My Guardian

Chapter 11 - The Shadow's Grip

"No!" The room was bare. The sheets were disturbed and the windows opened and closed according to the winds desire. I grabbed one of my jackets off the floor and slipped it on. Ciara liked to wear my clothes sometimes and left them laying around the house.

"He's taken her!" I said as the other Guardians caught up. Then a horse appeared at the window. It looked like it was made of black sand with yellow eyes beaming at me.It reminded me of what dad had told me about. 'A wave of black horses barrelling towards us like the strongest of oceans had sought out to destroy us' he had overdramatically stated when I was younger. Instinct kicked in and I ran to it. Jumping out the window, and landing on its back. It got a massive shock from this and whinnied as it bolted off into the night. Why on earth had I done that?

"Belle!" Jack yelled after me. Dad had told me about this horse. It was called a Nightmare. One of Pitch's forms of attack. And now I was sitting on it. Now, how did Cupcake turn it into a good dream? I couldn't remember. I saw this cloud of dark sand up in the sky, floating like an ominous cloud of fear over the children of Burgess. That had to be where Pitch was. And wherever Pitch was, Ciara would probably be.

"Yah!" I squeezed my legs around the horse and pulled at its mane. It obliged and galloped upwards, towards the cloud, leaving trails of sand behind us.

"Pitch! Give her back!" I yelled as I neared.

"Belle! No!" I heard Jack yell behind me. I shouldn't be doing this. But I have to. I have to help Ciara. I know he has her. I know he will do to her what he did to me if I don't do something. Then, I noticed sitting on top of the cloud was a figure.

"Yah!" I whipped the horse's mane and it went faster. Come on! Come on! I almost ran into the cloud, I got so close.

"Whoa!" I stopped the horse and it shook its head. It didn't buck me off, which I was surprised at. The figure turned and I saw Pitch's evil grin.

"Where is she?!" I yelled angrily at him. His smirk widened.

"Belle! Get away from him!" I heard Jack behind me. I turned and a wall of black sand covered my view of Jack. Pitch and I were now surrounded by circling black sand, alone. I was trapped. I kept hearing zaps and could see faint bits of white or blue amongst the black behind me. Jack was using his frost to try and get to me. To try and help me.

Jack's POV

I chased Belle to the cloud, yet she got there first on the Nightmare she was somehow controlling.

"Where is she?!" Belle yelled at Pitch, who turned and smirked at her. There was never anything good about Pitch's smirk. It always meant something bad was about to happen.

"Belle! Get away from him!" I warned, flying as fast as I could towards her. I needed to help her. I couldn't risk losing her again. Not after only just getting her back. And losing Ciara and Belle is the worst thing that could possibly happen.

Suddenly, a wall of black sand surrounded Belle and Pitch and there was no way I could get to them.

"No!" I screamed, giving my all into the shot of ice I fired. That didn't work. So I tried again. And again. I couldn't get to her! There was no way she could fight Pitch. And how had he gained control over the nightmares again? Last time I saw them they were dragging him down to his hideout. Now they were back under his control. He was more powerful than before. If he was like what he was thirty five years ago, I'd be able to get through this barrier. But I couldn't. I didn't know what he could do now.

Belle's POV

"What makes you think I've got her?" he asked.

"Got who?" I tricked. He gave me this confused look.