Crystal Guardian

6

Flames tore at the ship's sides. Evie ran to the wreck without hesitation, launching herself into the smoke. Watching her disappear from sight, Aldric hesitated before setting off himself.

They peered into the wreckage. Wires fizzled and snapped, fire stripped material off the interior walls. It bubbled and peeled, exposing the bare metal beneath. Evie squinted through the smog, and covering her mouth with the tatty sleeve of her cardigan, climbed into the burning compartment.

Squinting, Aldric waved his arms to try and clear some of the smoke.

'Evie,' he shouted over the roaring flames. 'Do you need a hand? Have you got them?'

Someone groaned but no-one emerged. Aldric stepped back as more smoke grated against his face. He gazed across the rest of the wreck. Parts were scattered across the clearing but it had clearly been a small ship.

Aldric tried to swallow the dryness in his throat. With his lungs urging him to back even further away, Aldric considered the possibility that the young girl had been mistaken. Perhaps her cousin had been thrown from the ship and now lay somewhere in the woods surrounding them.

An orange glow, not caused by the fire, momentarily lit up a space in the smoke.

'What was that?' cried Aldric, almost falling flat on his back. 'Get out, Evie. It's gonna explode.'

'Aldric?' Evie croaked. 'Please...help!'' He could hear her choking.

With trembling limbs, Aldric raced forwards and pulled himself into the compartment. The metal structure burnt his hands and singed holes in his tatty clothes as he clambered through. The glow burst amber once again and highlighted the outline of another person's face.

'What's going on?' Aldric coughed. Evie crawled over to where they had seen the face. Reaching out a hand, she let it rest where the person's body should have been, jerking it back when she realised she had been touching nothing but the grey air. Just as she reached out for a second time, the body of a boy flickered back into existence as if some sort of energy fizzled across his skin. Before he could disappear, Evie grabbed hold of his jacket and pulled with all the strength she could muster, managing to drag him to the edge of the wreck. But there was a drop. One shove from Aldric and the boy tumbled out onto the dusty ground. December rushed over. She grabbed the boy's arms whilst Evie gripped his feet. He flickered again, like a candle being snuffed out and Evie dropped his legs in surprise. Unfazed, December dragged the boy across the dry dirt floor until they were a safe distance away.

'Don't be alarmed,' she said. 'He must be an Isahiel. They can't take physical form on other planets without harnessing the energies of their own world.'

'I've never met an Isahiel before,' said Evie. She turned to the boy's cousin. 'Are you alright?' The girl gave a shy nod before looking towards the ground where her invisible cousin lay.

'What's your name?' asked Aldric.

'Feliciana,' she replied. 'And my cousin's called Raiden.'

Without warning, she jumped up and grabbed the pendant from Aldric's neck, snapping it at the chain.

'Hey,' he exclaimed, a rush of cold enveloped his entire body as his physical appearance was lost. 'Give that back.' Feliciana looked past him, mumbled her apologies and crouched to the floor. Feeling the air with her delicate hands, she found Raiden's head and tied the pendant around his neck. For the first time, everyone could see him. He was an older teenager, uneven stubble marking his sharp cheekbones. He wore unusual clothing not fashionable to Atarikka. Most striking of all was his thick black pocket-laden jacket and chunky boots with belts running across them.