The mail room wouldn't open until 10:00 a.m. and they wanted to be out of the dorm long before then. Rhea left Daen and Randell in her room and ventured to the opposite end of the dorm to Beth's room. She knocked and entered, just as they'd always done.
Beth was at her desk, getting in some last-minute studying. Finals ended today and Beth had one more to go. She turned and watched Rhea sit in her roommate's desk chair. "Did you have fun last night?" Beth was trying to be sincere, but the devil inside her wanted so desperately to tease.
"Beth, it wasn't like that. Something has come up. I have to leave campus this morning and I won't be coming back. I need your help." Rhea tried to sound casual but she also needed Beth to pay attention. And it worked.
The smirk fell from Beth's face like a rock. "What's wrong?"
Rhea shook her head. "I can't tell you. Even if I could, you wouldn't believe me."
"Don't tell me, the tall blond is actually from Homeland Security and they want you to help them with a secret mission." Beth wasn't buying it. Rhea had thought she was for an instant, but nope.
Rhea narrowed her eyes and tried to look serious. "Cut it out. I'm serious."
Beth spun around in her chair and stared her down. "Tell me what's going on."
Rhea knew how to end this; she would tell the truth and Beth wouldn't believe her. "Fine. I'm from another world. The tall blond is as well. We are returning to our home world and Randell is coming with us. It seems he's a distant cousin of mine."
Beth's lips turned slowly up into a grin, and her eyes grew wide. "Cool. Does this mean you have super powers?"
Oh how close she had come and didn't even know it. "Beth!"
"What? I'm playing along."
Rhea rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Will you do me a favor?" Rhea pulled some cash from her pocket. "The last of my boxes need to be shipped home. They're ready to go; they just need to be pushed to the mail room." Rhea placed the money on the desk. "And, if you could turn these in for me as well, that would be great." She laid her completed RA paperwork on the desk next to the money.
Beth's mouth hung open until she returned to her senses. "You're serious. You have to leave?"
Rhea stood and offered a hug. Beth stood and embraced her. Rhea whispered in her ear, "Thank you for being such a good friend."
Beth broke their embrace. "Right back at ya. And don't worry; I'll take care of your room."
Rhea slipped her key into Beth's hand. "The spare will be on my desk. Rhea turned and opened the door. "Oh, and anything that isn't packed is yours."
"The rug and camping gear?" Beth's voice squeaked in delight.
Rhea winked and closed the door.
37
Leaving
Rhea knocked on the door of her room and whispered, "It's me."
The click of the dead bolt being released sounded and Randell opened the door. "Is everything set?" he asked.
"Yes, she'll take care of my things."
Daen stepped to the door. "Then let's go. And remember to keep a look out for the trackers. I doubt they'll show themselves to us now that there are three of us and they know you can defend yourself."
They headed for the lobby and slipped across to her dorm's sister tower to use the exit that faced the open field. Randell walked on one side of Rhea and Daen on the other, heading for town where Randell's car was parked in the student center lot.
The campus was already alive with activity. Students were heading for the dining halls for breakfast, to the library to study, and of course to morning exams. If the calendar hadn't told them it was finals week, the looks on the students' faces would have. Heavy studying and late nights had taken their toll, leaving dark circles under the eyes and gloomy faces on many.
The team of three didn't speak; each was deep in thought about what had happened so far and what lay ahead.
It was the future that made Rhea nervous. She was going to a world she'd known about most of her life but only recently learned was her own.
As they got closer to town, Rhea mumbled to herself, "I have to tell my parents."
Daen glanced at Rhea. "You haven't talked about your adoptive parents. Were they good to you?"
"Oh yes. I was very lucky."
Daen asked, "Will they understand?"
Rhea shook her head. "They never believed me when I told them I could see into the moon shadows. I had to lie to them. I told them I no longer saw into the shadows. I confessed it was just my imagination, as they had told me over and over. If I hadn't, they would've sent me to a doctor. They don't believe what they don't see."
Randell glanced over his shoulder. "That's understandable. There was a time when my own father doubted what he could see. I can't imagine what convinced my mother to believe him." He looked at Daen. "Maybe it was Daen's arrival that cinched it."
"Well, I'm going to need to think of something. They're expecting me home tomorrow."
Randell scrunched his brows. "You weren't planning on attending your graduation ceremony?"
"Sure. I was just going to go home first. We live only a couple hours from here. But I guess that is a moot point now."
Randell said, "I'm sorry you'll miss the ceremony."
"Thanks. I'm not that disappointed." Rhea knew that the ceremony was a show of accomplishment, an acknowledgment for years of hard work and a look into the future. But she'd never been able to see her future, so she'd never truly appreciated what her degree could do for her. And now ... well, did it really matter?
"My car is right there." Randell pulled his keys from his pocket.
Once in the car, Randell explained, "I've been thinking. I don't know when I'll return, so I'm going to give up the apartment, which means I'll need to pack up my things. I'm going to swing by the packing store and get some packing supplies. I don't have much to pack, but at least this way, the movers or my parents won't have to mess with my things."
Rhea asked, "Have you called your parents?"
"Yes. While you were talking to Beth. They're expecting us."
~~~
The asphalt started to heat up as the morning sun beat down on Bestian and Gauvin. They'd decided to camp out, as it were, in the parking lot across the street from their mark's dorm. They were close to completing their mission and didn't want to mess it up. They’d had to crawl under the cars only once during the night to hide from a passerby, and now they were on the move, heading for the dorm.
They'd walked the perimeter of the dorm the night before and felt the Luxatran presence coming from a first-floor room. Now they were returning to the same side of the dorm to see if the Luxatran was up and about.
As they approached, Bestian's pace abruptly went from confident to hesitant. Something had changed. The sensation from the gift was drifting away from him.
"They aren't here." Bestian stormed back towards the road to come around the other side, just in time to see the blond woman and ... two men? She now had two men escorting her. Bestian thought to himself, She's more valuable than the man in the hooded cloak said.
He watched as they disappeared between two buildings on the far side of the open field in front of the dining hall.
He took off at a sprint with Gauvin a few yards behind. The blond woman and her escort turned out of sight again as they headed east towards town. Bestian stopped short of rounding the corner and peeked to see where they had gone. He saw them about fifty yards away, working their way through a throng of students and parents packing their cars. He took off at a fast walk, as fast as he could go and not draw too much attention to himself.
As they reached the edge of town, Bestian watched the three get into a car and pull away. He ran in the same direction as the car, wanting to see which way they would go. At the light, they turned left, heading in the same direction as the day before when he and Gauvin had chased the gifted Luxatran across campus before losing him in the north parking lot.
Gauvin was sucking in air as hard as he could but it was barely enough. "Now ... what
... do ... we ... do? We ... can't ..." Hack! Cough! "... catch a car."
Bestian was breathing deeply as well but maintained a cool facade. He ran towards the intersection.
Gauvin was just getting his wind back and had managed to stand straight when Bestian turned left at the corner. Not wanting to lose him, Gauvin took off at jog, as fast as his lungs would allow.
Bestian was able to keep sight of the car for a while due to the colored lights that hung suspended over the road. He'd learned that red would stop the car, and the car was hitting every red light.
Bestian’s prey hadn’t gone very far before pulled off the road in front of a small building. This gave Bestian the time he needed to catch up. A few minutes later, the woman and two men came out carrying large brown flat squares and something heavy and white. They opened the back of the car and placed the items they carried inside.
Staying with them after that became more difficult. The further they went, the fewer lights there were. Bestian could still sense a gift; it had to be her gift, he thought, as he watched the car disappeared over a hill.
Bestian followed the gift, running along the side of the road. When he reached the entrance to an apartment complex, he lost his connection to the gift.
Gauvin, throughout the trek, struggled to keep up. He was a hundred yards or so away when he saw Bestian enter the complex. His chest burned and his legs were wobbly but he kept going, not wanting to lose Bestian.
~~~
Rhea and Randell grabbed the boxes and Daen grabbed the packing paper and tape from the back of the car and they headed to the apartment. Daen and Randell went to their rooms to pack and Rhea focused on the living room.
Within minutes, boxes had started to stack up in the living room as Daen and Randell brought them out from their rooms. Daen stacked his boxes by the door and marked them for charity. He had no reason to keep the few things he'd collected over the years, and that which he did want to keep he stuffed in the duffel bag he kept under his bed.
Next, Daen tackled the kitchen. The packing process didn't take long. What little furniture they had had been donated by Randell's parents and consisted of some old items they'd had in their basement.
Randell left his room, heading for the door to the apartment. "I'll be right back. I need my courier bag from the car." He was out the door before either Rhea or Daen could say anything.
Rhea had joined Daen in the kitchen and they had packed a couple boxes before they realized Randell hadn't returned.
Rhea straightened from taping a box and looked towards the apartment door. "What do you think is keeping Randell?"
Daen froze, his body rigid, as he stared at the door. He dropped what was in his hand and ran from the apartment.
Rhea took off after him. Daen grabbed the railings and bound down each of the four staircases, two leaps at a time. In seconds, he was out the door. He stopped on the stoop and scanned the parking lot and walkways around him, but found nothing. Randell's car was gone, and in its place was his courier bag lying open on the asphalt.
Rhea caught up just as Daen was picking up Randell's bag. "What happened? Where is he?"
Daen growled, "Taken." He held out a piece of paper for Rhea to see. It was written in Aduraun and demanded the blond woman turn herself over or else the man would be killed.
Rhea grasped at her chest, finding it hard to breathe. Her worst nightmare had come true. She whispered to herself, "It's my fault. It's all my fault." She waved the paper in front of Daen. "How can we get to him? They took the car."
Daen headed towards the apartment. "With my truck." In less than a minute he was back with a duffel bag over his shoulder and the keys to his very used Toyota truck in his hand. The truck had once belonged to Randell's dad. He'd spent one summer with Randell, getting it to run again. Once Randell could afford to buy a new car, he'd given Daen the truck.
He threw the duffel bag behind the seat. "Get in."
Rhea was already reaching for the door.
He tossed the ransom letter to Rhea. "There's a map on the other side of the paper."
She turned it over. The map showed a road that led straight east, out of town.
Daen pulled out of the apartment complex and headed for town. He would be at the turnoff in less than ten minutes if he didn't get caught by the lights. After that, he couldn't tell how long it would take, how long his best friend would be in the hands of the trackers.
38
Coercion
About an hour after settling into the bushes outside Randell and Daen's apartment, Bestian and Gauvin saw Randell step from the apartment building and approach his car. It hadn't taken them long to find the car the woman had been in. They'd hidden in the bushes, waiting, and now were being rewarded.
As Randell stepped back from the driver's side door, courier bag in hand, he felt the sharp edge of a blade against his neck. In front of him was one of the men from the previous day, holding a knife, its tip pressed against his abdomen. Or at least he thought it was.
"Get in the car." The language left no doubt who Randell was dealing with. His first thought was to resist, but with two them, their knives so precariously positioned, he knew he didn't stand a chance, so he did what they said, dropping his courier bag and getting in. The smaller man jumped into the passenger seat and the larger man sat behind Randell, the knife resting on Randell's shoulder.
Gauvin held his knife close to Randell's ribs and gave him directions out of town to a dirt road that disappeared into the woods.
When Randell saw they were taking him into the woods, all he could think of were scenes from the movie Deliverance, but he quickly pushed them from his mind. He'd seen the big man slip a piece of paper under his courier bag before getting into the backseat. A ransom letter, maybe? He thought about Daen and actually felt a little relief. These men had no idea who they were up against.
Bestian barked an order from the backseat, "Pull in here and get out."
Randell cooperated, not wanting to give them any reason to hurt him. The big man shoved him hard in the middle of his back and ordered, "Walk!"
"Bestian, are you trying to kill him now?"
Bestian. Now he knew one of their names.
"Shut up, Gauvin."
Now Randell had both names. But what could he do with that information? Nothing. Battle psychology was not his area of expertise.
They hiked into the woods for a while before reaching a small clearing and a campsite.
Bestian ordered Gauvin, "Tie him up."
Gauvin did as he was told. Pushing Randell to sit against a tree, he tied a rope around one wrist and then wrapped it around the tree, securing the other wrist with the other end of the rope.
Bestian squatted by the fire and poked the embers to bring them back to life. "Now we wait."
Randell had a feeling he knew what the ransom letter said, but he thought he would ask anyway. "What are you waiting for?"
"Your pretty little blond; it's her we want."
"What do you want with her?"
Bestian growled, "That's not your business."
Randell watched Bestian's aura grow intense as his emotions raged deep inside. This one is volatile, he thought to himself. He looked at Gauvin next.
Gauvin sat a few feet from the fire, quietly poking his knife into the soft earth in front of him. His aura wasn't as intense. His body language supported Randell's suspicions that Gauvin wasn't as agitated as Bestian.
Gauvin watched Bestian to see if he could ask a question without angering him further. Bestian appeared to be calmer, so he ventured forward. "What do you plan on doing with him, once we have the woman?"
Bestian slammed his knife into the ground in front of him. "I haven't decided."
Gauvin had one more question. "What are you going to do if she brings the other one with her?"
Bestian laughed. "Do you really think people in this world are strong enough to best me?"
Gauvin knew Bestian hadn't laughed because he was happy. H
e'd insulted Bestian. "No, No. I was just wondering if you had a plan in case he shows."
"I don't need a plan. If the other one doesn't behave, this one ..." Bestian pointed his knife at Randell, "... gets my blade where he sits."
Gauvin nodded.
Randell swallowed, hard.
~~~
Fifteen minutes later, Daen pulled off onto a narrow dirt path and drove towards the wooded area. Nestled into the brush at the tree line was Randell's car.
Daen pulled over and jumped out. He inspected Randell's car, looking for any sign that Randell might be hurt. The relief at what wasn't there was just enough to allow him to breathe.
Daen returned to his truck and retrieved his duffel bag, dropping it on the driver's seat and unzipping it.
Rhea gasped at the object Daen pulled out. "You're ... you're not going to use that, are you?"
Daen glared at Rhea and slammed the door.
"Wait!" Rhea jumped from the truck and ran to step in front of him. "Wait. It's me they want. If you go storming in there brandishing a huge sword, they'll probably kill him and attack you."
Daen stopped and stared down into her face. Rhea couldn't see Daen anymore. He was ... someone else. He was like the warriors she'd seen with her mother.
Daen clenched his teeth as he tried to stay focused on the task at hand. He was in a state of mind he hadn't been in for a very long time, a state of mind ready for battle. "I know what I'm doing. You stay here."
"No! I will not. It's me they want."
Daen stepped around her, not arguing one way or the other. Every minute he spent debating was another minute he lost. He followed the barely discernible path through the woods. After a few minutes he stopped and squatted. Rhea came up beside him and he pressed his index finger to his lips before pointing straight ahead.
They watched the two men for a moment before Daen slipped a small knife from his belt and handed it to Rhea. He pointed to Randell, his wrists, and the knife. Rhea nodded and slowly, quietly crept around the camp to the side where Randell was being held.
Meanwhile, Daen positioned himself behind the larger man and formed an energy ball. As he released the energy ball, the big man dove to the left, out of its way. The stray energy hit the fire and exploded.
The Guardian (The Gifted Book 1) Page 21
