The Lost Years (The Guardians Book 4) by Wendy Owens Page B

used to shift this battle in good’s favor permanently.”
    “Really? You’re going to toss me that after telling me you can’t say anything?”
    “Well, I must admit, it’s fun to torture you with the information. I could tell you I suppose …” she added, watching him lean forward in anticipation. “But then I would have to kill you.”
    “I doubt that,” Uri scoffed.
    Sera grinned. Casually opening her palm, a flame ball formed. Moving her hand elegantly, she allowed the fire to dance about before extinguishing it as magically as she made it appear.
    “Impressive,” Uri congratulated.
    “Seriously, though, I can’t say anything else.”
    “Okay, okay. I’ll stop asking about the weapon, although, I really do want to know. Can you tell me other stuff?”
    “Like what?” she inquired.
    “Who are you?”
    “Me?” the vagueness of the question bothered her.
    “Yeah. I want to know everything about you. Where did you grow up? What was your family like? When did you become a keeper?”
    “Whoa, slow down. You sure do ask a lot of questions, don’t you?”
    Uri smiled. “Only when I find the subject so interesting.”
    Sera blushed. It was nice to have someone say such sweet things to her, it didn’t hurt that he was easy on the eyes either. She hoped her years of solitude hadn’t made her naive. “You’re a charmer, aren’t you?”
    “I don’t know about that, but some people say I can be pretty relentless, so you might as well start sharing.”
    “Honestly? I don’t know who I am.”
    “What do you mean you don’t know?”
    “I have no memory of who I was, of a family or a home. Hell, for all I know, I never had a history to remember.”
    “That doesn’t make sense, everyone comes from somewhere,” Uri argued.
    “I agree, but what I’m saying is that I have no idea where I come from. I woke up in a cave; the keeper who trained me is the only person I saw for years. She had no idea about my past, but she said she could offer me a future, a reason to be alive. At the time, that seemed better than nothing at all.”
    “And now?”
    “Now? I don’t know — I don’t think about it very much. I guess sometimes I think about how I wish I could find someone to love me until I’m old, but that isn’t the path of a keeper.”
    “What? Are you serious? Keepers are forbidden from finding love?”
    Sera stumbled over her words, “No — I —well, that’s not exactly right. It’s not like it’s a law or something, but our work keeps us consumed. There isn’t a time that we are not focusing on our objective. My mentor trained me; she taught me everything I needed to know to make sure I would be able to carry on the torch. Then one night I went to sleep and when I awoke, she was gone. I like to think she left to find a different life, one with a husband and full of laughter. But I can’t help thinking she simply faded away into nothing.”
    “You can’t think like that. You have no idea what happened to her. For all you know she’s kicking it back on a beach right now, living up the high life.”
    “I hope so,” Sera whispered.
    “So, where do you live now?” Uri attempted to change the depressing tone of the conversation.
    “Nowhere, I guess. I go wherever I’m needed in order to make sure the weapon I keep is safe.”
    “What about friends?”
    “I don’t really have any.”
    “I don’t understand—”
    “I interact with people, like you for instance, but I don’t tend to stay in one place long enough to really make friends. Unfortunately, I spend most of my time alone.”
    “That’s about the saddest thing I’ve ever heard,” Uri said, trying to make it sound humorous, but failed in doing so.
    Sera rocked forward onto her knees, slapping Uri gently on the arm, “Will you hush, I’m just fine with the way my life is. Friends would get in the way of what I have to get done.”
    “How would you know if you’ve never had any? My friends are always there to help me