Ascended (2 page)

Chapter
Two

The Switch

“I knew I’d find you here,” Gabriel said
, having looked all over for Vie and finally finding her at the Gates.

There she
sat, the same as always and yet different, changed by the mission forever. Gabriel couldn’t understand how Vie seemed to have carried her feelings for Carter Stone back with her, but she had, and they grew stronger with each passing day. The Council could only venture a guess that because she was part human, all those feelings and emotional ties were now a part of her soul. Vie was the only one of her kind at the Gates, and while the other Guardians were able to release their ties to any and all relationships formed in the other world during these missions, she was not. She would have the burden of carrying them with her forever, and Gabriel knew this would be a burden he could not watch his friend bear.

“
Wanna go a few rounds in the training arena?” Gabriel asked, hoping today she would say yes.

“No, not today,” Vie said
absently, looking out to the rainbow that connected the worlds.

“Come
on, Vie, snap out of it. Just try to do something different today and take your mind off the mission. Isn’t there something you would like to do?” Gabriel thought back to how many things Vie used to beg him to let her do, even when she wasn’t quite ready for them yet.

“You know what I really want to do
, Gabe?” she said, finally meeting his eyes.

“What? Anything you name it and wish granted,” he said with an anxious smile
, ready to hear what she would choose to do in the arena.

“I want to see Carter.
” Her voice turned angry. “Can you make that happen?”

“No
, Vie. I’m sorry, but I can’t do that,” Gabe replied, disappointed by her request.

Gabriel
had been told that Vie was not to return to Carter’s world under any circumstances. The Council had met and decided since Lucian had come close to destroying them both, it was a risk they would not take again with either of their lives.

Gabriel
had argued that Vie could not just exist at the Gates, reminding the Council that she was a Guardian and needed to be treated as such.

The
Council didn’t know what to do; because Vie’s circumstances were unique, they had no satisfactory answers for her, other than, “It has to be this way for now.”

Gabriel knew it was
a protection for Vie, not a punishment, but calling it a different name didn’t make it feel any less like what it was: confinement.

Vie was angry. She
had been sent to do a job, she’d completed it successfully, and now she was trapped in a world that would allow her to be neither Guardian nor human, leaving her to feel like a misfit.

“You can’t
? Or you won’t?” Vie questioned Gabriel’s response, snapping him out of his thoughts. “Why, Gabe? Why can’t I see him? It doesn’t make any sense!”

“I mean
, you can return, right?” she fired at him, shouting now. “And Fallon and Eli and Raphael, right? Why not me?”

“Because it
’s too dangerous, Vie. You know this,” Gabriel said, feeling the inadequacy of his answer even while knowing the truth of it.

“Lucian is gone
, Gabe! What danger is there for me?” Vie continued to shout.

“Yes, Lucian i
s gone for now, Vie, but he wants something from you, and until we know what that is, you are staying here!” Gabriel ordered, beginning to lose his temper.

“I would rather be in danger there with Carter than kept prisoner here with
—” Vie stopped herself, still looking into Gabriel’s eyes. She immediately saw the hurt her words had caused, but it was too late. She had already cast the stone.

“You say you want to be treated like a Guardian
; so get your head out of the sand and start acting like one. Stop feeling sorry for yourself, Vie, get in the arena, and do something constructive with all of this anger…or feelings…or whatever the heck emotions you have plaguing you right now." Gabriel spat out the words in a fit of frustration at Vie and the entire situation and then stormed off.

Vie felt horrible for taking everything out on Gabriel when she knew he was
n’t to blame. She couldn’t seem to find her way out of the anger she was feeling toward the Council for their decision in sealing her fate. All she knew was there was a pain inside her soul that ached so badly, she couldn’t breathe. It had ripped a hole in her and she couldn’t seem to function at all. Her mind, normally so sharp, was now fogged by the memories of Carter and the love she wanted so desperately to give him. Everything about him consumed her now; memories of his scent, his smile, his touch, and especially his beautiful green eyes. Vie couldn’t forget him and the truth was, she didn’t want to.

She stood up and headed to the arena.
She knew she was like a time bomb ready to explode, but she didn’t care; she needed to unleash her anger and she knew just how to do it.

Vie entered the training arena, causing all the Guardians to stop and stare for a moment, before Raphael ordered everyone to get back to their training.

“Good to have you back, Vie,” h
e greeted her.

Vie looked around
and wasn’t really surprised that she didn’t see Gabriel anywhere. She figured he must have needed to walk off the hurtful words she’d spoken to him earlier.

Spotting Fallon,
Vie saw a perfect target for her anger release. She walked over to her and said, “Want to spar with me?”

“Are you serious?” Fallon replied
, wondering if Vie had a death wish.

“Yes, quite serious,” Vie
’s coy retort followed.

“Bring it!” Fallon replied
, pleased at the opportunity to teach a lesson to Gabriel’s little pet.

The two of them headed to the center of the arena
, capturing the attention of the other Guardians.

Raphael approached Fallon
. “Gabriel is not going to be happy about this.”

Fallon didn’t seem to care. She was seizing the opportunity before her and was excited at the mere thought of taking Vie down. She looked at Raphael
. “Vie came to me, not the other way around. I’m just lending a helping hand.”

This is not going to end well
, Raphael thought. 

Each G
uardian selected her weapon of choice and took ten paces back. The bell rang and Fallon threw the first spear. Like a lightning bolt, it flew fast and straight at Vie’s head.

Vie
put her hand up, caught it midair, and dropped it at her feet.

The crowd of Guardians
who had gathered around the arena to watch the two fierce rivals spar gasped in awe at Vie’s defensive maneuver, and Fallon’s anger grew.

Vie grabbed a bow,
nocked the arrow and shot back at Fallon. The rush of wind made a ‘zing’ sound as the arrow took flight.

Fallon darted out of its way
, but not before it nicked her in the side of the arm, wounding her. She glared in surprise at Vie’s newfound skills but recovered quickly and took flight, knocking into Vie and taking her on a ride into the wall of the arena in retaliation. The watchers saw the fire in Vie’s eyes ignite as she spun around while still airborne and kicked Fallon hard enough to send her flying over the wall.

“You want to battle with me?” Fallon thundered. “So be it
.” She stood up, ready to attack.

“I
’m not afraid of you; there’s nothing you can do to me to cause me any more pain than I’m already feeling. I know what you think of me—what all of you think of me. You think I’m not worthy, that I don’t belong here. Come on, Fallon. You want me? Then come and get me,” Vie said, antagonizing her.

Fallon shouted
a battle cry, running straight at Vie with the power of a god.

O
ut of nowhere, Gabriel appeared in front of Vie, shielding her from the force of Fallon’s attack. Fallon stopped just before she hit Gabriel; she looked into his disapproving eyes.

“Enough!
You will both stop this now!” Gabriel ordered, his voice brooking no argument.

“She asked to spar with me
, Gabriel,” Fallon argued.

“I don’t care who asked who
m; this is not your personal fighting arena, Fallon. This is a place where we come to train, to teach, to learn what we need to do so we can fight against the evil around us. Not to fight against each other! What have we become? Ask yourselves this: are we any better than Lucian right now?” Gabriel sounded disappointed. “Fallon, I expected more from you as a leader, as a mature Guardian, as my friend.” He turned to the others.

“The arena is closed for today
. You can all leave now.”

Vie could see how difficult it was for Gabriel to defend her. She knew
the whole fiasco was her fault, but she just couldn’t seem to find a place to put her anger. She was beginning to feel like she was having an out of body experience: she could see herself doing and saying all of these terrible things but she couldn’t seem to control any of it. And now she was hurting the only person she had left in her life that she trusted and loved. Vie looked at Gabriel, only to watch him turn his back and walk away, leaving her standing alone with her pain…and now her guilt, too.

A sharp rap at the door caused Camulus to look up from his desk.

“Come in,”
he bellowed.

“Camulus, this is not going to work,” Gabriel
’s curt words preceded his body’s abrupt entrance into the room.

“What is not going to work?” Camulus
was confused.

“Vie
—keeping her here, not allowing her to be a part of any missions—virtually taking away everything she had, everything she is,” Gabriel said.

“She must remain here
, Gabriel,” Camulus demanded, “and it is up to you to see to it that she does.”

“But if we could just let her go, just to say goodbye to Carter, I think then
—” Gabriel started.

“NO!” Camulus thundered, interrupting
him. “Gabriel, I don’t know how to make this any clearer to you. If she returns, the portal will open! You know this, Gabriel! Do you want to put everyone at risk just so Violet can have some sort of closure?”

Gabriel hung his head in frustration
at Camulus’ chastisement, and in embarrassment of what he was asking. He fully understood the ramifications of his thoughtless request but was desperate to heal Vie’s soul.

Camulus knew what Gabriel was trying to do for his friend
, and though he admired the reasoning behind the request, it was an impossible one to grant. Instead, Camulus had another suggestion, one that might work.

Gabriel called for a meeting with the Guardians, gathering them at the arena. He began by congratulating those who assisted with the downfall of Lucian, paying special tribute to Vie.

The Guardians clapped and cheered
, praising Vie, and she smiled slightly, nodding her head in acknowledgement of their applause. Inwardly, she hated that Gabriel had put her in the spotlight right now, but she played along like a good Guardian should.

Gabriel continued speaking
to the group, and was talking about making changes at the Gates when one of his fellow Guardians asked about their fallen comrade, Reese. Others joined in, echoing each other’s questions about rumors they’d heard surrounding Reese's betrayal and death during the mission.

Gabriel paused for a moment
and looked around the group as he said, “What you don’t see with your eyes, don’t witness with your mouth.”

Camulus sneered at Gabriel
, knowing he was not accepting Reese’s betrayal as fact, even though all signs pointed to the contrary. He felt that Gabriel, as their leader, needed to address these rumors sooner than later, but clearly today would not be that day. None of the Guardians dared to challenge Gabriel’s response any further, to Camulus’ relief.

“Certain things have come to light over the course of the past few months that have brought about th
e change I’m about to announce. It’s good change, one that promises to be a benefit to all the new warriors sent here to train. It is with great pleasure that I am announcing Fallon’s assignment as the new Head of Missions,” Gabriel said proudly.

There was a
collective gasp in the room, followed by silence. Head of Missions was Gabriel’s position; it had always belonged to him. Though Fallon was one of the best, she was no Gabriel. No one was.

Fallon’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets with surprise
as Gabriel motioned for her to join him at the podium. She stood up and looked directly at Vie, grinning in victory as she sauntered past on her way to the front.

Vie wondered what
wrong she’d done that had been bad enough to deserve this punishment.
It’s not bad enough that my heart was ripped out of my chest when I lost Carter, or that I was told I could no longer go on missions, but now I have to watch as Fallon gets her wish to fulfill a destiny I’d always believed was mine.
Then, just when she thought it couldn’t get any worse, it did. Gabriel announced that he would be heading up the new recruits training division along with Vie.