The Guardians of the Relic

The gallery was buzzing with people. Emily pushed her way through the crowd in search of Kristine. She spotted her standing next to a well-crafted wooden sculpture of a horse. Kristine was busy on her iPad. She didn’t even look up for Emily to catch her attention. She tried waving her hand but that didn’t work. Finally, Kristine lifted her head and saw her. She rushed over to Emily’s side.

“Oh thank God Emily. I was just about to message you. Have you spoken to Michael?” asked Kristine.

“I was just about to ask you the same thing. You haven’t seen him?”

“No, I haven’t. Not since the day before yesterday.” Kristine lifted her index finger. “Sorry I need to take this,” she said and pressed a button on her earpiece.

Emily tried not to panic. There was probably a reasonable explanation for her brother’s silence. She started to feel dizzy. Maybe it was just the lack of sleep or maybe it was because she hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday. The new-paint smell in the gallery wasn’t making her feel any better.

“Are you alright?” asked Kristine when she ended the call.

“Yes I’m fine. Did Michael say he was coming in today?” Emily rested her hand on the wall, mainly for balance.

“Yes he did, but only for a short while. He said something about a birthday. I’m not sure.” She stopped and eyed her. “I should really get you some water, you look like you’re about to faint.” A man with a grey beard came up to Kristine and asked a question about the sculpture. She became momentarily distracted.

After a few minutes Emily grew impatient. She nudged her and whispered, “Don’t worry, I’ll get it myself. Doesn’t Michael have a water dispenser in his office?”

“Yes he does,” answered Kristine, giving her an apologetic look.

“It’s okay,” said Emily. She wanted to check his office anyway. Maybe he had snuck in quietly. Although she knew it was unlikely, it was worth a try.

The door was wide open. Emily walked in and called his name. She waited. No answer. As she suspected, he wasn’t there. She glanced around. Everything appeared to be the same since the last time she had seen the place. It was pretty messy, but one thing stood out. Michael’s chair was toppled over. Strange.

She picked it up. There was a coffee mug sitting on the desk. The cup was full. She could tell it had been sitting there for a while because of the brown ring that had formed just below the rim of the mug. Michael loved coffee; he usually couldn’t work without it. Her eyes shifted next to the canvas beside his desk. It was covered with a white sheet. She removed the sheet it and saw the painting of Daisy. He had finished it. The painting had a big red bow on the side. Michael had been working on it for months, and had been so excited to surprise her with it. So where was he then? That’s when she saw the phone on his table.

She picked it up and pressed a button, causing the screen to light up. Twelve missed calls. Emily swallowed hard and stared at the chair. She stepped back slowly as the fear crept in. Her pulse started to race. She covered her mouth with both hands as an all too familiar feeling began to sink in.

* *

Emily entered her apartment and locked the door behind her. She even put the chain on, which she never did. With her back to the door, she stood and scanned her apartment. Nothing looked unusual. She ran to the window and looked outside to make sure no one was watching her or following her. Emily sat on the couch and covered her face with her hands. Oh God, she thought, Michael. They had taken him. Alkron must have thought he had the pendant. But he doesn’t. She stood and paced up and down the lounge. She had to do something. She ran to her bedroom, picked up the phone, and dialed.

“Hello?”

“Hello Ethan, it’s me. Can you come to my apartment now?”

She didn’t need to say anything more to him. Ethan was knocking on her door less than fifteen minutes later.

“Hey, I didn’t think you were speaking to me,” he said when she opened the door. She glanced left and right, and then pulled him inside by the shirt. She immediately locked the door behind her.

Ethan straightened his clothes and asked, “What’s going on?”

“Ethan, they have him.” Emily tried to stay calm but she couldn’t. A million different things were going through her head.

Ethan waited for her to say more but she didn’t. “Okay, I think you need to sit down first. No offense, but you look terrible,” he said. She grabbed him by the shirt again, but this time she pulled him to her.

“You don’t understand. Michael. They took my brother.”

“What? Are you sure?” asked Ethan. She let go of him and started pacing again.

“Yes I’m sure.” Emily pulled the phone from her pocket and handed it to him. Ethan looked at the screen.

“He never forgets his phone. When I got to his office, his chair was toppled over and there was a full cup of coffee just sitting there on his desk.” She stopped for a minute and stared at Ethan. “What if he’s already…?” She couldn’t get the words out.

Ethan took both her hands in his. “Emily, you need to pull yourself together. I need you to concentrate so you can help me. We will find him, I promise.”

“How are we going to do that? We have no clue where they have taken him, or if he’s even still alive.”

“Well that’s not entirely true. I have a way of finding his location,” said Ethan.

“What do you mean?”

“I kind of put a tracker on him.”

Emily let go of his hands immediately. “I’m sorry, you did what?”

He put both his hands up in a defensive position. “Okay, before you start screaming at me, let me explain.”

She folded her arms “I’m listening”

“I’ve been searching for the pendant myself.” Her eyes widened as he quickly tried to explain. “But not for the reason you’re thinking. Look, I just thought I could help Alastair – as a thank you.”

“A thank you? For what, exactly?”

Ethan put his hands in his pockets. He seemed uncomfortable. “Well, he saved my life.” He looked away. “It’s how we met. When I got back home from London, I was a bit lost. The night I landed in Elgin, I didn’t tell anyone. I wasn’t ready to see my friends or family, especially my dad. I walked around Elgin Central for at least two hours. It must have been about one in the morning when I saw him.”

Emily resigned to sitting again. “Who? Alastair?”

“No. Alkron.” Ethan still didn’t face her.

Emily’s mouth went dry. She imagined what it would have been like for him. “You saw him?”

“I did, but I couldn’t see his face. Only his profile. He wore a red and black cloak. His face was mostly covered, and he was draining the life out of a man.” Ethan shivered recalling it. “For the first time in my life I was actually scared.” He turned to face her. “He is pure evil”

“Then what happened?” asked Emily. She was caught up in his memory, as if she had been there.

“Then he noticed me. It was like he sensed my presence. Of course I ran, but I got cornered in an alley. That’s when Alastair came and saved me. It was the first time he had managed to track down Alkron in years. Alkron disappeared after that. I guess it wasn’t worth getting caught just to kill me.”

They both just sat there for a while in silence.

“It still doesn’t make him some kind of hero. You were just lucky, unlike my parents,” she said, breaking the silence. Her words were cold. “So when did you put a tracker on my brother?”

“At the exhibition. We met for the first time, I shook his hand and stole his watch,” said Ethan.

“His watch?”

“Yep. I installed the tracker in his watch. I met with him shortly after to discuss the prospect of investing and left it back on his desk. When you met me at the gallery, he had called me back to turn down my offer. I hope he’s still wearing it.”

“I don’t know. He wears it often. It was a gift from our dad and he loves it.” She paused. “So you never wanted to invest?”

Ethan smiled. “I wanted a partnership with him so that I could have access to gallery. I thought that he had the pendant in the building.”

“But he doesn’t have it.”

“You don’t know that for sure,” said Ethan.

Emily grabbed his hand and pulled him to follow her. When he realized she was heading towards the bedroom he said “Wait...hold on Emily.” She stopped and turned back. “I am flattered, really. You are a very beautiful woman, but I don’t think you’re in the right state of mind right now.” He rubbed the back of his head nervously.

Emily rolled her eyes at him “Just shut up and follow me.”

“Okay…” He reluctantly went with her into the bedroom.

Emily let go of his hand and slid the jewelry box from under the blanket. She removed the key and note. When she looked at Ethan again, his eyes were closed.

“Ethan, open your eyes. Do you know what this opens?”

He opened one eye half way at first, and then both eyes. He took the key from her hand and examined it. “No I don’t, but I can find out. Where did you get it?”

“It was in a birthday present from my mother.” Emily knew she didn’t need to explain any further.

“Oh my god, you had it all along,” he said staring at the key.

“Yes I did,” said Emily. Exhausted, she sat down on the bed. Only then did she notice it was a mess. She hadn’t even bothered to make it. After Daisy left, the only thing she could think about was finding Michael. Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Ethan’s eyes made contact with hers.

“Emily?” a voice called. It was Jason. Oh God, not again, could this day get any worse? she thought. She made her way to the door.

“Hey,” said Emily when she opened the door. She couldn’t hide this time. She was just going to have to make an excuse as to why Ethan was there. It was either that or tell him that it wasn’t a good time. Maybe the latter was better.

Jason knew something was wrong the minute he laid eyes on her. Things between them hadn’t been the same for a while now, but he had just ignored it. He figured if he gave her some space, it would get better. It had been a week since the last time he saw her, and he had thought he’d surprise her and take her out for lunch. Maybe even go to their favorite restaurant, The Fire Empress.

“Hi. Are you okay?” Her eyes were red and her face was pale.

“No, I am not feeling very well. Can I meet you later? I just need to sleep it off.”

“I’m sorry you’re not feeling well, but you shouldn’t be alone. Why don’t I make you something to eat?” Jason tried to get a look inside the apartment, but she had the door half closed. It seemed to him like she was deliberately blocking his view.

“Thanks, but I wouldn’t be very good company right now. I’ll catch up with you later, I promise.”

Jason’s eyes narrowed. “Ems, what’s going on?”

“Nothing. I’m just not feeling well, that’s all.”

Jason sensed it. She was lying to him. Something else was wrong. “Okay, then I’ll just stay for a few minutes.” She didn’t move or say anything. “I’m not taking no for an answer.” He pushed past her, and that’s when he saw Ethan standing in her bedroom.

Jason just stared at him, his face frozen in shock. What the hell was he doing here?