The Silent Guardian — Chapter 29, Part 1: The Wraith

This installment is part of The Silent Guardian Series.

I leap before I can stop myself. Rage explodes through me, fueled by the pain of Clara’s death, and I seize the Archon. “You took her from me! You killed her! You destroyed everything!” I shout. For a moment, grief drowns out every other thought. Xia and Silanus pull me away before I can go any further. I stagger back, fighting the urge to break free. The Archon struggles to recover his composure while Xia keeps an arm around me. “I want to kill him, too, but we still need him,” she says. Silanus agrees. “You’re too close to this, Adam. If you go near him again, we may lose our only chance to learn how the time lock works.” I don’t want to leave, but eventually I concede.

Silanus takes a small device from his pocket. “Don’t worry,” he says coldly. “The Wraith will make him talk.” The Archon recognizes it immediately, and for the first time I see genuine fear on his face. Xia tugs me toward the door before the interrogation begins. “Silanus will get answers for us,” she says. We walk through the winding stone halls, each step away from the Archon echoing with the ache of Clara’s absence. When we reach the entrance, the fresh air does nothing to dull the grief. Xia folds her arms across her chest. “She should be here.” Her lips tremble. “She fought so hard. She believed in us. She believed in what we were doing.” Tears slide down her cheek. I swallow against the ache in my throat. “She deserved to see it through to the end.” My voice cracks with hers. “We have to finish this—for her. The Phylax must fall.” Xia places a hand on my arm. “For Clara,” she echoes. “We’ll do it together, no matter what it takes.”

Movement catches my eye. Two figures emerge from behind a crumbled obelisk in the distance, unaware of what is happening inside. “There are still guards out here,” I say. “We should go back inside and finish this.” Together, we step into the temple again. The quiet is foreboding. The murals beckon my attention, demanding closer scrutiny. My gaze traces the worn panels, each a strange contrast of horror and serenity. Why do they depict both? What truths do those contrasts hide? A quiet certainty settles in me. There is something I still need to learn here.

Previous: previous installment. Continue with Chapter 29, Part 2.

Start reading The Silent Guardian from the beginning · Browse all Silent Guardian Series posts.