The Paramount Chronicles

Yells, Spells, and Bedroom Cells

C h a p t e r  F o u r

||Yells, Spells, and Bedroom Cells||

"Rise and shine!" Cade pounded on Alex's door.

He heard Alex's half-hearted reply.

"Five more minutes...."

"Cassie wants us to meet her in ten minutes and, if you thought she was uptight at Zodiac's, you're in for an unpleasant suprise when we're late."

Alex opened the door.

"But, I just got here forty minutes ago."

"She doesn't really quite understand the concept of sleep. It'll be three in the morning and every logical person will be asleep, but Cassie will still be up working on something. Then, once you finally convince her to go to sleep, she's already up again at six."

"She's pretty intense."

"No. She's just obsessed with perfection."

"Anyways, what does she want us for?"

"We're meeting at the training center for a little tour Cassie is going to give you. She wants you two to be familiar with this place."

Alex followed Cade to Arielle's room and, once again, Cade pounded on the door.

"Wake up! Cassie wants you!"

Instead of the sleepy greeting he expected, Cade stepped back as the door slammed open, narrowly missing his face. Arielle angrily glared at him.

"Why'd you have to wake me up?! " She yelled.

"Because Cassie wants you."

"Well, we can't get everything we want, now can we? So, you can tell Cassie to shove whatever she wants up her a-"

Alex cleared his throat and her gaze softened a bit.

"Fine. If it's Cassie who wanted me woken up, I'm a little less mad than if it were you."

"How kind of you. Now, come on."

She stepped out and closed the door behind her. Alex whispered something and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Cade watched them for a moment, then clapped his hands together.

"Alright, you two. Welcome to Aurealis, the home of thousands of Irin. We're like what most humans call 'guardian angels.' We have many counterparts and species in Aurealis. There are mermaids, faeries, witches and warlocks, werewolves, vampires, and a lot more, but that's not what's mandatory for you to know. What you need to know is that the Irin control and guard Aurealis-- We are called Guardians after all-- And, that we manipulate light, electricity, so on and so forth. Our opposites, the Umbra, manipulate harsher elements like shadows, fire... The list goes on from there."

Alex raised his hand, but Cade shushed him.

"Please keep all questions until the end of the tour. Follow me."

He started to lead them to the training center to meet Cassie. He walked at a fast pace, assuming the twins were following behind.

"Anyways," Cade continued, "You two are an exception. You're not regular every day people, making you a more valuable target for any enemies. So, in order to protect you, the Apparitor picked the best of the best Guardians. Cassie secured that job pretty quickly considering the fact she's been working her whole life towards something as important as this. Really, that's why she's so anal about everything. Here in Aurealis, kids don't get much time to decide what they want to be when they grow up. They start training at four or five and can start their exams at seven. Some work in the government as police or as Bastim to guard... Well, the Guard... And, others do things normal people do, like run shops. However, the most honored Irin become a part of the government or even Guardians themselves. Although, the rubbish 'guardian angel' nametag humans came up with is entirely false. We aren't angels, just simply protectors of realms. Guardians have been around since... Well, let's just say a very long time. Our job is simple. We keep our world safe as well as the humans' world. We each get assigned an individual being and it is that Guardian's job to keep him or her safe at all costs. The most important thing we do is safeguard all from the Umbra. They originated a long time ago when a group of Irin started a rebellion that involved murders, assassinations, kidnappings, and a bunch of other nasty crimes. So, the Apparitor got together and decided they would strip these Irin of their light, thus leaving them 'dark.' The Umbra have a more violent nature than we do. They all used to be convicts, but then they had kids and now almost all of them are born into it. The Apparitor tries to keep them in check as they realize it's probably not the smartest idea to turn your enemies into powerful beings and set them free. Well, here we are at the training center. Cassie will take it over from here. I warn you, she's good with a bow and arrows. Watch your head."