The Guardian Order (The Writing Sessions: Three)

Chi found herself in Chris' apartment, sitting alone at the spot where she initiated the "travel spell". After the meeting at the dome, Chris refused to come back to the human world with her saying that he needed to find a way to fix things at the ethereal realm.

She had expected this reaction from him and didn't bother to push any further when he told her his decision. Chris believed that he could solve any problem he encountered and for the most parts he was right, usually she would find him obsessing for days trying to find a solution to a problem and he never relented until it was solved.

The thing that worried her the most though was that for the first time in her life she was sure he couldn't fix this. The three factions rarely agreed about anything and on those "purple moon" occasions when they did, they were never wrong.

Deep within her, she knew that this issue was going to play out exactly the way the faction leaders had illustrated. She also knew that the "worst case scenario" was the most likely outcome because if it wasn't, they won't have mentioned it in the first place. Most of all, she knew that Chris would never kill Ronke no matter what he was told. He would rather die than kill her and Chi was having a hard time accepting this.

Living in denial of this truth wasn't an option sadly, not for her. She felt it as every second passed, after all, she knew Chris in ways no one else in the world did or probably ever could.

When they were younger, Chris saved her life and died in the process. That day she saved the life of a young boy who had given his life for hers. To be able to perform a ritual of this nature at such a young age made her stand out even among the best mages of her generation but it didn't come without a price.
Nothing in their world came without a price.

The saddest thing was that the person who had to pay the ultimate price was Chris and not her. To save him, she had to bind his soul to hers, using herself as an anchor for his life force.

The ritual she performed that night was for "The Guardian Initiation" but in his case she didn't leave him with a choice. Usually, becoming a guardian was a thing of choice, men and women throughout time who had lived a life of bravery, courage and strength were approached by mages at the end of their lives. Others were involved in accidents or other forms of ailments and the process was the same, they were offered a choice to become guardians and serve a higher purpose. It was never forced and declining didn't come with any consequence since the person was dying anyways. Chris wasn't offered this choice and Chi continually felt guilty about it.

From that moment, she could feel everything he felt and he could do the same.
The bond between a mage and a guardian could not be broken and although it was a gift, it could also be a curse.
Emotions were a lot stronger than words, and she couldn't help but feel things she had no business feeling.

The day Chris met Ronke, Chi didn't know the details but she felt the change in his emotional spectrum. Granted, this wasn't the first time Chris was liking someone so she was no stranger to these emotions but as time went on she realized how much of a hold the girl had on him even without realizing it.
With Ronke it felt like for the first time since she met him, he was alive. The emotions were so strong sometimes that they affected her own mood and she couldn't control herself.

She could never forget the night her family decided to go out for dinner to celebrate her younger brother's initiation as a mage. Her father decided that a fancy restaurant was the solution to all their problems so he practically dragged the four of them there.

On arrival she started to see that it wasn't so bad spending time with her family and she began to relax a bit even cracking jokes with her mostly annoying little brother. Everything was going fine until she felt Chris through their bond.
"I want to make a toast to my two children...." Her father began to say.
Chi shifted in her chair obviously uncomfortable.
"Oh no, oh no" she muttered under her breath.
She knew this day was going to come eventually but she never imagined it would be in a place like this. Here she was trying to endure a nice dinner with her family and Chris decided to pick this day of all days to have sex with Ronke.
She shifted uncomfortably in her seat again.
"Chi's are you okay? You seem really uncomfortable" her mother asked.

"I'm...fine" she said in between breaths holding the table firmly as she spoke.

"This isn't good" she thought to herself.
She could feel through the bond that they were still at foreplay and she rationalized that if he was this horny already, then she was in big trouble for the rest of the evening.

"So Junior, tell us about your mage examination?" She said in a desperate attempt to divert everyone's attention away from her.
Luckily for her it worked and Junior was glad to rant about his tests. Her parents looked very proud of both of them and she seemed to be keeping the bond under control.
"Probably they won't have sex today" she thought to herself.
"Speaking of exams, Chi when do you plan to take your first order exams?" Her father asked.
"I don't know daddy, maybe..." She began to say until she felt something new and grabbed the table firmly.
"Are you sure you're okay, you're sweating Chi" Junior asked, a little worried.
"I'm...I'm...oh God" she moaned.
Chris was getting the best head of his life and she was getting wet at the dinner table.
"Chi, we could leave if you're uncomfortable" her mother offered, concern written all over her face.
"Don't worry...I'm..." She hit the table and bit her lip hard hurting herself in the process.
She struggled to find whatever was left of her sanity, apologized to her family and stood up heading for the door. She needed to get out of here fast.
As soon as she stepped outside, she called a cab.
Getting into the cab as quickly as she could, she gave him directions and cast a hypnosis spell on the driver so he won't be freaked out about what she was about to do.
She needed to touch herself. It was the only way to relief the pressure.
At the moment, Ronke was done with him but she sensed that the worst of it was on its way. Right on cue, it came like a wave over her. Chris had started to thrust so she slid her hands down her skirt to mimic everything she was feeling through the bond.
As the cab approached her house she could feel Chris getting closer to a climax. They came to a stop at a traffic light and Chris finally came which resulted in her kicking the backdoor of the cab a few times. A traffic warden started walking towards the car out of concern but as a soon as the lights turned green the cab speed off and dropped her at home.
As soon as she got into her apartment, she poured herself a glass of water, fell on her bed and slept off.

Sitting on the floor in Chris' apartment she realized that as awkward as that incident was, she couldn't deny just how much he loved her. For him, it wasn't just sex and she knew this as a certainty because she felt it.
She stood up and began to search through his apartment for something that belonged to Ronke. She needed to cast a locator spell, find her and erase her memory before things got any worse.

She finally found a lipstick in the bathroom that she probably dropped in fear after seeing them go up in smoke. Picking up the lipstick from the floor, she wrapped it around her hands and cast the spell.
Tracing Ronke's every move from the moment she saw them disappear, she finally found Ronke lying down in her apartment.
"Okay Chi, let's pay Ronke a visit" she said to herself stepping out of Chris' apartment.

The Guardian Order (The Writing Sessions: Two)

"I knew we weren't alone in there" Chi exclaimed as the world around them began to materialize.

 "What are you going to do now?" she asked.

 Chris was lost in thought and could barely hear anything Chi was saying. All he could think about was Ronke and how he was going to make this right.

 "She probably thinks I'm a wizard or even worse thinks she's going mad" he thought to himself.

The first option would have been totally wrong anyways. Chris wasn't a wizard by any standards although Chi on the other hand was a mage of the second order.

In retrospect, meeting her changed his life in many positive ways but he still could help but feel like it was both a gift and a curse.

As a child, Chris had always been a wild card. He was terrible at school and didn't do so well class. This wasn't because he wasn't smart, in fact you would think he was a genius if you saw him play sports or participate in any of the vocational subjects. His major problem was that he didn't have the patience to learn, all he wanted to do was 'do'.

Chi on the other hand was the best student in his class and in their primary school. A Straight A’s student who was always on time, she never spoke to anyone or had any friends in class. Most students thought she was a snob and although this was true to a large extent, it didn't change the fact that most people were just jealous.

They never crossed paths as they both existed in two different worlds until that Friday. Friday was Chris' best day in school because classes were short and the rest of the day was dedicated to sporting activities, Chi on the other hand usually disappeared after classes on Fridays and was nowhere near the field.

 Oddly enough on this Friday, Chi was around for sports. Although she was a spectator mostly, she was on the field till the end of school.

After school hours Chris and a couple of boys stayed behind to play football while Chi was waiting for her driver to come pick her up. A few minutes later, Chris' game ended and he picked up his bag to leave the school premises just as Chi's red Toyota Camry drove into the school compound. He was just outside the gate of the school buying chocolate ice-cream from the local ice-cream seller when the car drove past him.

He didn't live far away so he just strolled home every day which usually turned out to be the best part of his daily routine. As he approached the turn that led to his street he saw the red Toyota parked on the other side of the road.

 "They probably stopped to get some ice-cream" he said to himself. His ice-cream was already done and he began to consider getting another when he heard her scream.

Looking back, he probably should have kept walking but he decided to go see what was going on.

 He found her in the backseat behind the driver's seat curled up in the corner with a mortified look on her face.

 Opening the back door from the other side he asked,

 "What's the problem?"

 Her eyes seemed to be staring into space and it took a couple of seconds before she could focus on him.

 "Go away!!!! Please, please leave me alone. They are coming, and if they find you here they'll kill you" she yelled with fears in her eyes.

 He looked at her confused.

 "Where is the driver?

 Please get down from the car so we can find a way to get you home" he said with urgency in his voice.

 Her face went still for a couple of seconds then she began to panic again tears gushing down her eyes.

 "She's running mad, all those books have finally made her insane" Chris' thought to himself.

 She grabbed him by his shirt and screamed,

 "They're here, they've found me. Please run, run Chris!!! RUN!!!"

Chris was only beginning to wrap his head around how she knew who he was when he felt it. A sharp pain on the side of his stomach snapped him back to reality. He was bleeding and before he could react he felt a slash on his left arm close to his shoulder. In that instant his instincts kicked in and he knew he was in danger, he took a step back and studied his environment.

He couldn't see anything out of place, but the blood soaking his shirt told him otherwise. In that instant he felt the air around him shift slightly and he jumped in the direction of the shift lunging forward like a wounded animal. He landed on a figure he could see but he didn't care, his mind didn't have time to process or ask questions he just kept punching and kicking until the figure stopped moving. The figure materialized and turned into a man knocked unconscious.

Chi immediately jumped out of the car and ran towards Chris. His vision was blurring and he was bleeding out. She knelt beside him placing his head on her laps in tears, he couldn't quite hear what she was saying but she was mumbling something he didn't quite understand. That was the first time he ever saw the smoke and he was convinced that he was dying.

Chris opened his eyes to meet Chi staring at him with a smile. He looked around trying to figure out where he was but he couldn't recognize his surroundings.

 He was lying down and Chi was resting at his bedside. As he tried to stand up, she stopped him,

"You're not completely healed Chris, you still need to rest" she said.

"Healed? What happened..." he asked weakly.

She only smiled as she placed her hand on his whispering,

 "Sleep Chris"

 He saw a puff of smoke come out of her mouth and he gasped as his memoires started flooding back. He had a lot of questions to ask, but he couldn't resist the compulsion to fall asleep as he slumped back into bed.

Chris woke up a second time with no one around his bed. He stood up and felt a slight pain on his stomach, he checked but he didn't see any marks or scars. He checked his left arm and saw nothing, there was no pain in the arm at all in fact.

 "How long have I been asleep?" He thought.

 Chi walked in through the door smiling and saying,

 "I sensed you waking up, how's the stomach? It still hurts a bit right?"

 He looked at her grimly and asked,

 "Where am I and what is going on?"

 

The explanation Chi gave him that day sealed his fate and from that day he became her guardian.

 Studying his surroundings now, it still felt like twenty years ago when he first came here. The book that brought them here was one of the few conduits that led to the Ethereal Realm. Chi's family was one of the most elite family of mages and that's the only reason why she had a conduit in the first place.

 They materialized outside the Dome of Ether, a structure shaped like a gigantic egg. The dome was popularly known as the center of magic and several domes were built all around the world, it was rumored that these were the focal points where all the magical energy in the world converged.

 It was also the place where the three major factions in the world met to deliberate on issues that affect the balance of the world. The factions were; the mages, the guardians and the humans.

 

“Let’s go in, we're already late" Chris said walking in front of Chi as they entered the dome.

 "Wouldn't be the first time" Chi replied with a smirk on her face.

 "Do you ever take anything seriously?" Chris asked slightly irritated. Chi could sense that he was upset about Ronke, but that didn't stop her from teasing him a little more.

 "You were a lot more fun as a kid you know. I don't know what they feed you guys in the guardian order that makes you all so uptight" she replied.

 Chris just kept on walking not paying attention to any of the people around the various sections of the dome, he didn't even reply any greetings.

 They finally got to the door of Chamber One, the largest of all the seven chambers in the dome.

 "Kids grow up eventually you know" he said finally as he turned the door knob.

 "I know Chris, I know...and don't worry, she'll be fine' Chi said tapping his shoulder lightly.

 Chris sighed.

 "Okay, let's get this over with" he said pulling the door open.

The chamber’s design changed from time to time depending on the occasion it was being used for. Today it had the design of a court room, with the three factions sitting on three different rows and the two heads of each faction sitting on an elevated platform.

 "Chidinma Ananaba and Chris Adedeji; mage of the second order and her guardian you're late again" General Musa said.

"Apologies sir." Chris replied

Chris couldn’t help thinking they were in trouble again, the tension in the air was too palpable.

General Musa was one of the two heads of the Guardian Order and as mean as he looked, he was the nice one in the duo.

“Both of you come forward quickly, we have a mission for you” Master Folashade said.

“So we’re not in trouble?” Chris asked the master mage, walking with Chi towards the six of them.

“No you’re not” she replied.

“We initially summoned you here because Chi has refused to take the promotion trials for the first order” Senator Obiora said.

“So we were in trouble…” Chi said with a smirk.

“Forget that, a matter of grave importance came up on your way here. A human saw magic in use and we have to deal with it as soon as possible” Master Jude interjected.

 “No offense Master Jude, but this happens all the time. Can’t we just erase their memory as always” Chi asked.

“That’s the problem child, we already tried. We sent two of our best second order mages to erase every trace of the memory.

We were able to erase the imprints on the minds of those the subject told but the subject’s memories remain intact” Senator Laila said.

“What do you need us to do?” Chris asked.

“We need Chidinma to attempt to erase the subject’s memory. As an esper her natural abilities with the mind are more powerful than most spells we can make.” Master Folashade said.

“And if doesn’t work?” Chi asked.

“Then that would confirm our fears” Master Jude replied.

“What fears?” Chris asked.

“We suspect that the subject has witch hunter blood. If a mage with Chidinma’s unique gifts cannot erase the subject’s memory, then it means that the witch hunter blood in the subject is strong.” General Musa said.

“Okay?” Chris asked, sensing that they weren’t done.

“And as a member of the guardian order it would be your sole responsibility to protect your mage and the mage order from such a threat.

You will have to kill the subject before they get any stronger or get discovered by the witch hunters.” General Segun finally spoke.

“You’re asking me to kill someone who hasn’t done anything wrong yet just because they have the potential to be a threat to us?” Chris asked furiously.

“Calm down child, this is only if Chi fails to erase the subject’s memory. We both know the chances of that happening are very slim.” Senator Laila said.

Chi came to stand beside Chris holding his hand to calm him down.

“What’s the name of the subject and where can we find him?” Chi asked.

“Him? No, this subject is a female. Her name is Ronke Badmos, I’m sure you’re already familiar with her” General Segun said.

Chris’ eyes widened and he hands went cold.

The Guardian Order {The Writing Sessions: One}

Ronke used her extra key to get into Chris’ apartment.

It was a Wednesday evening and according to his shift at the factory he wouldn’t be home for another two hours which gave her enough time to plan her surprise.

His apartment was spotless and clean in the usual Chris fashion with everything in its usual place. She often teased him saying that a blind man could live in his apartment comfortably after a couple of days.

Chris never made any changes to his life or his routine and the few times she had even attempted to arrange the house or help with cleaning had been a complete disaster. He just ended up putting everything back in the places he wanted them and taking over the entire process.

She had made her peace with it and never even tried anymore but today was different. It was their one year anniversary and she was determined to make it special. She travelled on a business trip and was not supposed to be back for another couple of days so Chris wasn’t expecting her, fortunately for her some of the meetings were cancelled so she took the first flight she could find back home to surprise her man.

She took off her heels and put them in her bag bringing out the bottles of wine she bought on her way here. She didn’t want to leave any signs of her presence here and hoped that her perfume won’t give away. With the wine bottles and some chocolate in the fridge she decided to try out the black corset she picked up earlier at the mall.

Ronke was always conscious of her body when she was younger, being an early bloomer she started developing breasts earlier than most girls her age. At age 13 she had her first boyfriend and learnt very quickly that guys were a lot more interested in her body than her brains. From that point in her life she decided that no matter the attention she got when she walked in a room, she would make an equally good impression when she opened her mouth to speak.

Many years have passed and that little girl has now come to appreciate the perks of having a great body. Standing in front of the mirror she examined her curves in the corset, her breasts were even perkier than usual she mused to herself smiling. She didn’t think she had a pretty face although she had been told by a lot of men that she was beautiful. An almost round face with a chiseled chin that she got from her dad, Ronke had squinty eyes, generally small facial features and drooping lips that seemed to fit her perfectly.

Admiring her dark chocolate skin one more time in the mirror wishing she was a little taller than a 5’6, her train of thought was interrupted by the sound of dangling keys at the door. She took a quick glance at the clock on the wall, Chris wasn’t supposed to be back for the next one hour at the very least.

She quickly looked through around the room to make sure nothing was out place. She hadn’t placed the rose petals in his bathroom yet but she figured a window of opportunity would present itself before the end of the night and she’d get her chance.

“Nothing is going to ruin today for me.” She thought to reassure herself as she ran into the bathroom to hide.

The door opened and Chris walked in casually with his helmet and overall in his hands. Spying on him from the bathroom she almost laughed out loud as he hung his hat in the usual place close to his Kanye West poster on the wall. Next he dropped the overall in the laundry basket and started to take off his clothes.

Watching him undress was a huge turn on for her and she couldn’t help biting her lower lip. This wasn’t because Chris had the best body in the world, in fact for many girls his body probably won’t demand a second glance as handsome as he was. Chris was lanky and just a little bit taller than Ronke, he was fit and surprisingly strong despite his looks probably because of the nature of his job.

All that aside, the turn on for Ronke was the fluidity in his movements. His life was so organized that he did everything with such deadly precision. Many ladies may consider this to be a boring routine but for Ronke watching Chris do everything was like watching a dance. The way his fingers trailed around each button as he unbuttoned his shirt lightly twirling around them like a nipple, or the way the muscles on his back seemed to contract and relax as he took off his shirt, or how his trousers pulled down his boxers slightly as he took them off and he adjusted them from the back to front. Now she was thinking about the front…

“Focus Ronke” she thought to herself coming back to reality.

Chris took off his clothes and grabbed his towel.

“Oh shit.” She thought. He was coming into the bathroom and she had nowhere to hide. She backed away from the door just as he was about to open it when she heard a knock.

He hung the towel on the door and went to get the door.

“You’re late Chi.” He said as he opened the door.

“I know, I know.” Chi said stepping in and dropping her bag on the bed.

Chris simply shut the door and gave her a knowing look.

“Arrgggh, you and your OCD” she yelled but she still picked the bag up and hung it beside his helmet.

Ronke watched from the bathroom in confusion. Chi’s name had come up a few times in conversation but she didn’t think they were that close. Chris simply said she was a childhood friend and they kept in touch loosely over the years. Right now Ronke was beginning to ask herself if she knew what the word “loosely” meant because it definitely didn’t include Chi sprawled on Chris’ bed going through his phone as he went to the fridge to get her a drink.

“So how’s Ronke?” Chi asked.

Chi was light skinned and taller than Chris slightly. She wore a pair of shorts and a crop top that showed off just enough of her body to make any man want to find out more.

“She’s great, she’s away on a trip.” He answered, sitting beside her on the bed.

“Does she know about us?” she asked.

Chris hesitated.

“No…no she doesn’t. I haven’t told her.”

“You can’t keep it a secret forever you know. Tell her or break up with her or do both.” Chi replied.

Ronke’s world went white. Us??? Break Up???

She couldn’t help the tears that stared flowing from her eyes, partly from sadness but mostly from rage. Just as she was about to burst out of the bathroom to kill them both she heard him say,

“Okay Chi its time”

“Time for what” she thought, hoping that he didn’t mean sex. She couldn’t put it past Chris to schedule sex after all it was in his nature.

“Okay get the book.” Chi replied.

Chris went to his wardrobe, picked up a small brown book and dropped it on Chi’s laps on the bed. Chi stood up from the bed and sat on the floor motioning Chris to join her on the floor. He sat in front of her mirroring her cross-legged posture with the book placed on the floor separating them.

Ronke was even more confused now with so many questions cloying at her mind. Just when she thought it couldn’t get any weirder she heard Chi say,

“There’s someone here, Chris”

Chris kept quiet for a bit to listen and Ronke stopped breathing.

“There isn’t, your senses are off.” Chris said.

“No they’re not, I sensed it as soon as I walked in but I wasn’t sure. Now I’m certain we’re not alone, can you look around?” she asked worried.

“There’s no time Chi, besides the only other person who can enter this apartment is Ronke and she’s not around.”

Chi relaxed a bit but she was still uneasy. Finally she said,

“Okay let’s do this, give me your hands.”

Ronke watched as Chris dropped his hands in Chi’s hands. They both closed their eyes as Chi said a few things Ronke was pretty sure wasn’t English. In that instant, the pages of the book stared to flip wildly as smoke started to ooze out of the book. The smoke oozed out until it enveloped Chi and Chris almost completely.

She finally had enough and burst out the bathroom door,

“CHRIS!!!” she yelled.

Chris opened his eyes in shock to find Ronke standing in front of his bathroom door utterly and completely terrified. He opened his mouth to explain but it was too late, he was already losing sight of his surroundings as he and Chi got sucked into the brown book.

Hey y'all....

Hey guys,

So for everyone who has been reading this blog and following Takobidamma, I figured it was about time I asked?

Why the hell are you guys still reading??? 

Hehehehehehehe.

More seriously though, its kinda cool and humbling that y'all have been following the story so far. I appreciate y'all for your patience and endurance especially when you put into consideration the fact that it's an early draft.

Thanks a bunch.

For the next one month though, I won't be posting Takobidamma. (I'm sorry please don't kill me.) 

I'm gonna keep writing but i want to give a little space so i don't post as i write. 

In the meantime though, I'm working on a five session short story that i sincerely hope you'll will enjoy. 

I'm posting the first session in a bit.

Thanks again y'all.