Guardians: The Last Elder

Chapter 5: Storm is storming over the city!

"Reinette: One may tolerate a world of demons for the sake of an angel."
~ Steven Moffat

                                                             ___________________________

"Now, where do I begin?" Mr Blackwell started. "There's so much to tell, but so little time. Ava...the world isn't what you think of it as. There's so much to it, so many layers. Literally and figuratively. There is not just one world, there are many – hundreds and thousands, in fact. Morlea is one of them. Some are quite like yours, others...not so. And it takes a portal to travel from one world to another. That's how you came here.

Yes, Meredith wasn't lying when she said you fell out of the sky from a portal. We try to restrict it as much as possible, because it's dangerous. When one portal is created, all the others come alive too, wherever they might be – they're all connected, you see. And do you know what that means? It means, anyone from anywhere, could make use of these portals. It also means that others could come here as well, things you'd rather not meet – demons, we call them. But you did encounter them, didn't you? In that park? Yes, yes, I know what happened. I'll explain that later.

Now, you're probably wondering where we come into all of this. You see, it falls onto us to stop these demons from ravaging all these worlds, to stop them from sucking out the life from all of them. Our entire existence is dedicated to ridding this world from demons. But there are too many of them and too few of us, Ava. They keep coming back and we keep attacking, defending. But, sometimes, I fear we're fighting a battle we're bound to lose."

I felt a shiver run down my spine at Mr Blackwell's words. His faraway gaze reflected the light of the setting sun. He looked absorbed in thoughts, as if he were seeing things he'd rather not see or maybe he was recalling a past. It was hard to tell. For the first time, it struck me how old he looked. Behind his smile and kind eyes, I could see a battle-hardened man, someone who has seen things for as it is.

A part of me was still suspicious of his words. After all, how was I supposed to believe all that he just said? Various worlds? Demons? Battles? Portals? It all seemed like some sort of cheap fictional movie that I was suddenly a part of. Yet, what I saw out there in the park --- wasn't that proof enough?

"We call ourselves the Guardians. Fancy name, eh?" he said, a small smile on his lips.

"But fitting," I assured.

I looked ahead on the lake, its waters now a kaleidoscope of orange, yellow and pink. It was beautiful. I looked at Mr Blackwell, sitting beside me at the edge of the pier, both our legs dangling above the water and his staff resting by his side. He was watching me too, as if thinking I would scoff in disbelief and demand to get out of here. Admittedly, I wanted to do both but I knew I couldn't turn my back on what I just learned. I couldn't.

And, also, if was being super, super honest, this was seriously the most exciting thing that has ever happened to me. Now that my initial fear and confusion had more or less ebbed, I felt a certain thrill creeping over my body.

"But, Mr Blackwell," I said. "Where is my place in all this?"

He smiled, looking a little pleased that I was asking questions rather than kicking-and-screaming to get out of here. "You belong here, Ava. You're one of us – a Guardian, like your mother. But Esther wasn't just a Guardian. She was a descendant from a race of warlocks."

"Really? But if Mom was a warlock, doesn't that mean I'm one too?"

Mr Blackwell looked startled for a second, before shaking his head. He hesitated before answering, "Um...no. Guardian blood is always dominant. Esther was luck to have inherited some of the warlock abilities. That doesn't mean you'll have it too. Since it hasn't shown up yet, chances are it won't ever."