The Guardian (The Gifted Book 1)

by C. L. McCourt

  Before restarting, he scanned the room to see if everyone had returned. When he saw Rhea's empty seat, his chest tightened and panic started to set in. Had she left?

  He continued to scan the room and found her. She had changed seats and was now sitting next to the exit. That simple move distracted him. Why had she done that? Did she sense something from him? Was she positioning herself to escape?

  Randell shook off his paranoia and restarted class. "For the second part of class, we're going to do a free writing exercise. For the next fifteen minutes, you may write whatever comes to mind on one or more of the following topics." He turned to write on the white board.

  Magic

  Murder

  Other worlds

  Spies

  Moon

  "I'll collect your work before you leave. You won't be graded on grammar or even the logical flow of what you write. I'll be looking for your ability to write whatever comes into your mind. This exercise will help me understand you and your style so that I might better grade the assignments that have been left to me. There are many writing styles, and I want to be fair."

  One of the students raised his hand and spoke before being called upon. "Will we be getting our papers back next class?"

  "That's my goal." Randell placed his hand on the stack in front of him. "I just got your last paper. Professor Campbell left a rubric for me to use when grading them."

  Another student chimed in. "Do you have our previous assignments? We haven't gotten them back."

  "I wasn't given any previous work. I'll check on them and give you an update next class as well." Randell glanced around the room. "Any more questions?" He waited, but the room was quiet. "Okay, as you can see, the topics are quite broad, so hopefully you can come up with something. Remember to be consistent with point of view." He looked at his watch. "Please begin."

  Randell hoped that his idea for an impromptu writing session would get her to reveal something about herself, but now that he knew there was another assignment he could review, he was feeling more confident that he would find something about her that would either confirm she was Luxatran or give him reason to talk to her.

  ~~~

  Rhea sat frozen, staring at the words on the board. She wondered what she could write about on such short notice. Her life's ambition wasn't to be a writer. This was just supposed to be a fun elective. Her imagination didn't work on demand.

  Given the words Randell had written on the board, the only thing that came to mind was the world in the shadows and Grennal. Some of her dreams came to mind as well. Yes, her dreams. She would write about a dream where she didn't wake up screaming.

  The room was large and circular. The ceiling rose three stories high and ended in a dome. The walls were filled with rows of fogged windows tightly spaced, stacked floor to ceiling. Each row was divided by a narrow walkway protruding from the wall. In the center of the room was a large, highly polished table. It wasn't geometrically shaped but instead reflected the shape of nature, like a lake or pond.

  She walked slowly around the room, peering into the windows, trying to see through the fog. As she got closer she could see the fog moving, swirling about randomly. When her face was inches from a window, she realized it wasn't a window; there wasn't any glass.

  She started to step away from the window, not understanding what she was seeing, but stopped. A tingling sensation ran down her spine, as if someone had run a cube of ice down her back. The fog started to turn light blue, and she felt welcomed and loved.

  Rhea hadn't gotten very far when time was called. She'd wanted her dream to seem somewhat coherent, but dreams seldom do. Small piles of eraser dust covered her desk, reflecting her need to repeatedly adjust what she was writing. She passed her writing forward with everyone else.

  The discussion for the next thirty minutes focused on what it was like to write under pressure, to let your thoughts flow without the desire to censor.

  All she could think about was she had one more writing class and then finals. When class was over, Rhea left the classroom quickly, hoping to avoid any interest he might have in talking, now or later.

  ~~~

  Randell watched Rhea jump from her chair and practically race from the room when he dismissed class. He wondered if it was something he’d said or done. He'd made a point, after the initial introduction, of not looking at her directly. He hadn't wanted to spook her, but maybe it was too late.

  A twinge of panic pulsed through him. What if she didn't come back? As quickly as the panic came, it left. Of course she would come back. There was one more class and finals.

  He heard a knock on the door as he was pushing the writing samples and ungraded papers into his courier bag. He glanced up to see Daen leaning against the door frame, his arms folded across his chest. "You ready?"

  "Hey. I didn't know you were going to meet me today."

  Daen stepped into the classroom. "I needed to stretch my legs so I decided to run to campus."

  "Shut the door, will ya?" Randell sat in the instructor's chair.

  Daen raised an eyebrow as he closed the door. "What's up?"

  "I think I met her."

  Daen's head whipped to the closed door as he scanned his memories of the students he'd seen leaving the building. Daen's jaw tensed. "You let her leave?"

  "Yes, but I know who she is and she'll be back. We need to plan our first meeting with her. I'm afraid I almost gave myself away when I saw her aura flare. It lasted a couple seconds and then was gone."

  With an edge of excitement, Daen asked, "What's her name?"

  "Rhea Canton."

  Daen's eyebrows drew together. "Doesn't sound like a Luxatran name."

  Randell said, "Maybe she changed it. Daen, she seemed guarded, and that got me thinking ..."

  Daen interrupted. "She doesn't want to be found." It was like Daen could read Randell's mind.

  "Exactly. You should have seen her. At first she sat by the window, but after the break she moved close to the door and then she bolted when I dismissed class."

  Daen took a deep breath, trying calm the pounding in his chest. Randell was right to let her go. Once he got past the frustration of having her slip through his fingers, he couldn't help but laugh. He was so close. He could feel it.

  "You look pleased."

  "Do you really think it's her?" Daen sat in one of the student chairs.

  "From what I saw, I think she's from Luxatra, so odds are, she's the one." He pulled out the papers he'd just collected and found her submission. "I had them do a writing exercise in hopes she might reveal something. I was going to wait until I got home to look, but since you're here now ... let's see what she wrote."

  Randell read Rhea's submission out loud. When he was done he looked to Daen to see if what she wrote had revealed anything. "Well? Is it her?"

  Daen slowly raised his shoulders and shook his head. "I've never heard of such a place. It could be something she made up."

  "There's one more assignment that might tell us what we need. But if it doesn't, we'll need to come up with some excuse to approach her and confirm our suspicions directly."

  "I don't want to get my hopes up." Daen was speaking calmly, rationally, but inside he was a chaotic bundle of emotions. Happiness. Relief. Skepticism. Concern.

  Randell collected the papers to return them to his courier bag. "How do you want to play it?"

  "How many more classes are there?"

  "One more class and then finals."

  Daen was quiet for a moment, not sure how to proceed. "It's easier to trust a friend than a stranger. You need to befriend her. But if she's hiding from someone, she's not likely to trust many people."

  Randell shook his head. "I don't think I can do that. First, we have only one class left. Second, the professor-to-student relationship is not supposed to lend itself to being friends. Maybe I can talk to her about her assignments?"

  "What would you say?"

  Randell shrugged and started to think out lo
ud. "It will depend on what her other assignment talks about." Randell picked up his courier bag and headed for the door. "Let me find it and we can plan something then."

  Daen followed Randell out the door.

  ~~~

  Rhea made her way to the dining hall after class to meet Beth. She picked up a salad and found a table near the windows, as usual. She watched a pick-up game of touch football in the field in front of the dining hall as she thought of Randell's reaction to her.

  "Wow. You look a million miles away."

  Rhea jerked, startled by Beth's appearance.

  "You okay? Did something happen?"

  "Professor Campbell has a replacement."

  Beth raised a brow. "And this is a bad thing? Who is it?"

  "Professor Randell Young."

  Beth didn't bother hiding her enthusiasm. "What's wrong with him? I've seen him. He's hot ... for someone that old."

  "Beth! Good grief. That's not the problem." Rhea wearily considered her friend’s gush over a professor. "What's wrong with you?"

  Beth's eyebrows bunched over her nose. "I could ask you the same. What's got you all wound up? There was a time you would have known I was kidding."

  Rhea dropped back against her chair with a thud. "I'm sorry. It's just ... I think he knows me or at least my parents. He got this look of recognition today during introductions."

  "And that's a bad thing?" Beth was sincerely confused. "If he knows your parents, wouldn't that make him more open to giving you a second chance on an assignment you may have messed up? Or ... I don't know ... something like that?"

  Rhea shrugged as she pushed her salad around her plate with her fork. "I suppose. But I don't think it'll matter. All our assignments have been turned in. We have one more class before finals, which we'll spend trying to learn as much as we can about the test."

  Beth watched her friend drift away again. "Rhea? Talk."

  Rhea looked at Beth. How could she explain? What could she say? I'm an alien from another world and I sensed something strange from Randell. Oh yeah. That would go over well. She realized she had just thought of herself as an alien. Was she an alien? Nah! Not possible. She was human, right? Doctors would have found out by now, if she wasn't normal.

  "I think I'm just tired. I'm probably reading way too much into it. So what if he thinks he knows me?" Rhea sat up to eat and changed the subject. "So, tell me about your day."

  24

  Familiar

  Randell spent the week grading the assignments for his own classes as well as the creative writing class. It took several days to find the students' past assignments. Fortunately, they'd been graded, but he still took the time to read a few, including Rhea's.

  Rhea had chosen fantasy, but Randell knew better. Much of what she wrote was real. He'd given it to Daen to confirm the names of people and places she'd used. Her story revealed that she knew a lot about Luxatra, even if the story was fictitious.

  "But what I don't see is a reason she's here." Daen tossed the paper on top of the stack with the others. "Or how I might help her."

  "You're right, but don't forget there are two trackers in town. Just keeping her away from them might be all the help she needs."

  Daen rubbed his chin as he thought about Randell's comment. "True. True. But why would trackers be after her? What did she do to justify hiding in another world and being hunted?"

  Randell lounged back on the sofa and looked up at Daen. "We'll just have to find out."

  "How are you going to get her alone to talk to her?" Daen was feeling anxious. It had been a week since he'd learned her name.

  "If I can keep her from leaving class like she did last time, I thought I would ask her if she would be willing to talk about the story she submitted. After that, I'm not sure where it will go."

  Daen ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "This waiting is driving me crazy."

  Randell wanted to say he was just as anxious as Daen, but he knew that couldn't be true. Their situations were completely different. Finding this woman meant different things to each of them. "I understand, but if we scare her off, we may never find her again. Just let me try a subtle approach. Then, if that doesn't work, I'll be more direct. Okay?"

  "I'd like to see her ..." Daen said, but as Randell started to respond he quickly added, "... from a distance. I just want to know what she looks like."

  Randell knew Daen's request was reasonable, but he couldn't help but be concerned. If she sensed something about him, would she sense something from someone as strong as Daen? Randell was only part Luxatran. Daen was the real deal, and a powerful one at that. "What if she sees you? Something about me made her uneasy. What if she senses you? You're a lot more noticeable than I am."

  Daen laughed and tried to deflect. "I wouldn't say that. There have been several students over the years who have found you ... interesting."

  Randell rolled his eyes. "Ha Ha. You know what I mean."

  "If she runs, I'll be there to follow. I might not be a tracker of gifts but I can follow without being noticed."

  "Fine. But stay outside. You can't miss her. She's got long blond hair, almost to her waist, and is fairly tall, maybe 5'9"."

  ~~~

  There were two entrances to the English department's building. It wasn't possible to watch both at the same time, so Randell had agreed that Daen could pretend to be a student studying in the hall near his classroom. That way he could see Rhea come and go.

  Randell entered the classroom not sure how many people would show up. The syllabus stated the last class would be a review session. Unfortunately, it was a review of something that didn't exist yet. He'd just gotten the bad news that he was on his own to create an exam.

  As he walked to class, he ran through the questions he'd come up with and wasn't happy with any of them. And then it hit him. He knew what he would do for the final.

  ~~~

  Rhea entered the classroom and took the seat next to the door. Even though she didn't care if Randell wanted to talk to her, she didn't have to make it easy.

  Randell approached the classroom and saw Daen already in position. He'd left early, not wanting to miss her entering the class. Daen gave him a thumbs-up.

  Randell stepped into the classroom carrying a large stack of papers. "I was able to find your past assignments and I was able to finish grading the ungraded. I don't recall your names, so when I call out your name, please raise your hand."

  Randell worked his way through the stack. The process went quickly, as he'd sorted the papers by student name. It had made it easier to record the grades as well. He made it a point not to look at any one student more than another, in hopes Rhea would notice and relax.

  When he called her name, she raised her hand but didn't come across as guarded. She seemed matter-of-fact. What had changed? Whatever it was, Randell was relieved.

  "I'll be available during office hours to talk about your grades, if need be, but please know that I graded only your most recent assignment. If you have any issues about Professor Campbell's grade, we can talk about it, but I might not be able to help." Randell glanced around the room, watching the students flipping through their papers and reading the comments, but no hands went up. "Okay, then. Let's talk about the final."

  Randell explained to the class that he would write one story. In that story there would be grammatical errors, sentence and story logic issues, and other common mistakes. Their job would be to hand-edit the issues and provide corrective feedback on places they felt could have been written better and why.

  "Any questions?"

  As usual, the students sought as much information as they could, and Randell fielded their questions as he'd done over the years in his other classes. As they discussed the exam, Randell watched their faces, including Rhea's. Hers was unreadable. Others smiled and nodded. A few looked perplexed. Those were the ones he remembered handing papers that didn't have stellar grades.

  "If you have no other questions ...," he glanced around
the room, but all hands remained down, "... class dismissed."

  She was the first one out the door. He stepped into the hall after the remainder of the students had left, and as he had expected, Daen had followed her.

  ~~~

  Daen sat on the hard cold tiled floor with a book in hand, pretending to read but all the while watching the room he'd seen a woman with long blond hair enter. He hadn't seen her face but he knew who she was.

  It wasn't long before he saw her leaving. He turned his head just in time to see her eyes lock onto him. A sense of familiarity overtook him. It wasn't what he'd expected. It was his mind playing tricks on him, yes, that was it. She couldn't be. Could she? Was that why he was here?

  The shock of seeing her immobilized him briefly, which was a good thing. He didn't want to draw any more attention to himself than he just had. She'd acknowledged his recognition with a puzzled look. For an instant, she seemed to know him as well, but the recognition faded and she was gone.

  Daen exited the building behind her and watched as she walked across the large grassy spans that divided the academic buildings from the residence halls.

  ~~~

  What was it with her? First she thought she had recognized Randell, and now some guy sitting in the hall? When he'd glanced up at her, he’d looked like he'd seen a long lost friend and was just as shocked as she was. She shook off the creepy feeling and headed for her dorm. It was too early to meet Beth for dinner, so she decided to join the masses that were gathered on the grasses around her dorm.

  Rhea was feeling confident about her finals. She'd had a lot of practice being the second set of eyes for her parents. When they'd wanted a novice's perspective, they'd asked her to read the article or paper they were working on and to provide feedback. She'd learned how to catch the grammatical issues as well as the inconsistencies.

  She rounded the corner to the far side of the dorm, where she would be out of the wind. She was hoping Beth would be lying out, and she was. Rhea stepped up to her blanket. "Hey."

  Beth lifted her head and blocked the sun from her eyes as she looked up. "Hey."