Shadow Guardians - Part Three - Destiny

Mirra was still staring at the Lillie girl. She was magnificent! She didn't even need to be taught or told what to do. It came naturally to her, maybe there was still hope left for us and the rest of the world, with it's impending doom forever hanging overhead.

"What was that?! I don't care where we are anymore. Just tell me what in the world is that kind of monster!"

"Vaeron," Mirra simply said, "he use to rule the Shadow Realm. He became too powerful and started to torture everything in all the realms. His wrath stretched to every corner of the universe. There was no light left in the world and it was a very sad, desperate time for all living things."

Mirra gazed at Lillie for another moment or two, like she was gathering her thoughts before she proceeded. 

"Vaeron tried to escape tonight, if it wasn't for you he may have been much more trouble than that."

Lillie wasn't sure why that was either, where did all that power she felt come from? It encased her with a warm feeling that radiated from within. The clothes, the staff, the transformation, where did it all come from? She was about to ask Mirra but fell silent as she heard the faintest growling coming from the shadows.

"What is making that noise?" she whispered to Mirra.

"It's a gravling be very quiet, they don't see to well."

A small gray scaled creature emerged from the shadows. It was about the size of large rat with twig like limbs and a mushy body. It sniffed at the air and cocked its head from side to side like it was listening intently for the smallest sound. Eyes as big around as golf balls and cloudy blue were all too visible, they were completely unfocused and unresponsive. 

Mirra hissed at Lillie, "use the staff, aim it at the gravling and say feara."

Lillie did as she was bid pointing the staff shakily and muttered, "feara." Golden flames flowed from the gem set in a bird's claw, licking at the gravling the flames made it howl in pain, you could hear it sizzling. The gravling scurried away back into the shadows leaving a burning flesh smell behind as the only reminder that it was ever there.

"You turned Vaeron to dust after bashing him in the head but you are afraid of a little gravling," Mirra's tail was twitching, "we might have a lot more work than I thought."

"If I turned him to dust then he is gone right," Lillie asked the cat. 

"No, silly girl," Mirra sighed, "he only became part of the shadows again. He is out there, somewhere. Watching, waiting... It is only a matter of time and I don't think we have much left."

Lillie was about to start a round of one hundred non-stop questions but at that moment Mirra turned and started to walk away towards a dark doorway that Lillie hadn't noticed before.

"Come on lovely Lillie I want to leave here before anything else crawls through that breach. I will have someone come and repair it as soon as we get to the Guardian's Lair."

"Guardian's Lair? Really?" Lillie was trying desperately to hide a smirk.

"Yes, and get use to it. Everything is some kind of Lair in the Shadow Realm, it is how this place works." Mirra couldn't believe this little girl was really their best chance, she just hoped the girl was a quick learner and even quicker on her feet. She seemed a bit gangly and clumsy.

The Shadow Realm was an eerie place, everything was dark and dead looking. Nearly everything was rotting and there was nothing pretty anywhere. Thick with fog and creepy noises to accentuate the atmosphere, the walk to the Guardian's Lair gave Lillie goose bumps and she was leery of some of the noises that were coming from her surroundings.

"Where did we just leave from Mirra?" Lillie needed something to take away her focus from her imagination that just so happened to be running wild in such a scary place. 

"A guardian temple, it is one of many and they each house a number of spells or barriers that help us to imprison Vaeron. Why you showed up in that one at that exact time is a wonder to me but I am sure we will find out more soon, once we arrive at our destination."

They were almost there and Mirra didn't want to be the one to tell the girl that this was her destiny, the prophesied Guardian that would rid the world of Vaeron for forever. Mirra knew this for a fact or the girl wouldn't have the Phoenix Staff of Rebirth.