The Descendants and the Missing Guardian

Prologue

12.5 YEARS AGO...

Belvedere lived his life backwards. As a child he took on adult-like responsibilities while training to take over as Head Guardian, and in doing so, had never participated in anything one would call risky. In fact, he did practically whatever he could do to live an uneventful life. But lately, he felt the urge to be silly as his centuries began to catch up with him.

He lived at the Crossroads: a Grand Central Station for the Four Worlds of Life. Here he kept track of the comings and goings of the residents of the Four Worlds, who liked to leap from one world to the next. Nothing remarkable or out of the ordinary ever happened.

The same regulars passed by day after day: a young Borean archer, named Emery, who had adventure in his eyes; the dragon-keeper, Tress, who took her beasts out to stretch their wings on the eve of a blue moon; and, of course, Belvedere's twin sister, Tulia.

Tulia liked to bend the rules her way. Belvedere knew that when he wasn't looking, his sister would sneak off to Earth. He warned her to stay away from that world, but she swore to him she only visited the Court, a special place where their kind could exist. But Belvedere knew better; he knew his sister slipped over to the forbidden side because she came home smelling like the humans who resided there.

There was an odor to the new world that didn't follow the old. Belvedere was familiar with it as he corresponded for a number of decades with Mae, a descendant of the Crystals of Life, which were housed on each world.

Sadly, Mae had passed away last year. Belvedere mourned the loss of his friend but also took the time to get to know her son, Marcus. As an only child, Marcus became the next descendant.

Maybe it was Mae's death that made Belvedere think of his mortality. He wasn't like the Board Members who ruled each world. They were immortal. He was a Guardian; mind you the head of them all, but simply a guardian, nonetheless. He was lucky if he made it three or four more centuries.

Things with Marcus were different than they were with Mae. Marcus and his wife, Kathleen, had two young children and were surprisingly expecting their third. Descendants rarely had more than one child; it kept the family line strong, and undivided.

Marcus was worried; he'd seen something cross over from the Four Worlds into Earth and thought it was watching him. Belvedere was worried this might have something to do with Tulia.

As if the thought of her could summon Tulia back to the Crossroads, the holograms above his desk began to spin. Someone was attempting to return from Earth. Tulia came into focus, landing in the middle of the cave before him.

"I told you to stop running back and forth between worlds," Belvedere said.

"Don't tell me what to do," she said with her usual dismissive-grace. "A proper brother would be happy to see his sister."

"I don't think we're a proper anything," he grumbled.

"You'll be glad I did go to Earth. A problem has developed."

"What sort of problem?"

"I'm not sure that I'll tell you now," Tulia said, turning away. "You need to work on being more brotherly."

"Tulia!" he spattered. "What's happening back on Earth?"

She tilted her head to the side as he grew more impatient. "There seems to be a problem with the woman."

"Which one?"

"The wifey one. Why can I never remember her name? The Kat lady."

"Kathleen! Is she alright? What about the baby?"