The Sacred Guardians Series Box Set: Books 1-4 Omnibus

by Wendy Owens

  “And here, this is Raimie.” Uri said, patting a very handsome boy on the back who sat on his opposite side. He was muscular and had a strong jaw line. Raimie’s chestnut hair looked as though he had taken considerable time to arrange the strands in a perfect pattern. Gabe squinted his eyes. He wasn’t sure if they were playing tricks on him, but he could swear Raimie was wearing eyeliner. “Raimie’s the life of the party. He can really create a big bang,” Uri added.

  Everyone at the table moaned in disgust at Uri’s words. He looked around at everyone’s faces, searching for an explanation.

  “What’s wrong?” Gabe asked, still confused.

  “Raimie can control lightning and thunder,” Sophie explained. “Uri, that was so not funny.”

  “Whatever,” Uri said waving off the disapproval, still clearly pleased with his humor. Gabe noticed that clasped around Raimie’s arm was a little wisp of a girl.

  “Down there on the end is Dina,” Uri continued. “She may not look like much, but some of her incantations would blow your mind.” The girl glanced up at Gabe from beneath her thick, dark bangs and gave him a smile as a greeting.

  “Nice to meet all of you,” Gabe said lifting his hand in a half wave awkwardly.

  “They call us the Shadow Hunters,” Uri added.

  “You mean you call us that,” Haim chimed in and the group began to laugh. Even Sophie chuckled a little.

  “Hey, it’s catching on,” Uri insisted. Gabe took a seat across from Sophie who was still clearly distracted. It wasn’t long before the group was entertaining him with their stories. As Gabe sat and listened to them spinning tales of their triumphant victories over their demonic foes, he saw glimpses of the care free Sophie he loved being around so much.

  As time went on, plate after plate of incredible food was brought to their table. They all stuffed their bellies full of juicy pot roast, golden turkey legs, rosemary potatoes, sweet corn--still on the cob, a bread pudding that Gabe thought he would probably fight someone over, and so much more. When they had all reached the point where they were pushing their plates away, Gabe was sad the evening had come to an end. He enjoyed watching this group of friends laugh together and enjoy each other’s company. He had never been included in any such activities.

  Just before everyone was about to leave, Gabe heard bells ringing. A hush fell over the room. He saw Michael at the head of the gathering raising his glass and trying to get the attention of everyone. Stepping behind a podium with a microphone mounted on it, Michael leaned forward and spoke. “Attention. Attention, everyone.” The straggling chatters hushed, everyone giving Michael his or her undivided attention.

  “I’m sure many of you already know we have a very important guest among us,” he said, raising his hand and gesturing in Gabe’s direction. “I would like you all to join me in welcoming Gabe Harwood.” The crowd erupted into cheers. Gabe began to feel his stomach twist and turn; this was not a part of the evening he had planned on.

  Uri promptly kicked Gabe under the table, “Stand up, stupid.” Gabe was sure Uri had whispered the words in the most loving way. He stood and looked around at the room full of cheering people. They were all clapping and whistling. He wasn’t the type that liked a lot of attention. Given a choice, he would have preferred to crawl under one of the tables rather than be the object of the large room’s affection.

  When Gabe took his seat again, he realized Sophie had left during the introduction. He looked all around to see if she was still nearby, but could not find her. He was so focused on finding Sophie that he hadn’t heard anything else Michael had said. Something was clearly bothering her and he had to know what it was. If he had done something to upset her he wanted to know.

  Gabe stood again. Most of the eyes in the room turned to look at him. He waved a hand briefly as if his exit had been planned and headed out to the east courtyard. A couple people grabbed his arm on the way out giving him whispers of welcomes and well wishes.

  Once he was outside he searched all around the courtyard. Sophie was nowhere in sight. He started across the wide-open space when he heard a voice behind him.

  “Gabe?” It was Sophie’s soft and sweet tone. He turned and saw she was perched with one leg up against the stone wall of the feast hall. “What are you doing out here?” she asked.

  “Looking for you,” Gabe said walking over to her. “Why did you just take off like that?”

  “I didn’t just take off,” Sophie protested. Gabe gave her a look of disbelief from under his eyebrows. “Okay,” she gave in, “perhaps I did. I don’t know, I guess I just have a lot on my mind.”

  “Well, that’s obvious,” Gabe replied, resting his foot next to hers. He wondered if he looked as awkward as he felt balancing on the wall. “Care to share?”

  Sophie pushed off from her resting spot and began to walk across the open courtyard, the moonlight shining down on her alabaster skin. As the night’s light shimmered on her, Gabe thought she must be the most beautiful creature in the entire world.

  “It’s nothing,” she insisted, continuing to walk slowly.

  Gabe rushed up to her side. “I can tell it’s not nothing. Look, I know you don’t know me very well, but if I did something the other night to …”

  “That’s not it,” she interrupted. She looked over at him and then quickly away again. “I know something. It’s something important that I think someone else should know, but I’m not sure I should be the one to share it.” Gabe wondered if her secret had anything to do with liking or not liking him. He had to know, especially after Uri’s comment earlier.

  “I can’t tell you what to do,” Gabe began, trying to find the words without seeming too eager. “But in my experience, I have always found the truth to be very liberating.” Gabe wanted to smack himself in the forehead for sounding so stupid. He thought about how in his real life he always shut down, shared nothing. He felt like a fraud giving Sophie advice he knew he wouldn’t follow himself.

  “Maybe you’re right,” she agreed, looking up at him, her eyes growing large. He saw her lips. The anticipation flooded over him. “We should find somewhere private to talk.”

  This was it, he was right. Sophie did like him.

  “Of course, where do ...” Gabe began but was interrupted by a voice shouting behind him. He turned and saw Uri and Haim running out of the hall, waving their hands.

  “There you two are!” Uri called out. Gabe wanted to shake Uri and tell him to go away. He was beginning to think either Uri was doing this on purpose or he really did have the worst timing of any person, ever. “Michael wants us in his chambers right away.”

  “Who?” Sophie asked as she began to walk over and meet Uri in the middle.

  “The Shadow Hunters,” Uri replied. Gabe couldn’t help but snicker a little, remembering Haim’s earlier comment. “Hey, you too, idiot,” Uri added, looking over at Gabe.

  “What? Why? I mean, what does he want to see us about?” Gabe questioned.

  “Do I look like a mind reader?” Uri asked, making a sarcastic face at Gabe.

  “If I had to guess,” Haim offered, “he has a mission for us. Probably has something to do with Mammon’s troops closing in on our location.”

  Gabe’s stomach twisted in knots. No matter how bad he wanted to know, Sophie’s revelation would have to wait. “But why would he want me there?” Gabe asked, trying to not show any fear in his voice. He was fully aware of Sophie’s eyes watching him.

  “All I know is he said to bring you, so come on,” Uri snapped. Gabe looked over at Sophie wishing he had just a few more minutes with her before they had been interrupted. She was no longer looking at him. She stared at the ground, walking in the direction of Michael’s chambers. Gabe knew he would simply have to wait.

  As the group of four entered their beloved leader’s chambers, they saw Michael already sitting across the room. Raimie and Dina were already sitting close to him. Michael stood and crossed the room to greet them. “Please, join us,” he said ex
tending a hand.

  Uri and Haim glided casually to the leather side chairs, taking a seat. Sophie and Gabe took refuge on the sofa with Raimie and Dina. They all briefly looked around, searching each other’s faces for any indication that one of them might know what was happening. Only a moment passed before Michael relieved everyone’s speculations.

  “Gabe,” Michael began by taking a central stance in front of the group. “First, I want to apologize that I have not been available to meet with you as much as I’m sure either of us would probably like. I assume Uri has been doing his best to help out with filling in the blanks?”

  Gabe nodded affirmatively.

  “I won’t keep you all in suspense; I know you must be wondering why I brought you here,” Michael continued. “The entire manor has been busy preparing for Operation Phoenix. The clerics have been training day and night. Even with those plans under way, the elders and I have been discussing other possible options.” Gabe sat there listening to Michael’s words, surprised the conversation was starting to sound normal to him.

  Michael paused, looking upon their concerned faces. He began to pace, each step a little heavier than the last. He stared at the floor intensely, as though he were searching the stone floor for the words he needed. Uri shifted in his seat. Leaning forward he asked, “Michael, is everything okay?”

  Michael stopped, turned and looked into Uri’s eyes. In that moment, Gabe and the entire group knew something was very wrong. Michael knelt and in a soft voice said, “I must leave. The elders and I agree the weapons we have here will not be sufficient to defeat Mammon.”

  “Wait, I don’t understand,” Uri protested. “Can’t we use one of the ‘Dagger’s of Deliverance’?”

  Michael sighed, “After much deliberation, we all agree the daggers alone would not be strong enough to actually defeat one of the seven princes. Mammon is too powerful.”

  “Isn’t that why they were forged in the first place?” Uri argued.

  Gabe felt lost as he listened to the two arguing over what sounded like pure fiction. Michael saw Uri’s frustration and attempted to explain the situation to his trusted student.

  “It was, but things have changed ...”

  “What do you mean?” Uri raised his voice, becoming aggravated.

  Gabe decided to break the rising tension with a question that would hopefully clarify things for him. “Can I ask ...” Gabe paused for a moment until the entire group was staring at him. “What exactly are the ‘Dagger’s of Deliverance’?”

  Uri took a deep breath and flopped back in his seat. The group looked to Michael, but he said nothing. After a few more awkward moments of silence passed, Haim spoke up, deciding he would provide Gabe with the explanation he searched for. “The early guardians were entrusted with some very powerful objects. One of these objects are the spikes that had been used to crucify Christ.” Haim looked at Michael to see if he wanted to take command of the explanation but he just stood and turned, walking to the fireplace mantle where he quietly rested his head on a perched arm.

  “When the original guardians were brought to Earth it was thought that it was random demons and creatures that had escaped and were roaming free.” Haim continued, “We only discovered that several of Seven Princes were walking the earth about a hundred years ago. At that time, the elder guardians began devising weapons we could use against them.”

  “Sorry to interrupt again, but the Seven Princes?” Gabe asked.

  “Look,” Uri interjected in a frustrated tone. “We don’t have time for a history lesson.”

  “Uri!” Michael scolded, turning and looking intensely at his young student as he did.

  “Sorry,” Uri mumbled under his breath.

  “Gabe, your questions are welcomed,” Michael reassured him. “The Seven Princes are the leaders of Hell’s army.”

  “Yeah, so when we found out about the Princes being here on Earth, that’s when they decided to melt down the spikes used to nail Christ to the cross. They combined that metal with other holy artifacts to construct what we now call the ‘Dagger’s of Deliverance’,” Dina explained in her small voice.

  “And now you think these won’t work?” Gabe asked, looking in Michael’s direction.

  “We know they’re enough to wound them,” Michael replied, not lifting his head. “But they are not enough to return them to Hell. For mankind to be safe, they must be banished.”

  Uri looked up at Michael with terror filling his eyes. “And how do we know this? Can you tell me that? How do we know they won’t be enough?”

  “Anthony,” Michael said in a hushed tone before falling silent again.

  Uri jumped to his feet and walked around to the back of the chair. He leaned over it and cupped his hands. “What about Anthony?”

  “The mission he returned from recently wasn’t just scouting,” Michael disclosed. “He was sent into the forest with a purpose. We thought the fewer men who went the better ... the less for Mammon and his demons to track. We even thought that we may gain the element of surprise.”

  “I guess you were wrong about that!” Uri snapped.

  “Uri, I understand that you’re upset and I know you lost friends on that mission, but that is no excuse for your behavior,” Michael condemned.

  “My behavior? I can’t believe you can be so casual about his!” Uri said with a raised voice, not making any effort to hide his frustration. “Just acceptable losses I suppose? What about Anthony? We almost lost him, too. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

  “Uri!” Michael shouted, losing his calm. “It’s not easy to be a leader, to make hard decisions. Let me know if you want to try it for a little while. I had to do what I thought was best. If we don’t stop Mammon much more will be lost. Where is this coming from?”

  Uri sat there in silence, not responding to his mentor’s question.

  Sophie sucked in a huge breath of air. It was almost as if she scoffed at Michael’s response. Gabe felt very uneasy by the unrest among them all.

  Glancing in Sophie’s direction, Michael’s voice suddenly became firmer. “Anthony attempted to use one of the daggers. We know it wounded Mammon but it did not destroy him. We have a plan, but it requires me to travel across the ocean to Iron Gate.”

  “Iron Gate?” The words leapt from Gabe’s lips before he even thought about it.

  “It’s just like Rampart Manor. It’s located in England,” Dina explained.

  “Oh -- wait, if Mammon is getting close, do you have that kind of time?” Gabe asked.

  “It’s a long journey,” Michael replied. “But with the Alicorns I should be able to make it there and back in a few days time. I won’t risk transporting with Mammon and the trackers so close.”

  “I’m going with you,” Uri said in a flat voice, at last successfully managing his anger.

  “You can’t, Uri,” Michael replied. “This is why I’ve called you all here. I need every one of you to focus on training Gabe while I’m gone. He’ll need to be prepared if we’re unsuccessful.”

  “As prepared as he can be,” Sophie said in a sharp tone.

  “Prepared, why do I need to be prepared?” Gabe asked nervously.

  “I know this is hard to understand,” Michael said walking over to stand directly in front of Gabe. “Whether you want to be a part of this or not, at this point you’re in danger. Mammon knows you exist and he’ll stop at nothing until he has you. Even if you choose to not join the fight you must at least learn to defend yourself.”

  The idea that he was suddenly in mortal danger and there was nothing he could do about it was overwhelming to say the least.

  Not giving Gabe an opportunity to respond, Uri insisted, “I’ve already taught Gabe what I can. The others can help protect him while we’re gone, and teach him what else he needs to know. I’m going with you, Michael. That’s the end of it.”

  The group looked on in amazement at the way Uri was speaking to their respected leader. Realizing arguing would be futile Michael
relented, shaking his head. “Fine ...” He paused for a moment, looking over at his desk. Then he retrieved a small box from one of the upper right drawers. He held it tightly in his hands, but said nothing about it.

  “Uri and I will leave tonight,” Michael conceded. “In case anyone was to be captured, we can’t share what we’re going there to obtain. I know you all understand.”

  As if on cue, the group all nodded in sync. Gabe wondered if he had slipped into some sort of a dream world and soon he would awaken. Angels, demons, battling for all the souls on Earth; it all seemed a bit too unreal for him. He gave himself a slight pinch for good measure, confirming he was indeed awake.

  “While we’re away,” Michael continued. “The most important thing is to protect Gabe. He means more to us than any of you can imagine and Mammon knows that.”

  Gabe had never heard himself referred to in such a way. A small part of him that was allowing his mind to accept this new reality, found himself incredibly flattered by the weight that was being placed upon his safety.

  Haim stood up and walked behind his chair, taking a similar stance as Uri directly across from him. “We’ll each spend time with Gabe and teach him all we know, Michael,” Haim said. “You can count on us.”

  “We’ll never leave his side,” Raimie added, finally breaking his silence. “We promise, you can trust us.”

  “I know I can,” Michael replied walking over and grasping Raimie’s shoulder. “Now if the rest of you don’t mind, I’d like to talk to Gabe alone.”

  Sophie reached out and grabbed Michael’s hand. They looked into each other’s eyes and it was almost as if she were asking him a question without words. Michael gave a slight nod to her. Gabe assumed it was in response to what was transpiring between the two of them.

  A smile suddenly beamed across Sophie’s face. Gabe realized she had not glowed like that since the night they had danced under the moon. She was so beautiful when she was happy.