Free The Protectors: Book 1 in the Protectors Saga by Paige Dooling

have the power of energy, another has
water, another earth, one fire, and one wind. You can harness the
power of your energy and use it as a weapon.”
    Avery looked up at Gumptin, “You mean I actually have power , power, not just strength and all that fighting
stuff.”
    Gumptin shook his head, “Well, that fighting stuff is important,” he scowled, “but yes, you do actually
have powers. Of course, none of you ever really learned to use them
very well, just tiny things. I am afraid they will likely remain
dormant until the day you die.” Gumptin caught himself, “Well, you
know, die…again.”
    Avery thought that was one of the dumbest things
she’d ever heard, “What’s the point in having powers if you can’t
even use them!” She asked.
    “Avery, you are just a human, remember.” Gumptin told
her, “None but the Elementals fully comprehend the complexities of
your powers, but from what I understand; it takes complete mastery
of one’s own body, mind, and emotions to even begin to know how to
use a power like yours.” He paused for a moment, as if thinking
about something, and then said, “If it makes you feel any better, I
once saw you zap a troll with a small bolt of electricity, and it
left a very nasty burn mark on his face.”
    Avery stared at Gumptin like he had just eaten a fly.
She couldn’t believe he was so remarkably bad at making a person
feel better.
    “Anyway,” Gumptin went on, not seeming to notice
Avery’s dissatisfaction, “this world needs the Protectors. The
Elementals know that; that is why they brought you back after the
Emperor killed you all.”
    Avery wished Gumptin would stop bringing up the being
killed thing; especially if he was trying to set her at ease,
because that wasn’t going to work.
    Taking another tactic, Gumptin said to Avery, “The
Elementals sent your parents to Earth with your souls so that you
could be re-born. They were given jobs and a place to live, unable
to age until they could come home to Orcatia. They were forced to
live sixteen years on a planet that was not their home, keeping
their secret, especially from you, just so that you could be kept
safe and alive.”
    Up until this point, Avery had never even thought
about her parents; which, looking back, she actually found rather
dumb. She couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that her parents
had known about the whole Protector, being from another planet,
thing for her entire life and said absolutely nothing. Her parents
had never really talked about their past, but Avery had just always
figured it was because it wasn’t very interesting, how wrong she
was. She had never even questioned the fact that they looked the
same now as they did in old baby pictures with her. All of a
sudden, Avery felt very blind and stupid.
    “Gumptin, if my parent’s didn’t age on Earth and I
did, does that mean that I won’t age on Orcatia?” Avery had this
image of her looking like she was sixteen forever, and she wasn’t
quite sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
    “No, you were born on Earth, so you are part
Earthling now. Earthlings age and die no matter what planet they
are on. You shall age at a normal rate on both Orcatia and Earth.”
Gumptin told her.
    Typical Gumptin answer, Avery thought, full of
certain death. Then, another thought popped into her mind,
“Gumptin, what about my sister?”
    Gumptin looked surprised, “You have a sister?” He
asked.
    Avery nodded her head, “Yeah, and she’s younger than
me, which means she was never even born on Orcatia… ever .
What does that mean for her?”
    “Nothing,” Gumptin said, still looking surprised by
the knowledge that Avery had a younger sister, “like I said
Earthlings age wherever they are. She will have the same manner of
life here as she does there.”
    Avery snorted; she knew that wasn’t even remotely
possible.
    “I can’t believe my parents never said anything to
me.” Avery grumbled as she ran her fingers through her long