Just as she reached out to grip the angels hand, Tasukis arms went around her, hauling her into the air a second too late. When Kyokos index finger barely brushed the outstretched hands of the statue, it caused large beams of light to erupt from the exact spot she had touched. To Tasuki, it looked as though a barrel of Fourth of July fireworks had just been set off right in their face.
One of those beams of light hit the left side of Tasukis chest making the twelve year old wince in surprise. Instead of pain from the impact, he felt the sensation of something rushing in to fill him up like hed been missing something all his life and it had finally come home.
His eyes widened when he saw a beautiful ribbon of florescent blue light still connecting the hands of the statue to Kyokos fingertips as though it were trying to keep them linked together. Tasuki blinked when, for a split second, he saw a beautiful crystal spinning around inside the ribbon. Wanting Kyoko away from it, he stumbled backwards with her held tightly in his arms.
The crystal spun faster and faster until it exploded, sending more shards of light straight up this time and out across the city looking like a beautiful starburst in the dark night.
Tasuki breathed heavily. When he had snuck back to his bedroom window, hed seen the strange man with Kyoko in his arms and panicked seeing that she was limp. He wasnt sure what that man had done to her but hed felt satisfaction when that light had sucked him up and taken those red eyed demons with him.
The angel needs our help, Kyoko screamed trying to wiggle loose from Tasuki but he was too strong. Seeing her grandpa step in between her and the statue, she cried out not understanding, There are demons inside that statue and theyre going to hurt him. You fight demons go help him please!
Leaning back against Tasuki, she sobbed when she saw that fearful expression once again cross her grandpas face, except this time it was much worse. You cant help him?
Grandpa Hogo turned around and looked inside the shrine. The barrier scrolls hed placed all over the inside of the small structure were still smoldering, now mostly ash. Backing out of the shrine, he glanced at the young boy that was holding his granddaughter and felt chills crawl up his spine. Tasukis eyes were normally a soft brown not the angry amethyst he was now using to glare at the statue.
His blood had ran colder than ice when hed witnessed the connection Kyoko made with the Maiden Statue and Grandpa knew their time had finally run out. The appearance of the crystal was bad enough, but seeing it shatter like that filled him with dread. He also hadn't missed the fact that a piece of the crystal had slammed into young Tasukis chest.
The scrolls were right, he whispered hoarsely, wishing it had been a lie.
Grandpa Hogo lifted his eyes skyward and sent a silent prayer to whatever deity was listening to guide him. He needed to get the children away from here and, more importantly he needed to get Kyoko away from Tasuki. Without meaning too, that boy would lead the demons right to Kyoko, and the guardians of the crystal would soon follow.
Tasuki flinched when Kyoko was pulled out of his arms. He turned his amethyst gaze on the one that had taken her from him her grandfather. He really shouldnt be gripping her shoulders like that.
Tasuki, you shouldnt be out here after dark. If you dont want me waking your father, then Id advise you to go home. Now, Grandpa Hogo demanded in a harsh voice. He shoved Kyoko into Tamas waiting arms and turned on the two grandchildren that had been left in his care.
Tasuki stared at Kyoko, watching as she buried her face in Tamas chest and continued to cry for the angel that she was sure had been killed by the demons.
Kyoko, Ill be waiting to walk you to school in the morning, Tasuki stated and sent one last glare at the shrine before heading back toward his own home.
Grandpa Hogo waited until Tasuki crawled back through his bedroom window. He took a deep breath knowing he was going to be in for a severe tongue lashing once his grandchildren understood what they were about to do.
Pack up kids we are leaving within the hour, He instructed.
*****
Present day PIT Headquarters, the Castle.
Storm leaned back in the chair and stared up at the ceiling, lost in his own thoughts about the guardians. The legend behind the original guardians told of a strange love story that was paradoxical in nature.
He had become curious after finding the strange legend and traced it back to a powerful crystal known as the Guardian Heart Crystal. That alone had been no easy feat seeing as how the legend would be written on paper or carved into a stone one minute and gone the next, leaving no proof that it had ever even existed. It was an enigma even to a Time Walker.
The oldest legend hed found on the dimensional crystal told the story of guardian twins, two immortals that protected all of the human parallel worlds from overlapping into the demon realm. These two powerful immortals had fallen in love with a human girl that had come through a tear between the dimensions with the help of a crystal her father had created.
The two guardians had fought over her, almost destroying the seal they were supposed to be protecting.
One of the twins had sought to end the dangerous conflict by taking the paradoxical crystal and merging it with the girls soul along with a statue hed created of her that was made out of the fabric that separated all dimensions. He thought that by merging the three, she would appear in every parallel world they protected.
He had intended to then shove his twin brother into one of those parallel worlds and seal it off from the demon world so that they could both have her. Things didnt go as planned though. When the girl, the statue, and the crystal had merged, shed suddenly disappeared from the demon realm and the rip was once again sealed.
When the other brother found out what his twin had done to separate them from the girl, hed flown into a jealous rage and killed his brother, shattering both of their souls. Because they were immortal and can never truly die, the souls reformed and five new guardians had stepped forward still feeling the pull of the girl who now existed in all parallel worlds.
He looked up at the ceiling knowing those were the same five guardians that had taken residence on the third floor of the castle.
The riddle was hard for Storm to understand, because not only did the crystal shift space and time it also shifted dimensions. Hed learned a long time ago to just stay out of things that were beyond a Time Walkers ability to manipulate. With the demons invading LA and his powers already on the fritz, it wasnt the best time for him to be pressing his luck unless he wanted to wind up in a parallel world with no way back to this one.
Nope the guardians were on their own.
Chapter 2
Tasukis mood hadnt improved much since returning to the station. All the way here, he could hear other officers over the radio reporting in on demon sightings. It kept reminding him of the first time he had ever seen a demon the same night Kyoko disappeared.
He touched the place on his side where the light had entered him that night and frowned in remembrance of his fear and disappointment when he found the Hogo family gone the next morning. Hed showed up to walk Kyoko to school like he had promised, only to find the house abandoned.
It was something that had haunted him for a long time and he still hadnt gotten over it. Hell, he still had Kyokos birthday present. It was a small golden promise ring that his grandmother Mrs. Tully had helped him pick out.
For the last eleven years, hed been having dreams about Kyoko and demons. Strangely enough, as hed grown up, so had she in his dreams and the dreams were getting more frequent and disturbing. The thought of her out there somewhere in danger was what kept him up at night.
Sighing, he pushed Kyoko from his mind and watched as four of the five guards from the raided warehouse were taken across the street to the precinct so they could be questioned by Boris and his crew.
The guard that had almost shot Micah was going to be placed in the special interrogation room right here in the detectives department. The room had been set up and reinforced just in case they brought in any type of paranormal even some low level demons if they had to.
Looking around at the SWAT team, Tasuki almost snorted at the way some of the officers were acting all proud of themselves, puffing out their chests and patting each others backs for a job well done.
Personally, the only thing Tasuki thought theyd done was save three of the many kidnapped women and capture a few guards that were more muscle than brains. He wasnt going to even consider celebrating unless one of those guards spilled the beans on where Lucca was holding the rest of the captives. He seriously doubted these lackeys knew much outside their own little jobs and their next cigarette.
He leaned against the wall watching as the big van backed up into the side garage of their building. His guess was that it would be Titus overseeing the removal of the she-wolf from the back of the van Titus being Alpha and all. If it had been up to him, shed walk into this building on her own two legs or four either way it would be her own choice.
As it stood now, her rescuers were keeping her just as much of a prisoner as the slave traders had done.
Tasuki just watched with a heavy glare as Titus got out of the drivers side of the van and slammed the door. The main reason for the glare was the small crowd of men standing around the back of the van waiting for a glimpse of the so called she-wolf. His attention was taken when Micah came around the other side of the van with the fifth guard none too gently he might add.
Micah had a firm hold of the guards jacket collar and was pushing him past the van. Tasuki smiled inwardly seeing that the cougar was getting a small slice of revenge as he forced the struggling man ahead of him. The werewolfs feet were shackled very close together, making it hard for him to take more than a baby step at a time.
Having fun? Tasuki asked as Micah approached.
Not yet, Micah said with a smirk and pulled back hard on the werewolfs collar so that the material of the shirt under the jacket pulled tight around his throat. The man made a strangling sound as he reared backwards. But getting there.
Tasuki arched an eyebrow at Micahs behavior but had to agree that if someone had put a gun to his head hed be acting the same way. The guard saw him and snarled, showing all of his human looking teeth and Tasuki tilted his head wondering why the werewolf would even think that was scary when he was in his human form.
Yeah, yeah. Roar, snarl, drool to you too asshole, Tasuki shot back in a bored tone of voice.
Micah laughed at Tasukis courage in the face of a pissed off werewolf. He was starting to think that there was a good chance Tasuki would be the one to walk away from it if a fight broke out. Something about the rookie always made him look twice and a shifter never ignored gut instinct.
He pushed the guard ahead of him toward the special interrogation room and gave him a kick in the ass for good measure. The guard stumbled forward making his shoulder hit the steel edge of the door jamb. An involuntary yelp escaped the mans lips sounding distinctly like a kicked puppy instead of a ferocious werewolf.
Oops, Micah's voice dripped with sarcasm. Did that hurt? I would be gentler, but I seem to have a problem with people who try to put bullet holes in my brain. So if I seem moody, please take it personally.
He took additional pleasure by literally throwing the werewolf inside the room. He sighed in contentment when the male crashed into the titanium table that was bolted to the floor in the center of the room.
Walking in behind him, Micah grabbed the werewolf and forced him into the matching titanium chair that looked much like the electrocution chairs they used for executions in the prisons. As soon as the werewolf noticed what kind of chair it was, he seemed to get another burst of energy and attempted to fight. Micah actually enjoyed wrestling the guards wrists into the bands on the arms of the chair and locking them in place.
Now, no gnawing off of the limbs until were done okay? Micah instructed ignoring the long stream of curses being flung at him.
Tasuki shook his head at Micahs antics then turned his gaze back toward the van where he could see the edges of the cage through the open doors. Just knowing there was a female inside that cage was disturbing him on many levels but only he understood the full extent of why.
Blocking the memory, he pushed away from the wall when Titus walked toward him empty handed.
So, what are you going to do? Tasuki asked quietly. Put her cage inside of the cell?
Titus frowned at the sarcastic edge of Tasukis voice. Ill open her cage and put her in a cell in a few minutes. Double caging her would be overkill at this point but we need a place for her to stay until we can figure out what will be the safest for her.
Why not let her stay at Night Light with the rest of the werewolves? At least that way shed be under supervision, Tasuki offered having thought about it on the way over.
Titus shook his head, Thats a worse idea than putting her in a jail cell.
Tasuki frowned, I dont get it.
You see the way theyre all gathered around her cage right? Titus asked giving the crowd a disapproving gaze.
Yeah its getting on my nerves, Tasuki pointed out.
Titus locked eyes with him feeling a little more respect for the new recruit. Then maybe we should break up the sightseeing tour.
Micah chose that moment to join them and glared at the officers, Yeah, theyre acting like dogs in heat.
Tasuki cocked an eyebrow at the similarity, In this case its probably true.
More than you know, Titus offered and turned on the men in question. All right boys, time to get back to work, he informed them. Its not like you guys havent seen a female werewolf before.
Titus frowned when a couple of them looked like they werent going to obey their sex drive already making them think with the wrong head. He really wasnt in the mood to flex his Alpha muscles. As far as he was concerned, he was only the temporary Alpha but Boris seemed to think it was permanent. With Lucca the only other acting Alpha in the city, it looked like temporary role play wasnt an option.
Now! Titus thundered making the men jump and scatter. Once they were gone, he walked up to the cage door and unlocked it in preparation to move the she-wolf into a holding cell where she would be safe.
Isnt there an officer not living at Night Light that you can get to watch over her so she isnt in another cage? Tasuki asked feeling his skin crawl the closer he got to the cage.