“Is it possible to have too much?” I joked, but it wasn’t funny.
“Jeez, you’re going to burn out your nervous system. I’ll take care of that problem, too. Meet me downstairs.” She shut the door.
Council meetings were volatile at best, as representatives from all the worlds would be there. They didn’t necessarily get a vote, but they wanted their voices heard.
That meant we had to not only gear up, but also armor up. Guardians were responsible for protecting the council members from physical harm, and we were also supposed to be neutral peacekeepers. Someone always wanted to start trouble, and it was our job to make sure that didn’t happen.
I met everyone in the weapons room. All of us wore the same thing, white T-shirt with leather jacket and pants. Underneath the shirt was armor fitted to our bodies made out of material that would keep a sword from piercing our hearts, but was also easy to move in. It was another of Bailey’s inventions.
I will find you, little brother.
I sent my thought out to the universe in the hopes he might hear me.
My mother had gone ahead.
Mira handed me a small container. “Chug this. It tastes like crap, but it works immediately.”
She didn’t lie. It tasted like dirt mixed with wheatgrass, but I felt the energy as it zinged through my body. At the same time my breathing slowed and I felt the caffeine edge die down. “Damn, that’s good stuff.” I shook my head.
“When I’m out in the jungle, I don’t like to sleep either,” Mira said as she put one of Bailey’s blasters in a holster at her hip. “Never know what kind of creepy crawlies will make their way into your tent.”
“You could make a fortune selling this stuff to college students during midterms and finals.” I took a deep calming breath and my body felt like it was back to normal.
Mira laughed. “Those herbs are not easy to find, so we won’t be mass-producing it anytime soon.”
“Well, I think we could all use a little bottle of it,” Alex said. “The last few days none of us has had much sleep.”
“Are you ready?” Claire glanced back at me as the portal opened.
I nodded. “Let’s get this over with.”
CHAPTER 28
Two minutes later we landed outside the council
chambers. The hall was empty now, but in a half hour the place would crawl with beings from every world imaginable. I could feel the protective wards my mother had set. They would make it much easier for us to spot trouble, but we also had a lot to do before everyone arrived.
“Alex, check the perimeter.”
As the oldest, I was the lead in these situations. No one had ever said otherwise; it had always been that way.
“Claire, stash the weapons so that we have easy access. Mira, take a peek out at the crowd and see what we’re dealing with. I’m going to check out the conference area.” They nodded. The weapons would be placed in strategic areas, so that we would have access no matter where we were in the crowd.
These meetings were held on neutral planets called Prats. They were used for this purpose only, to provide a meeting place where no world was in control. A few beings inhabited the planet in small villages all under the jurisdiction of the council. They were responsible for the upkeep of the buildings used for the conferences.
When the actual meeting took place, the Guardians would stand alongside the members’ personal bodyguards.
The lyceum seated more than a thousand. I sighed.
It’s too damn big.
A stage with a heavy stone council table had been set. The thing was transported to each venue. It was made of a healing stone that promoted peace. From what I’d seen at these events, the council needed all the peace-promoting help it could get.
Surrounded by high-backed chairs, it looked like an enormous dining room table. A podium took center stage. The various council members would take turns speaking if necessary. I’d been to meetings that had taken several days to complete. I prayed that didn’t happen with this one. We needed to get back home. I knew Kyle and Jake were doing their best to find Bailey, but I’d feel much better if I were there instead of here.
We all would.
Mira’s thought came into my head.
Stay focused, Gilly. Let’s get through this.
I smiled. She was up and running on full power. It was time for me to do the same. I took a deep cleansing breath and brought my shoulders to my ears, stretching my arms far above my head.
Clearing my mind, I tried to get a sense of the room. Claire came in with a sweeper. It’s a great device that can detect explosives from more than two hundred yards away. She held it up as she walked down the center of the lyceum.
From her pocket she pulled something out and threw it at me. “We need special comms, because of the magic. Alex grabbed these just before we left and stuffed them in my pocket. They are also magicproof, so if someone tries to use magic to keep us from communicating, it won’t work. Of course, we also have our secret weapon, Mira.”
We all nodded in agreement.
“Alex or Mira sense anything outside?”
“No, but the crowd is gathering. Mom sent Mira a message. They’ll be entering from the back. That way we don’t have to worry about crowd protection until they get in here. Five minutes left for prep, then they’re letting them in.”
There were two side rooms off the stage, and I checked to make sure they were empty.
My nerves were on edge, and they’d stay that way until this was over. Creating trouble or even making threats during a council meeting meant instant death to anyone who dared. That’s how we’d always been able to keep the peace for hundreds of years. Cause trouble and you die at the hands of a Guardian. It made it simple and the beings who came to these events knew the rules.
Of course, that didn’t keep the occasional idiot from making some kind of move. It had been a few years since anyone had tried anything. Call it instinct, but I had my doubts about this meeting going off without a hitch.
I’m with you on that, sister,
Mira said in my mind.
Alex and I are coming in. It’s about to begin.
They both moved through the center aisle and we took our places in front of the stage. We were the first line of defense, with the other guards right behind us.
The door opened at the back of the platform and the guards filed in with the council members following behind them.
My neck tingled and my senses went into overdrive. Something was wrong. I motioned to Claire and she nodded.
I moved up the steps to see the crowd on the stage more clearly. That’s when I saw him.
Arath stood at the head of the conference table, and gave me a look that would kill most mortals.
CHAPTER 29
He’s alive. Before I could even process the infor
mation that Arath had survived the battle he’d been in the last time I saw him, the meeting was called to order. My heart raced.
Thank you, God.
I sent up a silent prayer. It didn’t look like he was interested in talking to me anytime soon. It didn’t matter. I still had a chance to make him forgive me.
He looks damn good.
I glanced at him again.
“Get your head in the game,” Mira said into the comm. “You can fawn all over Hot Stuff later.”
“I don’t know how much fawning there’s going to be,” added Alex. “Did you see that look he gave her? Scary.”
“Shut up and get to work,” I whispered. I couldn’t help taking one last look back. God, he was even more handsome than the last time I saw him. The council robes were nothing but large tents, but Arath made it look like a hot new trend.
Marcel was the first to speak, since he was the one to call the meeting to order. “We are going to relax council rules just this once in an effort to get the necessary information out as quickly as possible.
“I will speak for the rest of the council regarding our stance with the problems on Xerxes, as well as the dark magic that is infiltrating our planets.
“Many of you know this same thing happened to my world many years ago. This is an evil we must all join together to fight. We saw what happened on Xerxes when they tried to handle the situation on their own.”
A few crowd members grumbled. Looked like we had a few dragons in the audience, but no one made a move.
“We are working with the leaders of each world to put wards in place to help protect against the evil. This is not a permanent solution, but it will give us time to gather our armies to fight.”
A huge blast shook the building. There was a stunned silence for one second, and then people screamed and the entire crowd began moving our way.
“Security breach in the hall,” Alex shouted.
“Mom,” Claire shouted, “get them out of here.” She motioned to the council.
Another bomb blasted behind us. “We’re surrounded. Mira, open a portal and get them out of here,” I shouted as I ran to cover the back stage door to keep the intruders out. The bomb had been close enough that my ears rang.
“Save your strength.” Arath pushed Mira to the side. “Protect the flanks.
Gorstat!
” He shouted and a portal opened in the center of the stage. “Go,” he ordered the rest of the members, just as the doors all around burst open.
Crowds of creatures ran screaming into the room, most hysterical, trying to get away from what was happening outside.
The guards and my sisters formed a tight band around the stage, as the members walked into the portal one by one.
An arrow came out of nowhere straight toward my head. I caught it in the air.
“To the left. Fifteen yards,” Alex yelled as she shot a fierce-looking being with the head of camel and the body of a human.
“Clorde soldiers.” Claire motioned to the back of the hall. These were mercenaries. Soldiers for hire, whose sole purpose was to kill.
“Oh, hell.” I moved to fighting stance, and my sisters did the same.
The soldiers advanced without regard for anything in their path. Their swords swung with abandon as they moved toward us. I shoved my gun in my holster as I pulled out my saber.
Claire and Mira used their Magnums—they both loved guns way more than I did—as we tightened the band. I glanced back quickly to see that only three of the council members had crossed through. Some were insisting on staying to fight. Many of them were warriors on their planets, and warriors never left a fight.
“Mom, tell them we can handle it. Get them the hell out of here. We’re going to need them to protect their worlds.”
I saw her shove several members toward the light. “Your day to fight will come,” she yelled at them. “Go!”
Obviously they were as intimidated by her as the rest of us were, for they moved faster.
“Gilly, look out.” I turned in time to catch another arrow, which narrowly missed my cheek. In the short time I’d looked away, the Clordes had advanced even farther. The innocents in the room seemed to sense what was about to happen and began running for the doors from which they’d just arrived.
The first camel-headed creature reached me just as I pulled out my sword. Metal clanged twice before his head fell to the ground at his feet, the body still standing. We held our position and let them advance, mowing them down as they did. The idiots didn’t seem bright enough to turn and run.
The room smelled of blood and death. The hordes of Clordes kept coming, and it didn’t seem as if the battle would end anytime soon.
How the hell had they been allowed through security?
It was a question for another day. I had to concentrate on killing them one by one. I sensed my sisters doing the same.
“Council is clear,” I heard one of the guards say behind me.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Mom in her long gold robe. “Mom, get out of here,” I shouted to her, but as I did an arrow flew toward her. “Watch out,” I screamed. In an effort to run to her I’d turned my back on my quarry and his sword came down hard on my back. The armor kept the thing from slicing through, but the force behind it knocked the breath out of me and I fell forward. I pulled my body into a roll and jumped up. I swung my sword around and divested the creature of its head.
I chanced another look back but didn’t see Mom.
Good, she’s out.
Enough of this crap.
I pulled the guns Bailey had made. We’d never used them in this type of situation, but it seemed appropriate.
Yanking back the triggers, I charged the weapons. When the light turned green, I let loose. The plasma ray mowed down twenty Clordes in less than a minute.
Alex saw what I did, and she pulled out her guns, too. In less than ten minutes it was Clordes zero, Caruthers sisters at least one hundred.
We were bloody and covered in muck, but we’d survived. The guards who had been standing behind us moved forward to make certain there were no more of the mercenaries.
“God bless Bailey,” Alex said as she stuffed her guns back in her holsters. “I was afraid to use these things like that. We’re lucky they didn’t blow up.”
“No joke.” I let out a tired laugh.
“Gillian.” I heard Arath’s voice behind me. He didn’t call me Guardian, and I was pleased—until I turned to see what he wanted.
Mom was in his arms, an arrow sticking out of her chest.
CHAPTER 30
“Mom,” Claire cried out.
As Arath carefully situated Mom on the council table, we ran to her. “The arrow will not budge. It’s surrounded by dark magic.” He frowned, and I realized the situation was dire.
“You’re so strong, Arath. You can do it. Save her, please,” I urged him.
“No.” Mom’s voice was weak with pain. “The poison is already in my bloodstream. If he pulls it out the wound will heal and I’ll become one of them.” She pointed a finger toward the Clordes. “I must die, or become the thing I detest the most.”
“You’re wrong, Mom. Arath is powerful far beyond anything I’ve ever seen. He can do it. Please, let him help you.” I leaned across the table and grabbed her hand. We’d had our differences, but I loved her. We all did. “Mom, please, you have to let him.”
“I’m not his biggest fan,” added Alex, “but if he can save you—”