The Immortal Guardians: Book II

Chapter Twenty

We weren't able to sleep the entire night. The worst part was that Byron was restless. He kept getting up to check the window. It was making me uneasy.
"Sit down" Henri snapped at him. He had been following him with his eyes the last half hour. "I'm going to ask Veem to give you something for your anxiety." He grumbled at Byron.

Byron merely rolled his eyes.
"Im worried okay. I don't like that we don't know what is going on and worst of all we are kind of defenseless." He went to stand by the window.
"No we arent" Henri snorted. "You have me the best knife thrower and Iris who is really good with knives and a sword and of course, we have you Mr. Worryalot"
I covered my mouth so Byron wouldn't see my smile. He really did need to calm down. Byrons uneasiness was going to get to all of us eventually.
"If only you hadn't taken Iris off campus. We wouldn't even me in this horrible mess" Byron lifted the side of the curtain so he could peek out the window.
"Here we go" Henri grumbled under his breath. "I am sorry that I took Iris off campus and worse for forging the" he stopped talking immediately.

"You WHAT!" Byron turned with a murderous look. I even turned to him with a disbelieving look.
"Henri" I gulped. I quickly got to my feet. Byron in two giant strides was towering over Henri.
"WHAT DID YOU DO?" Byron shouted. Henri didn't cower back but I did. Byron was scary when he was worked up.
"I forged the note I showed you" Henri admitted without blinking his eyes. Without thinking I threw myself at Byron.
He almost fell on top of me as he tried to grab Henri. I wrapped my arms around his waist trying to hold him back.
"No stop it" I shouted at him. Byron pushed me aside. I fell against the wall.
"Do you know what could have happened?" Byron was on top of Henri grasping him by his shirt. "You could have gotten her killed"
"How the heck was I supposed to know who she was" Henri lifted his elbow and brought it down hard on Byrons' arms. Byron broke his hold on him. Henri took the opportunity and shoved Byron off of him.
"Did you tell him?" Byron shouted at me.
"No but I can guess" Henri glowered at him. "You could have warned me about her not being able to go off campus."
"Need to know only" Byron took a step toward him. "You have no reason to know about any of them especially Iris."
"Right" Henri snorted. He also took a step towards Byron. I jumped to my feet and pushed Byron back.
"It didn't matter that we didn't tell you all the details. You should have guessed since you are so smart" Byron stabbed his temple. "You forged the note and it also turns out that you are related to the Duke and the Queen" Byron lifted his lips with dislike. "It turns out again that another admirer is trying to kill you just like Michael" Byrons eyes were filled with loathe.
"I would never hurt her and I'm not a traitor. I wanted her to have some fun before her Rank"
"Look how much fun she is having" Byron thew his hands up. "I knew you would only be trouble which is why I didn't want you anywhere near HER" I looked over my shoulder back at Henri. His face said it all. He felt bad for having forged that note.
"Byron" I tried to put a calming hand on him but he brushed it away. "You can't blame him for trying to"
Byron scoffed at me. He took a deep frustrated breath.
He suddenly shoved me aside and he punched Henri.
"Did you betray Iris?" He snarled at Henri.
Henri didn't hold back because he also punched.
Crap. They were going at it.
They were each getting a lot of good punches in.
Part of me felt like if their rivalry was also getting the best of them. I saw Byron lift up his sword and in Henri's hands were knives.

Their hatred of each other and the current situation was going to end up badly. Part of me was sick of their rivalry and hatred for each other but I couldn't let them kill each other.

"Stop it"
I lifted my hands and I shoved them apart. They landed against opposite walls.
"Enough fighting" I breathed heavily. The coffee table in the middle of the room was crushed. Blood was dripping from their faces. Their shirts were torn and spotted with blood.
Veem and Tun came running in.
I lowered my hands and Henri and Byron landed hard on the ground.
"I've got it under control" I told them. Veem opened her mouth "Please." They both backed away.
As soon as they were gone. I waved my hand so the door closed.
"Right now is not a good time for fighting" They weren't looking at each other or at me. "Byron, Henri screwed up and I have told you ..... I trust him as much as I trust you" Byron's snapped in my direction. "I mean that. Henri, Byron is my instructor. He has been with me since the beginning" Henri snorted.
"Yeah your instructor" he responded.
"I would never put her in danger or let her get hurt. One more screw up and your ass will be in an infirmary before you even blink." Byron threatened him. He was still holding his sword up.
"Really?" Henri chuckled. "So you are going to protect, take care and baby her. She is a grown ass woman. She has you to defend her..." He found it amusing given he knew who I was.

"Yes, it doesn't matter who she is. I will protect and defend her. I would even die for her. What is so damn comical about that?"
My head snapped in Byron's direction. Henri stopped laughing abruptly. My heart sped up. It took a lot of effort for me to not run to him and kiss him. His words were touching.
"I hope I don't have to remind you that saying or even saying you guessed who she is... Is punishable. You will die Henri. Actually just say it" Byron's lips curled. "Save me the trouble"
"I won't die that easily. I know how to keep a secret and from me nobody will ever know what I think I know" I couldn't lift my eyes from Byron.
My heart was thundering in my chest. His words were floating in my head. He cared about me.
"You two need to pick this mess up" I ordered trying to keep the floating feelings from my voice. "And don't
Kill each other" I warned them. I left the room. As soon as I was out of the room, a smile spread across my lips.
His words said it all. They showed how much he cared for me. I went to the large primary living room.
I walked aimlessly glancing over the pictures. It was just a picture of my favorite professor and his wife. There were a few pictures of them when they were younger. They both looked happy in all their pictures.
"I'm sorry"
I thought it was Byron but I turned to Henri. His eyes weren't shining. The smile usually on his face was gone.

"It is alright" I shrugged at him. He took a step towards me but I involuntarily took one back. I cringed at my reaction. "I'm not going to lie to you. You could have just told me" A frown as on my lips. "You didn't have to lie."

"Look, I am truly sorry and this mess is my fault" He sighed. He stood still gazing back at me. "Byron" he lifted his lip in dislike. "Is right. The thought occurred to me when he was at the Ball. I didn't want you to get in trouble"

"Henri" I took a seat on the nearest couch. I placed my hands in my head. "Michael used that same excuse- he left a note saying I was with my grandmother and it took weeks for them to find me" I released my head and grasped my arm tightly. "and it is just brought back old memories"

He sank in front of me. He took my hands.

"You can trust me. I would never do anything to hurt or betray you. Believe me Iris" he squeezed my hands tightly. I could see sincerity in his eyes.

"I do trust you. You don't even have to tell me that" I leaned slightly towards him. "Believe me" I whispered. He took a deep breath and released my hands.

"Your instructor doesn't seem to trust me" Henri had a look of disgust on his face.

"It doesn't matter" I smiled at him. "You guys should try to get along though. You can't keep trying to kill each other"

The next morning Mrs. Curt arrived when we were eating breakfast. Henri and Byron rose to their feet acknowledging her.

"Hello" she smiled kindly at all of us. "I have some news from Abraxos and from your headmistress." She lifted up a note which she handed to Byron. I noticed it was sealed. " I will be escorting you to London." I noticed that she had some bags in her hands. "You will be my wizardry students" she pulled out some black robes. She also had some uniforms for us. "We will be leaving at 11 so finish breakfast and get ready. Veem follow me" she motioned for the elf to follow her.

Byron was reading the letter. I leaned over his shoulder reading it. We were going to follow Mrs. Curt to London and then make our way to the school. Someone was going to escort us back to school.

We arrived to London at 11:30. We had our black cloaks on. I noticed there were various other people wearing black cloaks. We were in a wizardry part of London.

"Make your way carefully to the end of the train station" she handed Byron a couple of coins. "Take the train to Edmonton. Dr. Nan will be waiting for you"

I groaned involuntarily. We were going to get in trouble.

"If you are followed and you won't make it by 1 pm. If anything should go wrong follow the instructions in your letter" Mrs. Curt smiled warmly at us. "Take care and be very careful" she put her hand on top of my head. "Pleasure meeting you my dear girl. Abraxos speaks wonder of you. Boys" she nodded at each of them. I blinked once and she was gone.