Chapter 9

Dust to Dust

Orube was frustrated. That much was obvious to anyone who saw her walking the streets of Balsilide. Her hands clenched in and out of fists, and her jaw was tightly clamped. Her eyes darted quickly between buildings, even though she wasn't quite sure what she was expecting to see.

Many things contributed to Orube's bad mood. Just a month ago, she had been a Guardian, leader of the greatest team in the universe. For a born warrior such as herself, such a title was the greatest honor she could ever hope to receive. Yet as quickly as it was given, the honor was taken away. Endarno had misled her, and the Heart of Kandrakar had been once more returned to the Earth girl, Will Vandom. Even worse then that, the girl had saved her life.

Orube was a Paliser, one of the elite warriors of the world known as Conestoga. She had been trained to fight and live with honor, and to always pay her debts. She now owed her life to the Vandom girl, and she would see her debt repaid no matter what. It was this debt that had her in a foul mood, and it was this debt that found her scouting the foreign world of Balsilide.

What frustrated Orube more then anything, however, was that all of these problems were her fault. As much as she'd like to, Orube couldn't blame anyone but herself for her situation. Dark days were coming. She knew it, and Endarno had known it too. In order for anyone to survive whatever was approaching, the Heart of Kandrkar needed a true warrior as its bearer. Someone like Orube, who could wield it with deadly, unyielding force. Orube wished Vandom no ill will, but the girl was but a child, and no better fitted for combat. And yet, Orube had failed to keep the Heart out of her hands. Well, if Will was to wield it, Orube would make sure she did it with her strength, and with a true warrior of Conestoga at her side. It was her duty to do so, whether she liked it or not.

Orube was in the middle of these thoughts when she heard the first scream. She turned in the direction of the sounds as panicked people ran past her. As she used her keen vision to peer down the long alley, she noticed that one of the houses was badly damaged, with dirt and smoke arising from the base. And Orube thought she could just barely see a shadow slipping though the haze. With a sigh, she took out the strange object given to her by Will. What had the Vandom girl called it? Ah yes, a cell phone. She pressed the sequence of numbers like she had been taught, and was soon talking to Hay Lin.

"Hay Lin. It is Orube. I am on Balsilide. I believe I have spotted the Shadow Walker, bring the girls. I am moving to intercept."

"No." Hay Lin interrupted. "Wait until we get there."

Orube began to protest, but was cut off as Hay Lin hung up. With another sigh, Orube began to wait impatiently.

Only meters away form where Orube waited, the Shadow Walker loomed large in front of Selna. The creature knew that reinforcements would arrive any second, so it moved quickly to its end goal.

"The jewel, girl." The Shadow Walker said, holding out an extended hand. "The one around your neck. Give it to me."

Selna instinctively grabbed the jewel's string, preparing to take it off. She had only just received it yesterday, her younger sister Kabina having found it and given it to her. It held no monetary or sentimental value, so Selna had no trouble parting with it. As she was removing it, she paused, looking down at where her little sister sat next to their injured mother. This creature had put hurt her mother, and Selna didn't like that. She didn't know why the creature wanted this jewel, but she wouldn't be so quick to give it up.

"Why should I?" Selna said, keeping a firm grasp on the heart.

The creature's eyes burned brightly with anger. He had hoped that this girl would hand over the Heart of Balsilide willingly, but now that she hadn't, the creature faced an issue. Attacking the girl could easily damage the powerless, and therefore fragile, Heart. Plus, if the attack missed, the girl could escape into the alleyways, where she had the distinct advantage, and it did not have time for chases. Fortunately, the Shadow Walker was nothing if not resourceful.

"Give me the jewel, for if you don't, it is not you I will hurt," the Shadow walker said, raising his arms, "but your family."

With a shove, the Shadow Walker cracked the flimsy roof above the heads of Kamila and her mother. Selna was in no danger, but the Shadow Walker was now the only thing supporting the celling. If he let go, the roof would come crashing down on her mother and sister.

"No!" Selna said, as her family cowered in fear. "I'll do as you say."

Selna was just about to hand over the jewel when a blast of water struck the Shadow Walker in the chest. The Shadow Walker, not expecting the attack, was sent flying. Unable to support the ceiling any longer, the stones and beams above Selna's sister and mother began to fall. Selna saw her family only for a brief second before they disappeared beneath the rubble.

"Mother!"

Selna ran to the rubble where her family had been and began pulling stones away as quickly as she could, until her young hands were raw and bleeding. She did not stop even as a hand grasped her shoulder. Irma, who had fired through the haze, looked down at the girl with gentle eyes.

"Oops, sorry about the house, kid." Irma said quickly. "We'll help rebuild it, promise."

Irma was about to take off in chase of the Shadow Walker when she noticed something and stopped in her tracks. There was something sticking out of the rubble. Irma's skin went cold as she recognized the shape of a hand.

"No. No, no, no, no." Irma said quietly, bending down beside the rubble.

Quickly, Irma began helping Selna clear the stones, panic rising in her heart. She felt her body go into shock, as more was uncovered.

"Help!" Irma screamed. "I need help! Cornelia!"

Down the street, the Guardians stopped their pursuit of the Shadow Walker and turned towards Irma. They felt the fear and panic in Irma's voice, and with speed, Cornelia and Taranee turned back towards the house, while Will and Hay Lin kept after the Shadow Walker.

When the two girls reached Irma and Selna, and saw the sight in front of them, they too felt their hearts sink. Cornelia quickly lifted the debris away with her powers, revealing the lifeless bodies of Kamila and her mother.

"Are they…? They can't be…" Irma said breathlessly.

"I'm sorry Irma." Taranee said checking for a pulse. "But it's too late. For both of them."

"What… What happened?" Cornelia asked, trying to maintain her composure.

"It was me." Irma said quietly. "I attacked, I didn't know… the roof must have collapsed on them. It's all my fault."

"Irma, you can't blame yourself." Cornelia said, helping Irma to her feet. "Any of us could have done it."

"But you didn't." Irma said, "I did. Just like every other time. I mess up, I make the mistakes."

"Irma…"

"Except this time it's not just my life I messed up, but hers."

Irma pointed to Selna, sitting silently by her mother's body. Tears streamed down her face, but she said nothing. Taranee kneeled beside her, not knowing what to say. She was about to comfort the girl, when Taranee noticed something hanging abound the girls' neck.

"Is that…?" Taranee whispered. "Hey girls, I think I know why the Shadow Walker was here."

Carefully, Taranee removed the Heart from around Selna's neck. The young girl did not resist.

"The Heart of Balsilide." Cornelia said, examining the jewel. "That must be what it's after."

"And it killed this girls family to get it." Taranee said.

"No, it didn't."

The three Guardians looked down to see Selna getting up, tears running down her cheek.

"He wasn't going to hurt them. But then you came!" Selna said, pointing at Irma. "You attacked! You destroyed our house! And you killed my family!"

Irma stood there, stunned.

"Please, she didn't mean too." Taranee said, trying to comfort Selna.

Taranee glanced at Irma, but the Water Guardians had turned, hiding her face.

"What's going on here?"

The girls turned to see Balken and the R.E.G appear in the street, swords drawn and surveying the scene. Orube was also accompanying them.

"Your ally, whose presence on Balsilide we will talk about later, alerted us to an attack, and instead we find this!"

"The Shadow Walker did indeed attack." Taranee said. "Will and Hay Lin have chased him off. He was looking for this. The Heart of Balsilide.

"Facinating." Balken said, eyeing the jewel. "There are many who believe such an item is a myth."

"I assure you it's not." Grimm, the team's magician, said. "Instead, it is the most powerful magical device in the world. To see it up close is… breathtaking."

"Trust me, you don't want the Shadow Walker to get his hands on it." Taranee said. "Now take it, and the girl, and get as far away from here as you can."

"You do not give us orders, Guardian." Balken said proudly.

"I'm not giving you orders, I'm giving you the most powerful weapon on the planet." Taranee said calmly.

Balken thought this over, and decided to accept the Heart. The girl Selna, however, was not as willing.

"No! I'm not going! I want to stay with my mother and my sister! You can't take me!" Selna screamed, resisting the members of the R.E.G.

"Child, what is your name?" Balken asked, with a gentleness that surprised the Guardians.

"Selna."

"Selna. A beautiful name." Balken replied in a sweet voice. "Selna, I'm sorry for what happened today, but wouldn't your mother want you to be safe?"

Selna thought this over, then reluctantly followed the archer Syln to safety. Taranee was glad to see the girl go, but couldn't shake the mistrust she felt towards Balken. Putting her suspicion aside for now, she got around to the task at hand.

"I'm going to fill in Will and Hay Lin on the situation here." Taranee said, focusing her telepathic powers.

For a few seconds, Taranee went silent, closing her eyes and contacting Will. When she opened her eyes, they were filled with fear.

"Everybody, move!"

The group scattered just as Hay Lin slammed into the ground at their feet. Stunned, Hay Lin looked up, just as Will landed beside her.

"I thought you chased the Shadow Walker away!" Cornelia said, helping the girls to their feet.

"Yeah, well, he chased us right back!" Will said, pointing to the sky.

The Guardians and the R.E.G dove for cover as the Shadow Walker landed in front of them. Thinking quickly, Hay Lin used a small tornado to keep the Shadow Walker off-balance, while Cornelia created a stone cage around him.

"It's over, Shadow Walker." Will said. "You can't hope to defeat all of us."

"Debatable." The Shadow Walker replied calmly. "But irrelevant. I don't need to defeat any of you."

Quickly, the Shadow Walker passed through the bars of his cage, weaving between the Guardians before they had a chance to attack. With incredible speed, he headed straight for Balken. With a swift punch of a now solid fist, it knocked Balken down, grabbing the Heart of Balsilide in a fluid motion. The R.E.G, with the help of the Guardians, quickly surrounded the Shadow Walker, but any attempt to stop the villain failed, as swords and elements simply went through his intangible form. With great speed, and before Will could think of a plan, the Shadow Walker passed through the line of heroes, and slipped into a dark alleyway. Hay Lin gave chase, momentarily, but quickly realized it was in vain.

"He escaped!" Balken said, getting to his feet. "You let him escape!"

"We? What do you mean, we?" Cornelia shouted back. "You had the Heart!"

"A heart he never would have gotten if it wasn't for your incompetence!" Balken replied. "A stone cage? Really? Is that the best you can do?"

Will wanted desperately to shout back at Balken with Cornelia, but she knew well enough not to. The Shadow Walker was a powerful enemy, and to defeat it, the girls would need powerful allies.

"Look, this fixes nothing." Will said, standing between the bickering parties. "We both want the same goal. We stand a better chance of taking down this Shadow Walker guy together, then alone."

Balken frowned, but could not help but see the logic in this statement.

"We will take the girl." Balken said, checking on Selna's safety. "We will take care of her."

"Um, girl? Why is there a girl?" Will asked. She looked back to Taranee, who only shook her head. "Fine, whatever. What if the Shadow Walker attacks again?"

"We will… contact you." Balken said, stumbling over the sentence. "If necessary."

"Good enough." Will said. "For now."

The two parties turned their separate ways. Irma didn't want to look back at Selna, but she had no choice. Staring into the young girls eyes, she found only hatred, no forgiveness. Irma could hardly blame her. They had lost, she thought as Will folded them back to Earth. In every sense of the word, they had lost and she had failed. And Irma had a horrible feeling that it wouldn't be the last time either.