Strange Beasts || Novella

II

Grammy's house was one of those old traditional buildings that often caused two responses from visitors. The first would be astonishment at how authentic the interior was, considering it hadn't been changed since it was first built. This would quickly be followed by an equal level of concern at the fact that not much had been upgraded, especially in regards to modern necessities such as the television (non-existent) and central heating (temperamental).

Both thoughts were running through Raina's mind as she climbed up the staircase. With the thundering of raindrops hitting the roof, she failed to keep her hands from trembling. Urging her feet to take another step, bargaining with the instinct to protect her brother, Raina reluctantly followed them deeper into the dimly lit attic.

"Now where did I keep it?" Grammy muttered to herself, blissfully unaware of the dread coursing through her granddaughter's veins. Rami, on the other hand, squealed at the prospect of another adventure. One hand gripping his stone tightly, the other holding up a torch – though there wasn't much need for one once Grammy turned on the light – he started poking through each of the boxes.

"Reveal yourself! Come forward and accept this duel!"

"Rami, stop you'll hurt yourself," Raina attempted to warn the excitable child, except her voice seemed to have stalled in her throat. Her clammy hands balled into tighter fists as she struggled to remember to exhale after each breath.

"I am Keeper of the Stone; you will answer to me!"

"Here it is!" Grammy held up a book triumphantly at the same time. It was covered in cobwebs, the leather bounding barely clinging together. That seemed to grab Rami's attention as he approached Grammy, a toothy smile stretching across his face. Raina sat in the spare chair gratefully, unaware that her hands were rubbing up and down her thighs repeatedly.

"Will that help with the Quest?" Rami asked earnestly. Despite Raina wishing that she would stop feeding his delusions, Grammy smiled and shook her head.

"It's far more important than that my dear. The entire Kingdom is contained in here, safely hidden away from those who wish to harm it," she explained, gently stroking the cover almost as if she was afraid the touch would cause the binding to collapse.

"Like the Guardians?" Rami breathed, his eyes widening.

"Not all Guardians are evil; but yes, there is one in particular we must protect the Kingdom from," said Grammy quite gravely. "Once there was peace in the Kingdom, where Beasts as tall as city towers and birds that use their talons to fly could roam freely. Guardians would work with the animals; their magic comes from the same Earth after all."

"Our Earth?" Rami interjected, to which Grammy smiled.

"No matter where you go, the Earth is the same. The spirit that runs through our land is the same in theirs. Sometimes really smart children," Grammy looked between the two children, one eager, the other barely able to contain their disdain. "Children who have enough bravery to see the Earth for what it could be rather than what it is, can find Stones that fall through," she gestured to Rami's closed fist which contained the new Stone he had recently found.

A curious thing happened with this second mention of the Stone and though Raina was perfectly aware that this was all part of the imaginary world her brother created, she couldn't help but lean in.

"What happened?" asked Rami, his chin resting against his grandmother's knee. From her tone, he knew that this was far more important than anything he previously knew about this world.

"What always happens my dear; after a taste of power, one Guardian decided they would enslave the Beasts and steal their power. Of course the other Guardians couldn't simply stand by, but the confrontation between them was truly terrible. The Kingdom hasn't been the same since. No one, human or Beast is truly safe anymore," said Grammy, her gaze sharp and intent. The only visible sign of any distress was a small tremor in her hand, unnoticed by all except Raina.

Her brother was far more concerned with finding out as much information as he could about the Kingdom and its inhabitants. The story made perfect sense. Part of him was annoyed for not seeking Grammy's advice earlier, the other dread to find out what else he did not know.

"How many Guardians are there?"

"Four altogether, but Three since the Great Rift. No one knows how many survived it and those that did are too afraid to come out of hiding."

"But why? Don't they have powers too Grammy?"

"It's not that simple little one," said Grammy, her expression vacant for a moment as the young boy's optimism reminded her of another idealistic child who asked multiple questions about the whole matter. Little did she know then, she would live to regret the answers she gave. Undeterred by her morbid thoughts Grammy shook her head, silently scolding herself for getting lost in her memories.

Raina and Rami were different; they had to be.

"Long ago the Guardians worked together to maintain the Balance between Good and Evil. Each of the Four encompassed a particular characteristic needed to be a Good Person. One was Honest, another Kind. Then we have one who embodied Courage, and finally Curiosity," explained Grammy. "But they were people at the end of the day, much like you and I; faced with a difficult situation, even with these characteristics, they can make a choice that causes more harm than good. Especially when they're trying to protect someone they love. One Guardian in particular found that sacrificing Beasts increased their power immensely."

"They killed the Beasts?" repeated Rami in a quiet voice, his bottom lip trembling.

"Not all of them, but enough for the rest to go into hiding. Taking an innocent life... it changes you. That Guardian became too powerful and the deed stole something from the Kingdom. It's simply not the same anymore," said Grammy, stroking Rami's hair with a free hand.

"Why can't they defeat the Evil One?" He asked indignantly.

"I wish it were that easy," said Grammy, smiling at the descriptive name choice he had taken. "But only the Legacies of that Guardian have that power. They know this and have taken measures to ensure that their power will never be challenged. No one can be trusted."

"What about the Beasts?"

"It's now harder to tell which can be trusted. Some like the ideology of the – ah 'Evil One'. Stealing another's power to become stronger, it's easy to get swept up with it all."

"But some of them are still good right? There's still hope?"

"Of course there's still hope! There will always be hope so long as you believe the world can be better. Do you believe it Keeper of the Stone?" The beady look Rami received was responded with one of pride, as he puffed out his chest, one hand balled into a tight fist in his trouser pocket.

"Grammy you can't be serious," said Raina suddenly before Rami could reply.