The Guardian

Safe House

Chapter 8

Travis and Tori hadn't gone far. The siblings were outside of the building, Tori on the roof, Travis lounging upon the back of a car scribbling on his clipboard. An apple was balanced on his head. To Itai's amazement, Tori catapulted a lethal arrow at her brother from the roof, cheering gleefully when it smashed through the car's back window, taking the apple with it. The car alarm shrieked and Travis absent-mindedly glided off of it, never taking his eyes off of his work.

They were an unusual pair.

When Itai stepped into the lot, Tori dropped down from above, landing as lithely as a cat. "If it isn't sleeping beauty," she said, twirling her crystal weapon between her fingers. A grin broke through her nonchalant appearance as the remaining glass in the car crumbled. "Bull's-eye!" she sang under her breath.

Travis made his way over from the blaring car. "I've been told to get you a place to stay, Itai. We've got a lot to work on." Travis handed Tori the clipboard. "Here are your reports, sis," he told her. " Go hunt a dragon or something."

"Wait," Itai interrupted. "Those actually freaking exist?"

Tori scoffed at him. "No. What do you think this is, Middle Earth? Crazy boy." She tucked the clipboard into her diagonal shoulder bag, along with her dagger. "I'll be back in a few hours. Don't die again," she called over her shoulder, out of actual concern or ridicule Itai couldn't tell. With another step she disappeared in a tornado of long hair and steel weaponry.

"Tori's got a knack for dramatic exits," Travis commented. "You learn to get used to it."

He pulled a clipboard identical to the one he gave Tori out of his backpack. "Today," Travis said, reading off of a paper, "you will be placed in a safe house of sorts. This is of high importance for a guardian, as you cannot return to home in case of any intervention." He looked up from the clipboard. "How dull."

Itai didn't get a chance to agree with him before Travis took off, not bothering to check if Itai had followed. "Basically, I'm going to show you where you'll be living from now on," he said as Itai hurried to catch up. "If you haven't learnt how to move things around yet, you should get on that. It's fairly important."

Itai had already discovered that trick. It came in strange, inconsistent bursts that lasted for up to 30 seconds. When they came, his hands became heavy, and he could pick up or move objects. Itai had been using that short time to water the plants in Arden's apartment that had been clinging onto life. And, admittedly, snooping around the house. He'd never admit to that out loud.

Travis led him to an old brick building a few blocks away. Vines crawled up the sides of the building, stopping only at a barred door covered in graffiti. Weeds sprouted from the cracked sidewalk. As if nothing was wrong, Travis gestured towards the door, inviting him inside. "This is the so called safe house."

"You must be kidding."

An impatient wave from Travis told him otherwise. Itai slipped a hand tentatively through the door, easing himself through as cautiously as possible. His eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness as he stepped inside. On the other side of the door was a short hall, strangely clean and polished compared to the mess on the outside. Fast paced music played faintly, and shrieks of laughter echoed down the passage, startling Itai as Travis emerged behind him.

"Relax. It's not like anyone can kill you," Travis said, taking the lead. Itai followed him, becoming less and less confident in his mentor's sanity as they walked.

At the end of the hallway, he was presented with a much larger area where hundreds of people migrated around a room, bathed in orange light that came from spotlights on the ceiling. On one side of the room was rows of occupied tables. On the other side there was a bar, and a line of booths that reminded Itai of a fair. A second floor overlooked the first, and a few more people stood on that level looking down. One large crowd was gathered around something that Itai couldn't make out, erupting with laughter every few seconds.