Free Guardian: Protectors of Light by Melanie Houtman Page A

map. “The bridge is
near his hideout. He’s not there at the moment,
however.”
    “ I’ve got to
admit,” Samira said, “that magical map is proving itself to be
somewhat useful. Without it, we’d never be able to find
him!”
    “ Maybe he
eventually would’ve come to find us?” Bella suggested. “...But then
again, we could’ve been anywhere, which wouldn’t make it any easier
at all.”
    The five teenagers didn’t
spend too much time chitchatting, as they knew something was on to
them. They proceeded to head east, to the bridge and Gabriel’s
hideout.
    It would be best if they
got there as quick as possible; the quicker they got at least a
little bit of training, the safer they would be - well, for how
much they could call themselves safe, of course.
    James wasn’t too sure
about safety at the moment, though. It was if there was this black
fog, floating low over the ground, going by almost unnoticeable in
the dark night; it was as if the fog was following them with every
step they took.
    James decided not to make
any mention of it, as it’d probably only stress out his friends
even more; that so-called “fog” was probably not even there. And it
certainly wasn’t anything worth breaking their minds
over.
    But what happened a short
while after James had noticed the black fog, he wished he would’ve
said something about it. Because apparently, that fog was a clear
indicator for danger.
    Danger coming from the
shadows.
    “ Guys?” Bella
said; she’d suddenly stopped walking, causing everyone to do the
same and look at her. “Do you hear that?”
    Everyone went quiet.
Bella was right; aside from the usual forest sounds, some strange
kind of buzzing sound could be heard. It wasn’t easy to pinpoint
its exact location, as the sound seemed to be coming from multiple
directions.
    “ It sounds
like the growl of an angry animal or something,” Samira said. “Any
idea what it could be?”
    “ Well, unless
you’re eager to find out, I’d suggest we get out of here,” Thomas
said. The others agreed with him, and they continued their journey
on a quickened pace.
    But the growling caught
onto them, and the monsters that made the sound became more visible
with every metre they ran.
    It were wolves, but then
wolves the size of bears. Their fur was as black as the night and
strangely smooth and shiny. The fog seemed to follow them, as it
was emitted from their mouths, which were filled with rows of sharp
teeth. The most extraordinary about these creatures however, were
their eyes; they had an orangish glow, with striped pupils, like a
cat’s.
    No matter how fast the
Guardians would run, the giant wolves ran faster, surrounding the
Guardians in no-time.
    “ Okay, does
anyone have a plan B?” James said rather nervously, as the wolves
started to move closer, closing in the teenagers.
    “ Well, I was
hoping you had one,” Samira said. “But I’m starting to get the idea
that you have got nothing either.”
    “ Then you’re
getting the right idea,” James said. “I’m clear of ways to get us
out of this one.”
    “ Well, then I
believe it’s good for me to be around, huh?”
    An unknown voice was
calling from a tree branch. Shortly after, a figure jumped down
from them, holding a glowing bow and matching arrows.
    The wolves started to
growl louder and tried to attack the figure, but he was faster and
quickly sent three arrows flying from his bow, hitting the closest
wolf in the chest, causing the others to retreat until they were
back in the shadows, from where they growled
dangerously.
    The same happened on the
other side, where the light from the arrows couldn’t reach; yet
again, the figure was too quick for the wolves to be able to
inflict any serious damage.
    The wolves quickly
realised this was an opponent who knew their weaknesses, an
opponent who wasn’t easy to attack. They proceeded to retreat back
into the shadows, until their glowing eyes and vicious growls had
disappeared from sight