Betrayal - Book 3 of Guardians Saga - EDITED

CH 9.2 Rescuing Alex

Alex's apartment in the carriage house was deathly silent, except for the fierce pounding of Rile's angry strides as she paced the length of the room. Cale had a bowed head and hands clasped together beneath his chin in prayer. Gabe sharpened his sword with a whetstone, the faint sound of grating metal echoing against the walls. Suddenly, an intense light engulfed the entire space - a dazzling mix of blue and white that illuminated every corner of the small room.

The Portal Guardian's glassy voice filled the room: "Hurry, my Guardians. The evil done to your teammate has been grave enough to Call me across timelines. I have found her."

Gabe and Rile both held their blades out in front of them as Cale raised his staff. A swirling, glowing portal opened up in mid-air and the three brothers jumped in, landing on a thin layer of dirt that covered a dingy motel room floor. The smell of burning flesh was almost unbearable and a sinister figure knelt on the bed with his back to them.

Morgan had one knee pressed into Alex's back, his hand wrapped in a towel while he pushed something against her skin. She was gagged with a cloth stuffed into her mouth, then secured with a strip of fabric tied behind her head. Her hands were bound at the wrists, using electrical cords wrapped around the sturdy bedposts.

Gabe and Rile pounced on Morgan with synchronized ferocity. Gabe's sword whistled through the air, aimed at Morgan's face, while Rile dove low for his belly with a pair of short daggers. But it was Cale, with his longer reach and swift action, who expertly knocked the hot red metal from Morgan's grasp using his staff. The metal dragon decoration landed on the stained beige carpet, which began to smolder and smoke from the intense heat emitted by the fallen metal.

Morgan tumbled off the bed, face and belly streaming blood, and screamed, "Great One!"

A black portal ripped through reality, spitting forth venomous tongues of red and yellow flame. The smell of sulfur filled the room as Morgan slid towards the abyss. Suddenly, a blinding white light exploded into being, searing through the darkness. An armored figure appeared- the Portal Guardian manifesting as a giant human female. The Portal Guardian stood before them all, wings made of pure blue flames that licked at the surrounding air.

"You dare open a dark portal in this world?" she roared, her voice shattering the mirrors and windows, along with Morgan's eardrums. The Guardians seemed unaffected by her deafening bellow. With an unerring hand, she reached out towards the dark portal, but just before she could touch it, it vanished into nothingness.

Cale slashed through the electrical cords with a sharp, thin blade. He pried them off Alex's wrists and pulled away the cloth that was covering her mouth. She was trembling and pale as he carefully draped a sheet over her naked body.

The Portal Guardian spoke, her voice heavy with worry, "Enter my portal with your teammate. I will transport you to the human's hospital. The war on this world just escalated to a higher level than I am prepared for. My warriors are scattered across the lands, far too few to maintain effective order. If I cannot find enough high-ranking Guardians to join our cause, I must seal this world until the Final Battle."

She waved her arm and a regular portal, its shining blue aura unmistakable, opened before them, light streaming through.

Cale slipped a sheet under Alex and attempted to lift her, but she let loose a pained cry. She weakly pushed him away.

"Leave me to die," she whispered.

The faded beige carpet was now ablaze, casting scarlet shadows on the walls. In the distance, sirens blared.

"Quickly," the Portal Guardian ordered. "The humans' emergency responders are en route."

Gabe shoved Cale aside and gathered Alex into his arms, wincing at her anguished sobs. He strode towards the portal, his brothers following him like dutiful soldiers marching towards their doom.