• “Ye Lords of the Watchtowers of East,
    Ye Lords of Air,
    I do summon, stir and call you up,
    to witness my rites and to guard the Circle.”

    Ty waited anxiously, looking about through his partly closed eyelids. He sat in a small clearing with a dirt floor. Drawn on the ground was a circle by his own design; four-foot in diameter, just as the book said. But he had added a crescent moon on one end in front of him, and an archaic looking sun behind him. There were symbols and ancient lettering written all along its circumference and right in the middle sat him, kneeling and feeling just a little put off.
    He said the rite again, with the same result. Not even a small breeze disturbed his design. Ty sighed and got up, dusting off his pant legs. He scuffed away the circle with his foot and picked up the sword leaning against a small fern. He stuffed it back into his bag without even wiping the dirt from it and shrugged the bag onto his shoulder.
    The sounds of the city came back to him as he walked out of the ring of trees into the main area of Central Park. Families in their newly unpacked summer clothes were picnicking and kids filled with the euphoria of summer break were playing tag before they became bored of the sun and almost wished for winter to come again.
    Ty walked by all the people with his head down mumbling things under his breath that would seem like gibberish to anyone else but him. He made his way to the main exit and hailed a cab.
    “Great day isn’t it, sir,” said the cabby as Ty climbed in.
    “Wonderful,” Ty muttered. “Greenwich, please.”
    “Yes sir, anywhere in particular?”
    Ty told him his addressee and the cabby hit the charge recorder. He went back to brooding and no time at all seemed to pass before the cab pulled to a stop in front of his apartment.
    “$8.75, sir,” the cabby said.
    Ty handed him a slip of blank notebook paper. The cabby’s eyes glazed over as he looked at the paper, and then focused on it again. “Keep the change,” Ty said as he got out and slammed the door shut. The cabby grinned and stuffed the slip of paper the man had given him into his pocket, wondering if everyone today would give $10 tips.
    * * *
    After fumbling with his keys, Ty finally got the door to his apartment open. It was a cramped place normally, but with the brilliant sunlight streaming in from the windows it looked almost hospitable.
    Ty tossed his bag onto the couch right beside of Fero, a fiery-orange cat, who yawned and hopped down.
    “I was wondering when you’d get back,” a voice spoke in Ty’s head. “It was getting gloomy so I opened the windows.”
    Ty looked irritably at the cat.
    “Yikes,” the voice said, “I take it didn’t work, then?”
    Ty raised his palm to the cat. “Return to the guise you were meant to be in.” A gold aura surrounded the cat, and a circle of light similar to the one Ty had drawn appeared, only the sun was in the middle. Bird wings folded from its back and cocooned it, then burst open in a flash of heat. Standing where the cat used to be was a small, red-haired boy dressed in elegant attire. He looked almost normal except for the angel wings folded behind his back.
    “Cut the theatrics, Ferobaas, I need some help,” Ty said irritably. The wings shimmered and disappeared.
    “You’re no fun, Ty,” Fero said good-naturedly. Ty beckoned him over to the small dining room table where he rolled out a large piece of parchment. On it were written diagrams and charts, calculations and incantations, rites and rituals of all kinds.
    Fero sighed in disgust. “This again, Ty?” he said. “When will you give this up? Aero will not guard over a Circle like that, none of the guardians would.”
    “You know them better than I do, Fero,” Ty replied. “What would it take to convince them?”
    Fero shrugged. “Not all of the Watchtowers are as…,” he paused, “human… as the South is.” He put his hands behind his head. “Anyway, what makes you even think this would work? Your Circle isn’t in any records I’ve seen. It might not even be a real marking.”
    Ty ignored him and said, “What if we appeal directly to them?”
    Fero looked startled. “You mean actually go to the Watchtowers?”
    Ty nodded and Fero inclined his head towards the large standing mirror. “You could, but it’d do no good.” Fero threw his hands up in disgust. “Hell, they might not even give you conference.”
    “Got a better idea?” said Ty as he walked over to the mirror.
    “Yeah I do,” Fero shook his head. “How ‘bout giving up the whole stupid thing?” Ty ignored him again and cleared an area around the mirror. He grabbed some charcoal from the table and began to draw a circle around it. Fero looked over his shoulder.
    “You know, it’d be easier just to spirit you there instead of this brute entrance,” he said.
    Ty drew lines connecting the mirror to the circle. “I know, but I need to be there physically. Move over, you’re blocking the light.” Fero obediently moved.
    Ty finished up the diagram and stood up. He addressed Fero while brushing the charcoal from his hands. “Ok, I need your key.”
    Fero sighed in defeat and placed a hand on the mirrored surface and began to speak in a low voice.
    “The key which hides the power of the Dark, show your true form before me.”
    The room seemed to get darker, and Fero’s voice reverberated with force.
    “I, Ferobaas, command you under our sacred contract. RELEASE!”
    A sound like glass breaking rang out along with the whoosh of air filling a vacuum. Where the glass of the mirror had been was now an amber surface. Dark shapes could be seen behind it, and it glowed with its own light. Fero stepped back and gestured toward it. “Good luck.”
    Ty stepped into the amber mirror and disappeared. Not a ripple disturbed the surface.
    * * *
    Ty’s feet touched hard stone, and he instantly crouched down as a blade whistled over his head. He dived forward, reaching into his pocket and throwing an orange strip of paper behind him. He spun on his heels just as the paper hit his assailant and it fell to the ground convulsing. Ty waited until it became still, then examined the corpse. It wore silver armor with red trimmings, and carried a wicked looking red blade, which had fallen to the ground. He lifted the face guard with his foot and wasn’t surprised to find that no face lay beneath it. Puppets, he thought. Now to find the puppet masters.
    He left the cadaver and walked down the hall, warily looking for more guards or traps. The hallway itself was completely stone, and though everything was adequately illuminated, no obvious source of light showed itself. He walked for a few minutes and the corridor forked. Both paths led in a curve, so he assumed they met up at one end. Still, one might be easier than the other. He used the method he always used for tough decisions.
    “Eeeney meeney miney… mo.” Left path it was, then. He began walking. He saw no guards and increased his pace until he met up with the other side of the cul-de-sac where a huge, ornate door greeted him. He took a deep breath and knocked.
    His sharp rap echoed eerily over the stone. Ty waited only a few seconds, and then the door was slowly opened. He shielded his eyes with his arm against the blinding light that greeted him.
    “Enter, mortal,” came a loud rumbling voice.
    “Turn down the light show so maybe I can see what I’m walking in to,” Ty shot back, used to but still irritated by the high-and-mighty attitude most spirits took. There was a pause, and then the lights were turned down to a comfortable level. He found himself standing in a round room. There were scones on the wall with torches burning in them (more for the effect than actually light, Ty thought), and large, ornate tapestries adorned the wall. The whole floor was carpeted, and high above Ty’s head, in boxes reminiscent of judge’s pulpits, were the four Watchtower spirits. On the far left sat an elegant woman looking haughtily down at Ty, as if he were an unpleasant odor. She was dressed in flowing blue robes and had large, robin-egg blue wings folded behind her. To her left sat an old man, who also looked disapproving of Ty’s presence there. He wore a Roman looking robe, and had the same wings of the first, only they were much larger and light brown in color. Next to him sat a coyly smiling girl who looked no more than sixteen. She was dressed in green loose fitting robes, and had no wings save for a slight shimmering you could see if you looked hard enough. And lastly sat a lean man dressed casually in a black suit with a fiery orange undershirt, smirking down at him.
    Ty addressed the green dressed lady first and smiled politely, “You haven’t been answering my calls, Aero. Scared?” The teenager opened her mouth to answer, but before she could, the old man’s voice rumbled over it.
    “She has not answered because I have ordered it so.” If possible, he gave Ty an even more disapproving look. “There is no point in guarding a Circle that does nothing.”
    Ty stuck his hands in his pockets. “Well how do you know if I haven’t even tried yet?” He pulled a piece of charcoal out. “Let me show you real fast and you’ll-“
    “You will do nothing of the sort!” The woman in blue said, sitting straighter, “You will put away your human devices or be obliterated where you stand!”
    “Hold on, Hydras, let’s just see what he has to show us,” said the cocky man in the suit, “Or are you frightened as well?” He looked smugly at her.
    “I’ve had quite enough of your insolence!” she replied angrily.
    “Quiet,” Eerobaas said in a low voice. Everyone immediately went silent. He turned his head towards Ty. “You know any rite can be performed, as we are all already here.” He inclined his head. “Proceed, but know that we do not think it will work.”
    Ty nodded and knelt on the floor. He began to draw the same circle he had drawn in the park, with one exception. In between the sun and the crescent moon he drew a star. He wrote many little symbols on the outside, and to those who knew Latin, they would see navigation points and locations. Ty knelt in the center and began to speak in a low, rhythmic voice.
    "Watched over by Water, Earth, Air, and Fire’s substitute, I do appeal to the power of Sun and Moon, to unlock the force of Star."
    The circle glowed softly, and Ty’s hair began waving in an unseen wind.
    "Open a window to see an answer sought long. Area 300o, 678o, (pi)45."
    The circle spun around and stopped, the moon facing a point above the Guardians. Ty turned his head slowly up at that point, and when he opened his eyes they were shifting colors wildly through the spectrum. He wore a small, sad smile on his face, and pointed up at the air. All four Guardians turned to face it, but saw nothing, and turned quizzically back to Ty, the black suited one looking interested despite himself. Ty muttered, “Oh.” and closed his eyes. When he opened them again they were back to normal. The wind died down slowly, and the circle stopped shining, though it remained pointed in its new direction.
    “Well?” said Eerobaas. He looked bored though his eyes betrayed his interest.
    Ty smiled up at him. “Just a shut door. A nice, wooden door; had a good finish.”
    Eerobaas looked confused. Then understanding dawned on him and he looked down at Ty with something like compassion.
    The blue lady stood up, “Well if you’re quite done, it’s time for you to go, ‘Ty’.” Ty nodded, turning around and putting his hand on the door.
    “Tyler,” Eerobaas said. Ty stood still. “Most important things aren’t done with magick or sorcery. Just wait, your time will come.”
    Tyler stood with his back to them a moment longer and gave a near imperceptible nod. Then he opened the door and was gone.
    The black-suited man looked at Eerobaas with suspicion. “What was that about?”
    Eerobaas stood facing the door. “I expect we’ll be seeing him again.”
    “How do you figure?”
    Eerobaas turned and smiled at no one in particular. “Because this story isn’t over yet.”


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    Stupid 500 character description limit... Also, clearly, Gaia doesn't like the tab key. This is part of the description that I couldn't fit in the actual box: I had thought of expanding this into an actual series, changing some of the chants and such to make it completely mine. But then I started reading the book series by Jim Butcher called The Dresden Files. It's a great series and I'm hooked, but it dawned on me after I read the first book, that my story was really, really similar. *sigh* So there's another story idea down the drain.
    Oh well, I still liked writing it, and maybe you liked reading it, too. Critique is appreciated.