“What do we do now?” I asked.
“Wait to see who wins.”
It didn’t take long. The slight distraction gave Kellan an edge, and John continued to lose ground. Kellan raised his hands to fire a final barrage of magic at John, but John waved his hands and muttered a few words. He lunged at Erica, and they both disappeared.
“How?” I stuttered as Kellan fell to his knees.
“He had a spell saved up in case he started losing to get himself out of here. He forfeited the right to leadership, and he knows it. He’ll try to find a different way to control The Guardianship,” Kellan said breathlessly. Ian helped Kellan sit in a chair.
“We need to go after them,” Ian said. “There were more guardians involved in this.”
“I know. Those loyal to The Guardianship have been fighting them in the halls. Now that John has lost, his followers should leave too. We need to see how many wounded we have.”
Kellan slowly got up from his desk and moved to the door. We walked through the building, not hearing any more screams. Guardians lay in many of the rooms, most were only wounded, but a few had been killed in John’s treacherous plan. We stopped to help as many as we could while we made our way down the stairs. We walked out the doors where everyone was gathered to hear what Kellan had to say.
“Today is a sad day in The Guardianship. Our brothers and sisters who swore to uphold our laws have turned against us. They no longer wish to protect everyone but instead want to protect themselves and control the magi. Many of our own have been wounded and some…” He let the sentence trail off as he looked over everyone’s faces. “Some have been killed.”
There was crying in the crowd, but Kellan went on. “Councilman John was the leader in this. He escaped with guardian Erica. There are more that escaped, though I saw many tied up on the way out here. You all did a good job today. It’s hard to fight your brothers and sisters. Let’s take some time to recuperate and lay our fallen to rest. After I speak with the rest of the council, we’ll decide a plan for finding the rest of the traitors and sending them to prison or to their deaths.”
People in the crowd cheered, and I felt how united they were listening to Kellan. I was starting to think I would like to be a guardian under Kellan’s leadership. He inspired others, and he was a good man.
I walked with the rest of my group back into the building. Kellan led us into the first room and had us sit down. Molly stayed by my side the entire time. The other hellhounds had left after the fight with John, but I didn’t know where they went.
“We need to discuss everything,” Kellan said. “Tell me what Erica said to you, Serena.”
We filled Kellan in on everything that happened that morning. He was shocked Erica had been able to get onto his property.
“We need to figure out how she was able to get past the security. We don’t know how long they’ve been able to do that. They may have seen or heard something important.”
“They didn’t know about the attack on Mr. Blake’s crypt, so I would assume they were only able to get in today. They were probably saving it for today specifically. They wanted Serena and Ian out of the way while they attacked you. I think our little trip yesterday made them push up their timetable. They were probably scared one of the prisoners would be able to identify them,” Jabari said.
“Why do you think that?” Kellan asked.
“They weren’t completely ready to attack. They didn’t have enough people. I saw plenty of guardians who looked like they didn’t join the fighting. John and Erica were probably trying to win them over to their side. They may have succeeded if they had a few more weeks. I think after seeing the prisoners and the fallen guardians, most will remain loyal to you, Kellan,” Jabari said.
“I’m not so sure,” Kellan answered. “John must have something good he is offering them if so many are willing to listen and not turn him in. We’ll have to find out what. We need to know what’s making the guardians think about turning rogue. It can’t be that they don’t want to protect other people. Guardians are chosen because they want to help. This many going rogue doesn’t make sense.”
“We’ll figure it out,” Ian said. “Until then, we need to double our defenses. The rogue guardians can still get into the compound. We need to figure out who went rogue and take their access away.”
“We should have multiple people on the gates. We don’t want one guardian who might sympathize with the rogues to let them in. If we have multiple, the chances are less likely. We also need to protect the other members of the council. They might go after anyone who supports you,” Jabari said.
“I doubt this is only happening here,” Kellan said.
“Why?” I asked.
“The Guardianship is like a family. If one compound is in trouble the others will send aid. If John had challenged me for leadership without any of the rogues attacking he may have been able to take over, but he had the rogues attack at the same time which means the other compounds are probably in danger too. If they were smart, the attacks would be simultaneous. John wasn’t a good councilman, but he was smart.”
“We need to contact the other compounds,” Ian said.
“It’s already being done. As soon as I realized what was happening I sent a message to all the compounds telling them to be on alert. So far none have gotten back to me. We’ll have to see how many have fallen.”
“Hopefully, not many. We have friends in all of them.”
“I know. I’ll let you know as soon as I hear something.”
“How many compounds are there?” I asked.
“About thirty across the world. If more than half fell to the rogues we’re in trouble,” Kellan said.
“What will happen if they did?”
“We need to help as many guardians as we can. Many won’t know what to do in a situation like this or where to go. Call your contacts in the other compounds, and tell them to let everyone know to go into hiding until this can be sorted out. Once I know how many compounds were lost, we can plan further,” Kellan said to Jabari and Ian, ignoring me.
It couldn’t be good if he didn’t want to answer my question. Now we had demons after us and a bunch of rogue guardians. My life wasn’t getting any easier.
“Serena,” Kellan said, looking sternly at me. “Why is a hellhound following you around?” He finally got to the question I was dreading.
“She likes me?” I said slowly, not really knowing what answer to give him.
“She does seem to like you,” he said, looking at Molly’s head in my lap, “but I don’t think that’s why she’s here.”
“She’s protecting me, I guess.”
“How do you know she’s here to protect you?”
“She showed me.” He looked at me quizzically. “When she looks in my eyes, she can send pictures to me. She showed me pictures of her protecting me. She stopped Erica from killing me, and she tried to send her pack to help you, but you were already engaged in battle with John.”
“Yes, I saw the other two hell beasts.”
“Hellhounds, not beasts,” I said, forgetting who I was talking to. “Sorry,” I said to Kellan sheepishly, “but they aren’t beasts.”
“I see. So you’ve taken a liking to them too.”
“I don’t know the other ones, but if they’re anything like Molly, then yes, I would like them too,” I said, a bit irritated now that Kellan was questioning me.
“How do you know they aren’t here to keep an eye on you for the demons that are trying to kidnap you?”
“I just do,” I said, not wanting to tell him everything.
“How?”
“I have a feeling. Whenever Molly is near me, it feels like she’s here to protect me.”
“Now what’s the truth?” he asked, looking to Ian for the answer. I needed to get better at lying. Ian explained what happened with my father and that he sent them to help protect me from the demons.
“Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
“I didn’t want Serena’s heritage getting out or that she has hellhound protectors. Some of the guardians are not going to be happy about it.”
“But why didn’t you tell me?” Kellan asked. “Did you think I would send her away?”
“No, but I knew you wouldn’t want us meeting with a demon under any circumstances. I also knew we needed to,” Ian said. “Serena needed help, and he was the only one that could do it. Jabari and I couldn’t help her with her magic. Her father has helped her more in two visits than everything we’ve done since she came here.”
“I see,” Kellan said. “Next time tell me. I understand sometimes things have to be done that I would rather we not do.”
Ian looked down, not wanting to meet Kellan’s eyes. He didn’t like disappointing him.
Kellan looked at Molly and then at me. “They can stay here as long as you keep control of them. If they try to attack anyone, they’ll have to leave.”
“I understand.” Kellan didn’t realize that I couldn’t actually make them do anything. If they wanted to be here, I couldn’t stop them.
Kellan turned his attention back to Ian and Jabari. “We need to root out anyone else who is causing dissension within The Guardianship. I want to believe that everyone involved was either caught or fled, but we can’t be sure. The three of you are the only ones I can trust right now. I want you to keep an eye on everyone. See what they’re saying. Serena, it will be easiest for you since you’re new here. They may think they can influence you. If anyone tries to convince you to switch sides, tell me immediately.”
“I will,” I promised.
We said our goodbyes and left. I was surprised to find the other hellhounds waiting for us as we left the building. There were a few people nearby staring at the hounds.
“Come on,” Ian said, “let’s go before someone says something stupid. It’s going to take them some time to get used to seeing hellhounds roaming the compound freely.”
“Come on, Molly,” I said. “Let’s go home.” She barked, and the other hounds took off. The guardians jumped but didn’t try to attack. Word must have gotten around that the hounds were on our side.
We made it without any issues, and I walked inside with Molly close behind. I held the door for the other hounds, but they darted around the cabin. I shrugged and closed the door.
“What do we do now?” I asked Ian.
“For now we rest, tomorrow there will be plenty to do.”
We made a quick dinner and curled up on the couch, trying not to think about the losses The Guardianship had taken.
The Pride demon king
We headed straight for the compound as soon as we got up. Ian said there would be a funeral for the guardians they lost. They wouldn’t start the actual investigation until after grieving for their dead.
Kellan was positive nothing would happen for a couple of days. He believed former Councilman John would need time to pull his people together and figure out a new way to attack The Guardianship.
I wasn’t so sure, but it wasn’t my place to say anything. Technically, I wasn’t even a guardian, so whatever I said wouldn’t matter. I was going to the viewing with Ian at the request of Kellan. He wanted a strong showing of support around him.
He didn’t mean me. He wanted the hellhounds that protected me. It was an excellent way to protect Kellan if anything went wrong and a great way for the guardians to realize the hounds were protectors, not indiscriminate killers.
We met with Kellan inside the compound and waited until he was ready to head to the training grounds. They had been cleared so the funerals could be held there. This was my first time at a magic funeral, so I didn’t know what to expect. Kellan led us onto the field and toward a stand that had been hastily put together.
Kellan stepped up on it, and Ian and I stood in front of him. Molly stayed right next to me, and on the outskirts of the field, I saw the other hellhounds keeping watch. I listened as Kellan spoke to the guardians, and then a line of magi’s carrying the fallen came out of the building.
They carried three fallen guardians on beautiful wood boards that were kept afloat by a magi on each corner. The wood floated along as they walked, never bumping or jostling the fallen guardian resting on it.
When all three were in front of Kellan, he raised his arms and chanted something I didn’t understand. A stream of green magic flew from his hands and surrounded the fallen. It completely covered them, and a cloud of blue burst out from the fallen. Molly sat down and howled as the spell continued.
The other hounds joined in, and the hounds in the field grew to their massive size. The chorus of howls sounded more like a song than howling dogs. Magic swirled from the hounds to the fallen and mingled with the spell Kellan cast. The bodies disappeared, and in place of each one a different flower sat, and next to it, a small black stone with a red hellhound etched onto it.
I looked at Ian. “The flower is to plant in our garden. Every fallen guardian has a flower planted for them. I have never seen the stones before,” he explained to me.
Everyone was looking at the stones which had risen into the air and were spinning around each other. They continued gaining speed until they crashed into each other, sending a beautiful rainbow into the sky over the fallen. The rainbow fell slowly and settled over the flowers of the fallen before disappearing.
“What was that?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” Ian said. Other magi were whispering too.
Kellan cleared his throat. “They have been honored by the gods. The hellhounds song called to them. Our fallen guardians will rest in peace forever.”
The whispering started again, but this time everyone was eyeing Molly and the other hellhounds. “Thank you,” I said to Molly.
She gave a small huff, which I took as a your welcome. I turned to Ian to ask another question that was bothering me.
“How does Kellan know which flower to give each fallen?”
“He doesn’t. It’s part of the spell. The magic sees into the soul and decides what flower best suits each magi.”
“That’s incredible,” I said, awed at the beauty of the ceremony.
After each flower was collected, Kellan stepped down and headed back to the main building, greeting magi along the way. We followed behind, and the guardians gave us plenty of space, eyeing Molly with the beginning of respect instead of terror. Kellan stopped at a garden in front of the building and planted the flowers. He bowed his head for a few minutes and then walked into the building.
I followed Ian to Kellan’s office. I wanted to know what he found out about the other compounds. When we were settled, Kellan sat behind his desk and leaned forward with his head resting on his fingers. The news had to be bad.
“Every compound was hit. The bad news is we lost a lot of guardians in the fight. The good news is we only lost six compounds. It’s still bad, but it could have been worse. Thankfully, there are a few guardians that have kept some of their powers hidden at the other compounds. When the attacks came, those skills helped defend them.”
He looked at me. If others were hiding their powers, maybe one of them could tell me more about my mom’s magic.
“We’re scrambling to find the guardians who have gone missing from the compounds that were taken. We have high hopes that many of them got out, but I’m sure there will be prisoners that we need to rescue,” he continued.
“Which compounds were taken?” Jabari asked.
“Two in Africa, two in Europe, one in South America, and one here,” Kellan said. Both guys paled but didn’t respond. “Have you heard anything?”
“I’ve heard from my contacts. They all have some cuts and bruises, but overall they’re ok. None of them were at a compound that was taken,” Jabari said.
Kellan looked at Ian. “I’ve heard from everyone but Sean. He was stationed at the compound in Georgia. I’m guessing that’s the one that was taken in the US.”
“Yes,” Kellan said softly. “We’ll find out what happened to him
. We can’t send any of our guardians yet. We need to protect this compound from future attacks first. Have you told your sister?” Kellan asked Ian.
“Not yet. As soon as she finds out, she’ll go, with or without your permission.”
“I know,” Kellan said. “I won’t stop her.”
Ian looked at me. “Sean is a close family friend. My sister will be devastated when she finds out.” Ian looked devastated about it too, but I didn’t say that.
“Any word on John or Erica?” Jabari asked.
“Not yet. I’m hoping we won’t hear from them for a while. We need time to mourn and prepare.”
“I doubt they’re going to give us very long. They’ve been preparing this for a long time.”
“It will have to be long enough. Serena, we have a lot more to discuss,” Kellan said, seeing me shift in my seat. “I know you only came to see how the other compounds are doing, and I appreciate it. If you want to leave now, it’s ok.”
They were going to discuss what their plans were for The Guardianship, so I didn’t need to be here. I decided to go down to the training grounds to see if anyone was around. I might as well make myself visible since Kellan wanted any other traitors to try to turn me. They couldn’t do that if I was holed up in Ian’s cabin.
No one was there when I arrived, so I practiced my sword fighting. It needed more work, but I was already improving because of Jabari. I swung my sword around intending to hit air, but it clanged against another sword.
I jumped back and looked at Molly. She was still lying in the sun, so I calmed down. If she didn’t think this was a threat, I wouldn’t either. I looked at the man in front of me. He was older with a slight bulge to his midsection. I could see muscles flexing in his arms, though, as he swung his sword around.
“Serena, right?” he asked, swinging his sword at me. I countered and pushed him back. He only moved a few inches.
Demon Hunted Page 20
