by Barb Shuler
“What in the hell is with the costume contest?” Marissa growled as she moved to stand beside me. Natalia moved to the right of me. I sighed.
“They’re angels. Mama once told me about them. They call themselves the Assassins of the Guild. They are not like the fallen, but worse. They chose to fall, to ascend to this plain to wreak havoc. They get off on it.”
The tallest of the angels moved to stand before the others, drawing a sword as he did. He met my gaze, a snarl on his lips.
“You have something that we want. Hand them over, or pay the price with your miserable lives.”
I shared a look with Natalia and Marissa. I had a feeling I knew what they wanted. Pyper. It seemed that poor little girl was on everyone’s radar. Or they were here for me… Damn! It was a never ending cycle. My inner light was burning bright inside of me now. Marissa and Natalia looked away. The Angels waved at me. I shook my head.
“There is nothing, and no one, here that belongs to you. Be gone, before someone drops a house on you. We are but a peaceful group. Lose a battle before it even begins, you do not want.”
I kept my words short and clipped.
“You sound like the lovechild of the old dude Obi Wan and the pink froufrou wearing Glinda the good witch. What’s with the ‘These aren’t the droids you're looking for, Dorothy’ crap.”
I gave her a strange look. What was she babbling about?
The man before us rumbled with disapproval. He stepped a pace closer and as one the girls and I moved a step towards him. I could feel the light inside of me growing. The power was prickling against my skin. It was comforting.
“We were brought here. Blood never lies. Bring them to us, bring us the reapers and you may not perish painfully.”
Reapers? Holy crap. They were here for Marissa and Natalia. No! This was not happening.
“Bring who?” Natalia asked, her eyes cutting slightly to meet mine and Marissa’s.
“Bring them to us!” He growled out again.
A growl rumbled from the three of us at his implied threat. As our ire rose, the power between us grew. My skin prickled with a familiar warmth. Our powers were binding themselves as they did when we were close. I saw both Natalia and Marissa take in a deep breath as the power encompassed us all. I saw from the spot I was in that both Marissa and Natalia’s body’s shifted slightly, their eyes now glowing with their power, and ringed with red.
The angel in front staring at us cursed, his eyes widened slightly, a snarled grin pulled at his scared face. He had finally put it together.
“You...”
The trees around us shifted with the wind. The sky darkened slightly until the lightning rolled across the sky. Marissa had her hand out, the sparks jumping from her palm.
The tree line parted slightly where the path was. I saw Jasmine, her mates flanking her in their animal forms as she too pulled a sword from her back, her gaze hard on the man before us.
“Ezekiel, I thought you had perished. Seems I was misinformed.”
The jaguar and bear at her sides both growled, lips pulled back to expose razor sharp teeth. I brought my attention back to the angels before us.
“Guardians!”
The hiss left his lips causing the men behind him to shift positions, slightly.
Was that fear I saw on their faces?
“Ah, did you expect us to leave our newest Guardians alone? They may not have a mark yet, but they belong to us still. The Guild has no dominion here. Be gone, or you will perish - permanently - by my sword.”
Guardians? Marks? Was that what Micha had been speaking of?
Jasmine twirled the sword once, as if loosening herself up, before bringing her other hand to the hilt. Her hands tightened on the sword. The metal gleamed as the sun, which was starting to fill the area more, bounced off of it. The bear and jaguar on either side of her moved to counter her actions. The wolves behind us moved as one to cover our flanks.
The scared-faced man Jasmine had called Ezekiel said something in a language I’d not heard before, yet I understood it. He’d given an order to his men. They moved as one and scattered like ants. I snarled and shifted to my half form. I may have been a smaller bear but, as I had learned with Natalia’s help, in this form, I was just as strong and a little bit faster.
I dodged a sword swipe and a thrown fist, crouching lower to kick the man before me in the knee. His bone crunched as he toppled to the ground. I was mid-kick to his side when I felt a slight burn across my right shoulder. I snarled, spinning to meet my aggressor face to face. My shoulder burned but that faded when his smirk met my gaze. I moved to my left, dodging another strike. I kicked out, my foot hitting his ankle, tipping him forward. I punched his jaw on his way down. He hit the earth with a thwack.
“Son of a-” Marissa snarled. I jerked forward, moving closer to her and Natalia.
“What happened?” I asked, seeing blood along her arm and side.
Before she could answer we were tackled to the ground. A grunt of pain left me as the ache in my shoulder intensified. There was a sudden flash and more swords clanking. I got to my knees, my hand on the angel who had brought me down. A scream of rage left me as my hand tightened against him. Power rushed through me and his body lit up with electricity.
There was a glow around him before he turned to ash. I jumped to my feet, catching another blow to my cheek. It hurt like hell. I stumbled back, braving another strike. I slammed my fist into another’s face, while dodging a swords’ blade. The sting along my arm had me howling in pain.
A wolf's howl filled the air and I turned in time to one of the angels had a wolf on the ground, sword tip to his flank, fire blazing into its flesh. I ran to Marissa, took her hand and pointed.
“Stop him!”
Her hand raised, lightening shot through us both, pulling at the power between us. As the lightning shot a primal scream left her lips.
The angel exploded in a fiery blaze. I ducked another angel, shifting mid-hit, my bear taking over. The angel was slammed into the ground. His body shook under me as he fought to free himself of the claws digging into his shoulders.
I snarled, a low warning sound before I shifted back to my human form. The fighting around us had come to an end. I met the gaze of the man, the Assassin of the Guild as he was called and spoke quietly.
“We don’t want to fight but, spread the word, we will not back down if one is thrust upon us.”
I backed off of him, my body still vibrating with power.
“Be gone before-”
The ground under us rolled. There was a spark of bright white light and when my vision cleared there were men before us. Crested shields covering chests, swords upon their backs and eyes of crystal blue waters staring at us.
Their gazes swung to the Angels on the ground, the ones in pieces, or reduced to ash then to the few that were on the ground, bleeding but alive.
The blonde man in front, the one that looked like a movie star with his squared jaw and high cheekbones, came towards us. Jasmine moved to intersect him. Nothing inside of me made me feel I needed to worry so I took a moment to compose myself. My shoulder was killing me. I saw Marissa and Demetrius were looking her injuries over. Natalia had a similar cut along her arm and side.
It was as if something inside of us started to boil up, fire wracked my body. I doubled over and cried out. I heard not only Natalia but Marissa do the same. Just as the pain started it was gone.
When I stood back straight, Jasmine was before me, a smile on her lips.
“You showed them you’re ready. You’ve been marked. You are all Guardians now.”
I peeled the collar of my shirt back to reveal a mark, a paw print, on my chest. I gasped and looked to where Natalia and Marissa stood. Shirts pulled to their sides revealed that they had the same mark.
10
Natalia
The battle that had raged before us had my blood burning through me. With each hit, each death that brought one of the dark ones down, the beas
t inside of me grew. I could feel the tingling of our growing powers rippling through me. It was a high unlike any I’d experienced before.
With each new hit, with each uttered curse from someone around me the beast inside me grew. We were as one in the battle to defeat the threat before us. There was something about the way the angels smelled that put me off. The odor was what woke up the beast inside of me.
I came to a halt as the last angel dropped. His body nothing more than a carcass for the vultures to pick from. I was breathing heavily. My body ached where I had been cut by a blade. I spun to find Joshua, he too was bleeding but gave me a wicked grin as he moved to my side.
I looked around. The grounds before us were littered with bodies, well body parts, swords and ash. Sonny and Mari were both looking my way. We had all been hurt but nothing that would not heal. This could have been a lot worse than it was.
It was then that a new pain ripped through me. I looked up to see both Sonny and Mari had a similar experience. Damn! That hurt but the pain only lasted a moment.
We each pulled our collars back to expose a paw print mark, dark outlined, a small symbol of something new.
My attention went to Jasmine as she spoke, “You showed them you’re ready. You’ve been marked. You are all Guardians now.”
“Guardians?” I asked.
Did she mean we were what she was now? Had this been what Micha had been speaking of?
“Yes, Guardians.” She pulled her shirt collar to the side to reveal the same mark. It was small, delicate, but it was the same. I nodded my head. Joshua’s warmth calmed the rising panic in me as his palm pressed to my back.
Jasmine’s mates, Tiberius and Horacio shifted at her side. They stood tall, confident and slightly amused. They both pulled their shirts off after shifting. The large paw print against their skin drew everyone’s attention.
“As a Guardian you have been chosen to carry out a sacred mission. We protect the human realm from others like us that wish them harm. We keep the secrets held close and keep them from escaping out into the world. As Father said, a Guardian is the last defense between good and evil. At times, things will happen beyond anyone's control.”
“Like what happened to you?” Mari asked.
Jasmine nodded.
“Yes, exactly like that. I had no idea this world existed until Tiberius and Horacio saved me from rogue shifters. It was as if I was living in a dream. There was never a sign that I was more than human. However, with my lineage, the time I had my transition was just as it should have been. You were lucky. You’ve been as one with your animals and other sides since birth.”
“Not all of us,” I said, a huff leaving my lips.
“Oh, I forgot, but you still knew of this world. That still gives you an advantage nonetheless.”
“True,” I sighed and rolled my neck, letting it pop and crack. “Now what?”
“Where’s Daddy and Uncle Trenton?” Mari asked.
That had been asked before, before the fighting. I looked around, panic washing through me. Where were they?
“They’ve gone across the veil,” a voice snarled from behind us. We turned to see a very pissed off Fae walking towards us. “Jasmine, that overgrown rug you call Father is in trouble as are the others. I need you three to hit the veil. Be prepared. There is much disarray. Your grandfather and the other lizards are waiting on you three. Move quickly, yet quietly.”
“Dammit. We are going as well,” Jasmine said, turning and running towards the woods.
“You two,” Kelanie said turning to me and Mari, “get your mates. Sonny, you gather that little one and all of you follow me. We have much work to do. We must not tarry.”
She took off across the flat ground, her hand moved across the open area causing a ripple to roll across it. The bears, and a few strange men came back across it with Uncle Bart in the lead. He and Kelanie shared a few words and he took off towards the woods. He was moving up the same path Jasmine and her mates used.
I moved towards the spot where Demetrius and Mari stood, stumbling when pain shot through my head. I dropped to my knees and focused. The words swirling into my mind where moving so fast they weren’t coherent.
“Talia, what is it?” Joshua’s voice was calm, but his eyes gave away his panic.
There was only one word, one thought in my head that made sense.
“Mama…”
“Come, we must go, now,” Kelanie said as she took my hand and pulled me to my feet, “Your grandparents, Alistair and Esmeralda, are there. They are waiting on us. We will have but one chance to save Natalie. He knows we are coming but your pig-headed fathers have decided to move on him instead of waiting for the rest of us. Sonny, you will pass the little one off to Esmerelda, she and Alistair will take care of her while we go in. We will not have time to waste.”
“Lets go kick some ass then.”
I snorted at Mari. We moved as one unit through the swirling ripple in space. We came out in a garden, surrounded by flowers, trees and a water fountain. I spin to see Lalamke standing off to the side with a younger man and an older woman. They move towards us. The word ‘grandfather’ leaves my lips. I remember what Kelanie told us before we crossed. Holy crap!
“You will need to get to the back tower. Third floor. The door is spelled to not be seen. Its hidden well, I am unable to see exactly where it is,” the older woman said.
I heard Mari whisper, “grandmother.” I took her hand in mine and squeezed.
“No time for pleasantries, now. You’ll take them to our home, brother?”
“Yes, the little one will be protected. I swear on my life.”
“As do we,” the other two chimed in.
We had been running through corridors, through empty rooms and up stairs for what felt like a year by the time we climbed the last set of stairs that would lead to the hidden room. My chest heaved and my sides actually hurt from the exertion.
I scanned the area, I could feel her presence. I straightened, my eyes locking on the bricks that aligned the wall. I looked to Mari. She gave me a look, brow raised.
“I can feel her…”
“Take my hand. Maybe if you can focus on the power coming from her we can locate where she is exactly.”
“I can help, too.”
Mari and Sonny took my hands. I closed my eyes, let out a small breath and focused on the power coming through the wall. If I could ‘see’ the power, I could follow it and break the connection. There was a buzzing in my ears as I scanned the wall. I could see in my mind's eye a faint glow.
“Mama?” My voice rolled across us and into the open corridor. The cool rocks that made up the wall started to crack slightly.
“Natalia?”
Hearing her voice in my head almost brought me to my knees. I let out a small cry.
“We heard her, too. Keep it together, Talia, you can do this.”
“You girls carry on, I’m needed… elsewhere,” Kelanie said. I felt the air around us shimmer as she disappeared from the corridor.
The lines continued to grow and burn brighter. I moved closer to the wall.
“I need my hands but don’t lose contact. It’s helping me focus.”
They moved their hands to my shoulders. I took in a deep breath and moved my hands over the stones. My fingers danced along the edges of the smooth stone, a small prick to my finger drew blood. I growled at the feel of the warm blood trickling along my finger, dripping onto the stone.
My blood did something. The stones under my fingers started to warm. I tilted my head slightly, hearing a faint crackle. I pushed my power into the stones. The words coming to me as I moved. I could hear my mother’s voice rolling across my mind.
“Ei libera!”
The simple words - free her - had the stones cracking along the wall. I was pulled back as they crumbled to the ground. My heart hammered as the dust settled and my mother appeared just as she had in my dreams.
“Natalia,” she said, moving to engulf me in her ar
ms. “My sweet girl.”
“We have to get out of here… something is coming…” I looked to Sonny, her eyes had taken on the golden hue of her bear.
“This way.” My mother grabbed my hand, tugged me behind her and we followed her around to the other side of the wall. The stairs - god, I hated these stairs - awaited our decent.
“Where are we going?” I asked in a quiet breath.
“Where in deed!”
We halted mid-run. The booming voice belonged to a man who stood at least as tall as the bears. He was a vampire by the smell of him. I snarled, as did the others.
“You will do well to heed the warnings of the seers, Gaston. The rightful king will on the throne soon.”
Mama’s words rang through the empty corridor. His eyes widened slightly and he nodded. It was as if the words she spoke were actually sinking in. I looked between them both and then to Mari. She was squinting at him. I could feel her power rolling across him.
“He’s not throwing off murder vibes….”
“I am Gaston, Leader of the Guard. Please, follow me. I shall guide you to the meeting place.”
“Gaston?” Mari’s eyes gleam. “Like- Like the sexist pig from Beauty and the Beast?” Mari asked. I slapped her hand and pulled her behind me. “What? I need to know these things! He was an ass!”
“That’s not important.”
“Yes, yes it is! If he’s a douche, I’ll blow him up.”
Mari laughed as we ran down the corridor. I snorted.
“Focus, girls,” Mama’s voice rolled across us as we came to a new pathway. After a few more minutes of running down a corridor we moved passed a doorway. The brightness of the sun covered us. The castle… was massive. A legit castle. Holy crap!
A scream of pain filled the air. I spun.
“We have to find Anna, Gaston. I will not leave her behind!”
“It’s not safe. He will be looking for you.”
“I do not worry over his actions. Bastard will be ripped to pieces soon enough.”
My mother’s growl filled the air around us. I moved to rest a hand on her arm.
