The Guardians of the Relic
Chapter 3

It was a dull day and Emily decided it was best to stay home. Jason called her early that morning to thank her for inviting him to the art exhibition. He told her he had a great time and wanted to go out with her again soon. She didn’t want to admit it, but she was really falling for him.

Daisy had come over to her apartment that morning to ask her to go shopping for new furniture for her apartment. Emily promised to go another time; today she just wanted to relax at home. She wanted to curl up with a good book and think about the wonderful night she had just had. She had brought the book Alkron of Moray home from the library with her. She was intrigued by it, and wanted to finish it.

Later that afternoon she made herself comfortable on the couch with a blanket, picked up the book and got immersed in the story.

As legend tells, centuries ago there was a council of guardians that protected the earth from evil. No one was ever able to confirm their existence, but there were witnesses to many supernatural events that occurred in various locations all over the world. The legend spoke of three relics that possessed great power. The power of these relics was so great that, in the hands of the wrong person, it could destroy the world. The first of the three relics was a medallion pendant which was discovered by Alkron, who became obsessed with its power.

As she continued reading, the book told of how the council of wizards had attempted to destroy the pendant but had failed. According to the story, the location of the pendant was never revealed, and remains lost to this day. A few hours later she rubbed her eyes and then stretched a little. She had completed the book. It didn’t go into much detail, and Emily was disappointed to see that so much of the story was missing. She wondered if she could replace more books on the subject. She was drawn to ancient artifacts, and was currently in the middle of researching a paper on them. Perhaps she could include this legend in her research.

The next day Emily went with Jason for breakfast at his favorite restaurant called, The Fire Empress, on the far end of town. She decided to wear a white short summer dress with pink flowers on the bottom and pink heels. Jason wore a three quarter khaki pants with a short sleeve white shirt, and sandals. He looked handsome in any outfit, thought Emily when she got in the car.

It was a perfect summer day with the sun beating down on them. She looked out the window and took in the scenery. She had never been to this part of town before. As he drove Emily saw a few shops that she might like to visit the next time she was in the area. The buildings were decrepit and made of faded grey stones. Some of the windows were broken and the frames were stained brown. Most of the buildings seemed to be at least thirty years old.

They arrived at the restaurant and the place was buzzing. It was smaller than she had imagined. The walls were a rich cream color with a granite finish. The tables and chairs were all wooden and dark grey in color. On one side of the restaurant there were red leather couches. The walls were filled with paintings of flowery gardens, and, although they were many colors, they seemed to subtly blend in with the color scheme of the restaurant.

Emily enjoyed Jason’s company. He was sweet and made her laugh when she least expected it. She ordered the special breakfast which came with scrambled eggs, a side of bacon and some toast. Jason ordered an omelet with mushroom and cheese. The food was divine. Jason got a call from his dad and excused himself to go take it outside. Emily glanced through the crowd as she ate.

The restaurant was quite busy but she noticed that the waitresses smiled and made conversation with most of the customers. She saw a young couple with a baby girl in a pram. The little girl giggled as her mother dangled a small toy in front of her. Two teenage girls were sitting on her right. One girl was pointing to something on her cell phone and the other one laughed. Emily liked the atmosphere of the place.

She turned to look straight ahead and froze. A man was sitting and holding a newspaper just below his eyes, staring at her. She sipped her coffee and eyed him. She was sure it was the same man that had helped her to her feet that rainy night in the Park. He must have realized she recognized him because he quickly covered his face with the paper.

Emily pushed her plate aside, got up, and walked over to where he was sitting. As she stood in front of him, she folded her arms. He continued to hold the paper up and acted like he was engrossed in reading. She stood on her toes to see over the paper but he lifted the paper a little higher.

Irritated, she said, “You do know I can still see you right.”

He sat still and then slowly lowered the paper just so she could see his eyes. “Oh, hello Emily. Fancy meeting you here.” He was wearing a black jacket with a hood on, even though it was a summer’s day.

“You are spying on me, aren’t you Izdel?” He moved his head back and widened his eyes at her. She thought it made him look silly, like one those comedians in the old black-and-white movies.

“What? Me spying on you? Of course not, I’m just sitting here reading the paper and enjoying my breakfast,” replied Izdel. He quickly moved his eyes back to the page.

“The newspaper is upside down and there is no plate in front of you,” said Emily. Izdel immediately turned the paper around and in the process knocked over the salt shaker with his elbow. His hand reacted almost instantly to catch it before it hit the floor. He gazed up at her as he placed it on the table.

“Okay...okay, you got me...God only knows why they sent me to do this job. I would much rather be flirting with that pretty lady over there.” He winked at the lady sitting on the couch in the far corner of the restaurant. The lady smiled back. Izdel was very handsome. Emily could see why the ladies liked him. He turned back to see Emily glaring at him.

“I mean no harm, I swear,” he said with both hands lifted. “They sent me just to see if you told anyone what you saw that night. You haven’t told anyone, have you?” he whispered and leaned in close to her face.

Emily stared at him. He actually looked harmless, more like a playboy than a stalker; at least that’s what she thought.

“No of course I haven’t told anyone, why would I? Were you and your friends doing something illegal?” she questioned.

Izdel fidgeted with his fingers. A bead of sweat dripped down the corner of his forehead. His eyes wandered from left to right. “Illegal...no...It’s not like we are a secret society that have lived here for centuries or anything,” he said quickly, lowering his head. He covered half his face with his one hand. “So much for being discreet. I told Alastair this was a bad idea because I’m a terrible liar, but does he ever listen to me? No, he never does. No one ever listens to me,” he mumbled under his breath.

“What did you say?” asked Emily.

He lifted his head again. “Nothing, forget what I just said. What I meant to say was we are just a bunch of friendly folk. In fact, my friend Alastair owns an antique shop not very far from here, nothing illegal at all,” said Izdel, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

Emily eyed him closely. There was definitely something he was not telling her. “But that doesn’t explain what you were doing in the park or why you are following me now.”

Izdel’s nervous gaze flickered to her. “Well, there is a perfectly good explanation. It’s a game we like to engage in every now and then. It’s an exclusive club and we prefer that no one knows about it,” he said.

Exclusive club? What on earth is he talking about? thought Emily just as the door chimed.

Jason strolled back into the restaurant while looking at his phone. I should really turn it off, he thought. I don’t want Emily to think I’m rude. Besides, dad only calls me to talk business anyway. He switched it off. As he glanced up he noticed that the table where they were sitting was empty. Maybe she went to the ladies room, thought Jason, but as he glanced around he saw her standing by an oddly dressed man. She looked very puzzled. Jason walked over there.

Just before Emily had the chance to respond to Izdel’s weird explanation, she felt a hand around her waist as Jason slipped next to her.

“Hey Ems, what’s going on?” asked Jason.

His touch had taken her by surprise. She had momentarily forgotten about Jason. She had been too caught up in probing Izdel for answers to his weird behavior. However, she did like the fact that he now had his hand around her waist.

“Nothing, I just met a friend of mine and thought I would come say hello. This is Izdel, and Izdel, this is Jason,” she introduced them.

Jason let go of her and shook Izdel’s hand. Emily thought she should keep the details of her strange encounter to herself. At least until she could figure it out.

“Nice to meet you, Izdel,” said Jason, watching him carefully. The guy looked a bit overdressed for the weather, he thought.

Izdel nodded. “Same here.” He folded his paper. “Sorry to rush off, but I need to get to an appointment.” He got up quickly to leave. “Take care Emily,” he said as he winked at her.

“Thanks, you too,” she said. She had no choice but to let him go. She couldn’t really ask him any questions in front of Jason. Emily knew he was lying to her about his club, and that there was more to the story of that night, but she would have to let it go for now.

“Bye,” said Jason looking a bit startled. “He seems like a strange guy.”

She watched Izdel as he left. “Yeah he is. I really don’t know him that well. Anyway, let’s get back to our breakfast. ” Emily casually grabbed his arm and led him back to their seats. She thought about what Izdel had said about Alastair and the antique shop. She would definitely have to pay that shop a visit soon.

* *

Only two blocks away from The Fire Empress Alastair sat behind the counter and watched Glohone pace up and down the shop. The antique shop was small and the interior was wooden. Dainty little lamp shades and large centerpieces hung from the ceiling. Paintings lay piled up against the small counter. Along the top wall was a wide assortment of shields. Some were metal and some were wooden. The place reeked of antiquity.

Alastair had bought the shop so he could live in Elgin following their last encounter with Alkron. It had not gone the way they had planned, and lives were lost. Alastair would never be able to forget that dreaded night, or the faces of the dead. If only he had been there sooner. If only he could have found a way to save them. Now, all these years later, it still haunted him.

“You’re going to make a hole in that rug, Glohone,” said Alastair.

Glohone had been worried about Izdel ever since he left that morning. Alastair wasn’t as concerned. He knew that although Izdel came off as irresponsible, he could take care of himself. Glohone stopped and turned to him.

“He has been gone the entire day. What if he got caught?”

Alastair knew that Glohone had little faith in Izdel. It was the reason they fought so much. “I’m sure he is fine. Please, have a seat.” Glohone took a chair from behind the counter and sat.

In the corner of the shop Erhan arranged a pile of books on a bookshelf. Alastair let him organize the books since he loved them so much, and it kept him occupied while they waited. The shop needed to look authentic, and the little bookshelf added to that. Finally, he heard the sound of the door and was happy to see Izdel walk in.

“Izzy, thank goodness you’re back. And in one piece, too,” said Erhan with a smile.

Izdel took off his jacket and placed it on the coat hanger next to the door. “Of course I am. She is just a harmless young lady. A lovely one, too.”

Alastair noticed that Glohone got up instantly when Izdel walked through the door, so he stepped in front of him quickly. “What were you able to replace out?” He was eager and hoped Izdel had good news.

“Well, the good news is she didn’t tell anyone. The bad news is how I know this for sure.”

Erhan put his glasses on. “Dare I ask how?” he asked.

“Well, she is a very intelligent woman, so of course she noticed I was spying on her.” He pulled a chair from the table and sat down. “Then she asked me why I was following her. I did my best cover it up, and I do hope it worked.” As he spoke Erhan walked over to the door and turned the sign around from OPEN to CLOSED.

“Did she ask you any further questions?” asked Alastair. It was unlikely that Emily would know anything about them at this point, he thought. Still, it was only a matter of time until things became known, and he wasn’t sure he was ready for that yet.

Izdel shook his head. “No, she didn’t get a chance. Her boyfriend showed up. He didn’t seem to care that he just interrupted our conversation.”

“You are lucky he interrupted you two, or you could have gotten us into unnecessary trouble,” remarked Glohone.

Izdel put his legs up on the table. “You know, Glohone, you really need to lighten up. Maybe get a girlfriend. I heard the lovely Athena is in town.” He smiled and repeatedly lifted his eyebrows at him. Glohone rolled his eyes and looked at Alastair, who was lost in thought.

Alastair was the only one standing now and he started to pace. He was worried that Emily would start digging for answers. She definitely wouldn’t be satisfied with whatever explanation Izdel had given her. They still had been unable to track down Alkron. It’s taking too long, he thought. Alkron was obviously searching for the medallion pendant. He hated that Alkron was always a few steps ahead of them. If they were going to succeed this time, they were going to need help, and there was only one person he knew that could help them.