The Guardians

Chapter 47

Kalatira walked among the bodies littering the battlefield, her sisters Embracing the dying with their wings. She looked around, a sadness creeping into her heart. There had been so much death. How many had she Embraced since this war started? Her pure white hair flowed down her back between large wings the same color. Her chainmail armor wasn't made for battle. The top covered her breasts and traveled to a point just above her navel and left her back and arms bare. The bottom settled low on her hips and was only a few inches long on the sides. The front and back, like the top, traveled to a point at about her knees. Her boots reached her thigh and were silver like her armor. She wore a belt with a sword attached to it and silver gloves that reached her elbow. These men had fought valiantly, but there had been no hope of victory. They chose to die standing against a tyrant than die on their knees as his slaves. She knelt next to an older man, his eyes full of pain and his face showing how weary of life he was. He'd been run through twice, once in the chest and once through the abdomen. She took his hand and then lifted him to where she could cradle him.

"I am ready to go, Valkyrie," he gasped, his blood trickling out of the corners of his mouth.

"You have fought well, Paladin. Your rest shall come swiftly." She started to fold her wings about him.

"Before I die, I must know something."

"What would you like to know?"

"Tell me if you Em... Embraced a woman with red-brown hair. A Paladin Guardian."

"I have not. The only Guardians any of us have Embraced were men. No woman you have described wanders in the Halls of the Valkyrie."

The man smiled. "Good... Good..."

She wrapped her wings around him, giving him the Valkyrie Embrace and easing his soul from his body and sending it to their halls. "May you finally know peace, warrior."

She gently placed him on the ground. Kalatira knew of whom he spoke. If she received the Embrace, the people would lose the Champion they didn't even know they had. She stood and returned to her duties. She preferred this to the execution that had haunted her mind for years. She and her sisters had been busy for several weeks as they Embraced the souls of the warriors killed just because that's what they were. The Guardians of Veloce being held captive found a way to escape, many of them staying behind to cover for those unable to fight. They had Embraced most of them that night. A few of her sisters had followed after the ones who'd escaped, knowing that many wouldn't survive. It was the hanging that followed that had stuck with her. The Guardian was facing certain death but was calm and defiant. Even his last words were a defiance. But Thanatos had found it funny to allow him to suffer while his brothers died quickly. He'd struggled against all of the ropes, kicking and swinging about. She had never before had tears as she watched, her duty preventing her from Embracing him too soon. So she'd watched, saddened by the thought of such a brave man dying needlessly. With the crowd crying for mercy for him and his struggling slowing, she could no longer stand his suffering and Embraced him. She discovered later that his name was Roudxi, a senior Guardian and a former knight of the king. She visited him often in the Halls. No death before or since had affected her so. She pushed it from her mind and did her duties as a Valkyrie. Death was what Kalatira knew, but she was growing weary of so much of it.

Will there ever be an end?

~~~

Lyra knew she should have been sleeping. But sleep just wouldn't come with so much on her mind. The inability to rescue Kara from Arlan. Neve's sudden distrust. The gods counting on her to defeat Alora. The others counting on her magic to keep them alive. Aiden counting on her to help him unite Veloce. So much was resting on her shoulders. How could she have allowed herself to be maneuvered into this? She hadn't known about the prophecy in regards to her and Alora. Why had the Great Mother chosen her as her Champion? Of all people, why her? She sometimes wondered if her father had been one of the gods. Her mother had never spoken of him. She didn't ask to be so powerful. She glanced around at the sleeping forms of the others, with the exception of Neve, who was on watch. Neve still didn't know Lyra had overheard everything. It was one of the reasons she didn't speak much, not that she was very talkative, to begin with. After the others had discovered her gifts, they relied on her in battle. Even more now that they saw how powerful she was. She'd purposely been vague on how powerful. She just couldn't tell them she could match Alora. They would want to go and fight her and Lyra just wasn't ready to do that. She was still afraid of her. She was afraid that she would bind her friends and force them to turn against her. She couldn't put them into that position. She couldn't put Aiden in that much danger. Her eyes fell onto his form lying not far from her. He looked somewhat peaceful, his chest rising and falling steadily. His sword lay next to him if he had to suddenly rise and use it. A lock of his dark brown hair had escaped from its brothers and lay across his forehead. Lyra was tempted to brush it back to the side, but didn't want her fingers brushing against his skin to wake him. She thought back to their travels since that battle. They had a bond they shared from being tasked by Faeren to unite the kingdom. They'd bantered and talked. She'd been too terrified for his life to be angry at him for not telling her about his wound and was more concerned with making sure he survived than yelling at him. She was sure he had been trying to be strong for her. Even discovering that she was a spellcaster didn't make him turn from her, as she had feared. When she revealed her true colors in battle, he questioned her original story but said he understood why she'd lied. And he'd defended her from Neve's accusations. It made her wonder if his tale had been a lie as well. She pushed it aside. She didn't really care. As she watched him sleep, she felt something in her heart that she had never felt before. It was different from with Talish, whom she loved like a brother. Lyra had found out after the battle that the rumors she'd heard since she joined the Paladins were true. But she never could return that love in the same way. He was her best friend. She loved him, but not like he loved her. Now she felt like she was in his place. She was beginning to think this foreign feeling in her heart was something she had never truly felt: Love. She realized she loved Aiden. She loved his bantering. His cheese thefts. His annoying the hell out of Neve. His passion for the Guardians of Veloce. His fierce loyalty to the others. She loved his smile. Those piercing blue eyes that held an understanding she'd never seen when he looked at her. Aroha help her. She loved him. And she didn't know what to do or how to tell him. Or if he could possibly love an emotionally scarred woman.

~~~

They had decided to make for Paladins' Keep and hide amongst Lyra's former brothers. Lyra had been sure that the First Knight would grant them sanctuary, even with his dislike of her. He respected the Guardians greatly. But Saren was beginning to worry about her. He'd noticed her beginning to grow quiet more often, much like she had when she first joined the Guardians. He knew about Neve's accusations and had berated her for doubting the former Paladin's loyalty and intentions. And he noticed she hadn't been sleeping well for the last few nights.

"What's on your mind?" he asked one night as he went to relieve her of the watch.

"What do you mean?"

"Something seems to be bothering you, Lyra. I've noticed your sleep has been fitful and you seem to be more quiet than usual."

Lyra had never been a very big talker, to begin with. He didn't think he heard her say two words after her arrival at Sari's camp and before the battle. She kept to herself mostly and only seemed to truly relax around Aiden, although she was starting to around the others. With her slipping back into her standoffish ways, he suspected she knew about Neve's accusations. She was slow to trust, no doubt because of the sorceress that she claimed had cast a spell on her. He knew how that was. Saren had only truly trusted Jean and Neve before joining the Guardians. She rubbed the back of her neck. He noticed she did that when she was caught in something she couldn't deny. Or didn't know how to word what she wanted to say.

"So much is riding on us," she finally said. "Before he died, Faeren told Aiden and I it would be up to us to unite the kingdom under one banner. And the people won't easily turn on us believing that our fate is so closely tied to that of Veloce. Arlan is chipping away at that legend slowly." She sighed.

"Just as much as we're chipping away at his support." He gave her a smile. "Here I was thinking that you were nervous about returning to Paladins' Keep."

Lyra chuckled. "Will and Lex are the nervous ones."

Will had transformed from a lanky teenager to a confident young man, although he still wasn't the best swordsman. And they all knew the Paladins' reputation. Lex was a little more accepting of seeking refuge there due to Lyra's revelation that she'd been one.

"I just hope Kalmin won't treat the rest of you like idiots because you arrive with me."

Saren smiled. "Pain in the ass, were we?"

"Very." Lyra turned away to return to camp.

"Lyra, I know you're God Touched."

She stopped in her tracks.

"They will aid you and in turn aid us."

She turned back toward him. "How did you know that?"

"You never denied it when Neve said you were. And you let it slip the night Viktor died." Lyra saw the sadness in his eyes. "I've come to understand the Great Mother herself came and healed me as I lay on Thanatos' threshold. I saw her as I burned from my fever. I've never told anyone this until now. I feel you are her chosen one for some reason. She gave you this power and you've chosen to use it for the greater good. And I thank you for that. We may have much to bear on our shoulders, but I am glad to be bearing this weight at your side."

Lyra was quiet a moment. "Thank you, Saren. That means much to me."

Saren smiled and she turned and walked towards the camp. He was glad she passed her Trial and glad that she survived that massacre. She had a strength in her he'd not seen in some time. And he was proud to call her "friend".