Xarrid went through each of the security and alarm systems on the premises. He concluded that all was intact in that regard. They had shield security here. Unlike infrared beams that the humans used, their technology allowed them to raise invisible shields that made it impossible for any type of mass to pass through. The shields had not been corrupted, so whoever sabotaged the system only did it so the veiling devices would be affected. Why would that be? If someone wanted to take down their entire security system, why not deactivate the shields as well?
Xarrid was convinced the answers were imbedded somewhere in their files—but that would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. There were just so many files in the system that it was going to take some painstaking detective work. Xarrid always loved a challenge, and he looked at this as the ultimate one. Someone had deliberately tried to harm his family, and he was determined to get to the bottom of this.
He needed to talk with Therron immediately. He projected his thoughts out to him. Therron was still on Vesturon and wouldn’t be back for a few more days.
Minutes later, Therron was answering Xarrid’s summons.
Therron: Xarrid? What is happening?
Xarrid: I need your help. I have reset our entire system, and we are now secure once again. The veil is back in place, but oddly enough, our shields were not affected at all. The breach came from Vesturon, and I was wondering if you could make contact with someone you trust—and I repeat, someone you trust—from the main security station there. I think if we can get someone to look at the fingerprints sent from Vesturon to our Earth base, we may be able to narrow down the culprit. Therron, I know how it was done, but I do not know who or why. Do you think you can get someone to assist you?
Therron: Yes… let me think about this. I also forgot to mention to you that in the process of interrogating Maddie’s abductor, he confessed to having been hired by someone. I did not have time to dig deeper before I vaporized him because of the severity of Maddie’s condition, but that may give you your start on Vesturon. I still need to talk to Father about this and definitely Rayn.
Xarrid: How is Maddie?
Therron: Better. It has been a tough road for her, but she is a strong female. She will be fine, but I am worried about her emotional scarring. Rayn was not pleased with us though. He has blamed the incident on us and on our lack of diligence. I am afraid I must agree with him. We let our guard down, and this needs to be a strict lesson for us.
Xarrid: Yes, I concur with you. Contact me when you uncover any other information. I may teleport there when you get a contact. I will wait to hear out from you.
Therron: Thank you, Xarrid.
Xarrid felt better about his focus now. He would do everything he could from his end, but he felt the real truth would come from Vesturon.
A few days passed before Xarrid uncovered the files that were embedded in their system. The files were false, and Xarrid immediately recognized them as such. They were tagged as Rayn’s, but they didn’t have any of his common ciphers or codes attached. Xarrid started looking deeper into them and found that they were an attempt to incriminate Rayn. Upon closer inspection though, they were very amateurish, and it wouldn’t take much of an expert to uncover this. Since Xarrid’s knowledge was beyond expert in this area, it was a simple task for him to recognize this.
The files were scripted to look as if Rayn was involved in a plot to overthrow his father as Leader. It was so bogus that it was almost laughable. It was, however, treasonous. Xarrid read through all the files and was astounded that anyone could make up the kind of things that were in the report. It went through the steps Rayn would take to get their father out of his role and how Rayn would even be willing to murder him if necessary.
Xarrid’s first step was to remove the files and transfer them to another device. He wanted all traces of them removed from their system to prevent anyone from hacking in and stealing them. The fewer people that knew about this, the better.
Xarrid: Therron, we need to talk again.
A few minutes passed before Xarrid got his response.
Therron: As you wish, Xarrid. What is going on?
Xarrid: I have found something that you need to see, and I want to send it to you immediately. It was a planted file in our system about Rayn. It is ridiculous, but you need to see this, as well as Father and Rayn, if he is up to it.
Therron: Can you send it to my transmitter?
Xarrid: Yes, it is on its way. You should have it any minute. Let me know what you think.
Thirty minutes later, Xarrid got a hit back from Therron.
Therron: I cannot believe this! I am in shock.
Xarrid: What reason could anyone have to want to destroy Rayn? That is what this was intended to do.
Therron: I do not know, but as the Deity is my witness, I intend to find out. This is infuriating.
Xarrid: Does Father know?
Therron: Not yet, but he will momentarily.
Xarrid: Contact me then.
Therron: That I will do.
********
Xarrid was still working on some configurations on the system, trying to get to the bottom of everything when the transcom lit up. Holographic images of Therron and his father appeared before him, and they discussed what needed to happen next.
They decided, in Rayn’s best interests, they would keep this information from him. Rayn had enough to worry about without this additional mess they had uncovered. They would pursue an all out investigation, and no one would be immune from it. They would take it all the way to the top, if necessary. Rowan had close people he could put all of his trust in, and they would seek out his best contacts from the Command Center to uncover all their records from the past two months. They knew all of this had taken place since then, so at least they had a starting point.
Their goal was to have this plot exposed within the next week, before any other damage could occur. They didn’t know what would soon be dumped in their laps.
Two days later, Rowan summoned Therron and Xarrid to the Great Hall of the Guardians. They were introduced to Lucaren Sartorius and Dergan Calderon, where they explained the plot to ruin Rayn. They brought a letter that Thorgar Telldoge had written and left for them, and many questions were answered by it.
Thorgar had been murdered by Voldruk Monteveldo, a High Elder in the Council. Voldruk had been a close friend of Rowan’s since their early days at the Academy and then later when they both served together as Guardians. Voldruk’s wife, Martya, and Rowan’s wife, Annalise, had been best friends up until Martya’s death a few years ago. Their daughter, Athyna, had always been close to the Yarrister children, as they had all grown up together. It was inconceivable that Voldruk would do something as such, but Rowan held the proof in his hand.
Not only was Rowan heartsick over what one of his best friends had done, he was also disturbed that someone so high up in the Council would go to such great lengths to destroy his son. Rowan was not only angry, but he was also deeply saddened and disappointed. But mostly, he wanted to get to the bottom of this issue, and quickly, before anyone else came to harm. He was still mourning the fact that one of his dearest friends had betrayed his son.
Voldruk knew what an upstanding and honorable male Rayn was. It cut Rowan to the core to see how his friend had tried to destroy Rayn. He could not wrap his mind around why Voldruk would want to do such a terrible thing.
Chapter 5
The final assessment on Maddie’s injuries was extensive. She had suffered a severed femoral artery, and her carotid artery had been slightly nicked. The femoral artery was the one that nearly killed her. If it hadn’t been for Rykerian and Therron’s quick work in getting her to the Healer, she certainly would have died from the loss of blood.
But that wasn’t the end of it. Maddie ended up with a ruptured spleen and kidney, which required a surgical procedure for the repair. Julian tried to do an external repair, but the damage to her kidney was too severe. Darryl Carter had proved his strength and t
hat turned out to be his last calling card.
Then there was the matter of Maddie’s left orbital socket. Apparently when Darryl Carter was on his beating spree, he kicked and backhanded her enough to almost crush that area of her face. Julian was worried about her vision in that eye. All the tests he could perform indicated everything would be fine. However, sometimes severe blows like that could damage the retina, and that might not show up until later.
Julian ultimately had to do surgery on her face as well. The orbital socket could not be repaired externally due to the extreme bone fragmentation. He had to stabilize the facial structure and then apply the bone-mending device. Luckily for Maddie, the blows she took to the head only resulted in concussions and bruising, so any permanent brain damage was not an issue.
Two days later, a bruised, battered, and bandaged Maddie was lying in her bed, with her head elevated. Rayn had been by her side during the entire ordeal. He refused to leave her, even during her surgical procedures. He forced Julian to allow him to remain with her through it all.
Julian knew he was fighting a losing battle; therefore, he had a reclining chair brought in so Rayn could at least get some badly needed sleep. Maddie had been medicated with sedatives and pain eliminators, so she slept throughout the next couple of days, waking only for minutes at a time. Rayn refused to let go of her hand.
Maddie tugged her mind out of the drug-induced haze it had been in for... she had no idea for how long. She felt bizarre—confused and a bit dizzy but sort of floaty as well. She felt her hand swaddled in warmth and turned her head in that direction. Sitting next to her was Rayn, sleeping soundly, his head lying next to her arm. His face looked so peaceful that Maddie didn’t want to disturb him. That was not to be, however, for he sensed her consciousness in his sleep. He lifted his head and flashed her one of his dazzling smiles, and he was rewarded with one in return.
He leaped out of his seat and said, “I am so glad you are awake. How are you feeling? Do you need anything? Are you in pain? Shall I call Julian?”
“Stop, Rayn! I can’t answer you if you keep asking me questions,” she mumbled, smiling in return.
He placed one hand on her uninjured cheek. “Great Deity, I was so out of my head over you.”
“Please, I don’t want to focus on that now. I just want to enjoy being here with you. There have been too many awful things that have happened lately. Let’s just live in the moment.”
“As you wish. Is there anything I can get you?”
She took a stab at sitting up in her bed, only to fall back with weakness. “Whew! I thought I was a bit stronger than I am. How long have I been here?”
“A couple of days, but you’ve undergone some severe things to be sure. Julian and five robomedics had to do surgery on you. Maddie, you were... well, to be honest, you were at death’s door when you arrived here.” Rayn’s piercing gaze was telling her more than she wanted to know at this point.
“Is there room for you in this bed here? I would sure love to feel you hold me right now,” she said with a slight smile. Maddie was feeling the need for him to soothe away her anxiety, and she was desperate for him to take her into his arms. She loved the feel of Rayn’s preternatural power of relaxation comforting her.
Rayn could sense her anxiousness. “We shall make room,” he said as he climbed beside her. He laid on his side and put his arm gently over her. “You are quite the patchwork quilt, my love, so please tell me if this causes you any discomfort.”
“You cannot hurt me, Rayn; that wouldn’t be possible. You feel so warm, and you make me feel so safe and secure.” She gingerly rolled on her side so that she could mold herself next to him. “I just want to stay like this forever.”
Maddie told Rayn that something odd had happened the night of the attack.
“I left our tent, after Sharra passed out. I mean she totally passed out, and I was star gazing. I decided to take a bathroom break before I turned in for the night, and I somehow got lost. It was really weird, Rayn. It was like the landscape changed on me.”
Rayn explained to her about the veil. “Maddie, something happened to the veil. It was not there when Therron and Rykerian came to you. We have Xarrid trying to figure out what happened there.”
“I couldn’t figure out how I got so lost. Then, I heard a sound, and I knew. I just knew it was him. He said he’d been looking for me. Rayn, he was insane. After he said that, I knew there would not be any reasoning with him. His mind was gone. Anyway, before he overpowered me, I knew I would only have one chance at getting away. You know Sharra and I have been kind of sparring in the gym, kickboxing and defensive moves and all, so I threw some of that at him. I think I broke his nose.”
“Therron told me as much.” He flashed her one of his famous smiles.
“I also landed an elbow directly in his solar plexus that immobilized him for a few moments. The only problem was I didn’t know where to run. I had gotten so lost and confused out there, because everything looked so different to me.” She sighed deeply.
Then, she continued, “Then, I remembered what you said, about you always being in my thoughts. I started concentrating really hard on you, trying to get through to you. I felt my mind screaming at you.” She looked up at him, her large amber eyes boring into his, directly opening her mind to his.
“Oh, believe me, Maddie, I heard you loud and clear. Your thoughts nearly decimated me!”
“Really?” She lifted her head and made eye contact with him. “You’re not just saying that, are you?”
“No! I mean, yes. Your thoughts crashed into me like a meteor. I even felt your pain. That is when I went crazy! I started projecting out to all the brothers, and I guess they were slammed pretty hard too. They said they kept getting tossed around by my thoughts. I kept at it until I knew you were safe. They told me I was trying to kill them,” he chuckled, without mirth. “When Therron and Rykerian got to you, I was devastated. I could feel how badly you were injured. I felt like I was there with you.”
He paused, and then continued, “I don’t ever want to feel that again. I cannot bear the thought of you ever feeling that again either. I thought I had lost you forever and the feeling of helplessness was unbearable. My urge to rush to your side and destroy that bloody…” he trailed off, running his hand through his hair. “Just know this, I cannot live through anything like that... EVER again! Do you understand me?”
“I love you, too, Rayn!” Her voice dripped honey.
“I am not jesting, Maddie! You took years off of my life, and I cannot endure it again. Your safety and well-being is of utmost importance to me. I will not be with you on Earth to protect you, so you must swear to me that you will never do anything foolish like that again.”
“But, Rayn, I didn’t—”
“Maddie, no objections! Can you understand?”
“Gosh, you are so darned bossy. I had to use the restroom. What would you have had me do? Go in the tent?” Now she was getting her feathers seriously ruffled.
Rayn looked at her with a raised brow.
“Don’t look at me like that! You are acting like this whole thing was my fault—like I am to blame!”
“No, Maddie. That is not my intent. You are my… obsession… my addiction… my amashan. I simply cannot allow you to run off unprotected, and I demand that you think about these things first. Sharra was of no help to you and—”
She put her hand on his mouth to stop him from uttering another word. Maddie was furious. She was a victim in this crime, but he was making her feel like the criminal.
“Excuse me, my overbearing Royal Pain in the Petootieness! Stop being such a horse’s behonkas. I’m the victim here… not the criminal.”
Rayn caught himself before he responded. He thought for a minute and recognized he had severely screwed up.
“Maddie, I am sorry. I did not mean to—”he began.
He didn’t get any further because she interrupted him. “You need to get out of my bed… right now… this minut
e. Allow me to explain something to you. I have been through too much to listen to your rants about how you nearly went off the deep end. I was the one who was there… who experienced the attack. I didn’t do it on purpose.”
“But, Maddie… “
“Now, Rayn. Out!”
She was breathing heavily, and Rayn was getting more and more concerned about her. He called for Julian.
Julian sedated Maddie before her condition could deteriorate any further. After he had her settled, he turned to Rayn.
“What in the Deity’s name has gotten into you, Rayn?” Julian demanded.
“I was trying to explain to her… “
“Excuse me if I disagree, but you were all but blaming her for all of this. As if she willingly exposed herself to danger. And this is the second irrational outburst I have heard from you. Excuse me for saying this, my lord. If I overstep my bounds, I apologize in advance, but you need to gain greater control of yourself.” Julian was uneasy over Rayn’s misguided anger.
“You are correct. I cannot seem to help myself. The thought of her being hurt in any way makes me senseless... out of control.”
“Have you bonded with her, Rayn? Have you broken your vow of celibacy?”
Rayn was astounded by the question. As he shook his head, he said indignantly, “Of course not. How can you ask me that?”
“Because you are acting as such. I have never seen a male so protective of his female. I know you have made a strong connection with her, but—”
“Julian, it is more than just a connection. It is an overwhelming emotion with a physical dimension to it.” Rayn explained to him what had happened during his first deep kiss with Maddie and how they had both felt utterly electrified by it.
“This is very perplexing indeed, particularly since she is human. However, you still must keep a tighter rein on your emotions. You cannot be tearing into people for no apparent reason. You will alienate them, and they are the ones closest to you.”
“Yes, you are correct. I will see that I have better control over my emotions. Thank you, Julian. Once again I am indebted to you.”
Guardians of Vesturon 2 - Resurrection Page 4