The Sentinels The First and the Second (second edition) Smashwords edition.doc

by The Sentinels- The First

  "That is still true, but I can admire beauty for what it is when it is so clearly evident," Harry said smiling and hugged Hadox around the shoulders tightly; she leaned into him and nodded.

  "Betatos is right Hadox; you have always been an unmatched beauty. So what are you doing here old friend?" Grayson asked.

  Hadox sighed and looked at her mug smiling serenely.

  "I have more than one reason; one is that I have come to help you with your big fight. It is still some time off so there is no point in delving into that now. The other reason is that I have come to visit my eldest son. He was in need of help, but it appears that not only he, but my other two sons as well were amongst the ones taken in the raid. Blue is now a Sentinel-witch hybrid like his brothers, Lox and Ki already were. However, since you blessed the union between Balthazar and I, you should recall this. I remind you simply because I know not all your memories have returned," Hadox said with a small smile.

  She was right, neither Grayson nor Harry recalled everything; there were some big gaps in their memory. Although he remembered Hadox and her sons, much of his memories were fuzzy, others were as vivid as the day they happened.

  "Blue fell in love with another Sentinel here, Brandon Horitz. Nathan's brother in fact, and Brandon unwittingly changed him during lovemaking. Brandon was unaware of how the blood of a Sentinel can change any being human, witch, Vampire, werewolf, etc, etc into a Sentinel since your blood is stronger. Of course, I am not your normal witch so he is now a hybrid of both. The same thing happened to Lox but in reverse, his stronger Sentinel-Witch hybrid blood changed his mate instead of the other way around," Hadox said then stopped talking, remaining silent for a moment.

  It was not a silence of someone that had nothing else to say, it was the silence of someone that had something to say, but was thinking of how to say it, and if Hadox had something to say, it was always wise to listen. Hadox was not someone you ignored, or set aside, regardless of her size.

  "I know of your plan Alphatos, and I will help you even if the others will not. I want my sons back and I plan on getting them back by any means necessary," Hadox said, sparks flying from her fingertips; Grayson nodded and gave her a knowing look.

  "Very well, I will make sure they are brought back. I think it best we combine our protection on this camp so that the portal I open to transport our imprisoned Sentinels will not be traced. With your bit of magic mixed in with mine we should have a barrier that is quiet effective," Grayson said; Hadox nodded.

  "I agree. My dear Harry, I have seen the beautiful children you will make with Grayson. Please allow me to bless them and be their godmother once they are born?" Hadox asked, both alerting them that they were no longer alone, and that they would have children.

  Grayson looked like he was going to burst with joy when he heard her say that he and Harry would have children and Harry paled.

  "If we have children, I would love if you blessed them," Harry squeaked out making Hadox laughed in amusement.

  "Oh my dear, there is no if about it, you will have more than one child, you will have three in fact, but that is not the point at the moment. I would truly love the honor of blessing your children and being their godmother; I can see just how beautiful and strong they will be, just as their Father's are," Hadox said; Harry paled even more and cleared his throat.

  "Ok Helen, I don't mind it at all, Grayson?" Harry asked him.

  Grayson grinned widely and nodded, looking from Harry to Hadox and back at Harry's nervous, pale face.

  "I would like that as well, so then it is a deal, when we have our children we will have Helen bless our children and home. They are going to love having you as their godmother Helen," Grayson said with a grin, Hadox smiled widely and brightly at Grayson's words.

  "Well they certainly seem to be taking their sweet time about it. What is Nathan doing? You know just because we are family he thinks he can put me on the back-burner; the man doesn't know who he is dealing with," Hadox said, Grayson smiled at her and snorted.

  "Does anyone really? I doubt many do, other that Gamma that is; she is with us on this mission by the way," Harry said.

  Hadox brightened further, at the mention of Jo being there. They had been close friends and had lived together for a little more than three centuries before Jo had found her soul mate in the most unexpected place. She'd left Hadox to make a life with her other half, but they had always remained close and various times over the eons that they existed, Jo helped her with many things, as did Grayson and Harry.

  Voices sounded outside of Hadox's tent and all three of them looked up as Nathan, Brandon, and another male, who did not register in Grayson's memory, walked in. Although he didn't register with Grayson, he felt an immediate bond to this male he did not recognize, as he had to Brandon, and he was almost positive Harry felt it too. Grayson could tell he was not human and appeared to be only partially Sentinel, it dawned on him after a millisecond what he was. He was a Vampire-Sentinel hybrid as Hadox's son was a Witch-Sentinel hybrid.

  This combination was a dangerous one though because Sentinel blood was so potent and powerful, and Vampires-Sentinels drank from their Sentinel soul mates making them stronger than the normal Sentinel was. For some reason the Sentinel's blood did not affect the Vampire-Sentinel hybrids, as it would have before the change, so he was not a threat. Nevertheless, the fact that Hadox's children were hybrids and not full Sentinels only made them that much more powerful, but it was to be expected, with Hadox as their Mother.

  The Vampire studied Grayson first then Harry, glancing over at Hadox quickly before bowing his head in respect to her. She gave a slight nod in return, patted Harry's crossed knee, and smiled at him.

  "My dear Harry and Grayson, this is Blue's other half, Brandon. You've already met Nathan, his brother, and the beauty of the man standing beside them is Sven Korval. He is like my son, a hybrid; he is Lox's mate or as you say, his better half. Grayson I believe you have already recognized what he is, am I right? Knowing you, you have even realized he is a new Sentinel and have mapped the life he's led since his human conception. He is Lox's soul mate, his Father, Balthazar, which you already know, was a full Sentinel, so Lox and Ki were born Sentinel-Witch hybrids, and Lox fell in love with a Vampire. Of course, Vampires are not made to go through portals the way Sentinels are and he was with my son when he first changed. So now, the result is a Vampire-Sentinel hybrid. I feel I must share your true identities with them since they are family and all. They are to be trusted or I would not reveal your secret, I may be neutral but if I had to choose, my loyalty is still to you Alphatos and Betatos. I still remember how you saved me, a life debt is not something one can ever repay properly," Hadox said.

  Grayson nodded and Harry bowed his head and sighed. Both knew all of this of course, even with the holes in their memory. Of course, they also knew that Hadox was a very private person, and she did not share personal information easily. Grayson would bet money that the other men in the tent knew nothing of this unless their better halves had informed them of it. Therefore, Hadox saying all of this was for their benefit and not that of Harry or Grayson's benefit.

  "Very well Hadox. If you say it's safe then I trust you; Harry, shall we?" Grayson asked and stood up, pulling his shirt off.

  Harry stood and removed his own shirt and they both turned at the same time. All three men gasped and Sven hissed. Grayson turned to look at him steadily remaining silent; even though he didn't want to force the memory probing, it was necessary. Grayson's eyes bored into Sven's and he saw what had made him hiss. Sven had had a bad experience with one that sported a tattoo with wings splayed across his back very similar to Grayson's but of course it had not been the real thing. Grayson smiled at him sincerely.

  "It may look the same, but I assure you it is not. Mine is living and a part of me as much as your fangs are. The one you saw on that particular Sentinel was not real, only one person can wear this specific living tattoo, and that person is me. Here let me prove it to y
ou; Harry shall we show them what I mean?" Grayson asked Harry.

  Harry nodded, and both reached around their backs and pulled their swords out of their backs. Again all three gasped as the swords sang in happiness at being freed from their confines.

  "See? Only two Sentinels' can do that; Sven, Nathan, Brandon meet Nurushi and Etushi, our living blades. Only Harry and I can wield them and only we can draw them. We are here for your help not to harm you, had we wanted to harm you, we would not have set the protective barrier on your encampment. If you do not believe me, ask Hadox about it," Grayson said; Nathan turned to Hadox a little confused.

  "Helen, he has set another barrier around the encampment? How did we not feel it? I thought you were the most powerful witch," Nathan said, his frustration and confusing clear on his face, Hadox simply nodded.

  "That I am my dear boy, but these two are much older than me and their power comes from the earth and universe itself. They were born from Gaia, the gods, and KiGa, the very universe they protect. These, gentlemen, are the first and the second. Do you understand now whom you are in the presence of gentlemen? They made all of you and I believe along the way they made most of us other creatures as well; although Alphatos has always refused to confirm my suspicions. He's a stubborn ass that does not like to be thanked excessively or to draw unnecessary attention. You should show this man some respect my sons mates, they are the reason you are here today, they are also the reason that my sons live, that I live. I carry a part of each of them in me, and though it was done to save my life, I am made stronger and am bound to them because of that, as are you," Hadox said.

  Chapter Thirteen

  "How do you plan on hitting every prison at the same time then? We have Sentinels here but only a handful of us have been trained how to fight. Strength and agility can only take you so far against others that know how to fight," Nathan asked Grayson after they all sat down and each had a mug of tea in their hand.

  Grayson nodded and cleared his throat looking at Sven who was staring at him even more intently than Brandon had been.

  "I am not asking you to fight; more than anything I need bodies as decoys and Jo thought it best if we split up. I have four warriors plus myself, Hadox said she would help, and I know for a fact that you three can fight. There are sixty-three prisons with a total of 2289 prisoners dispersed amongst them. We also have to consider all those that are like David whom the Void has forced into servitude to save their loved one's lives; all together there are 3052 total. Although we cannot completely forgive them for their actions against the Sentinels they have harmed, I can understand their desperation to save their better halves. We cannot abandon them when they need us most," Grayson explained.

  He looked around the table at each face and saw that they all wore the same expression as Grayson felt; they all understood the desperation of wanting to protect their loved ones.

  "Anyway, my house is big, but nowhere near big enough to house so many. I need to find somewhere to put them safely until I can find a safe location to split them up so they aren't so vulnerable. The Void seems to have some kind system, because from my calculations, the prisons are broken into thirds. There are twenty one camps with thirty-six prisoners, twenty one camps with twenty-eight prisoners, and twenty one camps with forty-five prisoners," Grayson said looking around as he took a drink of his tea.

  "We have to hit them simultaneously so that this looks like a coordinated attack. That way he won't go in search of every Sentinel individually. If his attention has to be focused on anyone, I would prefer it be focused on me, I don't want my family in danger either though, so we have to be smart about this. Hence why we have come to you for help," Grayson paused once again as Harry took a sip of his tea and nodded in agreement to Grayson's words.

  "This is how I plan on throwing them off our trail; I will pull all the Sentinels out at once to a remote location that we have set a protection barrier on. We will do this a total of six times to various locations with one of your warriors set up at each location as a guard; each location will also have a protection barrier set up. Each time I move us, I will send a certain amount of Sentinels to a safe location, in this manner, the number of transported is less each time, and the signal from each Sentinel is diminished. On the last trip, I will be the only one to transport alone so that only my trail is left, if he can sense it at all. I will open up the portals within the barriers so that they cannot sense the transport but I have a feeling the Void isn't so easily deterred. Once I transport alone, I believe we will have led them astray sufficiently enough that they will not be able to follow us anywhere," Grayson said taking a deep breath and another sip of his tea.

  He had been studying each man in turn for their reactions but they had excellent poker faces. He needed powerful Sentinels, and these men were not too far off that mark, they weren't quite at the level of his family or the Wilcox family, but not many were.

  There were four other families that were just as powerful as the Witzfield family and the Wilcox family. One went by the name of McDonnell, which Harry was part of, the other he couldn't quite remember yet, but all in due time. However, he would have to pay them a visit soon, because he knew that the fight against the Void would require powerful alleys and more bodies than he had now.

  "The initial transport of the Sentinels will take less than ten seconds. I believe that we can finish going through the process of moving everyone within fifteen minutes. As I said, I will be the last one left in case they follow us to the end, then I can lead them away from the final destination. We'll rally back here when it's over or if anything goes wrong; well that's my plan, does anyone have any other suggestions or ideas to add?" Grayson asked; Harry nodded.

  "What if the Void is one of the ones that follow us, how will we throw him off Gray?" Harry asked. Grayson looked at him and smirked arching his eyebrow at him.

  "I guess I'll have to find out just how powerful he really is then huh? You'll have to finish transporting the Sentinels to the last location while I handle the Void. Their safety will be the most important thing at that moment or this will all be for nothing," Grayson said.

  "What if there are others like our Father's Gray? I cannot feel if there are any other Sentinels locked in a room like that or not, can you?" Harry asked quietly. Grayson shook his head and then nodded.

  "I can sense them out and none are being held in that manner that I can tell from looking through their eyes, they are all in a large cell like cattle, and even if they were, it wouldn't matter. I am pulling them all out, regardless of the room they are in, plus when I pull them out, the magic of the room would dispel. If the Void does come, I would really like to show him just how much I dislike the treatment of my Sentinels," Grayson said darkly, his anger showing more than he'd intended to.

  Nathan, Brandon, and Sven's eyes widened in shock at feeling the heat of Grayson's anger radiating off of him. Hadox cleared her throat and smiled at Harry than at Grayson, patting Grayson's hand gently.

  "He will not be coming after anyone, and I can tell you now that we will have no hindrances. By the time they realize all the imprisoned and forced servitude Sentinels are gone it will be too late for them to look for them. But I do suggest you send the ones that are being forced to serve a message to join the imprisoned ones or make themselves scarce so that they don't just get transported out in front of the other Sentinels," Hadox said. Grayson nodded.

  Yes, that would be very wise to do, why didn't I think of that, dumbass.

  "I agree that would be wise to do, anyone else?" Grayson asked. Sven cleared his throat.

  "Though I do not doubt Helen's abilities or her word that everything will go without a hitch, I still wonder why we can't simply bring our own mates here instead of moving them seven different times. Would it not be easier and throw them off even more if more dispersed in their own direction?" Sven asked. Grayson shook his head.

  "I understand your desire to have your other half with you as soon as possible, but breaking a
way from the group individually might be more detrimental and if the Sentinel following is powerful enough to sense the singular trail then they would probably follow it even if it is only out of curiosity. Then you would be leading them back here and that is not what we want. If it is as whole it looks like it is an organized assault and they will have only one trail to follow, which will lead them directly to me. If we shoot out in a hundred different directions from one center, it would be harder to set so many protection barriers. It is safer this way Sven, but if you want to be there when we pull your mate out then you are welcome to come. I know I will not be able to keep my group from coming with me. However, I think you would better serve as one of the guard at one of the six points with your skills, though I understand your need to be there. I will leave this decision up to you, but if you start off with us at the beginning then you will travel with them all the way to the last point, understand?" Grayson said.

  Sven nodded and gave a twinge of a smile, his mouth curling up the slightest degree at the corner (anyone not paying attention would have missed it); he was excited but hid it well. Sven was young even for a Vampire or human; he'd only lived twenty-three years, not much older than Grayson or Harry's most recent incarnation.

  "Supreme commander, where will we house 3052 Sentinels, that is safe?" Nathan asked. Grayson looked at Nathan and took a deep breath.

  "Call me Grayson please, and I would rather not tell you that for your own safety. The less you know about the final location the safer you will be. Only my group will go to the last location unless Sven decides to come along as well. I do not want you in more danger than you already are. I know we are all Sentinels here except for Helen, though she does have a bit of Harry and me in her, she is something else completely; but it is also for the safety of the Sentinels we are rescuing. If all goes well then we will rally back here and only then will I tell you their location," Grayson said. Harry nodded and the three men took a deep breath.