The Quest (18 page)

Terry asked, “What did you mean by Steven being taken by our neighbors?”

“There is a very small Angel outpost on the other side of our town,” explained Mrs. Harding. “Just a handful of Seraphim living in one house. It occasionally serves as a staging point for Angel operations in this region.”

“You’re kidding!” exclaimed Terry. “How long have they been there?”

“Oh, I’m not quite sure, dear. We’ve known about them for seven years or so. The Angels have long used that house to jail those they capture in their raids until they are moved to their queen – or king now – for conversion.” Mrs. Harding chuckled and added, “They never once guessed that they were sharing this town with a Guardian settlement.”

Terry stared at her. “And it never occurred to you to shut them down?”

“Certainly, it has,” replied Mrs. Harding. “But we’ve always had to consider that a failed attempt could jeopardize our secrecy. And after all, none of our members have ever been attacked by them.”

Terry shook her head in frustration. “So Steven never even made it out of town. He left us with the purpose of joining the Angels, so he’ll waste no time telling them everything he knows. Maybe we should–”

“No, Teresa,” Mrs. Harding cut across her gently. “I know what you want to say, but we will not attack them. Chances are they have already contacted other Angel units, so destroying their outpost will not blind the Angels to our location. And besides, if Steven wanted to return to his family so much that he would willingly join the Angels, there is little point in trying to rescue him.”

As Terry and I walked back to our house, Terry muttered savagely, “I wasn’t planning on
rescuing
Steven.”

Despite the direness of our situation, I couldn’t help but laugh.

Everyone had gathered in the living-room dojo awaiting our return, and Terry quickly explained what was happening. Many used the opportunity to vent some anger over Steven’s betrayal, and I suspected that it was probably a good thing we weren’t about to get him back.

“We’re not exactly a popular bunch right now, so stay indoors,” said Terry. “Walnut Lane will be closing permanently as soon as the Guardian families tie up their loose ends. Meanwhile, Mrs. Harding is evacuating everyone under eighteen years old tomorrow morning. The adults will follow at a later date.”

“Evacuate?” asked James.

Terry explained about the bus that would take the kids up to the secret mountain camp, adding, “It’s just a precaution. We’re pretty sure we can all get out before the Angels gather on this location, but just in case they do, we don’t want any children in the settlement.”

James looked aghast. “You’re not going to make us leave with the little kids, are you?! This is exactly the kind of thing we’ve been training for.”

There were nods and murmurs of agreement from our crowd, and even Susan and Max looked determined to stay and help guard Walnut Lane.

Terry smiled. “Anyone who wants to go will have a seat on the bus tomorrow, but as far as making you leave, you won’t hear it from me.”

Felicity turned to her younger sister and said, “You’ll hear it from me, though.”

Susan scowled at her.

I pulled Terry aside after our meeting. “We have to get the youngest ones on the bus, Terry,” I insisted. “If not James, at least Max and Susan, and maybe Daniel and Walter too.”

“They all want to stay, Adrian,” said Terry.

“Of course they want to stay! It’s an
adventure
for them. But we can’t risk their lives for nothing.”

“First off,” said Terry, poking me in the chest, “their lives aren’t at any real risk. We’re sure to get out without incident. Second, James is right in that everyone here has trained for exactly this sort of thing. It’s the perfect opportunity for us to test out their nerves in an almost risk-free crisis. Just think of it as a training mission.”

“Oh, like mine at the Holy Land?”

Terry winced, and I instantly regretted hitting such a tender nerve. Terry had tried to keep me from harm that night.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “It just popped out, and I didn’t mean it that way. But do we really have to make these kids do this?”

“We’re not
making
them do anything, Adrian,” Terry said patiently. “This is what they
want.
Even Max wants to stay here and defend Walnut Lane.”

“And what if the Angels really do come?”

“Let them come!” Terry replied fiercely. “We’ve been training these kids to be soldiers. That just doesn’t come without risk.”

I shook my head in resignation. I wasn’t going to defy Terry and order anyone onto tomorrow’s bus. Terry was probably right about the risk assessment, anyway. I couldn’t ask for a safer mission for our trainees to get their feet wet in.

Patrick joined us for dinner. He also brought along baby Laila, who had learned to walk just last month. Patrick’s foster parents were attending an evening meeting with Mrs. Harding and her Knights.

When he heard that every one of us was planning to stay behind, Patrick announced that he was going to stay as well, adding, “My mom is going to be on the bus tomorrow. She can take Laila.”

Alia said something telepathically to him, and he looked like he was about to reply, but just then, Susan and Felicity’s so-far quiet argument turned noisy.

“You’re not my mother!” Susan shouted angrily at her sister. “You can’t tell me what to do! Even Terry said I could stay!”

I had pretty much finished eating, so I quickly retreated to the kitchen to start cleaning up. I had a feeling that the sisters would be at it for a while, and I knew better than to get between them. Susan had made a good deal of progress in her CQC training with me, and I was afraid she might try to get me to vouch for her.

As I scrubbed the plates, pots and pans, I could still hear the two arguing in the dining room, and sure enough, Susan burst into the kitchen a moment later, followed by Felicity.

Susan said in a shaky voice, “Adrian, please tell my sister to stop treating me like a little kid!”

I sighed. “Susan, for what it’s worth, I think you’re as combat-ready as anyone else in this house. But if it were entirely up to me, I’d have every one of us on that bus tomorrow, including myself.”

Susan let out a frustrated moan and stomped out of the kitchen.

Felicity whispered to me, “Thanks.”

I grinned. “You’re welcome and good luck.”

As Felicity started chasing after Susan again, I turned back to my dirty dishes.

Alia came in to help me with the cleaning up, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that she was all smiles.

“What’s the good news?” I asked as she joined me at the sink and started drying the dishes.

“Patrick agreed to take tomorrow’s bus,”
replied Alia.

“Really?” I said in wonder. “How’d you manage that?”

“I told him his mother is going to be too busy to look after Laila by herself, and that the children could use an extra Knight to make sure they’re safe at the camp.”

“Security for the kids, huh? That’d be a good argument for Felicity to use with Susan.”

Alia laughed.
“I’ll tell her.”

Alia closed her eyes for a moment, concentrating on sending her telepathy through the walls.

Despite the angry looks Terry and I had to endure at the meeting today, as well as the inescapable guilt of having contributed to the uprooting of an entire psionic settlement, I couldn’t help feeling happy seeing my sister in such good spirits. Alia’s fears about Cindy’s fate were not forgotten, but they were temporarily put on hold to deal with the crisis at hand.

“There,”
said Alia, opening her eyes.
“But I don’t think Susan is going to agree as easily as Patrick did.”

“Yeah, well, Susan has a hot head,” I said.

“Like you, Addy.”

“Thanks a lot!” I laughed. Then I said hesitantly, “Would it be pointless to ask you to get on that bus too?”

Alia threw me an exasperated look.

“Okay, okay!” I said, hastily backing down. “You know I had to try.”

My sister gave me a quick hug and whispered,
“Everything’s going to be okay.”

How I wished I could believe that.

Early the next morning, Patrick stopped in to say goodbye to Alia, who couldn’t see the bus off because her power wasn’t hidden. Alia spoke telepathically; Patrick, in whispers. They hugged for a full five minutes. It was hard to believe that they were only going to be apart for two weeks or so.

Susan’s departure wasn’t as quiet. Felicity, taking Alia’s advice last night, had managed to get Susan’s grudging consent to evacuate with the rest of the Walnut Lane children, but still Susan protested all morning.

After one last push near departure time, Susan finally gave in, saying crossly to her sister, “Okay, fine! I’ll go! But don’t bother seeing me off. I’ll go with Patrick.”

“Oh, no you don’t,” said Felicity. “I’m going to make sure you really get on that bus.”

As Patrick and Susan left with Felicity and a few others who were going to see the bus off, I turned to Max and said, “Last chance, Max. Sure you want to stay here?”

Max nodded quietly.

“Alright,” I said. “I guess that’s everyone, then.”

Mrs. Harding had strongly suggested that Max evacuate today, but Terry had countered that Max was most emotionally stable when he was with us, particularly James, who he was closest to.

Alia looked up at me and said sadly,
“I wish I could’ve said goodbye to Laila.”

“You’ll see her soon,” I assured her. “We’re only here until the families finish packing up their lives.”

After the bus left, Terry had Scott, Heather and Candace quit their jobs, and the younger ones quit school.

“If there’s an attack, we want to be here and ready for it,” said Terry.

Terry put everyone back on a full-day training schedule, occasionally sending out pairs of trainees to assist the real Walnut Lane Knights in patrolling the settlement. Terry saw this as not only a chance to redeem us a little in the eyes of the angry families, but as an opportunity to give our students some hands-on training. Admittedly, Walnut Lane was just two blocks in size and the kids didn’t even know what they were supposed to be on the lookout for, but at least it kept everyone busy.

The days passed uncomfortably. The Walnut Lane families were quitting their jobs, saying goodbye to friends, and selling their material possessions or moving them to temporary storage. To avoid attracting unwanted attention, this all had to be done slowly and carefully. The Wolves especially would be on the lookout for this kind of sudden mass departure, which was a possible sign of psionics on the move.

“It’s freezing out there,” said Scott, returning to the house with Rachael from an evening patrol.

A week had passed since Steven’s disappearance. The winter snows had already melted, but the late-February wind could still bite pretty harshly. I was glad that my psionic power gave me an excuse to stay indoors.

“How is everything outside?” I asked conversationally as Alia passed Scott and Rachael mugs of hot coffee.

“Same as usual,” replied Rachael, taking a sip. “More moving trucks. And I think the family across from Harding’s sold their house.”

“Lucky them,” I said.

Actually, it wasn’t so lucky. Selling a house this quickly guaranteed that the owners wouldn’t get nearly what it was worth. Still, most of the houses were going to be abandoned, so getting any money at all was better than nothing.

“I could use some help with dinner today,” I said. “Heather and Candace are still out.”

“Late or missing?” Scott asked seriously.

“Nothing dire,” I replied reassuringly. “Heather called and said they both were invited to tea at Harding’s.”

Rachael had her scheduled CQC training with Terry next, but Scott joined Alia and me in the kitchen.

As Scott helped us prepare a large pot of beef stew, he said in a slightly deflated tone, “You know, Adrian, I never thought that being on a Guardian mission could be this mundane.”

“What are you complaining about?” I asked with a grin. “I thought you were out there with Rachael today.”

Alia giggled, and Scott laughed too as he said, “Well, that part’s fun. But you know what I mean. It’s not like we’re actually helping to defend the people here. It’s more like public relations.”

“That’s important too, Scott,” I said mildly. “Besides, I’d take boredom over a battle any day.”

Alia nodded vigorously and said, “Only fight when you need to.”

Scott smiled at Alia. “I suppose you’re right. It’s not like I really want to be in a battle.”

“That’s good to hear,” I said. “How are the Walnut residents treating you?”

“They’re still not talking to us. At least, not in a civil tone.”

I chuckled. “Sounds like a battle to me.”

Given enough time, I hoped that the people of Walnut Lane would see us in a better light. After all, we hadn’t deliberately treated Steven in a way to make him do what he did. But I could hardly blame the residents for disliking us at a time when their lives had been upturned. Unlike many breakaway Guardian settlements which changed location every few years, Walnut Lane had been around for more than fifteen years.

As we continued adding ingredients to the stew, I said, “Thanks for helping us out today, Scott. It was really Heather’s turn.”

Despite everyone in our house being out of work and out of school, between extra combat training and pretending to be security guards, hardly anyone aside from Alia helped me with the housekeeping.

Scott shrugged. “It’s okay. I had nothing better to do anyway.”

“Sure you did!” laughed Alia. “You’d rather be in the dojo with Rachael.”

“True,” admitted Scott. Then he added happily, “But I got first watch with her tonight.”

Terry had set up a night watch, having almost everyone stay up in shifts to guard our house. Though night-watch duty was not something anyone usually looked forward to, Scott had good reason to be happy. Privacy was hard to come by in such a crowded house. Night duty would allow Scott and Rachael to be alone together and out of the biting cold, and theirs was the first shift, which meant that they wouldn’t even have to wake up in the middle of the night.