The Young Guardians

Chapter Twenty-Eight: When We Save the World

Rhys turned pale and Eiran looked surprised.

"The Frontier?" Rhys asked. "Are you serious?"

Madoc nodded. "Dead serious."

"Whoa," Eiran whispered excitedly. "This is going to be great! This is going to be awesome!"

Rhys was still pale.

"What's so great... or horrible about this Frontier place?" Evan asked.

"It's in the middle of two countries at war," Rhys said. "Right smack dab in the middle. And it's not going to be cool, Eiran, we could very easily die. Madoc, why are we going there? Can't we go to—"

"Where are we going to go?" Madoc interrupted. "Nirvadia? Where the whole country isn't letting foreigners in? Drakon never let people in anyway, and the Midlands? Forget it, that would be even worse. The Islands are completely off limits and we can't go back to the Kingdoms of Wyndham. The Sine is off too. And I'm sure not going to any of the glaciers. I'd rather be killed in a war than freeze to death."

Evan looked shocked, and Rhys looked sick. Eiran was still looking excited.

"Are you going to tell us what you did in Irela to be so scared of going back?" Rhys asked quietly.

"No."

"Madoc, how do you expect us to trust you?" Rhys bellowed and stood up angrily.

"I can't. I can just hope that you do. Because I'm the only thing that you can trust in right now. What are you going to do, go back to your house and live normally now? You can't. Your house is being watched and we're all being searched for. You pretty much have three options. You can come with me, which I advise. Or you could take your own direction. And lastly, and more stupidly, you can just run back home. I can't make you come with me. I can't make you do anything. But I want you to stay," he said quietly. "I do know what I'm doing. And I'm sorry I can't give you any answers right now, but I promise I'll give them to you when the timing doesn't suck so much."

"We can't go back ever?" Eiran asked staring at Madoc in shock. "At all?"

"What do you propose? What do you think we should do?"

"I don't know..."

"What in the Frontier anyway?" Rhys asked, resigned.

Madoc looked at him for a second. "I have a friend—had a friend," he faltered. "Who has family in the Frontier. She said they could help me. She said they could help hide me and figure out how to deal with the stuff that's happened back in Irela."

"When we get there, you'll tell us everything?" Rhys asked.

"By then, absolutely."

Rhys nodded. "Fine. When do we leave?"

"I was thinking tomorrow night," Madoc said and surveyed the four of us. "You two look very tired," he nodded at me and Evan. "I want to leave as soon as possible but I don't want anyone getting sick on the way. That'll kill our travel time. And we wouldn't be able to get help or we'd risk getting caught again. But once we leave Anaia, I think it'll be okay. Nobody there cares about what's going in the Couve or the Kingdoms."

"Are we going to find out what happened to the others?" Evan asked.

Madoc nodded. "I'm pretty sure we'll find a way there."

"Okay. So. What's Anaia?" Evan asked looking confused. "I thought we were going to the Frontier?"

"Anaia is upper half of the continent where we are now. The Couve is it's own kind of international city right at the top of it. The Frontier is the area that comes after it and before Aeicaian half. They're two different countries, and both of them hate each other with a passion. The Frontier is neutral territory. For now anyway."