Cherish (The Guardian Series Book 3)

by K. B. Wheelock

  “Since we established the refuge for them, things have calmed down. They no longer sing near the Brownie homes, preferring to stay in their side of our kingdom. We do see them come out now and then, though, and I am sure we will see them now,” Thea said.

  “With Snowden here, I doubt that we’ll have any issues,” Jake responded. “Even though a ghost, Snowden still can cast fear in many hearts.”

  “Yes, he can,” Thea said.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Rose

  “Thea, how much farther?” Rose asked. She hated to sound like that whiny child every parent hated, asking every five minutes how much longer, or when will we be there. But even with taking turns carrying the girls, it felt like her arms would fall off.

  Jake and Snowden didn’t have the ability, yet, to stay corporeal for long enough to help. Ortheus tried to help, but both girls refused to go to the unfamiliar Brownie.

  “Not much further to the Keep. We should be there in time for dinner,” Thea replied.

  Rose looked at the sky. The only thing that gave her an idea that night was approaching was the moon had dimmed, and a second moon was starting to rise. “Thea, does it ever get dark here?”

  “Yes, but not for very long. We have a twilight that lasts until what you would call midnight. Then it is full dark for about three hours, and we go back to twilight. Our main moon, the one you see all the time is dimmed during twilight and not seen at all during full dark.”

  “You must’ve found our world jarring after the quiet that’s here.”

  “Yes, I did, but I also found things I loved, that we do not have here. Motorbikes for one, roller coasters, and some of your food is delicious.” Thea stopped walking. They had reached a spot in the Bog where a stream ran through a large dry field, small rocks bordered the stream. “We can stop here and let the girls run while we rest.”

  Everyone sat down to rest. Rose started to rub her feet.

  “Here, let me,” Gris said, pulling her feet into his lap.

  “OOHHH,” Rose moaned as he pushed on a particularly sensitive spot. “Thea, I assume your brother’s expecting us. Will we stay in the keep, or will we camp out?”

  “Oh, you will have to camp out unless you enjoy walking on your knees everywhere, and I am not sure if Niall and Gris would not hit their heads still. Ailar, the King has allowed more visitors to the realm, and so has a permanent camp set up for those who are not Brownie-sized.”

  “Thea, how does that work? I thought you said the borders were warded?” Niall asked.

  “When my father was king, he believed that the only contact we should have with the other kingdoms was in their lands. He did not even allow us to learn of the other species until we left the Bog.” Thea paused.

  “It wasn’t the best practice, not teaching the young about the others in the realm,” Jake said.

  “No, it was not. But had it been different, I never would have met you.” She smiled at Jake. “Back to what you asked, Niall. Ailar has placed a border patrol at the main entrances to our realm. When someone has business here, they are escorted into the realm. Over the past fifteen years this has changed the way we interact with the other kingdoms, though the Mhularuka are still not allowed into our lands.”

  Rose looked around the area they were resting in. She’d only been to the Bog one other time, and then she had only seen a Nixie.

  “So, where is everyone?” she asked. As far as she could see, waving pink grass was interrupted by waterways. In the distance, she could see small mounds, light reflecting off the glass in the windows.

  “Most of the Brownies live at the other end of the Bog, near where the portal to the safe house is. We are very close to the Nixie refuge,” Thea said.

  “The Nixie have calmed down since they have been given their own area. We rarely see them anymore, unless it is on official business,” Ortheus said.

  Rose suddenly realized that she didn’t hear the girls. The last she’d seen they’d been running up and down the grassy bank, one hiding behind a rock and then jumping out at the other.

  “Where are the girls?” she asked, standing to try and get a better view. The grass was tall, but she should be able to see their heads. “Naza? Asha?” she called. But the only sound was the whistle of the wind.

  “Rose, I’m sure they’re just hiding. Snowden says he can find them,” Jake said.

  Snowden would be able to pick up the scent and track them. Rose watched as the hellhound put his nose to the ground and started sniffing. He walked down towards where the water cut the strip of land in half, then walked back to where the adults had been sitting.

  “Shh, Rose. They can’t have gone far,” Gris said, rubbing her back.

  “What if a Nixie took them? Last time I was here they tried to take me. It was only Thea’s quick thinking that saved me. They’re so small. What if they fell into the water?” Rose was almost hyperventilating in her fear for the girls. The girls were her life.

  She watched as Snowden repeated the journey to the end of the peninsula they were on and then leaped over the water. He was gone for so long that Rose started pacing, pent up energy bubbling out from her. What kind of parent was she that she didn’t keep a close eye on her babies, that twice in less than a week she had lost one of them? She wanted to yell at her mates—why were they not watching? But could she yell at them for what she wasn’t doing?

  Snowden appeared again and looked at Jake.

  “Snowden says that he can’t smell them off the peninsula,” Jake said. “But he can smell an odd combination. It is the muskiness of the Mhularuka and the fishiness of the Nixie.” He paused. “He can’t pinpoint where they go once they leave the peninsula, so they must have taken them into the water. I’m sorry, Rose. We will find them.”

  “How could they disappear? They were right here a minute ago,” Rose cried, wringing her hands.

  “Shh, Muisje, we will find them. Don’t forget that the girls are not without their own powers,” Gris said, holding Rose.

  “Rose, I am sure the girls will be fine,” Thea said.

  “But what if they aren’t? What good are your visions if you can’t prevent something like this from happening?” Rose yelled at her friend, even as she knew that Thea would never allow the girls to be injured purposefully. She saw her friend’s ears droop, her chin quiver. But she couldn’t stop the tirade. “I knew we shouldn’t have left the safety of the mountain house.”

  “Rose!” Niall yelled. In a softer tone, he continued, “Rose, you know Thea would do all she could to prevent harm from coming to the girls. Yelling at each other won’t help us find them.”

  Niall turned to his father. “Didn’t you say that you had something like a tether between you and the girls? If it is anything like the bond we have with Rose, you might be able to use it to locate them.

  Jake looked at his son, “I can feel them, but I am not sure how to figure out what direction to go.”

  Niall looked at his mate. “Rose, maybe you can walk Dad through how you use your bond?”

  “Do you think that will help? I really don’t know how I do it.” Rose started to pace until Jake came to stand before her.

  “Zoetje, we’ll find them. Now take a deep breath. In and out. Close your eyes and imagine finding your mates. Talk me through it.”

  Rose did as he asked. His slow quiet voice and the breathing helping her to relax. “I think about them, until it’s as if they are standing before me. Once I have them fully in my mind, I imagine that there’s a cord that connects them to me. I pull on that cord and can sense where they are.”

  “That’s a very good explanation,” Jake said as he closed his eyes to do as she had described. “I think I can feel them! Snowden, follow me.”

  The group all stood and followed Jake and Snowden as they began to walk through the Bog.

  “Jake, I know you know of the dangers in the Bog,” Ortheus called. “But the rest of you need to be careful. The Nixie have been peaceful, but they can be
mischievous. If you come upon one, do NOT look it in the eyes. The other danger is the waters. You cannot tell how deep they are, so please avoid them.”

  The others agreed. Rose was too worried to think about the Bog, or to even hear what Ortheus was saying. She just wanted her babies back in her arms. Suddenly, strong hands gripped her arms, and a small scream escaping her as her foot was suddenly submerged in water.

  “Muisje, we will find them, but you need to concentrate and be careful.” Gris held her close to him.

  “I’m sorry. I just need my babies. How could I let them out of my sight?” she cried, turning in his arms. Sobs racked her body as her mind went wild with imagined scenarios.

  “Rose, they are safe. I can tell you that from our bond,” Jake said, turning away and continuing to follow the path.

  Rose felt like they had been walking for hours when she heard Snowden growl. Ahead of them, she saw an odd house made of sticks, dirt, and grass that spanned the waterway in front of them. It looked like the offspring of a beaver dam and a Brownie’s mound home.

  “What is that?” Rose asked.

  Ortheus and Thea stopped to look at it from a distance. Finally, Thea responded. “I am not sure.”

  As the group studied the odd house, it suddenly exploded from the inside. At the same time, they could hear shouting and cursing coming from the house.

  “I think we found them,” Jake said, then looked at Snowden. “Chomp, but don’t kill.” The hellhound chuffed at him and bounded towards the house.

  “Thea, Rose. You stay here with Ortheus. Gris, Niall, come with me to get the girls,” Jake said. “Rose, we’ll call to you as soon as it’s safe.”

  Rose watched as the men walked towards the structure before them. She gripped Thea’s hand, wishing that she could charge in and rescue her babies.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Jake

  How could I have gotten so wrapped up with the boys that I neglected my responsibility with the girls? I can’t imagine how Rose is feeling, how she isn’t yelling at me . . . at the world. The poor girl has been given such a hard road to walk, and now when her little ones have a protector, he fails them. Jake shook himself and wouldn’t let his internal scolding affect his job now.

  “Gris, Niall, how do you want to do this?” he asked. Had he been there with the boys as they grew, they probably would have learned to work together. But they had been too young to start training when he had died.

  Gris looked at the structure. “Snowden should have them cornered. So, I think that we should split up to prevent any escape.”

  Jake, shook his head. “I am not sure, outside of what Snowden can do, if I will be much help. I haven’t had to use my physical form much, so I don’t know what my limits are.”

  Gris nodded in acknowledgement of what his father said. “If you are anything like Keyne, you will have a few minutes where you can use your body, then you will again be incorporeal. So, maybe having you on the side of the structure closest to Rose would be best. That way Ortheus can back you up if need be.” Gris looked at his twin. “You go left, I got right?”

  Niall and Jake nodded in agreement, and all three crept to their locations. Jake crept to the wall that had a large hole in it and wanted to peek in, but was unsure if he would be seen, so thought it best to wait. He could hear some crying but couldn’t tell if it was the girls or someone else. A scream rent the air, and he turned to look at Rose, shaking his head. It wasn’t one of the girls. Snowden must have found the kidnappers.

  Suddenly, he heard Gris and Niall laughing and peeked in through the hole. He had to chuckle at the tableau before him. A green-skinned Nixie lay in the water, face up, a look of shock on her face. Naza stood over her, hand held out. Across the room, a fairy man was pinned to a wall as a small tornado raced back and forth in front of him. Asha sat on the floor, glaring at him. Snowden sat in the large opening that he had made, his paw holding down a second fairy man.

  Jake turned and waved to Rose, Thea, and Ortheus, who started running as soon as they saw the wave. He turned back to look into the opening again. Niall and Gris had both entered and gone to one of the twins.

  “Are they okay?” Rose asked as she ran up to where Jake looked in the hole.

  “Have a look.” He stepped aside to let Rose look into the shelter.

  “I guess we didn’t need to rescue them, did we?” She laughed.

  “No, I think they would have gotten themselves out of this mess and back to us on their own. Those are two spunky girls you have.” He smiled at Rose. Those girls were so much like their mother. They all had strong spirits. But they were also ingenious, coming up with solutions that were outside the box. One day, he knew that his time here would be up for good, and he was glad to have had this chance to see his boys again—the men they had become—and that they were loving and caring with their wife and children. Maybe their family was unconventional, but he couldn’t doubt that they worked well together. He just wished that he had been able to meet Keyne and Cullen this trip.

  Returning to the present, he floated through the wall and back to his family in time to hear Rose chiding the girls. One minute she was asking them questions, the next she was hugging them close.

  “Rose, Zoetje, let them be. We will get answers from these two Mhularuka,” Jake said, walking over to her.

  Gris and Niall each had one of the men in their grasp.

  “Shower them with love and be thankful that they are such smart little girls. And maybe take them out of here, so we can find out what this is about?”

  Rose nodded as she and Thea led the little girls out of the structure.

  Once they were gone, Jake turned a stony glare at the two fairy men. “What did you wish to gain by taking two small girls?”

  The men returned his glare and stayed silent. What they didn’t realize was that he had spent years as a Guardian getting answers when needed, both in the human realm and Empyrean. Without breaking his glare, he spoke to Snowden. “Hey boy, you still hungry?”

 

  “I know I told you to chomp only, but now you can eat. But how about we keep it to just an arm or leg, or maybe a delicacy? I know how much you like male reproductive organs. Go slowly so that they can know their end is near.” He laughed as he saw the two men look at Snowden and then back to Jake, their eyes going wide. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Snowden walk slowly towards the men, his eyes glowing red. He slowly lowered himself to sit in front of one of the men, the one that he had pinned to the ground earlier.

  Just as Snowden brought his nose to the man’s groin he started crying and babbling. “D-d-don’t let him bite! I’ll tell you everything.”

  Jake smiled. It always worked. No matter how tough the man thought he was, as soon as his penis was threatened, he always caved. Thankfully, they wouldn’t have to question the female, though. As his dear Meg told him, ‘Women don’t have to worry about junk getting injured.’

  Chapter Eighteen

  Rose

  The group finally arrived at the King’s Keep. The Mhularuka men had been bound and brought to the King for punishment, and thankfully, the little girls thought that it had been a fun adventure, though they did ask why the lady slept with her eyes open.

  Rose looked from her twin mates to her twin girls. She wanted to take them and hold them close, never let them go. But at the same time, she knew that if she were to overreact it would scare them. The little girls had proven without a doubt that they could protect themselves, but she hated that they had been put in the situation to have to do that.

  She looked around at the bustling field in front of her. To the one side, was the largest mound home she had ever seen. It was only about six-feet tall, but it seemed to go on forever. Across from the Keep, sat a row of festive tents. Some had flags and small fairy lights strung in front of them, others were dark. In between the tents and the Keep
, at the far end of the field, sat a stage with a throne on it. This was where they were headed.

  Rose looked towards the tent with longing. She really wanted a hot bath to soak in, but she would take just laying down. But first, she must do the diplomatic duties and greet the King. Hopefully, Thea could persuade him to forego the feast that she had heard he planned. The little girls were tired, and so were their parents.

  Thea led them straight to the stage and knelt before it. Everyone in their group quickly mimicked her, even the Mhularuka.

  “Your highness,” her gravelly voice rang out.

  Rose peeked up through her eyelashes to look at the King. Besides Ortheus and Thea, she hadn’t had the opportunity to meet any other Brownies. The man on the throne was a darker skin tone than Thea, his hair turning gray, but his large green eyes were striking. Seated, she couldn’t tell how tall he was, but his chest was well defined.

  “Sister.” His voice boomed across the field. “I expected you hours ago, and you bring Mhularuka with you? Explain yourself.”

  Rose shivered. She couldn’t tell if he was angry or just formal. But he didn’t give off the same warm and fuzzy feeling that Thea did.

  “King Ailar,” Thea said formally. “Traveling with two small children is difficult and takes much longer than one plans. Add in when they are abducted–”

  “Who abducted them?” The King rose to his feet. The volume of his voice increased as the timbre deepened. Rose shook next to Thea. The King was tall for a Brownie, almost five foot. His chest was bare, and close-fitting pants covered him from waist to the knees.

  “Two Mhularuka and a Nixie. The children are safe. In fact, they barely needed rescuing,” Thea told the King.