Garda - Welcome to the Realm (9 page)

To know that she was here, with us, caused emotions I had held hidden for so long start to surface. It had been quite a few years since I had stood among the living, and I had never missed the waves of raw feelings that could stop a man cold, the emotions that held Mitch in their grip.

I watched as she studied the room and helped Montgomery to explain what she now was. There would be many more talks, but she needed a chance to get settled first.

As if on cue, David had walked in. I knew I was going to take flak for her being here now. I expected it. I just didn’t want that to happen in front of her so I would have to explain it, not yet.

When she left the room, Montgomery and I stared each other down. He raised his eyebrows, waiting for me to speak.

“What?” I sat up and rested my elbows on my knees, pensive.

“You know what.” He shook his head at me. “Why on God’s earth did you decide to take her now? You know as well as I do that this was only to be the beginning, not her final end.”

I stood in a huff, walking away from him towards the windows. “Yes, and you know that what was planned for her was not fair. I decided to take her now so that everyone can move on with their lives.”

I crossed my arms over my chest, unusually tense. Yes, I knew she should have stayed on Earth longer, but I could not handle waiting.

Laughter made me turn and glare.

“Don’t tell me you are getting soft, Brock! You, the man who has held all his emotions in check since the moment he arrived; the one who never shares anything of himself. You forget, I know your story.”

“I am not getting soft.” I turned back to the glass and ignored the comment about my past. I was not proud of it and often wondered how I had gotten the privilege of coming to play on this team and not the southern one.

“It doesn’t matter, she’s here, and it’s done.”

I shrugged.

“I expect that you will be summoned soon.”

I hung my head. Yeah, I knew I would be summoned to the Maker, although he already knew exactly what I had done and why I had done it my way. I would be reprimanded; my summons would be to explain my punishment for not following out his plan to the letter.

I just hoped that my punishment would not take me away from being Coralenna’s Garda. Even though she was training to be one, I was always to be connected with her in a way no one else was, just like the connection I had with Montgomery. He could find me no matter where I was, and he was the one I went to for guidance, except with Coralenna.

From the moment she had become my charge, I had kept my thoughts silent from him. When I had learned of the paths her life would lead, it took everything I had to keep my thoughts and feelings to myself. I was frustrated and wanted to change where her life would take her, but I feared she would be pulled from my protection.

A warming of my essence called me to the Maker, and I took a deep calming breath before I turned to Montgomery, “Wish me luck.”

“Luck is not what you need; I think you’d be better off going to pad your pants with tissue because you are going to get one swift kick in the rear.”

We both chuckled, and I phased from the room to meet the Maker.

~ Corey ~

David pushed away from the balcony and led me back to the front door. I took a second to consider the room as we walked through. A chrome, black, and white kitchen stood off to the right. Anything and everything I could imagine appeared to be on the counters and behind the glass cabinet doors.

“We eat?” I asked as we reached the door.

“Sure we eat! The best part about it is we can eat whatever we want now. If you had food allergies, you won’t have them here. If you were ever worried about gaining weight, you don’t have to now. You can enjoy whatever you heart desires.” He winked at me, and I caught his innuendo and smiled.

We climbed back onto the elevator in silence, and again I stood exploring the beauty of the land.

When the door slid open behind me, I followed David down the hall, “This is one of the exercise floors. No matter what you like to do, we have it here. He pointed to a door that was open. Inside, hundreds of weights and machines filled the room. A handful of people were scattered around and a few glanced up and smiled as we passed by.

He kept walking, and I peeked in another door and saw a ballet studio complete with mirrors and a wooden barre around the entire room. Cool.

Near the middle of the hallway, he turned into a room that caused me to pause. The floor was covered in a large red mat; three of the walls were mirrored. Around the edges were targets and weight bags.

“This is the martial arts room.” David turned to me.

“Are you going to teach me martial arts?” I stopped by the edge of the mats. Somewhere in me, I knew that I should not step onto them with shoes.

David’s laughter filled the large room. “Teach you? No way! You could slaughter me in this room. Girl, you know how to do this.”

“I do?” Confusion radiated through my voice and I scanned around the room. I did find comfort here, but did I really know how to do this?

“Yeah, Coralenna, you know how to do this, and to be perfectly honest, you are amazing at it. Come on, let’s get you dressed, and you can practice.”

I glanced around the room again—practice? I swallowed nervously but followed David along the edge of the mat to a locker room. He told me to go in and grab my uniform and belt out of my locker and get changed.

Inside the locker room, I found closets, each labeled with a name. I found mine about halfway down. Inside the closet were two white uniforms and a black belt. Black belt? Was I a black belt?

Reaching down to unbutton my pants, I suddenly realized that I had on dark navy pants and heavy work boots. A picture flashed of the man running past me earlier. He had been wearing similar pants and boots. Was I like him?

I pulled the boots off and slid the pants down my legs. The soft white cotton workout pants felt so natural. My tight fitting Under Armour T-shirt was quickly replaced with the soft flowing top. As I allowed my hands to slide down the front, the word dobok came to mind. Dobok…that’s what this uniform is called.

I reached for the belt and lifted it carefully off the hook. A sense of excitement raced through my fingers, and I slipped them over the cloth. My name was embroidered into it. I touched each letter slowly. It felt familiar, but I still was unsure that I knew what I should do. I wrapped the belt around my waist and tied it without a second thought. When I considered my image in the mirror, a sense of completion surrounded me.

With my hair pulled back in a ponytail, I took one last look in the mirror and walked back to the door.

When I stepped out, I scanned the room, an uneasy feeling passed over me. I don’t know how to do this!

“It’s alright, Coralenna, you will remember it soon.” I turned to see him standing in the corner, dressed in a dobok like me, a black belt wrapped around his waist tightly. He bowed to me and immediately I returned it.

I stepped onto the mat and approached him. “I’m not sure you are right. I don’t think I know how to do this.”

“Relax, Coralenna. Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. Feel the room, listen with your heart; it will come back to you.”

I did as he said, but I felt no different. I shook my head and just as I opened my eyes, I saw David skip forward and throw a roundhouse kick. I blocked it with a down block and jumped back, instinctively taking a fighting stance.

He spun around and came at me with a side kick. I blocked it and threw a roundhouse kick that struck him in the middle of his back. A pulse of energy traveled up my leg. He grinned.

The sparring continued until we were both dripping with sweat. The moves came to me without thought, they were second nature, like walking or breathing. Each time we made contact with each other, a pulse of energy would travel through the area where we connected.

I wasn’t sure what that was all about, but the energy was positive and that felt good. It kept me focused and increased my adrenaline.

He was right. I did know how to do this and apparently so did he—very well.

After knocking him to the ground with a sweep of the legs, I fell next to him and rolled to my back, sucking in air.

When clapping came from the edge of the room, I sat up quickly. Our little sparring match had attracted quite a bit of attention. About fifteen people stood near the door and along the wall. I had been so intent on sparring David I had not even noticed. My face flushed from embarrassment.

My gaze roved over the group of men and a few women and stopped when they landed on Brock. My heart beat faster as our eyes met. The expression on his face startled me. “Feel better now?” David said as he stood up.

The group started moving towards the door slowly, all but Brock.

I brought my attention back to David. “I feel fantastic. I didn’t realize I knew how to do all that. It just felt so natural.” I stood up next to him.

“You know a lot more than that. I told you it would come back to you. Why don’t you go back up to your room and relax a bit? Take a shower, get dressed, and then I will show you around the grounds.

“Sounds good.” With one last glance over my shoulder, I saw that Brock was no longer there, and I made my way back to the locker room, stopping to bow off the mat before I stepped off. With my earlier clothes in hand, I left the exercise room and made my way to the elevator at the end of the hallway.

A few people smiled as I passed them and said, “Welcome.” I didn’t know what to say, so I simply smiled back.

Back on my floor, I entered my room again and examined it closely. Yeah, the black and white fit me perfectly, the yin and yang of life.

I walked down a hallway I had not noticed before and found myself in a large room. A huge bed dominated the center, draped with soft gauzy material. Unlike the living area, this room was done in pastel colors of the ocean. Soft blues, beiges with touches of pink and purple like the sunset were scattered around the room.

I grinned as I took it all in and walked to a door that I assumed to be a closet, the inside of which was full of every possible type of outfit I could imagine.

Near the back were fancy dresses and blouses. I touched the soft silk of one of the blouses, it felt heavenly. I moved through the clothes, so many colors and textures, reaching out to finger some until I settled on a black T-shirt and a pair of jeans.

Another door on the opposite side of the room led to a bathroom. A shower big enough for eight people covered the far wall and a large soaking tub was situated beside the windows. I could sit in the tub and stare out at the beauty, awesome.

I opted for a quick shower and found that the six water jets worked wonders on my tired muscles. Bottles of my favorite soaps stood in a row on a shelf; I hummed a nameless tune while I lathered away.

After drying off with the softest lilac towel I had ever felt, I slipped on my clothes and brushed out my long hair. I found a hair dryer under the sink and started drying my long locks.

I only dried it about half way, wanting the air to finish the job and give it some natural curl. No makeup was needed; I had never liked to wear it anyway. Satisfied with my appearance, I turned and walked back to my living area.

I stopped mid-stride when I entered. My senses picked up someone in the room. Through the glass, I saw Brock standing on the balcony. I frowned. People might not steal here, but what about privacy?

I walked to the sliding door, stopping at the edge with my hand on the frame. “What are you doing here?”

Brock must have been lost in thought because he spun quickly as if I had startled him. His eyes landed on mine and then flowed slowly down my body and back up. I suppressed a shiver at the hungry look in his face.

“Did you enjoy your workout?” he asked when he finally met my gaze again.

I stared him down this time, feeling stronger. “Yes, I did, thank you. Now tell me why you are in my room.”

He broke the eye contact this time and turned towards the balcony, resting his hands lightly on the railing. “I’m just checking the view.”

“What, you don’t have a view in your room?” I stepped out of the door, drawn to the railing and the lush scenery beyond it.

“Everyone has a view, but some are just more beautiful than others.” His voice was husky and soft as he turned to face me; a chill wanted to run down my neck, but I suppressed it.

“Why are you here, Brock?”

His lips twitched for a second, and I found I wanted to see them turn up into a smile, but they didn’t. “I’m dead just like you, that’s why I’m here.”

Hearing that word, sadness crept into my mind, and I turned away from him. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Relax, Coralenna, I’m just checking to see if you need anything.”

He turned sideways and rested his hip against the railing, crossing his arms over his chest. “Why did you think I was here?”

I shrugged and let my attention wander out to the water. A sailboat was barely visible on the horizon. I realized that I wanted to sail, let the wind blow in my hair, feel the sun on my face, draw in the scent of the salty ocean.

I saw Brock reach out as if to touch me, but he pulled his hand back before it got too far away from his tightly-coiled body.

“I guess I have everything that I need, thank you,” I answered him quietly.

He stepped closer to me, his chest within inches of my back. I squeezed the railing with my hands, afraid they would shake if I did not.

“Not everything,” he whispered near my ear, the soft caress of his breath sucked the air out of my lungs.

“Coralenna, you ready?”

I spun around to find David standing in the doorway, and Brock was gone.

“Doesn’t anyone knock around here?” I blurted out, unbalanced from Brock’s last words. Where did he go?

“You alright?” David asked as he stepped out on the balcony.

I took a deep breath to settle my heart and nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine. Let’s go. Show me more of this beautiful place.”

He stepped aside and let me pass back into the room.