The Guardians of the Relic

It was like time stood still for that moment. Jason didn’t know what to do. He felt like he was frozen in that spot. The sound of the door closing behind him jerked him back to reality. He turned back to face her, and waited for her to say something.

“I’m sorry Jason. I was going to tell you. I shouldn’t have lied to you,” said Emily.

So she was lying to him, but lying to him about what exactly? Jason wasn’t sure he was ready for the answer. Before he had a chance to process it, Ethan was right next him.

“Hi Jason,” said Ethan. He extended a hand to him, but Jason didn’t shake it.

Ethan sighed. “Jason, this is not what it looks like. I was just helping Emily.”

Jason got a whiff of his cologne and it all finally started to sink in. It was the same guy. “Helping her with what exactly?” He clenched his fist.

“Work. He’s helping me with my paper,” intervened Emily. She looked nervous. Jason walked to Emily’s room. The bed was undone. He just shook his head. Emily ran after him.

“Jason. I know what you thinking but it’s not what it looks like. I swear. Ethan’s just a friend.”

“How stupid do you think I am?” asked Jason. She had played him for a fool all along.

“I will explain. I promise. But for now I need you to trust me. Please,” said Emily. She was close to tears, but he didn’t care.

“Trust you?” he yelled. “Emily, for the last month all you’ve done is lie to me. How am I supposed to trust you?” He glanced at Ethan. “You can’t even tell me the truth now.”

She didn’t say anything but the tears started flowing. Jason didn’t know if she was crying because she was sorry or because he had found out about it. Either way, he didn’t trust her anymore. There was no point now.

“I have to go,” he said.

“Please Jason, you don’t understand.”

“I honestly don’t. Goodbye Emily.”

Emily closed her eyes when the door slammed shut. She could feel Ethan’s eyes on her, but she didn’t turn around. She stood there sobbing. He didn’t say a word for a while and she appreciated it. She just needed a moment. Then she slowly wiped away the tears.

“Well, are you going to stand there crying or are we going to find the pendant and save your brother?” asked Ethan.

* *

He could smell the green moss. The air was cold. He felt it as he desperately sucked it in. He slowly started to regain consciousness. He grabbed onto something. It was just as cold as the air he breathed. That’s when Michael opened his eyes and saw the metal bars around him. Blood trickled down the side of his forehead. He wiped it away and staggered back, looking down at his hand. Where the hell was he? The last thing he remembered was stopping at the gallery to pick up Daisy’s gift. The rest was a blur. He tried to move and saw the chain around his ankle. He was chained to one of the bars. He shook his leg, trying to break loose.

“I wouldn’t bother if I were you.” The voice came from right next to him. He turned his head and saw her. The woman was also in a cage similar to his. She sat with her back leaning against the metal bars, her knees clasped to her face. Her long black hair was braided. She wore a white bandana, and blue feathered earrings hung from her ears. The white tank top and blue pants she wore were torn in some places, exposing her cut flesh. She didn’t face him and her eyes were closed.

Michael tried to get as close as he could to the end of the cage. He put his face close to the cold metal bars. “What is this place?” he asked.

“Hell,” she said. She opened her eyes and looked at him. He saw now that she was very beautiful. Her eyes were a shade of glass bottle green. A small silver nose ring sparkled in the dim light. There was a small cut on her eyebrow and the blood was dry on it. She looked like she had been in a wrestling match and lost.

“I don’t understand. Why am I here?” asked Michael.

“You are here because he wants you here. Do you have it?” she asked.

“I don’t understand. Have what?” asked Michael.

She laughed and coughed a little. He was confused. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” The woman eyed him from head to toe.

“Then unfortunately you are a dead man,” she said.

The sound of a water droplet hitting a small puddle echoed in the dark. There had to be a reasonable explanation for what was happening. Maybe they had confused him for someone else. That had to be it. “I think there has been a mistake. I am just an artist.”

“Well you will be a dead artist very soon if you don’t attend to that wound.”

Michael touched his head again and flinched. It stung like hell. She was right; he needed to find something to stop the bleeding. He removed his grey shirt. Michael checked to see if she was watching him, but her eyes were closed again. Underneath, he wore a white vest. The shirt was one of his favorites. He hesitated, but ripped it and tied a piece around his head. He glanced at the woman again and mimicked her sitting position. It looked more comfortable. “You said before that he has me here for a reason. Who is he?”

“Alkron,” she said without opening her eyes.

“Alkron? I don’t know anyone by that name. What kind of name is that? ” asked Michael.

She opened her eyes and turned her head to him. She was pale and looked very weak. “It’s the kind of name you should fear.”

“Okay, enough with the gloom and doom. Whoever this guy is, he won’t get away with this.” He was starting to get irritated. “People will come looking for me,” he said.

“I think that’s exactly what he is counting on.” She suddenly held her stomach and went into a slouch. She shut her eyes tight.

“You are hurt badly. I think you need medical attention.”

She winced and grasped the bars. “No doctor can help me.”

“What does this Alkron want from you?” he asked. She didn’t respond. Sweat dripped down her forehead. Although it was cold, she seemed to be burning up.

“You ask too many questions.” She shifted and winced again from the pain.

“I’m sorry. I just want to know what’s going on here,” said Michael. He felt defeated now. He didn’t understand any of it.

“I am here for the same reason you are here. We are bargaining chips. Alkron is using us as leverage.”

Leverage? But that would mean Daisy or his sister were in danger, too. The thought made him sick. He had to pull himself together and think. There must be a way out of this hell-hole. His eyes shifted to the woman who now gazed straight ahead blankly.

“I didn’t introduce myself. My name is Michael Carson. And you are?”

“Fay Morelli,” she said.

* *

Emily gazed out the window. The clouds looked like big fluffy white pillows as the plane moved swiftly through them. She fit snuggly in the leather seats, fully strapped in. Ethan sat next to her instead of upfront in the cockpit. The plane belonged to his father and he had borrowed it for a few days. She wasn’t surprised when he told her that he knew how to fly. There wasn’t much he didn’t know how to do.

It hadn’t take him long to figure out what the key opened. It belonged to a safety deposit box in London. Apparently her mother had rented it out years before she was even born to store all their family heirlooms. There was so much she didn’t know about her parents. They had kept so many secrets from her, secrets that had gotten them killed. She silently prayed that they weren’t too late to save Michael.

“Hey, don’t worry, we’re almost there,” said Ethan. She didn’t realize he was staring at her. He reached for her hand on the armrest and gently squeezed it. She smiled. He had changed so much since they first met. She liked to think she had a lot to do with it.

When they landed in London the temperature was below freezing. Emily shivered. They had left Elgin so quickly that she hadn’t even thought to bring a warmer coat.

They didn’t have to get a cab because Ethan had already arranged for his driver to meet them at the airport. She was still in awe that he had a personal driver in the first place. Emily’s jaw nearly dropped when she saw the limousine parked outside.

“Oh, you have a limo?” she asked. The wind blew strongly and she pulled her coat tighter.

“Yeah, I used it all the time when I stayed here,” said Ethan. He said it like it was no big deal.

“Ethan, we can’t draw any attention to ourselves. This is not exactly blending in, if you know what I mean.”

Ethan wore a thick black coat. He was fully prepared for the weather. She envied him a little. He rubbed his hands together. “This is normal for me.” He leaned in close to her ear and whispered. “Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.”

The driver stepped out and opened the door for them. Emily eyed him from head to toe and sighed. This is going to be an interesting day, she thought.

A few hours later she stood in the vault. She held the key in her hand in front of the box. A smartly dressed lady stood beside her. It was mandatory for a staff member to be present. She didn’t understand the reason, but it was their policy. Ethan stood right beside her. She told him he could wait in the car but he insisted, saying it wasn’t safe for her to be alone. He looked at the lady and gave her a smile nervous smile before turning to Emily.

“I don’t mean to rush you, but we really need to do this quickly.”

Emily hadn’t realized that she was stalling. She wasn’t scared, but she felt mixed emotions. “Maybe we should just leave it here. I mean, no one knows it’s here except the two of us,” she said.

“How long do you think that will last?” asked Ethan. He glanced at the lady to make sure she wasn’t listening, and then pulled Emily a little closer to him. “We have no choice. You read your mother’s note. The pendant must be destroyed.”

He was right; it was up to her to finish what her parents had started. She opened the box. She searched through the jewels for the pendant but couldn’t find it. Then she saw a small pouch bag right at the end of the box. It was gold in color. She stood on her toes, reached inside, and grabbed it. She untied the string on the pouch and pulled out a chain. Attached to it was a medallion pendant with the exact same symbol on Alastair’s hand. The three encircled rings. It sparkled in her hand as she held it up in the light. It was the pendant.

“It’s smaller than I imagined,” said Ethan.

“We need to get going,” said Emily. She quickly put the chain back in the pouch and shoved it into her coat pocket. She closed and locked the door of the box.

As they were exiting the building Ethan stopped and stared at a white car across the street. It had been parked there since they arrived.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Get inside the limo now,” he said, still eyeing the car.

“Why? What’s wrong?”

“Just go,” he yelled and she ran. He was right behind her.

They both got inside and Ethan closed the door. When he looked at the driver a feeling of confusion washed over him. “Rupert? What on earth are you doing here?” he asked.

Rupert adjusted the rear-view mirror to get a better look at him. “Well sir, you didn’t think you could sneak away to London undetected did you?”

Ethan put his hands on his head. Emily’s eyes shifted between the two men “Can we deal with whatever this is later?”

“Hello Emily. My name is Rupert, pleased to meet you.” She stared at him through the rear-view mirror.

“Hi,” was all she said. She didn’t have time to ask how the hell he knew her name.

“Despite what you may think sir, my job is not to spy on you. It’s to keep you safe at all times,” said Rupert.

Ethan looked back at the white car. It still hadn’t moved.

“How fast can you drive?” he asked.