The Guardian Chronicles 1: Rise of the Phoenix (24 page)

“See, you can do it.”

Gabriel arched an eyebrow at the young vampire. “I never said that I couldn’t do it, I just said that I don’t really like it.”

“Touché,” Alex smiled.

They kept practicing for another half hour before Alex finally let him take a break. To Alex’s credit, his aim had improved by the time that their session ended. Now, they were sitting on the back porch of the house, Gabriel nestled up next to Alex as they looked out over the rolling hills.

“I had a weird conversation with Ethan earlier,” Gabriel said.

“Oh really? What was it about?”

“He wanted to know if I thought that there was something for everyone out there.”

“And do you?” Alex asked.

Gabriel sighed heavily. “I don’t know. I mean honestly I don’t know if I believe a soulmate exists but I do think that if someone comes along that makes you happy you need to spend as much time with that person as you can.”

“How very hallmark of you,” Alex smiled. “Have you ever figured out what went down between Ethan and Elise?”

“No,” Gabriel said, with a shake of his head. “Although during our last briefing he and Elise had a pretty intense exchange. We were talking about if keeping secrets was necessary. The glares that the two of them gave each sort of makes me think that their break up had something to do with that.”

“Figures,” Alex said with a snort.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean that I know Ethan is your friend and all but I think there is a lot that he hasn’t told you or anyone for that matter. Maybe that’s what Elise meant.”

“You want my advice?” Alex asked.

“What’s that?”

“Stay out of it. They clearly broke up for a reason and you won’t go making any friends by digging up old wounds. Let the two of them sort it out and don’t get involved. Don’t even ask them about it, just let it be.”

“So noted.”

They sat in silence a few moments before Gabriel spoke again.

“My brother is pretty adamant about meeting you.”

Alex laughed. “Little brother watching out for you, huh?”

“Something like that. He just wants to see the guy that has me acting all goofy,” Gabriel responded. As soon as the words were out of his mouth he wondered if he said the wrong thing. Instantly he felt his cheeks flush and he was sure that he was turning red.

“I make you goofy?”

“Um...wait that sounded bad.”

Alex leaned down and kissed his cheek. “Has anyone ever told you’re cute when you get embarrassed like that?”

“No one has ever really had the occasion too,” Gabriel admitted. “I’m going to ask a stupid question so feel free to mock me but what are we doing?”

Alex’s eyebrows went up and he got a confused look in his face.

“Like are you interested in me or are we just having fun or what?”

“We are having fun,” Alex said, kissing Gabriel’s cheek again. “But if you’re asking me if I’m spending my free time with someone else, that’s a no. I like you, Gabriel. A lot and I want to spend more time with you but I also know that this your first real relationship and I didn’t want to do anything to freak you out. You wanted to take it slow, right?”

Gabriel nodded, instantly feeling stupid for even doubting Alex. “I sounded like a total idiot for even asking, didn’t I?”

Alex laughed again. “Not even close. That’s why I like you, I mean you’re just so honest with everything. You don’t play the same games most guys and girls play. It’s refreshing. Well, that and you smell good.”

“I do?”

“And you have pretty eyes,” Alex said softly into his ear. “And a great body and an amazing personality.”

“Stop it,” Gabriel sighed. “You’re not bad yourself.”

Gabriel turned his head so that he could kiss him again, this time much more than a peck on the cheek. They broke apart after a few moments and smiled at each other.

“Come on,” Alex said, standing up. “Let’s go
find some dinner.”

CHAPTER 15

“I hate it when I miss the end of a fight,” Ryan sighed.

“It’s not like it was your fault or anything,” Elise responded. “You got a pretty bad concussion, you’re lucky that you didn’t suffer any more harm. Your brain is already scrambled enough.”

“I think that sounded like an insult,” Ryan said. He sunk back in the pillows and rubbed his eyes. “Though my brain does still feel slightly like jello not to mention he got his massive sword a little too close for comfort.”

“At least you didn’t get bounced off a wall,” Marissa muttered.

Both Ryan and Elise turned to look at the bed several feet away. Marissa was sitting up, sporting a rather nasty looking bruise on the right side of her face but otherwise unharmed. She didn’t look any happier than Ryan to be stuck in the med bay off active duty.

“Hardly surprising given the blow you suffered,” Aadesh stated entering the room. “You should be glad that I insisted on the seal selfing feature of your combat armor otherwise you might have bleed out.”

“I still don’t like missing a fight,” Ryan repeated, narrowing his eyes at the doctor. “When can I go back on active duty?”

The doctor shook his head. “You both suffered serious blows to the head.”

“I’ve had worse,” Ryan grumbled.

“I don’t care,” Aadesh snapped. “Look you might be better in every way than your average human but you aren’t invincible. You need time to recover from your injuries just like everyone else.”

“Unless you happen to be Ethan,” Ryan stated. “He always did seem to be able to break out of here even under guard.”

“Ethan is not the exception to every rule,” Aadesh responded. “He has limits just like everyone else.”

“Speaking of everyone else, where did they all go?” Marissa asked.

“Ethan seems to have pulled one of his usual disappearing acts,” Aadesh remarked. “Cody and Everett traveled to London to speak with the Mages and Tony has spent the better part of his morning training.”

“And Gabriel?” Ryan asked.

“As far as I know he went home.”

“Speaking of that, when do you think that you’ll let us out of here?” Ryan inquired.

“I’ll release both of you to home this afternoon but neither of you are going to be cleared for active duty for another week, do I make myself clear?” Aadesh stated. The look on his face made it clear that arguing about it wouldn’t be in their best interest. The doctor slid into a chair and started making notes on his computer.

“Did I miss much at the debriefing?” Ryan asked.

“Not really, other than me and Ethan arguing.”

“You two are always arguing,” Marissa pointed out. “What was it about this time?”

“Jonathan is keeping something from us,” Elise sighed. “He’s being even more evasive than usual. Ethan keeps saying that sometimes secrets are needed to protect the ones we love, but he couldn’t be more wrong.”

“Is that what happened between you two?” Ryan asked. “A lie? He didn’t tell you something that he should have?”

A look of anger flashed over Elise’s face before she managed to get herself back under control. “I am not going to have that conversation with you.”

“I second that, if anyone is asking,” Marissa piped in.

Ryan was silent for a moment. “Do you know where Ethan goes?”

“What do you mean?” Elise asked, sinking back into her chair.

“Ethan,” Ryan continued. “He disappears for what seems like hours at a time. No one knows where he goes or what he does.”

“You aren’t suggesting what I think you are suggesting, are you?” Elise asked, her brows coming together in confusion. “Ethan is a lot of things but he’s not a traitor. There is no way that he would turn on us.”

“You’re right,” Ryan sighed. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have even suggested it.”

“It’s not like he was the only one that is thinking it,” Marissa stated. “He does tend to disappear for a long time.”

“No,” Elise snapped, adamantly shaking her head. “I don’t even want to hear about it. Ethan is a good man, there is no way that he would be involved in anything that would hurt his friends or those that he fights with.”

“Someone in the Guardians who fought with us is selling us out though,” Ryan countered. “And we still haven’t found that person. Just remember that.”

“I know,” Elise said. “But turning on each other isn’t going to help matters any.”

“You’re right,” Ryan said squeezing her hand. “Forget that I even said anything. Have the lycans learned anything yet?”

Elise shook her head. “Sadly the EMP that went along with the explosions did a pretty good job of wiping the drive that Day was using and our armor units. They think that they might be able to salvage something though.”

“So mission failure,” Ryan sighed.

“Not entirely,” Aadesh responded, swiveling his chair around. “The lycans are resourceful they might be able to recover some of the data. Each encounter we have with the hybrids gives us a chance to study them and look for weaknesses.”

“Plus, now we know that they can do that exploding thing,” Marissa grunted. “Seriously, how did they do that?”

“We’re still working on that one,” Aadesh responded. “Cody and I have some theories but they still need to be tested and verified. Until then we have sent the details of what happened to all operational units of the Guardians; warning them that it’s a possibility that this could occur at any time during combat.”

“That’s a comforting thought,” Ryan stated, rolling his eyes. “Wonderful.”

“Things could be worse,” Elise pointed out.

“True,” Ryan added. “Things can always be worse.”

Gabriel idly drummed his fingers on the steering wheel in his car. He checked his watch again, wondering what was taking Sean so long at practice. Normally he was done by now. A quick look at the doors to the training center told him that a lot of his teammates were already leaving. Gabriel frowned; it really wasn’t like Sean to be the last one out.

He got out of his car and headed toward the doors, stopping one of Sean’s teammates. “Have you seen Sean?”

“Last I saw him he was in the locker room.”

“Thanks.”

Gabriel headed inside, trying to stuff down the sense of danger that was gnawing at him. He was sure that Sean was fine. Maybe he found some new girl too drool all over. He passed through the lobby and headed toward the training area. A look inside revealed nothing but the janitor. Gabriel moved on walking rather briskly toward the locker room next. He stepped inside and could hear the shower water running.

“Sean, is that you? Come on man, we’re going to be late.”

There was no response so Gabriel ventured further inside, poking his head around a tall bank of lockers. He could see steam coming from the shower area and muttered in annoyance. He really hoped that Sean hadn’t somehow snuck a girl into the boy’s locker room.

“Sean, I swear to you-”

“Gabriel, is it?”

Gabriel spun around, his danger sense flaring. Standing behind him was a tanned and fit young man. He was surrounded by several other men; some young looking, some not. But what caught his attention was his shirtless brother, eyes closed, and with blood streaked down the side of his face. The man who had spoken was holding up him by the back of his neck. Gabriel’s mind kicked into overdrive and he had to stop himself from surging toward them.

“Don’t worry, he’s not dead. At least not yet.”

“Who are you?” Gabriel seethed. “And put him down!”

“He actually put up a good fight, well as good a fight as cattle can.”

“You’re a vampire.”

“Perceptive. My name is Thomas and you’ve made my father very angry.”

“The raid on the facility,” Gabriel said, trying to keep calm. His heart was hammering in his chest and that feeling of warmth was spreading fast. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to stay focused. There was a way out of this, there had to be.

“Oh don’t worry, we’ve jammed your cell phone. I wanted this to be a rather personal affair,” Thomas smiled. “I’m going to guess that you forgot to bring your fancy sword with you.”

Gabriel gritted his teeth. He had left Aequitas back at Aegis and he wasn’t sure how far his magical summoning trick would work. They were at least fifteen miles away from the Guardian base. He reached out with his mind…

And pain exploded through his head as a fist slammed into the side of it. Gabriel hit the ground hard, fighting back the sudden wave of dizziness that came with the attack.

“You see the key to fighting you Guardians is to keep you unarmed,” Thomas smiled. “And if we keep hitting you and keep you busy then you won’t be able to summon your weapon.”

Gabriel got back to his feet and dropped into a fighting stance. “You think that you’re going to win just because you took away my weapon?”

“No,” Thomas said, with a shake of his head. “I think I am going to win because I outnumber you and I am much better at what I do than you are.”

“Let’s find out.”

The vampires rushed forward, though several stayed back around Thomas, no doubt gaging his capabilities. Gabriel went on the offensive, throwing himself into the fight. Without his weapon he couldn’t kill them but he could stall for time, maybe until help arrived. One vampire was launched backwards as Gabriel slammed a powerful front kick into its abdomen. The vampire impacted the row of lockers, denting them and knocking them over.

Gabriel dodged and blocked several more attacks before firing back. He brought up a knee into another’s stomach, doubling him over before his fist connected with the side of his head, knocking him out cold. Gabriel caught a right hook to the face, splitting open his lip. He swore and fired back a series of punches that sent his attacker hurtling backwards.

“You’re good,” Thomas called from the other end of the room. “But my guys are better.”

Gabriel slammed another one of his attackers into a locker, breaking the vampire’s nose on impact. He spun around, launching the wounded vampire across the room. A roundhouse kick snapped the neck of another attacker, sending him to the floor. Despite the beating that the vampires appeared to be taking, Gabriel knew he couldn’t hold them off forever. He had no idea what kind of fighter Thomas was, though he suspected probably very skilled. He wasn’t sure that he would have enough left in him to combat the vampire once he got through with all this goons. That was probably something that Thomas was counting on.

Gabriel pushed that thought out of his head and threw himself back into the attack. He cracked the jaw of another vampire with a vicious haymaker, sending teeth flying out of his mouth. He blocked several more attacks before lashing out with his leg. The blow landed solidly against an attacker’s side, ribs crunching and giving way on impact. Gabriel grabbed another vampire by the neck, pulled him down, and slammed his knee into his head a trio of times before kicking him away.

“Is this all you got?” Gabriel shouted. “What happened to all that stuff about you guys being great warriors? I don’t even have a weapon and I am totally kicking your ass.”

Gabriel caught a blow and then twisted the arm that threw it upwards, slamming a blow upwards into the elbow. There was a sickening snap as the joint gave way. The vampire flew backwards as Gabriel hit him with a jump kick.

The warmth and heat continued to spread, shooting through his limbs as he battled on. At first he thought that it was pain but soon realized that this was a different feeling entirely. He was also starting to realize that, no matter how many he took out of the fight more started appeared.

Breaks in his defense were starting to appear. More and more blows slammed into him. He tried his best to keep his attackers at bay but they were becoming too numerous in number. He didn’t move fast enough and another blow caught him in the face, sending blinding pain shooting through his skull. Gabriel staggered and then flew backward as a booted heel impacted his chest, ripping the air from his lungs.

His vision swam and he was barely able to get on his feet again as Thomas slammed into him, launching a series of powerful and precise strikes that Gabriel was unable to block or evade. Pain ripped through his side as he felt a rib give way, followed by a right hook and then a kick to the face. Gabriel dropped down to one knee, struggling to keep himself in the fight.

“You Guardians believe that you are above everyone else,” Thomas sighed. He reached down and grabbed Gabriel by the front of his shirt and hauled him up in the air. “Don’t you know that old saying, pride comes before the fall?”

Gabriel clapped Thomas’s ears as hard as he could, stunning the vampire enough to drop him to the ground. He smashed an uppercut into the vampire and then hit him with a jump kick that laid him out flat on the ground.

“Some of us are above you,” Gabriel snapped, spitting out blood. “Are you going to stand there and talk or fight me?”

“Neither,” Thomas responded. He waved his hand, sending his goons back into action. Gabriel braced himself for the incoming attack and then collapsed into a heap on the ground has half a dozen tazer lines drove into his skin. Pain pulsed through every nerve of his body, sending his muscles into convulsions. He tried to form a coherent thought but every time that he even got close, they would hit him with another jolt.