Free Guardian: Protectors of Light by Melanie Houtman Page B

and earshot completely.
    James and his friends
were watching the figure in awe. How easily he’d fired those arrows
in the dark, hitting their targets almost perfectly.
    When the figure turned
around, James could see his face more clearly. It was obviously a
man; the orange stone he wore, which appeared to be a broche
similar to Bella’s, had a strong glow, which caused strong shadows
to appear on the man’s face.
    It took some time for
James to notice that the man was smiling. “You guys look like you
could use some help.”
    “ Well, we obviously did,” Antonio said. “What were those things?”
    “ Shadow
Walkers,” the man said. “I’m Gabriel, by the way. But you guys can
call me Gabe. I’m the Keeper of the Forest.”
    “ Oh,” James
said. “In that case... Akilah sent us to you.”
    Gabriel looked at him. “I
know,” he said. “As soon as I heard you guys were coming this way,
I went out to find you. Guess I succeeded on that part.” He let out
a small chuckle.
    “ But- how can you know?” Samira said. “Do you guys
have – super fast carrier pigeons or something?”
    “ Oh, no,”
Gabriel said. “Carrier pigeons are way too risky; the chances of a
bird being intercepted by the enemy or people who aren’t the
recipient are way too big. I’ll explain everything to you when we
get to a safer area.”
    The following was
expected; he invited them to follow him to his hideout – although
Thomas insisted on using the map to prove he had enough map-reading
skills to get them there. His friends didn’t agree with him, so
everyone just ended up following Gabriel – which probably would’ve
been the best choice.
    Gabriel, who knew the
woods by heart, led them through the safest parts of the forest,
avoiding any further Shadow Walker trouble. They stopped at
something which seemed to be a massive tree.
    “ And...
this... is?” Samira said slowly; she’d been walking in front of the
line most of the time, right behind Gabriel; Thomas seemed rather
annoyed by the fact that she was, and followed her
closely.
    “ It looks
like a tree to me,” the Brit said. Obviously, he didn’t know what
it was either, as it was too dark to see that it was, in fact, a
big tree, with a tree house built near the top.
    Gabriel didn’t say
anything; he just walked forward to the tree trunk, and pulled one
of his arrows out of his quiver. He held it forward for a few
second, until dozens of tiny little lamps started to light up,
revealing a wooden spiral stairs around the trunk.
    “ Voila!”
Gabriel shouted proudly. “Guardians, you are welcome to enter my
tree house hideout.”
    The Guardians did what
they were told and went up the stairs; Gabriel followed them. The
lights unlit themselves as he walked by them.
    They entered the tree
house one by one; the main room looked comfortable, with a hammock
filled with blankets and a woollen pillow; there was also a pile of
bigger pillows, which could’ve represented some sort of
couch.
    There was a door that
lead to a second room, and a well-protected fireplace in the middle
of the main room.
    “ Please,
sit,” Gabriel said, gesturing at the pile of large pillows. He
himself sat down in the hammock, looking quite
comfortable.
    “ So, what
would you guys like to know before we get started on your
training?” he asked.
    The teenagers looked at
each other, unsure of what to say. This was the first time they
were able to see Gabriel completely; he wasn’t that old, probably
seventeen or eighteen, and had olive skin and chestnut brown,
frizzy hair. His eyes were hazel, with that same sparkle as his
sister’s.
    When nobody knew what to
say, Gabriel said, “Oh, come on! Don’t be shy; put my knowledge to
the test!”
    Suddenly, Samira
remembered her question back in the forest. “You were going to tell
us how you and the other Keepers communicate,” she said.
    “ Oh, right,”
Gabriel said. “I was. Well, you could call us telepathic. Our
connection with the