The Guardian (The Gifted Book 1)

by C. L. McCourt

  Daen looked confused. "What are you talking about?"

  "We're on a girl's hall. Men are not allowed after visiting hours. So I suggest you use the restroom now or you'll have to hold it until morning."

  "Ah. Good thinking." Daen and Randell left the room.

  While they were gone, Rhea grabbed a slice of the cooled pizza and bit into it, devouring it in seconds.

  35

  Decision

  Rhea was standing at her window, looking out at the shadows cast by the street lamps, when Randell and Daen returned. "I wish Lanne had been here to see me create my first energy ball." Rhea turned to face them. "What do you think the king will do?"

  "He'll either tell you to stay here or tell you to return."

  "Can he do that? Can he order me around? It's not like I'm one of his subjects, am I?" Or maybe she was, if she was his daughter. Rhea cringed at the thought. She knew the king was married and had a daughter. She shook her head, not wanting to think about being someone's illegitimate love child.

  "You're one of his subjects, but we believe in free will. You always have a choice. I chose to be a guardian; Gaibel chose to be a warrior of the king. So, technically, you could decline his request, whatever it may be."

  Rhea's thoughts about the king's orders were distracted momentarily by what Daen had just said. "Gaibel's a warrior?"

  "Last I heard she was patrolling the borders and providing escort for the royal courier."

  Rhea's face conveyed understanding. "That's what Lanne meant by her leaving her duties."

  "If she had stayed in service, she might be a commander by now."

  Rhea tried to imagine a female warrior. Images of Xena the warrior princess popped into her head and she couldn't help but laugh.

  Daen's brow bunched over his nose. "What's so funny?"

  "An image of a television character came to mind when I tried to picture a woman as a warrior. Never mind; back to the king. What happens if I decline his orders, be they stay or go?"

  Daen cringed slightly. "It's usually not a good idea to go against the king's wishes. Since you're in this world, I don't know if he'd send someone for you or let you fend for yourself. It's going to depend on how important you are to his realm or to Luxatra."

  Rhea considered Daen's words. She had always felt she could do whatever she wanted, within the law. Did she want to go to Luxatra? Did she want to leave her parents and friends and the life she'd made here? No. She didn't want to go.

  But, was this the life she was meant to lead? Did she belong here? Probably not. She couldn't ignore what was happening to her and how that was affecting those around her.

  Rhea locked eyes with Daen as he watched her process everything that was happening to her. "What does it mean that you were sent here to help me?"

  Daen raised a brow. "That's a question I've asked myself almost every day since being sent here. We'll just have to wait and see. I've waited more than twenty years for you. I'm sure the answer will come."

  How could he be so calm? The uncertainty, the questions, the unknowns were starting to become overwhelming to her. "This is all so new to me. Whether I stay or go, my life will never be the same." She looked towards the window and thought about the world in which she lived, the world in the shadows, and the secrets she'd kept all these years.

  She looked at her hands and thought of the energy ball she'd formed and how that would always have to be a secret as well. And then there were her dreams and the electric shocks. Could that be all there was, not that that wasn't enough? She wondered what other surprises lay in store.

  Rhea glanced up and saw Daen and Randell watching her. Someone wanted her; dead or alive she didn't know, but they were willing to kidnap her in broad daylight in front of a witness. To what lengths would her would-be kidnappers go to accomplish their task? Would they hurt someone to get to her? She couldn't let that happen.

  "Randell, I think it's safe to assume that, if I return, Daen will be going with me. I can't ask you to go. Someone is hunting me and I can't ask you put yourself in danger any more than you already have."

  Randell glanced at Daen and raised a brow. "You say Luxatrans believe in free will. Well, my will is to finish this adventure, no matter the end." Randell wondered if Daen would push back, tell him he couldn't go.

  Daen's jaw clenched as he fought the urge to tell Randell no, knowing that he couldn't. Randell was a grown man and was allowed to make his own decisions. Daen pushed his fears for Randell's safety aside. "I understand. I won't stop you." But he knew someone who would. "It won't be me, though, who tells your mother."

  Randell flinched. "Understood." He turned to Rhea. "So, are you staying or going?"

  Rhea thought about the people in this world who could be used as leverage to make her do as they wished. Her parents, her friends, her neighbors—they were all in the line of fire if this got ugly. No. She couldn't risk them getting hurt.

  She took a deep breath and committed. "The fastest way to me is through the people I care about. I can't let that happen. I'll be returning."

  Returning. It felt strange to say it. She was returning to a place she didn't remember ever having been.

  Randell nodded, his look said he agreed with her decision.

  Daen bowed slightly. "A wise choice."

  ~~~

  Rhea pulled a framed backpack from the back of her closet and laid it on her bed before asking, "What should I pack?"

  Daen looked between Rhea and the pack and shook his head. "We need to pack light. We'll likely be traveling on foot or horseback, and a heavy pack isn't going to work well." Daen glanced at Rhea's smaller backpack on the floor, the one she used to carry her things for class. "I suggest using that backpack," he said, pointing to the empty pack. "Randell, you have something that size as well, I believe."

  Randell confirmed. "I have Raisal's old shoulder bag. I thought I would use that. It should blend in with the environment."

  Daen nodded. "Good idea."

  Rhea put the framed backpack in the closet and retrieved the small one from the floor. "Will it be cold?"

  Daen answered, "You should be okay with that leather jacket," and pointed to the old bomber jacket she had swiped from her dad years before. "And you'll want your hiking boots."

  Rhea started to lay things out on her bed, assessing how much she could fit into her backpack. Of course her pile grew quickly and far exceeded what would fit in the pack.

  Daen looked at what she'd laid out. "You need only enough to last a day or so. We'll get you what you need once we're there; especially clothes, you'll want to blend in. Maybe focus on the basics."

  She made a pile of the things she'd wear when they left her room for the last time and another that included a t-shirt, sweater, and a change of personal items. She added gloves, hat, scarf, toothbrush, hairbrush, and hair bands. She also put her journal and Raisal's on the pile. "There, I think that should do it. That's the lightest packing job I've ever done." She stood with her hands on her hips, staring at her piles, trying to think of anything else she might need.

  Daen looked at the piles. "That looks like enough. You'll need to carry food as well. See how much space you'll have left after you put all that in your backpack."

  She stuffed everything in and it looked like she still had room for a water bottle and a box of snack bars.

  Rhea glanced around the room. "I need to finish boxing up the rest of my things to ship home." She picked up a box and started to assemble it, taping the bottom and positioning it in front of her desk. Within minutes, she'd packed the last two boxes and the remaining contents of her room.

  Before taping the last box closed, she grabbed her shower gear and the clothes she'd set out. She needed a shower and this might be the last time she got one for a while.

  When she returned, Daen suggested that they get some sleep. Randell jumped up on the top bunk while Rhea set her alarm for 3:30 a.m. and curled up on the other end of her bed from Daen, who had closed his eyes and tippe
d his head back against the wall once again.

  ~~~

  Torches hanging from the rough stone walls flickered and danced in the breeze that wafted down the narrow hall of barred doors. The cells were dark and dank, the smells stale and foul. Limp bodies lay still and quiet on ratty cots, all except one. He sat tall on the cot, proud, strong. His eyes were open, staring straight ahead.

  Screams from behind a heavy wooden door at the end of the hall echoed through the cells, reminding the prisoners of their fate. She moved toward the door, unable to stop, being dragged by two hands that gripped her arms. She didn't want to go. She knew what was waiting for her. She twisted and turned, but the grip on her arms was unyielding. The door flew inward and a hand reached out to grab her.

  "NO!!"

  Rhea woke struggling against a pair of arms that were different than those in her dream. "Rhea. You're all right." Daen's voice was calm but firm. "Rhea. Wake up. You're okay."

  Rhea looked into Daen's eyes and realized it had happened again. The overhead light clicked on to reveal Randell standing at the head of her bed, hand on the switch.

  She scanned her room. Everything seemed intact, including Randell and Daen. "Are you okay?"

  Randell chortled, "That was fun."

  Rhea glanced between Randell and Daen. "What happened?"

  Daen released her and leaned back. "You gave us a little nudge. We're okay. It was your plea that was more disturbing."

  "Yeah." Randell shuddered. "It sent chills down my back."

  There was a knock on the door. Rhea, panicked and wide-eyed, motioned to Daen and Randell to hide in the closet. Once they were hidden, she opened the door.

  Once again, a sleepy Carla stood in front of her. "You're leaving tomorrow, right?"

  "I'm so sorry."

  "You're okay?" She leaned forward and peered into Rhea's room. "That guy you got in there didn't hurt you?"

  "Guy? No guy. No, just a dream."

  Carla raised a brow. "Yeah. Okay." She turned and shuffled back into her room and shut the door.

  Rhea locked her door and let Randell and Daen out of the closet. "That was close."

  Randell yawned. "She must have seen us earlier."

  Rhea looked at the clock, 3:14pm. No way was she going to sleep any more. Besides, Lanne was due back any time now.

  "Rhea, what were you dreaming?" Daen looked concerned.

  Rhea spun around, looking for her journal. "I have to write it down before I forget." She grabbed her journal from her backpack and started writing and drawing images of what she'd seen. When she was done, she handed the journal to Daen.

  He read it and handed it to Randell. This was Randell's first look at her dreams, and he could now understand why she'd been so disturbed. He flipped back to previous dreams, some calm, some horrific. "These don't sound like dreams. I'm no expert, of course, but they sound like visions to me." He glanced up from the journal to Daen.

  Daen nodded.

  Rhea looked to Randell. "Visions? You mean like psychic visions? Like I'm seeing something real?"

  Randell shook his head. "Not necessarily real, although that is a possibility." He continued to scan the dream pages. "There seems to be a theme to most of them. I admit, some seem unreal, like this one about horses pushing you off a cliff, but the others ...." He looked at Daen, but Daen was quiet.

  "Daen? Do you think they're psychic visions?" Rhea asked. She didn't want to believe that anything she was dreaming could be real, but Randell had a point. She'd never had dreams like this before November of the preceding year.

  Daen had wondered the same thing. "They might be visions," he conceded.

  Rhea crawled up on her bed and pulled her knees up to her chin. "I'm so tired of this."

  36

  Orders

  It took Rhea a few minutes, but she finally relaxed enough to straighten her legs and fall over on her pillow. Daen and Randell took up positions on the floor, leaning against the closet and the bed.

  Rhea looked at her watch and mumbled, "Lanne's late. I hope nothing has happened." She sat up and rubbed her eyes. They were tired and dry and needed a few nights of peaceful sleep, something she didn't think she'd ever have again.

  "She'll be here." Daen's voice rang with confidence.

  Rhea glanced out the window. It still looked like the middle of the night but she knew morning's light would be there soon. "We're going to lose the moon shadow. And ... it wouldn't be the first time she couldn't return."

  "She'll be here." Daen's voice had a little more oomph than before. Daen didn't want to think about Lanne not coming back. He looked into the shadow under the desk. The light was changing in his world, getting brighter.

  A few minutes later, the sounds of feet crushing and pushing dried leaves could be heard from under the desk. And then Lanne's voice could be heard. "Are you there?"

  Rhea and Daen quickly positioned themselves on the floor in front of the shadow under the desk. There before them was a young looking, beautiful woman with long dark blond hair who Rhea assumed was Lanne in her real form. Behind her were three warriors, dressed for battle, two men and one woman. Behind them were several more warriors on horseback, facing away from Lanne, swords drawn.

  The female warrior stepped up next to Lanne and looked in the same direction as Lanne. Her eyes searched for what wasn't there for her. But she gave Rhea the perfect view of her long white blond hair and green eyes. The warrior looked a little older than Rhea. Except for the skin coloring, Rhea felt like she could be looking in the mirror. The woman's coloring was more like Lanne's, creamy porcelain. Standing next to each other, they looked as if they could be sisters.

  Lanne spoke in Aduraun. "Rhea, I want to introduce you to Gaibel, your mother."

  Rhea hadn't given much thought to how she would feel when she met her biological mother. She had been anxious to know who her mother was after learning of the circumstances under which they'd been separated, but now that they were ... face-to-face, as it were ... she wasn't prepared for the emotions that swelled inside her. She didn't know what to say. "Hi" didn't seem appropriate for the occasion. Her hand rose in an involuntary single wave but she remained speechless.

  Gaibel looked at Lanne. "Terrwyn's there? You see her?" She turned to face the same direction as Lanne, her eyes scanning the space in front of her but not seeing what she tried so desperately to see.

  Rhea was confused. "Lanne. I don't understand. Can't Gaibel see me?"

  Lanne said, "No. She doesn't have the gift of the veil. Not many do."

  Rhea asked, "Can she hear me?"

  Lanne shook her head and then turned to Gaibel to explain what was being said.

  As Rhea watched, a sense of familiarity came over her. "I've seen both of you before." Rhea turned to Daen. "They were in some of the images shown to me by the Libraim."

  Lanne repeated everything for Gaibel. Gaibel inquired, "Terrwyn, what images from the Libraim?"

  Rhea found it interesting that Gaibel didn't seem surprised that she was alive or that the Libraim was sending her images. Gaibel was hiding something, Rhea could tell. "I was given a vision of the Libraim and shown images of several people. Lanne, you and Gaibel were in some of the images."

  Before Rhea could fill in the details about the Libraim, Daen got the discussion back on topic. "What is the message from the king?"

  Lanne answered, "You're to return to Luxatra but you're to prevent the two men who are there from following you. And try to keep them from seeing Rhea. The king doesn't want her easily recognized."

  Randell squatted down behind Rhea in a futile attempt to see and understand what was going on. He whispered in Rhea's ear, "I take it Lanne isn't alone."

  Rhea shook her head. "She brought my mother with her and several other warriors. We're to return to Luxatra." Rhea spoke in Aduraun, forgetting that Randell might not understand, but his nod of understanding reminded her that wasn't the case.

  Randell leaned towards the shadow and greeted the party
in Aduraun. "I look forward to being able to see you and hear you."

  Lanne conveyed Randell's message to Gaibel.

  Gaibel asked, “He can’t see us? I thought any Luxatran could see through the veil from the world of shadows.”

  Lanne explained, "It seems that, over time, Raisal's descendants have lost some of their connection to Luxatra."

  Daen returned to the king's orders. "Lanne, we think we have the way back figured out. We found a message in Raisal's journal indicating four conditions that need to be met in order to return. It should work the next time the light is right in each world."

  Rhea added, "If my calculations are correct and the weather holds, we’ll have an opening tomorrow night. If not, we should have one more opening on Friday, possibly Saturday night as well. After that, we will have to wait until the end of May or early June." She looked at Daen to see if he agreed.

  Daen thought for a moment about her estimate and leaned in closer. "I haven’t had a reason to keep track of when Luxatra and this world are in sync, but I trust you. Let's plan on Friday. Where should we meet you?"

  Lanne thought about how time in her world translated to time in the world of shadows. "Remind me what day it is there."

  Rhea answered, "Wednesday."

  Lanne nodded. "Okay. That should be enough time.” She looked at Daen. “Do you remember where we used to meet in the days leading up to the Winter Festival?"

  Daen grinned. "Of course."

  "Gaibel and I will meet you there two to three days after you arrive, to give both of us enough time to travel, depending on where you come through." With that they said their goodbyes, Lanne and the warriors turned to leave, and Rhea switched on the light.

  ~~~

  The sun's rays revealed the tiny dust particles in the air as it beamed down on the surface of Rhea's desk. She was just finishing up her RA paperwork, her last chore before leaving. Randell ate the last of the cold pizza and she and Daen split the last pack of the hard toaster pastries.