The Prophecy (The Guardians) (22 page)

“Perhaps it wasn’t that easy.” Gabe suggested.

“No, Rachel wouldn’t have let anything get in her way.” Damon insisted.

Taking a deep breath, Gabe prepared himself for the reaction of his next statement, “She’s not dead.”

“What?
 
That’s not funny.” Damon snapped, annoyed by the hope this stranger seemed to be trying to dish out to him.

“No, it’s not funny—but she’s not dead, Damon.
 
She’s here.”

Damon gasped, his eyes growing twice their normal size, “What are you talking about?
 
That’s impossible.”

“Before tonight, would you have said flying unicorns were impossible?” Gabe questioned.

“Where is she?” Damon exclaimed.

“She’s in the infirmary, sleeping.
 
Don’t worry, she’s fine, she’s just getting some rest.”

“Has she been here the entire time she was missing?” Damon asked, trying to figure out what exactly he found himself in the middle of.

“No, but she has been with me at my home.
 
I’ve been protecting her from those things that attacked High Point.” Gabe explained.

“Wait, I’m confused, why would those things be after my sister?”

“It’s kind of a long story, but they know that she is very important to the future of mankind.” Gabe answered.

“Rachel?
 
No there’s been some sort of mistake.”

“There’s no mistake.”

“How is she so important?” Damon persisted.

“It’s complicated.”

“Well un-complicate it,” Damon demanded.

Gabe hesitated for a moment; he knew how crazy the truth would sound.
 
In the end he decided he needed to be honest with him, “She will be the mother of a great prophet.” Gabe offered.

“That’s insane, what are you talking about? That doesn’t even make sense.”

“The demons know how important her child will be to the cause.”

“But wait— she’s not pregnant.”

“You’re right, she’s not.
 
You have to understand something, this is only one possible future for her.
 
The choices she makes will determine her path.
 
It doesn’t matter though, the demons want no chance of that future coming to pass, so they want to kill her and eliminate the possibility.”

“Do you realize how crazy you sound?
 
I can’t believe Rachel would willingly stay with you people.
 
I want to see my sister.”

“Damon, I will take you to your sister, but first there is something I must tell you.”

“So tell me.”

“My name is Gabe Harwood—”

“Good for you.”

“Will you just listen to me for a minute kid?
 
My name is Gabe Harwood, I’m a Guardian and I’m in love with your sister.
 
I’m going to marry her.”

Damon didn’t speak; the look on his face was blank.
 
The awkward silence lingered between them for a bit until at last he spoke, “I’m sorry, let me see if I’ve got this straight.
 
First a couple of guys come and kidnap me from school, and then you tell me that my aunt may be dead, killed by some demons.
 
Let’s see, then there’s my dead sister, who you say is in fact not dead, but instead, the girl I have known my entire life, the one who has never had a single, successful, long lasting relationship, is getting married to you, a freakish half breed guardian angel who fights these so called demons.
 
Does that about sum it up?”

“Yup, seems like you’ve got a pretty good handle on things.” Gabe answered.
 
He could see that Damon and Rachel had similar personalities.

“Alright, I’ve had enough of this.
 
If you have my sister like you say you do, I want to see her, now!” Damon demanded.

“Of course.
 
She’s sleeping right now, but we can wake her if you prefer.”

“Yeah, I prefer.”

Gabe stood, motioning for Damon to follow.
 
As they walked towards the room Rachel was resting in, Gabe continued explaining the situation to Damon, who listened silently, taking in all of the unbelievable details.
 
He explained about how Rachel had first come to him, about her saving his life and nursing him back to health, and about the wedding in a few days.
 
Gabe assumed the boy didn’t believe most of what he was telling him, he knew he wouldn't have.
 
Only seeing it with his own eyes would make him accept the truth.

“In here, Rachel is being watched over by a friend, Dina.”

“But she’s alright?” Damon confirmed.

“Oh yes, of course.
 
If you only believe one thing I say, please let it be that I would never let anything happen to your sister.
 
I love her, with everything in me.” Gabe added.

“That’s what you say.” Damon replied in disbelief.

“She’s right over here.” Gabe knew he would have to show him how he felt about Rachel, and telling him meant nothing.

Gabe’s heart melted when Rachel came into view, she was still fast asleep.
 
He marveled at how perfect and angelic she appeared to be while she slumbered.

“Oh my God, it is her.” Damon gasped.
 
He took off in a full sprint towards his sister.
 
Pulling her up into his arms, he squeezed with all his might, never wanting to let her go.
 
He moaned, “Rachel, it’s you, it’s really you.
 
I thought you were —.
 
Oh thank God, it’s really you, Rachel.”

Gabe approached, coming to a stop just above his beloved.
 
Rachel stirred from her deep, drug induced sleep.
 
Wiping the corner of her mouth and rubbing her eyes, she attempted to push away the grogginess.

“Damon, is that you?
 
It is you!” Rachel squealed.
 
Pushing him back, at last she looked at him from head to toe, examining him for any injuries.
 
“Wait, I don’t understand.
 
How are you here?”

Gabe was happy to explain the reunion.
 
“Haim has been keeping tabs on your little brother here.
 
When he mentioned he was off at college, I immediately sent him out to retrieve Damon.
 
I figured what better wedding present could I give you than him here, safe.”

“Oh, Gabe, it’s marvelous.
 
Thank you so much.” Rachel exclaimed, reaching up for Gabe’s embrace.

“Seriously?
 
This wedding stuff is true?” Damon inquired.

“Don’t worry, I’ll tell you everything.” Rachel began.
 
And she did, the trio talked all night.
 
Sharing stories of how Gabe and Rachel fell in love, who exactly the Guardians were, what they were capable of, and what they were up against.
 
Gabe saw the beginnings of his new family that night.
 
A family that filled him with a warmth he had not known in far too long.

The day was here, Gabe could hardly believe that it had only been a week since he asked Rachel to be his wife.
 
The planning had been rapid, a whirlwind of chaos.
 
Gabe was grateful Dina and Rachel had taken to one another so quickly.
 
In recent days, his time was consumed with planning their journey.
 
Her help meant he had more time to pour over maps and status reports.
 
They would leave tomorrow.
 
Michael suggested the sooner they left Iron Gate, the more likely they would remain safe.
 
The clerics were barely maintaining the safety spells as it was and with more refugees arriving every day, it was only a matter of time before the compound would be detected.

Gabe had thought of everything.
 
With the help of Uri and Haim they had options of safe havens all across the globe, dozens of places rich in copper.
 
If Uri was right and the trackers had caught his scent before he came to the valley to retrieve him and Rachel, then there was a good chance they had discovered Gabe’s cabin.
 
It would not take them long to figure out Gabe had been using the copper to shield himself from tracking.
 
He knew Baal would use that knowledge and their search patterns would shift, they would know the type of places Gabe was looking to hide.
 
He needed to have options.
 
If there was even a chance Baal knew where to search, Gabe knew he needed to have a plan on where to go next.

The gear was packed; they would only be able to bring with them what the four could carry on their backs.
 
Gabe knew the wedding was bitter sweet for Rachel, she had been reunited with Damon, only nights earlier, and now she would have to leave him again.
 
Rachel was no fool and Gabe was confident she knew the safest place for Damon was far away from the two of them.
 
They would be running, every moment of every day, looking over their shoulders.
 
Even though Damon had resisted the idea of letting his sister leave without him, he eventually relented.

Gabe made sure the boy was nowhere near him and Uri as they planned their routes in case he had some idea of tagging along anyways.
 
Dina was clever enough to help out by insisting she and Rachel needed help with the wedding preparations.

“Gabe?” Michael’s voice called out behind him.

Gabe turned, a little surprised by Michael’s appearance.
 
He appeared to be a dashing, wealthy English country man from another time period in his tuxedo.
 

“My goodness sir, you clean up nicely.” Gabe complimented.

“Why thank you son, you don’t look so bad yourself.”
 
Gabe looked down at his deep gray suit.
 
There hadn’t been time for him to get a suit of his own, but much to his surprise and delight, one of the guards at Iron Gate was eager to allow Gabe to borrow his.
 
The ivory tie he wore had been given to him by Dina, made from a piece of Raimie’s family flag.
 
Gabe remembered fondly how Raimie had always been quite proud to learn of his family and their history in The Guardians.
 
Dina knew all too well how much it would mean to Gabe to have a piece of his friend with him that day.

“Thank you, sir, let’s just hope Rachel thinks so.” Gabe replied.

“Something tells me it doesn’t matter what you are wearing.
 
When she sees you, I think it will be one of the greatest moments of her life.” Michael offered with a warm smile.

Gabe felt his breath catch in his throat.
 
He had hoped one day he and Michael might be able to speak like this to one another again.
 
There was no disappointment in his voice, Gabe noticed, only warmth.

“Gabe, I have been wanting to talk to you.”

“Yes, sir, what is it?”

Michael looked at the crowed that was gathering in the courtyard.
 
“A lot of things happened at Rampart I wish I could change now.”

“Really, there’s no need to—”

“If it’s ok with you, this is something I do need to say.”
 
Michael interrupted, waiting for Gabe’s nod to continue.
 
“I know we kept a lot of secrets from you.
 
At the time I thought it was necessary to keep you and everyone safe, but that doesn’t mean it was right.
 
I meant what I said then, though, about everything being your choice and that we would all still care about you no matter what your choice was.
 
That hasn’t changed, we all care about you so deeply and I’m proud of the journey you took to figure out who you are.
 
I am greatly honored to be here, to see the man you’ve become.”

“Thank You.”

“I don’t know Rachel very well, but from what I can see she is an amazing woman.” Michael continued.

“She is—” Gabe interjected.

“I will do whatever it takes to keep the two of you safe, just know that.” Michael added before turning and joining the crowd.

Gabe gasped, his head spinning from the words he had just heard.
 
After all those years nothing had changed.
 
He still had a place among the Guardians; there was no need for him to hang his head in shame.
 
They welcomed him home with open arms.

“Sophie, don’t!” Gabe heard Dina shout in the distance.

Hearing the commotion in the distance, Gabe made his way around the outer edge of the courtyard, trying to get a better view of what was unfolding.

At the far end near the great oak tree, Gabe caught sight of Dina and Sophie arguing.
 
Pushing through a group of bystanders, he came closer so he could more clearly hear.

“I don’t care, it’s not right.” Dina snapped, staring intensely at her friend.

“He loves me, Dina, not her.” Sophie insisted in an angry voice.