***
“No, I swear, I didn’t do anything!”
Drake struggled in the arms of two burly men, who had him on his knees in front of the one man who he feared there at the MonReneix base.
With a sinister smile, Donovan drawled, “I expected more from you. If you think I’m dumb enough to not realize a traitor when I see one, you underestimate me.”
“Donovan, I’m telling you; I’m on your side!”
“I trusted you, Drake.” The MonReneix leader’s bright blue eyes looked at him sadly, “You promised you would help us reach our goal by any means necessary. You gave your blood, sweat, and tears for this mission.”
“I still stand by that, Donovan!”
Donovan grinned evilly, “Then tell me the truth. Did you, or did you not, send word to Lord Morgan Gallager about us?”
Drake stated clearly, “I didn’t. I swear I didn’t.”
Donovan winced for a second, and Drake heard the voice like a whisper on the wind: He lies.
The man’s eyes narrowed. “You’re lying, Drake. I can see it in your eyes.” The criminal snapped his fingers, and Drake’s dagger flew from the educator’s waist to Donovan’s hand.
“C’mon, mate, we can work this out, can’t we?” Drake begged. When Donovan walked two steps to him and placed the dagger at his throat, Drake knew that his time had almost run out. Squeezing his eyes shut tightly, he prepared to die.
“What if you prove his loyalty?” a familiar voice asked. The next thing came as a shock to him: the dagger recoiled from his neck. Opening his eyes, Drake saw Ashlynn standing in the doorway, hand on her hip.
“Ashlynn!” he exclaimed.
Donovan muttered to himself, “Prove his loyalty, huh?” He turned his calculating gaze back onto Drake, who stiffened yet again at his eyes. Drake had been around Donovan like this for the past year, and had yet to get used to those eyes.
The chill-inducing eyes of the Seeker.
How Donovan had acquired the Seeker’s spirit, Drake may never know. However, that did mean one thing: the real Seeker was a child. That meant good news for his real organization… but he’d have to get out alive in order to tell them.
Donovan’s eyes brightened. “I know exactly how.” When the leader snapped his fingers, the men holding Drake down suddenly yanked him up and threw him onto his bed. He struggled under their grip as hard as he could, but stopped when Donovan held the blade at his throat again.
Donovan’s next words were said with such finality that made Drake’s blood run cold:
“Brand him.”
Drake’s eyes widened. “Brand me?” he stuttered as the leader turned around, “Y-you can’t be serious, Donovan.”
The criminal ignored him and put on his coat, saying simply, “I’ve got somewhere I need to go. I trust you can take care of things, Ashlynn.”
“Donovan, you can’t do this!” Drake shouted, “You wouldn’t have even made it this far without me!”
The Seeker’s host turned around, putting his fedora on his head as he grinned at the teacher. “Which is why I’m keeping you alive. But, step another toe out of line…” Donovan’s smile turned downward into a frown. “And I will not hesitate to kill you. Understood?”
When Drake gulped and nodded, Donovan smiled. “Well then, I’ve got a little girl I have to meet.” With a soft chuckle, he exited the room.
Drake ran those last words through his head a few times before it clicked. Donovan was going back for Kimberly. No… that can’t happen!
As one of the soldiers got close to pressing the brander against his lower arm, Drake kicked the man’s wrist. The steel from the brander slid across his skin, causing immense pain to shoot through his whole body. However, his body filled with adrenaline as his true mark started chilling his whole body. Eyes narrowing, he thought, Let’s do this.
Twisting his body around, he yanked the two soldiers onto the bed. Calling forth his full magic for the first time in a while, he squeezed both men’s heads. As their energy filled his body, his magical signature and strength got stronger. The men eventually relaxed on the bed.
He knew what was coming before the other knew. As he ducked instinctively, a metal pipe soared above his head from the third guard. Jumping up slightly, his legs snapped out, clocking the guy square in the jaw. As the man fell to the ground, he pressed his hand to the bed and used it as a spring board. His form was amateurish at best, simply because of the pain in his arm.
Once his feet touched the ground, he did the same energy drain to the last guard. As soon as that one passed out, Drake felt lightheaded. Well, he kind of deserved that one. He’d gotten sloppy, and since he hadn’t used his magic at full strength in a while, that was the result.
Suddenly, his arm burned. Slapping his other hand over the burn mark, he glanced around. He cursed under his breath. Ashlynn had disappeared, to tell Donovan no doubt. The main reason Drake had come to MonReneix was because of her. She was his little sister, and he wanted to make sure she was safe. When he was close to coaxing her home, he learned about the children being held captive here and knew he couldn’t leave them behind. Besides, the longer he stayed, the more he’d learn, right?
There was one thing he had to do before escaping.
He had to see a certain Falcone.
***
“Bryan?”
I groaned as a hand shook my shoulder, coming out of my sleep groggily. As my eyes opened, they immediately caught the look on Drake’s face. Sitting up, I kicked my legs over the side of the bed.
“Wha’s up, D’ake?” I yawned, stretching my arms. Once I’d woken up fully, my eyes widened. His right hand was gripping his left arm tightly, as he winced in pain. When he looked up at me, I caught the moon reflecting off the sweat on his red face. I suddenly got butterflies in my stomach.
“Drake, are you alright?” I started getting up, but he held out a hand and backed up a few steps.
“Stay there,” he ordered.
Slowly lowering myself back to the mattress, I asked worriedly, “What happened?”
Drake winced and grunted quickly before looking back up at me with a forced smile. “It’s no biggie, Bryan. I can handle a bit of… Argh!” He pitched forward in pain again. This time, I got up, no matter what he might have said otherwise. I was at his side in a millisecond. When I tried to slide his hand off of where he was holding it, he winced again, pushing my hands away. Before his hand went back over the wound, I caught a glimpse of burned skin.
“They tried branding you…” I murmured, “Just like some of those kids… But, it should just be a burn. Why is it hurting you so bad?”
Drake glanced up at me before averting his gaze. That soft, quick chuckle escaped from his throat again. “They use unholy steel for the branding. Luckily, it only scraped me, or I’d be in even worse shape.”
“Unholy steel? But that would mean you’d have to have been cleansed. Why would you have been cleansed? You of all people?”
A shy grin crossed Drake’s face. “It’s a long story that can be made simple by one symbol.” The teacher let go of the burn to grip his three-quarter sleeve. I quickly caught the fact that he was right; the full brand wasn’t engraved into him. Then, Drake’s shaky hand pulled up his shirt sleeve, and I saw the one thing I was not suspecting.
On Drake’s arm, right above the elbow joint, was a mark similar to the Rosara, the Gallager crest. It had the divided up star in a circle, but right in the middle of the circle was a teardrop. I knew the name of that symbol all too well: the Confiada.
I couldn’t conceal my surprise. “You’re… You’re a member of the Alliance?”
“Yeah,” Drake chuckled, “You seem shocked.”
“Well, yeah, kind of!” I squealed, “Since when?”
Drake pulled his sleeve back down, covering up his Confiada. “My family’s been in the Protektor’s Alliance for ages. I was initiated when I was nine.”
That explained it. No wonder I hadn’t felt even
a little bit of his magic! One of the first and most difficult training regimens for them is concealing magic. The Alliance members’ concealment skills are second to only a fully-realized Protektor, which I was obviously not even near at that point.
“So, why are you here? If you’re part of the Alliance, then you’ve obviously felt the Seeker’s energy around this place.”
Drake grinned, “That’s exactly why I’m here. I want to find out who the real Seeker is, and tell the Alliance before he does something drastic. After all, the Protektor has yet to be announced to the public, which means the Seeker may try something before the kid’s old enough.”
My eyes widened. “You know who the Protektor is?” Deep inside, I hope that he’d mistake the surprise in my voice as, ‘How do you know?,’ rather than, ‘He’s found me out!’
“Yeah, but only high-up members of the Alliance know.”
That made me feel at least a bit safer. If Drake claimed to know who the Protektor was, that meant he himself was a higher-up in the Protektor’s Alliance. Having someone with that much skill and power might come in handy.
“Might I ask who it is?” I asked sweetly, not wanting to blow my cover yet.
“As far as I know, it’s Lord Morgan’s son, Lucian. I recall the rumor floating around Rolling Hills that he was a student when I was teaching, but I never actually had the pleasure of meeting him.”
I caught a glint in his eye as he chuckled and spun around. “What?” I asked, wanting to know what was so funny right then.
“No, it’s stupid.”
I coaxed, “C’mon, you can tell me! We’re buds, right?”
Drake turned around back to me and smiled. “Yeah. Buds. Alright, well, this is going to sound crazy, but you don’t seem like the type to be a Falcone. Seem a bit too serious for their like!” The teacher started laughing, even grabbing his stomach and bending over in hilarity. When I stayed stoic and didn’t say a word, his laughter started dying down.
“That is funny, right?” he asked me, raising an eyebrow.
I had to tell him. I knew I had to tell him. He was a member of the Protektor’s Alliance. If he already knew who the Protektor was, it was about time for him to meet said Protektor.
I took a few steps away from him and started summoning my magic. A ring of light shone from the floor. Wind started circling around me. My hair length started shrinking as a result of activating my basic Protektor form. Eventually, I felt my hair reach its spiked, pixie-cut.
“Drake, my name’s Lucian Gallager,” I told the shocked man as the wind and light died down, “And I’m the Protektor.”
Drake continued to stare at me for a few more moments as I grabbed a shirt and started yanking it over my head. Then, he chuckled. “That would explain the Confiada reacting around you. Let’s get the kids out of here. Donovan and Ashlynn are gone.”
As Drake ran out of the room, I called after him, “Wait, where’d they go?”
The educator started shaking some of the kids’ shoulders. “C’mon, guys. We’ve got to get out of here. Get your shoes on.” While Drake ignored me and continued down the bed rows, Dominik and Graham walked up to me.
Graham yawned and asked, “Has Drake gone bonkers in the head?”
“Yeah, he seems off,” Dominik commented, “Is he alright?”
“No,” I replied, “We’re busting you guys out. Help us get the kids up. We’ve got to go ASAP.”
As Dominik and Graham did as I ordered, I jogged up to Drake and spun him around quickly. “Tell me where Donovan and Ashlynn went.” The teacher just stared at the ground before spinning back to a werewolf child in a bed.
“C’mon, sleepyhead! Wakey wakey!”
I grabbed his shoulder and refused to let go this time. “That’s an order, Drake.”
Drake stared at me before closing his eyes in defeat. “Donovan went to get Kimberly. I’m guessing Ashlynn followed him once I busted out.”
My heart froze. He was going after Kimberly? No… I knew what he’d done to my mother, and countless other people. He was a vicious, cold-blooded monster, which was probably why the Seeker’s spirit was compatible with him.
Summoning a pole from my room and sliding it onto my back, I stated, “I’m going after them. You three get the kids back to the Realm Leader’s house. You’ll be safe there until we can get you all home.”
I started running for the door, when Drake called out, “You can’t go alone, Lucian!”
Stopping in the doorway, I grinned at him and replied, “I am the Protektor after all. I’m never alone.”
I bolted for down the halls of the base, heading for the exit and the forest. All I could think was, Kimmy, hang on. I’m coming.
***
A guard came running into Morgan’s bedroom, out of breath. “Sir!”
Morgan rolled over and sat up, asking groggily, “What’s wrong, Mitchell?”
“There’s about two dozen children standing outside, along with Dominik Garibaldi and Graham Rendra.”
Bolting out of bed, he exclaimed, “What?” He ran through the halls, pushing aside servants to make it to the front door. Yanking it open, he found exactly what Mitchell had told him: a bunch of kids. Dominik, the strapping nineteen year old he was, stood there rocking a sleeping toddler as she slept. Graham held tightly onto little Logan Angel’s hand. Doing a quick scan, Morgan looked up at Dominik.
“Where’s Lucian?” he asked nervously, “He’s okay, right?”
Dominik replied softly, “He is right now, but may not be for much longer.” When Morgan couldn’t comprehend what he meant, the young man groaned, “He went after Donovan. The murderer’s after Kimberly again.”
Morgan’s headache started up again as his thoughts jumbled together. “And Drake? Where’s he? He should be here with you guys. He is alive, isn’t he?”
“Relax, Milord,” Graham replied, popping his lollipop out of his mouth, “Drake went to back Luke up.”
“And that’s supposed to make me relax?” Turning around to Mitchell, he ordered, “Take these kids and take care of them.”
Mitchell asked, “And what about you, Milord?”
Morgan closed his eyes and breathed deeply. A light shone from his body, and once it had disappeared, the Realm Leader was clothed in his traditional Gallager uniform, complete with swords, a pole, and a gun.
“I’m going to help my son.”
***
“No, please, don’t!” Kimberly cried out. I peeked around the corner to find Donovan and Kimberly in the main foyer. Donovan chuckled evilly and held out a hand. I felt the spurt of magic and watched as my girlfriend and the love of my life convulsed on the floor, screaming in agony.
I couldn’t take this anymore. Without any plan whatsoever, I ran for Donovan. Leaping at him, I swung out my foot to slam into the murderer’s head. It hit a barrier, not two inches from the man’s head, and I fell to the floor with a loud thump.
Donovan simply chuckled, “Young Protektor, you still have so much to l-” When his eyes connected with mine, I watched the confidence in them waver. “What? Bryan? Is that you?”
I gritted my teeth and replied, “It’s Lord Lucian Gallager to you, scum!” I reached back, my fingers wrapping tightly around the pole on my back, and swung it at Donovan’s legs. The man simply threw out a hand, and I flew across the foyer, smack into the far wall. As I lay dazed on the floor, I vaguely heard him laughing.
“This is rich! You wanted to protect those kids, didn’t you? Always the righteous one, aren’t we, Loren?”
“My name’s Lucian!” I yelled, “I’m a Gallager first, and I’m proud!”
Suddenly, a dark figure jumped over the upper floor’s railing and tackled Donovan to the floor. I stood up quickly when I saw who it was.
“Drake!”
Sure enough, it was Drake pinning Donovan to the tile floor. He snapped out his fist, clocking the sadist right in the kisser. I smelled Donovan’s blood before I saw it dribbling from his mouth. The
evil man simply smiled, and Drake went flying through the air. When he fell to the floor, I heard a sickening crack. Drake struggled to stand up, and it seemed like he’d broken one of his legs.
I watched Donovan walked up to the struggling Drake, twisting a dagger in his hand. “You know, Drake. I had really hoped for great things from you.” Then, Donovan’s hand snapped out, and the dagger in his hand dug into Drake’s stomach.
I watched Donovan yanked his dagger back out.
I watched Drake crumble to the ground.
I watched the Seeker’s host grin and laugh.
I couldn’t bear it.
Tears started welling up in my eyes as I felt my anger increasing rapidly. I’d made a good friend, an ally, someone who would always be there for me. He was like a second father to me, and had taken care of me well over the past week, even without knowing who I truly was. Someone that compassionate, that caring, didn’t deserve to get cut down this young.
“Enough!” I roared, my voice distorted again. It sounded like my voice was mixed with another, but I honestly didn’t care. Wind started viciously whipping around me as I charged for Donovan. I watched the man’s victorious grin turn into a wide-eyed look of fear. He crossed his arms just as I slammed into him, the two of us crashing through the wall.
I didn’t care anymore. If Drake was dead, it would be my fault. And I wouldn’t allow that. Not as the Protektor. I, Loren Bellerose, won’t allow it. Wait… did I just say I was-
Then, my mind went blank.
***
Morgan hurried to Kimberly’s side as Lucian and Donovan crashed into the next room. He quickly shook her shoulder, rousing her.
“C’mon, Kimmy, gotta move.”
The girl sat up with a groan. “Wha’ happened?”
He held out a hand and helped her to her feet. “No time to explain. Get out of here. I’ve got the rest of your family waiting outside.”
Kimberly nodded and then ran for the front doors. Morgan heard another crash and knew that the fight had entered another room.
“You’ve gotten old, Pro.”
He looked up to find Drake bleeding against the far wall. His eyes widened as he ran for his old friend. “Ace!”