The Spirit Guardians Book 1: Enlightened

Chapter 17

Cassie bit her nails as she gazed at the calendar hanging from her wall. Her fingers traced over each day. Ten. There were ten more days of July. She had been at the cabin nearly two months with still no sign of her family.

She let out a sigh and exited her bedroom. Thankfully, there was no training in store for her today, though sometimes she missed the daily sessions. It at least gave her something to keep her mind off of everything else. With too much freetime, she was bound to stress.

Cassie had slept in a bit later than intended and found only Irene and Lillian sitting at the kitchen table, entertaining Elijah. She grabbed some orange juice from the fridge and took a seat at the table, quietly sipping on it.

"Where's everyone else?" Cassie asked at last.

"Out," Irene answered.

"Marc's on a walk, Miguel is getting ready to go to Cherie's with Irene, and I think Conny is planning to go too," Lillian explained.

Cassie nodded, continuing to quietly drink her juice.

"So you're really going to be off training soon, huh?" Irene asked. "I'm a bit skeptical myself of this guy."

"It'll be okay, Irene. Marc's been in contact with him," Lillian assured her.

"Is he the one escorting you there when the times comes?" Irene wondered.

Cassie shrugged. "I guess? Why does it matter?"

"I don't know. I don't care," Irene grumbled as she bounced her son on his lap. His giggles echoed across the room.

Miguel emerged from the hallway. Irene let out a sigh and handed her child over to Lillian. The brunette affectionately took the child from her, already beginning to babble childish nonsense to him.

"Hey, Cassie. Will you help watch Elijah while I'm gone?" Irene wondered.

"Sure. I guess," Cassie replied.

"Are we still on for cards later, Irene?" Lillian wondered.

"Yeah. I'll be back in a few," she said, waving her hand as she and Miguel exited. Cassie caught sight of the engagement ring glittering on her finger. It sparkled perfectly in the shards of sunlight entering through the window.

Lillian had turned away and was distracting Elijah. Cassie was suddenly aware that it was only her and Lillian alone in the cabin now, though for some reason, Lillian's loud chatter was replaced by silence. She seemed bothered by something, but Cassie couldn't tell what.

Cassie left the table momentarily to make herself a first-class breakfast of two Eggo waffles and maple syrup.

"Ooh, fancy," Lillian teased as Cassie began cutting into the artificial waffles.

"I make do," Cassie replied, shoving a piece of syrupy waffle into her mouth.

"Were you rich back home?" Lillian wondered.

Cassie giggled a bit. "No. I mean, I was middle class."

"Miguel and Irene came from rich families," Lillian explained as she handed Elijah a rattle to play with. "Conny, Marc, and I were never that wealthy to begin with. But then Cherie came along and..."

"How do you afford everything?" Cassie wondered. The financial stability of this place had always drawn her attention.

"Cherie comes from a wealthy family. A very wealthy family, actually. They liked to dabble in regular human business. Her father was the creator of a successful food brand. They were killed right when the Preservers took over, leaving Cherie to inherit their money. She doesn't really like to talk about it. She doesn't care much for overspending. I wouldn't blame her. None of us have jobs. It's not like we have a steady source of income besides the insane amount of money she inherited," Lillian explained.