Free Determinant -Guardians of Vesturon [3] by A.M. Hargrove

problem?”
    I explained her request of me and left the Center to prepare for my departure. As I headed up to my room I communicated with her through telepathy.
    “I am sensing a disturbance but the scouts cannot find anything amiss.”
    “No cause for alarm Talasi. I will be there in moments.”
    Once in my room I grabbed my gear. I always traveled with the mending device, or the magic wand, as my sister-in-law Maddie liked to call it. It was a medical device that had the ability to heal many injuries.
    I strapped my shadars on my hands—the tools that allowed me to communicate, teleport, assess a person’s medical status and serve as my weaponry. I performed a quick calibration to ensure everything was working properly.
    I tapped the screen and all my information appeared.
    Name: Rykerian Tevva Yarrister, Guardian in Command
    Location: Guardian Compound, Haywood County, North Carolina, planet Earth
    Teleporter Status: Excellent
    Communicator Status: Excellent
    Locator Status: Excellent
    Diagnostic Equipment Status: Excellent
    Weaponry Status: Armed
    “Please enter your mission,” a voice commanded.
    “To seek out a reported disturbance in the mountains near Bryson City, North Carolina,” I replied.
    “Affirmative.”
    I wondered briefly if I would need food or water and decided on the water. I headed to the kitchen in search of supplies.
    “My lord, may I assist you in something?”
    Zanna was our housekeeper, cook and general caretaker of everything inside the home. The house sat above ground but below us was the Command Center for the Guardians of Vesturon on Earth. It was here where all of our plans, training, tactics and strategies took place. The Compound itself could house over a thousand Guardians if need be. Zanna only cared for the house above ground.
    “I was just getting some water for my mission.”
    “Will you be gone long?” she asked.
    I glanced at her smiling, “I think not. I am running a check of an area Talasi is concerned over. Are you trying to spoil me Zanna?”
    “Why my lord, you know I would never do that!” she exclaimed with a devilish look in her eye. I noticed her hand snaking toward a pile of cookies she must have baked earlier in the day. Before I could fill up my water container, she had placed a bag in my hand, filled with her delightful concoctions. She knew I loved chocolate chip cookies. It was an Earthly indulgence of mine.
    “Zanna, you are the best and know how to make me happy,” I said, kissing her wrinkled cheek. Zanna was quite old but her age did not slow her down a bit. Her bouncy gray curls and elf-like appearance matched her spritely actions as she moved around the house with the speed and agility of someone quite young.
    “I am only taking care of what I love!”
    Zanna and her mate Peetar had been a part my family since before my birth. She had cared for me and my siblings our whole lives and we all adored her. Peetar matched Zanna in appearance and age defying speed. He took care of the outside grounds and kept everything in perfect order.
    I winked at her, placed the bag in my pouch I carried and left the house.
    I teleported to the general direction Talasi had provided me. She was convinced whatever I would find would be off the beaten path. Once there, I set off in search of anything that might have set off Talasi’s alarms. I skirted the area around Deep Creek in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, staying clear of any of the main trails.
    My feet barely touched the softened earth as I sped along. Using my Power of Speed, I made my way around the dense rhododendron thickets and mountain laurel, as quickly as I could. My eyes darted over the wooded landscape before me, taking care not to miss even the smallest of details. I searched for any clue, whether it be a footprint or a torn piece of clothing, anything at all to indicate the presence of another.
    It wasn’t long before I began to sense something was amiss, but like Talasi, I could not put my