The Silver Guardian Bk. 01

The Silver Guardian Bk. 01 Ch. 04

The Silver Guardian

By DaddyIrishman

Once again a huge thank you to Tex Beethoven my editor who polished this into a gem for me!

Book 1

Chapter 4

As Dante stepped outside the cabin for the first time he saw the sun shining overhead; it was just after noon. He laced his boots up and had found and strapped his Spartans to the small of his back as Lily came out the door. She smiled at him and took his hand in hers and walked with him down the steps from the porch and into the woods surrounding the cabin. As they walked along together, Lily began their conversation with an unexpected question.

"What's with the pair of matching guns?" she probed with genuine interest.

Dante smirked and took a moment to formulate his answer. "That's a bit of a long tale with quite a bit of backstory to it." He paused. "Growing up in the orphanage, from a young age I was always a target for the older kids. I was different from them, kept to myself and rarely ever spoke. In fact, I haven't spoken with anyone openly like this ever before, and it's even the most I've spoken at all since I left the Teams.

"Anyway, I was always studying and practicing something. I wanted to know everything I could and was always pushing myself to the limit. It's how I've always been, and I like to think it's served me well. In the orphanage I learned early on that no one was going to help me or look out for me; I was on my own. So I learned quickly how to defend myself and began developing my own form of hand to hand combat to keep myself safe; I practiced daily even at a young age.

"I was dropped off in front of St. Peter's orphanage in Boston when I was only a week old, with my name Dante Silvrash pinned to the blanket I was wrapped in. I was always a big kid, but when you're that young and at times there are kids all the way up to 18 years old around you, it doesn't matter how big of a kid you are, you're still far smaller than many of the others. By the time I was 10 I had shot past 5' tall and was already over 120 pounds of muscle and quiet determination from self-training and study. By that time no one could beat me in a fight, not even the 18-year-olds: I was too fast and too strong and would respond to any attack in a brutal, swift and conclusive manner. From that point on, everyone at the orphanage learned to leave me alone and knew I could take care of myself.

"I became emancipated at 16 and moved into a small and poor one-bedroom apartment in one of the poorer sections of Boston. By then I was over 6' tall and 220 pounds. You'd think people would have left me alone based on my size and physique, but instead it brought opponents out of the woodwork. The street gangs and thugs would either see me as a threat or a challenge and would attack me. That's when the first of the scars I carry began to show up. I was knifed a few times and even shot once." Dante's right hand went to his left shoulder and rubbed the bullet scar that was there. "That's when I picked up this one. But no matter what happened or how many there were, I never backed down and I always won. The gang member that shot me was also the first person whose life I ever took. I broke his neck with my bare hands after he'd gotten his shot off and hit me in the shoulder. He'd hesitated but in that moment I didn't, and it ended up saving my life. I never looked for a fight, but I never shied away from one when it was thrust upon me.

"After that incident I came to realize that I not only couldtake a life but that I wouldif it was in order to save my own life or someone else's I saw in danger. That was always my weakness: I couldn't walk away from someone who truly needed help, regardless of the risk to my own life. I was a warrior, but I wanted to become a protector as well.