Okay, so this is my little project for the summer. I'm trying to work on the stories I have saved on my computer and stuff and I came across this one which I've had on the backburner for a while. This has a couple of my favorite characters in it and I guess it's about time that I put it up here. Updates will probably be random as I am working a job that keeps me busy 80 hours a week.

Please Read & Review. I'd love to get comments, both on what you like and what you don't like. I take all suggestions to heart. Thanks.

Tale of a Protector

Chapter I

The room was completely dark as several figures entered it. The first three to enter the room were all men and each was dressed in blood red robes with hoods. They lit several candles before standing in the center of what appeared to be a protected magical circle. One of the men, the eldest, then called out, “Bring her in.” His deep voice echoed through the cavernous room. Two more men entered the room, dragging a barely conscious girl towards the circle. They dropped her beside the circle then turned and returned to the doorway to guard the room against unwanted strangers.

The eldest of the three men nodded to one of the other men, the youngest, who created a door to their protected circle and dragged the girl inside. All three men then walked out of the circle. They knew the girl possessed power but they did not know how much. It was better to be cautious rather than end up injured or dead.

The girl moaned and started to move, realizing that her two guards had disappeared. She slowly sat up. It was then that she saw the candles and the three men. In just a second she realized she was in a protected magickal circle. Her own power had been depleted by continuous torture and various other means, namely the use of magick. The reality of the situation was that she wasn’t going to make it out of this unless she had help. But she knew that no one knew where she was; she had made sure that she was working alone and that no one had followed her. She worked alone, plain and simple. It was just better that way.

Up until just days before, it had all worked out just fine. But then she had answered one of her charge’s calls and had arrived to find her charge fatally wounded. Without even checking to make sure her surroundings were safe, she had rushed to her charge in an attempt to heal the boy. It was a huge, stupid mistake to make. While she had been busy tending to her charge, the men who now held her prisoner had crept up and attacked her. She had been no match for their combined powers. They overpowered her and brought her back to the place she now kneeled, wherever that actually was.

She bowed her head, knowing that she had failed. She had been captured, her charge was most likely dead, and the fate of all of the rest of her kind was in jeopardy. The men had been torturing her almost continuously since they brought her there four days before. She looked up at the men, vowing to not give up the information they were searching for. That was something she couldn’t do. She couldn’t give in to them no matter what they did.

The eldest man walked around the circle, staring at the girl. By human standards she was attractive: long sable hair and her eyes were such an eerie, unique color. Before they had begun torturing her, her lean, tan, and toned body had proved to be an enticement. But not any longer; now her body was covered in cuts and bruises. He noticed a defiant glint in her eyes and smiled. Torturing her was proving to be a rather enjoyable experience. He had always enjoyed torturing those who thought they were so much better than everyone else.

She was an angel and he had made it his life mission to destroy her kind. And he could feel it in his bones that time was running out. If he failed his task, then he would have to pass it on to his two protégés. He could only hope that if he failed the others would be able to handle the task. He looked at the other two and nodded. “It is time.” He walked back over to the other two. Then, while keeping his eyes on the girl, he removed his hood.

The girl looked up at him, her eerie eyes meeting the gaze of his dark gray eyes. He had white hair and his face was covered with wrinkles. She recognized him almost instantly. “Zakari,” she spat. Zakari smirked as he heard his name. Those who knew of him feared him. Well, everyone except this girl. But she was young and teenage defiance was usual. By the end of the night she would know fear. It was one of those things he prided himself in being able to inflict on others. Zakari sneered at the girl. Were she not one of the Angelic Protectors, he would have taken her in as one of his slaves. But since she was a Protector and one of his enemies, she had to be destroyed.

Destroying her turned out to be fairly easy. As they brutally attacked her mind again and again, she began to slip up and reveal more and more about her kind and what she knew. But, just as they were about to gain the most crucial information, where the Angelic Protectors headquarters was located, the girl disappeared in a bright golden light. It was apparent then that one of the other Protectors had found her.

Zakari followed the magickal trail left behind and transported himself instantly to where the girl was. He found himself standing in the middle of a forest and he could hear the sound of human cars passing nearby. Holding the girl was an angel with long, flowing golden blonde hair and deep blue eyes. He was staring at all of the injuries the girl had sustained when he noticed Zakari’s presence. “I’ll kill you for this,” he spat at Zakari.

“You can try but I seriously doubt that you will be successful,” Zakari responded, his voice as cold as ice.

“You won’t get away with doing this to my sister,” the angel answered. He laid the girl down on the ground then turned back to Zakari. He summoned a blast of energy and sent it at the elderly dark mage. But Zakari was prepared for the attack and instead of taking the energy he sent it back at the angel who quickly dodged it.

“You have been trained well,” Zakari said.

The angel said nothing. Zakari’s dark eyes met those of the angel. “I know that you know my name already; everyone does. But I still do not know your name. I thought your kind was known for their decency in battle, as well as their honor.”

“Aaron, not that you really needed to know that.” Aaron threw another blast of energy. Zakari barely managed to block it and it almost knocked him over. As Aaron summoned more energy, Zakari attacked. He threw several bursts of energy at the angel, knowing that he couldn’t dodge them all. As one burst hit Aaron, Zakari threw three more, effectively knocking the angel down. He walked over and looked down at the angel as he struggled to get back up. That was when Zakari felt the girl trying to summon energy. She was too weak to do anything but watch though, unable to do anything but watch as Zakari murdered her brother right in front of her.

Zakari turned and walked back towards the girl. He was about to finish her off when he heard several cars honking and one car pulled off towards where they were. The driver jumped out of the car and yelled, “Hey!” Zakari turned and ran out of sight before transporting himself back to two protégés.

The man ran over to the girl and asked, “Are you alright?” He could tell that she wasn’t as she was covered with bruises and cuts. He turned to the boy lying nearby. When he checked for a pulse, he found nothing. Whoever that old man had been, he had killed the boy and had attempted to kill the girl as well. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed 911. Within minutes, he was following the ambulance to the nearest hospital.