Element Guardians *To-Be-Edited*

41 ~ Spirit Sacrifice

“I’ll go tell the others,” I said quietly, spinning Ashleigh around so she could focus on the horde of snakes and dragons pummelling towards us, some morphing disgustingly from a wolf to a snake. “You keep protecting everybody.”

“I don’t want to die,” Ashleigh croaked, shooting me a desperate look.

“You can’t just randomly die Ashleigh, that’s not what a sacrifice is!” I shot back and started running towards the town centre where I knew the boys would be. I flicked my wrists upwards, letting rip a burst of sewage water and was careful not to get any on me. War or not, sewage water was disgusting and if I was going to get out of this all alive, I was going to do it cleanly – minus the blood of course. “Sacrifice is to give up willingly for a price, for something in return.”

“So I can just kill myself –”

“Nobody is going to die, even if it means we won’t get the last Crystal!” I yelled at her warningly then raced towards where my brother would be.

Flames engulfed the small shrubbery in gardens of streets and raced across the ground. I searched left and right for any potential attackers then slowed to a stop, replaying the meaning of the riddle we’d just figured out.

A sacrifice only the guardians can make . . . the sacrifice is for one of us to die. Was it to die in the place of one another? Or in the place of someone in trouble?

If it was for my family or my friends, Felix included, I’d die for them especially because it meant we’d get the crystal and it would save our kind.

But who would be able to use my element then? What happens if the Spirit Crystal isn’t able to do its job? Whatever it did.

I paused, no longer feeling connected to the rest of my body. Just the mere thought of death was enough to make me shudder. I didn’t want to die – I’d only lived thirteen years and yet I had a twenty-five percent chance that I could be the one who would make the sacrifice whether I knew it or not.

Did I want to give my life up for the well being of the entire mortal realm? Be one of the very few realms who defended themselves against the Hunters?

I swallowed, clasping my hands together and nervously stared ahead where jets of fire burst into the air. It was either a dragon war or just Felix battling it out and showing off a bit.

I didn’t want to leave this life. It was selfish, I know but I couldn’t help it: I only got one shot at life and what if everything turned out well without the Spirit Crystal? What if –

“Your magic is incomplete.”

My body went rigid, my muscles locking into place. Slowly, I turned to find the mutant Hunter staring at me maliciously, tongue forking out of his wolf-like muzzle. “When you die, all the Hunters will fall with you. It’s inevitable, Venator.”

The Hunter Emperor let out a raspy growl that I guessed was supposed to come out as a laugh. “You’re a mere child, no older than creatures I’ve disposed of with ease, only you’re a Guardian.” He sneered the word, crimson eyes flashing at me dangerously. “What makes you think you can kill me?”

I ignored his words and slowly lifted my hands in front of me, feeling the magic pour from my ring out of its own accord. “My magic is complete, Venator. You wouldn’t know.”

“There are five main sources of magic which make up each realm in the Universe, little human,” Venator sneered at me, slithering around on his thick scaly limb then dropped forward onto his only pair of black paws covered in black dragon scales. “And only four guardians. One always dies before their magic is complete but even then, it’s too late.” He hissed at me, causing me to jump back in response. The road shook beneath me, threatening to crack open from the unsettled water running through the sewage below. “I can taste the blood of thousands I’d killed, mortal Guardian. You are nothing compared to the Rathork Realm, not as wise as the Piccards. What makes you think you’d stand a chance against me?”