A/Note: Alright, update time. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. It was rewritten once I returned, but I have to say, it was rewritten for the better. Any mistakes, please point them out to me as I'm currently working with WordPad for writing and no editor (because it makes updating faster). So please, enjoy and there's a fun fact here:
Cameron Hawke (the Phoenix first seen in "Survivor: Magic School") is actually a character from a good friend of mine's story (RJF) who can now be viewed in my Author's List and Story Favorites. Cameron is the son of a character who I loved so much in reading his 42 chapter story and he allowed me to include her and her son to flesh him out. It's kinda Crossover, but everything I include from there will be explained in descriptions. So enjoy. He's in this chapter as well. Ramble done, enjoy the chapter.
Chapter 12- Guardians
November 15, 2006
Paige Matthews sat comfortably in her black leather chair behind her desk in her classroom at Magic School watching as her students took the first exam of the year. Classes had finally resumed at the magical academy and while the enrollment process took about a week, most of the teachers that once taught returned to continue to enlighten the minds of the bright young witches. Alumnis of the school knew of the catastrophe of the school being lost and figured it to be best to help out with getting students to return through spells of information and to convince parents that this school will be even safer than the first time, having been protected by the Charmed Ones and magic from the community.
Paige smiled brightly as she continued to look at her students who seemed to feel pretty confident judging from the looks on most of their faces. As some wrote away, others were going at a much slower pace trying not to lose points because they answered too fast. The class Paige taught was Advanced Magical Knowledge and the position seemed to be just right for her. While students are always there to learn, Paige learned that she apparently had much more to learn about magic as well. She was given text books to use and studied them wanting to know the material before teaching it; just as a teacher should do. Whenever she had difficulty, teachers that used to teach the subject that were only around to help out as Temporary Staff would assist her.
The current test the students were taking covered several topics. They had to list all of the ingredients to several potions such as hand-grenade potions, teleportation potions and one to create a phasing particle effect. Paige had promised her class that she would be a little lenient if they were off by an ingredient or two, but had to be somewhat strict later on as potions isn't a subject to be taken lightly, especially if one needs to be made to vanquish a force of Evil. In the older years of the school, it was banned to teach potions that created explosive effects as the Elders and teachers had concern for the potions being used against other students and teachers, but Paige knew her students were all very responsible. Students have a need to feel trusted and Paige was fair enough to provide them that. They were honored to be taught by a Charmed One and wouldn't take advantage of her knowledge, knowing the experiences she was forced to endure with her sisters in their Charmed years.
The next portion of the test covered spells and enchantments. Paige provided life-like situations and the students had to list a proper spell that could assist the situation for the better. There was a surprise segment of the test that was a surprise for a reason. An enchantment was placed on all of the exams and they had to write a spell within a minute's timing that would be capable in vanquishing a demon who possessed the ability to shoot lightning and shapeshift. The task at hand would help them in the long run as witches.
The final section of the test entailed history of magic. The students had to answer several questions about the background of Sea Nymphs, the Guardians of the Hollow and a century's old war between leprechauns and gnomes. The students enjoyed learning about all the criteria on the exam, so Paige shared in their confidence that they would do fine. Although she hated not being able to help charges, she was still making a difference by helping the fourteen young minds in front of her.
The redhead turned her attention to a golden based hourglass sitting by the window and saw that the sand was piling up at the bottom. With all the classes in the past weeks, Paige had learned to tell time from an hourglass and she spoke to the class, "Alright, guys, we have about ten minutes left until the bell rings. If anyone is done, I'm willing to collect them now and you guys can get a move on with getting to your next classes."
Four students stood up, all eyeing their exams giving it a final glance over. One student fell right back down to his seat, realizing he wanted to change the answer to a question. A brunette girl that was more familiar with working alongside Piper with a friend, approached Paige's desk with her hand extended, possessing her exam. "Here you go, Mrs. Matthews."
"Thanks, Jen," the Charmed witch whispered back. "How do you feel you did?"
"It was fairly easy. I don't mean to insult you by that, I just knew that your teaching guided me to delivering the right answers," Jen explained. Jen and her friend Ryan assisted Piper earlier in the year, while Paige was on her honeymoon, to send a Noxon Demon to the Astral Plane in order to allow the two young witches to live their lives without being chased by the two indestructible demons.
"I'm sure you did well," Paige responded. "You're a bright and powerful girl. You'll do well once you bust out of this place." The redhead chuckled as Jen walked out of the classroom, feeling confident that she'll have great results.
She began to collect the other examinations from the students lining up behind each other. She was happy that she was in a magically protected environment where she could converse with her students knowing that answers couldn't be shared as they were blocked with a standard spell. As much as she loved teaching, she was glad that class was almost over so she could find some time to start grading the exams and head on home to meet with Henry as well as check up on Billie.
(X)
Twenty minutes had passed since the exam ended and Paige had already graded six of the exams. She was completely satisfied with the results of her students as no one had failed. For the potions segment the results were near perfect, for the spells segment the students provided reasonable theories for their spell selection and they all knew about the history lessons given to them for the knowledge portion. Paige was now reading a student's answer about the war between the leprechauns and gnomes.
The war between the leprechauns and the earth elementals was started in the year 1904 when a practical joke turned friendly races against each others. The trickster race of fairies had invaded the Garden of Gnomes, lamely named by an elderly gnome who's name happens to be more embarrassing than that of the Gnome territory. The fairies had robbed some treasures that had been found within the earth by the gnomes and brought back to Garden of Gnomes and replaced it with letters that insulted the worth of gnomes. The leprechauns were confronted due to the gossip of the fairies that played the prank and the two races have exchanged insults and attempts at battle ever since. A leprechaun or gnome have never been lost in battle as the two aren't strong enough to take the other out, but some have been injured. The two races live in ignorance and never believe that the fairies are actually behind this, despite confessing.
Paige chuckled at the brief humor in the answer. She asked her students to make taking an exam fun and that the humor wouldn't be used against them while grading. With humor, students wouldn't dread taking an exam so much and Paige would enjoy reading them. The witch's phone vibrated against the oak desk and that was Paige's alarm telling her that she should start heading back home to meet her husband. She stood up and packed the rest of the examinations into her brown leather one-strap bag and hung it over her shoulder. She exited the classroom and closed the door behind her.
She walked down the hall, passing by several students who were wandering around enjoying their free time. Some stopped so they could look at the plaques on the wall, hung up for the honorees of those who helped in reclaiming the school and past contributors. Paige and her sisters along with Billie were listed along the row and were greatly honored by it. The pregnant witch arrived at her destination; the Headmaster's office.
She knocked and entered, to see her brother-in-law Leo hard at work. Leo was offered the position to return to his role as Headmaster and accepted. He initially wanted to explore more mortal occupations, but realized that at the end of the day he probably wouldn't be as satisfied with his work as he would be as Headmaster of the school.
"Leo, I'm heading out now. You don't need me for anything else right?" Paige asked, making her way over to a drawer where she knew Leo stored his mortal enabled teleportation potions, courtesy of Piper.
"No, you're good to go. Did you have any time to look over the exams yet?" Leo asked, not taking his eyes off of a student application.
"The parents will be pleased," Paige answered, pulling out one potion. "You don't mind me robbing from your stock of take-me-home potions, do you?"
Leo placed down the application onto his desk and looked up at Paige. "Go right ahead. I take enough for the week and keep a couple extra in case I send a student home early. I should really get the school nurse to keep more alongside her medicinal stock." He then stood up and began to move over to another cabinet, "Besides, Piper is working on a spell that will create a personal portal for me to just walk through and appear in my office from home. She's been a bit busy with the club and boys to finish it though."
"If she ever needs help, call me on over. I don't get to see my sisters enough anymore. I kinda miss those devilish fiends that brought us together on a more daily basis." She smiled, remembering a time where all three Halliwell sisters lived under one roof. "Well, I'm off. Henry and I are going to see what we should use to start on the baby's room," Paige informed.
Leo smiled and said, "If you ever need help, you can always use me. Wyatt as a baby enjoyed his personal space."
"I've used you guys as an inspiration to get this done in my first trimester, but I have to say, Leo, that building that nursery in your closet for Wyatt may have been cute and all, but it was very Harry Potter," Paige joked.
"Harry Potter's room was under the staircase, not in a closet," Leo responded back, not offended.
"Aren't you just the perfect dude for this job? You even know the magic in fictional hits," Paige gave one last smile before dropping the potion onto the floor and was instantly consumed by the large cloud of smoke that was released from the shattered vial.
(X)
The same cloud of smoke rose from the floor of the foyer in Paige's house and the Charmed One stood there as the smoke quickly dissipated. She placed down her leather bag onto the foyer table that rested alongside the wall and under a mirror. Paige proceeded and slid out of her black teacher's robe. She stared at herself in the mirror and admired her image; she had on a brown maternity shirt that folded over her chest and black dress pants that were built for a pregnant woman. The pants would grow on the waist as Paige would along her pregnancy. Paige had already bought a selection of maternity clothes because unlike her eldest living sister, she was pretty excited about it, as long as it was stylish. Phoebe had gone along with Paige having missed the experience with Piper and spoiled Paige with a load of casual and work appropriate maternity clothes.
Paige touched the growing bump on her stomach. For a woman in her third month, she was growing faster than usual. She then looked down at her stomach and asked, "You're going to be a C-section baby, aren't you?"
"If the baby comes out in orbs, would you really need a C-section?" Billie asked, walking into the foyer and smiling at her friend. Paige looked up at Billie with a smile of her own. "I took the liberty of separating the boxes in the basement for you. I figured it would be easier for you guys and I needed some time away from all the sister searching."
"Not going well?" Paige asked. Billie nodded, dissapointed. "I'm sorry that I haven't been keeping to my promise and helping you out with looking for her. I really do mean to, especially since there is a chance that we can maybe take more of an initiative to knock some good into her, but Henry and I have just been considering it best for me to lay low especially with me having very little power."
Henry, Sam and the family members resting in the Heavens were the only ones that knew of Paige's encounter with Prue. Prue wanted to meet her sisters, but couldn't and Paige wanted to honor the trust of her sister by not saying anything to Piper and Phoebe. Paige had even enchanted the page that Prue had written to her for eyes only and no one else's.
"I'm really not upset with you. I'm grateful for this roof you've provided for me, your personal tome and the wisdom you've empowered within me. You've upgraded me from just being a regular witch to a powerful one. I feel I should be doing more for you and I thought I would start with separating your boxes," Billie said, clasping her palms around her waist. "If you don't mind though, I'm going to kick it back with your blue book upstairs and follow up on a lead I have."
"You're obsessing, Billie," Paige stated. "I feel like I wouldn't be a good friend if I didn't point that out. We've been here before."
"And it's hard to not take this same path again. I have a chance at redemption and I've never gotten over killing her. I might put on this whole act, but that image truly haunts me. I can't go on like this, so I'm going to learn more about how a firestarter's body can reform after something like that," Billie said. "I've tried projecting myself to her and nothing. Unless there is nothing to go to, something must be protecting her from me. I intend on figuring out what that is."
Billie dropped her arms to her side and walked up the steps just as Henry walked in. Paige wanted to call out to Billie, but figured it to be best to let her deal. Billie was always capable of defending herself from demons. "Hey, honey."
"Hey." Henry walked in wearing his favorite leather jacket, a green dress shirt underneath with the collar open and black jeans. He embraced his wife and kissed her forehead before resting his chin on her head. "How were your classes?"
"Fine," she answered, snuggling against his chest. "Was work okay?" She slid out from under his chin so she could see his face. Henry continued to hug her waist and the two just smiled at each other.
"Work was fine. One of my parolees is on the run now and he hasn't been at any of his usual spots. Ever since his girlfriend was killed, he's been hiding with the fear of being next. He just wants to protect his son right now," Henry explained. "Speaking of children, are we ready to do this room?"
The two parted from each other's holds and Paige nodded. "I sure am. I hope you don't mind, but I brought some work home for tonight. I want to have the exam grades ready for a weekly progress report that Leo wants."
"Is he putting too much work on you? I'm pretty sure that I can take him," Henry pounded his chest twice with his fist. "I fight for my woman."
Paige laughed, "Don't go beating up Leo. He's only doing weekly reports for the first month and a half so the parents are aware of everything going on. I appreciate the offer though." She quickly kissed him on the lips and pointed towards the staircase, "Now go and get dressed in something that you don't mind getting dust all over."
"Aye, aye, Captain," Henry responded, saluting before marching towards the steps with his arms pressed against his sides.
Paige couldn't help but laugh some more before turning on her heel to head to the basement. The interior of the house was very similar to that of the Halliwell manor and Paige passed through her dining room, through her kitchen and reached the door that lead into the basement. She carefully walked down and looked at the boxes that were left over from the move months ago.
She folded her arms over her chest and took a deep breath, "Where to start?"
(X)
In the altar room, Billie was standing over the podium and flipping through the Book of Shadows. She stopped flipping as soon as she found the page she was searching for and moved over to the table that her notepad was on. She picked it up along with a black pen and moved back to the Book, "Ludlow's School of Servitude and the Infernal." She nodded and read the entry, "The upper level demon Ludlow, a personal associate to the Source, takes demonic children under his care or children that have the potential to do great Evil. He trains the children to become the next generation of servants to the Source, protecting him from those who wish to do him harm or to go out on assassination missions. Ludlow is popular in obtaining firestarters as the Source has stated that they bear the greatest of elemental power and are often the most aggressive when they embrace their full form. Ludlow's cryokinetic abilities help him to tame the firestarters in order to educate them in the art of black magic without risking death himself."
Billie ran a circle over the title of the academy on her notepad. "Gotcha." She then continued to read on the final line that read, "To locate the academy you simply have to have the desire to find it and through a teleportation method the school's charms will uncloak the academy to the searcher."
The blonde witch dropped the notepad onto the pages of the Book and closed the tome. She walked over to the table once again to pick up two potions, which she tucked into her pocket, along with one blue potion and an athamae. She concentrated on Ludlow's academy and dropped the blue potion at her feet, vanishing in a cloud of smoke.
(X)
Paige was sitting with her legs folded on the basement floor, reaching into her second box. She pulled out goggles from when Henry was swimming at their honeymoon in Bora Bora and she reflected for a second on how much fun she had on the entire honeymoon. She then looked back into the box and saw a green cubed box. She pulled it out, not remembering what it was and opened it. She reached in and pulled out a snow-globe.
The circular glass sphere was placed within a red base and had a model of New York's structure inside. It captured the highlights of the city such as the Empire State Building, the now fallen Twin Towers, the Statue of Liberty, and the Eiffel Tower. At the bottom of the dome were layers of mimic snow, waiting to be thrown around after being contained to the floor for months. As if their call reached Paige's ears, she shook the snowglobe and watched as the snow scattered away from each other and gracefully landed back on the streets of New York.
For some reason, she reflected longer on the snow-globe of an old love than her own honeymoon. She had no doubts about Henry, she loved him for sure, but Kyle was a love that was taken from her. It took a while before she fell out of love for him, but Paige never stopped thinking about how different life could've been if Kyle and her were still together. Still each other's.
Paige slowly stood up, being careful not to drop the snowglobe and continued to gaze into the mini replica of New York City. This meant a great deal to Kyle and for that reason, she could never get herself to throw it away or leave it at his apartment after he passed. She didn't want anything bad to happen to it.
And then that familiar voice spoke, "You always were one to recognize how special that was to me."
Paige's breath stopped. A surprise like this should've made her lose all control, but her grip tightened after hearing the masculine voice coming behind her. She slowly shifted around and there he stood. Kyle Brody, the mortal that was promoted to a Whitelighter after his death for all he did with trying to stop the Avatars was standing directly in front of Paige with his hands folded behind his back.
Kyle's mouth curved into a soft smile as his green eyes continued to look at the beautiful redhead with porcelain skin in front of him. "How are you doing, Paige?"
"Kyle...Wh-What are you doing here?" Paige asked.
"Couple of reasons. For one, I wanted to see you. I've been wanting to see you for over a year now, but that just couldn't happen. The Elders just forbade it and nothing I ever said was enough to let them go back on that. They always told me I should just be grateful to be living again, but I've often felt like I've been living an empty life since I'm living one without love. I just live a life where life is only about work and that's how I've lived before I met you. I'm basically who I was before meeting you except I have the ability to provide people magical surgery," Kyle explained, fully. Paige was still in awe at his presence and remained silent, but he changed the subject. "I hear that you're married now."
The witch politely nodded, "Yeah. He should be coming down in a little bit. I have no clue what's taking him so long, but we're supposed to be making a room for our child." She looked down at the snow-globe in her possession and then back up at him. "You came at a pretty coincidental time."
Kyle unfolded his hands and chuckled, "Yeah. It's strange, but I felt you holding it. I have no reason how, but I was just in Golden Gate Park meditating and I got a psychic hit, if you will."
"Strange," Paige said. "Would you like it back?"
"I'd actually appreciate it more if you'd just hold onto it. I know it's safe with you. If I may request, instead of giving me the snow-globe, I'd like to ask for your help. I'm getting desperate and I have a feeling that only you can help me with my objective," Kyle pleaded. "It was originally intended for you."
"What was originally intended for me?" Paige asked.
"I've been given the job of locating the next Guardian of the Hollow. The Elders originally wanted you to attend this ceremony as they believed you to be the most capable for the job, but they offered it to other Whitelighters since you don't have your powers right now. The ceremony to crown both Guardians is tonight and I'm running out of time. I'm hoping that we can..."
"Go around the world in eighty orbs?" Paige interrupted. "I really want to help, but I can't just abandon my husband on something like this."
"Please, Paige," the Whitelighter pleaded again. "I think we should be able to get it done quickly with the connections you've gained over your years as a Charmed One. Someone must owe you a favor or something."
"Not that I'm keeping tab, but plenty of people owe me favors." Paige took in a deep breath and kneeled down, placing the snow-globe onto the floor. She rose back up and said, "I'm being unfair. Care to elaborate on how desperate this situation is?"
"Really? You of all people should know how desperate the situation is. Do I have to remind you about the Ultimate Battle? The fact that you and your sisters were able to call upon it was because there was no one there to stop you guys. You should be scared that some different force of Evil will call upon it to destroy you," Kyle said.
"Eh, me not so much. I only have one power as of the moment," Paige said. "It's not even all that impressive right now. If someone is stupid enough to get pumped up with Hollow steroids, they definitely have more impressive prey to sniff out."
"Paige, please," Kyle expressed, "This is serious. Guardians are needed to defend the Hollow from being released and I have to select a candidate that is willing to give up the rest of their lives to serve on the behalf of Good. There are quite a few Whitelighters that would rather live with knowing that a Darklighter just might kill them one day, believe it or not."
"Have you ever considered yourself to be the Hollow's Next Top Model?" Paige quipped.
Kyle remained silent. He never did actually consider himself to take on this role. "I actually haven't. Does that make me a hypocrite?"
"Not really. Close-minded maybe, but not a hypocrite," Paige said. She realized she was a little harsh and said, "Alright, I just played a serious bitch card and as my apology, we're going to go shopping for a new Guardian. How does that sound?"
"It sounds like you're going to be the kind of mom that takes her child to get a new toy when they're feeling down," Kyle commented.
"Maybe if my kid is good enough, I'll take him or her to New York," Paige said, winking. "Let me just go and tell my husband that I'm heading out. I don't want him to worry."
"Fair enough, but please hurry back," the Whitelighter replied.
Paige nodded and headed up the steps to tell Henry where she was going.
(X)
Billie ran her fist into the lower level demon's temple, who was clad in a faded black robe. She then swung her elbow into his jaw and strongly kicked his knee, causing him to collapse to the floor. Billie looked around to see what else she could use on him in Ludlow's school library and figured the books would have some effect. She swiped the air and roughly thirty textbooks flew out from the maroon colored bookcase and landed onto the demon.
"Have you had enough?" Billie shouted, knowing to increase the volume of her voice with the large pile of books on the demon. Billie gently moved her wrists and seven of the books flew off of him. She took no compassion for the moaning demon. "I want you to provide me all the books in your archive that have the word 'firestarter' in them and anything that Ludlow gave to his firestarter students. Are you ready to cooperate?"
"I told you...I don't know...yo-you bitch!" His mouth was bloody having lost a couple of teeth with the heavy textbooks slamming into his mouth.
"Do you really want me to be the one that gives you a premature death? I can arrange that if you need proof," Billie bullied. "If you can't help me, who can?"
"I'm pretty sure I can."
Billie turned around to see Cameron Hawke, the Phoenix who not only helped her in the battle for Magic School, but also helped her realize that Christy was still alive. His blond hair remained in the same style as before and he was in ordinary blue jeans with a longsleeve black shirt.
"I tried finding you a few weeks back. You're not easy to locate," Billie said.
"I know how to cover my tracks. I wouldn't be good at what I do if I didn't," Cameron replied with a smirk. "I doubt that demon knows anything."
"Can you actually confirm that theory of yours?"
Cameron walked over to the demon and kicked the books off of him. He crouched over and lifted him by the collar of his robe and suspended him in the air under his grip. The blond stared into his eyes, gazing into the mind of the demon. "He knows nothing. Ludlow has been dead for nearly five years now and the school hasn't hosted proper classes since then. Everything has gone awry since the death of their leader and became just as disorganized as Magic School was. Does that answer satisfy you, Billie?"
"I suppose," Billie meekly responded.
Cameron now spoke to the demon, "Get the hell out of here. I may have saved your life for now, but just consider this a ten second head start. I have no control over what she does to you in...five...four...three," and the Phoenix's hands dropped as the demon shimmered out of his grip.
Billie folded her arms, "Mind telling me how you were able to access his mind? Are you psychic?"
"Not so much psychic, but I've just trained myself to read into the minds of people that generally don't expect it. He's one of the idiot demons that didn't have any psychic barriers to defend himself from getting invaded and it was as easy as entering a door with the right key. What lead you to this place?" Cameron explained and asked.
"I'm just trying to figure out more about what happened with my sister. Now that I have you, maybe you can go more into how you knew about the firestarters. I've been staying up every night and I would rather hug my blanket than a cup of coffee," the young witch said. "If you can't help with that, maybe you can help me blow down Ludlow's door because that thing is budged shut."
"Lead the way and I'll see if I can help," Cameron said, following Billie as she eagerly walked out of the room to lead him. "As for the firestarter issue, I would have to check a personal book of mine again. I have very little experiences with firestarters, but know of the stories my mother has told me. She once got into a pretty fierce battle one time with a Dark Elemental of Fire."
Billie was surprised this mystery man was sharing anything about his life, but realized she may have just misjudged him. She reached the door and pounded on it with her fist. She then turned the knob and said, "I've tried projecting the damn thing open, but nothing. What's the deal?"
Cameron walked over to the door and slowly waved his hand over it, tapping into his sensory abilities. He ran his hand up and down a couple of times before saying, "You're not getting through that door. The only way to open it would be with an explosive potion that had ingredients that are unknown to this era and they would have to settle in an ectoplasmic juice for nearly a century and call me crazy, but I doubt that you're going to live that long."
She rolled her eyes at his last comment. "An ectoplasmic juice? What could be so important that you would need to go through all of that?" Billie asked, interested. "What the hell are you? A witch? Sorcerer?"
Cameron ignored her questions about who he is for now, knowing he would answer them at a later point. "Some people have treasures that they don't want revealed to the world and others may use it to contain a great evil or even a great good. The possibilities are endless. The way this door works is that it has a phasing effect. When allowed, people are able to walk through the door and will emit a glow if they are carrying a weapon." The young Phoenix waved his hand over the door once more. "I sense some reconstruction of this door, it may have been destroyed at one point, but these doors have a tendency to build up once again if no one is in the room. I hope that you can at least sleep at night knowing that no one is trapped in there."
"All I wanted were some books and some knowledge to my problem. Think you can help me out there and meet me some where?" Billie asked.
Cameron nodded, "Meet me in the library of Magic School. I have a couple of things to tend to before I can be there, but I should have some information for you. Don't hang around here and bully anymore demons. You might just find yourself bullying the one that has the power to defeat you."
He turned on his heel and exploded into a twister of black molecules that phased through the walls, flying to a destination that would remain unknown to Billie.
(X)
Two columns of orbs ascended into the heavens. Kyle and Paige were welcomed by the everlasting mist with a gentle breeze that cycled the mist around all rooms and corridors.
"I miss orbing," Paige said, pouting.
"Really? We've been orbing around for about an hour with no success to our objective. I would've thought you'd be tired of it by now," Kyle speculated.
"Tired of it? You can never be tired of orbing with having to pay for gas these days," Paige quipped, looking around to find Sandra.
"Paige, I really don't want the Elders to know that I'm failing in finding the Guardian as of this moment. Can we possibly give it another hour? Or two?" Kyle hated having to watch Whitelighters disappoint the Elders. He never wanted to endure the shame of letting them down with the failure of tending to a charge and losing them.
"Don't worry so much. Sandra and I are two peas in a pod. I scratch her back and she scratches mine," Paige said. "There are a couple of Elders up here though that I absolutely refuse to send birthday cards."
The two continued to walk, passing by several Whitelighters before one stepped in their path. He was in the standard white robe with his hood over his head and his face couldn't be seen as a brilliant gold light concealed him. He pushed back his hood and revealed the rude Whitelighter that Paige encountered the day she was assigned to Rose.
"Did you finally get your powers back?" He sniped. "Too bad for me. I was under the impression that I could continue to get some more respect around here. In your absence, I spoke with the Elders that I am capable of handling tougher charges and they've now learned that I can be trusted. I've earned my way as opposed to you. Your title alone gained you respect whereas I had to sweat my way to get where I am."
"I'm proud of you," a sarcastic Paige replied. "Mind getting out of my way? If you care to just stick around for some gloating rants, I can tell you about the time that I vanquished the Source or when we took out Zankou. The stories are both pretty intense. If you're up for suggestions, I'd say the Zankou story has much more promise."
"Paige, don't pay him any mind. He's like this with everyone. I have no clue as to how he became a Whitelighter," Kyle commented.
"I became a Whitelighter because I did a great deal of good back in my time. More good than you'll ever know of. You only came into your Whitelighter status because the Elders would come off as pompous jerks if they didn't acknowledge you weakening the Avatars," the Whitelighter defended.
"The Elders come off as jerks regardless," Paige shot back. "Now get out of my way before I move you myself. I can always blame my temper on my pregnancy."
The Whitelighter remained silent. He stepped aside and Paige walked straight with Kyle following her.
"Remind me not to piss you off," Kyle joked.
"I wouldn't have really thrown him out of the way, but figured that a threat might do the trick." Paige spotted Sandra conversing with two Whitelighters, but Paige and Kyle both stood out from the entire crowd as they weren't wearing the standard robes. Kyle only wore his robe when he was resting with the others, here in the heavens, but there was no getting Paige to wear one.
Sandra held her hand up to Paige and Kyle to wait for her as she told the two Whitelighters, "Return to your chambers. We'll discuss the best way to go about this when I'm done meeting with two allies here. Just meditate and make sure your charges remain safe from those Darklighters." Sandra seemed to glide towards Paige and Kyle as she was in her usual white robe that had the thick gold lining falling down the middle. Her golden locks stopped bouncing once she reached Paige and Kyle. "I see you two have reunited. Under the circumstances, I doubt the other Elders will mind."
"Yeah, we had a very Oprah reunion. What brought us back together was this Hollow business. We need some help with locating this Guardian," Paige explained.
"We must follow the procedure like last time. We're given three days to start this whole event and we must select one Whitelighter to seek out a Guardian on behalf of Good. Demons have been alerted that they need to select one as well, but it is unclear as to whether or not they have yet. I'll be sending out for a Messenger soon," Sandra informed.
"Why three days?" Paige asked. This was an answer that Kyle already knew, but failed to inform.
"To represent the nature of time; past, present and future. On the first day we reflect on the past chaos that comes with the Hollow being unleashed and we use it as a reminder as to why we need these Guardians. On the eve of the first night, we select someone to find the next representative Guardian for Good and we figured you would've stepped up to the plate, but without your powers we needed a new choice. And that was Kyle. On the second day, the search begins and on the third day we crown the Guardian with a halo that helps them get through the countless years. It keeps them from growing insane of losing grasp of time, companionship, and love."
Paige turned to Kyle who returned to a state of silence. "I think I'm beginning to understand why people aren't jumping at this position. It must bring comfort to have that halo, but going into it beforehand must be terrifying." She turned back to Sandra, "Are you forbidden from giving suggestions? Can't we just announce what's going on and see who's willing?"
"It's just not the way it's done, Paige. And we're going to need someone who's willing to do it within two hours. It's to be done at six 'o' clock. You should be on your way if you're too succeed," Sandra informed. "And, Reynold, I need a word with you."
Paige turned around, confused as to who she was addressing and realized it was the Whitelighter she exchanged words with. "Maybe you have a new charge. You gotta love the cycle of Whitelighter life." Paige placed her hand on Kyle's shoulder and patted it. "Beam us out, Kyle." The two vanished in joint columns of orbs.
Sandra raised her head as she spoke with Reynold. "You'll be content to know that you are being promoted. The Council of Elders, with my vote included, have decided that you would be perfect for the job as a Messenger."
"You want me to be a Messenger? I'm delighted to accept," Reynold said. "It's been a while since anyone has been promoted for this job. I believe it to be six decades. I've almost forgotten everything that occurs with one. They're always too busy and you never really have the time to stop and discuss what they do in their line of work."
"Well, if you need a reminder, you are a personal messenger for us Elders. We'll often call upon your services to get a message out to demonic councils and other members of the magical community if we wish to call upon a meeting. Demonic councils and other upper level Evil beings can call upon your services as well to reach us for a message. We provide you with the power of the messenger god Hermes and since he was immortal, as long as you are on duty, you can't be harmed by Darklighter poison or demons. We know how risky it is to allow one of our own to be called upon by Evil, so we made sure that little clause was suitable. Do you accept this responsibility?"
"I'm ready for my suiting."
(X)
In the Magic School library, Billie was sitting down at a table alone and ran her hand through her blonde hair. She was looking into a book that spoke of telekinesis. It was just a subject that entertained her as all the books about firestarters in the Magic School archives didn't help her. The young witch remembered that it was about this time a year ago where Leo told Billie that Magic School used to teach Advanced Telekinesis classes and this was one of the text books.
A swarm of buzzing black molecules appeared before Billie and they spun around before coalescing into Cameron. "Sorry I took so long. I had a job that needed to be taken care of."
"Can you just tell me what you are? I see you working alongside me until I find my sister and I would like to make sure that I'm not working with some homicidal sorcerer that just wants to get me alone in an alley to kill me," Billie replied.
"If it'll put an end to all your questions for now, I'll tell you. I'm a mercenary; a gun for hiring," Cameron answered.
"Really? Would I be expected to share your calling card with a demon?" Billie questioned, losing trust in Cameron.
"If you're trying to ask me if I kill members of Good, then yes. Only under special circumstances though," Cameron admitted. "I thought I was here to answer your questions, not for questioning. You choose what we're going to be doing here."
Billie gave in. "Fine. What do you have for me?"
Cameron pulled out a seat and sat down. He crossed one arm over his broad chest and kicked up his legs, resting his black boots on the brown table. With his free arm, he gently cupped the air and a book appeared in a pale yellow light. The book was six inches in length and two inches in width. The small tome had a black leather cover with a golden eye of Horus design to represent protection. "I've folded over the page for you. Thank me later."
Billie picked up the book and opened it. She was immediately taken to the page and read aloud, "Firestarters throughout time have always been rare and coveted beings. Their powers manifest at a young age and can be trained to be ultimate fighters. Once a firestarter embraces their full power their bodies take on a fiery form. It would take a blizzard to weaken them, but don't feel safe with an average ice spell. A weakness for firestarters is actually fire from other firestarters. If you're fighting a gang of firestarters, manipulate them into using their powers against each other to ultimately destroy them. Using the fire of a firestarter against themselves will not kill them, but destroy their body."
She stopped reading and looked up at Cameron, "Oh, don't stop now. There's more."
Billie resumed reading, "The firestarter lore is that they shouldn't have to fear their own power and aeons ago, charms were invoked into firestarters when they first showed signs of their power that keep them safe with the Living Flame. The Living Flame is the symbol that firestarters cannot be extinguised from their power and their bodies will always regenerate." The page ended there. She looked to Cameron and asked, "Would you happen to know if that applies to witches that happen to be half-firestarter?"
"I don't know," Cameron answered. "It's possible because from what I know about your sister, she was well versed with her power. There's no doubt that she was trained to use it. I spoke with my mother as well to see what she knew and she educated me in the background of why the Living Flame was created. First off, it was tested by the sorcerers who originally created the charm and they were blowing up firestarters left and right. That's why they are so coveted in this day because so many were lost because of experimenting the ability of the Living Flame. For those that weren't killed, they were later found with a loss of memory and their bodies would regenerate in different parts of the world. So if Christy is still alive, she might not have her memory and could be in England, Japan, or closer than you might think."
Billie closed the book and slid it across the table. She jumped out of her seat and asked, "And how the hell do I find her? They must've used some method to keep them lo-jacked."
"From what I've been told, they used some sort of stone. The problem is that these stones are protected by pretty fierce firestarters. The most ancient of firestarters to be exact. They're designated in some other dimension. I'm not sure about the other residents in the dimension, but they reside in some castle that is protected by several firestarters as well as other demons, beings, and traps," Cameron explained. "It wouldn't be easy to obtain one of these stones. I would've suggested you to use that little projection power of yours, but it wouldn't do us any good as I'm sure the sorcerers that are enslaved in the castle would've cast some protective shield against summoning spells."
Billie then walked around the table and looked down at Cameron, "Would you be able to take me there? I need to get my hands on one of those things."
Cameron grabbed his book off of the table and rose to his feet. "Yeah, I guess I can help. I'm in the mood for a good fight, but understand it won't be easy to get into that dimension though and we won't be able to just teleport back and forth whenever we want to sleep. I'll have to pack for camping, get some potions ready and other equipment we might need on this journey."
"I can make the potions!" Billie eagerly offered. "Just how long until we leave? I want to let Paige know."
"Within the week. I have a few things I'll need to get done sooner, but I'll be capable of fighting. Be sure to rest up and pack any arsenary you feel comfortable with. We're in for one hell of a fight," Cameron said before leaving Billie in his usual fashion.
Billie was left standing alone, wondering why he was so willing to help her. She now knew he was a mercenary, but what was the payment he was expecting?
(X)
Reynold orbed into the Underworld and immediately looked around the lair he was in. It was darker than many of the others and if it wasn't for Reynold's golden robe illuminating a short distance around the newly promoted Messenger he would be blind. The soft pale glow accompanied the Whitelighter whereever he went and he tried to find the other presence that he was sent to meet. A loud scream caused Reynold to take a step back in fear and he was preparing to orb out, until a voice spoke out to him.
"What is it you want, Messenger?" A familiar and brute Darklighter walked out of a pitch black corner, but his face was the only thing visible to Reynold. The markings on the left side of his face surprisingly stuck out on the demonic Darklighter.
Reynold took a deep breath before speaking, "Uh...The Elders want to know if you have selected a Guardian to be the representative for Evil yet? Time is running out."
"Oh, Whitelighter. You're mistaken. I'm not the one you go to for this information. You must be searching for the Council Leaders. Your orbing was a bit off. Nonetheless, I prefer a newbie than that wretched Witchlighter," Avo said, cursing Paige's name.
Reynold smirked and it was finally a new face to replace his fear. "You hate her as well?"
"I'm Evil. Of course I hate her," Avo replied. "The question is if you share my dislike for her and why?"
"I really shouldn't be speaking to you about this. It's none of your concern," Reynold said. "I should go."
As the Whitelighter turned around, Avo said, "You must hate the attention she robs from the other Whitelighters, don't you?" Reynold stopped. "I'll take your silence as a confirmation. Whitelighters shouldn't have to be taking on all the safe charges while she gains the credit for stronger charges. She's not even as good as she thinks she is or as the Elders think she is. You do know about that charge she lost to Evil, right?"
Reynold nodded, understanding. "She did mess up, didn't she?"
"She lost that charge to me. She's over here actually," Avo stretched out his arm and a ripple of light revealed the lair grounds. The floor was a sandy orange color and Rose was sitting on the ground with her legs crossed. She was barely wearing anything. Her chest was bare and black rags covered her lower region while her black hair was blowing with the Underworld wind. "Rose...tell me about this new presence you are sensing. Don't use your clairvoyance, but only the teachings I have introduced to you for now."
Rose remained still. She wasn't allowed to use her power of clairvoyance and normally, she'd tap into her power to see things through the eyes of another, but Avo forbade it. Instead, she sensed the presence and said, "He's a Whitelighter. He's new to his power, but not his Whitelighter powers. This is his first assignment as a Messenger."
"Very good," Avo complimented. "Return to your meditating." The Head Darklighter grinned at Reynold, "Rose here is going to be a powerful force in the coming months. I'm offering you the chance to join our side because once Rose takes in an ancient power, your side is going to be in for a huge battle. A war is on the horizon. What side do you want to be on?"
(X)
Two columns of orbs appeared on the highest tower of Golden Gate Bridge and Paige and Kyle instantly separated.
"Alright, we need to call on some big guns because it seems every Whitelighter, witch and do-gooder refuses to camp out in a cave for the rest of their natural and unnatural lives. Who else should we consider?" Paige asked.
Kyle shrugged, "I have no idea. I kinda came to you for help, remember?"
"Okay, well I've pretty much used out all my connections. I could go and see the leprechauns and fairies, but not only do I doubt them willing to do it, I don't think they are capable of it," Paige complained, pacing back and forth with the autumn winds blowing her red hair around. "The Elders aren't allowed to help us, but I really doubt that Team Evil played this game by the rules. They must've used the connections that councils in the Underworld must have. We need to go above the Elders' heads."
"What do you have in mind? I'm getting desperate here," Kyle said.
Paige began to rub her chin and said, "You're not going to like it. In fact, I should take a couple of steps back because you might backslap me for suggesting it." Paige took two steps back.
"Paige, I wouldn't hit you. Don't be so crazy, what is it?"
"Okay, but I'm filing a lawsuit against your dead butt if you even so much raise a hand at me," Paige took a deep breath and finally said, "We'll ask the Avatars for help."
Kyle immediately looked disgusted at the thought of summoning the beings responsible for his death. "How can you even suggest that, Paige? Beta killed me! She took us away from each other!"
"Kyle, I was upset about that too. We have to move on and let's face it, we need their help! I was...devastated when you died and I was close to just killing an Avatar out of revenge. It took my sisters to hold me back, but in the end, I realized I couldn't be so selfish to my wants and had to save the world. It's the price we pay for being agents of Good and we have to put our emotions aside to achieve what needs to be done. You know how important it is to guard the Hollow, you wouldn't have taken up this assignment otherwise. You have to see past your anger so we can do this," the witch explained.
"But, Paige...I'm only angry because they took away what could've been. Imagine what life would've been like if I was alive and we were still together..." Kyle started.
"Kyle, don't. Just don't. It's not fair to my husband, the father of my child, and more importantly, the man that I love now if we even touch this conversation. You said you needed my help and I'm fine with that, but I want to help as a friend. Nothing more," Paige said, devastating the man before her.
Kyle weakly replied, "I'm sorry and I understand. Summon them."
Paige couldn't bear to see the hurt expression on his face and turned her back to him as she created a spell off the top of her head.
I call forth in this dire hour,
Avatars of Force and Power,
Overlooking duality,
Bring forth those of neutrality!
Two slow gray lights began to glow and ultimately formed the head Avatar and someone new to Paige. Alpha was in his usual black robe that resembled a trench-coat with the jacket collar. His black hair was greased back and his sides were gray, to show just how old this being was. The new Avatar had golden blond hair and the same robe as Alpha.
"Ah, Paige. I thought it was you who called," Alpha said. "What is it that I can possibly do for you? I assume it's safe to cross out Utopia, no?"
"Oh, that's a safe assumption. We actually need your help on something that is actually going to help the world," Paige said.
"We?" Alpha said. He then turned to see Kyle. "Oh, mind my manners. I forgot to address Brody over there. And you're a Whitelighter now. Congratulations are in order but something tells me that you wouldn't be so open to what I have to say on the matter."
"Why would I? Your kind is the reason I'm dead! I'm just glad that I was able to help put an end to your perfect world," Kyle stated. "My death had purpose. I realize that more than ever now."
"Brody, you still don't seem to understand what we were trying to accomplish with Utopia. As you shall very know, Avatars don't believe in the categories of Good and Evil and we were trying to create a world that was safe for everyone. You could've been a part of that world, living a life with Paige here, but you refused. You took matters into your own hands and that resulted in your death as well as the lost of our sister Beta," Alpha said. He then turned to the younger Avatar, "Delta here is my apprentice and we've been training him to be the latest replacement of our personal triad. He's a breath away from completing his training."
Delta nodded, "Thank you, Alpha. I can only hope I don't let our order down. Perhaps for now, we can see what assistance we can provide for the Charmed One and Whitelighter here."
"Of course. What is it that made you think to summon us, Paige?" Alpha asked.
"I know you guys may be neutral, but you monitor all magic searching for people strong enough to join your little power club. Since not everyone shares your views on neutrality, you must recruit people that were originally dedicated to one cause. Am I right?" Paige asked.
"You are correct. Cole Turner would be a prime example of someone who was originally Evil, then turned Good and then went completely insane with great confusion. Nonetheless, whatever side he was on, he favored one as opposed to sharing the beliefs of both. It's unfortunate that his being an Avatar is what drove him to his demise," Alpha said.
"Wait. Hold your horses there," Paige said, waving her finger at the Head Avatar. "Cole joined your little collective? Is that how he made that funky universe a few years back?"
"Yes. I advised against it with all my efforts, but he already had the power as well as his own agenda in mind. We had unfortunately lost a brother, but I'm glad you made your way into that world to put an end to it. I think it is safe to say that you would've prefered what you consider to be the twisted version of Utopia as opposed to a world where you're six feet under," Alpha speculated. Paige remained silent and Alpha spoke again, "Now that you've educated yourself further, tell me now what it is you want."
Paige's red hair continued to blow with the winds as the meeting went on. She pulled a strand out of her face that had been bothering her for a couple of minutes and said, "We need to find a candidate that is worthy of defending the Hollow as a Guardian for Good. I was hoping that you'd be able to possibly point us in the direction of someone who is capable of this position."
"Good and Evil. Not to sound like a broken record, but how many times need I say what useless categories they are. You fight a battle that is neverending, you lose people in the crossfire..." he turned to Kyle and resumed, "You need someone who is much stronger to defend the Hollow. That's a power that should never be unearthed from its sacred burial grounds and perhaps you can change the rules. I can gather an Avatar to defend it and they will be able to stop anyone from calling it and if someone dares to enter the grounds to rob it, you'll have a true guardian that can defend it with the vast multitude of powers we possess. What say you to that?"
"No!" Kyle shouted. "I put my foot down at that. We're not going to place the responsibility of the Hollow into your hands. We put the world into your hands and we all know how that didn't turn out to be the greatest of moves. And now you expect us to leave you in charge of the Hollow? Hell no! The Hollow would decimate us if you guys unleashed it upon mankind for not going along with your Utopia. I'm protecting the Hollow from you!" His face was red of anger and his green eyes never left the brown eyes of Alpha.
"Kyle, calm down," Paige said. She was aware of just how dangerous the Avatars were. They may say that they don't use their powers for harm, but she's seen the aftermath of when they do fight back. She didn't want to see Kyle lying cold dead on the floor again.
"Brody, if we Avatars ever wanted to use the Hollow we could pass through whatever defenses you make. We can bend time, change reality and we can certainly dispel the Guardians of their protective charms. Unleashing the Hollow wouldn't be the wisest of moves for us as we don't wish to lose our vast abilities," Alpha explained. "You're just being feeble minded and refuse to see the bigger picture of a better world."
"No," Kyle replied. "I refuse to see the bigger picture of an Avatar world!" Kyle latched onto Paige and the two shot up into the air in rapid orbs, ascending high before vanishing from the Avatars completely.
(X)
Kyle and Paige reappeared on the Hollow's grounds. The lair was dark and there were other presences in the room. Odin was in his regular robes alone on the right side of the lair with anger written all over his face. On the left side were two demons. The taller demon was in a crimson red robe with a hood concealing his face and the second demon had on a full leather attire; gray v-neck vest and black pants.
Paige slapped Kyle on the chest and said, "You let your anger get the best of you."
Shocked she hit him, Kyle said, "Paige, I had to. I couldn't allow them to take control over an agreement that was set aeons ago and honored between Good and Evil."
"Oh, believe me. This deal hasn't always been honored. The Source..."
"I know he went and broke the rules at his own desperation, Paige," Kyle interrupted. "I know. I'm well informed on the subject, but I wasn't going to allow them to do it. I'm desperate myself, but I have a better resolution on how to handle this." He remained silent, waiting for Paige to say something.
"And what exactly do you plan on doing?" Paige asked. He didn't answer. "Kyle..."
He took a deep breath and finally said, "I'm going to offer up myself as the next Guardian. My perspectives are clear now and I now realize that you're happy with the way your life is now. My love for you is what made living this second life worth it. It's been very empty at the same time though, Paige. And you're married now so I've become more forbidden than ever to ever touch your lips again. I wouldn't want to disrespect you or the man you are with by trying to get back together with you. Our time has passed. It's time that I accept that."
Paige's brown eyes were swelling up with tears as Kyle touched her face with his palm. He gently slid it down her cheek one last time and turned on his heel, moving towards Odin. A tear rolled down the cheek that Kyle was touching seconds ago and she wiped it with her brown sleeve. She chased after Kyle and saw Odin nod.
"Very well," the Elder said. "I suppose you can be accepted for this position. I commend you for taking on this task to ensure the safety of us all. You truly are a Guardian of this world." Odin shook Kyle's hand and the two walked towards the demons, leaving Paige standing by herself.
Odin looked to the demon that was wearing the crimson robe and said, "This is my Guardian. We're now ready to do this. Need anymore time, Calvon?"
The crimson robe demon Calvon snarled, "No, let's just begin this now."
Odin and Calvon stood directly across from each other. Calvon held out his hand and conjured a fireball. The fireball had a metallic sphere rolling around with the fire and he threw the fireball in the center of the lair. It illuminated the dingy lair and created warmth for the soon-to-be Guardians. Odin gently waved his wrist and a lightning bolt ejected from his palm and into the large doors, slowly opening them
Odin and Calvon each held out one hand and the box which contained the Hollow flew out of the blinding white room and onto a four foot pillar. "Kyle, place your hand on the top of the box," Odin instructed.
"Do the same," Calvon said to his demon.
Kyle and the demon placed a hand on the brown box that had jeweled carvings on the front. While the box wasn't anything dull to look at, it contained one of the greatest Ultimate Powers ever revealed to mankind. No other Ultimate Power could be more of a threat than what was trapped in that very box.
Odin then gave the next instruction, "Since the Hollow is currently contained, you two are to chant the spell on the box. By doing this, the Hollow will know you as the people defending it. Don't think that means it will like you two, in fact, it'll hate you for protecting it from being released, but you'll be safe with the powers that come with the box. The box itself will endow you with the abilities needed to cancel out any summonings."
Calvon continued, "And if for any reason the Hollow does escape, you two are to work together to chase after it and restore every lost particle. If you are to lose a single speck, it can tap into a weaker power and ultimately grow. You two need not be responsible for such fallibility with the powers given to you. We've even taken the liberty of invoking the box with stronger containment charms and powers for the Guardians to avoid the calamity that came with the Hollow the first time around. Now chant."
Kyle and the demon looked to the back of the box and chanted, "Aboleo exitum cavium du eternias!"
The demon glowed a faint purple and was now wearing a traditional black robe, now imbued with the powers of the Guardian for Evil.
Kyle's glow was anything but faint. A gold light entombed him as his casual wear morphed into a white traditional robe and the gold light was just about to leave him, but stopped above his head. It spun around and turned into the halo that promised Kyle that he would remain capable of doing this job.
The Hollow then slowly raised from its pillar and motioned backwards into its chamber. The doors closed behind it and locked it, hopefully for an eternal slumber. Despite having new Guardians, there were no promises.
Paige cried for Kyle, knowing that he never would with that halo hovering over his head. He would be at peace with what he was doing. Odin approached her and understood the situation.
"You should understand, Paige, that Kyle is very courageous in what he's doing. He's going to make a difference. I'm sure you would've liked to be with him after he was made into a Whitelighter, but in the long run, he wasn't meant to be a father or husband. It appears the Grand Design wished that he would continue to protect the world," Odin said. "Come. I'll orb you home."
Paige and Kyle locked eyes. She paid no mind to the demonic Guardian standing alongside him, but stared at that courageous angelic Guardian. She saw him mouth, "I..." before Odin took ahold of her and orbed her away. Paige would forever now wonder what Kyle was going to say. The options were endless, but she knew they could've been narrowed down between "I'll miss you" or the even grander "I love you." It was better to wonder than to know.
(X)
Later that night, Paige was sitting on her bed with her Book of Shadows. Her art supplies were spread amongst the brown comforter covers and she was drawing on a page with a yellow stencil. Her wrist was moving in a circular motion when Henry entered. He leaned against the archway and asked, "How are you feeling?"
Paige told Henry the entire story about her and Kyle in the past and how her emotions were jumping around earlier in the day. "I'm doing better, thanks. I have to also thank you for being so understanding on me working alongside an ex-love. Love wasn't a subject that I could exactly care about when I was younger and I've only had a few loves; Glen, Kyle, and now you."
"You have good taste," Henry said. "This guy sounds pretty brave and dedicated to his work to do what he's doing. You should be honored to have a known a man like that. I think it would've been cool to meet him. There's always this Glen guy though."
"You wouldn't happen to want to know these guys to collect dirt on me, would you?" Paige said with the first smile since leaving the Hollow grounds.
"Who? Me? Of course not," Henry playfully replied. "So what are you working on in your Book now?"
"I'm creating a new illustration for the Guardians of the Hollow. I drew the demon's face to the best of my memories, but I have to say I've done more than a fair job for Kyle. I'm just finishing his halo now and then I'm going to write some information about him," Paige explained. She noticed slight discomfort in Henry's face and said, "I don't have anymore feelings for him. I honestly don't, Henry. I think this is just the perfect closure for a wound that never fully closed. I'll admit to you that there were nights last year where I wanted him to just orb into my bed and hold me, but that never happened. Now that I've seen him and know that he's being locked away on duty, I can continue to rest now and just pray for him. I just don't want him to be forgotten and I actually know him. I can educate the future generations about him."
"I believe you, Paige. And besides, you couldn't possibly love another man after I'm done with the baby's room. I might need the rest of this week, but it'll be ready for the coming months," Henry informed.
"Thank you. We have a bunch, bunch, and an added bunch of time before we actually need it. Just rest now," Paige suggested.
"I'm actually pretty excited about this. I think I'm going to work on it some more," Henry said cheerfully, exiting the bedroom.
Paige resumed working on the entry and colored a little more yellow into the halo and tossed it into the pile of the other colors she used, which also happened to be sitting next to the rest of the class exams she didn't finish grading. She was now finished with her entry though and that mattered to her more for the moment. She eyed her handy work and the image of the Guardians was spread across two pages. On the right side was Kyle's page that showed him in his white robe with his halo above his head and the face was a perfect match. There was still space on the sides to write her information and the title of his page was Angelic Guardian. And this was the only page she cared to stare at.
A breeze entered her bedroom through the open window and she stood up, moving the Book off of her lap and onto the bed. She looked up into the night-sky and tried to see past the stars to find Kyle, but naturally had no success. She turned around and looked to her bureau where she saw Kyle's snow-globe resting in front of her mirror. Paige ran it by Henry before doing so, but he knew how sentimental it was to her and had no objection. Paige would forever keep it safe.
(X)
In the Underworld, Avo continued to train Rose. She was currently fighting off three demons that were created from a simulation spell of Avo's. Two of them created fireballs and launched them at Rose. Rose countered them with a backflip and the fireballs decimated the demons. One demon remained and Rose released a sapphire fireball upon landing and vanquished him.
"That was easy," Rose breathed. Avo agreed with her with a simple nod, but Rose didn't even ask him to conjure more demons. She sensed another presence in the room. "The Whitelighter has returned, Avo."
Reynold revealed his cover by uncloaking himself. He walked towards Avo, but didn't say anything.
"Great job, Rose," Avo complimented. "You'll be prepared for Valen's power soon enough." He then turned to Reynold. "And you...what brings you back here? Were you thinking about my proposal?"
"I sure have," Reynold admitted.
"And what do you have to say on the subject?" Avo asked.
"My services are yours. If you so wish, I can infiltrate the heavens and find out any knowledge you want," Reynold offered.
"This is going to be the start of a very powerful alliance," Avo said with a devilish grin. He offered his hand out to Reynold, "We're going to do great things together."
Reynold nodded and shook his hand.
End of Chapter.
A/Note: I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. I have to thank Temporal Death for helping me piece that Avatar-summoning spell together. I was at a lost, and he helped me out. Also, Im going to dedicate this chapter to MissyPaige because her reviews made me bump up this Hollow-Kyle storyline quicker because she is a huge Kyle-Paige fan.
Please Review.