Page 11 of Guarded By the Bigfoot
“Too bad. You're stuck with me.” I shot back, my tone softer, but no less determined.
“You’re impossible,” he muttered, exhaling slowly, like he’d just resigned himself to the inevitable. “You know that, right?”
“I’ve been told,” I said, biting back a grin.
Over his shoulder, he threw one last glance my way, the faintest flicker of amusement in his eyes. “Short of tying you to a tree, I’m not going to stop you, am I?”
“Nope.”
“Fine,” he said. “Try to keep up. And don’t make me regret this.”
6
BROCK
The path to the Veil twisted up the mountainside like an ancient scar. Parker kept pace beside me, her determination evident in every stride despite the treacherous terrain. Her breath fogged in the cooling air, but she didn’t falter, not once.
“You don’t have to do this,” I said as we crested another ridge. The air thickened with power, a sudden weight pressing against my chest. My fur radiated with static electricity, and I knew we were close. “The fracture isn’t something most humans can handle.”
Parker shot me a look that would have cowed lesser beings. “Are you trying to scare me off, Guardian?”
“Yes.” There was no point in lying. Ahead, the corrupted energy threaded the air like dark lightning, visible even to human eyes. “Because what we’re about to see should scare you.”
We reached the clearing where the Veil stretched thinnest, the tension in the air coiling like a live wire. Normally invisible to all but my Guardian eyes, now it rippled with sickly shadows,pieces of reality warping where the Dreadnull’s power pushed through. Dark energy crackled across the barrier’s surface like frost creeping over glass, twisting the lattice of light into jagged fragments.
Parker’s sharp inhale of breath told me she could see it too. “It’s... beautiful. In a terrifying way.”
“It’s all wrong.” I stepped closer to the fracture, letting my energy flow out to stabilize the worst of the corruption. Golden light surged from my hands, meeting the shadows with a hiss. Pain lanced through my skull, sharp and relentless. “The Veil is supposed to be invisible, impenetrable. What you’re seeing is it breaking down.”
A tendril of dark magic snaked through one of the cracks, writhing like a living thing. I caught it before it could spread, golden light snaring it like a whip. The effort burned in my veins. “The Dreadnull has tried to break through before, but never with this much power. Never enough to make the Veil visible.”
“Tell me about them.” Parker stepped closer, her warmth brushing against my side like a steadying anchor.
I gritted my teeth as another pulse of corruption surged against the barrier. “It’s ancient. Powerful. Some say it was once a guardian like me, before the darkness took it. Now it feeds on joy, on hope, on everything that makes this place magical.”
“And these fractures?” She reached a hand toward the writhing barrier, curiosity outweighing caution.
I caught her wrist before she could touch it, my fingers encircling hers. “The evil that’s leaking through is just a taste of what’s waiting. If the Veil collapses completely...” I couldn’t finish the thought. The memory of our last battle centuries ago stillhaunted me. The screams, the destruction, the darkness that had devoured everything in its path.
Parker’s pulse raced under my fingers, but her voice stayed calm. “Show me,” she said. “How can it be stopped?”
I hesitated, the weight of her request settling heavily on my shoulders. Then, slowly, I pulled her closer, positioning her to my side. “This is Guardian magic in its purest form.” I lifted my hands, golden light spilling from my palms to illuminate the clearing. “Watch.”
Energy poured from me in waves, wrapping around the fractures like burning rope. Where it touched the corruption, steam hissed and shadows writhed. The lattice of the Veil briefly glowed brighter before fading back into the fragile threads of its damaged state. Parker gasped, her hand tightening against mine.
“It’s incredible.” Her voice was filled with awe, but beneath it, I could hear the thread of fear. “But it’s hurting you, isn’t it? Using this much power?”
“I’m fine.” The lie came automatically, even as exhaustion dragged at my limbs. The barriers required more energy every day, and it was getting harder to hide the toll.
A violent surge burst through. I staggered under the weight of containing it. Parker spun in my arms. When had I started holding her? Her hands steadied me with surprising strength.
“You’re not fine.” Her hands pressed against my chest, and the contact sent sparks through me that had nothing to do with magic. “You’re exhausting yourself.”
“It’s my duty.” But I couldn’t seem to step away from her touch. The energy radiated between us, urging me closer, demanding I protect and cherish and never let go. “The Veil must hold.”
“At what cost?” Her eyes searched mine, filled with concern that made my chest ache. “There has to be another way.”
Before I could answer, a sound like thunder tore through the air. Shadows writhed at the fracture, darker than anything we’d faced before. The Dreadnull’s laughter floated through the clearing, ancient and cruel, its power pushing through the Veil in an explosion of dark energy.
