The Guardian (The Gifted Book 1) (20 page)

32
Key

Another hour passed in Rhea's room, another hour closer to the moon. The calm of the room was abruptly interrupted by a quick rap on the door before it was cast open. "Rhea! Let's hit the town, what do you ..." Beth stopped a few steps inside Rhea's room with wide eyes and an open mouth, "... say? What's going on here?"

Rhea flew to her feet and shut
the door behind Beth. The damage was done. Beth had seen them, but Rhea didn't want anyone else seeing into her room.

Randell
had jumped off the upper bunk and Daen had risen to his feet as soon as the door had begun to open.

"Beth! Hi. Um."

Beth looked at the two men in Rhea's room and couldn't hold back the devilish grin starting to spread across her face. "Well, well. What do we have we here?" She pointed to Randell. "You're Professor Young. I've seen you before." She turned to Daen. "But I don't know you." Her gaze drifted up and down Daen's body, taking in everything she could see.

"Beth. You have to go. Don't say anything. Please."

Beth brought her fists to her hips. "I don't think so. You look pretty guilty right about now."

"Beth, please don't." Rhea was practically begging.

Beth could see the fear in her friend's eyes and decided not to tease her anymore. She waved her hand. "Ack! I'm not going to tell anyone. It's none of my business who you have in your room. But I would like an explanation. Are you all right?" She gave Randell and Daen the evil eye.

"I'm fine. They're just helping me. I had a little trouble in town and they walked me home and ... we got to talking, that's all."

"Trouble? What kind of trouble?"

Shoot. Rhea had done it now. She had a big mouth. "Um. You see
... "

Daen stepped forward. "Someone tried to mug Rhea and Randell."
He reached for the door to suggest it was time for Beth to leave.

Rhea and Randell both gave Daen the what-are-
you-doing look.

"Hold on a minute." Beth blocked Daen's attempt to get rid of her. "Did you call the cops?"

Rhea tried to get the subject dropped. "No. The men were gone before anything could be done." Okay, that was a lie, but she needed Beth gone and not worrying.

Beth pulled her phone from her back pocket. "We need to report this. How many were there? Can you describe them?"

Oh, yes. Rhea knew who they were and so did Beth.

Randell gave Daen a this-might-not-be-a-bad-idea look.

Daen glanced at Beth and back to Randell and shrugged.

Randell answered, "It happened so fast. They tried to intim
idate us into handing over our money, but we kept walking. You see ... not a big deal. We just didn't want them trying again when Rhea was alone, so we walked her home."

Beth glanced between Randell and Rhea to see if she would back the story.

Rhea just nodded.

Beth got ready to dial. "You need to call the cops."

Rhea reached out and placed her hand over Beth's. "I just want to forget about it. I'm sure they didn't mean any harm. If they had, we wouldn't be standing here. Who knows, maybe we just overreacted. Yes. That's it. We overreacted."

Randell nodded. "You
're right. Nothing to worry about."

Daen reached for the door again and this time Beth didn't get in the way.

"Well ... if you insist." Beth glanced between Daen and Randell again, trying to see what might really be going on. "Call me later."

"Okay. I will."

Rhea closed the door behind Beth and locked it, something she should have done when the pizza guy left.

"That was close." Rhea gave Daen a quizzical look. "Why did you tell her that we were almost mugged?"

Daen cringed. "Sorry. I wasn't thinking."

Randell said, "It might not be a bad idea, calling the cops I mean. It could get them off our back for a while."

"It could also get people asking a lot of questions that I don't want to answer, like how we got away. How can we say we were mugged or attacked if we don't have any injuries, nothing was taken, and supposedly they let us run away? They'd probably lock us up for filing a false police report."

Randell nodded. "I see your point. So what's our next move? How can Grennal help?"

Daen answered, "I'm hoping Grennal can shed some light on why Rhea is being hidden. It will help to know who we're up against."

"What if she doesn't show? We need a better place than this to hide." Randell paused. "What about our apartment?"

"I was thinking someplace more remote. A place we can defend and not risk a lot of people seeing anything they shouldn't." Daen didn't want to come out and say it. His idea meant taking this problem to a place Randell might not want to go.

Randell's shoulders slumped ever so slightly. "You want to take her to my parents' home?"

"Not if you and your parents aren't comfortable with it."

Randell thought about the implications. He wasn't comfortable bringing dangerous men to their doorstep but Daen was right
. They needed to be out of the public eye. "This isn't my decision. I'll call them and let them know what's happening. It'll be their choice."

Deep down, Randell knew they would agree. They would never turn him or Daen away
, but he had to ask. It was only right.

Rhea jumped in. "Wait. What about my parent
s' home?"

Randell shook his head. "I don't know. For one thing, it's a long drive. Is your house close to other houses? And would your parents understand what's going on or what we might have to do?"

Rhea wanted to say of course her parents would understand, but she knew better. "You have a point. My house is out."

Randell pulled out his phone and
dialed. A minute later he hung up. "They aren't home. I'll call them tomorrow morning." He returned to the top bunk, mumbling as he climbed, "I have a feeling it's going to be another long night."

Daen settled onto the floor with a pillow Randell tossed down from the top bunk while Rhea cozied up with Raisal's journal.

~~~

It didn't take long for Rhea to finish the journal. Most of the entries were about Raisal's experiences in this world, about the man she fell in love with, her hero, and the family she had. It was the last entry that was most interesting to Rhea. It was dated Dec
ember twelfth, no year. She read aloud.

When the moon is out

And is bright,

Will you be able to see it.

When the moon is out

And Luxatra is dark,

Will you be able to touch it.

When the moon is out

And you are true,

Will you be able to feel it.

When the moon is out

And your desires are pure,

Will you be able to cross it.

Daen watched her as she read. He could have spoken it aloud with her; the words were ingrained into him. "What do you make of it?"

Rhea lifted her eyes from the page. "It sounds like a way back to Luxatra. Why? Is it something else?"

"I don't know. The first two phrases are obvious. We need a moon shadow and Luxatra needs to be in darkness. Since we aren't always in sync, we can't go just anytime there is a moon. It's the last two that keep tripping me up."

Randell's voice came from above Rhea. "I haven't thought about that entry in a while. Since I can't see into the shadows, I guess it just slipped my mind. Can you read the third phrase again?"

Rhea obliged and then commented
, "You know what it reminds me of? The saying 'be true to yourself.' Maybe you have to be fully aware of who you are, not hiding anything from yourself or doubting yourself."

Daen said, "I think I know who I am."

Rhea continued, "Yeah, but I don't. If my interpretation is correct, I can't get back until I know." She stared at the phrase a moment longer, combing through her memories of Grennal in the shadows. "I've walked through moon shadows countless times and have never felt Luxatra." Rhea looked at Daen and their eyes locked. She could see the prison he'd been in all these years. She had also been in a prison of sorts and had never known it. Now the gates were about to open for both of them, maybe.

Randell asked, "Please read the last phrase."

Rhea obliged. "It sounds like pure of heart ... maybe? But what does that mean? That you have never had a bad thought?"

The bed above creaked as Randell sat up, swinging his legs over the edge. "I doubt anything that drastic."

Daen had already given this last phrase a lot of thought. Deep down he'd always known what it meant for him but he'd tried to believe otherwise. It was time to confess it to himself and to the others. "I think I know this one." He took a deep breath, washing away over twenty years of denial. "When I tried to return, I told myself it had been a mistake being sent here and that I needed to be back to guard the Libraim, when, in reality, I knew my beliefs weren't true. I knew the reason I was here. My motivation to return was selfish." Daen looked up to Randell on the top bunk and then to Rhea, his expression almost apologetic.

Rhea interjected, "It's not selfish to want to be with your loved ones. Never think that. But I'm glad you're here. Thank you."

Randell said, "But just think; your time here may be coming to an end."

Daen could see the question in Randell's eyes. It was time to make a decision. Assuming that's what was about to happen
, would he let Randell go with him?

Rhea sat quietly and watched their exchange. There was more to it, more than what was being said
, but she let it go. It looked personal. Instead, she set the journal down and started to assemble a box. It was time to finish packing.

33
Reunion

"I thought you would have more boxes than that." Grennal's voice got everyone's attention.

"Grennal! Oh
, thank goodness you're here." Rhea set her RA paperwork to the side and settled on the floor in front of the shadow as Randell jumped to the floor and came to stand next to her.

"What do we have here?" Grennal's voice was full of caution. "Rhea. What's going on?"

Daen leaned down and looked into the shadow. "Hello."

Grennal's voice was but a whisper
. "Daen! It really
is
you!"

Daen looked between Grennal and Rhea. "You have me at a disadvantage. Do I know you?" He didn't want to assume. He didn't want to get his hopes up.

"The last time I saw you was the Winter Festival, where we danced. You disappeared a few days later." Grennal's tail was swishing back and forth.

Daen leaned closer to the shadow; he could barely catch his breath. Could he dare to believe? Dare to hope? He calmed his exterior
even while his insides were a cacophony of emotions screaming to get out. "The last time I was at a Winter Festival, I danced with only one woman." He was looking at Grennal, trying to see past her disguise. "If you're her, what did I say when we went for a walk on the balcony of the temple?"

She sat down and wrapped her tail around her
self and answered in a sultry voice, "We didn't walk on the balcony, we walked in the garden, and I'll tell you what you said when we have some privacy."

He whispered "Lanne" and sat before the shadow. He wasn't normally an emotional man
, but the joy he felt at that moment was overwhelming. In an instant, the years apart disappeared as if nothing had changed. "Nice work on the disguise. I hardly recognize you."

"Don't be so arrogant. You didn't recognize me at all."

Daen laughed. "I could never fool you."

"We thought you were dead. You didn't tell anyone you were leaving."

"I didn't know. One minute I was in Luxatra and the next I was here with one mission: to help her." He nodded in Rhea's direction.

Randell cleared his throat. "This is like listening to a telephone conversation. I take it Grennal is here."

Daen laughed. "How did you come up with Grennal?"

"In a way, it's my name but backwards. It wasn't until I learned the English alphabet that I could give Rhea a way to spell it. G from Gaulette, R from Raisal, and e-n-n-a-l from Lanne."

Daen laughed again, but Rhea had a different reaction. "Wait a sec. What's your real name?"

"Her name is Lanne Raisal Gaulette." Daen said it with feeling and a touch of pride. He looked fondly at Grennal, but he was really looking at the Lanne he'd left behind so many years
before.

Randell was anxious to know what was going on. He'd heard the name and he'd seen Daen's reaction to her. Was this the woman he'd thought was dead, who he thought was Rhea's mother? "Daen?"

Daen knew the question. "It's her." Daen returned his attention to the shadow.

Lanne whispered, "I've missed you." Her voice was
a mix of joy and sorrow.

"And I you."

Rhea had never heard such passion from her friend in so few words. She had a lot of questions but they could wait. Rhea reached for Randell's arm. "Let's stretch our legs for a minute." She gently pulled him into the hall and closed the door. "Let's walk."

~~~

Rhea and Randell turned towards the lobby to start their walk.

"I take it Lanne is the woman Daen left behind
," Rhea said. She looked down the hall while they walked. She wasn't sure how to feel about Grennal being Lanne. Daen had her believing that she was Lanne's daughter. Disappointment battled with relief.  Lanne wasn't her mother and she didn't know who she was. But she still feared her biological parents were dead, or why else would she be here?

"It would seem so. Talk about a coincidence." Randell stared down the hall as well.

They reached the far side of the building and turned around. Rhea checked her watch. "I didn't realize how late it was getting. We should get you back in the room so you aren't seen." They picked up their pace.

"I can't stay past visiting hours."

Rhea raised a brow. "Seriously? After all that has happened you're going to worry about visiting hours?"

Randell shrugged. "If you're going to put it that way ... I guess not."

Rhea knocked lightly on the door before they stepped inside.

Daen spun around. "Ah! Here they are. Where did you go?"

"We wanted to give you two some privacy. Is everything okay?" Randell tipped his head slightly to indicate there was more to the question.

Daen nodded. "Oh
, yes. We're okay."

Randell flopped down in the desk chair. "Phew. That's good. Have you filled her in on the whole Gaulette thing?"

"No. We didn't get that far. We were just ... whatever. Lanne, are you ... I mean ... do you know who Rhea's parents are?"

"No." Lanne thought about what Daen
had almost said. "Wait. Did you think I was her mother?"

Daen shrugged guiltily, "You two look so much alike. I thought that maybe ... oh, let's not go there. Do you know who her parents are?"

"No. And I know there are similarities, I recently noticed it myself, but why would you think ...?"

Daen turned to Randell. "Go ahead and tell her what you can see."

Randell lowered his head and spoke towards the shadow. "We have a theory as to Rhea's heritage. Let me start by explaining that my great-grandmother was Raisal Gaulette. I believe that makes us distant cousins."

Lanne interrupted. "Hold on. How do you know that?"

Rhea picked up Raisal's journal and showed her. "He has Raisal's journal." She held it close to the shadow so Lanne could see the crest.

"That might be our crest and Raisal's journal but that doesn't mean he's related. Daen, how do you know him?"

Daen answered, "It's a long story, one I will have to tell you later. Suffice to say, I know that Raisal is his great-grandmother. I've known him and his family since I arrived here. Trust me, you two are related."

Randell could only guess at what Lanne was saying
, given what Rhea and Daen were saying. "I take it she doesn't believe who I am."

Daen turned Randell. "Go on. Tell her the rest."

Randell cleared his throat. "Rhea is a Gaulette as well." Randell waited for that bombshell to land.

"What? How does he know that?" Grennal was excited and disbelieving at the same time.

Daen passed along her question. "She wants to know how you know about Rhea."

Randell answered, "I've seen the Gaulette silver thread wrapped around her."

Daen looked into the shadows. "Lanne, did someone in your family have a child while I was gone?"

Lanne was quiet.

"Grennal ... I mean Lanne, do you know who my biological parents are now, based on this new information?" Rhea was going to have to get used to the new name.

Lanne thought about her family, the ones she was still in contact with. "There's been
only one child that I know of born to a Gaulette since you disappeared, and that child did not live. Besides, how can you be sure Randell can actually see colors, let alone the thread?"

Daen admitted, "That's a fair question. I've known Randell for
twenty-four years. I know what he can do. What do you know of the child? How do you know the baby actually died?"

Lanne was quiet again before she admitted, "I never saw the child, alive or dead. And ... Rhea was brought to me about the time Gaibel's baby died."

"If I recall correctly, you and Gaibel could be sisters in looks." Daen looked at Rhea. "Yes. That explains it."

Lanne said, "It wasn't until
Rhea asked me what I looked like that I realized the resemblance between us, and it never occurred to me she could be Gaibel's daughter ... but I guess it should have."

Randell leaned towards Rhea and whispered, "What's she saying?"

"At first, she wasn't convinced you’re Raisal's great-grandson but I think Daen convinced her you are. Second, if what you say is true about the silver thread, then the only child born to a Gaulette, which was thought to have died, is actually standing in front of you." Rhea paused as her own words sank in. "I think I need to sit down." She lowered herself slowly to the bed before asking the next question. "Lanne, who's Gaibel?"

"She's my cousin." Lanne gasped. "Daen, you don't think ... poor Gaibel. If Rhea's her daughter ... Did she pretend to grieve her death or does she really think she's dead?" Her questions weren't meant to be answered
. She was thinking out loud.

Rhea was in shock. She'd spent the last couple months dealing with the fact that there was no information about her biological parents
, and now she'd discovered two cousins and potentially her mother. Oblivious to Lanne's concerns, Rhea asked, "And my father?"

"She would never tell us who the father was,
or is. She changed duties while she was pregnant, so I was able to visit her. I asked her repeatedly who the father was, but she wouldn't tell me. When I heard you didn't survive, I dropped the subject."

"Well
, I'm glad that's settled; now on to more pressing matters," Daen commented as he leaned back against the bed frame. He could see Rhea's glare out of the corner of his eye. It wasn't settled for Rhea, but she would have to wait. "Lanne, there are two trackers hunting Rhea. They almost got their hands on her today. We need to know why she's here."

Lanne gasped, "Oh no! She's been found. I must get a message to the king."
She jumped to her feet.

"Lanne, wait." Daen wasn't sure he
had caught what she’d said. "What did you say?"

"King Argeon ordered me to hide her because she was in danger. If her location has been discovered, I have to let him know right away." She turned to leave.

"Lanne! In danger from whom?"

Lanne started to pace, looking from side to side. She whispered, "I don't know. I was never told more than that. I wasn't even told who she was." The more she spoke, the more agitated she got. "I have to leave. It's not safe for me. If someone knows she's there, they might be watching me as well. If I'm caught, I'll never be able to get a message to the king."

Daen didn't like the sound of that. "When will you be able to return? We have to get her someplace safe but I don't want to lose touch with you."

"I can be back in about five hours. Can you wait?"

Daen nodded. "We can wait ... be careful."

"I will." And she was gone.

Randell had started to pace. Hearing only one side of the conversation was putting his imagination into overdrive.

Rhea explained, "We're to wait here for the night. She'll be back around ..." She looked at her watch. "3:30
a.m., hopefully with instructions from the king. It was under his orders that I was hidden here."

"Oh. Okay." Randell ran his fingers through his hair and stood in front of the window. His thoughts were racing with all the scenarios that could follow, one of which could be him leaving this world; leaving his parents, his work. He'd wanted this
, but now that it was actually happening, he was starting to understand what it meant.