Protect (The Guardians Book 1)

by K. B. Wheelock

  Keyne gulped. “Um, so when did this ability start?” he asked.

  “Yesterday morning, but I only figured it out this morning when Gris had a nightmare. I knew that they were not my thoughts at all, so I started thinking. I realized that every time I had a thought that was odd or definitely not me, I had been touching one of you.” She paused, “but, I never heard anything when Thea touched me.”

  “Brownies are immune to mind reading. Eons ago they worked closely with humans, often times as servants. They heard many things that enemies would like to know. If a mind reader was to get a hold of one of them, it could have been catastrophic. The Brownie scientists (or that’s what we call them) did something and made it so no form of magic works on Brownies. They never did explain what it was and any written record has either been hidden or lost,” Gris said.

  “So, can I turn this mind reading off?” Rose asked, thinking how inconvenient it could be. There are times a girl does not want to know what is going on in someone’s head.

  “Yes, with practice you should be able to. But that is not something Keyne or I can teach you. With your permission, I will send a message to Mags about this, and she can work on who best to help you while we are away.” Rose nodded her assent. “It is obviously too early to go see this professor of yours, but how about we drive around the area where we think the entrance is. Maybe we can find some clues there.”

  “Oh, I did find something odd in the one book I found. Apparently, there was a group who believed that this city was formed before man was known to be here. They found some large human-like bones that would have put the creature at 10’ tall. They claimed in the dirt next to the bones was the imprint of wings that spread 12’. Of course, no pictures or other evidence proves this. The group was ridiculed and became so secretive that the only way to know who was in the group was by a tattoo on the back of their thigh, of wings with a upside down triangle over them.”

  “Secret groups, hidden cities, and mystery. What has our little mouse fallen into?” Keyne said. “So, you’re thinking if we can find some references to this tattoo, it might help lead us to the city?”

  “Yes. I think it probably is just some tunnels that were formed from a natural phenomenon and by now they are collapsed and inaccessible. People love their conspiracies though. Since tunnels form naturally in limestone as acidic rain works their way through the porous stone, it makes this a great place for them to have overactive imaginations.”

  Gris cleaned up the breakfast mess, and they piled into the SUV. Each of the guys had thrown a bag into the back, Rose assumed it was weapons and other paraphernalia that they didn’t want left in the room. Plus, they still didn’t have a clue on what they were up against. The traffic in this area was light, obviously the business that took place here was better off done in the dark. They wound through the streets looking for anything that might be a clue. Most of the buildings were warehouses, one area was full of abandoned train cars, the tracks rusted and bent, bygones of a former life.

  “Gris! Look!” Rose cried. She pointed at the very building they had found on google maps. Obviously, the picture was old as it was even more decrepit looking in person. If this was where the entrance to the lost city was, it would be nearly impossible to get there. The south wall was caved in, the opposite wall holding up the roof that was bowed in and looked like a stiff wind would bring it down at any moment. The second story roof was gone, two of the walls missing. It would fit in perfectly in a war-torn city, instead of a small city in Midwest America. Rose wondered why it had been left standing. Most cities would condemn the building and tear it down.

  Gris circled around the block and parked in a lot down the street with a few cars in it. They sat and stared at the wreck. “I didn’t think to pack hard hats,” Keyne said.

  “I think we need more than hard hats for that house”. Rose said. “Could there be another entrance that we don’t know about?”

  “You’re the scholar here,” Gris said with a smile, “you tell us.”

  “Damn.” Rose looked at her watch. “Professor Esson should be in his office by now. Maybe he will have some ideas”.

  Gris started the car and set the GPS to the college. “Does he know we are coming?”

  “No. I really don’t know him that well. We met once at a lecture. You’d said that you didn’t want to advertise our presence . . . ”

  “So who is this professor?”

  “He is a history professor and part of the local historical society. Supposedly, they have a small museum here that might have some information for us as well. I’m hoping that he might have some local knowledge of the Lost City. “

  Pulling into the campus, Gris found a spot to park in the visitor spots. The three got out of the car and started to walk into the low building. The community college was built in a diamond shape with three tall buildings, one on each of the corners and the main entrance was at the point of the diamond. It opened to a hall on either side and a wall of windows that looked out onto a courtyard. The few students that were walking around shied away from the threesome.

  “Gris, it might be best if we split up, to blend in.” Gris looked at her confused, then at the people surrounding them. A sheepish look covered his face.

  “Yeah I guess we are not blending in. You and Keyne go to see the professor. I will go wait in the car.”

  Chapter Nine

  Keyne and Rose walked down the hall towards the Professor’s office. His website had said that he had hours now, so hopefully, he was there. If not, they would have to try the historical society later today.

  Rose knocked on the closed door. After a minute, it was opened by a man of average height with brown hair cut on the long side and blue eyes. “Professor Esson?”

  “Yes? Can I help you?”

  “My name is Rose, this is Keyne. We met a few years ago at the lecture on the impact of myths on local history in Cleveland. I was wondering if we could talk to you?”

  “Please come in. I remember speaking with you, your green eyes are unforgettable. I seem to recall you had some interest in our local mystery here.” He stepped back allowing them to enter his office. A window ran along the length of the office, along the one wall a desk sat with a computer and papers scattered over it. Above the desk were drawings and pictures of Superman. Closest to the window hung a guitar that glowed a honey color with the reflected sun. The other two walls had desks that were empty, the walls had calendars and some notices on them. Three office chairs completed the small space.

  Esson noticed Rose’s interest in the artwork he had displayed. “Do you like them?”

  “They are very well drawn. Did you do them?”

  “Yes. I love to draw in my spare time and have a slight fascination with the Man of Steel. How can I help you?” Professor Esson asked, sitting down in his chair and pointing toward the other two chairs. Their knees almost touched, the space was so small.

  “Actually, that is why we are here. I am trying to find information on the Lost City of Missouri. I was hoping you might have some local rumors or stories to help us.”

  His eyes lit up. “The Lost City is one of my favorite topics. That hoax helped put us on the map. Many have searched for it since, but no one has found it.” He pulled a file out from the drawer to his right. “These are copies of some of the information that the historical society has. Some are journal entries, diaries and letters, some drawings. Much of this is public knowledge so I am sure you have seen it before, but I will copy it for you.”

  “You keep a file on this in your desk?” Keyne asks.

  Esson looks at him sheepishly. “I do teach history, and the local history is my favorite thing to study.”

  “Do you have any theories on where the entrance could be if it existed?” Rose asked.

  “The records state it was in the northeast part of the city in 1882. That would be somewhere around North Mobley St. Much of what is out that way now is new construction, well new as of the 1950’s. There is a c
emetery up that way as well. And then further is the airport.”

  “One account said that the shaft was dug near the railroad, but the building over it was destroyed in a fire in 1899. No one knows if another entrance was found. Many years later it came out that all of this was a hoax.”

  “But we both know that in every hoax, there is a sliver of truth. So, what do you truly believe?”

  “You’re right. Every hoax does have a sliver of truth. Missouri is known as the cave state, with over 4600 known caves. I think that maybe he found a cave, or series of caves. While in the caves he hallucinated and the story came about. By the time he realized what had happen, the story got away from him. It was easier to go with it than to tell the truth,” he said with a shrug.

  “Have you ever heard of the Reditus Coelus?” Rose asked

  Professor Esson’s eyes narrowed for a minute, and he took a minute to respond. “No I haven’t. What is that?” Rose looked towards Keyne, who raised a eyebrow in question. She shifted so that her knee accidentally touched Professor Esson’s. I cannot believe she is here! But where did she hear that name? That is a closely guarded secret. As Rose had suspected, the Professor knew more than he was admitting.

  “Some believe that the Reditus Coelus is a organization that believes the hoax, that they have seen the city, walked its halls.” Rose said

  “No, I have never heard of them, and I would think living here I would have.” Looking at his watch, he stood. “Now if you will excuse me, I have a meeting I must get to. Susan will get you the copies you asked for.” He ushered us out of the room and shut the door behind him. He handed the file to the woman in the office next to him “Can you please copy these for me? I must get to my meeting.” And he scurried away. Moments later, we were walking back to the car with more questions than answers.

  “Anything?” Keyne asked.

  “He definitely knows something about the Reditus Coelus. He thought something about how it was a secret–”

  “Well we knew it was a secret organization, but not that people still believed it,” Keyne interrupted.

  “Yes, very odd, especially as he had to quickly leave once we mentioned that.”

  Getting in the car, Keyne said. “Gris, we have a complication. The R.C. is real, and the professor was worried about Rose knowing about them. He didn’t admit to knowing this, Rose heard his thoughts. As soon as we mentioned the R.C., he quickly found a reason to have us leave.”

  “What about a location?”

  “He said it was near the old railroad, but that it collapsed and then came out as a hoax,” Rose said “Do you remember that teardrop-shaped forest we saw? It looks like that is where the location was according to these papers” Rose rifled the papers and passed forward a map. The line drawings showed tracks that formed a teardrop, the city streets forming blocks to the south. “It appears that since the collapse the city has expanded around the railroad, which is no longer such an important part of the city. To the northeast is the airport, so I doubt that there would be anything that way, though the professor did mention a cemetery we could check out that way.”

  “With his reaction to you, I think maybe we should take what he said with a grain of salt. If I were in his shoes I would be sending you off in another direction while giving you just enough truth to keep you interested,” Gris said, ever the strategist. “Let’s get an early lunch and regroup. Maybe an afternoon hike to see the supposed location of the mine might help.”

  Gris pulled into a sub shop. “What’s everyone want?”

  “Italian Roast beef.”

  “Veggie, please.”

  Gris got out, and went to fill the orders.

  “You okay?” Keyne asked, rubbing his thumb across Rose’s hand. She felt his feeling of contentment, but no thoughts.

  “Yeah. I’m okay.” She paused “Keyne, why can I not hear your thoughts? I can feel contentment, but no thoughts.”

  “Part of our training is to block our thoughts. Being that you had little to no magic before this, or so we thought, it wasn’t something Gris or I thought we needed to do. It takes concentration, and we won’t be able to do it when we are distracted, asleep, or otherwise incapacitated.”

  “Oh” Rose thought about that. Though she understood not wanting your every thought to be heard, it still bothered her that they felt they needed to hide from her. Knowing it was a double standard and that she wouldn’t want her thoughts to be advertised to everyone either, didn’t help her process it any better. Pushing it to the back of her mind, she looked through the papers once more. The area close to the supposed site of the mine looked to be fairly developed and in the 1880’s wouldn’t have had many houses built around it. To the north, were flat areas and the northwest had some hills, but there were many rivers and ponds as well. Nothing that said “Hey, come look, here is a cave.”

  “Rose, what made you decide to become a librarian?”

  “I grew up with foster parents. I was lucky in that I got to stay with the same family my whole childhood. But I never felt like I fit in. I didn’t look like mom or dad, I didn’t have many of the same interests. In school, I never fit. Never quite got the social interactions. So, I was either on the outside looking in, or I would read a book where I could become the main character. I fell in love with the shifter books and books about magic. It seemed like I fit into those books better than my real life, so after mom and dad died, I decided to find a career with books.”

  Keyne looked at her and was about to respond, but at that moment, Gris returned.

  * * *

  Back at the motel, they ate their subs, each looking at different pages that the professor had given them. “This all seems to just be fluff, everything repeating, no real knowledge. If I didn’t know better I would say that one person heard the story and wrote about it, the next read that story and wrote more. Maybe they embellished it, making false leads and hiding the truth? This is pointless.” Keyne said, throwing his pages onto the bed.

  Gris rubbed his eyes, “Yeah I have read the same thing written in different words five times.” Looking to Rose he asked, “Are you sure that this is the only thing that you have researched recently? It just seems so unlikely.”

  “Yes. I have my personal research, but even that I haven’t done much of. I have just been kept so busy with the requests from various professors for books. Plus, I haven’t been asked to do research in awhile, I get the feeling that Anabelle has something to do with that. She is my boss in the sense that she is head librarian, but she doesn’t have access to the TOMBS. I think she has it in for me. There were some complaints made, and I had to meet with the college dean. It was a formality since, in name, I am employed by the college and that is what is on my paycheck, but they have no real authority over me. That is to whoever runs the TOMBS.”

  “What is your personal research?”

  Rose’s eyes lit up, and they knew that they were in for it. The fire of true passion could be seen in them. “Well, it kind of has to do with the lost city, though I hadn’t heard of it until this email. I search for the myths of lost cities, specifically those that have a history of an angelic presence. Many of the ancient civilizations believed in the gods, but very few reference angels, specifically tall beings with wings.”

  “So this email request might have more to do with your personal research than a random request?”

  “Possibly, but I had decided that it didn’t fit my research. It was a complete hoax and not worth the time to look into it more. Of course, my research is purely academic. I don’t have the funds or free time to traipse the world to search each of the cities out, although one day I would love to do that.”

  “What city would you go to first?” Keyne asked.

  “Oh that is hard. There are so many that could be interesting, some are actual cities, others are places of importance that claim to have been visited by angels, others are burial sites. But the one that interests me the most is Ggantija in Gozo. Older than Stonehenge or the pyram
ids, it would be amazing to just walk through the halls.”

  “But in reality, many of these supposed cities and sightings of angels are hoaxes. The technology in dating is not a perfect science and it is easier to put a myth to that which cannot be explained than find out the truth,”

  “So, you don’t believe in angels?” Keyne asked Rose. The middle of his back itching, making him squirm in his seat.

  She thought about it for a few minutes. “I believe once long ago there might have been angels, and maybe there still are. But I don’t believe that they are what we see them as.” Keyne and Gris looked at each other over her bent head, but said nothing.

  “Well, I think that it might be time for us to find this angelic city,” Gris said. “To do that I think the best place to start is the forest. So, let’s follow those tracks.”

  The three picked up the remains of lunch and piled into the car. The drive to the railways wasn’t far. They parked behind a cement block building and quickly walked across the rails and into the forest. A narrow deer trail allowed them to walk without getting hit by too many branches, and Gris held a compass. The forest was small, so getting lost really wasn’t a worry. Calling it a forest was a stretch. More like a large area of trees and brush. Hopefully, with the compass they would be able to find the ponds. Twenty minutes later, they came upon the first pond. It was about twenty feet across and more of a swampy marsh than pond. They walked around the pond but the only thing left to show a building or anything ever had existed there outside of woods was a moss covered stone in the shape of a mounting block.

  Ever the academic, Rose took her phone out and started taking pictures. She knelt to take a picture of the stone and saw a slight indentation, all that was left from the elements’ destruction. Barely visible to the eye, she started tracing it with her finger. The mental image that started to form had her heart rate picking up. “Hey, do either of you have a pen and paper?” she asked.