by Wendy Owens
“What? You knew I—” Uri began, suddenly stopping as he contemplated the absurdity of it.
“Mrs. Harwood, you should take this other seat here, warm yourself next to the fire. You can’t be expected to be subjected to such harsh traveling in your condition,” the woman said waving to the empty chair next to her.
“My condition?” Rachel asked curious. “What condition? I’m fine.”
Mirada didn’t answer, instead she simply sat quietly.
“How do you know our names?” Haim asked.
Uri and Gabe both chuckled, amused that Haim seemed so far behind the situation.
“What? What’s so funny?” he groaned.
“Why don’t we go outside and keep watch? I’ll explain it all to you out there,” Uri insisted, pushing his slow-witted friend out the front door.
Gabe, Rachel, and Mirada were now alone in the room. There was an awkward silence hanging in the air as neither Gabe nor Rachel were sure where to begin.
“You really should warm yourself up,” Gabe agreed, walking Rachel over to the chair. She couldn’t stop thinking about what the woman had said, “In your condition.” What could she have meant by that? She decided it best not to look directly in her eyes, as if it would protect her from the thought reading in some way. Suddenly, she realized Mirada was probably reading her thoughts right then, and now she knew she was thinking about all of this. Rachel accidentally glanced at Mirada who was already looking at her. The woman smiled. Panicking, Rachel looked away quickly.
“Relax, I would never do anything to hurt the two of you,” Mirada added in an attempt to comfort the pair.
Gabe glanced around. Spying a small wooden stool, he stepped away momentarily and pulled it up next to Rachel’s chair. After sitting, he looked to Rachel. He could see she was uncomfortable. Gabe reached out, taking her hand into his, using his abilities to calm her. Rachel looked into the fire, entranced by the flames, a small smile emerging on her lips.
“Nifty trick. Does she mind?” Gabe heard the words echo in his thoughts. Quickly realizing they had not been audible, he looked to Mirada who just smiled.
“Don’t do that!” Gabe exclaimed.
“Do what?” Rachel asked, confused by his outburst.
“Sorry, nothing,” Gabe answered.
“Is everything all right, Gabe?” Rachel pushed.
“Yeah, sorry, it’s nothing. Really,” Gabe reassured her.
“So how can I help you two?” Mirada asked.
“Seems like you already know why we’re here,” Gabe chimed with a snarky grin.
“Even though I know why you’re here, it doesn’t mean you will find the courage to ask the questions that need asking, young man,” the woman answered.
“Seriously? You’ve got to be kidding me.” Gabe snapped. “Uri assured me you were different, I don’t know why I believed him.”
“Gabe!” Rachel scorned, glaring at him. “We need answers, she has them.”
“She’s not going to give us any answers, Rachel, this is what they do. They enjoy toying with you, that’s all,” Gabe insisted.
“It’s your choice if you want to ask me questions. I know my sisters haven’t earned your trust and I’m sad for that, but I can’t undo what they have done,” Mirada explained.
“You all claim to be neutral, but—” Gabe began until he was interrupted by Mirada.
“Make no mistake, I’m not my sisters. Now if you don’t want my help, it makes no difference to me, you can all be on your way. Your mere presence puts me at greater risk.”
“Gabe, please,” Rachel pleaded. “We have no other choice.”
Gabe stared at Mirada, his contempt for her quite clear in his expression. Michael loved this woman, Uri seemed to trust her, and it was clear Rachel felt compelled to do so as well. He wasn’t so easily won over, though. He had experienced firsthand the way the other Oracles would leave out crucial information for no other reason than to torment people. They had been removed from society for so long, hidden away in their secret hiding places, consumed years ago by boredom, turned cold by the decades of time. Gabe dared not make the same mistake and trust another Oracle’s word without question.
“Fine, let’s say I do believe you, and you’re not like the others, can you help us?” Gabe asked.
“I can answer questions you might have with honesty, unless such a question would tip the scales in the favor of one side or the other.” Mirada answered flatly.
“See!” Gabe exclaimed. “What did I tell you? They just mess with your head.”
“Mirada,” Rachel continued calmly as she ignored Gabe’s outburst. “You say you can’t tip the scales in favor of one side or the other, is it my understanding your goal is to keep things even between good and evil?”
“Yes, only when there is a balance is there peace,” the woman responded.
“Well, I don’t know if you’ve heard or not, but the demons have attacked the humans. They destroyed my home; the scales are far from even right now,” Rachel explained.
“And that’s why I allowed you to find me,” Mirada added.
“Allowed us? Uri knew exactly where to find you, you didn’t allow anything.” Gabe chuckled as he responded.
A low growl came from the shadows behind where Mirada sat. Without hesitation, Gabe was at full alert, hand perched on his sword.
“Who’s there?” Gabe demanded.
“Calm down, Mr. Harwood, there’s no reason to be alarmed, it’s just Stimely.” Mirada explained, glancing over her shoulder.
“Who?” Gabe asked irritated.
A large and ghostly figure stepped out from the hiding place he had been lurking. His shoulders were broad, his eyes glowed a pale gray, there was no smile, just a curl at the corners of his mouth as if he were tempting Gabe to make a move. Gabe could tell the being wasn’t human, but he had never seen anything like him. His hair was kept short and tight, his skin was almost chalky in appearance. Gabe stared intensely, unsure what to make of him.
“This is Stimely. I suppose you could call him my bodyguard. If I hadn’t wanted you to find me, he would have made sure you never did,” Mirada explained again.
The oversized man thumped his fist onto his open palm before growling once again.
“What is he?” Rachel whispered to Gabe.
“I don’t know,” Gabe answered honestly.
“Stimely, stand down, I’m fine. Stimely is a Bloodless. When I refused to help the Guardian council any longer, they decided to try and hunt me down. They explained that they couldn’t allow someone with the strength of my abilities to fall into enemy hands. I, however, am not one to leave my fate up to someone else. That’s when I acquired Stimely’s services.”
“I’ve never actually seen one—” Gabe said in awe.
“Seen what? What’s a Bloodless?” Rachel asked, staring at her husband’s face, scared to look anywhere else.
“They’re neither living nor dead.” Gabe answered. “They can’t be killed, the only way to stop a Bloodless is to dismember it and bury their parts as far away from one another as you can.”
“Grrr—” the creature snarled.
“Calm down, Stimely, Gabe knows he would be a fool to try anything of the sort with you. Something else about the Bloodless, they are also incredibly loyal.”
“Good to know,” Gabe added. Releasing his hand from his sword, he watched cautiously as Stimely slowly backed up into the shadows once again.
“What Baal has done in the human world has drastically shifted the balance of good and evil. If you want to ask me your questions for that reason, I will answer,” Mirada offered.
“I don’t understand what we’re supposed to ask. If you know why we’re here, I shouldn’t need to ask anything,” Gabe argued.
Rachel chimed in, a light going off in her mind, so to speak. “If she just tells us what we should know, she’s no longer neutral because she is guiding the information we learn. If she simply answers our questions though, she�
�s only restoring the balance, not determining the direction of the future.”
“Very wise, Mrs. Harwood,” Mirada answered.
“So what do we ask?” Gabe inquired from his beloved.
Rachel thought about his question for a moment before turning to Mirada. She looked into the woman’s eyes and asked, “Can Baal be defeated?”
Mirada returned Rachel’s gaze, answering simply, “Yes.”
Without hesitation Rachel continued, “How can we defeat Baal and his army?”
“There were two ways, now there is one,” Mirada answered.
“Here we go with the cryptic answers again,” Gabe snarled.
“Honey, if you’re not going to be helpful, then please, keep quiet,” Rachel demanded. “We don’t understand, what do you mean, now there is one?”
“There is a prophecy that told of a way, a path of sacrifice,” Mirada explained.
“Yeah, we know that one and I prefer a way I don’t die!” Gabe exclaimed.
“I mean it, Gabe!” Rachel said slapping his knee.
“Are you talking about the prophecy that says Gabe will be the protector?” Rachel prodded.
“I am; the Protecter’s death alone will not be enough. He must willingly sacrifice his life in order for Baal to be destroyed,” Mirada confirmed.
“Well, we know all about that option. We want to know more about the other one,” Gabe said, doing his best not to sound antagonistic to avoid Rachel’s wrath.
“There is only one viable option now, and it’s the one I have told you of,” Mirada reaffirmed.
“Humor us. Let’s say the other one was still viable, what is it?” Gabe pushed.
“The Guardian’s Crown could have been used to defeat Baal,” Mirada responded. “But like I said, that’s no longer an option.”
“Why is that not an option?” Gabe asked, again agitated by the lack of forthcoming answers.
“The Crown has been broken,” Mirada said.
“What Crown? Where can I find this Crown?” Gabe pleaded.
“I can’t tell you anymore, it doesn’t matter anyways, it’s no longer an option,” Mirada replied.
“Well, I want to know more!” Gabe snapped, leaning forward.
Stimely suddenly reemerged from the darkness, his intentions clear. “Gabe, let’s go, we’ve heard what we need to hear,” Rachel urged, rising to her feet.
“I haven’t heard where I can find the Guardian’s Crown,” Gabe argued.
Mirada stood and walked to Stimely’s side, taking hold of his leather clad arm. “Please tell Michael I said hello and I hope he is well. I assume you all can show yourselves out.” With those words, Mirada and her faithful undead guard turned to walk out of the room.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Gabe shouted.
Mirada didn’t respond, instead they continued out of sight.
“Get back here,” Gabe commanded, stepping to the side to give chase. Before he could move, Rachel reached out and grasped his arm firmly.
“Gabe, don’t!”
“She didn’t answer our questions, we need to know more,” Gabe looked at her with shock.
“She did answer. Let’s go,” Rachel didn’t hesitate, rushing to the front door and throwing it open. Gabe lingered for a moment, shocked by Rachel’s reaction.
“You can’t be serious!” Gabe groaned, running after his wife.
Rachel bounded down the stairs, walking up to where Haim and Uri waited for them. Gabe followed, pulling the front door closed behind him.
“Done already?” Uri asked.
“No, we’re not done,” Gabe exclaimed, coming to rest between Rachel and Uri.
“Uri, have you ever heard of the Guardian’s Crown?” Rachel asked.
“No, why? What is it?” Uri questioned.
“Do you know of anyone who can help us find out about it?” Rachel asked.
“If there’s anything in the archives, Sophie would probably know,” Uri said.
“Very well, we need to get to Sophie as soon as possible. Can we transport?” Rachel inquired.
“What are you doing, Rachel?” Gabe’s face reflected his confusion.
Rachel sighed, annoyed she had to take the time to explain her plan to Gabe. “You said not to trust the Oracles, why try to get more information out of her than what we absolutely need. There’s no way for us to know if we would be getting whole truths. If we want to find out how to keep our family together, we will need to figure this out ourselves.”
Gabe fell silent, he felt like a fool. He had thought Rachel was siding with Mirada, all along though she kept faith in what he had told her ... that the Oracles couldn’t be trusted. She was only trying to find out information she might possibly be able to use, taking all of the woman’s words in with a grain of salt.
“I don’t recommend transporting. It took a lot out of you last time and I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Uri suggested.
“Very well, how long to get back to Iron Gate?” Rachel asked.
“A few weeks,” Uri answered. “I could transport to Iron Gate and request some assistance from, perhaps the Alicorns, to speed things up if you’re interested.”
“Then we better get started,” Rachel said. “We have a long way to go.”
“I don’t understand, what’s your plan?” Gabe asked softly.
Rachel turned and looked at her new husband. Reaching out, she took a step forward, taking his hands into her own. “I’m not going to lose you. We’re going to figure out where the Guardian’s Crown is and put this nightmare behind us.”
Gabe pulled Rachel closer, their lips meeting firmly, the kiss then releasing into a soft and tender caress. “I love you so much, Rachel Harwood.”
“I love you too, Gabe.”
“You two do realize Haim and I are still standing here, right?” Uri moaned.
Rachel and Gabe smiled, the humor of their friend’s words not escaping them. “Shut up,” Gabe punched Uri in his shoulder as he replied.
“In all seriousness though, I want you both to know we’re with you both all the way. If we need to find this crown to stop Baal, then that’s what we’ll do.” Uri assured his friends, Haim nodding in agreement.
“We know, Uri.” Gabe said.
“So, let’s go already.” Rachel said, wrapping an arm around both Uri and Gabe. “We’ll get a safe distance from Mirada’s home and then, Uri, you can transport back and see if you can find us a ride.
The group began to walk towards the unknown. A path filled with ever increasing enemies; all hope resting on the idea of finding a weapon they knew nothing about. They had no other choice. The possible salvation of the world, not to mention their own lives, relied on finding the Guardian’s Crown.
Thank you to the many bloggers who are helping authors, like me, reach the readers. I can’t thank you enough for what you do.
To my cover artist, Claudia Lucia McKinney of Phatpuppy Creations, brilliant as always. Thanks to Jennifer Steele, the cover model, for capturing the essence of Rachel and to photographer Teresa Yeh for the image.
Thanks to Jennifer Steele, the cover model for capturing the essence of Rachel and to photographer Teresa Yeh for the image. And a very special thank you to my readers, without you this wouldn’t be possible.
A huge thank you goes out to my editor who helped make this book better, Chelsea Kuhel. And also I want to thank Ashley for the first run through of the book.
To my readers: Your honesty and constructive critiques caused me to go back and improve this book, thank you. And to the people in my day to day life that lift me up and keep me going every day. I love you all.
*Note to readers. In the interest of my fans I made the decision to combine what was previously books four and five. All material from The Lost Years is now included inside this edition of The Guardians Crown.
This book is dedicated to my fans. The only reason I was able to finish this series is because of an amazing group of readers who have continued to sup
port my work. Your reviews have helped me grow as an author. I am humbled daily by you all.
5 years ago...
The night air was cool, so crisp that one’s breath lingered upon it. Uri stared at Sophie, unable to take his eyes from her. His chest ached as a popping noise sounded in his ears. With a sudden gasp for air, he realized he’d been holding his breath.
“Are you all right?” Sophie asked, quite concerned about her handsome evening companion.
Uri coughed heartily, clearing his throat thoroughly before answering, “Yes, I mean, I suppose so. Are you all right though?”
“Of course, I’m better than ever. What kind of question is that?” she inquired with a flirtatious smile.
Uri looked Sophie up and down again, taking note of the numerous layers she was draped in. He wondered where she had found such an elegant gown; the sheer white fabric seemed to almost be dancing behind her in the moonlight. As long as Uri had known Sophie, he had never seen her look the way she did this evening, and it had him quite puzzled. “Something just seems off about you, I guess.”
“What do you mean?”
He decided hiding his thoughts wouldn’t do anyone any good and blurted out exactly what he was thinking. “I’ve known you for a long time, and in all those years I have never seen you in a gown except for the year you arrived at the newcomers ball. Even then, you just complained and moaned the entire evening about how uncomfortable you were. Now, here you are, acting like this is natural for you.”
“That’s funny, I don’t remember that,” Sophie replied with a playful giggle.
“You don’t remember anything, that’s the problem. Like that stupid laugh, Sophie wanted to punch girls who would laugh like that,” Uri complained.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t see it that way. Honestly, I don’t think I have a problem at all. I don’t remember this Sophie everyone keeps telling me I am. From the sounds of it, I am glad I don’t remember, she sounds horrid. If I don’t remember her, why should I try and act like her?”
