Determinant -Guardians of Vesturon [3] (11 page)

The corners of her mouth began to curve, but then stopped.

“Why did you bring me here?” Her question startled me for she had not been very willing to converse with me.

“To save you of course. There was no other option since you were contagious. You would have died had I not.” I was satisfied with that answer and so proud of it. I should have had a clue that things would turn disagreeable.

“What made you think I wanted to be saved?” she asked, her mood becoming mercurial. The pleasantness had disappeared and the darkness had returned.

“I…because…well, why wouldn’t you?” I turned the tables.

“Not everyone has a rosy life, Mr. Happy-go-lucky! You walk around without a care in the world, acting like everyone feels the same. Well, newsflash! They don’t. I didn’t want to be saved. I’ve had it with this miserable life of mine and just when I think I’ve finally…finally gotten to the point where it’s over, YOU show up all happy and glowing like you’re some sort of guardian angel, swooping down to save me. You, with your stunning looks and…well I’d bet you’ve never faced a day of adversity in your life. That’s the ONLY thing I’ve ever known. Constantly worried about how I’m going to pay my rent or tuition. Do you know what it’s like not to be able to buy a bag of potato chips because you couldn’t afford it? Why couldn’t you have just left me alone?” She looked up at me and tears were streaking her cheeks. My heart split in two, ripped open by the pain in her words.

I extended my arm toward her but she flinched. I let it fall. My mouth was bone dry with my voice bound by some unknown force. I shook my head and all I wanted to do was comfort this poor creature.

I heard her whisper, “You
can’t
comfort me.
No one
can. My life isn’t even
worth
comforting. When will I be able to leave here?” She bowed her head and stared at her twisting fingers.

“January, please, let me help you,” I beseeched. My heart felt like it was being crushed.

“You. Can’t. Help! You
could have
helped if you had left me in the stupid forest!” she yelled.

“I could not leave you in the forest. I am a Guardian. It goes against everything in my blood…everything I stand for.” My voice matched hers in pitch.

“You don’t understand!”

“Then tell me. I cannot help you if you do not tell me!” My voice was charged with emotion.

She shook her head and dropped it into her hands.

Please talk to me January. Tell me what pains your heart and mind so. I only want to help you. Please…

“Just leave me alone. Please.”

My heart was splintering. This ghost of a female was quickly becoming my undoing. I turned and strode from the terrace.

I was standing in the den, preparing to go down to the Command Center when Maddie appeared, surprising me with her unexpected visit.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she accused.

“I do not know what…” before I could finish, she continued verbally accosting me.

“January. Why didn’t you tell me it was January?” she demanded.

I flashed her a bewildered look. “I don’t understand.”

“January. Upstairs. Sick!” she exclaimed.

I continued shaking my head, baffled.

“Rykerian, January was my roommate in college! Why didn’t you tell me?” she persisted.

“I was unaware there was a connection between the two of you.” My surprise at her revelation could not have been more apparent.

“I must see her!”

“No, you cannot.”

Maddie shot me an incredulous look. “Excuse me!”

“You cannot see her. She is of a fragile mind. I am in charge here and I will not allow it.”

“If you don’t get your bloody arse out of my way, I’ll move it for you!”

“Arse?”

“Yes! I didn’t want to call you an ass, but I will!”

“Um, I think you just did Maddie.”

Maddie had always been impetuous and used to getting her way, but she had never acted like this toward me. In fact, her heart had always softened with regard to me because at one time I had fancied myself in love with her. I had been terribly mistaken, of course, but since then, she had always treated me with great care. To hear her threats now left me quite speechless.

“I am not kidding Rykerian!”

“But you must listen Maddie. Her mind is very fragile right now.”

“Rykerian, you clearly are not listening. I am not asking permission. I am telling you. Now, out of my way.”

“I will not allow…” but before I could utter another word, she extended her hand and I found myself plastered to the ceiling. Maddie’s Power of Telekinesis was incredibly impressive. I was currently imprisoned by it.

“Maddie!” I yelled. “Put me down, immediately!”

As she turned away, I saw Rayn appearing. “Maddie, release him this instant.”

She looked at Rayn and it was evident there was mental sparring occurring between them. Suddenly, I found myself lying in a heap on the floor. I leaped up, intending to intercept her before she could go upstairs when I heard, and then felt, “I Command you to be still!”

The pain was immediate and excruciating. Every cell in my body screamed in agony. I was in Command’s clutches and incapable of movement of any kind—my muscles rebelling but in complete and total lockdown. It had been some time since I had been under anyone’s Power of Command and Rayn’s ability was quite significant. I fought to draw air into my lungs. I knew it was futile to fight against this, but every fiber of my being bellowed at me to do exactly that. It was getting me nowhere, except into deeper pain.

I heard rather than saw my father. “Rayn, what are you doing? Release him now!” he commanded.

I heard the words in my mind,
Release,
and immediately fell to my knees, sucking in as much air as I could. I was still incapable of moving, as I crouched there, recovering. The Power of Command was a talent known only to Vesturions and not everyone had the capability to perform it. My ability with it was only moderate at best.

“What is going on here? I demand an explanation!” my father shouted, his voice reverberating.

“I was protecting my mate, Father!” Rayn exclaimed.

“Against what?”

“Rykerian,” Rayn answered sheepishly.

I was still on the floor, regaining control of my body bit by bit. I flexed my hands and arms, testing them to see if they were functional. Finally I rose to my feet, unsteadily.

“Well?” my father asked me.

“I informed Maddie she could not see January, and she used Telekinesis to bind me to the ceiling. Then Rayn came in and she released me but he commanded me to be still.” I rubbed and shook my arms, trying to bring life back to them.

“You were threatening my mate!” Rayn snarled.

“Stop! You two are acting like children!” my father exclaimed.

My father just shook his head, assessing the situation. “Maddie, my daughter, you know I have a terribly soft spot in my heart for you, but in this instance, you have no choice but to defer to Rykerian. He is leader here and his decision stands. You cannot see January at this time.”

Then he turned to Rayn, and his eyes launched daggers at him. “Do not ever abuse your Power of Command again. Am I clear? Rykerian is your brother and when you enter this Compound, he is your leader and his rule stands. Do you honestly think he would harm your mate? He would give up his life for her Rayn!” Both my brother and his mate looked thoroughly chastised.

They approached me and simultaneously began apologizing.

“Maddie, there is a good reason you cannot see her. As I stated, her mind is very fragile. She is angry with me for saving her life. She will not discuss it and I am baffled by her behavior. But we need her assistance, and desperately so. It is so important that she regain her strength both physically and mentally, because she faces an important task ahead.”

Maddie nodded her head in understanding. I could feel her thoughts trying to push their way into my mind and I gave her a dark look. She was not welcome there.

“Down to the Command Center. All of you. Now!” my father ordered.

My father, Rowan, was the Great Ruler of Vesturon. My brother Rayn, the first-born, is in training to someday assume that role. He recently united with his soul mate, Maddie, whom he met here on Earth during her rescue from a serial killer. Their attraction and subsequent bonding was instantaneous, as is common between Vesturions when they find their soul mates. At first, there were issues because at the time, it was believed that Maddie was human. Since then, we discovered she had Vesturion blood lines stemming from both of her parents, who died when she was quite young.

Maddie and Rayn were a perfect match. Their relationship had not been easy for either of them. Rocky best described it. Eventually they learned to work things out between them and were now happily mated. You wouldn’t have to know them to see they shared an unbreakable bond of love. Rayn was handsome, with black hair and bright green eyes and his mate was beautiful in every sense of the word. Copper hair and eyes to match, she was a headstrong female. Rayn had met his match in her. His protective instincts went overboard where she was concerned.

We all took our seats around the conference table in the Command Center. My father, Rayn, Maddie, Tesslar and myself were present.

I had two other brothers, Therron and Xarrid, but they were on the planet Xanthus, helping to reestablish a ruling authority. The Xanthians had surrendered to us a few months ago after causing much havoc in the universe. My sister, Sharra, was off commandeering an armada of Star Fighters protecting susceptible planets from Xanthian rebels. It had been a difficult time lately, with all the fighting brought on by the Xanthians.

“As you know, the Xanthian rebels have grown in numbers, to the point where we are deciding on whether or not to abandon creating a new governing authority for them. We are close to pulling Therron and Xarrid off Xanthus, for safety issues,” Father informed us.

“It has gotten that bad then?” I wanted to know.

“Rowan, I think it would be a good idea to remove them as soon as possible,” Maddie declared. She had dealt with the Xanthians in her role as ambassador and then again when they held Rayn captive. Maddie abhorred the Xanthians. She knew them to be liars and untrustworthy.

“You may be right. But there is another issue blooming before us. Our strategists think there is a connection to this pandemic on Earth and the situation the Brutyns are facing.” I raised my eyes in question, as I was unaware with this situation. We looked at my father to continue.

“The Brutyns are having an invasion of a genetically altered insect and it is consuming their gartha crops. If they don’t find a way to stop it, the whole planet is at risk. As you know, the Brutyns must ingest a special enzyme daily in order for their brains to function properly. Gartha is the only plant species where this enzyme can be found. This insect is destroying their gartha crops in record numbers and they cannot find a way to stop it. Their entire species faces extinction if this cannot be altered.” My father looked at each of us, mentally requesting our input.

“This is terrible news! Who do you think is behind this?” I asked.

“We have no proof, but we suspect it to be the Xanthians. We know they are desperate for Earth’s natural resources, specifically their fossil fuels. They have also coveted Brutyna’s resources, especially their furrilyum. They have stripped all the fossil fuels and furrilyum from Xanthus and need the aforementioned for their power sources. They realize they cannot continue to power their planet by chemical means, as they too will eventually be depleted. We have begun to think all of this pandemonium is at their hands.”

Maddie was the first to react. “I say we destroy their planet. Total annihilation. Don’t leave anything behind. Then there will be nothing left to fuel and the Xanthians will no longer be a burr in our behinds.”

My father’s jaw nearly hit the table while Rayn rolled his eyes and shook his head, trying to disguise his smile. Tesslar burst out laughing and I, well, I did not quite know what to say to that.

“What? I think it’s a sound plan!” Maddie stated with conviction, her amber eyes ablaze.

“Maddie,” Rayn began but my father held up his hand and interrupted him.

“My daughter, we cannot play the Deity on this. We must rein them in, yes, and perhaps if we find proof we must punish them, but we cannot charge onto Xanthus and annihilate the entire planet. There are innocent Xanthians that know nothing of this,” Father patiently explained. He had such a tender heart where Maddie was concerned. If one of us had suggested that, he would have been brutal in his response. I chuckled. Everyone looked my way and I shrugged. No use explaining those thoughts.

“How can we find out the truth?” Tesslar asked.

“We have spies that are working on getting us the proof. In the meantime, we have to find a way to stop this terrible chain of events on both planets.”

“What do you propose?” I ventured. I had some ideas I had been toying with in my mind. I ran a finger along the table’s edge, my thoughts wandering toward the CDC.

“We have our scientists producing a vaccine for this disease on Earth. The samples that Julian took from January have panned out to be excellent sources for the vaccine. Her blood carried much more virus than is normally found, which lead them to another discovery.”

I was not expecting my father to say what he was getting ready to tell us. We all sat there, waiting for him to continue.

Father looked at me and then settled his gaze on Maddie. Arching a brow she said, “Well?”

“Your January is Vesturion.”

I was the first to jump to my feet, followed by Maddie. “You can’t be serious!” she exclaimed.

“Oh, but I am, daughter of mine. Her blood is very rich with her Vesturion heritage. She has two distinct determinants, one human and one Vesturion.”

“How can that be?” Maddie asked. Her fair skin had just lightened to an even paler shade of white.