The Lost Years (The Guardians Book 4) (2 page)

“Can’t this wait? I’m sort of in the middle of something.”

“No— now,” Raimie insisted between breaths.

“Is everything all right?” Uri’s back straightened, panic suddenly shooting through his body.

“I’m not sure, Dina took the call. She told me to come find you right away.”

“What do you mean ‘took the call’? Michael isn’t back?”

“No, and she said he was asking for you,” Raimie added.

“He was supposed to meet with the Guardians Council.”

“He did and then sent for you,” Raimie answered.

“I don’t understand. Why didn’t he come back?”

“Uri!” Raimie shouted. “I don’t know the answer to any of your questions. All I know is that Dina said he needs to see you right away and that it was an emergency.”

“I can’t leave right now.”

“Why?” Raimie asked, looking around as if for a cause to Uri’s problem.

“It’s hard to explain—” Uri began, shaking his head, still unable to grasp what he had allowed to unfold. “Gabe saw something and misunderstood, I have to find him and explain.”

Raimie reached out and opened Uri’s hand, placing a small, smooth, round, black stone into his palm. He folded Uri’s fingers around it, “Dina said to use this to focus your transport spell on. It will take you to where the council is. When you’re there, be sure you leave it with Michael; we can’t risk their location being exposed. Do you understand?”

“I told you, I have to find Gabe—”

“Look, I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about, but I’m sure Gabe will wait. There is some strange guy calling himself Bishop in Michael’s office. He is claiming to be in charge now and Michael is saying he needs you right away. You need to go talk to Michael. Now!”

“Bishop? What? Who the hell is Bishop?” Uri asked, shaking his head in confusion.

“Exactly! Man, I don’t even understand what’s going on. This was supposed to be some status report trip for Michael. A little bit later, Bishop shows up. He said Michael will not be returning and he’ll be taking over in the meantime. He’s a real scary son of a bitch, too; doesn’t laugh at anything. Something isn’t right with this. You need to talk to Michael right away.”

“That makes absolutely no sense. Michael would not just leave without telling us.”

“I agree, so will you quit worrying about Gabe right now and go figure this out?” Raimie urged.

Uri thought about the two situations for a moment. Perhaps some time for Gabe to cool down might actually be a good thing.

“I’m sure everything is fine, but I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Uri reassured his friend.

“Yes, just go.”

Taking a step back, Uri closed his eyes, rolling the stone between his fingers. He felt it grow warm. Clutching it tightly, he took in a deep breath and held it, preparing for the transportation. Seconds later, a lingering sliver of smoke was all that was left where Uri had once stood.

The heat emanating from the transportation stone caused a visible smoke to rise from Uri’s hand. Unable to tolerate the discomfort any longer, he dropped it to the ground. Lingering for a moment, his eyes still closed, he allowed his legs to regain their strength.

“Uri, my son, at last,” Michael’s voice jolted him back to reality.

Initially, when he opened his eyes, everything was a blur; it took several moments for his retinas to adjust. When they did, he saw his mentor across the room, he appeared quite different from the last time he had seen him. The first thing that caught his attention were the robes Michael was wearing, he had never seen him in such formal garb. The fabric was such an intensely bright white that it seemed to glow. The layers were heavy, the cuffs and bottom of the robe were trimmed in golden ancient writings, which Uri had only seen in the oldest books contained in the library at the manor.

“Michael, what is going on?”

“I know this must seem strange.”

“Strange? No. What you’re wearing is strange, this situation is just insane. What exactly are you wearing?” Uri asked in reply, walking across the room and paying no attention to his surroundings.

“I know it’s a lot to take in and I’m sorry I had to call for you this way. I wasn’t expecting this meeting with the council to turn into this.”

“To turn into what? I don’t understand.”

“I wasn’t aware my name was even being considered as a council member. Apparently, after what happened at the beach last year, the council started talking about me and what my role should be for the Guardians moving forward.”

“Your role? What is that supposed to mean? Your role is being the head of Rampart, we need you there. You can’t be a council member.”

“They won’t reconsider; the decision has already been made. They have already replaced me—”

“Yeah, I heard,” Uri snapped.

“You have to try and understand. I need you to hold things together at home.”

“Well, I can’t do that.”

“You have to, I’m already a member of the council now, there’s nothing I can do. Trust me, I did not want this right now. I tried to explain to them that Gabe needed me still, but they insisted.”

“Oh god, Gabe,” Uri groaned.

“What is it? Is something wrong with Gabe?”

“You could say that.”

“What has happened?”

“It was just a misunderstanding and now he won’t even talk to me. It wasn’t my fault. What was I supposed to do? I’m half human, you know,” Uri rambled wildly.

“Slow down, you’re not making sense. Take a deep breath and tell me what exactly happened.”

Doing as he was told, Uri wove the tale of how he was the innocent recipient of unwanted attentions from Sophie, how Gabe saw things from a distance and misunderstood, and about how Gabe now refused to speak to him.

Michael shook his head before hanging it low and placing a hand on Uri’s shoulder, “How do you always manage to get yourself in these situations?”

“Hey, I didn’t do anything wrong!” Uri protested. “This isn’t my fault!”

“Really?” Michael asked, eyebrows raised.

“All right, I might have kissed her back, but it was just for a split second. I don’t even think of Sophie that way— but you have to admit, she is pretty hot, and I’m not made of stone.”

“Yeah, she’s hot, but you don’t think of her that way.”

“I don’t! I can know a girl is attractive and not be into her that way.”

“You’re going to have to fix this. Gabe is exactly why I brought you here. Now, I don’t know how you can do what I need you to.”

“I’ll fix this, I promise. I can do whatever it is you need me to do.”

“I hope so, because it’s very important.”

Uri could hardly stand the suspense. He was sure he was about to be handed a top secret mission, one he would be prepared for. “I won’t let you down, sir.”

“I need you to look after Gabe in my absence. I don’t think Bishop is going to be able to connect with Gabe on the level that he needs right now. I need to make sure someone is there for him while I am away.”

“You want me to be a babysitter?”

“It’s not a babysitting job. This is serious. If Gabe doesn’t feel a connection with the people at Rampart, there is a good chance he will leave. God help us if that were to happen.”

“I seriously doubt Gabe would ever leave; he loves us.”

“Uri, don’t underestimate the pain of loss. Losing Sophie has taken its toll on him. Let’s just hope the girl recovers soon.”

“I wouldn’t hold my breath.”

“Uri!”

“What? I’m just saying she seems to like the new her, I don’t see her getting well anytime soon.”

“Let’s hope you’re wrong.”

“I’ll do my best with Gabe, but when will you be returning?” Uri asked, saddened at the thought of daily life without his leader.

“Honestly, I don’t know. Council membership is permanent.”

“What? You’re not coming back?”

“I didn’t say that. I made it clear that I want to return when my services are no longer required. They told me they would keep my request in consideration as things progress, but there are no guarantees.”

“You have to come back, Michael, I can’t do this without you.”

“Grow up, Uri, you’ll do just fine without me.”

“How can you say that? I’ve depended on you since the day I came to Rampart. I don’t know a life without you. You’re like my—”

“I know, and you’ve been like a son to me. But you’re wrong; I depend on you much more these days than you depend on me. This could be a good thing for you, you’ll see. After I’m gone for a little while, you’ll realize that you’re the one with the strength.”

“I doubt that.”

“I know, it’s too soon for you to agree, but I have faith in you. I wouldn’t trust you with so much if I didn’t think you were capable. I’m serious about Gabe though, you need to go and make nice with him. He needs to know why I didn’t return and that he has friends behind him.”

“I’ll try, but I doubt he’s going to listen,” Uri shrugged as he replied.

“Damn it!” Michael shouted. “Will you quit feeling sorry for yourself? You think this is where I want to be right now? You know more than anyone what this council stole from me. Now, I’m supposed to smile and serve how they dictate. If they had their way, Gabe would have never come to Rampart. They’ve never hidden that they don’t think he is the one in the prophecy. Don’t you think they will use this opportunity, now that I’m gone, to have Bishop try to bully Gabe? They think he just brings problems.”

“I don’t understand, haven’t you proven them wrong?”

“It’s not that easy, Uri. They don’t think he’s the chosen one and they feel that Gabe was too old when he learned the truth to ever truly accept his place as a Guardian. Just because he passed the tests and made it into the school does not mean he has incorporated himself into our environment.” Michael turned, throwing his arms out to his side, the heavy fabric swooshing as he did.

“He’s one of us; he’s shown that.”

“I believe that, you believe that, but it doesn’t mean the rest of the council ever will. Sophie was a mistake; they should have never fallen in love,” Michael whispered, his eyes closed and a solemnness overtaking him.

“What? How can you even say that? Sophie was never as happy as she was with Gabe. They were great for each other,” Uri argued, surprised by his master’s words.

Michael turned back, looking into Uri’s questioning eyes. “Love isn’t always enough, I’m afraid I know that too well. Sometimes, even though you love a person deeply, they serve as nothing more than a distraction, or worse, something for the evil in this world to use against you.”

“Are you saying Sophie is simply a distraction for Gabe? I think you’re wrong, he really loves her. If you had seen him tonight when Sophie and I kissed, you would understand. He was devastated.”

“Exactly! Gabe can’t afford to have these sort of emotions clouding his mind right now. He is so much more important to the future than he realizes.”

“So, he should just be alone, never find happiness because the great cause needs him? This sounds exactly like the stuff Anthony used to accuse the Guardians of.”

Michael hung his head, the silence lingering in the air between them a moment longer. “I understand how you feel and you’re right, it’s not fair. Nobody should have to give up everything, but sometimes there is a cause that is bigger than you or me. If there ever was a cause that was worthy of such sacrifice, wouldn’t you say it’s the salvation of humanity?”

Uri didn’t answer; he had no words to say in response. Michael had given up so much himself, he had sacrificed his chance at true love to serve the Guardians. Uri knew Michael wasn’t asking Gabe to do anything that he wasn’t willing to do or hadn’t already done himself. Even still, it didn’t seem fair to ask so much of one person.

“I’ll talk to him,” Uri said at last.

Dina gasped, the pounding at the door startling her.

“Dina, let me in.”

“Is that you, Uri?”

“Yes, my hand is killing me. Will you let me in already?”

Dina cocked her head, curious, but still expressionless as she did so. Unsure why her friend was in pain, she rushed to the door, releasing the lock from its latch. Before she could pull the heavy door open, Uri pushed his way in, barely looking at her as he did.