Crystal Guardian

7

'It's me,' Aldric called out, nudging Raiden out of the way. 'I'm invisible.'

'I can see that,' she replied, her voice quiet through the glass. 'Although, to be precisely accurate, I can't.' She wiped the glass with her hand and squinted. Travors pulled her back from the window by the collar of her shirt and pressed his snout against the glass.

'Stop messing' around,' he grunted. 'Show yourself.'

'I can't sir,' Aldric called back, more loudly than he had meant to. He glanced around to make sure he had not been heard by a passing Jagophite. Something dark prowled by a wall in the distance, its bulging head lifted up before it lazily skulked down one of the alleys. 'It's a long story,' he continued, looking to Raiden who seemed fairly relaxed. 'I just wanted to know that you were safe, both of you.'

Travors gave him a smile full of sarcasm and turned to K. 'We would be if someone would just get on the bleedin' ship.'

'I'm not going to run away,' she cut in. 'We have to do something to help, think of all the people who are trapped, or hurt.'

'You're normally such a clever girl,' said Travors. 'We can't help anyone when we ourselves are also trapped.'

'But we're not,' K opened the door wide.

'What yer doing?' Travors slammed it but Aldric had already snuck inside. He stood behind K.

'There may be deadly creatures out there,' she continued calmly, 'but there is nothing preventing you from stepping outside the door. The only real cage is in your mind.'

Travors scowled. 'You take after your mother,' he said as he stumbled out of the room. 'Didn't understand a word she said either.'

Aldric shifted from one foot to another, watching as Raiden's face bobbed up and down at the window like a puppy locked out in the cold. He smiled to himself and jabbed K in the back.

'Why didn't you tell me?' she whispered.

'Tell you what?' replied Aldric, folding his arms as he sat down on a dusty worktop.

'That you're an Isahiel,' she replied, eyes wide. 'You think I hadn't figured it out? I mean, this proves it. Of course, I'd suspected for a while, six years to be perfectly exact but I didn't want to say anything in case my theory turned out to be wrong. I would have looked completely stupid wouldn't I?'

'Err...'

'Can't you put your pendant back on, I feel silly talking to the air.'

'Well, I...'

'Don't tell me you've lost it!'

Travors burst back into the room his cheeks puffed out, his face red. He stared at K with eyes full of fury.

'Who are you talking to?' he said, knuckles whitening.

K's eyes flickered around nervously as metallic footsteps began echoing across the roof. The footsteps vibrated across the metal walls and scraped the weak corrugated roofing. Aldric could hear the soft tumble of dirt as it skidded from the top of the dome. A couple more clangs and something was towering unseen above them.

'They've found us,' whispered Travors, his eyes transfixed upon the ceiling. 'Get in the ship love.'

Aldric's eyes narrowed. All of a sudden, a latch opened and Raiden dropped through a small circular door in the very top of the domed roof. He climbed down a ladder and found his way into the small ship that Travors had so desperately wanted K to board.