Ellie's Flames BOOK 2

11: Guardians (Not "Of The Galaxy", Sadly)

"What would he have to do with them being alive?" I press. 

"This is the last thing I'm going to say---the P villain was able to take away... something... from... smaller people around the world, therefore weakening the... ah, group." Dad scowls. "That was too much. Just stop looking, Liss. I mean it."

"Right, right." I agree. I turn to my bookshelf, rifling through to find the hero book again. "Can you leave so I can search for group heroes now?"

Dad huffs through his nose. "Fine. But only because I know you'll never find them. They're who you'd last expect." Then I hear his footsteps retreat. I also hear Mom's hissed whispers scolding him for revealing so much.

I turn to Carlos, one hand still on the pink spine of the "Royal Lineage" book. "You going to help?"

He shakes his head, his eyes fixed on something far away. I'd come to identify this as his "thinking face". "I'm trying to guess what he meant. Someone we'd least expect... what could he be talking about? Who would we least expect?"

"I don't know, that's kinda the riddle." I scoot away from the shelf next to him. "A group... of people we'd least expect."

"Not helpful in the least." Carlos sighs. 

"That depend on smaller people?" I look at him. "Would that be kids?"

"Maybe the dwarves," Carlos tells me. "Although there are only seven of them, and they're all Snow White's BFF's, so I doubt they'd go after you."

I grind my hands into my forehead. "Why is this so confusing? Nothing was this confusing when I was a kid! It was all, do this do that, sleep then, eat now."

Carlos cracks a smile. "Mine was just be evil, be eviler, be evilest. And occasionally pull pranks."

"That sounds more like Mal or Jay."

"True. Mine was more hate mom make friends be shy and invent things."

"That sounds more like the boy who made the "escape" button the literal escape button." I tease. 

"Hey, it sounded smart at the time!" He protests. 

I laugh. "No, it was. Uma was stumped by it. I don't think I've seen her look so surprised ever. Except maybe when Dude started talking, asking if his vest made him look fat."

Carlos cracks up. "Dude is awesome."

"Speaking of, where is he?"

"Oh, he's visiting another talking animal somewhere." Carlos said. "Some big bunny. It was weird, this hole just appeared out of nowhere, with flowers all around it."

"Sounds like something a bunny would do." I agree. 

"Yeah, but how big? That hole was huge." Carlos says. 

"I mean, if you're a bunny, and your only way of travel was a hole, you'd want it to be big, wouldn't you?"

"Yeah, but..." Carlos stops mid-sentence, and his eyes go wide. "Bunny."

"Um... yeaaaah..." I wave a hand in front of his eyes. "You okay?"

"Bunny!" Carlos turns to me. "The Easter Bunny!"

"What are you talking about?" I ask, very concerned for his health.

"Ellie---The Guardians!! Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus, the Sandman, and Jack Frost!!" He grins wide. "And the villain is---"

"Me."

We both whirl around, Carlos' face dropping in horror as he realizes what he's done. He thought his name. He called him there. 

We're face-to-face with what is easily the most imposing villain ever. A skeleton-pale man with stuck-out black hair, piercing silver eyes with plenty of guy liner, and a thin mouth. His long black dress/robe thing seems to drape around him like smoke, trailing along. He raises on long, pale hand with a smile. 

"Thank you very much for calling me, boy." Black guy says, his eyes on me. "It is greatly appreciated."

"And... can I know your name now, please?" I ask.

He sneers at us, spreading his arms and seeming to grow in size until his shadow covers the room. "I'm the Bogeyman, of course."

Cricket silence.

"Excuse me, what?" I ask, coughing to hold back a laugh.

Carlos puts a hand on his forehead, like why Ellie why. "His name is Pitch."

Pitch glares. His size doesn't seem so foreboding now. "Way to steal my thunder, boy."

"Anytime, Booger dude."

Pitch snarls. "Enough! No making fun of my name! It is a name that inspires fear in all who hear it!"

"Very." I say seriously. "I'm terrified right now. Totally spooked."

He glares hard at me, and I involuntarily shudder. He smiles just a bit. "Good. A little fear. Now, if you'll come with me, girl..."

"Like heck." Carlos says, stepping forward. Sweet boy, trying to protect me, when he should know I'm more qualified to kick a villain's butt.

Pitch hesitates, then nods. "Very well. I'm flexible."

Then he lunges for both of us. I yelp and throw my hands up, creating a burst of ice that melds with his shadows in a spire of white shadows.

"Whoa." I breathe, blinking in surprise.

Pitch huffs through his nose angrily. "Just like your father---see what we could have created?"

"Um, wait, what?" I ask.

Carlos' eyes widen. "Oh, wait, you think he's her da---"

Pitch doesn't listen, sending bursts of black sand at both of us. Carlos' words are choked off, my vision blackened, until I can't tell what is up or down or left or right. I feel someone's cold hands latched around my wrist, but when I open my mouth to try and breathe, to get oxygen, to pull my mother's ice out and blow him away, the sand gushes into my throat. Pulling all the ice, all the cold out of me. Just like the gloves, I no longer feel any attachment to my mom's snow.

In complete desperation, I dig my free hand's nails into Pitch's skin. He roars in anger, and his shadowed sand rushes out of me again, leaving me on a stone floor, shaking uncontrollably. Gut-wrenching coughs knock air back into me, but I still feel the absence of winter.

When I can finally breathe, I weakly lift my head off the ground. My vision focuses first on Pitch, who's screaming something at me that I can't hear. Around me is a small stone cell with messy, hand-made looking bars on one side. They open to a hallway covered in paintings that are chipping away. Directly across from my cell is another makeshift one, this time with bars that look slightly newer. The person there seems to be unconscious.

Pitch continues to scream at me, then laughs maniacally. When he seems to realize I can't hear him, he waves his hand angrily and disappears with a flash of darkness.

And that's when my gaze catches on the person in the other cell. After Pitch leaves, they stretch up instantly and yawn. Their gaze snags on me, and they scream something I assume is "ICY WHAT'YA DOIN' HERE?" and starts visibly raging at me.

I sigh and wait for the ringing in my ears to dissipate just in time to hear her scream her last sentence before her tantrum is over. "---ICY YOU AWESOME FRIEND, YER AN IDIOT!" Then she huffs, and sits down.

"Much better." I say. "Hi, Sera."

___________________________________________

Yaaaaaaa! he's finally the real live actual villain! You have no idea how many times I watched fight scenes of "Rise of the Guardians" in order to prepare myself for the coming chapters. 

For all those who pre-guessed Pitch, good job! I thought I was the only kid who watched ROTG, because NO ONE I know ever knows what I'm talking about when I geek over it.

Hope everyone enjoyed!! This is a super long chapter compared to my most recent ones... so ya!