Caleb watched Jess as she trotted a little ahead of him, and tried to think of something to do for her. The idea of throttling whoever had done this to her was tempting to say the least, but he knew Jess would never forgive him for interfering. She was just tough like that. He couldn't explain why he felt so upset by this. It was true that, aside from Cornelia, Jess was the only other guardian he could stand to be around for long periods of time. The others were too, there was no other word for it, girly. He had never heard Jess whine about trailing through mud or heard her squeal, as the others had, upon meeting a Meridian creature. She took on their opposition with an aggressive glare and an eagerness to fight. He admired that. He smiled at Jess, who glared back.
"This way girls!" Blunk said excitedly. They followed at a run until they came to a large, blue, swirling vortex. Will pulled the heart of Candracar out of the front of her shirt. Jess smiled wryly as Will shouted, "Guardians unite!" and they were transformed into magical guardians.
Jess loved the transformation. She felt white hot power surge through her body as she was engulfed in an amber light. She felt her legs lengthen and her breast and hips fill out. Her unmanageably curly dark brown hair became soft and wavy and, Jess's favorite part, gossamer wings sprouted delicately from her back. The bruises on her back faded as her gray sweat shirt and baggy jeans were replaced by a violet halter top, which left her back bare, and her short turquoise skirt. Her tennis shoes were replaced by turquoise shoes and stripped leggings. She and her fellow guardians landed, and Jess forgot her problems as she entered butt-kicking mode. She lifted Sunny off the ground and stuffed her in her backpack, which she fitted carefully over her wings. Taranee eyed the portal apprehensively, and Jess rolled her eyes.
"Buncha whiners!" she snapped as she flew through it, landing in the middle of a hoogong nesting ground. The other girls, Blunk, and Caleb materialized next to her. She felt Sunny quiver on her back.
"The canyon is just this way," Caleb instructed. The girls followed him across the clearing and down the steep embankment into the canyon. "I wish I knew exactly where they are, but Aldarn didn't say, when he left, where they were going."
"Sunny can find them." Jess announced, lifting the puppy out of her backpack. "She knows Aldarn's scent. She can track him." Sure enough, within a few minutes, the puppy began to follow Aldarn's trail. Or she could have scented a rabbit, Caleb thought pessimistically. Sunny froze, took a few sniffs, and bolted off down another embankment with a yap, her nose to the wind. Caleb, Blunk, and the girls followed the pup until they reached the bottom. They heard a familiar laugh, as Sunny was lifted off the ground.
"Found me, didn't ya'?" Aldarn asked as Sunny bathed his face in kisses. Caleb couldn't help but smile at the sight of his friend, alive and unharmed. He was smiling, which meant that the others were safe as well. "The others are down this way. The soldiers are up there," He said pointing up at the wall. The guardians, Blunk, Sunny, and Caleb trailed him until he entered a cave. The ten or eleven men inside raised their swords and bows, but relaxed when they saw who it was. "Guardians of the veil," one muttered to the others, who smiled as they filed in the small cave.
"Are they here to help?" He asked hopefully. Aldarn nodded. Another looked curiously at Sunny, who wagged her short tail so hard her whole backside shook.
"Are you ready to leave?" Caleb asked. They all nodded.
"Ok, we'll distract them so you all can get away." Will said. Irma put an arm around Jess and winked.
"We got your distraction right here." Jess giggled, knowing what the water guardian meant. Will nodded.
"Be careful. Don't do anything stupid."
"Of course. You know we wouldn't." Jess said with a laugh.
"Oh yes you would." Cornelia snapped. Jess handed her backpack to Will.
"Can you take care of Sunny for me." Will nodded. Irma and Jess flew out of the cave entrance and up the wall to the soldiers.
"Hey, here's a physics question for ya'," Irma said to get the guard's attention, "What happens to water when it's struck by lightning?"
"The answer?" Jess said as she and Irma intertwined their fingers together, "It gets supercharged." Through their interwoven fingers, the girls sent a blast of electric water at them, soaking Phobos's soldiers. Their bodies twitched with the effects of the electricity. Three men came out from behind the rocks and Irma and Jess tried to fly out of their reach. One grabbed Jess's ankle as the others noticed the rebels sneaking out of the canyon. Jess sent a small burst of power through her foot, and he let go with a yelp. "You go warn the others. I got this," she said and Irma reluctantly flew off. The drenched soldiers had recovered and went after Irma, but Jess stood in front of them. "And where do you think you're goin'?" Jess flew in the other direction and, like idiots, all five of them went after her.
Jess giggled, flying around rocks , laughing as she turned to see her pursuers tripping and sliding, trying to keep up. "Better hurry boys. You might loose me." Angrily, they continued their pursuit. Jess suddenly hit something. She looked up to see none other then Lord Cedric standing over her.
"My top soldiers can't even handle one puny guardian?" He snapped. They cowered backwards. He grabbed her by the wrists, and she tried to shock him, but his thick snakeskin made him impervious to her powers. He coiled a thick rope around her wrists.
"That's it. Do you just do everything Phobos says, or do you have a mind of your own?"
"For your information, sassy brat, I have a mind of my own. I've just been looking for an excuse to kill you."
"Yeah, just kill me off, like Phobos's good little lap dog. Maybe if you make me suffer, he'll give you a Scooby snack."
"Insolent child!" He raged, slamming her into the solid rock wall. Jess yelped, crumpling on the ground. "Still conscious? I'll remedy that." He grabbed an iron pipe and cracked her viciously across the head.
Jess's world went black.