realized sheâd been holding.
*****
Toya jerked the jeep into park and climbed out looking back at the house across the road. He could have sworn heâd just seen someone standing in the front yard. A dark eyebrow rose under his bangs as light appeared in the front room. He leaned against the jeep wondering who was in the Hogo house.
âDid you get the pizza?â
Toya nearly jumped out of his skin when Kamui spoke from less than a foot behind him. âDamn it Kamui! One day Iâm gonna take your head off before I realize itâs you sneaking up on me like that.â
Kamui smirked, âWasnât killing me once enough for you?â His stardust colored eyes lit up seeing the pizza boxes scattered across the back seat. Knowing Toyaâs driving, it was a wonder theyâd even survived the trip. Picking them up, Kamui started back toward the house only to realize Toya hadnât moved.
Following Toyaâs line of vision, he looked across the street not seeing any cars in the driveway. He barely acknowledged the fact that a faint light could be seen downstairs. âThe old lady was over there earlier today, probably just cleaning it again. I guess she forgot to turn the light off.â Kamui shrugged. âYou coming?â
âWhat are you, my babysitter?â Toya gave the halfhearted insult not even bothering to look at him.
âNope, but I am the pizza guru and I say if you donât hurry, you wonât get any.â Kamui took off laughing when he heard Toyaâs growl.
Toya waited until he was alone in the driveway before he started toward the Hogo estate. Heâd been in the house many times over the last fifteen years looking for clues as to where the priestess had disappeared. When theyâd first come into the human realm and entered the house, the guardians thought they were too late. They quickly realized the priestess had not been among the dead. They could still feel her life force within this realm and the demons were still hunting for her as well.
In the first memory Toya had of this house, thereâd been ambulances and cop cars everywhere. The mother and father were dead, and the children and grandfather were missing. Without revealing themselves to the humans, the guardians had waited and watched. As soon as the house was empty, they entered it⦠smelling the evil scent the demons had left in their wake.
A couple of days later, the body of the grandfather was found with his neck broken. The coronerâs office ruled it an accident but the brothers knew better. The old man was clutching a scroll that Shinbe removed from the scene before calling 911. Shinbe was also the one to decipher the scroll. The old man had snuck back onto the property and been in the middle of trying to make the house and land consecrated ground to ward off demons when heâd been killed.
The demons never strayed far from this area and over time, the humans caught on enough to think that the town was haunted. The feds had even sent their paranormal and extraterrestrial investigators many times thinking maybe it was an alien invasion. But they were usually a little too late to find the evidence. Toya and his brothers would try to get there first, to kill the demons or to at least cover it up.
For fifteen years the guardians had lived in the house across from this one and blended in with the rest of humanity as best they could. Kamui even became quite the computer geek to keep the government from red flagging them. No one ever asked how five young men had an endless supply of money and a huge house on the edge of town.
Toya stayed in the shadows as he stepped around to the back of the house. Glancing over at the pool, he noted it had recently been reopened. His gaze narrowed on the crystal clear water seeing a red hue slide through the liquid as if reaching for him. Narrowing his golden eyes, he took a step back from it.
The creepy vision disappeared as he watched the steam rising off the heated water and he tried to shake off the feeling that heâd just stepped on his own grave.
He shrugged off the possibility that someone couldâve sold the house. If it had ever gone up for sale, the guardians would have been the first to know and they would have bought it. Besides, if some stranger had secretly bought the place, the fact that the house is haunted would quickly get rid of the new owners⦠or at least it would be haunted if it needed to be. He and his brothers would make sure of that.
Toya held his hand over the lock on the sliding glass door and heard a soft click. Slipping inside, he closed it behind him and stood listening. The house was so silent at first that he thought heâd been mistaken, but then he heard a soft voice coming from the living room. Following the sound, he stopped near the shadowed doorway.
There was a girl standing in front of the cold fireplace and she was looking above it at the wall. Toya glanced up seeing the huge family portrait that had always been there. It was of a man with silver hair, almost like Kyouâs. But this manâs hair was shorter, coming only to his shoulders. His face seemed very young, but there was a look in his eyes that held wisdom beyond that of a mere human.
The muscle in Toya's jaw jumped knowing the man was mortal⦠very human, and very powerful in his own right. This man had once been called a wizard⦠just not in this lifetime. Now they just call them scientists and physicists. Torsion fields and worm holes were never meant to be tampered with by humans. His appearance hadnât changed no matter how many times he and his family was reborn into the world.
Toyaâs gaze moved to the beautiful auburn-haired woman cuddled up next to him. She was holding a toddler in her arms while the father had a small girl with auburn hair sitting in his lap. The children couldnât have been more than a year apart in age. Toya had come here so many times⦠staring at the picture. He was sure all the guardians had.
The little girlâs eyes sparkled like emeralds even in the muted color of the photo. She had her fatherâs eyes. Her lips were pouted as if the photographer had just told her to be still and a pretty blush colored her cheeks.
âIâm home Momma⦠Papa,â Kyoko reached out and touched the elegant wood that framed the picture. Her sight lingered on her little brother as she tried to put his face to memory. âTama.â
Tamaâs eyes were the same color as hers, even though in the picture some of the baby blue hadnât yet faded⦠but she could tell their true color. He was smiling like he had just done something wonderful⦠so full of life. Mr. Sennin said Tama had vanished when her parents were killed. Could he still be out there somewhere?
âI wish you were here with me Tama. It would be nice to know at least one person at school tomorrow.â
Toya forgot to breathe as he reached out and gripped the door frame to steady his suddenly weak knees. He took a quick step back, deeper into the shadows as the girl turned full circle to look around the room. When her emerald eyes caught the light⦠the breath heâd been holding rushed out of him as if he had been punched in the stomach.
She had long auburn hair, and at that moment her lips were once again in a state of melancholy. His golden eyes trailed down her school uniform, the likes he had only seen in catholic high school movies. The skirt was short, reminding him of a cheerleaderâs uniform followed by long shapely legs. Sheâd unbuttoned the shirt enough that Toya knew the nuns would not have approved.
He had seen her before⦠on the other side of the heart of time. The maiden statue that held the time portal in her hands⦠this girl mimicked the stone, born into flesh and blood. Heâd found the priestess and she was breathtaking. He closed his eyes to the phantom memory of kissing her⦠it wasnât his memory to keep.
Kyoko bit her bottom lip feeling frightened now that she was out here in the world without Mrs. Crap and all her rules. Maybe it was because this was her first time for everything. âCome on Kyoko,â She said out loud to break the thundering silence as she picked up her suitcase. âIf you want to be ready for school tomorrow, then youâd better go find a bedroom and unpack.â
Toya