Bound (The Guardians) Page 17

  Leo tilts his head. ‘Then… what do you really think of me? Because I feel as if I am getting my signals crossed. You were the one who climbed into my bed, not the other way around…’

  My jaw drops from shock and embarrassment. How dare he turn my good and kind gesture into something vulgar!

  I stumble, ‘Y-you want to know what I think of you? I think you’re spoilt, immature and totally childish! I wish you would stop trying to be this Successor character you have built up for yourself and be Leo. I like that guy, I do. He’s nice and sweet and fun. And if you really like me too, at all, then you need to start trusting me. Otherwise…I might as well go away for real and never come back.’

  Leo pauses for a moment, thinking. His eyes turn back to me. ‘You… like me then?’

  I ask in a monotone, ‘That’s what you got out of all that?’ Geez, what about the criticisms? Did he roll right over that? I cross my arms with the left wrist on top.

  Leo moves closer and takes that hand. ‘You are still wearing your engagement bracelet.’

  I roll my eyes. ‘Duh, I can’t take it off, remember? It’s not like I had time to source out someone with a welding iron or something. Is this thing permanent or what?’

  Leo laughs gently, it makes me tingle. He shakes his head. ‘No, there is a key, do not worry. I would never actually lock something onto you… that would be really weird.’

  ‘See, there.’ I say pointing at him. Leo blinks. ‘That’s the one… that’s the real Leo I was talking about.’ I move forward and reach up. I carefully place both hands on each side of his face. ‘Just remember what this feels like, what it’s like to be sweet and gentle. Be this Leo for me, all right? Because if you do, if only just for me, I promise I will never run away from you… or at least, not without a good reason.’ I smile at him.

  Leo turns a shade of red I’ve never seen before. He’s actually blushing. His blue eyes stand out even more against the colour of his cheeks. They dart uncomfortably around the ground. ‘Y-yes…I will try…’ he mumbles.

  I move my hands away and Leo notices my mother’s ring. He takes my fingers gently in his left hand. ‘Where did you get this?’

  ‘My mother gave it to me… for my birthday.’

  ‘You saw your mother?’ Leo asks with a shocked face.

  My body goes cold.

  ‘That’s right, the reason I came back… it’s to do with my father and the MECHs.’

  Footsteps quickly echo through the storage room. ‘Well, well, well… look who has returned,’ says a shrill voice from the doorway. It’s Elentia standing with two Tower guards. ‘I am very glad you are safe. However, we still have to do this—’ She clicks her fingers and a guard grabs me. He handcuffs my wrists behind my back. It hurts and I cry out.

  Leo shouts at Elentia, ‘What is the meaning of this? What are you doing to her?’

  ‘Orders,’ she replies. ‘Your grandfather wishes to see you both…now.’

  Chapter Thirty-five

  Dorkarn sits at the table with his arms folded. Elentia is beside him with a folder in her hands. Leo and I sit on the opposite side of the desk. I perch with my arms still handcuffed behind my back. We’re in the small, mirror-covered room where I was first reunited with my parents. That seems like years ago now.

  Elentia opens the folder and slaps photo after photo out before me. I turn my head away, closing my eyes.

  Dorkarn says, ‘These came in this morning. Our first leads on the MECHs. You had best look at this Mellea. You have explaining to do and you need to start now.’

  I sluggishly turn back and glance down. The photographs are all Sentry hidden camera shots of MECHs, including my father. They show him normal looking and then transformed, shooting a few officers with his new gun arm. The worst part is he’s smiling. I can’t stand to see him like this.

  Leo reaches across the table and slides the photos closer to him. It seems like this is the first time he has seen them as well.

  ‘Mellea… look at me…’ he says softly. I slowly lift my head, glancing at him. He asks, ‘Did you know about this? That your father is one of our enemies?’

  ‘I only just found out, I swear. He wasn’t always like this, it’s new. After we visited the town he went off with one of them and was changed. I haven’t seen him since.’

  Elentia tips her head and asks, ‘Where exactly did you go last night, little security-slipping bride-to-be?’ She holds up her electronic tablet and turns it on its side. There’s footage from outside the Tower playing. ‘This is right before you leave…’ suddenly the camera goes fuzzy for a moment, then it comes back, ‘…and this is after your disappearance.’

  I laugh in shock. ‘Are you saying that I messed with the cameras? I can’t even set up my own profile on Leo’s game!’

  Elentia puts her tablet down. ‘No, I do not think that. But someone had access to the security grid, someone who is good with their hands and technology… someone who is now a MECH, perhaps?’

  My mouth falls open and my eyes are wide. I shout, ‘You think my Da helped me? If he was here in the Tower you guys would know, right?’

  ‘That is uncertain,’ she says with a smug face. She loves this new role, playing the lawyer. ‘The MECHs got into the Tower undetected last time. Who is to say they could not find a way to do it again?’

  I scream and shove the table with my body. I’m sick of this. They tell me I’m supposed to a bride, a Guardian, and then they treat me like a bothersome outsider! I shout, ‘That’s because they came through the water pipes, the ones under the Tower! By not destroying them twenty-odd years ago, you guys might as well have opened the doors and shouted “come on in MECHs!”’

  Elentia grins wickedly. ‘Those pipes and information concerning them are highly classified. But you know because your father is the one that built them. He told the MECHs how to get in and has placed the legacy of the Guardians in grave danger. You’ve tricked us into believing you were a country girl when that’s really not the case. You were simply working us from the inside, helping to plan out the perfect day and time for an attack.’

  Elentia stands up and leans over the table. ‘Your father told you when you first arrived to fight against us from within. We it have it on video, so do not bother trying to deny it. Not long after we get viciously attacked and you escape. Case closed in my opinion.’

  ‘What? “Case closed?” Case closed my ass! Why would I bother to come back if I was a traitor?’ I’m officially pissed off, I nearly killed myself getting in here to help them and she is treating me like dirt.

  Dorkarn looks at Elentia and she sits back down. He leans forward and asks, ‘Why did you come back Mellea? We know you are unhappy here. You could have left this all behind.’

  I sit rearward in my chair. It’s starting to feel like a good question. My mouth opens and words fall out. ‘When I found out about the tunnels I…wanted to help. I wanted to warn everyone, including Leo. He’s important to me.’

  I feel Leo looking at me. But I’m too embarrassed to glance back.

  Elentia scoffs. ‘Oh that is the most ridiculous and underhanded response I have ever heard. You two hate each other and everybody knows it. Faking an attraction now won’t save you.’

  Dorkarn stands. ‘I have heard enough. Guard,’ he calls. A Tower guard comes through the door. ‘Take Mellea down to the underground cells. And also…’ Dorkarn lunges forward and puts his hand over Leo’s eyes. I suddenly notice the former Lord Guardian is wearing a bracelet with a yellow stone at the top. He thumps Leo’s forehead with a force that makes him pass out. His head smacks the table hard.

  I cry out from the shock. Dorkarn says to the Guard, ‘Take Leo too.’

  Chapter Thirty-six

  I have no idea how much time has passed, an hour perhaps.

  I sit on the floor of the jail cell. It’s unexpectedly clean. The walls are made from the Tower crystal, but roughed to be opaque. It turns out Momma was right, there really are underground sections to th
e Tower. The part I was taken lies under the training room in the third pillar.

  Leo rests on my lap. Quickly I stare down as he stirs. Leo’s face twists with pain and he reaches up, touching his forehead.

  ‘Hey, are you all right?’ I ask. Leo opens his eyes, blinks at me and then tries to regain focus.

  He asks huskily, ‘Where…?’

  I reply, ‘An underground cell. Dorkarn knocked you out. Is that the same thing he did to me?’

  Leo sits up slowly and turns towards me. ‘Basically, yes. He has a lightning stone like me. But he is far more advanced and can do things… ah…’ Leo cringes and shakes his head, ‘things that give me a serious headache.’

  I’ve had an hour to think about what I’m going to say to Leo. How I will explain about my father. But it’s hard to know where to start. I glance at the Successor who sits facing me, his eyes flicking open and shut strongly.

  I blurt out, ‘I didn’t know he’s become a MECH…my Da, I mean.’ When Leo glances at me I lower my eyes. ‘I didn’t leave because I’m a traitor. The gate had no guards…I was only going to take a quick peek. But my mother was outside. She told me about Da and how their relationship has fallen apart. I did go with her, but once I knew about the tunnels, I had to come back. I’m not malicious and I’m not smart enough to have a complicated ulterior motive.’

  Leo takes a breath in and out. ‘I know you are not malevolent. I do not believe you had anything to do with this.’

  I say quietly, ‘Your grandfather does. In fact, he thinks that you’re in on it too.’

  ‘No he does not.’ Leo defends.

  I puff. ‘Then why did he knock you out?’

  Leo starts to think hard about that question. It’s a good one. Leo suggests, ‘I believe…he was trying to get us out of that room. Maybe he is onto something that we do not know. I saw a strange look in his, well… eye…the good one, when you mentioned the water pipes. I only came to know of them recently myself. It is one of the Guardians greatest secrets.’

  ‘You mean “cover ups”. So you do know then. You know that my Da was blamed for what happened to those people in Selyu.’

  ‘I do. But like I said, I only came to learn of it recently. My father told me the story after your arrival, which is why I bluffed about the uniting laws. I thought that was the reason you hated me. But it later appeared you knew nothing about the tale. Then I felt guilty for tricking you and then your father hit you… anyway, one mess at a time.’

  ‘Yeah let’s not go there. So…’ I think for a moment before asking, ‘why did Elentia know?’

  Leo questions me with a frown.

  ‘Remember? I said something about the water pipes and she was right on it. She knew about Selyu. She said it was classified but she knew. Does she have some special access to that information? Maybe other people found out too and told the MECH leader. That’s why they went looking for my Da.’

  ‘No.’ Leo says before trailing off. He’s face goes serious and he utters the words, ‘Oh, mighty, spirits… No, the information was not passed on to the leader because Elentia is the leader! She is the leader of the MECHs! Why did I not see this earlier? This makes perfect sense, yes of course!’

  ‘Are… you sure?’ I mutter.

  ‘Yes! She was trying to set it up so that you would look like the traitor. She probably is trying to buy time for the MECHs and was aiming for a lengthy court trial or something. However Grandfather must have realised in that moment what we are just realising now…’ Leo stands up. I tilt my head to keep looking at him. ‘There must be a reason why she subtly reminded us about the pipes.’

  I shrug, I have no answers.

  Leo walks back and forth. He stops unexpectedly. ‘She has set up a trap. We have fifty of our best Sentry officers here in the Tower, preparing to ship out. The minute they hear that danger is lurking in the tunnels they will go down there. When they do, the MECHs will be waiting. But the MECHs have the element of surprise and are stronger than us. It will not be an even fight, even if we have greater numbers, the Sentry officers will perish.’

  Not being able to take all this information, I roll onto my back and stare at the opaque crystal ceiling. ‘I can’t actually believe that after sixty-years “Doctor” has remerged under the name, Elentia and was able to infiltrate the Tower and so easily.’

  ‘She is a master of deception. Clearly her face has changed enough that even my grandfather did not realise it was her. She was the one who personally cut his face half open and wrecked his eye.’

  I sit up. ‘Then she’s up for a world of pain if he gets his hands on her.’

  ‘No doubt,’ Leo says with a laugh.

  There is a loud banging outside. Leo tells me to stand and I jump behind him. The banging gets louder and a thump hits the door. It falls silent.

  The door opens and Leo takes an attack position. However it is eased at the sight of the noise-maker, Arin.

  The oldest Successor says, ‘Here you two are, lounging on the job, whilst I do all the hard work. Typical.’

  ‘Hardly,’ Leo replies folding his arms. ‘You try breaking out of a room made of reinforced Tower crystal, it is not a simple task.’

  Arin tells us, ‘That is because you were not supposed to. Grandfather sent you here to keep you safe, for a short time. We have slight problem. Actually to be more specific, it is not as much a problem as it is an… unrecoverable setback.’

  ‘That doesn’t sound good,’ I anxiously reply.

  Arin says, ‘Sentry officers were sent down into the water pipes.’

  ‘Oh no,’ Leo says uncomfortably, placing his fingers on his forehead. What he predicted has come true. I cringe and scoot closer to Leo’s back.

  ‘Indeed. However it was not the MECHs that were waiting. It was something worse, an undetectable laser sensor installed about halfway. It triggered and caused numerous shots to be fired… slicing them instantly into tiny pieces. The bodies are unrecognisable, tissue and blood.’

  I gasp. The images flash through my head, my hands grow cold, my heart is pounding. Leo turns and his arm and hand wrap around my head, pushing me into his lower ribs.

  Leo shouts, ‘Arin, do not be so graphic around Mellea! She is not ready to hear that kind of talk.’

  Arin angrily replies, ‘Would you like me hide the truth? Do you want me to sugar coat reality? The MECHs are here and this time they have brought their top soldiers. Our troops are nothing more than mincemeat. By the time this day ends we might not be more than a pile of corpses ourselves, the Guardians rein coming to a gruesome end. Mellea, I can only hope you have up-to-date dental records.’

  I cover my ears with my hands and close my eyes. ‘Knock it off!’ I hear Leo yell. I gradually pull my hands down and open my eyes. I twist back around to face Arin.

  The Successor glares at his younger brother. ‘Have it your way.’ Arin storms out of the cell and leaves us behind.

  Leo moves around the front of me and puts my hand in his. ‘Mellea, it is time to go.’

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  I climb the stairs following the Successors. The underground prison is a maze. I was in the very lowest cell and it’s a serious climb to get back up. As we get higher I squeal a little and tuck closer behind Leo. There are a few MECHs lying dead, hanging down the stairs. They’ve been shot several times. It’s clearly Arin’s work. Leo stops and this time I put my hand into his. He takes the hint and pulls me away from the horrible sight.

  We keep climbing until we come through the locked door that leads down into the prison. It’s a metal door with no markings. You would never know there is a prison spiralling down underneath this pillar. The three of us walk across the training room with caution. There is no one around and we scurry to the large doors leading to the foyer.

  I can hear noise coming from the outside.

  The boys do too. We look at each other curiously. Arin carefully opens one of the doors enough to peer out with one eye. Leo shoves in below him, trying to
see.

  Great, the two giants are blocking my view!

  I kneel down and shove, uncomfortably, between their legs. Dorkarn, Neros and Teros are standing there. They have six Sentry officers, dressed in uniform, waiting around them. I cringe when I see Elentia emerging from the second pillar doors that house the conference rooms and library. She shuts it behind her and leans with her back against it casually. Her face is smug and confident.

  ‘Arrest her,’ Neros orders. The Sentry officers run over to her quickly. But on approach they slowly stop and turn back towards us.

  Elentia laughs. ‘Oops, it would seem you have been bested again. These fine soldiers here belong to me.’ Elentia struts forward and wraps her hands around the arm of a tall man. ‘My MECHs look pretty good in Sentry uniforms, don’t you agree?’ She stops talking for a moment and laughs. ‘I can’t believe how good this feels. To finally be set free! I’ve waited sixty-years but now I’m finally here in the Tower, on your grounds, ready to take the lives of your people. It was so simple too! I made a fake background for myself, entered into the system, got a new face, performed years of research and acting and–’ She raises her hands into the air, ‘now our greatest creation is about to come alive, with the help of your Guardian Stones.’

  Even the way she talks now is different. It’s almost hard to believe what I’m seeing. I’ve hated her since the first moment we met, but I never thought things would turn out this way.

  Dorkarn steps forward. ‘You attempts to scare us are futile, Doctor.’

  Elentia laughs at the sound of her true identity. ‘I’m not trying to scare you. You see, today is my last day working for the Tower! So, I wanted to thank you for my years of valued employment. To do this, I’ve prepared you a little farewell gift to show my appreciation.’ She clicks her fingers and a Sentry uniformed MECH steps forward. He moves his arm up and it changes into the light projecting nub. But this time the image is not going outside the Tower, like last time. This is a private show, hovering above the most powerful men in the world’s heads.