Free The Prophecy (The Guardians) by Wendy Owens Page A

then?   Is that why you’re not interested in him?” Gabe probed.
    “Huh?   No, I already said, he’s more like my brother.   What is your deal?” Rachel replied, puzzled by the line of questioning.
    “No boyfriend then?” Gabe continued, ignoring Rachel’s question.
    “Oh, I see what this is.” Rachel chimed, her face shifting, a devilish grin settling on her lips.
    “Excuse me?”
    “You like me.” Rachel grimaced.
    “What?” Gabe exclaimed before laughing, “Wow, you think a lot of yourself, don’t you?   You see this girl; I carved her into this tree because she was the love of my life.   I doubt after her I would be interested in you.”
    “Wow, I didn’t know I was so hideous.” Rachel barked back, hopping to her feet.
    Gabe’s stomach fluttered, what was this girl doing to him?   “I’m sorry, that came out wrong.”
    “I’ll say.” Rachel replied, not budging.
    “Please sit,” Gabe pleaded.   Desperate to bury his poor manners, Gabe attempted to turn the course of conversation.   “How much has Uri told you about the Guardians?”
    “Really?   You’re basically going to call me ugly and then just move on?” Rachel confronted Gabe, arms crossed.
    “I know, I was an ass.   You just said that stuff about me liking you and I don’t know, I got defensive.” Gabe explained.
    “I was kidding.” Rachel replied flatly.
    “You were?” Gabe asked, now even more ashamed of his behavior.
    Rachel flopped to the ground, “You can’t tell by now when I’m teasing?   I’m always cracking jokes.”
    “I’m sorry, really, I didn’t mean it.   You’re beautiful and I would —”   Gabe suddenly stopped, realizing the words that were falling out of his mouth.
    “So you do like me.” Rachel stated, staring blankly into Gabe’s eyes.   Gabe looked terrified, unsure what to say.   Rachel jabbed him with an elbow before exploding into laughter.   “Wow, you’re easy.   I was joking again.”
    Gabe nervously laughed in response.
    “So what did Uri tell me?   I don’t know, I assume everything.” Rachel answered.
    “Yeah, well I thought I knew about everything; boy, was I wrong.” Gabe said solemnly looking to the empty hillside.
    “Are you talking about the prophecy?” Rachel attempted to clarify.   “And by the way, I don’t have a boyfriend.”
    Gabe didn’t know what to address first.   Initially he was annoyed that a prophecy about him was so freely being shared with a complete stranger, but then his cheeks flushed red at the boyfriend remark.
    “What exactly did Uri tell you about me?”
    Rachel considered the question before replying, “He said he came and got you one day, like he did me.   He took you to a training facility where they teach people how to fight these things.   These soldiers are from the lineage of angels, and their training helps aid them in their battle against demons.   Your specific job in all of this was quite special however.   You were to be the chosen one who would protect some great prophet, enter me.   Although, I’m not sure how much stock I put in a prophecy that would have me one day giving birth to a leader.   I think they may have wanted to do a little more research.”
    “You weren’t angry about Uri taking you away from your life, your friends?” Gabe asked, stunned by her casual attitude.
    “I suppose, at first.   Honestly though, it only took running into a couple more of what Uri called tracker demons, and I was glad he had found me.   I would have been a goner for sure if I was alone out there.   I’m grateful.” Rachel insisted.
    “You seem to be taking the news very well.” Gabe muttered.
    “What am I supposed to do?” Rachel asked, annoyed by Gabe’s repeated judgmental comments.
    “I don’t know, but I think I would be pretty upset if someone told me that one day my kid was going to die.” Gabe growled.   As soon as he said it, he wished he had not.
    “I don’t believe he will.” Rachel