The Guardian (Coranite Chronicles) (5 page)

Darek felt his heart race when he heard Slade’s words. It wasn’t only about revenge; it was about their reputation. The history of the Judges was at risk of being tarnished by
their
failure. At the very least, the Judges should never be brought down by evil, or else the legend of the Judges will never carry the same weight ever again.

“Come on, then!” Darek released his hand from the lever. “Let’s all go!”

Elize shook her head. “You guys should go. This lever will snap back in place too fast without anyone holding it down!”

“But…”

“If you want to go, go now!” Elize grunted, struggling against the rising lever. “I can’t keep the door open for much longer!”

“Elize…I—”

“No time!” Slade grabbed Darek by the arm. The two of them ran to the open door that led to the physical realm. They jumped into the brilliant light and vanished into thin air.

“Ahh!” Elize let go of the lever and fell back. The lever rose all the way up and locked in place. Then the door lost its light…and it was gone.

“Good luck,” said Elize solemnly.

Footsteps echoed behind her. She got to her feet and spun around, her sharp claws extended. Sorren stood at the entrance.

“Oh, it’s you again,” she said, retracting her claws. “What do you want? If it’s to go to the other side, you’re too late. No one can open the portal anymore. It’s closed for good.”

“I see,” said Sorren. “I was hoping I could use your portal, but I guess I could just take the other way.” He sighed and muttered, “It’s always so troublesome though. That guy is such a hassle, always making me play those stupid games.”

“Other way?” asked Elize, sounding surprised. “You know another way out of Lacuna?”

“It’s not as convenient as the portal, but—”

“Take me with you! Please!” Elize cut him off. “I can’t just stay here and sit around! I have to go and help the others! Staying here…while everyone is in trouble, it’s just…”

Sorren shrugged and left.

“Hey, wait up!” Elize chased after him. “Is that supposed to be a yes?”

Sorren shrugged his shoulders again.

CHAPTER 3

Lost Hero

In another region of Lacuna, the wind howled ferociously as a snowstorm raged over the hills. Everything was glistening white. It was difficult to see anything in the violent snowstorm. And no creature dared to set foot in this inhospitable land.

Well, no creature…except one.

There was something, or rather someone, crawling through the snow. Massive clumps of snow were thrust out of the way, as a blue-haired woman fought to break free from the icy hold. Azura’s only source of warmth was a thick cloak wrapped around her head and chest, but even though it was layered, it was not enough to protect her from the frigid temperature. Her whole body was frozen numb. Her joints stiffened.

“C-c-cold,” Azura mumbled with trembling lips. “S-so cold!”

With one more push she finally crossed the boundary of this snowy patch of land and tumbled down a shallow incline. She fell into a freshwater pond. The water here was warm enough to wash away the snowy blanket on her body. Emerging from the pond, she scrambled onto the slimy mud and lay flat on it. Azura didn’t care for the mud on her clothes and skin; just moments ago, she was afraid she wouldn’t make it. Now she was grateful to be alive.

A blue fuzzy ant-like creature hopped out from underneath her cloak. Seeing Azura’s condition, it brushed its fur against her cheek. It made a low whimper and gently nudged Azura.

“Don’t worry, Currie,” she said with a weak smile, patting it on the head. “I’m okay.”

Azura picked herself up. She winced. Wondering why it was so painful, her eyes ran across her skin. She had been frostbitten from head to toe. It was not a pretty sight: her skin was cracked and oozing blood. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the immediate problem. Within seconds of using her Aenarian abilities, which allowed her total control over every inch of her body, the bleeding and pain stopped. But that wasn’t enough. She needed rest.

A nearby tree looked like it could provide shelter. The trunk of the tree spanned at least ten feet in width, and between the massive roots, there was a burrow large enough for her to hide. Azura slipped through the cleft of the tree and eased into a corner of the wall. Currie, the cute and furry creature, followed her in.

“Sorren made it sound so easy,” Azura grumbled. She mockingly mimicked Sorren’s voice saying, “Just go straight and you’ll get there.” Azura heaved a sigh. “He failed to mention everything in between. I don’t think I can keep going straight. I’ve already had to swim across a lake, climb a mountain and dig through a snowstorm. At this rate, I’m going to die before I reach the Court of Verras. Taking the long way around would be safer, but—I don’t know—I’m afraid to get lost. This place is so huge…and everything is so confusing. There’s a desert one moment and a snowstorm the next.” She wrung out her long blue hair. “What should I do?”

Azura leaned back. Something rubbed against her waist.

“Oh, sorry,” she said, thinking she may be squishing her little fuzzy companion. However, when she looked over her shoulder, she found a small nest behind her. Inside the nest were three lightly speckled eggs. By the size of them, Azura guessed they were ostrich eggs.

Azura licked her lips. “Ah! Breakfast, lunch and dinner, all neatly packaged for me.” Her stomach grumbled. She had not eaten for a day and was feeling faint.

Currie let out a groan.

“Oh, okay,” said Azura warmly. “It’s for both of us then.”

Azura reached out her hand to grab an egg.
Thwack
. A squishy pink vine had tightly wrapped around her wrist. The vine extended into the burrow from the opening.

Azura blinked in surprise. “What’s this?”

Taken by the wrist, Azura was dragged out of the hole. Azura tried to tear apart the strange vine, but it was too elastic. She looked up and saw a half-ostrich, half-penguin beast—an interesting combination considering both were flightless. The head and body was slick and smooth like a penguin’s, but the size and shape was of an ostrich. Then she discovered what the weird pink thing was. It was actually the long tongue of this bird-like monster.

“This must be the mother,” Azura muttered. “Doesn’t look that tasty. But it does look like trouble.”

The large bird whipped its tongue around and flung her into a heap of rocks. Azura bounced off the surface and landed on her feet. Rolling up its tongue, the bird prepared to lash out again. The shot from its tongue was so sharp and fast that it colored Azura’s skin black and blue on impact. Azura fretfully stumbled back.

Seeing Azura in trouble, Currie rolled into a ball and slammed itself against the head of the bird, knocking it over. Dazed, the bird wobbled around for a bit.

Azura dashed into the forest. Gulping air, she glanced back. The bird was hot on her trail, maneuvering around the trees. Azura ducked beneath a tree branch. She looked over her shoulder. The bird ran right through the branches, cracking them apart.

Azura noticed a small stone up ahead. She bent down and grabbed it. Then she chucked it at the bird monster. The tongue came flying out again and swatted the rock away in midair. The bird looked like it was about to catch up.

Azura leaped high into the air, grabbing hold of a branch. She climbed it, going up the tree as fast as she could. At first the bird tried jumping up, snapping at her with its beak. But it couldn’t reach her. Then it tried to launch its tongue at her. Azura dodged the sharp attack and kept on climbing. It fired its tongue several more times, but as Azura neared the top of the tree, even the tongue became unable to reach her.

The bird monster silently eyed its target.

Azura stuck her tongue out at the bird and smiled. “What now, birdie?”

The bird then wrapped its tongue around the upper part of the tree. It pulled back on the tree, bending its tall thin trunk.

“Hey! Stop that!” Azura yelled. She grumbled, “If only I wasn’t so tired…something like this wouldn’t be happening! It’s all Sorren’s fault, I’m—” The bird let go. The tree acted like a catapult and launched her hundreds of feet into the air.

Splash! Azura fell into a river. Half a mile wide, its water was rapidly flowing downstream. After a moment of thrashing in the current, Azura fought hard to swim across. She had hoped the bird would give up the chase, but the bird was already standing by the riverbank. The bird hopped in and, with its penguin-like feathers, the bird tore through the water with ease, almost as if it were gliding.

Gritting her teeth, Azura closed her eyes and swam with all her strength. Her fingers suddenly began digging into the rocks of the riverbed. Something wasn’t right. It felt dry…all of a sudden. Curious, she opened her eyes—only to find that the river had mysteriously parted. Left and right of her, the water looked like an invisible wall was holding it back.

She didn’t know what was going on and she didn’t care. Azura used this opportunity to sprint across the dry riverbed.

The bird chased after her once more. But after Azura had reached the other riverbank, the water flowed once again. A powerful wave came crashing down. The bird’s head bobbed in and out of the water as it was swept downstream. And in seconds…it was gone.

Azura took a moment to catch her breath, but then remembered that she had left Currie back on the other side. Azura swallowed hard as she watched the river rush by mercilessly. It looked difficult to cross, but there was no way she would leave Currie alone. She approached the river’s edge and took a deep breath.

“Wait! Please wait!” she heard someone shout.

Azura turned around and saw a person sitting on a huge boulder by the shore. It was a young man. His clothes were ragged and torn, and he wore a striped bandana over his head that covered all but a few strands of blond hair. His face was rather square and short.

“Looking for this?” He gestured to the small blue creature beside him.

“Currie!” Azura joyfully picked Currie up. After giving Currie a hug, she turned to the man and bowed her head. “Thank you.”

The man cleared his throat and, taking a bow, said softly, “Greetings, my lady in distress. You may have heard of me, for I am a Hero—a well-known Hero, revered by many throughout the galaxy.”

Azura raised a brow but said nothing.

“My name is Kale Wester.”

“Kale Wester?” Azura gasped, her eyes widening. “
You’re
Kale Wester?”

Unable to hold back his smile, Kale said, “What? You’ve heard of me? You know me? Wow! I guess am famous! All that effort must have finally paid off!”

“Heard of you? Of course I’ve heard of you! You’re the Lost Hero, right?”

“The…Lost Hero?” said Kale, placing his hand on his chest. “Me? Is that my nickname? You mean I…I have a nickname?” Kale said excitedly, “Why am I called the Lost Hero? Is it because I never leave my name whenever I save people? Is it because all of my valiant acts have never been recorded?”

Azura shook her head. “No, it’s because no one knows where you’ve been for the past five years, ever since you graduated from the academy. Some people thought you died somewhere, but there were always rumors of a wandering Hero that kept asking for directions, but kept getting lost and could never return to the city of Fallence.”

Kale looked shocked and dejected. He stared at Azura, frowning.

“
That’s
why I’m called the Lost Hero?” He gloomily shouldered his spear. “Then I guess you’re a Hero too, huh? Figures. So…I’ve become the laughing stock of the academy?”

“Pretty much,” said Azura dryly. “There’s no Hero that hasn’t heard of the Lost Hero. It’s the first time in history that a Hero has been unable to return to Fallence. No one has ever gotten lost for
that
long.”

“Hey,” snapped Kale, blushing, “I’ll get there eventually. I just took a long detour, that’s all. Speaking of which, where are we?”

“You don’t know? You really don’t know?” Azura gasped. “Wow! So it’s true! I mean, I’ve heard the rumors—but this is amazing! I never thought—”

“Oh, save it,” said Kale bitterly. “Just tell me where the heck we are.”

Azura grinned wryly. “We’re currently in another dimension called Lacuna.” Then she continued, “I’m really amazed to have found you here. I mean, I always thought the rumors were farfetched. But…you’re even more lost than the rumors say! You’re so lost that you even ended up in another dimension without even knowing it!”

“I told you, I’m not lost! I came here on purpose,” he looked at her and thought quickly of an excuse, “to help you! You’re stuck here, right? You’re in trouble, right? I came here, without even knowing, because I wanted to help out a fellow Hero!”

Unconvinced, she said, “Of course. Then you should know the way out of this place.”

“I know that you know, so that’s got to count for something,” said Kale.

Azura smiled to herself and muttered, “I can’t wait to see the look on everyone’s faces when I bring back the Lost Hero.”

Kale’s eyes narrowed. “What am I? A lost dog? No one’s going to care.” Kale wandered in the direction of the forest. “Now come on, let’s get going. I want to go home.”