Barry sprung forward from post to post, using his claws to keep his balance during the exercise. He was at the GSA, and now it was time for PE class which was probably the worst class for Barry to lose his focus in. The dragon, who still refuses to reveal his name and is now called Drake by most of them, was back at the apartment because Alexander told them to keep him a secret for now. Hector and Quentin were sworn to secrecy about the mythical reptile by Alexander so Barry knew that knowledge of the dragon would remain in the dark for now.

“Barry, heads up!”

The panther spun in the air and caught the bomb then tossed it to another classmate behind him while he did a flip in the air and landed back on a post. The drill was called, ‘Don’t drop the bomb’ and the name said everything about it. It was designed to test one’s sense of balance, accuracy, and awareness of their surroundings as the participants had to balance on wooden posts, 7.5 centimetres in diameter, that were dug into the ground and were nine metres tall while they would pass around a metal sphere the size of a football. If dropped, the ball would send a shockwave to knock all the participants off their feet and a similar event would occur if one held onto the ball or stood on a post for longer than two seconds. No flying was allowed and the main objective of the drill was to spend as much time on top of the poles as possible, all the while dodging different kinds of elemental attacks from their teacher, an albino stag named Whitehall, who specialised in ice sigil magic, observed them from a ledge nearby.

“Move it maggots,” yelled the cervine in his thick Irish accent, twirling his crystal tipped lance around his body before sending several icicles at his four students.

Barry spun in the air and summoned a three-pronged lightning bolt to strike down some of the icicles while Rachel, a Guardian resembling a jaguar, used her nature magic to make several of the posts grow longer to block the rest of the ice.

“I’m liking the teamwork here,” said their teacher, “but how will ya handle this?!”

The stag spun his weapon so fast it became a blur, creating a huge blizzard that tore through the wooden shield Rachel had made.

Sam, the ball under her arm, jumped high into the air and threw it to Rachel’s partner, Liz, before summoning a shield to combat the blizzard while Barry fired lightning at the hailstones formed in the wind. Rachel used her magic to summon hundreds of sharpened leaves to protect her partner but Whitehall suddenly fired an ice blast at their feet and everyone started losing their balance. The sphere dinged in Liz’s hands and they were all blown off the poles.

“That was pitiful,” said Whitehall, sliding down an ice ramp down to them, “can any of ya tell me what went wrong?”

“We didn’t adapt to the change in our surroundings,” offered Liz, putting her short red hair behind her ears.

“Barry and I didn’t shield our Anchors,” said Rachel.

“Wrong and wrong,” said the stag bitterly, “ya didn’t follow my instructions. I told you that no one was to hold the ball for longer than two seconds but what defeated you in the end? It wasn’t me ice, it only caused ya lose your balance, it was the fact that you forgot the mission parameters and let the ball explode. Class dismissed, but I want a report from each of you identifying your many mistakes during the drill.”

They all groaned and the stag left them on the ground. Liz left to return the ball while the rest of them headed to the locker rooms to get changed. Their normal PE gear was padded armour but sometimes they could wear regular PE kit like bike shorts and shirts. To keep their hair out of the way, Sam and Liz had tied it in a ponytail while Rachel had some of her longer head fur braided down one side of her head but now they let their hair out so it flowed above their shoulders. Barry walked in step with the girls and tried starting a conversation.

“So, Rachel,” he begun, “Um, thank you for your help back there. You’re really good at using nature magic.”
“Why the tone of surprise?” asked the she-panther, her thick Brazilian accent put emphasis on her vowels, “Did you think my skills wouldn’t be adequate?”

“No, not at all,” stammered Barry, “I was just…um, I meant say to that…uh”

Rachel winked at him then disappeared into the girl’s locker room with Sam and her partner, laughing all the way.

Barry was still sulking by the time he and Sam had left the Academy. While in his cat form on the way home, his head hung over the edge of the seat with his front paws dangling down beside it.

“Why can’t I talk to girls?” he mused aloud.

“You can talk to me,” said Sam as she turned a corner into her building.

“It’s not the same, you’re different.”
“Chose your next words very carefully cat.”

“You know what I mean,” said Barry as he leapt out of the car while Sam picked up their bags from the backseat, “We’re partners, it’s easier to talk you.”
“Nice save,” mumbled Sam, fiddling with her keys for a minute before locking her car and making her way to the lift.

Barry stayed by her side as they rode the lift to Sam’s floor then he walked in her wake when he entered the apartment. Barry transformed back in his full panther form the moment he crossed over the threshold. The spell Sam maintained around her apartment created similar aura to the one around the GSA allowing Guardians and Seekers to be in whichever form they deemed comfortable. Apparently, the spell didn’t seem to apply to Drake as he was always in his beast form while both inside and out of the apartment and he was always in a bad mood about it.

“Finally, you’ve returned,” said Drake flying towards them for a few feet before falling on the ground. His wings had healed for the most part but it was still difficult for him to fly more than a few metres.

“Did you miss us then?” asked Sam, putting the shopping on the counter in the kitchen.

“Like a toothache,” replied the lizard, “Did you bring what I asked for?”
“Yes, you overgrown salamander,” said Barry relaxing in the armchair by the television, “What are you going to do with all that stuff anyways?”
Drake said nothing and stuck his snout in one of the bags labelled HOBBS. Sam quickly grabbed him by the tail and pulled him out of it saying, “Back off mate, that’s mine. These are yours.”

She passed the reptile a small brown paper bag with a bunch of powders and plants in it. Drake tugged his tail out of her grasp then picked up the bag in his mouth and flew over to the balcony where he had a little laboratory set up made from Sam’s old chemistry set she got when she was younger and a few measuring cups from the kitchen. He started grinding the herbs into powder and then set some green liquid in a glass beaker on top of a small cooker from a camping set Barry owned.

While the reptile worked, Barry switched on the television and flicked through the channels while Sam took her stuff to her room. When she came back Barry had settled on the news and Drake was adding his crushed herbs to the green liquid, turning it orange and causing it to bubble like a cold drink.

“What are you doing?” she asked him, kneeling beside Drake on the balcony.

Drake reluctantly turned to her and said, “I’m making something to speed up my recovery so I can look for my clan.”
“Why? You can’t leave this place without me or Barry present and neither of us want to go on a scavenger hunt for mythological creatures that might not exist.”
Drake grimaced then said through clenched teeth, “I can find them without you help. I would only require your permission to leave the premises in order to begin.”
Barry scoffed and Sam gave him a look before turning back to Drake and saying, “You know that isn’t going to happen. You said Shadowmancers were able to sense you when you were outside before, I’m not about to let something like that happen again so don’t try to argue.”

Drake made a noise somewhere between a grunt and a groan when he tried to retort causing Barry to snicker.

“I love the fact that you have to obey every command she gives you,” said Barry from his position in the chair, “It’s hilarious to watch you resist Alexander’s magic.”

Drake grunted and turned back to his work. Alexander, in order to keep the gargoyle from losing control again, had placed a spell on Drake that strengthened the mystic bond between him and Sam. While in his small beast form, he had to obey any direct command given to him by Sam or Alexander regardless of whether he wished to or not. Sam rolled her eyes and seated herself on the couch and read the words travelling across the screen.

“Recent bombing in Waterloo leaves Londoners running scared for their lives and police baffled by its origins,” she read aloud.

“I love how humans think up the craziest explanations for magical events,” said Barry, a wide grin on his muzzle, “The ground literally exploded in front of them because of Drake but they are happy to blame whichever country they hate the most that week.”

Drake growled loudly at mention of his new name but said nothing and continued working. Sam suddenly leaned forwards when the news switched scenes to a pub in Essex.

“Barry turn up the volume,” she said and the panther obliged.

“Tales of a group of hooded men and woman tearing up the town may have had more truth than we originally thought,” said the white-haired man on the screen, “as there has been another attack on local pubs but this time an onlooker recorded the scene from his phone.”

The television now showed a blurry picture of three friends walking back from a party when one of the girls screamed and they all ducked behind a car. The camera then peaked over the hood and focused on a man in a hoodie wielding two long black blades, slicing through a couple blokes who seemed to be very drunk.

The man said something incomprehensible and several black tendrils rose around him then started shredding through the pub, dragging out random people before flinging them through the air before the camera feed cut to black.

“What is that?” asked Drake, walking into the room.

“I thought I already explained to you what a television is,” groaned Barry.

“No, I meant what is going on in the television,” said Drake, “that looks like a Shadowmancer and they seemed to be looking for something.”

“Shadowmancers are low ranked mages, they scavenge around for mystic creatures and artefacts,” said Sam, “What could they possibly be looking for?”
“I am not certain,” said Drake, his eyes narrowed, “but I do know that with them it cannot be good.”

***

A young girl pushed her trolley full of trash across the alley. She had run away from her life to live on the streets and she was very good at it. This girl was approaching her third year as an independent woman and she was just thinking of how she might commemorate her achievement when she heard something get knocked over behind her.

“Hello?” she croaked, “Anybody there?”

There was no answer but this girl was now very aware of her surroundings. It was a skill nearly every homeless person had, it kept them alive through the tough seasons and safe from policemen. She heard another noise and whirled round, a broken bottle in hand and held up high.

“I don’t want no trouble,” she mumbled, “Stay back or I’ll cut ya. Ya lousy cur.”

A dark shape moved around in the shadows and crept towards her silently. The young women threw old cans and trash bags at it but they only seemed to make the beast angry as it rushed forwards. The homeless girl barely had time to scream before the shadow overcame her and alley was quiet once more.

***

It was nearly six o’clock in the afternoon and yet the sun had still not set over London, its warm amber glow still shining brightly. Alexander sat alone atop a tall building that had a perfect view of the city and the best spot for a member of the Zodiac to relax. It had been days since Maximus had gone into the infirmary and, to stop the bull’s condition from worsening, the healers had put him in a stasis field to slow down the supposed cursed now affecting Maximus’ body.

“You’re late,” he said coolly to a nearby wolf that had just appeared from the shadows, “Sam was able to get Drake to talk more about his first night here and he mentioned seeing you fighting the Shadowmancers chasing him.”

The wolf whined and sat on its haunches next to the mage, who rubbed its head absentmindedly.

“What am I going to do with you?” he asked lightly, “you keep disobeying orders and yet I still can’t stay angry at you. Why is that?”
The wolf gave him two wide puppy eyes and the mage gave a large laugh.

“Alright then, let’s go.”

Alexander then stepped off the roof with the wolf in tow and the two of them disappeared into thin air. When they reappeared, they were in a dark passageway full of small glow worms and sharp stalactites coming through from the ceiling. Alexander calmly navigated his way through the cavern with the black dog at his heels, making their way towards the only light source in there, a dim purple light that pulsed with magic energy.

Alexander crouched low and carefully stepped towards the light, a small opening into a large cavern that had a circular altar with seven different coloured flames surrounding it, almost forming a circular rainbow but for the fact that indigo and violet were swapped out for a light blue and white flame. There were nearly twenty people gathered there, all wearing the same dark robes and silver necklaces. There were eight of them that were bound in long steel chains and they were being dragged over to their positions around the altar. One of the robed mages stood in the centre of the circle and removed their hood, revealing a bald pale woman with black spikes and tendrils tattooed across her face and her eyes shone with magic.

“Tonight, we will become even stronger” she cried, “as we sacrifice these souls to our master, restoring his power and strengthening his grip on this feeble planet for all eternity!”

They all began chanting an ancient incantation, causing all the flames in the braziers to turn black and the room went cold. The hostages struggled against their chains but it was no use, then they all went rigid. Their auras suddenly became visible, shining around them like smoke, then drifted towards the woman in the centre. Before the auras could reach her though, a loud bang echoed throughout the chamber and then Guardians flooded the cavern, wielding axes, swords, and even spears against the Shadowmancers.

“Don’t even think about it,” muttered Alexander to the grey wolf and it whined a bit, eager to be part of the fight. “I said you could watch the fight this time. They have it handled.”
Three Guardians and their partners jumped onto the altar but the woman merely waved her hand in a sweeping motion and sent them all flying backwards into the wall. She summoned a dark cloud above her head to protect her against the falling debris from the cavern ceiling then sent bolts of purple energy at the Guardians and Anchors in the crowd. Alexander spied the winged stag Whitehall fighting off two Shadowmancers, battling with several white sigils that floated around him after he drew them with his staff. As Alexander watched, Whitehall sent a few sharp tendrils of ice into one of his opponents then sliced through the other before flying up and engaging the woman in the centre. She summoned tendrils of her own from the shadows and fought the Guardian head on.

Somebody cried out for a retreat and Shadowmancers everywhere started to teleport away in the confusion until only the woman was left standing, now surrounded on the altar.

“You may have delayed his coming today Guardians,” said the witch, “but it is we who have won this battle!”

He raised her arms and a vortex of shadows engulfed her then she was gone, leaving behind nothing but a large scorch mark on the ground.

“Wait here,” said Alexander to the wolf and he slipped through the crack and landed on the ground below.

“I need every available three tier Seeker here now!” said Whitehall, “Wounded go get taken care of, the rest of you need to help the hostages.”

“Sounds like you had quite the party,” said Alexander.

“Glad to see a Zodiac could join us,” said the white stag, “But I’m afraid that ya too late. Most of them escaped, including their leader.”

“Was it her?” asked Alexander, “The Priestess?”

“Yep,” said Whitehall, “I fought with all my strength but it felt like she wasn’t even using a fraction of hers. We need to locate her right away.”
“Agreed. I call Oliver and let him know.”

Whitehall chuckled and Alexander gave him a questioning look.

“What? We finally see the fabled Priestess, said to be one of the Sins’ acolytes, and we’re asking that old goat to help us track her down?”

Alexander rolled his eyes and walked away as several Seekers appeared from portal glyphs that had just been carved into the stone. He then disappeared and reappeared next to his lupine companion back in the hidden crack in the wall. They walked back the way they came and Alexander teleported them back to the rooftop overlooking London then he took out his phone.

“Luke,” he said into the device, “We’ve found her. Alert the others and get Oliver in on this.”

“Understood,” said Luke and then he hung up.

The grey canine lightly head-butted Alexander’s leg and the mage patted it on the head.

“You can go now, the show’s over.”

The wolf nodded and disappeared into the shadows, leaving Alexander alone on the rooftop.

***

Sam had decided to spend some time with her friends, leaving Barry alone to babysit Drake while she was gone.

“I am not a baby,” argued the gargoyle fiercely but Sam waved him off.

“it’s just an expression,” she said, “Look, I just need something normal to deal with for a change and I’ve been neglecting my best friend. I’ll be out late so stay out of trouble and, in case of emergency, Barry’s in charge.”

Drake growled and began packing up his lab while Barry sat in the chair in his cat form pretending to be asleep. The moment Sam left he leapt up onto the arm of his chair and watched drake work.

“Why did you need all of this stuff?” the cat asked.

“Didn’t curiosity kill the cat?” replied Drake without turning around.

“You know that you have to answer my question.”

“Actually, I don’t,” said Drake, “Samantha’s instructions to me were to stay out of trouble and that you had some minor amount of authority over me. She did not state that you now possessed total authority over me as she does therefore I don’t have to obey you.”

“Great, I get to babysit the Lizard Lawyer,” said Barry with a wide yawn.

“I’m not a baby!” snapped Drake, his crimson aura momentarily flickering around his body.

“Calm down mate, I was only yanking your tail.”
Drake blinked at him then said, “Is that another expression or are you actually going to try pull my tail?”

Barry rolled his eyes and looked over to the television. Sam had changed the channel earlier to Animal Planet and there was a documentary on hippos on at the moment. Barry watched the large mammals swim for a bit then noticed Drake’s stare. The dragon’s green eyes never wavered and they were starting to make Barry feel uncomfortable.

“What is it?” he demanded.

“I’m just observing your aura,” said Drake, “It just seems odd that someone like you has the power over the holy element.”

“Really? Because where I’m from it’s not as rare as you think. When I was growing up a lot of us Guardians had some affinity over light magic, it was considered a blessing on this generation.”

Drake jumped up onto the seat of the couch and laid down before looking back at Barry.

“In the gargoyle order we believed that users of such power are those born to serve at the right hand of the Ancient Ones. They are born with a unique gift but it also meant that they had the greatest capacity for evil.”

“You know a lot about his stuff,” said Barry cautiously, “What element did you study under?”

“Storm magic,” said Drake, “I learned how to summon lightning and control the wind. I was actually rather adept at it until…”

“Until you came here,” said Barry, sitting up, “Your magic changed when you got here didn’t it? That’s why when we fought the hamrammr you didn’t use any elemental magic, you used whatever that is with your aura.”
“It’s called Aura Manipulation. It is an ancient art that the monks taught us, it uses the basic principle of controlling one’s aura in an offensive form rather than just as a shield. Your aura naturally enhances your healing and durability during battle but this art allows you to also enhance your strength and your speed.”
“Could you teach me?” asked Barry, “I mean, it is possible for me to learn?”
Drake nodded and said, “Of course, but why would I teach you?”

“Um, because it is the right thing to do?”

Drake feigned a yawn and pretended to pick something out from his claws.

“Fine, what do you want?” grumbled Barry.

 “Access to the GSA archives.”

Barry nearly fell off the armchair. He and Sam never told Drake anything about the academy, so how did he know? Drake must have read Barry’s expression well because he shrugged then said, “You and the girl must have learned about your powers someplace and it makes sense that such a place would have the information I need.”

“But how did you know what it was called?”

“You got a message on your… what was it…an iPad? Anyway, it was from a person named Archie GSA and I thought that must be where you trained as that would be a terrible last name.”

“Why were you on my iPad?”

Drake waved the question away and said, “So, do we have a deal or not.”

Barry nodded, hoping beyond all hopes that he wouldn’t live to regret this decision.

***

Manipulating the cat was easy, like all felines he was insanely curious for knowledge he could not possess, but getting me into the GSA was not simple in any sense of the word. First Bartholomew had to use one of his tunnels to get me within a mile from one of the entrances and we ended up in the countryside on the edge of the city. Then we had to walk for about half an hour, all the way to the entrance itself, a small ditch hidden by the road that was covered in different species of insects and flora. Once we got there Bartholomew had to use the crystal on his collar to open the door that led deep down into the earth, where we found ourselves in a massive cavern. There were several large buildings organised in a square formation around a large courtyard and the tallest building of them all towered over the place like Big Ben over the Thames. It was magnificent.

“You done gawking at it yet?” asked Bartholomew, now back in his panther form but this time in leather clothing like one might wear under their armour. It irritated me that I did not return to my normal size but I tried to focus on the matter at hand.

“I am not ‘gawking’ whatever that means,” I said sternly, “I was merely thinking about how hard it is going to be to enter the archives. There are a lot of creatures down there.”
“Don’t worry,” said Bartholomew, “Jerry’s going to help out with that.”

“Who is this Jerry character?”

Just as the words left my mouth an imp landed on my back like I was some kind of horse. Try as I might I was not able to buck him off until I tried bashing him against the wall which only resulted in me hurting myself after the imp jumped off at the last minute to sit on Bartholomew’s shoulder.

“Give me one reason why this thing shouldn’t be roasted over a fire,” I growled deeply.

“This is Jerry,” said Bartholomew, “He’s a gremlin. He also knows a secret way into the library for you to take.”
“Aren’t you coming?” I asked.

“I’m going to take the long way round, why sneak in when I have a key? Jerry please take him to library, I’ll be with you in a mo.”

The imp nodded and sat on my back again, kicking me in the sides to indicate which way to go. I began to run down the ledge until Jerry pulled on one of the small horns on the side of me head to stop me.

“What is it?” I asked but the imp just pointed at a small crack in the caves. The imp could easily fit through there but it was a bit to snug for my taste. Regardless of this I walked over and managed to squeeze through. Jerry led me down the passage to another small crack in the cave and I could see part of a grand library through the crack. I was so excited that I nearly forgot to watch out for any protection spells placed around the library, luckily the imp stopped me by pulling on my horns again.

“Ow, would you please stop doing that?” I asked, it was starting to hurt. Jerry ignored my question and spat on the floor before edging me on. Reluctantly I walked forwards, carefully avoiding the spit on the ground, but no alarms were triggered.

So, gremlin saliva temporarily disables protection spells? Useful but disgusting to say the least.

When I poked my head through the crack I saw rows and rows of bookshelves spread out like a giant maze around a large round table in the centre. There were stairs leading to the upper levels and in some areas, there were desks and chairs for those who wished to study in this great monument. There was a young anthropomorphic lioness standing just below me, reading a very thick book that seemed to be written in a strange language.

I spotted Bartholomew making his way over to us and I nearly lost my balance leaning over to see what the young Guardian below me was reading. Bartholomew spotted her and suddenly hung his head sheepishly as he approached the lioness. I could barely make out the words because the imp kept trying to steer me in another direction so I wrapped my tail around its mouth and told it to be quiet but the conversation was already over and Bartholomew looked even more sheepish than ever as the lioness left.

“Come on Drake, let’s go,” he said, his face shadowed.

I crept silently across the floor as we made our way to one of the unoccupied desks nearby. While Bartholomew kept a lookout, I quickly scanned the bookshelves for ant title that would be useful. I magically enhanced my vision and I saw all of the auras around me. Bartholomew’s was a silvery white and covered him like an electric field whilst the imp had a pale green aura around him. The books themselves had auras too, as most of them carried mystic properties and one particular book caught my attention from the corner of my eye. I could recognise its energy anywhere; it was one of his favourite books after all. I closed my eyes to focus and I was able to cast a chameleon spell over my body so, as long as no one looked too closely, I was practically invisible.

I walked towards the shelf, all the while aware of anyone that might notice my movements but it seemed that the Ancient Ones were guiding me in my quest as I encountered no soul on my way to the shelf. I moved the ladder over to me and climbed it to get to my book, a heavy leather bound tome engraved with bronze spirals and symbols. I managed to maneuverer it out from its place on the shelf but then it slipped from my grasp and landed with a heavy thud on the ground, the sound echoing across the library. Oops.

I dropped to the floor, using my wings to slow my descent, then I picked up the book in my mouth and ran back towards Bartholomew. Just as I turned the corner I skidded to a halt in front of a tall eagle with his arm in a sling. It was Quentin.

“What are you doing here?” he whispered.

I pointed at the book in my mouth and then I saw a familiar panther rushed past before stopping dead in his tracks when he noticed me. He seemed out of breath and the imp Jerry was sitting on his shoulder.

“Where the ruddy hell have you been?” he asked in a harsh whisper.

Again, I pointed at the book. How do they not notice this thing, it’s as big as my head!

“Get him out of here,” said Quentin, “before someone sees him.”

Bartholomew picked me up and carried me under one arm like I was the ball in one of those sports games he watched. He took me to the crack where I had entered then shoved me and the imp up there before taking the tome from my mouth. Before I could protest he was gone and I was left with no tome nor any clue how to get out. Unfortunately, the imp did know and he was already on my back like I was a horse. We went back out the way we came but this time I really had to dig into the stone with my claws because we were basically climbing out. By the time I had gotten us back to the ledge overlooking the academy Bartholomew was waiting for us.

“You’re lucky the Librarian wasn’t in today,” he said, “or else we’d have a really big mess on our hands. Here’s your book, I had to check it out or else the library’s anti-theft magic would’ve found you.”
I took the tome gingerly from his hands, careful not to scratch the cover with my claws. It was still as ancient and heavy as I remembered from my days back at the Sanctuary. I had to stop myself from showing any major form of emotion as that would probably give away its true value to me.

Bartholomew led us back to the hidden entrance and we bid goodbye to the troublesome imp Jerry before making our way out. The tome shrunk itself into a tiny square that Bartholomew placed into a hidden compartment in his collar. The journey back was easier, there were strong winds and I was in a good mood so I carried the cat through the air, using my wings to glide on the airstreams until we reached our destination. We were in such good spirits that we completely forgot that Samantha didn’t know we were gone until we got back to find the female human livid.

“Where were you!?” she yelled, “I got home an hour ago, to find the place empty and no note, no messages, not even a call to say ‘hey Sam we’re popping out for a bit, be back later.’”

“Sorry,” started Bartholomew but she rounded on him.

“Shut up! I don’t want to hear it. Drake, from now on you are not allowed to leave the premises without my or Alexander’s permission, unless it is deemed a life-threatening emergency.”

I felt her magic bind me to the apartment and I nodded solemnly. So much for having a good day. Samantha was beyond reasoning at this point but I still felt bad for making her worry. She often reminded me of the nuns at the sanctuary and the way they would treat us like their own children when we were hatchlings.

“Samantha,” I began and she gave me a dirty look, “Sam. I apologise for the deceitful nature of our departure. If anyone is to blame then let it be me, Bartholomew was only trying to better himself in light of his recent failures against your partnership.”

“Fine then,” said Samantha, “but what were you two doing?”

“Getting this,” said Bartholomew and he transformed into his panther form, the tome held firmly in his hands, “Drake wanted to get to the library to get this. Its written in at least eight different languages and the lady at the desk couldn’t even give me its name.”

Sam took the book from his paws and flied through it. I had to restrain myself from stopping her, the book was fragile and she was callously flipping through like a magazine.

“Please be careful,” I said, my voice small. That stopped her. Samantha turned to look at me, her stone expression softening when her brown eyes met mine.

“What is this?” she asked quietly.

“It’s my father’s,” I replied, “back in the Sanctuary, where we gargoyles are trained and raised, there were monks and nuns that looked after us. We never knew our parents when we are hatched but the humans there always acted like we were their own. That book was the favourite of the human who was like a father to me and my brother.”

“You never mentioned that you had a brother,” said Samantha.

“Not by the human definition, we weren’t related, but he and I were inseparable. Our caretaker was a monk name Gerald and he was the kindest man you would ever meet. He always looked after us, even when we became of age and were sent out on missions. Every time we came back he was there, waiting for us and treating us like his children.”

“Still not explaining the book,” said Bartholomew.

“It was the first book we saw. We aren’t read fairy tales or fables when we are young. In fact, not many of us bothered to learn how to read, not really necessary for combat, but Gerald was adamant on my brother and I learning. He even said once that, ‘No son of mine is going to miss out on the works of Shakespeare or Charles Dickens’. Gerald read to us in Hebrew, Arabic, French and even Latin. I had to learn eighteen different languages just so that I could one day return the favour.”
“So what is it about?” asked Samantha.

“I do not know,” I replied walking forwards to sit on the couch, “he never told us but it’s full of magical energy so I knew it must have some useful information in it. Gerald died shortly before the battle in 1914, he was ninety-seven years old.”

“I’m sorry,” said Bartholomew and he tried to comfort me but I shook his off.

“I don’t want any sympathy,” I snarled, blinking back a few tears, “he’s dead and gone. Just like the rest of them now. I have made peace with it and that’s that. Would you please pass me the book?”
Samantha gave me the tome and I took it out to the balcony. I laid it down on a blanket that I kept out here and began to read, all the while aware of the not-so-hushed conversation behind me by my two wardens.

***

Barry watched Drake once again absorb himself within the pages of that old tome. It had been two days since their adventure into the GSA and the dragon showed no signs of teaching the cat anything more than how to turn a page at the slowest rate possible. Barry was not a patient feline and he reached his limit when Drake once again refused to acknowledge their agreement when Barry reminded him for the eighth time that day.

“Oh, for Pete’s sake,” said Barry, “Why not?”

“To teach you what I know requires ample space in which to work,” replied the lizard, eyes still trained on the page laid out in front of him, “this apartment is not suitable for such a task.”
“What if we trained outside?”

“Sam gave me explicit orders not to leave this dwelling unless there is a threat, emergency or either herself or Alexander permits it.”

Barry groaned and plopped down onto the armchair in his beast form. Sam was in her room doing homework and Alexander was doing whatever he does on weekends, thus the possibility of getting either of them to approve of a momentary leave of absence was slim. An idea sparked in Barry’s head and he gave Drake a large grin that resembled the Cheshire Cat.

“I do not like that look in your eyes cat,” said Drake, “What are you up to?”

Instead of answering Barry jumped next to Drake and head butted him. The world went white and then Drake found himself in a field in the middle of nowhere. There was only grass as far as the eye could see and the sky looked like the beginning of a storm.

“Welcome to the Link,” said Barry’s voice and the cat appeared in his panther form, wearing his full armour, and leaning against his polearm, “in here your body technically hasn’t left the apartment but you can use your abilities and skills like you would in the real world. Maximus would train me in here whenever I was either injured, sick or Sam wasn’t around.”

“So, this is all happening in our minds?” asked Drake and Barry nodded, “So why aren’t I in my normal form?”

“I’m guessing because of that.”

Barry pointed to the glowing white bands that was bound Drake’s ankles, wrists and tail. They each had binding glyphs on them that glowed with a pale golden light.

“That is one powerful binding spell,” noted Barry, “it even extends into in this reality, meaning somebody really doesn’t want you to use your full power.”

“Agreed, but more to the point, why did you bring me here?” asked Drake.

“You promised to teach me how to do that Mana Manipulation technique of yours. So, teach me sensei.”
Drake rolled his eyes then sat on his haunches and brought his paws together, touching his thumbs and index claws to one another. He closed his eyes in concentration and when they opened they glowed red.

“From what you’ve told me, the Guardians solely use their auras to protect themselves from magical attacks while their armour defends against the physical. Am I correct.”
“Good, then you’ll know the basics. Now I want you to focus on your aura, visualise it flowing through your body instead of around it, energising every muscle, every limb.”

Barry sat down cross legged in front of Drake and copied the pose he was making with his hands. Barry’s silvery-white aura slowly came into being, flowing around the panther’s body like liquid until his entire body was wreathed in a soft silver light.

“This feels…weird”

“As if every cell in your body is ready to burst?”

“Yeah.”
“That’s good. Now hold it, don’t let the sensation fade.”
Barry’s face contorted in concentration as he struggled to hold onto the energy flowing through his body. Small white sparks arced around his body as his aura started to flicker. He held it for a full minute before collapsing forward, his aura dissipating quickly as he breathed heavily.

“That was…”

“Good progress,” said Drake, his own aura still glowing brightly, “When I first tried this I barely lasted ten seconds. Did your instructors train your endurance?”
“Not like that no, but wow, that felt amazing.”

“Alright then. Now try it again.”
“Wait what?”

“You need to hold that power for a lot longer than one minute. That feeling you get, it’s your aura empowering your limbs, give you more strength, speed and power behind your physical attacks. Right now, we’re training your body to do this a lot faster so in battle it becomes a mere afterthought while also increasing the duration.”

“And we’re doing it this way because?”

“We both have external responsibilities to attend to, so we don’t have the luxury of taking this slowly. Now, let’s try this again.”