Chapter 31

Elexaand I both ran like mad women trying to get all the children to the rooms above the surface. Several of what they call mothers have helped, but they have been more in the way than anything else.

Likeall kids, they can sense when things are wrong. I've cleaned up more snot and tears from cheeks than I'm comfortable with, and just as I am soothing the ones in this area, Elexa's brother appears out of nowhere with another teenager and a distraught little girl. Elexa rushes over to me.

"Jade, I need to tend to Onyx, several of his lacerations are going to need to be stitched. Will you stay here and watch over everyone else until I return?"

"Absolutely, I am not going anywhere until this is over."

Shenudges the teenager towards me. "Zllera, this is Jade, she is Tessa's friend; you are safe with her."

Ican tell Zllera is exhausted, but she doesn't even try to sit the little one down. Just bounces her gently up and down while she rubs her back. I hold my hands out, motioning for her to hand the little one over, and I can see her hesitate. "Wynd, this is Tessa's friend; she is really lonely and scared right now. Will you let her hold you for just a minute until I can get us something to eat? It will make her feel better,"

"No, friend wants Tessa."

"I know, sweetie, they are going back to get her right now. Aren't you hungry?"

"Yeah, belly hurt."

"Well, let's let Jade hold you for just a moment, and I will be right back. I promise."

Thelittle girl doesn't say anything else as I pull her tiny arms from around Zllera's neck. WhenI turn her towards me, her bright orange eyes stare up at me in wonder. Her small hands instantly sink into my hair.

Zllerasighs wearily. "Wynd is fascinated with hair for some reason. Normally she is an excellent youngling, but this rising has been horrifying for all of us." Tear marks mar her young face as she is trying her best to be strong for the little one, I now hold in my arms.

"Take your time, Zllera. I am going to clean Wynd up some and bandage this skinned knee before it gets infected. Take a moment to yourself, she isn't the only one who has had a bad day." Wynd starts to pucker up when she sees Zllera turn away. "She will be back, Wynd. She just needs a bath like you do."

"CanI have toys?"

"IfI can find some. I see no reason as to why you can't."

"After toys, then you go find Tessa."

"There is a bunch out there looking for her now, Wynd. I bet Tessa would be upset if she thought you were hungry and your knee was hurt."

"Tessa hurt too… but she made the worms stay away until WallMan grabbed me and Zllera, giving us to Onyx. Why did WallMan not get Tessa?"

Ittakes me a second to realize she is talking about SiN. I will have to remember to call him WallMan later. "He only had the strength to get you and Zllera. He will go back after her once he is rested."

"Me down, me go ask him if he is better now."

Shestarts wiggling so much I have a hard time hanging on to her. "Wynd, all the grownups are out searching; he is not here to ask." She stops moving, but her eyes continue to look around as she twirls my hair in her little fingers. "Do you know how old you are, Wynd?"

Sheholds up three fingers. "Almost big, when I get big me go get Tessa."

"I can see we are going to have a future warrior on our hands here, but I think you have a few more fingers to go until then. Let's go see what everyone else is munching on." AsI make my way through the others in the room, several of the mothers hold their arms out to take Wynd, but she won't go to any of them.

"She is fine, I don't mind holding her, especially after what all she has gone through." Thinking, I understand better than they all realize how lost the child feels right now. Whenwe get to the table Elexa has set out full of snacks and drinks, I let her pick out whatever she wants. I have to hide my smile when she reaches for a cake. Her little fingers practically shoved the whole thing in her mouth. It doesn't take long for her to be covered in crumbs and juice. When one of the mothers walks by, I stop her.

"She needs a bath. Is there anything like that up here?"

"Yes. There is a bathing chamber just through that opening over there. I can take her if you have other things to do."

Wyndwraps her arms tightly around my neck. "No, I will see to her, but thank you."

"In that case, I'll go see if there are any extra garments up here in her size. I will bring them to you if I find anything."

Wyndlays her head against my shoulder. Despite her exhaustion, she refuses to sleep. I'm not sure if she is scared or afraid she is going to miss something. I instantly notice the room starts getting quieter as we move away into this other area. WhenI walk in, I stand here for a moment looking around. I am not sure where this tub is, she told me about.

"Ok, this is not smarter than me, it must be here somewhere." I don't realize I have said it out loud until Wynd starts giggling. "What are you laughing at, munchkin?"

"You silly." I can't help but enjoy her laughter when I start tickling her. "Ok, smarty pants, you show me." I set her down on her feet and she runs over, hitting a button on the wall. Then moves back when a small round tub emerges from the floor with water already in it.

"Are you sure this is for bathing or to cook you in?"

Shemotions for me to lean down and then puts her fingers over my lips. "It's a secret."

"Why?" I whisper back.

"Cause, it's got real water in it … not supposed to play in the water, but it's so much fun. CanI have toys now?"

"I don't see why not. You grab a few toys while I find a towel to dry you off when we're done."

Shestarts humming to herself as she opens a small box next to the wall. I rummage through a couple of open drawers, finding nothing. "Wynd, do you know where the towels are, honey? It appears everything is hidden away." I expect her to turn around with an arm full of toys only to be shocked to see she is holding a single doll with no hair. Rubbing the doll's head affectionately, she comes over to where I am and points to the buttons.

"That one." She points up.

Ipick her up so she can reach it, and sure enough, it's a drawer full of different colored towels. "Do you have a favorite color?"

"I can pick?"

"You sure can. I figure if we are breaking rules, let's go all the way."

Herlaughter is like music to my ears, and I could just squeeze her, but I know better than to get attached. We won't be here long, so I need to simply enjoy her while I can. Mine and SiN's life right now is no place for a child, but I would love to have a little dark-haired boy running around in the future.

Shegrabs a green one out, and we walk together towards this weird pot-like looking tub. I wiggle her out of her stained clothes and lift her gently into the water after I check that it's not going to be too hot. She grabs her knee, and then starts rubbing it when it hits the water and I know it's stinging. "Are you ok?"

"Stupid worm scratch … burns, but Elexa says the little hurt means all the yuckies are going away and it will stop when they are all gone."

"Elexa seems pretty smart."

"Not smarter than Tessa."

"I think someone has a fan around here." She turns from me, playing with her doll while I wash her skin gently. Her pale white skin is so drastic from my own. WhenI first started seeing the dark spots, I thought they were bruises, but now I don't think they are. "Wynd, what is this spot here on your arm?"

"My big marks."

Imust have frowned because she put her hand over mine, turning my hand one way and then the other. "You not big either, no marks like me. Tessa just getting big, her marks starting to show. Ohhh, but you have tree mark on you … it pretty. Now you starting to get big too. That's why you are in here with Zllera and Wynd, you just a baby like me, just a little bigger."

Herbaby talk is so damn adorable, but still, it takes me a minute to understand what she is saying. Apparently, they are not born with their dark marks, they form as they get older. She thinks I am little like her; don't I wish sometimes. Washing her shoulder length hair, I make sure not to get soap in her eyes. WhenI am sure she is spotless, I gather her up in the green towel. By this time her eyes are starting to droop, and she is practically asleep in my arms. WhenI hear someone walk in the room behind me. I glance up only to see it's the other girl, Zllera.

"Jade, thank you so much for taking care of her. I'll get her dressed and into bed.

"It was my pleasure, Zllera. I see you cleaned up yourself. Are you alright?"

"Yes, and no. You were right, I needed a few moments to myself. I have never been that terrified in my life, and I don't ever want to be in that situation again. My emotions are all over the place. I am torn. I'm so happy to be home but sad that they couldn't get to Tessa before that wall closed up."

"Ahh, that's what happened, I wondered why SiN was able to get you two and not her. You have no reason to feel bad, Zllera. IfTessa is anything like me, she would have made sure you two were safe first, with little regard for herself. Us human girls are kinda born and bred that way. Are you sure you don't want me to keep Wynd here a little while so you can rest?"

"I will sleep better with her than without. I'm so used to being surrounded by little bodies I'm not sure I could sleep alone."

"That's understandable, your world raises its young a lot differently than I am used to." I hand a sleeping Wynd over to Zllera and just as we are both walking out of this weird bathroom an alarm starts going off. Wynd jerks up, crying instantly.

"Zllera, what is that?"

"Invaders, it's the signal to get above ground. AWaldrin has been sighted."

"But they can't get up here, right?"

"If they could figure out the lifts they could."

"TakeWynd and hide, they are not going to get another child while I'm here."

Itake off running towards the two large lifts that brought everyone up to this large dome on the surface. I see Elexa and her brother and a few others standing before the lifts with weapons in their hands. The tree mark on my wrist starts to pulse and Mystic's words echo through my head. There are guardians on every planet, they will come if you call.

Istart focusing on the walls and the floor. There are no trees up here, how do I call them to me? I run to Elexa. "Where are the closest trees?"

"There are a few in the conservatory, but Jade, you can't go down there."

"I may not have to. How does this lift thing work?" Instantly, I can tell she doesn't want to say anything. "Look, Elexa, I might be able to block this entrance, but I need to be on the same level as the trees."

"I'll go with her. Elexa, get the others back away from the entrances."

"ButOnyx you can't go, you're hurt."

Hedoesn't even answer her, just motions for me to get inside what looks like a vacuum hose. BeforeI can blink an eye, we are on the ground. He starts to walk ahead of me, and I put a hand on his chest, stopping him. "We are not leaving this tube. I just need you to give me a minute to figure out what I am doing."

Itouch the walls, my hand wrapping around the roots that are open to the surface. Mystic never told me how I was going to call the Guardians if I needed them, so here goes nothing. I quiet my mind, pushing all other thoughts away, and focus on getting the owner of this root's attention. When the mark on my wrist starts to tingle and the root moves under my hand, I almost jerk away.

That'swhen I feel it pushing against my mind and thoughts. "DearGuardian of the underground, these people need your assistance, they are in grave danger."

"Who has awakened me from my slumber? You are a stranger to these parts."

"Mystic told me to ask, and you would come. I am asking; we need to block these passageways from the monsters coming to take the children."

"I can feel Mystic's mark upon you and can see the purity of your heart. Stand aside little one, for I will block the way until I am needed no more."

"There are others out there fighting among the ones trying to destroy this race."

Thevoice hesitates for a minute.

"I can feel them, especially your mate, the chosen son of Mystic. I will send others to assist them if needed."

Asingle tear flows down my cheek, my heart overwhelmed with the love I can feel through the bond with this Guardian. A small root comes out of the wall and wipes it off my face before pushing me and Onyx, who has been quietly watching this the whole time back.

Suddenlythe floor in front of us comes alive as the roots push through the hardened soil. We both stand here watching as they weave their way all around, sealing the tubes up completely. They have woven themselves so tightly the walls now look solid. When they stopped moving. I press my hand upon them, thanking them once again for their assistance before motioning for Onyx to take us back up.

"I have seen some odd things in my life, little human, but I believe that one will be hard to beat. Are we trapped in here now?"

"No, when it's safe, they will return to where they came. They didn't just come because of me. You guys have nurtured them for years without knowing it. They are thriving in the environment you all have created underground. Now we can relax some, let's go get everyone settled down."

"I need to be out there with Father and the others not in here protected with the younglings."

"The children need protection too, Onyx. You just got back and those wounds covering your body look bad. DoI believe for one minute that those things will get past the Guardians … no I don't, but I won't have them open up to let you out either. Not in the shape you are right now. I understand the pull to be in the fight, but we all need to know how to pick our battles. The upper floors have never been breached, but that doesn't mean they can't be. These things might be in league with another species who can attack from above. Use your skills here, we need you too."