Awakened Guardians

by Logan Byrne

  “I agree with Faus. Kiren isn’t even here and he’s already tearing a rift between you two. Don’t let him do that,” Charlie said.

  “I need some air,” I said, getting up and walking out of the tent.

  I didn’t understand why arresting Kiren would be such a bad thing. That was what we did with criminals—we locked them up and gave them a trial. I knew what Kiren was doing and had done was terrible—he’d committed crimes against humanity and genocide, but I thought every single person, no matter the crimes they committed, deserved a fair trial. That was one of the reasons why I loved being an auditor, because I was able to serve justice without being some kind of vigilante out there in the streets killing anybody who stole something.

  “Lexa,” Blake said, running up to me.

  “Go away, you’re the last person I want to talk to right now,” I snapped.

  “Hey,” he said, grabbing my arm. “I’m sorry, okay? I just got heated in the moment.”

  “And so you think it’s okay to bully me like that in front of everybody? What do you think it’s like, being the person who has to do all this? Do you think it’s easy to be chosen and have all eyes on you? For people to thank you and tell you in the street how happy they are that you’ll restore peace and justice to the realm? No, you don’t think about that, or the immense pressure that gets put on me,” I said, as tears started rolling down my cheeks.

  I broke down, the weight of it all finally cracking down on me. I wanted to help people, and I wanted to defeat Kiren, but sometimes I felt like it was all up to me, alone. I never meant for things to escalate this far.

  “No, baby, I’m so sorry. You’re right, I never stopped to think about you and how this affects you. All I thought about was defeating him. When I saw what he did to you, and how he tried to have you killed and imprisoned and left to die, I don’t know, an anger built up inside me that I couldn’t control. All I dreamt about was fighting him, and defeating him, and killing him so that he couldn’t hurt you or anybody else ever again. Maybe I took it too far, and pushed those thoughts and feelings onto you, even though you didn’t deserve them. Please forgive me,” he said, in a calm, sensitive tone.

  “I just don’t want to feel like I’m doing this alone,” I said, leaning my head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat as I calmed down.

  “You’ll never have to do anything alone. You have an entire camp, an entire realm, that will stand by your side. I can promise you that,” Blake said, kissing my forehead.

  The tears soon stopped and I wiped my cheeks, erasing any evidence of my doubts, before I looked up at him and saw the sincerity in his eyes. He was right—I wasn’t alone, even if it sometimes felt like it. I had Blake, Charlie, Britta, Faus, Mirian, Pote, and Rosie. I had an entire camp that supported me no matter what.

  I didn’t know what would happen in those final moments, as Kiren and I fought our last battle, but I knew that the mark and my conscience would help me deliver what was right, true, and just in that moment.

  “Do you want to go back in?” Blake asked.

  “I think I’m going to go for a walk. I just need some alone time to process everything that’s happened,” I said.

  “Okay, I understand. Find me again later?” he asked.

  “Definitely,” I replied, kissing him.

  I walked down the main corridor of the camp, lamps lighting up the tents as workers still walked around, repairing damage to old tents and buildings that had been damaged during the attack.

  There was a small hill in this camp, high enough to feel like you were away. I walked up it, a gentle breeze blowing the grass around as it swayed back and forth in the wind.

  I looked up at the moon, shining brightly on my face as I breathed in the chilly air and let it cool my lungs. I felt alone, but the good kind of alone, for the first time in a while. I closed my eyes, feeling calm, crossing my legs and resting my hands in my lap, as I meditated and allowed myself to feel free.

  I felt my mind transported, going back to Kaia as she sat sipping tea beneath her small pagoda. “It’s good to see you, Lexa,” she said, smiling, as I drifted over to her.

  “Have you been watching?” I asked, still unsure what she could and could not see of my life.

  “I did. We felt the power when you grasped the crystal wand. You did what none of us before you have ever been able to do—you conquered the golems and became the rightful owner of the crystal wand. We are so proud of you,” she said, as a few more bearers appeared.

  “Good job,” one said, smiling through his thick mustache, as he tipped his bowler hat.

  “We are honored to have come before you, child,” an older woman said, the wrap around her head as colorful as her smile.

  “What do I do next?” I asked.

  “Is it not clear?” Kaia asked.

  “I know what’s expected of me, but it all seems too much to handle. If I kill Kiren, aren’t I just as bad as he is?” I asked, as I felt the struggle and strife within me.

  “You are asking if one kills the killer, are they now just as bad as the killer? After all, if you murder a murderer, there are still the same number of murderers in the world,” Kaia said.

  “I think people are expecting me to end it all right then and there. I know I have the power to, but I’m not sure I can mutter the words to make it happen,” I said, looking down at the bamboo floor beneath us.

  “What do you think, Randall?” Kaia asked, looking at the man with the mustache.

  “I killed many men during my tenure on the mortal Earth. It was never easy, knowing I had the power and ability to take a life, but it was necessary for the greater good. Sometimes you must do what is hardest in life to make a true change,” Randall said.

  “Mona?” Kaia asked, looking at the woman beside me.

  “I killed one, and it wasn’t easy. I took the trouble to my grave, never forgiving myself for what I had to do in that stressful moment,” she said.

  “So you regret doing it?” I asked.

  “No, I do not. What I did saved an entire group of people and stopped genocide. It wasn’t easy, but I knew that my tribe and people forgave me and were honored that I would do something so difficult to save them. Sometimes you have to do things that hurt your heart, but save the souls of many,” Mona said, giving me even more to weigh.

  “Lexa,” I heard, before turning around, not expecting anybody else.

  “M—mom?” I asked, as tears started to well in my eyes. “What are you doing here?”

  “Your mother and father have always been inside you, just as the rest of us have,” Kaia said.

  “Lexa, my sweet girl,” a man said, and I turned and saw my dad. I stood up, running to them both, before hugging them, or at least what was there of them.

  “I’m lost, I don’t know what to do,” I said, wiping away the tears.

  “You might feel lost, but the answers have been within you all along, my darling baby girl. You just don’t know it yet,” my mother said, brushing back my hair.

  “What if I make the wrong choice?” I asked.

  “You will never make the wrong choice. Your mother and I knew you were special the moment you were born. It doesn’t surprise us that our daughter is the only person besides Merlin himself to wield the crystal wand. We are so proud to call you our daughter,” my father said, rubbing my back.

  “I just want to make you, and everyone, proud. I don’t want people to regret my choices, no matter what they are,” I said.

  “We know people will accept whatever you choose, Lexa. Remember, you’re the one they look to for answers. I know it might not seem like it now, and you might be so overwhelmed with the decisions that you cannot see through the haze, but the answers you seek will be in front of you if you just turn on the lights,” my mother said, before drifting slowly backwards.

  “Where are you guys going?” I asked, panicked, as my parents started to fade away.

  “Stay strong, baby, things will get better,” my m
other said.

  “Mom! Dad!” I screamed, as they disappeared. “Where did they go?” I asked, turning to Kaia. Mona and Randall were gone too.

  “They are gone. Summoning their spirits like that is no easy feat. They cannot sustain that forever. They came because they love you, and they knew you needed their guidance,” Kaia said.

  “Will I see them again?” I asked.

  “Of course, Lexa. You will see all of us again, but for now we must go. We will be inside you, guiding you, so long as you look inside,” Kaia said before fading away. The entire garden fell in on itself, and I was thrust through black space before opening my eyes to see the bright moon above still shining down on me.

  I wiped the tears from my eyes, sniffling a little, before taking out the wand and holding it in my hands. I stared at it, nodding, as I began to realize that I had what it took.

  I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, and it definitely wasn’t going to be fun, but I had what it took to defeat Kiren, and to do it in a way that would allow me to sleep at night. Others might not love my choice, some might even chastise me for it, but I was the one chosen to defeat Kiren, and I would do it the way I saw fit.

  I stood up on the hill, overlooking the camp, as I gripped my wand tightly and felt the power surge through me.

  Kiren Nightstorm, this message is for you. My name is Lexa Blackmoon, and I will be the one to defeat you and end your tyrannical reign, if it’s the last thing I do.

  I hope you’re ready, because I’m coming.

  A

  bou t the Author

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