Guardians Of The Zodiac

Chapter 1

I'm no hero.

I'm barely even a Guardian.

Not even the best fighters on the Estate could have prepared me for real world combat when everything seemed to be life or death. One wrong move and that could mean the end. Not only for you, but for everyone you claim to protect.

And I did consider that maybe this was a huge mistake and maybe I should have never left and gone rogue, but it was a little late to be having second thoughts now.

"Okay, pull it together," a groan escaped my lips as I pushed myself back up onto my feet, leaning back on a charred tree for support.

All I wanted to do was take a nice stroll through the woods, have some lunch in the shade, and enjoy the gentle warmth of the sun on my face. Needless to say, making a pit stop to say hi to some bandits that were terrorizing a village was not on the agenda.

Trinkette, my Tinker Sprite Companion, was the first to fly over to where the dead tree caught my fall. She hovered in my face while initiating a body scan.

"You okay, Tara? I underestimated the circumference surrounding that last explosion."

"I'm fine, Trinkette. Nice job dismantling that thing. It'll be easier to take them out without flaming missiles being aimed at us." I offered a smile while staggering a few feet forward.

Six bandits on the run armed with four flaming missile machine guns against some ill-trained magic users did not make for a fair fight.

"Next time a little explosive warning would be nice before you start tinkering, Trink." Serena, the eldest sister Sprite, scolded. "And Tara, you have got to be the clumsiest Charge I have ever been assigned to."

"I'm the only Charge you've ever been assigned to." I put my hands on my hips.

"As far as you know." she mimicked my actions, causing me to roll my eyes.

Taking on the role as leader of our team gave her a complex and an attitude that I didn't appreciate, but it wasn't exactly the time to fight about it.

"Okay, whatever. You're up, Serena." I instructed.

"Right!" Serena nodded, taking to the sky as she conjured up multiple icicles out of thin air.

I concentrated on Serena's magic essence, sending her all the power she needed through our Link magic as she circled the village from above and began to smother the flames with a thin layer of ice that fell like snow.

"Tara, look out!" Iris, my final Companion, had a fire trail scorching the path behind her as she sped in my direction.

It took me a moment to realize that one of the bandits was charging at me with a machete in his hand, but I remained planted in my spot and placed my trust in Iris to get the job done. And I was right to do so. Always the quick one on her feet (or in the air) Iris focused on the grip of the blade, making the piece of metal so unbearably hot that the bandit was forced to drop his weapon. Then, I spun my body, swung my leg up and slammed the back of my heel into his face, making him stumble to the ground, eating dirt on his way down.

"Thanks for the back up, Iris!" I held up my hand for her to high-five.

"You got it!" Iris shouted and flew back into the action, deflecting every fire ball thrown her way.

For a six-inch sized magic sprite, Iris packed the most punch no matter how big her opponent was.

"Looks like their main source is fire magic!" Trinkette yelled back to me after analyzing the details of the next missile shooter that she had moved on to.