Chapter 26 #3
Then he dropped his head into his hand for a moment.
“All of this is a relief. I thought I was losing my mind. Things that don’t make sense now do, others still hang in the shadows, and I guess I’ll know what to do with them when the time comes.
” He dropped his hand and leaned forward.
“So, can we tap into this Guardian now? I need to know where we stand.”
* * *
On some level, Silas knew that everything she’d said wasn’t only true but that somewhere in his mind he was already a part of it. The leader they needed, one of the architects.
Lechuza nodded, a gesture of weary acknowledgment, then closed her eyes. The air in the sterile conference room seemed to thin, to hold its breath. Aurelion, meet Director Silas Creed.
Silas stiffened, his spine ramrod straight.
The words flowed directly into his head, a cool, clear stream of consciousness that bypassed his ears entirely.
Around the table, the other Shadowguard operators went quiet, their postures tensing as they felt the subtle shift in the room's atmosphere, a silent intrusion they couldn’t hear but could feel in their bones.
Your operators have restored the Veil, restored me, and the Keepers.
We are all so grateful. The voice carried a weight of immense age, a gratitude that felt as vast as the cosmos.
Chaos is locked down even tighter than he was before, but we must stay vigilant.
He will never stop trying to escape. There's a war coming, and we've only won the opening skirmish.
Silas's jaw tightened, his gaze sweeping across his team before settling back on Lechuza, who remained a still conduit for the celestial message. What are our next steps to make sure he never gets free? he asked, his voice low and urgent, cutting through the silence.
The keyholders and their support have been retired from their duties, the voice of Aurelion continued, its tone shifting from gratitude to firm declaration, and they are free to choose their own path.
The Veil will only allow pairs to defend it now.
It is the legacy of the Owl and the Eagle.
A faint, almost imperceptible smile touched Lechuza's lips.
Therefore, you will need to create new Shadowguard, and for this endeavor, I will help you. I am sending you the Emissary.
Silas leaned forward slightly, his focus absolute.
He is rough around the edges, blunt, and to the point, Aurelion warned, a hint of something like wry amusement in the mental tone, but he has the leadership and the knowledge to set you all on the right path.
Heed his guidance. He comes in my name. There was a brief pause, a deliberate space in the flow of information.
There is another person who’s crucial to this fight, but that is for him to understand.
The voice softened then, losing its formal edge, becoming something more intimate, more profound. We are in this fight together.
As the final words faded, the oppressive weight in the room lifted, leaving only the hum of the ventilation and the quiet, shared breath of the people around the table. Lechuza opened her eyes, the silver and blue within them seeming to glow with a newfound light.
After the Guardian receded, Silas said, “So we wait for this emissary, and in the meantime, what do you think I should do with the lot of you?”
“Sir,” Bagh said, his voice full of mischief. “May I point out that we didn’t really break an oath? Since Lechuza was innocent, all we did was support our sister.” His tiger was unpredictable, a rule-breaker, but damn if he didn’t get the job done.
O-voo’s chuckle was deep and resonant.
“Is that so, Bagh?” Silas leaned back, pinning the tiger with his gaze. “What do you think, Komodo?”
“I think he’s a smart ass with an authority problem.”
Silas chuckled. “You’re not wrong. All of you are on desk duty until I say otherwise.”
“That’s worse than finding lost souls in the Veil,” Bagh groused.
“I’d say,” O-voo said. “Your report writing is atrocious.”
Lechuza smiled as Silas nodded to her. She went to him as the others bantered. “Sounds like you've been through hell,” Silas said.
She nodded. “It’s been something.”
“Well, how about you take some time to figure it out and get back to me? Although I think my position is going to change, the civilian world still needs us. What do you think about O-voo for director?”
Lechuza sighed. “Not Bagh,” she teased.
His laugh was sharp. “Now that’s an apocalypse.”
To his surprise, she hugged her friends, folded space, and disappeared.
He leaned his back against the wall, catching his breath.
Nothing was ever going to be the same. Now, instead of worrying about the state of the freaking USA in world matters, he had to worry about the spark that set off the Big Bang getting free and starting over from scratch.
He couldn’t help the cynicism. Maybe that was a good thing.
“Komodo, Krait, we need to talk.” Both his operatives were savvy, brilliant, and he had some plans brewing on how they would fit in this new order. He left the room, the Reavers following.
* * *
When she got back, the air in the hallway felt too still, too quiet after the charged energy of Langley.
She rushed to their room, the door swinging open silently, and found Flash on the bed.
He was lying on his back, one arm thrown over his eyes, but she knew with absolute certainty that he wasn’t sleeping.
The room was steeped in his awareness, a silent, waiting hum that pulled her forward.
She went to the edge of the mattress, the soft fabric dipping under her weight.
He moved with blinding speed, a blur of motion that was both shocking and intimately familiar.
His hand shot out, wrapping around her wrist, and he pulled her down on top of him with a soft grunt.
"It's a good thing you're back," he murmured, his voice a low rumble against her ear.
"I was about to storm Langley and cause an incident. "
A laugh bubbled up from her chest, light and airy in the dim room.
"You cause an incident everywhere you go," she teased, slipping her arms around his torso, snuggling into the solid, comforting warmth of his body.
The scent of him, clean skin, faint soap, and something uniquely Jae, filled her senses, grounding her.