Harmonizer's Evolution (Balancer's Soul cycle) (38 page)

“Connor, what is it?”

“We’ve got company!”

Everyone silenced at his words. He stood up and ran outside after ma
king sure that he didn’t make her
fall.

They
all looked between each other and the only noise came from the TV.
Everyone looked suspicious and she
could hear them following behind
her
.
Sarah
walked outside to see Connor standing in the middle of the lawn
,
looking towards the northern sky. He looked tall and commanding as he waited for something.

They
all hurried to his side as he continued staring. Everyone
grew
silent as
they
also looked into the rich blue sky.

Before any of
them,
besides Connor saw anything
,
they
heard a mental voice.
“CONNOR!!!”
It was Veroni
ca, but her shout left all of them
stunned because she sounded panicky.

Before anything else could be said Connor mentally shouted for everyone
to hear
“Veronica, don’t be a fool! Go to my cottage. The last thing we need is for you to be seen on an open
public
road
.”

“VERY WELL!”

Connor looked at all of them
and spoke normally. “Something is wrong. Mom, Grandma,
Granddaddy; stay here and keep
my children
safe
.” David held Pearl while Rhoda
carried
Darrel.

David leveled his eyes and said “We’ll do no such thing. We’re coming…”

“
You’ll
do no such thing.” Connor stated and David finally saw
his deadly
commanding side.
His piercing eyes were unwavering and unbendable.
It would be foolish to disregard his explicit orders. “Granddaddy, if Veronica is this worried, that means something has happened to Sorono. Now stay here. When it’s safe, someone will let you k
now what is going on
.”

Without another word Connor turned around and bolted into the forest.

Connor
ran through the
thick
forest at a
speed nothing could catch, but he
forced himself to
slow
his long
strides for everyone else to follow. Mark ran to
his
right while the girls and Jack were
following right behind
. Within a mi
nute, everyone made it to the
cottage.

It was clear and empty.
Veronica should be showing up right about…now.
Right then
, Veronica cleared the trees and landed heavily in
the
yard. She immediately spotted them
and
they
all
ran
over
to her.

Veronica’s body language
looked
all wrong. Her eyes were wide with fright. She was panting heavily which meant she’s been hurrying and being rash. Her white robe had splashes of dirt and grass stains. Her shoulders were slumped and above all
else
she looked defeated. And the closer
they approached
the stronger
her unfavorable scent became
. She hasn’t bathed in weeks from the
overwhelming
odor
coming off
of her.

Suddenly
they
saw Shannon remove herself from her mother robe
and dropped to the ground
. She too looked frightened.

Veronica’s mental voice
sounded
frighteningly
terrified.
“Connor, please…”

He
held up a hand and said “Be quiet and calm yourself! Take your time and tell me what has happened.
If you are like this
,
it will be difficult to understand you
and what’s happened
.”

Veronica knew the truth of maintaining a clear
and rational
mind. After a minute of collecting herself she then spoke much more clearly.

“You know that Sorono left to go and track Ranvan and you sent me back home.”
H
er golden eyes were
giving off
a smoldering fury and
unknown
worry.
“Well Sorono has been doing fine thanks to the bond we share.

“
That was until twenty one days ago.”

In the back of
his
mind
he
said
Three weeks ago? That’s how long it’s been since the dream. This isn’t a coincidence. Something really did happen.

Veronica didn’t hear his
thought as she continued.
“On that day
,
I felt his emotions change from calm to danger. He w
ent
in a rage and
then something happened only seconds later. His emotions were quelled almost instantly. That only happens if he were to become unconscious by force. Then someone did the unthinkable. They broke the locating part of our bond. Now all I can feel is his emotional climate. And right now he’s given up hope and he’s
severely
weak.”
Her eyes flickered towards Sarah for a moment.
“The only good thing I can say
for a certainly is
that I know he is still alive.

“The moment I felt his worry I took off after him. I left Shannon in Damian’s trustworthy claws. I went down to where my bond told me where he was last. I spent a week searching and I found some promising trails, but they were all false. Knowing there was nothing I could do, I returned to retrieve Shannon and gave my report to Damian and the other Head Elders. Damian will step in and hold the Head Elder position until his father returns or I feel my mate’s connection
…
break.
”
Tears began pouring from her large eyes, but she kept speaking.
“
Right now their hands are tied. Since I was the first to know about his condition and I couldn’t find him, the Head Elders don’t think it is wise to dispatch an Immortal Guard battalion to search for Sorono. They know I’m a good tracker, and if I couldn’t find anything
in a week
no one else would.

“Damian knows that I’ve come seeking your help. Since you are a Harmonizer
,
like his father
, maybe you
will have
better
luck. Please will you help me find my mate?”
Veronica then went down on her knees, into a deep bow.

“Stop prostrating yourself to me, Veronica. Sorono is my brother. I’ll find him for sure
.” Her large head came up and they
could all see Veronica’s tears
still
streaming down her face. “Alright, tell me everything that you know.”

She did so for the next ten minutes. She really didn’t have much to go on.

Connor turned to look at everyone. He
then realized that Mark
disappeared
.
I wonder why he left?
Everyone was calmly looking between
him
and Veronica. From each of their e
xpressions
one could tell that they would all do what they could to help.

“Guy, listen to me.
This is going to be dangerous. We cannot go in a group or else suspicion will be too easily drawn to us.
I know this is going to sound selfish, but you
all
are going to stay here…”

Sarah’s green eyes darkened as she stepped forward. “Think again! Where you go, I go!”

He
held her in
his
vision and she didn’t back down. “Princess, you need to listen. I’m going and you are staying. No one, but you can keep our children in line. They need you and we cannot just abandon them like that. They might be smart, but they will not understand
th
e gravity of the
situation
like we can. They need one of us and I cannot stay. Deep down
,
you
already
know this
truth
.”

Finally Sarah looked away. Her voice wasn’t as strong, but it was clear. “Grea
t, pull the mother card on me. H
ow could I
ever say no to that?
”

He
walked a step and kissed the top of her head. “I’m sorry, Sarah. I need to prepare.”

Ever
yone went completely silent as he
walked away and into
the
house.

Once inside
, Connor
made
his
way to
the
bedroom and up to
the dresser. He sat down on his
heels and said “It has been awhile since you’ve been out
to play
.”
He
opened the bottom shelf and there
laid his
armor.

He
took off
his
shirt and threw it on the bed. The first object in
his
grasp was the sleeveless chainmail. It was soon slid on and still fit like a second
skin. Next to be slid on were the
armguards. They still moved perfectly once they were secure
d
. Then finally
t
he
greaves
were strapped to
his
legs.

“It has been a long time since you’ve worn those.” Sarah admitted from the doorway.
Her tone was soft, but her eyes were moist.

He
rolled
his
black pants over the metal and slid on a
fresh black sleeved shirt. As his boots were being laced up he
said “It really has been a long time.”

Soon
he
stood in front of her as she blocked the door. “Connor, promise me one thing. Please don’t do anything reckless.”

He
tilted her chin up with a knuckle and pressed
his
lips to hers. “I promise that nothing will make me become reckless.” She knew that
he
didn’t give a true promise because this rescue
i
s already risky enough. Sarah knew
he
hated lying and she knew
he
couldn’t make such a restrictive promise.

She nodded in acceptance and turned around.

Before reaching the front door
he
went to the fr
ont desk and retrieved the new
Tool and slid it into its loop on
his
right hip.

Once
they
walked outside together
he
heard Mark’s voice.
He’s back?

“Sweetheart, what did I miss?”

“Brother is going off to rescue Sorono, but he said that we cannot go with him.
Honey, why are you wearing those?
”

Mark stood next to Kara wearing only his leather pants. Jillian and Jack were
silently watching all of this. Connor
walked closer and asked “I would like to know
the answer to that
too. What are you up to?”

“Actually I’m going with you.” He stated calmly
, surely
.

“No, you’re no…”

Before
Connor
could
even
finish
that
sentence Mark rushed
forward and put his hand over his
mouth. His silver eyes were calm and focused upon
Connor’s
.
He
didn’t fight him away as
Mark
kept
him
from speaking. “Now, Buddy” his tone
grew
calm and lighthearted. “there is something you need to hear from me.
I
didn’t hear you say that no one could come with you
,
so that means you didn’t say it in my book. We’ve always had each other
’
s back and that won’t
ever
change. Now I might not be as fast or as strong as a Harmonizer, but my species is
directly
right behind you. Then the
normal
Keepers are behind us.” Then he stepped closer
and evened his gazed
. “I’m going to follow you no matter what you say. And you will not detain me to stop me from chasing.”