The New Guard (Crossroads Book 1) Read Free

tree to tree, leading
her deeper into the woods, which she didn’t realize, were now not the ones
surrounding her house.
    *
    The
children were still fairly close to their home, in the woods they knew so well,
yet which had become so frightening. They were still surrounded by the cloaked
and hooded horsemen and the children huddled together, the oldest doing their
best to protect the youngest. Eight of the nine horsemen were watching the
children, while the ninth one was looking all around.
    “I cannot
sense the gateway,” the horseman spoke in a deep baritone voice.
    Across
from him another rider spoke. “Be still, Caliban; our allies will reopen it
momentarily.” This rider spoke with a calm authority in a hushed tone.
    “I only
count eleven. Where is the twelfth?” The raspy voice issued from another of the
horsemen.
    Without
prompting, one of the riders and a hound left the circle while the other eight
remained.
    Seconds
stretched slowly into minutes. Silas was the sixth child of David and Rebekah
Koen and often felt he had something to prove. He was lean, some would say scrawny,
though all the running, climbing, and various other activities he threw himself
into was giving him the shadow of muscle tone. The boy was impatient with most
things, even hygiene, which was one of the reasons his sandy hair was buzzed
close to his scalp. Therefore, the situation began to wear on Silas’ nerves.
After several minutes, he inched back into the center of the circle of his
siblings, knelt down, and took a rock in his hand. He wiggled back to the edge
of the group and stood, giving himself plenty of room. With one small flick of
his wrist he flung the rock at one of the horsemen, hitting him in the arm.
    Instantly,
the struck rider drew his sword from within the shadows of his cloak. Deborah,
Mel, Nic, and Eve pushed the circle tighter together. Silas inserted himself
with his older siblings, yet stood defiantly a step closer to the horsemen. Mel
looked over at his younger brother and shot him a reproving look. Silas shot
him a look back and stood his ground.
    Mel was
the second oldest child and had looked a lot like Silas when he was younger,
though his hair was darker; since Mel was fastidious about showering since
puberty, he was allowed to grow it longer. He had grown in stature over the
past few years. He’d been playing football in high school, and now ready to go
into his junior year, the training was showing on his body. He wasn’t bulky
like his brother Nic, though his shoulders had finally popped out, taking away
the scrawny look he’d sported for so long. The similarities between Mel and
Silas were starting to become fewer and fewer. As they did, Silas seemed to be
trying to move away from emulating his older brother and find the opposite
niche. Thus, Mel wasn’t surprised his “toe the line” look didn’t receive any
acknowledgement, save a scornful look.
    Lightning
flashed, pulling the brothers’ attentions away from each other and back to the
situation at hand. The flash of light also glinted off the drawn sword,
revealing the horseman’s face. Though the grotesquely scarred and burnt face was
startling to the children, the older ones still held their ground. The rider
dismounted, moving fluidly from horse to ground. The horseman beside him
reached down, placed a hand on the man’s shoulder, and spoke a single word in
his deep gravelly voice: “Hold.”
    A long
roll of thunder followed this command. As the thunder dissipated, the children
heard the distinct sound of a low growl. Looking down, the children saw the
form of the Beagle standing amidst them. His hackles were raised as was his
upper lip, exposing his sharp canine teeth. None of the horsemen heeded the
dog, thus revealing that they, like the children, did not know his true nature.
The children, though, became relieved at the return of their faithful
companion. However, their relief gave way to confusion when they heard the
familiar sound of