The Guardian (The Gifted Book 1) (23 page)

36
Orders

It took Rhea a few minutes, but she finally relaxed enough to straighten her legs and fall over on her pillow. Daen and Randell took up positions on the floor, leaning against the closet and the bed.

Rhea
looked at her watch and mumbled, "Lanne's late. I hope nothing has happened." She sat up and rubbed her eyes. They were tired and dry and needed a few nights of peaceful sleep, something she didn't think she'd ever have again.

"She'll be here." Daen's voice rang with confidence.

Rhea glanced out the window. It still looked like the middle of the night but she knew morning's light would be there soon. "We're going to lose the moon shadow. And ... it wouldn't be the first time she couldn't return."

"She'll be here." Daen's voice had a little more
oomph than before. Daen didn't want to think about Lanne not coming back. He looked into the shadow under the desk. The light was changing in his world, getting brighter.

A few minutes later, the sounds of feet crushing and pushing dried leaves could be heard from under the desk. And then Lanne's voice could be heard. "Are you there?"

Rhea and Daen quickly positioned themselves on the floor in front of the shadow under the desk. There before them was a young looking, beautiful woman with long dark blond hair who Rhea assumed was Lanne in her real form. Behind her were three warriors, dressed for battle, two men and one woman. Behind them were several more warriors on horseback, facing away from Lanne, swords drawn.

The female warrior stepped up next to Lanne and looked in the same direction as Lanne. Her eyes searched for what wasn't there for her. But she gave Rhea the perfect view of her long white blond hair and green eyes. The warrior looked a little older than Rhea. Except for the skin coloring, Rhea felt like she could be looking in the mirror. The woman's coloring was more like Lanne's, creamy porcelain. Standing next to each other, they
looked as if they could be sisters.

Lanne spoke in Aduraun. "Rhea, I want to introduce you to Gaibel, your mother."

Rhea hadn't given much thought to how she would feel when she met her biological mother. She had been anxious to know who her mother was after learning of the circumstances under which they'd been separated, but now that they were ... face-to-face, as it were ... she wasn't prepared for the emotions that swelled inside her. She didn't know what to say. "Hi" didn't seem appropriate for the occasion. Her hand rose in an involuntary single wave but she remained speechless.

Gaibel looked at Lanne. "Terrwyn's there
? You see her?" She turned to face the same direction as Lanne, her eyes scanning the space in front of her but not seeing what she tried so desperately to see.

Rhea was confused. "Lanne. I don't understand. Can't Gaibel see me?"

Lanne said, "No. She doesn't have the gift of the veil. Not many do."

Rhea asked, "Can she hear me?"

Lanne shook her head and then turned to Gaibel to explain what was being said.

As Rhea watched, a sense of familiarity came over her. "I've seen both of you before." Rhea turned to Daen. "They were in some of the images shown to me by the Libraim."

Lanne repeated everything for Gaibel. Gaibel inquired, "Terrwyn, what images from the Libraim?"

Rhea found it interesting that Gaibel didn't seem surprised that she was alive or that the Libraim was sending her images. Gaibel was hiding something, Rhea could tell. "I was given a vision of the Libraim and shown images of several people. Lanne, you and Gaibel were in some of the images."

Before Rhea could fill in the details about the Libraim, Daen got the discussion back on topic. "What is the message from the king?"

Lanne answered, "You're to return to Luxatra but you're to prevent the two men who are there from following you. And try to keep them from seeing Rhea. The king doesn't want her easily recognized."

Randell squatted down behind Rhea in a futile attempt to see and understand what was going on. He whispered in Rhea's ear, "I take it Lanne isn't alone."

Rhea shook her head. "She brought my mother with her and several other warriors. We're to return to Luxatra." Rhea spoke in Aduraun, forgetting that Randell might not understand
, but his nod of understanding reminded her that wasn't the case.

Randell leaned towards the shadow and greeted the party in Aduraun. "I look forward to being able to see you and hear you."

Lanne conveyed Randell's message to Gaibel.

Gaibel asked,
“He can’t see us? I thought any Luxatran could see through the veil from the world of shadows.”

Lanne
explained, "It seems that, over time, Raisal's descendants have lost some of their connection to Luxatra."

Daen returned to the king's orders. "Lanne, we think we have the way back figured out. We found a message in Raisal's journal indicating four conditions that need to be met in order to return. It should work the next time the light is right in each world."

Rhea added, "If my calculations are correct and the weather holds, we’ll have an opening tomorrow night. If not, we should have one more opening on Friday, possibly Saturday night as well. After that, we will have to wait until the end of May or early June." She looked at Daen to see if he agreed.

Daen
thought for a moment about her estimate and leaned in closer. "I haven’t had a reason to keep track of when Luxatra and this world are in sync, but I trust you. Let's plan on Friday. Where should we meet you?"

Lanne thought about how time in her world translated to time in the world of shadows. "Remind
me what day it is there."

Rhea answered, "Wednesday."

Lanne nodded. "Okay. That should be enough time.” She looked at Daen. “Do you remember where we used to meet in the days leading up to the Winter Festival?"

Daen grinned. "Of course."

"Gaibel and I will meet you there two to three days after you arrive, to give both of us enough time to travel, depending on where you come through." With that they said their goodbyes, Lanne and the warriors turned to leave, and Rhea switched on the light.

~~~

The sun's rays revealed the tiny dust particles in the air as it beamed down on the surface of Rhea's desk. She was just finishing up her RA paperwork, her last chore before leaving. Randell ate the last of the cold pizza and she and Daen split the last pack of the hard toaster pastries.

The mail room wouldn't open until 10:00
a.m. and they wanted to be out of the dorm long before then. Rhea left Daen and Randell in her room and ventured to the opposite end of the dorm to Beth's room. She knocked and entered, just as they'd always done.

Beth was at her desk, getting in some last
-minute studying. Finals ended today and Beth had one more to go. She turned and watched Rhea sit in her roommate's desk chair. "Did you have fun last night?" Beth was trying to be sincere, but the devil inside her wanted so desperately to tease.

"Beth, it wasn't like that. Something has come up. I have to leave campus this morning and I won't be coming back. I need your help." Rhea tried to sound casual but she also needed Beth to pay attention. And it worked.

The smirk fell from Beth's face like a rock. "What's wrong?"

Rhea shook her head. "I can't tell you. Even if I could, you wouldn't believe me."

"Don't tell me, the tall blond is actually from Homeland Security and they want you to help them with a secret mission." Beth wasn't buying it. Rhea had thought she was for an instant, but nope.

Rhea narrowed her eyes and tried to look serious. "Cut it out. I'm serious."

Beth spun around in her chair and stared her down. "Tell me what's going on."

Rhea knew how to end this
; she would tell the truth and Beth wouldn't believe her. "Fine. I'm from another world. The tall blond is as well. We are returning to our home world and Randell is coming with us. It seems he's a distant cousin of mine."

Beth's lips turned slowly up into a grin,
and her eyes grew wide. "Cool. Does this mean you have super powers?"

Oh how close she
had come and didn't even know it. "Beth!"

"What? I'm playing along."

Rhea rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Will you do me a favor?" Rhea pulled some cash from her pocket. "The last of my boxes need to be shipped home. They're ready to go; they just need to be pushed to the mail room." Rhea placed the money on the desk. "And, if you could turn these in for me as well, that would be great." She laid her completed RA paperwork on the desk next to the money.

Beth's mouth hung open until she returned to her senses. "You're serious. You have to leave?"

Rhea stood and offered a hug. Beth stood and embraced her. Rhea whispered in her ear, "Thank you for being such a good friend."

Beth broke their embrace. "Right back at ya. And don't worry; I'll take care of your room."

Rhea slipped her key into Beth's hand. "The spare will be on my desk. Rhea turned and opened the door. "Oh, and anything that isn't packed is yours."

"The rug and camping gear?" Beth's voice squeaked in delight.

Rhea winked and closed the door.

37
Leaving

Rhea knocked on the door of her room and whispered, "It's me."

The click of the dead bolt being release
d sounded and Randell opened the door. "Is everything set?" he asked.

"Yes, she'll take care of my things."

Daen stepped to the door. "Then let's go. And remember to keep a look out for the trackers. I doubt they'll show themselves to us now that there are three of us and they know you can defend yourself."

They headed for the lobby and slipped across to her dorm's sister tower to use the exit that faced the open field. Randell walked on one side of Rhea and Daen on the other, heading for town where Randell's car was parked in the student center lot.

The campus was already alive with activity. Students were heading for the dining halls for breakfast, to the library to study, and of course to morning exams. If the calendar hadn't told them it was finals week, the looks on the students' faces would have. Heavy studying and late nights had taken their toll, leaving dark circles under the eyes and gloomy faces on many.

The team of three didn't speak; each
was deep in thought about what had happened so far and what lay ahead.

It was the future that made Rhea nervous. She was going to a world she'd known about most of her life but only recently learned was her own.

As they got closer to town, Rhea mumbled to herself, "I have to tell my parents."

Daen glanced
at Rhea. "You haven't talked about your adoptive parents. Were they good to you?"

"Oh yes. I was very lucky."

Daen asked, "Will they understand?"

Rhea shook her head. "They never believed me when I told them I could see into the moon shadows. I had to lie to them. I told them I no longer saw into the shadows. I confessed it was just my imagination, as they had told me over and over. If I
hadn't, they would've sent me to a doctor. They don't believe what they don't see."

Randell glanced over his shoulder. "That's understandable. There was a time when my own father doubted what he could see. I can't imagine what convinced my mother to believe him." He looked at Daen. "Maybe it was Daen's arrival that cinched it."

"Well, I'm going to need to think of something. They're expecting me home tomorrow."

Randell scrunched his brows. "You weren't planning on attending your graduation ceremony?"

"Sure. I was just going to go home first. We live only a couple hours from here. But I guess that is a moot point now."

Randell said, "I'm sorry you'll miss the ceremony."

"Thanks. I'm not that disappointed." Rhea knew that the ceremony was a show of accomplishment, an acknowledgment for years of hard work and a look into the future. But she'd never been able to see her future, so she'd never truly appreciated what her degree could do for her. And now ... well, did it really matter?

"My car is right there." Randell pulled his keys from his pocket.

Once in the car, Randell explained, "I've been thinking. I don't know when I'll return, so I'm going to give up the apartment, which means I'll need to pack up my things. I'm going to swing by the packing store and get some packing supplies. I don't have much to pack, but at least this way, the movers or my parents won't have to mess with my things."

Rhea asked, "Have you called your parents?"

"Yes. While you were talking to Beth. They're expecting us."

~~~

The asphalt started to heat up as the morning sun beat down on Bestian and Gauvin. They'd decided to camp out, as it were, in the parking lot across the street from their mark's dorm. They were close to completing their mission and didn't want to mess it up. They’d had to crawl under the cars only once during the night to hide from a passerby, and now they were on the move, heading for the dorm.

They'd walked the p
erimeter of the dorm the night before and felt the Luxatran presence coming from a first-floor room. Now they were returning to the same side of the dorm to see if the Luxatran was up and about.

As they approached, Bestian's pace abruptly went from confident to hesitant. Something had changed. The sensation from the gift was drifting away from him.

"They aren't here." Bestian stormed back towards the road to come around the other side, just in time to see the blond woman and ... two men? She now had two men escorting her. Bestian thought to himself,
She's more valuable than the man in the hooded cloak said
.

He watched as they disappeared between two buildings on the far side of the open field in front of the dining hall.

He took off at a sprint with Gauvin a few yards behind. The blond woman and her escort turned out of sight again as they headed east towards town. Bestian stopped short of rounding the corner and peeked to see where they had gone. He saw them about fifty yards away, working their way through a throng of students and parents packing their cars. He took off at a fast walk, as fast as he could go and not draw too much attention to himself.

As they reached the edge of town, Bestian watched the three get into a car and pull away. He ran in the same direction as the car, wanting to see which way they would go. At the light, they turned left, heading
in the same direction as the day before when he and Gauvin had chased the gifted Luxatran across campus before losing him in the north parking lot.

Gauvin was sucking in air as hard as he could but it was barely enough
. "Now ... what ... do ...  we ... do? We ... can't ..." Hack! Cough! "... catch a car."

Bestian was breathing deep
ly as well but maintained a cool facade. He ran towards the intersection.

Gauvin was just getting his wind back and
had managed to stand straight when Bestian turned left at the corner. Not wanting to lose him, Gauvin took off at jog, as fast as his lungs would allow.

Bestian was able to keep sight of the car for a while due to the colored lights that hung suspended over the road. He'd learned that red would stop the car
, and the car was hitting every red light.

Bestian’s prey hadn’t gone very far before
pulled off the road in front of a small building. This gave Bestian the time he needed to catch up. A few minutes later, the woman and two men came out carrying large brown flat squares and something heavy and white. They opened the back of the car and placed the items they carried inside.

Staying with them after that became more difficult. The further they went, the fewer lights
there were. Bestian could still sense a gift; it had to be her gift, he thought, as he watched the car disappeared over a hill.

Bestian followed the gift, running along the side of the road
. When he reached the entrance to an apartment complex, he lost his connection to the gift.

Gauvin, throughout the trek, struggled to keep up. He was a
hundred yards or so away when he saw Bestian enter the complex. His chest burned and his legs were wobbly but he kept going, not wanting to lose Bestian.

~~~

Rhea and Randell grabbed the boxes and Daen grabbed the packing paper and tape from the back of the car and they headed to the apartment. Daen and Randell went to their rooms to pack and Rhea focused on the living room.

Within minutes, boxes
had started to stack up in the living room as Daen and Randell brought them out from their rooms. Daen stacked his boxes by the door and marked them for charity. He had no reason to keep the few things he'd collected over the years, and that which he did want to keep he stuffed in the duffel bag he kept under his bed.

Next, Daen tackled the kitchen. The packing process didn't take long. What little furniture they had had been donated by Randell's parents and consisted of some old items they
'd had in their basement.

Randell left his room, heading for the door to the apartment
. "I'll be right back. I need my courier bag from the car." He was out the door before either Rhea or Daen could say anything.

Rhea had joined Daen in the kitchen and they had packed a couple boxes before
they realized Randell hadn't returned.

Rhea straightened from taping a box and looked towards the apartment door. "What do you think is keeping Randell?"

Daen froze, his body rigid, as he stared at the door. He dropped what was in his hand and ran from the apartment.

Rhea took off after him. Daen grabbed the railings and bound down each of the four staircases, two leaps at a time. In seconds, he was out the door. He stopped on the stoop and scanned the parking lot and walkways around him,
but found nothing. Randell's car was gone, and in its place was his courier bag lying open on the asphalt.

Rhea caught up just as Daen was picking up Randell's bag. "What happened? Where is he?"

Daen growled, "Taken." He held out a piece of paper for Rhea to see. It was written in Aduraun and demanded the blond woman turn herself over or else the man would be killed.

Rhea grasped at her chest,
finding it hard to breathe. Her worst nightmare had come true. She whispered to herself, "It's my fault. It's all my fault." She waved the paper in front of Daen. "How can we get to him? They took the car."

Daen headed towards the apartment. "With my truck." In less than a minute he was back with a duffel bag over his shoulder and the keys to his very used Toyota truck
in his hand. The truck had once belonged to Randell's dad. He'd spent one summer with Randell, getting it to run again. Once Randell could afford to buy a new car, he'd given Daen the truck.

He threw the duffel bag behind the seat. "Get in."

Rhea was already reaching for the door.

He tossed the ransom letter to Rhea. "There's a map on the other side of the paper."

She turned it over. The map showed a road that led straight east, out of town.

Daen pulled out of the apartment
complex and headed for town. He would be at the turnoff in less than ten minutes if he didn't get caught by the lights. After that, he couldn't tell how long it would take, how long his best friend would be in the hands of the trackers.