Isolation

Duty

After so long of darkness they bring me here, much has surely changed. “Balam,” No one has said that title in a very long time. “My daughter has been missing and we’ve looked all over the Island. We can not find her it has been 4 years now.” The child who visited me about that long ago. I lift my head to the skies and sniff the air, a very very faint scent resides there. “She is far from here.” After being locked away for more than a hundred years her scent and the caretaker’s is all I know by heart. Everything else is different and unknown. “Find her! Go with my guards and find my daughter.” His eyes severely alert and desperate I tilt my head to weigh my options. “Why would I do that? She has nothing to do with me. The only thing she changes is whether or not I’ll be locked away for another generation. Why would I want that?” The current King’s face turns up in pure anger but there is also distress. I am his last hope.

A woman stands and speaks into the ear of her husband who then nods as if to give her permission to speak. She walks up to me her head held high, “What is your name Balam?” A jaguar spirit of security and protection. That changed when I slaughtered almost the entire kingdom in search of my Goddess. I do not deserve the title anymore, I am a disgrace. “Silas.” I look down at this tiny woman, at least a foot shorter than myself. “Silas, my name is Korryn. I am the mother of Rayven and the wife of Omri. If you assist in finding our daughter you may have your freedom. But, only as Rayven’s guardian. At least until she matures into her powers and is able to protect herself. She has not had very much practice. When we find her we have every intention of teaching her what she needs to know.” I looked her in her dark eyes, they seemed to be an endless black hole. “And, what if she is dead by now?”

“My baby is not dead.” She turned on her heels and walked back to her husband. “Will you accept my offer?” She looked back at me expectantly. I took my time considering my options again, I guess I didn’t really have any. But, “Why would you allow someone like me to protect your daughter? How do you know I won’t try to kill her myself?” Korryn took a deep breath as she closed her eyes and opened them again. “You are a creature created to protect. What happened many years ago was not who you are. We are willing to give you another chance for the sake of our daughter. If you harm my daughter, I will erase you myself.” With that last sentence, her voice was even-toned and her entire expression would have killed me if she was capable of it.