilant, failed to not only kill the beast, but also find out what it was up to.”
“Enough.” Sasha snapped at Gumptin, placing her hands firmly on her hips. She turned towards Avery and told her, “Alright, so the thing got away,” Sasha breathed out heavily, shaking her head, “but what Gumptin failed to mention, is that I did wound it. It knocked me off of my horse, I shot it through the knee with an arrow, and then it ran off.”
Gumptin let out a disgusted sigh, “And chasing after a limping ogre is such hard work!”
Before Sasha could retort, which she was more than getting ready to do, Gumptin said to Avery, “Anyway, Sasha encountered an ogre. Jade ran into a small party of dwarves.” Gumptin ignored Jade’s snicker when he said the word ‘small’ in reference to the dwarves, and continued, “What happened to you? What did that to your neck?”
Avery reached her hand up and let her four fingers slide down along the four claw marks, “A Demon with a really bad attitude.” Avery told Gumptin, letting her mind drift back to the fight she had been trying to forget.
“A Demon?!” Gumptin questioned, getting a little excited, “Avery, defeating a Demon is marvelous news! What kind of Demon was it?”
Avery didn’t really hear Gumptin’s question. Her mind was still back on the fight with the Demon, “An insanely bad attitude,” She continued, “and icky yellow skin, red eyes, sharp little teeth, and,” Avery pointed to the gashes on her neck, “claws…knife-like claws!”
A mixture of recognition and shock flashed in Gumptin’s eyes, “This is very important, Avery.” Gumptin said, making sure he got her attention, “What kind of Demon was he?” Gumptin looked anxious, waiting for Avery’s reply.
Since most of the information the Demon gave Avery was when he was choking her, Avery was a little fuzzy on the details, “I think he said he was a Serpent Demon or something like that.” Avery shrugged.
“Serpentine Demon?!” Gumptin shouted in excitement.
“Yep, that was is.” Avery replied, not near as excited.
“Oh, oh, that is so…” Gumptin could
n’t have been happier if he was a kid at Christmas, “did he say what clan he was from?”
“I think so.” Was all Avery could give him. She barely remembered the type of Demon; no way was she going to remember the clan.
Gumptin helped her out, “Was he from the Vipa, the Fanish, or the Drake Clan?”
“Oooh,” Avery said, getting excited herself at a familiar sounding name, “the last one, definitely the last one.”
“Great goodness!” Gumptin exclaimed, “You must have killed Sevil. The Emperor only has five Serpentine Demons in his service and only one of them is a member of the Drake Clan.”
“That’s him,” Avery said, remembering him telling her his name as he choked her, “he told me his name was Sevil.”
Gumptin shook his head in disbelief, “Avery, I do not think you fully grasp the enormity of what you have done.”
Avery just shook her head, she thought doing things like killing Demons was all in a day’s work for a Protector. Although it had been a big deal to her, she hadn’t thought Gumptin would find it so huge.
“Serpentine Demons are incredibly dangerous.” Gumptin beamed, “Avery, in your time as a Protector, you have never faced anything as remotely deadly as a Serpentine Demon…except the Emperor, of course. I cannot believe…I am utterly astonished that you defeated it.”
“Thanks for vote of confidence.” Avery said sarcastically.
“Ha, ha, ha,” Gumptin laughed and did a little circular dance, that just about knocked Jade over with mocking laughter, “the Emperor is going to want to eat rocks when he hears you beheaded one of his precious Serpentine’s!”
Avery thought back to the gruesome fight, replaying the entire thing in her mind. She got up to the point where the Demon had his vice-like fingers around her neck. In that moment, she had really thought she was going to die.
“You know,” Avery told Gumptin, “if it hadn’t been for this crazy white light that shot out of my hands, the Demon might have been the one rejoicing right now.”
Gumptin stopped his little dance, his back turned towards Avery. When he did turn around to look at her a few seconds later, complete shock was written all over his entire face.
Avery raised her eyebrows, as if to say, ‘what?’
“That is…that is your power, Avery.” Gumptin stuttered, “Remember, each of you were given a power by the Elementals. Jade has water, Bunny earth, Skylar wind, and Sasha fire. You, the leader, were given energy. The power lends to your strength and fighting abilities, but I never thought in my wildest dreams, you could ever learn to harness it.”
“I wouldn’t exactly use the term ‘harnessing it’.” Avery said, “It flowed through me, zapped the Demon off of me, and then it was gone. I had no control over it. I don’t even think I could do it again if I tried. It was like…sneezing.”
Gumptin cringed at Avery’s comparison of her power to that of sneezing.
“You used a power.” Skylar exclaimed, “That is so cool.”
Jade gave Skylar an exasperated look, “Despite it being so cool, it didn’t do anything to you, did it? I mean, you still feel…normal, right?”
Avery just knew that Jade would jump right into Mother Hen mode, which is why she hadn’t said anything to her before.
“I don’t feel any different.” She assured Jade, “It felt a little hot and tingly when it happened, but then it was gone.”
Skylar snorted, “Feeling hot and tingly is never a bad thing.”
Jade reached over and slapped Skylar across the shoulder, disapproving of her humorous tone on what Jade considered a serious matter.
“How much power did you produce?” Bunny asked, looking almost more curious than Gumptin, “What did it feel like?”
Avery looked questioningly at Bunny, wondering when she had become a female version of Gumptin, throwing rapid fire questions at her.
“I’m just curious.” Bunny said, “We all have powers; I was just wondering what I should expect when I get to use mine.”
“You may never get to use yours.” Gumptin told Bunny plainly, not bothering to spare her hopes, “You, as human beings, are more like vessels for your powers than wielders of them. It would take great oneness with yourself to be able to brandish your powers at your will. I am astonished Avery was able to use her powers so effectively, and as she is being very vague as to how she was able to use those powers…”
“Vague?!” Avery cut in, offended by the use of that word, “I’ve told you everything! I can’t tell you what I don’t know, and I don’t know how or why I was able to use my power.”
“Well, was there a trigger that caused the power to come?” Gumptin prodded, not letting the subject drop.
Avery thought back to the moment right before she felt the warm energy course through her, “He was choking me to death; I almost died.”
Gumptin waved his hands dismissively, “You almost died a hundred times before. You did actually die once! Why did it not work then?”
“You’re supposed to be the expert, Gumptin, not me.” Avery told him, getting sick of the conversation. She regretted even bringing the subject up, and she dreadfully feared Gumptin wanting to add on ‘power practice’ to their already grueling training schedule, Avery faked a yawn and told Gumptin, “I’ve got to go home and get some sleep, or else I’ll never make it to training on time tomorrow.”
“That statement would mean something if you had ever actually been on time to training.” Gumptin told her disparagingly, “Anyway, you do not need to worry about training tomorrow.”
The girls’ faces lit up.
“Seriously?!” Skylar asked, a huge smile on her face.
“Do not get excited, Skylar.” Gumptin said, “The four of you will still have training and patrol tomorrow. Avery, I need you to travel to Vowhollow tomorrow and speak with King Audwode and Queen Vaniana. They are the rulers of the Vowhollow Fairies, the highest rank of Woodland Fairies, and one of the only Fairy groups that we have any hope of receiving help from. Vowhollow lies on the southwestern border of Blackmore, which means sooner rather than later, the Emperor will try to conquer them. They know they have no other choice but to work with the humans. They just need a little reminding of that fact.”
“Why would they need reminding?” Avery asked.
“Oh, there was a small incident.” Gumptin said, glancing sideways towards Jade, “I shall tell you about it later.”
Jade and Avery shared a look, wondering exactly what the Wizard wasn’t telling them.
“Meet me at the stables tomorrow fifteen minutes before training starts.” Gumptin told Avery, “Then, I will give you an update of the plan and a map to get you to Vowhollow. It is about a day and a half ride, so make sure to bring your bedding with you.”
Avery groaned. She went from not needing to worry about training, to having to worry about getting up an extra fifteen minutes early, sleeping on a blanket in the forest, and dealing with mythical creatures that reminded her of children’s stories. All in all, Avery would have much rather had to put up with training.
“So, are these winged bugs expecting us, or is it an unannounced visit?” Jade asked Gumptin, refusing to use the word ‘fairies’ in a sentence.
Gumptin blinked up at Jade, “No, they are not expecting Avery. So, when Avery goes, she will have to take extra care to make sure her point gets across.”
Jade stared down at Gumptin, “Well, when Avery tries to get her point across, I will be standing next to her.”
“Absolutely not!” Gumptin passionately spit out, shaking his head, “Not you! You are not going!”
Jade was taken aback for a moment by Gumptin’s vehemence, but she recovered quickly, “You are not the leader, little man. You don’t give the orders or make the decisions, Avery does!”
If that was the argument that Jade wanted to take, then, from a leader’s perspective, Avery didn’t see why she shouldn’t go alone. After all, she was a Protector, and what could happen to her that would be more danger
ous than what she encountered today.
“I’m fine going by myself.” Avery said, leaving Gumptin with a look of relief, “Besides, Jade, you’re going to be needed for patrol.”
“Oh, shut up, Avery!” Jade hollered at her, then turned back to Gumptin and told him, “I’m going and that’s final.”
“You just said I was the leader!” Avery shouted, wondering at how quickly her authority had been taken away.
Without even looking at her, Jade waved her hand dismissively and said, “Only when you don’t make dumb decisions.”
“You are not going and that is final.” Gumptin told Jade, sternly.
Jade laughed, “You just try and stop me. Skylar, Sasha, and Bunny can handle patrolling. Just give them each a bigger area to cover.”
Sasha, who hadn’t cared enough to say anything about the matter until now, spoke up, “Jade, maybe you should take your own advice and shut up. You want to give the three of us more work, not to mention, putting us at more risk, just because you and Avery are perversely co-dependent.”
Jade just stared at Sasha, not knowing how to respond to her comment, or if she even wanted to.
“I think it’s a good idea for Jade to go with Avery.” Bunny said, receiving looks of shock from both Jade and Sasha, “This is a dangerous place. I mean, just look at Avery.” Everyone turned their heads and stared at Avery’s clawed neck and bloody mess of a shirt, “She should have Jade with her in case she runs into any more trouble.”
Avery was getting sick and tired of listening to everyone argue about plans that involved her without even consulting her. She remembered Jade telling her about how she and the other girls had always been told to look out for her. That was something Avery wasn’t alright with. They needed to look out for themselves, just like Avery needed to look out for herself.
“I’m not a child!” Avery protested, “I don‘t need a bodyguard.” Even if she had wanted Jade to keep her company on the long trip, there was no way she was going to admit it now.
The Protectors: Book 1 in the Protectors Saga Page 31
