The Torn Guardian Read Online Free PDF Page A

reflection in the water and am greeted by a pale face with yellow eyes. My cheeks are red and warm to the touch due largely to the excessively hot and sticky jungle climate. I sit down and try to fix my light brown hair with soft golden highlights. It has fallen out of the ponytail it was in and uncomfortably sticks to my neck thanks to the outrageous amount of sweat my body is producing. After I put my hair up again and splash some water in my face, I finally focus on the reason I am here.
    I stand up and prepare to move on when it dawns on me. I have absolutely no idea where either Adira or Grace are. I have no idea how I’m going to explain the world’s dilemma to them, and I have not a clue how I am going to get the daughters of life and death to play nice with each other and get along. I sit back down dejectedly. Where am I supposed to go anyway? Oran could have at least given me a map.
    I am too focused on questioning what my next move should be. I don’t hear the slight shuffle of the leaves from across the stream. I do not realize anyone else is here until the arrow pierces straight through my right shoulder.
    “Oh shit,” I say as pull the arrow out. I quickly stand up, and that is quite possibly the worst decision I have made today. The arrow lying next to me is covered in poison. I fall back down to the ground in the least graceful fashion possible and see a few figures approach me, but I cannot identify any of them. I more than likely would not have recognized them anyway, but my vision is already blurred. Only a few more seconds pass, and my eyes are incapable of staying open at all. I pass out just as I feel someone or something pick me up.

Chapter 4
     
    I do not know how long I have lying down on this thin, flimsy mat, but it has been long enough to make my back sore. I twist and turn my body to crack a few bones, and it feels much better. I did not notice there is someone else in the room with me until I hear a slight chuckle. I immediately sit upright and reach behind my back for my bow. It is not there, and even if it was, it would have been useless. My quiver and arrows are also missing as well as the wrist guard. My magnifying glass is still here though, and the orb is pressing against me in my pocket.
    Having my bow would make me more comfortable, but it does not look like I will be getting it back anytime soon. The woman sitting in the chair across from me is casually leaning against it as she watches me. She has black tattoos all over her exposed tan skinned body and face. They are complicated tribal patterns yet still oddly elegant. Her long, dark brown hair with slight red hints cover half of her thin yet muscular body. The scars on her face and chest prove this woman is a fighter, and her feet are calloused from roaming around the jungle for years barefoot. Nothing about her brown cloth top and pants stand out, but she does have one item I am curious about. She has a black leather wrist guard on her left hand, but only that one. There is not a match for the other side.
    “Give me my bow,” I order her when our eyes meet. I really do not like my armalo being handled by someone else. I doubt she can use it properly, but it is a powerful, magical weapon. An ordinary person should never have it in his or her possession.
    The woman laughs at me showcasing she clearly understands she has the upper hand here. I’m about to order her again, but a tribal man with tattoos not nearly as intricate or many enters the room and starts talking to the woman. She turns her attention to him and replies in a language I do not understand. That is quite enough.
    She clearly understood what I had said, and she is currently choosing to ignore me. I reach for the magnifying glass still around my neck and my captors either do not notice or do not care. I press the blue jewel and it glows faintly. The handle extends a little, and a small jeweled dragon pops out from the hidden compartment.
    As I have come to expect,