"Another one, Aria?" she heard Eager call over the noise.
She nodded vigorously. "Hell, yes. I need to have as many of these things as possible if I'm gonna get any sleep tonight." That said, she held her hand out to where Eager placed another drink in in it. Raising it to her lips, she felt the burning feeling of alcohol on the back of her throat, and relished the sensation of it. After all those nightmarish events they'd had to face, she was more than happy to partake in the rest of the other Guardians' celebration of Crota's death. At long last, the threat was finally over.
Echo suddenly appeared next to her. "Uh, Aria?"
"Don't even try to tell me to monitor myself; I rarely have one of these, so I'm gonna-"
"Not that. I'm picking up a transmission signal."
She raised an eyebrow. "And it's just for me?"
"Seems like it."
She nodded, taking in his words. Then she looked over at Eager. "Hey, I'll be right back."
He nodded, then turned back to Dawn, who was next to him. She took the opportunity to make her away from the large crowd of people, and towards the courtyard balcony.
She stood next to the railing, and allowed Echo to do his thing. He expanded into a spherical form, and then played the signal through.
"…Guardian?"
It was a voice she hadn't heard before. They had a slight accent, like she did, and were obviously female. "Yes, I am a Guardian. Aria Sorentine. Who is this?"
"My name is Petra Venj. I'm the official emissary for the Queen of the Reef."
Immediately, Aria's eyes widened. The Queen was contacting her? "Oh my- YES, hi! Sorry, I just uh, wasn't expecting your call!"
"Hmm." She could hear the quizzical tone in the other Awoken's voice. She grimaced.
"In any case, to what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Something terrible has happened, Guardian."
Aria felt a sobering feeling begin to wash over her. "What has happened?"
"I was told that you owe the Queen a favor from a long time ago. Correct?"
She remembered; the Queen had hoped her gain access to the Black Garden so that she, Matt, and Ash could destroy its heart. Accounting for all the lost time they'd spent in the Vault of Glass, that had to have been nearly eight years ago. "Yes, I remember."
"Well, the Queen is calling in that favor. We need you at the Reef as soon as possible."
She thought about her options. This was obviously important, if the Queen was finally calling her back to help. And she was in her debt. What choice did she have?
"I'm on my way."
Out in the void, something stirred.
Something grieved.
Something angered.
With his dying breath, Crota had reached out to the stars for help. A plea for vengeance upon those who had wronged him.
Out in the void, something answered.
END OF "THE DARK BEFORE DAWN"
TO BE CONTINUED IN "GUARDIANS NEVER DIE" BOOK 4
"TOOTH AND CLAW"
A/N: Wow, yet another book finished! We finally have a trilogy here!
Well, looks like it's time to turn it into a saga.
The next book is not going to be NEARLY as long as the other books, probably not even as long as 'Hunters of Light.' This is going to be a shorter one that focuses on the House of Wolves storyline, with Aria up front as the main character (told you guys a while ago that I'd do this)! That's not to say that it won't visit the others, but just that she's going to be the focus for this book. GND was about the bonding and forming of a team that the Heroes went through, HoL was about introducing Scorch and her members, and exploring a bit about the prophecy concerning her. DBD had Crota, yes, but I think the main focus was on the power struggle and opposing views of both Matt and Scorch, and developing Matt and Ash's relationship. \
Now that everyone is in a decent place, I'm taking the opportunity to give Aria her how spotlight, just for a bit. Then after that, I suppose we'll have to keep moving forward. Not like that little italicized section above is giving any hints, or anything…