Light Guardian

Chapter 15

I recovered quickly under the care of Amos, Rose, and Clarisse. Rhea had also fretted over me and made sure to get me all the food that I would need. Being with them had filled the lonely hole in my chest, and I felt complete once more. This is what I had missed when I was gone, and I know that I would never consider doing that again. No matter how scared I was. I would not become a coward again.

    Training had begun again once my paw healed fully, and this time it was more brutal. Luckily for me, Nakoma was able to heal all of the wounds from training, and she helped me learn how to harness the light that was attached to me physically.

    Recently she seemed to be on edge. During our last training session, I swear that I heard her whisper, "You are ready. You have to be ready"

    Today I was awoken by this intense feeling of dread that struck me like a bolt of lightning. I jerked up, rushing, to my paws. The feeling of dread began to grow more and more. Soon I couldn't handle it and panic rushed through me. My breathing became panicked and rushed, and Rhea, who was sleeping by my side, jerked up. Her fur was unkempt and her whiskers twitched in worry. "What is it?"

    I stood in silence for a moment, feeling the dread and panic that had overcome me, "I don't know..."

    I began to pace, trying to release the nervous energy that had built up within me. Suddenly everything became too overwhelming and I began to sob erratically. Rhea ran over to my side, rubbing against me soothingly, trying to figure out what was wrong. But I didn't know, and that scared me.

    Something was coming. Something had to be coming. It was big, extremely malicious. Power radiated from where the sun sets, and it kept getting closer and closer.

    My mind flashed back to when I first saw King. How my body felt an overwhelming feeling of dread wash over it, how my paws were paralyzed to the ground. This was worse. It was so much worse. The power and the feeling of darkness kept building. More and more.

    A strangled whimper escaped my mouth, "He's coming."

    Rhea pushed up against me, her tail soothingly rubbing against my side. Worry had etched onto her slender face and she knew, but she asked anyway, "Who is coming, Varian? Who?"

    Terror rushed over me as my body began to tremble. I stammered out, "K-King. This time- This time it is wo-worse." Tremors racked my body and I fell on to the ground. Water was cascading from my eyes and my pelt was flickering.

    Rhea jerked back at my words and ran off. No doubt to inform Zohar of the looming threat, the inevitable battle that would take place.

    Paws thundered towards my den, and Amos rushed to my side. He rubbed up against me, whispering that everything would be alright. That I had trained for this, and I had survived him before so I can survive him now.

    Nothing worked. The panic kept increasing and increasing. Growing stronger and stronger until I could no longer force my body to move at all. I was stiff, paralyzed with fear. It kept growing, they kept coming.

    Screeches haven't filled the air yet. They are still far away. That was worse. They emitted a formidable power that was causing me to tremble and cry from a great distance. There had to be hundreds of individual shadows, there had to be many allies and corrupted souls that are coming. I would die. I know I would die. There is no way that I could survive such ferocious opponents, no way I could fight off that many shadows.

    But this time I had friends. I had a new family, I had a pack to protect me. Amos's words rung in my head, "Don't let the guilt haunt you, turn it to rage at the shadows and King, use it to your advantage." Don't let it haunt me, don't let it don't let it.