“Really?” Darian whistled. “Is that why they never wanted to be separated?”
“It’s part of the reason. This link is what generates your combined strength. The farther you are from one another, the weaker you become.”
Interesting. Darian had no idea. Raphael moved towards the center of the field, and Darian watched Sara shiver at the Runemaster’s implication.
“The more you work together, the more you strengthen your connection. Eli and Juana spent so much time practicing together their minds and hearts were nearly one. They could even speak to each other from miles away.” He continued until he reached the center of the plateau.
“You knew this all along?” Darian asked, turning to follow the Runemaster. “Why didn’t you tell me before?”
“What I’m about to reveal has to be kept between the Watcher and Sentinel,” Raphael replied. “When Eli and Juana were still with us, there was no need for you to know. And until Sara was ready, it wouldn’t really make sense.”
Seraphina didn’t move and Darian extended his hand to her. She looked at him, then his hand, then his face. He understood her apprehension and would wait for her.
“You can do this,” he whispered.
She laid her hand in his, and he wrapped his fingers around hers. He waited patiently for her to take her first step. When she did, the others followed more quickly.
“Raphael, I don’t think I can do this,” she said, deliberately facing away from the side of the plateau that created her unease.
“You have to, Sara,” he said, his eyes softening. “You must have a place where you can show your true strength. It’s either here or somewhere else, but no one can see what you’re capable of together.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked at the barren earth beneath his feet. “I trust everyone at Santuario with my life. Well, almost everyone. The Overlords and the Csökkent have no idea what you can do. That lack of knowledge is our greatest weapon right now. They won’t know how to fight you. They can’t anticipate your strengths or weaknesses because they don’t what they are.”
“Neither do we,” Darian mumbled.
“Which is why you must do this away from prying eyes.”
Seraphina nodded. “I understand.”
“Okay then, our first task is to test your resilience to your partner’s fire.” Raphael pulled his hands from his pockets and rubbed them together. “I’ll be standing over there by the bench, so don’t get carried away.”
“What exactly am I supposed to do?” Darian asked. Surely Raphael wasn’t implying he attack his Sentinel.
“Try to burn her with it.”
Darian glared at him. “And why would I do that?”
“It’s the only way to activate her shield.”
Darian rolled his eyes and turned to Seraphina. “This is a bad idea.”
“Actually, I agree with Raphael. Until I can summon it on my own, this is the only way.” She looked at Raphael, then back to Darian. “Mikel scared the shit out of me, though, so I would appreciate it if you were a little less intimidating.”
Darian’s gaze dropped to the bruises on her arms. Mikel had not been gentle, and it still grated against his nerves. She must have noticed and moved her hands to cover them.
“Don’t be mad at him, Darian. It was what I needed, and I honestly thought he was going to cry every time he hit me. He kept mumbling about doing Adalina’s job and how he should’ve left her with me. Then, he went on about preferring to face demons.” She took a breath and continued. “Then, he got really mad when he thought I was talking too much and trying to analyze every time he took a step.”
He put his finger on her lips. “Stop talking.” He didn’t take his eyes from hers as he called over his shoulder. “Raphael, thank you for giving her the protection rune.”
“I knew she needed it if she would be anywhere near Zar’Asur,” Raphael called out behind him.
“I’m just grateful I can no longer hear her constant thoughts.”
Darian grinned and spread his hands wide, a blue, shimmering flame emerging between them. He pulled the flame down around him and his Sentinel until they stood in a blue, fiery dome about eight feet in diameter.
“You could hear my thoughts this whole time?” she asked. “And you didn’t tell me?”
“Not the whole time,” he replied. “Only after the bonding. I tried to tell you several times.”
He watched her bite her lip as he drew the flames closer.
“Wait.” She held up her index finger. “You mean you could hear what I was thinking while I was in the shower?”
He drew the fire closer but didn’t answer her question. Sweat beaded across her forehead.
“I’m really irritated with you right now!” she snapped. “Those thoughts were not meant for you.”
“I assumed as much. How are you feeling?”
“I’m a little pissed off.”
“I meant about the fire,” he stated.
The flames were mere inches from her boots. She looked down, and a small scream erupted from her lips. Her shields formed in both hands, but they would not protect the rest of her from the encroaching heat.
“That really doesn’t bother you?” she asked, moving closer to him as the ring of fire grew closer.
“Nope, I will merely lose all my clothes, but the flames will not burn me.”
“And how many times has that happened?” She moved so close she was all but touching him.
“Too many to count, especially in the beginning. Are you going to do anything to stop it?”
“I’m not sure I can,” she said, her voice shaking.
He wouldn’t burn her, but he couldn’t let her know that. “I only see two choices here. You create a large enough shield to protect yourself or find out the hard way whether or not it will burn you.”
“You would really burn me?”
“No, after witnessing your dual with Mikel, I believe you’ll protect yourself.”
She turned around and put her back against him, her warmth adding to his own. He hoped she couldn’t feel his heart racing in his chest. She extended both hands towards the dome of fire in front of her and took a deep breath. The shield in her right hand came to life again and she eased the twelve-inch disc of light through the flames. They cascaded around the shield. She rocked it back and forth, watching the flames dance with her light. It reminded Darian of a flat rock protruding halfway down a waterfall.
She reached out her bare hand, and Darian nearly stopped her. She tilted her shield to one side and poured the fire into her palm. Darian held his breath, waiting for her bronzed skin to turn to ash, but it didn’t. She giggled as the blue flames trickled between her fingers.
Darian released the wall of fire with his breath and stepped back away from her. Every part of his being screamed to take hold of her and never let her go, but he couldn’t. He knew in her mind, she was still married, and her grief for her family was still raw. But in his mind, she was his soulmate, the one person who could withstand his brash decisions and the fire burning in his blood.
She turned and looked at him. Confusion replaced her excitement, and he tried to regain his composure. He needed to be supportive, not emotional.
“How did you know it wouldn’t hurt you?” he asked.
“A couple reasons,” she replied. “I was thinking about everything I’ve been told by Raphael, Eva, Aneera, Magdelin, Mikel, you, and well, anyone else who felt like they needed to add their two cents.” She looked at her hands again. “You all said the same thing, that my fate is tied to yours. So, why would fate tie me to you, then allow you to hurt me?”
He nodded. “And the second reason?”
“The flames didn’t burn me during the bonding ceremony.”
His eyes narrowed slightly. Apparently, he wasn’t the only one keeping secrets about their bonding. “And you let me believe they did?”
She pointed at the text on her shirt. “I assumed you knew I was being sarcastic.”
“I thought I knew everything about you, Seraphina,” Darian said, trying not to smile. “But you’ve surprised me more in the last twenty-four hours than in the last forty-eight years.”
“About that…” She immediately assumed her ‘I’m getting ready to rant’ stance, but she suddenly paused. “Never mind, I’m not ready for that conversation yet.” She looked past him, then around the plateau. “Where did Raphael go?”
“I’m sure he realized we didn’t need his help with this.”
Chapter 22
Mikel
Mikel stood with his mouth gaping in awe as Darian disappeared with Seraphina. She confirmed her natural instinct to protect her Watcher. Even though he suspected it, it was no less remarkable.
“Impressive,” Adalina said.
“Yes, but will she make his recklessness worse or better?” Mikel asked. “If he knows he has an effective shield, will he completely throw caution to the wind?”
“I imagine he’ll be more concerned about her safety,” Raphael replied. “At least for the next couple of years.”
“We don’t have a couple of years, my friend.” Mikel turned towards the tower. “We need to discuss our strategy. There will be more pockets of survivors who require our assistance.”
Adalina and Raphael followed him into the tower’s meeting room. He smoothed out the map on the table. Large black X’s marred its surface from his earlier planning.
“These are all the cities hit by the initial bombing. At least all the ones I was able to record from the news before we lost power.”
“It looks like every heavily populated area on each continent,” Raphael said.
“Europe appears to be hit the hardest,” Adalina added. “I wonder if there’s anything left.”
“That’s what I want to find out,” Mikel said. “I had originally planned to send groups of ten, but if the demons are traveling with fifty or more…” He scratched his chin and stared at the map. He couldn’t send the warriors to their deaths. There had to be another way.
“We can still do ten-man teams, Mikel,” Adalina interjected. “We aren’t forced to engage every demon we meet. We can teleport out if the situation becomes unmanageable.”
Mikel looked at her with surprise. He’d never known her to walk away from a fight.
“I realize I cannot lose my men like last time, Mikel.” Her eyes softened, and Mikel thought he saw tears pooling around the edges. “I prefer to live today so we can fight tomorrow.”
“Okay, then ten-man teams it is,” he conceded. “That will give us five teams, with two scouts in each team.” He picked up a green marker and circled the area where they knew the Citadel was. “We know Zar’Asur is here. We have to assume that Orin and Victoria are still in Europe. I don’t think they had time to cross the ocean before the EMP.” He made two more green circles in Europe, one in Romania and one in France. “I want two teams in Europe, looking for them.”
“Did the Overlord who performed their demon-joining ritual ever surface?” Adalina asked.
“No, Maldross has remained hidden,” Raphael replied. “I asked Orin if it was possible he willingly went back to hell, but Orin said it isn’t. He would have to be banished.”
“Maldross’ last known location was in northern India,” Mikel added. He hated that the Overlord had effectively hidden from them all this time. His talent to merge humans and demons was not something they needed roaming the earth.
“Yes, but we searched that area for months and never found him,” Adalina said.
“Do you think Maldross could have summoned Orin and Victoria, not Zar’Asur?” Raphael asked.
Mikel looked at his friend with appreciation. “I hadn’t thought of that, but it makes sense. If Maldross stayed on the European or Asian continents, it would be easy for him to take command of their demons.”
“Should we assume that Zar’Asur and Maldross are working together in this?” Adalina asked. “It would be much easier for them to coordinate resources if they split the tasks. I realize they’ve had a really long time to get everything in place, but the last several decades have made the world very small.”
“Yes, technology certainly made it easier to do everything. I have no doubts they used every piece of technology at their disposal to coordinate these attacks.” Mikel pulled his hand through his hair and glanced between his two friends. They’d been together since the very beginning, fighting the evil that plagued the world and never feeling like they actually won.
“Alright, I’ll finalize our teams and be ready to leave in the morning.” Adalina looked at Mikel, then Raphael. “What about Darian and Seraphina? Can we expect their help anytime soon?”
“They need to find each other before they can work as an effective team,” Raphael answered. “I’ll push them in the right direction, but I worry Sara won’t be ready when we find Orin and Victoria.”
Chapter 23
Seraphina
Sara sat the dining table in Darian’s house eating another peanut butter sandwich. She really needed to find other alternatives, especially if she was spending any time there. Not that she disliked peanut butter, but it was getting old. Darian leaned back in the chair across from her and folded his arms over his chest.
“What?” she asked. “Do I have peanut butter on my face?” She wiped her hand across her lips and looked at it.
“No. I was just thinking.”
“Well, if you’re going to look at me like that, you should think out loud.” She popped the last of her sandwich in her mouth and stared back at him.
“Too many people know about the plateau,” he finally said. “And Raphael is right. I never gave it much thought until now, even though I probably should have. I never really knew how powerful Juana and Eli were.” He rocked forward in his chair again and placed his forearms on the table. “I was aware of their individual abilities, but…”
He stood and paced in the small space between the kitchen and the table, rubbing his hand through his hair. His restless energy made her nervous. While she didn’t want to go back to the plateau, she understood Raphael’s reasoning.
“I still don’t know how they killed the Overlords. I went back to the fortress and looked at the damage they brought down upon it.” He stopped pacing and looked at her. “It was like it imploded. Everything was incinerated except for them. They didn’t survive the destruction, but their bodies were unharmed.”
“Mikel and Raphael don’t know what happened?” she asked. “Can’t Raphael see how magic works?”
“Yes, Raphael can see it, but he wasn’t there. None of us were there.” He placed his hands on the back of one of the chairs and leaned towards her. “Mikel was at the base of the mountain, about fifteen or twenty minutes away, but he didn’t see what happened. The repercussion of the blast knocked everyone to the ground and singed everything in its wake. Mikel’s group was lucky to be as far as they were, or they would’ve been killed by the explosion.”
“And Eli and Juana showed no injuries?”
“None.”
Sara sat in silence for several moments. How did that happen? How were two people strong enough to destroy an entire mountainside? Would she eventually have that much power? The thought scared her.
“Sounds like we have a lot to learn,” she finally said.
“Indeed.” Darian pulled out the chair he’d been leaning on and sat down again. “I’d like to use the beach as our practice field. No one else knows it’s location.” He smiled. “Almost no one, but I don’t think he’s telling anyone.”
“You mean the pristine beach I threw up all over?”
Darian chuckled. “That’s the one.”
“Will I be able to teleport the way you do?” she asked. “Or will I have to be jerked around by someone else all the time?”
“I’m sure Raphael will teach you the spell to teleport,” Darian replied.
“And why can’t you? It’s obvious you know what it is.”
She watched a s
eries of expressions cross his face, and before he could lie to her, she stood. Arrogant bastard. Every time she thought she could trust him or start to like him, something like this came up.
“I get it. You don’t want me to run away.”
“That isn’t it at all,” Darian said, rising with her.
“Sure.” She picked up her plate and took it to the kitchen sink.
Cold water poured from the tap and she plunged the plate beneath it, scrubbing furiously at the tiny speck of peanut butter on its surface. She imagined it was Darian’s face, and she was scouring his smug look.
“I’ll take you wherever you want to go,” Darian said from behind her.
“I just can’t go by myself,” she replied, knowing she sounded like a child.
She heard him release a long, slow breath, and she turned around. The plate dripped water onto the floor in front of her, but she didn’t care.
“The Overlords will know that you’re still alive,” he said, handing her a small towel, which she used it to dry the plate. “You’ll have a target on your head wherever you go, and you are not yet strong enough to protect yourself.”
“If I knew the teleport spell, I could just come back here.”
His jaw clenched several times as his blue eyes bore into her. She wouldn’t relent.
“I’ve protected you for nearly fifty years,” he said, his voice barely a whisper. “I’ll not let you do something foolish to get yourself killed now. Not now, when I need you most.”
She bit her bottom lip. When he needed her most; not we or them. She clearly remembered his declaration of love, from the moment she was born. But was that for a child or a woman destined to die by his side, fighting against the evilest beings on the planet? She couldn’t think about love right now, no matter what form it came in.
“I want to go home,” she said finally.
Darian seemed to deflate, his shoulders sagging as he leaned back against the counter.
“I need to see if my neighbors survived,” she continued. “Did those monsters burn down my house, or do I still have the memories of my life waiting for me when this is over?”
Sentinel's Rise: Book 1 - The Watcher and the Sentinel Series Page 15