Chapter Ten #2
“You’re an idiot,” stated Travis as he threw a mint at Bracken’s head.
Bracken caught it and popped it in his mouth, grinning widely.
It didn’t take long for Mark and his kitchen crew to make everyone their food and he delivered it himself, pulling up a chair between Bréagha and Aiden to catch up.
Bracken and the other Sentinels were more than willing to regale Mark with stories without giving anything away about the Garden.
It was hard enough to explain it to those who were involved with their mission.
Trying to explain it to someone who would never go to the Garden would just open them all up to disbelief and a possible introduction to a padded room.
Bréagha sat back and let the conversation flow around her, enjoying the time to just breathe.
She looked at all the pictures on the wall.
Some of them were photographs Scarlett had taken from where she lived in Texas, others were paintings Mark did of the river that flowed beside Phoenix Rising.
It was a warm and inviting space that they all worked hard to create.
She didn’t feel homesick like she thought she might, just nostalgic.
She caught sight of the photo that Scarlett took of her and Aiden the day they’d installed the phoenix doors at the front of the bar.
Aiden had her in a headlock and she was trying to elbow him in the kidneys to get him to let go.
They were both laughing at the camera. They had taken many pictures that day, most of them polished and more professional.
That was the one they chose to display though, and it fit the space perfectly.
Scarlett came in with refills of everyone’s drinks, no one had opted for liquor.
Being outside of the Garden left them vulnerable to the Shadows who could move around easily.
The room was well lit however, so they were able to drop their guards a little, just not completely.
Most of the Sentinels settled for tea or water, Bréagha and Roz both opted for lemonade.
“Did you tell them what we decided,” she asked Mark when she squeezed in to sit on his lap.
“I was waiting for you to come in here, my love,” he answered. He turned to Aiden and then Bréagha. “If the offer is still on the table, we would like to buy Phoenix Rising. We can’t imagine working anywhere else.”
“You wouldn’t just work here; you can take over the apartment above.
Trust me, it helps to have a shower and bed close when you are running this place,” offered Aiden.
He handed his keys to Scarlett and shook Mark’s hand.
“It’s all yours. I already cleaned out what we wanted to keep.
Anything else you can either donate or keep. ”
“You two really aren’t coming back, are you?
” Scarlett set up and looked over at her friends, her voice incredulous.
Her eyes teared up as she imagined not having them to bounce ideas off of or just sharing the burden of running a bar and grill.
Bréagha and Aiden did a lot of the heavy lifting.
Though Scarlett and Mark had picked it up the last couple weeks, had made the choice to take it on long term, it was difficult to accept the permanency of their friends not being around.
A part of her had been holding on to hope that whatever mysterious reason had taken them away, it would only be for a short period of time, and they would eventually be back.
She looked at her friends, saw the slight changes that she had overlooked up to this point.
The easy camaraderie that Aiden shared with the other men, like he fully belonged.
She saw the way he looked more settled and content.
She then looked at Bréagha and saw the confidence as well as a shift in her expression, like she too had finally found a place she belonged and didn’t feel like an outsider pressing her face against the window hoping to get an invite to the table.
These two found home wherever they’d disappeared to.
Tears spilled down her cheeks as she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Bréagha.
This wasn’t just them checking in, this was a goodbye.
Soon after, Aiden called an end to the evening seeing how Bréagha was basically asleep, slumped in her chair.
“We better get that one home. She needs to be in tip top shape so Killian can attempt to kill her some more tomorrow,” laughed Aiden. The entire table burst out laughing when Bréagha groaned loudly.
“Isn’t tomorrow Saturday? Doesn’t that mean I get two days to rest?” she groused.
“You think you get days to rest? This isn’t a 9-5 job, you think the Shadows care what day it is,” scoffed Killian.
Mark and Scarlett thankfully had already left so he didn’t have to watch what he said.
He wasn’t great at that. Bréagha just groaned again and led everyone out of the back room and towards the door.
She swung by the bar and hugged Scarlett one more time then poked her head into the kitchen to yell her goodbyes to Mark as well, Aiden following to do the same.
They then walked outside where the other Sentinels were waiting. Bracken was staring at the military gardens across the street. The fog had rolled in off the river, giving it the eerie look that always made Bréagha shiver and think of zombies.
“Dude, that is sooo creepy. Anyone else anxious to get out of here before zombies show up,” whispered Bracken without looking away from the soldiers in the mist.
Bréagha grinned, shaking her head and Roz giggled.
She created her portal, and they all stepped through.
Bréagha hesitated for just a moment, taking one last look at Phoenix Rising.
As she glanced down the road, she noticed someone, or something, standing in the middle of the intersection underneath the flashing red traffic light at the top of the hill.
It was all shrouded with fog, so she squinted her eyes and blinked.
Whatever it was, had disappeared. She just shook her head and stepped through the portal Roz was holding open for her, convincing herself she was seeing things, but having a lingering feeling that she wasn’t.
The shadow watched Bréagha step through the portal, and grinned. It wouldn’t be long now before they learned whether Bréagha was truly a Guardian… or merely a Sentinel.