The Guardians Crown (The Guardians Book 5) (21 page)

Gabe closed his eyes, the sound of a train in the neighboring tunnel filling his ears. In an instant it was like he was transported back in time. In his mind he saw the entire scene unfolding before him. Rather than the damp and musty smell that had filled his nostrils, it was the stink of urine and electrical wires. Looking around the tunnel, it was as if he were floating, merely a drifting soul, watching.

That’s when he saw himself, dirty jeans, sweatshirt, mussed hair, the perfect picture of the misfit, orphaned teen, lost in a sea of unsuspecting travelers. He watched as young Gabe wiped his hands on his jeans, trying to wipe away the sweat from his augeries. Then there was the man in the tan trench coat, being the typical New York douchebag to him.

Gabe suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of sadness wash over him. He wished he had known then what he knew now. Perhaps he could have saved all of those people. Then there was the woman with the red eyes. Gabe watched her again board the train, helpless to change history. Clenching his eyes tight, Gabe decided this was not something he wanted to relive anymore. He had been through it all before, there was no reason for him to experience it again.

When Gabe reopened his eyes he saw a pair of combat boots firmly planted on the ground next to him, and began to laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Uri asked, dropping a pair of slightly used converse into Gabe’s lap.

Looking up at his friend, Gabe explained, “I was just thinking about the night we met.”

“Oh yeah? And that’s funny for some reason?” Uri inquired, sliding down the wall and taking a seat next to Gabe, a brown grocery sack clutched in his fist.

“Those boots, they were the first thing I saw of you,” Gabe remarked, motioning towards his friend’s feet.

“Well, not these exact boots, I’ve gone through quite a few pairs through the years, you know,” Uri replied, wiggling his feet.

“Might as well be the same damn pair,” Gabe laughed.

“Hey,” Uri chimed defensively. “If you find a fashion statement that works, why mess with it.”

Gabe smiled. “Like you know the first thing about fashion.”

Uri quickly ripped into the sack, and pulling out two deli sandwiches handed one to his friend. The men wasted no time devouring them, relieving their hunger pains.

“Hey you’re one to talk. You still dress like a sixteen-year-old boy. And damn, you were such a chicken back then.” Uri laughed, bits of food flying from his mouth.

“Hey!” Gabe snapped.

“Oh come on, you were hiding under a bench when I found you,” Uri argued.

“Okay, fair enough. You know, when I got on your bike I thought you were taking me somewhere to kill me.”

“I know,” Uri joked.

“What?”

“Why do you think I was playing up the mysterious thing? I kept waiting for you to make a run for it. Hardest thing ever was trying to keep a straight face through that,” Uri recalled.

“Then Soph …” as soon as Gabe started to say her name he stopped himself. The image of her in a body bag overtook his thoughts.

“Yeah, she was something wasn’t she? Remember how she toasted those tracker demons that night?” Uri’s voice was soft.

Gabe said nothing. The men finished their food in silence. Both recalling moments of their past quietly in their own thoughts. The fights they had won and the friends they had lost.

“All right, enough of this cheery trip down memory lane,” Uri began. “What the hell are we going to do?”

Grabbing a bottle of water from the supplies Uri brought back down with him, Gabe took a swig, then poured the remainder on his feet, doing his best to wipe away the filth that was caked on from his earlier sprint, barefoot, through the mud.

“I was actually just thinking about that, before you came back, and honestly, I don’t know,” Gabe replied, pulling the shoes onto his still damp feet.

“What? I thought you had this grand plan on how to surrender yourself to Baal.” By Uri’s tone it was obvious he still did not agree with the option.

“What if I’m wrong?”

Uri seemed shocked by Gabe’s doubt. “We can head back to the cabin right now, if that’s what you want.”

“Either way, we can’t do that. I won’t risk any transporting into the valley that isn’t absolutely necessary,” Gabe replied.

“For all we know, the valley isn’t that safe. There could be regular patrols going through there.”

“Thanks, you’re really making me feel so much better.”

Uri pressed his lips together, then apologized. “Sorry. I just meant it might not be as safe as we think.”

“I know … but it’s the only chance they have.” The two sat silent for a moment, but Gabe could see something was clearly bothering Uri. “Are you alright?”

“Do you think he’s dead?” He asked softly.

“Michael?” Gabe asked, even though he already knew whom Uri spoke of.

Uri nodded in response.

“I don’t know, but I’d like to think if he were we’d feel it or something.”

“That’s what Mirada said. She told me if he was gone she would have felt it,” Uri commented.

“She’s probably right.”

“It feels like everyone I care about is dying. Raimie, Sophie, Michael could be dead for all we know, and now …” Uri stopped himself.

“Now what?”

“And now my best friend is about to commit suicide,” Uri muttered.

Gabe considered Uri’s words. Was that what he was doing? What if Uri was right? What if this was a suicide mission and after he was gone there would be nobody left to protect his family. His friends were dying, one after the other, it wouldn’t be long until everyone was gone.

“I don’t know what else to do,” Gabe admitted.

“What?” Uri gasped in disbelief. “You were so sure before.”

“I know, but now you have me rethinking everything. What if I’m wrong? What if you’re right and it really was all a dream from a head injury?”

“So what now?”

“If I knew that, we wouldn’t be down here in this rat infested hole.”

Uri looked around, “This place is pretty disgusting. It reminds me of Haim’s bedroom.”

Gabe burst out laughing.

“Seriously though, we have to figure this out,” Uri commented.

“I’m open to suggestions.”

“What did Michael say about the prophecy exactly?” Uri inquired.

“He told me that when the moment was right, I’d know,” Gabe answered, “but I gotta tell ya, I doubt I’m ever going to think it’s the right moment to die.”

“Wait, now hear me out,” Uri started. “Maybe everyone has been interpreting the prophecy wrong.”

“Yeah, I’m not really sure how you can interpret it wrong. It clearly says that if Micah lives, I die, and if I live, then Micah … well, you know.” Gabe could not bring himself to actually say the words.

“Maybe you’re supposed to give him your life force or something,” Uri suggested.

“Do I look like Obi Wan Kenobi to you?”

“I don’t know,” Uri chimed defensively. “I’m just trying to help.”

“I can’t sit here and do nothing,” Gabe said, pushing himself onto his feet, noticing for the first time the shoes Uri found him were an entire size too large. “We know where Baal is, I say we go there and try to negotiate.”

“What?” Uri snapped hopping to his feet. “Negotiate with the most ruthless demon roaming the face of the earth? Really? That’s your plan? We’re going to sit down and have a chat with an immortal monster that has unleashed unholy hell on the world.”

“Christ, I know it sounds crazy, do you have a better idea?” Gabe inquired.

Uri hesitated. He didn’t. He knew Gabe was right and that sooner rather than later Baal or Valafar’s men would find Rachel and the others again. They could only keep running for so long until there was nowhere left to hide.

“Well I’m going with you,” Uri declared.

“I’d never dream of stopping you,” Gabe smiled. “But what about Sera?”

“She’d understand. Any clue what you’re going to say?”

“Nope,” Gabe replied honestly.

“You know they’re probably going to kill us?” Uri added.

“Yup.”

“Okay, just checking,” Uri replied.

“Ready?” Gabe asked, looking over at his friend.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

The two men stood, side by side, in the dark alleyway, peering out at the ominous building before them. Childhood friends, now grown, were prepared to take on the biggest fight of their lives. The streets had been closed four blocks in either direction. An entire squadron of human soldiers was posted around the entrance of the building.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Gabe commented.

“Yeah, I doubt the President of the United States has a protection detail like this,” Uri replied.

“What do we do about the humans?” Gabe inquired.

“We’ll give them a chance to leave.”

“And if they don’t …”

“Then that’s their choice.”

Gabe watched as Uri strode forward, coming to a stop in the middle of the street. Several of the guards took notice and began shouting at him not to move. Gabe quickly joined Uri, which then caused the men to raise their weapons in response.

Uri laughed, giving an elbow to Gabe’s ribs. “They think guns are going to stop us.”

Apprehensively Gabe looked around, “Umm, yeah, that’s a lot of guns, man. I think they could slow us down a good bit.”

“Watch this,” Uri instructed, taking another step forward.

“We said stop, or we’ll shoot!” a guard screamed out into the night.

“We’re here to see Grant Ledger.” Gabe’s stomach turned when he heard Uri say the name. Even the name Baal used as a disguise disgusted him.

A number of the guards began to laugh. One asked another what Uri had said. When the other guard repeated it, even more of them began to laugh. “Yeah, that’s not going to happen, so if that’s why you’re here, you can turn around and leave, right now.”

“We’re not going anywhere,” Uri replied firmly.

“Then we’ll be forced to shoot you,” the guard answered coolly.

Stepping forward, sensing the rising tension, Gabe quickly interjected, “I think if you go and tell someone we’re here you’ll see that Baal … I mean Mr. Ledger, will want to see us.”

“And just who are you?” the guard who seemed to be in charge inquired, never lowering his weapon.

“His name is Uri and mine’s Gabe.”

“Gabe Harwood?” the guard asked, panic in his voice for the first time.

“Yes, sir. I’m sure you …”

“Open fire!” the guard shouted without hesitation.

“Wha …” Gabe began, then leapt to one side, crouching low as the bullets began to spray in their direction. Uri and Gabe both unsheathed their weapons, swinging their blades wildly as they deflected the mass of bullets headed at them.

One bullet, and then another, ricocheted back, lodging themselves into a couple of the unsuspecting guards. With a swipe of Gabe’s hand, the remaining projectiles froze in mid-air. Gabe lowered his eyes, and as he did the remaining bullets fell to the ground. The guards watched in amazement.

A moment later, Uri and Gabe looked at the guards and Uri repeated his request. “Look, we don’t want to hurt any of you. We simply came here to see Grant Ledger.”

Instantly, several of them dropped their weapons and took off running down the street, frightened by the display of power they had just witnessed.

“Cowards!” one of the remaining guards shouted, waving his fist wildly in the air at the fleeing men.

“We just want to talk to him, that’s it,” Gabe attempted to reassure them.

“Well maybe you just wanna talk, I kind of want to send him back to Hell,” Uri muttered under his breath.

“Will you shut up? You’re not helping matters,” Gabe growled.

“I still can’t believe you think you can reason with these people,” Uri huffed, then fell silent.

The older guard with the dirty blonde hair rushed over to the face of the building. He slid a key in, and turning it, the lid to a small box fell open. The boys couldn’t quite see what he was doing, but it became clear when a loud siren started going off.

Both of them clutched their ears, the piercing noise causing jarring pains in their heads.

“What’s that?” Uri yelled in Gabe’s direction.

“I don’t know, but I have a feeling it isn’t good.”

A moment later a large steel door on the right of the building began to lift into the air, and the sirens fell silent.

“Feel that?” Uri asked clutching his stomach.

“You’re kidding me right?” Gabe barked. “My augeries have been going nuts since we got here. How can you tell the difference?”

“Whatever it is, it’s big,” Uri added.

“Whatever what is?”

But before Uri could answer Gabe’s question, it was answered for him. The earth began to shake under their feet as a large lizard head emerged from the opening.

“What the hell is that thing?” Gabe revised his question.

“I don’t know, but he’s got a friend,” Uri cried stumbling back as the second head followed. And then a third. “Make that friends.”

“Seriously? They’ve got a hydra?” Gabe grumbled as the rest of the body pushed itself out into the open.

Uri watched as fire sprayed from one of the beast’s head. “I fought one of these once.”

“Great, I’ll let you get this one then,” Gabe joked.