by S. L. Morgan
Harrison calmly approached where the woman lay underneath Levi, her eyes wide and peering into his. “Levi, don’t do this,” Harrison ordered.
“She knows where the stone is!” Levi growled, as he pressed the side of the blade firmly against the woman’s throat. “How are you able to read my thoughts, Armedite?” he demanded.
Harrison advanced toward Levi from the side. “Levi, step away. Whether she knows or not, this is not your decision to make. I will deal with the woman.”
Levi ignored him. “How did you read my mind?” he insisted.
The woman closed her eyes and remained silent, infuriating Levi even more.
“Levi!” Harrison yelled.
Levi didn’t respond.
Harrison gripped his cousin’s shoulder. “You must remove yourself from her now. It is essential you leave; she is reading your mind, even now.”
Levi’s breathing relaxed, and Harrison’s grip loosened, knowing he had gotten through to him. Levi shouted angrily as he withdrew from the woman.
Once Levi was off of her, as the woman tried to flee, Harrison restrained her with locking devices around her ankles and arms.
Levi sank his dagger aggressively back into its sheath. His jaw clenched as he stared down at the woman sinisterly. It was repulsive to him that she could read his thoughts. Never in his life had he felt so vulnerable.
Rage and fury reignited within him when the woman smiled mockingly at him in return. He did not want this woman imprisoned in Pemdas. Her strong interest and threats about Reece gave him an overwhelming desire to end her life, whether or not Harrison agreed with him. After the thought of Reece entered his mind, he came back to his senses. He inhaled deeply and unclenched his fists, regaining control over his emotions.
The woman’s eyes widened as she continued to watch him. “You truly love this human.” she said as her eyes became mysterious. “Your love for her is more powerful than—”
“How are you reading my mind?” Levi roared.
“Leave us!” Harrison ordered him sternly. “I will take care of this from here. Contact the command center immediately, and tell them to send two men from Pemdas to retrieve her. I will await their arrival.”
Levi didn’t respond; he waited for the woman to answer.
“Levi! You must inform Samuel of this situation, now! You can no longer stay here; you are a risk. She is actively reading your thoughts, you must leave!” Harrison shouted out to him.
When Levi brought his attention to Harrison, his cousin exhaled in relief. Levi quickly nodded, and turned swiftly to remove himself from the Armedite woman’s presence.
Levi marched briskly through the field toward the parking lot and back to their car. Once inside, he contacted Samuel and notified him of the encounter and the new information about Michael. Samuel confirmed that he would have men dispatched to their location at once.
The Guardians who were assigned to retrieve the woman arrived within the hour, and left with her almost immediately thereafter. As soon as Harrison was seated in the passenger’s seat, Levi put the car in gear and sped quickly out of the parking lot.
“Was that woman able to see the location of the stone in my mind?” Levi asked.
“I am unsure; she hasn’t spoken a word since you left us. But I believe all she saw was that you have knowledge of the stone’s whereabouts.”
“Why would you assume that?” Levi asked, while staring intently at the road.
“Because it’s what I saw as well.”
Levi glanced over at his cousin, perplexed by what he had said. “My mind wasn’t open to you at that time.”
Harrison rested his elbow on his knee and twisted to face Levi. “That’s the strange part. I wasn’t trying to read your thoughts. I was still amazed by what that woman was revealing to you at the time. Then, one moment you grab her angrily, and the next thing I know your mind is projecting thoughts into mine. It was why you had to leave. When she validated your love for Reece, I realized that your mind was projecting thoughts into hers as well.”
Levi glanced over at Harrison in disbelief. How had his mind become weakened? What exactly had taken place when he gained this imprint from Reece? This is absurd! My mind is projecting its thoughts? Impossible! he thought as he stared out of the front windshield.
“This is odd,” Levi said softly. “This is exactly what happened when I first saw the location of the stone. Reece’s mind projected the images into mine. Queen Galleta mentioned that I now carry an imprint of the map.” He rubbed his forehead in utter confusion as to what was going on within him. “I have to speak to the queen about this when we return.”
“Very well. Queen Galleta also needs to be summoned for this woman,” Harrison replied. “Our devices were unsuccessful in removing her memories of this encounter. We need to see if the queen can alter her memory in some way.”
Levi gripped the steering wheel tightly. “Isn’t this just delightful?” he said with disgust. “Hopefully she possesses the talent to do such a thing; otherwise, this woman can never leave Pemdas. Having this information makes her too great of a risk.”
“Did you notify Samuel of Michael’s whereabouts?”
“Of course. My father has ordered him to dispatch a troop to Armedias, demanding they turn Michael over to us,” he said, as he maneuvered the car around a vehicle that was going half their speed. “It was only a few moments before you arrived at the car that Samuel had informed me that Armedias will not deliver Michael to us unless we release the woman.”
Harrison laughed. “Well, that’s not going to happen anytime soon.” He scratched his head. “I do wonder why she would offer such interesting information about Lucas and Michael.”
“Oh yes, their plans for Reece?” Levi grimaced. “Lucas is a young, arrogant fool, and he should know that with or without Michael’s help, he’s never going to get to Reece.”
Harrison smirked, “It would be interesting to watch them try; wouldn’t you agree?”
Levi’s eyebrow arched. “Provoke war with Pemdas? Not going to happen. Lucas’ armies could never stand a chance against ours. Lucas is obtuse, but I believe him to be somewhat smarter than that,” he said, as he directed the car toward the cliff where the vortex to Pemdas was. “That’s why none of that is really my concern at the moment.”
As the car traveled on the road in the outer boundaries of Pemdas, Levi audibly called for the car to connect to the command center. As he pulled into the stone structure and parked the car, the front windshield projected Samuel in the command center alongside a group of Guardians holding the woman in restraints. Samuel stepped into his office, and informed both men that the emperor had already requested that they bring the woman to Queen Galleta for interrogation.
Levi and Harrison arrived at Queen Galleta’s home shortly after Samuel and the Guardians left with the woman from Armedias. They followed a servant into a small sitting room, where Galleta waited for them. When they entered, the queen gestured for them to make themselves comfortable on the sofas.
“Levi. Harrison,” she announced, as she sat in a chair across from the two men. “I have just concluded my interview with the priestess. She is currently being escorted into a chamber of isolation, given that I still need more time with her.”
“A priestess—from Armedias?” Levi asked, stunned at the reference to the woman. “Since when do the Armedites have such beings?”
“Nearly five years ago, she and her four sisters sought residence in the dimension of Armedias. After they demonstrated their exceptional abilities to Lucas, he appointed them as his chief advisors. These beings are unique, and I am still in the process of learning more about their kind. For now, all I have learned about their history from this particular woman is that Lucas refers to them as his priestesses.”
“Tell me, your Excellency; this priestess read my mind,” Levi interjected. “Did you learn how she was able to do this? Do you believe she was able to see where the stone is?”
“As
I informed the emperor and Samuel, I need more time with this woman. Her mind is strong, and I must break down her mental barriers to get through to the information she is withholding from me. I advised the emperor that due to this woman’s secrecy, I believe she may have seen the location of the stone. She is impressively guarded, but I believe in time, I will have an effect on her. For now, I feel it is best to assume she knows where the stone is, and act accordingly.” Galleta sighed and regarded Levi with some sympathy. “Levi, it appears she has achieved the impossible with your mind. She has found a way to break down your natural protective barriers, and I can now see that your thoughts can be read by any individual who has the talent to do so.”
Isn’t this perfect? Levi’s stomach cinched into a knot. “How could something like this happen? This woman—how could she do such a thing? The only one who has been able to read my mind at will is Harrison, and that is because we were trained in such a way.”
“When I tried to use my mental persuasion and remove the memory the priestess had of her encounter with you, I was able to see exactly how she was able to…” Galleta’s lips twisted, while she seemed to search for the proper words. “I was able to see how she was able to damage your protective mental barrier,” she finished, sitting back and watching Levi in response.
“Damage? How?” Levi said in a tone of disgust. “What are you talking about?”
“She was probing into your mind, and that is why she was provoking you. She was using your anger as weakness; and in the end, when you made contact with the woman, you gave her enough physical power to not only destroy your mental barriers, but also project your thoughts into her mind as well.”
“That’s where that energy jolt came from.” Levi muttered to himself, recalling the strange sensation he experienced when he held the woman’s arms tightly in his grip.
“It makes perfect sense,” said Harrison in astonishment. “It explains why Levi’s thoughts were forced into mine for no reason.”
“I’m not sure it makes any sense at all,” Levi said in sheer annoyance. “This is absurd!”
“Whether you wish to acknowledge it or not, this is how she was able to achieve what we believed to be impossible; reading the mind of a Pemdai warrior,” Galleta said.
Before Levi could say anything, Harrison spoke up. “Will there be any success in removing her memories?”
“I am confident that with more time, I will be able to remove her memory, and learn more about her and her kind.”
Levi leaned forward and placed an elbow on each knee. “Why? Why did this woman seek us out? It was obvious she was not there to abduct a human.”
“Yes,” answered Galleta, “and from the minimal information I have learned, the priestess was sent exclusively to meet with you and Harrison. Lucas has formed a great interest in Reece. With Michael making him aware of the fact that you and Harrison served to protect the Key, he believed that if he sent his priestess, she would give him more information about her. He was convinced that the woman’s strong mind could read your thoughts and he could see for himself whether Emperor Navarre was speaking the truth in the council. He wanted to know if the Pemdai brought Reece here for protection, or to use her to locate the stone.” Galleta cleared her throat. “It appears she was successful in that matter, and now she must remain in Pemdas until the information is removed from her mind.”
“I still do not understand why Lucas seeks to trouble himself with all of this. Why he would cause dissention between Pemdas and Armedias.” Levi shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he weighed the situation. “I agree, she must remain imprisoned…I suspect that if the Council of Worlds learns that I have knowledge of where the stone is, it would cause another misconception amongst us and the other worlds. It would give them all an excellent excuse to disregard the Pemdai’s honor and duty in protecting their worlds and ours. I don’t believe anyone would ever believe how I was able to see the stone’s location.”
“Very true,” said Galleta. “Apart from your current weakened state of mind, I believe that everything, in time, will work itself out regarding this woman.”
“So now that my mind is able to be read, this means I am no longer qualified to serve as Guardian on Earth.” Levi said in irritation.
Galleta nodded, as Harrison sat there expressionless. This was definitely more than he could process. Before Galleta could respond, Levi stood and turned away from both them. He brought his tightened fist to his mouth and closed his eyes. This can’t be happening. Never in his life had he felt so inadequate.
“There has to be something you can do, your Excellency,” Harrison said.
“If Levi is willing, I believe there may be a way we can work together to fix this. It will take some time, and he must isolate himself from everyone and everything.”
Levi turned back to her. “I am prepared to do anything.”
Galleta smiled reassuringly at Levi. “There are mental exercises we will do to help strengthen your mind for protection again. I will inform Samuel of this situation. Once I am assured you have successfully strengthened your mind, you will be able to resume your duties on Earth.”
Levi relaxed some. “I am ready to start this as soon as possible.”
Galleta nodded. “I will inform Samuel of the process, and we will arrange the training.”
The men thanked the queen politely for her counsel, and walked out to their horses. Despite Galleta’s encouraging words that Levi may be able to overcome this new vulnerability, he was growing more upset by the minute. He was revolted at the thought that this woman had the ability to weaken him. The idea of him not being qualified to guard on Earth was not an easy thing for him to accept.
He grabbed the reins, stepped his foot hard into his stirrup, and hoisted himself onto Areion’s back. The stallion instantly sensed Levi’s aggressive tension and began stamping his feet forcefully onto the ground. Levi glanced over to find Harrison smiling broadly at him. “It looks like we’ll be traveling the high road home,” he said, knowing that they would be taking a more challenging route to the palace. “After you, my friend.”
Without hesitation, Levi directed Areion away from Galleta’s home, and out toward a steep mountain range. A fierce ride on Areion always helped to ease his nerves. He pushed the horse hard, and the noble steed greatly welcomed it. As Areion charged up the steep mountain ridge, Levi’s nerves began unwinding, and a sense of calmness washed over him.
As he and Harrison continued at a rapid pace back to the palace, Levi’s troubled thoughts were replaced by his anticipation of seeing Reece again. Being a Guardian was what Levi had always been passionate about; since he was a young boy, it was all he ever desired. But it wasn’t until he admitted his love for Reece that he saw everything so differently. Of course, serving on Earth was always his greatest desire, but it wasn’t what defined who Levi was anymore. Sharing a life with Reece, having her love…that was what defined the man he was now. His love for this woman was far superior to anything he had ever known, particularly his own needs and desires. So why would he be so upset if he no longer had the qualifications to serve as Guardian in the other worlds? It all seemed so trivial to him now. He already promised Reece on the day that he proclaimed his love to her that he would give everything up, if only she gave him her heart. So why would he hesitate to give up guarding the humans on Earth?
Adrenaline surged through his veins as Areion began the descent down the steep mountainside, knowing they were not far from the palace. It had been too long since he had seen Reece, and he longed to be in her presence more than anything now. He needed to see her eyes fill with eagerness as they always did when she stared into his. He needed to hear her laugh, and most of all, he needed to feel her closeness. As the grounds behind the palace came into his sight, Areion found his next burst of speed, sending Levi to where he knew Reece was waiting for him.
Areion had barely halted when Levi dismounted and turned him over to a stable man. Without hesitation, Levi spun and strode br
iskly up to the palace as Harrison followed closely at his side. “When you report to the command center, let Samuel know that I will discuss my current situation with him later this evening.” He stopped before entering the palace. “Right now, I am finished concerning myself with what happened with the priestess.”
Harrison grinned and clapped Levi on his shoulder. “Enjoy your afternoon with Reece. I’ll see you this evening.”
With that, they parted ways, and Levi sought out the closest servant. “Do you know of Miss Bryant’s whereabouts?”
“Master Levi, she is taking her tea in one of the sitting rooms with—”
“Very well,” Levi said, interrupting the man. “Notify the kitchen staff that I will need an area set up, and a basket of food delivered to it. Miss Bryant and I will be leaving the palace for the afternoon.”
“Yes, sir. I will have the staff arrange everything. Is there anything else, sir?”
“That is all, thank you,” Levi answered, and turned to walk briskly up to the third floor where his room was.
As he walked in, his valet met him in the entryway. “Henry, have any packages been delivered to the room in my absence?”
“Two gift boxes arrived early yesterday morning.”
Levi grinned subtly. “Excellent.” He made his way toward his desk and quickly wrote a note to be delivered with the packages. When he was finished, he sealed it and placed it in Henry’s hand. “Have this and the packages delivered to Miss Bryant’s room.”
With that, Levi turned and strode quickly toward his shower. His eagerness to see Reece, and spend the rest of the afternoon alone in her presence, faded any and all stress about the encounter with the priestess. All he wanted now was to have Reece in his arms.
Upon returning to the palace, Reece and Simone entered one of the sitting rooms where the servants had tea prepared. Just my luck I run into Simone on the one day everybody else has something to do, Reece thought as she pondered excuses to dismiss herself.
