The Guardian Within

Chapter 23-And They Lived Happily Ever After

Asch spent no time in taking Ava into his arms, and the others followed through like the wind. Everyone was overly excited to see Ava once again.

"Something else is coming through the portal!" Zex said and stood between us and the portal. One look from Ava and I could tell she was overly shocked I got Zex on our side. One glance towards Maria and I could tell she was falling for Zex. Wait till she finds out he's actually a cat. HA!

"Tris, you don't think it's-" Ava began as a short black and white cat came walking through the portal.

"Of course it' the cat!" I shout with my hands in the air, "Johnny isn't a threat Zex. Put your weapon down." Slowly and surely he did. Dad coughed out, shivering in the cold, and drew my attention away from the portal. I placed my hand on his back and looked up at the others. The portal shaking still as something else began to walk through it.

"Hold your ground!" Zex called as his sword was back out, Lief, Noi, Rhys, Asch, and yes, Pierce, all stood a guard.

"They're... protecting us?" Dad asked.

"I told you they weren't evil!" Ava said, "They're our friends!"

"Not friends," I said and looked from the Damos to my old family. I could sense Pierce's body stiffening as I said this. "Family." There was a pleasant relaxing vibe to the air now that I said that. The portal shifting as the impossible happened.

"Wait, is that...?" Ava questioned as she stepped forward. Her voice caught in a gasp, "Guys stop! It's Jake!" All their weapons froze as I broke into a wide smile with a hard laugh. Ava was right, just before the portal closed, out came the tall blonde with emerald eyes. Jake. Cupcake Jake.

"He's on our side to... now c'mon-I've got a plan!" I said and motioned over to the large thrown, "There will be time to catch up soon, what we need now is to stop Alateca."

"Alateca," Tommy said and leaned over the side of the mountain, watching the world turn black with ash, "Like that old fighter in the club?" I looked up and stared at him perplexed. "This was before you came along. Before Wilder was around, before Owen and the Crusiers, before everything." He took a soft turn and kept walking towards the large group. "There were two people. One who owned the club before Owen, you know him already. Then the other one... she never showed her face, never said her name, never said anything to anyone for that matter. But everywhere she went, she cut the world Alateca into the walls or the ground. We assumed that was her name."

"I remember her..." Ana Maria said quietly, "She was smart, fast, silent as the night... I made up a bedtime story for the girls based on the stories that Tommy told me about."

"I remember that," Alicia stated firmly, "It was about the evil Princess Alateca. She was beautiful, until the people she loved went against her."

"I remember that one now!" Alani cheered, "In a faraway life she was broken, the people she tried to protect hurt her-they hurt everyone she cared about to! But she stayed with the world because she loved it and the people in it too much!" I thought for a moment on the story, and something in my mind snapped.

"We killed the wrong Damos..." I said and pulled myself up and away from the group, "How did I not see this..."

"Tris?" Lorelei said and walked over to me, "What do you mean... killed...?" I snapped back to the group and nodded.

"That's the only way Alateca's spirit can be free... but we've been looking for the wrong spirit."

"What do you mean?" Lance asked.

"We thought it was one of the twins..." I said.

"Zolia and Terriana," Maria said, "I remember a story Jeffory told me about once. Two powerful twins who were cursed to live on forever. Death does not affect them."