Chapter 2

The King

Krad maneuvered to the right, keeping the shield up, so that he drew closer to the stone. The blows were coming faster than ever before, raining down on the shield in wave after wave of attack. Krad was forced to continue defending himself. There was no chance to counter-attack without leaving himself wide open. Slowly his feet moved him further to the right.

The room was filled with blinding white flashes, so close together that everything else in the room was obscured in the fading after-images. Krad was seeing spots. Not just that but his shield was finally starting to crack under the assault. Huge fracture lines spread out across it like lacy cobwebs. Just as the shield started to dissolve in shimmering patches before him, he hit the shield surrounding the stone. He knew it was the shield, even though he couldn't see it, because he could feel the frigid coldness of it sinking into his skin, into the very core of his being. It was like thousands of icy hands brushing at his soul, weighing him. Krad sucked in a breath and shivered.

"I am Guardian Krad of the White Flame," he thought at it. The shield suddenly melted under his touch, having recognized him, and he stepped through onto the other side.

The man's attacks hit the stone's shield and fizzled out. He cursed. The shield wouldn't let him in, all he could do was hammer at it, even though he knew he wouldn't be able to break it in time. Krad stepped towards the stone, knowing he was safe for the moment. Outside the shield the storm raged but like a hurricane, the eye was calm.

Safe for the moment, Krad checked on his Tamer, worried. Satoshi's consciousness was like a flickering light in the back of his mind, battered and dim. Krad carefully shielded it, making sure it didn't dissipate into silvery wisps and float away.

"Krad?" The voice was shaky and faint.

"Stay safe," Krad replied. With a growl, he returned to his surroundings.

The stone hung suspended in the air about five feet off the ground. It pulsed like a heart, giving off small flashes of light as it maintained not only the small shield surrounding it but the dome-like shield that protected the entire city as well. Krad reached out and wrapped his hand around it, feeling its warmth in his palm. The stone's power was immense. He didn't try to move it, but its power infused him just from contact and he could feel it at the center of his being, seething with life. For the moment they ceased to be two separate beings. He was the stone and the stone was him. Their purpose was the same. Against his hand it felt like the fluttering of many wings, like a trapped bird, almost a numbing sensation.

With his other hand, the severely wounded left arm, he reached out toward the man, ignoring the searing pain. The shield between them dissipated under his will and the sheer force of the power he unleashed sent the man skidding along the stone floor a good ten feet. Krad didn't wait to see if the man would get up. He attacked again. Light gathered in his hand and exploded outward in blinding rays. The man started to pull himself to his feet just as the attack hit and he was left bleeding in a heap on the ground.

Krad's left shoulder was beginning to throb in excruciating pain. He was forced to lower the hand to draw power from the stone in order to heal the wound. It healed quickly, the flesh knitting together with ease, though his shirt was still stained red with blood. Afterward he released the stone and walked toward the man.

"For Satoshi," he said, as he used the blinding white power at his control to lift the man up and pin him to the wall with cords as tight as Satoshi's had been. The man's head lolled to the side and he moaned, bleeding freely from several severe wounds. He seemed only half aware of his surroundings.

"Who are you?" Krad demanded. "Tell me who sent you and I might let you live." Under his breath though, he added, "Might, as in no chance in a thousand." The man just smiled. An eerie smile. Krad intensified the tightness of the bonds and the man gasped.

"My master would never forgive me for failing," he choked out, his voice a raw whisper. And though Krad would certainly have thought him past being able to call any sort of magic, white light suddenly sprang up between them, blindingly bright. Krad let go, shielding his eyes. There was a raw, high-pitched scream of agony that seemed to go and on forever and then the light started to fade away. When it had finally disappeared and Krad could open his eyes there was nothing left of the man but a few bits of ash drifting like black snowflakes to the floor.

Krad sighed. That was one Power less in the world. Altogether there should have been six Powers under the king: three white and three black. Someone would be called to take his place, of course, but it would take a few weeks to figure out who. The Powers were supposed to serve the king, not attack the magical stones that kept their world intact. If one had gone rogue the king would need to know about it. All it would take was the theft of one of those stones...

Krad headed for the door, his job done. That's when he caught a glimpse of his hand. Where it had touched the stone the skin was white. The residue of true power. It would fade in time.

Now all he had to do was talk to the king...

xxx

Hiwatari was sleeping when a soft sound in the room jolted him upright, instantly alert. The room was dark except for the soft squares of light along the carpet from the moonlight shining through the windows. Everything was quiet. Hiwatari sat upright for a minute, trying to stare past the moonlight into the darkness beyond, to see if there was anything out of the ordinary. Nothing moved but an uneasy feeling had gripped his stomach and he frowned, suspicious. Something wasn't right.

He pulled the blankets back and slid out of bed, his feet hitting the floor softly. Once he was out of the moonlight he could see a little better but the huge room looked as it had before. Unconvinced, he brought his hand up and had just started to flare light through the room when a hand was suddenly placed on his shoulder.

"Hiwatari." He jumped and spun around, growling in exasperation when he saw who it was.

"Krad," he replied, his voice harsher than usual as he fought to calm down. "What the heck are you doing?" The Guardians were the only thing he was truly wary of. Some people might have believed they were only urban legends but Hiwatari knew better. They were a force unto themselves, appearing and disappearing whenever they felt like it. They were ruled by no one, they were stronger than any single one of the Powers, and to his knowledge they only had one weakness: the stones. Without those they would cease to exist.

"I came to warn you," Krad said. Hiwatari was instantly wary. Guardians didn't just show up for no good reason.

"About what?" he asked sharply. Krad stood, looking down at him for a moment, taking his time. Hiwatari patiently waited him out (two could play at that game) and shifted slightly so that the bright, moonlit windows were behind him. Just as the light had blinded him earlier as he'd tried to see into the shadows of his room, the light would now make it hard for Krad to see his face.

"The Powers," Krad finally replied. "One of them tried to steal a white stone tonight."

"And I bet that just really ticked you off," Hiwatari thought, deriving a little pleasure from the conversation at least.

"He's dead," Krad continued. That got to Hiwatari.

"What!" Hiwatari demanded. "You killed a Power! Do you know how hard it will be to find the next one chosen to wield the Power?" (A/N: Power actually refers to the magical force the person wields, but sometimes to the people themselves. When one dies the Power or magical force inside him or her chooses a new host, usually a descendent of the original host but not always, as you will see)

"You should keep better control of your Powers, Hiwatari," Krad replied, "if you value them alive."

"Blast you!" Hiwatari said.

"Oh," Krad continued, indifferent. "I'd watch my back if I were you. Where there's one corrupted Power there are often more."

"Is that a threat?" Hiwatari asked, his voice a low whisper. White light sprang to his hands.

"I don't threaten," Krad replied. "I have no need to." The white light in Hiwatari's hand didn't fade.

"You may be a Guardian," Hiwatari said. "But I am the king."

"I do not fear your power." Nevertheless, Hiwatari noted how Krad's eyes warily followed the path of the light.

"You may be strong enough to get into my palace undetected," Hiwatari thought to himself, "but despite your cynical tongue you are not truly fool enough to ignore my power. You know the truth." He chuckled. "You, Krad, know better than to take me lightly. You are not invulnerable yourself."

"Feh!" Krad stepped around him and walked to the window, bathing himself in the moonlight as he looked out onto the spacious grounds. The light made him look pale and unearthly, a creature from another dimension, with dark shadows for a face. "Perhaps, but if anything happens to those stones it will be your neck as well as mine. Should they disappear the shield they support will fall and the world with it. I should think you'd have a vested interest in keeping them safe."

"You think you know so much, Krad," Hiwatari thought, "but you haven't the slightest clue." Hiwatari's eyes narrowed but the white power in his hand faded into the darkness.

"We're not so different sometimes, Hiwatari." Somehow Krad made even that sound like a threat. There was a sudden fluttering of white feathers and bright white light. Hiwatari covered his eyes. When at last the light disappeared and he could look up again, there was no sign of Krad. The room was empty again. Hiwatari stood ice-still where he was; the quick beat of his heart the only sound. A dead Power was an obstacle he didn't want to face. It could take ages to find the new one. The Guardian had cost him hours of work and setbacks. Hiwatari could feel his fury rising as he thought about it.

When he finally spoke, however, it wasn't a sudden explosion of rage, but rather a cold whisper that seemed to freeze the air in the room.

"Drat that Guardian seven ways to the void!"

xxx

To Shimmering Solitude: You can have a thousand people read the same story and every single one of them will dislike something different. I don't know about you but in the books I read he's just called Satoshi, and I've never understood all those weird endings anyway! (peace to anyone who does good for you) Besides, it makes it a lot less confusing to just call everyone by their names here in the US! I really appreciated your review, though. Criticism is always welcome!

To Ahyma Midori: I'm so glad you like it! Krad is my favorite character, I think, and I like writing about him. Don't worry, he hasn't figured out why the stones are being attacked yet either, but he will! Have patience and keep reading!