The Guardian (The Gifted Book 1)

by C. L. McCourt

  Before Daen could make his move and before Rhea knew what was happening, however, Rhea opened her hands and reached for Bestian, freezing him in place.

  Daen stopped in the middle of throwing an energy ball and looked between Bestian and Rhea, his eyes wide with disbelief. He returned his attention to Bestian and threw the energy ball, but the tracker didn't fall.

  Rhea gasped and stepped back, breaking her hold and causing Randell's would-be assailant to fall to the ground.

  Randell turned around to see Bestian sprawled out on the ground, knife still in his hand.

  Rhea's veil had fallen the minute she'd reached out for the man who was about to kill Randell. She stood there, shaking, wondering what had just happened.

  Daen picked up the gag, tie, and pillowcase from where they'd fallen.

  Rhea watched as Daen and Randell secured Bestian on the ground.

  "Is he ...," Rhea almost couldn't bring herself to ask, "... did I ...?"

  "He's alive, if that's what you're asking." Daen's voice was quiet and calm.

  Randell helped Daen pick up the large man and carry him into the house as Rhea followed. They propped him up against the wall in the living room, near the island shadow, and returned to the kitchen.

  ~~~

  Daen turned to Rhea, his expression flat. "What were you thinking when ... when you ..." he waved his hand, unable to say the words.

  At first she didn't know how to answer; everything had happened so fast. She replayed the scene in her head, trying to remember. "Stop him. That's what I was thinking. Literally I was thinking, stop him. Before I knew what was happening, I had dropped the gear and reached out." She looked down at her hands. They were trembling, as was her entire body.

  Christine's voice came from behind Daen. "What happened?"

  Randell grinned. "Rhea and Daen saved my life and basically kicked that jerk's ass."

  Rhea wasn't sure she was feeling as enthused as Randell. "It just happened. It was like with the candy bar and disappearing. I just reacted."

  Randell wrapped his arm around her shoulder and smiled at Daen. "Well, whatever caused it, I'm certainly grateful to both of you."

  Rhea tried to smile with him but the look on Daen's face gave her pause. "What's wrong?"

  "I wasn't sure before, or maybe I just didn't want to admit it to myself. But now ...." He ran his hand over his face.

  Daen was making Rhea nervous, and from everyone else's expressions, she could tell she wasn't alone in that feeling. "Daen, what is it?"

  Daen stepped to the kitchen door and looked at Bestian, tied and gagged in the living room. He closed the kitchen door and lowered his voice. "Do you have a birthmark, three circles?"

  "No."

  At the same time she said no, Christine said, "Yes."

  Rhea turned to her mother, her brows scrunched in confusion. "No, I don't."

  "You did. When you first came to us, you had a mark on your lower back, three circles overlapping. Within a few days it was gone, but it was there."

  "You never told me."

  Christine shrugged. "I didn't think much of it. I assumed it was maybe a bruise that faded."

  Rhea turned to Daen, whose eyes had gone wide. "Why do you need to know about a birthmark? ... Daen? ... Daen?"

  When he spoke, his voice was barely audible. "You're a channel." His gaze was intense.

  Rhea glanced at the closed kitchen door and pictured the man in the other room as she shook her head. She whispered, "I just said I don't have the birthmark."

  "I can't explain it, but I'm fairly certain you're a channel."

  "A what?" asked Randell.

  Ander stepped forward. "Daen, what's a channel?"

  Daen didn't answer. He looked miles away.

  "Daen, talk to me." Rhea stood next to him.

  He looked at everyone's face before turning his eyes to Rhea, his voice quiet as he explained, "You have seven gifts that I know of, probably more. You learn how to use a gift within minutes. You think something and it happens." Daen ran his fingers through his hair. "And the Libraim sent me to you before you were even born."

  Rhea shrugged. "And this means ...?"

  "You wouldn't be the first to receive multiple gifts, but, Rhea, I don't think you've received multiple gifts. I think you've received one gift." He turned and walked across the room and looked out into the backyard. "It's a myth for some, a legend for others, but for many its meaning has long been forgotten."

  He turned to face everyone in the room. "For thousands of years, guardians have kept the histories of Luxatra and the Libraim. The histories teach us that we get our gifts from the Libraim as a way for us to ensure balance and free will is preserved in our world. The histories show that there have been times when our gifts haven't been enough to stave off large-scale threats to our way of life."

  He took a deep breath and proceeded, "It is written that when the Libraim senses a significant threat and the people don't see it or can't defend against it, it sends ... how do I say this ... special help; someone who can channel the power of the Libraim. It's as if that person is an extension of the Libraim." He didn't continue but just looked at Rhea as if trying to see something written across her face that would tell him for sure.

  Rhea watched Christine reach for a chair to sit. Pam and Brian joined her. Rhea was immobile, frozen in place. Ander nodded his head slowly and Randell looked stunned.

  Randell turned to Ander. "What do you know about this?"

  "Just what my grandmother Raisal told me the last time I saw her. I can't believe I'd forgotten it until now. She told me that one day a conduit would come and it would need my help. I didn't understand, and I never saw her again. It just slipped my mind, but I think she was foretelling Rhea's arrival."

  Now it was Rhea's turn to grab a chair and sit down. "I don't feel like a channel or a conduit or whatever. And I'm not sure I want to be." She felt like someone had dumped an elephant on her shoulders and wished her luck getting out from under it.

  Daen pulled a chair up next to hers and sat. "We believe in free will. There is nothing you have to do. The Libraim has simply gifted you with the ability to help if you choose to, whatever the problem may be."

  She wasn't feeling the weight come off. "Yeah, right. Like I could ignore what was happening to me, to Luxatra, even if I wanted to. If what you say is true, there are a lot of people whose lives might depend on me, right? How can I ignore that?"

  Daen's smile reached his eyes as he looked into Rhea's. "That's the reason you were chosen."

  ~~~

  Randell left the kitchen to check on Bestian and to see if Gauvin was still in the car, while Rhea tried to process what Daen had just said. He returned with a report. "Bestian is still unconscious and Gauvin is still in the car, apparently unaware of what has transpired."

  Rhea looked at Daen. "I don't understand something. How can I channel something that's in another world?"

  "I'm not sure you're literally connecting with the Libraim right now, but the things you can do with minimal or no effort point to a natural connection to the energy around you. Because this world is different, I believe we're seeing only a fraction of what you can do."

  Rhea remembered what it had felt like when she’d pushed her hand through the shadow, the connection she had felt with the veil and the sensation she had gotten by just having her hand in Luxatra’s air. "I'm not sure I'm ready for this."

  Daen reached out and took her hand. "I'm sorry if I've upset you."

  Rhea placed a hand over Daen's. "It's not your fault."

  After a moment, Daen stood, breaking their hold. "Ready to get Gauvin?"

  She looked up at him, trying to will herself to join him. He leaned down and looked her in the eyes. "You can do whatever you want. It's up to you to decide."

  Rhea looked at her parents and the Youngs and thought about all the people that the Libraim was trying to save by giving her this gift. She thought about how she, before Daen had decided she was a chan
nel, had already decided to go to Luxatra. What would she have done if this information had come to light after she was already there? Would she have turned around and come back? No. And there she had her answer. "No" came so quickly to her thoughts that she knew she had to continue with the original plan. Besides, maybe Daen was wrong. But, whether he was right or wrong, someone wanted her, and the people she cared most about were in danger because of her.

  Daen sensed a change in her and extended his hand. She reached for it and in that moment made a commitment. It was the same commitment Daen had made a long time ago, to help.

  "Let's go get us a bad guy." She grabbed the gag, tie, pillowcase, and a hunting knife Ander had retrieved from the garage, in case they needed to flatten a tire. Before opening the back door, Rhea looked over her shoulder to see who would join her and found Randell standing there.

  He was grinning ear to ear like a little kid ready to see what Santa had left under the tree. "Let's go."

  Rhea reviewed the plan. "I'll open the car door and you pull him out, face down on the road. Then we'll gag him, tie him, and put the pillowcase over his head. Sound like a plan?"

  Randell gave one nod. "Works for me."

  Rhea offered her hand, and when he took it they disappeared.

  ~~~

  They stepped off the porch and turned to the left towards the garage side of the house so that they could approach the car from behind, but before they could, Gauvin got out. He ducked and ran to the opposite side of the front yard from where they were standing, heading for the backyard and most likely Bestian.

  Rhea squeezed Randell's hand, indicating she wanted to follow. They crept across the front yard to drop in behind Gauvin. They watched as he ducked behind the trash bins and whispered, "Where are you?"

  When he didn't get a reply, he worked his way further into the yard, his back to Rhea and Randell as they watched from the side of the house to see if he would settle someplace or work his way back to the car.

  Rhea handed Randell the knife and pointed back to the car, signaling that he should make sure the car wasn't going anyplace. He shook his head.

  Rhea nodded, pointing two fingers at her eyes and then in Gauvin's direction. He looked again at the man, who was slowly creeping his way along the tree line to the bushes they had used earlier to hide in. Gauvin was making a trip around the yard and would probably be returning to the car soon. If he didn't find his partner, he might make a run for it. They needed both trackers. Randell sighed and took off, becoming exposed once he stepped away from Rhea.

  Rhea walked, still invisible, towards Gauvin while he looked for his partner along the tree line. She didn't have any weapons except her energy balls, and even then, she didn't know if she could consciously control them. She stuffed the ties, gag, and pillowcase in her back pockets and got ready for whatever came her way.

  Gauvin left the tree line and worked his way to the shed, coming out on the side closest to the house. Rhea ran across the yard to intercept him as he cleared the shed, but when he came into view he was already running towards the road, back to the car. Rhea quickly thought of Randell. Had Gauvin seen him?

  She ran as fast as she could to catch the tracker, how she didn't know. She only knew she couldn't let him see Randell. Suddenly Gauvin stopped and turned in her direction, scanning the area. She froze, trying not to breathe; she was only three feet from him. His focus went from scanning the tree line to examining the space in front of him.

  She started to take a step back but he lunged at her, as if he could see her. Before she knew what was happening, his arms were wrapped around her and he was dragging her towards the car.

  Gauvin's voice hissed in her ear. "You might as well show yourself. You aren't getting away."

  He had her arms pinned to her side. She kicked and wiggled, trying to break his grip, but couldn't. "Let me go!"

  As they passed the bushes that framed the front garden, she heard a voice: "Let her go."

  Gauvin stopped but didn't release her.

  Randell couldn't see Rhea but knew Gauvin held her in front of him. He was ready to take Gauvin on hand-to-hand. He wanted a chance to get some payback, but he couldn't risk Rhea. "Drop the veil, Rhea."

  Rhea did as he asked and tried to wiggle free, again.

  Gauvin shifted his grip on her, holding her with one hand while with the other he pressed a knife to her throat.

  Randell commanded, "Drop the knife!"

  Gauvin hissed, "Back off or she dies. I get paid either way. Dead or alive."

  Without a sound, a hand grabbed Gauvin's knife arm. "I don't think so." Before Gauvin could object to being grabbed, his arms went still and fell from Rhea as he dropped to the ground.

  Daen stood over Gauvin.

  Randell stepped closer. "That's a rather handy feature of your gift."

  Rhea was shaking, trying to get a grip on what had just happened. Suddenly another pair of arms was wrapped around her, causing her to jump and scream.

  "It's just me, Rhea!" It was Brian, and Christine was close behind.

  She couldn't help it. Tears came to her eyes, and she hugged both her parents.

  "You're all right." Christine stroked her hair and held her.

  Rhea pulled back and wiped her tears, feeling the need to push back her emotions. "I know. I don't know what came over me." She took the ties and gag from her pocket and bent to secure the man on the ground.

  Daen tried to take the ties from her.

  "I can do it." She needed to do this; she needed to tie up the man who held a knife to her throat and threatened Randell. When she was done, she stood over him, trying to calm herself.

  Randell and Daen gagged and blindfolded Gauvin before carrying him into the house.

  ~~~

  When they got to the kitchen after depositing Gauvin in the living room with Bestian, no one mentioned the close call that had just occurred. Rhea went to the fridge, took out a bottle of water, and downed it; she couldn't look at anyone in the room. She stared at the magnets in front of her, maintaining a death grip on the refrigerator handle, processing what had just happened.

  She felt Daen standing close to her. His voice was a whisper, "If that ever happens again, take his energy."

  She turned her head and looked up into his eyes.

  His expression was serious. "You don't have to kill him. Just take enough so your attacker lets go."

  She took a breath and nodded.

  When Daen stepped away from the fridge, she saw her parents watching her. Their eyes showed fear but they stayed quiet, clasping one another’s hands.

  She looked them in the eyes. "I'm okay. Let's not talk about it."

  Christine couldn't hold back. "I don't think you should go."

  "Mom, we've been through this. I'm going."

  Christine let go of Brian's hand and stepped close, her face serious. "It's too dangerous."

  "And it's not dangerous here?" After she’d said it, she knew she shouldn't have.

  Christine's lower lip started to quiver.

  Brian's arms wrapped around Christine's shoulders, "We love you."

  "I know, and I love you too. But this is something I have to do. I have to leave. I can't stay here and endanger you or anyone else." She looked around the room to see if they had an audience, but all of the others had found something else to look at.

  Rhea looked at her parents. "Look at the bright side. I learned a lesson tonight. What happened out there—that won't happen again." She hugged them, sandwiching Christine between her and Brian.

  She turned to Daen and forced a smile. "What's next?"

  All eyes were back on Daen. "Next, we interrogate them when they wake up. Until then, we pack."

  Rhea could feel the tension leave the room. Christine poured herself some coffee and sat with Brian at the table.

  Pam posed a question. "Assuming we can get them on the island, can they get off?"

  "Why do you ask?" Daen pulled a cookie from the cookie jar.


  "Could they starve? Or could they come back through the shadow into our living room?"

  "The swim to shore is long but manageable. I suspect they have friends in the area close to the lake. They'll figure something out." He took a bite of the cookie. "As for getting back in here, I would say no, even if the furniture cast a large enough shadow someday. The shadow we used is a few feet from the island’s shore and about five feet off the water's surface."

  She nodded. "Once they're on the other side you're leaving, right?" She handed Daen a glass of milk to wash down his cookie.

  "Thanks. Yes, that's the plan."

  Randell was standing in front of the pantry, looking at its shelves. "Mom, we'll need some food that won't spoil. Do you have anything we can take?"

  Pam placed her hand on her son's back. "Why don't you go get your packs ready and Christine and I will find something for you to take with you."

  51

  Escape

  Rhea returned to the kitchen after retrieving her things and shortly before Daen entered in clothes obviously not from this world. "Are those the clothes you were wearing when you arrived here?"

  He nodded. "Yeah, it's a miracle they fit after so long ... and Pam's cooking."

  "What's that on your vest?" Rhea stepped closer to get a better look at the hard leather vest he wore over a linen, collarless shirt.

  "The crest of the guardians."

  She looked down at her jeans and then at Daen's dark leather pants. "I don't suppose you have jeans in Luxatra."

  Daen laughed. "No. Don't worry; we'll get you some clothes when we get there."

  Rhea laid her hand on his wool cloak, which was draped over a chair. It was heavy and soft, not the itchy kind of wool. Randell came into the kitchen looking like he was from Luxatra as well, and she found that odd.

  Randell caught Rhea's look and shrugged. "I've always hoped I would be able to visit Luxatra with Daen, when the time came. I thought I should be ready to blend in." He hung his sword and a dagger on the back of a chair and started packing his canvas courier bag with food.

  Ander picked up the dagger. "You're taking it with you?"