The Sage's Vow

4.1 || Weekend Surprises

JOSH DIDN'T KNOW what the horrible thing would be for Mara and Cale, but he discovered what it must have been for him soon after his quick pit stop at Hisato's room.

"So why do I need a babysitter?" he asked. He stood in the Sanctum, a backpack flung over his shoulder with extra clothes. He had planned on saying goodbye to Boomer before heading out.

Instead, he ran into Ioana and Mateo.

Ioana snickered. "I thought only babies needed babysitting, but if that's how you want to see it..." She grinned, and Josh stuck his tongue out at her. "Anyway, it's just a precaution. Our trust in the veil between realms isn't at its highest right now, so we would rather have another Paladin there, just in case."

"Don't worry," Mateo said. "You won't even know I'm there."

Josh examined the other boy. He didn't know much about Mateo except that he had this way about him of acting like he'd been longtime friends with those he interacted with. Josh couldn't decide if he liked that or if it unnerved him. Either way, Mateo didn't seem like a bad guy, but being stuck with him during his family visit didn't sound appealing.

Might as well get used to him. He's on your team now, Boomer pointed out.

Thanks for the reminder, Josh grumbled. Because it didn't only remind him that Mateo was a new teammate. It also reminded him that Mateo would be the only teammate he saw for the next few weeks. Which meant that Boomer actually had a point. Josh should adjust to Mateo's presence.

Meanwhile, the other two of his team got to go on some power-unlocking quest.

Josh swallowed and nodded to the others. "Yeah, okay, sounds like a plan."

Ioana gave them a mock salute. "Enjoy your weekend. Jodas will contact you if there's any need to return."

Josh watched her walk off. "Well, I'm going to go see Boomer before we go," he told Mateo.

Mateo tilted his head, dark eyes examining Josh. Although he had never been much of a reader, Josh knew those who could lose themselves in a book. His mom was one of them. While she scanned the pages, something in her gaze showed she was seeing something that nobody else could.

And right then, Josh had the uncanny sense that Mateo was giving him that exact same look, as if words spread across his skin that only Mateo could see.

"You okay?" he asked.

"You still don't get why I'm coming along, right?" Mateo started walking toward the Sanctum's trees, and Josh fell into an uneasy step beside him.

"Ioana said it was a precaution. I guess on the off chance that a breach happens anywhere close?" It seemed like a pretty big assumption, but Josh had enough bruises and cracked bones—thank Hisato and his magic healing for existing—to know not to question Ioana.

Mateo hummed at Josh's response, and Josh dropped his face into his palm.

"There's something else I don't know, isn't there?"

Mateo chuckled. "Welcome to the fun of being a new Paladin learning in such an unorthodox way. Do you even get to attend all of your classes anymore?"

"Nope. Classes had to be bumped down the priority chart to focus a bit more on training," Josh admitted. An awesome decision when Josh had first heard it, but he was beginning to think it wasn't as freeing as he'd first thought. "So, Mr. Ramos, what am I missing?"

Mateo waved around them. "Paladins and dragons gather at the Sanctuary and Sanctums for more reason than to keep us a secret." He leaned in, glancing around as if they would be heard, but only trees surrounded them. The dragons would be deeper in.