Crossfire

3

I followed the curly-haired person out of the massive house and I stopped dead in my tracks when I seen where we were.

The house itself was gigantic. It looked to be the size of a hotel! There were huge stained glass windows where I assumed the attic would be, and there was three limousines parked by the door. The gates were made out of some kind of black rock with silver and gold laced into them, shining in the light. It was dark already, and I could actually see all of the moon! Back home the majority of it is always covered by clouds. The house, more like a manor, was on a hill facing the city. There was no high-tech labs, no cloud-touching skyscrapers and no smoke-emitting cars littering the streets. Instead of the lampposts I was used to, there were wooden beams towering over the roads, with a fire roaring on the top of every one. The houses all looked like the kind of house my rich cousins would have – three storeys and covering a good amount of land. This was amazing! Back home I would have just lived in a cramped apartment. I could very faintly see the outline of the city walls in the distance, standing high above the ground below.

Best of all, I could see the sky! The sky is never visible in Natural cities. I guess what Dad always told me was true. The grass was long and healthy, rich with vibrant flowers I had never seen before in my life. The moon shone and an array of colours surrounded it, like the shine of oil from a car.

I blinked quickly and recovered from my trance, then sheepishly followed my companion into the forest just outside the manor gates.

We walked until we came across a circle clearing of no trees. There were moss-covered stones and rocks littered about, and the area was lit up by a circling horde of fireflies. There was a small lake, about I gazed around in wonder and the person beside me giggled. I was struck back to reality and felt myself going red. They slowly sat down on a rock and I mirrored it, sitting down on a significantly less mossy one.

“So,” they said. “This is Salazar's clearing. He made it for me and my siblings for whenever we don’t feel like dealing with life. I tend to come here the most...”

They rubbed the back of their neck and avoided my eyes.

"My name is Sandigo. I’m also a boy, if you’re wondering. I’m not like Salazar.”

"Not like him? What is he then?”

“Well... Some Unnatural species like Forest Guardians, which is what he is, have no gender. They just... Exist? But others like me and Kirex do have genders. It’s a little complicated. Something you learn about in your last year of school here.”

I listened attentively, absorbing all of the information. Then, a question popped into my head.

"What kind of species are you all?”

Sandigo hesitated before answering,

"Salazar is a Forest Guardian and Nevera is a Water Guardian. Guardians protect and nurture whatever their name corresponds with – this forest belongs to Salazar. Sometimes when Nevera cries, our showers explode...”
He paused for a minute to grimace and then continued,

"Naturals have Guardians at the top of their list in terms of threat. Diá, Athair and Kirex are witches. They all have familiars, too. I’m a healer.”

He stopped, deep in thought.

“I healed your shoulder.”

He did not elaborate, and I didn’t push him to. He noticed and took the chance to keep going.

“Keyser is a demon and Verdia is a sky spirit. Demons can slink in and out of shadows and talk to Shadows. Two different things. Spirits are like... A less essential version of a Guardian. They do the same job, but don’t rule over any specific place. What can you do?”

I blurted out before I could stop, “I talk to nature.” He looked at me with curiosity. I continued, “I hear animals and plants. They just don’t like talking sometimes... I can hear the trees right now. They’re talking about new pine tree growing somewhere.”

Sandigo looked impressed. He then exclaimed, “You’re a life spirit! They’re so rare...”

I was surprised to hear that. Had I really been hiding in a Natural city, despite being so welcomed into Ciro?

My companion stopped staring at me with stars in his eyes and turned to look at the moon. He held his left hand up to it and pointed his right arm off into the forest. He then moved both hands together until they met and gasped softly.

“We need to get going... Diá wants us to be there for a big supper thing. She said it was very important...”

I stored the information and followed as he started to head back towards the manor.

As we walked back, I couldn’t help but notice how strange the trees and flowers here were. I had never seen any of these in my life. The trees had brown trunks with black lines running over them, and with a mix of purple and dark green leaves. Some other trees had grey trunks with brown lines and red leaves. No two flowers were the same, except for one kind I could see everywhere. It had a black stem and glittering purple petals. It had a gold spot in the middle that seemed to be dropping even more golden seeds, which where then being carried away by a breeze. I could see every star and the array of colours by the moon crystal clear with every step I took.

Life here is so different from life back in my old city. Can I even call that city home anymore?