Julia
Guardian Name: Emerald Blaze
Even with my fire abilities ablaze, I’m frozen in place.
I blink, not believing who I’m seeing is real, but water explodes like rushing rapids from a nearby storm drain. There’s no chance for me to regather my thoughts before I’m caught in the raging waters, extinguishing the flames around my body.
The water blast twists me in the air, and I whip around wildly, like a helicopter plummeting to the earth. My heart beats erratically, willing me to breathe, to live. Flashes of Ember’s contagious smile, rosy cheeks, and joyful laugh are painful memories of who would suffer the most if I died.
I can’t abandon my little girl.
Without any warning, the blast shifts directions and slams me into the ground. The water explodes around me, encasing me in an impenetrable storm until it eventually dissipates into drops that reflect like diamonds in the sunlight.
I stare wide-eyed at the blue sky, darkened by smoke rising from the city.
It takes a moment for my lungs to remember what they need to do, and I choke on water trying to escape my throat. I roll to my side, expelling what shouldn’t be there, and gasp for air, craving the oxygen. My emerald-green suit is ripped across my thigh and darkened with blood. There’s a gash, but thankfully, it doesn’t seem too deep. A sharp pain shoots through my side, and I gasp, as if someone just stabbed me with a dull knife. I’m not sure if it’s my back, hip, or an organ that’s injured, but my entire right side burns. Something is definitely not right.
Trembling, I stand from the cement rubble that was once the stairs to Stalwarth Town Hall, destroyed by the same water blast that knocked me back. I should’ve expected that attack, but I’d thought I was staring at an apparition—not a real person.
Screams fill my ears as people flee from the attacks erupting across the city. Flames lick hungrily from the windows of an apartment building about a block away. A familiar, tall figure runs in that direction. A dear friend and another Guardian, The Regenerator, will protect the innocent there.
I refocus on the person staring at me from the opposite corner of the intersection—the same person who seems more like a ghost here to haunt me than someone alive. His skin is sickly and grotesque, with a greenish-gray tint to it, and his black hair shimmers like oil in the ocean.
Black Mold’s, Stanley’s, frown morphs into a grin, seemingly pleased that his attack took me so off guard.
An emotional twister of anger and sadness rips through me. Clearly, he has used himself as a test subject for too long. That means my suspicions are right about the students at the University of Stalwarth. Villains need more people to test when the serum is ready. The serum that needs an otherworldly ingredient that only blooms once a year… Possibly even more importantly, it proves villains are getting help from someone else.
With a cold smile that matches his stone-cold stare, Stanley turns the corner, abandoning me, just like he did all those years ago.
My internal flame grows, and my body turns into a raging inferno, drying me instantly. I move to go after him, ignoring the throbbing pain in my side.
“Julia!” David yells. “Wait!”
I halt, panting hard, and brush my long red hair out of my face. The sight of David’s strong, confident form emerging from the dust does little to dim the fire burning inside me, but I breathe a sigh of relief at seeing he’s okay. His brown shirt, moss-green military vest, and cargo pants are intact. Only his hair shows any signs of dishevelment.
“Where’s Iron Forge?” I spy behind David. “I thought you were going after him?”
David shakes some dirt from his brown locks. “He took off toward the abandoned part of the city. I’m sure he’s going to meet up with Black Mold. I tried to call for backup, but no one is responding.”
The pain in my side grows intense, as if the imaginary knife is now twisting in my liver. I grit my teeth to suppress yelling out in pain.
David sees the blood running down my leg. “You’re hurt!”
I dismiss him with a wave. “I’ll be fine. Besides, we need to go after them. The whole city will be at risk if we don’t!”
“They’re trying to isolate us.” His eyes fill with concern, and deep lines crease his forehead. “Why else would they try to get us away from downtown? They want us dead. They must’ve found out about our request for a meeting with the League. This confirms your suspicions about who’s behind all of this.”
My chest grows tight. David’s right. I’d thought I was being discreet about my investigation all these years, but there’ll be time to worry about that later. “We have to try!” I snap, maybe a little too harshly. “We don’t have time to do anything else right now. There are lives at stake!”
David pinches the bridge of his nose. “Let me take on Stanley, then. His water control is too much for you, especially if you’re injured.”
“I can do this,” I say, firmly. “Other than Eliza, I’m probably the only other person he’ll listen to.”
“But he’s not the Stanley we knew,” David’s voice reflects his fear. “He’s been poisoned against us. He’s Black Mold now.”
Even knowing what David says is true, I must believe a part of the boy I grew up with is still there. “You’re probably right, but I have to try.”
David frowns, knowing we’ve failed this city by hiding our ties.
A loud crash echoes around us, and the ground rumbles. Dust escapes the nearby brick buildings in a puff, polluting the air. More screams of fear echo around us, and my eyes lock on debris falling from one of the buildings. It’s about to crush a young boy.
David rushes past me and thrusts out his arms. A wave of dirt erupts from the ground, breaking concrete in its wake, and swoops over the child, protecting him from the debris crushing him.
“Thank you, Digger!” the little boy shouts. He runs into the arms of a lady with matching short black hair, presumably his mother. She scoops him up, and her crying is uncontrollable as she shouts her countless thanks to David before running off.
My heart stills. The boy has to be around the same age as Ember. He deserves a safe world to grow up in just as much as she does.
“We have to stop this.” I look in the direction where Black Mold took off. “Go after Iron Forge,” I direct David. A new determination seeps into my gaze. “I’ve got Stanley.”
David rushes toward me. “We shouldn’t go after them alone! Plus, with your injuries—”
“It doesn’t matter if I’m hurt! We have a job to do. The longer we talk, the more lives we’re putting at risk!”
“Like hell it matters! You’re my wife!”
I stroke his cheek; his light stubble is like sandpaper against my fingertips. I try not to get lost in his warm brown eyes, speckled with hues of amber. “I know we can’t trust Stanley, but we can stop this. And in the process, maybe get our friend back. Possibly both of them.”
David roughly pulls me to him, and his lips are on mine. The kiss is firm, desperate. We break apart, breathing heavily, and he cradles my face. “Dammit, woman! I swear, the moment anything goes wrong, give me the signal. I’ll be right there for you.”
I nod with a hint of a smile. “I’ll make sure fire falls from the sky like hell opened up over the city.”
Our hands grip together tighter, and I ignore the excruciating pain extending from my side down my leg.
“Talk sense into our friend,” David says with a mixture of worry and determination in his stare. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
With a confident nod, I release his hand, but it takes a lot of willpower to leave him. An uneasiness settles over me, but I smother the feeling, determined to fulfill my pledge as a Guardian—that I will protect, serve, and guard the city of Stalwarth until my last breath.