Chapter -10-

"Hey, what are you doing out here?" Lady asked, confused.

Maia looked over her shoulder to find Lady standing behind her.

"Oh my...what happened?" Lady breathed, noticing Maia's bloody arm and the blood that was also coming out of her nose, which Maia wasn't even aware of.

"I had some visitors." Maia answered, shrugging.

Lady had just finished cleaning Maia's wound and was now rolling a white bandage around it to stop the bleeding. "So your friend has turned over to the dark side, hm?" Lady asked.

Maia, whom had been staring at the broken windows while pressing a white cloth to her nose, nodded. "Yes. And she's not the only one."

"So what now?" She had finished the bandage and was now looking at the guardian from aside.

Maia slowly breathed in and out, her arms lay limp at her sides as her hands rested in her lap. "I don't know. It's all one big mess. Especially in my head." She closed her eyes, trying to focus on the bits and pieces of memories that were flying by. "My memory is back now but...the fake memory also remains. It's difficult to separate one from the other."

Lady watched Maia's reflection, creating a moment of silence before she spoke again. "Maia...can I run something by you?"

Maia opened her eyes and looked at Lady. "Of course."

Out of the duffle bag Lady had been carrying when she arrived, she pulled an old weary looking book with a cover made out of leather. The colour of the cover used to be brown, but the thick layer of dust gave it a greyish appearance.

Curiously Maia watched as Lady opened the book and started skipping through the paging, clearly looking for some specific chapter.

"Here it is. I found this story in the library. I think...it's about your family." Lady said, turning the book towards Maia.

"What's this? You're having book club meetings here now?" Dante asked as he entered his office. He notices the broking glass on the floor and cursed. "What the fuck happened here!?" He shot an accusing glare towards Lady.

Lady just waved it away. "Don't worry about the glass, we'll fill you in later." She was watching Maia's expression while the guardian was reading the story, and casually read along with her.

"This story is false..." Maia said after reading the pages of the story Lady had given her.

"What story?" Dante asked confused, holding up his hands.

Lady shushed him. "Her memory is returning, be quiet."

The blonde haired female looked up from the scribbled letters. "There are some things that have occurred. Like the love between man and guardian which is described here." Her finger lingered on a passage in the book.

"But that wasn't you..." Lady stated unsure.

Maia shook her head. "No...it was Rhea..."

"About 500 years ago, Rhea came to me for advice. You see we became guardians in the same year, that's extremely remarkable. It gave us a strong bond. We were friends. Some say that we even knew each other from before we became what we are now. And that that is the reason why we know each other's human names."

"Human names?" Dante looked confused. "What so your name isn't Maia?"

Maia smiled softly. "It is, I am the guardian Maia. When you become a guardian, you leave behind your human life. But as a human I was born as Emily."

"Emily." Dante repeated. Somehow it suited her more then her guardian name.

Maia continued. "Rhea told me she had fallen in love with one of her subjects. His name was Thomas." Maia smiled when she remembered him. "For a human, he was quite extraordinary. I didn't blame her for falling in love with him, we are still part human so our feelings cannot be stopped. Rhea wanted out. She wanted a life with Thomas, a real life...as a human. She needed me to cover for her. Do her work so our 'superior' wouldn't notice. So I took...'dubbel shifts' so to say... Our gathering wasn't for another twelve years, so she had time to figure out what to do. She adapted her previous human form and stayed with Thomas, while I took her responsibilities as a guardian, as well as my own.

After a year, Thomas and Rhea...or Katherine (her human name) got married and they soon a child, Daniel." Her face lit up at mentioning the child. "Daniel was the most perfect little child I had ever seen. Even though in many ways it was impossible, Katherine had made me godmother." Maia's tinkling laugh filled the office. "They thought their happiness could last them forever. But they were wrong. Eight years into their marriage, Alexander found out about it and he became bitter. Or perhaps it was jealousy, I'm not sure...

He made Thomas ill...Thomas and Katherine thought it was a natural sickness, but it wasn't...I would find out later that it had been Alexander. When Thomas died, Alexander turned the villagers against Katherine and Daniel. They accused them of black magic, of murdering her own husband.

She was put in prison and her son, the 'demon spawn' in a different cell.

Alexander, whom was our superior, contact person for the source, our companion...our brother, told me to save Katherine. He told me he knew about her betrayal, but that our family was willing to give her another chance, if she came back to us. It was a lie, our family had no idea of what was going on. Alexander had just made it up, but I didn't know... We can only read the minds of humans, not of our own kind. Only higher guardians are able to search our minds."

"Wait...what?" Dante was sitting in his chair at his desk with his feet kicked up. "You can only read the minds of humans?"

Maia nodded. The devil hunter tilted his head. "Not of demons then?"

Maia shook her head. "Then how did you read mine that first night?" He cocked an eyebrow at her. Okay sure, he was only part demon, but still...it was bothering him.

"You have a human half. But...you're right. I can't read your mind." she confessed.

Dante blinked. "Then how did you..." That's when he stopped. Of course...they hadn't been alone in his office. Patty had been there as well.

Maia smiled as she noticed that Dante had figured it out.

"But then...that feeling..." he said, narrowing his eyes.

She shrugged. "You were coming in too close, I had to do something to stop you. You could have been out to kill me for all I knew. And I did try to read your mind, but your demon half is...quite strong."

Dante grinned smugly. "I don't like to brag, but...yes it is." He winked at her, earning a groan from Lady.

"Just let her continue the story already."

Maia nodded. "I visited her in her cell and told her this lie, but she wouldn't hear of it. 'It's okay Emily'." She told me. "I'm not scared. I will not abandon my son and we will both join my husband in death. It is alright. Let me die...please.'

Of course I was shocked, I didn't want my friend to die, but she pleaded and I caved. I would ignore my orders and let them burn at the stake. I wouldn't have come on judgement day if Katherine hadn't ask me to...She asked me to be there for her, in the crowd. 'Grand me this last request. Please be there. Just one friendly face in the crowd...You are my best friend, my sister, and I will love you always.' "

Maia clasped a hand over her mouth and stared at the ground her eyes began to sting. The memories were playing over and over in her head. She swallowed.

"So I was there...I was there and did nothing as many eyes watched them burn.

Alexander was furious. I had ignored him. He confronted me later, when I was alone, using force and anger that was uncommon for a guardian. I searched his eyes and that's when I saw it; a flash of red. He had made a pact with darkness. It was there for just a second, a mere second, but it was enough for me to know. He saw this and became nervous. He would surely be punished if our father found out about his true nature. Thus he attacked me. Used his combined powers of dark and light, crushing mine to the ground. That's when he erased my memory and replaced it for an image that would fit a suitable punishment. Then he pulled Rhea out of death, yanking her away from her son's frightened soul, erased her memory and told her he had saved her life and that I had left her to die. He turned my best friend against me. Of course there came a trial when Alexander told our father his story. I was taken to court where they sought my thoughts for the truth. That's when they found the memories Alexander had placed.

My punishment was an eternity as a unicorn on earth. Incapable of practicing the one goal in my life, protecting and saving souls."

Maia shuddered when she her mind flew back to a memory that was long forgotten.

"You ignored my orders!" Alexander yelled at me, his long elegant form was covered in a silvery cape as he stormed towards me. I stayed put, my features unchanging. He was not going to intimidate me with his behaviour. "Alexander." I simply said as a greeting, acknowledging his presence.

"You...I am your spokesman. You should be following my orders, but you ignored them! What do you think Gabriel would say if he found out you killed one of our sister's!?"

He was hovering over me now, with his tall figure. I slightly lifted my head, unimpressed and remaining the proud and strong guardian I was. "Rhea did not want to be saved. The soul of her son needed her. She wanted to be with her son and husband. I am certain that Gabriel will understand this."I answered calmly yet my counterpart seemed only to rise in anger.

He narrowed his grey eyes at me dangerously, which made me frown somewhat. "It was not her choice...she had made a vow when she became a guardian."

"We did not have a choice either when we made that vow." I blurted out, and immediately snapped my mouth shut. I should not have said that. "Ah," Alexander said, stepping in closer, making me back up. "Are you saying you did not want to become what you are today...?" his tone of voice had changed, but the undertone was trembling with so much anger and hate that I could almost feel it.

"Not me..." "Rhea..." Alexander answered for me. I sighed. "Look Alexander, a piece of Rhea had already died together with Thomas. Let them be...let them rest."

"No!" he yelled. I looked shocked. "She was never supposed to marry that...filthy disgusting human creature." He spat out each and every word and with each word my eyes grew wider. What had happened to Alexander that made him this...dark.

"Human's are weak and feeble and even die when you give them a little bit of rat poison."

"What...?" I asked, stunned at what I was hearing. "What are you saying...have you been poisoning your subjects...?" my eyes widened when I realized something. "Did you poison Thomas...?"

Alexander snickered. "Yes..." he whispered. "That foul creature whom had defiled our sister. It had to be done." I was speechless, unable to remove my eyes from his as he continued. "It was destined to happen. So was the death of that little half-bred child of hers." His face cringed at the thought of the child.

"What have you done..." I whispered in disbelief. "They were happy...she was happy and you destroyed it."

"She was never supposed to be happy!" Alexander yelled in my face. "She is a slave Maia...just like you and me; a slave to the Light, the Source! Forever helping and serving our subjects, souls that don't deserve our help. We are better than them, stronger! We can overpower all if we use our true potential but 'No!', Gabriel wants us to remain the slaves that we are."

Alexander's body started to tremble during his rant. I watched him with a mixture of horror and amazement. I searched his eyes for a hint of the old Alexander, and that's when I saw it 'a flash of red'. It was there for just a second, a mere second, but it was enough.

"What have you become...?" I asked, snapping him out of his rant and catching his attention. "You've crossed...You are no longer a bringer of light, but one of darkness. What have you done Alexander!?" I said, raising my voice.

Alexander's eyes became wide of shock and there it was again, the flash of red. I knew I was in danger. We were there alone, no one was paying us any attention. "So now you know." he mumbled, as I watched his trembling hands grabbing my shoulders.

"You leave me no choice." He said. His face was completely emotionless. He had sacrificed his humanity for demonic power. He moved in closer, his hands slowly reaching for my neck. "It will endanger my plan, everything! The word must not get out.."

R and R