The Guardian (The Gifted Book 1)

by C. L. McCourt

  "You didn't want her to do that?"

  Daen waved his hand. "I don't know. It's good that she can defend herself, but did you see her? It was like she was on autopilot."

  Randell shook his head. "I couldn't see her face the entire time. I didn't notice."

  Daen sat quietly, rubbing his jaw, deep in thought.

  "You're worried."

  Daen said, "Maybe. But not for the reasons you might think."

  "What do you mean?"

  Daen debated to himself whether he should tell Randell about his suspicions. The likelihood was pretty low that they could be true, and if they were, that could only mean big trouble lay ahead. "Nothing ... at least not now."

  Randell was confused by his friend's behavior, but he didn't push it. All would be revealed when Daen needed it to be. "Come on, let's go downstairs."

  Daen followed Randell from his room.

  ~~~

  Rhea slowly lowered herself into an overstuffed, round-back chair Ander had brought in from his den. She tried to be graceful but failed. The moan that escaped her lips did not go unnoticed.

  Randell couldn't help but laugh. "A little sore?"

  Rhea closed her eyes and nodded.

  Daen said, "If he gets to ragging on you too much, I'll be happy to remind him how he couldn't write on the whiteboard for days after I put him through one of those workouts."

  Randell threw one of Pam's tiny decorator pillows at Daen. "Hey. That was a secret."

  "Boys!" Pam glared at them from the dining room.

  Randell and Daen slouched in their chairs and pretended not to know why she was yelling at them.

  Now it was Rhea's turn to laugh.

  Pam and Christine finally joined everyone else in the living room. Pam offered, "There is plenty to eat. Go make yourselves a plate and come back and sit. We have some planning to do."

  A few minutes later, all were gathered around to decide how to deal with the trackers.

  Ander began the discussion. "If I may, this is what we know so far. We know the trackers will be back. We know we want to send them into Luxatra before you ..." He glanced at Rhea, Randell, and Daen, "... in such a way that they can't simply turn around and come back. We also want them to know there won't be a reason to return. From what you've said, their gifts are passive and their weapons are light. They know that Rhea can electrocute them and Daen can throw energy balls, so they'll probably plan their attack based on that."

  Christine raised her hand. "Excuse me. Can you back up to the electrocute part. What haven't we been told?"

  Rhea chewed her lower lip and pleaded with her eyes for her parents not to overreact. "They tried to grab Randell and me in town. I don't know how I did it but I ... shocked them. They were ... stunned for a moment; long enough for us to make a run for it."

  Christine brought her fists to her mouth, reminding herself not to react.

  Brian rubbed his arm absentmindedly. "You shocked me once, over the holiday. Was that ...?"

  Rhea nodded. "I think so. It had been happening before I got home. It was mild at first but then started getting worse. Sorry."

  "No. Don't be sorry. I'm just glad I didn't sneak up on you." Brian winked at her, trying to reassure her.

  Rhea didn't know what to say.

  Ander saw the lull in the questioning and continued. "Daen, if you were the trackers, what would you do to capture Rhea and yourself? I think if we think like them, we might be able to plan better."

  Daen gave Ander's question some thought. "Being in this house both helps us and hurts us. They can't just walk in here. They know what we can do to them if they do. So they'll do something to the house, to force us out. They won't want Rhea to electrocute them again and they'll want to stay clear of my energy balls, so they'll likely hide behind hostages and force Rhea and I into Luxatra, possibly into the hands of other trackers, or worse, warriors."

  Randell observed, "So we have to catch them before they can make their move to drive us out."

  Pam asked, "I don't suppose we can just walk out and grab them?"

  Daen looked at Pam with an expression she couldn't read.

  "I know, silly idea."

  Daen shook his head. "No. Right now, there are no silly ideas. I'm just a little tired. Sorry."

  Ander said, "We aren't going to make any progress while you're half-asleep. Look at Rhea."

  Rhea blinked, trying to open her eyes. "What did you say?"

  Pam ordered, "Off to bed."

  Rhea raised her hand. "I second that." Half-asleep already, she pulled herself from her chair, kissed her parents on the cheek, and dragged herself up the stairs. "Good night, everyone. Thank you for everything, Pam and Ander. I appreciate it."

  Pam looked at Randell and Daen. "You two should get some rest as well."

  Randell shook his head. "We need to keep watch."

  Ander answered, "Don't worry about the trackers. We'll keep watch."

  Randell and Daen both shook their heads this time.

  Daen said, "I'm not that tired. We'll work in shifts."

  47

  Friday

  Morning came too early for Rhea. Although she'd had a restful night, one night wasn't going to cure her of months of exhaustion, not to mention the aches and pains inflicted upon her by her coach. The sun peeked through the blinds, leaving stripes of light across the wall. The aroma of coffee and bacon drifted under her door, coaxing her from her bed. She got ready for the day and headed for the kitchen.

  A large pot of coffee had just finished brewing and that was a good thing. Ander and Brian had dark circles under their eyes, and each had a large travel mug of coffee pressed to his lips. Pam and Christine were moving a little slower as well.

  Rhea asked, "Where are Randell and Daen?"

  Pam answered, "Sleeping. Ander, breakfast is almost ready. Can you wake them please?"

  Ander slowly stood from his kitchen chair. "Sure."

  Rhea asked, "What can I do to help?"

  Pam pointed to the cupboard. "You can set the table please."

  Rhea pulled plates from the cupboard. "Any sign of our trackers?" She placed the plates on the table and returned to the drawer for the silverware.

  Pam glanced out the window over the sink. "Not yet ... well, not in the back at least."

  Brian stood with coffee in hand. "I'll check the front again." He shuffled out of the kitchen.

  "Mom, is he going to be okay?"

  "Sure. He didn't sleep much last night. Pam and I tried to give them a break, but they took only a few hours."

  Ander returned to the kitchen. "They'll be down in few minutes."

  Ten minutes later, everyone was sitting at the kitchen table, enjoying a hot breakfast.

  Daen said, "Rhea, I'd like to get in some more practice this morning, before the trackers return. Are you up to it?"

  Rhea lifted her arms, testing to see if she could still use them. "I'm sore but game."

  Ander interjected, "We still don't have a plan to catch the trackers."

  Daen nodded. "I laid awake last night thinking about just that. If we had the time, I'd hunt them down, but we don't. We need a way to surround and subdue, but they're likely to see us coming. If they're stupid enough to stand and fight, the problem is solved. After our last confrontation, though, I doubt we'll get that lucky."

  Rhea asked, "How can we sneak up on them?"

  Daen looked at her but didn't say anything.

  It didn't take much for her to realize what his silence was suggesting. "Oh. Okay." She wasn't going to argue. "Do you want to start teaching me how to tap that gift before or after training this morning?"

  "After. I need you battle ready if things don't work as planned."

  Rhea shoved the last bite of pancake into her mouth. "Let's do this." She stood and picked up her dishes, then placed them in the sink.

  Daen said, "Wait. We need to see if they are nearby."

  Rhea and Daen both concentrated on the area around the house. Rhea reac
hed as far as she could. She could see the heat from the wildlife in the woods around the house but nothing large enough to be their trackers. Daen concluded the same.

  ~~~

  For the next couple hours, Daen and Rhea fought, and then Randell stepped in, giving Rhea a different fighting style to practice against. This time, the lessons focused on Rhea's striking skills.

  For Rhea, each hit felt like it was harder than the last. As their blades came together, metal against metal, the sound was fierce, not to mention loud. Rhea could feel every strike vibrate through her hands, tempting her to drop her sword.

  Daen came at her harder than he ever had, watching her every move and the concentration on her face. He had yet to unleash his full strength, of course, as he'd never do that in a training session with someone as unskilled as Rhea. But, although she'd just started her training, she was doing remarkably well, as if she'd been handling a sword her entire life.

  Randell's fighting style used less power than Daen's but more finesse. Every time he attacked, however, Rhea seemed to respond naturally, as if she was expecting his move, forcing him to change approach frequently. He was able to catch her off guard several times, giving her both a mental and a physical workout.

  Throughout her lessons, Rhea held tightly to her sword, striking and blocking, her muscles screaming with fatigue. If it weren't for her little energy helpers, she would have dropped her sword about fifteen minutes into the session. After more than hour of sparring with Daen and Randell, she started to feel her energy support wane. Rhea knew it wouldn't be long before one of Daen's or Randell's strikes would push her sword back so far that she would have to fall to the ground to avoid bodily injury.

  "I'm going to need a shower soon." She was starting to soak her t-shirt with sweat, and the hair that had escaped its bonds was sticking to her neck and face.

  Daen eased up and finally stopped. "Let's take a break."

  Pam stepped out on the porch with a plate of mini muffins and several bottles of water. "It's time to replenish."

  Rhea practically ran to the porch. "Thank you!" She devoured a blueberry muffin and guzzled a bottle of water. Randell and Daen watched, amazed at how quickly she put it away.

  "Hungry?" Randell asked. He was halfway through his own muffin.

  "Ha, ha." Thankful for the break, Rhea helped herself to another muffin and collapsed on the porch steps. "I'm not going to be able to move soon. I can already feel my muscles rebelling against me even as I lift this little muffin to my mouth." She popped it in and savored it.

  Daen laughed. "You should have seen Randell after his first lesson. It was days before he could move."

  Daen studied Rhea as she leaned back against the porch railing, his thoughts on their training session. "You're a fast learner."

  Rhea glanced at Daen, "Hmm?" She thought about his comment. "It would seem that way, but if you were coming at me more quickly, I don't know how I would manage."

  Daen and Randell glanced at each other with puzzled looks on their faces.

  Rhea's eyes darted back and forth between them. "What?"

  "I wasn't moving that slowly," said Daen.

  Randell nodded.

  It was Rhea's turned to be confused. "Sure you were, and so was Randell."

  Daen shook his head. "I'll confess that I wasn't coming at you as fast as I can, but ... I wasn't slow either."

  Rhea looked at the serious expressions on their faces. She thought back to the sparring and what it felt like. She'd used the energy around her to make the sword feel lighter but, as she executed the moves as Daen had taught her, she had felt as if she were moving in slow motion. Daen and Randell were slow and deliberate, just like she was.

  Rhea's brows bunched together. "When you called a break, I got the strangest sensation. I just assumed it was exhaustion taking its toll, but ... now that I think about it ... it was as if time jumped." Rhea shook her head. "No, that's not it. Um. Oh, I don't know."

  Daen looked at Randell as if trying to have a silent conversation.

  "Please don't do that. Tell me what's going on." Rhea glanced between Daen and Randell.

  Daen said, "There's a gift of knowing ... of being able to sense something just before it happens. At first I thought that might be what was happening, but from your description, I don't think so. I'm not sure what it is."

  "It sounds like time is slowing," said Randell. "Is that a gift?"

  "It could be. I don't know about all the types of gifts there are." Daen took a long drink of water.

  After a twenty-minute break, Daen and Rhea checked the area for the trackers before starting her lessons again. There was no sign of them, and they started to wonder where they might be.

  Lunch was served on the porch buffet style. Rhea, Daen, and Randell filled their plates and grabbed the lounges, each exhausted from their training.

  After eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, one of her favorites, Rhea laid her head back on the lounge, planning to rest for a few minutes before Daen started the next session.

  ~~~

  When Rhea opened her eyes, she found herself in the upstairs room she'd been using but could not remember how she had gotten there. She heard voices from the other side of the door, and memories flooded back. She'd been training with Randell and Daen and had just eaten lunch. She lifted the covers and noticed her attire was simply a t-shirt and underwear. How had she gotten undressed?

  She was about to sit up when the door to her room opened. "Ah, you're awake." It was Christine. "How are you feeling?"

  Rhea attempted to sit up, but her body rejected the notion. "Ow! I hurt all over." She took a deep breath, easing herself back onto the pillow. "And what is that smell?" She hadn't noticed it at first but now it was overwhelming.

  "Daen gave it to me to rub on your muscles. He said it would help the healing process."

  "So I have you to thank for my current state? I can't remember getting undressed."

  "Randell carried you up here but he didn't stay while Pam and I got you undressed and rubbed down. You were almost unconscious. If you're up to it, throw on your jeans and come downstairs. Pam has some dinner warming for you in the oven." She stood and waited for Rhea to respond.

  "I need a shower first."

  "A clean towel is on the chair." She pointed to a chair in the corner.

  "Thanks, Mom."

  Christine bent and kissed Rhea's forehead before leaving her alone to drag herself out of bed and into the bathroom.

  48

  Invisible

  When Rhea came downstairs, she saw Brian standing to the side of the front window, looking out. He turned and smiled. "Your dinner is in the kitchen."

  "Thanks." Rhea couldn't help but think how odd it was to see her Dad on lookout duty, but she was thankful he and Christine were there.

  She passed Ander in the dining room, on the way to the kitchen. He was keeping watch on the side of the house.

  As she entered the kitchen, Randell waved from the kitchen window while Pam pulled a plate of food out of the oven and set it on the table.

  "Here you go. I hope you still like meatloaf. It's Christine's recipe."

  "Thanks, Pam. It looks great." Rhea sat at the place Pam set for her. "So, what's up with everyone watching the windows?

  Daen answered, "They're back and they have a car."

  "Oh, goody." If her words could be misunderstood, her expression certainly couldn't be. "Where are they now?"

  "One is sitting in the car out front and the other is out back, where they were before."

  "So we're surrounded." Rhea was making good progress on her meatloaf.

  Daen grimaced. "Looks that way."

  "I'm sorry I fell asleep on you. I'm ready to try the invisibility gift now."

  "Not a problem. I've been to trying to think of a way to help you imagine yourself invisible. As you know, Lanne's gift lets her change her appearance much like you want to change yours."

  "How does she do it?"

&
nbsp; Daen shook his head. "I don't know for sure. We've never talked about the details. I know it has to do with the veil, the barrier that prevents Luxtrans from seeing into this world and vice versa. Some, like Lanne, can connect with the veil and use its properties ... somehow."

  "Okay. I think I get it now." Rhea thought she understood, but there was no way to know until she tried.

  Daen continued, "So, let's ask ourselves, what do you want to look like when you're invisible?"

  Rhea wondered if he was asking a trick question. "I don't want to look like anything."

  Daen held up his index finger. "Are you sure? Brian mentioned something earlier. He said the trackers don't blend in. They stand out, versus doing what soldiers do—you know, dressing to blend in. This got me thinking. Instead of looking like nothing, look like that which is around you."

  Rhea considered what Daen was suggesting. "Okay, let's give it try. If you see a change in my appearance, any change, let me know what it is. If I don't respond, don't worry, I'm going to be trying a couple things."

  Everyone agreed.

  Rhea closed her eyes and reached for the energy around her, calling it to her. She could feel the tingling start as the energy flowed to her. She imagined the energy forming a veil around her, like a tent. She changed the color of her tent and waited to hear a reaction. It didn't come at first, and she started to feel like she'd failed.

  It was Christine who noticed first. "I see it. It looks a little like you're wrapped in a film of light gray plastic."

  Knowing she could take the otherwise invisible veil and make it somewhat opaque, she decided to apply multiple colors, like painting a picture. She imagined her surroundings, the kitchen table, the chair she was sitting in, the counter behind her. She imagined the veil's colors forming a picture of her surroundings based on what she could remember.

  "Cool," said Randell. "You look like a ghost, I can see parts of you but I can also see the counter behind you."

  Rhea was relieved to hear that, but she realized her strategy wasn't going to be easy to sustain if she couldn't see everything around her, especially if she was on the move.

  Then she remembered that she hadn't tried to picture the space where she'd first gone missing, and that gave her an idea. She didn't have to mentally tell the energy how to lift her sword, so maybe she didn't have to tell it how to paint the picture, either.