Page 28 of Nyanine's Divide

He kneels, and I follow his lead, settling into the grass beside him. He closes his eyes and whispers a prayer to the Guardians, who quickly begin to gather round. Within moments, we’re all transported to that odd realm where the Guardians are large and speak our language. I give a polite nod to the pretty pink Guardian I often speak to, and she smiles back.

“Guardians of the Forest, Kari has received grave news and needs some guidance, some reassurance. Would you have anything for her in this time of need?” Criido speaks with reverence and love, his head bowed. He stays that way until a little Guardian settles on his shoulder, allowing him to lift his head.

“Kari, we’ve told you before that this is your destiny, this is what you’re meant to do. We’ve even said you would succeed if you were to stay the course. Are you walking away?” The Guardian is calm, her voice sweet as honey as she watches me, a small smile of intrigue on her face. She isn’t trying to taunt me or accuse me, just understand.

“I believe you about this being my path, I want to believe that we will succeed, but death threats are being made. I’m scared. I don’t want to lose anyone.” I speak from the heart, tears once more dripping down my face.

The Guardian floats closer to me than ever before, her wings settling as she sits on the ground with me. “No one ever said a journey like this was easy. There will be pain, fear, struggle, and, yes, some will get hurt, but that doesn’t mean that the cause isn’t worth it. You have destiny, fate, and luck on your side right now, Captain Kari. Knowing that you will win, even if there is a possibility of sacrifice, is it not worth it? Did George Washington give up knowing he would lose men in a battle for freedom?What about those who fought against their own family to end slavery? They felt the sacrifice, no matter how painful, was worth it because of the freedom and hope for the future that they would gain. Is the freedom of this world worth it to you to continue?”

My eyes flit back to Jeff, his eyes meeting mine, and I buckle into tears. There’s a long moment of silence as I sob, but I quickly pull myself together. “I don’t want to lose anyone, but I can’t let this world continue to suffer. It’s one or millions, and it isn’t fair, but it’s the right thing to do.”

The Guardian reaches out a hand and gently lays it on my shoulder. “Kari, I know it’s difficult and painful, but you have to remember the end goal here. You cannot let this demon continue to poison this world and turn it into something horrific. It’s up to you to find the strength and ingenuity to win this fight without loss. And I know you’ll succeed.”

I blink and the Guardians are gone, leaving me with the envelope in my hand. I stare down at the seal on it, my brain spinning. What is the truth of this world? Who is this demon? Fight without loss, but what about casualties? Casualties could lead to loss eventually. Her words only reassure so much and leave me with more questions than answers. What is really going on here?

Chapter 21

Jeff

My first real interaction with the Guardians, and I’m entranced. They’re huge, they speak so sweetly, and they’re beautiful, ethereal. I’m mesmerized. Are we in another dimension? Another reality? Is it simply a trick of the mind? I have no idea, but I watch them speak to Kari in fascination.

Is this what she gets to experience every time she interacts with them? One minute, she sees these tiny little fairies blinking in the leaves, the next, one is bigger than her and sitting beside her, comforting her? Things like this didn’t happen on Earth and only proves to show me just how little I know about the universe and all it has to offer.

My attention goes back to their words, hating to see Kari cry, but so incredibly interested in what information they’ll offer us.Until they start discussing the tragic side of this. “Yes, some will get hurt…. There is a possibility of sacrifice….”

When Kari turns to me, many others follow, and I’m left reeling. There’s no doubt that I’m going to get hurt. Even with the Guardian carefully wording to say that we will have no loss, I still don’t feel confident about my life moving forward. It’s been made quite clear that I am in trouble, I am in the crosshairs. But whose?

I have to wonder if I’m the only one, too. It wasn’t mentioned that others are targeted, the photos do focus heavily on me and Kari, but she also has Vahru in her life, the chief, Willa, Tavi, all of us could eventually be targets, and that’s a terrifying notion to realize. We have no way to know when we’ll be attacked or how, and living our lives in hiding and fear is no way to live at all. So how do we get through this properly?

When the conversation is over, we all head off to deal with this. Kari is off to talk about the research with Kij, Tavi heads off to meditate or whatever she does, and I go to meet with Terax. He’s the lead with the hunters and security and will know what to do better than anyone. I do get a little lost in my thoughts and wander around the village a bit before finding him with Rygen. I’m not sure how that’s going, but Terax seems tense.

“Hey, guys, I need some help. We’ve got a problem.”

They turn to me at the same time, full focus on me, and my stomach drops once more as I relive the meeting with the Guardians. Fuck my life. I sigh and focus on the moment. “Look, it seems that I’ve been targeted by the demon after us.” I hold up my hand to stop their questions because I have no answers. “That’s all we know, I have no answers, but we need to up security again. We have no idea who will come after us, how, or what weapons they will use, and we have no way of knowing if they’ll target others if I’m got. So, we need a plan to make sure everyone is safe. I probably need to start staying indoorsmore often, out of sight, despite the shield around us. What suggestions do you have?”

They look at each other for a long time before Terax turns to me. “I think we could up the patrol around the inside of the shield, watch for those outside, be wary. We can have more hunters patrolling at a time as well, more eyes on the situation.”

“I think we should set traps outside the shield to catch or deter those eager to get close. We don’t need anyone finding a way to get close or inside. Kij has a warning system up for the shield, I’ll talk to him about getting another or multiple at other distances outside the shield.” Rygen nods to me before running off to his ship to speak with his brother mate.

I sigh, and Terax grabs my shoulder. “Go home, Lieutenant. Be with your mate. Try to relax. I’ll take care of security, even if I have to work with Rygen.” His nose twitches, making him snarl a bit.

“Do I want to know what’s going on between you two?”

“It’s distant history I don’t wish to speak of. I’ll handle myself.” Terax nods once more before walking past me to take care of business.

I decide to take his advice and head home to find Willa cooking. She seems to either be cooking or sewing lately, she never stops, but she seems to love it. I lean against the door after closing it and watch her. Cruzig had been sitting in a chair he’s brought on the porch, so I left him to it. I simply watch her twirl around the house as she hums to herself.

“I’m glad you’re home, I’ve got a delicious soup for you!” Willa sings at me before spinning around to come my way. Her face drops as she realizes I’m not exactly feeling my best. “Oh, honey.” She slides her arms around my waist and hugs me tight, letting me soak in her love.

“We can talk over lunch, let’s eat before it gets cold, hm?”

She pulls away, giving me a worried look, but does as I ask. She sets out some bread on plates and bowls of soup before sliding into the chair across from me. We eat in silence for a long moment so I can gather my thoughts. It isn’t until we’re nearly done that I finally feel able to broach the subject without ruining my meal.

“Kari got a letter from the sky. A demon sent it. He’s out to stop her by taking the things she loves most, starting with me.” I stare at the wood of the table as I speak slowly before glancing up at her to see her mouth open in horrified shock.

“You!? What do you mean, like, take you or….”

“Or.” I nod and watch her face widen further in panic. Her head shakes side-to-side, and I sigh. “Yeah. The Guardians assured us that we won’t have losses in this war, but there will be suffering and pain. So, if you want to see the very thin silver lining, it’s that I’ll get hurt but shouldn’t die. I say shouldn’t because who knows how the wound will be handled or progress afterwards, if things turn for the worse-”

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