Guardians: The Last Elder

Chapter 3: Lights up!

"Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if only one remembers to switch on the light"
~Dumbledore (duh!)

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Pain. 

Raw, visceral pain.

That's all I was aware of as my hand clutched my side, getting wet and sticky with blood. I gasped, my breath coming out in shallow huffs as I fell to my knees, black spots dancing in my vision, threatening to drag me down to the void of unconsciousness. I would've welcomed the darkness but my eyes remained open with the piercing pain shooting from my side all the way to my legs and arms.

"Ava!" I heard my Mom yell. But I couldn't respond. I felt Thomas's icy grip loosen, knowing that I wouldn't be able to run away even if I tried.

"You'll pay for that," Mom snarled and even though my vision was blurry, I could well imagine my Mom's lips pressed into a thin line, her body tensed as if ready to lunge with that sword in her hand.

I blinked in an attempt to clear my sight and I saw Mom whipping her sword skillfully, as if she had been doing it her entire life, effectively blocking and dodging the hooded creatures' attacks. One of them shoved back their sleeve a little to show their bony hand with that same dried skin stretched in them and started to utter some strange words. 

Quite abruptly, black waves appeared from its palm and seemed to reach towards Mom. But she quickly ducked out its way. She rolled backward and dropped the sword and, instead, seemed to be speaking under her breath. Suddenly, green sparkles ignited from her fingertips and clashed with the black light, keeping it in bay.

But there were two of them and mom was just one. I watched helplessly as one of them got behind her back, waiting for the right time to strike as she attacked the other one. Weakly, I called out, "Mom! Look behind you!"

But she didn't hear me. I needed to do something. I looked around wildly, waiting for the bulb in my brain to light up.

Light up...

My eyes fell on the object that my Mom had used on those same creatures, still glowing in the ground after she had let it fall from her grasp. Light seemed to hurt them more than physical wounds.

Ignoring the zaps of stabbing pain coursing through me, I feebly crawled towards it – almost blacking out in the process – and making sure to not attract Thomas's attention as he watched the creatures fight my Mom with something akin to glee.

I grabbed the object when I was close enough to it and realized that it was nothing but a torch. But its handle seemed to be unusually hot, almost burning. Somehow, I sensed it wasn't a normal torch.

Without sparing another second, I directed the torch's light towards the creature that was standing behind my Mom. As soon as the light fell on it, it let out a howl of pain, in the process gaining attention of everyone. Thomas's head spun to face me and he made as if to run towards me, his teeth bared like an animal but Mom was faster.

She took out a dagger of her own and threw it at him. It was almost as if time slowed down then. I watched with my mouth agape as the dagger sailed through the air and lodged itself right at his chest. He shrieked, blood pouring like a fountain as he fell down, his hands limping lifelessly.

I had no time to ponder the fact that Mom had just killed a child, a murderous one perhaps, but still a 10-year-old child because I was busy directing the torch light towards the creature. Its howl echoed onto the night as it fell down on its knees, its skin withering and blistering the more the light remained pointed at him.