Guardian: The Guardian Trilogy, Book 1

by Robin Helm

  The guardian had seen many women like Caroline before. There was absolutely no mystery in their approach to men. He took in her appearance, thinking, Strange attire for riding a four-wheeler. Elizabeth is dressed more sensibly for an afternoon in the woods – jeans and a T shirt. She will not be scratched by every twig. He approved of her modesty and practicality.

  Lynne backed out and drove away, waving at Delores and her husband Jim, who had come to the front door shadowed by their protectors. As Delores and Jim returned her farewell, Niall copied his charge’s wave to Xander, smiling. Have fun! Then more seriously, I wish that I could be at your side today.

  Xander growled in response. He would have preferred to have Niall with him during the coming ordeal. He had grown accustomed to Niall and Roark, and he knew that he could depend on them. They worked well together. Garnet and Ros would have to be enough, however. He shook his head. He could not allow himself to dwell on negative thoughts.

  He followed as Richard led the two girls into the garage. The young man grabbed a towel from a shelf by the door leading into the house and tied it to the handlebars of the ATV. More than once, he had been glad that he had taken a towel for small cuts and scratches. The girls went back outside while he backed the four-wheeler out into the driveway.

  “Who wants to go with me first?” Richard asked, imploring Elizabeth with his eyes. He had no desire to be alone with Caroline in the woods. Caroline was eyeing him speculatively, sizing him up like she was imagining his performance potential. Richard saw her look and felt like a side of beef at an open market.

  Neither angel nor human could mistake the look on her face. Xander could well understand Richard’s desperate thought, Somebody shoot me now, please!

  Xander shuddered and agreed. Death would be preferable to being caught by oneself with that shrew.

  “El?” Richard queried, the hope in his voice grating on Caroline’s nerves.

  Before Elizabeth could reply, Caroline quickly took control of the conversation. “I don’t see why we can’t all ride together. The seat is big enough; El and I don’t take up very much room,” she said. She had no intention of waiting around with Richard’s parents while her quarry took off with El for hours.

  If the three of us ride together, I can get out of being alone with Caro. I’ll still be with El the whole afternoon. Win-win! Richard agreed to her idea immediately. “Sounds like a plan. El?”

  “I guess so. Don’t you have just two helmets, though? Who wants to ride without a helmet?” Elizabeth asked.

  “The law doesn’t say that we have to wear helmets, El. Lighten up,” Caroline said derisively.

  “I know the trails like the back of my hand, El. We’ll be okay,” Richard added, reaching for Elizabeth’s hand. I’d go naked if it would get me out of being alone with Caro.

  Elizabeth hated to be a spoilsport, so she reluctantly gave in to her friends. After all, it won’t kill me to ride without a helmet just this once.

  Xander fumed. No helmet? You need this armor more than I do. For heaven’s sake, do not make this anymore difficult.

  Caroline moved to take the place behind Richard, but he smoothly pre-empted her by saying, “El, you’re in the middle. Put your arms around me and hold on.” Elizabeth did as instructed, and Caroline squeezed on behind her, grasping Elizabeth’s waist with distaste.

  Richard started down the trail to the woods, and Xander spoke with Garnet and Ros as they flew over the four-wheeler. Nyx and Hadrian have altered the path to make it very dangerous. Even now, they await us in the woods. Garnet, you will, of course, protect Richard. Ros, I may need you to help guard Elizabeth. Caroline will be doing whatever Nyx and Hadrian suggest to her. You will have no influence on her, and she is unlikely to be hurt. Both of you be ready to do battle.

  The teens rode deeper into the woods, chatting and laughing. They were several miles in when Richard noticed a few areas that seemed steeper than he had remembered, but he reasoned that the recent rains had eroded the gullies. As the track became rougher, he began to regret that he had allowed Elizabeth to ride without a helmet. He had promised her mother that he would protect her, and he knew that the Bennets, as well as his parents, would not have approved of the choice they had made.

  Garnet spoke sharply to Richard. Slow down! You are going too fast.

  Richard was too flooded with adrenaline to listen. Though he saw the trail was in poor shape, he still thought that he knew it well enough and could handle it without any problem.

  Ros had taken the right of the vehicle, Garnet was on the left, and Xander flew above, his dark waves ruffled by the wind, close enough to touch Elizabeth.

  As the undergrowth became thicker, Richard had more difficulty seeing clearly. He came over a hill with too much speed and did not notice the fallen trees piled just on the other side of the crest. The four-wheeler climbed the trees that had been placed to act as a ramp and was airborne for a few long seconds, coming down on the front tires because of the weight of the three teens pushed forward on the seat. The back tires came up, and Richard jumped off the vehicle to the left side, instinctively rolling as he had been taught to do.

  Caroline, acting on an idea planted earlier in her mind by Nyx and Hadrian, pushed Elizabeth forward with all her strength, and Elizabeth’s head hit the handlebars as she flipped over the four-wheeler. Caroline leapt to the right just before the four-wheeler turned over and came to rest upside down on Elizabeth, who lay with her face up under the handlebars. Her guardian was anguished. He had not been able to cushion her back and protect her front simultaneously. All that he could do was to hold up the four-wheeler in flight, keeping it from crushing her completely.

  Xander, still in angelic form but solid enough to move objects, picked up the ATV, lifting it off of Elizabeth, and threw it against a tree. The three teens were all unconscious and Richard and Caroline had minor injuries; however, Elizabeth was bleeding profusely from a gash on her forehead at her hairline where she had hit the handlebars.

  Xander had never sworn before in his existence, but he was sorely tempted to do so at this moment. Before he had time to think that thought to its completion, Nyx and Hadrian took solid form before him, smirking maliciously, swords at the ready.

  “Garnet, Ros!” Xander called, taking form himself, unsheathing his sword with his right hand, and taking up his shield with his left. The two protectors, who had been kneeling over their charges, immediately sprang to their feet, solidified, and pulled their swords from their sheaths. Good and evil faced each other.

  Nyx and Xander were nearly the same size, both huge and rippling with strength. Hadrian was slightly smaller than either of them, but significantly larger than Garnet or Ros. Xander telepathed to his two companions, Engage Hadrian. I will fight Nyx.

  The two smaller guardians attacked Hadrian from different sides, effectively separating him from the underprince. Hadrian stepped backwards as they charged, seeking an advantage with a tree to protect his back. Garnet struck the first blow, neatly slicing off Hadrian’s left arm which evaporated in a foul-smelling puff of black smoke. Hadrian let flow a string of profanities, and kept slashing with his sword in his right hand. He nicked Ros’s leg, but then turned away to defend himself against Garnet’s charge.

  Nyx dropped his robe and advanced slowly toward Xander, who awaited his attack crouched in a defensive posture, knees bent and feet set at shoulder width, arms forward, with sword and shield ready. Moving so quickly that human eyes could not have seen him, Nyx bared his teeth and flew straight at Xander, raising his sword high over his shoulder as he swooped down toward the guardian. Xander launched himself over the dark one, who then crashed into a tree instead, losing his balance. The demon righted himself, putting his back against the tree to steady himself, and then ran forward for another attack. Xander turned quickly to face him and was ready for him, shield up. Nyx lunged at the stalwart protector, bringing his arm around to slash his sword at the area beneath Xander’s breastplate. The holy ange
l deflected the sword with his shield and used his wings to flip himself, twisting midair and landing lightly a few feet from Nyx’s back. Dropping his shield and springing upward with his muscular legs, Xander used both hands to swing his sword. The arc of his sword had already begun as Nyx spun to face him, and he slashed his sword to the left, neatly beheading the vile giant. Nyx disintegrated without a sound and disappeared into oblivion.

  Xander landed and pivoted to see how Garnet and Ros fared. He was just in time to watch Ros sever Hadrian’s right leg as Garnet sliced him through the waist. With a fresh onslaught of shouted curses, Hadrian followed Nyx into hell.

  Xander narrowed his eyes and saw Ros’s leg leaking light from his wound. “You are injured?”

  Ros responded rather proudly, “It is but a scratch, my Chief.”

  The entire battle had taken but a few Earth seconds.

  The three angels turned their attention to their charges. Richard and Caroline were regaining consciousness, but Elizabeth remained still, the blood flowing from the wound in her forehead. She did not appear to have any broken bones. Xander’s thoughts sped through the possibilities. They were at least two miles into the woods, and no help would be coming for several hours unless he took action. The woods were too dense for any rescue vehicle to drive through, the four-wheeler was wrecked and could not take the teens out, and, even if Richard became lucid enough to use his cell phone to call for help, too much time would elapse between the moment his parents received the call and the time it would take them to actually find the teenagers. Richard and Caroline could probably walk out, but Elizabeth would certainly not be able to do so. She needed help immediately.

  He swiftly made his decision and telepathed his plan to Garnet and Ros. So that he could fly, Xander remained in solid, angelic form, while the two other protectors morphed into their human counterparts. They needed to take action before their charges awakened. Garnet quickly retrieved the towel Richard had tied to the handlebars of the four-wheeler and took it to his chief. Xander tied it around Elizabeth’s head to stanch the flow of blood; he then scooped Elizabeth carefully into his muscular arms, hugged her tenderly to his broad chest, and soared with her above the woods.

  Richard awoke first and surveyed the wreck with confusion. Garnet, dressed for a hike in the woods as was Ros, squatted on his haunches beside the boy.

  “You were in an accident. You should call your parents and tell them that my friend and I will walk you back to your house.”

  “Where’s El, my girlfriend?” Richard’s voice began to rise in agitation as he looked around frantically.

  “Is that the dark-haired girl’s name? She’s going to be fine. She has a head injury, so another friend of ours who was riding alongside us as we hiked has used his transportation to take her to the hospital. Your parents should call her parents to meet them there.”

  Richard struggled to his feet. “Let’s go. Caro, are you okay?”

  Ros was helping Caroline to stand. “This sucks. I’m filthy and scratched up, we’re stuck in the woods, and you expect me to walk for miles back to your house while El gets to ride out.” Her beautiful face was marred by her jealous expression.

  Richard was disgusted. Any concern he had harbored for her evaporated in an instant. “Caro, you can stay here if you want. El would have had on a helmet if you hadn’t come, and you wouldn’t have so many scratches if you had worn jeans and a T shirt. Who asked you to come, anyway?”

  Richard’s guardian interjected, “Both of you are very unsteady on your feet. My friend and I will carry you out. You should make that phone call first.” He nodded at Richard.

  Garnet and Ros, while not large by angelic standards, were, at more than six feet tall, bigger than either of the humans.

  Richard called his parents, and he and Caroline climbed on the backs of their angels to be carried out of the woods.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~

  Xander kept to the wooded areas, flying just above the treetops, talking gently to Elizabeth the entire time. “Elizabeth, we are almost there. Do not give up. Please, Elizabeth, hold on. I am with you, and I will never let you go.”

  As they streaked through the air, the branches and leaves of the forest waved from the wind created by Xander’s powerful wings.

  The guardian looked for a protected place to land and spotted a small copse of trees just behind the hospital. Seeing that Elizabeth was still limp and unconscious in his arms, he dropped lightly to his feet in the cover of the trees and assumed human form, dressed casually in appropriate clothing for an afternoon of riding in the woods. Xander lowered his cheek to her face and whispered, “We are at the hospital, Elizabeth. You are safe. Your parents will be here soon, and I will not leave you. All will be well.”

  They had been in the air only a few minutes.

  He fleetly ran with her to the Emergency Room and swiftly approached the admissions desk.

  In a commanding voice, he said, “This young lady has been in an accident and her head is injured. She has been unconscious for more than five minutes. Her name is Elizabeth Bennet, and her parents are on the way.”

  The astonished clerk looked up at the largest, most beautiful man she had ever seen. Recovering her voice, she called for a gurney, and a nurse answered immediately. Hating to release her from his arms, Xander nevertheless laid Elizabeth carefully on the bed. She was beginning to stir, so he allowed the nurse to wheel her away while he slipped through a door marked “Employees Only.” He eyed the scrubs with interest. It took but a second to change his form, this time to one wearing scrubs, a hospital ID, and a face mask.

  Within seconds, he was trailing behind Elizabeth’s gurney as they went into an examination area.

  “What’s up with the face mask?” asked the nurse, looking at the tall stranger curiously. Surely she would have remembered seeing him before. He was huge, and what she could see of him was gorgeous, especially those blue eyes. Her guardian recognized his chief and raised his arm in salute. Xander made no response except a slight nod of his head.

  “I could be coming down with a cold, and I did not want to infect anyone else. This is my first day here.”

  He answered the question on her face and in her mind.

  “Oh, okay,” she answered, forcibly turning her attention back to her patient.

  Elizabeth moved her head and groaned in pain. With great effort, he restrained himself and allowed the nurse to do her job.

  “Well, hello. Glad to see you back with us. Does anything else hurt besides your head?” the nurse asked as she cleaned her head wound and put gauze over it.

  “My chest,” Elizabeth replied, frowning with the pain of breathing.

  Xander stood beside the gurney, across from the nurse, and spoke calmly to his charge. “You’re going to be fine. I saw your friends, and they are well.” Elizabeth was relieved to hear that Richard and Caroline were not seriously injured.

  The nurse glanced at him curiously, but continued to do her job, taking Elizabeth’s temperature and blood pressure.

  Dr. Moore was just coming in, a protector following him, and David and Lynne were right behind them with Niall and Roark. Xander stepped back so that the doctor could stand in his place. Dr. Moore assessed her with the swiftness of a doctor used to trauma patients.

  The nurse spoke quietly. “She says that her chest hurts.”

  “She’s going to need stitches for that cut, and she appears to have a concussion. We’ll need to do a neurological exam, chest X-rays, and a CT scan. She’ll probably need to stay overnight for observation.”

  “Does anyone know what happened?” asked David.

  “Can you answer that?” the doctor asked Elizabeth.

  “The last thing I remember is riding the four-wheeler with my friends in the woods. I don’t know what happened. I was there, and, suddenly, I was here.” She looked weary and fearful. Xander spoke peace to her mind, Everything is going to be fine, Elizabeth. Be anxious for nothing. Do not worry nor fear. You are not alone
.

  She became calmer.

  Dr. Moore left to order the CT scan and X-rays, and orderlies came shortly to wheel Elizabeth to yet another room. Xander stepped behind the curtain to the adjoining exam area, and finding it empty, took angelic form. He was back in the room with Elizabeth before anyone noticed that he had disappeared.

  In the meantime, Delores and Jim had brought Richard and Caroline to the ER to be checked out. The Bingleys had met them there, and Richard, surrounded by their guardians, had told them what had happened. Fortunately, he and Caroline were treated only for minor abrasions, but his parents were very unhappy with him for taking the girls riding without helmets. He was forbidden to ride three together anymore. Richard knew he had been wrong, and he took the correction with good grace. He felt terrible for being the cause of any injury to Elizabeth.

  The scan revealed a serious concussion, so after Dr. Moore closed the wound on her forehead with tiny stitches, he had her admitted for the night.

  After she was comfortably ensconced in her hospital bed, Dr. Moore stopped by before he left for the evening. His guardian saluted Xander who returned the greeting.

  “How are you feeling, El? Any pain?” Dr. Moore had kind eyes that crinkled in the corners when he smiled.

  “My chest hurts, and my head aches. Will I have a scar?” Xander chuckled at her small tribute to vanity.

  By then, Dr. Moore had heard the full story of her accident. “I’m not surprised that it aches. That’s a big lump you have. Fortunately, your ribs aren’t broken, though four of them are cracked. I’ve ordered pain meds for you; that should help. The cut was right at your hairline, so the scar should not be visible. It will serve as a reminder to be thankful that you’re still alive. You could have broken your neck. Next time, no riding without a helmet, and no more than two at a time.”

  She, along with her parents and the assembled guardians, nodded in agreement.

  Xander was relieved that the day was drawing to a close, and that Elizabeth was safe. He leaned over Elizabeth, putting his head by hers on the pillow, and felt as if he were drawing breath for the first time in two days.