Unbroken (Untouched #2)

Chapter 4

LONG shadows criss-crossed the walls and floors of the Manor. The moon had started to rise and the stars had started to twinkle in the depths of the inky sky by the time Ellen had been cleared by the Guardian.

Despite being painless, she hoped that she didn't have to go through the rigmarole again for a while. They had run a battery of tests, one after another after another. It seemed never-ending and the constant prodding of her mind had zapped her clean of almost all of her energy. She had never felt so relieved hearing the words you are free to go.

With her mouth opening into a large circle, she rubbed at her eyes and started to wander down the plush carpets of the hallways. Her legs carried her around corner after corner as she wound her way to the residential wing of the giant building. The halls reminded her of a rabbit warren, twisting and turning in a series of tunnels as they linked one wing to the other. The only difference was the abundance of light which usually filtered through giant windows which spanned from the floor to the cornices.

It was one of her favourite places.

Whilst many of their kind lived harmoniously amongst the humans and preferred to keep that connection to the mortal world, many had decided to take up residency within the Manor for a myriad of reasons. For some, it was to resist the temptations that the other world posed and reduce the risk of being identified.

For others, it was because they had no other place to go. Like Ellen, they had their worlds thrown into chaos as Lucien tainted their lives with tendrils of chaos and death. And its because of those ill-fated events that a large number of resident Tempusmancers had elected to undertake journeys to become Guardians or fighters, peacekeepers and intelligence gatherers. If you had asked any of them about their motivations, there was a solid chance that Lucien had taken someone dear and loved from them and destroyed their lives, one way or another.

Caught in her own thoughts, Ellen's ears prickled and her legs froze as she heard her name drift from the other side of the wall. She held her breath and stepped closer until her shoulder almost brushed the wooden panels.

"...could be a curse in which case, who knows what he has done to her. If it's not a curse, there is every possibility that a part of 'im exists inside of her. And if tha' is the case, then...Well, he could be watchin' us right this very minute. There is no knowin' of exactly what Ellen has become and I like the girl. But there is no denying that she is dangerous to us righ' now until we know more..."

There was no mistaking Dvorak's voice. Her spine tingled and her body shuddered at the heaviness that burdened his voice. But it was the words that were unsaid that tore at her already bruised heart. They speared her like sharp swords.

"But like you said before, there is no way of knowing. This is all just theory. I trust out Head of Guardians and he confirmed that they hadn't been able to find anything that would indicate that he lives inside of her or has touched in her some way or another. Everyone in this room knows that he has seen some things in his time. That is not to undermine your experiences either, Dvorak."

A small smile etched onto Ellen's lips as Claudia's words echoed in her mind.

"I concur. And there is no point in banishing her unless we know for certain. And we seem to be forgetting... She didn't ask for any of this. Remember, she didn't ask to be put into this position and to be the prophetic one. We can't abandon her right now. She's one of us. We ought to see it to the end."

"Hans is right. We need to look into it more before we can come to a conclusion. No doubt, there may be something amiss. But we can't cast someone away purely based on suspicion. That goes entirely against what we stand for as a people. Dvorak-"