GOTS - REWORK (ePub) AUGUST

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Guardians of the Seal
comrades on the altar of his love for Imani. Imani. The name spurred him to
action. He needed to check that she was alright in The Secret Place. He
summoned the strength to open a portal and transported himself and his
comrades through it to The Secret Place. When they got there, Imani was
nowhere to be found. He called out her name in vain, but only the flowing water
responded to him. He looked at the lifeless bodies of the once proud
Guardians of the Seals. He fell on his knees and cried out again in anguish.
They had sacrificed themselves for nothing. “I'm so sorry, I'm so, so sorry,” he
cried. Where had Gabriel been through all this? Had the angel left them when
they needed him most? The grief was too much for him to bear alone. He went
through the portal to the mansion where his journey as a guardian had begun,
clutching the rest of the seals in his hands and hoping he would find Gabriel
there. He needed help immediately; he needed to know that he was not alone.
The courtyard where he had first met Benzahr, Eldad and Lex was empty now
and the stone palm-shaped seats added to his feeling of aloneness. He had no
one in the world now. No angel. No comrades. And most of all, no Imani.
Imani pondered the incredible story her mother had told her as Gabriel
bore her through the sky. But it was her story, incredible as it was. She was a
child that was totally born of a woman. If anybody could have made it happen,
that person was her mother. She couldn't believe her loving mother had once
hated men so much that she had devoted her life to making sure women didn't
need men again. Her mother had explained her reasoning thus: “The only
reason we tolerated men was because we needed their sperm to continue the
species. But if someone could remove the need for their sperm, then we could
do without them and eliminate all men from the earth. I had made up my mind I
would be that someone. What a remarkably-twisted line of reasoning that had
been. And to think that I almost made it possible.” Tara had said.
Suddenly, a thick mist descended on them out of thin air, and they could
see nothing. The moment the mist covered them, Gabriel knew they were not
alone. Seconds after the mist came, he heard the droning of wings like a
thousand bees coming from the mist. He quickly descended out of the sky,
leaving the worst of the mist up in the air. They landed on a small stone bridge
over a clear stream. He put Imani safely down and waited for the demon to