by Wendy Owens
The group got up. One by one each gave Michael and Uri a hug and wished them well as they exited. Uri was the last to leave. He told Michael he would pack a few things and ready the Alicorns. He grabbed Gabe’s hand and pulling him close simply stating, “I’ll see you soon, brother.”
Gabe was astonished by the pang Uri’s words brought to his chest. He had just met these people. He already felt more for them than he had for anyone in his life. A few more words were exchanged and Uri was gone, leaving Michael and Gabe to talk.
Gabe was anxious, not really sure what to think. “So, you’ve been with us a few days. How are you feeling?” Michael asked.
Gabe sat for a moment, contemplating his answer. “Still doesn’t seem real,” he finally replied.
“It can be overwhelming, I know,” Michael continued. “But I hope you can come to see everyone here cares about you and we all truly do want what is best for you. It may not make sense to you now, but in time it will. All of our bloodlines have known each other for thousands of years, you’re a brother and we love you.”
Gabe couldn’t remember the last time he had heard someone utter those words, ‘love you.’ He supposed it had probably been his parents when he was five.
“The prophecy and your destiny are important to us, but not more important than you. I want to make it clear that you’re free to make your own choices and no matter what they are we’ll support you. Our feelings for you will never change,” Michael added.
He took a seat on the old couch next to Gabe, placing the box he had pulled from his desk onto his lap and opening it carefully. Gabe watched with curiosity, completely captivated by what might be contained within.
Michael removed the lid, sliding it beneath the bottom of the box. Gabe peered inside where he saw a charm on a chain. A puzzled look crossed his face as he glanced over at Michael.
Michael removed the charm. Placing the box next to him, he draped the chain against his fingers. Gabe could see the stone on the charm sparkle in the firelight. The casing was a beautiful golden color with a slight patina around the edges, clearly very old. It was thick and almost took on the shape of an octagon. In the middle of it, sat what looked like a blood stone.
Gabe remembered when he was younger one of his foster parents had a display case that was full of delicate things. He was not supposed to even set foot in the same room as the case. When nobody was around, he used to sneak in and look at all the treasures. There had been a small jewelry box that had a bloodstone perched upon the top of it, but it paled in comparison to the one before him.
“This is called ‘The Martyr’s Stone’,” Michael said handing it slowly over to Gabe. He marveled at the green jasper that was dotted with brilliant red spots.
“This stone was used long ago to carve a very important piece of art. It was said God blessed the stone. Apparently not only was the man blind, but he had never been an artist in his life. When he found this stone he felt compelled to carve a scene of the last supper into a village wall. Day and night he worked on it. When it was completed, the man lied down and passed away. Word spread quickly. Thousands came to the wall to witness the work, as a result, countless souls found God. The stone was passed through several monasteries. Until, at last, it eventually came into the possession of the guardians and was made into this charm,” Michael elucidated.
Gabe found Michael’s story interesting, but he wondered why he would share it with him. As he held the stone in his hands, Michael closed Gabe’s fingers over it and leaned in to look into his eyes. “It’s thought to have great powers. I need you to promise me you will wear this while I’m away.”
“Okay,” Gabe gave a hesitant reply.
“I’m serious,” Michael insisted. “This is incredibly important. I can’t be here with you. The only way I can protect you is if you have this on. Put it on now. Do not take it off until after I return.”
Gabe slipped the chain around his neck, as Michael had commanded.
“I promise, I won’t take it off,” Gabe assured him. As they walked to the door, he wondered if he would ever see Michael or Uri again.
Gabe laid in his bed, watching the shadows from the fireplace dance across his ceiling. Punching the pillow, frustrated, he flipped on his side and wished his mind would give into some much needed rest. He kept running over everything he had discussed with Michael that evening.
By now, he thought Uri and Michael must be high above the ocean on the Alicorn’s backs. Gabe wondered if the trackers were able to locate them soaring through the clouds. It puzzled him how he could be so concerned about the safety of these almost complete strangers.
The more thought Gabe gave to the situation, the more he realized it wasn’t that hard to understand after all. Growing up in foster homes he either lived with people who didn’t care about him or didn’t understand him. Rampart Manor was the first place he felt a connection with anyone.
Gabe felt extremely conflicted. On one hand there was the fear growing inside of him of facing unimaginable terrors. On the other hand he didn’t want to be anywhere else because at last he had a chance at having something he had always wanted. A family. He wondered if this was what a home felt like.
Finally, Gabe gave up on his efforts to sleep, choosing instead to search for something to eat in the kitchen. Perhaps a full stomach would allow his mind to rest. He headed down the long corridor, turned left at the end of the hall only to realize he had taken the wrong path. He turned around, but soon he had completely lost his bearings in the darkness.
He wandered for some time, trying to find something that looked familiar.
“Gabe?” a voice called out from the darkness behind him.
He turned, searching for the source of the voice and saw a candlelight flickering about fifteen feet away. As the light came closer, Haim’s face came into view. Gabe smiled—glad to see a friend.
“Hi,” Gabe replied with a shaky voice.
“Is everything 0kay?” Haim asked.
“Umm, yeah ...” Gabe replied, then rethought his response. “Well, no actually. I was going to grab a late night snack, but I seem to have lost my way. Any chance you can direct me to the kitchen?”
“I can do better than that,” Haim said taking Gabe’s arm. “Come with me, I’ll make you my famous roast beef sandwich,” he added, dragging Gabe behind him.
“Famous, huh? What makes it famous?” Gabe asked, his mouth watering a bit at the sound of it.
“You don’t want to know,” Haim replied with a snicker. Gabe began to reconsider the tastiness of the offered food.
It wasn’t long before they emerged into the courtyard. In the moonlight, Gabe was at last able to recognize where they were. It was a different exit than he had used previously. They were diagonally across from the dining hall. The two made their way around the courtyard, the entire time-sharing idle chit chat about the weather and what social events were coming up at the manor.
Gabe thought for a second how ridiculous it was they were discussing these types of things. It was clear to him they were both avoiding the topic of Uri and Michael and the danger they were most likely in.
In the kitchen, Haim showed off his master knife skills as he sliced the bread, but even more so with the way he delicately shaved the roast beef, paper thin. Gabe’s mouth watered as he watched Haim pile the mound of roast beef on top of the bread and smother it with a spicy mustard, topping it off with a slice of ivory colored Swiss cheese.
Wanting to break up the silence he began, “so how long have you lived here?”
Haim stopped and looked at Gabe for a minute. “What? Oh, I was born and raised here,” Haim replied.
“Really?” Gabe asked, surprised by his response. Uri had made it sound like almost everyone came from the outside world.
“Yeah, I’m actually the only one in our group who’s a lifer.” Haim thought about his situation for a second and then continued, “It’s really rare for a guardian to be raised at the manor. After all, the genetic
line isn’t activated until the previous ancestral line has been deactivated.”
“Deactivated?” Gabe asked.
“Yeah, until the guardian from your bloodline is dead,” Haim responded as if discussing something as simple as the recipe for his sandwich. “My dad was a guardian. He died while my mother was pregnant.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Gabe said, wishing his attempt at small talk had never been made.
“Don’t worry about it, it’s not like I ever knew him. Usually the line isn’t activated for a few generations since guardians live so long,” Haim explained, Gabe noticed the conversation didn’t seem to upset Haim. “I guess I was just lucky,” Haim laughed. Gabe tried to smile at his attempt to lighten the mood, but it was uncomfortable.
“So ...” Gabe said with a long pause, trying to think of anything to change the subject. “Umm, I’ve been meaning to ask, what’s this Operation Phoenix all about?”
“What do you mean?” Haim asked as he placed the sandwiches on two plates and slid one in front of Gabe.
“I keep hearing Michael mention it, but nobody has said what it is. Sounds pretty intense,” Gabe answered.
Haim leaned over and rested on his elbows, holding his sandwich over the plate, taking a huge bite. After a few delicious moans and groans, Haim explained. “I guess you could call it an escape plan.” Haim took another bite, clearly impressed with his own chef skills.
“Escape plan?” Gabe asked, unable to hide the shock in his voice. “What do you mean an escape plan?”
“Well, you know,” Haim mumbled through his mouth full of food. “A Phoenix is reborn from the ashes. Years ago, when one of the four manors was destroyed, Operation Phoenix was developed to save as many people as we could if something similar were to ever happen here.”
“Wait,” Gabe stopped Haim, completely confused by what he was hearing. “So Operation Phoenix is a plan to give up? That makes no sense, then why the clerics and all the training?”
“Oh,” Haim began, clearly not as distraught over this conversation as Gabe was. “Well hundreds of people reside here. Can you imagine trying to help that many people escape? There are transportation spells they have to cast, not to mention they all cast spells of distraction in order to allow the Alicorns to take as many riders as possible. It’s very organized and planned. I mean, it would have to be, right?”
“So you’re seriously telling me it’s a plan to run away?” Gabe asked again.
“Haven’t you ever heard it’s better to live and fight another day?” Haim asked giving Gabe a grin, bread and roast beef weaving a disgusting web across his teeth that Haim was clearly proud of. “Don’t worry; I’m sure it won’t come to that,” Haim added, bits of food spraying from his mouth.
Gabe was not comforted by Haim’s attempt to soothe him. Here he had thought there was a plan in place to defend his new found home, when in fact it was simply a plan to run and hide. Gabe thought about Uri and Michael, the gravity of their mission weighing heavily on him. Grabbing the stone around his neck, he found himself closing his eyes and saying a little prayer for them. An odd thing, considering Gabe couldn’t remember ever praying before.
As Gabe closed his eyes, the stone in hand, a woman’s face filled his thoughts. He had never seen the woman in his life. She had raven colored hair that was pulled back tight into a tangle of braids. Her eyes glowed green. She wore a beautiful flowing dress. Gabe thought it looked like she was almost floating. A second later she looked straight at him and whispered, ‘Anthony.’ As Gabe jolted back to reality he took in a big gasp of air, sucking pieces of food into his airway.
“Are you all right?” Haim queried Gabe as he coughed wildly.
Gabe struggled to catch his breath and thought about his vision, deciding it was best to keep it to himself.
“Yeah, fine,” Gabe squeaked out, continuing to clear his throat. “Just went down the wrong pipe.”
“What do you say I come by in the morning and we get started?” Haim asked.
“Sounds good,” Gabe said, a little nervous about what he might be getting himself into. “So what’s the plan?”
“Hand to hand combat of course!” Haim bellowed, smacking Gabe on the back with a hearty laugh. Gabe felt his food suddenly shift violently at the thought of a guy Haim’s size teaching him hand-to-hand combat. “Get plenty of rest, you’ll need it,” Haim warned, popping the last bite in as he walked away.
Gabe finished his sandwich and found his way back to his room. Before he closed his eyes, he said his second prayer of the night—that he would make it through training with Haim tomorrow alive.
Gabe awoke to the sun poking itself between his curtains and coming to rest in his eyes. He sat up, a yawn escaping his mouth as he stretched. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, the first thought in his head was of Michael and Uri. He hoped they were safe wherever they were. His second was the thought of being pummeled by the giant, Haim, an idea that made his stomach ache.
Getting up slowly, he dressed himself, the entire time the day ahead of him played out in his mind. Each scenario he imagined included a severe beating to his body. He wished he could climb back into bed, pull the blankets over his head and go back to sleep.
Knowing his strategy of hiding would only work for so long; Gabe decided to face it like a man. As he made his way to the combat arena, his steps were cumbersome. Along the way, Gabe convinced himself that he was just going to be learning technique. There’s no way there would actually be contact, he told himself. It doesn’t make sense for Haim to actually hurt me. After all, they all swore to protect Gabe when Michael left.
His mind was quickly changed when he approached the outdoor ring and saw Haim lifting a wee boy into the air and dropping him to the ground. Dirt flew up in a circular motion and Haim simply laughed as the tiny boy bounced slightly and then crawled out of the ring.
“Next!” Haim roared. Once again, Gabe’s stomach was in knots.
Gabe decided the best course of action would be to slowly back away. When he was out of sight he would sneak off and find somewhere to hide for the day, perhaps the week. Much to his disappointment, as he took a step backward, Haim spotted him. He began to shout and wave in his direction wildly. “Gabe, over here!” Haim shouted repeatedly. “Come on, we were getting some practice in.” Gabe looked at the circle of boys moaning as Haim said the words.
Hanging his head in despair, Gabe walked cautiously over to the ring’s edge. Haim’s latest victim limped by him with a whimper.
“Morning, Haim,” Gabe said as he approached.
“Good morning!” Haim exclaimed. “I’m excited about today! Aren’t you?”
Gabe did not want to disappoint him, but excited was not the word he would use to describe how he felt at the moment. Apprehensive, terrified, sick, all of these seemed much more appropriate to Gabe. He smiled at Haim and nodded as if he too were excited.
“Well, get in here,” Haim directed, motioning Gabe to join him in the ring. “Oh yeah, Raimie said he wants to work with you next so we should get a move on. I’m sure you want to learn as much as you can before he poaches you!” Haim added, not hiding his annoyance at having to share Gabe. Secretly, Gabe felt some relief at the notion of a pending rescue.
“Yeah, of course,” Gabe replied.
As Gabe stepped into the ring he remembered Uri saying Raimie had the ability to control thunder and lightning. He wondered if he would be learning such things today. For a split second he forgot about all the pain Haim was going to put him through. Unfortunately, that moment passed quickly as Haim’s huge hand came down and firmly patted Gabe on the square of his back.
“I’m not really sure I’m cut out for this type of combat,” Gabe tried to explain as he motioned down at his smaller frame.
“Nonsense!” Haim bellowed. “All guardians are given exceptional strength.”
“No, really,” Gabe insisted, “I’ve never even been in a physical fight. Trust me. I avoid confrontation whenever possible.�
��
“Well then how do you know you’re not any good at it?” Haim asked, walking several feet away from Gabe and then turning to face him. Gabe had no response for him. It was just something he was quite sure of.
“Come at me,” Haim said, motioning Gabe forward. Gabe shook his head with great vigor. “Come on, now. Are you a coward?”
Gabe looked at Haim’s massive size compared to his own and pondered the question. “Perhaps,” he replied with a smug laugh.
The crowd that had gathered at the ring began to laugh with him. Gabe looked around, pleased they had found humor in his statement. Abruptly, Gabe’s eyes fell on Sophie’s face. She wore a small smile as she watched him. He squirmed a moment, realizing not fighting wasn’t an option in front of her. He couldn’t let her think he was truly a coward, even if he was.
“Don’t you want to tell me about technique or something first?” Gabe suggested, trying to think of anything to delay the inevitable.
“Nah,” Haim responded. “Let’s see what you got and we’ll take it from there.”
Not hearing an answer that pleased him, Gabe hung his head slightly, full of despair. Out of excuses, he raised his head and began to rotate around the ring, sizing up his opponent. He thought about what Uri had taught him. He needed to throw stones at Haim’s defenses to try and figure out his weakness. He just never imagined the fence he would be tossing stones at would be so large.
Gabe closed his eyes, took a deep breath. “I’m such a fool,” he thought as he charged toward Haim. When he opened his eyes, directly in his path was Haim’s arm, outstretched like a giant tree branch. Gabe ran into it and fell to the ground with a massive thud.
Haim extended a hand to help Gabe to his feet. Gabe looked over to where Sophie had stood, but she was gone, nowhere in sight. He hoped she had not seen the humiliating display.
“I told you I’m not cut out for physical fighting,” Gabe reasserted.