Chapter 24
2017 Words
“How did he even do that?” asked Riah as they stared at the spot where Ray had disappeared.
“I don’t know,” said Roman.
The Earth Guardian’s pillar began to glow a pulsing bright green color, and they all looked at the rock structure.
“Riah.”
A whisper echoed through the room, and Riah, nervously, looked at Roman and Ashta.
“I think the pillar knows your name,” teased Ashta, and Riah looked at her with no emotion.
“Gee, I wonder what gave you that idea,” she said, and Ashta and Roman snickered.
“Question is. Why is the Earth Guardian pillar calling to you?” he asked, and Riah gave him a worried look.
“You don’t think he is hurt, do you?” she asked.
Before he could respond, Riah ran over to the pillar and placed her hands on the smooth top. She looked up at them, and before they could even blink, Riah faded away and disappeared.
“Riah!” Ashta exclaimed as she ran for the pillar, but Roman grabbed her arm.
She looked back at him in question, and he looked into her eyes seriously. When he didn’t say anything, she yanked her arm from his grip and ran over to the pillar. Surprisingly, the pillar was no longer glowing, but Ashta put her hand on top of the pillar anyway. Nothing happened, and she looked at him angrily.
“Why did you stop me?” she asked, and he looked at her for a moment.
“Well?” she asked.
When he didn’t say anything, he gave her an apologetic look.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know why I grabbed your arm to stop you. It was like I had no control over what I was doing,” he explained, and she eyed him suspiciously.
“Well, now, Riah and Ray are both gone, and we don’t even know where they went!” she exclaimed, and he gave her a serious look.
“Look, Ash. I am sure that wherever they are, they are fine, and they will return soon,” he said softly, and she looked at him with a set look.
“You had better hope so,” she growled.
“Riah?”
Protectively, Riah held her arms over her face, and when she heard her name, she slowly took her arms down. Surprised, she stared into a pair of beautiful brown eyes with green specks in them, and she cried happily as she threw her arms around Ray.
“Okay. I’m okay,” he chuckled, and Riah pulled her head back as she looked at him.
“I was so worried about you,” she said, and he smiled at her as he brushed his knuckles across her cheek.
“I am alright. I think I have found the Guardian Archives, but I have to open that door first,” he said as he pointed, and she looked at the enormous metallic door.
She looked back at him, and then she looked around the room curiously.
“How did you get down here?” she asked as she studied the room, and Ray chuckled.
“A gift given to me by my spirit guardian. How did you manage to get down here?” he asked, and Riah looked back at him.
“The pillar in front of your statue. It was glowing, and I thought you were in trouble. When I touched it, I ended up down here with you,” she explained, and Ray looked at her for a moment.
“I wonder why,” he finally said, and Riah shrugged her shoulders as she saw the tear marks on his t-shirt.
“Were you attacked?” she asked as she held one of the torn pieces of fabric between her fingertips, and he looked down at her hand.
“Oh, yeah. There were these two creatures, but they are gone now,” he said, and she nodded as she felt his flesh under the tears of his t-shirt.
Shocked, she stared with wide eyes as she pulled the fabric apart, and she couldn’t believe her eyes. Quickly, she looked up at him, and he looked back at her with a questioning look.
“There isn’t even a scratch,” she breathed, and Ray chuckled as he broke eye contact.
In question, she looked at him, and he smiled at her as he took her face into his palms.
“You don’t have to worry so much. Now that I am the Earth Guardian, my skin is made of armor,” he whispered, and she looked at him through her eyelashes.
Slowly, Ray brought his face closer to hers, kissing her gently. Happily, Riah sighed, and she surrendered to his kiss and kissed him back.
“I’m glad you are here,” he said when the kiss ended, and Riah smiled as she licked her lips.
“Me, too. Now, how do we open that door?” she asked, and he shrugged his shoulders.
“I am still trying to figure that part out. There are levers up there, and I believe they will unlock the door,” he said, and she nodded as she stepped away from him.
“Let’s find out,” she said as she grinned and opened her arms.
Suddenly, Ray saw that she had stepped on one of the raised cobblestones, and he quickly put his hands in the air.
“Riah, don’t move!” he exclaimed, and she looked at him in fear as she immediately froze in place.
Quickly, Ray found a nice-sized rock that had some weight to it, and he picked it up.
“What’s going on, Ray?” she asked as he walked over to her.
“Listen. You are going to have to slide your foot over without lifting it at all, and I am going to slide the rock in your foot’s place,” he said as he crouched down at her feet, and she nodded.
Slowly, she slid her foot forward, and Ray slid the rock in behind her foot until the rock sat in her foot’s place, and he sighed in relief. The rock was heavy enough to take her place, which made things a lot easier without two more of those cat creatures coming after them.
Riah looked at him in question as he got to his feet and looked at her with care.
“From here on out, we both need to watch our steps. This place is booby-trapped, and that is exactly how I came face to face with those cat creatures,” he explained, and Riah nodded as she looked at him thoughtfully.
“I have an idea,” she said.
Quickly, Riah made a series of fluent movements, and then the air element swirled at her feet. Softly, she giggled as the element lifted her into the air and over to the levers. She noticed a flat rock platform that she could stand on, and she descended to it. Satisfied, she looked at Ray, and he smiled up at her.
“Ready?” she asked, and he nodded.
Cautiously, she walked over to the levers and studied them for a moment. She noticed that they were gold metal rods that needed to be slid upward and locked into place. Carefully, Riah lifted each one, and they made a metal clanking noise as they locked into place, and then a dull boom echoed in the room.
After that, they heard a series of metallic clanking, and then, to their surprise, the door began to open up.
“Yes!” cheered Riah as she used the air element and floated back down to Ray.
“We did it!” he cheered, and Riah smiled happily.
Suddenly, they heard the loud, angry footsteps of a giant running toward them, and they turned their heads towards the opening door. Horrifically, they stared with wide eyes.
“Where are Ashta and Riah?” asked Cellic one day at lunch, and Chelsea looked at her son.
“They are with Roman and Ray. They are trying to figure out how to stop the two demons who are a threat to our world,” said Liam, and Cellic looked at him.
“Well, they should have been back by now!” he snapped, and Chelsea glared at her son.
“Cellic Alexander, what is wrong with you? We don’t talk to other people like that,” she scolded, and Cellic looked down at his plate.
Gently, Bruce put his hand on his brother’s shoulder, and Cellic looked at him with tears.
“I know you miss them. I miss them, too, and so does everyone else. We have to be patient. They are our guardians now, and we have to be strong for them,” said Bruce, and Chelsea and Liam exchanged looks.
Reluctantly, Cellic nodded, and Bruce smiled at his brother with care.
“After lunch, we can go out and make rounds. Make sure everyone is doing okay, and offer any help if they need it.”
Cellic smiled as he wiped his face with his arm and nodded. Proudly, Chelsea looked at Bruce, and her son blushed.
“That was amazing, Bruce. I am so proud of you,” beamed his mother, and Liam nodded as Bruce looked at them.
“Well, someone has to keep order around here when the adults are away,” he said, frankly, as he got from his chair and collected everyone’s plates.
“I’ll wash the dishes!” chimed Sam, and he and Simon ran out of the dining hall and into the kitchen.
Sam and Simon liked to help the kitchen staff, and Cellic and Bruce were more interested in working outside and helping the community. Liam smiled at Chelsea as he squeezed her hand.
“You really have been blessed with those four,” he said, and she smiled as she nodded happily.
“Yes, I have, but they also have a couple of great influences in their lives,” she noted, and Liam blushed.
Chantelle and Gale were out in the courtyard, and they were gently swinging on an old, wooden bench swing. There were no longer any dark clouds over Halondelle now that Ashta, Roman, Riah, and Ray had reunited and broke the curse the two demons had put over the land. The land seemed to be at peace for now, and they thought they should enjoy it while it lasted.
Happily, Chantelle smiled in the sunlight as she and Gale enjoyed the afternoon together. Sometimes she had a hard time pulling the king away for a few moments, but when she finally did pull him away from his duties, he never wanted those moments to end. Gale had always been fond of Roman’s mother, but back when they were younger, he had felt like she would never have given him the time of day.
Now that he saw that she would have gladly taken his hand, he felt foolish for not telling her how he felt sooner. Silently, they swung together as they enjoyed the peacefulness between them.
“Who would have ever thought that we would have ended up at this moment?” he asked softly, and she looked at him with dancing eyes.
“Well, it would have happened a lot sooner if you weren’t such a scaredy-cat,” she teased, and he laughed.
“Well, now, look. You have scared the cat away,” he teased back, and she giggled.
“We should tell the kids,” she said as she looked up into the sky, and Gale made an unsure noise.
“Maybe after they get done saving the world again. I think they have enough on their agenda for now,” he said, and Chantelle laughed.
“I think I see that cat now,” she said, and he looked at her.
Chantelle took a breath of fresh air, and she only nodded. Quietly, they spent the rest of the afternoon together, swinging on the old wooden swing.
- Writer
