The Secret Guardian

“Thomas-NO!” The scream was deafening, echoing in the darkness all around. Nothing was visible to Catherine yet, so she couldn’t make out whose voice it was exactly, but somehow she had a pretty good idea…

“Madeline, it’s just a prank,” said a man who seemed to be taking the situation rather calmly. As a matter of fact, he sounded a bit amused by this woman’s concern.

“She’s my baby! Don’t let them take our baby! They’ll hurt her Tom! I told you!” Now the scene was starting to become visible, as though lights were slowly being brought up. Catherine could now make out the figure of the woman who had been screaming. She held a wrapped bundle. There was also a man standing beside her, holding her comfortingly. Somehow Catherine knew he was the one who had said it was a prank…but what was? This whole thing was a jumbled mess.

The man spoke again. “Porter, take off the mask and show her it’s you. You’re giving my wife a heart attack…”

Now Catherine turned her head to see what the woman and his wife was staring at. There were black masked figures crowded on the porch to the house. A shiver ran through Catherine’s spine. Somehow she knew these people were up to no good, but she couldn’t bring herself to say or do anything. She just watched, feeling as though she knew what was going to happen next. A man stepped forward in that instant and pulled off his black masked, revealing a handsome face, silvery blonde hair and blue eyes. A scar ran across his right cheek, distorted by a cruel smile that didn’t reach his cold eyes.

“See? Listen to your husband Madeline, we were just joking. It is, after all, April Fools!”

Porter’s hard laugh filled the air and the other shadowy figures followed suit, chortling along with him. Catherine looked back at Thomas and saw he was trying to still appear calm for his wife. He was failing. It seemed now that he could actually see the coldness in Porter’s eyes, he didn’t quite believe this was harmless. Catherine also noticed now there was a collection of people standing behind the couple, some standing alertly and some nervously- as though not sure to tell these people off or to get back to the table filled with birthday decorations. Catherine looked around, now noticing the background. They were in a backyard where there was a long table and a tent set up for what looked like a child’s birthday party. All the decorations said ‘1’ on them. It was all starting to click in Catherine’s mind…

“Come now Maddi! You used to trust me. Don’t you remember? It wasn’t so long ago…only, say, a year?”

He lost his smile as he stared down at the bundle in Madeline’s arms and his scar straightened out, making him look so much more vicious. Catherine couldn’t stand it any longer. Why were they acting as though they couldn’t see her? She charged the man, trying to get a good hit on the face, but her hand went right through him. With all the force she used, she stumbled and fell forward, the rest of her body falling through him so that when she landed, it was as though he was somehow standing in her.

“What the-?”

But then Catherine knew. She closed her eyes and remembered. This was a dream- the one she had every year the night before her birthday. She had arrived home from school just a few hours ago and had fallen to sleep on the couch in the living room, waiting up for Aunt MaryBeth. Catherine opened her eyes, hoping she this realization would awaken her- but it was to no avail. She was still on the ground between two very tense groups of people. Why was this the one dream she couldn’t control? Was she supposed to do something? But she physically couldn’t, and now the people were talking again.

“Maddi, we don’t want to hurt you. Not now anyways. Come now…”

Catherine hated those words. ‘Come now’…as though that would convince someone to do something. She stood up and walked over to the couple, sure she was supposed to be learning something…

“Have it your way.”

Before Catherine had a good chance to examine more closely, both sides seemed to charge or run. There were shouts and Thomas and Madeline were yanked to the back of the crowd. Catherine followed them.

“Madeline, what’s going on?”

He looked confused and hurt as Madeline grabbed a hold of his arm and began to pull.

“I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what’s going on!”

“Don’t be stupid Tom! I’ll explain later…please!”

She was trying to balance the bundle in one arm and drag her husband away using her other free hand. She certainly looked afraid now. Then a man came at them, muttering something as he charged. Tom collapsed, holding his head as though it was in pain.

“NO!”

Madeline screamed just before she muttered something else and waved a hand in the man’s direction, causing him to burst into flames. Thomas dropped his hands and blinked before he looked up.

“Wha-what are you?”

Madeline helped him up and opened her mouth to answer when another figure came at them, this time, it appeared to be a woman- and she had a knife. Thomas saw this too and he pushed Madeline out of the way, just as the knife was about to make contact with her abdomen. The woman looked furiously at Madeline, but paused as she realized she had a closer, more defenseless victim. The knife made contact with Thomas’s chest as an unmasked woman came over to Madeline. She had short spiky hair that was dyed bright red. She looked young and concerned.

“You have to get out of here! If they kill you all of us are as good as dead.”

She looked panicky, but she was well aware of what was happening around her. Madeline couldn’t take her eyes off the masked woman however, and now, all Catherine could make out was fury on Madeline’s face. This new woman was tugging at Madeline’s arm, trying to pull her in the opposite direction.

“You can’t do anything for him! Killing her won’t save him!”

Madeline looked down at the bundle, her face softening as she bent her lips to what now appeared to be the head of a baby.

“I’m so sorry,” she sobbed holding her face close to her child as tears streamed down her face. “You will understand one day.”

With that, Madeline was forcing the baby into the other woman’s arms, who now looked horrified.

“They’ll keep looking for me. She’ll be safe with you. You have to take her, Marie! GO NOW!”

She waved her hand toward the two and a ripple of energy pushed them toward the side gate that went around the house. For a second, Marie looked over her shoulder and stopped, as though she was thinking about staying. With another wave however, Madeline had sent Marie with the child out of the property’s boundaries.

Now Catherine’s attention turned back to what was happening in the backyard. She had contemplated following the other two to see whether or not they escaped, but maybe she would save that for the next time she had this nightmare. She had never made it this far before. Besides, somehow Catherine knew Marie and the bundle escaped.

“Well, well, well. Maddi. Marry a mortal and see the problems you cause?”

It was the woman with the knife. She had now removed her mask and was starting toward Madeline. More blood on the woman and her knife told Catherine she had had to kill someone else to get through to Madeline.

“I can’t see what Porter ever saw in you. I’m sorry- or what he sees in you. He’s been rather clear he doesn’t want us to kill you. I, for one, believe he would get over you faster if you were dead however.”

The woman lunged, but Madeline was quick and dove to the side, standing up just as the woman hit the ground.

“Hello to you too Veronica.”

Veronica snarled viciously and crouched in her position on the ground. Catherine was sure she was going to attack Madeline, but what happened next astounded her. Veronica laughed and turned into a leopard, leaving the knife on the bloodstained grass. Then she lunged, going for Madeline’s throat. It happened so fast Madeline clearly wasn’t ready, and ended up underneath the large feline, wrestling it. They were stuck that way for what seemed like several minutes until…

“VERO!”

The man’s voice was so fierce the feline froze long enough to be pushed off. Porter apparently didn’t want Madeline to rise, though he had just called the cat off of her, and he placed a foot on her shoulder to push her back to the ground. His face was serious- almost sad- as he stood over her.

“You should have told your idiot mortal husband everything Maddi. That or you should have wedded someone like you.”

He kneeled down beside her head and placed one hand on either shoulder, bending his face over hers so they were only inches apart.

“I could have given you everything! You could have told me anything without fear. I wouldn’t judge you. You could have touched me without fear of hurting me! We would have had a child that wasn’t a threat to either of us. Instead, that little brat of his will kill me if I allowed her to live. She would have destroyed my powers and killed me.”

There were tears in Madeline’s eyes. Catherine knew what she was thinking, for she herself was thinking the same thing. He killed that little girl? How could he? That Marie woman had run off…

“No. She’s not dead yet, but she will be soon enough. Then there will be another Guardian lost along with the two here tonight.”

He waved his hand in the air, summoning up to holograms of two others that appeared to be in their mid twenties fighting more figures masked in black. It was like watching their deaths in person. There was so much blood…

“You lost a number though.”

She hadn’t even looked at the holograms. That was a smart thing to do. With those words, Porter seemed to be slapped back to reality, and he grinned severely.

“Yes, you always did well training those of the light. Well, I don’t think they’ll do so well without you.”

He looked up and nodded to the Veronica-cat woman who bared her teeth. She transformed back and picked up her dagger from the grass. With another look on either side of him, two men replaced him in pinning Madeline’s arms down. He held out his hand to Veronica who-reluctantly-passed over the knife.

“And let’s put it this way; if I don’t find Marie and your daughter now, I will when she gains her powers. Remember, I can take on any disguise I want- immortality is another blessing of the side of the Shadows. Maybe your daughter will be sensible and join us. Maybe she’ll be half as charming and beautiful as her mother and if she does decide to join me, I’d forgive her for her mother’s rejection.”

With that, he pressed his lips to Madeline’s holding himself there until Veronica couldn’t handle anymore and cleared her throat.

“If you can’t Porter- I will.”

He raised his head and glared at her dangerously. Then his face relaxed and brought his lips down to Madeline’s ear. Catherine had to go through him to hear what he said.

“Until your daughter.”

And he brought the knife down into Madeline’s chest.