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  “I agree; we need to regroup and make a plan,” Elise said as she suddenly appeared by Brendan’s side.

  “Where did they send Terra and Liam?” asked Brendan. “I know that the humans came to take them away in the vehicles with the lights and horns.”

  “They took them to a hospital to repair their bodies,” said Elise.

  “We should go there. We need to speak with Terra so that we can understand all that's happened since she was born into this world,” Amity said.

  “Yes, I think you’re right,” Elise said. “We should find Terra right away. We can't address this issue if we don't have all the facts.”

  “The sun's up now. Terra was injured at night. Do you think that is enough time for her to heal?” Constance asked.

  “There is only one way to know for sure,” George said.

  “How will we find the hospital?” Amity asked.

  Brendan smiled. “I already know how to get there.”

  “Because you are all-knowing?” Elise made no attempt to disguise her sarcasm.

  “No, because humans love to label things! We passed a sign with an arrow pointing the way toward the hospital a few blocks back. I would be willing to bet that if we follow the arrows, the place will be easy to find. It is for emergencies, after all.”

  “Alright, I’ll give you this one,” Elise said.

  The guides turned and began to make their way back toward the park where they had arrived. As they passed the area, the difference in its appearance was remarkable. The open areas that had been flooded with unspeakable Scourge in the moonlight were now sunny and green. Tall, shady trees sheltered welcoming park benches. The park was now roped off with yellow tape. Its only inhabitants were a few police and firefighters who were combing the area looking for signs of what had caused the fountain that once dominated the community space to explode with no warning.

  “There are no explosives; I think the area's safe now!” Christopher called out to the police.

  “You know they can’t hear you,” Amity said.

  Christopher shrugged. “I know, but it's a shame for them to waste such a nice day. It is really too bad.”

  Amity shook her head. “This Earth is a strange place. I've watched it through the eyes of my charges for hundreds of years. But I never could really imagine the feel of the matter all around or the light of the sun energizing the living things.”

  Constance’s quick steps led her ahead of the group. She slowed slightly and turned back to Amity. “I’ve been thinking about the same things. I can’t help wondering if we would have handled the lives of our charges differently if we had really understood what they were experiencing.”

  “There is no doubt about one thing. We would never have allowed our charges to be used and used up but this plague of the scourge. I don’t know what started it. But you mark my words; we will finish it,” George said. There was a new glean of anger and determination in his eyes as he charged toward the hospital.

  Chapter17

  The morning brought no relief for Terra as she waited to connect with Liam’s thoughts to assure herself that he was alright. The blank, gray walls of the hospital room added to her unrest. She turned on the television to fill the silence in her mind. As she flipped through the stations, a news broadcast caught her attention. Terra strained her eyes at the images on the television screen. The reporter's pained expression was apt for the tales of the carnage she reported. Behind her, an entire city was obscured behind a veil of smoke and ashes. The words came through as truncated and slurred over the poor digital feed: “Joining you live from Sacramento… Hundreds of possible casualties…. Simultaneous explosions…” The woman’s face contorted as the feed froze. After a moment, she whirred back into motion. “At this point, terrorism is suspected...” Another pause in the network feed made Terra wince. She attempted to flip on and off the channel in hopes that the cable network could correct their station feed.

  “Terra, I was wondering if you had seen what was going on.” Korin’s arrival interrupted Terra's focus.

  Terra's brow creased. “Hundreds of casualties? How can this have happened?"

  “It’s not just in Sacramento; it's all over the place. Every news agency is reporting riots, looting, explosions, missing persons, and whole families disappearing or worse being found dead,” Korin said.

  “The Scourge,” Terra said, “It has to be happening because of the Scourge. How is it spreading so quickly?”

  “I don’t know,” Korin said.

  “Maybe it is like a synergistic effect,” Terra said. “A few are converted, and they, in turn, spread their evil to others. Before long, it’s like a virus. It spreads itself.”

  “Like a virus that feeds on humanity,” Korin shuddered, and then looked away from the television screen.

  “No, not just on humanity, on the weakness of corporeals and the blindness of humans to the spiritual world around them,” Terra clenched her fist.

  “But things are changing. You have the help you've needed. And the Tweens has been warned,” Korin added.

  “I want to feel optimistic about all of that. I really do, but somehow it doesn't feel like things are changing in our favor,” Terra said. “Besides, I haven’t been able to contact the other guides since I've been here.”

  “It will get better!” Korin smiled with attempted optimism. "I'm certain the other guides have things under control."

  “I'm not so sure,” Terra said. “I think corporeals gravitate toward the winning team. We're talking about mob mentality. It is easier to stand with the status quo than against it.”

  “We have to have hope,” Korin said.

  “We do, but I think anyone who stands in the way of the Originator’s plan will be putting themselves in harm’s way,” Terra said.

  “We've been over this Terra. This is my fight as much as it is yours. They took my body! They kidnapped me. They attacked people I love. I will stand with you against this.”

  “Maybe, but I think we need to find a role for you that won't put you directly in the path of danger,” Terra said.

  “I want to help, Terra.”

  “I know, but this is a dangerous situation,” Terra said.

  Korin touched the mark on her arm. “There are other ways I can help.”

  Terra sighed. “Alright, you never did finish telling me about Azalea.”

  “What do you want to know?” Korin asked. Her cheerful expression was out of place as the news reporter announced the number of casualties.

  “I want to know about that mark on your arm. What does it mean?”

  “Oh, that's just a way for Azalea to contact me when she wants to,” Korin said.

  “Contact you?” Terra asked. She attempted to lean towards Korin for a better look and then flinched in pain.

  Korin shifted position at the foot of the bed, turning her arm away from Terra. “You really need to meet her yourself. She has a different take on this situation.” Korin gestured towards the carnage on T.V. “Her family has been protecting the living from the others for generations.”

  Terra shook her head. “The guides look over the living.”

  “They do, there's no doubt about that. But we both know that looking through human eyes is like wearing blinders.”

  Terra nodded. “True, but the era of the Tweens looking at the mortal world from afar is at a close.”

  "Azalea says that her family has been able to see entities without a body for generations. She uses that ability to protect the living."

  "Protect them how?" Terra was growing impatient with Korin's strange and vague endorsement of Azalea as an ally.

  “Azalea says that she knows a way to destroy an entity. She says she can teach me to do it.” Korin smiled.

  A wave of nausea caught Terra off guard. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths.

  You can’t know the enormity of what you are asking to do. She tried to clear the images of the Scourge she had eradicated from her mind.

>   “Are you alright?” Korin touched Terra’s leg.

  Terra opened her eyes, revealing fresh tears. “You don’t realize… Destroying an entity; their very existence is something that can't be taken lightly.”

  “Terra,” Korin said, “I didn’t mean...”

  "I know, but if what you say is true, if Azalea can destroy an entity, then there is more at stake than losing some entities’ innate purposes.”

  “Terra, be fair!”

  “It’s not like that. Should that kind of ability fall into the wrong hands, the one advantage we have over the Scourge would be lost!”

  Korin chewed her lip as she considered Terra’s words. “I didn't think about that. Either way, her family and others like her have kept their methods protected so far.”

  “I wonder how; she exposed her secrets to you quickly enough,” Terra said.

  Korin laughed. It was an uncomfortable sound. “Terra, I think Azalea was open with me because I told her about you.”

  Terra felt the hair on her neck prickle. “Korin, What did you tell her?”

  “When I met Azalea, I was in a panic, trying to find you, to stop you before you got into trouble or got hurt.” Korin gestured to the hospital room around them.

  “I drew the attention of her grandson; he can see me like you can. And when Azalea turned up, I had to tell her why I was in a hurry so she would help me get a bus schedule. I didn’t know she was going to mark me. I was terrified the first time she pulled me back to her. I know now that she wants to help!”

  “I'm lost, what do you mean she pulls you back?”

  “She can move me, through all the matter to wherever she needs me. It's really strange, but it helped me to get here to you!”

  “That’s how you came?” Terra asked. “I thought you rode with Portia.”

  “No, Portia figured out where you were, but I got here because of Azalea.”

  Terra opened her mouth to respond when the distinctive click of the door handle interrupted her.

  Portia entered the room with a bag in each hand. “I’m back! I bought some snacks, a toothbrush, and shampoo for you and some magazines!”

  “You're moving in?” Terra asked.

  “The doctors said you needed to stay for at least another day or so. I’m not going anywhere!” Portia said.

  Korin stood up with a worried expression. “I’ll be back later Terra.” Korin offered no explanation as she silently left Terra in Portia’s care.

  Chapter18

  The sound of a siren blaring as it pulled up to the hospital was foreign to the guides who normally spent their time in quiet meditation.

  Constance covered her ears as a second ambulance passed by. "We're almost there; this is the path the emergency vehicles take."

  George stepped out into the road as he walked. As he did the third ambulance rounded the corner with its lights and siren on.

  "Enough of this noise," George held his hand out to silence the strange intrusion on his thoughts. The ambulance driver did not react at all to the invisible guide. The ambulance passed through George, as though he was not there. "I can't get used to corporeals not seeing me at all." George's expression was perplexed as the vehicle left him standing just where he had been. "There must have been a terrible accident."

  The guides followed the route the ambulance took until they reached a sizeable, well-landscaped building. A large lighted sign outside the building proclaimed, 'Memorial Hospital.'

  “This must be the place,” Elise said.

  “Yes, many of my charges have transitioned from this sort of place,” Christopher said.

  “I don’t think that's the purpose of a hospital,” Brendan read the sign directing them into the building.

  “It would make sense that the corporeals would have a place to transition, much like the place where they're received in the Tweens,” Constance led the way into the hospital's lobby.

  “No, the humans come here to heal their bodies. It doesn't change the fact that their bodies are mortal,” Brendan said. "It's sad really; they come here hoping to heal, but sometimes they still die.”

  George pointed down a corridor. “Shh, I see a Scourge entity, this one's mine!”

  Elise gestured towards the female entity as she entered the lobby with a bemused expression. “Go ahead, George. This one isn't even trying to escape from us.”

  George closed on the entity with silent efficiency. He ripped her energy to manifest away with no attempt at civility. As he grasped the entity by her shoulders; he connected with her thoughts and memories. He paused for a long moment with his eyes closed as he searched. Finally, his eyes opened, and he erupted into laughter.

  “What's so funny George? Aren't you going to destroy it?” Amity asked. She approached George, preparing to help.

  “We assumed this lovely young woman was part of the Scourge just because she had no human form. That couldn't be further from the truth! This is a friend of our Terra.”

  "I'm Korin. It's --- nice to meet you," Korin scowled at George, who still held her suspended in midair. "A handshake would have worked."

  "Can you show us the way to Terra?" Constance asked.

  “Sure, but you could have just asked me to begin with,” Korin crossed her arms over her chest. “If it’s not too much trouble can I have my energy back?”

  “Oh, of course!” George said. With a wave of his hand, he restored her energy. “I already know from her memories; Terra's on the third floor.”

  “Oh, wait. Her mother will be…” Korin said. Her objection was cut short as the group of guides dragged her straight up through the floor at a rapid pace. A moment later, she found herself back in Terra’s hospital room. The television droned monotonously for Portia’s benefit.

  “Hi, Terra, I found some friends of yours in the lobby,” Korin stepped away from George and gestured toward the six guides who surrounded her.

  Terra glanced at Portia across the crowded room.

  “I have to say, Terra, I’m not sure mortality suits you,” Christopher leaned closer to Terra, examining the cuts and bruises that covered her.

  “Don’t be rude, Christopher,” Elise said. “She was in an explosion. She's here to recover; we can’t expect her to be glamorous.”

  Terra sighed as she resisted the urge to draw attention to her guests by speaking to them aloud.

  “I'll be going, again,” Korin said. “I should probably point out that Portia can’t see or hear you, but she can hear Terra. You may want to do that mind link thing if you want to communicate with her without her mother calling for the mental health ward to pick her up.”

  Terra nodded her agreement.

  “That makes sense to me,” Brendan said. “If we join hands, we can have our own little committee meeting right here, and nobody will be bothered.” He smiled as Portia yawned.

  Terra stretched out her hands so that the IV tubes were out of the way. The six immortal guides formed a circle around her bed.

  “I’ll be back later,” Korin said as she ducked through the door with a relieved expression.

  The guides formed the ancient mind link effortlessly. Terra focused on remembering all that had happened since her departure from the Tweens.

  "When Liam transitioned, I knew he was going to his destruction. I chose Carol to be his mortal mother, but I could see that evil would still find him and absorb him. That was his purpose," Terra thought.

  "We remember. We wanted to help." The thoughts of Elise and Brendan swirled through Terra’s mind as she continued.

  "I knew I would be destroyed," thought Terra. "The ancient knowledge was clear. But, somehow I was born into a mortal body. The woman who bore me nearly killed me, but instead, she sold me to Portia to pay for her addiction."

  "I remember the sorrow etched on your face as you stepped through the portal. I couldn't understand…" thought Christopher.

  "It hardly seems possible that a guide can be born into a human form," thought Amity.

  "It
was meant to be." Terra sighed. She allowed the voice she had encountered as she lay near death to fill her memory.

  Elise’s eyes shot open. "It's the voice of the One! While we were unaware of the Scourge, he never was!"

  "No, it seems that I was meant to come here to face the Scourge, and Liam was created to draw me to Earth." Terra focused on showing all the impressions she had formed of the Scourge. The images of her early encounters with the Scourge and her initial meeting with Korin gave way to the findings of her years of training.

  The memories of the attack on Liam’s foster family caught Elise’s attention. "I've witnessed these events through Carol’s memories," Elise thought.

  "You thought the battle would fulfill his purpose," Brendan thought.

  Terra nodded slightly. “Yes, but it didn’t. I had to leave him to his human life and return to my own. The only option was to destroy the Scourge. I had to cut it off at its source.”

  The barrage of memories continued. Volumes of experiences passed through Terra to her peers while her physical body lounged on her bed in feigned sleep.

  "Terra, you can’t have believed you could take this all onto yourself!" Christopher thought. He was shocked at Terra’s reckless efforts to spare her corporeal friends.

  "It was never their battle to fight. I was determined to reach out to the Tweens." The images of Carol’s sacrifice passed from Terra to the guides around her.

  An uncomfortable shock reverberated around the closed circle. "You asked her to die. You claimed to shelter the mortals from your burden," thought Constance.

  "Yes," thought Terra. "I wanted to save the corporeals. Carol earned her afterlife. She completed her purpose."

  "She did meet her mortal purpose, and the new mission you gave her," Brendan thought. "I know that Carol chose to help Terra of her own free will. Elise and I know the next part of Carol's journey well." Brendan pictured his vantage point on Carol’s return to the Tweens and her struggles to share Terra’s warning. He allowed the circle to witness Liliana’s determination to hide Carol’s memories from the guides. He allowed them to experience the reconstructed memories that he and Elise had freed within Carol.