A Dawn of Guardians

  Ruby and Julian gasped, while Benedict came hurrying to us from the sitting room. “The windows are all clo…” He froze as he stared at the closed door behind me, which was also beginning to thunder from slamming fists, the door handle rattling.

  We were trapped. Completely and utterly screwed. I couldn’t think of a single way out of this situation without having to face either the mob behind me or the mob in front of me.

  It was a matter of deciding which was worse.

  My mind was still jammed with fear as I replayed the way Wes had suddenly sat up, as though he’d entered a state of consciousness so consuming he was no longer even aware of his physical ailment.

  He might even be standing now, and be one of the people trying to open the door.

  Benedict helped me keep it shut, but we were losing this game. Fast.

  “What do we do?” my brother wheezed.

  I glanced toward the sitting room. I could think of no option other than to let go of the doors, dart as deep into the house as possible, try to climb through a window and run away from the building… run where, I had no freaking clue.

  But we didn’t even get a chance to attempt that harebrained scheme as the pressure behind Benedict and me became too strong. We didn’t have a bolt helping us, like Ruby and Julian.

  My brother and I found ourselves hurtling forward as the door jerked forward. We stumbled and tripped, and then the adults were upon us. Hands closed around the back of my neck and around my arms and legs.

  I was flipped over onto my back, and that was when I realized that Wes was among the aggressors. He had latched on to my right wrist.

  “What the HELL!” Benedict spluttered in indignation as he was wrestled into submission along with our other two companions. “Let GO of me!”

  I had been expecting them to start behaving in the same way as the teens outside, with aggression. Punching us. Beating us. But their objective, for whatever strange reason, appeared to be different. They were making us submit, and then they were dragging us toward the front door. I kicked and flailed in their grasp, but as a human, I was no match for three grown men. Not even my coursing adrenaline could save me.

  The bolt was drawn. The night air spilled into the entrance room. And then we were hauled outside.

  I expected us to be battered by the teens who’d lost their minds outside the house. But, to my bewilderment, they had calmed down, turned on their heel, and were now all heading back to the hostel.

  “What are you doing?” Julian yelled.

  None of our captors answered as they continued dragging us across the lawn.

  Then Ruby gasped to my right. As I strained to look in the direction we were headed, I realized why.

  Five imposing figures were sweeping toward us in the darkness. They were men, the tallest I’d ever seen—each must’ve been over six and a half feet tall. They couldn’t be human. They wore long, sweeping black cloaks, and as they ventured closer, within the halo of light emanating from the solar bulbs, I was able to better make out their features.

  Each was pale and shared the same harsh jawline. Perhaps they were brothers. One in particular caught my eye; the tallest among them, he was staring right at me. He had straight, russet-brown hair that trailed past his shoulders and his eyes were raven black.

  Our captors dropped us abruptly onto the grass. I scrambled to stand up along with Ruby, Julian and Benedict, but was immediately overcome by dizziness. The pain in my head had reached a whole new level of agony as the five tall men approached.

  Before we could even attempt to run, the men sped up. One lurched straight for Ruby, one for Julian, one for Benedict and two for me, including the tallest.

  They darted forward with supernatural speed, the tallest reaching me before the other. He stopped three feet away from me before sliding a hand beneath his cloak and whipping out a long, razor-sharp sword, which he brandished against the second man.

  “No, Jenus,” the tall man said. His voice was deep and fierce, like the bark of a wild dog. “You must stay within this realm and find another. This one shall be mine.”

  An angry scowl contorted Jenus’ face as he backed away. When the tall man turned and stared down at me with his intense black eyes, the combination of shock and my splitting migraine overpowered me. As he stooped down to wrap his powerful arms around me and pick me up, I passed out.

  Hazel

  My brain became aware of an ache at the back of my jaw. I was clenching my teeth hard. I loosened my jaw as I sensed light behind my eyelids. Then the sound of crackling. Soothing warmth touched my skin and I was lying face down on my stomach, on something soft and smooth.

  Forcing my eyes open, I found myself bathed in firelight. Beneath me was a feathery rug, and in front of me was a giant fireplace, flames rising up high and licking its charred walls.

  I propped myself upright, my vision focusing. I was in a small room whose towering walls were made of wide stone slabs, and whose floors were populated with an antique-looking chaise longue, a wooden chair padded with silk cushioning, and a narrow wooden table on the opposite side of the room.

  My breathing loud in my ears, I staggered to my feet. I was still trying to work out where I was and how I’d gotten here. What had happened? What was my last memory?

  Then it all came flooding back. The nightmare of Murkbeech. Those five tall men, leaping at us. One of them stooping down to pick me up.

  After that, all went dark.

  Oh, God. What were those things? Why do they want us?

  Where am I now?

  I realized that I didn’t have a headache anymore. That was a small mercy at least.

  My eyes darted around me and rested on a tall, rounded door. I hurried to it and clutched its ancient iron handle. I thrust downward, but it wouldn’t budge. My heart in my throat, I ran to the other side of the room, where there appeared to be a shuttered window. Prying my hands into the ruts of the black wooden shutter, I pulled hard until it creaked and swung open.

  I was met with a blast of ice-cold air, and then a sight so awe-inspiring and terrifying that I struggled to breathe for several moments.

  Whether it was dusk or dawn was hard to tell, but bathed in a misty hue of pale orange sunlight was some kind of city, or country, sprawled out beneath me for as far as I could see. I was standing in a room near the top of a gargantuan dark gray stone castle, perched atop a rolling hill and guarded all around by high walls and a wide, treacherous-looking moat.

  The civilization on the other side of the walls and water looked like it belonged in some kind of medieval-fantasy video game. Broad stone buildings as dark as the castle clustered the landscape amidst cobbled stone roads and paths. Many constructions had chimneys which billowed thick smoke, adding to the haze that hung over the community.

  A harsh cawing called my attention to my right. Within the boundaries of the castle was a spacious courtyard, in the corner of which were five massive birds with sharp beaks and long heads. They looked like vultures, but no vultures you’d find on Earth. These looked capable of carrying three full-grown men.

  I began to wheeze in panic.

  Where did they bring us?

  I’d heard many tales from my family about places in the supernatural realm, but none fit the description of this sinister-looking place. It had the dark vibe I’d pictured Cruor having, except this was inhabited… by whom, I still didn’t understand.

  A powerful gust of wind rattled the shutter and warded me back inside.

  Fear climbing in my chest, I moved back to the door with balled fists. Even though I was terrified to attract the attention of my captor, I had to know what was going on. I had to know that my brother and Ruby and Julian were still safe. Still alive.

  I smashed my fists against the door and called out, “Let me out of here!”. I shuddered to imagine what might be on the other side.

  I continued banging as loud as I could until I heard the first echoes of footsteps approaching. Then I stopped. I withdrew from
the door, my hands beginning to tremble. The footsteps drew closer and closer until they stopped, right outside the door. Then came the scraping of a key against metal… and the door creaked open.

  I staggered backward, the back of my legs hitting against the chaise longue. The door creaked wide open, revealing a breathtakingly tall man, standing in the doorway, his hair tied at the back of his head. It was the same man who’d grabbed me. Without his long cloak, he wore dark pants and a loose black shirt that flashed a portion of toned chest. He wasn’t as bulky as I had imagined. He was well built, but still slim and lithe. I was so consumed by the intensity of his dark eyes as they settled on me that it took me a few seconds to register that he hadn’t arrived alone. Perched on his left shoulder was some kind of cat. It looked like a lynx. Its ears were pointed, and it had a warm brown coat criss-crossed with black streaks. Its eyes were slanted and yellowish.

  “A-Are you a warlock?” I demanded of the man, my gaze shooting back to him.

  His harsh mouth twitched slightly upward in one corner, forming a fleeting smirk.

  “No,” he replied. His voice stirred the room like a sonorous drum.

  He stepped inside and shut the door sharply behind him. As he strode to the cushioned chair, he moved with fluid intent, with grace and swiftness that only a supernatural could possess. He sat down and the lynx leapt from his shoulder to the floor, where it stood upright by the man’s large booted feet.

  “Then what are you?” I breathed. He didn’t strike me as a vampire. Although he was pale, he wasn’t pale enough. And besides, it didn’t look like he had fangs. Plus, how would being a vampire explain the craziness that had gone on at Murkbeech?

  He crossed his arms and kept me hanging for ten seconds as he continued to study my face. Finally he replied, “That would depend on who you ask… The son of an emperor. A hated rival. The most feared swordsman in all of Nevertide… This I am known as and more. But I suppose what you wish to know is my name—Tejus Hellswan—and that I am a sentry.”

  My mouth hung open as I gaped at him.

  Nevertide?

  Sentry?

  “Wh-What is a sentry?” I managed, sinking down to the chaise-longue for fear that my knees were becoming too weak to hold me.

  “Some call us mindguards, masters of thought control, leeches of emotion… Though in some ways we are not so very different from humans. We are of flesh and blood. But unlike humans, we possess heightened strength and speed, and our stamina is not derived from the food we put in our stomachs. We sustain our powers by feeding off mental energy… much like vampires feed off blood, I suppose.”

  Sentries. Whoa. I wondered if anyone in The Shade was aware of their existence. I doubted it. I’d never once heard mention of them.

  “Wh-What were you doing on Earth? And what have you done with my brother and two friends?”

  He pried his focus away from me and roamed slowly to the window I had left open. His lynx followed him, though it cast its gaze back at me while they walked.

  Tejus stopped at the window and, placing his hands on the window frame, gazed out at the view.

  “Come,” he commanded me, not turning around.

  I didn’t think that it was a good idea to disobey this guy—at least not yet, not until I’d figured out what the heck was going on and just how bad my situation was—so I rose to my feet and cautiously made my way over to the window. But I found it surprisingly difficult to approach within a few feet of him. It was as if the two of us were opposing magnets, as though a halo of intense energy surrounded him, making me recoil.

  He turned at my hesitation. I’d expected there to be an irritable look on his face, but instead his handsome features were formed in a thoughtful expression.

  “I was right about the strength of your mind,” he said quietly.

  My brows lowered. “What?”

  “My brothers and I descended to the human realm because we were each in search of a cohort. We have a grave task ahead of us, and we require an aide whose mind is both sturdy and fertile to provide us with strength throughout whatever trials we might come across.”

  “Task? Trials? What are you talking about?”

  “Come closer.” He beckoned me again.

  I flinched at the thought. I’d backed away, afraid that my migraine would come on again. “I-It’s hard.”

  “I’ve relinquished my mind’s energy. It won’t be so difficult to approach. Come, stand by me.”

  Inhaling, I attempted to move forward again. This time, as he promised, it wasn’t difficult. There was no weird forcefield around him prodding me backward.

  I stood beside him at the window, even as the gale-force wind swept back my hair and caused my skin to break out in goosebumps.

  Standing two feet away from me, he raised a hand and pointed deep into the horizon. “Look beyond the Hellswan Kingdom, far into the distance. Do you see the outline of a second kingdom? The wall that surrounds it?”

  I squinted. It was so hard to see through the haze, especially now that the sun seemed to be setting—it was dusk after all. But after a few seconds, yes, I realized what he was talking about. I could see the faintest trace of a high wall.

  I nodded.

  “That is a second kingdom within the land of Nevertide. Ruled by King Dellian Demzred. It is just as large as ours, with just as many worthy knights and foot soldiers… Now look eastward.” He pointed to our left. “You will not be able to see it at this time of day with your poor human eyesight, but therein lies a third kingdom of Nevertide—or rather, queendom—ruled by Queen Trina Seraq. There are still more kingdoms—three more, to be precise—that make up the six provinces of Nevertide. Six provinces managed by five kings and one queen, but ruled over by a single emperor, to ensure consistent harmony in our land… That emperor is my father.”

  This was really a lot of information to absorb in such a short space of time. I found my head spinning.

  “So your father is Emperor of Nevertide… which makes you a prince?”

  Tejus nodded. “One of five princes,” he replied.

  “Where is Nevertide?” I asked, my eyes sweeping the seemingly never-ending landscape. I wasn’t exactly a geographer of the supernatural dimension, but it would be helpful to know where we were near at least.

  “That I cannot tell you,” Tejus said, backing away from the window with his feline and retaking his seat in the chair.

  I stayed by the window and turned to look at him. “Why not?” I shot back.

  “It is sentry law to keep our whereabouts secret. Very few know how to find our land, and it’s unlikely that you would find it marked on any map. Not even the witches of The Sanctuary know where we live… But I have not finished answering your initial questions,” he said, raising a dark brow.

  “So tell me what you mean by tasks and trials.”

  His lynx purred deeply, nestling the side of its head against Tejus’ ankles as it continued to watch me.

  “I told you that my father is Emperor of Nevertide,” he said, “but he will not be for long. He will soon have used up the duration of rule—many thousands of moons have passed since he was coronated—and very soon, a new emperor must be appointed. And it must be the most worthy man or woman in the empire.”

  His reply did little to provide clarity to my situation. I couldn’t deny that I was curious to know more about this surreal world, but right now my mind could only focus on what was directly relevant to myself and my companions getting out of here.

  “Where did you put my brother and two friends?” I demanded more loudly than I had before. “Take me to them!”

  I was of half a mind to run to the door and try to open it again—even though that was a ludicrous proposition since there was no way I could run from him, and even if I could, where would I run?—when Tejus replied, “Your human companions are not under my wing. They were taken by my brothers, as you saw, and will serve as cohorts for the task ahead.”

  Task. That word again.


  “WHAT TASK?” The fear and desperation coursing through my veins felt like they were bringing me close to a nervous breakdown.

  Tejus remained calm, his expression controlled. I got the sense with him that every action he took was deliberate and calculated, whether he was talking or walking across the room. If he had the power to control the minds of others, I guessed it was only logical to assume that he must have the ability to control his own mind too.

  “You must learn to harness your emotions,” he remarked.

  I felt like cursing him. “Harnessing my emotions would be a lot easier if you would take me to my brother and friends,” I snapped.

  “Sit down,” he said, gesturing to the chaise-longue. Only a few minutes ago he’d been beckoning me to the window. I didn’t feel like sitting down—least of all at his command—so I remained standing, crossing my arms over my chest.

  A few seconds later, I instantly wished I’d obeyed his request. I felt a searing pain in my skull—the migraine had returned.

  “Ugh!” I huffed, rushing to the chaise longue and dropping down onto it. “Okay,” I seethed. “I’m sitting.” Even as Tejus’ dark eyes continued to hold me, the headache gradually diminished, allowing me to see and think clearly again. “What did you do to me? And to all those other humans back in Murkbeech? Why did you make them all go insane?”

  “We were conducting a test,” Tejus explained. “A test to discover humans whose minds we could not easily crack… We had visited that small island before—some months ago in human time. We found only adults there, whose minds were disappointingly weak. We were able to manipulate their desires and emotions to doing our bidding very quickly, and thus they were not worthy cohorts for us.”

  The adults. I wondered what the sentries’ mind control had involved exactly—whether it caused those adults to be permanently damaged, and that was why they had behaved so erratically around us. Switching from one mood to the other for no apparent reason at the drop of a hat.

  Then there was the matter of Peter’s nightmare… His pleading in his sleep for something to not return.