The Guardian of Baon City (Chapter 4 of The Deadhorse Guardians)

A long-legged, knobby shadowspawn with spikes bursting from its joints guarded the entrance to Baon University, brooding over the remains of the wrought-iron gate that lay twisted on the ground. Haikato watched from atop the spired rooftop of a nearby mansion. Fighting his way past the beast wasn’t an option– not with all the other shadowspawn nearby. Haikato could hear them skittering down the streets, scouring the desolate city for any trace of life.

Haikato slipped down from the rooftop and crept to the wall on the opposite side of the gateway. The university’s courtyard lay on the other side, but the smooth, geometry-raised stone offered no handholds for climbing.

Oh well, there’s no way for us to get in, the Aura said. I guess we’ll just have to go back now.

Haikato eyed the parapets above. “Do you have to glow?”

Glow?

“Yes. Do you always emit light, or can you turn it off?”

Uh… I guess I could engage stealth mode.

Haikato loosened his collar, revealing the bow tie, now dimmed to a dull gray. “Wrap around the parapet when I throw you.”

What?!?

Haikato pulled the bow tie off his neck and hurled it upward. As it flew into the air, the strap grew longer, and the bow tied itself around the parapet. Haikato tugged the strap to make sure it was secure, then braced his feet against the wall and began to climb.

The Aura laughed nervously. That tickles!

“As long as you don’t borrow my body to laugh with,” Haikato whispered.

Oh no, I would never do that. That would draw attention, which, through a long series of unfortunate causes, could lead to me being eaten. Haikato, why am I doing this? Am I crazy?

“You’re very brave,” Haikato said. “Don’t worry. We’re just going to get in, seal the breach, and get out.”

And likely fight and kill Mina’s brother along the way.

Do you even know where to find the breach? My detection powers are still being scrambled by the Dark Aura.

“I have an idea.” Haikato pulled himself atop the wall. The bow tie slipped free from the parapet and returned to its normal size.

“Glow a little again.” Haikato said. The light didn’t reveal any shadowspawn below, so Haikato leapt from the wall and landed with a roll in the dry grass. He headed toward the central building. Whether willingly or under compulsion from the Dark Aura, Nanto was the culprit behind opening the breach. If he could find some sort of administrative room with records on where each of the students had lived, he could find Nanto’s room.

Or he could stumble on the breach by sheer luck.

The door to the central building revealed overturned desks, broken chairs, and torn pages– and a three-foot diameter orb of living darkness suspended in the middle of the room, undulating with malicious power.

This is it. The Aura’s glow brightened. Are you ready?

In Shapesense, Haikato could see that the pulsing orb had an unmoving center– the formation of molecules that gave the breach its power. The spell to transmute it was simple, although it came with a caveat: each person could only cast it once, and only with the help of an Aura.

Haikato focused on the theorem needed to seal the breach– then stopped. “It’s too easy.”

It is?

“There’s nothing guarding it.” Haikato circled around the orb. “If I was a Dark Aura bent on world domination, where would I keep my most valuable weapon?”

“Inside yourself, of course,” a new voice said. A shadow stood in the doorway.

Haikato drew his wakizashi and stepped forward, and the bow tie’s light revealed the Dark Aura’s eyes set in Nanto’s face.

“Have you figured it out?” The Dark Aura gestured toward the sphere of darkness. “This is one of my toys. The real breach… is me.”

In Shapesense, Nanto looked the same as the breach– an unmoving core surrounded by a shifting mass of shadow. Haikato focused on the core, but the shadows moved and cut off his vision.

“How rude,” the Dark Aura said. “Trying to transmute someone without their permission.”

“I’m sorry, Mina,” Haikato whispered.

The Dark Aura cocked his head. “What did you say?”

Haikato lunged. With a single, powerful thrust, he drove his wakizashi deep into Nanto’s chest. It went in easily– too easily.

The Dark Aura sank to his knees. Then he fell backward, sliding off the blade. There was no blood. Nor had Haikato felt the crunch of bone or the tearing of flesh when he stabbed.

Smoke poured from the wound. The Dark Aura put a hand to his chest, then pulled it away. The wound closed.

Haikato’s Aura whimpered.

The Dark Aura gave a strangled laugh. “I’m something new. The perfect fusion of shadow and flesh.” He coughed, and dark smoke poured from his lungs.

The Dark Aura tried to stand. Haikato kicked it, then swung again with his wakizashi. The Dark Aura rolled out the door, dodging. Haikato struck a third time, his vision tunneled in on the Dark Aura, his heart thundering in his ears. He had to kill it now, before–

Something struck his chest. Haikato tumbled backward as one of the flying shadowspawn fell like an arrow out of the night, crashing into him and raking claws against his shoulder. Haikato punched the creature and managed to roll on top of it. He slammed the creature’s head against the ground over and over until at last it disintegrated into smoke.

Haikato rose to his feet. He could feel warm blood running from the claw marks on his shoulder, but he didn’t feel pain– not yet. He strode out the door and into the courtyard, where Dark Aura stood, smiling and flanked by two massive shadowspawn.

The Dark Aura snapped Nanto’s fingers, and torches atop the walls flared to life, illuminating the courtyard. “Now we can have a proper fight.”

Haikato! Fire!

Haikato leapt to the side as the air where he’d stood a moment ago erupted into a geyser of flame. In Shapesense, he could see the Dark Aura about to cast the same spell again. He jumped and dodged, flame spouts appearing all around him. He charged the Dark Aura, but a wall of flame erupted from the ground, and Haikato leapt back. This was dangerous– his clothes were still stained with shadowspawn blood.

“You owe me an apology after that rudeness earlier,” the Dark Aura said. “How about you give me your bow tie, and we call it even?”

Haikato didn’t answer, too focused on tracking the Dark Aura’s theorems in Shapesense. What was he doing? He seemed to be beginning new theorems, and then aborting them before the spell was cast. Haikato kicked himself for not paying more attention in geometry class.

But then, why complain about the geometry he didn’t know when he could use the geometry that he did know?

The Dark Aura doubled over, coughing. More smoke poured from Nanto’s lungs– and this time the smoke coalesced into a jet-black spear. The Dark Aura pointed the spear at Haikato. “Or how about a different offer– you give me the bow tie, and I don’t feed you to my pets?”

Haikato made his move. He transmuted the air behind each of the shadowspawn, causing a massive boom and a flash of light to appear. The shadowspawn turned. A distraction, giving him a few moments at close range. The blade had always been his strongest weapon.

Haikato charged– and the Dark Aura whipped the spear out, cracking it against Haikato’s leg and sending him sprawling. The Dark Aura strode forward and pinned Haikato to the ground with the butt of his spear.

“I’ll find Mina again,” he hissed. “I’ll make her die a slower death than yours— unless you give me that bow tie.” He stomped on Haikato’s wrist, causing him to drop his wakizashi, and kicked the weapon away.

The Aura whimpered like a kicked puppy. Panic surged in Haikato’s chest. “What do you want with it?”

“I don’t think you’re in a place to be asking questions.” The Dark Aura slammed a boot against the side of Haikato’s head. “Give it. Now.”

Haikato, the Aura said. I– I sent out a distress pulse.

Haikato stiffened. What? No!

“Had an interesting thought?” The Dark Aura kicked Haikato again. “Please, do share.”

If Zaru comes now, who will make sure Mina gets to safety? Haikato could stomach dying himself. Even the failure of losing an Aura. But if this monster got his hands on Mina– please don’t let her suffer because of my mistakes.

“Nanto,” Haikato gasped.

The Dark Aura put a boot on Haikato’s chest. “I would not say that name if I were you.”

“Nanto,” Haikato said again. “You’re still in there, aren’t you? You remember–”

“STOP!” The Dark Aura slammed his boot down, driving the air from Haikato’s lungs.

Haikato sucked in a new breath and kept talking. “Mina– remember how she loves you. You stayed up all night with her and Poroku–”

A shudder ran through the Dark Aura. Behind the blackness veiling Nanto’s eyes, Haikato thought he saw light flicker. The Dark Aura opened his lips, and a strangled moan escaped.

Haikato thrust his chest up, knocking the Dark Aura off-balance and freeing himself from its grip. He rolled, scrambling for his wakizashi.

Two winglike pillars of smoke burst from the suit coat and covered Nanto’s eyes. A moment later, they withdrew, and the eyes were dark as pitch again, the mouth beneath them twisted in hatred. The Dark Aura jumped on Haikato’s back as he tried to rise, hitting him with the butt of the spear again and again.

“You’ll pay for that trick,” the Dark Aura growled.

A gust of wind tore across the courtyard, kicking up loose gravel and dead grass. The Dark Aura turned– and then an even stronger gust of wind hit him like a punch, sending him flying.

Haikato pushed himself up, every inch of his body aching. Master Zaru stood in the ruined gateway. The two shadowspawn hissed and reared, swinging their claws at Zaru– but twin pillars of earth materialized above their heads and clobbered them to the ground.

Zaru strode forward. Haikato whirled and dashed for his wakizashi, but the Dark Aura snatched it and hurled it into the air. A bat-shadow swooped from the roof of the university, caught it, and flew away.

Zaru planted his cane on the ground, both hands clenched on top of it, and closed his eyes. In Shapesense, Haikato could see Zaru’s mind at work. The shadows that made up the Dark Aura’s coat began to unravel as Zaru latched onto their ever-shifting molecules and began to transmute them to light.

The Dark Aura let out a screech of fury, batting at his coat with Nanto’s hands as it began to glow. Zaru remained stone-still, his whole being concentrated on the theorems.

“Kill him!” the Dark Aura screamed. “Kill the old man!”

The shadowspawn roused themselves, shaking off the dirt that had buried them. Haikato rushed toward them, raising his shield and grabbing onto a slender thread of hope.

Haikato slammed his shield into the nearest shadowspawn’s face, throwing his whole weight against it. His wounded shoulder cried out, but he ignored it, instead striking with his shield again while twisting to dodge the shadowspawn’s fangs. He grabbed the shadowspawn’s neck and hoisted himself onto its back, slamming his shield against its skull time after time. With every blow, Mina’s face flashed before his mind.

The second shadowspawn drove a claw through Zaru’s back.

Zaru fell to his knees, his theorems scattering like mist before wind. The Dark Aura dusted off his coat with a self-satisfied grin. Zaru coughed, hacking blood onto the dead grass.

Haikato screamed, leaping off the shadowspawn he’d been pummelling and sprinting toward his teacher. The other shadowspawn pulled his claw free from Zaru’s flesh and rose to strike again. Haikato hurled his shield. It struck the shadowspawn’s leg, and Haikato could hear the crunch of the creature’s bones breaking at the impact.

“Go.” Zaru wrapped a hand around Haikato’s wrist, his grip tight with the strength of desperation.

Haikato stood still, a response dying on his lips.

“You are the Guardian of Baon City,” Zaru gasped. “Now do your duty, and protect Mina– protect the most valuable thing we have left.”

He closed his eyes– not in death, not yet, but in one last burst of geometry. Zaru’s mind, powerful as ever despite his wound, seized control of the air molecules in the courtyard. Haikato obeyed his command and ran, twisting past the injured shadowspawn who crawled toward Zaru to finish him off. As he sprinted out the university gate, the archway behind him transmuted to solid stone. A split second later, a blinding flash tore through the night, and a fireball engulfed the courtyard.

Haikato kept running. He ran to get back to Mina, to fulfill the charge Zaru had entrusted to him. But he also ran to escape his own thoughts about what had just happened.

Haikato? The Aura’s voice peeped out of the darkness. I’m scared.

You and me both, buddy. But Haikato didn’t speak it, saving his breath for running. For a few moments, the pounding of his heart, the aching of his muscles, and the wind against his face became the only things he knew.

He slammed into a warm body. Haikato stumbled, cursing, as he bowled over someone– Mina!

Mina leapt back up, fists clenched, eyes ablaze with ferocity. “Where’s Uncle Zaru?”

Haikato stared at her, gasping for breath. Then he gave a small, sad shake of his head.

The corner of Mina’s mouth twitched, as if to say, I knew that old rogue would find a way to sacrifice himself for me.

In spite of himself, Haikato let out a brief laugh. “I’m getting you out of the city. We’re going back the way we came, as fast as we can.”

Mina stepped forward and grabbed the front of Haikato’s robes. “Where’s Nanto? The real him came out when he last saw me– I know we can bring him back.”

“Mina–”

“Uncle Zaru wouldn’t want us to give up now. He didn’t sacrifice himself for nothing.”

“He sacrificed himself for you.” Haikato touched Mina’s shoulder. “This wound is poisoned. If we don’t get you out of here and find the healers with the army, you’ll die.”

Mina’s eyes went wide. She put a hand to her shoulder, then pulled it away, staring at it.

Haikato reached a hand to his neck, grasping the bow tie, and bowed his head. “I’m sorry, Aura. I failed.”

Um… Haikato? I have a confession to make.

Haikato nodded, punching down his anger at what he knew the Aura would say. “It’s alright. We all make mistakes. Let’s focus on what we have, not what we could’ve done better.”

Deep down, I knew you were the chosen one. I wanted you to be. But the horse was dying, and I… I needed someone new as fast as possible. And after that, I wanted you to be the one so badly that I thought maybe if we tried… I’m sorry.

Haikato wanted to rage against the Aura for sending him on a fool’s quest for nothing. For getting Zaru killed. For putting Mina in danger.

But he looked at Mina, and an ice-cold shard of love pierced through the heat of his anger. It was a grim sort of love, but it gave him the resolve to do what he had to do, no matter the cost.

“Zaru mentioned a secret tunnel out of the city,” Haikato said. “Did he tell you how to find it?”

Mina shook her head.

Haikato rubbed his forehead. “Out the way we came, then.” Had Nanto perished in Zaru’s fireblast? If so, perhaps the shadowspawn would be disoriented by the loss of their leader. Climbing the cliff was their best chance.

Haikato set off toward the edge of the city at a light jog, Mina following. Twice the Aura alerted them to the presence of shadowspawn, and they took a detour to evade them.

“You can sense shadowspawn again?” Haikato whispered.

More than I could before. Whatever was confusing me… the Dark Aura… I don’t think it’s gone, not yet, but it’s distracted. It’s not focusing on hiding all the shadowspawn in the city.

Distracted was good enough. With luck, the Dark Aura would expect them to return to hiding and focus on scouring the smugglers’ tunnels rather than guarding the edge of the city.

They reached the base of the cliff. Haikato loosened the bow tie and threw it upward. The strap lengthened, stretching to a hundred feet long as the bow tie slid up the cliff face and fastened itself to some rocks at the top. It still glowed.

“Aura!” Haikato hissed. “Stealth mode!”

Ah! Sorry! The light dimmed.

Mina grabbed the bow tie strap, braced her feet against the cliff, and climbed. Haikato wormed his fingers into cracks in the cliff face and crawled up, his shoulder screaming in protest every inch of the way.

Haikato, grab onto me. I’m strong enough to hold both of you.

Haikato waited until Mina passed him, then took hold of the strap and followed after her. His muscles still burned, and his shoulder was in agony, but he made much faster progress than he had climbing solo.

He went up and up and up, the top shrouded in the absolute reign of night, pulling himself hand over hand, trying not to think about how at any moment he might feel the claws of one of the bat-shadows raking along his back.

At last Mina pulled herself over the top and vanished from view. Haikato followed and found her collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath. The bow tie dissolved into specks of light and reappeared around Haikato’s collar, resuming its glow.

Haikato looked up. The night was so dark he couldn’t tell where the cloud of shadow-smoke ended– which meant he didn’t know how far they had to run. The bow tie only illuminated the next few steps.

He pulled Mina to her feet, wishing he knew the geometry behind Zaru’s light-orb. But that didn’t matter now, did it? All they needed to do was take the next step, until they collapsed from exhaustion or found the army.

Wind rushed past his face as something swooped from above. Haikato reached for his wakizashi– and his hand closed on empty air.

Two bat-shadows descended, touching down on the edge of the circle of light cast by the bow tie. Between them they held the Dark Aura, each one of them grasping one of Nanto’s outstretched arms.

“All this trouble, just to stop me from getting a new wardrobe accessory," the Dark Aura said. “But I think I’ll make it all worthwhile.”

Haikato planted both feet in front of Mina and hefted his shield. In Shapesense, he reached for his go-to spell and tried to light the Dark Aura on fire– but the Dark Aura countered his theorems without breaking a sweat.

The winged shadowspawn tackled Haikato, tearing his shield from his hand and forcing him to his knees. The Dark Aura strode toward Mina, reaching out with a menacing hand. Fear crept across Mina’s face– but then ran, not away from but toward the Dark Aura, grabbing him in an embrace and pressing her head against his chest.

“Nanto, please listen to me. It’s me, Mina! Come out.”

The Dark Aura grabbed Mina and hurled her to the ground. “Oh, believe me, he’d like to come out. But I’ve learned to keep a close watch on him when you’re around.” He pinned Mina beneath his boot and turned to Haikato. “I’m generous, so I’ll offer you the same deal despite you giving me so much grief. Give me the bow tie, or I use the wench as a test subject for my new theories about pain.”

Haikato locked eyes with Mina– or tried to. Mina’s eyes were clenched shut. And in Shapesense she–

Wait.

Mina, who came from the most powerful and renowned family of geometers in the kingdom.

Mina, who’d studied every spell in Haikato’s spellbook and then moved on to create her own.

Mina, whose raw geometrical power was so great that she’d summoned a hundred foot long bridge out of thin air, and just a few hours later was trying to do something even more difficult– transmute the shadows controlling her brother.

“You win,” Haikato said. “I’ll give it to you.”

No! The Aura pulsed in raw terror.

“Please trust me,” Haikato whispered.

“Bring him.” The Dark Aura gestured to the bat-spawn, and they jerked Haikato to his knees. Haikato crawled forward, trying to appear the epitome of defeat and humiliation.

The Dark Aura held out a hand.

“It’s yours.” Haikato said. He reached out toward that hand– then sped past it, slamming his palm against Mina’s arm. “Go to her, Aura.”

A force like a mighty rushing wind tore free of Haikato’s soul. The bow tie turned into a spiraling streak of light that wove down his arm and around Mina’s. Mina gasped, her eyes flying open, and lifted her head. The bow tie danced along her skin, flashing around her neck– and then her hair rose up like a living thing. The Aura flashed upwards, a circlet of light spinning around her hair and tying it into a ponytail. It solidified into a bow, glowing a brilliant gold, far brighter than it had when joined to Haikato.

The Dark Aura laughed. “So you want me to torture her? I’ll have an even easier time getting it from her than I would from you.”

Haikato collapsed, the Aura’s departure taking the last of his strength with it. Please let this work.

Mina let out a primal bellow. She sank her teeth into the Dark Aura’s ankle. The Dark Aura jerked back in surprise, and Mina pushed him off her chest and leapt to her feet.

Light poured off Mina in radiant waves. She grabbed the Dark Aura by the lapels of his coat and shook him. “Give my brother back, you scum!”

The Dark Aura’s eyes went wide. “No— no! Kill her! Kill her now!”

The bat-spawn shrieked and rushed Mina. Haikato lashed out, grabbing one by the ankle and pulling it down. The other launched into the air and descended on Mina, claws extended– and Haikato lit its wings on fire.

A moment after Haikato cast that spell, Shapesense exploded in a brilliant array of theorems. Proof after proof became etched into the fabric of reality as Mina latched onto each individual molecule in the Dark Aura’s coat and forced it step-by-step through the transformation to light. With the Aura magnifying the power of her will a hundredfold, she coaxed– cajoled– demanded– that they obey her, mathematical constants and human choice meshed at the most basic levels of reality.

The bat-spawn lunged at her again. Haikato found new strength and tackled it. The second bat-spawn rose from where it had crashed, its wings smoking. Haikato hurled the first creature at it, sending it sprawling again. He grabbed his shield and rushed at them.

The Dark Aura screamed. The suit coat unraveled, strand after strand becoming pure light. With the shadows gone, the breach’s core was exposed, and Mina could reach in and seal it as easily as closing a book.

The bat-spawn saw Haikato rushing them and hobbled away. With his Shapesense blinded by Mina’s brilliance, Haikato couldn’t cast spells– but he didn’t need to. He caught up with them, shattering the bones in their wings with blows from his shield, then grabbing them and hurling them over the cliff.

Mina’s spellcasting stopped, and Shapesense became clear again. Mina glowed like the sun. In her arms she cradled the body of a frail, emaciated man, his clothing tattered and charred.

Haikato dropped his shield and limped back toward them, his heart aglow with wonder.

Mina began to sing, her voice lilting through the darkness. Haikato crouched by her side and looked over Nanto– still breathing, but unconscious, as if his soul was waiting to return.

As Mina finished her song, Nanto’s eyes flooded open. “Mina?”

Mina nodded, joyous tears welling up in her eyes.

“Mina! I’m so sorry.”

“Hush.” Mina cradled his head. “It’s alright now.”

Haikato knelt beside them. “Nanto, what do you remember?”

“I… I remember thinking I was getting a great deal on a coat at the flea market. I didn’t know it would possess me.”

Haikato nodded. “Life takes us all by surprise sometimes.”

Mina looked at Haikato with a smile big enough to split the sky. “I told you we could do it. We’re the Dead Horse Duo. Nothing can stop us.”

“The Dead Horse Duo,” Haikato murmured. “It’ll make a good story. Perhaps the bards will sing of us someday.” He sat down, exhaustion tugging at his bones.

Mina stood up. “Haikato, Aura says he can sense something now that the Dark Aura’s gone. Something big.”

Alarm spiked through Haikato. “Shadowspawn?”

Mina shook her head. “Humans– a lot of them. An army.”

Haikato breathed a sigh of relief. The Guardian Council’s army would mop up any shadowspawn left in the city.

Mina grabbed Nanto’s hand and pulled him to his feet. “Let’s go find them! Uncle Baru will be there. We have to tell him about how Uncle Zaru saved us, and how–” she took Haikato’s hand in her free hand, holding onto both Nanto and Haikato– “how you’re the new guardian of Baon City, Haikato.”

Haikato shook his head. “I’m not.”

“You’re not?”

“You wielded the Aura and sealed the breach. You were the chosen one all along, not me. You’re the new Guardian, not me. I’ll head back to mucking out stables.” A few days ago, Haikato would’ve regarded that as the death of all his dreams. But now– it would be nice. Kinda. No more death and danger, just simple, honest work.

Mina scoffed. “No one splits up the Dead Horse Duo! You’ll be the Guardian with me.”

“To join the Guardian Council, you have to seal a breach,” Haikato said. “The Council hasn’t made an exception in more than a hundred years.”

“Oh, wow,” Mina said, her voice mocking. “If only the head of the council had a niece whom he loved very much who could persuade him that it’s high time for a new exception. Unfortunately, Master Baru has no such thing, so you won’t be considered important enough to even talk to him and will go back to being knee-deep in horsecrap till you’re old and gray. So sad.”

Haikato chuckled. “We’ll see how it turns out. For now, let’s head toward that army.”

“The Dead Horse Duo rides again!” Mina cheered. “Er, walks again. Since our horses are dead.”

“The… Dead Horse Duo?” Nanto looked puzzled.

“I’ll explain it to you on the way,” Haikato said.

Light pulsed from the Aura. Without being connected to it, Haikato couldn’t feel the emotion as he once had, but he suspected it was happiness. At least, that was what he felt as Mina led the way, still holding onto Nanto’s and Haikato’s hands and dragging them forward. He glanced at Mina’s face, and then Nanto’s, and felt a fierce joy and pride for what he’d done for them– the girl and her brother he’d arrived just in time to save.

The End