Betrayal: Book 3 of the Guardians Saga

Ch. 13.2 Fallout

"I'll blast you to the next world!"

Gabe and Cale heard Alex's scream of rage and had to close their eyes from the brightness of the next burst. Then they resumed climbing.

"You don't suppose Rile had anything to do with this?" Cale asked as they neared the top.

Gabe was the first to reach the roof.   When he saw her firing a staccato of blasts after his brother, he replied, "Safe bet, Cale."

"Alex, what is going on?" Gabe used his most authoritative tone.

She paused a moment, but before she could reply, Rile grabbed her and forced her hands behind her back.

"Now relax," he told her.

"Don't touch me." She swept his leg out from under him and threw him. 

The second he landed she blasted him into unconsciousness.

Cale leapt over the roof edge and tackled Alex. She meant to deflect him, but instead sent him over the edge of the building.

"Cale!" Alex jumped after him.  She snatched his hand in mid-air and swept upwards. "Cale, I'm so sorry, I swear I didn't mean it, I'm so sorry," she sobbed. 

"Alex, what is going on?" Cale asked in a tone of wonderment.

She lowered him to the roof and with a final apology, disappeared.

"She could go anywhere now." Gabe looked up from where he was bent over Rile, who was coming to.

"I forgot how bad she can make that feel." Rile held his head.

"Rile." Gabe shook him. "Enlighten us as to what happened."

Rile sat up, still holding his head. "Lay off, Gabe, I'm still a little dazed from her power."

"Poor hatchling. Talk." Gale shook him harder and Rile threw off his hands.

"We should go home first," Cale said. "You're lucky Alex used the white light on you."

***

The three brothers and Dr. Dewey sat in the common room of the brother's carriage house apartment.

Cale had insisted they include Dr. Dewey, and when he was in a rare stubborn mood, he got what he wanted.

Gabe refused to let Rile turn on the television. Gabe stared at his youngest brother in disbelief after extracting an explanation.

"I can't understand why you would do such a destructive thing to her. What were you thinking?" Gabe demanded.

"I'm sorry if I ruined your sweet set up with Miss Submissive to stay home and serve you, but I want Alex back the way she's supposed to be." Rile didn't sound the least bit sorry.

"So you did her a favor by forcing her to remember what Morgan did to her? I don't suppose you remember that she almost killed herself over that?" Gabe threw up his hands in frustration.

"I was there to stop her. You weren't, Perfect Eldest Son."

Cale gripped Gabe's arm in a death grasp to stop him from attacking Rile. "I hope she's not thinking of suicide now," Cale said as an unhappy distraction. "I haven't gotten through to her about her worth to the Creator of All and to us. I should have spent more time with her, insisted she listen."

"Let's think along a different path than blame," Dr. Dewey, ever the voice of reason, spoke up. "What would Alex, the old one, do when she got really upset?"

"Easy. Beat up thugs," Rile answered.

"Exactly. She would scout the various housing projects to find pimps or perhaps someone in the midst of a mugging or domestic abuse and then attack the perpetrator.  Perhaps she's doing that now.  Where were her usual haunts?" Dr. Dewey asked.