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As they emerged from the gateway in Sanglarka, Jenny was grateful to see Lova, Arvid and all of her fellow Guardians waiting to greet them warmly. These people were fast becoming as family to her. Lova pulled her in for a wordless hug. Beside her, Tarafau, with his head bandaged, gave a ragged sigh, as though he were very tired.
"Come to the lodge," Lova invited them, taking in all four of them with a sympathetic gaze. "We'll get you fed up and then all of you will take to your rooms to rest. I have been given strict instructions, so there will be no arguments." She looked pointedly at Tarafau.
He didn't argue, however. Jenny had never seen him look so weary.
The long dining room table had been extended and the lodge smelled of good food. There were many choices passed around, but Jenny took one of the large, fluffy home-baked rolls and a ladle of some kind of stew. It tasted like heaven to her weary soul.
There wasn't much chatter around the table as there otherwise might have been. Jenny was sure that her party must have looked like they'd been dragged through a rat hole. Most of them had circles under their eyes and Jenny realized that she hadn't slept in over 24 hours. The bandages on her and Tarafau were a mute testament to what they'd been through.
As they finished their meal, the others began clearing the table, shooing Jenny away when she rose to help.
"Arvid will see to you and Tarafau. Go up to your usual suite and he'll be right up. The rest of you," she said, looking sternly at Bob and Burt, "will be shown to your rooms by Brendan."
Brendan nodded to them. "G'day mates. Follow me."
Bob and Burt trailed behind Brendan, both looking at Jenny and Tarafau over their shoulders, reluctant to leave them.
"Go on, we'll be fine," Jenny said, waving them forward. "We're right behind you."
She and Tarafau mounted the stairs. She frowned. They hadn't seemed this steep the last time she was there.
It was both comforting and sad to enter her rooms she had spent so many happy days in. It seemed like forever ago.
They hadn't been inside but a few moments when Arvid came in, a basket in his arms, full of first aid supplies. "Lova will be bringing up some nighty-night tea in a few, and you will both drink every drop. In the meantime, let's take a look under those bandages. You first, Jenny. Tarafau, go lay down on the chaise."
It was a mark of the strain of the last couple days and his injuries that Tarafau didn't argue or make a wise crack back to Arvid. He laid down with a sigh of relief and closed his eyes.
"Don't go to sleep, you big lummox of a cat, you," Arvid grumbled. "I'll need you awake to examine you."
Tarafau wearily opened his eyes. "OK, but don't take too long, dwarf."
The comment made Jenny feel better. If Tarafau could make the effort to be playful, it was going to be all right.
Arvid gave a low whistle when he gently pulled away the gauze from her wound. "A butterfly? Really?"
Sam's artistry was already scabbing over. Jenny didn't know what had been in the healer's salve, but it was evidently doing its job.
Arvid cleaned the area gently, put more of what might have been the same medicine on the wound and rebandaged the area. "It will scar, I'm afraid," he said echoing the regret of the healer who had treated her at the infirmary.
Jenny repeated her retort to Arvid, and he grinned. "So be it. Few battle scars are this appropriate. She may have actually done you a favor. You'll never be able to look at this scar without remembering that you are strong."
Jenny thought she didn't feel strong at the moment, but she didn't say anything.
At this point, Lova came in with a tray with two mugs of tea.
"It's just warm enough to drink," she said with a gentle smile, handing a mug to Jenny and sitting one on the table next to the chaise that seemed dwarfed by the big man lying on it as Arvid carefully unwound the bandage from his head.
"It's a good thing you've got such a hard head, old cat," he murmured as he examined the wound on his head. "And it's a good thing they missed your temple. That would have used up all nine of your lives."
Tarafau scowled, but Jenny could see his heart wasn't in it. And despite Arvid's gruff words, she noticed he was being especially gentle with his ministrations. Tarafau didn't wince once, but she could see the faraway look in his eyes and realized he was doing the breathing exercise that had meant so much to her when Sam was torturing her. "Sneaky Sam," she thought. "She's Sneaky Sam."
She was surprised how quickly the tea spread into her system. Lova, who had been standing there quietly beside her, took the empty cup gently from her.
"Come, I'll tuck you in," Lova said.
Jenny didn't argue. There was a soft, flannel nightgown that Jenny guessed had belonged to her aunt, laying on the chair by the bed.
Lova helped her dress and true to her word, she tucked the downy comforter around her, pulled the drapes in front of the balcony window, turned off the lights and closed the door.
In her dream, Miriha walked before her in a flowing green gown, a linkling curled on her shoulder, its long tail laying alongside Miriha's long, thick braid.
She held out both hands as before. The linkling purred and crooned that soothing song. Jenny took her hands and suddenly, Miriha was Sam, the old Sam, smiling warmly at her and, just as suddenly, she was Sneaky Sam in her true form.
"Slippery little one, aren't you?" she hissed, her cheek beside Jenny's, her mouth by her ear. "Your dotty old aunt couldn't stop talking about you, that day on the train. How smart you were, how kind and creative. How you were going to be top of your class and hinting of adventures to come. I knew who she was, of course. She and I had a special relationship too.
And, yes, this is no ordinary dream. You can't get away from me that easily." She laughed, throwing her head back and grabbed Jenny's bandaged arm painfully turning it over to look at the wound. The bandage wasn't there, instead, the butterfly was bleeding again, drops falling audibly with a plop, plop, plop, as it had in that dark room that night.
Suddenly Miriha was there beside her, a quarterstaff of light in her hands. It whirled threateningly as she advanced on Sam. "You will depart hence and not return. Jenny's dreams are now guarded."
With a swift overhead stroke, she hit Sam on the top of her head and Sam exploded into dark tatters that hissed and disappeared.
"But you died, I saw you," Jenny spluttered.
"Indeed, you did. But when I transferred my key, I left a part of myself in your subconscious mind to protect you, when it becomes necessary. Remember there are dimensions as yet unexplored. I am here, dear Jenny. Sleep and wake refreshed. This evil one will bother you no more in your dreams."
Jenny woke much later, rested and refreshed. She remembered the dream clearly, but without fear. She would have to tell Lova, though, she realized. This could be important.
She rose and dressed. Tarafau was already up, rising early as was his habit. He sat at the little dinette, eating a thick porridge. Beside the bowl were an apple and an orange, several slices of cheese and some rye breakfast crackers.
He smiled when he saw her. "Sleep well?" he asked. He looked very much refreshed. The bandage on his head was a clear reminder that he still had healing to do.
"I'm good," she replied, seating herself across from him. "Er," she hesitated. "Did you have any dreams last night?"
Tarafau nodded gravely. "I was visited by Engoza," he said simply. "She won't bother either of us again."
Jenny nodded. "I thought she might have visited you too. I think we should tell Lova."
"Agreed."
They finished their breakfast in silence and walked down the stairs to the main lobby of the lodge. Waiting there were all of the Guardians, as well as Lova, Arvid, Bob and Burt. They had been standing in a loose group, talking quietly, but all cut off as they saw she and Tarafau descending the stairs.
"No workout this morning for you two," Arvid said when he saw them. "We'll meet in the dining room. It's one of the few rooms in the lodge large enough for all of us."
Once they were seated, Lova stood at her seat. "Welcome all of you to Sanglarka," she said, spreading her arms in greeting. "We are gathered here to deal with a serious breach of the gate network security system. The Groga are once again plaguing the dimensions with their raids and they seem stronger, more organized and better supplied than before. You have all been briefed on the main points, but Jenny and her team have more to tell us. As Gatekeeper, Jenny presides over this meeting of the Earth Dimensional Alliance Guardians."
She nodded to Jenny, as if to turn the meeting over to her.
She stood, but her knees felt like overdone noodles.
"Um, welcome all of you. As you know I am new to this position and these responsibilities. I frankly don't have the slightest idea how to proceed, so I will be relying on your collective experience to get us through this. One thing I do know is that we can't drag our feet or take too long to get our act together. Earth is in danger. Let's start with Burt's report and then I will want all of your input."
She sat down with relief that all eyes now went to Burt. She hoped she hadn't sounded too much like a kid asking for permission to play with the bigger kids on the playground.
Burt stood and recounted their story from the time he arrived at Jenny's house for the first time up to the present. As young and flippant as he could often be, his report was concise without leaving out any important details. From time to time he had Tarafau, Bob or Jenny fill in parts where he had not been present.
When he was finished, he looked around the long table into each face. "We are not without resources, but our adversaries are several steps ahead of us. If we don't get our act together quickly and catch up this could be very bad, not only for Earth, but for every universe attached to the gateway network. I'd recommend that we shut the network down and trap them in their own dimension if it wasn't for two things: One, they aren't in their own dimension. Reports tell us they have raided several worlds over the past few weeks and that they have agents still on many of the gate worlds. Secondly, there is actually no way known we could shut down the network even if we wanted to. The Gatekeeper can shut down a single gate, but only temporarily."
Hands shot up from several of the Guardians and Burt patiently answered their questions, clarifying what wasn't clear. When he was finished, he said, "Tarafau tells me he has something new to report."
He sat and Tarafau stood. He easily dwarfed even Brendan. He told them simply about the dream he had experienced the night before. The only difference between his dream and Jenny's was that in Tarafau's dream Sam came into his dream as her own self and no disguises. Miriha had appeared with her quarterstaff of light and defeated her in the same way.
Then Jenny stood and related her dream as well. When she was finished, she remained standing.
Like Burt, she looked into each face before she continued. Each gave her an acknowledging nod.
"As you can see, we have a difficult task ahead of us, but Burt knows where Sam's henchmen are holed up and that's a start. What I'd like to do is hear from each of you about your strengths and weaknesses, so we can break up into groups to tackle specific problems with the best possible team for each. Does that sound reasonable?"
They all nodded their assent.
Evidently, they had been prepared for this eventuality. A transparent screen appeared, floating above the table. Bob inhaled; his eyes gleaming. Jenny could almost hear his mind whirring, studying, considering possibilities. Jenny was relieved that she had not shown her ignorance by asking for a whiteboard and markers.
Lova stood. "I am Lova Norstrom, of Sweden. My strengths are organization, training, the ability to see patterns. I have been the Guardian of the Sanglarka gate for over 40 years. Friend of Lizzie and Miriha. My faults are that I tend to be overly tender-hearted, I am impatient with slothfulness or dishonesty and I tend to make snap judgements that I regret later."
As she spoke, her words were listed in two columns on the transparent screen next to her name, labeled "strengths" and "weaknesses".
Lova sat and Arvid stood. "I am Arvid Longhammer, not of this dimension. I am an Alliance Agent, keeper of the grounds and master trainer here at Sanglarka. My strengths are armed and unarmed combat, tracking, training, first aid, woodcraft and I'm a pretty good cook."
The group laughed appreciatively at this comment, as they had all enjoyed the benefits of Arvid's cooking.
"My weaknesses are technology that requires anything but simple verbal commands. I have no diplomacy and I say what I think. I work best on my own as I am headstrong and have my own way of doing things, though I get it done in the end. I don't like being pushed."
Evidently, many of them had been on the receiving end of Arvid's sharp tongue as furtive smiles went around the table.
"I am Bob Reid," Bob said as he stood. "I'm from Los Angeles, California. I am a scientist and an engineer, Army veteran and tinkerer. I'm good with tech, can hold my own in a fight. I'm familiar with many types of weapons and I'm a pretty good shot. However, I tend to be over-curious, which sometimes gets me into trouble. I got into this by accident, but I'm committed to it. I am new to this, so I need training and to familiarize myself with the tools we have available to us. I hope that won't hold us back."
Burt grinned around the table as he stood. His wild hair matched his grin and his intense blue eyes twinkled mischievously. Evidently, he was acquainted with a number of the Guardians, as many of them returned that grin. "I am Burt Scout of Toledo, Ohio. I am an expert in Gateway tech, and I like to blow up things. I have been an Agent for about a dozen years. My weaknesses are a flip tongue and a casual disregard for rules I see as unnecessary or foolish. I do my best work with deadlines. Some people would call that procrastination. I call it efficient use of time. I've got little tact and I'm OK with that."
Lova shook her head with a twist to her mouth. Others nodded.
Mustapha stood next. His dark eyes scanned the group. "I am Mustapha Kashani, Guardian of the Pakistani gate. My strengths are logistics, strategy and tactics. I am also expert in communications and international political intelligence and hand to hand combat. My weaknesses," at this he raised his chin arrogantly, "are firearms and explosives. I am not a good shot and I detest loud explosions." He looked pointedly at Burt who grinned and shrugged.
Adelle's warm smile when she stood was such a contrast to Mustapha's serious air that the room seemed to lighten perceptively. She looked over her oval wire rim spectacles as she spoke. "Good day to you all. I am Adelle Becker, Guardian of the Swiss gate. My strengths are research, particle physics, and astrophysics. My weaknesses are anything having to do with violence, and I tend to get easily distracted, according to my husband."
Juan nearly jumped up from his seat. "I am Juan Roman, Guardian of the Puerto Rico gate. I am also a pilot," a nod to Brendan, "a hunter and tracker. I have a good head for deciphering codes and riddles. My wife says I have no head for balancing the books and that I sometimes do not take things as seriously as I should. I tend to leap before I look, which has sometimes gotten me into trouble. That being said, I take my duties very, very seriously and I have little patience for those who don't pull their weight."
Jenny found herself impressed with the variety of disciplines and personalities of this team. She had gotten to know each of them somewhat during her training at the Alliance, but from the perspective of what they needed to do, she was yet at a loss on how to create an effective effort to stop the Groga. She had no time to ponder this, however. Xao Ting had stood.
The diminutive Asian man bowed slightly to the group before speaking.
"I am Xao Ting. I have the honor of being Guardian of the China gate. I will tell you that I am strong in herbs and ancient medicines. I am a philosopher and a fair poet. And this humble one also is a Bei Shaolin Grandmaster. I submit that I fail miserably at outdoor living as I have a very poor sense of direction," he glanced at Brendan, "and I am allergic to wool."
As he sat, he hung his head, as if these failings were beyond bearing.
Brendan stood, looking straight at Xao. "He failed to mention that no one here, including Arvid, has ever defeated him at quarterstaff, even when there were three of us to his one. I am Brendan Lisle, the Aussie Guardian. I am a sharpshooter and hunter. I also am a pilot. There's pretty much nothing I can't fly. I can't cook, and I am lousy at tech that doesn't involve things that fly."
The tall Ghanaian stood gracefully. "I am Dhakirah Jelani, Guardian of the gate in Ghana. My strengths include art and dancing as well as computer science. I am afraid my weakness is that I have no combat skills. I can master the forms for the quarterstaff, but I cannot bring myself to use it to strike someone. Under most circumstances, I feel this is a good thing, but I admit that my pacific nature could be a drawback in our current circumstances."
Jenny couldn't help but return her beautiful smile as she sat down.
Then Leonora stood, her hands clasped behind her back, as if at parade rest. Her mental voice was low for a woman and she looked directly at Jenny, ignoring the others. "I am Leonora Svodboda, I guard the gate in Czechoslovakia. My strengths are good discipline and I can run very fast. I was a gymnast in my youth, and I am still supple and balanced. I climb mountains for relaxation, and I raise cattle, so I am strong. I have no sense of humor and I don't like being idle. I hate waiting." And she sat and returned her gaze to the center of the table in front of her.
Aliki nearly bounded up. "I am Aliki Malala, the Guardian of the Samoa gate. I have a photographic memory. I remember everything I ever see. I am a sailor and can sail every type of vessel from ancient to modern. I can't dance. I don't play the ukulele and I have a horrible singing voice. Besides that, I am a stickler and I have a tendency to point out other people's errors before I think about it."
His smile had never wavered during his report. Jenny imagined that even when he was pointing out other's failures, he would do it with a smile on his face.
When Guaray stood, he seemed as grave as Aliki was cheerful. He looked straight into Jenny's eyes after nodding to Lova and Tarafau, who were seated on either side of her. "I am Guaray Varma. I guard the gate in India. I am a scholar and have something in common with you, Jenny. I was not chosen. I found a woman perishing in an alley. She transferred her key to me and her MDP. The beacon had been activated and those who located me introduced me to my duties. I have been the Guardian only for seven years. I have no skills but teaching and writing. I don't know in what way I can be of assistance, but I will serve."
Jenny had a feeling if she hugged him, he wouldn't appreciate it, but she still felt some kinship with the man. He had not shared this during the training they had done together at Alliance headquarters, but she was glad to know it now and sure that they could find a way to use his skills. She had a suspicion that he was naturally humble and not used to telling others of his talents.
Megan of Canada stood nervously, her hands clasped in front of her, as if to keep them from shaking. "I don't do well speaking in front of crowds," she began. "I am Megan Smythe. I guard the Canada gate. I am what you in America would call a park ranger. I know woodcraft and the care of living creatures, as I have a degree in zoology. I know how to track, and I can handle firearms and I am a certified drone pilot. I'm physically strong. I don't like crowds or large cities. I don't do technology much in my job and I have poor people skills."
She sat down abruptly and put her head in her hands, as if to shut out the faces before her. Jenny got the feeling that Megan would be much more at home with the animals in the woodland than she was dealing with so many people all in one place.
Leland hopped up. "I'm imaginin' you saved the best for last," he said with a wink at Jenny. "I'm Leland O'Flaherty. I'm the Guardian of the gate o' the Emerald Isle. I'm quick on the uptake, fast off the starting line and I can lick me weight in tigers. I've the strength of ten and I never quit. I know how to take orders as I am a proud veteran of the Defence Forces of Ireland. I admit to a quick temper and a long memory for folks who intend to do harm."
He saluted Jenny and bowed to the rest and sat, looking pleased with himself.
Lova stood, turning to Jenny. "These will serve as your resources and team-mates on Earth, Jenny. You should also remember that you have the backing of the Alliance to pull from as well, but they are also organizing the defenses for the entire network. Our job for now is to find the agents of the Groga here on earth and 'interview' them in an attempt to discover their plans and how they are getting into dimensions without using the portals, or if they are using them, how they are by-passing the scanners. The weapons they carry should have set off alarms and instigated other defense mechanisms.
Earth is the only gateway planet where we know for certain there are Groga agents in place. Finding them may be the key to defeating the Groga once and for all."
She paused, as if waiting for Jenny to say something.
"I want to tell you how much it means to me to have all of you on my team," Jenny began, mentally running through everything she had heard and observed, as she scanned the screen in front of her, which was now full of the information revealed by the other Guardians. "I'm new to all of this and I don't pretend to be a great leader or an expert in much of anything that pertains to the task ahead of us. Therefore, I'll need everyone's help and input to get this done. I would like Burt, Tarafau and Lova to be my counselors in this. Let's adjourn for a couple hours so we can take all of this," she waved at the screen hanging in the air above the table, "into account and then we'll divide us up into teams and create a plan to go on with. Fair enough?"
There were nods of agreement around the table and a scraping of chairs as they rose to leave.
"One more thing," she added, and they all paused before turning away. "I know I'm just a kid where most of you are concerned and I could never truly replace Lizzie or Miriha, but I promise you I will do my best to listen, learn and I won't quit on you."
There were murmurs of agreement and looks of appreciation, and, on some faces, grim determination, as they contemplated what her words meant.
She turned to Lova and Burt, who had remained seated. "OK. Let's get this done. It's time to find Sneaky Sam and her minions and get the Groga out of the gateways"
