Guardian: Protectors of Light (56 page)

Madeleine and Sabrina
followed her.

“
So I guess
it’s safe to assume that you two have taken care of Asura?” Akilah
said. 

“
Yes,”
Madeleine said. “We locked up his mortal body somewhere he’ll never
be able to reach. Although I still have my reasons to believe he
escaped somehow.” 

“
It’s
possible,” Sabrina said; she quickly grabbed her forehead as she
staggered. “But then again...” 

She staggered again,
coming dangerously close to losing her balance, but was caught by
Madeleine before she fell. 

“
Sabrina,
what’s wrong with you? Are you all right?” Madeleine said
worriedly. 

Sabrina smiled at her;
Madeleine didn’t know what was going on, but Sabrina
did.

“
It’s all
right,” she said. “It’s a foolproof system, Maddy. He resurrected
me... So if the Master dies, so do I. And, since I am dying right
now... He must be, too.” 

Madeleine started to sob
as tears streamed down her face. “No,” she said hoarsely. “I- I
just got you back. You can’t leave now! I won’t let him take you
from me again!” 

Sabrina grabbed her best
friend’s shoulders. “It’s okay,” she said. “After all... We’ll see
each other again soon, right?” 

Madeleine sniffed.
“Promise?” she blurted 

Sabrina nodded, offering
Madeleine a smile. “Promise.” 

A hug followed. They
finally were able to look each other in the eye and hug after
having been enemies for over a thousand years. Everything was all
right. 

They were all
right. 

Sabrina and Madeleine
didn’t let go of each other; not even when Sabrina dissolved into
light, leaving Madeleine behind with empty arms, hugging nothing
but air.

“
It’s always
hard to lose a loved one,” Akilah said, laying a comforting hand on
Madeleine, who sank down to the ground, sobbing. “Especially if you
just got the chance to reunite with them.”

*

It felt as
if they waited for hours for the Magic to work. Thomas just simply
sat beside James with his head in his hands, completely silent. The
others were trying their best not to cry; Samira had buried her
face in Violina’s chest, who was trying to comfort her by telling
her everything was going to be all right.

They just waited for
something to happen.

And then it did.
The pattern on James’ clothes as well as the topazes on the Golden
Wing lit up bright blue; they started spouting sparkles shortly
after, drawing everyone’s attention. The sparkles were with enough
to fill the entire Ritual Chamber; as they came down, they healed
every wound they touched. 

And they did the same
with James.

James shot upright,
coughing loudly; only to find his friends staring at him in
unbelief for a second.

But the eyes that caught
his most were Samira’s.

“
J... James?”
Samira whispered, before letting out a laugh.

“
JAMES!” she
shouted, flinging her arms around James’ neck.

And for the first time in
a very long time, Samira cried. Tears of joy.

“
I thought
I’d never see you again,” she whispered, sobbing loudly.

“
It’s okay,
Samira,” James whispered back. “I’m here now.”
They just sat there for minutes, surrounded by nothing but the
sparkles of Magic and utter silence, which would only be
interrupted by silent sobs. All they wanted was to hold each
other.

Even their friends, who
were overflowing with joy, had the respect to let the two siblings
reunite.

But as soon as they let
go of each other, James was whisked away by them, cheering,
laughing, and crying.

They’d done it. They
saved the world.

After they’d calmed down
again, Akilah and Madeleine approached the six friends – of course,
Violina was still there.

“
Well done,
Guardians,” Madeleine smiled. “You did it.”

“
Thank you
for freeing our world,” Akilah said. “We are forever in your
debt.”

“
It’s
nothing,” James joked. “Really.”

“
If I may be
so bold...” Samira said. “Who want to go home and tell our parents
we’re not dead!?”

“
We do!”
Bella and the boys cheered simultaneously. They could finally go
home; everything was over, and their lives would soon be normal
once again.

And, the best
of all was that they wouldn’t miss a minute of their Christmas
break – it was only halfway through November, after
all.

“
Of course
you want to go home,” Madeleine said. “Why wouldn’t
you?”

She then turned to
Akilah. “And, to be honest... so do I.”

Akilah nodded at here.
“Your friends were already waiting for you to join
them.”

A white light engulfed
Madeleine shortly, causing her to turn see-through. The light
engulfed Akilah shortly as well, making her whole once again.
“James, Guardians... Once again, thank you so much for what you’ve
gone for this world,” Madeleine said, as she joined her friends,
who were in the same, see-through state as she was. Gabriel.
Sabrina. Timothy. Rikki. They were all there. The original
Guardians, Keepers of Light. There was no more need for them to be
around.

“
Goodbye,
guys,” Rikki said. 

“
See you
again sometime,” Gabriel added.

“
Let’s hope not, okay?” James joked. His friends nodded
agreeing, and waved at the spirits who’d become their friends, as
they said the rhyme which seemed to set them free.
“The Darkness is gone,
the Light has returned

Back is the
peace for which we yearned

Lunaria has
been freed, 

and so are the Keepers they no longer
need”
The Bond of Light, together with Violina and Akilah, watched as
they disappeared; finally free to rest in peace.

“
And now you
guys,” Violina said. “It’s been an honour to fight by your
side.”

“
Same to you,” Antonio grinned. Violina giggled.
“I believe you are ready to leave,” Akilah smiled. “However, before
you leave, there is one last thing I need to
say. 
Hide that
book.
 Don’t
ever
read it again; it’s an object generated by strong Magic.
It’s known to change according to the timeline, rewriting itself
after each Generation has died. Which means this book will last
forever, and it’s dangerous to anyone who reads it, as I don’t know
what effect the Magic will have on them.”

“
Can’t we
just destroy it, then?” Antonio said. “That takes out all risks of
anyone reading it ever again.”

“
If you
destroy the book, it will spread the Magic contained inside all
over Earth,” Akilah warned him. “You don’t want to know what’ll
happen then.”

Antonio nodded. “No
destroying. Got it.”

“
Just hide it
somewhere where no one will ever find it,” Violina said. “And never
speak of it again. Problem solved.”

“
Understood?”
Akilah said. The Guardians nodded.

“
Very well,”
Akilah said. “James; that wound in your stomach might take some
time to heal, but don’t worry about it. It might scar though.” She
paused and smiled. “The Magic I used to revive you will keep your
soul connected to us and this world, so don’t worry if you catch a
glimpse of us every once in a while when you’re
sleeping.”

James nodded. “That’s all
right,” he said. “At least that way I can know everything is still
fine here.”

“
Farewell,
Guardians,” Akilah said. “And sleep well.”

*

James slowly opened his
eyes, to the surprise of finding himself inside his bedroom, in his
own bed. He went out of bed to investigate and see whether
they’d truly returned home or not.

“
Samira?” he
said, as he ran into her halfway through the hallway. It seemed as
if she’d been awake for a while, but looked just as surprised as
James was. 

Had it all just been a
dream? Impossible... 

James carefully touched
the spot where the Master had hit him. Exactly what he’d thought;
the wound was still there. Not a dream. 

“
I believe I
heard something,” a muffled voice said behind from downstairs;
another voice responded, but was inaudible. Footsteps coming up the
stairs followed shortly. 

“
I know, but
I want to check anyway!” 
A woman’s head appeared just above floor level as Cheyenne came up
the stairs; as soon as she saw her two children, she started to
cry.

“
It’s them!”
she shouted. “THEY’RE HOME!”

The sound of feet rushing
up the stairs was heard, and soon enough, David and Lucy appeared,
crying tears of joy as soon as they saw James and Samira were safe
and sound. 
“My boys!” Cheyenne cried, as James walked over to hug her. “Oh, I
am so glad to see you two safe!”
“We should call the other parents to check if their kids are back
as well,” David said, while hugging Samira. 
“We should! I’ll call the other households, to see if they’re
back,” Lucy said, while briefly saying hi to her cousins before
running down the stairs, overflowing with joy. “We need to
celebrate this Christmas together, as one, big
family!” 

“
Isn’t that
what we’ve always been?” James said with a smile. 

“
Actually,
James, you’re right,” Samira said, while ruffling his
hair. “Yes. Yes we have.”

And all of a sudden, it
hit James. There was something he needed to do; something he’d
promised himself he’d do as soon as he got back.

He apologised to his
family and David for having to leave so quickly – of course they
didn’t understand, but they would soon enough.

James quickly threw on
some simple clothes, got his jacket from the coat rack and rushed
down the street, while reaching for his phone. Anna was on his
speed dial, so he could call her without having to stop running.
The phone rang, and eventually, someone picked up.

“
Hello
?”

“
Anna!” James
shouted through the phone, happy to hear Anna’s voice. “Guess
what?”

“
...
James
?” Anna said,
sounding slightly confused. “
Are... are you back yet
?”

“
What do you
think?” James said; he’d reached her front yard. “I’m standing in
the middle of your yard, silly!”

Behind one of the windows of Anna’s house, the curtains
moved, and a face appeared behind them. She was still holding her
phone; she waved at the redheaded teenager as soon as she saw him.
“
Stay there. I’m coming
downstairs
.”

James heard Anna running
down the stairs through her phone; she didn’t hang up until she was
running out of the front door, straight into James’s
arms.

“
I don’t believe it,” Anna said, her eyes sparkling with
happiness. “It really
is
you.”

“
Of course
it’s me,” James said. “Who else?”

He breathed in deeply. He
had to say it now. He had to.

“
Anna?” James
said carefully, his voice trembling with nervousness.

“
Yes, James?”
the girl replied, highly anticipating the answer. She knew what he
was going to say; she just needed the confirmation from his mouth
she so desired.

“
I love you,”
James said; he said it quick, yet loud. Loud enough for Anna to
hear, and just quick enough for her to be able to respond to the
feeling of James’s lips kissing hers.

This was the moment
they’d both been waiting for; and now, at long last, it’d finally
arrived. And, after all, all they had to do is believe in each
other, and believe in themselves. Belief is where Magic, whether
light or dark, is based on. Without belief, there is no
Magic.

A thought to keep in mind
in the future...

***

~ TABLE OF CONTENTS
~

I: The
Five

II: This Is
Real

III: Into The
Void