Guardians: The Girl (The Guardians Series, Book 1)(52)

As we make our way to the city of Lome, we see a number of African women dressed in colorful print dresses. They have jugs on their heads. They carry them with skill and grace. Some of them have their kids with them, others have partners they share the load with. Seeing them make their way across the land, it looks more like a dance than a daily chore.

The road is rocky and difficult to drive on. Jay doesn’t seem the least bit put off. I lean forward and ask him how he’s doing. He tells me he needs complete concentration in order to “get to know” the car. The boy is not well.

I had never thought about going to West Africa before, but now it’s on my “must go again” list. There is something so calming and earthy about it. The trees spread out in the air as if they are praising the sky. There are more stars above us now than I’ve seen in all my years of living in the city. No wonder it was chosen as the starting point for humanity.

We pass by a fork in the road and Jay takes a left. By the time we make the second turn, the sun has set completely and darkness covers us. We enter Totsivi. A row of hills surrounds the dilapidated village. There are broken down tables lined up side by side in what used to be the street market. Nothing is moving anywhere except our car. Jay slows down. Marcus tells him to keep going.

A man comes out of one of the huts with a Bazooka. Jay sees it before the rest of us. He brakes and turns the car around.

“Hold on,” Jay says as he fights to keep the car under control. The man fires the rocket directly at us. Rio spreads his wings so that they cover us. The rocket goes over us and lands at what we now realize are his targets; a group of men on the other side of the street who each have the letter “M” carved on their faces.

They take cover and duck into one of the huts, but it is too late. They are blown up as are the surrounding huts they took shelter in.

“Keep going,” Marcus shouts over the roar of the screaming and burning taking place. Jay turns the car and goes back the direction we were headed in originally. The man who had fired the Bazooka is now joined by more members of his team. They also have a scar on their face. It’s the letter “T,” but the top of the letter is slightly off balance, like a scale.

Before the new members have time to join in the opposing group fires back, sending something oval and dark into the air. It misses its mark and falls inches away from our car. Ameana waves her hand, causing the object to go flying in the other direction. Seconds later it blows up and takes a few more huts with it.

The Mylar man throws another grenade but this time his aim is deadly accurate. One of the Tobins jumps into our car in hopes of avoiding the attack. Jay tries to push him off. He knows the men aiming at their target wouldn’t care if we were harmed in the process. Sure enough, they launch a rocket and it heads straight for us.

Rio goes to cover us but Marcus yells that he won’t be able to cover us all. He calls out for us to jump out of the car. Is he crazy? Before I can make myself consider the question, Jay stomps on the brake and jumps. Marcus and Ameana leap out and roll to the ground. The twins jump and take me along. We all hit the ground just as our car blows up, taking the unwanted rider with it.

Then the shots ring out. I can’t tell from where. It has to be in the hills because if the shots were coming from somewhere close, we would have been able to spot the shooters. Rio tries to cover us. Marcus was right: he can’t take us all under his wings. Marcus removes himself from Rio’s protection so that the rest of us can all fit.

“No, get in here,” I yell at him. He pays no attention to me and goes over to one of the torn down huts.

“They think we helped the guy who attacked them with the Bazooka,” Rio shouts.

“We had nothing to do with it,” I protest.

“They don’t care. Now move!” Jay instructs as he guides us to a hut that is barely standing. My heart is racing and I’m sure everyone can hear it beating. There is yet another explosion and it takes out the hut we’re heading for, consuming it with flames.

Marcus rips a large block of cement from one of the homes. Ameana waves her hand and guides it in the air. She makes it land in front of us to keep us covered. Jay Glides over to get Marcus who is now out in the open.

The parties start shooting Quips at each other. Marcus orders us to stay down. Ameana reminds him that we are pressed for time. Marcus surveys the area and orders Jay to take me into a hut that Rio says is empty. I want to stay and help, but now isn’t the time to argue.

Jay Glides me into the hut. I quickly look out the window and see Ameana disarming both sides by taking their weapons and floating them away. But for every member she disarms, two more start shooting from somewhere in the hills.

Rio enters the hut and shields me with his wings.

“I’m fine. You need to help the others.”

“Miku is going to sing. Cover your ears,” he orders.

Miku sings her funeral song. The members of both sides are wailing and crying. I’m feeling more sorrow than I ever did in my life. I’m only tearing up, but had I not been shielded by Rio, I would be screaming in pain like the others outside.

As soon as Miku stops singing, Rio lets me up. He covers us as we try leave. He tells me to stay low to the ground. As we crawl out of the hut, I see Ameana and two little boys curled up in the corner behind a huge bin of water.

The little boys are frightened and crying. Ameana speaks to them. I can’t understand what she’s saying. I didn’t know she knew how to speak the language. She gently wipes their faces and somehow gets them to stop crying.

“Who are they?” I yell over to her.

“They’re from a neighboring village. They came here on a dare. We have to get them out.”

“Rio, help them.”

“Get back in the hut and I’ll be back for you,” he says. I crawl back into the hut as the Quips fly over head. Rio races to Ameana and the boys. He tries to take them but they won’t go with him. They stay stubbornly by Ameana’s side. They couldn’t have been more than nine or ten years old.

Ameana tells Rio that she’ll take them out of the village herself. He tells her it’s safer if they go with him. But she insists that she be the one to see them to safety. Rio agrees. He runs out into the middle of the village to cause a diversion. The Quips hit him from every angle. Ameana makes a run for it with the boys. A man with a Quip gun sneaks up behind her.

“Ameana, watch out!” She turns in time to see him coming for her. She waves her hand and sends him flying across the village. The boys cheer.

I am so engrossed with what is going on I don’t hear the footsteps coming towards me. By the time I look up, it’s too late. A man appears in the hut and strikes me in the head with the butt of his gun. Everything goes black.

**

“Emmy, Emmy, wake up.” I feel someone shaking me. I wish they would stop so I could go back to sleep. I moan and turn to the side. I just want five more minutes. Why won’t they let me sleep?

Someone shakes me again.

“What?”

“Open your eyes,” I do as I’m told and find a group of angels looking down at me. Then it all comes back to me.

“Where are the boys?” I ask Ameana

“I had Jay glide them home. They should be okay. Thanks for the heads up,” she says. It’s not easy for her to say anything nice to me.

“No problem.”

I try to get up. My head is throbbing. I groan.

“Yeah, that guy got you good, but we took care of him.”

“Ebo was right. They’ve been given Quip guns by the Akons.”

Just then we hear the roar of motorcycles. The angels help me up and we go look out the window. Rage and the other Akons are headed right for us.

Rage raises his hand to fire. Ameana sends him off his motorcycle and into a nearby table. He crashes and topples everything around him. The Guardians tell me to stay put as they race outside.

Jay Glides over to where Rage has fallen and tackles him. Frenzy comes to the aid of his fellow Akon by throwing bolts of electricity at Jay. Jay’s whole body shakes uncontrollably as the volts pass through him. Marcus goes over to help.

Pissed off, Mayhem throws his daggers at him. Ameana redirects them back to Mayhem, who moves just in time to miss getting killed by his own weapons.

The Guardians are doing a good job fending off the Akons, but Rage has got the better of Marcus. He has thrown what looks like a small whirlpool of wind to the ground. Marcus is powerless as it pulls light from his center.

As the light gets drained from his body, his wings get darker and darker. He is turning a sickly gray color. He stands paralyzed in front of the whirlwind. It’s a Soul Chaser. He’s gonna die.

I run out of the hut and tackle Rage from behind. He isn’t expecting it and I temporarily send him off balance. The stream of wind that is sucking Marcus’ soul dry starts to die down because Rage is not there to control it.

But Rage isn’t down for long. He gets up and punches me in face with the fury of Atourum. I fall back, momentarily blinded by the sheer force of the hit. The small distraction I caused helps Marcus pull away from the Soul Chaser. When Rage turns to strike me again, Marcus grabs him and plows him into a nearby hut, causing it to split in half.

I can’t fully make out what is going on because my left eye is quickly swelling shut. It throbs and pulses like a heartbeat. With my one good eye, I see the duffel bag that was in the car. I can’t reach it so I call out for Ameana who is closer. She sends the bag floating over to me. I grab the Stopper and point it at Rage. He was about to crack Marcus’ head into the tree stump. I press the button and Rage is instantly frozen in place.