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“So, tell me…do you bring all of your dates here?” Vie asked Carter, suspect of his motives.

“Date?”
Carter said looking behind him to see if there was someone else present that Vie was referring to.

“I thought we were just doing a homework assignment? Are we on a date?” He grin
ned and winked his piercing green
eyes at Vie trying to get confirmation of their present relationship on the record.

“Well, since I haven’t seen any stars, I guess I assumed this was a date. You know a date, where a boy and girl spend hours together in the middle of the afternoon for nothing more than the pleasure of their company? Most of us call that a date!” Vie finished round one ahead of Carter.
She waited for his challenge of her definition of a date since Carter always seemed to enjoy having the upper hand, but to her surprise he caved.

“Great,” he said, “then it’s a date!”

Vie could not get a reading on Carter. Just when she thought she could predict his actions, he changed on her. She liked to be in control and was not happy that Carter seemed to always find a way to wind up back in the driver’s seat. One thing was for sure, Carter was enjoying the playful stage of their new relationship and Vie was not. She felt like Carter had almost taunted her into submission about their so called date and based on the grin upon his face, he was enjoying himself just a little too much for
Vie’s
liking
.

Carter Stone was a popular guy that was well liked by all of his peers. He had so many girls interested in him but never had an inflated ego about it. He was genuine and kind but also smart, athletic, and very charming. On top of all of that he was ridiculously good looking with an assertive confidence that exuded an irresistible sex appeal. There was something magnetic that made girls lust after him and guys want to be like him. The only flaw in Carter was that there was a place inside him that was dark and locked away from everyone. It was where he stored his anger and his pain and it kept him alone.
Vie’s
job was to find out what was so devastating to Carter that he shut off the best piece of his soul…his destiny.

“So,” Carter said leaning in to Vie. “Are you ready for an adventure?”

“Who me?” she said with her adrenaline already starting to pump.

“Do you really have to ask?” Vie said tilting her head to the side thinking that was a silly question coming from Carter since he claimed to know her so well already.

Carter couldn’t help but think for some strange reason he did actually know what her answer would be. Now his adrenaline began to pump and he could see it in her eyes. She was even more excited than he was at the mere thought of an adventure. Carter told the chief he would be back in a couple of hours and asked him to look after Jake for him. The chief told Carter to be careful, knowing Carter’s track record for the extreme, and waved him on his way.

“Let’s go princess!” Carter said grabbing his satchel and heading for the jeep.

“You’re
gonna
love this Vie,” he said excited to get going.

It just lit her up inside. All of her senses seemed heightened when Carter was near her. His earthly scent was reminiscent of being in the woods after a thunderstorm, smelling clean and elemental. She saw everything around her more clearly the way he did, like she was looking at things through his eyes.  She could hear all the sounds in the forest right down to the sound of a leaf floating to the ground. Vie could taste his sweet breath in her mouth when he spoke to her and she could feel his soft caress on her skin before he even touched her. Carter stimulated all of her senses and she felt so alive inside when she was with him. There was an awakening in her soul just being near him and she loved every minute of it.

All of these feelings we so different and new for Vie, so much so that she began to wonder if they even belonged to her at all. “Maybe these are Vivian’s feelings,” she thought to herself in horror. Oh, how she hoped and prayed that that was not the case. Then she remembered what Gabriel had said to her before they left for the mission “You will appear physically as the vessel that you will enter and you will have her life and memories, but you will still be you with all of your thoughts and attributes. No worries there
Vie
.”
She was thankful to have her photographic memory and able to rewind back to Gabriel’s conversation.  It made her feel more at ease about her thoughts and doubts about her feelings.

They drove just a short while before reaching their destination. Vie saw a strange and massive rock formation towering just ahead of them. There was something about it that spooked Vie immediately.

“What is that?” Vie said looking out the window.

“That is our adventure!” Carter said grinning with excitement and pulling of the main road.

He parked the jeep and circled around the car for his gentlemanly task of opening
Vie’s
door and then said, “I figured since you purchased these brand new hiking boots for our date, the least I can do it help you break them in.” He winked and smiled slyly at her.

“And how do you know that? About the boots I mean?” she said puzzled.

“I know everything about you Vie Thorne,” he said so sure of himself.

Carter was having fun watching Vie freak out about how he knew that she had purchased a pair of new boots, and he was right, Vie was going crazy with wonder. Part of her thought perhaps he was opening up and developing his abilities, since the Guardians had no idea what kind of powers he might actually have been given. Another part of her thought it could be telepathy like Gabriel and the others had, allowing them to see inside one’s mind and communicate with them. She needed to know how he knew about the boots. “What powers did he really have?” she wondered.

“No really, tell me how you know I purchased these boots for today?” she said with a very serious voice.

Carter could easily hear in the change of tone in her voice that she was uncomfortable about his boot comment. Although it seemed silly to him, he made his confession to her revealing that he saw her and
Kade
at the mall earlier that day when she was trying on the boots. Carter hoped it eased her mind. Vie was actually disappointed by the confession since she was hoping it was an attribute and that Carter was on his way to unblocking whatever darkness he had locked away. Vie would have to keep trying to uncover what was hindering Carter from his destiny and she was happy to do so because it meant spending a lot more time with him.

Vie got out of the jeep and stared at the tower. Carter noticed quickly that she seemed troubled about something.

“Vie? Are you ok?” he asked concerned.

“What is this place?” feeling another
deja
vu coming on.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “Is it the amnesia thing?” he asked compassionately, figuring it had to be the amnesia because everyone who lives in Wyoming knows about Devil’s Tower.

“Yes, yes it is,” she said quickly, grateful for her little amnesia untruth.

“That’s okay Vie. I
kinda
like being the one who gets to show you
new
things,” he said with an extremely comforting tone.

Vie hated not being able to tell Carter everything but she was forbidden to do so. Carter had to figure out who he was all by himself. The only purpose in the mission was to help him see the light, not to interfere, just to guide. Her hands were tied. Vie was certain Carter would find his way all on his own, “He had to,” she thought. Her bigger concern at the moment was the feeling she had in the pit of her stomach as she stood facing the massive tower. Unlike the feeling of tranquility she felt while visiting the reservation, this feeling was very different. The tower seemed to have a negative energy spewing all the way out to where Vie stood. She stood frozen, engulfed in an unsettling fear that she felt compelled to listen to.

“Vie…hello… are you ready?” Carter asked waving his hand in front of her blank stare at the tower.

“Ready for what?” she asked.

“To go star gazing.”
He looked at Vie and then to the tower.

Carter was surprised she was not showing the level of excitement that he originally thought she would. Something was bothering her and the only thing he could think that it might be was fear.

“Come on
Vie,
don’t be afraid, I won’t let anything happen to you….I promise.” Carter touched her hand again softly anticipating the electric sensation he felt back at the reservation. But this time he felt something very different. It was a warm, tingling, consuming sensation that filtered through his entire body making him yearn for something more. Vie felt the exact same way. She was still not convinced that what she was feeling belonged to her and until she was, she did not want to speak about it.

Although
Vie’s
intuition was telling her not to go any closer to the monstrous tower, she trusted in Carter and felt safe with him holding her hand. Vie felt like nothing could touch them when they were together. She squeezed his hand tighter and took a deep breath and said, “Okay, let’s do this,” with a confident smile.

Carter grabbed his gear out of the back of the jeep and the two young adventurers set out to climb the tower and gaze at the stars.

Chapter 17

The Climb

What Carter didn’t know was that Vie had no fears about the actual climbing of Devil’s Tower, what she feared was the negative vibe she was receiving from it. Although rock climbing might be considered an extreme sport here in this world, where Vie comes from this climb would be a piece of cake. In fact, for the Guardians this would be a simple non-exhilarating warm up exercise. Guardians were challenged by a vigorous training schedule that tested their strength, endurance, and abilities in ways that humans could not withstand. I guess you could say they had the power of the gods.

Vie watched as Carter gathered the equipment and began attaching the rock climbing harness to her so they could be roped together and partner climb for safety. Typically Carter would free climb, which is a bit more extreme but he was not taking any chances with his precious cargo. He carefully explained the art of rock climbing to Vie and the two of them prepared for their adventure.
Vie’s
bad feelings had settled for the moment and she was able to concentrate and relax. Carter’s strong, yet mellifluous voice was definitely helpful in calming anyone and making them feel safe.

Carter began the climb first, placing the tapered
choks
in the cracks of the tower as he ascended upward. Vie watched anchored to the wall, belaying and feeding out the rope as he instructed. Then Carter clipped the climbing rope through the
carabiner
and looked down at Vie. Once again he thought Vie looked unbelievable standing in position, waiting for him to signal her up. He noticed a fierce look in her eyes as she prepared to conquer the tower. Carter had no doubts in her ability to do so even though no one else in th
e entire town of Newc
astle had ever made it to the top other than Carter. This was Carter’s place, a place he shared with no one until today.

“Come on up Vie,” he shouted down to her.

Vie anxiously began her ascent. Carter watched from above in awe at her technique in the climb. To his astonishment, she reached him in minutes. Carter grabbed hold of her and the two of them hung harnessed together with their eyes affixed to one another. Vie was submerged in her feelings for Carter and for the first time started giving into what she was feeling as she gazed into his brilliant eyes. Suddenly he looked at her strangely and broke the lock.