Guardian: Darkness Rising by Melanie Houtman Page B

teenagers – our children.”
    This was the cue for the teenagers to join
their parents. The audience moved aside, making a straight path
toward the altars for the teenagers to walk on.
    Anthony went first, shortly
followed by his sister, Marcus and Daisy. Luke stayed behind for a
few short moments to reassure Mari.
    “ All you have to do is come after
me and walk up to your dad,” he said. “There’s nothing to it,
really.”
    And that was exactly as she did. After Luke
had left, winking at her as he rounded the corner, ready to greet
the applauding audience, Mari slightly lifted up her skirt and
walked the same path as Luke had.
    While everyone had been applauding as the five
new Guardians walked the path, they fell silent as soon as they
laid eyes on Mari.
    Everyone was caught by surprise by the
unexpected yet pretty girl, who nervously walked past them. And, of
course, her father hadn’t missed out on the sudden silence
downstairs.
    Antonio blinked slowly as the girl
walked, only stopping in front of the altar he was standing on.
“...Mari?” he uttered silently, fiercely hoping that this girl was
indeed his daughter.
    “ ...Dad,” the girl smiled, as she
ran up the stairs and threw herself into her father’s
arms.
    “ Everyone,” Antonio said, as he
kept his daughter close to his chest. “I’d like you all to meet my
beautiful daughter Mari.”
    The audience applauded and roared
with support. Everyone knew that Mari was something special,
something different; even though no one was sure why. The girl had
a special aura, one of the kinds that a non-magical being couldn’t
possibly possess. On the outside, she seemed human, but something
on her inside declared that she wasn’t just that.
    “ Four years ago,” Antonio
continued, “Mari was taken from us by the Master; apparently, he
needs her to complete his dirty plans for him. But we’re not going
to let him, now are we, Mari?”
    Mari smiled at her father. “Of course not!”
she shouted. “Whatever he’s up to, we’re going to stop him right in
his tracks!”
    The audience roared with pride. The Lunariae
had so much faith in the Guardians; it was absolutely incredible –
incredible enough to stun Mari for a few moments as she watched all
the magical beings, from dwarves to giants and fairies, cheer her
on. There was absolutely no way that these people were the bad
guys, as the Master put it. He had it all wrong. This was the side
to fight for, and no other.
    “ Well, that concludes it then!”
Thomas shouted. “People of Lunaria; tonight, we celebrate the
beginning of a new era! The era we hoped we could’ve started
twenty-five-years ago, but will now officially begin! And it begins
by taking down the Master once and for all!
    “ Who’s with us?”
    Once again, the audience responded with
roaring cheers of encouragement and excitement. They were ready to
go back to war if they had to. Help the Guardians once more, to get
rid of that pesky demon the Master was once and for all.
    Soon, it’d all be over.
    As the night went on, more and
more people came to see and talk to the Guardians, hoping to hear
what the plans were. Luckily for Mari, who was uncomfortable with
talking to such massive groups of people, Luke stayed at her side
all night, doing most of the talking for her.
    That was, until the Lunariae screamed for the
two of them to dance.
    “ Well, we can’t leave our guests
un-entertained, right?” Luke said, as he gently took one of Mari’s
hands. “I bet you’ll do great, come on.”
    “ Luke, no!” Mari protested. “I’ve
never danced before. We’ll both look like idiots.”
    “ Just trust me,” Luke said,
drawing Mari closer as they stepped on to the now cleared dance
floor. “I had to learn how to dance for uncle Finn’s wedding. I’ll
lead.”
    In the beginning, Mari was tense and nervous,
but as she followed Luke’s every move, she slowly started to loosen
up, yet didn’t get too comfortable, as she wanted to