Moving backwards, he attempted to step to the right, careful not to reveal his steps in the earth. Once again, the beast matched his movements, sniffing the air as it did so. Leaning low, it was as if the monster was staring him directly in the eyes with its hollow black gaze. Gabe widened his stance, preparing for the moment the creature would attack.

"Hey, this way creep!" a voice called out from behind Gabe. By the exit of the main building stood Sophie, uncloaked and wildly waving her arms.

Before Gabe could react, the demon took off in her direction.

"Go!" she shouted before disappearing beneath a cloaking spell. Gabe knew that would not throw the creature off for long. He wanted to help her, but she had already disappeared. With a deep breath he hoped she knew what she was doing and took off at full speed in the direction of the cliff side, avoiding low-level demons who were out on patrol due to the alarms as he did so.

Gabe moved swiftly, weaving around the boulders, making his way down the trail and to the beach. The sooner he got back, the sooner he could meet up with the others. He knew Sophie had the book that would help put an end to all of this. He had doubted her once on this quest, he wasn't about to again. She knew what she was doing, and he was certain she'd be waiting there for him.

Clenching his eyes closed tightly, he pictured the clerics' temple about fifty miles south of Iron Gate. When he reopened them he was surrounded by a number of priests, mumbling confused statements.

"Please, someone," Gabe began. "I'm a Guardian, I need help."

He searched their faces frantically, seeking a connection, an understanding of what he was saying. "I need to find transportation to Iron Gate," he added.

"Of course, this way." A young boy, barely sixteen said from the sea of unfamiliar faces. Gabe made his way through the cl.u.s.ter of men and to the boy's side. "Forgive them, we don't see many Guardians these days. They all seem to be on the front lines."

Gabe thanked him, and though his head was still fuzzy from the transportation spell, he was on his way within minutes. The dirt bike he had been given had a heavy smell of gasoline. He pulled his shirt up to cover his mouth as he rode off, dust kicking out all around him.

Gabe could see the long and narrow drive ahead of him that led to Iron Gate. Slowing, he signaled to one of the guards. Locking up his wheels, he skidded to a stop. He recognized the guard as he approached; it was Peter, the man who once had his heart broken by Sophie. He had not seen him in some time and he noticed how much he had changed. His body was a visible map of battles he had seen over the years, the dark and hollow eyes that stared back at Gabe told the story of a hardened man.

n.o.body could blame Peter for what he had become, Gabe thought. In a way, they had all been broken in some way.

"Can you phone ahead to Michael and the others and tell them I've returned?" Gabe asked.

"Yes of course," Peter answered flatly, turning away and heading towards the nearby guard tower.

Gabe shouted across the drive, "How long have Sophie and Uri been waiting for me?"

Peter turned and flashed a puzzled look. "Uri has been back for a few hours, but Sophie hasn't returned yet."

"What?" Gabe muttered, too low for Peter to hear. Peter made his way in to the small building, upon Gabe's request.

Without hesitation, Gabe kicked his bike back into gear and flew up the remainder of the driveway, pushing the bike as fast as it would go. When he made it through the front gates he barely slowed, only enough to allow himself to leap from the bike, causing it to spin out across the gravel behind him.

There were a couple shrieks as a result, but Gabe didn't stop, he walked with speed and determination towards Michael's office, worried he had made a terrible mistake.

Sophie's safety zone should have put her back at Iron Gate long before him. Especially considering his mode of transportation. Something must have gone wrong.

Gabe didn't knock, he burst into Michael's office, the doors flying open, startling everyone in the room.

"Gabe, Peter just called and said you were back," Michael said.

Gabe searched the room, looking for Sophie's face, hoping that in fact Peter had been mistaken. His eyes shifted, Uri, Haim, Damon, Rachel, Dina, and Michael. There was no Sophie. "Has anyone heard from her?" Gabe inquired.

Instantly they knew whom he spoke of. Uri stood and shook his head. "We were hoping maybe she was with you."

"No, we have to go back!" Gabe exclaimed.

"Wait, hold ona"" Michael began.

"Something must have gone wrong, we have to go back, now," Gabe commanded.

Michael raised a hand, attempting to calm the panicked young man, "Let's not jump to any conclusions."

Gabe rushed up to his mentor; he needed him to understand the situation Sophie was in and how dire it appeared to be. "When I was leaving Rampart a tracker must have sensed me. It got in my way and wouldn't let me by. I think it was about to figure out my cloaking spell when Sophie distracted it. It took off towards her, but she immediately disappeared. There was nothing I could do, she was already gone by the time it registered what was happening."

"What?!" Damon shouted, jumping to his feet. "Are you telling me you knew she was being hunted by some demon, and you just bailed on her?"

"Hey, look kid, there was nothing I could do," Gabe argued. "Besides, Sophie knows how to handle herself."

"Apparently not," Damon snapped back angrily.

Gabe glared at Rachel's brother in an attempt to intimidate him. "How about you sit down, be quiet, and let the professionals handle this?"

"Wow, Sophie was right about you. I guess you got exactly what you wanted, didn't you?" Damon's nostrils flared as he refused to back down.

"Excuse me? Just who do you think you are?" Gabe was now yelling.

Rachel quickly moved in between the two, trying to diffuse the situation. "Damon, I'm sure if there was anything Gabe could have done, he would have. And besides, we don't know anything is wrong yet, maybe Sophie's just being careful."

"He's a coward sis, can't you see that? He doesn't care about Sophie! He doesn't care about anyone, but himself," Damon argued with his sister.

"I'd watch what you say kid," Uri warned, no longer willing to stand by and watch his best friend's character be attacked.

Damon shifted into an even more aggressive posture, "Why is that? You guys can't stand hearing the truth, can you? Sophie told me all about Gabe and how he ran out on all of you. He's a coward and I seem to be the only one not afraid to say it."

A loud slap echoed through the room as Rachel's hand met Damon's cheek. "He's my husband and you will respect him. Do you understand me?" Her voice trembled with anger as she spoke.

Damon's jaw dropped, a shocked look on his face as he cradled his stinging face. He looked around the room, all eyes fixed on him, "Screw this."

The room watched as Damon exited hastily. Gabe placed his arm around Rachel, "Are you okay?"

Shifting her eyes up to him she nodded, but from the look on her face she was far from okay.

"Gabe, man, we know you wouldn't have left Sophie if you thought she were in any kind of real trouble," Haim interjected, attempting to disperse the awkwardness in the room.

"Thanks," Gabe said with a half smile.

"What are we going to do?" Dina inquired.

"We have to go back for her," Gabe quickly replied, wondering why n.o.body seemed to be listening to his suggestion.

Uri moved in close to Gabe, "I'm ready if you are."

"Wait just a second, you two aren't going anywhere," Michael commanded.

"What?" Gabe questioned.

"It's too soon. She hasn't been missing long enough," Michael argued.

Gabe and Uri looked at each other, then back to Michael. "You can't be serious." Uri added.

"I'm dead serious, and I'd say the same thing no matter who it was out there. You're all trained how to handle situations like this one. For all we know, Sophie's hiding out, waiting for the coast to clear," Michael continued.

"And if she is captured?" Gabe pushed.

"I'm not saying we'll wait forever, but we need to give her some time. She's been doing this for a long time. We all know she knows what she's doing. Uri said there was an alarm going off. They're looking for you, it's too hot. If you go back now you could not only be putting her in more danger, but risk your own lives. Then who will look after Rachel?" Michael asked, hoping the gravity of the situation sunk in.

"So how long until we can go after her," Gabe demanded.

"I don't know, for now we wait," Michael replied calmly.

The last thing Gabe wanted to do was wait, but he knew Michael was right. If anyone could get herself out of this it would be Sophie.

"All right, it has been three hours. I think Gabe was right, we need to go look for her," Uri said, pacing the room as if he were a caged animal.

"I still don't think it's been long enough," Michael resisted.

Gabe looked at Rachel, who nodded slightly, as if giving her permission. "Well we do. Sophie wouldn't leave one of us behind out there and we're not going to leave her."

"Haim, are you with us?" Uri asked looking over at his friend.

Avoiding eye contact with Michael, Haim stood to his feet, and grabbed hold of Uri's hand, "h.e.l.l yeah, I'm in."

"I wish you three would listen to me," Michael made one last effort to talk some sense into the men.

"I'm sorry sir, we can't just leave her out there," Gabe replied.

"Leave who out there?" A voice came from the doorway. All heads turned and stared.

"Sophie?" Uri shouted.

"Yeah dumb a.s.s, were you expecting someone else?" she joked, her face and body caked in dry mud.

"Oh my G.o.d, you look like s.h.i.t," Uri muttered.

"Really? That's what you've got to say?" Sophie snarled. "You really are a d.i.c.k."

Gabe quickly moved forward, trying to shift the conversation to prevent Uri from getting smacked. "We thought they might have captured you, or worse."

"Are you kidding me? Have I ever even come close to being captureda" wait, don't answer that." Sophie then explained her delay, "I got out of there just fine, but that d.a.m.n tracker caught a tracer on me and followed me through. I had to transport three times before I finally gave him the slip. It really wiped me out, so I covered myself in mud to mask my smell, and I slept."

"What? We've been going out of our minds and you were taking a nap?" Uri cried.

"She did the right thing. Had she transported in her condition she would have jeopardized everyone here," Michael congratulated.

"Thank you, sir," Sophie smiled before pulling the book they had been seeking from her waistband. She walked up to Gabe and placed it in his hands, "Sorry it's so filthy."

Gabe didn't think; he only reacted. He reached out and embraced Sophie. Pulling away he looked at her, his eyes moist, "I thought you were dead. I actually thought I left you to die."

"I'm fine," she said nodding. His concern some how brought a peace over her. Sophie looked to Rachel, a half smile on her face. "Now let's see what this book has to say.

Gabe turned and handed the book to his wife. "You read it, Rachel."

Rachel's delicate fingers thumbed through the pages of the book. Her eyes quickly skimmed the content.

"Well?" Uri asked impatiently.

"She's looking you big oaf, give her a second," Dina scolded.

"Wait ... here, right here. It talks about an unbeatable weapon," Rachel exclaimed.

"That sounds about right," Gabe commented.

"And the Guardians will be given a weapon of superior quality. It will be one that within the right hands cannot be matched or defeated by any other weapon. A sacred circle which can't be broken, a Guardians crown," Rachel read.

"That's it!" Gabe shouted.

Haim took a step closer, trying to see the page from which she read, "Does it say where to find it?"

Rachel sat silently, skimming the pa.s.sage, then looked up at the faces staring back at her. "I'm afraid not."

The entire room filled heavy with despair. Gabe looked around at all of his friends, their expressions revealing their defeat. He contemplated how to deliver them hope again. "Don't lose hope so quickly. We just found out this weapon is not a myth. If it exists, there's someone who knows where it is. We just have to find them."

Rachel stood up, taking her husband's hand. "Gabe's right. This is amazing news. This tells us that there's a way to defeat them."

"So now what?" Dina asked.

Michael didn't speak, he looked to Gabe, happy to allow him to take the role he always knew he was meant to have.

Gabe looked around the room, with a deep breath he answered, "Now we start asking questions. Everyone, everywhere, someone knows something and we'll find them, no matter how long it takes."

The room was silent until all of the sudden Uri shouted, "d.a.m.n straight we will!"

Sophie screeched, startled by his abruptness. Everyone burst out laughing, which soon shifted into a sort of cheering. The group felt something they had not felt in a very long time. They had found hope.

Uri struggled to keep pace with Michael. "Will you hold up a minute?" He pleaded with him.

Michael paid no attention to the request and continued frantically down the hall, veering into his office without a word. Uri watched as he darted back and forth across the room, throwing various items into a satchel.

"Something doesn't feel right about this," Uri stated, mulling over the information he had just been given in his mind.

"Nothing's right about this." Michael's words were venomous. Uri wondered if he blamed him for the recent news, but then did his best to put the thought out of his mind.

"I'm serious, slow down for a second. Most people don't even know where the council is from one minute to the next. h.e.l.l, you're a member and half the time you have to use your elder stone to find out where they are. Do you really think they would risk being exposed for Mirada?" Uri argued.

Michael paused for a moment, then shaking his head, dismissing the thought, he continued his packing. "The council will do whatever they have to do to get whatever they want and they've wanted Mirada for a very long time. I have to help her, Uri."