The Guardian Crusade

                                          Volume II

                                                       Chapter 22

“Hey man where ya been?” Kevin asked as Nick walked into the room in Tokia.

“I went to see Aj.” Nick said as he closed the door.

“Dude” Kevin said looking at him.

“Relax, I apologized to him.” He said as he sat down.

“Heads still on that’s a good sign.” Howie said with a light smile.

“Haha.” Nick mocked as he reached into his backpack.  “Look he even gave me these.” He said as he lightly tossed the books on the desk.

“What are they?” Nalia asked as she walked over to him.

“He said they were all he could find from the Elvaans about the War between the Humans and Dwarfs.  That one is about the War, that one is about the history of Winnol at the time, so there might be some things in there, and that one..” Nick said pointing to the old, ripped leather dirty brown book.  “Is a story, but it’s a story about a Fire Castle and it’s creatures.”

“Fire Castle?” Nalia asked confused.

“I haven’t read it yet just flipped through it but I found a page talking about a Castle filled with Lava and the creatures that protected it.”  Nick said.

“Sounds like Ashmourn.” Nalia said.

“That’s what Aj said.  He said the Librarian told him it was an old story forgotten when they all lost their memories about Ignis.”  Nick said shrugging. 

“We lost a lot of things like that.” Nalia said with a little frown.  “When did he get these?” Nalia asked.

“The night he disappeared, he was in Darlawind, that’s why we couldn’t find him.” Nick said as he looked at Kevin.  “He said he went there to see what he could find for us.”

“This one is the smallest I’ll read this one.” Howie said grabbing the small book on Elvaan history.

“Way to help there D.” Nick said as he rolled his eyes.

“Hey without my phone, I am only one man.” Howie sighed.

“Loser.” Nick said sarcastically as he sat down.  “You should take this one.” Nick said handing the book to Nalia.  “You know Kalica better than anyone, so you might recognize the places.” He told her.

“Alright.” She nodded.

“Find anything you think is funny, sounds weird, especially when it comes to the King of Tokia at the time.” Nick told them.

“I thought you were going to change your hair back?” Howie said as Nick picked up the other book.

“Kind of like it now, goes with my new eyes.” Nick said smiling and then the smiled disappeared when he said new eyes.  “At least I’m still tall, my fingers aren’t stubby and I have no facial hair.”  Nick said as Howie and Leigh B started laughing.

“How’s Aj?” Kevin asked as Nick looked up from his book.

“Busy, he’s getting ready to take Rexil to trial tomorrow.” Nick said.

“Already?” Nalia said a little shocked.

“Guess so, I think he’s doing it because of Rayne.” Nick said.  “Halian and her came around the corner and as soon as he saw them, poof he was gone the other way.”

The room was quiet as Howie, Nick and Nalia read through their books while the others continued to look in the books still unchecked in the Tokia Library.  The only sounds were light mumbles of people reading and the sound of pages being flipped and turned.  So it was no surprise that everyone looked up to see who was coming through the Library doors as the sound of the doors opening echoed through out the room.

“Rayne?” Nalia said as she stood up. “Everything alright?”

“Yes everything is fine.” She said with a nod.  “I came here to see Nick.”

“Me?” Nick said as he looked up confused.

“Yes.” She said with a nod.  “I was hoping you could show me that place you were talking about.”

“Place?” Nick replied confused. His face fell in puzzlement as he thought about what she was talking about.  “Oh!” He said snapping his fingers.  “You want to go see it?”

“Yes please.” She nodded.

“Ok.” Nick nodded.

“Very well, then I will meet you at the Gryphon Tower in Winnol.” She bowed and then left the room.  Nick looked around and saw everyone staring at him.

“Where are you two going?” Kevin asked.

“I think she wants me to show her what happened outside of Darlawind.” Nick told them.

“That’s good though right?” Howie piped up.  “That she wants to go see it, maybe she’s remembered something?”

“Maybe.” Nick said with a shrug.  “Ok well I’ll be back then.” He told them as he quickly kissed Nalia.

When Nick reached the top of the tower he saw Rayne waiting for him, both Gryphon’s ready to go.  He walked over to the bird beside the one she was standing at and took the reigns from the Gryphon Master.

“So how come you want to go out there?” Nick asked as he settled himself onto the saddle.

“I want to see it for myself.” She said in a stern voice and then she gave her Gryphon a kick and it took off into the air.  Nick took a deep breath, sighing as he kicked his Gryphon and it took off into the air.   Rayne stayed ahead of him until they were reaching the Island.  Then he noticed her Gryphon slowing as she waited for him to catch up and show her the way.

“This is it.” Nick said as he brought his Gryphon to a stop in the air.  The giant bird hovered over the trees, its wings flapping strongly holding it’s self up.  “It starts there and doesn’t end until the shore line.” He told her pointing.  Nick looked at her, Rayne’s face showing awe as she followed the bare hole that ran down the middle of the island.

“The Elvaans have cleared out the debris and dead tree trunks.” Nick told her as they jumped down off of their Gryphon’s. 

“Mother told me they are making it into a park.” Rayne said as they walked side by side.

“Yeah” Nick nodded.  “People can’t get enough of a good love story, even here.” Nick smirked but Rayne looked at him confused.  “Just because you can’t remember doesn’t mean what you two had wasn’t real.”

“I know.” Rayne said quietly.

“You do?” Nick said, now it was his turn to be confused.

“I see it when he looks at me, or should I say looks away from me.”

“It’s hard for him.” Nick told her. “And plus that’s how he kind of deals with things, runs away.”

“Why?” Rayne asked.

“Cause he’s hurting and when he’s hurting he hides, runs away, or tries to ignore the situation completely.” Nick said to her as she looked towards the long stretch of open space.  “I think it’s something he picked up from his Dad.”

“Pardon?” Rayne said turning around and he saw the look on her face and thought about his words.

“Oh, no, not Marsa, his Dad back on Earth, left him when he was three.” Nick told her and he saw her frown.  “When someone who is suppose to never abandon you, or is suppose to love you unconditionally, abandons you and leaves doubt on whether or not they truly love you, it messes with your head.”

“I, I suppose it would.” Rayne said as she looked at the grass.  “Well what about his Mother?”

“She raised him, mostly on her own but they lived with his Grandparents, besides, she’s back on Earth.” Nick said to her and she looked at him.

“So you two really did give up a lot to stay here?” Rayne said as she stopped walking.

“Yeah but this is where we belong, we felt it from the first day we got here.”

“And that was enough? Enough to leave your family and loved ones behind?” She asked.

“Well for me it was because I wanted to help and I guess for Nalia but don’t tell the guys that.”

“And Alex?” She asked.

“You’d have to ask him.” Nick told her and he headed over to his Gryphon.  He knew why, AJ had told him many times but he figured getting them to talk was a better idea.

“I did not think it to be true.” She said as she walked her Gryphon over to his.  “Mother told me about this and about the Elemental, I still did not believe her, and then she showed me the ship junk yard, showed me Winnol’s Master ship and the damage that had been done.  I needed to see this myself.”  Nick didn’t say anything, he just lightly smiled.  Hoping what she saw was enough to make her realize AJ really did love her. 

“I hope your starting to see how much he cares about you, how much he loves you.” Nick said to her as she was about to take off in her Gryphon.  She froze a minute and looked at him.

“It is not his love I doubt.” She told him with a small frown. Rayne then looked down at her reigns and then gently kicked her Gryphon and it took off into the air.  Nick looked at her a little stunned as she took off into the sky.

Nick took off into the air and turned his Gryphon around to head back to Winnol.  When he looked to see where she was flying he saw her stopped, hovering over some trees.

“What’s up?” Nick asked.

“Smoke.” She said nodding ahead of them.

“Is that…” Nick started to say.

“Where Winnol is, yes.” She replied as she looked at him.  They both nodded at each other and then kicked their Gryphon’s, making them fly harder and faster than they normally would.  As they got closer to Winnol, the smoke got thicker and there was more of it, coming from different sections of the Elvaan city. 

“If I didn’t know any better I’d say Ignis was back.” Nick shouted as they began to arrive at the city. 

“What is that?” Nick shouted to her and she looked over to where he was pointing.  She saw a large dark cloud heading towards them.  Rayne strained her eyes to get a better look, and then decided to grab a hawk and see through his eyes.

“Is it smoke?” Nick asked as he looked back and forth from Rayne to the black cloud.

“No.” She said calmly but he saw the look on her face.

“What?” Nick asked wanting to know.

“They are birds, hundreds of them, heading right for us.” Rayne told him.

“Birds?” Nick said confused.

“We need to land now.” Rayne said as she kicked her Gryphon and pushed down on its neck so it knew to go down.

“What? Why?” Nick asked, he hesitated but followed.

“They are being controlled.” Rayne said to him as they hovered low to the city.

“By what?” Nick asked.

“Not by what by who, a Druid.” Rayne said as they landed.  Nick looked around to where they were, they had landed in the middle of the city, the town square, and it was very odd to see it so empty.

“The citizens must have taken refuge in the castle or in their homes.” Rayne said as she looked around.

“Wait you said the birds are being controlled by a Druid.” Nick said as he walked up to her.  “Alex was getting Rexil ready for her trial.  We need to find AJ.” Nick said as he signaled for his Gryphon to take off back to the tower without him.

Then out of no where Nick heard a shout and then felt himself slamming into the hard dirt road.  He shouted in pain as the wind left his lungs and a sharp pain ripped down his arm.

“What the hell was that?” Nick asked as he grabbed his arm and quickly looked around.

“Down!” Rayne shouted again as she pushed his head down but this time Nick was aware of what was going on around him, and he saw a huge fire ball slam into the building behind him.  Quickly he looked up and saw AJ standing at the end of the square.

“AJ?” Nick said confused as he looked at his friend, staring at them, holding his arm out at them.  “What the hell are you doing?” Nick squealed.  AJ said nothing as he walked towards them.  “Dude seriously…” Nick said as he felt the need to run away from his best friend.  Nick watched horrified as an Ice bolt jetted from AJ’s fingers and slammed into his chest, Nick dropping to his knees, his body turning cold, and it was becoming harder for him to breathe.

“Alexander, what are you doing?!” Rayne demanded.  Nick looked up as he felt AJ step beside him.  He watched as AJ grabbed Rayne by her robe and she tried to struggle.

“I can control life too, Human.” AJ said.  It was his voice, his way of talking but Nick knew it wasn’t him.

“Rexil.” Rayne said as she looked at AJ stunned.

“The people won’t be too happy their King went on a rampage.” Rexil said through AJ and she even made him smile.

“Do you really think you can out power a Guardian?” Rayne asked her as she struggled.

“There is nothing he can do; his knowledge of our talent is limited.” Rexil scoffed at her.

“I did not mean Alexander.” Rayne said and as she said AJ’s name her hand pressed against his chest, her eyes starting to glow.  “This is not your body; your life is not welcomed here!” Rayne shouted and the words sounded very familiar too Nick.

“Do what you will, it is too late, the damage has been done, and the people will revolt.” Rexil said and then they both watched as AJ’s eyes rolled into the back of his head and he started to slump.

Nick tried to stand up to catch AJ but his chest hurt too much.  It didn’t matter though, Rayne as there and helped AJ lay down on the ground.  Slowly Nick crawled over to AJ and looked at Rayne.

“Is he ok?” Nick asked.

“I’m sure nothing a session at the Healing Springs will not cure.” She said looking around.

“We need to find Avit.” Nick told her and she nodded in agreement.

“Halt!” Someone shouted and they both looked up to see a bunch of Winnol Soldiers standing at the end of the street.  “King Alexander is to come with us.”

“He needs the Healing Springs.” Rayne said as she stood up.

“Then he will be taken there by us and when he wakes up he will be put under arrest.” The one Soldier said.

“And if you do, I will personally have your head.” Rayne said sternly and both Nick and the men looked at her shocked.  “Where is Avit?”

“He..” The Soldier stopped and looked at AJ.  “He is severely injured, King Alexander attacked him.”

“It was Rexil she was controlling him.” Rayne snapped at them.  “Where is she?”

“We do not know your Highness.” The Solider told her.

“Well then find her, now!” She shouted back at them.  The men stumbled a bit and then took off, finding more men to start a search.  Rayne knelt down beside AJ and Nick, then he heard a crackling sound and as he looked up he saw Rayne fall onto AJ.  There standing in front of him was Rexil.

“Awww look at the love birds.” Rexil sighed to Nick.

“Back off lady.” Nick said as he stood up as quickly as he could.

“Warlock, you are no match for me, you could not even fend off Ignis.” She said as she stepped closer to him.

“Try me.” Nick said as his hand started glowing purple.  Rexil flinched trying to distract Nick, trying to make him look behind him but it didn’t work.  He stood there firm, staring at her.  He raised his eyebrow at her, daring her to make a move, and he saw fear when she swallowed. 

Then a quick thought went through his head, the monster, the lava giant he had drained of life, could he take hers too, and not have the guilt that went with draining a good human being of their life.  This was Rexil and she was obviously going a little nutty.  Not giving it another thought, Nick changed the spell in his hand and then threw out his arm.  A pink and purple beam crackled from his fingers and wrapped itself around Rexil.  She looked at him stunned, and as he closed his hand around the beam, Rexil gasped.  Another crackling sound was heard as her energy began to leave her body, following the beam and seeping into Nick’s body.  A grin broke from his face as he felt her power, her energy surging through him. 

“Stop…this.” Rexil moaned as Nick watched her drop to her knees.

“You didn’t stop when you tried to put Rayne in jail.” He said to her and he jerked his arm, almost pulling on the rope of light and Rexil jerked as more power left her body.  “You didn’t stop when you made her look crazy, almost killing her, and taking her memory.”

“Stop.” Was all Rexil could get out.

“No” Nick said as he stared into her eyes and with that one word, the rest of Rexil’s power and energy left her body and went to Nick. 

Rexil slumped hard to the floor as the pink and purple beam dispersed into thin air.  Nick closed his eyes, letting his body absorb the energy.  Turning around he looked down and saw Rayne starting to move.  He knelt down beside her and helped her sit up.

“You alright?” He asked as she looked up at him.  She quickly looked behind them, searching for whatever had hit her.  Rayne’s eyes going wide when she saw Rexil, dead.  “Won’t be worrying about her anymore.”  Nick said as he helped her stand up.  “Do you remember anything?” He asked hoping maybe now that Rexil was dead, Rayne would remember.

“Do you mean what just happened or do you mean the past two years? She asked.

“The past two years..” Nick said as the hope began to fade from him.

“No, I do not.” She replied with a small frown and he matched it.

“We should get him to the Healing Springs.” Rayne said when she looked down at AJ.  “Are you strong enough to carry him?”

“Yep.” Nick said as he knelt down and then scooped AJ into his arms.  “He’s pretty light anyways.” He smiled, and then he laughed a little when he saw Rayne doing the same.