by Wendy Owens
“Gabe, please ...” He heard Sophie’s voice cry out. Sophie, who had pushed herself up onto her hands, was bleeding from the corner of her mouth. Gabe watched in terror as she tried to stand. His vision scanned down and he saw a bone sticking out of the lower part of her left leg. She winced in pain and then cried out again, “Please Gabe, run!”
“Shut up, you whore!” Mammon shouted, turning his gaze back to Sophie and lifting his arm once again. He raised his palms and Gabe realized that, helpless to move, Sophie was about to be incinerated before his eyes.
Gabe didn’t even have time to think about what he was doing. “No!” he heard himself shout again. Gabe’s movements seemed foreign, as if someone else were controlling his body. He felt himself open the hand he had the dagger in. Everyone watched in disbelief as the dagger raised itself into the air, floating in front of him.
Mammon looked over and saw Gabe, who stood hands open, staring back at him with great intensity. “Anthony already tried those silly daggers, you fool. Why do you think it was so easy to turn him? He saw I’m invincible,” Mammon goaded, a palm now raised in his direction as well as Sophie’s.
As Gabe brought his hands together in a thunderous clap, he saw a glowing red ball leave Mammon’s palm in his direction. Gabe suddenly collapsed to the ground; it felt as though his entire body had burst into flames. Everything went black.
Opening his eyes, Gabe quickly shielded them from the brilliant light. Remembering the fireball Mammon had shot in his direction, he wondered if this were Heaven. Gabe thought of how soon he would see his parents again and hoped at least for some time he wouldn’t see Sophie. Sitting up, he looked around to get a better look at Heaven. He was in a room with white walls sitting on a bed with white sheets and white blankets. Gabe looked to his left where he saw Sophie laying in another bed, eyes still closed. Oh no! Gabe thought as he realized he must have been unable to save her as well.
“Gabe!” Uri’s voice cut through his thoughts in an instant. “You’re awake.”
Panicked, Gabe looked over to see Uri’s face as he quickly approached the bed, Dina and Raimie following close behind. “I failed, I’m so sorry,” Gabe muttered.
“What on earth are you talking about?” Uri asked, a look of utter confusion on his face.
“Wait,” Gabe said realizing his assumption may have been incorrect. “We aren’t dead?”
The three began to laugh uncontrollably. “No, we’re definitely not dead,” Uri replied.
“I don’t understand, what happened?” Gabe asked, looking around the room for Michael and Haim. To his right, he saw Haim perched on a bed, covered in bandages looking back at him.
“You really don’t know what happened?” Dina asked.
Gabe shook his head, completely puzzled by the sequence of events. “I remember Mammon getting ready to cast me into oblivion and then an intense heat and everything went black.”
“You sent Mammon back to Hell, that’s what happened!” Raimie exclaimed.
“No ...” Gabe protested, having no memory of the events Raimie revealed. “That’s impossible.”
“No, incredible is what it was,” Uri insisted. When you sent that dagger flying into Mammon, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Of course it wasn’t before he toasted you pretty good with a fireball.”
“I can’t believe you don’t remember,” Raimie continued. “It was amazing. The dagger lodged itself into Mammon’s side and he looked down at it, like he was shocked it could pierce his skin. The wound and all around the dagger started to glow red. It spread out from the weapon in a veining pattern until eventually it consumed his entire body.”
“Yeah,” Uri interjected, “Mammon couldn’t believe it, you should have seen his face,” the boys began to laugh. “He cried out, ‘It can’t be,’ just before his body burst into sparks. It was so awesome!”
Gabe had trouble imagining he was responsible for the heroics they spoke of and from the way they described it he wished he could have remembered it.
“Mammon’s soldiers went running scared when they saw what you had done,” Uri continued.
“What I don’t understand is how you cast a telekinesis spell without even speaking. Who taught you that?” Dina asked.
“I did what?” Gabe asked, no clue what Dina was talking about.
“There’s our hero,” Gabe heard Michael’s voice from the doorway and a comforting feeling washed over him. The group parted as the man approached with a battered and bruised face, sling over one arm and a crutch under the other. Gabe watched, horrified, as his new mentor hobbled toward him. “Don’t worry; it looks worse than it is.”
“Yeah,” Uri added, “This is after the healers had a hold of him for the night. You should have seen him when we first got back.” Michael looked at Uri disapprovingly and he quickly fell silent.
“Well, I guess first I should say thank you,” Michael began. “I don’t even want to think about what might have happened if you hadn’t come. You really were a hero yesterday. I’m not even sure how you ... it’s not important,” he continued. “What is important is that you know how much you have come to mean to us.”
Gabe felt his cheeks go hot. “With that being said, I‘ve spoken to Uri. He’s ready to take you back whenever you’re ready.”
“Sir?” Gabe asked alarmed. He felt the blood draining from his face as quickly as it had just rushed there.
“It has been a week, Gabe,” Michael explained. “I told you when you came, we made arrangements for a week and then you could go home.” The entire room fell silent and stared at Michael and Gabe.
“But you said I had a choice,” Gabe protested.
“Well,” Michael continued. “The choice is yours; but with Mammon gone, it’s safe to return to New York, if you want. Of course I know we would love if you stayed here with us.”
“Yeah, Gabe!” Uri exclaimed. The rest of the group joined in with their show of support and desire for him to stay.
“Will you stay, Gabe?” Dina asked.
He looked around at his group of new friends and then up at Michael. “Sir,” Gabe said with a quiet voice. “I can honestly tell you this is the first time I’ve felt like I have a home since I lost my parents. I want to stay. If you’ll have me.”
“That makes us all very happy,” Michael said, patting Gabe’s leg vigorously. The room erupted in cheering, everyone expressing how thrilled they were that Gabe had decided to stay.
“What’s going on?” Sophie moaned in a groggy voice, the commotion waking her.
“Oh no, we woke Sophie,” Dina said.
“Gabe, he’s staying,” Uri explained.
“Well, I knew that,” Sophie said with a confused look on her face about the news.
“Of course you did,” Uri said elbowing Raimie and sending a wink in Gabe's direction. The room once again erupted in laughter. Gabe thought about Mammon and all the new dangers he would face by staying. Looking over at Sophie who simply smiled at him, he had a strong feeling he was making the right decision.
Gabe hobbled in the direction of his room. After two days in the infirmary he was looking forward to a night in his own bed. He thought about how weird it was to think about his room actually being his, permanently. He had not had a home in so long it had become easier for him to just accept it would never happen. Now here he was, surrounded by people who loved him, a home and a family all in one stroke of fate.
He thought about Sophie, her hair, her lips, her strength. Everything about her seemed to excite him and now that Mammon was gone he was excited to see where their relationship would lead. Michael had also told Gabe he would be tested at the end of the summer and as long as he passed he would enter school as a third year with most of his friends. Part of him wished Uri was still a third year, but he supposed it was good to have someone who had already experienced the tests on his side.
Opening his door he walked into his room, slowly. He watched his breath form a cloud as it left his lips. He was amazed at how c
old the room had grown with just a couple days of being empty without a fire. Looking in the direction of the fireplace he saw someone had placed a fresh bundle in the opening for him. Gabe took a few steps toward the fireplace, but when he had crossed the room to the halfway point, his door slamming shut behind him startled him.
Gasping, Gabe turned and stared at the door, but nobody was there. A second later he heard a whooshing noise and a bright hot light flared up behind him. Gabe turned and saw a huge fire bursting forth from the fireplace. He looked around frantically for who or what might be in the room with him, but still saw nothing. Though the fire was large and raging by this point, Gabe still felt an overwhelming cold in the room.
“Sssit,” Gabe heard a voice hiss, but could not locate the source. As he searched he saw one of the chairs turn and face him, it was empty. Without warning, a powerful force began pulling him toward the chair. Gabe resisted, but ultimately it dragged him and forced him into a sitting position. Gabe struggled to move, but he could not. The chair spun and faced the flames, the heat hovering near his skin. Gabe squinted, overwhelmed by the fire’s intensity.
When he opened his eyes he heard a thunderous croaking noise surrounding him. Looking around he saw hundreds of toads that had not been in the room just a moment before. They were all staring at him, watching him as their throats bloated repeatedly. Gabe closed his eyes tightly, the noise of the toads fading away. He peered at the room again through squinted eyes and they were gone, the fire had returned to a normal size. Gabe sighed in relief.
“Hello, Gabe,” A chilling voice came from directly across from him. Gabe saw a man sitting in the other chair. He was wearing a charcoal gray suit that had a faint hint of a pinstripe. His legs were crossed tightly and as he leaned back in the chair, staring at Gabe, his jacket fell open, revealing a vest underneath. His shoes were clean and Gabe thought they looked as though they had just been shined. He wore a pinky ring of a silver skull, its eyes red rubies. The man was small in stature, but very handsome. As he looked at Gabe a grin spread across his face. His hair was dark, neat and slicked back with just a sliver falling to the middle of his forehead.
“Who are you?” Gabe managed to say at last, realizing he was still confined to the chair.
“I have a lot of names,” the man said not looking away from Gabe.
“Well, do you care to share one with me?” Gabe asked, trying not to reveal he was panicked. The man’s smile grew, but he said nothing, just stared.
“How did you get in here?” Gabe asked, debating whether or not he should scream.
The man leaned forward, coming to rest a foot in front of Gabe’s face, “Just wanted to see the great protector before I destroyed him.” Without another word, Gabe saw the man’s eyes flicker with an intense red and suddenly his skin began to crack and tear away, revealing glimpses of a gray dead skin beneath his disguise. Gabe clenched his eyes tightly shut and began screaming.
“Help! Someone help me!” Gabe yelled. Hoping Michael or his friends would hear his pleas and come to his rescue.
“Gabe!” Sophie cried shaking him wildly. “Gabe, wake up!” She shook Gabe until at last he opened his eyes. He sat up, startled to see the sterile white walls all around and Sophie staring back at him. He realized it hadn’t been real, just a dream.
“Are you okay?” Sophie asked.
“Yeah, just a crazy dream,” Gabe replied, still trying to catch his breath.
“Oh no, Mammon?” Sophie inquired.
“No,” Gabe laughed a little at what he was about to say. “About toads,” he continued, laughing lightly as Sophie fell silent and turned to stare at him. She jumped to her feet and rushed into the hallway. “Sophie,” Gabe called after her. “Where are you going?”
“Michael!” Sophie called down the hallway. He heard some voices calling back to her. “Get Michael, quickly,” she replied.
“What’s going on?”
“Wait a minute,” Sophie replied still in the hallway.
“I don’t understand,” Gabe insisted. “Is something wrong?”
“Michael, hurry,” she called down the hallway, motioning for their teacher to make haste.
“What is it?” Michael called after her, unsettled by her urgency.
“You have to hear what Gabe has to say,” she replied.
Michael slid to a halt in the doorway and the two rushed to Gabe’s side. “What is it?” he asked.
“Tell him what you told me,” Sophie explained.
“What? About the toads?” Gabe asked, utterly confused.
“Toads?” Michael questioned.
“Yes, he woke up in a total panic,” Sophie said, not looking away from Gabe. She grabbed his hand and held it tight. “Gabe, tell Michael all about your dream.”
Gabe recounted the entire thing to him, not leaving out a single detail; the cold room, the fire, the man, what he looked like, that he said he was going to kill him.
As Gabe finished his story Michael looked up at Sophie and simply said “Baal.”
“That’s what I thought when he said toads,” Sophie replied.
“What? Who is Baal?” Gabe pleaded.
“He’s the most powerful prince in Hell,” Michael explained. “He has sixty-six legions of demons under him.”
“What does he want with me?” Gabe asked.
“The Oracle has said Baal is the one who will destroy the protector.”
“What?” Gabe gasped. “He’s supposed to kill me?”
“We know he’s tracking you now; we can combat this,” Sophie suggested.
“Tracking me? What?” Gabe raised his voice.
“He uses dreams to hunt people down,” Michael explained. “We need to prepare you. Teach you how to guard yourself against his methods. Sophie’s right, it’ll be okay; you can cloak yourself even while you’re dreaming.”
“There is nothing okay about this,” Gabe replied.
Michael reached out and grabbed Gabe’s free hand. “Son, I won’t let anything happen to you.” Gabe felt those chest pangs again when Michael called him son. For a moment his fears melted away and he had faith in Michael. He believed without a doubt this man would protect him or die trying.
“You’ll be ready for him, I promise,” Michael added. “We’ll all teach you everything we know. When Baal finds you, we’ll be ready.” Gabe looked at Michael and Sophie’s faces. Their concern was evident which unnerved Gabe a bit. He wasn’t sure about this situation he found himself in. He hoped this home and his new family would be worth the dangers he faced.
Thank you to the many bloggers who are on the front lines every day, helping authors like me reach readers. I can’t thank you enough for what you do.
Samantha Young, a fellow author, thank you for your advice, your warmth came at a perfect time.
To Claudia of Phatpuppy Creations, thank you so much for capturing Gabe on the cover. It is magical and portrays him perfectly.
A huge thank you goes out to all the editors who help make this book better: Madison Seidler, and thanks, as well, to Chelsea. And also I want to thank Ashley for the first run through of the book.
To my readers: Your honesty and constructive critiques caused me to go back and improve this book, thank you.
To Josh, I dedicated the book to you, but that doesn’t seem to begin to cover it. You believed in me when I had trouble believing in myself. Thank you for being my rock, my beta reader, and every other position I needed, but couldn’t afford to hire.
Thank you to my three kids, Zoe, Brayden, and Penelope who put up with a messy house and a lack of clean laundry so that mommy could write. I am sure I will be looking at paying for many years of therapy.
Dedicated to my Joshua, I love you so much.
Gabe’s stomach twisted, each knot tighter and more agonizing than the last. He wiped his sweat-soaked hands on the legs of his jeans and searched the nearby crowd for a familiar face. He imagined that if he could just catch a glimpse of Sophie, everything would be all ri
ght. Unfortunately, Sophie was nowhere to be found. Gabe felt hopeless.
The roar of the crowd began to grow. He heard them harmoniously stomping their feet in a rhythm that cried out for battle. Gabe glanced across the arena to several cages that were shielded by large cloaks. Whatever was inside was clearly becoming agitated by the noise of the crowd. The captive creatures began beating against the bars. Random secret shrieks and growls came from their general area.
“Rampart Manor!” Gabe heard Uri’s magically amplified voice shout over the thunderous group. “Let’s be honest, we all know the reason why we’re gathered here today. Yes, yes, of course we want to support our dear friend, Gabe. But, let’s get real for a minute. Day in and day out we learn and train and grow as Guardians. We do as we’re told and follow the rules. We all work hard. Now it’s our turn to watch some demons tremble in fear! It’s our turn to watch the hunters become the hunted. Who’s ready to see some fighting? Better yet, who wants to see what our great protector is made of?”
The crowd erupted into a frenzy at Uri’s words.
The past summer had been full of blood, sweat, and tears for Gabe, but it was also an experience he wouldn’t trade for anything. He had grown close to Sophie and all of his new friends. Uri had even become what Gabe would call his best friend; something he hadn’t had in his previous life. As appreciative as he had grown of Uri’s humor, right now, in this arena, was one of those moments he wished Uri was able to contain himself.
Gabe had felt somewhat confident about his tests when he awoke that morning. He had spent every free moment studying and practicing for this all summer,though it didn’t take long before he realized what Uri had done. After the tenth or so person wished him luck and expressed how much they were looking forward to seeing him in action, he knew Uri had decided to make this day into a big event for the entire manor, even though Gabe wasn’t comfortable being a spectacle.
Gabe’s confidence quickly disintegrated into rage, conjuring visions in his head of strangling his dear friend Uri for inviting a crowd to watch his tests. It was hard enough for him to concentrate alone in complete silence knowing what was at stake. He wasn’t sure how he would be able to do anything with a hundred of his future classmates looking on. Gabe knew that failing today wouldn’t only let down everyone who helped him, but could also have his mentor, Michael, questioning if he had made a mistake in choosing Gabe.