The Guardian (The Gifted Book 1) (9 page)

15
Origins

Grennal didn't want to continue until that very important bit of information had sunk in. Learning you were born from Luxatran parents was hard enough to process, but to learn you were born in Luxatra, another world that had often seemed a dream, well, that could take some getting used to.

Rhea wasn't sure she'd heard her correctly. "Where I was born?"

Grennal nodded. "You heard correctly."

"I was born there ... but I'm here. I'm here without my parents. How c
ould this happen? How did I get here?"

Grennal didn't want to answer. She feared she would lose Rhea if she knew who
had put her there. Truth. It was a time for truth. Grennal swallowed hard and whispered, "I put you there."

Rhea
began to experience the same feelings she had felt the day she learned she was adopted. Hurt. Betrayal.

"Rhea?" Grennal was
becoming concerned. The look on Rhea's face showed she was running through all the news she had received and she wasn't looking happy.

Rhea's focus returned to Grennal and it wasn't with a smile. "You did this to me? How? Why?"

Grennal cringed inwardly. She needed to finish the story. "To save you."

Rhea interrupted. "To save me? From what? What was so bad that I had to be sent here to be raised by ..." She stopped. Two people who loved her. Her parents hadn't done anything wrong. She took a breath, calming herself. She gritted her teeth and ground out her next question. "How do you know I was in danger? What danger?"

"You were brought to me by a messenger. I was told you were in danger and you needed to be hidden where no one could reach you."

"And you trusted this messenger? What if I was stolen from my family?" Rhea's thoughts flashed to stories that were too often in the news or portrayed in the movies; stories where children were stolen and then adopted by other families.

"You weren't stolen from anyone."

"How do you know?" Rhea was struggling to understand. "Why did you trust the messenger?"

"The message and messenger were from King Argeon. I've been reporting your progress to him ever since."

Rhea took that bit of information and processed it. A message from the king ... okay ... that was serious. Grennal had told Rhea about her world, about her king. She understood the life of the people in Grennal's world ... her world. Okay, calm, calm. She needed to be calm. "But why you? Why not my mother or father? Where are they? Who are they?" A sinking feeling came over her. They weren't there with her because something
had happened to them, because they were dead. That's why she was in danger. She'd been saved but they hadn't. Barely able to form the words, she asked, "They're dead, aren't they?"

"I don't know. I don't know why you were in danger. I don't know who your parents are, or ... were. I just don't know
, so let's not jump to conclusions."

Grief pierced Rhea's heart. Grief for a mother and father she'd never known; for a mother and father
who might have died trying to save her, and from what? Her eyes started to burn as she held back the tears.

Grennal whispered, "Rhea?"

Rhea glanced at her alarm clock. It read 10:45. Her parents would be home any minute. She took a deep breath and wiped her eyes, then said, "I'm okay."

Rhea ran through the time
line of her life, trying to think positively. If her biological parents were gone, then at least she knew why they didn't keep her ... they couldn't. If they were still alive, then maybe they were hiding her and someday she'd be able to find them. Find them? That would mean going to Luxatra, right?

"Can I return? Can I come to Luxatra?"

Grennal honestly didn't know. She'd looked for the answer but hadn't found it. "The stories say people have returned." She'd heard that it worked the same in both directions; that Luxatrans with the gift of the veil could walk between the worlds when the veil was at its weakest, in the shadows of the moon. But Rhea had tried to touch Grennal all those years ago, and nothing had happened. And she'd never stumbled into Luxatra when it seemed the conditions had been met, so Grennal didn't know.

"You don't know how to bring me home?"

Before Grennal could answer, she jumped up, looked to the left and said, "I have to go," and then took off.

"No!"
Rhea exclaimed. She knew she should be used to Grennal's quick exists by now, but tonight was different. She had so many questions. She picked herself up off the floor and crawled into bed.

A few minutes later, Rhea listened to the footsteps of her parents as they walked past her room, thankful they didn't stop. She really needed to be alone to think about what she'd learned.

When their bedroom door closed, Rhea flipped on the light, pulled out her journal, and started writing. Everything she’d discovered and her feelings about what she'd learned went into the journal.

When she was done, she scanned backward in time, to entries written long ago. Her parents had encouraged her to keep a journal, to help her manage her active imagination. It had been a long time between entries
, as her so-called imagination had seemed to repeat itself on a predictable basis and she hadn't felt the need to keep writing it down.

Tired from a stressful night, Rhea turned off her light and closed her eyes, hoping that she would make it through the night without destroying her bed or screaming.

~~~

Daen stood in the tall grasses and watched the sun set behind the mountains. It was his favorite time of day. Over the years, he'd come to this place
often with the hope he would receive a sign from his home world or, even better, a way back would be presented to him. Of course it hadn't happened. He hadn't stopped coming to this spot, but after a while he’d stopped thinking it held some significance in his mission.

When the sun was below the horizon, he turned towards the house. Dinner would be ready soon and it was his turn to set the table. Before he took his second step,
however, he felt the power of the Libraim course through his body. Stumbling, he caught himself before he dropped to the ground. He spun around, scanning the yard and the woods. It had happened just as it had twenty-one years before. And just like then, he saw nothing. Disappointment pressed against his chest but he fought it, not allowing it to take control like it had in the past. After determining there was nothing to see, he turned to the house again.

Pam glanced at Daen when he came in. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Just about. It happened again."

"The crushing sensation? Did it knock you down?" She glanced
down his body, looking for injuries.

"No to the crushing and almost to the falling down. I felt the Libraim
for the first time in more than twenty years." He pulled the plates from the cupboard and started setting the table.

"You're rather calm for having just felt a piece of home
," Pam said.

Daen
laughed sardonically. "Calm is not the word I would choose. Subdued? Restrained? Those are good words."

Pam stepped in front of him as he approach
ed the silverware drawer and wrapped her arms around him. "You know you're like a son to me, even if you are a lot older than me. I want you to be happy, even if that means you'll leave us one day."

Daen hugged her back. "I know. I care about you
, too."

"Hey! Hands off the wife
," Ander laughed as he came into the kitchen. "She's likely to burn dinner if you distract her too much." Ander winked at Pam and patted her behind.

"Behave yourself
, Ander, or you'll be eating PB&J," she retorted.

"Are you two at it again?" Randell
asked as he entered the kitchen.

Pam laughed. "Your father started it."

"Ha!" Ander scoffed.

Daen pulled the silverware from the drawer. "I'm staying out
of this."

Laughter filled the kitchen and Daen was glad to be
there.

~~~

Two men lay dazed and breathless, gazing up at the tall trees, wrestling with their decision to cooperate with the hooded man.

Gauvin tried to sit up
, but the world around him hadn't stopped spinning. Desperate not to lose his stomach, he closed his eyes and breathed through his nose before calling out, "Bestian?"

A deep
, gravelly voice reprimanded, "Keep your voice down."

"I don't understand
. What happened?" Gauvin leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, rubbing his temples as his head pounded.

Bestian hissed, "If you don't shut up, I will shut you up
!"

Gauvin scanned the area around him and whispered, "Where are we?"

Bestian clenched his fists, fighting the desire to knock some sense into the idiot he'd partnered with for this assignment. But he couldn't move for fear of being discovered. A few feet from where he lay were a group of men and women talking, about what he didn't know or understand.

Thunk! Thunk! The sound reverberated from tree to tree, grabbing Gauvin's attention
and causing him to dive for cover behind a tree. "What was that?" He peeked around the edge of the tree just as two bright lights burst forward into his eyes.

Bestian lay still, on his back, as
the beams of light floated over his body, followed by a roar that could be described only as that of an angry beast. He dared not move, and he hoped Gauvin would have enough sense to stay down as well. The light swept the trees to his right and then disappeared as the rumble of the beast faded.

Gauvin edged around the tree again, curiosity getting the better of him. He gasped at the sight of ... a ... magical ... covered wagon. "Did you see that?"

Bestian rolled onto his knees in time to see two bright red lights following the fading rumble into the night.

"Where are we?!" Gauvin stumbled to his feet to join Bestian and watch
ed the wagon disappear at a speed he knew was impossible.

"I don't know."

"I do," said a voice from the space where the wagon had once sat. "Come on, I'll explain."

Relieved to understand the words the man spoke, Bestian and Gauvin approached, anxious to hear what he had to say.

16
Interruptions

Clang! Clang! Clang! Whoosh. Zip!

"We're about to return to town
, and you fight as if you're still out of practice."

"Yeah
, well, I'd like to see how out of practice you are. Oh, wait. I can't. I'm not the one who can throw energy balls at people."

Daen hadn't revealed his gift to the Youngs until a few years after arriving. He'd kept it to himself, not wanting to scare them. There had been some tension when the secret was revealed
, but enough time had passed that he had been forgiven.

Randell stood with his back to the house, the light from the kitchen casting a long shadow in front of him; his mother was at the sink
, washing dishes.

Daen formed another energy ball and bounced it in the palm of his hand. "Stop your whining." He laughed and launched the ball at Randell, forcing him to
either deflect it with his sword or dive out of the way.

This time he didn't dive fast enough. "Ow! That stings!"

Daen tried not to laugh. "Move faster." He wasn't doing this to be mean. It was so Randell could learn. He could make the energy more lethal, but of course he wouldn't. Yet if the time ever came that he needed to, he suspected he could actually kill a person ... a test he'd never conducted.

Randell stood and brushed the dirt and grass from his hands and knees before picking up his sword. "Can we talk?"

Daen extinguished the ball he'd formed. "What about?"

"I want to go with you when you return to Luxatra."

Daen hadn't expected this. Conversations about him returning always had the element of sorrow, that Randell would miss him. "This is sudden."

"Not for me. I've been thinking about it for a while. And with this new activity you've been sensing, it's become all I can think about."

"I don't know if it would be a good idea," Daen said, contemplating the thought. He wanted more than anything to bring his friend to Luxatra. He had a right to be there. It was part of his history, his heritage. "If I have to fight to keep this mystery woman safe ... I don't want you in danger."

Randell sighed, "Then why did I learn to fight with swords and to dodge energy balls? Why am I speaking Aduraun if not in preparation to join you?"

Daen knew Randell had valid questions. He just didn't know if he had valid answers, except to say he didn't want to see Randell hurt. Even the best fighters die in battle. Daen tapped the tip of his sword on the ground, fidgeting before answering. "I'm not saying yes but I'm not saying no. Let's just see how things work out. Okay?"

Randell knew that was the best he would get from Daen. "Fine. Let's go in. It's getting late. And ... let's not tell mom and dad about me going to Luxatra unless we have to."

"Agreed."

~~~

Her hair blew over her shoulders and straight out from her face, creating a tunnel of blond hair. At the end of the tunnel she could see whitecaps on turbulent water as the light started to fade. She looked down from the cliff's edge, following the sound of waves crashing on the rocks below. She could feel the air become moist and electrified. A storm was brewing, and she was exposed.

The sound of rocks being stacked upon rocks drew her back from the edge
, but when she turned to find the source of the sound, she saw no one except an elongated pile of rocks that had been left behind. Beyond the rocks was ocean as far as she could see. Facing into the wind, she could see the black clouds rolling across the rough waters, changing in shape as they moved. The closer they got, the stranger they looked. 

The thunder started to rumble but it didn't stop. She knew this sound
, but there was no place to hide, no place to run. She was trapped. The horses burst through the black clouds, pushing her off the cliff. She could feel the rush of cold air press against her back as she fell and she could hear the sound of the water crashing on the rocks. Before she reached the rocks, two hands grabbed her, saving her.

"Rhea! Wake up! Rhea! You're al
l right." Arms wrapped around her as she tried to understand where she was and what had happened.

"Where am I? What happened?" Rhea pulled back from the embrace and saw her mother.

"You were having another nightmare."

The light from the hall filled half her room. She rubbed her head and thought out loud, "I was falling from a cliff."

"That explains the thrashing and screaming."

Rhea looked down at her bed. The blankets were wrapped around her legs but everything else seemed in
tact. She reached for her journal and flipped on the light. "I need to write it down while I can still remember." She started writing, ignoring her mother's concerned look.

Christine slowly got up from the bed where she had apparently saved her daughter from falling to her death. "Don't stay up too late."

Rhea looked up from her journal. "I'm sorry, Mom. Thank you for waking me. It felt so real. I'm not sure what would have happened if you hadn't come in."

Christine smiled
. "I'm sure you would have woken on your own. Have you had this dream before?"

Rhea nodded
. "At least I think so. I don't know. It feels familiar. Writing them down is helping, I think."

Christine started to pull her door closed, "Good night."

"Thanks, Mom. Good night."

~~~

Rhea woke to sunlight filtering through her eyelids. Thoughts of her conversation with Grennal and of her dream flashed through her mind as if she'd closed her eyes only moments ago. It was 8:10. The smell of coffee and toast seeped under her bedroom door, and her stomach responded with a growl.

As Rhea sat up, she glimpsed
the edge of the basket on the floor, blocked mostly from her view by the bed. The basket from Luxatra. The basket used to carry her between worlds. How had Grennal done it? How does a dog-like creature carry a basket, let alone carry it between worlds? Between worlds. The last question she'd asked was if she could return to Luxatra, but then their meeting had been interrupted. Tonight, though ... she'd learn the answer tonight.

Rhea got ready for the day and headed for the kitchen. She could hear the tapping of fingers on keyboards coming from the offices down the hall. Pouring herself a cup of coffee, she grabbed a snack bar from the pantry and followed the sounds.

Her parents' offices were across the hall from one another, their desks positioned such that they could easily see each other. Rhea had spent many hours sitting on the hall floor between the rooms, listening to and talking with her parents when they were too busy to leave their offices.

She set her coffee mug on the hall floor and sat down.

Christine spied her first. "Rhea, get off the floor. Come in and sit down."

Brian turned to see Rhea on the floor. "Good morning
, sunshine. You look rested this morning."

Rhea waved. "Hi
, Dad."

Christine stood
up from her desk. "I'm going shopping. There are some sales I want to check out. Would you like to join me?" She looked down at Rhea, who hadn't gotten off the floor when she was asked.

At first Rhea hesitated
, but then she decided to go. "Sure." It would be a good way to clear her mind and keep her occupied until that night, when she'd learn more. Rhea stood and looked at Brian. "Do you want to come too?" She knew the answer but felt she needed to ask.

"Thanks
, but I'm meeting Henry for racquetball shortly. You two have fun."