Chapter 17

Walking back to the common room, “That was epic!” Ren was practically bouncing down the hallway unable to contain his excitement. Aggie was still a bit shocked by what had transpired. “Can you believe what she did? Xavier, I’ve never seen anyone take you down like that. Can you imagine what she will do when she takes on more of our powers?”

“That wasn’t her powers.” Eldon was deep in thought and no where near as excited as Ren. Aggie snuck a glance at him and was worried he was upset by what she just did. “I think this is a development of her true nature. As the Gatekeeper, she is stronger than the average human. She is embracing who she is now. That is something that her ancestors haven’t done for many years.”

“I’m not sure what it was,” Aggie finally decided, she wasn’t going to let them make her feel bad for her actions. “I know I felt my magic under my skin waiting to be needed. While I did use it on some things,” she gave a pointed look at Mitchell and Ren. “I didn’t call on it per se to take on Xavier. I used my senses and what I assume was my magic or instinct to find you in the dark, but then I just replenished my energy before I kicked. It was no different then when I used it to top off my resources, when Thing One and Thing Two” Aggie pointed with her thumb at the twins, “over worked me on the mats. Not to mention you were all ganging up on me. If it had been an actual fight you would be patting me on the back not trying to sort it all out.”

“Well, I’m going to guess something else was at play there.” Xavier’s words were spoken softly, as though he didn’t want anyone to hear. Aggie also noticed he was walking behind them all. As she glanced back quickly it looked like he was rubbing his ass.

“You aren’t still hurt, are you?” Aggie was worried she had harmed him beyond repair and for that a bit guilty. It wasn’t her intention to hurt any of them, ever.

“No, more confusion and memory of the pain. I’m not one who retains injuries for long. Usually, I don’t even feel the pain, but for some reason this time I felt it, even if it was only briefly.” Xavier, the man of few words had just given her a glimpse into his world. While it wasn’t much, it was something she could stew over for a bit. Just as quickly as she had noticed his slip, he was back to stone wall as though nothing was bothering him.

“I think with a bit more training, she will be ready to take on anything.” Mitchell’s words rang home to Aggie and for once, they didn’t make her want to lash out at him. “She performed well today.” The words of affirmation were filling her soul with hope. Maybe things would work out after all.

Before they could reach the common room, a crash and a commotion caught their attention. Sparing a glance between them, it was decided they needed to go check this out. Xavier, who was still behind them, became the leader and they were off with a staggered speed. Some a bit faster than others but overall, they all stayed together. Twisting around hallways and through corridors, Aggie wondered where they were headed. It couldn’t have been that far away since they heard the scuttle so clearly. To Aggie’s surprise, when they stopped it was at the front gates. “How did we hear anything that far away, so clearly?”

“It’s the hallways, they make sound travel differently.” Eldon answered for her, but she wasn’t satisfied.

“Then how did you know where to go?” Aggie insisted before they were able to proceed.

“Xavier.” The words took a moment to register to Aggie. Then it dawned on her. He was in the lead and she hadn’t been watching him the entire time. He must have run ahead and returned before anyone even noticed him missing. That speed was a real asset, all things considered. Her thoughts were cut short, as they approached the, now open, front gates. A hoard of people barraged the gate and the gate was ajar. Torches, that were once hanging from the wall, were laying on the floor. The commotion must have knocked them from their resting place.

The people were all gathered around, forcing them to push their way through. Guards parted for them, but it was the other side of the gate that had the most people. What Aggie saw took her breath away. Mathius had mentioned at one point the vast amount of demon species was more than she could fathom.

Most looked human like Mathius, but many carried different features that would never pass as normal on Earth. Well, unless you went to the ‘special’ parts of town. Aggie recalled seeing a few strange piercings and implants a time or two. That and given the number of tattoos on some bodies it is a wonder they aren’t deemed alien or something.

This was different though, she saw men who stood eight or nine feet tall with blood red faces as though they had stood in lava or boiling water for too long, permanently scarring their faces with the color of the heat that must radiate through them. She saw, what she thought was, a woman with horns coming out the side of her head like a bull with broader shoulders than the man standing next to her. He was shorter but looked more like he belonged in the water. Even from the distance, she saw the slime that was covering him. Another person she saw looked like they glowed, but she couldn’t tell if they were male or female. Their skin was bioluminescent in a way and Aggie was definitely intrigued. This was just a fraction of the faces she saw in this sea bombarding the castle gates.

“What is going on?” Aggie asked and was thankful that even though her men didn’t seem to know, a guard heard her and answered.

“A child has made its way from the outer lands. No one knows from where exactly, but he came home this morning. After a little food and some rest, the parents have brought him here to speak to the king.” She nodded her understanding to the guard, but her brain was overworking. A child? Home? Could this be one of the missing children? Aggie was caught up in her train of thought, she didn’t realize the rest of her men had gathered around her.

“Bring the child to us.” Mathius’s voice rang through the space and was more of a bellow that bounced from wall to wall, carrying as far as they could see. Turning to look at him, she saw him there in all his glory. One wouldn’t doubt he was the head of the guard. Full leathers and a scowl, that matched the fiercest warrior. Aggie was proud of him but given the fact they were meeting a child, she was instantly on guard.

“Mathius, dear?” She used a sing-songy voice to show she meant no offense. This was his territory and all, but she needed to offer some guidance. He looked at her with a puzzled expression and she took that as a green light. Shuffling a tad closer to him she said on a hushed breath, “You might want to lose the face. I suggest something softer. You are dealing with a child of unknown age. The last thing you want him to do is clam up because you are a bit scary right now.” Aggie shrugged unapologetically. He needed to consider what he was going into, and it wasn’t a battle, at least not yet.

It took him a moment, but Aggie knew the instant it sunk in, his eyebrows softened and the fierce crease in his forehead smoothed. He once again became the gentler version of himself. While they waited, Aggie decided now would be a good time to get some answers. “Since we have a moment, care to enlighten me as to what I’m seeing here.” She indicated the sea of demons standing in front of her.

“What would you like to know?” Mathius waited for her to answer, as opposed to carrying on about histories and lifestyles like Liel likely would have.

“Just tell me a little about what kind of demons I’m seeing. I’ve met Delia but I don’t see any one like her, that I can tell.” Aggie scanned the crowd and while Delia was a more visually tame demon unless you looked very closely, it didn’t seem there were any of her kin lurking at the castle gates that day.

“Well, Tiran there,” Mathius indicated the smaller man who looked to have come from the sea, “he is a Kappa. His kind are aquatic but can live on land for a time. He just has to get a daily dose of water to survive.” Mathius didn’t go into length about powers or anything. He just covered the basics and gave Aggie a better understanding of the different races of demons.

“Arina,” he nodded his head in the direction of the woman who wore horns the size of a grown bull, “She is a Shedu. They have the horns of a bull and the wings of an eagle.” Aggie hadn’t noticed her wings, but that could have been due to the trench coat she was wearing over her Hulk-like shoulders.

“Ragror,” Mitchell’s gaze was in the direction of a man Aggie hadn’t noticed before. He looked more human than demon and so Aggie’s gaze didn’t settle on him in her pervious sweep of the crowd. “His kind is a bit rare, Rokurokubi. They have the ability to stretch their necks farther than one could imagine.” Aggie was enthralled by his every word. The thought that these people could possess such powers that on Earth would be unfathomable.

“What about that man,” Aggie indicated the man whose face looked to have been left out in the sun much too long.

“That is Belthazar.” He left it at that, as though Aggie should know who he was.

“Unless, he is the Belthazar and Phoebe has been reunited with him, you’re going to have to give me a little bit more to go on for now.” Mathius looked at her like she had grown horns herself.

“Belthazar is considered Satan’s right-hand man. His family lives here and he spends most of his time here these days. That is unless the big man needs him for an important task.” It was Aggie’s turn to look dumbfounded.

She didn’t have time to linger on it, because right then, the guards brought up a small blonde-haired boy that couldn’t have been over the age of eleven even by a day. He was shaking and looked to be bone thin. He was accompanied by a stout woman wrapped in a quaint shawl that was draped over her head. Aggie looked closer and she was very human in her appearance. In the back of her mind, she wondered what this demon woman was. His father was on the tall side, but more average tall in Earth terms. He had sandy blonde hair like his son and didn’t have any outstanding demonic traits. Aggie assumed one of them likely had nature driven powers if this is one of the boys that was taken. Chances were in her favor that magic was like character traits for humans. We pass them to our kids and our physical characteristics were passed along as well.

“Hello, young one, what is your name?” Aggie was proud of Mathius for holding his softer side in light of the child’s possible trauma.

“Navian, sir.” The boy’s voice was small and still very shaky. Aggie thought they said he had gotten some rest perhaps he needed more like one or two weeks of bed rest to build his strength back up. She could only imagine the nightmare the past few days have been for him.

“Well, Navian, I’m Mathius, head of the guard. This is my team.” Mathius indicated the rest of the guardians and they each nodded stoically, except Aggie she beamed at the sweet boy. She felt sorry for him and wanted to wrap him up and hug his fears away. “Would you and your family follow us and we can discuss what brings you here today?” All of his questions were directed at Navian. Mathius was making him the only focus and his parents were just standing there as props to complete a set.

“Yes, sir.” Navian was completely respectful and Aggie thought the world of his parents for instilling that sort of behavior in him. The boy and his family followed Mathius, while the rest of the team fell in step behind them. Mathius led them to the common room and everyone filed inside.

“Please, take a seat anywhere and we can get started.” Aggie watched the boy’s eyes travel to the buffet that was set up for lunch. His wide eyes took in every inch and Aggie thought she heard his stomach growl.

“First, why don’t we all grab a plate of food. I’m don’t know about everyone else, but I worked up quite the appetite today during training.” Aggie gestured toward the food encouraging the boy to get his first. Mathius gave her a look of indignation, but it was quickly wiped when she motioned her eyes toward the boy. He was ravenously grabbing piles of food as though he hadn’t been fed in months. Nodding his anger subsided quickly.

After everyone had their plates and found seats, Mathius began again. “Young man, what has brought you here today?” Even though they all had their assumptions, it made sense to Aggie that Navian should say it and confirm their suspicions.

“I just got home.” He paused but Aggie could tell he was just getting started. “I never thought I’d ever see my parents again. She was a monster and I thought she was going to kill me.” Aggie thought it was ironic, that he called her a monster given the people he is surrounded by every day. That must mean she was A game monster and not B movie grade.

“Who are you talking about, Navian?” Mathius was asking questions to draw out his story and not feeding him anything. The rest of the room remained silent and merely observed what the two were doing. His parents even stayed quiet, like they knew this wasn’t the time for them to offer their opinions or help Navian through. Aggie couldn’t think of a single parent on Earth that would sit stone cold silent and watch their kids going through any of this alone. She was definitely seeing some cultural differences between them.

“I don’t know her name, she never let us address her or even speak. It took days before another showed up but that didn’t ease the burden on me. I think she pushed me harder and oh the pain. It hurt so bad.” Navian shuddered at the memory and Aggie’s heart broke for him.

“What did they do that hurt so badly?” Mathius calmly pressed him for more answers. These weren’t even the hard ones yet and Aggie was nearly becoming protective of this little boy. It took all she had to stay in her chair and not jump between him and Mathius. The last thing Aggie wanted was to make this boy relive the pain of his ordeal.

“It began with a disgusting drink she made. I was forced to drink it all and she said some words I didn’t understand. I thought they sounded funny, like a made-up language. Soon I fell asleep and when I woke up I couldn’t move my arms. They were tied to the wall but not with rope. I couldn’t see what held them there so it must have been magic.” Navian absently rubbed his wrists, presumably where the restraints had been.

“Did you see anything around that might have told you where you were?” Mathius pressed again for more details and Aggie was so enthralled by the story that she didn’t need to take notes. It was as though it were being etched on her mind as Navian spoke.

“It was dark, the floor was cold and damp. I never left the room I was chained the entire time I was there. After they finished with me I fell asleep and one day just woke up in the grass. I didn’t know where I was then either. Nothing was around. I followed the river back to the city. It was so cold and all I wore was my night clothes.” Then his mother decided to chime in for the first time and her voice was rough as though she had overused it recently or had a cold.

“He appeared by our bed, blue from the cold and bare from the waist down. His night shirt barely covered to his knees, but he was taken in the night so no shoes or pants were there to protect him from the elements. It was dark and icy as these storms have increased. It took me hours to warm him back up by the fire and with blankets. I feared bathing him for fear of doing irreversible damage to his limbs. I was terrified I’d never see my baby again. He is our only child and I was only blessed to have one. No matter our trying it was not in our cards.” Navian’s mother began to sob softly. Aggie understood it wasn’t grief but just an overwhelming sense of emotion. Her child was home. A child she didn’t know if she would ever see again. By some unknown power, he has been returned to her like a ghost on the wind.

“Do you remember anything else or do you think you could tell us where it was you woke up? That could help us narrow down our search for the remaining children. Did you see the other children?” Mathius was pelting questions at him now in a sense of urgency. They only had a little over a day left to find the children before they potentially met their untimely demise. Aggie rested her hand on Mathius’s shoulder to settle him. She didn’t think scaring Navian or his parents was the answer to any of this.

Taking a steadying breath, Mathius paused his questions and waited. Navian considered all that he was asked, “I do remember the other children. I don’t know who they were as it was very dark, but I remember we used to talk. I don’t know all the children but I do recall one of them far away from the rest, his name sounded a lot like the prince’s name. I don’t recall what it was exactly as it was hard to hear from that distance.” That perked everyone up and gave them hope that at least Prince Rikan was still alive. “I also don’t know if I can tell you exactly how to get back to where I woke up because I was so tired and hungry, that it took all my strength to keep moving. Also, the elements usually don’t bother me as I just use my magic to heat me, but it wasn’t working and hasn’t worked since I was released. I don’t know what is wrong with it, but perhaps it is just that my body is too run down to keep up with it.” A grave look passed over everyone including Navian’s parents. Aggie didn’t know what that meant, but a subtle head shake from Kyrel told her not to ask any questions. “It was all I could do to stay awake, walking through the cold.”

“Gryson,” Mathius only said that one thing and Gryson nodded. No other words were had between the two.

“If it is alright with you both, “Mathius directed the question to Navian’s parents, “I’d like to check his memory for the information we need. Chances are he has that information there, but it is locked in a way he can’t retrieve it himself.” Mathius didn’t go into any more detail and the parents didn’t seem concerned. This must be something that was common for the guardians. Aggie just hoped it wasn’t invasive and poor little Navian didn’t have to go through much more heartache.

Not waiting for anymore permission, Gryson rose from his seat and knelt down beside Navian. “My name is Gryson, I’m going to look inside your mind for just a moment and see if anything you saw in the past few days matches anything I’ve been researching. Don’t worry it won’t hurt a bit, if anything you might feel a little tickle, right here.” He pressed his finger to the back of Navian’s neck just below his hairline and next to his spine. Navian nodded and Gryson closed his eyes. Pressing his left hand to Navian’s neck and the other to Navian’s temple. The room fell silent, a natural response to the need for concentration. A serene look passed over Navian’s face. It was the most relaxed Aggie had seen him yet. It was the look every kid got while they were sleeping. Gran used to say, Aggie looked so peaceful while she slept, but Aggie always felt restless and thought she tossed and turned. Perhaps that was all inside her head after all.

“I have a location.” Gryson simply stated as he lowered his hands from the boy who was left smiling. A look Aggie didn’t expect from the traumatized boy. Raising an eyebrow at him, Gryson nodded. In a hushed tone, “I also left him with some more pleasant memories of his time for the past few weeks. I hope you don’t mind. Now his most recent events, have faded into distant memories. While the trauma isn’t gone, it seems like something that happened long ago and not so new and raw. I hope that was alright. I couldn’t think to have him be unable to sleep or get on with his life.”

“Thank you, that is wonderful. Please, let me give you something in return.” Navian’s mother was sobbing again only this time in gratitude. “I know my son will never see his magic again, but you have given us a great gift that will help that transition. I would only like to give you the same courtesy.”

“We didn’t do this for a reward. Our only purpose is to help and do our best to rescue the remaining children if it is in our power.” Gryson reassured Navian’s mother. There was no need payment for helping their son through what was bound to be a rough period of his life.

“I’m a seer, please I insist.” Without warning, she gripped Gryson’s hand and her eyes rolled back only showing the whites. Had she not just mentioned she was a seer and they were already in a demonic realm, Aggie would have assumed that she was possessed. “Dragons, the prophesy is true.” Her words made no sense to Aggie, but she waited patiently for her to come out of the trance. She looked around and the big eyes mixed with astonished faces had her worried.

“The Dragon Warrior, destined to take on the Great Darkness, will save us all.” Her eyes quickly returned to normal and fell on Aggie. With a low bow she fell to her face, soon followed by her husband and he pulled Navian down with him.

Aggie took three huge steps back, “What are you doing?” Looking around at all the guys, they dropped to one knee showing the same respect, but Aggie was still confused. “Get up all of you this instant. I don’t know what is going on, someone better start explaining.”

One by one they all got to their feet, the seer stepped toward Aggie and grasped her hand. “You are the Dragon Warrior, dear. You were prophesied hundreds of years ago, but it is more of folklore now. If I had not just seen that with my own eyes I wouldn’t have believed. You have a long road ahead of you and many battles. But you will save us all from a great darkness that is coming. Without you, it will consume everything in every realm.” Aggie was speechless. There was no way this was her destiny. The guys had just told her she was destined to be the ninth guardian, but now some foretold future is going to play out. She had no words, what could she say to that? Sorry, I’m not the one. I can’t be a dragon, I’m human. Something told her those weren’t the proper response to being told you are the savior of all the realms. Instead of waiting for clarification, she turned and left the room.