Chapter 27: The Guardians

I felt so very dizzy. The world spun around me and I became light headed as my body went limp. I placed my hand on my forehead as I opened my eyes. I saw Locas's handsome face, but he didn't have his usual elegant smile. Locas's face was very pale and covered in dust. Over his right cheek, there was a small cut, which was still bleeding. Locas seemed to be very relieved and happy after he saw that I opened my eyes. "Mia, Willard said that you would be fine. Now it seems that he was right." "What happened?" I reached out to touch the scar on Locas's face, but he grabbed my hand and he looked ahead. I followed his gaze and saw Krell and Willard fighting a group of people in animal skins. I was a little confused. "Didn't we beat all the beasts away?" Simon, who was standing at the side, suddenly said, "They are the guardians." His arm hung unnaturally by his side. It was obviously broken. Guardians? What did that mean? What was going on? Simon noticed my expression and said, "After we defeated the beasts, these guardians appeared. They said that here are the ancestral remains of Lycans, and they are the guardians of the remains. They won't allow us to approach any further." Another group of people to fight? We were already exhausted from fighting off those nasty beasts. Now, we had to face new opponents. Could we beat them? When I was thinking about that, I looked at Simon's broken arm. Looking at Simon, I said, "It looks like we're no match for them." Krell and Willard were fighting the guardians, but the latter apparently gained the upper hand. Krell was suppressed by their magic, and Willard was knocked back and nearly injured several times. Krell and Willard were clearly more agile than the guardians, but they were still at a disadvantage. Obviously, the guardians had powerful magic. When Krell and Willard used magic to attack the guardians, their magic attacks would backfire on them. The guardians were so powerful. I grew more anxious as Krell and Willard appeared to be on the losing side. Willard was hit in the abdomen by magic. Simon's eyes suddenly lit up. "Locas, did you notice that? The three of us are injured so we're clearly weaker and easily defeated. But they don't attack us." "Yeah, but why? Is it because of their sense of integrity?" Locas started thinking. Looking at Krell and Willard, who were panting from exhaustion, I said, "Apparently not. They'd use such powerful magic to suppress Krell and Willard, and there are more than twenty of them against Krell and Willard." Simon said, "There must be something special around us that keeps them away. They're afraid of us." Locas said, "Not necessarily. It could also be because we have something around us that they're interested in. They're afraid of accidentally destroying it in a fight." "That's right. Even when they fight with Krell and Willard, they still stay away from us. But, if they're afraid of us, then why won't they fully attack is." Simon said. "So what makes them so cautious?" I asked. Locas and Willard simultaneously looked at me. Me? Was it because of me? I still didn't understand. Locas said to me, "The supplies you just got back are with us." That was right. The supplies I just got back from that monster were beside us. They must be interested in our supplies. "Negotiate?" Simon asked Locas. "Since it can be solved with money, why not?" Locas stood stoically, squaring his shoulders into his noble posture. The dust and blood on his face made him look like a victorious king looking down from the top of the world. "Hey, guardians, take this!" Locas threw a blanket at the leader of the guardians. Sure enough, the guardians stopped attacking Krell and Willard. Simon smiled in satisfaction. "Do you like it? We have some other supplies." "As long as you let us pass, I will give you as much as you want," Locas said. "Give it to me now!" The leader rubbed the cane in his hand. He had used this cane to suppress Krell and Willard. "You must let us pass. When we successfully get what we want, I assure you that you will get as many blankets and clothes as you want." Locas refused to back down because our current supplies were indeed not enough. "How do I know that we can trust you?" The leader was very vigilant. He tightened his grip on the cane in his hand. Locas smiled, took off a ring on his finger, and handed it to the leader. "This ring is a token that the moon goddess gave to our pack. It can pinpoint my location. With this ring, you can come to me at any time," Locas said. He was extremely firm and convincing. The leader took the ring and looked at it carefully. He wiped it with his clothes and rubbed it against his face. Suddenly, he cried. "After so many years, the moon goddess, my respected master, I finally see an item that belongs to you. The scent of the moon goddess is very strong on this item" The leader muttered. At the mention of the moon goddess, the other guardians suddenly knelt on one knee and placed their hands on their chests. They were saluting the ring. "So, can you let us pass now?" Krell suddenly spoke. His voice was a little hoarse from the fight. His right arm was still supporting Willard, who was injured. "Oh, honorable guests, please stay for a moment." The leader's attitude changed a lot. "You're all injured. If you encounter any more danger ahead, you might not survive it. Please let us heal you." The leader looked at me. "This lady is a healer, right? I can teach her some healing skills of the ancients that have been lost to your culture." Krell and the other three looked at me. They were asking for my permission. I suddenly felt warm and nodded at them. *** Boundless darkness shrouded the land as we made camp for the night. The guardians had already left. In this place there were only the small tents that we had set up among the stone tablets. They were like small mushrooms which had just bloomed out of the ground. After the night chat by the camp fire, we went back to our respective tents. After all, we had exhausted a lot of energy that day and needed rest. But Locas asked me to stay behind. He said that he had something to say to me alone. I did not know what he was doing as he restrained my hands. I was pinned to the stone by him, but he was standing under it. His face was a mixture of awe and concern. "Why did you save me even though you knew you would become weak yourself?" Locas wrapped my legs around his waist. I could feel his muscled waist through his thin clothes. "Do you like me?" We were in such an odd position right now. I turned my head aside awkwardly. I did not want to answer his question. "Answer me, Mia." Locas insisted that I answer. "There were too many guardians and the others earlier. I was afraid that you would be too shy, so I did not ask you. Well, it's just the two of us now. It's still early. I can do anything to you..." Locas said that and bit my earlobe. I couldn't help but groan. "Oh, I don't know." "You don't know?" Locas asked as he kissed my neck. He was sucking on it, making sensual sounds with his wet tongue. It made my face turn scarlet. "I am serious. I really don't know. Locas, stop licking me." I couldn't stand it and begged him to stop. "Answer me, Mia. I really like you. Do you like me the way that I like you?" Locas rubbed the tip of his nose against mine. I could clearly feel his breath blazing over my skin. It was so hot, as if it was threatening to burn me up. I wasn't sure how I felt about him. "Well, I can't answer you. Stop it. Everyone else is here." I looked at the tents nearby, afraid that one of the others would suddenly come out and see us like this. "Mia, I want you," Locas whispered. His hand was already inside my shirt and started rubbing my breasts through my bra. His words made my mind go blank. This was crazy. We could not have sex here! I gritted my teeth to keep from groaning "No! You said you'd respect me, Locas. Give me some more time and I'll be able to give you an answer." Locas didn't say anything as he undid my bra with his hand! After that, he grabbed my breast. Locas had long fingers with strong joints, which made my breasts more sensitive. As he caressed me, the ring on his finger touched my skin from time to time, sending cool chills over my body. As I fell into wanting more, he suddenly let go of me. "That's all for today," he murmured. "I will respect you. Mia, you must give me an answer soon." Almost as soon as he let go of me, I got up and rushed into the tent beside me. I heard Locas chuckling behind me. I felt so embarrassed!