The Devil's Guardian

The Devil's Guardian - Chapter 2

Nyx was humming a happy fairy song when she entered the sauna. She was thankful that she had a fairy godmother who often lifted her spirits up.

'I feel tired and jaded with my life!' Nyx told herself while trudging her toes against the embedded stone.

When she entered the sauna, Shimermoon was nowhere.

"Mother Moon? Where are you? I'm here now!" Nyx called aloud while looking at under the leaves of the plants.

The silence was eerie. There was no breeze. Even the white smoke rising from smoldering rocks did not dare move left or right. The smoke's direction was straight above.

The fine hairs at her nape stood up. It had only one bad meaning. Somebody had wicked plans for Nyx!

She looked down at her feet. Her fairy's eye could see the traps. She stepped on one of the triggers. When she looked around her, there were several red orbs. Each were throbbing like buttons that protrude on the ground!

If she lifted her foot, what would happen?

"Don't move! Don't move!"

Nyx heard Shimermoon's tiny voice but could not see her.

"Where are you?" she whispered.

"I'm at your feet! Do not dare lift your feet off the ground!"

"Okay!"

After a few moments, Nyx became itchy.

"Mother Moon, where are you?"

"I'm on your left! Don't move yet!"

Nyx turned her head to the left. What she saw made her blood curdle with anger!

There were thousands of red buttons scattered on the ground. One wrong move and the whole place would explode!

Shimermoon was busy with the buttons. One by one, she pointed her wand and triggered the implosion.

"Mother Moon, let me help you!"

"No! Don't move your foot! It will trigger the explosion!"

Nyx could see that her godmother was getting tired. The little fairy power was low.

She saw movement from her side view. Something flashed. She deduced that they were the eyeglasses of Wilmot.

But Wilmot could not plan this brilliant network of explosives. It was either Kallikrates or Maleficus did it!

The two men could not accept that Nyx refused their offer of marriage!

"If you refused me, I can make your life uncomfortable, Nicandra!" Maleficus warned her.

"By doing what? I don't believe that you would stalk me for the rest of our lives! You will be wasting your time. Find another girl who'll like you, Maleficus!"

Kallikrates had different approach.

"Nicandra, marry me! I'll make you a castle full of servants and food!"

"Are you trying to fatten me up, Kallikrates? I'm sorry. I can't accept your proposal!"

"What is it that you don't like? Please, choose one from us!" Gregor pleaded to her. "Choose me and you shall be the richest wife! I shall transfer all my money to your name!"

"Do you think my father didn't give me money of my own? Tsk! tsk!" Nyx shook her head.

"I can provide you with many children! They will be all intelligent!" Wilmot promised her.

"What do you take me for? A babymaker? No, no no!"

"Marry me, Nicandra! And your wish shall be always my command!" Giles pledged to her.

"You don't want a wife! You want a boss to dominate you in and out of the bedroom!" Nyx said in disgust.

She asked herself: 'How can I escape this world full of weird men?'

"Nyx! I'm done!" Shimermoon announced tiredly. "You can move now!"

Nyx stepped off the red button stiffly. Shimermoon pounced the protruding round object with her magic wand. It instantly imploded.

Someone clapped their hands.

"Maleficus!" Nyx exclaimed. "You planned this?"

"Not only I." He waved his hand to the other four wizards.

Kallikrates bowed his head sardonically. "Clever?"

"You are disgusting! Shimermoon doesn't deserve to be treated like this!"

"Oh! We don't know that she would help you, Nicandra!" Maleficus sharpened his eyes to the little fairy.

"Why not? Shimermoon is her little mother from fairyland!" Kallikrates said sarcastically.

"You have to worry more, Nicandra! Shimermoon cannot fly now so she will perish with you! The real explosive is here!" Maleficus pointed at the large brown square. "It will go off at exactly--what is the exact time?" he asked Wilmot.

"Uh, five minutes?" Wilmot replied hesitantly.

"No, four minutes!" Gregor cut in.

"T-three minutes," Giles answered nervously. "W-we'd better go now!"

"Morons! Nicandra--and Shimermoon--have exactly nine minutes and twenty-two seconds!" Kallikrates retorted.

"You are all horrible! Get out of here!"

"Oh, yes! Certainly!" Maleficus waved his black wand. "Goodbye!"

Nyx could not move her arms and legs. Maleficus placed invisible bands around her limbs. All she could move were her fingers and head!

Maleficus chortled as they passed the entrance.

Kallikrates' voice spoke when they were outside. "Everyone! The explosives shall go off in about eight minutes. You better go at a safer distance!"

"Why don't you let us watch?"

"We are waiting here for nothing!"

"Yes. We want to know what you did!"

"Do you use magic or real explosives?"

"Oh, we used real explosives plus magic!" Maleficus boasted. "Now, be a good citizen of this community! Move! Move!"

Meanwhile, Nyx picked up her weak fairy godmother. Fortunately, she could bend her body.

"Mother Moon, I'm very sorry! I included you in this mess!"

"No, no! I should've known that they were just decoys!" Shimermoon said defensively.

Nyx kissed Shimermoon on the forehead.

"Don't think about it! Take a rest!" She placed the little fairy in her coat's pocket. She had been thinking all the while how to escape.

Nyx was a fairy princess. Her father had given her a part of his tremendous magic. She had inherited her mother's high-level white witchcraft.

But these were turned off by Maleficus' black magic.

She would be able to switch off the preventive magic but she needed time!

'Think, Nicandra Sage!' she commanded herself.

"Nyx... my talisman... Use my talisman!" the little voice from Nyx's pocket whispered.

Her fingers groped for the pendant of her necklace. It was a triangle with a circle at the center. When she touched the concave circle, a light beamed from it. Her eyes could see a bottomless tunnel.

"Jump, Nyx! Go into the channel!" ordered the little voice.

Nyx did not jump. She was sucked into the hole.

If she screamed, she could not hear her own voice. The whole of the sauna had exploded. The round entrance of the passageway had closed in time but she was still shaken very badly.

Her legs wobbled. Her arms grew weak. Her head shuddered.

"Oh! I'm going to faint!"

That was the last thought she could remember!