The girls made their way up to Hay Lin's room where, after checking to make sure the coast was clear, she closed the door behind them. "Damn, Hay Lin, when's the last time you cleaned up this place?" Irma asked seeing the devastated condition her room was in.
Blushing, the Chinese girl apologized for the mess. "Sorry. It's just that with all my outdoor activities I haven't been home much."
"It's not so bad." Taranee told her.
"She's right?" Irma said. "Have you seen Will's room?" Only four girls laughed.
Will sneered in her direction but decided against a retort and instead strode into the center of the room. "Okay, guys, focus!" she turned around. "We have a bad guy downstairs and we need to find out who he is and what he's up to."
"Not to mention who he works for." Taranee added.
"If a guy that evil is working for someone else," Cornelia began but paused with a shudder. When she spoke again there was a look of sincere fear in her eyes. "I never want to meet him." A friendly hand touched her shoulder soothingly. Hay Lin tried to console her but Cornelia's previous experience with that man left her too horrified for any kind words or bright smiles to alleviate. She just gave Hay Lin a blank stare while she rubbed her arms which suddenly felt very cold.
Will pulled out the Heart from her shirt. The light flickered violently like a candle struggling to stay lit in a hurricane wind. "That's weird." Irma began. "Did you check the batteries on that thing lately?"
"Enough with the jokes, Irma!" Corny scolded. Irma would have said something else but the look on the blonde's face stopped her cold. "This isn't funny. That guy nearly killed me with his mind, who knows what kind of power he can wield when he gets serious. For all we know he could be the one that's making the Heart of Kandrakar act like this."
"He'd need to be pretty powerful indeed." Taranee studied the Heart as a doctor would a sick patient. She touched it and for a moment the Heart returned to its original radiance, but only for a moment. The light shuddered once again. "Hmm." The dark-haired girl scratched her chin.
"What is it?" Will asked knowing the look Taranee gets when she's formulating a hypothesis.
"Well it's just a hunch, but it could be all the negative energy the Heart's feeling that's making it flicker like that. Notice when I touch it," she did so again and for another moment it shone brilliantly. "How it reacts to my positive energy. Perhaps that guy's aura is so dark that it's overpowering the Heart."
"His dark aura?" Will asked.
"Yin and Yang." Hay Lin started. "An equal and an opposite."
"That would be my guess, Hay Lin." Taranee cleaned her glasses with a handkerchief.
There was a moment of silence which, unsurprisingly, Ms. Lair broke. "So what's the plan of attack? Do we go in wings blazing or take him out covert style?"
"Covert." Taranee put her glasses back on. "I suggest we set a trap to capture him."
"Agreed." Will nodded to each of them. "What do you think, Cornelia?"
"I say let's kick his ass." She spoke with fierce determination. Her remark brought a smile to everyone. The girls gathered around Will who raised the Heart. "Guardians Unite!"
The whole room was filled with a light as bright as the sun. The five ordinary girls shed their mundane personas for ones that were not of this world. As their clothes melted away they took on a new form with powers and abilities far beyond those of human beings. They each became the representation of nature, a power that knows no bounds. Will was the first to emerge from the light followed by her four best friends and the Guardians of the Veil were back again.
"The Heart!"
"Water!"
"Fire!"
"Earth!"
"Air!"
The girls spoke their elements aloud and the transformation was complete. Little did they know that Mrs. Lin was making her way upstairs at the moment when she saw strange lights coming from her daughter's room. "Hay Lin?" she approached the door and listened in. "Oh! I love this body!" she heard Irma's voice saying.
"I am hot!" Taranee said before Mrs. Lin heard a strange crackling sound.
"Ow! Taranee, watch where you're pointing that thing! You almost burned me!" Will cried.
"Man I feel tight." Cornelia said. "Have these things gotten bigger or has the suit shrunk?"
"Corny, don't touch yourself there." The voice of her daughter said.
"What? They are mine."
"Now that you mention it." Taranee began. "It does feel kind of tight now. Will, could you loosen me up a bit?"
"Fine. But just don't poke that thing at me anymore, okay?"
What the hell were they doing in there?
"Hay Lin!" her mother knocked on the door. "Hay Lin, open this door right now."
"Crap!" Irma cried.
"Will, do something!" Hay Lin cried.
Will muttered something and there was a flash of light. This time Mrs. Lin opened the door to find all five girls sitting around her daughter's room with big smiles on their faces. "Yes, mommy?" her little girl asked.
"What was that flash of light?" she asked looking around the room. Her gaze fell on Hay Lin. "And just what are you five doing up here?"
They stared at her absently. Hay Lin, realizing she was the center of her mother's attention, shrugged her shoulders. "Just playing."
"Playing what?"
"A game?"
"What kind of game?"
"The one where you have fun."
Mrs. Lin crinkled her nose. "Hay Lin…"
"I love you mommy!" Hay Lin rushed in to give her mother a hug. "We love you mommy!" all the other girls did the same thing nearly tackling Mrs. Lin to the ground. The woman was so confused that for the next few minutes she didn't say or do anything at all.
Outside, the five guardians were standing, or rather floating, in the rain. Being able to control water, Irma redirected the raindrops so that they fell to the side rather than on top of them. They had just barely escaped through the window and had time to shut it before Hay Lin's mom stepped in. "Man that was close." Taranee said.
"To think she almost caught us." Hay Lin said. "I hope our astral drops don't do anything to make her suspicious."
"Hay Lin, knowing those things they're probably spilling every little dirty secret we know." Irma told her. She blushed at the thought.
"So long as they keep her busy." Will looked down. "Let's go." the guardians descended to the alley beside the Silver Dragon. There they found a window that led into the men's restroom. Irma went up to take a peak followed closely by Hay Lin. "Oh. I feel so dirty." She said.
"Maybe because we're in an alley, Hay Lin." Irma strained to see through the rain-soaked window. She was able to make out the interior of the restroom but found that it was completely unoccupied. "Hm. Nobody home."
"But where could he have gone?" Hay Lin asked peering inside.
Taranee turned to Will and Cornelia. "You don't think he left did you?"
"Good riddance." Corny rubbed her arms again.
Will checked the Heart. "I don't' think so. Look." The Heart was still flashing as it had been since the man's arrival. "He's still here."
"Could he be in one of the stalls?" Hay Lin asked Irma.
"I'm not going in there." She leaned in. "I've heard stories about this place."
"Get down here." Cornelia ordered and the two girls complied.
"So now what?" Hay Lin asked. No sooner had she asked the question when the world around them warped and changed. Before the guardians could react they were pulled from the alley and into another plane of existence. It was dark and the floor was wet. A strange mist filled the air, further hindering their vision of the surrounding area. "What just happened?" Irma, being the first to speak, noticed her voice traveled into the distance like an echo. "Whoa." The same thing happened.
"We must have been transported to some other dimension." Taranee said. She gasped suddenly. "I think that guy has pulled us into a trap."
"Weren't we supposed to do the same to him?" Cornelia asked her.
"Yeah, but he got us first." The fire guardian created a ball of fire to illuminate the place. "Stay close so nobody gets lost."
"Too late." All eyes turned to Hay Lin who was looking off into the distance. "Irma…" she pointed. Indeed their friend had somehow strayed away from the group and was nowhere to be seen.
"Irma!" Will called.
"Dammit!" Cornelia cried. "Where could she have gone?"
"Irma!" Hay Lin called.
"Hay Lin, stay in the light!" Taranee pulled her back though the air guardian seemed ready to take off after her friend. "We won't do her any good if we get lost too."
The remaining guardians huddled around Taranee's fireball and stayed there. All around them was mist and darkness that seemed to go on forever. Will looked to the Heart for answers. "Please, find my friend." She told the Heart and when it did nothing she closed her hands around it and wished even harder. "I'm begging you, take us to my friend. Please find her." the Heart reacted. It shined before directing a beam of light in one direction. "There!" she turned to the others. "Follow me." The guardians followed the beam's direction. It led them to a large, dilapidated building that was missing its ceiling and most of its walls. It seemed to be in the epicenter of the mist as that's where it all gathered. They landed on the steps leading toward the entrance. The Heart's beam disappeared.
"Irma must be inside." The leader said.
Cornelia looked around. "What is this place?" she took up the rear as the group followed Will inside. Only part of the door was still left, though that piece looked as if it hadn't been used for centuries. They walked down an ancient hall that ended in a circular chamber. Inside the chamber was what remained of a fountain with a decaying statue on top. The statue's head was gone but it looked to have been some kind of nobleman with a sword planted firmly on the ground and a broken hand that once held onto something. "Where are we?" Will asked taking in the statue.
"Look!" Hay Lin pointed to something at the bottom of the statue. A lone figure stood with her back to the group. "Is that…"
'Irma!" Corny said before she could finish.
At the sound of her name, Irma Lair turned around. She seemed as surprised to see the girls as they did her. "There you are! Where the hell did you guys go?"
Hay Lin rushed over and leaped into her arms and dragging her into an embrace. "We thought we lost you." Irma pulled back. "What?"
The others came up behind with Will stepping forward. "You disappeared so we used the Heart of find you and wound up here."
"Why did you wander off?" Corny asked fully flustered.
Irma held up her hands in defense. "Whoa! What are you talking about? You're the ones that wandered off." their looks told her a different story. "I turned around and you guys were gone. I called out to you but nobody answered. So I went looking. I must have been walking for an hour!"
"Impossible!" Taranee exclaimed. "We found you in a matter of minutes! There's no way you've been traveling for that long."
"Look, I may not have a watch with me but I know the difference between a few minutes and a full blown hour." Irma continued. "It was a long time, put it that way. I called and I walked and I flew and I couldn't find anything. Somehow I wound up here and decided to take a look around. I was checking out this statue when you came in."
"Amazing. Could time pass differently here?" Taranee asked while thinking to herself.
"But why did Irma experience something different from the rest of us?" Will asked the brainy guardian. Taranee shrugged. "It could be that she got too far from the group and got separated. She wound up traveling while we used the Heart to find her in this place. Following its trail must have saved us the trouble of wandering through this place for the same period of time she did." She looked into each girl's confused face. "Look I'm just guessing here. Logic is my forte, not smoke and mirrors."
Cornelia sighed. "Can we get out of here? Please?"
"But we still haven't found the guy." Will said.
"Who cares? Let's just beat it. I hate this place."
"He's behind this there's no doubt." Taranee said.
Hay Lin shivered behind Irma. "There's so much dark chi here. It's creeping me out."
"Speaking of creepy," Irma began. "Have you seen this statue?" she turned toward the marbled structure. "Check this out." she led them to the base of the statue where a strange language was carved into the side. "What do you think?"
"Looks Chinese." Hay Lin said.
After closer inspection, Taranee had to disagree. "Actually it more closely resembles Nordic Runes."
"Fascinating." The earth guardian said sarcastically. "Now can we please leave? It's not like you can read them."
"Shh." Irma told her and then in a whisper said, "Not when she's deciphering." The blonde's eyes narrowed.
Taranee checked the runes over before standing up. "Corny's right. I have no idea what it says."
"Told you."
"So…we leave now?" asked the air guardian hopefully.
"Not until we find that guy." Will said sternly.
"Besides," Taranee began. "We still have no idea where we are."
"I do." All eyes turned to Irma. "We're lost."
"Stupid." Cornelia turned away.
"No jokes, Irma. This is serious." Will looked up at the statue. Despite being beheaded she could still feel its eyes upon her and that only made her even more uneasy. "He's watching us."
The girls looked to her. "He's set a trap and we've fallen for it. That means that the only way out is through him." She clenched her fists. "Let's go." Will took flight leading the girls down another hall that interconnected with scores of others. While the building was in ruins, the girls could only guess at the size and splendor it was in its former days. Sheer curiosity would have made them stay to look around some more, but Will was right. They had to get out of here else they remained trapped forever. The lead guardian tried using the Heart for some sense of direction. Yet, there was no beam, no trail to follow; the Heart would not help them this time. It couldn't…
After flying for what seemed like hours the five guardians stopped to take in a breather. "Will, we've been going around in circles. I don't think we're ever going to find this guy." Irma said while resting against a wall.
"My wings are sore." Hay Lin moaned.
"I'm getting sleepy." Cornelia said.
"I am so out of breath." Taranee said.
Will regarded her friends one by one. She could not remember when she had seen them so weak and helpless. The Guardians of the Veil had overcome numerous obstacles in their past battles against Prince Phobos and his minions but something about this place, about their new enemy, was slowly but surely defeating them. They were losing this fight though had yet to fight back and it wouldn't surprise Will if this had been his plan all along. If they didn't do something soon they could very well be trapped here forever. That thought frightened Will more than anything else.
"We can't give up. We're the guardians. We've been in tight situations before."
"Name one worse than this." Irma dared her.
"Face it, Will." Cornelia slumped to the ground. "We're trapped and we're never going to get out."
"Don't talk like that!" Will told her.
"Why not? It's the truth." Corny hugged her knees. "We're trapped. He's got us."
"Cornelia!" Hay Lin said.
"We're dead!"
"What had gotten into you?" Will forcefully pulled her up soundly surprised by how weak she felt. "Look, I know that guy scared you back at the restaurant. I know you're afraid. But we're all together now and we won't let him hurt you again. You're the Earth Guardian! You have powers he can never possess. Next time you see him you'll let him have it and make him sorry for ever hurting you in the first place." Will raised her chin. "Okay?"
Cornelia stared back at her for a moment. She managed a weak smile. "Thanks, Will."
"Hey!" Hay Lin blurted out. "Will, why don't you use the Heart to form a portal? That way we can just warp out of here."
"I don't know, Hay Lin." Taranee said. "With the Heart the way it is I wouldn't recommend using its travel feature."
"It's worthy a shot." Will said not wanting to put a damper on the shred of hope she saw light up in Cornelia's eyes at Hay Lin's suggestion. She raised the Heart and tried to create a portal. Nothing happened. Will tried again but the Heart would not comply. "What is wrong with you?" she asked.
Hay Lin sighed. "So much for that idea."
Will wasn't giving up and tried harder. Her friends watched her vain attempts to make a portal and could see the strain on her face. "Work, dammit!"
"Will," Cornelia began.
"Why isn't it working?" Will summoned all her willpower from the deepest reaches of her soul. "It's not going to happen, Will." Corny told her.
"Yes…it…will!" no sooner had she said that when the Heart reacted and shone brighter than they had seen it in weeks. "Yes!" the lead guardian exclaimed. The others were overjoyed as well. That joy, however, was replaced with confusion and fear when the hall they were in lit up. "What's going on?" Hay Lin yelped as she felt herself being pulled away from her friends. Cornelia screamed, Irma cursed and Taranee struggled to come up with an explanation. "NO!" Will cried. "No! Not again!" she yelled at the top of her lungs as she was blinded by the light, her friends vanishing before her eyes.
She didn't know how long she'd been out, couldn't recall what happened. The first thing Will realized when she regained consciousness was that she was alone. Sitting up, the Keeper of the Heart rubbed her head trying to sort out the random images running around in there. She finally opened her eyes to find that she was in a garden. It was unlike anything Will had ever seen before; the plants and vegetation were alien to her in everyway. It was dark out and the stars were beautiful. The young woman was at a lost for words, could not find her voice, and for a moment could not even remember her name. Slowly the memories returned to her, her mother, Heatherfield, Sheffield Institute, her best friends, Matt, Caleb, Elyon, Meridian, Prince Phobos, the Silver Dragon, the Heart of Kandrakar, the light…
Her eyes shot open. "No!" she cried.
"Guardian." A masculine voice said.
Will jumped to her feet and searched for the voice. "Who said that? Who's there? Where are you?" she asked all at once. She received her answer as a young man in dark clothing stepped out from behind a stone pedestal. His hood was pulled over his head so to hide everything but his mouth which was curled into a smile. "Satisfied?"
"Where am I?" she asked. "And where are my friends?"
"As to your first question you are in the Garden of Splendors, my dear girl. As for the latter…well let's just say you're the lucky one."
A twinge of pain struck her heart. Suddenly she felt tears in her eyes. "What have you done with them?"
"Nothing. I'm here with you and that's all that matters. Oh but how rude of me, I forgot to introduce myself." The man pulled back his hood revealing his shining white eyes and pitch black hair. He was very handsome, about Caleb's age or just a bit older, and had a smile that would have melted most women's hearts. He performed a ceremonial bow and dipped his head. "My name is Soren. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
Will wasn't taken in. "I want to see my friends!" she demanded.
Soren stood back up. "I'm afraid that's not possible. Besides," his eyes lit up even more. "You should worry about yourself now."
