The Guardians

Chapter 4

"Try again. Remember, your magic comes from within, not from an object." Talish had been trying all day to teach Lyra how to move a pebble from one side of a serving tray to the other. So far with no progress. "Don't forget to breathe."

Lyra's shoulders slumped in defeat. "I can't do this."

"Yes, you can." Talish reached across the table and touched her hand. "Take your time. Don't try to force it. Keep your breathing steady. Breathe in through your nose," He breathed through his nose to demonstrate. "And out through your mouth." He breathed out through his mouth. He did it again and Lyra copied it. She noticed how she started to feel calmer and did it a couple more times. "Now try it again."

Lyra fixed her gaze on the pebble again. This time she succeeded in rocking it.

"There we go. Rocking's a good start. Remember, move the pebble to the other side of the tray."

Lyra took a deep breath again. Talish watched her as she stared intently at the pebble. Her emerald eyes suddenly darkened and the pebble suddenly flew across the room and shattered a vase. The anger in her eyes disappeared as soon as it had appeared, replaced by surprise.

"Oops."

"You were supposed to go across the tray, not across the room."

"Did I really just throw it across the room?" She was amazed that she'd actually succeeded.

Talish waved in the general direction the pebble had flown. "It's over there somewhere. Probably around the vase you just killed. What were you thinking before that?"

"About that bitch who put this collar on me."

"Seems anger helps. We can use that to get over the hill but eventually, you won't be able to use that as a crutch either."

"Do you have another pebble? I want to try again."

"Only if you promise not to try to hit me in the head with it. Or should I put a helm on just in case?"

"Shut up and put the pebble on the tray."

Over time, Lyra began to master using her power without the use of a staff. She and Talish soon became best friends, although rumors circulated that they were more than that. Rumors Talish profusely denied, insisting that he was only friends with the spellcaster girl. But in truth, despite her being five years younger, Talish admired her. She may have been a frightened girl that just happened to stumble upon them in the forest, but she had a determination that put many of his brothers to shame, including himself. Talish was exhausted at the end of their training sessions, she pushed him to teach her more even as she pushed herself to the brink of exhaustion. Both Talish and Mathros could see that she had power. Talish wondered exactly how powerful Lyra really was. He saw that air and water were her strongest elements. She'd chased him, giggling, around the room with a ball of water for fifteen minutes before putting the water back in the pitcher she retrieved it from. Talish hadn't found it funny although she nearly fell off the chair she'd been sitting in because she was laughing so hard. Mathros treated her as he would a daughter, while Lyra looked to him as she would her own father.

"What's your family like?" Talish asked one day.

The question made Lyra lose focus and the flames in the fireplace winked out. "My family?"

"Your father, your mother, your brothers and sisters."

"I... I never knew my father and I have no brothers that I know of. I have a sister but she...," She trailed off and Talish assumed something had happened to her. He didn't press about her sister.