Guardian of the Stone

by Amity Grays

The general stood and paced the floor behind them. “It’s hard to believe it has all come to an end. This has been my life for many years.”

  “And mine,” the professor said. “As much as I’m relieved to see its end, I can assure you, I wouldn’t have missed this ride for all the money in the world.”

  “Nor I,” General Corbin admitted somewhat sadly. “With the lab bound to close, I may actually have to consider retirement.”

  “You won’t last a day,” General Matthews said, slapping the man’s shoulder. “You’re too much like me. You can’t stand idle.”

  “What does this mean for Edeline?” her father asked, looking back and forth between General Matthews and Professor Blaine. “The door to the past may have closed, but the threat remains on this side. Everything they need is right here.” He looked to the general. “You said it yourself.”

  The general’s eyes held compassion as they turned toward her father. “I’m not sure yet what it means, but I imagine we will very soon. I know no one is denying danger still lurks. We’re simply no longer certain to what degree. It seems to be dwindling with every turn of the hour—first the stone, now the portal. If the news has passed as quickly as we believe it may, then those who were behind the abduction must now be having doubts similar to ours.”

  “That could be a costly assumption,” Federic said.

  “Think about it, Federic,” Martin countered. “Whether the stone is real or not, Edeline is only valuable to them if they have it and can access the treasure. Considering the odds of them getting to the stone or the treasure are next to nil, I believe Edeline is safe.”

  “He makes a good point, Federic,” Dr. Hatcher agreed.

  Martin nodded. “And it’s been mentioned more than once that the caves where the treasure is believed to have been hidden have eroded past recognition, and that the actual cavern may no longer be there at all. If it’s true, then any attempt would be futile, which is probably why they took Edeline and the stone to the past in the first place.”

  “I don’t know,” Federic said, shaking his head. “Something’s wrong. I know it is. I feel it in my heart.”

  “Daddy.” Edeline reached for his hand. “You worry too much. What they’re saying makes sense.” And she was more than willing to accept it as fact and get on with her life. Her father would, of course, have difficulty with it. He was a champion worrier. After all, he had had twenty-two years’ worth of pretty intense practice.

  She smiled toward the others. “Believe me, I can never tell you how much I appreciate what all of you’ve done for me, but I’m ready to have my life back.”

  “It wouldn’t hurt to keep surveillance on her a little longer,” Dane said, ignoring her look of irritation. “I’m with Federic on this one; something doesn’t feel right.”

  The general looked around the room to the other men in uniform and then back to the Lieutenant Colonel. “Sorry, Dane. I understand your and Federic’s concerns, but there really isn’t a lot we can do. With the lab closing and the portal gone, our superiors will be making new plans for the base, and they won’t include us. Very soon we will no longer have the money or the men to run any kind of surveillance, and they’ll never allow it, not when we can no longer justify it.”

  Dane retraced the general’s gaze to the other officials. “Do your superiors realize who they’re dealing with? Do they understand these people are willing to do just about anything?” His turned back to the general. “We’ve all seen what they’re capable of. How badly they want this. I find it hard to believe they’re going to simply give up.”

  “They saw a good plan, and they took a gamble,” Martin said. “Without question they’re risk takers, but they’ve also proven themselves to be far from idiots. They’re going to know they’re beaten. Sorry, Dane. Sorry, Federic. I believe General Matthews has it right. There’s no longer a plausible threat.”

  General Matthews sighed as he walked to the window and looked out toward the airfield. “There’s nothing I can do. We can hardly go to our superiors and tell them we’re battling the beasts of hell. They won’t buy it, and they’re certainly not going to fund it.”

  Running his hand roughly through his hair, Dane stood and followed the general to the window. “Look, I understood the argument, but I’m also pretty clear on the risks. You didn’t see what I saw back in time. You may not understand their conviction, but I do. They’re not just interested in the treasure. Their goals are much darker than that.”

  “Which still leaves me with the same argument, and it’s not one I can sell. Our hands are tied, Dane. I’ll do my best to provide coverage the best I can for as long as I can, but I can give you no guarantees.”

  “I might be able to help,” Martin said. “I’m owed a favor here and there. I’ll see what I can do.”

  “I’d appreciate any help you can give us,” Federic said to Martin.

  Edeline cringed. The idea of being watched like a monkey in a cage had never set well with her. It appealed even less with the need having literally vanished into thin air. “It’s a gracious offer, Colonel Martin, but I really doubt it’s necessary.”

  He nodded his understanding. “I have my doubts as well, Edeline, but it would do no harm to take some precautions. It won’t last forever, and it would help us all rest a little easier.”

  Leaning forward in her seat, she swallowed. “To be clear, we’re talking weeks not months, right?”

  Martin grinned. “I’ll try for months and most likely get weeks.”

  She smiled with relief as she sat back in her seat, her glance shifting back toward the window and the unhappy soldier now staring her way.

  Dane fought hard to control his temper, angry with the turn of events which had led to the military reconsidering their role in Edeline’s protection, and particularly angry with the beautiful blonde sitting at the end of the table, acting as though she hadn’t a care in the world.

  He loved her, God help him, every stubborn ounce of her, but at the moment he’d also love to shake some sense into her.

  Looking his way, she caught his unhappy glare. She flinched, swallowed, and then shook back her hair and squared her shoulders.

  Stubborn.

  “I’d like to know what happened in France,” she said. “I believe I have a right to know.”

  “Of course,” the general said, interjecting before Dane could respond. “We know you’re very anxious, but for now you’ll have to wait. There’s still information we need to go over before anything’s released.”

  “Released? General, I’m not a reporter. This is my life. I’d like to know what I lived.”

  Studying her determined demeanor, Dane knew whatever he told her, she’d hear it through the filter of her own preconceived doubts. “I’m not so sure you’re ready to hear it,” he replied honestly.

  An adorable scowl landed between her brows. “I can take it, whatever it is. I’ll admit I’m a bit nervous, but even more than that, I’m eager.”

  “Eager enough to listen with an open mind?” he asked.

  The scowl deepened. She shifted in her seat. “Look, if this is about the stone—”

  “You’re not taking any of it seriously enough, Edeline.”

  She batted her lids. “It’s just a stone, Lieutenant Colonel, and I’m just a woman. There’s no magic or power in either of us. You saw it with your own eyes. I don’t know what everyone saw back then, but…” Throwing her hands into the air, she shrugged her shoulders as though it all should be obvious. “It’s just a rock, polished but plain.”

  “You don’t know that for sure.”

  “But I do. I feel it in my heart,” she said, sitting up and leaning forward in her seat. “Or maybe I should say I don’t feel it in my heart. And wouldn’t I? Wouldn’t I feel something? If I held this extraordinary power, this…gift, wouldn’t I sense it?” Shaking her head, she once again leaned back. “There is nothing special about me, only the oddity of being from another time.”

  Dropping b
ack his head to rest momentarily on his shoulders, he sighed with exasperation. How could he convince this woman she might actually be more than her imaginings?

  He understood her hesitation, and he had to agree, everything everyone said made a whole lot of sense—until he took a look back at his time in fourteenth century France, when men were willing to risk everything to possess the stone and the woman who could make it come to life.

  “Look, I can’t explain it, not even to myself. But despite all the arguments against it and circumstances which question its validity, I still believe there’s truth in what those men believed back then. They were truly remarkable men, not the type easily played a fool. And I’m sorry to say, though I despise the men who are behind all this, I still believe in their ability to decipher the truth. There is a darkness which surrounds them. I felt it when we fought them in France. It’s neither blind nor naïve, but careful and shrewd. As much as I believe in the greatness of the Knights Templar, I also believe in the ruthlessness and cunning of their opponents. They would not act with such fierce determination unless they had reason to believe you held the power you deny.”

  “You fought them in France?” Curious blue eyes held his mesmerized.

  “Dane,” the general warned.

  He’d released too much, something he never did. The woman simply had him tied in so many knots he couldn’t see past their binding.

  She shook her head. “Look, regardless of what happened in France, the men who are here know only what they learn from us. Isn’t that what I’ve been hearing? They know what they know because of their connections, whatever they may be.”

  “Edeline.” Her father sighed. “What’s your point?”

  “If they’re so bright, so well informed, then I believe Colonel Martin’s right. I’m sure they already know that they’ve lost. They’ll have no reason to come for me.”

  Dane stormed to the table, slamming his hands down on its hard wood. Leaning forward, he glared across the distance into her startled blue eyes. “That kind of thinking could very well get you killed.”

  “What would you have me do, Colonel? Lock myself behind safe doors, surrendering my life for the risk of losing it?” Slamming her own hands down against the table, she stood, glaring across the table right back at him. “I’m telling you now, I won’t do it.”

  “No matter what you think, no matter what they think,” Dane said, nudging his head toward the others, “you’re by no means out of danger.”

  She hung her head and shook it wearily before standing up straight and looking back into his eyes. “Will you please tell me what happened back there? Please. Perhaps then I’ll understand what makes you so willing to believe what to me is unbelievable.”

  He wanted so badly to reach out and touch her that his fingers actually ached with the desire. But he knew he dare not. For it would surely be impossible to ever again let her go.

  Pushing himself away from the table, he turned to General Matthews. They’d taken his information and were now weighing its value. What he could and couldn’t release had yet to be determined.

  “Sorry, Edeline,” the general said. “It’s going to have to wait.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  HOPING TO BEAT THE LIGHT, Edeline wrapped her arms tight around the overstuffed, black, trash bag and sprinted toward the crosswalk. Two steps from made it, the signal flashed an orange hand telling her to stop. She glared at the light and dropped the bag to the ground.

  Rubbing her hands up and down her aching arms, she watched as up ahead the black Suburban pulled in parallel to the curb.

  Her babysitters. Nice to see they weren’t overburdened.

  She’d had half a mind five blocks back to ignore the rules and storm their vehicle, depositing a large black bag they could much easier carry.

  More than she wanted their help, what she really wanted was them gone.

  After two weeks of being “shadowed,” she was ready to pull the blinds and stand in the dark. It was eerie being the center of so many strangers’ worlds. Luckily, it was coming to an end. Two more days and it would all be over. The military would officially withdraw from the picture and life could return to normal.

  A little electrical man appeared on the sign across the walk. The crowd around her moved forward as she gathered the bag back into her arms and hurried to join them. Ignoring the Suburban with the dark tinted windows, she hurried down the street to reach the next crosswalk. Once again she barely missed the light.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me!” The bag dropped to her feet.

  “You almost made it,” said a masculine voice coming up from directly behind her.

  As more pedestrians gathered near, she turned toward the stranger now at her side.

  He was a handsome man. She’d guess him in his late forties, possibly early fifties, tall, broad, looked like he hit the gym on a regular basis. His eyes were a nice green—open, friendly. He seemed safe, not that it mattered—Brute and Force were a mere sprint away.

  She smiled. “I’ve managed to hit every corner just in time to miss the signal. That’s a lot of waiting when you’ve walked near ten blocks with a garbage bag full of paperbacks.”

  The man glanced down toward the bag and grimaced. Reaching down, he lifted it up, testing its weight. His right brow rose as he looked toward her small arms. “You’ve walked these ten blocks? They weigh more than you.”

  “Not really, but I must admit it feels that way. I’ve had to take a couple breaks.” She pointed toward the next block where Paperback Adventures sat midway down the walk. “I’m just about there.”

  Shaking his head, the man lifted the bag into his arms. “I’m heading that way. I’ll give you a hand.”

  “Oh.” Edeline blinked, surprised by the offer and not so sure how her chaperones would take it. “You don’t have to do that. I’m fine.”

  “It will be my pleasure.” The man’s grin lit his face to charming.

  She couldn’t refuse, and was pretty certain it would do her no good anyway. So instead she nodded. “I thank you, and my arms thank you as well.”

  The man chuckled and looked up into the clear afternoon sky. “It’s a lovely day.”

  It was. There wasn’t a trace of smog in the air, only soft pastel blue wherever one looked. Through the splendid canvas, the sun beamed down, bouncing off the many windows adorning the old brick and concrete buildings, adding a little extra brilliance to the already glorious day.

  The light changed and they, along with a small herd of various other characters, moved into the street.

  He patted the bag. “You’re an avid reader I take it?”

  “Yes, but they’re not all mine.”

  “I would hope not. Such a beautiful young woman shouldn’t spend all her days hidden behind books.” He nodded toward the bag curiously. “You’re selling them?”

  “Not exactly. They’re donations from members of my church toward a charity book sale my friends are sponsoring for the local children’s shelter.”

  “Very nice,” he said, peeking into the bag. “I’m an avid reader myself. Perhaps I’ll stop by. When is it?”

  “From noon to seven.” She stopped outside the bookstore where Paul stood atop a ladder hanging the sign she and Amanda had made a week prior.

  Turning to her new friend, she smiled. “Thank you again. It’s really very kind of you.”

  The man placed the bag beside the door. “My pleasure, Miss…?”

  “Edeline,” she said, offering him her hand, “but my friends call me Eda.”

  “It’s been a pleasure meeting you, Eda. Good luck with your fundraiser.” He patted her hand and turned to leave.

  “Wait,” she said, taking a step to follow. “I didn’t get your name?”

  “Hunter,” he said, turning back with a smile. “Everyone calls me Hunter.” With a quick wave, he turned again and merged with the rest of the sidewalk traffic.

  “Hunter,” Edeline repeated his name as she watched him walk aw
ay. “I’ve always liked the name, but I don’t hear it very often.”

  Looking down from the top of his ladder, Paul grinned. “Seems like a nice guy.”

  “Yeah, certainly does,” she agreed, scowling at his careless footing. “You’re going to fall and break your neck.”

  Paul ignored her concern, the twinkle in his eyes telling her he wasn’t about to miss the opportunity to tease. “He’s a little old for you.”

  Placing her hands on her hips, she shook her head. “He was simply giving me a hand.” She pointed her finger and twirled it toward his feet. “Will you please turn around and put both feet on that ladder?”

  “Paul Dowen, show me you have better sense,” Amanda said, stepping out the door behind Edeline. “Turn around and pay attention before I end up having to rush you to the emergency room.”

  “Yes, dear.” Paul grimaced and turned back to his task.

  “Wow!” Amanda’s eyes grew wide as she glimpsed the huge black bag. “Another full bag. Those ladies always come through for us, don’t they?”

  “They sure do.” Edeline lifted the bag. “Where do you want these?”

  Amanda nodded toward the shop and led the way inside. “Why didn’t you call me? I would have met you and helped you pack them.” She took the bag from Edeline, frowning as she lifted it up and down. “This thing weighs a ton. You should’ve called.”

  Edeline glanced across the many piles of books scattered on the store’s floor. “You’re busy enough.”

  Amanda shook her head as she dug into the bag and started looking through the books. “You know, it hasn’t been that bad. Father Tom stopped by this morning with the new carpenter.” Pausing in her rummaging, she looked up to shoot Edeline an accusing scowl. “I can’t believe you never mentioned him, by the way.”

  Plunging back into the bag, she quickly emerged with an armful of mysteries. She held them up in the air. “Good, these always do well.” Placing the books in the pile furthest from the door, she looked back toward Edeline.

  “Anyway, by the time they left, they’d helped Paul put together all the racks and bring down all the boxes from the attic. I didn’t have to lift a finger. It was really nice. I was able to stay downstairs and sort through all of this.” She nodded her head, indicating the multiple piles which were taking up most the empty space in their already tiny shop.