ReEmergent -Guardians of Vesturon [4]

re
emergent

Book 4 of The Guardians of Vesturon

A.M. Hargrove

Copyright 2013 A.M. Hargrove

Smashwords 1st Edition

Smashwords Edition License Notes:

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without written permission of the author.

This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any person, living or dead, any place, events or occurrences, is purely coincidental. The characters and storylines are products of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to Jennifer Nunez (my editor) and Terri Thomas (
www.mybookboyfriend.blogspot.com
), for your die-hard love of The Guardians! It’s also dedicated to all the other Guardians fans out there. Without you, there would never have been a book three and four.

reEMERGENT

The Planet Earth

The female trudged through the streets of Atlanta,
post-pandemic Atlanta
, not focusing on anything but the back of the individual in front of her. Her black hair was filthy and matted; her fingernails were ragged and torn with dirt caked beneath them. The sooty streaks on her face covered her skin, but if one looked closely, they would have noticed that at one time she had been quite beautiful. The vacant look in her gray eyes hid any kind of recognition, any kind of triggered memory that might exist, buried deep within her mind.

“
Halt!” the commander yelled.

The line of workers came to a stop as they waited for their next orders.

“
This is where we stop for the night.”

They were in front of a large empty warehouse in which windows had been broken and the doors torn away. The streets had been abandoned months ago, when the hemorrhagic smallpox disease had swept through the city, then the country and finally the world, leaving millions of people dead in its wake. That’s when
they
came...the Xanthians. They came to take over Earth and make it their own. She was part of their scheme, only she didn’t remember that. She scarcely knew anything anymore. They now controlled her mind...by the nanochip they had implanted into her cerebral cortex. It had taken over her brain and turned her into a minion. She now belonged to them, doing exactly as they told her, without a thought of her own.

They entered the building and heard the rats scurrying away. Rats and cockroaches...they’d survive anything, it seemed. Many humans had been forced to start eating them to survive, for the food sources had quickly dried up and disappeared. Unless you had a spot of land where you could plant something, you were out of luck.

“
Number Five, get over here and give us a hand,” one of the Xanthian soldiers yelled.

The dark haired girl hurried over to assist him. They were setting up this place as their new headquarters. She carted crates inside that they had just teleported from Xanthus, their home planet. She had long ago lost her aversion to the Xanthians, when she lost her memory and everything that was herself. She simply existed in her body, a shell, nothing more, and nothing less.

The other minions set up pallets on the ground for everyone to sleep on and before long, darkness settled upon them. They were handed their rations, which they ate and drank and then were told to sleep. It never occurred to them to do anything else, for they were minions, lacking the ability to think on their own.

The Planet Vesturon

I am power. I am strength. I am the wind. I am speed. I am courage. I am faith. I am hope. I am fierce. I am loyal. I am steadfast. I am true. I am protection. I am honor. I am a Guardian of Vesturon.

Xarrid Yarrister paced within the confines of the Guardian headquarters on Vesturon. Standing at six feet four inches tall, and nothing but pure muscle, he was an impressive yet intimidating sight. Long wavy dark hair and piercing cobalt blue eyes, he wasn’t a man one would merely give a passing glance. In fact, his appearance demanded one’s complete and undivided attention. There was a time, and not too long ago, that he simply looked like the young brother of Rayn, Rykerian and Tesslar...softer and youthful. Not so anymore. Sculpted and chiseled, he was magnificent to look upon, but Xarrid couldn’t have cared less about his appearance.

He had taken some hard knocks over the last year, one of them being the death of his brother Therron. The other one was the disappearance of his soul mate, Saylan. The latter had changed him into the male he was today. Hardened was the word that best described him. Many Guardians feared his wrath. Others looked up to him. All of them respected him. He was ruthless and cunning, but that’s not to say he wasn’t fair; he was a Guardian after all.

Xarrid was on the hunt...the hunt for Saylan. He would never rest until he had proof that she was either dead or alive. If she was alive, pity the ones that held her. They would have hell to pay if they had made her suffer one tiny bit.

The door to the conference room opened and ten males filed in, including Xarrid’s brothers Rayn, Rykerian and Tesslar. His father, Rowan, the Great Leader of Vesturon, was also among them.

Everyone but Xarrid took a seat when he asked, “Well, what have you discovered that prompted you to call this meeting?”

The men looked around uneasily and finally Rayn, the eldest of the siblings, spoke. “The pandemic on Earth is winding down. Our Guardian teams were never able to make a dent in it with any of the vaccine we placed down there. The smallpox virus was too virulent and before they could make any progress, it wiped out sixty-five percent of the population. Our estimates are that it may go to at least seventy percent before it completely runs its course and dies out.”

Xarrid flexed his hands and then rubbed his neck. Ever since Saylan disappeared he’d refused to cut his hair, which gave him an unkempt, wild look. Since he was a Guardian, he wore a thin braid in the back, which was one of their requirements. They weren’t allowed to cut it but every ten years, so it added to his long and unruly hair. Xarrid looked the part of a rogue. He was the antithesis of his brothers and the other Guardians that were present as they wore their hair neatly trimmed and were clean shaven. Xarrid didn’t take the time to bother with such inconsequential things such as that, nor did he have the inclination.

“
Bloody hell! It would be nice to get some good news for a change, wouldn’t it?” he asked no one in particular.

Rayn, the oldest of the brothers, gave him a long, hard look before he spoke. “That’s not all.”

“
Well, what are you waiting for? Go on,” he bit out.

“
There are reports that the Xanthians have streamed in and taken over. Humans are not only dead from the disease, but the Xanthians are killing anyone that won’t agree with their demands.”

Xarrid slammed his fist into the palm of his hand. “Those bloody barbarians. I hate those bastards. My mission is to destroy them all.”

Rowan looked at him, his expression grave. The last year had taken its toll on all of them, but Rowan bore the physical signs like a banner. Tall, dark and handsome, he’d always been robust and full of life. Lately, the purple half moons beneath his eyes had deepened and the lines etched around his mouth were now more pronounced.

“
My son,” Rowan began, “I don’t want to see you waste your life away by trying to destroy something that may be an impossibility.”

Xarrid turned to his father and in a voice laced with steel, said very quietly, “They took from me two people I dearly loved. I will live the rest of my life trying to get Saylan back. If and when I do, I will go after them with a vengeance. I will live and breathe revenge, Father.”

Rowan sadly shook his head. “I would rather you focused your efforts on other things.”

“
I understand what
you
would rather have. Unfortunately,
I
have different goals.”

Turning to Rayn, Xarrid asked, “What are our teams doing on Earth regarding the Xanthians now?”

Rayn glanced around uneasily at the others before he answered. “We’re thinking about pulling out.”

“
What? How can you think that? What about our Compound? What about the Nunne Hi? Talasi? The others?”

“
We would keep the Compound active and the Command Center in North Carolina. All others would be evacuated. The Nunne Hi are safe right now. You know they won’t leave their sacred Great Smoky Mountains. They are tied to their ancestors, the Cherokees, spiritually. Their caves are hidden and it would be nearly impossible for the Xanthians to discover their location.”

Xarrid started pacing, trying to make sense of what they’re telling him.

“
We’ve been through this from all angles. When the virus finishes running its course, Earth will be a different place,” Rayn explained further.

Xarrid looked at Rayn like he’d grown an extra head. “That’s exactly why we need to keep our presence there. That’s when they’ll need us the most. Earth will be a hell hole Rayn.”

Rayn felt the knots growing again in his gut. He hated this decision. It sickened him whenever he thought of it. “We don’t have the troops to spare though. We need all the hands we have to get Xanthus back on track.”

“
We need to blow Xanthus up and forget about it. Then we’ll have the extra hands we need so we can rebuild Earth.”

Xarrid was losing his patience with Rayn. He let out a loud breath and started shaking his head.

“
Xarrid, you know we can’t annihilate Xanthus. It’s against our covenants. The Council would never allow it nor would the Universal Free Rule. We are protectors of the universe, not destroyers. Besides, are you willing to take that risk where Saylan’s concerned, if she’s still there?”

Placing his hands on his hips, he stared at Rayn as he began tapping his foot.

“
You know she’s not. Jurek and his team have turned Xanthus upside down searching for her. With their power, they would have located her by now. The Praestani do not fail in that.”

Rayn stared at Xarrid for a moment. He didn’t want to start an argument with him because they had been over this time and again. “You have your opinion of Jurek and I have mine. Let’s just leave it at that.”

“
Well then, as far as I’m concerned, this conversation is over. I have things I have to do. Father, give my love to Mother.”

Xarrid turned and stormed out of the conference room, leaving them all staring after him.

“
I’ll meet you as soon as I finish,” Saylan said.

“
Don’t be late. I can’t wait to share our news with everyone when we’re back on Vesturon.”

“
Neither can I. Do you think your family will be pleased?”

“
They love you, not nearly as much as I do, but they will be thrilled, especially Maddie. She will pride herself on her matchmaking skills.”

Saylan laughed. He adored her laugh. It did something to him he’d never experienced before. It turned him into jelly and brought him to his knees. If she’d have asked him to move a mountain, and then laughed afterwards, he would have found a way to do it.

“
You know Maddie will be gloating over this, don’t you? I can already picture her.”

“
I can live with that, as long as you’re part of the package. Now be safe and finish up. I don’t want you to miss that transport. I miss your lovely face already. And Saylan?”

“
Yes?”

“
You’re mine forever and I love you.”

“
I love you too Xarrid.”

“
I have to go, but I’ll see you in a few hours.” He bent toward her, intending to kiss her, but her face began to fade away, like it always did.

“
NO! Don’t leave me! Stay this time! Please don’t go Saylan!” he screamed.

Xarrid woke with a start, tangled in the sheets, covered in sweat.

He sat up and wiped his face, brushing the tears off his cheeks. He’d had this recurring dream for months, remembering the last time he’d talked with Saylan when he told her he loved her. Then she disappeared, like she always did. He’d driven himself crazy in his search for her. He’d never give up until he found her.