The Guardian Tournament

Prologue

Maddison

Maddison wanted to scream, but she felt like she was made out of lead. Her limbs were heavy and stiff and her body felt numb, the only thing that seemed to be working right was her head but it was on,y a matter of time before whatever drugs had been pumped into her system kicked in. She lifted her hand, to bang on the glass that separated her from the outside world and demand to be let out, but only managed to limply hit it before her hand fell back to her side. How did everything go so wrong? It was never supposed to happen this way, she wasn't supposed to end up frozen in a glass tube, preserved and experimented on like some lab rat. She was vaguely aware of the eight people standing a little ways away from her glass prison. Fuck them, she thought as rage bubbled up her stomach, she wanted to scream at them but was too weak. They probably thought they'd won, that they'd beat her. They were dead wrong, she still had one last trick up her sleeve, she'd never let them win, no matter what. She couldn't. Maddison could feel her mind slowly slipping away as the drugs started kicking in, she knew what she had to do, it was now or never., and she knew exactly what everyone would think. Her only hope was the Guardian who inherited her powers. God she hoped they were smart enough. She wished she'd been able to warn everyone in person, that it hadn't come to this, she wished she could tell them all about what was coming, what the eight people in the room, a few feet away we're planning to do. Deity please pick someone strong, she pleaded in her mind a tear rolling down her cheek as she summoned her abilities. Connor I'm sorry, I promised I'd be safe and come back but I lied, I'm so sorry. I just want to protect you so bad, you and everyone else, I love you, and I know this will hurt you. She swallowed the lump in her throat, everyone would think she was dead after this, what else was there to think? But this was her only hope, everyone's only hope, it was a last minute Hail Mary. She gathered her powers into an orb in her mind and then engrained herself into them, it was hard and strenuous, it scorched her mind and felt like there were nails being hammered straight into her skull. She created a link between her and her powers, hoping and praying it'd be strong enough to last, strong enough that the next Guardian would find it. She swallowed and felt the drug trying to pull her into the abyss. It was so tempting but she still had one last thing to do, she envisioned the person she wanted to transfer her powers to; Deity, his faded lavender eyes and kind smile, the father she always wanted and finally had. She hoped this wouldn't hurt him too much, that he wouldn't mourn her for too long.  Then she released her powers, feeling them spiral out of her, she closed her eyes, swallowing again. Her head ached as the drug slowly worked its way through her, the only thing on her mind was Connor. Sweet, sweet Connor, god she loved him, it was funny how you only realized how much you really loved someone when there was a chance you could lose them forever.  But now Connor would think she was dead, her chest squeezed in pain at that. She hoped he picked a good Champion to inherit her powers, she hoped his Champion won. She wished she could hug him one more time, have one more day with him, tell him she was sorry for getting caught, tell him she loved him so much it hurt. She felt herself floating away, and with an ache in her heart the last thing she saw was Connors smiling blue eyes.