It had been a long and sorrowful night. Aleena had been awakened early in the morning by a medical emergency. She’d arrived at the hospital to find one dead and multiple injured. Lyle was dead…the shock had left her feeling hollow inside. She’d only recently met him and his pleasant girlfriend Cadence and she’d become instant friends with the pair. She would never be able to forget the haunted look in Askar’s eyes as he followed the gurney that carried his brother’s body into the hospital. When Askar had been not been allowed to follow the body into the morgue, the Cassarian fell into an anguish induced fit requiring him finally to be sedated. The emotional pain had made it hard for her to help patch up the surviving soldiers, including Bud.

Then there were the stories…She’d overheard bits of a bizarre tale as she stitched and bandaged Bud’s multiple cuts and abrasions, and what she heard made no sense. The men spoke of a strange glowing creature that had attacked the drones with blazing daggers. Some said it had been a machine, and others-the more superstitious-had claimed it was a Guardian. Regardless of what really happened out there, one fact was unanimous-something had saved those men’s lives, every one of them including Raith. But it had not been able to save Lyle…She’d received instruction, along with everyone in the room, to keep the stories strictly confidential…Someone knew more than they were letting on and she was intensely curious, but she also saw the wisdom in keeping it quiet.

Aleena shook her head as she opened her apartment door and slowly entered. She was exhausted and due to start her regular shift in only a couple of hours. Thankfully, Mouser had adjusted her schedule-she needed sleep. She turned on her living room light and suddenly stiffened. There was an odd but familiar scent hanging in the air that had not been there before…the scent of blood. Her frightened gaze quickly spotted strange stains on the stone floor that had also not been there before and led around the corner toward her bedroom.

“Is there someone here?” she called out nervously as she grabbed a small vase off a ledge near her front door.

Aleena cautiously followed the trail of stains around the corner and to the entryway of her bedroom. Despite the darkness within, she immediately spotted a shadowy figure slumped against the wall beside her closet. The scent of blood was heavy here. She quickly reached for the switch. Light flooded over the small space, illuminating a grizzly scene before her. Aleena gasped at the sight of the slumped creature concealed beneath a tattered, bloodied cloak. She could not see its face for the hood and similar bloodied scarf, but the puddle of dark red-violet blood forming under what she assumed to be its left arm was all too familiar.

“Sa…Sarhea?” she called as she quickly rushed to the injured creature’s side.

“Aleena…help,” came a barely audible whisper.

Aleena quickly knelt and pushed the hood back. The scarf was draped across the creature’s snout, but she instantly recognized Sarhea’s steel gray and white hair and her glowing blue eyes. The eyes held her captive…she’d never seen such an intense glow in Sarhea’s eyes. It was so strong that it nearly consumed the entire eye instead of just dancing around her irises. The intensity flared as Sarhea tried to lift her head, causing Aleena to gasp and fall to her rump.

“Aleena…please…need the bleeding stopped…”

It didn’t take her long to regain her composure and scurry back to Sarhea’s side. She could not see the extent of the injury for the cloak so she gently finished ripping the tattered sleeve away. She was greeted by a deep, nasty gash on her friend’s upper arm.

“Oh my…Sarhea, what happened to you!” she exclaimed and quickly glanced around for anything to wrap around the wound.

There was nothing handy so her only choice was to rip a strip of cloth from the cleanest section of the ruined cloak. She quickly tied it as tightly as was safe around the oozing wound.

“I need to get you to the hospital…”

“No…no hospital,” Sarhea whispered weakly.

“Sarhea, this wound needs to be cleaned and stitched. You have several other cuts and bruises that need to be checked-some look pretty bad and from the looks of that cloak, there may be others,” she started but hesitated when Sarhea’s right hand slowly lifted. Her eyes widened as blue haze, almost like a glowing blue smoke, rose off her friend’s fingers.

“Bring what you need here. This…this will heal the rest…” Sarhea whispered.

Aleena was frightened. There was something seriously wrong with her friend. The accounts from the earlier battle haunted her thoughts. There had been talk of a cloaked figure with glowing blue eyes, blue fire, and glowing daggers…Her eyes widened as her gaze fell to the front of Sarhea’s cloak. She leaned over and gently opened the center flap. Sarhea immediately tensed and tried to flinch away, but it was not enough to prevent her from seeing the hint of a golden hilt attached to a belt around her waist.

Aleena quickly stiffened and sat upright, her wide eyes locked on her friend as the pieces of a strange puzzle fell into place.

“It was you…you are the one the soldiers are talking about,” she gasped.

“Please Aleena…I need your help,” Sarhea whispered once more.

Aleena shoved herself to her feet, her mind screaming for answers. Supplies…she would need supplies…

“Hang on, Sarhea. I’ll be right back.”

“Aleena…don’t tell…” her injured friend whispered as her voice trailed off and her head slumped back against the wall.

Panic flooded over her. Oh man…this was bad. She knew she really should be reporting this, but something about the situation, the pleading she saw in Sarhea’s eyes despite the odd glow, held the desire in check. She’d once told Sarhea she would stand by her, despite her friend’s veiled warning-she would not betray Sarhea’s trust. She quickly turned and left for the supplies.

Aleena returned shortly with everything she could possibly need. She’d decided to patch Sarhea up and when her friend was conscious again, she would try to convince her to seek proper treatment with Mouser. Somehow, her friend’s involvement in the night’s tragedy needed to be made known. She hurried back to Sarhea’s side. She noticed the scarf had been removed, revealing several more bruises and cuts.

“Sarhea…Sarhea, I’m back with the supplies,” she called gently.

Heavy eyelids cracked open, the strange electric glow still burning as strong as before.

“I’m going to have to get you out of this filthy, ruined cloak.”

Sarhea only nodded and slowly attempted to help Aleena maneuver the tattered garment off her battered body. Aleena noticed she wore a set of brown Malkaian huntress gear, and there was not one, but two daggers strapped around her friend’s waist. She ignored the weapons for now. She took a pair of scissors and carefully cut her previous makeshift bandage away from the worst wound. It was already quite swollen and irritated. Aleena grumbled under her breath as she retrieved a bottle of saline rinse from her bag of gear.

“Alright Sarhea, this may hurt,” she cautioned.

Aleena hesitated when Sarhea’s right hand weakly lifted. Her eyes widened as what looked like blue fire formed on Sarhea’s fingertips.

“Wait…” Sarhea whispered as she slowly placed the hand over the wound.

Aleena watched in wonder as the strange color appeared to flow into the arm then disappeared.

“Alright, I’m ready.”

Aleena sighed nervously as she leaned over and cautiously began to wash the wound. It didn’t take her long to realize that Sarhea was not feeling a thing. She cleaned all the dried blood and debris from the gash before applying a heavy layer of antiseptic to it. She then took her suture kit and quickly stitched it shut. After finishing the deed with a secure bandage, she sat and leaned against her bed across from her friend.

“Thank you,” came Sarhea’s quite voice.

“Don’t thank me yet. This was not the proper way to handle this. We’ll be lucky if that wound doesn’t get infected and from the looks of that nasty bruise on your head, I wonder if you don’t have a concussion.”

“I’ll be alright…just need some rest. I’ve survived much worse with no care…” came the reply.

“Sarhea…” she started.

Sarhea’s head turned from her as her eyes closed.

“Later. I…need rest,” came the quite voice that faded into silence.

---

It was several hours later when Aleena awoke to the sounds of quite groaning and movement. Her entire body ached and she realized she’d fallen asleep where she’d sat leaning against her bed. She could see Sarhea stirring awake. She slowly sat up and scooted over next to her.

“Sarhea? Sarhea, do you hear me?”

“Yeah, I hear you,” came the mumbled reply. “I need something to drink.”

Aleena saw a brief flash of the electric blue as Sarhea’s eyes cracked open but it quickly faded. Sarhea cringed in pain as she attempted to release the clasp holding the belt and daggers around her waist. The pleading gaze returned to her friend’s eyes. Aleena sighed quietly and stood to retrieve a cup of water. She returned to see the exquisite weapons laid carefully at her side. Sarhea gratefully took the offered cup and drank deeply. Silence fell between them as worrisome questions raged in her mind. Sarhea finally sighed quietly.

“I suppose I have a lot of explaining to do,” she said quietly.

Aleena could only nod. She had no idea what to ask first. Her eyes locked on the discolored bandage and Sarhea’s multiple scrapes and cuts. Something her friend had mentioned earlier suddenly came to mind.

“What did you mean earlier when you said you’d survived worse?”

Sarhea sighed quietly and leaned her head back against the wall.

“When I was younger, before I reclaimed my family’s tribe, I was brutally attacked by the jealous mate of a high tribe official. She was secretly aligned with a deadly enemy who meant to take over our lands. She caught me in a weakened state…and slashed me from head to foot. If it had not been…” Sarhea paused.

Aleena’s eyes widened as tears began to collect in the corners of Sarhea’s eyes.

“If it had not been for the man who would become my mate, I would have bled to death.”

Aleena’s mouth dropped open. She had not been expecting this.

“You…you had a mate?”

Sarhea’s gaze refocused on her before she sighed and glanced away once more.

“Yes. He was an orphan my parents took in before my birth. We lost contact after my early disappearance, and were brought back together years later under…unusual circumstances. He did not recognize me and all I knew was the reputation of the man he’d become, a man embittered by the stresses of keeping my tribe intact and the losses he’d endured. We faced many trials that forced us to learn to work together, the final trial being the defeat of that bitch who tried to kill me. We realized how much we needed one another, and after foiling the plans to overtake the tribe and my return to power, our relationship grew until we became mates. We had been together as mates for two years before…before my world was destroyed.”

“I’m…I’m so sorry. I didn’t…I don’t even…” she stammered and fell silent when the proper words would not come.

Aleena had not expected much, if any, of a reply. Her friend had never been so open. What else was she willing to divulge? A flood of new questions washed over her. Aleena’s eyes fell to Sarhea’s injuries once more, allowing one thought to catch her by surprise.

“Wait. How were you not scarred from such a brutal sounding attack? For that matter, how do you not have a scar from that gash I doctored for you several weeks ago?”

A troubled gaze flashed in Sarhea’s eyes before she slowly lifted her right hand and gazed at it intently.

“Do you see the blue flames?”

Aleena furrowed her brow. She saw nothing, but she remembered what she saw earlier. “No, but I recall seeing something similar earlier. What was that?”

“My energy.”

The response once again took her by surprise. What nonsense was Sarhea spouting now? Her friend surely was suffering from blood loss and a concussion.

“Energy?” she finally managed to reply. Aleena raised a brow before sighing and shaking her head. “You can’t be serious. Sarhea, please don’t tell me you follow this nonsense that Sarsan worships. You seem much too intelligent to be the superstitious type.”

Sarhea’s gaze locked with hers as a brief flash of blue danced across her eyes. She then sighed quietly and turned her gaze to the ceiling.

“I do not know what Sarsan believes or the stories he holds to. But I do believe in the Guardians, though I wish I didn’t. They have caused me nothing but grief my entire life. My world’s society was based on the ideas of unity with the energy. I’ve seen things, experienced things that could be explained no other way. The knowledge and control of the physical manifestations of the Guardian’s power rested within my tribe, with my parents, which is why I believe they were killed. There were several who wanted to gain access to it; it was why I had to fight to reclaim my tribe. It is also why…” her voice trailed as tears once again welled in her eyes.

Sarhea did not finish her statement, but Aleena could easily sense her friend’s pain. Sarhea’s world had been primitive by her own admission, so how could she have known what she was really observing? Aleena found herself mildly curious, but decided to focus her questions instead on what she had seen-the glowing eyes and the strange blue haze rising off her fingers.

“Can I ask a few questions?” she asked and waited as Sarhea slowly nodded. “Earlier tonight, I thought I saw something strange coming off your fingers and you said it would heal you…”

Sarhea nodded. “It seems my energy can promote my healing. At first, I thought it was the energy itself healing me, but it only seems to speed the healing process and enables me to heal without the use of medications. Though it seems to have its limits, especially when I use too much of it.”

“And your eyes?”

Sarhea’s eyes closed as she slowly shook her head.

“I’m still trying to figure out for certain why my eyes glow. It seems they do it when I’m connected to the energy around me or when I lose control of my emotions. Many of the things I’ve been experiencing lately are new; since coming to this world, I’ve acquired strange abilities that I’ve never had before. It’s rather…I don’t understand them…”

The uncertainty was clearly evident in Sarhea’s eyes.

“What things?” Aleena asked quietly.

“Most everything, like the fire from my fingers, being able to heal myself, and being able to see the energy’s leading when I’m connected with it.”

“Connected? I…I don’t understand.”

Sarhea sighed quietly. “Neither do I. But when I’m connected, when I focus on what I feel around me, my sight is opened to things beyond the physical realm. I can see the energy flowing around me. It even guides me, shows me the paths that I should take. It can alert me of dangers, and I have recently discovered it allows me to see great distances, to see one’s energy signature even through obstacles such as stone.”

Aleena’s head was beginning to hurt. This was all too much.

“You are saying you can see through stone? And…what the hell is this about energy signatures?”

Sarhea shot her a sideways grin. “I’ve discovered that every creature bears a unique energy signature. They range in color from red to blue. I’m still trying to completely figure it all out, but from what I can gather, it reveals a little about one’s personality. Blue represents peace, while red represents life. Your signature is blue violet, which seems rather fitting. I have noticed that you greatly prefer peaceful interactions and avoid conflict, but I have seen the fire rise in you as well.”

Aleena scowled at the response. This was all complete nonsense; her friend was crazy. Aleena shook her head and sighed. Her gaze suddenly fell to the pair of beautiful daggers. Sarhea noticed and reached over to gently pull one from the ornate sheath. Her eyes widened as Sarhea brought the weapon up before her, the blue jewel in its blade glowing ever so slightly.

“It is beautiful,” she finally whispered. “Though I would be careful not to get caught with them. Only military personnel are allowed to carry weapons, and even then, deadly weapons are only allowed in secure areas,” she added. “Why do you even have them?”

“These daggers have been in my family for untold generations; they help me to harness the defensive aspects of my abilities. Though there are certain circumstances in which using them can produce unexpected results.”

Aleena felt a deep worry building inside of her. This was getting more unusual the further she dug. A distant smirk was now forming on Sarhea’s face.

“I’m afraid to know what that look is about,” Aleena muttered.

“I’m just remembering my latest mishap that required the use of these daggers in the way I just mentioned. Remember when Raith came in recently out of sorts from a stunner backfire?”

Aleena’s jaw dropped. “You…you did that to him? Sarhea, that blast could have killed him!”

“Actually, he did it to himself. He tried to shoot me-well, he didn’t know it was me, but I suppose if he had…” Sarhea scowled as she shook her head. “But he left me no choice. I was led to raise my daggers before me, and when I did, they reflected his shot back onto him. I may not like him one bit, but I never intended to hurt him-I had no control of the reaction.”

Aleena allowed an exasperated sigh as she looked to the ceiling. She really did not want to know all of this. “Well, it seems that perhaps you should just stay away from him when you’re in this…defensive mode. Raith is the glue that holds this city together. If anything were to happen…Wait. Why have you been going beyond the city? All this has happened out in the field!”

Sarhea quickly glanced away. It was several moments before her gaze met hers once again.

“I’ve…I’ve been hunting drones.”

The surprises just kept coming. Aleena could hardly stand it anymore. She shoved herself to her feet and began pacing around the small space.

“You are completely insane, you know that, right?” she paused before Sarhea as she glared down at her, but Sarhea did not respond. She turned from her once more. “I always know how to choose the crazy ones,” she mumbled in frustration.

“Aleena, how is Askar doing? Last night…” came the quiet voice from behind her.

Aleena hesitated, her eyes widening, before she turned back to her friend. The anguish in Sarhea’s eyes was too much. She walked back over and sat next to her. She sighed as heaviness settled over the room.

“Askar is-he’s…I really don’t know yet. Mouser had to sedate him. Those two brothers were extremely close and Askar was fiercely protective of Lyle. I cannot imagine what he is going through-they’ve lost their entire family and now Askar is the only one left. Sarhea, what happened out there? I’ve been hearing some strange stories.”

Sarhea’s ears swiveled back as she glanced down at her hands. “I was out looking for drones. Their presence has been absent for several weeks and I was trying to figure out why. I have no clue why all those soldiers were out there, other than they were trying to track me down. Raith just couldn’t seem to accept that I got away that night he tried to stun me. Somehow, he and Nakyla snuck up on me and while I faced them, I didn’t notice the drones approaching, not until it was too late. I tried…I tried to destroy them all, tried to help those men. But I failed…once again, I failed to protect…” Sarhea’s voice cracked as she buried her head into her arms and began to quietly cry.

Aleena’s heart broke at the sight of Sarhea’s pain and she quickly scooted in next to her to put an arm around her shoulders. She held her in silence as tears welled in her own eyes.

“Sarhea, whatever happened, you need to know that you didn’t fail. If it hadn’t been for you, there would have been many more deaths. You saved our friends; you even saved Raith, despite the conflict between the two of you.”

“But I didn’t save them all; I couldn’t save Lyle. He…” she started quietly as another choking sob tried to cut her off. “I was with him as he died. He did not deserve that, not Lyle. He was too young. I would have given everything to have helped him, to have healed him, even my own life. But he died, as all my friends seem to do,” she continued before her control melted and she began to cry again.

Aleena could only hold her and try to silently comfort her. There was nothing she could say. Sarhea’s past seemed to hold more pain than she had originally thought. It was several minutes before her friend’s head lifted off her arms once more. She gingerly wiped her eyes before glancing back at her.

“I don’t understand what happened next. I held…I held his spirit as it left his body. I watched my energy encase it, watched it turn white as if being purified. Then I was prompted to offer it to the heavens…and then it was gone. I have never experienced this before, but remember stories that said only pure spirits could be reunited with the energy realm of the Guardians…I…” her voice broke again.

Aleena sat in quiet thought as she continued to hold her friend.

“I cannot pretend to understand any of this, but I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you did all that you could. Yes, Lyle was young and none of them deserved to die. But all those men knew the risks that come with going beyond the city. You cannot save everyone, but if what you say is true, if energy and Guardians really exist, then you honored Lyle’s memory by doing what you did. His life could not be saved, but it sounds as if you helped him move to his next life.”

She was not certain what to believe and hoped her words brought even a small measure of comfort to her hurting friend. Sarhea sniffled quietly for a moment before glancing over to her.

“I…I hope you are right. I…I should go. I’m sorry to have pulled you into this mess-it was never my intention. Aleena, no one must ever know about this, about me. Everyone who does ends up…” Sarhea’s eyes widened as she quickly shut her mouth. She then tried to flinch away. “I can’t stay here. I’m very grateful for all you have done, but it would be safer for everyone if I just fade back into the shadows. I…” she started and quickly tried to stand.

Aleena had to lurch to the side to catch her as she immediately wavered and stumbled.

“Sarhea, I have no clue as to what you’ve been through in the past nor do I completely understand what you are going through now, but I promised I would stand by your side no matter what. I am going to stick to my promise. Things are going to be difficult in the days to come, and there’s no way I’m going to let you go through this alone. You are not going anywhere. Here, sit back down,” she said as she guided her weak friend back to the floor.

The electric blue glow had returned to Sarhea’s eyes and the tears fell freely once again. Sarhea’s head slumped over onto Aleena’s shoulder as she put her arm back around her shoulders. Yes, things were going to be difficult and she could only trust that everything would work itself out, that her friends would overcome this terrible ordeal.

---

Raith was numb as he silently stared at the lifeless body of the young soldier lying on Mouser’s table. Somewhere behind him, he heard the doctor and Sarsan quietly bickering over details. He’d been trying to ignore them for a while now. Lyle shouldn’t be here in this room, on this table; it wasn’t right. Askar had always done everything in his power to keep his younger brother safe, but in the end, it had been Lyle who’d pushed Askar out of the way of that drone’s blast. Lyle had saved his brother’s life and given his in the process. The gravity of that realization weighed heavily on the distraught Askar, but the weight of the entire operation sat squarely on his shoulders. Lyle was dead and many others injured because of his obsession to track down that creature…

Raith flinched when Sarsan’s hand came to rest gently on his shoulder. He glanced over to see the pensive older Taloan also observing Lyle’s body.

“I’m sorry, Raith. I know how much you respected him, how much you respect his brother.”

“This isn’t right, Sarsan. Lyle was so young, so full of promise and potential, and now I fear we may also lose Askar over this.”

Sarsan was fell quiet as they both looked at the body. Raith noticed his father’s gaze settle to the darker blood stains on Lyle’s chest. He sighed quietly and considered leaving before the questions he knew would be coming were asked. He didn’t want to talk about what he’d seen. How could he put into words what he didn’t understand?

“Mouser said the blood was a perfect match with that first sample he found and the sample you provided weeks ago. It was the same creature.”

Raith cringed as he felt Sarsan’s expectant gaze fall to him. He tried to avoid looking up at him, but after several minutes, he could no longer stand the calm stare.

“Sarsan, I don’t know what you expect me to say. I know you have questions, but so do I. That damn creature does not matter right now. Yes, it saved our lives; I want to believe it tried to save Lyle. My focus on that creature is what got us into this mess, so for right now, I need to focus on anything else,” he spat and turned from the body as he tried to shake the mental images of the night from him memory.

“Raith, can you please try to describe…”

Raith bristled as the question finally came forth. Anger flared as he turned his narrowed eyes to Sarsan.

“I do not know what I saw! It made no sense and still doesn’t, no matter how much I’ve dwelt on it!” he snapped bitterly.

Sarsan remained perfectly calm through his outburst.

“If you would just try to describe what happened, perhaps I can help you make sense of it.”

Raith sighed in exasperation as he stormed to the opposite side of the room. Sarsan was just not going to let this be. His gaze settled once more on Lyle’s body before he could hold the anguish in no more. He exhaled a slow, trembling sigh before allowing his exhausted body to slump into a nearby chair. Sarsan slowly began to head his way as Raith closed his eyes and tried to figure out where to start.

“We were out scouting, searching for that creature and also keeping an eye out for clues as to why the drones disappeared. Those men should not have been out there, but I got convinced that more eyes would yield better results. It seems we all had grown complacent, dropped our guard a little, even the creature. It was watching one of the scouting parties which allowed me and Nakyla to sneak up on it. Before any progress could be made in our attempts to communicate with it, the drones showed up.”

“And you never saw its face, any of its features?”

“No. It always seems to conceal itself under a large cloak and covers its face with cloth. But you cannot miss its eyes.”

Raith scowled as he hesitated. Once he told Sarsan about the creature’s eyes, he knew his father would start spouting nonsense about energy and Guardians.

“What about its eyes?”

Raith sighed heavily as he shook his head. “Its eyes glow blue, and not just when the light hits them. The intensity seems to change depending on how threatened it is.”

Raith was surprised when Sarsan made no comment. The aging Taloan simply furrowed a brow in thought, waiting for him to continue. Raith shook his head as he tried to figure out where to go next.

“Whatever that thing is, it knows more about the drones than we do. It fought alongside us, and was not content when we damaged them and brought them down. It would attack them further, always shoving its daggers into the drone’s vent slats. Once it even sliced at the air above a drone. And this thing is extremely tough-it took a severe beating. You saw the blood-it was injured, but it kept fighting as if nothing phased it. For weeks now, we figured it was exacting a personal vendetta against the drones and was ignoring us, but last night, it felt more like it was trying to protect us.”

Raith paused as the images of Lyle’s bloodied body flashed in his mind. Askar had been frantic, begging for help, but when he’d arrived, he’d quickly seen that the wound was fatal. Emotion threatened to break through his fragile control.

“I couldn’t help him. Askar cried out for help, but all I could do was stand there and watch his little brother die. Dammit!” Raith yelled as emotion finally burst forth in anger. His fist came down hard on the arm of the chair.

Sarsan’s hand came to rest on his shoulder once more as Raith struggled to reign in his emotions.

“There was nothing you could have done, nothing anyone could have done. Even Mouser has confirmed that,” came Sarsan’s quiet voice.

Raith rested his forehead against his palm as he shook his head. “I was not prepared and those men should not have been there. Sarsan, I didn’t even have a med kit with me, had no pain killers to give him to ease his suffering. I allowed the ships to scout further down the ravine; they were too far away to assist us until after the damage had already been done. My overconfidence killed Lyle.”

“Raith, you know that is not true. If it was his time, Lyle could have died just as easily within the walls of this city. You cannot blame yourself.”

It was easy for him to say. Raith kept his gaze diverted to the floor.

“I know it is hard, but I need to hear the rest of the story.”

Raith sighed heavily as he ran a hand through his hair. He didn’t know how to put the last part into words.

“The creature…it was…it was on fire-blue and violet fire as it approached us as we gathered around Askar and Lyle. I could sense that it wanted to help. We pulled everyone back as it knelt at his side. That’s when it placed its burning hands over Lyle. I remember light…bright white light-it nearly blinded us all and I could not see a thing. It was several moments before it dimmed enough for me to see what was happening. Sarsan, I know this is going to sound crazy, but I watched what appeared to be Lyle’s spirit lifting from his body. It turned white and was engulfed in a strange violet orb of…energy for lack of better word. The creature then took the orb, lifted it to the sky, and it disappeared. I almost swore I also saw strange trails of…red and blue, like your stories from when I was a kid. Perhaps at that moment, I wanted to believe it was all true. Whatever the case, after that, all the strange light faded and the creature backed away. That’s when the ships arrived and it disappeared in the chaos. I have to believe that it somehow helped Lyle in his last moments. He had such a peaceful look on his face.”

Raith took a deep breath to calm his nerves before glancing over to Sarsan. He was surprised to see a baffled look on his father’s face. Questioning blue eyes turned to lock onto him.

“Raith, did the scene resemble the images carved in the Temple of Light?”

Raith scowled fiercely as he tried to remember. He had been expecting this to come up eventually. An image abruptly formed in his mind.

“You talking about the one behind the flames?”

“Yes. The one with the figures with upstretched arms and the light, or energy, lifting off of them.”

Raith’s gaze became skeptical. Now that he considered the idea and the more he thought about it, the more it had resembled the images in the carvings. And that blue flame he saw on the creature’s hand suddenly reminded him of the blue flames in the temple. His gaze became distant before another thought hit him.

“Wait a minute. You think this thing is a Guardian, don’t you?” he demanded in frustration.

Sarsan scoffed at the notion. “Don’t be ridiculous. The Guardians are energy beings, not flesh and blood. However, this thing could be something just as important.”

Raith’s eyes widened. “Sarsan, don’t leave me hanging. Tell me what you’re thinking!”

Sarsan’s expression became serious.

Back when I was a boy studying under the Keeper, I was told stories of a race of beings called the Children of the Light. It was said that they alone could harness the Guardians’ power, that they were the Guardians’ chosen instruments to carry out their will in the natural realm. It was even said that the most loyal of the Children could exist in both the physical and energy realms.”

Raith arched a brow as he stared at Sarsan in disbelief. “You do realize how crazy this sounds, don’t you? Are you going to tell me now that this chosen race was the Dalmarians?”

Sarsan paused in thought. “I had not considered that yet.”

“Sarsan!”

“Look Raith. I cannot pretend to understand what I sense or what you saw. I can only trust in what I’ve been taught, trust in the leadings that have never led me down the wrong path. The Guardians have been a part of my ancestor’s history from the very beginning. It was said that they once dwelled together in unity with the Children of the Light. But they became proud and tried to take complete control of the energy for themselves. They threatened the unity and so were cast from the Guardians’ presence, cast from their home world. But my ancestors were not cast off without care. The Guardians created this world for them with the promise that they would always be protected. But they would no longer be able to touch the Guardians’ power and survive. This gift was placed solely into the hands of the Children. I remember the Keeper telling me of a legend that foretold of a time when it would become necessary for the two races to reunite. A great evil would befall the lands and unless the unity was restored, the natural realm as we know it would perish.”

Raith could only sit there and stare at his father with his mouth agape. He’d heard several versions of the Taloan history over the years, but never this version. Why was he only hearing of it now? A great evil would befall them? Raith’s eyes narrowed as he leveled his gaze at Sarsan.

“So all this time, you’ve known this would happen?”

Sarsan shook his head.

“No, I never dreamed any of this would be possible. The legends are vague, and everyone’s definition of great evil is different, but I can almost guarantee they never defined it on this scale.”

“And the creature?”

“I really can’t say. But if there is any chance at all it is associated in any way with the Children of the Light or the Guardians, then it must be protected at all cost. Our very existence may depend on it.”

Raith struggled to release a pent up sigh of frustration. It was all simply more than his exhausted mind could handle as he prepared to stand.

“I hope, for all our sakes, that your stories are just that-stories. I won’t deny that there is something very peculiar about that creature, but it is dangerously unpredictable. It does not understand us and how are we to protect something when we don’t know how to find it?”

“I believe it lives within the city,” came Mouser’s voice from the other side of the room.

Raith and Sarsan both looked over at him. The doctor was finishing up his preparations of Lyle’s body for the funeral. He finally paused to look up at them.

“What? The original vial of blood was taken here in this hospital. I don’t know when or by whom, but it has been here. There’s no reason to think it ever left for good. We all know the lands beyond this city are uninhabitable.”

Raith glanced back to Sarsan. “How could we miss a new lifeform?”

Sarsan shook his head. “The Keeper always stressed that the Children of the Light were a race, not a species. It could look like anything. Look at how genetically close it is to so many of this city’s species. It is very closely related, nearly identical in fact, to your species. What if it looks like a Leonian?”

Raith snorted and waved him off. “I would know if there was another Leonian running around,” he grumbled.

“Well, this is a large city and new sections are discovered and uncovered all the time. It is possible to remain indefinitely hidden here.”

“Alright. Lyle is ready,” Mouser’s voice interrupted.

Raith glanced over to where Mouser was tucking a cloth under the body as he finished wrapping it. He slowly stood, leaving Sarsan with his unspoken thoughts. He joined Mouser at the table. The old doctor had done a superb job.

“Thank you, Mouser,” he said quietly and looked down at the shape of Lyle’s face concealed beneath the cream colored wrappings.

Mouser silently nodded and joined Sarsan on the other side of the room. He couldn’t help but remember the emotion in the air as the creature lifted Lyle’s spirit to the heavens. It had known he was dying. Raith had seen the energy transfer, seen the peace that washed over the dying man’s face. The creature had not been able to save him but it had done more than he had been able to. Raith solemnly backed away and quietly left the room.