Guardian: (n) Celestial creature of supernatural power and descent; child of the stars; protector of land and sky of Braskey and the other lands; Extinct*
The last known guardian left this earth during the Year of the Change, when our great king, Bainon Tremaine, cut down the tyranny of his brother, King Tarvril Tremaine, and ushered Braskey into the Age of Contentment.
The Guardians, sworn to protect their king at all costs, were slain by the Sorceress Narissa--King Bainon's trusted right hand. Both King and his Sorceress Queen regretted the loss, but couldn't find any other option.
*Rumors circulate of Guardians escaping to the stars before the destruction of the species. No evidence has been found to confirm or deny the assertion, though many in Osha during the coup were recorded as seeing lights ascend to the sky.
Without Guardians, Braskey embraces its own defense through the Army of the King, led by--
Phoenix slammed the oversized tome shut and a puff of dust fluttered up. Letting out a huff of frustration, Phoenix glanced around at the many books scattered on the ground around her. The candle at her side flickered, threatening to extinguish.
Throwing the weighty book aside, Phoenix plucked up another, flipping to the section on Guardians.
Guardians: a mythical--
"No." Phoenix closed that book, too, chucking it over her shoulder. Guardians? Mythical? How foolish can you be?
The dank cellar she sat in sank below the earth, and her breath hung about her in the frigid air. Not that she felt it. Phoenix didn't know the meaning of the word "cold." Sturdy shelves lined the earthen walls, filled with books the mayor of her little town had deemed too dangerous for public consumption. He'd dug this cellar to house them beneath his own home, locked away from the world--except for the small window cut into the far wall.
Phoenix snorted. He hadn't dug the room. He'd paid others to dig it for him. With a sigh, she rubbed her tired eyes, wondering how long she'd been down here. It was her third night sneaking in to search through the books for anything on her kind, but so far they all said the same thing.
What's dangerous about these? If the Guardians are thought to be dead or vanished, why keep them from the public?
A creaking noise in the dark corner of the room stilled her, and she pushed up into a crouch. There were stairs leading up to the mayor's home, but they were covered in dirt and dust--never used. Would this be the night that changed?
"Hey."
Phoenix jumped, turning to lash out at the owner of the voice behind her. He caught her hand, stopping her full force punch. Only one person in Treywick could be strong enough to do that.
"Maverick? What the hells! You scared me half to end."
Her adoptive brother chuckled, brushing a few strands of shaggy brown hair away from his face. "What am I doing? What are you doing, Lain? If you get caught down here, the Leyera family will--"
"Never catch me. They sleep like tarahks--not a thing can wake them." She mentally laughed at her own little insult. Mayor Leyera and his family--especially his daughter Aundreya--weren't her favorites.
"Let Aundreya hear you liken her to those snout-nosed tree imps and see if she doesn't make your life worse than she already has." Maverick grabbed her by the scruff of her dress, lifting her off the ground with ease. "You know she has the gift of deception."
"And I have the gift of truth." Phoenix wriggled in his grasp. He had the gift of strength.
"When she speaks, they forget your gift. If you aren't there to defend yourself--"
"If any of you would let me give her a good punch on the nose, I would consider myself thoroughly defended."
Maverick sighed, setting her down. "You know why you can't do that. You'd break her nose with just a tap. How would we explain your strength when everyone thinks your gift is truth? No one has more than one gift, Laina."
He used her false name, the one they'd given her to keep her secret when her birth parents brought her to the Knight family and asked them to raise her. Claire and Norman raised her, and while she knew who had sired her, Phoenix felt the familial connection with the Knights she'd never felt with Selene or Elyo.
"I just need a bit longer." Phoenix gestured around at the mess of books. "I only have a few left to search."
Maverick opened his mouth to speak, but a creaking sound above their heads stilled them both. Eyes widening, Maverick, gestured toward the window, mouthing at her, "we need to leave."
Biting down on her lip, Phoenix nodded, dropping down to her knees at grab her candle and gather up two of the books she hadn't read yet. Before Maverick could protest, Phoenix extinguished the candle with her fingers and dashed off toward the window, her brother on her heels.
Pulling herself up and through the window, Phoenix shoved the books out of the way and moved to give Maverick room to follow. With a grunt, he exited the window, catching sight of Phoenix's books.
Before he could make a disapproving comment, Phoenix scooped the books up and dashed across the grassy lawn, headed for the cobblestone road. They ran down the path through the town of Treywick, past slumbering villas and shops that bedecked the wealthiest area. When the houses shrank to cottages and the trees of the Forest Fangralee grew dense in between, they slowed to a brisk walk.
"You could have been caught," Maverick said, and Phoenix had the intense feeling he'd been eagerly awaiting his chance to lecture her. "One night is foolish, but three nights in a row? Idiocy! What would you have done if they'd come down and found you there?"
She didn't answer, mainly because she couldn't. Being born with the gift of truth had yet to be a gift. Not only could she tell when anyone lied, but she couldn't lie herself. Her silence was a confirmation.
"You didn't have a plan." He groaned and smacked her on the arm. "What is dad always telling us? To think before we act. THINK!"
"I know! But it's the only place with any information about Guardians, and I needed--"
"Mom and dad have information about Guardians," Maverick retorted. "And they'll tell you anything you want to know."
"But they don't know everything." Phoenix glanced around at the trees, now surrounding them as they wandered the path to their home. There was a reason the Knights were given a wide berth--no one wanted to enter the outskirts of Fangralee to visit their home, something Norman had counted on when building his home at the end of the dirt path.
"What is it you're looking for?" Maverick gestured to the books, his eyes, orange with hints of brown, flickered back up to her face. "What is it you don't know?"
"The truth." Phoenix handed him one of the books as the cottage appeared in the distance. "I want to know how Queen Narissa managed to destroy so many guardians. And if she didn't destroy them, where they all went."
"Why don't you just ask your parents?" Maverick asked. "Shouldn't they know what happened to their kind?"
Phoenix didn't answer right away. Asking them was something she'd thought about doing a dozen times, but she almost never saw them, and when they appeared, they usually had an agenda--something for her to learn to keep her safe--that absorbed all their time.
"It's not the same, though, is it?" she asked. "I mean, I'm a Guardian, but they--"
"Are even more than that," Maverick finished for her. "Guardians are children of the stars, but your parents are the stars themselves."
"Sun and moon." Phoenix lifted her chin, basking in the full moon above them, bathing them in a glowing silver light. "Selene is at her most powerful tonight."
"The right and left hand of Adonai." Maverick shivered in awe. "They've seen the beginning, and they'll be here until the end."
"It's frightening to consider." Phoenix frowned back down at her own earthly form--one Selene had transformed to keep her from being spotted by humans. Her dull brown hair, murky eyes, and forgettable face meant she'd be the last one anyone would ever suspect for something greater. Perhaps sensing her change of mood, Maverick nudged her with his shoulder.
"You will do great things, Phoenix Knight," he whispered her name--one they never used aloud. "You're one of--if not the--last Guardian in all of Braskey. The stars will be singing your praises when we change the world."
Phoenix grinned at him. "Your job is bigger than mine."
Maverick's face fell, and he nodded. "Not necessarily. It doesn't have to be me."
She didn't argue with him. While there were rumors of another, Maverick made the most sense. Phoenix would do everything in her power to make sure his destiny didn't cause him harm.
After all, what else were Guardians for?
ACK! I hope you enjoyed Chapter 1 of Ignite. I'm kind of freaking out. Who here already has a sense of what Maverick's destiny might be? Who wants to know more about Guardians? Who here has questions?
Sound off in the comments, because that will help me guide our chapters! Don't forget to add this to your library if you haven't already. This is my first ever book, and it's scary to share! I love you guys for being such a wonderful group of readers.
MUAH!