The Guardian (Coranite Chronicles) (33 page)

Skeptical, Kite said, “And how would they do that? How can you kill someone in a crowded room without anyone knowing?”

“Hey! If it isn’t Kite!” A man walked over to them. “Oh man, I haven’t seen you in a looong time.” He moved his hand up. It looked like he was going to rest his hand on Kite’s shoulder. But before he could, Sorren snatched the man’s arm.

“Whoa,” said the man, chuckling. He gestured with a nod toward Sorren and said to Kite, “What’s with this guy?”

Kite grinned. “Justin. When did you start working here?” He told Sorren, “Let him go. I know him. He’s a friend of mine.”

Sorren didn’t let go. “This is not your friend.”

“Sorren,” Kite growled. “If you cause a commotion here, I’m not bailing you out.”

“If I let him go,” said Sorren, “you’ll die.” Sorren glared at the man. “I was wondering what that feeling was. Are you new to the profession? It seems you don’t even bother to suppress that power.”

“What are you talking about?” Kite snapped. “Let him go. Now.”

“I won’t do that,” Sorren said firmly. “Not until you get out of here.”

Kite shoved Sorren away from the man and hissed, “You idiot! What are you doing? Stop this! Have you gone crazy?”

Sorren looked past Kite. The man was coming up behind him.

“Out of the way!” Sorren jumped to his feet, pushed Kite aside, twisted the man’s arm and knocked him back. The man tripped and fell.

Kite pulled out his pistol and aimed it at Sorren. Sorren raised his hands in surrender. Some of the people in the room shrieked at the sight of the gun and scurried out.

“You’re making a big mistake,” Sorren told him. “Take a look behind you.”

“Oh, I’m not falling for that one.” Kite kept his gun locked on Sorren. “You think I’m stupid? Oldest trick in the book.”

“I said take a look!” Sorren pointed.

“SHUT UP!” Kite screamed. “YOU’RE NOT FOOLING ANYONE—Augh…”

Kite lost his voice for a split second. Even his consciousness faded and returned in the blink of an eye. His hand went limp. His fingers let go of the gun. Then he fell forward, not sure of what was happening. Time seemed to slow down to a crawl as he was falling. In the middle of his descent, he whirled around and looked behind him. There was somebody standing there he was not expecting to see—someone he never thought possible to see face to face: himself.

“What is going on here?” Shocked, Kite gasped. “This can’t be happening.”

Sorren saved Kite from falling to the floor.

Kite said, “Sorren, why am I looking at myself? Why is there another me?”

“Look down,” Sorren replied.

Kite set his gaze down. He looked at his hands. They were semi-transparent.

“No…” His eyes wide, Kite shook his head wildly. “This can’t be! No, I can’t believe it! I’m a ghost! I’m a friggin’ ghost! I died? Just like that? No sound, no pain, no…nothing? Just death? How did this happen? How could I die without knowing?”

“You’re not dead,” said Sorren. “Not yet. You are currently looking at the world as a spirit. Your spirit has been pushed out of your body. Now that you’re looking with your spiritual eyes, see for yourself the situation we are in.”

“I’m out of my body?” At first Kite couldn’t help staring at his own body. It was weird seeing himself in front of him…without a mirror. He got over the initial shock and then glanced around the room.

The people did not look like a bunch of office workers anymore. Their faces were different. Their faces were now completely covered by white masks, with an elaborate symbol painted on.

Sorren said quickly, “Do you see now? Your friend was never here. It was an illusion. Now brace yourself, I’m shoving your spirit back inside your body. Get ready to run.”

“But what about my uncle—”

“I won’t be able to protect you from them. There are too many. Retreating is our only option. We can’t wait around for your uncle.”

Kite sighed. “All this way for nothing.”

“Live to see another day,” said Sorren. “We can always come up with another plan.”

“Right,” said Kite. “Let’s do this! Get me out of here, Sorren! I’m counting on you!”

Sorren heaved Kite’s spirit up and shoved it forward. Kite’s spirit clumsily toppled back into his body. As soon as Kite was back in control of his own body, Sorren jerked him away from the masked men. Shielding Kite, Sorren glared at the others.

Kite touched his face and smiled at his solid hands. He laughed and said, sounding relieved, “Yes, hands! I got my hands back! And…whoa! Air! I’m breathing again! Everything just doesn’t feel right without a body.”

“If you want to keep it that way, best be running,” said Sorren. “These spirit assassins aren’t going to leave without getting the job done.”

“Spirit assassins?”

“Not your typical assassins,” said Sorren. “Some of the best in the business, but not exactly the type you can easily hire. Most people don’t even know they exist. And their methods are perfect. With their special touch, they can pull the spirit out of the body, like they did with you. Without the spirit, the body goes into a vegetative state. Sometimes a victim will look like they just fainted, or went into a coma. It’s the perfect silent kill.” Sorren glanced at Kite. “Because no one can be blamed for a death—if the body is not literally dead.”

CHAPTER 27

Catalyst

When Darek had just finished eating, Freddie stood up, opened the door of their room and glanced through the hall. Then he closed the door and shushed them.

“Hmm? What’s up?” asked Darek. “Something wrong?”

Slade nodded in agreement. “You’ve been acting strange ever since we got back.”

“Shhhh! Both of you! Shhh!” Freddie gave them a stern look. “Didn’t you hear me the first time?”

Darek shrugged. “Are you serious—”

Freddie said in a very low whisper, “I am serious because today we are going to a very special place. And I’m going to lay down some rules before we—”

Darek leaned forward excitedly. “Oh! The secret! You’re finally going to tell us where we’re going today? I almost forgot about it after all that we did—”

Sounding impatient, Freddie said, “Yes, I’m going to tell you as soon as you let me finish.”

“Oh, sorry,” said Darek. “Go ahead. All ears.”

“All right,” Freddie whispered. “The place we’re going to today is very special.”

“You said that already…”

Freddie glared at Darek. Slade rolled his eyes.

“Er…” Darek scratched his cheek. “Continue.”

“I’m emphasizing a point here,” said Freddie. “This isn’t like our usual trips. The place we’re going to isn’t a secret or hidden place. No, it is a forbidden place swarming with Coranite guards. Anyone caught sneaking up there is punishable by death. Of course, I’m talking about the top of this tower.”

Darek and Slade both said, “Ooooo…”

“The top?” Darek asked. “I thought no lesser spirit has ever been to the top.”

“That’s what everyone believes. Most lesser spirits never dare go up. But I’ve been there,” said Freddie. “I know of a safe way to get there.”

“Safe?” Slade looked uncertain. “Now just wait a minute. It may be safe, but there’s no way it’s perfectly safe. I don’t see why we have to go sticking our necks out for a little fun. That just sounds stupid to me.”

Freddie nodded. “Good point. If it were just for fun, it would be stupid to go risking our lives. But it’s not.”

Slade raised a brow. “What are you trying to say?”

Freddie grinned. “At the top of the tower there is something very wonderful…for people like us. I have been there many times and, really, it is the only way for me to live on like this.”

Darek shook his head. “Still not getting it.”

Freddie snickered. “Up at the top of the tower there is a device that has always existed there since the forging of this universe. It is a strange device capable of allowing anyone to see into…the other side.”

Darek froze, his mouth agape. Slade wouldn’t stop blinking in surprise.

“O-other side?” Darek gasped. “You’re talking about…the physical realm?”

Freddie grinned wryly. “That’s right. The real deal. Home. Paradise. Whatever you want to call it. It’s the only thing to keep you sane, to keep you human! You can use the device to see anywhere you want, anything you want. You can use it to see your loved ones. You can walk through cities and starships and imagine—oh how brilliant it is—how it must feel to live a normal life once again.” His eyes fell upon Darek and then to Slade. “Now tell me, isn’t that worth risking our pathetic lives? Here in this place, doesn’t it feel like we are already dead? There’s nothing to live for. We’re slaves to those blasted Coranites. That device? Our ticket to feeling alive. There’s nothing better in this tower—no, this whole realm!”

Darek looked at the ground, musing. Slade fell silent.

“Come on,” said Freddie. “Don’t you want to see your friends and family again? Don’t you want to see what humans are like? I remember you told me you guys are Judges. You must have seen some rotten stuff. Parents killing children…children killing parents. Cannibalism. Suicide. Abuse. Cold-blooded murder of innocent men and women. I know there’s a lot of bad in the physical realm and you might remember that pretty clearly. But there’s a lot of good there too—more good than we’ll ever see in this hell hole.”

Darek scratched his head. Slade let out a sigh.

“Think about it,” said Freddie, beaming. “When’s the last time you felt all warm and fuzzy inside—when you had that feeling that everything is all right? When’s last time you looked up and saw a beautiful sky? When is the last time you saw a field of flowers? This rotten place drains everything out of you. Going up there gives me the best feeling.” Freddie gestured for them to stand. “What do you say, huh? You coming with me? I’m going whether you’re coming along or not. So better take me up on my offer while I’m still here.”

Darek turned to Slade. “You up for it?”

Slade hesitated. “I am worried about Elize. And it’d be nice to know how things are with the other Judges.” Then he slowly nodded. “Okay. Let’s do it.”

“Ah ha!” Freddie snapped his fingers. “I knew you guys would come around.”

They all got up on their feet. Freddie opened the door, looked over his shoulder, and said, “Remember. This is life or death. Stay close and don’t do anything stupid.”

Darek thought that when Freddie said they’d be sneaking to the top of the tower, it meant that they’d be sneaking to the top of the tower. He was surprised then to find out Freddie was leading them downward toward the base of the tower where the massive archways were located.

A giant dragon was waiting for them there.

“I don’t understand,” said Darek. “How is this going to work?”

Freddie gestured with his thumb to the dragon.

“We’re riding a dragon?” asked Darek.

“Obviously.”

“But couldn’t we just go up the normal way?”

“Of course not,” said Freddie. “It’s impossible. This tower is huge. Do you know how many heavily guarded floors we’ll have to go through in order to reach the top? At least a hundred. If we’re caught, just once, it’s all over.”

Darek looked skeptically at the dragon. The dragon grinned at him.

“But doesn’t this dragon belong to the Coranites? Can we trust it? Are you sure it’s not going to eat us?”

Freddie snickered. “It took me up there several times. This dragon has taken a liking to me. It’ll do whatever I ask.”

Surprised, Darek asked, “How did you ever manage that?”

“I take good care of it,” said Freddie. “I’ve read it bedtime stories, fed it the best essence, gave it comfortable baths, scratched all of its hard-to-reach itches—”

“Really?” Darek said. “That’s all it takes? A little pampering?”

Freddie shook his head. “A
lot
of pampering. A lot. Anyway, we must hurry. Now is the best time to go up. The Coranites are not there during this time because most of them are out fighting Guardians.”

The dragon let down his wing. They hurried up the wing, onto the dragon’s back.

“We’ll need to stay on the dragon’s head,” said Freddie. “It’s safer that way.”

The dragon lowered its neck so that it’d be easier on them, or else they’d feel like they were climbing up a scaly mountain. They followed Freddie across the length of the neck. When they reached the top of its head, Darek found that the wrinkles by the dragon’s eyes were like large trenches, big enough for them to sit inside.

“Ready?” Freddie asked them. They nodded. “Hang on tight. This is could be a bit bumpy.”

Darek and Slade clung onto the wrinkles of the huge forehead.

“Take us up slowly!” Freddie shouted to the dragon’s ear.

The dragon turned its whole body around slowly, ducked its head under the archway and crawled out of the tower. It twisted its body and reached above. Its claws dug into the walls. With a firm grip, the dragon climbed up carefully.