Garder mon Ame

Chapter Twelve: Words Words Words

Great sorrow seized my heart on hearing him,

for I had seen some estimable men

among the souls suspended in that Limbo.

~Dante's Inferno

What happens when you die twice?

Cyra did not think of this until he was sure he had killed a person.

A knock on his door startled Cyra out from his daydreams. He was thinking of his sister, of times they had played together when they were little. Simple times taken for granted then, but missed so sorely now.

He opened the door to his modest room, and a small child barreled into him causing them both to tumble to the ground.

"Ouch!" Julian exclaimed, getting up and rubbing his elbow where he landed on it.

"Julian, what's going on?" Cyra could sense the uncertainty in the little boy's face. His frown was deep, and his blue eyes were aged far beyond that of a small child. It was odd to see such concern imprinted on the face of a kid; are the young not the most fortuitous of all, the most brave? So whatever had Julian on edge, Cyra knew it could not be good.

"Julian?"

Julian stuck his tongue through his missing teeth and gummed it for a few moments before replying. "Well, I know we won't have trouble with this, but it's not exactly . . . customary to have a newbie fight a Turned."

Cyra's heart leaped. I am a Guardian. "I can handle whatever you have for me. I will do anything."

Julian gave him a small smile. "You see, I told Didier we would be fine, but he did not seem to think it was such a good idea. So I asked Emery instead."

"And?"

"Emery could care less. He knows I'm strong. I can handle a Turned with my eyes closed." To make a point of this, he clasped a hand over his eyes and smirked.

"And what about me?"

Julian uncovered one eye. "You have me as your mentor. I'm one of the best. Gabriel just hasn't made me a Warrior yet because, well, you know, Gabriel."

"He's our leader," Cyra said, vaguely paraphrasing Emery's ideologies. "We should respect him."

"Adults are no fun," Julian pouted, but he helped Cyra up to his feet with surprising strength. "Come on, have a sense of humor."

When Cyra gave a weak attempt at a smile, Julian helped him out by pulling his lips up. "There we go! Now don't think of this as work. Think of it as a game. Only, if you die, then you're screwed. No more Guardian duties for you. But that won't happen because Didier says that you're smart, huh Padge

Cyra wondered how that nickname had stuck, but he just nodded his head to appease the small child. When he did, Julian's wings fluttered in excitement.

"All righty! Let's go then!" Julian grabbed Cyra's hand (how tiny it was in his own!), and led him towards the basin that sat in the center of Cyra's room. When he said the name of Cyra's hometown, he looked at the tiny angel with surprise.

"What? Oh. Yeah. That's where you're from, huh? I'll explain everything on our way."

The mists rose up and enveloped the two Guardians, and Cyra felt a tugging sensation, not unpleasant, against his cooling skin. His vision went dark for a few moments, but when the fog cleared, he was standing on a street corner he recognized, one by his old school where fast food restaurants had taken over to exploit the hungry teenagers. Cyra always had money for the dollar menu.