Bound (The Guardians) (15 page)

Leo bends down, his board remaining perfectly still in the air. When I tried to do that I ended up eating wall. I guess he really is a good flyer.

‘Are you always such a show off?’ I ask angrily.

The Successor lowers his board, almost without moving, until it touches the ground. He says, ‘You are upset. Did your first lesson not go as you had hoped?’

I can feel a smile on my face. I’m not happy. It’s a grin of total sarcasm. ‘No it did not,’ I say mockingly. Leo continues to stare at me. I’m not sure what he’s waiting for. He’s not laughing or being mean, but I still feel defensive.

I sigh. ‘I don’t want to talk about it with
you
.’

‘These things take time,’ Leo replies. ‘You cannot be expected to be flawless the first time around.’

I roll my eyes. ‘What would you know? You’re an amazing flyer, you’re super skilled with your Guardian’s stone and you’re so handsome that you can’t go anywhere without women fawning over you. There is no way that you could possibly understand how I feel. You don’t know how much it sucks to struggle every day. To see people who have what you want and know in your heart you will never have it.’ I stop and breathe. ‘Before I came here I was trying so hard to make a life for myself. Miraculously I got through high school, thinking I was finally on the right track. Then I was rejected from every university I applied to. I couldn’t do anything but work in my friend’s shop earning minimum wage, whilst my father constantly put me down for working in Poridos City. I finally had some money saved, my life on track with a goal for community college and along you come – forcing me to start again – and now I’m at rock bottom once more! After all that hard work, you brought me back down to nothingness. There’s no way that you could possibly understand how I’m feeling deep down right now. So don’t bother pretending you care about me.’

There is a long moment of silence before Leo stands up. He unclips his feet from the flight board and moves it to the side. I stare at him, stretching my eyes wide to take in every movement, in case he pulls something funny. But he doesn’t. He simply sits beside me, tucking his long legs up.

‘I
do
know how you feel,’ he says softly. ‘You may think that my life is perfect… but that is not true.’

‘Right,’ I puff.

‘It is not, I swear,’ Leo says, almost desperately. I look at him and he sighs painfully. ‘I too see people around me every day that have the things that
I
want but cannot have, and it burns me. Do you know that I have never taken a trip to a place that I actually wanted to go? All my journeys are ordered and I have to return to the Tower by a certain time, so I cannot even enjoy the sights. I know many Sentry officers who talk about where they are going on leave with their family. Then they bring back photographs of them having fun. My family…’ he laughs, ‘we do not partake in such activities.’

Leo has an honest yet aching expression on his face. When he reminds me how cold his family life is, I kind of feel bad for him. If only for a moment.

‘You spoke of your time at high school. I guess you are correct when you say I do not understand what that means to you and what it was like to struggle. For me,
high school
in the way you know it is foreign. I have never attended any kind of real school before. My entire education has been here in the Tower.’

I pause for a second and then reply softly, ‘Don’t worry about it. On the whole high school kind of sucks anyway. It’s a confusing time, lots of drama.’

Leo questions, ‘Drama?’

I shrug. ‘Yeah you know the transition from being a child to a teenager. It’s all about strange and new feelings, boyfriends, girlfriends, drinking, studying, temptations, bullying, mistakes… it’s a mess really. But then again, if
you
went to high school you probably would have gone to a rich Poridos institute and got the watered-down version. No one would’ve been trying to sell
you
their mother’s anti-depressants behind the toilet blocks at lunchtime.’

‘Honestly?’ Leo asks with a squeak. He’s totally sucked into my story. In fact he’s been listening intently since about the words
boyfriend
and
girlfriend
.

I snort. ‘Well, to be fair I went to a very bad and underfunded high school. It’s amazing I’m even alive really.’

After a while I run out of things to say. A part of me is happy we are having a conversation; I did promise Lady Lethia I would try to be his friend. If I’m going to be stuck here forever, I don’t want to have my life being totally unbearable.

‘Lady Lethia asked to meet with me today,’ I say fairly randomly. Leo glances away quickly, as if eye contact now burns. I go on. ‘She told me herself about everything that has been happening with her illness. I had no idea that she was so sick. I’m really sorry to hear it. She seems like such a nice woman as well.’

Leo’s eyes narrow slightly. He stands up, ‘Sorry… I just remembered I have meeting I must attend.’ He steps away from his board and then back to it. Leo looks rattled, like the mentioning of her name has sent him into some sort of weird spiral. He takes the board into the storage room and walks out. ‘Make sure you put your board back…’

Leo leaves the training room all together, the door closing tight behind him. I remain sitting on the floor. I’m sort of stunned and confused. What just happened?

Lethia was supposed to be a conversation continuer. But now I’ve upset him. I guess I picked the wrong topic to keep the chatting going. I want to fulfil my promise. But if he keeps bailing out like that, it’s going to be difficult if not impossible.

chapter twenty-three

I put my training board back into the storage room. I’m amazed at the rows of hooks with boards attached. I see Leo’s row, the blue board and gold board stored away nicely next to others I haven’t seen before. I reluctantly turn the lights off and head to the change rooms to take off the suit. After getting back into my normal clothes, a white and blue dress to my knees, I put the body suit into the bag provided. I cross the padded floored room towards the main exit.

I stop suddenly. I can hear a muffled banging sound. It starts again and again. I turn my head, following the sound. It leads me to a door behind the grandstand. Elentia hadn’t mentioned what was behind it; I figure it’s storage.

I pull on the handle and open it. A loud bang hits my ears and I jump. I step into the room and see a short curved corridor before me that follows the cylinder shape of the Tower. It leads to a shooting range.

The one making the noise is Arin. As there is only one door to this room, and no accessible windows, I wonder when exactly he came in. I’m sure didn’t seem him.

Arin holds a large rifle out and starts shooting at several moving objects before him. I put the bag over my shoulder and cover my ears with my hands. He fires five more shots before lowering the gun. Arin’s sharp blue eyes snap towards me as his body turns. I put my hands down. 

‘Sorry,’ I call. ‘I didn’t know you were here. I followed the noise.’

Arin glances back at me blankly. I take a step backwards when he quickly holds out his hand. He flicks his fingers at me.

I cautiously stride up and stand next to the tall young man. Leo and Arin are close in height, standing a good foot or more above me. But Arin looks different in the face, resembling his grandfather more than his father. His short honey blond hair is styled a little longer than his brother’s, but still presented well. If someone told me that he was being made the new Lord Guardian tomorrow, I would believe it.

Arin takes his earplugs out and I gaze at the targets before him. Each one is blasted several times, directly on the bullseye.

‘Wow… um great shot…or ten!’ I laugh.

Arin stares at me. Gradually his face softens. I guess that means he’s appreciative of the compliment. I notice there’s quite a collection of guns before him. There are rifles and pistols in various shapes and sizes. It appears he has a busy day planned.

‘So… you seem to be into guns,’ I say awkwardly. 

‘I would assume by now Elentia has explained to you about the Guardian Stones?’ he responds, picking up a pistol. I nod. Arin points to the chocker around his neck. A small red stone is embedded in the thick dark silver chain. ‘My gem grants me the power of the element, fire.
But,
I prefer to use my weapons when I can. It shows enemies I am deadly, with or without my element.’

Abruptly he thrusts the pistol forward, placing it on my forehead. He clicks the bullet into place. My body turns ice cold. I can’t feel my hands.

Arin stands there for a moment with a serious face. Unexpectedly he smiles and laughs slightly. He pulls the gun back. ‘Do you see? Weapons are far more intimidating than dancing around with fire. Being able to use your element is not everything. The Guardians praise Leo for being a “clean fighter”, mainly because he is the first one we have had in many generations. But as the next Lord Guardian I take matters such as fighting seriously, which is why I am skilled in many techniques. Battle is a delicate balance of offence, defence and pure luck. That is something you will learn soon enough. Here,’ he says, passing me the gun.

I take the handle loosely. I’ve never held a gun before. I’m petrified I will shoot myself in the face or something.

Arin stands behind me. He moves my arms up to the target. ‘Hold it like this. Put your hands here… and then, bang, fire. It is easy.’ Slowly he slips a set of earmuffs over my head. I glance at him and he flicks his head towards the targets.

I line up and slowly pull the trigger. The bang scares me. I simultaneously scream and jump as I fire. The bullet hits the very edge of the target.

Arin slides the earmuffs off and takes the gun from me. ‘That was… satisfactory.’

‘It’s fine, you can save the fake praise. I don’t think I will ever be good at this,’ I say shaking.

He replies, ‘Anrella felt the same way in the beginning. She was utterly petrified. After her first shot she ran out of the room crying. It took me weeks to get her to try again. However, with practice, she has become quite skilled. She has her own specialised weapons and I trust her to watch my back.’

‘Well you should. You’re going to be Lord and Lady Guardian together,’ I say.

Arin looks away for a moment. His face is sad, almost as if that idea is unpleasing to him.

‘Your shoulder is starting to bruise. You should have that attended to straight away. Go and see Teri in the kitchen. She should be able to get you a bag of ice.’

I glance down at my sleeveless dress top and can see darkness appearing down my arm. It doesn’t hurt as bad as the bruise makes it look. I say goodbye and leave Arin to his training.

Chapter twenty-four

Resting on the floor of Demmi’s room, I hold an ice bag against my shoulder. I twist my head to study the space. It’s almost identical to mine. His room however has a few more personal touches after six months of residency, like photos and a few books I recognise.

On the white carpet Demmi, Soren and Anrella sit around me. All of us are in our pyjamas. We’re having an impromptu night party, Anrella’s idea.

‘I took a slight, secret, detour on my mission today,’ Anrella says with a grin. She takes the lid off a cream-coloured baker’s box resting in the middle of our circle. We all lean forward. The box is full of mini cakes and tarts and other sweets.

‘I went to Port Thion to the west. Afterwards, I
had
to stop by their famous bakery. I know it wasn’t
authorised
but come on! I could smell the sweetness from the air.’

Soren is almost drooling as she leans over the box. ‘The food in Port Thion is outstanding! Plus they have a massive carnival every few months. It is so fun. They have the best rides ever.’

Not prepared to wait a minute longer, Demmi picks up a piece of chocolate cake and puts it on a plate. Cutting a corner off and popping it into his mouth he grins. ‘Mmm…ohh nommy!’

‘I want some!’ Soren cries loudly. Demmi cuts another piece and holds out the fork to her. She leans over and slowly slides the piece off with her mouth, chewing it happily.

‘Oh to be sixteen and in love once more… I’m only twenty three… but the teenage world seems like forever ago,’ Anrella smiles.

I take a bite out of my cookie. It’s really good. As I chew, Anrella asks about the bruise on my shoulder. I reply, ‘I got hit by something called the Shooter?’

Demmi and Soren glance at me with shocked faces. Demmi says, ‘But… this was your first day of training, right? That’s so mean. Elentia didn’t use that on me until a few weeks in.’

Anrella nods quickly. ‘Yeah it was a good month or more for me.’

I say, ‘Maybe she thought I needed the push. When the MECHs attacked Leo and me, I was completely useless. I got chased down by a child. I’m no fighter. I’d be more help offering my services to the Tower as a sandbag.’

Anrella touches my unhurt shoulder. ‘Don’t be like that. We aren’t exactly born fighters, not us brides anyway. It’s something you learn. Besides, once you prove yourself worthy you’ll get your Guardian’s Stone and you’ll feel a lot safer.’

I ask the group, ‘So do you
all
have your Guardian jewellery?’

Anrella pulls a long hair pin from her high ponytail. I’ve never really noticed it there before. It’s long and silver with a clear jewel on the end. ‘It’s an air stone,’ she says touching it. ‘But as expected, I can only use the shield not the element.’

Demmi lifts up some of his black hair around his left ear. There’s an earring with a white jewel on it. ‘It’s an ice stone for me,’ he tells me. ‘But I can’t use the element either, only the shield. Trust me when I say I’ve tried through… pulled a muscle…’

Soren then puts her right hand forward. She has a ring with a small green stone on her pinkie. ‘Earth stone,’ she says me. ‘And yes I
can
use
my
element.’

‘But she isn’t very good,’ Demmi adds. Soren elbows him in the ribs.