Descended (31 page)

Back on the ground Carter arrogantly smiled at Gabe showing off with the last drained orange in his hand. Gabe looked at Carter wanting to smile but refrained. Instead he held out the stop watch and said two hours forty five minutes; we need to do better next time and gathered his gear. But Carter could feel Gabe’s excitement no matter what he said Carter knew he was proud and that was good enough for him.

They headed back to the ranch and Vie was waiting on the front porch with Carter’s little sister Sarah. When they got close Vie could smell the sweet smell of citrus from the oranges that drenched Carter
’s
body. He was covered in sticky pulp and soaked in their juices. Vie scowled at Gabe knowing that the condition of Carter rested solely on his shoulders. Gabe flashed a polite and subtle smile back at her.

“
What happened to you?” Vie asked Carter.

“You smell like an orange
,
” Sarah said in her sweet little voice to Carter.

Carter grabbed Sarah and lifted her up above his head playfully asking her if she wanted to smell like oranges too as he moved her closer to him. Sarah was giggling and shouting no back to him and then Carter put her down and she went running inside the house for cover. Vie loved
watching Carter with Sarah. It was one of those precious moments that were exclusive to this world and it warmed
Vie’s
heart.

“Uh, I think Romeo here is going to need a shower before you two head out…on your date
,
” Gabe teased.

Vie hated not being a part of what her two favorite guys were up to. Although she trusted Gabriel she knew firsthand how difficult his training could be and she hoped Carter was up for the challenge.

“So, what were the two of you up to today?” she questioned pulling pieces of the pulp out of Carter’s hair and holding it up waiting for their explanation.

“Oh, just a little target
practice
Vie, that’s all.” Gabe said suspiciously.

“Yeah
,
” Carter confirmed and excused himself to take a well needed shower. He told Vie he would be ready in a few minutes and kissed her on the cheek before heading in the house.

“G-a-b-r-i-e-l…What did you do?” Vie said in a scolding voice.

Gabe planted a kiss on her cheek and said “what I was sent here to do” and headed back to the guest house.

Chapter 19

Secrets

A month had passed and Carter and Vie had become inseparable, spending almost every day together. Henry was happy that his daughter had been given a second chance at life and was living it to the fullest with her new friend Carter. Although he hated seeing Jeremy devastated by their break up, he knew in time he would be able to move on. He had become like a son to him
through the years
and he missed Jeremy coming over to the house.  He also found himself growing very fond of his daughter’s new love interest Carter Stone.

Gabriel, on the other hand, was growing frustrated with the mission. Although he was impressed with the strides made in the training of his new chosen warrior, he was worried that the progress had halted and that going further was not an option. At least not until Vie completed her part of the mission and uncovered what was stopping Carter from achieving his destiny.  Gabriel knew it was time to speak to Vie about his concerns and get her back on track with her duty to the Guardian’s and the promise she had made to him.

The other Guardian troops were also getting restless while waiting for Lucian to make his move and for news from Gabriel that the chosen one was ready.   Neither of which was to come any time soon. Yes everything was at a standstill and the tensions began to rise within the troops. Raphael sent a message to Gabriel requesting his presence at a meeting the troops had called for and asked him not to bring Vie. Gabriel was concerned but did as they asked and the meeting was set for that night.

Vie
,
on the other hand
,
felt as if she were living her destiny. She began to lose sight of who she was and what she came to this world to do. Carter Stone was no longer a mission but her other half, her soul
mate
,
someone she could not exist without. She had become content in the body of Vivian Thorne just so she could be with Carter. This made her weak, and in that weakness trouble was brewing and something was about to happen that would change everything.

Vie had gone to the ranch to have dinner with the Stone’s. They had all become fond of Vie and Katherine loved watching her son’s eyes light up when she entered a room.  She had never seen a love like that except for in the movies. They seemed to fit perfectly, like pieces to a puzzle. She wondered how they could have lived here all their lives without seeing it. This was something Carter actually wondered about frequently as well.

Gabriel entered the dining area and thanked Katherine for the invite but said he had a meeting to attend so he would not be able to stay. He looked across the table at Vie.  She seemed curious about where he was going so she followed him outside to see what was up. Gabe was relieved that his friend and fellow Guardian was concerned because that meant she was still interested in doing what they came here to do, or so he hoped.

“Gabe?” Vie called out to him but he didn’t turn back.

“Gabriel?” she shouted his name louder and grabbed his arm so he would be forced to look at her.

“What is going on with you? And what meeting are you attending that I was not informed about?” she questioned him.

“Oh, well let’s see.  I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you about the meeting that I am about to
have with the angry comrades
of mine waiting patiently on the front lines for US! That’s right, you and me
Vie
.  They’re waiting for us to produce some great warrior that has the power to stop Lucian from destroying this world that you have obviously become particularly fond of!!!” He yelled furiously at Vie without a pause or even one short breath in between his sentences.

Vie had never seen Gabriel so angry, at least not with her. Stunned by his anger, she began to cry.  Of course it made Gabriel feel awful, but he couldn’t let her know it. Vie had to remember that there was a lot more at stake here than just her romance with Carter. He hated hurting her, but she needed to focus on why they came here and what would happen if they failed. Vie realized that she had failed Gabriel and his disappointment in her was more than she could take so she ran quickly away from him
leaving the ranch
. Gabriel wanted to go after her but he knew she needed to be alone to think about what he had said. Gabe was certain when she did that Vie would come to the same conclusi
on that the rest of them had; t
hat she was not doing what she was sent here to do.

Just then Carter came out and immediately saw the look on Gabe’s face. He knew something was wrong and demanded to know what it was and where Vie had disappeared to. Gabe tried to walk away but Carter came after him, pushing him and ordering him to stop. Gabe pushed through Carter with ease knocking him to the ground as he continued to walk off. Carter came at him again, pushing and yelling about Vie, challenging his patience. Again, Gabe pushed through him, but he noticed it was harder this time to push him to the ground. Winded, Carter got up again and came at Gabe, this time telling him he could keep pushing him away, he could knock him down as many times as he wanted, but that he promised him he would keep getting up and keep coming at him until he stopped and told him what happened between him and Vie. Surprised and dumbfounded by his actions, Gabe started to walk again and again Carter was there, staring him right in the face, daring him to move him. Again Gabe put his hands on Carter and pushed but he didn’t move. Gabe pushed harder but he still couldn’t move him, not even an inch. Completely stunned now Gabriel looked at Carter with an expression that warned him to move or be moved. Carter knew Gabriel could crush him after watching him lift a two ton plow, but he refused to back down. Instead he closed his eyes and channeled all of his energy as his teacher had taught him.  Gabe pushed with all his might but Carter didn’t budge. Slowly he opened his eyes and saw a friend looking happily back at him. His frown had turned into a smile that Carter had not
previously
seen on Gabe’s face and he wondered what had just happened.

Unable to control his excitement, he picked Carter up off the ground with a huge manly bear hug and said, “You did it Carter.  You did it! You’re really the one.  I knew you could do it,” he shouted.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about Gabe, all I want to know is where Vie is?” he said with gentle eyes.

It was then that Gabe figured out what gave Carter the power….it was Vie. Vie held the key to all of Carter’s power. For whatever reason, when Carter thought of Vie, he was larger than life. If he was protecting her he was more powerful than any force Gabriel had ever seen. It was his love for her that was feeding his soul and allowing him to be the person he was put in this world to be. 
The chosen one.
Gabriel hoped he had not destroyed what Vie had worked so hard to build, Carter’s spirit.

“Carter, I’m not sure where Vie went but I know her and she just needs to be alone for a little while,” Gabe said
. 

“Why? What happened? What did you say to her?” Carter yelled at him.

“You two think I’m blind, you think I can’t see the secret looks and whispers when I leave the room,” Carter said accusingly. Gabriel was shocked at how far off base he was, given his display of supremacy earlier. He had hoped that his mental abilities weren’t far behind his physical ones and that perhaps he could read his thoughts, but it didn’t seem to be what was happening. Instead he was faced with nothing more than a very jealous
, immature,
warrior. While Gabe was busy speculating about what Carter lacked, Carter had a vision, a glimpse into his teachers mind and what he saw shoc
ked him. Startled by his vision,
he jumped back away from Gabe in disbelief and spoke in a frightened, broken voice.

“She knows doesn’t she?” he said as if he had betrayed Vie.

“Knows what,” Gabe said.  He wasn’t sure what Carter saw but oddly enough, felt his presence in his thoughts.

“I saw it Gabe, I saw your thoughts,” he said hoping Gabe would shed some light for him.

“She knows,” Gabe said understanding that this was the moment they waited for; the moment where Carter would see his destiny. The Guardians were forbidden to tell him anything, but not forbidden to confirm what he had already discovered for himself.

Carter walked back to the porch and slumped down as if he were carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. Gabe approached Carter and sat next to him waiting for what was to come. He knew Carter would ask who he was and he knew he would not be able to fully explain.  He hoped his answers, although vague, would inspire Carter to push forward, to figure out for himself who he was and what he was put here to do.

“Who am I Gabe? Who are you? Are we some sort of freakish superhuman beasts straight out of a Sci-fi movie?” he asked.

“No Carter, we are not. And I was sent here to help you discover who you really are
,
” Gabe started his explanation with caution being extremely careful not to break any rules of interference.

“Well who am I? What am I? Am I a
superhero” he asked wide eyed.

“No Romeo, there are no such things as superheroes
,
” he said laughing out loud.

“Then what Gabe?” he looked at him with lost eyes.

“You are someone special, someone chosen to protect this world from all the evil that threatens it, someone who has inspired me to be great every single day.  You are someone to admire and someone to fear,” he said proudly. “I cannot tell you exactly who you are
Carter,
you must seek that out yourself. I am here as a guide and a teacher, that is all. Only you can uncover who you really are and you must do so on your own.  But what I can tell you
is
that there is something blocking this, something big standing in the way of you reaching your full potential? Maybe it’s a fear of something from long ago?” Gabe suggested but Carter shook his head to say there was nothing he was afraid of.

“Then maybe a tragedy, something you can’t remember, something from when you were a child?” Gabe looked to him to see if anything jogged his memory, but again Carter shook his head no.

“There is something Carter and until you are free from whatever it is, your soul will forever be trapped in the clutches of its darkness and you will not be able to fulfill your destiny here. And this world will be in grave danger if that day comes,” Gabe said.

“What about Vie?  She left.  She must think I am a liar and a freak for not telling her,” Carter said disappointed in himself.