The Sentinel (19 page)

He wouldn’t give up. None of them would ever give up. A furious rage exploded in my veins.

As the lion fixed his mouth round my throat, as the teeth broke my skin and pain seared through me, I pressed my hands against the lion’s chest and fire burst from them. The lion roared in pain as I burnt him but he fastened his teeth harder, still refusing to relinquish his hold. Furiously, I felt the heat in my hands get hotter and I pulled everything I had to burn him.

The lion howled and I saw the fire burning through his back lighting a searchlight in the sky. He went limp on top of me and I wriggled out from underneath his grip. A second later he melted into the bloody, burnt dead body of a man. No a boy. He could be no older than fifteen. There was a hole the size of a watermelon through his chest. I backed up against the fence, but I couldn’t take my eyes off him. I had killed him. I had ended his life. I couldn’t breathe. What had I become. I was supposed to be the saviour of life not the destroyer of it. My stomach retched and as I did I felt my body go limp.

I stood over my body in shock. I was dead. The lion had killed me. I hadn’t noticed how badly I was injured and now it was too late. I suppose it was divine retribution somehow; I had killed him, he had killed me. The eyes of my body were still open, transfixed on the burnt corpse.

‘Eve, damn it I said five minutes and I meant five minutes,’ I heard Eli say as he walked towards me. Had it only been five minutes. Five minutes ago this boy was still alive. Five minutes ago I wasn’t a murderer and I wasn’t dead.

Eli rounded the trees and froze. Instantly he was at my side.

‘Eve, are you ok?’ His hands checked me over. ‘Crap. Is this your blood or his?’

I was sure, any second now, he would realise that I was dead.

The next thing he scooped my body up into his arms, like I was a small child and carried me back to the house. I watched him go and turned my attention back to the corpse. I felt numb from what I had done. My own death didn’t really bother me, I had long since accepted my demise, but I did feel bad for my Guardians. But I was now a murderer, a cold killer.

I drifted back towards the house, not really sure what else to do. My body was on the sofa, surrounded by some of my Guardians.

Mason ran for the door. ‘I’ll get Jasmine.’

It was a bit late for that; I couldn’t be brought back from the dead.

‘Drive there, slide back,’ ordered Eli as Lucas checked me over himself.

Caleb and Alexandria shot into the room and with a nod of Eli’s head, they disappeared out the back, probably to deal with the body.

‘Her wounds aren’t serious. Some of the cuts are pretty deep but there’s nothing life threatening,’ said Lucas.

Apart from the fact that I was dead, surely they would notice that soon.

‘What about the wounds on her neck.’

‘No arteries have been cut. Eli these are bite marks, what the hell was it?’

‘I don’t know, he had already shifted back when I got there.’

Lucas looked back at me. ‘Eve, are you ok?’

Clearly not.

‘Is she drugged?’ asked Eli.

Lucas sniffed me, as he looked into my eyes. ‘No.’

‘What then?’

‘Eli,’ Lucas shook his head in confusion. ‘She’s not in there.’

‘What?’

‘You know I can sense her, well, what I can feel isn’t coming from here.’

‘Where then?’

Lucas stood up and closed his eyes. He suddenly turned round and looked directly at where I was floating.

‘You can see me,’ I gasped, ‘I’m a ghost?’

But evidently he couldn’t hear that because he didn’t respond.

‘Astral Projection?’ asked Eli, looking in my direction as well, my dead body clearly forgotten.

‘Evidently,’ said Lucas, and then telepathically, ‘
Eve, can you hear me?’

‘Yes. Lucas, what’s going on, am I dead?’

‘No, you’ve projected. Astral Projection. Your body is fine, you’re still breathing, though it’s very shallow, you’re not seriously injured. But your consciousness has left your body. I take it this wasn’t something you were trying to do deliberately.’

‘No.’
As relief surged through me, I returned to the problem in hand. ‘
Lucas, I killed someone. A boy.’

Lucas’s face softened. ‘
I know. Any chance you can get back in your body and we can talk about this properly?’

‘How do I get back in?’

Lucas was clearly stumped about this.

‘Is she ok?’ asked Eli.

‘Yes. She’s upset about her first kill.’ Lucas flicked on his mobile. ‘I’ll just give Persia a quick call.’

Eli stared at where I was floating then turned his attention back to my empty body. I could hear Lucas talking quietly on the phone, telling Persia I was fine. Then he came back to me.

‘Persia says you need to visualize waking up.’ He shrugged helplessly.

I stared at him for a moment, then back at my empty body. Eli was kneeling next to my body and I watched as he took my hand, squeezing it gently in his own. At this rare moment of compassion from him, I wanted to wake up.

And I did. I sat up blearily and relief washed through Eli’s face.

‘Sorry,’ I said, squeezing his hand in return.

His jaw set angrily. ‘I said five minutes Eve, you’ve been gone about fifteen by my reckoning.’

‘Not gone, just not here.’

‘Stay here, don’t get up,’ Eli said and marched off to the kitchen.

I watched him go as grief and guilt washed through me again. I let my head fall into my hands, but when I closed my eyes I could still see the bloody corpse, lying dead and burned in the back garden. I felt sick. ‘I murdered him with my bare hands.’

Lucas knelt in front of me and took my hands from my face.

‘Eve, if you hadn’t killed him, he would have killed you. He came into your garden, your home with the intention of killing you. You defended yourself.’

‘He was a boy, Lucas.’

He tenderly stroked a hair out of my face. ‘A boy sent to kill you. A boy that thought he would have a go at claiming the bounty. He was going to kill you for money. There are many reasons to kill; in revenge, in defence, neither of them are great but to kill for money is the lowest, most disgusting reason.’

I shook my head, angrily. ‘He just wouldn’t stop. I tried to get away. I punched him and kicked him and he wouldn’t stop.’

‘Then there was no choice. Your life or his.’

‘It doesn’t make it any easier,’ I whispered.

‘His won’t be the first life you’ll take before the end,’ said Eli, handing me a can of coke.

I looked at him in horror. ‘And that doesn’t make it any easier either.’

Suddenly Quinn ran into the room. He took one look at me and pulled me up into a hug. I clung to him, holding him tight until the ache in my heart receded slightly. Lucas was right, there was no choice.

I sighed into Quinn’s chest as I looked down at my red Converse trainers. ‘I want to go home Quinn. This Oz is not what it’s cracked up to be. The munchkins are super strength beings, Toto turned into my brother, the wicked witch of the west has hundreds of assassins ready to kill me and the lion just nearly ripped out my throat.’

Quinn held me tighter. ‘Yeah Kansas is looking more and more appealing.’

‘They have Shape Shifters in Kansas too,’ said Eli, with a degree of confusion.

‘Bloody Shape Shifters,’ I said, looking up at Quinn.

‘Yeah, sorry about that.’

*

Lucas came into my room later that night as I lay staring at the ceiling.

‘Persia wants to talk.’ He held the phone out for me. I took it and he left the room.

‘Hey,’ I said, quietly.

‘Hi, how you doing?’

‘I’m ok.’

‘You’re not, but you will be.’

I sighed.

‘I killed someone Persia. Have you ever killed someone?’

That wasn’t fair, she was trying to be supportive.

‘Yes. When I was nine.’

My mouth was suddenly dry.

‘A Putarian. He tried to kill my family. I stopped him.’

‘I’m sorry.’

‘Don’t be. At first I was just happy that I stopped him. I was nine; I don’t think I fully understood what I had done. It took a few days for it to sink in, then I think I cried for a week. You’ll never forget it. But when I think about what could have been, I’d do it again in a heartbeat.’

I didn’t have anything I could say but Persia nobly changed the subject for me.

‘Astral Projection eh Eve?’

‘Yes, apparently.’

‘That’s incredibly rare.’

‘Have you ever… Projected?’

‘No. Yes. Once on a ley line.’

She obviously felt my confusion as she pressed on.

‘It is believed that the earth’s energy, its magnetic field passes from the earth’s core to the surface and this forms magnetic lines around the surface of the world. Probably to do with fault lines, but also to do with the magnetic force passing through pockets of water, and different rocks, minerals and lava. This might make certain areas warmer, or cooler. Hundreds of years ago, many sacred sites were built along ley lines, in order to cultivate the earth’s energy. Some believe that where ley lines cross, there is more psychic energy. The Donum believe that when we stand on the ley line crossing, we can link our power with that of the earth.’

‘And you projected on one?’

‘Yes. Different ley lines affect the Donum in different ways and I projected. Just for a few minutes. Eve, my uncle can project, at will. He says he will teach you how to do it, properly and safely.’

‘He will?’

‘He’s wanted to meet you for a long time actually, but I’ve put him off in the past. I didn’t think you would want people coming to stare at you like an animal in the zoo. But now, well I don’t know anyone else that can project. He is very powerful; he might be able to teach you a few other skills. The thing is, he doesn’t want anything to do with the Oraculum. Would you be willing to meet him without your Guardians?’

‘No,’ I said, without hesitation. ‘Not after everything they’ve done for me, I won’t try to deceive them like that and there’s no way they’d let me go alone.’

‘I understand. I said it wasn’t a good idea to do that, especially with the number of people that want you dead. Hang on.’

The line went muffled for a moment, then Persia came back on the line.

‘He has a place in mind. It’s not far from here. He says it’s somewhere the Oraculum can’t find us.’

I picked at a loose thread on my duvet cover.

‘I know he sounds paranoid, but the Oraculum have not exactly been kind to him. He’s my Uncle, Eve. I trust him completely.’

I smiled. ‘Then I trust him too. That’ll be great.’

‘The day after tomorrow, if that’s ok. It’s his birthday tomorrow, so we’re kind of having a family do.’

‘You’re close?’

‘Very.’

‘Then I can’t wait to meet him.’

*

I lay in bed in the early hours of the morning. I hadn’t dared go to sleep for fear of seeing the corpse of the man I killed and in case I inadvertently pulled Seth to me again. I felt lonely without him. When I was a child and I had nightmares, I used to cuddle up to Quinn, when he was a dog, and his warmth would always soothe me.

I got up and wandered out onto the landing. Lucas was outside as normal. It would be weird now if he wasn’t. The house was almost silent, though I could hear the sound of the TV on low downstairs.

‘Going somewhere?’ asked Lucas.

‘To see Quinn.’

‘I think he’s asleep.’

‘It doesn’t matter.’

Lucas didn’t question this, he just moved to stand outside Quinn’s door instead. I pushed the door open and peered round. He was sprawled out fast asleep on the bed. There was a sofa in this room so I crept in and sat down on it. Being with Quinn made me feel instantly calmer. His coat was thrown over the arm of the sofa, so I wrapped it around me, as I curled up in the corner. It smelt of him and I breathed it in, feeling sleepy.

When I woke, it took me a few minutes to realise, I was lying in Quinn’s bed. I rolled over, wondering where he was and found him asleep on the sofa. He’d obviously woken up during the night and realised I was there and moved me to the bed, then took my place on the sofa. As I stirred he woke up and grinned at me.

I frowned at him. ‘Why did you move me?’

‘Because I reckoned the sofa wasn’t very comfy, I was right, it’s a pain in the neck, literally.’ He rubbed his neck.

‘Well that’s my problem, not yours, I’ve got a perfectly good bed in there, if I choose to come and lie on your sofa, that’s down to me, I don’t expect you to lose a night’s sleep over it.’

‘Which begs the question, what were you doing on my sofa?’ He smiled, not put out at all by my little rant.

I blushed. ‘I couldn’t sleep, it made me feel better being with you.’

He frowned and I rolled over away from him so I didn’t have to see his concern. I looked out the window instead. ‘Rain, I hate the rain,’ I changed the subject. ‘Plus it kind of puts a dampener on my training too.’

‘Yeah Mum hated the rain as well,’ Quinn said, from behind me.

I sat up and looked back at him. ‘What was she like?’

He came and sat on the bed, next to me. ‘You look a lot like her actually, you have the same eyes. It was the only part of her that shifted.’

‘What?’ I asked in confusion.

‘My Dad called them shifty eyes. Yours are the same.’

‘I don’t follow.’

He looked at me bemused. ‘Your eyes change colour Eve.’

I laughed. ‘They do not.’

He grinned. ‘They do, it’s so subtle I doubt anyone would ever notice, doubt you would even notice, as you wouldn’t think to look for it.’

I shook my head, with a smile.

‘Ok then, what colour are your eyes?’

‘I don’t know, I can never decide, some days I think they’re grey, sometimes blue sometimes hazel or green, depends what I’m wearing, it brings out the colour of my eyes.’

He laughed. ‘It’s not your clothes that defines your eye colour, it’s your moods.’

‘You’re serious aren’t you?’

‘Yes, when you’re happy they’re blue, when you’re angry they’re green when you’re sad they’re grey,’ he looked at me, looked deep into my eyes and pulled a face. ‘They’re grey today, very grey.’