Guardians Inc.:Thundersword (Guardians Incorporated #2) (16 page)

Thomas stood frozen under the scrutiny of the Fauns. He saw a massive elephant dressed in a white gown, her ears adorned with long, golden earrings. He saw small rodent-like fauns, who had to stand up on the backs of their seats to look at him. A couple of crane fauns lifted their long necks to take a good look at him, their white feathers adorned with diamond rings.

He particularly felt the glare of Minister Hoormel Kian, the tiger faun he had seen in the League of Nations. He had imagined how powerful the tiger faun would be, but his imagination had fallen short of reality. Hoormel Kian was as imposing, if not more than Minister Idar. His yellow eyes centered on Thomas, and his ears slowly folded back a subdued snarl, flashing his sharp fangs.  Thomas could see Kian’s muscles tensing up underneath his black robe. Elise had pointed out that Kian was the voice of the Warmaster in the League of Nations, his right hand man, and Thomas now imagined just how powerful the Warmaster had to be to have this creature as his spokesperson.

The tiger faun flexed his broad hands and twitched his muzzle in anticipation. Thomas heard a low, deep growl coming from Kian’s throat as he sized him up, the Azure Guard pendant glinting on his shoulder.

The assembly seemed ominously hostile toward him. Even Minister Idar, who was seated a couple of seats to the left of Hoormel Kian, seemed a little hostile, his ears folded back over his head.

“I’m here, Thomas,” Henri whispered as he stood by his side, “and so are my brothers. Go ahead.”

Thomas saw Jean Luc and about two dozen other grotesques take a step forward and stand at attention. They made that simple move to let the fauns know that they were ready for any strange action and were ready to protect Thomas at all costs.

Thomas walked through the central corridor, Henri right behind him, then Tony, Elise, and Bolswaithe following behind.

The murmurs and growls intensified as Thomas walked through the room. He tried not to look at Hoormel Kian as he walked by him, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw him sneering in distaste.

Doctor Franco and the other Guardians stood up as he walked up the little stairs to the stage.

He had met one of the officers already, Commander Rodriguez, who was in charge of the Watchmen teams. She was a petite but stern woman, and had chosen to wear her full dress uniform instead of her usual skirt and beret. Beside her was a cheetah faun, whom Thomas had never met but had heard about; he was in charge of the Fire Teams, the Guardians’ human-faun army units. On the other side, there was an empty chair that Thomas guessed was reserved for Mrs. Pianova, and right beside it stood a short, stout man dressed in dirty overalls. He had a long, braided beard, and a long ponytail wiggled under his baseball cap.

Six grotesques were standing right behind them; one of them was Jean Luc, who winked at Thomas.

Doctor Franco embraced him and whispered, “Don’t worry, Thomas. Let me handle them.” He then asked them to stand in line beside them.

“Friends and allies of the Guardians!” the Doctor addressed them. “It is with great pride that I introduce Cypher Thomas Byrne.”

“Cypher?” the boar faun two seats to the right of Hoormel Kian snorted sarcastically. He too wore the pendant of the Azure Guard. “Are we to believe that this boy is a Cypher?”

The murmurs rose in intensity, but before another faun could say anything, Chief Husseha stood up on the other side of the room. “The Doctor speaks the truth,” he said, silencing the murmurs. “I have seen the sign reader at work with my own eyes.” The Chief gave Thomas a reassuring nod and waited to lift his gaze again until Thomas returned it. The white tail deer faun had invited Thomas to their spring festival in Hussahassalin, and introduced him to the sons he had saved by cracking the Oracle's signs. The Fauns had no recollection of anything they had done while in the Oracle's trance, but were happy to meet the one who had saved them.

Many of the fauns whispered among themselves; Chief Husseha had paid Thomas a great sign of respect and trust with that simple nod.

“A trick perhaps,” a rhino faun said. “Humans and their allies are known for their deceit.”

“Are you calling me a liar?” Chief Husseha asked the rhino who immediately lifted an appeasing hand.

“No, my brother,” he said. “I am merely stating a known fact,” he said to the assembly. “How many times have the humans lied to us?” Murmurs erupted throughout the room. “They even lie to themselves! They are not one clan, but many. They've gone as far as to enslave each other for the color of their skin! No faun would ever do that.”

“This is a sign reader!” Chief Husseha yelled above the growing noise, “and I owe my sons’ lives to him.”

The Fauns fell silent again, then they watched as Chief Husseha bowed to Thomas, his antlers almost touching the ground.

“My friends,” Doctor Franco took the pause to regain control of the assembly. “Thomas Byrne is a Cypher, the Cypher we've been looking for almost a hundred years—”

“You should have looked for him in Panama!” a stork faun interrupted.

“Or Pretoria!”

“Or Mexico!”

The hall erupted in accusations directed at the Doctor, so loud and threatening that Thomas saw Henri and the grotesques getting ready to intervene should the yells become blows.

A roar silenced all other fauns as Hoormel Kian stood up from his seat, jabbing an accusatory finger at the Doctor. “Did you believe we wouldn't notice your stunts, Doctor?” he growled. “Your trips around the world or the half-breeds you sent as watchdogs over our territories?” The fauns acknowledged the Hoormel Kian’s accusations approvingly. “Did you believe we wouldn't know about this boy's trip to the Halls of Remembrance? Or how he interfered with our sister Mar-Safi?”

“He is the next Guardian of Twilight!” Doctor Franco shouted. “He has a right to the knowledge of both Fauns and humanity. The time of Concord is again upon us.”

That seemed to touch a fiber in the fauns; some asked about the Oracle, some murmured among themselves, but most of them were speechless.

“Yes!” Hoormel-Kian said aloud. “The time of Concord is upon us again—the Oracle roams the Earth, the Pillars are stirring, and while no one in this room has lived long enough to have seen a sign, we all feel the Oracle's power growing stronger. The
Book of Concord
waits to be found...but,” he sized up Thomas dismissively, “is this...
boy
truly the next Guardian of Twilight?” Hoormel Kian challenged.

“He already has the sign the Oracle created in Hussahassalin,” Chief Husseha said. “My seers confirmed it. It was a sign from the Oracle.”

“The Hassa are almost human pets!” the boar yelled, breaking the silence Chief Husseha had created and the assembly polarized— half defending Chief Husseha, while the other half yelled or growled against the Guardians.

Hoormel Kian smiled at Thomas as he walked toward the stairs. “Enough my brothers!” he yelled. “This bickering is pointless!”

The fauns fell silent again.

“My brothers,” Hoormel Kian said. “While it is true that the Hassa Clan has always been cozy with humans…maybe a little too much…and while I believe in the word of honored Chief Husseha…” he bowed in respect to the Chief, “We have lost too much already to the humans. We must have proof that this boy is both a Cypher and the next Guardian of Twilight if we are to continue our alliance with the Guardians.”

Thomas looked over and saw the Doctor clenching his fists; he had probably read something in Hoormel Kian’s mind that he didn't like. How he wished now that the Doctor could still read his mind, because alarms were blaring and red flags popping up.

“The proof you seek will be Thomas finding the
Book of Concord,
” the Doctor said.

“You can give us proof right now, Doctor,” Hoormel Kian said with a smile. “We have discovered a sign in our lands.” The room hushed. “A true sign from the Oracle,” he said. “Once your boy decodes it, we will be convinced, and reassured, won't we, brothers?”

The fauns murmured their approval, the Azure Guards seeming the most excited about the prospect of the test.

“We will, of course, understand if you decline this invitation, Doctor.”

Thomas gulped. The Doctor continued to clench his fists. Somehow and even with his mind-reading abilities, Thomas sensed that the Doctor had been outmaneuvered by Hoormel Kian. The Doctor exchanged a questioning look with Thomas, and he was waiting for him to decide.

Thomas overlooked the assembly as all eyes were on him. The Azure Guard fauns were openly defying him to accept and the others were expectantly waiting for his decision. Minister Idar lifted a questioning eyebrow at him; he had said in his office that if he was the best the Guardians had to offer there would be war for sure.

He had screwed up that interview, and he couldn't screw up again.

Tony winked at him, Elise pursed her lips, and suddenly he felt that the only one in the whole room who doubted that he would take on the challenge was himself. Wanting or not, he was the Cypher and he had the first sign already. Backing down from this challenge would hurt Guardians Inc., its reputation and its mission. Maybe irreparably.

He made up his mind.

Thomas nodded.

The Doctor nodded back at him with a mix of pride, relief, and concern. “We will give the proof you request, Minister,” the Doctor said, “and then maybe we can move onto more important things like protecting the world.”

“Perfect!” Hoormel Kian clapped loudly. “Let's go then.”

“Thomas hasn't rested in three days, Minister,” the Doctor said, but the tiger and the fauns were already walking toward the door.

“There is no rest for the wicked, Doctor. You should know that by heart,” Hoormel Kian growled without looking back, and many of the fauns let out a chuckle. “You have two hours. See you in Ethipothala Falls.”

The Doctor waited until the fauns had left the room to talk with the officers behind him. The last one to leave was Minister Idar, who gave Thomas a nod before leaving the room.

“Commander Agrila…” the Doctor told the cheetah as soon as the door closed. “ I need as many fauns as you can muster in the vicinity of Ethipothala, and the human elements on alert, ready to lend support if needed.”

Agrila took off in a stride, already relaying commands through his wristpadd and comm.

“What about my Watchmen?” Commander Rodriguez stepped forward. “I can have the Watchmen of Nallamalla Forest on site in fifteen.”

“Humans will not be welcome, Commander, but keep your teams on alert.”  The Doctor turned toward the stout man. “Clicker…”

“I know!” the stout man shouted as he reached behind his chair and pulled a belt full of tools around his waist. “Call the Indian Prime Minister and set up a security area around the falls.”

“Yes and please—”

“Set up a no-fly zone over the area, got it.”

“Right Clicker, and—”

Clicker turned toward the Doctor. “Clear out Nagarjuna Sagar Dam, monitor all communications in and out from India, evacuate human population from the proximity if necessary, create alternate events to distract public attention, contact the Clans and Fae that have interests close to the event, and come up with a plausible explanation for the blockade. Am I new here, Doctor?” Clicker turned away, the tools around his belt clacking with the sway of his walk.

As Clicker passed, a strong smell of earth and grass floated up Thomas’s nostrils.

“And Clicker…” the Doctor called after him.

Clicker raised his arms in exasperation without looking back. “I’m moving the surveillance satellites! I know!” He slammed the door as he left the room.

“Well,” the Doctor turned to Thomas, “now all we need to do is get ready for whatever the Minister has planned for us.”

“Couldn’t you read his mind?” Thomas asked. Tony looked surprised, his brow furrowing as he tried to gauge the reaction from the others. 

“I could, yes,” the Doctor said, rubbing his hands. He turned away and began walking to the door.

“He reads minds?” Thomas heard Tony softly asking Bolswaithe.

“Doctor!” Thomas raced to catch up with him before he left the room. “What did you see?”

The Doctor stopped at the door. He bit his lip as if he were contemplating whether or not to tell Thomas. “All he was thinking about…” he finally said, “were different ways to kill you all.”

Ethipothala Falls

Thomas checked the images Bolswaithe had sent him in preparation for their trip on his wristpadd.

The Ethipothala Waterfalls were one of the most beautiful in the state of Andra Pradesh in India. Three streams combine their waters, and the waters fall for seventy feet along stone ledges of different sizes creating a spectacular staircase of moving water.

At the bottom, the waters form a lagoon that drains into a river that meanders peacefully through the region. This would be a place that Thomas would have loved to visit, but now he dreaded being here.

“Many great clans share the area and the Nallamalla Forest close by. Two of them are openly supportive to the Azure Guards.”

“Don’t tell me,” Elise said, “the Darshere and the Ambuu Clans.”

“Which ones?” Thomas still hadn’t memorized all the clan names from the list Elise had given him.

“Tigers and boars,” Elise said. “Tigers fauns were considered powerful spirits in Hindu mythology until the Guardians began to undermine their influence. They would love to go back to the old ways.”

“And the boars?”

“They just go along for the ride, I guess.”

They had changed their uniforms for combat fatigues and full body armor coverage. The armor was light but still cumbersome at the joints. The engineers were still working on a full deployable helmet based on the electromagnetic design, but it was still months away, so they each carried a combat helmet.

Apart from the standard dart guns, Thomas carried the nunchakus in a pouch on his belt and the sword on his side. Elise carried her short sword, and Bolswaithe had a Bo stick strapped on his back.

Henri, as always, relied on his strength, while Tony looked ready for an all-out war; he carried his dart gun at the hip, two swords on his back, and a fully auto submachine gun on his other hip. Bolswaithe had convinced him to leave the belt with grenades, flash bangs and the auto loading combat shotgun in the armory.