The Eternal Guardians: Book 1: The Missing Heir

Chapter 42

Suddenly, Roman stopped, and Ashta looked up at him. He pulled himself off of her, and she scooted away from him as she got to her feet. They both looked around in question.

“What has gotten into you two?” asked the voice.

“They have lost their way!” said another.

Annoyed, Ashta backed away from Roman, and then she brushed herself off.

“Why haven’t you mended the bond?” asked one of the voices.

Where were their voices coming from? Ashta wondered, as she glanced around quickly.

“Well?”

Heavily, Ashta sighed. She knew that they were the gods and they expected an answer.

“Because there is no way I can work with him. He is a self-centered jerk who only cares for his own personal gain,” Ashta sneered, as she crossed her arms over her chest, and Roman scoffed at her.

“How do you expect me to work with someone with that mentality? We have made it possible that there will be no more war between the kingdoms, as long as she stays where she belongs!” Roman sneered, and Ashta made a disgusted face at him.

“And you stay where you belong! Away from me!” she snarled angrily.

For a moment, the air was still and quiet, as Roman and Ashta stared at each other. They wanted to kill each other, and the gods saw this now. They decided the only way to get them back to where they were before was to send them through the Realms of Passing. It was their only hope of saving the Elemental Children.Also, since the two could not stop fighting against each other, they summoned the two from the fight in the arena.

At the moment they had seen the two at each other’s throats, the gods decided to strip Ashta and Roman of the elements and they would have to earn them back. It was the only way they could think of to get these defiant children to listen to them.

Evidently, they would pass through the four realms, and they would have to complete a task in each, together. They would be allowed to bring one trusted friend with them to bring with them on their journey. However, this division between the two needed to stop, by any means necessary.

“I can do as I please, your highness,” he said matter-of-factly.

“And I can burn you to death with a flick of my wrist!” she said in a challenging tone, and Roman sneered at her.

“Not if I stomp you into the ground first!” he snarled.

Angrily, Ashta threw her arms out to her side and bright orange flames engulfed her arms. Roman growled at her as he got ready for a fight.

“Bring it on, mutt!” he snarled, and Ashta suddenly looked at him in awe, and the flames disappeared.

“Did you just call me a mutt?” she asked, offended, and he looked at her, as he ran his tongue across his teeth and then he smiled at her.

“So, what if I did?” he said in a long sarcastic tone, and waved his hands outward like it was no big deal.

At that moment, Ashta snarled, and then her whole body was engulfed in flames.

“Mutt? You’re the mutt! You don’t even have the power of the four elements down,” she said, as she laughed a menacing laugh, and Roman quickly called upon the earth element.

“STOP IT! BOTH OF YOU!” Said one of the gods, loudly.

Immediately, Ashta’s flames disappeared, and they both looked up at the sky startled.

“I fear that they are much too far lost on their path, and they must go through the Realms of Passing,” said one of the gods out loud.

At that moment, green glowing eyes appeared before them, and then the dragon’s face came into view. Orange and red-hot flames shot out of the moon god’s nose and Ashta swallowed hard.

“Now, you two need to stop this at once, and you have been told many times. Now, you two will be going through the Realms of Passing. We will let the elder gods decide if you two are the right fit for being the Elemental Children. You may bring one trusted being with you, and you will be leaving very soon, so choose wisely,” the dragon snarled, as the hot flames burned brightly.

Roman scoffed, and then he crossed his arms over his chest.

“I am not going anywhere with her!” he said, as he rolled his eyes.

“Likewise!” Ashta stated, and the moon god snarled at them, as he shot the flames from his nose.

“You two have no choice!”

Suddenly, Ashta and Roman were forced to their knees by the unseeable force. They both screamed out in agonizing pain, and their backs began to burn, as their tattoos disappeared one by one. The only tattoo they were left with was the fifth symbol on the back of their necks, and it had changed. Now, the symbol was of four hands and the elements above them with wavy lines. The elemental powers were stripped from them, and left them powerless to call upon the elements.

“Now, let’s see if you two can work together and earn them back!” stated one of the gods, and Ashta hung her head defeated.

Ashta and Roman had given the gods no choice, but to take their gifts away from them, and make them work together.

“Listen, there will be a task to complete in each of the four realms. Complete each task together and that is how you earn your elements back,” stated the sun god’s voice.

Ashta knew that voice, and it was like music to her ears.

“What kind of task?” Ashta asked, as she rose to her feet.

“The tasks vary in each realm, but remember the main key here is to work together.”

At that moment, the spirit world disappeared, and Ashta and Roman were on the ground back in the arena. Angrily, Ashta looked at him.

“This is all your fault, you know,” she snapped, and he smirked at her.

At that moment, he was right in front of her face, and he glared at her.

“I could snap your neck, right here and right now!” he growled, as he stared into her eyes.

Angrily, Ashta flicked her wrist as she held his gaze, and to her surprise nothing happened. She searched his eyes as she tried to call upon the elements again, and she had no luck. Suddenly, there were many guards that surrounded them, grabbed them and hauled them back to their separate doors.

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Angrily, Ashta pushed the guards away from her as the large door closed behind them.

“Ashta?” Called Riah, as she ran up to her.

Gale, Liam and Shane all looked at her with concern.

“Are you alright?” Gale asked with worry in his eyes, and she looked at him, as she sighed heavily.

“No, I am not. That asshole got our powers taken from us, and now, I have to go through something that is called the Realms of Passing in order to get them back, and I have to go with him!” Ashta exclaimed angrily.

“Wait! What?” asked Riah with wide eyes, and Ashta looked at her, as she sighed.

“Will you come with me? I am allowed to bring one person along,” Ashta said to her, hopefully.

Riah searched her eyes, and then she gave her a knowing look.

“Of course, I will go with you. I am probably the only one that can keep you two from killing each other,” she said dramatically, and Ashta crossed her arms over her chest.

At that moment, Ashta wondered who Roman would choose as his trusted person to come with him. Probably a girl, Ashta thought, as she scoffed, and then she shook the thought from her head.

“So, when are we going on this wonderful trip?” Riah asked thoughtfully, and Ashta looked at her for a moment.

She didn’t remember the gods telling her when they would be leaving. At that moment, a whisper came into her mind.

“Meet at the Garden of Eternity at midnight!” the voice said, and Ashta looked at Riah aggravated.

“At midnight,” she growled, and Riah only nodded.

Gale, Liam, Ashta and Riah said goodbye to Shane and they headed back to Nemiph. Unfortunately, there was no time to grieve for Damian.

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“Get off of me!” snarled Roman, as he pushed the guards off of him.

“What happened?” exclaimed Ray, as he handed him a towel.

“Apparently, I have to go through a small little journey in order to get my powers back!” Roman growled through gritted teeth, and Ray looked at him in question.

“Your powers back?” he asked, and Roman nodded, as he stared angrily at the wall.

“I have been stripped of my powers.”

“Midnight. Meet at the Garden of Eternity,” a whisper came into his mind, and he sneered.

“I have to meet the princess in the garden at midnight. You are coming with me,” sneered Roman, and Ray nodded.

“Okay, you know I am with you,” stated Ray, seriously, as he clapped his hands together.

“The princess is also bringing someone along. Probably a guard since her human pet is dead, and you can’t forget about her boyfriend that had passed earlier,” Roman said, as he smirked.

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Neither Ashta or Roman knew what kind of journey they were about to take, or what they would face, but they didn’t have a choice. No telling what the gods had planned to do if they didn’t show up to the garden at midnight, and they both did not want to find out.

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It was ten minutes to midnight and Riah and Ashta said their goodbyes and then they headed for the garden. Riah carried a backpack with her that she packed with things that she could think of that they might need on their journey. Surprisingly, Chantelle was standing at the garden’s entrance. Ashta smiled at the woman as she and Riah approached her.

“Chantelle, how are you?” Ashta asked, and the woman looked at her seriously.

“I am not who you think I am. I must be very brief. I come with a warning for you. If you and the prince do not mend the bond, and stop this rivalry between the two of you, then, the gods will disappear, and our land will die along with our people,” she said, and then the woman disappeared.

Ashta and Riah looked at each other oddly, and then Riah shrugged her shoulders.

“That was weird,” she said, and Ashta gave her a knowing look.

“Welcome to my world,” stated Ashta, frankly, as she walked over to the boulder and sat on the edge of it.

“So, what now?” Riah asked, as she looked at Ashta.

“I guess we have to wait until his majesty graces us with his presence,” Ashta breathed, and Riah busted out laughing.

“Okay, miss dramatic,” Riah laughed, and Ashta grinned at her.

“What is so funny?”

Ashta and Riah looked up and they saw Roman and another man walk into the Garden. Immediately, Riah’s eyebrows rose as she looked at the man.

“You!” exclaimed Riah, as she noticed that the man was the guy from the arena.

What was his name? Oh, yeah. Ray, she thought to herself. Ray laughed as he ran his hand through his hair nervously.

At that moment, a large ball of bright light appeared above the boulder and the four of them all looked at it.

“You four may pass through the trail, but you must stay on the path,” a voice said, and then the ball faded and disappeared.

Suddenly, the ball of light reappeared at the trail behind the garden. That was the trail that led to the cliffs and the waterfalls.

“Strange,” Ashta said, as she and Riah took the lead.

Silently, Roman and Ray followed them.Surprisingly, the trail was a lot different from what Ashta remembered. This time, the trail was lined with tall, thick barked trees that formed a canopy over the trail high in the sky. They walked along the trail as they looked around, and soon they were facing a white stone doorway.

“What is this place?” Riah asked, as the guys walked up to them.

“I am not sure. I have never seen this place before, and I have been up and down this trail a lot,” said Roman as he rubbed his chin.

Suddenly, the ball of light appeared before them and it shined brightly above the doorway.

“For your first task, you will be in the Water Realm of Passing. There is a puzzle that you must work on and solve together. Complete the task and earn the water element. Good luck,” said the voice, and then the light disappeared again.

“I guess we have to go down into the dark doorway,” suggested Ray with a breath, and Riah shrugged her shoulders.

“I guess so,” stated Ashta.

“Ladies first,” said Roman, as he gestured to the doorway with his hands, and Ashta scoffed.

“So, now is the time you decide to be a gentleman,” she mumbled, as she and Riah walked into the doorway.

Roman turned to Ray and gave him a knowing look.

“Don’t let your guard down just because there is a pretty girl around,” Roman said seriously, and Ray nodded.

“I am just being polite,” said Ray, as he put his hands up defensively.

“Keep it that way,” Roman stated, and then he and Ray slipped into the doorway and followed the girls.

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Evidently, Maya didn’t waste any time after Roman had left. She gathered up her army and ordered another attack on Nemiph. When Roman got back, he would see the error of his ways, and learn how to rule by her side.

Evilly, she hoped that the poison wouldn’t wear off while he was gone. Maya was surprised to find that Roman didn’t take any of the bourbon with him. If the poison wore off before he got back, then she could count on all of her plans being ruined.

The Selvempt guards took over the kingdom of the Slayers and they captured Gale and Liam. Maya ordered for them to be locked away in the dungeon and they did as they were ordered.

Seemingly, the villagers of Nemiph became slaves, including Roman’s mother, and even some of the Selvempt villages became slaves with the Salyers. Nemiph and Taitum became a hellish wasteland and Maya ruled over the sad kingdoms, and she punished anyone who supported her niece.