Chapter 4

One thing Miran loved about mortal cities was that they never slept. He held Serena's hand as they crossed the busy streets and looked at the many street lights and signs that made the whole place lively. The sounds and smells changed with every turn. Compared to the Isle, this was an overload to the senses.

They had changed into clothes that were appropriate in the mortal world in order to blend in but still it wasn't enough. Humans could sense that they were different, though subconsciously, their souls had already been exposed to Guardian energy and we're able to sense it. It was hard for their souls to express the feeling clear to their minds as the connection between the soul and the body weakened as the body grew older.

He knew that most of them dismissed the intuition and gave more regards to physical appeal. Guardians had unearthly beauty that came with their powers and each energy had its own special distinctions. Airs was known for their slender features and silver hair, Fires had red hair and blue flame eyes, Waters like Serena had ice blue eyes and their hair had a dark blue hue and Earths were bestowed with tawny brown hair and hazel green eyes.

" Excuse me sir, can I take a pic of you and your wife please, " the man had come out of the sea of bodies and he had a camera in his hands. Though the man seemed harmless, Miran held Serena close. She wasn't used to the human nature and if the tension in her shoulders was anything to go by she needed his reassurance.

The man with the camera must have thought they were posing for him and he took the pictures before holding out a slim piece of paper.

"My card," he explained, "call me if you ever want a spot in the showbiz."

He left as mysteriously as he came and before Miran could even take a look at the card in his hand, music blared from a few ways down the street and people dressed in colorful outfits started dancing and were joined by others from nearby stalls and buildings.

"Shall we?" Miran said as he held his hand out to Serena. It had been a long time since they had danced to the lively music mortals seemed to love so much.

"Not this time, we are on a mission here Miran, the Matriarch would be disappointed if she found out we were dancing instead of working." Serena's ice blue eyes mirrored her resoluteness as she looked up at him.

"Come on, just one dance. I'm sure she won't mind and the energy signature hasn't shown up yet so we still have time."

Miran knew she wanted to dance but when it came to her duty, Serena was like the ice she dealt with.

"Fine, let's go to the residence then and set up the equipment." He conceded defeat because he knew how important this was to Serena. As a lady-in-waiting, she was used to dealing with official matters and she never got to go on investigations and missions like most of them did. He also knew that she did not want to let down his grandmother on her first mission.

The Guardian residence was based on a small hill that overlooked the city. It was a mansion that had been built to house scouts who were passing through or Guardians who had decided to live in the mortal realm. It was common for the older Guardians to choose a different life from the one they were used to in the Isle but most of those who were on the human realm were tired.

" This is the closest residence in proximity to the one that was affected last and according to my calculations, the blackout will hit any time so let's get everything ready before it does." Serena had analyzed the data that had been collected by the other scouts and was briefing Miran on what she had gathered from it.

They had come up with a plan of letting the energy come to them instead of chasing it and lucky for them it only seemed to hit areas with residences such as the one they were on. They were setting up energy reading sensors all around the place, hoping that maybe one of them would get something on the strange signature.

Video footage and infrared were out of the question as any light emitting devices would be disabled. Miran knew why he had been out on this mission but he still couldn't help but wonder if there was any other reason for this.

After he had found out that his mother could still be alive he had requested to be allowed to go and look for her but every plea had been denied. He had been kept busy in the Isle to prevent him from going to Earth and slowly what he knew as home became his prison. He was the heir, chosen not because of his birth but because he had earned it therefore he never complained. He had to put his duty to his people first above all else and that was what he did.

Every day he felt caged and the thought that his own mother could be suffering pained him even more. Then the rumors of Guardians in the human realm disappearing reached the Isle and now this. If past experiences were anything to go by, this was just a demon on a rampage and burning it would bring an end to the mess it was causing. This had to be a high ranking demon then or maybe even a prince of hell because normal demons had no energy signatures and could not affect physical things. Now the question was, what would a prince of Hell be doing in the mortal realm?

In the distance Miran saw the city lights blink off suddenly and the noise from it just stopped.There was only one way find out, he guessed.

"Miran! It's coming." Serena shouted over to him. He didn't need to be told, he could feel it in the distance. It was moving around, from place to place but heading for the residence. It's movements were frantic as if it was searching for something or someone. Even though he had perfect night vision, for some reason Miran could not see in this darkness but what if he...

He raised his right hand up and let his energy flow from his core, up his arm and finally rest in the palm of his hand. Light streamed from it and he felt the thing, whatever it was freeze. For a moment it remained in the same place before it started moving straight for Miran. This was what it was looking for, why it had only went to place where Guardians were found, it was looking for him.

"What are you doing? This is reckless, for heavens sake, we even don't know what that thing is!" Serena's terrified voice reached him from somewhere to his left. Even with his energy flaring he still couldn't see her.

"Trust me on this. It's the only way."

His core was telling him this was the right thing to do and as if it was hearing his thoughts the thing came and stopped just out of the light's reach. It moved around but never once entered the lit area. Out of curiosity, Miran held out his hand and reached for it. His hand touched the surface of what seemed like a dark bubble, a forcefield of some sort. Could there be something inside it?

Miran watched as some of the light on his hand streamed into the surface and began swirling. He directed a little more energy to the forcefield and the light began forming waves. He allowed more of it to stream through it until he could see a silhouette inside. It was a woman, she was suspended in the middle of dark construct. Without thinking, he used his free hand to reach in a grab her hand before pulling her towards him.

Just as her form reached the field's edge, it vanished as if it was never there. He hurried to support the limp form in his arms to prevent her from falling to the ground. She was of average height and her red hair had been tied into a bun. With her eyes closed he could not tell their color but he imagined them to be a lovely shade of green.

" Miran, let's get her inside and find out what she is."

He had completely forgotten about Serena and that made him feel guilty.

"She is human."

He could feel her pulse and the blood in her veins, he had to wait for her to wake up to find out how she was able to do all that. He carried her in his arms and felt her warmth seep through the flimsy barrier of her thin clothes and his shirt. He couldn't stop looking at her and his energy was flaring at her proximity.

He walked through the halls with Serena guiding him into one of the many rooms. He laid the woman on the bed carefully and made sure she was comfortable. As he broke contact with her and turned to leave, he felt dizzy and heard Serena calling out his name before he blacked out.