The Guardian's Mark

The blackness rushed in like a giant powerful curtain, engulfing us as the air was once again sucked out of the atmosphere. This time it was even stronger, suffocating me and swirling my vision with such force I thought perhaps I was dying. As quickly as it had come though, it was gone and we were back on the ground. Everyone else seemed unaffected however my stomach had other plans.

I stumbled off to a tree and dropped to my knees, heaving but trying with all my might to keep the vomit in. I didn’t want to seem weak in front of the others but no amount of will could hide what I was feeling. I felt a hand touch my back but my eyes were jammed shut so I wasn’t sure who it was.

“I’ve got you.”

Gavin. Almost immediately the warmth of his hand began to grow. It traveled throughout my body and once it reached my stomach the relief was instantaneous. My head stopped spinning and the constriction in my chest went away so that I could return to my feet, my legs strong and stable this time. “Thank you,” I said, looking up into his green eyes, my heart swelling immediately.

His eyes were empathetic. “Of course.”

I hadn’t paid much attention before but looking at him in his battle uniform, I was impressed. It fit him like a glove and highlighted his muscles in a very distracting manner. The black made his skin seem even more pale, especially in the moonlight, but his hair and beard appeared a darker shade of red. I had to remind myself to focus on the mission at hand and not my currently suspended guardian and his insanely attractive features.

We walked back to the others and I tried to ignore the stares. I knew they were all thinking the same thing: can she handle this?

“Where are we?” I asked.

Ullrick was the first to respond. “Paris. The gates are in the catacombs.”

Shit. I hadn’t mentioned it to anyone because it hadn’t come up but I was slightly claustrophobic. The gates being underground in a cramped space changed the whole game.

“We’re going to split off and take four different entrances. Rainen, Gavin, Zamira, Uriel, Jensen, Faida, and Seraphine will go with Ava and I.”

The rest of the fellows were broken into three other groups and we split apart to head for the street we had to cross to get to the entrance of the catacombs. Our group was taking the main entrance, a creepy dark green door that blended into the darkness of the night. Ullrick led us to it, the area deserted as we approached the door. Our little army filed one by one through the entrance and down the stairs. My pendant had not lit up yet but I could feel the energy humming from it.

We descended to the lower level where the air was thinner and there was no source of light. Ullrick had pulled his sword from the sheath on his back and it lit up with a blue hue, the light spreading down the long dirt corridor we faced.

Rainen walked ahead of me and Gavin behind me. My heart was racing but I refused to let it show on the surface. A sword was strapped to my back, my dagger to one thigh and the gun to the other. Even with all of this protection I felt vulnerable. I had no idea of what sort of defense these gates had but I knew this wasn’t going to be a walk in the park.

No one spoke as we marched our little army deeper underground, around curves, past the thousands of skulls lining the walls. I could feel the evil energy and before long my pendant was glowing with a fierceness that alarmed me.

“Rainen,” I whispered.

He turned back and as soon as his eyes landed on my pendant he whispered for Ullrick. “Her pendant. We’re close to the first malevolent spirits.”

Ahead of Rainen were Zamira and Ullrick so I wasn’t going to be able to see much but I’d have a warning of an attack.

I pulled my gun from its holster, wrapping both hands around it and pointing it at the ground. The safety was on but I was tempted to switch it off.

It didn’t take long for them to come. The smell flowed in from down the corridor, that all too familiar dead odor. Footsteps approached and within moments three possessed dressed in all black were rounding the corner. Unbeknownst to them, they were no match for the ambush they were walking into. Seemingly without effort, Ullrick and Zamira had sliced their way through our enemies and kept walking ahead as if nothing had happened.

I tried to ignore the shiver that crawled up my spine as I stepped over their lifeless bodies. There would be more and I needed to be prepared. We fought our way through the corridors, going deeper and deeper underground until we reached a fork.

“Let’s split off and reconvene in ten minutes. This wasn’t in the map.”

Which was probably a red flag but I didn’t want to overstep my boundaries and question Ullrick.

“Rainen, Zamira, and Ava will stay here...”

Wait, what? No way in hell was I being separated from Gavin.

“Ullrick, shouldn’t we stay together? This could be exactly what he wants. To separate us and pick us off.”

Ullrick paused and seemed to consider my opinion. “Alright, reconvene in five. If we don’t find anything we’ll travel down both corridors together until we find the right one.”

That still wasn’t sticking together but I had to trust that Ullrick knew what he was doing. He was the experienced one after all.

The six of them started down the left path and I tried not to watch as Gavin disappeared into the darkness.

“We should be with them,” I said once I was alone with Rainen and Zamira. “This doesn’t make sense.”

“It’s fine,” Zamira responded, a hint of annoyance in her tone. “Don’t trust us to protect you?”

Well, if she was going to ask like that the answer was no.

Rainen ignored her and turned to me. “Ullrick knows what he’s doing. He’s been around longer than any of us.”

Zamira scoffed and turned to stroll a few feet away.

I knew her personality and yet it still bothered me. Something felt wrong about this. It felt like we were falling into Lucifer’s trap.

“I know but I just have a bad feeling. We shouldn’t have split up.”

“Alright, I’ll tell Ullrick when he gets back that we can’t split up again.”

“Thank you.”

I was looking at his face but something moved over his shoulder that caused my focus to switch. Back down the hallway we’d come from was a figure, clouded in darkness.

“Rainen...”

The figure was getting closer, dressed in all black. It was walking calmly but strangely enough absent the sound of footsteps.

Rainen whipped around and Zamira rushed over to join him, blocking me.

The blue light from their swords cast over the figure’s face and I recognized him immediately.

“Carter.”

Rainen and Zamira hadn’t moved but Zamira was quick to speak up. “What is she talking about? There’s no one there.”

“It’s an illusion. Lucifer. He knows we’re here.”

Just as before, Carter was wearing his all black suit and his eyes were red. He seemed to be saying something but no sound came out. And just like that he vanished.

The sound of actual footsteps followed immediately and my protectors were ready in their fighting stance. The owner of the quick footsteps however was not who we expected to see.

As soon as he came into the light, he stumbled to a stop, wide-eyed.

“Rainen? Zamira?”

It was Elyon, looking all sorts of disheveled and dirty. His clothes were torn and bloodstained. His dark hair was a matted mess, and he was barefoot.

Rainen and Zamira rushed to help him, each taking an arm and walking him over to sit on a large rock.

“Are you hurt?” Rainen asked, squatting before him and searching the tears in Elyon’s clothing.

“I’m fine. It’s all healed. Is it just the three of you?”

“No, the others went ahead. How did you escape?”

“They unchained me to move me to another location and I was able to fight my way out. I got lost trying to find the exit.”

I wanted to console Elyon, one of the few angels who had been nothing but kind to me, but I held back. I was the reason he’d been captured in the first place so I wasn’t sure if he was angry with me.

“Once the others get back we’ll take you to safety. What happened to Cassiel?”

Elyon paused, his expression grim, full of sadness. “He’s with them. He’s the traitor.”

Rainen was silent while Zamira was all too quick to say, “I knew it.” She stood and began to pace, checking the corridors to see if our comrades were on their way back yet.

“Ava, Carter was there too. He’s still alive.”

My heart quickened at his words. All other thoughts dissipated and Carter was quick to rush to the forefront of my mind. I took a few steps toward Elyon who looked surprisingly well for someone who had been held hostage by Lucifer for days. “You saw him?”

“Yes. Lucifer has been keeping him alive to use him as collateral. You must leave. It’s not safe.”

Safety was the least of my concerns now. “Where is he? Can you show me?”

“Ava- ” Rainen started.

I was quick to cut him off. “No. Carter is not going to die because of me. I won’t let him. I’m going with or without you.”

Rainen seemed to consider my retort, calm as usual. “At least wait until the others return and then we will go.”

The irrational side of me didn’t want to wait and right now that side was in control. “We’ve waited long enough. Elyon can show me and you two can wait for the others. I’ll be fine.”

“As your guardian, I can’t allow it.”

Excuse me?

Rainen stood, turning to face me. His expression was friendly as usual but his tone was firm. I knew he would never hurt me but he did have the power to make me stay. “Ava, I know it’s hard knowing your friend is so close but we will save him. Don’t worry.”

I wasn’t ready to listen to reason. I had the chance to save Carter and every moment mattered. Subconsciously I was fighting so hard because I owed him. He would never have waited if our roles were reversed. “I’m not waiting for them. It’s been ten minutes already. Elyon, can you show me the way?”

Elyon seemed to hesitate. “I can. It’s not heavily guarded. But it’s dangerous. Maybe we should wait for the others-”

Rainen began to intervene while Zamira scoffed some more behind us.

“I’m going,” I said, cutting him off. “When they get back you can send them after me but I can’t leave Carter alone for another minute.”

Sensing my unwillingness to change my mind, Rainen turned to Zamira. “Stay here and wait for the others. We’ll be back soon.”

Zamira’s expression was incredulous. “You can’t be serious. We don’t take orders from anyone but Ullrick.”

“Not right now, Zamira.” It was the curtest tone I’d ever heard Rainen use and I almost felt a new respect toward him because of it.

Elyon stood slowly, his legs seeming a bit unstable. “Let’s go. There should only be two guards at his cell right now.”

His cell?

My anxiety picked up a bit at that statement. Who knew what sort of shape he was in, especially having been in a cell for who knows how long.

Elyon started down the hallway he’d come from and I followed suit, Rainen on my heels. My stone had been glowing fiercely since we’d arrived and lighting up anything within a two-foot radius. Rainen’s sword was doing the same, giving at least five feet of light. We turned down a new corridor and that was when my nerves returned. This corridor was much narrower and felt as if even more air had trouble traveling through.

“How far is it?” Rainen asked.

Elyon didn’t turn around but responded. “Not far.”

He took a step larger than the others and I hardly had a moment to question why before my heart was dropping into my stomach.

The next step I took didn’t land on hard ground but instead air and before I knew it, I was falling.

The fall felt as if it took minutes, my arms flailing through the air reaching for something, anything to catch my fall. I was out of luck and a moment later hit the hard dirt ground, crying out from the impact. I could hear a struggle and fast footsteps above me but I was too focused on my throbbing ankle to look up and see what was going on.

Rainen had shouted my name but was quieted only seconds later as more footsteps, multiple pairs of them, came rushing toward him. He shouted once more before there was absolute silence.

I finally looked up, clutching my ankle in one hand, and saw Elyon. A wicked smile stretched across his face as he moved a giant slab of stone over the opening, shutting out the light.

I was in deep shit now.