Part 2 (1/2)
”Michael would never let them bully him into becoming a council member.”
”Well, he did.”
”I don't believe it,” Dina argued.
Uri hesitated for a moment, looking around the room as if he expected to find someone listening in on their conversation. ”Don't tell anyone I told you this, but I think they are blackmailing him.”
”What on earth would they have to blackmail Michael with? He is the most squeaky-clean person I know.”
”It's not what, but who they are blackmailing him with.”
”Wait, I don't understand,” she replied, her brow furrowing as she stared at him. ”What are you talking about?”
”I can't really say much more, Michael wouldn't want me to,” Uri said, backpedaling as he realized he had already said too much.
”Oh, no you don't!” Dina exclaimed. ”You're crazy if you think you can just walk in here, drop a bomb about blackmail and Michael's past, and not explain.” Pressing her finger deep into Uri's shoulder muscle repeatedly, Dina demanded, ”Spill it! Now!”
Though she was small in stature, her presence was commanding. Uri decided it was best not to mess with her. He had seen her angry in the past, and that was not a fury he wished upon himself.
”It's a woman, her name is Mirada,” Uri began. Reaching up, he began to vigorously rub the back of his neck, looking down at the ground as he s.h.i.+fted his weight from foot to foot.
Dina quickly grew impatient, ”And?”
”She's-” Uri hesitated for a moment longer. ”Well, she was the woman Michael wanted to marry.”
”Now, I know you're crazy. Michael has never had a relations.h.i.+p like that with someone.”
”I'm serious! I know he has because I pa.s.s messages for him now.”
”What? What do you mean?” Dina gasped, her voice dripping with disbelief.
”Whenever Michael wanted to speak with her or warn her about a search party, he would send me to talk to her.”
”Did something happen to her?”
”Not exactly,” Uri answered, taking a step back and falling silent.
”Come on, Uri, are you going to make me pull all of the details out of you, piece by painful piece?” Dina inquired, her expression displaying her discontent.
”I just don't think Michael would like me telling you about this,” Uri argued.
”Then he should be here to tell me himself. He can't just abandon us like this.”
”I promise it's not like that,” Uri insisted.
”Then tell me, what does the council have on Michael that would cause him to leave us like this?”
”Mirada is an oracle,” Uri said, finally relenting and caving to the small girl's will.
”You're not seriously trying to tell me that Michael is in love with an oracle.”
”That is exactly what I'm trying to tell you. When Michael met her, he never intended on falling in love with her. She was incredibly powerful and adamant that she would not get involved with either side of the fight. She was a true believer in neutrality; I think her conviction was one of the things that drew Michael to her.”
”So, why didn't they marry?” Dina asked, still only half believing her friend's tale about their mentor.
”Michael was going to ask the council for permission to marry her. When he went to them, before he had a chance to ask permission, they revealed a very different plan. They told him about how they had decided her abilities were too much of a risk to the Guardians and how if she were to fall into the hands of the dark army, it could prove quite devastating. They commanded Michael to take her into custody. For her own protection, she would live out her life under the watchful eye of the Guardians, whether she liked it or not.”
Dina sat silently listening, her mouth hanging slightly open in antic.i.p.ation.
”Michael knew Mirada wouldn't hear of it, but he told her of the council's plan. He tried to convince her that they could be happy, that he could make sure she was brought to live wherever he was stationed, but she wanted them to run away together instead. Michael tried to explain that if they ran away, the council wouldn't stop; they would send trackers to find them. Instead, he hatched a plan where he would return with a story that she had been killed by demonic creatures while he was attempting to bring her in.”
”Are you telling me that Michael wanted to lie to the council? He's like- Mr. Perfect.”
”I know, but it's true. Mirada resisted, she didn't think he should allow the council to dictate their lives. I think it's why he is such a hard-a.s.s about choices and the Guardians not removing the ability of choice from a person. They fought about it for a while, but she saw she was not going to change his mind and at last relented to his suggestion.”
”Did they believe him?”
”At first. Over the years though, there have been sightings and rumors that Mirada lives. Michael does the best he can to feed Mirada information so she can stay two steps ahead of the council, often sending me as the messenger. I think they might know where she is now; he wouldn't say, but I think they're using her to threaten him into obedience.”
”But- the council wouldn't do that.”
”Dina, are you that ignorant?”
”Excuse me?” Dina growled, her posture s.h.i.+fting into one of a wild animal, ready to pounce at any moment.
Raising his hands defensively, Uri quickly attempted to correct his careless statement. ”All I meant is that the council isn't all knowing. They make mistakes. They mean well, but sometimes in their zealous attempt to protect the way of the guardians, they seem to violate everything we stand for.”
”There has to be some sort of mistake. Michael has to be coming back,” Dina moaned, slumping into a defeated position.
”I don't think he is, at least not if the council has their way.”
”This is going to destroy Gabe,” Dina said.
”d.a.m.n it, I forgot about Gabe. I have to figure out a way to get him to let me explain. If he would just listen, I could tell him it wasn't what it looked like.”
”You need to give him some s.p.a.ce, Uri. Let me think on it, alright? I'm sure I can come up with something.”
Uri leapt forward in excitement, a grin beaming from ear to ear. After planting a kiss firmly on Dina's forehead, Uri exclaimed, ”Thanks, I knew you would figure this out. You're the best!”
And in the next moment, in a split second, as soon as the words left his lips, he was gone, leaving Dina standing there and wondering how she got herself into the middle of this mess.
The hours pa.s.sed as Dina paced the floors of her room, the recent conversation with Uri consuming her thoughts. Her pink pillows and lush rugs that often gave her comfort from the hard world she lived in did nothing for her now. It did not seem fair that the council could take Michael from them all so abruptly. She could not process the idea that the Guardian elders didn't understand that they needed him; Gabe needed him. Gabe was supposed to be a savior, the great Guardian protector who would deliver them the prophet safely, yet they didn't seem to care about what happened to him. It didn't make sense. The harder Dina thought about it, the less it made sense to her.
She realized she was no longer pacing, instead she was standing at her door, her slender hand on the door k.n.o.b. She knew what she had to do; she had known for some time, the difference now was that her body was forcing her to listen. She knew she had to go out and seek the answers elsewhere. Dina reached out with her free hand and grabbed her gray cloak. Stepping outside, she pulled the door shut behind her. She wrapped herself tightly in the heavy wool fabric, making sure to secure the hood. She hid her face away in the darkness, careful not to draw unwanted attention.
Her steps were quick as she traveled with great purpose. She knew the others would not agree with her decision to seek advice outside of their trusted circle. Dina had already decided that she needed insight, and she was confident she was clever enough not to be bamboozled like so many before her. Dina glided down the stairs, but it wasn't until she reached the bottom of the steps and placed her first foot onto the moss covered ground that she realized she was barefoot. She was surprised this fact had not been brought to her attention by the cold, rough stone leading to the chamber, but quickly moved past the puzzling observation.
Dina peered around, staring into the well-lit cavern. She marveled at the beauty of the small cottage and beautiful waterfall tucked away within the cave. She never thought it was fair that such a selfish and meddlesome being was given so much perfection to live in. Curling her toes, she closed her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she attempted to collect herself and regain her composure before heading into the lion's den.
”Are you going to stand there all night or do you plan to come in?” a voice called from several hundred feet away. Without opening her eyes, Dina knew who it was.