The Guardian

by Elicia Hyder

  “Thank you.”

  He put his hands in his lap. “But none of those questions are what you really want to ask me, are they?”

  I sank back in the pew and stared up at the elaborate ceiling. “Why not send someone more capable than me to do this? I have no business going on some rescue mission to Nulterra. I’ve already gotten one person killed. I’m a nobody. I’m a human.”

  “Who else should I send?” He crossed his arm and tapped is lips with his index finger. “I wonder…well, Ariel’s out. Right? How about Cassiel? No. She can barely stand Earth. Maybe a prophet. No, they always stay clear of a battle—”

  “All right. I see what you’re getting at. I’m the only one available.”

  “No, Warren.” He turned toward me and locked his eyes with mine. “You’re the only one able.”

  Well.

  I stared straight ahead at the stage.

  “Hey, Ben!” The Father cupped his hands around his mouth. “Play ‘Eye of the Tiger!’”

  I laughed, really hard.

  He nudged my arm. “Go. Will you do me a favor?”

  “Of course.”

  “Don’t hold back when you get there. If you can, I want you to burn the whole realm down.”

  “How?”

  “If it’s possible, you already have everything you need.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Thank you. Warren, I’m sorry for all this trip is costing you, but you’ll have plenty of time with your daughter when you get back.”

  That was all the encouragement I needed. I stood and stepped out into the aisle. “What are you doing here anyway? You don’t like Zion.”

  “It’s the easiest place to receive news from Earth except for the auranos.” A thin smile spread on his face. “And I’m not crazy about heights.”

  I laughed again. “Goodbye, Father.”

  “See you soon.”

  The only other angel who could help with the missing blood stone was Metatron, and he was a day’s journey away in the Fiery. A trip that would be wasted because he wouldn’t go to Earth anyway. At least Metatron had a good reason; he was trapped in the body of a nearly four-hundred-year-old man.

  I flew across the Eternal Sea and circled the cliff where my mother’s house overlooked the beach. She’d be home now. Probably cooking something amazing.

  From the air, I could see my own house near the beach. I wondered if Alice was there, waiting with my dog, Skittles, for my return.

  As much as I wanted to stop in for a visit, I needed to get back to Earth. The longer I stayed in Eden, the harder it would be to leave. Against everything in my spirit, I turned east and headed back for the gate.

  “Well done. You have plenty of time,” Samael said, glancing at my watch as I walked back outside.

  “Really?”

  Nodding, he unfastened my watch and handed it to me. “It’s only been a few minutes on Earth. Was your visit productive?”

  “Yes and no. The one angel who could help me won’t.”

  “Help you with what?”

  “Recover some lost blood stone.” I put the watch on my left wrist.

  He grimaced. “I’m afraid Ariel and Metatron would be your only options. I suspect neither of them were keen to help.”

  “You guessed correctly.” I looked around. “Where’s Flint?”

  He pointed behind me. Flint was greeting newcomers to the gate. I chuckled. “At least he’s staying busy.”

  “I’m thinking of keeping him here permanently.”

  “I hate to ruin your plans, but will you take him to Zion? The Father’s in the Throne Room. I thought maybe they could wait for news together.”

  “I can do that. When do you leave for Nulterra?”

  I glanced at my watch. “In a few hours.”

  “Warren, you’re back,” Flint said coming toward us.

  “Yes, but I’m leaving again. Your daughter is waiting for me back on the island.”

  His face fell.

  “Cheer up. It looks like she’ll be staying on Earth, after all. Her plans seem to have fallen through.”

  He raised both fists in victory. “Praise the Father.”

  I jerked my thumb toward the Eden Gate. “Speaking of, the Father is waiting in Zion for news. I’m sure he’d be happy for you to join him. Samael will show you the way.”

  “But once I go in, I’ll forget, won’t I?”

  “Only the bad stuff,” I said.

  He thought for a second. “Then I think I’ll stay here until I know for sure that you’re back safe.”

  I looked at Samael. “Why does no one believe I’m immortal?”

  Samael chuckled.

  “Do what you like.” I offered my hand to Flint. “I’ll send word when we’re at the gate tomorrow.”

  “And as soon as you get back?” Flint asked.

  “Yes, sir.”

  He pulled me into a hug. “Good luck, son.”

  “Thanks.”

  Then I released him and crossed back into the mortal world.

  It was still dark on the island. I walked up the beach and followed the path to our tree house. When I reached the top floor, I saw through the mosquito netting that Fury was asleep.

  Reuel looked out his door. Of course, he’d heard my arrival. I held a finger over my lips, and he nodded and disappeared back inside.

  I tried to sneak inside, but the sound of the ripping Velcro made Fury stir. She rolled onto her back as I approached the bed. “Well?” she asked, rubbing her eyes.

  “I’m afraid I don’t have good news.” I kicked off my shoes.

  Fury propped up on her elbows. “Cassiel wasn’t able to help?”

  “Cassiel was helpful.” I unbuttoned my shirt. “But I’m afraid getting the blood stone back will be impossible.”

  She flopped back onto her pillow as I grabbed my last pair of athletic shorts from my bag. I slipped out of my jeans and pulled them on while she stared at the ceiling.

  I finally pulled the sheet back on my side of the bed. “I’m sorry,” I said, laying down beside her.

  She draped her arm across her forehead and stared at the ceiling. “I’m sure you tried.”

  “I did. I swear.” I rolled onto my side and propped my head up on my elbow. “I may have even inadvertently started a war with the Angels of Life.”

  “Don’t do that. We might need them on our side.”

  I sighed. “You have no idea. The Father doesn’t want me to just seal Nulterra. He wants me to destroy it.”

  “How?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “He’s not very helpful, is he?”

  “Cassiel told me recently that omniscience can be a curse. That sometimes knowing too much can cause us to not act at all. I think that’s the Father’s sweet spot of operation. Tell us just enough to get us moving, then trust us not to screw everything up.” I took a deep breath, letting my eyes drop to the mattress between us. “But I’ll be honest, this whole thing has me worried.”

  “Warren?”

  I met her eyes again.

  “Thank you.”

  “I really didn’t do anything. I was actually a total failure.”

  “Never.” She reached over and took my hand that was resting across my waist. For a loaded second, she stared at our fingers meshed together. “If things go sideways tomorrow—”

  “Shh,” I said, shaking my head. “Let’s not even talk like that.”

  She nodded, but it was clear, she was fighting back all her emotions again. Then before she let the tears fall, she rolled onto her side away from me, pulling my arm around her. I laid my head beside hers on the pillow, and before long, we were both asleep.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Drip. Drip. Drip.

  Drops of water thumped my forehead in rhythm. I reached across Fury’s side of the bed.

  She was gone.

  But I heard movement in the room, so I rolled toward the sound and opened my eyes in time to see Fury pull on her sports b
ra. Her back was toward me. Damn it.

  “Why am I wet?” I used the edge of the sheet to dry my face.

  “It stormed last night,” she said, sticking her arms through a gray tank top. “Rained really hard. Didn’t you hear it?”

  “I didn’t hear a thing. I slept like the dead.”

  She was smirking when she turned around. “Cute.”

  “You didn’t sleep?”

  “I rarely do.”

  “Since when?”

  “Since always.”

  “That is not true. You used to pass the hell out.” I grinned and rolled onto my back. “But maybe I had something to do with that.”

  She laughed and threw her nightshirt at me.

  I caught it and held it against my chest. “So when did you become an insomniac?”

  She was folding her cotton shorts. “When my sister was taken.”

  “Really?”

  She nodded, not looking at me.

  I propped up on both elbows. “I’ll get her back, Fury.”

  When she looked up, I didn’t miss the way her eyes snagged on my abs. “I know you will.”

  I sat up and swung my legs off the bed. “What time is it?”

  “Just after six thirty. Are you going to shower?”

  Before standing, I adjusted the bothered anatomy beneath my shorts. “Nah. I went to Eden last night. The Gate cleans better than any shower.” I stood and stretched my arms. My left elbow ached from keeping it straight under her pillow.

  “Really?”

  I picked up my bag and dropped it on the bed. “Yeah. Everything burns up.”

  “Even your clothes?”

  “Everything. Why? You thinking about me naked?” I reached into my bag for a shirt.

  “You’re in rare form this morning,” she said, stuffing her clothes into her bag.

  I pulled out a black tank top. “I’m sorry. I haven’t been around that much estrogen in a while.”

  “Really?” She took her hairbrush out of the side pocket. “I thought you and that angel, Cassiel, were a thing.”

  I thought about how sad Cassiel looked the night before as I pulled the shirt over my head. “We almost were, but then it was over before it ever really got started.”

  “Because of the whole betrayal thing?” She stood in front of the mirror and brushed her long silky hair.

  “Yeah, but I’m pretty much over that.”

  She stopped brushing. “You are?”

  I nodded. “But on top of all that, we want different things. She has no interest in living on Earth ever.”

  “And you do?” she asked, surprised.

  “I’d rather be in Eden, but I want to be here with Iliana as much as possible.” I turned my back to her, dropped my shorts, and stuck my right leg through a clean pair of underwear.

  “Warren, I need to tell you some—whoa! Oh my god!”

  Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Fury whirl back around with her hand over her eyes. I chuckled.

  “Geez, warn me next time!”

  I pulled my shorts over my butt, then picked up my tactical khaki cargos. “You have a mirror.”

  “But I wasn’t looking!”

  Obviously. “Sorry.”

  “Sure you are.”

  “What’s the big deal? You’re the one who said it’s not like there’s anything down there you haven’t seen before.”

  “I was joking.”

  “But you have seen what’s down there.”

  “That was different.”

  “Was it though?” I buttoned my pants and turned around. “We weren’t dating then. We aren’t dating now. You’re hot. You’re cold. I’m frustrated. I’m confused. Feels exactly the same to me.”

  She was braiding her hair. “Are we getting into that again?”

  “It’s been a while. Why not?”

  In the mirror, I saw her roll her eyes.

  “Why did you leave me, Fury?”

  Boom. There it was. The question was out. Dropped on our treehouse like a bomb. And it surprised me every bit as much as it surprised her.

  Her hands stopped twisting the strands of hair. “You know why.”

  I shook my head. “I really, really don’t. I don’t believe for one second that you just had to take a job in Somalia with your sister.”

  “Because you were a job, Warren.” She slowly turned around. “Because you were a job.”

  I stood there in stunned silence. While this wasn’t exactly news, it was still shocking to hear her admit it aloud. Hurtful too.

  “Wow. That’s great.” I slammed my clothes back into my bag with so much force I nearly ripped the zipper. “I’m so glad to know I was nothing but a paycheck.”

  Clenching her hands into fists, she let her braid unravel. “But you weren’t, and that was the problem!”

  My backpack fell over. “What?”

  “My assignment was to bring you into Claymore, help you get through training, then take you to Somalia. But I walked into a conversation I was never supposed to hear. Enzo telling Azrael they needed to move you soon because someone named Sloan had just received a big job promotion in North Carolina.”

  “You didn’t know about Sloan?”

  “I had never heard her name until that day. When I asked Azrael, he told me of the Morning Star’s plot to get the two of you together. That you were destined to breed some superangel called the Vitamorte.

  “Then he said I was doing such an impeccable job at keeping you entertained that he was beginning to feel like Sloan was no longer a threat.” She sank down on the corner of the bed. “I was his hired whore, and I was too stupid to know it.”

  I walked closer. “But you started flirting with me the day we met.”

  “I flirt with everybody. The majority of men in our line of work are morons who think with their dicks. There’s no better weapon on a battlefield for a woman.”

  “Well, that’s true.” I sat down beside her.

  “All of it’s true. Then a few days later, you dropped the L word, and I freaked.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Because at that time, the entire Claymore billion-dollar corporation centered around one purpose—you and Sloan. If I had told you, Azrael would have killed me. Literally, killed me.”

  As much as I hated to agree, that was probably true.

  “I told Azrael I would quit if I wasn’t reassigned. So he sent me to Somalia with Anya instead of with you.”

  I put my hands in my lap as the dots of information finally connected. “And my unit relieved yours in Somalia.”

  “I was there the day you showed up.”

  “Really?”

  She nodded.

  “I had no idea.”

  “I know.”

  “Knock, knock, bitches!” Ionis called, sauntering into our room wearing white shorts, an orange shirt, and a white blazer with the sleeves rolled to his elbows. His sunglasses were perched on his white head, and I’m pretty sure he was wearing lipstick.

  Fury groaned. “What are you wearing? You look like the third rejected member of Wham!”

  “This, my dear, is a LULUS exclusive.” He did a full turn. At least he was wearing the walking shoes I’d bought him.

  “What do you want, Ionis?” I asked.

  He tapped the glittery watch around his wrist. “Just keeping to your schedule, my good sir. It’s breakfast time.”

  “We’re running a little behind,” I said.

  “You? You’re always up with the birds.”

  “I had a late night.”

  “Ooo, I’ll bet you did, you dog.” He covered his mouth with his hands.

  “He went to Eden, you idiot.” Fury got up, signaling the end to our conversation. She walked back to the mirror and began to braid her hair again. This time, much faster.

  “Eden?” he asked with a gasp. “And you didn’t take me?”

  I stood and returned to my backpack. “I was on a tight schedule.”

  “Doing what?” />
  “Never mind. Where’s Reuel?”

  Reuel stepped into the doorway. “Ven ta.”

  “You ready to go eat?” I asked him.

  He smiled for the first time since we’d landed on the island.

  I strapped on my sword and picked up my backpack. “Everybody take your stuff. We’ll leave as soon as we eat.”

  By eight thirty, we’d made it through the village of Tigbawan. With the added weight of our packs, and with Ionis in tow, it would take us three more hours to reach the Nulterra Gate. The sun was already beating down, and all four of us were sucking on the straws of our CamelBaks as we walked along the muddy side of the narrow road.

  “Don’t forget, we need to conserve water,” I said over my shoulder. “I’d rather not depend on Nulterra for any necessities if we can help it.”

  Fury was walking beside me about twenty yards ahead of Ionis and Reuel. “You can use mine to refill yours when we get there since I won’t be needing it.”

  My heart sank. “I want to say I’m sorry you won’t be going with us, but I’m really not.”

  “That’s fair. I’d probably slow you guys down anyway.”

  “Not a chance.”

  She looked up at me and smiled.

  “You should really make peace with Reuel before we part ways. If something happens down there —”

  “You said we weren’t going to talk like that, remember?” she asked.

  “Right.”

  “I’ll talk to him. I guess I was pretty mean last night.”

  “We are all kind of used to it by now.”

  She jabbed me in the ribs with her elbow, and I laughed.

  “Stop!” Ionis yelled.

  We both turned around.

  He was standing in the middle of the path, looking down at his shoes. “We need to return to the village immediately. These fourth-century roads are ruining my new shoes.”

  “They didn’t have pavement in the fourth century,” Fury replied. She turned back around. “Why did Azrael send him with us?”

  “He’s probably hoping we’ll take Ionis to Nulterra and leave him there,” I said.

  “Probably. It’s not a bad idea, actually.”

  “Can we at least find some water so I can wash off the mud?” He called to us.