And now the conclusion. . .
Part 2
Crystal sat on the sofa in her living room, holding a glass of lemonade with trembling hands. She was confused by what had happened, and very scared. I owed her an explanation, but didn't know where to begin, so I promised to tell her all I could after I made a quick phone call to the Program, to tell them I'd be running late among other things. I stood in the doorway between the living room where Crystal sat and a dining room where a wall mounted phone with a long cord was. I had the phone held to my ear while keeping an eye on Crystal.
The voice of my Instructor in the Program said sternly.
"Look, you said it yourself that the misson sometimes chooses the Protector, and I think this one chose me." I tried to keep my voice low enough not to raise any more concerns. "She's seen the drones, and my weapons. Like it or not Crystal's on the hit list now, and I'm the closest Protector to her."
"I'll need to assess the situation to be sure it is as severe as you think-" The voice said, not really putting much stock in my urgency. I cut him off angrily.
"They attacked her once today already, she' still got the mark on her neck where the thing grabbed her. I don't just think it's bad, I know it'll get worse if someone isn't here." My tone grew a bit, luckily I caught myself keeping my voice down, but harsh at the same time. "Now are you going to authorize full disclosure, or am I going to be left to fend for myself again?"
"Okay here's how you'll handle it, Tell her only what she needs to know, not everything, you got it?" The voice asked in a demanding tone.
"I understand." I replied.
"Good, I take it that you'll need a new Concealment Sash as well?" My instructor asked.
"It would help, I'll be by later to pick it up. I think I'd better stay here for a while." My concern must have gotten through to the Instructor.
"I'll bring it to you. I don't think I need to remind you not to let this get personal. We're still cleaning up the mess from your last mission." The instructor hung up before I could answer.
I hung up the phone and went into the living room where Crystal was and sat down in a chair opposite the sofa. She looked up at me while setting her glass on a coaster. The turmoil in her eyes hit me harder that I was expecting.
"Well, you going to tell me what's going on?" Crytal asked, not really annoyed, but her tone came out that way.
"I can't tell you everything, but I can tell you a little." I said in a firm voice. Even the tests never prepared a person for the moment they had to break the Secret and tell an outsider.
"Can you at least tell me what those things were that attacked us?" Crystal asked, her voice quivering a little bit.
"Drones, creatures of lava rock and magic designed to look human, but completely without a soul." I didn't want to sound scary, but I was never good at telling that part of the Secret, even in the tests.
"Then how is it they moved if they have no soul, doesn't that mean they're dead?" Crystal started to sound like she wasn't believing me, the denial stage I'd been trained for, or so I assumed.
"Not exactly. Motion can be given to the inanimate by magic, making what isn't alive to appear so." I took out one of the shards of my Concealment Sash and after setting it on the table, touched it. The strip of cloth writhed a bit before stopping. "That gets into what I can't tell you about though." I said when Crystal's eyes went wide. I didn't want to talk too much about the nature of the drones anyway, it was difficult to explain them to an outsider.
"Why did they attack us?" Crystal took the hint and moved on, lifting her glass to take a sip.
"Any number of reasons. I think they were initially after me, and you just happened to be there when they made their move." I didn't know the answer, but wished I did.
"Can you tell me about that?" Crystal pointed at my sword, which I'd been painfully aware of it's being visible since I tore the sash off it to use it. I was surprised that when I'd been introduced to Crystal's mother, she said nothing about it.
"Not much, just that it's an old Katana, and I have to keep it concealed so that I may carry it even at school. The drones don't often attack in a timely manner." I said shaking my head, wishing I'd been granted Full Disclosure.
"You can't tell me much about anything that's going on at all can you?" Crystal asked directly.
"Only this, I'm a Protector, and my mission is now to keep you safe from those things, and whatever else may come after you." The line sounded like something out of a really bad old movie, corny and full of sap.
Crystal started to respond, her face reflected worry, but the bell rang and she got up to see who it was. From where I sat I knew it was my instructor bringing the much needed Concealment Sash. After a while Crystal came back with a small paper package and a note. She handed them to me with the weirdest look on her face. She sat down and waited for me to read the note, and open the package. I took the package and opened it first. There were two Concealment Sashes in the package, the first was a small crimson one for the sword, I wrapped it gently around the Katana's blade and tied it off, as soon as I'd finished pulling the knot tight, the sword vanished. The second one was a larger, midnight blue shimmering one. I'd have to use it later to keep an eye on Crystal without her knowing I was there. I kept it folded, and slipped it into my coat pocket, I then turned my attention to the note, it was hand printed, and had only two words: Mission Approved In big black letters. I folded it up and stuck it in my pocket with the Sash.
"Anything important?" Crystal asked, seeming not to notice the sword had disappeared.
"Only a confirmation." I said looking at the sunset's light being reflected through the curtains and blinds on the front window.
I had been trained for such missions, and knew what I'd have to do eventually. I thought about the mission choosing me, wondering if there was more to it that just protecting one classmate. Those things usually revealed themselves only at the right time, so I pushed the thought out of my head. I readied myself for Crystal's little get together keeping in mind my duties, and not to let the night get the better of me. At some point during the party, I quietly slipped out and perched myself in the branch of a tree near a second story window. I had accepted my duty, and was not going to complicate things by getting too close to the target, as I'd done before. Combining my training with the second Sash, I melted into the darkness of night. I took my post as fate had intended for me, not knowing what, if anything would come of it.
finé |
