Guardians of Anteverum City

Chapter Fourteen: Preperations

I’m sure we looked odd walking down the residential streets of my hometown. Firstly, we were quite a large party and secondly, the Guardian members other than Reese and I had their own way of dressing, which stood out a lot in normal society. Since it was still early in the afternoon, my parents would not be home. I retrieved the spare key from above the doorframe and welcomed everyone in. I showed them all to the living room, which had enough seating for the majority of the group. I told Reese to bring chairs in from the dining room and went to my room to change clothes. Most of my wardrobe was still at my dorm at Ventura, so I settled with a black top and green shorts to go with my boots. 

  “Make sure you don’t leave any traces of us being here, or Mom will be upset we didn’t stay for dinner,” I warned everyone as I returned downstairs.

  “That brings up an important point, actually,” Rubus said.

  “Huh?”

  “We don’t have a place to stay for the night,” he explained. My eyes widened.

  “We can’t stay here!” I replied all too quickly. Reese smirked.

  “Why not?” What was I supposed to say, ‘I don’t want my parents meeting any of you?’ I decided to go with a less offensive but also truthful statement.

  “I don’t want them hearing about what’s going on. I haven’t told them anything about the Guardians. They’ll worry and they wont want me to fight,” I explained. This was probably my number one fear, aside from them telling Reese anything weird about me. Rubus nodded in understanding.

  “It’s fine, I’ll book hotel rooms for all of us,” Opal offered. I gave her my biggest “thank you” smile before she the left the room to make the phone call.

  “Alright everyone!” Zircon said as he stood up and walked to the front of the room. “The convention for the final battle begins now,” he announced grandly. Garret laughed,

  “Sorry, mate. That sounds silly.” Zircon began to laugh as well.

  “Is this really the final battle?” Reese asked, interrupting their joviality. His face was dead serious. Zircon nodded, regaining his composure.

  “We have fought the knights for many years, hundreds of times longer than the average human life span. Both sides have become weary and the Limiter Sword’s gauge is almost full. It’s now or never, team. We can’t afford to lose.” He was right; this was it. If we mess up here, not only would we lose a battle, but also we would lose a war that had stretched over thousands of years. More importantly, by losing the war, the gods and all of humanity would suffer. I swallowed hard, trying to rid myself of the feeling of suffocation. Was it fair that the hopes of the world, rather, two worlds, rests on the shoulders of just fourteen people?

  “Our key players in this battle will be Lyra and Reese,” he continued. My breath stopped. Why? Why was I a key player when all of demigods were just as strong, but far more skilled and experienced?

  “Lyra has reached Ciphra and, due to our decreased levels of power, she is the most powerful fighter among us. She is a force field user, but her fields are unique. They can harness the elements in a way we have never seen. Reese is the most powerful sword fighter we know of, a skill that is rare among ability users in this day and age. His skills will be essential in the fight against Silus and the limiter sword,” he finished. I turned to Reese, who was sitting besides me, expecting to see a similar expression to the one he wore on my balcony when he told me his fears. I was surprised to see a confident, focused warrior in place of the fearful boy I had expected. I could tell that he wasn’t just putting on a brave face. However, I couldn’t understand my own feelings. Opal re-entered the room and took Zircon’s place standing in front of the group.