The Heart Of Time

The Heart of Time

The Guardian Heart Crystal Series Book 1

Amy Blankenship

Copyright © 2008 Amy Blankenship

English Edition Published by Amy Blankenship

Second Edition Published by TekTime

All rights reserved.

The Legend of the Heart of Time

The worlds may change… but true legends never fade.

Darkness and light have constantly battled since the beginning of time. Worlds are formed and crushed beneath the feet of their creators, yet the ongoing need for good and evil have never been in question. However, sometimes a new element is thrown into the mix… the one thing that both sides want but only one can have.

Paradoxical in nature, the Guardian Heart Crystal is the one constant that both sides have always striven to attain. The crystalline stone has the power to create and destroy the known universe, yet can end all suffering and strife in the same breath. Some say the crystal has a mind of its own… others say the gods are behind it all.

Each time the crystal has appeared, its guardians have always been ready to defend it from all who would use it selfishly. The identities of these guardians remain unchanged and they love with the same ferocity regardless of the world or time.

One girl stands in the center of these ancient guardians and is the object of their affections. She holds within her the power of the crystal itself. This is the bearer of the crystal and the source of its power. The lines often blur, and guarding the crystal slowly changes into guarding the priestess from the other guardians.

This is the wine from which the heart of darkness drinks. It is the opportunity to make the guardians of the crystal weak and susceptible to attack. The darkness craves the power of the crystal and also the girl as a man would crave a woman.

Within every one of these dimensions and realities you will find a secret garden known as the Heart of Time. There, a statue of a young human priestess kneels. She is surrounded by an age-old magic that keeps her secret treasure hidden and well preserved. The maiden’s hands are outstretched as if waiting for something precious to be placed in them.

Legend says that she is waiting for the powerful stone known as The Guardian Heart Crystal to return to her.

Only the Guardians know of the true secrets behind the statue and how it came into existence. Before the five brothers drew their first breath their ancestors, Tadamichi, and his twin brother, Hyakuhei, protected the heart of time during its darkest history. For centuries, the twins protected the seal that kept the human world from overlapping within the demon realm. This task was sacred and the lives of the humans as well as demons had to be kept safe and secret from the other.

Unexpectedly, during their reign, a small band of humans accidentally crossed over into the demon world because of the sacred crystal. During a time of turmoil, its powers caused a rip in the seal that had separated the dimensions. The leader of the human group and Tadamichi had quickly become allies, making a pact to close the rip in the seal and keep the two worlds locked away from each other forever.

But during that time, Hyakuhei and Tadamichi had both fallen in love with the daughter of the human leader.

Against Hyakuhei’s wishes, the rip had been repaired by Tadamichi and the girl’s father. The strength of the seal had been increased tenfold, separating the dangerous love triangle forever. Hyakuhei’s heart was shattered… Even his own blood brother, Tadamichi had betrayed him by making sure he and the priestess were separated by eternity.

Love can turn into the most wicked of things once it is lost. Hyakuhei’s broken heart turned to malicious anger and jealousy causing a battle between the twin brothers, ending Tadamichi’s life and splitting their immortal souls. Those slivers of immortality created five new guardians to take guardianship over the seal and protect it from Hyakuhei, who had joined the demons within the evil realm.

Imprisoned within the darkness he had become, Hyakuhei cast out all thought of protecting the heart of time… instead he turned his energy toward banishing the seal completely. His long midnight locks, reaching past his knees and a face belonging only to the most seductive, belied the true evil hidden within his angelic appearance.

As the war begins between the forces of light and dark, a blinding blue light is emitted from the sanctified statue signaling that the young priestess has been reborn and the crystal has resurfaced on the other side.

As the guardians are drawn to her and become her protectors, the battle between good and evil truly begins. Hence the entrance into another world where darkness is dominant within the world of light.

This is one of their many epic adventures…

Chapter 1 "Shattered Memories”

"Kyoko!!!!!!"

Toya's cry of rage could be heard throughout the surrounding forest. As the sound of his desperate scream faded, everything became deathly silent as all eyes watched for Hyakuhei’s next move.

No one could have stopped it. Everything had happened too fast for anybody to react. What happened had paralyzed all five of the guardians with fear. They couldn’t believe they had come together as the protectors of the guardian heart crystal to fight Hyakuhei… only to have him win. Only to lose the one person they all loved and protected.

There, hovering in the center of the battlefield… their worst nightmare was unfolding.

Hyakuhei held Kyoko trapped against him as he gazed down into her terrified face. The lower half of her body had begun to fuse with his, just as he’d planned. He was slowly trying to devour her and The Guardian Heart Crystal into his body and the void within his soul. All who watched could see the corruption of the Crystal as it glowed with darkness born only of evil.

Kyoko's hands were against Hyakuhei's chest as she frantically pushed back from him, trying with all her might to free herself from this guardian lord turned demon, only for him to laugh.

Hyakuhei was now high on the power that was coursing through his flesh and blood and her feeble attempts at escaping him amused him greatly. His long ebony hair swam around them as if it had a life of its own. The silky ends of the midnight locks wove their way around behind Kyoko like an iron band to help restrain her small body against his.

Kyoko felt defenseless as she fought the pull of her body becoming one with his. She didn’t want to fall into the cold dark void that was his soul. She could feel all the demons there… waiting for her. The more she was drawn into his body, the colder that part of her body became. Her legs stung as if ice was forming along her skin like a million pin pricks all at once.

She knew if she didn’t do something fast, they would all be lost. She could see the five brothers who’d guarded her over the last couple of years… as they stood there watching. All of them wanted to help her but were too afraid to make a move as long as she was being held as a shield.

She didn’t want to lose to this traitor of the guardians. He was their own uncle… why had he turned against his nephews so long ago? Kyoko’s emerald green eyes turned back to lock on the enemy’s in fearful anger. This couldn’t be happening… Not after all she’d been through. This was all her fault.

Her eyes narrowed on Hyakuhei’s dark steady gaze. She’d brought the Crystal to this world and she would take it back out of this world if she had to take it straight to hell with her.

Kyou stood not twenty feet away and quickly drew his destruction sword ‘Hakaisha’, in a blind fury. He did not like the thought of his uncle… his enemy, touching the only human girl he had ever grown to respect. She looked so dangerously fragile in the arms of a mad man, the fight now becoming purity against evil.

The lord of the guardian realm… Kyou, oldest of the five siblings, could do nothing without hurting Kyoko in the process. Secretly, he knew the power of the Crystal could not hurt him because he had used a spell to block all spells before this battle. He’d been prepared in case Hyakuhei had tried to use The Guardian Heart Crystal against him.

But this… he had not anticipated. He didn’t want Kyoko to be hurt… ever, not as long as he had the power to stop it.

He did not struggle when the dark demonic phantoms sent by Hyakuhei slithered from the ground as if coming from some hidden nightmare and wrapped around his lethal body to hold him still. Kyou glanced at Toya seeing that fury burned in his younger brother's silver eyes.

Hyakuhei had wrapped Toya within an onslaught of demonic phantoms, trying to keep him at bay but Toya was still struggling with a vengeance against them. Inwardly, Kyou was thankful for the restraints placed upon his brother… for without them, Toya would surely attack no matter the consequences. Just the sight of Kyoko in such danger had pushed Toya past the breaking point.

Kyou could feel Toya's guardian power intensify with every heartbeat, along with his own power and the power of their brothers.

Not ten feet away, Kotaro’s ice blue eyes widened in disbelief. He didn’t want to see Kyoko hurt but he couldn’t do anything to prevent it. Both his arms were bloodied from the battle and his legs were in no better shape. He was powerless to even attack right now as he struggled to stand, fighting against the pain. His mind still frozen in fear for the girl he loved more than anything.

"Don’t you dare hurt her or I will hunt you even in hell, Hyakuhei," Kotaro hissed in a raspy voice, baring his sharp fangs as his ice blue eyes burned with his need for retaliation. The very air around him seemed to come to life with a vengeance as debris blew out in a circle around him from his powerful winds.

Kamui was frightened, but seeing Kyoko struggling in the arms of Hyakuhei had snapped his mind. Multihued dust glittered within his angry eyes. Without thinking of the consequences, Kamui ran straight toward Hyakuhei with his claws bared, unthinkable courage born of his love for the priestess and seen by all.

Hyakuhei's shadow demons repelled him back, slamming his body into the hard dirt and sending debris flying.

Kaen snatched Kamui up in a tight hold, fire flying from his feet as he leapt to safety, always watching after the youngest guardian during battle. Laying a limp Kamui on the ground out of danger, Kaen turned fiery eyes on Hyakuhei and stood between the youngest guardian and danger.

Suki was on her knees still holding her father in her arms. His body now lifeless and her hatred for Hyakuhei seethed inside her for killing Sennin. Her gaze now fastened on Kyoko, wishing she could save her best friend from the same cold fate that had befallen such a wise old man.

Shinbe stood protectively in front of Suki, blocking her body from Hyakuhei's view. The wind from Kotaro’s anger blew Shinbe’s midnight blue hair about his face… lending a haunted expression to his knowing amethyst eyes. His worry for Kyoko intensified as he felt the power of the Crystal building.

“No….” the word left him as if he had the wind suddenly knocked out of him. Shinbe knew if Hyakuhei obtained the full power from the guardian heart crystal then both worlds would be in grave danger. A scalding tear raced down his cheek as he felt his heart shatter with the fact he could do nothing. “…Kyoko.”

Hyakuhei looked around at the enemies who had stood in his way for so long… his own brother’s offspring. He knew they were afraid to attack him because he now held Kyoko as a shield and he could feel rage building all around him.

His ebony wings expanded, creating a dark backdrop behind him as his equally dark eyes locked on the girl in his arms. "They are trying to protect you." He stated in a calm soothing voice, as if they were not in the midst of a battle but only watching it from the sidelines.

He could feel the sacred guardian heart crystal that was still visible in the center of his naked chest. Her love for the guardians fighting to protect her was the only thing still keeping the crystal from sinking the rest of the way into his body and giving him the power he desired.

The purity of that love was her power, and she was using it to try to draw the crystal from him… he could feel it. But he could also feel the power that was already coursing through his veins, and it made him only want more.

His eyes softened for a moment as he whispered to her as if talking to a lover. “It’s not enough.”

Hyakuhei decided he would use the power he had already gained from the crystal against Kyoko in a way that would destroy the bond of love that surrounded the small group. He knew he had to stop her… for her power alone was just as strong as the crystal she had once held within her. The same crystal that had once allowed him to love… only to then take that love cruelly from his grasp.

He pulled Kyoko’s face flush with his and placed a gentle kiss upon her innocent lips. Staring into her stormy green eyes, he entered her mind using the power of the guardian heart crystal.

Hyakuhei sought out her memories of the guardians whom she loved so dearly… he would take them from her. Stealing her memories of the people she fought for would weaken her power and strengthen his.

Kyoko couldn’t blink. She felt his evil claws within her mind trying to destroy her memories and rip the reason for this fight from her… trying to take her love from her. Her friends, all of them, she wouldn’t allow it.

Kyoko felt her control snap, leaving her with only one thing to use against him, and that was the very thing he was trying to take and destroy. Her eyes flashed with anger no longer suppressed. She latched her hands in his silky midnight locks and thrust their foreheads together, shaking with a tidal wave of power.

Her voice piercing the silence of the battlefield, she screamed. "You want it that bad? HERE!! Take It!!!!"

Kyou's golden eyes glowed intensely as fear shot through him like the blade of a hot knife. What was the priestess doing? He knew something was terribly wrong and felt his psychic powers call to him… urging him to listen and to see before it was too late! He narrowed that power and entered Kyoko's mind, trying to see what was happening. He would have fallen to his knees with what he witnessed had the shadow demons not been wrapped so tightly around him… holding him immobile.

The images and sounds would be forever implanted within his mind’s eye and Kyou somehow knew he would never be able to shake the feelings that washed over him. For he realized by looking into her mind’s eye, Kyoko had harbored feelings of love for him as well as his brothers. He could see every touch, feel every emotion caress him and every hidden tear shatter him just as it must have her.

Kyou was also shaken to the core with the rush as he realized Kyoko had more power than anyone had ever thought her to have… power even she was not aware of. He could see and feel every memory as it passed from her mind to Hyakuhei's as if it were shooting straight into his heart where he would never release it.

Years of love, heartache, and sacrifice… given all in an instant.

Angry tears streamed down Kyoko’s cheeks as she thrust every memory of love and friendship, pain and secret feelings she had for everyone that fought with her into Hyakuhei's mind. It was the only weapon she had left.

Instantly, Hyakuhei’s evil was destabilized. Everyone felt the shift in power as the crystal started to blink from dark light to a blinding white light, and the shadow apparitions holding Toya and Kyou disintegrated into thin air.

Kyoko watched as the angel of darkness became confused, his pale perfect face becoming distorted with pain.

Just as she felt herself slipping, Kyoko reached both of her small hands out and grasped the crystal, pulling it from his flesh. She knew what had to be done, because she could already feel her mind losing its struggle with memories she didn’t want to forget. Crystalline tears ran paths down her already streaked cheeks.

She had given her memories away in order to save them all. Quickly, before she lost the thought, she held the guardian heart crystal against her own chest… parallel with her heart.

Turning to see Toya and Kyou both leaping straight for her she whispered, "Remember me… please… find me."

The last thing Kyoko caught a glimpse of as her sight began to tunnel was both of them screaming her name and reaching for her. One with liquid gold eyes and the other with molten silver eyes… then her world turned black.

Kyou could feel Kyoko fading and he thought she was dying. He leapt in unison with Toya, trying desperately to reach her when everything changed, as if a drop of water had hit the surface of his sight. Waves rippled outward from Kyoko and she vanished in midair. Then Hyakuhei screamed in rage as he also vanished.

Kyou's mind raced as his brother’s scream that had joined his came to an abrupt stop, as if the sound had been cut with the blink of an eye, and he knew Toya had also vanished. Kyou landed gracefully in the empty spot that had only a second before held his intended target. His angry gaze flashed around him in denial. Everyone had vanished.

Kyou felt the adrenaline rushing through his veins and mixing with his highborn guardian blood. He had seen and felt it all. He now possessed all of her memories. Kyoko had given all of herself to save them, and at the last second he had heard her wish. She probably didn’t even know what she had done… but she had taken them all with her, leaving him behind.

The spell he had cast around himself to keep the sacred crystal from being used against him, had kept him from following wherever the others had gone. With only a couple whispered words, she had taken everything from him.

His body stood tall and proud. His knee length silver hair fluttered around him and the white silk of his shirt trembled in the breeze as if he were standing in the eye of some unseen storm that matched the storm raging in his tormented heart.

His appearance was that of an angel… regal, powerful, and perfect, as he looked upon the deserted battlefield. Until he raised one hand to his cheek, catching the lone crimson tear that even he had not the power to stop.

Kyou's vision swam as golden feathers swirled past him from wings that had sprouted, surrounding him in a vast golden glow, revealing his true identity for the first time in his ageless life.

The only wound left from the battle was the slash that appeared across his heart… a heart that no one had thought he possessed. His gaze swung to the maiden statue that stood only a few feet away and he whispered, “Kyoko, I have not forsaken you. The distance of over a thousand years is not enough to stop me from finding you again….”

Chapter Two "The Flip Side"

On the other side of The Heart of Time, two years later… and over a thousand years into the future.

The letter was addressed to the Hogo shrine. Grandpa Hogo looked at the elegant envelope the messenger had just handed him as he carried it back to the table where he had been sipping tea. Before the knock on the door, he had been enjoying the peace and quiet of the usually over active house.

Everyone else had gone out for the evening. Tama was at the game room in town with friends, and Kyoko had gone to the library to study, while Mrs. Hogo had taken off to do some grocery shopping.

Picking up a small knife from the table, Grandpa slid the sharp blade through the gold-rimmed envelope carefully. He reached in, pulling out a notarized letter on heavy-duty gold-rimmed paper, and started reading it. The more he read, the wider his eyes became. It was a scholarship, a full scholarship to a very expensive school on the outskirts of the other side of the city.

"K.L. University." His old voice held astonishment for the first time in many years. As it read, all would be paid in full, even the cost of the dorm she would be staying at, and it was signed by the founder of the school with his initials reading K.L.

Grandpa’s aged face lifted in the brightest smile it had in a long time. Kyoko was going to be beyond happy. He knew that she had been worried that missing so much school would keep her from being accepted to any academy, and now she would be going to one that surpassed any other academy in the region.

He frowned thoughtfully… It was the hardest school to get into, for he knew none that had ever succeeded when applying. It was also rumored to have very few students because of the extremely high requirements just to enroll. How had she been accepted into a place she hadn’t even applied for?

His mind drifted back over the last two years. It had taken Kyoko awhile to get back into the swing of things after she had come back from the shrine house so disoriented. They had all been confused when she had suddenly returned, because she hadn’t remembered much at all from the time she had been gone.

The Hogo family knew about where she had gone because she had slipped back and forward through the time portal many times… Kyoko was the only one who suddenly had amnesia about it.

She hadn’t even remembered Toya. But to grandpa that was all right, because it was best if she forgot about that time-crossing guardian anyway. It was best she forgot all about the other side and the danger it had brought.

His eyes turned sad for a moment. Yeah, the family had known most everything that had happened because Kyoko would go back and forward between worlds and while on this side, she would fill them in on the latest happenings. He could also tell that she had hidden a lot of what she didn’t want them to know. Things they would now never know because she had forgotten those secrets.

Even after her younger brother Tama had told her a lot of what he knew; she had just shook her head and lowered her eyes. She only remembered being alone in the other world. A world full of monsters.

Grandpa thinned his lips as he mused. He knew things had been set right because Kyoko said she remembered something about the Guardian Heart Crystal coming back inside her, and that it was over. After a couple weeks, she had thrown herself back into her schoolwork and was making excellent grades, and now all that had paid off. Grandpa heard the front door open and his grin widened.

Kissing the letter like it was some sacred good luck charm he watched his granddaughter walk into the kitchen… Kyoko was going to love this.

*****

Three weeks later…

Golden eyes watched as the girl from the past approached the academy. He had found her and somehow he would make things right once again. He felt his human shield slip for a moment as his eyes blazed liquid gold in memory of all that had happen that fateful day in the middle of a deadly battlefield.

The rays of morning sunlight coming in the window cast a strange shadow behind him in the image of wings. He raised his clawed hand and narrowed his eyes, watching as the claws receded back to his human cloak.

Turning his haunted eyes back to the priestess, he calmed his inner powers. It was time, and with the purity of Kyoko, he also felt the awakening of evil around him. The unfinished battle would soon begin. This time… he would not make the same mistake.

Kyoko stared up at the huge building. To her it almost looked like a grand castle from some unknown past. She grinned to herself. She just couldn’t help it. She was still so happy after finding out about the scholarship, and the fact that she would actually live here.

She looked back at Tama. He had been a big help coming to aid her with her bags and settling in. Kyoko was glad she had talked her mom and grandpa into staying home and saying their goodbyes from there. Now she felt almost lightheaded with this huge amount of freedom, and took a deep breath, savoring it.