LITMIR.BIZ

      “Ooof!” He staggered backwards, dropping the pillow.

      Sophie stopped in alarm. “Grandpa! Are you OK?”

      Her grandfather rested his hands on his knees, drawing in a deep breath. “I’m fine. You just caught me by surprise. Good – very good, child.”

      Sophie pushed her fringe back. “I’m getting better at fighting, aren’t I?”

      “Much better,” Grandpa agreed. “However, you must continue to hone your fighting skills…”

      As he talked, Sophie caught sight of herself in his bedroom mirror and admired her new green t-shirt with a picture of an electric guitar on it. Her mum and dad had sent it to her and it had arrived that morning.

      “You must focus, concentrate and…” Grandpa’s voice turned stern. “Sophie, are you listening to me?”

      Sophie jumped guiltily. “Of course! I must practise, focus and concentrate. I must work night and day like you did when you were a young guardian. Oh, and I must always expect the unexpected,” she said, ticking the points off on her fingers. It was easy to guess what Grandpa had been saying; he always said the same things.

      Grandpa gave a slight frown. “Yes, exactly. You mustn’t underestimate King Ug. He’s cunning and dangerous, and now he has the key, he’ll stop at nothing to open the gateway. There’s no telling what creatures he’ll send next!”

      Sophie knew her grandpa was right. So far, King Ug had sent Swamp Boggles, Spider Gnomes, Fog Boggarts and Icicle Imps to help him find the gems he needed. Nervousness fluttered through her, but she pushed it away.

      “Maybe it’ll be fairy rabbits next,” she suggested. “That’d be good.”

      “Sophie!” Grandpa snapped. “Please take this more seriously or you could get hurt. Now, let’s get on with the practising.”

      “Grandpa…” Sophie paused as a thought struck her. “If I did get hurt – I mean really hurt, like being-dead-hurt… who would be the Guardian next?”

      “Well, as you know, the Guardianship usually passes down from grandparent to grandchild,” Grandpa replied. “But when there’s no grandchild, the Guardian’s closest blood relative becomes the next Guardian. There must always be a Guardian in our world, so if a Guardian dies, a new one will always be created. However,” he fixed her with a look, “you are not going to die.”

      “Is that an order?” Sophie spoke lightly, though inside she felt her stomach clench.

      “Yes,” Grandpa replied softly. “It is.” Their eyes met and Grandpa sighed. “Sophie, we both know I wasn’t over the moon when you became the first girl Guardian, but you’ve proved me wrong. No Guardian could be braver and I’m very proud of you.”

      Surprise and pleasure warmed Sophie. She’d never have believed that she’d hear Grandpa say that, not in a million years!

      “You’re also my granddaughter and I’m determined that nothing bad is going happen to you,” he went on. “Which is why,” he held up his pillow, “we’re going to practise some more!”

      As Sophie and Grandpa practised, neither of them looked out the window. If they had, they might have noticed a figure that stood near the woods, staring towards the house.

      It was holding a key that glowed…