"You look happy," he noted. Aidan had a loose-limbed grace and easy smile that hadn't been seen in ages. In fact, that inner contentment had been absent for so long, Connor had forgotten Aidan ever had it.
"I am," Aidan said.
"Do you ever get homesick?"
"All the time."
The ready reply startled Connor. "You don't show it. You look centuries younger." The silver strands that once lined Aidan's temples were far less numerous. They were now barely noticeable unless one was actively searching for them.
"You've been in my head. You know why."
Yes, Connor knew why. Having melded with Aidan's subconscious, he had experienced Aidan's existence in live action and living color. He had felt the way Aidan did when Lyssa was near, felt the emotions she aroused with a single touch or a loving glance, felt the depth of Aidan's hunger when Lyssa made love to him with wild, fervent abandon. Their connection was hauntingly intimate. The few times Connor had met with Aidan in the dream state, it felt like trespassing to share those memories.
"I'm sure you hate it here," Aidan said, looking at him over the breakfast bar, "but I'm glad you came. There's less to be homesick about with you around. Plus, I realize now that I need help and there's no one I trust more than you."
Connor looked away, unsure of how to reply. Aidan was like a brother to him, but he didn't know how to say it. "You know I'm always looking for an opportunity to throw down and kick some ass," he hedged gruffly. "Wager's the go-to-guy when it comes to figuring out the technical aspects of what's going on. I'm the muscle. Always have been. Really don't think I have it in me to be anything more than that."
"I think you underestimate yourself." Aidan smiled with an ease Connor hadn't seen since their academy days. Dressed in knee-length khaki shorts and a bright blue T-shirt, he looked very human. "You're the biggest guy I know and the bravest, but you're also intuitive and…"
"Shut up. You're embarrassing me." Aidan's praise warmed Connor in a way very few things could. He admired his best friend and commanding officer, always had. Aidan was born to lead, a solid anchor to grasp in any situation.
"I know. Your face is red."
"Asshole."
Aidan laughed.
Connor quickly changed the subject. "We broke into the Temple and downloaded what we could before I was attacked by one of those Nightmare aberrations."
"Did you get anything useful?" Aidan asked, alert.
"Wager's still digging, but he found out that the Elders-in-training in the tubes are batteries of some sort."
"Batteries? Like a power source?"
"Exactly. The interior of the tubes are filled with energy. That's keeping the guys alive without food and water. The whole time we were thinking something was providing power to the tubes, but it's the reverse. The tubes are providing power for something else. We haven't figured out what yet."
Aidan frowned. "I suppose it's possible. We exist because of cellular energy. The tubes must tap into that."
"That's what Wager said. There are thousands of those tubes, so either they give off very little power-in which case, why use them?-or whatever they're hooked up to requires tremendous amounts of energy."
Aidan stood there, frozen. "How could they have kept all of this hidden for so long?"
"We let them." Connor pushed up from the chair and stretched. "Guardians like me who were too busy wandering aimlessly through life to give a shit. I feel like an idiot. A blind, stubborn idiot."
"You trusted those who swore to protect us. There's nothing to be ashamed of."
"Whatever," Connor scoffed. "I'm a moron. You've got to feel vindicated, though. You were right."
"It's not vindication I feel," Aidan said wearily, holding up an empty mug in silent query. "Pissed off and sick to my stomach is more like it."
Connor shook his head in response to the offer of coffee. "So where do we go from here? Where the hell do we begin?"
"With what we've got." Aidan filled two mugs, preparing one with cream and sweetener before drinking the one he kept black. He left a clean cup by the coffeepot for Stacey and the sight of that lone vessel did something odd to Conner. The urge to know how she liked her coffee took him by surprise. Such a minor detail, barely personal, and yet it mattered to him. He frowned.
"I thought I spotted Elder Rachel at an auction once," Aidan continued, leaning back into the counter edge and holding his green Rainforest Cafe mega mug with both hands. "I can't be sure since it's been ages since she left the Elite and joined the Elders, but the resemblance was uncanny and I can't think of anyone more likely to want to come here."
An image of a raven haired Guardian came to Connor's mind. "I saw that memory when I visited with you in the dream state. We talked about her being an excellent warrior. I think I served with her at the Gateway once. She's a bad-ass chick if I ever saw one. Loves combat."
All Guardians who wished to join the ranks of the Elite were required to spend a month at the Gateway as an initiation to the most extreme rigors of their job. The vast majority of fledglings failed to last the miniscule length of time required. Only a month, a drop in the endless well of time in their lives, but at the Gateway, it felt like an eternity.
Because the Gateway was hell, the place some Dreamers saw when they were on the verge of death and believed was ruled by a red-skinned man with a forked tail and horned head. It was a place all Guardians wished they could ignore and forget, but that was impossible. It was the entryway to the Twilight, an opening the Elders had created in order to give them a place to hide from the Nightmares. But their refuge had been discovered and they were now under constant siege.
The vast door to the Outer Realm bulged with the effort to keep the Nightmares out. Slivers of red light around the jamb revealed how the portal strained at the hinges and lock. From those tiny cracks, black shadows poured in like water and infected the Twilight around the Gateway until lava-spewing pustules formed from the ground. There, thousands of Elite Warriors fought an endless battle, their glaives flashing as they cut down Nightmares in countless numbers. It was onerous task and one no sane Guardian wished to experience any longer than they were forced to.
Except for Rachel.
She had lasted the month and then argued that she could handle a month more.
"Yes. Kick-ass," Aidan agreed. "Plus, she's got a hefty advantage. She knows what the fuck is going on. I don't. She's got one mission. My focus is divided. I've got to keep Lyssa safe, take care of acquisitions for McDougal, and hunt down the artifacts. And now that we've got those… things… to deal with, there's no way for you and I to do it alone. Two against a widespread group of freaks? I might as well give up, grab Lyssa, and go hide out on a deserted island until everything blows up. Snatch a little peace while I can."
"Shit." Connor blew out his breath. "You're right. We need reinforcements, but hell if I know who'll want to come here. The men under my command are committed to the cause, but…"
"But this is asking a lot."
"Yeah. It is. For most of us, the Twilight is the only home we've ever known. There aren't many around who remember the Old World. Asking them to leave everything behind for this," he waved his arm in a sweeping gesture, "is a tall order."
"It sucks, but what choice do we have?" Aidan rubbed one hand across the morning whiskers that shadowed his jaw. "The redhead had the taza I was searching for, so they're tracking the artifacts. I need to concentrate on keeping McDougal happy, because he's paying the bills. We need someone to hunt the artifacts while I'm working and a group to hunt the hybrids. The thing that attacked me was insane. One of them is going to get caught or killed and then the Dreamers will know they're not alone in the Universe."
"And anyone close to you is in danger, too, and needs protection. The Elders will use whatever they can for leverage. You think I'd kick Stacey to the curb because of boredom. Fact is, I'd stay away from her because hanging with me could get her killed."