Daughter of Earth (Tales of the Guardian) Read online

  Emily’s features softened. If she hadn’t experienced the same intense feeling herself, she would doubt that loving someone so much was possible, especially over such a short period of time. Yet, here they were. The two were quite opposite in many ways, but the same where it really mattered and that was how they felt about one another. Not only did they love each other unconditionally, they respected one another, neither attempted to change the other. They accepted each other wholeheartedly.

  Alexander’s love had developed over a long time, however hers had been different and came on rather suddenly. It was an odd experience, but she never doubted her feelings were genuine. There was something not only familiar about their relationship, but it also felt much like a puzzle. Alexander was the piece that clicked in perfectly beside her. Most would call her crazy or irrational, but she didn’t care what the world thought, only she knew her feelings and if someone could have experienced what she had, that deep burning within, they would not doubt either. All those skeptics would understand her side.

  “I feel the same way. I am not sure if I spent every second of my life with you, it would be enough. But, I promise, we’ll have time to be with one another. I’ll make sure,” Emily vowed.

  He reached over and squeezed her hand. Her words brought the comfort he sought.

  They stopped for a quick bite to eat when they hit the nearest town. Once back in the car Emily got as comfortable as possible and drifted off to sleep for the remaining ride.

  They had traveled nearly four hours to find a secluded country road. It needed to be one that stretched far enough to practice the moves Alexander felt Emily must master if she were to elude someone. It also needed to be, for the most part, a deserted road, which was hard to find on the east coast.

  Alexander hated the thought of Emily being in a vulnerable situation without him. They couldn’t take any chances. After what Aldara said about a coming war and the knowledge of the Opposition’s plans to harm Emily, he didn’t want to leave anything to chance. To make matters worse, the vision Dante had shown Alexander four months ago still haunted him. He hadn’t told anyone what he witnessed when Dante took his hand.

  There was no telling what the Ancient Ones’ real intentions were when he arrived at the Wallace’s home in Cooperstown. But, there was no arguing that Dante had done serious damage. Even though Alexander had killed him and Emily’s father had recovered from the almost fatal blow, there had been a measure of time which could not be changed, a thorn of evil that could not be removed, and it all swirled around the vision Dante had given Alexander.

  The entire event was a horrible experience, one he wanted to forget but couldn’t. Instead it remained in the back of his mind, a haunting and relentless memory. When Dante had touched him, Alexander felt a cold rush run through his body. Much like when he healed a Traveler, when he took an illness from their body. But, this coldness was different. Instead of it traveling to his gut and then heating up, feeling like his body was incinerating the foreign feeling, the unwelcome coldness spread to every limb in his body. It then traveled to his heart, surrounded it and clenched down. It was then he saw the vision. It was as vivid as an actual experience. What Alexander saw shook him to his very core.

  A week or so after the event, Emily asked what Dante had shown him. He told her it was just a bunch of ridiculous lies, and those lies didn’t matter. Unfortunately, Alexander wasn’t certain this was wholly the truth. There was something inside of him, much to his distaste, which agreed with the vision. No matter how hard he tried to convince himself it was false, he had an eerie and uncomfortable feeling that some, if not all, could indeed happen.

  Emily awoke as they pulled into the parking garage. Alexander was grateful to be back safely and that she was alert again. He didn’t like being alone, in silence, with nothing to distract him from his thoughts. Not anymore.

  It was shortly before midnight and she was still quite groggy. Alexander helped her up to the apartment. He would have just carried her but he knew she would protest such treatment. If she ever denied she enjoyed his doting, she’d be outright lying. But, there was definitely a subtle distinction between doting and what she called babying, as he’d been forced to learn. She always let him know when he crossed the line

  When they entered the door they weren’t surprised to see Xavier and Emily’s father, James, sitting in the living room waiting for them.

  “I totally smoked you guys,” Xavier gave a few menacing chuckles.

  “Yeah, and how you never manage to get a ticket is beyond me?” Emily said rubbing the sleep from her eyes. “That would be an interesting encounter for the officer.”

  “I can see a cop a mile away, guess it’s just another sixth sense. Not all of us have it though,” he winked at his friend.

  “Ha, right,” was all Alexander said. He was still trying to shake the vision and reoccurring thoughts which passed through his mind during the last part of the drive. His sense of playfulness had taken a momentary hiatus.

  The four sat in the living room for a little while, discussing the day’s events. Alexander bragged about Emily, declaring she would give any Daytona 500 driver a run for their money, if given the chance. She truly had developed some impressive driving skills, even if she refused to recognize how far she’d really come.

  James had lots of questions. He was disappointed he hadn’t been able to go, but he needed to carry on life as normal. Especially since he was the only one who could earn an income, thus financing all of these adventures they’d been taking.

  After about forty-five minutes Emily got up and excused herself for bed. She kissed her father and gave him a hug goodnight. She then went to Alexander and kissed him, as well.

  “Hey… where is my kiss?” Xavier piped up. He used the line quite often but it never got him anywhere.

  Emily tiredly threw her hand in his direction, as if she were pushing him away.

  “Oh, that hurts, I thought we were close.” Xavier grabbed his chest and scrunched his face in mock pain.

  She couldn’t help but allow a sleepy giggle to rumble from her chest. “Goodnight, Xavier,” she called out over her shoulder making her way down the hall and into her bedroom.

  A few more minutes of frivolous conversation went on between the men before James excused himself for bed as well. Xavier took his cue and headed for the den, where a small couch and large book collection would keep him busy. The spare room was often where the Guardians retired for the night. Since they didn’t need sleep, they would busy themselves with reading or simple conversation. The room was secluded enough from the other bedrooms they felt they wouldn’t disturb James and Emily as they slumbered in the rooms on the other side of the kitchen.

  Alexander sat alone in the living room, contemplating what he should do. It was the war general in him who looked over and carefully weighed each and every detail. What consequences could possibly result if he actually told someone about his vision? Was it his burden to bear or would he be placing unnecessary stress and confusion upon whomever he told?

  The problem for Alexander lay in his inability to determine what was in fact true, if any of it. Perhaps an outside view was the key to discovering what aspects of his vision could be trusted. It wasn’t long before he was on his feet and briskly walking toward the den. His decision was made; he had to tell someone about the vision. Xavier needed to know what Alexander saw; he needed to know what frightening future just might be coming.

  Chapter 2

  The air was warm and muggy, carrying an unusual thickness to it, even for summertime in New York City. Emily swept her hair to the side tucking it loosely behind her ear, regretting she hadn’t pulled it back into a ponytail before leaving the apartment. The back of her neck was wet and her hair was becoming a matted mess with the humidity. The past three days, since returning from their little excursion to practice driving maneuvers, had all been exactly like this and Emily wondered when the miserable heat wave would subside.

  “How
was your date with your dad last night?” Alexander asked, keeping the conversation light as they stepped onto the pavement to cross the street.

  “It was great! I love being with him, I guess I didn’t realize we hadn’t had much one-on-one time lately.”

  “Yeah, having a stalker around like Xavier sure infringes on your alone time with your dad, huh?”

  She knew very well Alexander was joking and he was truly referencing himself with the remark. She decided to play along. “Oooohhhh… so Xavier is my stalker! See all this time I thought it was you.”

  “Yeah, well, maybe so.” He shrugged his shoulders, a sheepish grin spreading widely across his lips.

  They stepped back onto the sidewalk, continuing southward with matched strides.

  “All kidding aside though, I am glad you two got some time without us. I know it can be frustrating with Xavier and me hanging around you guys like we’re a CIA protection unit. We just want you to be safe, that’s all.”

  “I understand. You know I love having you around and, believe me; it makes me feel a lot better. But I have to admit it was nice to have a night with just my dad. I’m going to miss him a lot,” Emily’s voice cracked slightly. She cleared her throat in an effort to take control.

  “You know we are going to be able to come back and visit,” he reassured her.

  “Yeah, I know.” It was all she could say before a man headed the opposite direction pushed between her and Alexander, interrupting their conversation.

  Emily frowned and shook her head. “Some people, I swear,” she thought.

  She couldn’t imagine the Guardians would be like that in Eden, pushing and shoving, completely unaware of anyone else around them. She imagined them all to be like Alexander and Xavier—kind, chivalrous and polite. The anticipation to visit Eden was growing stronger for her each day.

  Another factor contributing to her growing eagerness to enter Eden was the very vibrant dream Emily had experienced. It repeated itself exactly over the past three nights and had become difficult to forget.

  In her dream, she was in a thick, wooded area with giant willow trees, larger than she thought possible, which looked as though they reached to the very sky. The branches drooped low, some almost to the ground and as she walked through them they softly tickled her face, the leaves and branches feeling as though they were satin. Tiny light orbs floated all around, at first looking like little lightening bugs, but upon closer examination Emily could see they were purely light. Almost like a glowing dust filtered throughout the air.

  She’d walked through the trees holding out her arms, letting the willow branches gently stroke her hands. Not knowing where she was going, Emily walked for a time, breathing in the overwhelming floral scent and clean air. The sunlight peeked through the branches occasionally, supplying instant warmth when she passed under the bright rays.

  Then, appearing directly before her stood a magnificent building. The stones’ whiteness was almost blinding. Eight giant columns reached high above her, supporting a stone roof. Emily could see that more equal-sized pillars stretched down the structure’s side, but she could not count their number. It reminded her of a picture she’d once seen of the great Acropolis in Athens.

  After the awe of the building in front of her had passed she carefully climbed the stairs leading to the entrance. She had never seen this place, yet somehow she knew exactly where she was going. With each step she took, she felt a strong pulling sensation. Something was calling to her in that building. When she passed the giant columns onto a marble terrace she was surprised with what she beheld. She’d very much expected to be inside a building, yet what she saw was more willow trees. These trees were much smaller than the ones outside; miniature versions really, decorated with gorgeous white flowers of every shape and size. Green grass carpeted the structure and seemed so soft; it was like a fuzzy green fur.

  Emily glanced around, but found she was still in fact inside the great stone building. The scene before her was like a giant atrium, a gorgeous garden inside a building.

  She descended from the terrace down a few stairs into the atrium area. At this point there was one thing and one thing only that captured her attention. Between two trees was an oversized altar. On the altar, hoisted by two fork-like prongs, was a golden dagger.

  As Emily approached the altar, she could more clearly see the intricate floral carvings adorning it and the dagger. She reached her hand toward the glistening object but, before getting close enough to touch the dagger, her dream abruptly ended.

  Each night she found she’d gotten a little closer to the dagger than the previous night. It made her wonder if tonight she would have the same dream and maybe this time grasp the object she felt was calling to her.

  After her first experience with the dream she told Alexander and Xavier everything, recalling the details of the place like she’d been there dozens of times. Alexander thought it sounded like a dream of Eden but said the exact location Emily described was not like any building he’d ever seen there. Neither he nor Xavier knew anything about a golden dagger.

  When she went on to have the same dream the following two nights, the three determined it had to have something to do with Eden. They just weren’t sure what. Emily had a hard time focusing her thoughts during the day as her mind kept drifting back to the dream. Even now, as Alexander asked her a question, she had to return her dazed attention back to the present conversation.

  “Um, sorry, what was that?” She blinked hard trying to refocus.

  Alexander chuckled. “Your thoughts were elsewhere again, weren’t they? Thinking about your dream, am I right?”

  She shook her head. “How does he always know my thoughts?”

  “Yeah, I was,” she half grinned with the admission. “I can’t seem to go more than an hour or so without at least giving it all a thought or two, if not recalling the entire thing. It was just so peaceful.”

  “It has some significance I’m sure. Even if all it does is bring you peace, that’s good enough for me. Peace is a good thing to have, especially when confronted with the troubles we know are coming and the danger you’ve experienced.” Alexander had lowered his voice. They were still in a public area, though most everyone they passed was in a mad rush and went by too quickly to catch more than a word of their conversation.

  “True, peace is a great thing to have right now. But you know, it’s been quiet since the attack in Cooperstown. I just thought when Aldara said war was coming I expected things to break into chaos right away. Or at least we would experience another attack from The Opposition. But things have seemed totally normal. Eerily normal, actually.” She turned partially sideways to let another person pass between them, this time not even wasting her thoughts on how rude it was.

  “It has been quiet for us,” Alexander agreed. “But, it doesn’t mean there aren’t things going on. The Opposition doesn’t act hastily; they tend to thoroughly plot and plan. What they struggle with is working together, that is usually what takes the most time. So even though we haven’t gotten word doesn’t mean The Opposition isn’t moving forward with plans.”

  “I know. It’s just been nice to have some time to pretend that everything is normal. And, to have a chance to say goodbye.” she looked up, recognizing the building before her. It was Candice’s.

  Emily told her best friend she wanted to come over today to see her one last time. Candice was headed for a college in California in three days. She thought Emily was leaving for Dartmouth in a few weeks, as did everyone else.

  “If she only knew how crazy things really are. I envy her lack of knowledge.”

  “Are you sure you want to just hang around here and wait? I mean it could be hours. Remember, this is Candice we’re talking about. And this is the last time she’ll have the opportunity to yak my ear off in person. It could be a long time,” she giggled with the thought of her best friend going on and on. She really loved her, even if her friend didn’t know how to be quiet for five minutes.


  “Yep, I’m good. I can hang out in the lobby and the shops around here. I’ll people watch, that’s always fun. Especially when you can be invisible about it and people don’t see when you are watching them,” Alexander raised his dark thick brows with an excited expression.

  “Oh to be a fly on the wall, like you,” she leaned in and gave him a quick kiss. “Well, have fun.” She turned toward the apartment building and entered through the revolving glass door.

  The visit didn’t end up being as long as initially expected. The girls talked mostly about expectations for college. Emily kept her comments brief since it was a lie for her to say anything about excitement over Dartmouth. They laughed a lot about favorite memories and they both cried when it was time to say goodbye.

  Candice made Emily promise they would both come home for Christmas and hang out together. She also made Emily vow to be outgoing and social at Dartmouth and find a good guy. Candice didn’t know about Alexander. Emily agreed to her friend’s demands and after a long hug, made her departure.

  As she rode the empty elevator down to the lobby Emily’s lingering thoughts and sadness over leaving were interrupted and her hearing suddenly became muffled. She was experiencing it again, the impaired ability to hear any noise around her. There was only the bell sound. She closed her eyes, concentrating, hoping and praying that this time it all might work. She envisioned the ringing as though it was a bell chiming louder and louder with each pulse, like she could see the actual noise waves expanding through the air after each chime. The ringing grew stronger and stronger and then went quiet, deathly quiet. For a moment Emily thought the experience was over but then she heard it. Like someone right beside her had whispered into her ear.

  Hearing her name sent ripples through her entire body, like she’d just stuck her finger in the light socket and received an electric shock. She heard her name once more, “Emily,” and the same effect took place in her body.