The Ancient Guardians

The Ancient Guardians (Chapter 4)

THE ANCIENT GUARDIANS

Chapter 4

After some time I called my brother, I had guessed right when I thought he'd be worried.

            "Where the f*** have you BEEN! How do you think I felt when I came home and you weren't there? Well...at first I just thought you were gone at one of your friends' or some girl's house but then all night passed and still you didn't come back! And then I woke up this morning and you were STILL not back and I had no idea where you were! How do you think that f****** feels like?!"

            "I'm really sorry but something came up. I couldn't come back and I just barely got the right to meet you right now." He was really freaking out. I had to hold the phone at arm's length. I wonder if that's what my mom would've said.

            "What do you mean? Have you been kidnapped? What's the point? I don't have any money to give for some f****** ransom!"

            "Calm down, I haven't been kidnapped. I'll tell you what happened when I meet you tonight."

            "Alright...where do we have to meet?"

            Finally he had calmed down a bit. "Meet me by the park in your car. I'll come to you. And come alone."

            "I don't have anybody to come with anyway. At what time?"

            "Eleven o'clock I guess."

            "Right, I'll see you there. Bye."

            "Bye." And he hung up.

            I went in the small living room where William was sitting on the sofa. The room was so small I thought that if I sat down my knees would be in the opposite wall.

"Was that your brother that was screaming like that? I could hear him in the other room!" William said.

            And, out of a need to test out if I was right about how small the room was (and not because I needed company), I sat down beside William. "At least I know he cares." What brother wouldn't care? I had to admit I didn't know he could scream like that.

            "Amazing, I didn't think anyone could care that much for YOU." William said with a sarcastic tone.

            "Look who's talking, you're 'dead'." I imitated quotation marks with my fingers. He didn't reply. "By the way why do you keep your lumpy back covered with that cloak?"

            "Clint makes me; he says they make everything close fall down."

            "What makes everything fall down?" As I said that he took the cloak off and revealed a pair of big silvery-white wings. I stood there aghast, with my lips forming an "Oooooooh..." sound. After a moment he put the cloak back on. "Can you fly with those?"

            "What do you think?" William said again with his sarcastic tone. "I haven't tried yet though. Too many witnesses around."

            "Pity." I was a little surprised when I realised that, for the first time, I envied William (only a little though, very little). Being able to fly would be kind of cool. "So how're you handling...you know, being an Ancient Guardian and stuff."

"Well at first I was a bit skeptical about it. But then I tried out my talents; moving the air around, creating breezes. And frankly, I could get used to it."

"I don't know...sounds like something you could read in a book." I said.

"I'm really anxious about flying though, I've only dreamed of it before." William continued.

"Hope you're not scared of heights." And then William laughed. I was stunned. This was more disturbing than my previous envy I had. William, the same one from school that hated me, was laughing at one of my cheesy (yet devilishly clever) remarks. I was starting to wonder if he was just choking on something. Then his eyes opened a little wide and his laugh dwindled bit by bit, and near the end I heard him mutter in stupor : "Why am I laughing..." Then I decided it was time to go elsewhere. I went to see Clint in the kitchen. I had something to ask him. I was missing my lighter in all this confusion. "So how do I work this 'fire creating' thing?" I asked him.

            "I'll show you the most basic thing and no more. First simply think of fire, visualize one in your mind."

            I did so; I imagined a bonfire at a party.

            "Alright? Now snap your fingers and hold out your hand as fast as you can."

            As I snapped my fingers and held out my hand I felt a pulse in my arm and a flame appeared in my hand. It was just burning by itself and it didn't hurt my hand, although I felt a continuous but faint tingling in my arm. "Wow! That's incredible! But is the tingling in my arm normal?"

            "You won't feel it anymore after some practice. But it's a good start for your first time. It took William three tries before he got it."

            "And how do I put the flame out after?"

            "Just concentrate on what you want and close your hand over it."

            I concentrated on putting it out and closed my hand. The flame vanished. "Thanks." I said.

            "Just don't light any of the furniture, or anything else for that matter, on fire." He said. "Now go away, I'm not teaching you anymore than that for now."