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Written by Fulgur
Illustrated by Crosschan

Chapter 21

Guardian's Duty

"Leik..." whispered Mrs. Tain and closed her eyes.
I've looked at Shawn.
"Who are you?" I said. "What are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same question," shrugged Shawn. "Who is the old lady - and why is she calling me Leik?"
"Leik was her husband," supplied Grace the information. "A long time ago..."
"Well, do I look like her husband?" Shawn was puzzled. "I sure hope not!"
"You haven't answered my question!" I shouted. "Why are you in the Unknown Land?"
"Unlike you intruders, I'm living here," said Shawn. "It's your appearance that, frankly, puzzles me. I don't have many visitors."
"Maybe that's because you always try to kill them," I suggested.
"Oh, don't get me wrong," said Shawn. "I'm not after you. Raia is the only one I have to kill."
I took a breath but Shawn interrupted me.
"You're going to ask why I want to kill her. But that would be just a waste, wouldn't it? You know why. We both know."
"You believe that Raia is responsible for all the evil," I said. "But the Queen..."
"I know all about the Queen," said Shawn. "Raia might be innocent of the crimes usually ascribed to her - but that changes nothing. As long as she lives, the danger posed by the Queen won't cease. Only after she dies the Queen can be defeated. It's as simple as that."
In the meanwhile, Linda was trying to wake up Mrs. Tain.
She slowly opened her eyes. "What... happened?" she asked.
"You fainted," Linda informed her. "Your age and such things, I guess."
"Don't get fresh with me!" snapped Mrs. Tain. Then she saw Shawn.
"Your looks... a spitting image..." she muttered.
"Look, old lady, I'm not your husband, OK?" snapped Shawn.
"He might be another one of your descendants," suggested Grace.
Mrs. Tain looked dubious. "I'm... not sure... really..."
"OK, OK." Max put himself forward. "Look - I am going to give you a very simple question: Why are you living here? It's far from any civilization."
Shawn laughed. "You got that right - but it's no further from civilization than the rest of this world. Your villages and cities - you call that civilization? I don't need any of that."
"You are using geomancy to travel," I said. "Am I correct?"
Shawn shrugged. "A different kind than you lot. I'm not a Geomancer... but I have diagrams preserved in stasis - and I can use them when I want."
"You are not alone, I bet," said Max. "You are serving someone more powerful - am I right?"
Shawn laughed again. "Try guessing, boy! By the way, how's Willow?"
"Willow?" I repeated.
"You know her as Soot. She has many names, I gathered," shrugged Shawn. "I hope she's OK."
"You... you were..."
"We were a couple at one time. Oh? Didn't she tell you? Girly secrets, I suppose."
"You are going to tell us what you know," I said. "No more jokes, Shawn. We were fighting before and I've always beaten you."
He shrugged. "Well? Where's your sword now?"
I hesitated.
"I have good information," said Shawn. "I know Raia has awakened - and I know where she went."
"Are you going to try and kill her again?" I inquired.
He shook his head. "There is no need. Raia plans to destroy the Queen once and for all - and to achieve that goal, she has to sacrifice herself, too."
"What?"
Shawn smiled again, but this time it wasn't pleasing at all.
"My task is to stop you from intervening until the fight is over. And in case Raia fails, I will be her backup. As I said - once she's dead, defeating the Queen becomes very easy."

"Don't... don't cry," stammered May. "We're not going to spank you, I promise..."
"We should!" objected Soot. "She's just pretending, definitely!"
"Maybe she doesn't," said Rosey. She looked at Stella with sympathy. "Spanking her like that would be... mean."
"But Jean still has our money!" protested Soot.
"And she can't really get out of here, can she?" said May. "I mean, nobody would take on board a twelve-years old girl alone! She doesn't know where to go, and besides..."
She didn't finish the sentence. Besides, she thought, there's probably no place in this world where a girl could avoid a spanking.

I was looking at Shawn.
"We are going to pass around you - or through you!" I shouted.
"You can't defeat me here," objected Shawn. "Not in my own home."
He put his hand in a pocket and put out a glass ball.
"I can use Geomancy against you, easily. I would prefer not to, though."
"Why are you doing this?" cried Linda. "Why... are you so mean?"
"Mean?" replied Shawn. "I'm not mean. I'm realistic. You won't understand. But Raia would."
True, Raia could make a painful choice, I thought. Whether it hurt her - or someone else.
"The Queen would destroy our world," said Shawn firmly. "No sacrifice is too large to stop her."
"What danger, exactly?"
We turned towards Mrs. Tain.
"I know the Queen, young man," she barked. "True, she is dangerous, but she wants to rule the world, not to destroy it. People of today think that Raia wanted to destroy the world, but..."
"You know nothing, old lady," said Shawn with a scorn. "Nothing at all."
"Then explain to me!" shouted Mrs. Tain. "Why do you think the Queen would destroy the world?"
"I know it!"
Shawn was breathing heavily. "Why is it important? It's true, that's all you need to know!"
"Tell me the reason!"
Shawn took a deep breath.
"You just wouldn't understand," he said. "None of you. This is why... it's my duty."
"Try us."

"Don't cry anymore," sighed Soot. "OK, I promise we are not going to spank you, but we still have to get your friend and get our money back, at least. It's the only money we have."
Stella nodded. "It was really stupid what we did, right?" she asked.
Soot smirked. "Everybody does stupid things - at time. I did, too."
"You won't tell Dad? I won't be able sit for a week if you do!"
"Spanks hard, does he?" May grimaced in a gesture of understanding.
Stella sighed. "Yes..."
"Did Jean really go to the harbor?" demanded Soot.
"Yes..."
Soot actually laughed. "She actually thinks somebody will take her on board?"
"Well, yes!" said Stella. "I mean, we already made the deal with one of the captains..."
She trailed off and covered her mouth, but her shocked expression was nothing compared to Soot's.
"You did what?"

They called themselves The Ascended Ones.
Shawn didn't know their origins, he just knew that they lived in the emptiness beyond the skies. And they were powerful. Immensely powerful.
"Every one of them," he said, "could destroy this world on a whim. Most of them, I think, is not even aware we exist - which is good. But some are.
Several years ago, one of them visited me in my dreams. He told me about the Queen, that she's about to awake and that I must destroy her."
"What if it was just a dream?" objected Grace.
Shawn shook his head. "It wasn't. I received power to do this task."
"But if they are as powerful as you say, surely it would be easy for them to destroy Queen by themselves?"
Shawn laughed. "Of course! But if they did it themselves, noone of us would survive! They would simply erase this world from existence. I am... the last chance of humanity, the chance to prove our worthiness before them and slay the Queen!"
"Soot has a strange taste in guys," murmured Max.
"She grew suspicious," shrugged Shawn. "I needed her, as she could get almost anywhere. I never traveled a lot before."
"But you never loved her, right?" asked Grace.
He shrugged. "Nope. And she never loved me. We were business associates, nothing more."
"She might have seen it differently."
"I don't care!" barked Shawn. "I know the meaning of my life, and right now it's to prevent you from going any further."
With zeal, he bared his sword.
This spelt trouble.

With Swarm's help, they were soon flying in an octahedron towards the pier.
"You fools!" yelled Soot. "What did you think?"
Stella shrugged. "We..."
"Did you know anyone on that ship?"
"No, it was here some weeks ago, and the captain said he can take us the next time he comes here..."
"You stupid girl!" said Soot, but the force wasn't there anymore.
"There's the ship!" said Stella.
It was a pretty small ship. And ordinary.
Nothing strange.
The octahedron landed in front of it.
"Jean?" shouted Stella. "Jean!"
No response.
"The entrance is closed," said May. "But Soot, I still don't get..."
"Yes, you wouldn't," sighed Soot. "You don't have a criminal mind, May, but I do. And I can imagine lots of bad things that might happen to Jean in there."
She raised her fist and hit the door several times.
"We give them some time," she hissed. "And if they won't respond..."
"Yes?" asked Rosey.
Soot smirked. "We're going to storm that thing."

"I don't wish to kill you," said Shawn. "But I will also not refrain from it, so don't push me."
My own sword was useless and we both knew it.
"You crazy fool!" shouted Grace. She looked enraged. "Even if those beings you talk about existed - and I don't believe you, by the way - what right do they have to mess with us?"
"They have no right," agreed Shawn. "But they have the power."
"Oh, so is this one of those 'might makes right' arguments?"
"No," shrugged Shawn. "Might makes might, and that's all there is."
"Why do they want to destroy the Queen?"
Shawn shrugged again. "I don't know. That's not my concern. My task is clear."
He turned his head towards Grace - and in that moment, he was hit by Linda's shoe.
He staggered and Max used the moment to hit his arm and knock the sword out of it. I grabbed the weapon.
"OK," I said. "You said your thing. Now, we are going. And if you wish to stop us..."
Shawn sighed. "You are really a bother." Then he turned around...
The last thing we saw was a ball with a strange shape inside. It burst...

Merta slowly opened her eyes. Raia was standing in front of her, carefully erasing several lines in the mindscape seal.
The memories of intervening time flooded Merta's mind.
"You fooled me," she said. There was no anger in her voice, just sadness.
"Yes," nodded Raia. Her voice sounded with the same sorrow.
"Why did you wake me up then?"
"Because..." Raia hesitated. "Because I won't probably have the chance to talk to you anymore. We are getting close to the end. I thought... that we might be similar enough for you to understand."
Merta smiled. "I understand what you are doing. Maybe, Raia... maybe we never were two different people in the first place. Maybe... I was just another part of yourself."
Raia shrugged. "That's not important anymore."
"Because we are going to die?"
"Does it bother you?"
Merta nodded. "I love Zack. If I die, he will be very unhappy. And I want him to be happy. I want us to be happy, too."
"We were not born to be happy," said Raia. "You better get used to it. We are nothing but a part of big tragedy. And this is the final act."

In one moment, she was diving out of the way, in another, there was a flash...
Linda opened her eyes. All the others were gone.
A little shape rotated in the air where they used to be.
"You're good," said Shawn. "But not good enough to beat me."
"What did you do to them?"
"I put them away. I'll release them when this is over. In the meantime..."
He moved towards Linda.
"It's just two of us now. You can't beat the Queen by yourself, even if you would escape."
"If I beat you, you will release them!" cried Linda. Her fingernails elongated and transformed into claws.
"If you beat me." Shawn took out another Geomancy globe. "Let me see you try."

Swarm drew a tetrahedron and sent it towards the ship entrance. They exploded.
"Sorry if we're going in uninvited," she smirked.
"What are you doing!"
A man appeared in the doorway. He was looking quite enraged. His eyebrows were sizzling.
"Ah!" said Soot brightly. "Good from you you've shown yourself! We understand there is a young girl on your ship, named Jean..."
"No passengers are on board."
"Would you mind if we searched your ship?"
The man smirked nastily.
"Actually, yes, I would mind quite a lot."
Several more men stepped out.
"You think you can take us on? You're just a bunch of girls!"
"What did you do with my friend?" cried Stella. "I want to see her!"
The man sighed. "If you insist... Capture them all! We'll get a good price on them anyways."

"Where are we?" I asked
Mrs. Tain sighed. "Secret room. I should know he has some trick up his sleeve. He was far too confident."
The room was roughly spherical in shape, with surface broken in squares and triangles. The walls seemed solid. When you tapped them, it made no sound at all.
"Linda stayed outside," said Grace. "She dodged in time, I think..."
"Raia enclosed me in this place when I met her for the first time," mused Mrs. Tain.
"Shorten the memory trip," said Max. "Can you get us out?"
"I don't think so. I have no power anymore, you know."
"So you mean we just wait in here?" I cried. "Until Raia does whatever she pleases?"
I kicked the wall. It didn't budge.
"I think..."
"Answer me!" I was furious. I grabbed Mrs. Tain and shook her. "I love Merta! I won't let her die! There must be something that can be done!"
"Zack!" gasped Grace.
I let go of Mrs. Tain and she slumped to the ground.
She was unconscious.

"I can sense your thoughts," said Merta, dreamily. "I know you love Zack, too."
Raia hesitated. "Then you must understand why I'm doing this. In a world controlled by Queen, Zack could be never truly happy."
"But can he be truly happy in a world without us?"
"He can find happiness with another girl."
"What about our happiness, Raia?"
"Don't try this on me! I won't change my mind!"
"Whoever we are," said Merta, "However we were created, we have right to be happy, like anyone else."
"Would you oppose me for this 'happiness' of yours?"
"Yes."
"Then it's just as good I've sealed you in here. I won't let anyone affect my decision."
Merta just smiled. "We shall see... Raia."

Mrs. Tain opened her eyes. She was still enclosed in the rhombicuboctahedron, the secret room of Geomancers.
But all the others were gone.
She jumped. "What... is going on here?"
Her voice sounded different.
She looked at her hands. No wrinkles. None at all.
"How do you feel, my Lady?" asked a voice.
She turned around.
Shawn was standing there, smiling.
"What did you do to the others?" she demanded angrily.
"Nothing. I just wanted to talk to you... privately. You're in my mindscape... Veronica."
Mrs. Tain gasped. "Noone knows my first name!"
"Noone. Except me."
The man sighed. "You missed Shawn for me when you met him for the first time. And now you're doing the same mistake again. I am not him. I am..."
"You're... Leik?"
"Yes."

The globe flashed and a wall of pentagons and hexagons enclosed Linda in.
"Sorry," he said. "You can't break this barrier."
Linda desperately struck, but her claws did no damage to the sparkling cage.
"See? Why can't you understand? I'm just doing the right thing."
"You are a monster!" hissed Linda. "Let us go!"
"I won't."

Swarm blurred. In a flash, she struck with her arms, dispatching two of the men.
"This was just a warning," she said. "We don't wish you harm. Release the girl."
The men jumped from the ship.
One of them grabbed Soot and held a knife at her throat.
"One false move, and I'll..."
Soot dug her heel in his crotch.
"Yes?" she asked pleasantly as the man was moaning in pain on the ground. "Please, do continue? I'm really interested in what you have to say."
Swarm and Soot stepped forward, while May stayed with Stella. Swarm swung her arm, stretched it for several metres and brought the leader towards her.
"We are not your average victims," she said. "You will release the girl."
"OK, OK!" gasped the man. "Send her out!"
A short while later, a man appeared in the doorway.
May gasped, for the man was huge - almost twice as tall as her and very muscular. His skin was almost black.
He was carrying an unconscious girl. He layed her on the ground and bowed.
"I am... sorry," he said.
"That's enough, Nako, go back!" barked the man. "Go back in!"
Swarm released him.
"Take her!" he spat. "But a day will come when you are going to regret this!"
"Leave this island," said Soot, calmly. "Never come back again. That's my advice."
The girls turned and left. Soot was carrying Jean. Only Swarm stayed for a while, to ensure no problems.
After she, too, vanished, there was noone to witness a small, agile creature that jumped from the ship and followed in their tracks.

"I never thought I will see you again," said Leik. "It's been... a long time."
"I didn't think I will see you again, too," replied Mrs. Tain. "You left without a word of goodbye, you know."
Leik nodded. "Because I discovered the truth. The truth about Geomancy... the truth about our world."
"Oh, really? Do tell me."
"Shawn has told you about The Ascended Ones, right?"
"And?"
Leik hesitated. "Veronica... I... I'm one of them. I have found the truth and I have Ascended."
"So you're the one who threatens to destroy this world?"
"No! Not me, I... I want to save it. But you don't understand how others feel about the Queen. They want to see her annihilated and they consider the destruction of this planet a small price to pay for that."
"Why?"
"Because the Queen... is a weapon, Veronica. She is a disease that can infect and destroy us. That's why I couldn't take an action myself. That's why I..."
"Why you created Shawn."
"Yes. I copied my old physical structure - that's why he looks like me. I gave him instructions."
"Pardon me to say so, Leik, but this wasn't one of your brightest decisions."
"I fear the Queen, too, Veronica. Try to understand, The Ascended Ones... us... we are immortal. We don't age, we never die. Something that can destroy us... it's too terrible to think about."
"Why does the Queen have this power?"
Leik shook his head. "I'm sorry. I told you too much as it is. You could get in serious trouble if I told you more."
"Leik, how can the Queen be destroyed?"
Leik hesitated again. "For complete destruction, everybody with her parts in the blood would have to cease to exist."
"All the Geomancers?"
"Not just them. Queen has found her way into almost everybody. But... I don't believe such a destruction is truly necessary."
"So, you propose?"
"If the Queen is weakened... diluted in many people, she can't think. She can't act. She's basically harmless. It's because of what we did, all those centuries ago... Because of what we created... that she came to power. Right now, the Queen has a vessel. A human being whose mind she destroyed. She lives in her and she concots her plans from there. But there is... a backup. The Queen has placed a secondary control system in Raia's body, Veronica. If her current body will die, Raia will awaken as a new Queen."
Mrs. Tain gasped. "So that's why..."
"If Raia dies either before the Queen or at the same time, the Queen's consciousness will be dissipated and she will cease to be the threat. The Ascended Ones will be content with such solution."
"Isn't there another way?"
"You want her to live?"
"We created her. We are responsible for her. She's a living, sentient being, not just a... a toy we can just dismantle when we're done with her!"
Leik nodded. "I thought so. There might be a way. But it's much more dangerous and less reliable than the first one."
"I don't care!"
"If you decide to do it and you fail, I will be forced to destroy this world. It would be my duty as The Ascended One... and as an appointed guardian. Do you accept this?"
"I can't let her die. I am going to take responsibility for her!"
Leik sighed. "Most of us got rid of human emotions long time ago, Veronica. Sometimes... I wish I did likewise. But I still love you, even after all this time. I'm going to let you go. Here's what you need to do, so listen well."

"Why is she sleeping?" asked Stella.
"She was probably given a sleeping drug," sighed Soot. "Strong herbal extract, things like that. She will be fine."
"They would... sell her?"
"They would sell both of you," said Soot. "Yes."
"Where to?"
"No idea. But there must be some place where they would succeed."
"I've never seen a person like that man..." mused May. "He must be from far away."
Stella sighed. "I'm... really sorry for everything. Are you... going to tell my parents?"
"Nope," sighed Soot. "This would just freak them out. Jean will wake up soon."
"Thanks."
"But there is still the money you've taken."
"Ah..."
"Jean doesn't have it. I guess the men on the ship took it from her - basically, it's lost."
"I see..."
Tears sparkled in Stella's eyes. "So... I'm going to get a spanking after all, right?"
"What do you think?"
"Well..." She nodded. "I guess I need it. Will you spank Jean, too?"
"No," said Soot. "She went through something that must have been quite worse. As for you..."
She smiled. "I think that a hand spanking will be enough for you. Just to give you a warning."
"Thank you."
They went in the alley with the stolen Max's cart.
"There's nothing to sit on here," said Soot, "so just bend over the cart."
"OK..."
Soot flipped up the girl's skirt and slowly pulled down her knickers.
"Well now, shall we start?"
"Soot," said May.
"Yes?"
"I don't want you to spank her."
"What do you mean?"
May sighed. "She had stolen money from Max... and from me. I should be the one to punish her."
"But..."
"Soot, please."
"OK, then..."
Soot stepped back to Rosey. Swarm joined them, silently.
May, her heart beating fast, came towards Stella, put her left hand on the girl's back and raised her right arm to deliver a stinging smack to the rear.
"Ouch!" yelped Stella.
"I'm sorry to do this," said May. She smacked her again. And again.
"No!"
"I know you hate this," said May quietly. "So do I. But with Soot, it would be worse, believe me."
Holding her firmly down, she smacked her bottom again and again. She only stopped when Stella started to sob heavily.
"That's enough," said May. "I hope you will remember this."
"That's not enough!" protested Soot. "She deserves much more!"
"I say that she deserves about this much," replied May evenly. "If I went too easy on her, Max might punish me for that when he comes back. But it's no concern of yours."
Soot sighed. "You're too kind for your own good. But I'm not going to argue."
She turned to sobbing Stella who pulled her knickers up in the meanwhile. "Don't do this again. Ever," she said. "Remember that you still got off only with a light spanking."
Stella nodded. "Ye..es."
Soot smiled. "In that case, we'll accompany you home. It's getting late."
Not even Swarm noticed a pale form that was sitting on the roof. But the creature took a good notice of them.
Silently, it followed their way.

"Wake up!" I cried. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't get so angry, but..."
Mrs. Tain slowly opened her eyes. She had a distant, very sad look in them.
"That's OK, Zack," she said, quietly. "It wasn't your fault."
She looked at Max and Grace. "Be ready."
With a silent "pop" the room disappeared and we were back in the Shawn's house.
Linda was sitting on the ground, looking bewildered. "What has just...?" she asked.
We looked around. Shawn was lying on the ground.
"Did you knock him out?" I asked.
"No, it wasn't me," said Linda. "I really don't know..."
"Let's go," said Mrs. Tain. "We have a long way to travel. We have to save Merta, after all."
She smiled, but the sadness was still there.
"What happened?" I asked her. "What happened while you were out?"
She just smiled again. "Don't worry. It's not of your concern, Zack."

End of Chapter 21


  May's Readers' Corner:
Well, surprise - today I have administered a spanking for the first time! And you know what, I hated it almost as much as if I got spanked myself - which I might yet be! I guess I'm just not the same type as Zack or Max...
And we lost the money, but at least we have the cart - tomorrow we hope to sell something... but wait! Who is that creature that is trailing us? What does it want?
Well, you will all see in the next Chapter, titled "The Love Song of Night and Day"! See you there
Oh, what is Zack doing???

May, signing off!

Grace's Readers' Corner:
Something weird is happening with Mrs. Tain. What is she planning? And what happened to Shawn?
You will see in next Chapter, titled "The Last Debt Is Called"! So take care until then!