The Prophecy (The Guardians) - By Wendy Owens Page 0,12

say? Rachel was right. Everything she said had been absolutely correct about him. He was selfish, and anyone who came in contact with him was bound to end up dead or in some way victimized.

“You there, what are you doing down there?” the voice commanded over Gabe’s shoulder.

Gabe slowly turned to see a Wintok making his way down the embankment. He came to stand squarely in Gabe’s path, leaving few options on where to run.

“Nothing good sir, simply resting.” Gabe replied, keeping his head bowed in an attempt to flatter the Wintok.

“Who are you?” the Wintok shouted, clearly unimpressed with his previous answer.

“Nobody of importance.” Gabe replied coolly, hoping the Wintok would miraculously accept the answer and leave him alone. Perhaps he could charm the creature, Gabe thought. Then all he needed was enough time to duck away and transport. If he transported right here in front of the Wintok it would surely bring Baal’s army back to poor Clarite’s town, an idea he could not live with.

“I say we bring him to Lord Caldrac for questioning.” another voice called out directly behind Gabe. In that instance he realized he was surrounded, a Wintok on either side. They must have seen Clarite returning to the roadside and come to investigate. Even if he managed to escape, Clarite would obviously become the target of questioning. Perhaps they would bring her to this Lord Caldrac character, a proposition that did not seem like it would bode well for her.

“Friends, I am nobody, just a traveler passing through.” Gabe made one last effort to end the confrontation peacefully.

“We’ll see about that.” the Wintok directly in back of him said before he began to approach Gabe. It was clear Gabe was not going to talk his way out of this one. He considered using magic for a moment, but if he did it would surely signal any demon trackers in the area. Magic leaves a signature, the larger the spell, the easier to track. A battle involving magic would be like sending flares up. He would have to do this another way.

Gabe moved quickly and with purpose. His speed too fast for the Wintok’s to keep pace with, he reached into his vest pocket and pulled out a small sharp dagger. With a quick flick of the wrist, the Wintok standing directly in front of him fell to the ground, clutching his throat. Without as much as a whisper he was dead.

Gabe turned towards the remaining Wintok that had been approaching from his rear. Taking a battle stance, he pulled out the glowing blue sword that had been concealed.

The Wintok gasped, “A Guardian!”

“Just not your day my friend.” Gabe replied with a grin and motioned for the beast to attack.

“You will die!” the creature growled and charged Gabe at full speed, the spikes from his head directed at Gabe.

Gabe jumped to one side, narrowly avoiding the attack, smacking the broadside of the sword against the creature’s back. The Wintok howled before turning and pulling a spiked club loose from his belt. He charged Gabe, wildly flailing the weapon. Gabe swung his sword outward, but missed the rapidly moving target. He was quite rusty apparently. As the Wintok passed him, the tip of the club pierced Gabe’s arm before ricocheting off and landing two spikes firmly in his hip.

The Wintok pulled on the primitive weapon, the spikes breaking off into Gabe’s flesh as he did so. Gabe let out a cry. Attempting to shake off the blinding pain, Gabe took in a deep breath and then focused. He did not use his eyes, but he listened and he felt the movement of the air around him. In an instant, Gabe thrust the sword backwards, under his arm, close to his body. He felt the blade pierce the torso of the Wintok. Taking to one knee, Gabe used gravity to help him more deeply implant the sword into the Wintok, twisting the blade to ensure maximum damage before pulling it free. Gabe heard the Wintok squeak in pain before pushing out its last breath.

Gabe turned, wincing from the wounds on his arm and rear hip. He was losing a lot of blood and there was a good chance the scuffle had been heard. It would be too risky to transport directly home. If a tracker found the bodies soon enough, they would be able to sense his transportation spell and follow the tracers it would leave behind. He would have to transport at least a village