Guardians of the Light (Book 1: Rebirth)

Chapter 4

Ronin had lost count how many hours he had spent combing through Guardian records for any documentation on previous events of dead Guardians coming back to life after death. Nothing had been noted to ever have happened before now, it was a dead end but Ronin was not about to give up hope of finding an answer. He would have to make a trip to visit one of the Elders about the matter. The Elders were the Guardians most ancient advisors and some say that the Elders were alive since the beginning of time, thanks to them the Guardians had been formed in the first place. The Guardians owed a lot to the Elders; they proved knowledge on different supernatural creatures, fighting techniques, events of the past and vast sense of wisdom that could only come from centuries of living on this earth. Ronin had just gotten off the phone with Nicole, the lead Guardian responsible for the protection and care of the Elders, she had agreed for Ronin to speak with Elder Theokritos on the issue at hand.

After Ronin had finished talking with Guardian Nicole he texted James, who he was going to meet after this. Ronin had an important task for James to do for him that is why he had called James earlier in the day to meet him at the diner on Seventh Street. It was too important for Ronin to explain anything over the phone.

The Moon pack leader Vincent owned the Moonlight Diner, which was located on Seventh Street; it became a safe haven for many different creatures that needed a place to feel some small part of them was human. On the outside, it looked like every other normal diner and even humans went in to enjoy meals unaware that there were supernatural creatures eating in the same area as them. While Vince was a strong leader of his pack, he also had a much laid-back personality that he did not mind sharing a space with humans. A few months ago, Vince had allowed the Guardians to use his diner as a cover point for any missions or plans done by the Guardians.

Behind the kitchen area there was a secret door leading down to a basement where Guardian weapons were stored and a room set up for meetings. Ronin had given James clear directions on where to meet him and how to enter once he arrived here. There were strict words that had to be spoken to a staff member at the diner in order for them to know you were here on Guardian business and just not a simple human coming in to look for a meal. Ronin was just about to check his phone when there was a knock at the door; he gripped the handle slowly opening the door to find James standing on the other side.

"Glad you finally made it, I was starting to get worried you hadn't found the place", James shook his head as he stepped past Ronin entering into the room before turning to face Ronin, "No I missed the bus I had to catch and the next one was late arriving", he said taking a seat on one of the chair located in the meeting room.

Ronin closed the door and joined James at the table, when he sat down Ronin placed the sealed file he had been caring with him on the table and slid it towards James.

The young man studied it for a moment before looking up at Ronin, "Is this the super important task you want me to do. So important that you couldn't discuss it with me on the phone?", a puzzled look on his face as he watched Ronin nod his head, "Yes it is an important task one that I couldn't trust anyone else with. Go ahead and open it". James slowly at first reached across the table picking up the file and opening it. There was only one object inside, a photo of a young woman around the same age as James but the woman looked very familiar to him. Seeing the facial expressions on James's face as he studied the photo made him ask James if he knew who the young woman was, "Yes, that's Sara I don't know her last name but we go to the same school" he stated. Ronin went into detail about why he needed James for this mission, the purpose was for James to get close to Sara, become friends with her and find out any information he could about the Guardian protecting her.

Ronin did not let James know about his situation with Lillian or the fact that he knew she was the Guardian protecting Sara. What Ronin needed to know was how Sara knew Lillian and how someone who was very much dead the last time he saw her was alive and did not remember who Ronin was. Ronin would need these things when he presented his information to Elder Theokritos.

Once James understood what he was being tasked with Ronin offered him a ride home but James refused stating that he would take the bus back home, he was sure the Guardian had much bigger things to do than drive him home. Ronin said goodbye to James and watched him leave, when he was sure James had left the diner Ronin returned the way he had come exiting out the door in the kitchen, nodding to a few of the kitchen staff as he made his way to the front of the diner.

As a Guardian, you were gifted with sensing the difference between humans and supernatural creatures. Most creatures appeared like normal human beings on the outside until they changed into their true from. Guardians were able to see past the masks that they wore, a skill passed down through the ages in Guardian training. Not all Guardians were able to master this skill, it took years of dedication and patience, and even after that, some failed and other passed. Ronin stopped at one of the diner booths and took a seat; it would be a good idea to grab something to eat before the long drive to where Elder Theokritos lived.

Some of the Elders chose to live outside of the Guardian's main headquarters, but no matter where they were located, each one had a team of Guardians as protection. The Elders were main targets for their enemies without the Elders there was no Guardian knowledge, which would mean the end of the Guardians, something that could not happen. Over the centuries, The Darkness had tried to wipe out the Elders and the Guardians, for every time they tried the Guardians came back stronger than ever.

Even if only one Guardian survived, they would be able to still carry on the legends and traditions of their ancient order. Ronin didn't have long to sit and finish his meal, he wanted to hit the road pretty quickly to reach Elder Theokritos location as the matter at hand was very important and couldn't wait. The server came back with his coffee in a to-go cup; Ronin paid for everything, thanked the woman behind the till and pushed open the diner doors walking down the street to where he had parked his jeep. In order for him to make sure no one or no creature was following him he had parked a few blocks up from the diner. Ronin checked the time on his watch as he slid into the driver's side and turned his key into the ignition until the jeep roared to life, Ronin hoped he was making the right choice by going to Elder Theokritos to receive answers on the matter at hand. People just do not come back from the dead; it was not possible there had to be a logical explanation.