Determinant -Guardians of Vesturon [3] (30 page)

We were set to brief the rescue team later that morning. Kennar would lead the team as planned and they would be heading there tomorrow.

We finished eating and my mother requested a moment alone with me. She took my hand and walked me into the den.

“How are you feeling my son?”

“I will survive.”

“You are sure of her...your January? There have been many before her that you paid no interest in.”

My eyes bore into hers as I replied, “I have never been more sure of anything in my life.”

“I see. Rykerian, you were the one I worried about the most.”

“Why me mother?”

“Oh, my son.” She reached up and pushed my hair off of my forehead. “You have always been so softhearted and introspective I feared you would pass up an opportunity because you were so shy amongst the females.”

“Yes, well, I have never been comfortable around them but it is different with January. She makes me feel strong...and powerful, like I have this deep need to protect her.”

“It sounds like you have found your
amashan
Rykerian...your one true soul mate. Have you told her of your family’s prominence and of the role she is to assume if she accepts you as her mate?”

I sighed, “I have not. I did not have the opportunity before she was stolen away from here.”

“Rykerian, I only ask because of my love for you. I do not want her, or you, to have false illusions of what may lie ahead for the two of you. She must be willing to give up her place on Earth if she is to be by your side always, and she must learn of the Vesturion ways.”

“I
know
that Mother and I will explain that to her when I am with her again.”

“Have you bonded with her?”

“I do believe we have connected Mother. It is like nothing I have ever known. A current of energy flows between us that is something I cannot begin to describe.”

“From your glowing aura, I believe you have my son. Well then, I look forward to meeting this female of yours.” She graced me with one of her beautiful smiles that lit up her face.

My stomach churned as I thought of January and if she would make it back to me.

“Do not think such thoughts. She will be yours in every way one day. My hearts sings for you Rykerian.” She hugged me and turned to leave.

“Thank you Mother. You know you have my love as always.”

“As you have mine, my son,” she smiled.

I was left standing alone in the den, haunted by thoughts of life without January. My dream had disturbed me more than I cared to admit. The fact that she had vanished before my eyes made me tremble with fear. I was close to a full on panic attack, with my heart thundering in my chest. Sheer will power was keeping it in check. I felt my brother’s presence as I turned to him.

“Besides the obvious, what has you in such a foul mood.”

“The dream I had last night. It was about January; she disappeared before my eyes.”

“Do not over think it...it was a dream and only a dream Rykerian.”

“What if it was a prophecy?”

“It was not, but if you want to know the truth, ask Talasi. She is a seer and can tell you. Perhaps she can put your mind at ease.”

It did not take any more persuading for me to seek her out. I decided against teleporting, as I needed to expunge my adrenaline. I changed into my Guardian uniform of black trousers, black shirt and black boots. I placed my shadars on my wrists and moments later I was using my Power of Speed to race through the forest. The feeling of the wind on my cheeks was exhilarating and freeing. I ran as hard as I could, stopping for nothing. When I reached the caves of the Nunne Hi, my tension had disappeared.

Talasi and the Nunne Hi were our kindred spirits. We were here on Earth, North Carolina specifically, to protect them. We had formed an unbreakable bond with them many years ago and her people were my people. She was like an extension of my family.

Talasi was by my side in seconds. Her ability to see the future warned her I was on the way. We sat outside the caves as I told her what she already knew. I needed another set of ears as well as her wisdom.

“Your female is fine and will remain so. Her captor has grown fond of her.”

I bristled at her words and jealousy tore through me.

“It is not what you are thinking,” she covered my hands with hers. “He is fond of her in the way you are of me. A sister or dear friend, no more. It will however, ensure her safety.”

I was a tangled mass of emotions. One second I was raging with jealousy and the next I could feel relief surging throughout my body.

“It is understandable as you feel she belongs to you.”

“Talasi, does she return my feelings?”

“Her heart is filled with you, but she is unsure of how to respond. Give her time Rykerian. She is unfamiliar with love, unlike you. She has faced rejection and hatred her whole life. What she feels for you is as alien to her as are you. In time, she will understand the depths of emotions such as these.”

Her words made sense and I felt myself breathing easier.

“Can you tell me anything of this Herdekian and his species?”

“I am sorry but I cannot. I feel he has faced great difficulties in his lifetime and I am of the mindset that he is not a wholly bad individual. However, that is all I can tell you.”

My hand reached for hers and I squeezed it. “Thank you Talasi. You have eased my fears somewhat and for that I am grateful.”

She graced me with a smile. Her curtain of black hair reflected the light of the sun, creating hints of blue. Her smile conveyed the warmth of the sun and her eyes were a rich coffee-colored hue that softened when she spoke. “Have a care Rykerian. Things will work out for you but you must have patience.”

My spirits were uplifted as I raced back to the Compound. The heavy burden had been somewhat lessened. The run had also eased my restlessness. When I reached home I headed straight for the kitchen and some of Zanna’s food, for I suddenly found I was starving.

The team of six arrived safely on Xanthus and met with Therron and Xarrid. They dispersed to their assigned duties. The news was sketchy at first, and then everything went completely chaotic. We weren’t quite clear on what happened, but something went terribly wrong and we suffered a grave casualty. Kennar had been part of our team on Earth for years and we all mourned his loss.

Our communications with Therron and Xarrid were sparse now for they feared for their lives. We ordered all Guardians off of Xanthus immediately. Freighters were waiting in the safe zone outside of Xanthus controlled space where the Guardians could teleport to safety. The Rebels had somehow stolen spacecraft from other planets and refitted some of their own, making them quite a dangerous presence. We had greatly erred in our dealings with them by underestimating their tenacity and quest for power.

Maddie was in turmoil. Her distress was palpable. She hadn’t heard from Saylan, her best friend, in days. Our communications had been cut with Xarrid and Therron so she was out of luck. All thoughts went unanswered. We put tracers on everyone, but Saylan’s went undetected, as if she had dropped off of the face of the planet.

Rayn and I were seated at the kitchen table as we had just finished lunch when Maddie barged in the door and made a beeline for her mate.

“I’m going home. To Vesturon. I have to go to the Command Center to see what’s going on. I’m too far removed here,” she said her face haggard with worry.

Rayn’s arms reached for her, pulling her into his lap.

“I understand Sunshine. Anything you need, anything at all. Does Father know?”

“Yes, he’s meeting me at the Center in about a half hour.”

“Any word from anyone at all?”

“Nothing. Not even Xarrid. Something is dreadfully wrong Rayn and I just can’t sit still anymore and do nothing.”

“No, I understand completely. You need to go.” He wrapped his hand around the side of her neck and kissed her. “Go now and be safe. Let me know first thing when you hear something.”

“I will, I promise,” she said, standing. “Rykerian, you have my prayers.” I nodded as she turned to leave.

Rayn’s words reached her before she made it to the door. “And Maddie...I love you.”

“I love you too,” she said kissing two of her fingers and holding them out toward him. Then she placed her fist over her heart for a second and held her arm out to him. It was a gesture of love that was common to Vesturions.

“I know how she feels...utterly helpless,” I said. Rayn nodded in agreement.

*****

Days passed before we heard something from Therron. Xarrid was in turmoil for he hadn’t heard from Saylan. They were supposed to have met up at a prearranged location, but she never showed. At first he was not too concerned because they were trying to get all of their equipment out for they didn’t want to leave anything behind the Xanthians might use against us. They were all assigned an abundance of tasks so Xarrid figured she had fallen behind in getting her list of things accomplished. That turned out not to be the case. Saylan had simply disappeared. No one could recollect seeing her anywhere.

Xarrid and Saylan had become quite close. We even speculated they were romantically involved, though they did not speak of it to anyone. To those watching or hearing him now, it was clear the two of them were much closer than mere friends.

We could not count on Xarrid now to help us in our mission of freeing Jurek Herdekian’s family. He had his hands tied with the evacuation and the investigation of Saylan’s disappearance. It was now up to Therron to coordinate with our next team we were sending in.

The information we had initially received on the power generating stations had been incorrect. A Xanthian spy that had infiltrated the Guardians had supplied us with the wrong information. Therron now had the proper locales of where our men needed to go. We faced a more challenging task however, because after our last attempt, the Xanthians had now doubled their sentries. Getting to the stations would be much more difficult.

The team opted to use drones as decoys. The devices could be programmed to do just about anything. They would send in groups of them at different locations for a distraction. When the Xanthian guards would be dealing with the drones, the Guardians would slip in and destroy the generators.

If it didn’t work this time, we would be out of options.

Therron sent us all the coordinates for the specific locations and our men began their mission. The only form of communication allowed was Telepathy. The team would take no risks. Xanthians did not possess that ability so that wouldn’t pose a threat.

Rayn and I waited at the Compound for news of success. It was several days before we heard that they were only partially successful, but again suffering great losses.

Evidently things went smoothly until it came to retrieving the prisoners. They found both the father and daughter, but as they were getting ready to teleport them to safety, a team of guards reactivated the security beams surrounding their location. They were out of their cells but they were trapped within the walls of the prison. The two Guardians with them could only stave off four of the five Xanthians. The elder Herdekian threw himself at the final Xanthian to allow his daughter to escape. He perished in the skirmish, along with another Guardian.

Therron was able to whisk Zulietta away and they were now in hiding somewhere. We waited to hear from Therron with some sort of news, but nothing. The only thing we could surmise was that something must have malfunctioned with his shadars.

“But that would not account for his silence. He should have reached out to us by now using Telepathy,” I stated.

“That only affirms that something has not gone as planned,” Rayn commented.

“What do you think it is?”

“Perhaps he does not trust who he is involved with. Maybe it is one of the Guardians there and that is why he will not use Telepathy.”

“Excellent point. It would have to be a Vesturion for Xanthians have no telepathic abilities.”

“Exactly.”

Upon hearing this, the fingers of fear tightened upon and squeezed my gut. What would this mean for January? How could we get her back if we had to explain to Jurek that his father died and was not here?

“At least we know that Zulietta is safe with Therron. He will protect her life at all costs,” Rayn said. That thought comforted me somewhat.

“Rykerian, we need to get some rest. It has been nearly twenty four hours since we have slept.”

“I know. Go to bed Rayn. I will try to get some sleep, but I doubt I will succeed.”

Knowing Zulietta was safe with Therron, I fell into bed in an absolute state of exhaustion. Despite the fact I still harbored fears for January’s safety, I found I could no longer stay awake. I slept for fifteen hours straight, until Rayn came in my room to awaken me.

“I wondered if you would ever get out of your bed at all today. Come, we have work we must do before we contact the Herdekian and fill him in on what has occurred.”

“Any news?

“Not yet.”

I forced myself to get up and shower. My head was groggy from the long hours I slept, but the shower was helping to clear it. When I walked out of the bedroom, there was a tray of food waiting for me.

I ate an enormous fluffy ham and cheese omelet, a bowl of creamy buttered grits, two large biscuits and a large bowl of mixed fruit. I drank a large glass of ice-cold milk and two huge mugs of coffee. I was feeling much better as I made my way down the steps.

I made my way into the kitchen where I deposited my breakfast tray on the counter.

Zanna was cleaning up the mess made from the morning meal. I grabbed her shoulders from behind and thanked her for leaving the tray in my room.

“Ah but you should be thanking your brother. He is the one who brought it to you.”

I turned to Rayn to thank him when he said, “If I had not woken you up, you would still be sleeping up there. I have never known you to sleep so many hours Rykerian.”

“Too true. I have not been sleeping much these past weeks and it must have caught up with me. I finally feel clearheaded though.”