Ancient Guardians: The Uninvited (35 page)

She looked up as Michael leered at her darkly. “It’s been too long, hasn’t it?” He glanced up at Mark. “What are you waiting for? Go! Get Simone out of there before someone realizes the little Pemdai princess is gone.”

At Michael’s orders, Mark turned and rode away briskly. Reece pried her wrist out from Michael’s sturdy hold, and ran as quickly as she could. She had no idea where she was going, but she had to get away. She wasn’t far before a strong hand seized the back of her neck and forced her to stop.

“Not so fast, little princess,” the man said with a laugh.

He held her neck tightly, paralyzing her where she stood. “You’re Michael Visor?” she managed.

“The one and only.”

“Get your hands off of me,” she demanded.

He gripped her hair, and yanked her head back. “Or what? Your boyfriend won’t be helping you this time. As a matter of fact, our armies are already prepared for the arrogant Pemdai to come get their little Key.”

He started marching her back toward the camp of Armedite soldiers. She knew she had to get out of this, and she started fighting him with every last bit of energy she possessed.

“Let me go!” she screamed.

It was the last thing Reece remembered saying before everything went black, and she woke up shivering on an ice-cold, stone floor.

Levi struggled to maintain his focus while his father, Samuel, and the other Guardians discussed the reasons Armedias might have for planning war. Sitting in this meeting seemed pointless to Levi; he hadn’t heard a word anyone was saying. He should have never left Reece alone in Simone’s care, and as hard as he may have tried, he couldn’t suppress the inward feeling that something wasn’t right.

Without dismissing himself properly, he stood up, and left the room abruptly. He walked swiftly through the corridors to her room, hoping he was wrong about the danger he believed Reece was in. As he raised his fist to knock, the door to Reece’s room opened.

“Jasmeen?” he said, somewhat startled.

“Master Levi,” she answered, her eyes wide with fear. “I was on my way to send for you and the emperor this very moment.”

Levi maintained his composure. “What has happened?” he asked, as he brushed past her into the room.

“She’s not here, sir,” Jasmeen said in a shaky voice. “I went to offer her and Simone some tea, but they were gone.” She handed Levi leather-bound journal, “I found this lying opened on her bed.”

“What is this?” Levi said, as he flipped through the pages.

“It’s her journal, sir.”

As Levi skimmed the pages, his heart nearly stopped when he read her first journal entry.
Impossible,
he thought as he fanned the pages and found the last thing she documented. His fists gripped the leather journal tightly after he read that Simone had offered to help her leave Pemdas.

Levi’s heart began to beat rapidly. “Inform the emperor, and tell him that I have sent you. I must see if there is a way I can track them before it’s too late.”

Levi exited the room hastily, and nearly ran over Harrison in the corridor. “Levi? What has gotten into you?”

Levi shoved the book into Harrison’s chest. “Reece may have left Pemdas, and I have to find her.”

As Levi started to walk past him, Harrison grabbed his arm. ”Hold on a minute,” Harrison said, as he stared at Levi in confusion. “What makes you think that?”

Levi glanced down at the journal. “The last page of that journal states that Simone offered to help Reece leave.” Levi ran his hand aggressively through his hair. “This was directly after she ordered me out of her room in order to be alone with Simone.”

Harrison stared at Levi in disbelief, “Why would you leave her alone with that woman?”

“Harrison!” Levi glared at him darkly, “We have no time—”

“If these writings are true, how could Simone have helped her leave Pemdas?” Harrison interrupted Levi as he flipped through the pages. “There is no possible way—” He stopped himself, and looked somberly at Levi. “Michael,” he said gravely, “she used his horse!”

This can’t be happening.
Levi rubbed his forehead in distress. “I should have let Javian destroy that horse!”

Harrison’s expression darkened. “We must locate Reece immediately.”

“I will find Reece! You must interrogate the woman from Armedias.”

Harrison looked at Levi in confusion. “The priestess? What could she possibly have to do with any of this?”

“Read Reece’s first entry. She writes of a nightmare that she had. She describes the exact scenario between me and the priestess on Earth.” He stated. “Harrison, I never told her about that confrontation. I only informed her that the Armedite had read into my mind!”

“If what you are saying is true, how could the priestess have gotten into Reece’s mind like that? Her mind is protected; our devices can’t even alter it.”

Levi shook his head. “Her mind may be protected against
our
devices; however, don’t forget that the Ciatron were able to use their powers of mental persuasion on her successfully. I believe that the priestess has done the same thing. The priestess took over Reece’s mind, and persuaded her to leave Pemdas!” Levi turned to leave. “Just speak with the woman, and do whatever you can to get answers from her. I must go.”

“Rest assured, I will get the answers we need from her,” Harrison said.

As Harrison disappeared down the steps that headed toward the command center, Levi walked briskly through the corridors. He stopped to ask the palace guards who attended the doors if they had encountered Reece. They informed him that she had taken her usual walk into the forest.

Levi ran quickly in the direction the guards pointed him. There was hope in his mind that they were not too late, and Reece was still in Pemdas. His confidence was shaken when he discovered the fresh hoofprints of a Guardian horse in the soil before him. He knelt down and pressed his fingers along the edges of one of the prints. After examining it, it was obvious that a horse had been in the area recently.

Without wasting another second, he went directly to the stables to see if Michael’s horse was still in confinement.

Javian met him at the entry. “Master Levi?”

“Is Michael’s horse in his stall?” Levi asked, as he stormed past the stable master and into the large building.

“Of course, sir. Mr. Maxwell has been in charge of that horse,” Javian said, as he followed Levi through the stables.

Levi closed his eyes in disbelief when he encountered that the stall for Michael’s horse was vacant. He roared angrily as turned to exit the building. He jerked Areion’s reins off the hook and threw them over his shoulder. He bellowed loudly for his stallion, and glanced back at Javian. “Notify Samuel that we need men positioned at every vortex leading out of Pemdas this instant.”

As Areion approached the fence, Levi jumped it, and swiftly pulled the bridle over his horse’s head. Areion bit down on the silver mouthpiece of his halter forcefully, prepared and willing to adhere to Levi’s course of action.

Levi grabbed the reins, a handful of mane, and hoisted himself onto Areion’s back. “Go, NOW, Javian! We may still have a chance to stop them!”

Levi charged Areion toward the forest where he had discovered the fresh prints of the Guardian horse. Areion effortlessly jumped over the large fence as Levi directed him to the location where he found the fresh hoofprints. The tracks were fresh enough that Levi knew Areion could easily follow the scent of the soured horse. “Follow them!” he ordered his stallion.

Areion lunged forward aggressively, and they raced rapidly through the forest. Once they were over the protective barriers of Pemdas, Levi halted Areion at the vortex to Armedias. It was painfully obvious that Reece had been taken into the dimension. Areion fought Levi’s hold on the reins as he approached the vortex. As tempting as it was to travel through and recover Reece, he knew that their army was on the other side, waiting for the Pemdai to make such a foolish move.

Levi ordered Areion back toward the palace. When he arrived in the courtyard, he jumped off the horse’s back and bounded up the steps that led into the palace. Levi charged into the command center, looking for Samuel. The atmosphere of the palace had changed entirely. Imperial Guards and Guardian warriors were combing throughout the palace grounds and rooms in search of any sign of Reece and Simone.

He approached where Samuel stood with a group of Guardians, giving them instructions on where to search for Reece. “Commander.” Levi interrupted. “Reece is Armedias.”

“How certain are you of this?” Samuel responded.

“Michael’s horse is gone. I followed the animal’s fresh trail to the vortex that leads into that land.” He stared gravely at Samuel.

“We have dispatched Guardians to be stationed at every vortex that exits Pemdas, I will inform the emperor of Reece’s whereabouts immediately.” Samuel replied. “We have also received word that Mark Prather was the one to remove Michael’s horse from his stable.”

Levi inhaled deeply, “Who witnessed this?”

“Javian found one of the stable men, severely injured behind the stable yard, and it was his report that validated that it was indeed Mark Prather who freed the soured horse from his stable.”

Levi’s lips pressed into a fine line as he closed his eyes and tried to maintain his focus. “I have no idea how that man was not noticed lurking around the palace.” He gazed at Samuel sternly, “However, we waste time trying to deliberate how he and Simone were able to plan this scheme together.”

“They both will be dealt with as the traitors they are, Levi. The emperor and I have already discussed this.” Samuel returned.

“Very well,” Levi answered impatiently. “Where is Harrison?”

“He is interrogating the priestess.”

Levi spun on his heel, and walked down to the prison chambers where the priestess was being detained. When he overheard Harrison questioning the woman, he approached slowly, listening to their conversation.

“For as intelligent as the Pemdai are, I’m surprised it took you all so long to figure out that I was controlling that girl from the moment I first arrived here,” he heard the priestess say.

“So this was Lucas’ plan all along,” Harrison said sternly. “For us to imprison one of his mind-warping agents in Pemdas, and have you drive the Key out from our protected realm. Excellent strategy. I must commend him personally, when his heart meets the tip of my sword.”

The woman chuckled. “Yes, it had been our plan all along. I couldn’t reach the mind of that woman unless I was in the same realm and close to her. Fortunately, I was able to see into Levi Oxley’s mind, and it not only ensured that I would be taken captive in Pemdas, but that I would be put under close guard as well. I was very pleased to find that I would be placed in a unit that was in the same location where that girl resided.” She laughed. “It’s been quite amusing sitting down here tormenting that child’s every thought,” she sighed softly, “her mind was a lot stronger than I anticipated though.”

She focused on the ground, and she seemed to be watching the whole process of terrorizing Reece play out in her mind. “She definitely battled my persuasions.” She looked at Harrison with an innocent smile. “If she hadn’t fought so hard for her proper mindset, I wouldn’t have had to give her such traumatic headaches. Mindless child.” She mocked.

Harrison’s features darkened. “You are very bold to admit this to me.”

“I fulfilled my purpose in coming to Pemdas, as was required of me, and that is all that matters. Your men are outnumbered, and if you go to war at this time, it will result in the demise of your world. I have no fear of your kind.”

She looked up and noticed Levi standing in the doorway. Harrison glanced back, but continued to question the woman. “How are you so sure that we are outnumbered, Armedite? You have no idea how large our armies are, nor does your cowardly leader.”

The woman smiled. “I not only persuaded the girl to suffer,” She paused and giggled. “But I also managed to take complete control of her mind more than once. Levi gave me the information I needed last night, thinking he was talking to Reece.”

Levi gritted his teeth together so tightly that he felt his jaw muscle spasm.

The woman smiled sardonically at him. “How is your lip, darling; I didn’t make it bleed too much, did I?”

Levi clenched his fists as he fought the urge to end the woman’s life in that moment.

“Where is Lucas keeping Reece?” Harrison calmly asked.

Before anyone could say another word, the woman’s appearance changed. Her appearance seemed holographic, as did their surroundings. The lights flickered off in the cell as her turquoise eyes began to glow, and she projected a vision of where Reece was being held. Rage coursed through his veins when he saw Reece lying unconscious on the stone floor of a dark chamber with Simone standing over her. He tried to move, but he was paralyzed where he stood.

He watched with fury as Simone knelt down beside Reece. She grabbed her hair, and looked toward four women who entered the room. The women were identical in appearance to the priestess.

“We’ve done our part,” Simone said with an evil grin. “Now,” she slammed Reece’s head hard onto the floor. “Get into her mind, and give us the information we need.”