Clayton growled to himself as he rushed through the forest, his mind completely on Krista. She had seen him, that much was certain, but he didn’t know how much she could remember. He had lain her on her bed, covering her up and tending to her head wound as briefly and gently as he could. He knew that she would probably be very upset if she knew that he was there, and so he had left as quickly as possible and headed back to his underground lair with the rest of his clan.
They had all been curious about what had transpired that night, because it was very out of character for Clayton to be out of sorts in any way. They were used to him being cool and composed in every situation, and the fact that he was flustered seemed to spark a red flag that brought him a lot of attention from the members of his clan. The dragon-born people were very astute with perceiving emotions, and they knew that he was in distress.
“What in the world has happened to you Clayton?” they asked him, bringing him cups of water and plates of food. “Where on Earth have you been all night long? We know that the human-born does not stay out this late, she likes to go to sleep early. Something must be wrong.”
“She was attacked by the Guardians,” Clayton said, his face darkening. Hearing the words out loud only served to make him even angrier. The poor woman had no idea about her lineage, and she would not be as helpful to the Guardians as they seemed to think she would. It had taken them a long time to track her down, but now that they finally had, the Kersh clan would no longer be able to take a break from protecting her.
The dragon-born stared at Clayton, their eyes wide in disbelief and fear. They didn’t want anything to happen to him or to the woman who could potentially be the savior of their clan. This was terrible news, and they began to whisper amongst themselves, spreading a quiet panic.
“Please be quiet,” Clayton said, putting his hand to his temples. “We don’t know what will happen, but I do think that we should do our best to watch Krista and make sure that she is not in any more danger. We will have to take shifts for patrols from now on, instead of assuming that she will be okay for a few hours without any supervision. You know what the Guardians will do if they are able to catch her.
And they are not going to give up after failing just once. It’s definite that they will come back and strike again and again. I can only hope that they have not been able to trace her apartment yet. They found her seemingly by mistake in the alleyway, as they hoped to do, by posting men outside the doors of popular and crowded areas. Somehow, this inefficient strategy managed to work for them and she found herself an unlucky victim of circumstance. It was really fortunate that I was there to stop them.”
The people around him listened intently, nodding in understanding of the dire situation. They did not want to let Krista fall subject to the Guardians. They were terrible people. Many of the Lonis had been subject to immense torture by the Guardians. The Guardians came from a long ago established order of men who had discovered that the fabrics between the dimensions were torn, sometimes allowing mystical creatures and beings to fall through, giving them no choice but to make themselves comfortable on Earth.
These fundamentalists believed that it was no laughing matter and that the earth was not there for sharing. The earth was, in fact, for human beings and human beings alone, and if they were threatened by the invasion of another species, it meant that human beings might not be the top of the food chain. This is something that they could not settle for, and had quickly begun to learn as much as possible about the paranormal order of things. They clearly didn’t know as much as they hoped they did, or as much as they pretended to. This gaping hole in their knowledge brought them a profound sense of fear and panic.
They did not seem to care or understand that the beings who found themselves on Earth had no choice in the matter. In fact, they were victims of unfortunate circumstance who had found themselves lost in a world that they did not recognize, teeming with bitterness and fear. Without the Guardian’s knowledge and compassion toward the displaced peoples of other dimensions, they were subtly and slowly creating a hostile environment that was capable of procuring a devastating war; one that might transcend through the fabrics of time and space.
Clayton was familiar with the acts of the Guardians. The Lonis and the Kersh clan were not the only paranormal beings that had been able to cross through the portholes in the sky. He had traveled for a long way with his predecessor; the leader of the clan, and also his father. Together, they had seen other tears in the fabric of the Earth’s atmosphere. He was told that other beings, fairies and other mystical hidden creatures, had been thrown through the dimensions and lost on Earth.
“But how is that possible?” Clayton had asked. “What happens in these worlds that makes the creatures susceptible to being thrown into another world?”
“Just as the Guardians speculate, all I can tell you is what the previous leader told me. Your question is one the Guardians are hoping to answer. They want to safeguard this world from such invasion. They think of us all as monsters. Unfortunately, for both the people on Earth, who don’t want us here, and for us, who wouldn’t be here if given a choice, it’s impossible to change the rips in the fabric or to keep innocent creatures from falling through. Frankly, none of us truly wanted to end up on Earth, and the fact remains that many of us are more miserable here than we would be in our homeland.
“However, there seems to be nothing that we can do to prevent these occurrences. Every so often, there is a heavy vibration that pulses through the universe. Everything in creation is affected by this. For a long time, the fabrics between the dimensions had been able to hold up against the strain, but because of the corruption on Earth, and the poor intentions of the people who lived there, it has made the atmosphere very toxic and thin. It is easy for things to fall right through or be lost outside of it. There are holes all over the place that should not be there and do not exist in other places and worlds.”
Clayton had listened sullenly to his father, and his heart panged painfully at the memory. His father had died long ago, and ever since, it had been up to him to lead the clan into prosperity. But they were running out of options, and now he knew that Krista was the only one who could save them.
“Where is the girl now? I can go and look after her,” one of the dragon-born women said dutifully, standing up and preparing to launch herself out of the entrance of the underground tunnel.
“I’m not sure, I stayed and watched over her house all night, but when she left, I knew I had to come back here. It’s impossible for me to keep my eyes open any longer. It was a very long night. I’m sure she’s going to work at the library, and if not, she is going to be filing a report against the people who attacked her. It shouldn’t be too difficult for you to find her at the police station or at her work place. Just listen for the subtle vibration. She sings when she walks. She has a Loni song and it is a sound that resonates with our kind. You will not mistake it, no matter where you are. It might be loud and prominent enough that you could find it even now. I wish I could try, but I’m afraid I’m too tired.”
“No, don’t strain yourself. We will make sure that we keep a good eye on her.”
“I appreciate that,” Clayton said. “You all understand how important she is. I understand that it will be even more challenging than before, but somehow, we have to figure out how we can lead her into the clan and help her understand our ways. If she knows about her lineage, perhaps she will be able to find some peace and comfort among the members of our clan. That is the ideal, and I truly hope that you guys will consider the ways that we can bring her here and make her feel welcome.”
Everybody nodded quietly, seeing that their handsome leader was very close to falling asleep. They began to silently file out of the room, some lingering and leading him to a soft bed of feathery pillows. He sunk into it and closed his eyes, and found himself pulled into the deep comforts of a rejuvenating sleep.