The Guardian Chronicles 1: Rise of the Phoenix (17 page)

“Well I hope that you can find that spark again on the battlefield,” Ethan grunted. “Still can’t hold up against me though, I mean I did still beat you.”

Gabriel was so exhausted that he didn’t even realize the jab that Ethan got in at his expense. He touched his skin, it was sweaty and hot but didn’t feel like he was on fire. He shook his head and tried to breath nice and slow. Gabriel wandered off to the locker-room not saying another word to Ethan. Luckily, Ethan didn’t follow right behind him.

Gabriel peeled off his shirt and turned on the hot water as soon as he got inside. Now that he finally had time to sit down, he felt utterly drained. He wasn’t sure if it was the sparring round with Ethan or the jet leg but he suddenly felt like he could just collapse into a puddle on the floor. Once steam started to flow through the cubicle, Gabriel finished getting undressed and hopped into the shower.

He let the warm water wash over his body, easing the stress and fatigue from his muscles. He stayed in there for what seemed like ever and then got out and dried off. After getting dressed, he stepped back out into the main area, surprised to find Ethan at the sinks, splashing water on his face. He looked like he had just gotten out of the shower as well.

“Oh, hey,” Gabriel muttered.

Ethan turned around and arched an eyebrow at Gabriel.

“Are you sure you are okay?” he asked, leaning against the sinks. “I could call Cody or Aadesh-”

“I’m fine,” Gabriel interrupted, a little more harshly than he intended. “Just tired.”

Gabriel started putting stuff back in his locker, resisting the urge to turn and look at Ethan again. He knew that he was starting what he hoped was a relationship with Alex, he shouldn’t be looking at Ethan that way anymore. Though, in his defense, Ethan still looked damn good with his shirt off.

“I wanted to say that I was sorry.”

Gabriel turned around, slightly confused.

“What?”

Ethan looked around almost like he was checking to make sure that they were alone. Finally he let out a sigh.

“I wanted to say that I was sorry.”

“Sorry?”

“Yes! What is there an echo in here or something?”

Gabriel titled his head slightly at Ethan and shot him a smirk.

“What are you sorry for exactly? Because in all reality, even after only knowing you for the past eight months I’d say there are numerous occasions for you to apologize and that’s just to me.”

“You aren’t going to make this easy on me, are you?”

Gabriel laughed. “You make everyone else grovel to you when they’re wrong and you’re right.”

Ethan let out a snort and rolled his eyes.

“Wow, I didn’t know that you had it in you.”

“Don’t make me say it again,” Ethan warned, as he let out another sigh. “I realize that I might have been acting slightly jerkish toward both you and Alex.”

“Slightly?” Gabriel inquired, raising an eyebrow. “I think that’s a gross understatement. You pretty much stalked me on my first date.”

“Okay, fine. I was a huge jerk. Is that better?”

“Getting there,” Gabriel responded. “I know that you don’t trust Alex.”

“It’s not that I don’t trust him. It’s just that, well fine I don’t trust him.”

Gabriel nodded. “I understand that and I’m sorry about what happened to Dominic, I really am but that wasn’t Alex’s fault. You can’t punish him for something that he had no control over. I’ll let you adjust but you aren’t going to do it again, right?”

“We already established that fact.”

Gabriel nodded again. “Good, why don’t you hang out with us sometime? He’s not as bad as you think.”

“Oh can you bring Ryan and Elise along too?” Ethan spoke, his tone was laced with sarcasm. “Then we can all be on big happy family.”

“Wow, just when I thought that you were actually turning into a decent human being.”

“Well, that would be unfortunate.”

“What?”

“Well, turning into just a normal human being would mean that I couldn’t kickass that well, you know because I would be minus all that enhanced strength and everything.”

“Do you ever take anything seriously?” Gabriel asked.

Ethan’s face softened for just a moment but then twisted into one of his usual smirks. “Not really, I mean the killing bad things I take that very seriously.”

“Good night Ethan,” Gabriel said, as he shut his locker. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Gabriel left the locker-room and nearly ran into Ryan, who was just coming around the corner. Cody, Tony, and Everett were close behind him.

“We’re headed downtown, want to come with us?”

“Um...I actually thought I was going to spend some time with Alex.”

“Oh.”

Although Ethan was the only one vocal about it, Gabriel knew that the rest of the team was uneasy around Alex as well. Everyone stood there awkwardly for a moment before Ryan responded.

“Invite him along.”

“What?”

“Yeah, bring him along,” Ryan continued. “What happened to Dominic was horrible but I can’t change the past and it really wasn’t Alex’s fault. If you are going to be spending more time with him than it makes sense that we get to know him better.”

“I don’t want to push you guys into something that you aren’t ready for.”

Ryan put his hand on Gabriel’s shoulder. “If he’s important to you then he’s important to us, right guys?”

“Sure thing” Cody said, with a smile. “I mean I’d hate to be the plonker that screwed up your first real relationship with a fella.”

Gabriel arched an eyebrow at Cody. Even after nine months he was still trying to deal with some of his Irishisms. Most of the time he got the gist of what he was saying there still other times that he relied on the rest of the team to translate for him.

“What Cody means is that he’ll feel like an idiot if he screwed up your relationship with your first boyfriend,” Ryan translated.

“Dude, Ryan’s right,” Tony stated. “If he makes you happy then we have to deal with it.”

Gabriel considered saying something again about the subject but he realized that Ethan might be the only one not over the whole thing.

“What about the girls?”

“They’ll be cool with it,” Ryan assured him.

“Are you sure?”

“Trust us,” Cody answered, flashing Gabriel another of his disarming smiles.

“Alright,” Gabriel finally relented. “But I need to go talk to someone first. Meet you in about an hour?”

“Sure thing,” Ryan nodded.

Gabriel waited until they moved down and around the corner before heading to his next destination. He nodded to the guards that stood watch over the portal room and stepped inside. Stepping through the portal now was like stepping through a doorway. Gabriel had gotten over the nausea and dizziness several months ago.

He emerged in the portal room and headed toward Imogene’s forges. Her shop had grown considerably larger since the vampires had gone to war with the lycans. As Gabriel entered, she waved him over right away. As usual, despite the rather hot and dirty conditions, Imogene appeared entirely untouched. Even her white robe was unmarred.

“You have something on your mind,” Imogene said, matter of factly.

“I need to talk to you,” Gabriel said, looking around. “Alone.”

Imogene led him to a small area located off to the right side of the main forges. As always her private shop seemed to smell like sage and vanilla, a stark contrast to the smells that seemed to permeate the main forges.

“What troubles you my young Guardian?”

“You know something about me,” Gabriel said. “Don’t try and deny it.”

Imogene didn’t even flinch at that comment. She maintained her cool and calm expression as always.

“Well?”

“Perhaps it would help if you told me exactly what is that you think I know.”

Gabriel took a deep breath, forcing himself to relax. He didn’t realize how nervous he was about everything that happened until he started thinking about it again.

“I was fighting, well sparring with Ethan really...and then...something happened to me,” Gabriel started to say, pacing back and forth across the small room. “I felt this warm feeling that started in my chest and it kept spreading through my body.”

“What did it feel like?”

“I just told you!” Gabriel blurted out. “It felt warm!”

“That’s the sensation that you experienced,” Imogene pointed out, still completely calm. “But how did it make you feel?”

Gabriel thought about it for a moment; along with the heat that had spread through his body there was another feeling, a feeling that pulsed through every cell of his body.

“Powerful,” Gabriel spoke in a low voice. “I felt powerful, more powerful than I ever have. I was faster, stronger, and the feeling of power kept building, almost like I was going to explode.”

“And this concerns you?” Imogene asked.

“Of course it concerns me!” Gabriel barked. “You warned me about my heart turning dark, what if that was what was happening? I stopped myself before things got too out of control. I could have seriously hurt him!”

“That is doubtful,” Imogene replied, moving toward her trusty tea kettle. “You had more control than you realized.”

“What is happening to me?” Gabriel asked again.

“My child,” Imogene said, moving toward him. “The only thing that is happening to you is the fact that you are growing into your powers.”

“I don’t have powers!”

“Can you tell me, what do you know of clan Phoenix?”

Gabriel let out an exasperated sigh. He should have known that he wasn’t going to get a straight answer from Imogene.

“I know they were one of the first clans created by the Guardians.”

“And what made them different than clan Lion?” Imogene inquired.

“Those in clan Phoenix used to be able to create and control fire and lighting, at least that’s what I remember Ryan telling me.”

Imogene smiled at that comment. “Ryan is correct, at least for the most part. Those in clan Phoenix could indeed create and control fire, though the lighting was a bit rarer. But what made them so impressive was the fact that they drew their fire from heaven itself.”

“You mean like actual heaven?” Gabriel asked, as his eyebrows knitted together.

“My dear young one, there is much more to life than you are aware,” Imogene stated, handing Gabriel a cup of tea. “What made the warriors of the Phoenix clan so powerful was that the heavenly fire they called on was capable of felling demon, monster, vampire, and lycan.”

“But why can’t everyone do it?” Gabriel asked. “And are you trying to tell me that’s what was happening to me? Because if that’s the case it sounds like I was about ready to deep fry Ethan.”

“You wouldn’t have hurt your friend,” Imogene responded. “You had more control than that. You carry a power within you that is rare, so rare that some may see you as a threat to not only our enemies but the Guardians themselves.”

“You still didn’t answer the question, why did that ability die out?”

“No one really knows. And I’m not sure the Guardians are really looking all that hard for the answers anymore.”

“Do you know?” Gabriel asked.

“You think that I would withhold such information from you? Or the Guardians for that matter?”

“I think you do a lot of things that aren’t in line with what the Guardians want,” Gabriel stated. “And I think that you have reasons for doing those things, even if you won’t tell me or anyone else what those reasons are.”

“I have your trust then.”

Gabriel hesitantly nodded. There were things about Imogene that he didn’t understand but he never got the impression that she was out to hurt him or someone else for that matter. Despite her rather cryptic messages, she always seemed to give him advice or point him in the right direction. His gut told him that he could trust her - at least until she did something that proved otherwise.

“What should I do?” Gabriel asked, after a few moments of silence.

“Do not let it consume you,” Imogene warned. “Trust in yourself, trust in the power within you, when the times comes you will know how and when to wield it. You must know that you can control it and then you will have nothing to fear.”

“Let it loose then?” Gabriel asked again.

Imogene tilted her head slightly to the side. “You already know the answer to that. Now, if you’ll excuse me I have to get back to work.”

“One more thing,” Gabriel called out. “Do you know what the Well of Souls is?”

Imogene’s face darkened and she hesitated a moment before speaking. “There are some things my young Guardian that should be left to fade into the past with a whisper. I have only heard rumors of that place and no good has ever been spoken about it.”

“What can you tell me about it then?” Gabriel pleaded. “Please we need something to go on.”

“Your time will be better spent on the mission at hand.”

And with that said, Imogene disappeared out the door.