Tesslar walked her to the sofa and allowed her to sit. He sat on her left while Rykerian sat to her right. They each had contact with her in some manner. Tesslar had his arm thrown over her shoulders, and Rykerian had wrapped her arm in his. This did not bode well for Rayn, as she recognized why they were so close to her. They wanted to ensure that she could absorb all of the calming effects that their bodies were releasing.
“Ok. Let’s hear it. I know you all have been holding out on me, but I need to know everything that’s going on,” Maddie demanded.
“Yes, you do. So here goes…” Tesslar replied. “We thought we could gain our mother’s support, but she is siding with Father on all of this. Rayn needs to always think of the greater than just the one and blah blah blah.”
Maddie smiled at this. It was always humorous to her when they used American slang.
“Mother thinks it shows Rayn’s weakness as a male, and that the people would not put their faith in him. She wants him to renounce you and what he did for you publicly in order to get a lighter sentence from the council. Father is still angry, so there’s absolutely no support from him either.”
Now, Therron piped in, “The council is comprised of elders. They are... well, for you, they’d be anciently dead,” he smirked, “but for Vesturions, they are the older men and women who have held high positions within the World Democracy, much like parts of your government here. They are VERY old fashioned and deeply emphasize the law. So we feel they are going to rule against Rayn, because it would go against everything they have stood for in the past.”
Rykerian turned to Maddie and added, “We have combed through documents of past cases similar to this that have been tried in recent years, and we are disappointed in the relatively few numbers there were. We could only find three cases where this happened to Guardians, and of course, they weren’t first born.”
“Maddie, it seems we have exhausted our resources here, and we are currently reaching out to our brethren Guardians elsewhere to see if we can either get their support or get information that could help us in our efforts, but we are not in high hopes of this,” Sharra added.
“Sharra, it’s we don’t have high hopes…not ‘we are not in high hopes’,” Maddie interjected.
“Oh, ok, thank you, Maddie.”
“Would you two pay attention?! Maddie, you are just going to have to get used to the fact that Sharra will never learn to correctly use your jargon here. She will always make a mess of it. Now, let’s get back to the issue at hand,” Therron implored.
“It’s Shargon,” Maddie interjected.
“Excuse me?” Therron raised his brows.
“I call it Shargon. You know, Sharra’s form of our jargon: Shargon! But sometimes, I call it Sharbabble. Anyway… oh, sorry, everyone! I just guess I do it out of habit now.” Maddie paused and looked around the room. “So, it pretty much looks like we’re doomed, right?” she wondered aloud.
“We’re not sure. This is what we are planning, and we’d like to see if you have anything you’d like to suggest.”
“Ok, shoot!” she requested.
“We want to go as a contingency back to Vesturon, and when I say we, that includes you, Maddie.” Therron noticed Maddie’s shocked expression and nodded. “I know you think we’ve lost our minds, but listen.”
“Yes, you have lost it. After the last time you took me, I thought they were going to imprison all of us. I don’t know about this! You know, three strikes and you’re out and all!” Maddie burst out.
“Maddie, we are not asking you to play baseball,” Sharra volunteered.
“Oh, for the love of God! Sharra, that’s just another saying!”
“I do not understand you Earthlings. You do not make sense. Whenever!”
In unison, the whole room responded, “WHATEVER!”
“Can everyone just PLEASE pay attention to what we are discussing here?” Therron’s frustration was palpable. “We want to present you to the council as Rayn’s amashan. The only way we can do this is for you to be present. We also want to do this as a procession, in the most formal manner, which is usually reserved for the declaration of the unification ceremony itself. We think when they see how united we are over this and that we are not backing down, they may stop and think that this is deeper than they had imagined.”
“I don’t know. I just don’t want to get him into more trouble than he already is. Why does this whole thing have to be so doggone difficult. All we want to do is be together. I just don’t understand how this can be so complicated. I know I’m rambling, but it’s just so aggravating!” Maddie finally ended her tirade.
“Maddie, this is our last chance. Are you in?”
“Oh, yes, I’m definitely in. I just am not too confident it will work.”
They continued to discuss and finalize their plans. In one week, Maddie would return to Vesturon for her third, and what would most likely be her last, trip.
Chapter 11
Maddie’s frustration and anxiety had reached an unhealthy level. She needed to break away from the house, so she found herself headed for the garage. She grabbed Rayn’s keys to his Lamborghini and decided to try her hand at driving it once again. Rayn had tried and tried to teach her, but with no success. For some reason, Maddie could not get the coordination down that was necessary to clutch and shift. It had been awhile since her last lesson with Sharra. She had improved, although only slightly, but she just needed a serious distraction.
She opened the garage door to the bay where the car was, hopped in, and started the engine. Maddie loved this car. She loved the feel of its wraparound leather seats and the smell of the interior. The engine roared to life with a distinct rumble and then purred to life, and it sounded like music to her ears. She was thankful that Sharra had backed the car in after her last lesson.
Every time Maddie walked into the garage, she was simply amazed at the number of vehicles. She had ridden in nearly all of them with the exception of the Maybach, the ultimate luxury machine. But she still loved Rayn’s Lamborghini Reventon the best. Maybe it was because it was his, or maybe it was because it was so sleek. Whatever the case, she inhaled deeply, absorbing the scent of the leather and loving every minute. She now understood this family’s fascination with fast cars, especially Lamborghinis.
“Please, God, let me be able to drive this,” she said aloud. She wanted so badly to be a success at this.
She put the car in gear and eased up the clutch. She remembered she needed to give it gas, so she did that. Except for some reason, she pushed the gas pedal down a bit too far and popped the clutch up a bit too fast, and the tires started spinning like mad. Unsure of what to do next, she floored it, and the car shot out of the garage like a rocket.
“OHHHHH NOOOOO!” she cried as she was hurled forward, at a speed she didn’t care to know. She finally gained control of herself and the car, and she ended up doing an almost decent job of driving it.
Inside the house, everyone heard the engine roar, and they all headed toward the front door. By the time they made it to the porch, all they saw was a glimmer of steel gray flying by.
“Rykerian, you’d better follow her. If she ever stops, she won’t know how to get back here. The veil is up,” Sharra said.
They all looked at each other, and Rykerian spoke first. “I think she needs some time to herself. If she’s not back in 30 minutes, I’ll take a speedster and go look for her.”
Approximately twenty minutes later, they heard the unmistakable rumble of the approaching Reventon. They all headed toward the back to congratulate Maddie on her successfully being able to actually get the car to go farther than one hundred feet. Just as they reached the outside, Maddie came flying in, heading straight for the garage bay.
“She’s going way too fast,” Sharra said, when suddenly they all heard a crash and went running.
When they reached the garage, Maddie was trying to gracefully exit the car, but was having difficulty as part of it was sticking out the b
ack wall.
Simultaneously, everyone except Maddie said, “Oh, great Deity! What has she done?!”
Maddie turned to them with an excited look upon her face and yelled at the top of her lungs, “I DID IT! I drove that darn thing!” she said as she hopped around doing an unsightly dance.
They all just started shaking their heads, and seconds later, they were roaring with fits of laughter.
“Maddie, I assume you are ok?” Therron asked.
“Never better,” she responded. Excitedly, she continued, “Did you all see me? I drove it. Can you believe it? I really drove it!”
“Er… Maddie, what are we going to tell Rayn? This is his baby, you know,” Therron remarked. “It was only one of sixty made like this.”
Maddie looked as if they had just punched her in the gut. “What did you just say? Why didn’t you all tell me this before? I would never have driven that thing… EVER!”
“Um... the front end is damaged pretty badly, and the garage has a huge hole in it, if you hadn’t noticed,” Sharra said.
“Oh, no! But... Rykerian, you can fix the car, right?”
At that point, they all realized that it was hopeless. Maddie would never understand, so they just laughed and didn’t even try to explain it.
“Yes, Maddie, don’t you worry about it. I will try to fix it,” Rykerian said as he rolled his eyes.
“Oh, thank God. And if you can’t, I will tell Rayn. It is my fault after all. I will pay for it, OK? Now, I am in such a great mood! I am going to go in the kitchen and whip us up some yummy Paula Deen dessert.”
She skipped out of the garage, leaving them with their jaws on the floor.
“Sharra, get in there… fast! And please make sure you have a fire extinguisher on hand!” Rykerian yelled. “Do you think she has any inkling of how much it will cost to repair this?”
“Well, I suppose we should just chalk it up as another of her mishaps,” Therron said with exasperation. They already had experienced two fires due to her culinary efforts, and they had to get a new Viking range, which was no small feat.
“I am on it!” Sharra shouted as she ran to follow Maddie.
“Do not let her put anything in the oven. She is lethal with that thing!” Rykerian exclaimed.
The males were left in the garage to assess the damage to both the building and the Lamborghini. Hopefully, they could have both fixed by the time Rayn came back… if he came back that is.
Chapter 12
Xarrid had been spending most of his time in the security room scrupulously digging into everything possible to ensure there would be no more breeches in the system. He heard a light tap on the entryway and looked up to see Maddie standing there.
Maddie was always amazed when she entered this part of the compound. To say it intimidated her was an understatement. This room contained computers and other electronic gizmos that made what the Earthlings used seem like toys in comparison. She had never been very tech savvy, but being in there made her feel utterly inept. However, there was something she needed, so she stepped forth. Smiling, she asked rather timidly, “May I bother you for a second?”
At Xarrid’s curt nod, she continued, “I really hate to bother you on account of the way you feel about me and all, but I am in desperate need of a favor.” She was wringing her hands and fidgeting as she spoke. “Rayn mentioned how great you are on computers, and I was wondering if you could hack into someone’s system for me.”
His eyebrows shot up and his forehead filled with creases as he stared at her.
“I beg your pardon? That is something that is completely forbidden!”
“Oh, Xarrid, it’s not anything bad, I promise!” She felt like she was intruding and maybe she shouldn’t be here at all. That he had mistaken her intentions made it even worse.
“Well?” he asked impatiently, drumming his fingers on his desk, clearly irritated with her. He was making her feel like a pesky mosquito.
“I… er…” she stammered, and she rubbed her forehead. She was most uncomfortable in his presence, knowing he condemned her for Rayn’s current predicament. She shook her head and froze, unable to go on.
“Are you going to ask me what it is you want or are you just going to stand there blubbering, wasting my time?” he asked, his voice laced with annoyance. “I am a bit busy here.” His eyes, so like Rykerian’s, bore into her.
“Yeah, sorry. See, I, um... well, you see I have these two friends from college that I really love like sisters, and they are both in serious financial trouble—they just don’t have any money.”
“And what do you want me to do about it? Rob a bank?” he asked sarcastically.
“No, no... that’s not what I want at all.” She shook her head as if to clear it.
“Then, by all means, enlighten me already so that I can get back to my work here,” he replied with frustration.
“Well, as I was saying, I have these two friends...”
“You already said that. They are equivalent to sisters and have financial trouble. I am not deaf, nor is my memory short.” It was evident he didn’t care to hear any of this, but her mind was made up. She was bound and determined to help Cat and January.
“Please, Xarrid, give me a chance. I’m a bit nervous and uncomfortable here. Please?” She felt so darned awkward around him.
At his curt nod, she took a deep breath and began again. The words began rapidly pouring from her mouth, and she dared not stop because she knew she would lose her nerve.
“One of them, Cat, may have to leave school because of it, and the other one, January, simply works herself to death. Honestly, I think January is orphaned or something because she is all alone.”
She paused, took a deep breath and then continued with her question. “Anyway, what I would love to do would be to get into their bank accounts and anonymously deposit money for them to have for their college expenses. I have it available, and it is just sitting in the bank. I guess I won’t need it anymore. Do you think you can help me?”
She had spoken so rapidly that it took him a second to digest what she was asking of him. He saw that her eyes were shimmering and pleading with him.
Xarrid looked at Maddie with an odd expression on his face. She wondered what he was thinking because he was silently staring at her... really staring... his eyes were literally boring into hers.
What Maddie didn’t know, couldn’t have known, was that Xarrid was feeling terribly guilty over his treatment of her and how he so unnerved her. At the same time, he was assessing how sincere she was and found her motives to be so... pure... absolutely pure.
Misinterpreting his silence, she dropped her head and said, “Look, never mind. Forget about it, and I’m really sorry for interrupting you and taking up so much of your time.” She turned away to leave the room.
“Wait!” he commanded. “I will help you. It should be relatively simple to do. Yes, I can do it for you,” he replied. His eyes never left her, and Maddie had this strange feeling that he was evaluating her true motives.
“Really, Xarrid, I can figure something else out. I don’t want to be a burden or cause you any trouble or inconvenience.” She turned away again.
His voice stopped her again. “Maddie, wait! It is no trouble. I was just thinking what a... selfless act that was. I am sorry if I seemed a bit put out. It was extremely rude of me. Please forgive me. I will be glad to do it.”
He actually smiled at her! Was that admiration she detected?
Now, it was Maddie’s turn to look thoughtfully at Xarrid.
“Look, I know how you feel about me, Xarrid, but I so wish you would give me a chance. I’m not perfect by any means and would never ever claim to be, but I don’t try to intentionally hurt people. I know I’ve caused a lot of problems here. It seems trouble and bad luck follow me wherever I go. I honestly didn’t mean to start those fires and do those other gosh awful things. I know I’ve made a mess out of things. Zanna doesn’t want me near her kitchen, and I must admit I don’t
blame her. And as far as Rayn goes, I didn’t set out to do anything; it just sort of all happened. If you really want to know the truth, for the life of me, I honestly can’t figure out what he sees in me. It seems all he ever does is rescue me from the hands of death.”
She gave a loud snort and shook her head. “Geez, I’m sorry. Here I go babbling again. I can’t seem to help myself. I’m sorry I’ve taken up so much of your time.” She released a huge sigh when she finished speaking. Again, she turned away to leave.
“Well, you must be blind or daft not to know what Rayn sees in you. Look in the mirror, Maddie. Rayn also sees what I just experienced: the good in you. It literally radiates from you, which is why I’ve been staring at you. Forgive me for that. Maddie, it is not you I have the problem with. It is the situation. There is just so much more to it than meets the eye. I wish I could explain it to you.”
Daft? Who uses words like that?
“Is daft not a common word for you?”
“Huh?”
“Daft… you wondered who used words like that?”
“Doggonnit, Xarrid! I always forget about you all reading minds! Now, I’m embarrassed.”
“I didn’t mean to embarrass you. I really did think that daft was a common word.”
Maddie smiled and shook her head, “Not really. Sorry. Anyway, it’s ok. Really, it is, and you don’t owe me an explanation at all. I’m just sorry I’ve caused all this strife between you and Rayn. I really hate that.”
He heard and felt the sincerity in her.
“Just for the record, I have never thought you were an evil person. Everything I see in you is good Maddie. I just wish the circumstances here were a bit different.”
“Well, thanks for that Xarrid,” she smiled.
“But I can help you with your request. Do you know what banks they have accounts with?”
“I think they both use Bank of America, but I don’t know their account numbers or anything.”
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