(Content/trigger warnings for this chapter: children in peril)
--Ranya--
We fast-walked through the forest. I stumbled to the ground multiple times and had to explain to Jamie and Sophie about the Watcher's hallucinations.
"That sucks," said Jamie and Sophie at almost the same time.
People here actually believe me. The sun's light grew a little brighter.
"We could slow down," Jamie offered.
"No, we have to get to the dagger before the Terror Storm ends," I said. "I could use that against the fake Guardians."
Isabelle glanced at her palm. I didn't see how complete the symbol was before she pressed it back against her leg.
Then the ground in front of us dropped into a dark, dank pit. Two ears shot out, and Jamie almost fell in. Isabelle screamed as "Bunny" leaped onto the grass. I grabbed her wrist and tried to yank out my teleporter, but it loosened my grip on my stick, and I fell to Jack's feet as he landed beside the hole. He pointed his glinting staff at us. Staff. He had his weapon back.
It suddenly didn't feel so warm out.
The rest of the Guardians jumped and landed or flew out of the hole before it closed. All five of them—wielding their weapons with tight fists—surrounded Isabelle, the Bennetts, and me.
Jamie whipped out a pocket knife and spread his arms in front of his sister. I fumbled with my teleporter and thought of my room, but before I could press the button, a Dreamsand whip yanked away the device and crushed it. It fell to the ground in crumbles. My heart raced. I snatched my stick back up and stood as Sophie grabbed my sister, huddling with her.
"We'll be taking Isabelle," the "Guardians" said in unison.
"Not on my life!" I said.
"Let Jamie and Sophie go," Isabelle stammered before I could attack. "They have nothing to do with me."
To my front, Bunny said, "But they were involved in the Guardians' last war. Perhaps it's time to end these two. Jamie may fight again, after all, and Sophie's old enough now that she would likely join him."
The Guardians charged.
I slammed my stick into Bunny's furry face, tripping to the ground, but he hardly slowed as he lunged. Jamie tried to stab North with the tiny knife, and the other three Guardians rushed Isabelle and Sophie.
Trying my best not to collapse, I jumped up and spun to face the three fake Guardians, but a hard, painful kick to the back sent me to the ground and knocked the breath from my lungs.
I was vaguely aware of a shadow passing over me. The air smelling like rain. A two-toned scream from Isabelle and Sophie.
The shriek cut through my disorientation. But the world spun too hard. I tried to pull myself to my feet with my stick, only to land back on my side. I could hardly tell what was happening. Tooth snatched up Sophie and slashed wings into her chest. Isabelle screamed as a Dreamsand whip jerked her into the air. I gritted my teeth, crawling toward her as fast as I could. But it wouldn't be fast enough. The world swerved too hard—I couldn't do anything. North pinned Jamie to the ground and raised both swords.
A pillar of cloud, churning and crackling, descended from the sky.
Bunny charged in my direction. A bolt of electricity shot from the cloud pillar and struck him in the chest. He collapsed to the ground, melted to black ooze, and vanished into the grass. I tripped as I tried to stand and fell onto a flat dandelion cluster.
A strong gust of wind blew North—about to stab Jamie—into the air. Electricity struck him next, and black muck splattered against the trees.
I managed to stand as a nearby tree was wrenched from the ground with a loud crack and slammed into Sandy. He lost his grasp on his Dreamsand whips, and Isabelle fell the few feet back to the ground. Electricity struck his head.
Softball-sized hail pelted Tooth's head with hard cracks, but she seemed to feel no pain and still held tight to Sophie. Jamie sprinted to his sister. Air picked up around them and tore Tooth from her, balls of cloth clenched in the fake Guardian's fists. Sophie fell into Jamie's arms as electricity struck Tooth's feathered chest.
Jamie checked Sophie's injuries. They seemed to not be as bad as they looked. Tooth hadn't had much time.
Jack aimed his staff at me and shot a bolt as electricity hit him last.
The forest hushed.
The cloud pillar landed and dissipated. A tall woman stood where it had been. Her eyes were narrowed, and her long dress and hair—both reaching the grass and half-formed of churning clouds—billowed in the gales. She held herself with a regal air, her shoulders back and spine straight, her long face surveying the forest. Mother Nature.
Tears streamed down Isabelle's cheeks.
Mother Nature strode to Isabelle. "I received your note."
Something foreign tickled in my chest, cold and dark.
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My Sister's a Guardian (RotG Fanfiction)
Fanfiction16-year-old Ranya Kirkwood has always wanted to be a Guardian. So when the five of them come and say her sister Isabelle is chosen instead, Ranya is crushed. But more than that, she received a message from Isabelle's Guardian Angel shortly before hi...
