The Zodiac Spirit Guardians

The Blind Lead the Hopeful

My eyes follow the trunks of the trees in this forest to the extraordinary heights they reach. Only someone with horrendous strength could knock one down, and only someone with acute precision could keep it from hitting anything else. There's still something about that tree that stands out. It's something so unnatural that it couldn't be coincidence. It's on the tip of my tongue, information that's crucial to this moment. I force myself to pry into my mind to remember any clue that will help me.

The planets align and my thoughts snaps into place.

I automatically halt, bringing Rayce and I to a complete stop. My heart races with what I've just figured out. Panic sets in and I honestly have no clue what to do. This is the moment that will destroy me or build me up, and I never saw it coming. Now it's here and I'm terrified to the core. I can't even feel the presence of the black hole inside of me anymore.

My shakey hands grab Rayce's face before my nerves take away my ability to speak. The words that break free from my mouth will only admit to the universe that I've figured it out. Which means that now, I can only hope to be wrong.

"It's a trap."

Rayce's vibrant eyes flicker back and forth between mine, then glance behind me to where the tree had been. Only a blink of a moment passes before his eyes widen and his jaw drops to the ground. His hands find my hips and scoop me up as he jumps onto a branch and begins sprinting as fast as he can.

I can't even think of something to calm my racing pulse. My plan walked us into a trap that might kill us all and it'd be my fault entirely. The most I can hope for is Haruka's senses to catch up on our quick movements and notice that something's gone wrong.

Branches and leaves are just blurs of color as Rayce sprints from tree to tree, and I still don't think we're fast enough. Each moment that passeses is another second that we've worked ourselves deeper into the trap. Every single one of these minutes is precious and vital. Thoughts rack my brain trying to piece together the possibility of overseeing any obvious hints to this.

Rayce sprints so fast all I can see is light in front of us as if we're headed toward the sun. The trees thin out and light flows in. He stops just at the end of the forest, right at the edge of a large meadow. The grass is short, revealing Haruka and Steele running in the midst of catching up to Ezra, Kappie, and Itzu towards the far end of the clearing. I yell for them at the same time a loud ear piercing screech emanates from the trees on the opposite side of the meadow. They conceal my shout and confirm my suspicion.

Massive bodies rise from the roof created by the trees, and swoop down to the guardians like vulchers. Black, red, purple, and grey dragons land in a perfect crescent shaped line with their backs to the forest. Gigantic grey eyes glare at the guardians with intent to kill, but their prey doesn't make a move.

"Oh no, this is bad, Lady Akira." Rayce places his small finger nails between his teeth. "They're outnumbered!" He exclaims in childish fright. His thin figure crouches down on the tree limb we stand on. Oceanic eyes are wide with fear and anxiety. The sight alone tears at my nerves, and the terror is contagious. I might explode and all I can think about is how I could've prevented this.

My mind is clouded from shock, but through the fog I know we have no choice for what comes next. "Come on, let's go. We can't leave them." I sound distant and hollow, but nonetheless Rayce obeys me.

He hauls me onto his back again and he climbs down the neck of the tree onto the short grass. The instant his toes touch the ground, all eyes flash in our direction. My body is shaking from head to toe. I make fists to steady myself from the intense fear swallowing me up.

It's truly difficult to conjure up the image of how and when I might die. Just hearing that statement in my mind makes the black hole come back, and for once, I welcome it with fiery pleasure. Every foot step I take the fire builds in me. I've been fooled and trapped all upon my own accord as if I had been asking for it. My mind racks through every memory I have that is honest and real, searching for an upperhand.

Our feet stop just short of passing the other guardians, keeping ourselves behind the others. My eyes glower at each set of giant grey irises belonging to the dragons, one by one I make sure they meet my gaze. The only way we can defeat these massive beasts is if we fight back, and fighting back would mean my involvement is crucial to avoid losing a guardian. They have to trust me as much as I trust them, all without saying a word, and all without my ability to control my power. My nervous emotions spread through my body like poison.

The only plan I've managed to come up with is going to be impossible to execute.

My eyes make their way across the lines of the trees, scoping the horizon and taking in what might be my last memory. The current of the wind takes my hair off my shoulders and throws it back in knots. Leaves dance and shake with a soothing rhythm. Everyone is silent aside from their breathing as if they're all waiting on me. I decide to measure up the dragons in front of me to pass time while thinking of a different idea to get out of this alive.

The prominently red colored dragon has the face of a gigantic lizard, but it possesses the essence of a fox just as the rest of his figure does. He has six birdlike wings, three on both sides of his torso. Their feathers are the colors of fire, also accenting his joints in flames. The red dragon is more majestic than terrifying, and his muscular body paired with his elegantly sharp claws force me into admiration. Everything about him reminds me of fire, and I realize it's not an accident.

The purple dragon surpasses the red in vibrancy. Even though Red is flaming in colors, Purple's skin radiates with deep violet and silver designs. The patterns move like waves over the scales, defying the flow of natural skin plating. His batlike wings hold claws on each tip, replacing the talons that would've been on his feet. Instead, each toe forms a foot that looks more like a scaled paw, creating a feline quality to its appearance. Even the way he sits on the grass is feline, one paw in front of the other with his luminescent tail wrapped around his front side. The arrangements of colors are like waves of sound, moving through its skin.

I bring my eyes over to stare at the grey one, embellished with metallic layers of scales that reflect sunlight. Long skinny thorns sprout from the back half of the dragon's face like whiskers. Three longer thorns stick out from the top side of his head creating a crown of horns. His spine is lined with thick spikes of scales, leading all the way to the tip of his thin tail. The massive wings that attach themselves to his back are like sheets of metal cut into triangular shapes. This dragon resembles more of a bird than a lizard. His elemental power is obvious, metal qualities are implicated all over the body and face.

Black scales are layered on the body of the dragon furthest to the left, and I instantly recognize it: the dragon we fought before, in Linkai's capitol, the one I killed. And I didn't just murder the giant, I obliterated it and here it is now, in the flesh.

I would've considered it impossible, but not in this world. It's not even a coincidence which means another puzzle piece has fallen into my grasp. Slowly, my mind is collecting these pieces in order to make sense of what I don't remember.

When my heel barely raises off the grass to take a step toward the dragons, I'm interrupted by an unfamiliar voice.