Daughter of Earth (Tales of the Guardian) Read Free Page A

Alexander had killed him and Emily’s father had recovered from the almost fatal blow, there had been a measure of time which could not be changed, a thorn of evil that could not be removed, and it all swirled around the vision Dante had given Alexander.
          The entire event was a horrible experience, one he wanted to forget but couldn’t. Instead it remained in the back of his mind, a haunting and relentless memory. When Dante had touched him, Alexander felt a cold rush run through his body. Much like when he healed a Traveler, when he took an illness from their body. But, this coldness was different. Instead of it traveling to his gut and then heating up, feeling like his body was incinerating the foreign feeling, the unwelcome coldness spread to every limb in his body. It then traveled to his heart, surrounded it and clenched down. It was then he saw the vision. It was as vivid as an actual experience. What Alexander saw shook him to his very core.
          A week or so after the event, Emily asked what Dante had shown him. He told her it was just a bunch of ridiculous lies, and those lies didn’t matter. Unfortunately, Alexander wasn’t certain this was wholly the truth. There was something inside of him, much to his distaste, which agreed with the vision. No matter how hard he tried to convince himself it was false, he had an eerie and uncomfortable feeling that some, if not all, could indeed happen.
         Emily awoke as they pulled into the parking garage. Alexander was grateful to be back safely and that she was alert again. He didn’t like being alone, in silence, with nothing to distract him from his thoughts. Not anymore.
         It was shortly before midnight and she was still quite groggy. Alexander helped her up to the apartment. He would have just carried her but he knew she would protest such treatment. If she ever denied she enjoyed his doting, she’d be outright lying. But, there was definitely a subtle distinction between doting and what she called babying, as he’d been forced to learn. She always let him know when he crossed the line
         When they entered the door they weren’t surprised to see Xavier and Emily’s father, James, sitting in the living room waiting for them.
         “I totally smoked you guys,” Xavier gave a few menacing chuckles.
         “Yeah, and how you never manage to get a ticket is beyond me?” Emily said rubbing the sleep from her eyes. “That would be an interesting encounter for the officer.”
         “I can see a cop a mile away, guess it’s just another sixth sense. Not all of us have it though,” he winked at his friend.
         “Ha, right,” was all Alexander said. He was still trying to shake the vision and reoccurring thoughts which passed through his mind during the last part of the drive. His sense of playfulness had taken a momentary hiatus.  
         The four sat in the living room for a little while, discussing the day’s events. Alexander bragged about Emily, declaring she would give any Daytona 500 driver a run for their money, if given the chance. She truly had developed some impressive driving skills, even if she refused to recognize how far she’d really come.
         James had lots of questions. He was disappointed he hadn’t been able to go, but he needed to carry on life as normal. Especially since he was the only one who could earn an income, thus financing all of these adventures  they’d been taking.
         After about forty-five minutes Emily got up and excused herself for bed. She kissed her father and gave him a hug goodnight. She then went to Alexander and kissed him, as well.
         “Hey… where is my kiss?” Xavier piped up. He used the line quite often but it never got him anywhere.
          Emily tiredly threw her hand in his direction, as if she were pushing him away.
         “Oh, that hurts, I thought we were close.” Xavier grabbed his chest and scrunched his face in