Guardians: The Girl (The Guardians Series, Book 1)(20)

“Who is Copernicus?” he said without taking his eyes off the board game. We looked at each other perplexed. Is this some kind of code? Were we supposed to answer him? Just then Reese tapped me on the shoulder and pointed to the screen. The Sage was answering a question from Alex Trebek. All of us turned to the TV screen and waited for the result. The contestant had said the same thing just after the Sage spoke.

“You were right. How often does that happen?” I asked.

“Often,” he said simply. I got the feeling he was never wrong. The others seem to agree with me.

Rio whispered to me, “I don’t see anything.”

“You are looking for my wave?” the Sage asked.

“This is the first time I can not see the wave of someone who is alive. You are radiating nothing,” Rio explained.

“I have learned to control my emotions. There is nothing to radiate, Rio.”

We all looked at each other. Even though we knew he was bound to know all of us, it was still freaky to have him talk as if he had known us for years.

“I have known you for years,” he said. We all looked at him in wonder.

“Yes, I can tell what all of you are thinking. It’s a gift from the council for my centuries of service,” said the Sage.

“Better than a gold watch, I guess,” Jay said.

“Jayden, I have always enjoyed your humor. Since the day you died, you have been… the life of the party on the bridge.” The Sage smiled. I didn’t know he could make jokes. But then again, I had no idea he could read minds.

He looked at Miku and called her name. “Little one, you and your brother have suffered a great deal. I feared you would go the way of darkness. But, alas, you have chosen the path of light. That says a great deal about your heart.”

“I would never Turn. I wouldn’t hurt anyone without good cause,” she said.

“Do you know who was the first Guardian to Turn?”

“No, we have heard fragments, but we do not know the whole story,” I answered.

“His names was Unclis. It was the third cycle of the Triplex. He was a very powerful angel. His powers were speed like Jayden and control over elements, such as earth and water.

“Four months into the mission, he began having doubts as to which side he should be on. He had seen much hardship in his lifetime. And once on Earth as an angel, he began to think that humans were pitiful creatures who needed help and guidance. He thought humanity should get a fresh start.

“But in order to make that happen, he decided that the Triplex should go to Atourum so that the Earth would be burned and ravaged beyond repair. That way that could start again. Unclis didn’t Turn overnight. He battled these internal questions for weeks. Finally, when he had a chance to destroy the Triplex and he didn’t, he Turned.

“His soul became as black as the night sky. He could no longer get back into the light, or the bridge. He had switched sides. The First Guardian at the time did not notice Unclis’ weird behavior because he was so busy looking for the Triplex. Had he done a better job, he would have seen the changes in Unclis before he Turned and switched sides.”

“You must look out for your team, Marcus. The longer they are away from the light of Omnis, the easier it is to let doubt and bad influences corrupt their soul. It’s up to you, Marcus, to apprise the situation and make sure that good is not only winning on Earth but in the hearts of your team.”

“Of course. We are all faithful to the light. No one on my team will Turn.”

He stood up and faced me. “Such a heavy burden, isn’t it?”

“It’s what has to be done,” I said.

“Yes, that is very true. All the same, remember Lucy will try to Turn any one of you. She cannot force you to join her, but each encounter you have with evil leaves its scar. And some are more painful than others. Do not be easily swayed by darkness. It will call you. It will invite you in with the sweetest breath and promise that you will never want. You must resist.”

He looks into each of our faces. “All of you must resist.”

“Can you tell us if we are strong enough?” Miku asked.

“Can you tell me if you’re strong enough?”

“Well, alright. Can you tell us who wins?” Reese asked. The Sage just looked at him blankly.

“I had to ask,” Reese said sheepishly.

“I know, you can’t help it,” the Sage said.

“Where do we begin?” Ameana asked.

“So quick to start.”

I looked at Meana. “Well, it is a matter of life and death, is it not?”

“Yes, it most certainly is. But you will find that the biggest battle is within.”

“I’m sorry, what does that mean?” Ameana said, somewhat impatiently.

“You have always been closed. I was hoping death would open you up.”

“Open me up to what?”

“Love.”

“I am open to it. I found it,” she said, not wanting to look at me.

It didn’t matter, the Sage knew about us. He turned and looked at me.

“Yes, a Guardian couple…this should be interesting.”

I could tell Ameana was growing leery of the little boy nosing around in her business. She shifted her weight, looked away for a moment and rolled her eyes slightly. I placed my hand on the small of her back, signaling her to be cool and let him finish.

“What is scuba diving?” he answered another of Alec Trebek’s questions. He was right again. That could get to be annoying.

He turned the TV off, then turned his focus completely on me. “I will need to see you alone.”

Jay objected. I knew he would. He was okay so long as it was all of us or none of us. He had grown up in a tight-knit family, and this was as close to family as he would get.

Truth be told, we are a family. All of us protected each other like family. It’s what happens when you are told that the one next to you has to help you save the world. You bond really quickly. On the bridge, all of us had gotten to know everything about each other. We knew what each other’s Cores were, what led us to choose the light and what we most feared about this mission.

Jay felt uncertain that he could protect all of us, and although I’m the first Guardian, he is the oldest. He is like a big brother. It feels weird to order him around. But luckily he is usually on top of things. The twins are the most powerful twin Guardians that have ever been chosen. Miku can take out a whole city block with a verse of song, and Rio makes it impossible for the Akons to surprise us.

Because they are twins, there is said to be a power that they have once they pull together. We don’t know what kind of power it is. The last set of twin Guardians didn’t find out what their twin power was until they were in the midst of battling the first Akon. They held hands and each focused on protecting the other. The sheer will of the twins’ connection enabled them to cause an explosion that took out two hundred blocks of what is now Russia. The twins are hoping they won’t have to combine their power, as they are not sure what the results will be.

Reese and Jay are best friends, although you’d never know it. They compete over everything. Who’s the strongest, fastest, cutest, you name it. It gets on my nerves. But they love each other in that ‘I’ll kick your butt if you don’t survive this mission’ kind of way.

Meana and Miku are closer now than they were when we were first chosen. Miku has an infinite amount of patience. That comes in handy when dealing with Ameana. Miku could tell right away that Meana wasn’t used to having girlfriends. She was cold, kept secrets and never smiled. And Meana never gave more information than what was needed.

Over time she and Miku became friends, especially when Reese and Jay would challenge them to anything boys versus girls. She is fearless, calculating and brilliant. It’s a good thing she’s on our side, that girl is a force of nature.

She isn’t like any other girlfriend I’ve had, even aside from her being an angel. She never seems to need anything or anyone. Meana is the very essence of independence and competency. Her mind is amazing. Her ability to plan and execute ideas is unparalleled.

She’s also the most striking girl you will ever lay eyes on. But I’m always stunned by how little she cares about her looks. Angels in general are beautiful. That is because of the lightness coming from our souls; it illumines things and people around us. But Meana was even beautiful on Earth.

In fact, it’s her beauty she sees as her greatest flaw. I never thought that. For me her flaw is how good she is at building walls. So good, in fact, that she builds them without even realizing. She is careful not to be too vulnerable around anyone, including—and sometimes, especially—me.

We respect each other greatly. We’re almost on the same wave length. Sometimes, though, it feels like she doesn’t really like humans. She seems to barely tolerate them. Maybe some time on Earth will help her find the goodness in humanity. After all, she is risking her soul for them. She should get a chance to get to know them more.

When she lived on Earth she told me she was very selective about what she did with her time. She said she knew somehow that she didn’t have long to be on Earth. But me, I never thought I was going to die at sixteen. Looking back I’m glad I didn’t know.

The Sage looked at Jay and said, “I will return him to you in the same condition I found him in, Jayden. You can trust me.”