Guardian Angels chapter 3

Kalin wandered through the historical section of the library, searching for more than a measly two books on the history of Mountainview University. She scrunched up her nose, already having been chewing on her lip for the last fifteen minutes. “This shouldn’t be this difficult to find.” she muttered crossly.

"Can I help you?” a young woman pulling a cart full of books stopped to raise an eyebrow at her. Kalin quickly smoothed out her face and plastered on a smile.

“Sorry. Um, I’m looking for a few books on the history of the school. This is all I’ve managed to find so far.” Kalin held out her two books.

The young woman hummed, her brown eyes quickly taking in the titles of the proffered books. “I’m not sure,” she said at last. “Let me go ask. I’ll be right back.” And away she went, leaving the cart where it sat.

It only took a few minutes for her to reappear with an older librarian at her heels.

“Hello,” the older woman said, rearranging her shawl around her shoulders. She peered at Kalin with sharp blue eyes from behind her glasses. Her name tag read Sarah. “Are you the young lady looking for the history of the university?”

Kalin nodded. “Yes ma’am.”

“I’m afraid all those books were lost in the incident centuries ago. What you have there in your hands is all that’s left.”

Kalin frowned, before shaking it off and nodding. “I’ll take these, then. Thanks for your help.” she said.

“Are they for a class project?” The elderly lady asked sympathetically.

“No...more just to satisfy my own curiosity. I’m not exactly a local.” Kalin admitted.

“No, I didn’t think you were. Where are you from?” the librarian asked, motioning Kalin to follow her up to the front desk.

“I believe you say ‘across the pond’.” Kalin laughed.

“How are things over there?” Sarah asked, eyeing Kalin curiously.

Kalin hesitated.

“Forgive me. I shouldn’t pry.” Sarah said, nodding as she pointed Kalin towards the computer checkout.

“No, it’s okay. It’s...difficult, back home. I came here to try to build a better life.” Kalin admitted.

“I don’t blame you, based on what I’ve heard. You’re lucky to have made it out when you did.” Sarah said, giving her a small smile. “Things aren’t perfect here either, but they do seem to be a lot better than over there.”

Kalin just nodded, scanning her school ID for the books.

“If you need an extension, remember you can file for one through the app. You can also swing by anytime and we’ll do our best to help with whatever you need.” Sarah said warmly. “Libraries have often been a safe refuge for those away from home.”

Kalin smiled. “I’ll be sure to stop by often. Have a nice day!” She scooped up the books and tucked them under her arm, waving over her shoulder as she headed out into the feeble autumn sunlight.

Kalin looked up from the second book to rub her eyes, only then realizing it had gotten almost pitch black outside. She stood and walked across the room to the light switch, flipping it and mentally cursing herself. She was going to have a massive headache later.

Footsteps sounded out in the hall, and moments later a key turned in the lock.

“Did you remember to eat?” Anna asked, eyeing the books spread across Kalin’s bed.

“No...” Kalin admitted, rubbing the back of her head awkwardly. “Did the dining hall close already?”

“Yes, at the same time it always does on Saturdays.” Anna sighed. “Try Aedan, maybe he’ll bring you something from work. Though you really should eat something other than pizza every once in a while.”

“I do!” Kalin protested, picking up her phone and opening her conversation with Aedan. “You don’t witness every meal I eat.”

“I witness enough to worry about you.” Anna tossed her bag on her desk. “I’m going to shower before Aedan gets here with your dinner. Need the bathroom?”

“Nope, you’re good.” Kalin replied absentmindedly.

“Drink some water while you’re at it.” Anna muttered, shaking her head as she nudged the bathroom door closed behind her.

“I heard that!” Kalin called after her, but she picked up her water bottle and took a long swig of it anyway. She hit send and laid back down on her stomach, setting the phone next to her on the bed as she picked up the book she’d left off on with a frown.

Kalin only stirred when a knock sounded at the door.

Anna opened it as she walked by, toweling her hair dry. “Come on in.”

“Thanks.” Aedan said, balancing two boxes in one hand as he put his phone back in his pocket with the other. “Want some?” he offered.

“I ate already, but thanks.” Anna told him, dropping her towel in the hamper. She pulled on a hoodie and turned on her TV.

Aedan crossed the room to where Kalin sat, clearing space on her bed for him to join her. “Find anything good?” he asked, handing her a box.

“No.” Kalin sighed. “These are too recent. But it’s all they had.”

“Did you try the Internet?” Anna asked from across the room.

“Yeah, still nothing.” Kalin said, opening her box and picking up a slice of pizza. Pepperoni and black olives. She smiled at Aedan.

“You’re welcome.” he whispered, winking at her as he opened his own box.

They ate in silence for a few minutes, and Aedan cleared away the boxes while Kalin rearranged her things on her bed. Once he’d returned, he dropped onto the bed next to her and picked up one of the books detailing the rebuilding process of the school. Oddly enough, it made no mention of why the school needed to be rebuilt beyond “there was an incident”.

“This is so odd.” Aedan murmured. “You’d think there’d be some documentation of this, even if it was before the internet really took off.”

“I know.” Kalin said, pursing her lips. She frowned at the books.

“It’s not the books’ fault.” Aedan said gently, touching her hand and smiling when she looked up at him.

“I know.” Kalin repeated. She glanced out the window. “I guess I can go poke around sometime tomorrow. She glanced at Aedan. “You work all day tomorrow too, don’t you?”

“Yeah.” Aedan scooted closer and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Just be really careful and stay in touch.”

Kalin nodded, leaning against him and taking in a slow, deep breath. “We should probably study tonight, huh?”

“Probably.” Aedan agreed, rubbing her back. “In a minute. I think we deserve to watch one episode of something relaxing.”

“That’s gonna take more than a minute.” Kalin laughed, but she turned on her own TV and flipped through their options. “What do you feel like?”

The next morning, Kalin hugged Aedan outside the dorms.

"Be careful." He said, kissing her hair.

"I will." Kalin promised, pressing her face into his chest to stave off the cold biting her cheeks.

They held each other tighter for a moment, before reluctantly letting go. Kalin pulled her coat more tightly around herself, giving Aedan a small wave as he boarded the campus bus. She waited until the bus was out of sight before turning and walking the opposite direction, trying to stifle her shivering.

She kept to the edge of the concrete path, taking a route leading her between multiple glass-sided buildings where hardly anyone ever went. She kept her eyes on the ground, finally finding the small trail she wanted. She glanced in every direction, seeing no one, before ducking into the woods.

Her ankle throbbed as her feet touched the uneven ground, but she merely shifted her weight and carried on. This felt important—why was this place being ignored so deliberately? She couldn’t have been the first person ever to wander back here.

Kalin was fairly sure she'd gone in a straight line last time, but it didn't take long for her to get turned around. Every soft sound in the forest around here turned into the footsteps of those winged people she’d seen last night, out to hunt her down...hide their secrets...permanently. When she finally saw a clearing through the trees, she stumbled towards it without thinking.

Until her foot slipped over the edge of the rocks jutting out beyond the tree line, and sent her tumbling over the edge. She couldn't help the strangled cry that ripped free of her throat.

The water was freezing cold as she plunged into it, bubbles swirling around her as she reached up towards the light filtering down from the surface. Her winter coat and boots weighed her down, and searing pain shot up her leg from her ankle as she tried to kick for the surface.

Am I going to drown here?

Akarisa glanced around furtively, her heart pounding in her chest. They had too close to the abandoned dorm to pretend they weren’t going there before they heard someone stumbling through the undergrowth.

Akarisa and Kieran immediately camouflaged themselves as they followed the noise through the colorful autumn foliage. Whoever it was curved back towards the human side of campus, headed right for the low cliffs overlooking the lake that Akarisa loved flying off of.

Then the footsteps stopped with a sudden, choked scream, followed by a splash. Akarisa dropped her camoflage, lunging forward with branches whipping her across the face, stinging her skin. She spread her wings as she broke free of the branches and plunged towards the lake, using her wings to propel herself downwards faster, before folding them back to minimize resistance as she broke the surface of the water. She didn't want to think about what would happen if a student died out here.

She kept her eyes open, searching the bubbles streaming past her face for source of the air. She saw a dark figure beneath her and dove, stretching out her arms in front of her and wrapping them around the figure. It felt wrong, somehow, but she didn't pay it too much mind, until her mind split open with no warning.

Images blurred together into a sickening swirl of color, with sounds and emotions deafening and suffocating her. She gagged, losing most of the air in her lungs in the process. She held on tight and kicked frantically for the surface, using her wings to awkwardly force herself up through the water.

The chaos in her mind faded as the empty void closed in around her. She gave one last mighty kick, and her face finally broke the surface. She struggled between coughing and hauling cold air into her lungs.

A firm touch on her back warned her moments before Kieran's voice sounded in her ear. “Just breathe.” He said, putting both hands under her back to help keep her afloat as he guided her towards shore.

Once he could stand, he hooked hi hands under her arms and pulled until Akarisa gathered her feet under her, stumbling as she pulled the unconscious student out of the water. The chaos in her mind roared back in full force until she forced it back, breathing deeply as she gathered her mental acuity enough to check the young woman in front of her for a pulse.

The girl's neck had a faintly detectable pulse, but she wasn't breathing. Akarisa moved her hair out of the way before noticing that the girl’s ears were rounded. The wrongness she'd felt was the girl's lack of wings.

She was human. The chaos in Akarisa's mind was the formation of a majine, a guardianship bond. And through that bond, Akarisa could sense that the girl was fading fast, though as the majine started to solidify, she started to draw on Akarisa’s strength to help her recover. Akarisa sighed and waved her hand over the girl’s face. The name Kalin came to her mind unbidden. Akarisa didn’t form a proper spell, she merely used her will to direct the water up and out of Kalin’s lungs. Within a beat, Kalin began to cough and gasp.

“Take it easy.” Akarisa murmured regretfully. The next few weeks won’t be easy for either of us.

Why is that? Who are you?

Kalin’s eyes darted around, beginning to focus on her surroundings. She took in Akarisa and Kieran’s appearances with an outward sense of calm, but inside, she remained seized by a fight or flight instinct.

We’re not going to hurt you.

Kalin’s eyes fixated on Kieran’s wings, but she did blink and come to her senses a bit when he self-consciously folded them tightly behind him. Embarrassed, Kalin turned her gaze to Akarisa, struggling to focus on the Ayniel girl’s face.

How did I know that word?

It’s the majine. Akarisa focused on the meaning behind the word, hoping Kalin could feel, or sense, what she meant by it. Rumor had it that majine often didn’t need words, even telepathically. Or does that take years to form?

We’re...soul bonded?

Essentially, yes. Akarisa breathed a sigh of relief. Despite Kalin’s rather simplistic terminology, it seemed she had understood the meaning behind the word.

Akarisa felt Kalin bristle, and remembered the human girl could now hear most of her thoughts...including ones that may have seemed insulting.

Uh...I didn’t mean it like that.

Kalin’s eyes remained narrowed at Akarisa until Kieran cleared his throat awkwardly.

“I...I mean, I’m assuming I know what just happened, but...mind having this conversation out loud? What are we going to do now?” He shifted his weight back and forth, glancing from Kalin to Akarisa. “What’s your father going to think?”

“He’s not going to know.” Akarisa said flatly.

Kalin squeezed her eyes shut as a wave of memory and emotion washed over her. She curled into a ball, the muscles in her face contorting as she fought the urge to vomit.

“Breathe.” Akarisa said, watching the human girl with some level of pity. She was so young. Too young to be dragged into this.

Something inside Kalin rebelled violently against being pitied, and she somehow turned that into the willpower to crest the wave of information flooding her mind, and force the contents of her stomach back down out of her throat.

Akarisa raised her eyebrows in surprise, but didn’t comment, verbally or telepathically. Kalin must have still been able to sense the inkling of admiration from her, though, because she smiled with pride. Just a small one.

“You might make it through this after all.” Akarisa held her hand out, and when Kalin took it, stood, pulling Kalin to her feet. The human woman swayed a little, and crouched slightly to steady herself.

Akarisa turned to Kieran, and saw a familiar sentiment etched in his furrowed brow. “What about your father? And the Council? And...” He trailed off as Akarisa stepped closer and tapped his lips with her finger.

“Shush.” She felt a wave of discomfort wash over her from Kalin, and blushed. Sorry.

Well...it'll go both ways. I don't suppose you know of a way we could each get some privacy?

I know a theory. Even if it does work, it will take practice.

I know which option is better.

Akarisa turned to see Kalin pulling a face.

“What did I say?” Kieran whispered to Akarisa.

“Nothing. Don't worry about it.” Akarisa told him. “We still have to get back to the dorms, and Kalin has to get to the human campus without being seen."

Akarisa realized she could guide Kalin back to the human campus by looking through her eyes. Kalin met her gaze and nodded, some tension leaving her shoulders.

You won’t have to deal with any of this alone. Akarisa promised.

Kalin flashed her a tense, but grateful, smile.

Akarisa turned to Kieran. “I’ll need you to help guide me back. I’m going to be focusing through Kalin’s eyes to help her...but this way none of us risk being seen with someone from the other side.”

Kieran nodded. “I’ve got your back.” he said, taking her arm gently. He looked at Kalin. “Be careful.”

Kalin blinked, surprised for a second, but then she nodded. “Thanks.” She swayed on her feet a little.

Akarisa glanced at her as she heard Kalin mentally scolding herself.

Easy. One breath at a time. No one takes to a bonding flawlessly in the first ten minutes, even when they’ve spent their whole life preparing for it.

Kalin looked at her, tears welling in her eyes. She blinked rapidly, and Akarisa reached out to gently squeeze the human’s shoulder. Just for a moment.

Thank you. Kalin took a deep breath. Now or never.

Akarisa nodded at Kieran. “Let’s go.” He nodded, tightening his grip on her arm and leading her into the trees. Akarisa let herself focus on Kalin’s mind.

Go between those two trees that sort of form an A. Then keep as straight as you can. I’ll keep watching to make sure you get to your side of campus safely.

A wave of gratitude washed through Kalin, passing over to Akarisa as though shoved at her. Akarisa swallowed her confusion about the sensation, focusing fully on guiding Kalin until the human reached an opening in the trees.

As soon as Kalin saw the side of the admin building through the trees, Akarisa heaved a sigh of relief.

Don't tell anyone about us. I know I have a lot of explaining to do and I will, I promise. Just give me some time, please.

Kalin hesitated, before agreeing with a quiet, and somewhat reluctant okay.

But she was curious, and Akarisa believed that she'd keep quiet. At least for now.

Akarisa refocused on her own surroundings in time to realize she was almost home.

“Thank you.” Even to herself, she sounded exhausted. She tried to shove away Kalin's presence in her mind as the human girl returned to her room to find her roommate eager to chat.

“I’m gonna try to get some sleep. Are you going to stay, or...?” Akarisa offered.

“Do you want me to?” Kieran asked, studying her face.

Akarisa hesitated. “If you promise to keep any noise or distractions to a minimum.”

“Alright.” Kieran agreed, kissing the top of her head.

Akarisa curled up that night with her mother’s journal tucked against her chest, having made it only a few paragraphs into the next entry before her eyelids slid shut and stayed that way.