The Guardians' Fate: Book One (On Hold)

The Cursed One

Joella didn't realize she was asleep until she felt a hand on her temple, stir her from unconsciousness. She slowly opened her eyes but all saw only a black empty void expanding in all directions.

She heard two distant voices echo in the darkness. At first she thought she was delusional.

The voices soon became clearer and one of them was very familiar, the other she couldn't recognize.

"Are those...?" the familiar voice echoed.

"Yes, we need to reopen those pathways in her" replied the other deep rumbling voice.

"But that would mean the curse..." the first voice trailed.

"Quickly, we don't have much time. Hurry up or she will die" the other voice replied in a hurry.

The voices stopped. A small ball of light, like a miniature sun, appeared before her. Strangely the light was not blinding all though it was bright.

The ball moved towards her and began to open up, like a flower bud blossoming. It moved closer and cocooned her.

The energy radiating from it felt soothing, like a breeze of cold air on a summer eve. But then the energy began to heat up. The once cool and soothing energy turned to tendrils of lava as it drilled into every vein and muscle.

She thought she was going to burst into flames and melt. She tried to scream but the searing pain paralysed her. The heat reached its peak and Joella's mind jump started into consciousness.

She woke to the noise of her heavy breaths and the damp feeling of her sweaty forehead. She found herself in a dim lit, blurry room. But when her senses focused she gasped. Something was definitely not right.

The dim light was actually glowing symbols on the walls surrounding her. Her hands and feet were tied down to the hard horizontal platform she was lying on. She felt like a lab specimen about to be dissected. A chill ran down her spine at the thought.

Then she remembered the voices she heard. 'Opening pathways in me? Curse? I was about to die?' The Many questions that popped up drowned her mind in a strong wave of fear, making her first instinct to get out from this place.

She tried to break free but the binds were stronger. She tried to shout out for help but all she could manage was a wheeze.

Alarms of panic rang in her brain. She was alone, strapped to a stone table in a dark room. Her voice was gone and no way to call for help.

As panic started to get a stronger grip on her, the adrenaline kicked in but something felt different.

A fire sparked in her body. She felt revitalized and strong. With the new found strength fuelling her determination, she yanked on her bindings again.

This time as she tugged there was a brief flash, like lightning and the bindings were ripped apart. With her arms free, Joella paused to stare at them curiously for a few seconds trying to figure out what just happened.

After pulling herself up to a sitting position she tried to grab the binding around her feet and found that the left arm seemed to lag one second behind, as if it was still partially asleep. However once the nerves came back of life, she grit her teeth and yanked the binding. The flash came again and she was free.

She swung her legs over to one side. Slowly she inched towards the edge and dropped down. Immediately the symbols on the wall glowed brighter and her legs buckled and gave away beneath her. Her head began to spin as she became increasingly disorientated.

Luckily she was still holding on to the platform. Slowly she pulled herself up. She tried looking around but her sight had turned blurry again.

Now she knew she had to get away from this place. Mustering all her strength she crawled her way to one of the walls and leaned on it for balance.