To Ally with the Guardians

Chapter 23: To Save and Protect

Matt's eyes darted everywhere, ever searching for anything that could be Haven. He and Whisper descended some stairs and approached a group of Fearlings in a corner, and his hands shook. Maybe one of them was his girlfriend, or at least someone else he was looking for. He gave Whisper a hopeful glance, and she returned it with a thin smile.

*/*/*/*

"Could you get those Fearlings?" Mallory asked as quietly as he could to Angelia. Man, if only he had Whisper's powers. "I see something else dangerous I should take care of."

"We should take care of it together," Angelia said back, matching his volume and looking around, "after we try to cure these Fearlings and see if one's Haven, Vivian, or a Prophecy Person. What do you see?" Oh shoot.

"No, you couldn't help with this." It wasn't exactly untrue. She had no weapons or powers. "Also, it would be quicker if I went by myself while you handled the Fearlings."

Angelia crossed her arms and raised her voice ever so slightly. "Quicker doesn't mean safer." Children's screams echoed somewhere in the cave, and Pitch stirred. Mallory froze, making sure the cloaked man didn't notice the people above him before responding.

"No, but this thing might attack us if I don't go and take care of it before it gets here." Mallory did his best to put on a confident yet worried expression, and his best was strong, having had the lead role in many school plays for his natural acting skills greatly strengthened through others' teaching and his own research. He hadn't used it in a while, though, so he was a little out of practice.

"What is it?" Angelia glanced around the cave again, but she still didn't look right at Pitch's spot.

"I can't tell." That was a lie. But this was a specific situation, and Mallory had only said it because his kids' lives were in danger. After this, he would be sure to come clean. He ignored the fear of returning to his dark high school days and continued, "I can't tell what it is from here, but it doesn't look good. It's heading our way." He pretended to stare off in the distance, gauging how long he had until the fictional creature arrived. Once everyone returned to the Warren, he would tell them he had killed Pitch. They might not trust him anymore because of his lies, but it wasn't like he was going to see them every day once the threat had been eliminated.

Angelia's face grew pale in the poor lighting, though she still didn't see Pitch and tried looking where Mallory was. "Okay, you go do that. I'll look for Haven and the others."

Mallory nodded and turned around, tiptoeing across the path and down the stairs, keeping his gaze as far as possible from his target.

*/*/*/*

Matt cured the remaining Fearling, the child's cries eerie in the echoey cave. Not one of the creatures had been his girlfriend or any other person they were looking for.

"We should search somewhere else," he told Whisper. "Where were the other two places you sensed something, again?"

Whisper shook her head. "We should check where no one else is looking: where there are Fearlings by themselves. I think I can tell the difference between them and the Nightmares now. We need to go this way." She pointed and started off on her trek back up the stairwell.

Matt followed, his gut squeezing itself. Not finding Haven right away was making him uneasy. Could they have maybe come up with a better plan?

*/*/*/*

Mallory inched toward the missing fourth wall of the "room" Pitch was in. The human's heart pounded, shaking his chest with great thuds. Fortunately, the enemy was turned away from him, still lying on the ground. How long had he been there, weak and weary? How much earlier could Mallory have come and taken him out? Sure, the Guardians were keeping the Fearlings and Nightmares away at the moment, but other than that...?