“Apep. The last Breanne knew he was on the mountain with Ogliosh. During her escape she saw a blue-grey fog, then she noticed the bugs and had a run-in with a giant snake. She described howler monkeys larger than any gorilla in existence.”
“Great, just what we need – a bunch of King Kongs!” David said.
“The night before last, she said an iguana attacked and killed one of the ranch hands,” Charles said, his forehead creasing. “Last night for the first time in seven nights, she didn’t communicate. I’m worried sick. Listen, Garrett, I don’t know what you have planned but Apep is going to open the portal using that pyramid in Mexico. I don’t know how much longer Sarah can hold out and I don’t know how long my baby girl can fend off all these… all these dangers. I would like to know your plan and how soon you are going to make your move.”
Elaine placed her cup of tea on the table. “We are prepared to weather all of it – dragons, giants, trees, and whatever else Apep tries to put in our path. We have over a thousand followers, ready to march behind the chosen, the one reborn of dragon fire and blood.” She pointed at Garrett and smiled. “Show him your arms, Garrett.”
Garrett’s face reddened as he turned to James. “How long before we can go?”
“Your call, Garrett. When we leave is up to you, but if what Mr. Moore is telling us is true, we should wait until the dragons finish their search and move on. In a couple weeks when it’s safe, we can move out. This will give us time to prepare for the journey. We have horses in underground stalls. Enough for those who can’t walk. We have wagons too, to sustain us for the long journey.”
“You can’t be serious!?” Ed shouted.
Charles held up his hands for calm. “What my son is saying is surely you don’t plan to wait weeks after what we just told you? My daughter is in imminent danger! Sarah may die if we don’t get medicine to her soon. The journey will take weeks, maybe months. And you want to wait even longer!”
“Please, Charles, try and understand this is bigger than us. It’s bigger than all of us!” Elaine said.
“Bigger than two little girls that have already lost so much?!” Charles replied.
“I knew this was a mistake, Pops! We wasted too much time on this!” Edward said, standing up from the table.
Paul stood. “Everyone, just calm down.”
“There is no time for this, son. Your sister needs you!” Charles said.
“Please, don’t be foolish!” James said. “Stay with us and we will go together.”
“Didn’t you hear anything we said?!” Edward’s face was flushed with anger again. “My sister will be dead before we get there!”
Garrett’s face furrowed. He looked at Lenny, who wore the same confused expression. It was like looking in the mirror.
“I don’t see what more there is to discuss.” Charles stood. “Edward, Paul, go – get your sister, Gabi, and Sarah.”
“And what about you?” Edward said.
“I will stay here and travel with this group.”
“But Pops!” Ed started.
“Ed, I won’t make it. I barely made it here. I am too damn old and slow. Besides, to get to that part of Mexico, they may need a guide. It’s up to you. Just get your sister and help Sarah.”
“We will stock you with provisions, provide you meds, and arm you. I am afraid that’s all I can offer,” James said. “You should get some rest now and leave when it’s dark.”
Ed nodded, then looked at Garrett. He didn’t speak and if Garrett thought the giant man didn’t like him before, he was sure now.
Paul looked at Garrett expectantly.
Garrett couldn’t hold his stare, and he didn’t know what to say. This all felt wrong, but it was happening so fast.
“This is the right decision,” his mother said, placing a hand on Garrett’s shoulder. “Your people need you, Garrett.”
“Come with me – I will show you where you can rest,” James said, nodding towards the Moores as he headed for the door.
Garrett glanced up in time to see Paul shake his head and turn away. He felt sick.
The two other Moores followed.
“Boys, leave Garrett and I for a moment, please,” Elaine said.
When Lenny and David were gone, Elaine turned to her son. “Close the door.”
Garrett closed the door and returned to the table, sitting back down across from his mother. She picked up her cup and took a sip.
“You know this is the first time we have really been alone since you woke up this morning. So much has happened. Did you get the item you sought from Syldan’s?” she asked.
Garrett laid the diary on the table. “Yeah, I got it.”
“Already, today, you have woken, Syldan has died, and the Moores have shown up, disclosing the location of Apep and with it the destiny of mankind.” She paused to look sideways at him. She placed a finger on the rim of the cup and began to move it slowly around the lip. “How are you?”
Garrett frowned at the absurdity of the question. He thought about that for a long moment. How was he? He was pissed off. He wanted to yell at her, I am damned pissed! He wanted to tell her she was horrible for doing this to him. Horrible for lying to him. He wanted to tell her that he didn’t trust her, that he didn’t trust any of this.
Yet somehow, he knew the prophecy was real. He knew this was all really happening. He thought about Breanne. If her own brothers didn’t save her, she would be dead long before he got there. And what would she think of him then? The boy who didn’t try to save her. His stomach turned as a voice spoke in his mind. It was a memory from the cave… when he thought he would never see Paul again. Promise right now, that if I don’t make it, you will find my sister and you will save her from that bastard!
Garrett had made that promise not understanding the burden he now carried for a thousand others. If it is the last thing I do I will find her. I promise I will. I swear it. Whether you make it or not. I swear it! He had known Breanne for one evening but it felt like he’d known her his whole life, and now she might die because he couldn’t save her in the cave and he couldn’t save her now.
“Garrett?” his mother said.
Garrett blinked up at her. “Sorry… I… I was just thinking.”
“Care to share?”
“What exactly does the prophecy say I will do?”
Elaine looked curiously at him. “It says you will lead your people home. Back to the planet we were cast away from.”
Lead my people home? “It says that specifically?” Garrett asked.
His mother’s frown deepened. “No, it says, The one of me, flesh and blood of my flesh and blood, the only male descendant of me. The one named Garrett. The one who died and was reborn of dragon fire and blood. The one who is reborn bearing the mark will lead his people through the portal and put right what was made wrong so long ago. There, satisfied?” his mother said. “That’s word for word.”
“What does put right the wrong mean?”
“Ah, yes, that is the question. No one knows. It isn’t written. Perhaps leading us home rights the wrong done to humanity and nothing else will be required.”
“Or there will be more to this,” Garrett said.
“Perhaps, but you will know what to do when the time comes.”
“But how?”
His mother smiled and for a moment it felt like it used to, before he knew she was someone else. “Your heart will lead you.”
Garrett nodded slowly and stood from the table. “I’m tired, Mom. I think I should get some rest.”
“You sure you are okay?”
“Just tired – it’s all overwhelming.”
“Of course.”
He turned to leave when his mom said, “Garrett?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you.”
“I love you too, Mom.”
Garrett found Lenny, David, and Pete waiting outside.
“Pete!” Garrett said, throwing his arms around the boy.
Pete
hugged him back and smiled. “Glad to see you decided to wake up.”
“Are you okay? I mean, I heard about your mom and stuff.”
Pete shrugged. “It is what it is.”
But Garrett could tell it wasn’t okay. There was something different about Pete – something besides the fact he didn’t wear glasses anymore.
“You find your rat today?”
Pete looked at Lenny and shook his head side to side, then back to Garrett. “Who were those guys I saw walking with Paul?”
“They were his brother and dad. Turns out Bre has been talking to them through some telepathic girl,” David said.
“Seriously?” Pete asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Seriously. So come on, Garrett, out with it. What’s the plan?” Lenny asked.
“You know the plan. You heard it. In a couple weeks we leave and get these people safely to the portal. When Apep opens it, everyone is going home.”
“What? Look, I’m all for exploring a new world, but what about Bre?! What about the promise you made Paul!” Lenny said.
Garrett glanced uneasily over his shoulder. “Go get some rest, guys. We’ll talk more tomorrow.” He turned and began walking.
Lenny grabbed Garrett by the shoulder and spun him around. “You’re just going to let her die? How could you!”
“What do you want me to do, Len? Her brother is bigger than the three of us put together, he apparently heals super-fast and can fly. He has Paul, who has super-strength. I think they have a better chance than I do! I am needed here for this! What do you want me to do!?”
“Just when I thought you were starting to grow a sack, you go all coward on me! I want you to find your balls, Garrett – that’s what I want!”
“I got to go,” Garrett said, glancing at David.
David looked away.
“Yeah, whatever!” Lenny said.
When Garrett was almost to his room, Charles Moore stepped out from a shadowed nook. “Garrett, can I have a word?”
Garrett’s stomach tightened. “Sure.”
“I didn’t want to say it in front of the others, but Breanne wanted me to make sure you knew her being taken wasn’t your fault. She told me all she needed to do was run to you, but she couldn’t. She froze. It wasn’t your fault. You see, something happened to her a long time ago and sometimes she freezes up. She doesn’t talk about it… ever. But she wanted me to tell you. He mother died when she was eleven years old in a car accident.”
Garrett looked down and shook his head. “I should have got to her. Whether she was frozen up or not, I should have got to her.” Garrett looked up. “I’m really sorry about her mom.”
Charles shook his head. “Yeah, me too. Garrett, listen, my Bre, she knows something about guilt and how it can eat you up. She wanted me to tell you this for a reason, and she doesn’t talk to anyone about what happened to her mom, not even family.”
Garrett nodded. “Thanks, Dr. Moore. I best be getting some rest.”
“Um, Garrett. One more thing.” Charles looked both directions down the corridor.
Garrett frowned.
“When I was in a coma, I had a dream about the Templar we found in one of the caverns on Oak Island. He called himself Turek. Then he asked me to give you a message. To say the least, it was odd being asked to deliver a message to a kid I never met from a dead Templar in a dream, but here we are.”
“What did he say?” Garrett asked eagerly.
Charles took off his fedora and ran a hand through his curly hair. “He told me to tell you to follow your heart, and your heart would lead you down the right path.” He put the hat back on his head and tipped the brim toward Garrett. “Best get some rest.”
Garrett continued to frown, but nodded. “Take care, Dr. Moore.”
“Just Charles,” the man said, turning away.
Garrett didn’t stop at his room and instead went past it – towards the utility and supply stores James had shown him earlier. But before he got there a door opened. Garrett started to hide but then he realized it was Pete.
“Pete?”
“Isn’t your room back that way?” Pete asked.
“Yep, hey you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m going to tell you something, Garrett, but don’t tell the guys.”
“Okay sure, Pete.”
“I been down to that river every day looking for that rat. Paul told me it had golden eyes like Janis. And it carried him out of the tunnel. I don’t know – I just thought if I could find it, maybe she is trapped in the rat somehow… and maybe, just maybe, we could find someone who could change her back.” He looked up, then back down. “Sounds stupid, right?”
“No, Pete. It doesn’t sound stupid at all.”
Pete smiled thinly. “Well, today you woke up and today I found that rat.”
“And what happened, Pete?”
“It had strange golden eyes just like Paul said. I tried to talk to it. To see if maybe it would talk back.”
“And did it?”
Pete shook his head. “No, and you know what else?”
“What?”
“The damn thing hissed at me.”
“So not Janis?”
“No, that’s just it,” he said, taking a step closer. “It was. At least some part of it was.”
“I don’t get it, Pete.”
“She wanted me to stop, Garrett. She wanted me to let her go. Don’t you see? Because if I couldn’t let her go, I might not be able to do what comes next. And do you know when I was sure? When I walked in and found out that the same moment I found her, you were opening your eyes for the first time in ten days.”
Garrett swallowed and took a deep breath and let it out. What comes next, he thought.
Pete smiled and it wasn’t thin or forced. It was a bright smile, a true smile and it was good to see. “So, should I go get the guys?”
Garrett returned the smile and nodded. “Yes, you should absolutely go get the guys.”
“Where we meeting up?”
“The supply room.”
Pete nodded and headed off down the hall.
The sun would set soon and a few hours later Ed and Paul would be heading out into the night. Garrett rummaged through the supplies, retrieving a tactical backpack, clothing, and rations. He packed a fire-starter, a few maps, and a water bladder. He found tactical military-issued running boots too. He had never worn boots like these running before but figured if they were good enough for the military, they would be good enough for him.
The door to the supply room burst open.
“You son of a bitch!” Lenny shouted, running into the room with David and Pete on his heels. “I thought you were really going to let Paul and Ed go it alone!”
“I wanted to tell you, but I couldn’t be sure who might be listening. Listen, I know you guys are all excited about this, but it is going to be incredibly difficult and we are going to need to move fast.”
David’s mustache twitched disapprovingly. “I get it, I’m not the fastest, but I am one of your sages too, Garrett, plus this Sarah lady needs me. If we can get there, I can heal her just like that,” he said, snapping his fingers. “And what if you get hurt along the way? Did you even think about that? Suppose you twist an ankle or worse. What then, you going to limp to Mexico?”
Garrett waved his hand. “David, if I have learned anything, it’s that we have to stick together. All of us! No more of me running off on my own.” He slapped David on the shoulder. “It has to be all of us or none of us!”
David wrapped him in a hug, pressing his mustache against Garrett’s shoulder.
“You better mean that,” Lenny said, “because I haven’t forgot how you ditched me in the tunnel. I’m still going to bust you in the balls for that. You won’t know when, but it’s coming.” Lenny stepped up, hugging both boys. “Get in here, Pete. David, you little freak, keep your hands where I can see them.”
Pete piled on and the four hugged. And it was in that moment the knot in Garre
tt’s stomach went away and he knew he was following his heart.
When Garrett opened his eyes, James was standing in the doorway. “What do you think you are doing, Garrett?”
The four broke apart.
“You know what I’m doing, James.”
“You’re supposed to lead us to the portal and back to our home—”
“Yeah, please stop,” Garrett said, cutting him off. “Mom told me word for word what I am supposed to do, James.”
“So, what the hell are you doing?”
“The prophecy says I am supposed to lead them through the portal not to the portal,” Garrett said, slinging the backpack over his shoulder.
The others went to the shelves and started packing their own gear.
“Are you trying to play semantics, Garrett?! These people won’t make it to southern Mexico if you aren’t with them!”
“Yes, James, they will make it. Because they will have you leading them.”
“What?”
“You’re a leader, James. You always have been. I have been awake one day, and I would have to be blind not to see it. James, these people will follow you anywhere. I mean, crap, I would follow you anywhere. Just do your nine-hundred-year-old James thing and you will be fine, and they will be fine. And if this prophecy is legit, we will all meet up at the portal, but I can’t wait. I can’t wait, James. Everything inside me is screaming at me to go! I have to listen to my heart. I have to go today… Right now!”
“It’s the girl, isn’t it? You are doing this for some girl you knew for a day?”
“James, she’s way more than that. She is one of my sages. She is one of the seven who pledged to follow me. I made promises – promises nothing is going to stop me from keeping! So, you have to lead them – you have to get them to the portal safely.”
“Garrett, I don’t know how to do that!”
“Yes, you do. Stick to your plan and wait out the dragons and then make for Mexico. You have been planning this out for hundreds of years – Undertown, horses, wagons, provisions.”
James shook his head. “You’re really going?”
“Yes. What do you think me leading would look like? Let me tell you. I would have been saying, James, which way? James, should we stop and camp or keep pushing? James—”
The Keepers Of The Light (God Stone Book 2) Page 41