Until We Fly: The Guardian Legacy

Chapter 23: Little Game

-Nim-

My eyes fluttered open, awoken by an unnatural sound.
I sat up, bolt-right in my bed as my gaze was drawn to the phone resting upon my bedside table.

The screen flashed as it rang, playing a strange song that definitely was not my ringtone.

There was only one thing that could be...

My hands moved but I quickly pulled back in hesitation.

No, why would I answer to that monster?
All he wanted to do was scare, torment and threaten us.

But...he did seem to give us small hints...

Perhaps if I listened, I could prevent anymore death...

Taking a deep breath, I grabbed the phone and held it up to my ear.

"...hello?"
I whispered, my voice shaking.

Silence.

"...I know who this is so don't bother trying to scare me."

"You're making a huge mistake..."

"W-what?"

"That girl. The one with red hair. She's dangerous."

"Köleil? Why on earth would she be-"

"Trust me Nim, you don't want to find out."

Köleil? Dangerous?

What kind of madman was this?!

"...why are you doing this to us?"

"Us?"

"My friends. Warriors and Guardians. Why are you hunting us down? What did we ever do?!"

Silence.
He wasn't answering.
He didn't have a reason to give me, he didn't have a reason to do any of the things he was doing.

Or perhaps he was just trying to aggravate me further.

"But Charlie...what did he ever do to you?"

"If you have so many questions...why don't you come up and say hi?"

"Wh...what?"

"Come to the roof. Come meet me, Nim. Come and say hello to your saviour..."

The phone hung up.

He was...he was on the roof...
He was at our house.

He was right here!

I leaped up from my covers and threw on my turquoise dressing gown, scrambling out of the door.

My feet skid across the carpet at each corner. I knew I'd have to go through Tsuki and Tsu's room but I could be quiet.
And I still had that key.

As I silently slid the door open, I prayed that he'd been messing with me and wasn't really there.

Surely he couldn't be so close...

Holding my breath, I tiptoed across the creaky floorboards, past their beds and pulled open the latch.

The trapdoor clunked a little, but didn't wake them up.

I caught the ladder before it hit the floor, quietly resting it down and cautiously making my way up.

Without hesitation, I shut it behind me so no one would follow.