Guardians of the Boundary (Book 3 of The Conjurors Series)

Chapter 11

Valerie left Dr. Freeman with Chisisi so he could ask all of his questions while she used her charm to return to Thai. She found him outside of Ming's house, his eyes scanning the street.

"Chisisi chose you to guard Ming?" she asked him in surprise.

"I volunteered," Thai said. "There's a few of us, and we'll be taking turns. I know everyone on the team, and I promise she'll be safe."

"Thank you," Valerie said, touched by the gesture.

"It's nothing you wouldn't do for me. I'd stand guard 24/7, except that Chisisi has me heading up the mission to find Joe," Thai said.

"Any leads?" Valerie asked, but without hope.

Thai shook his head. "Not yet. But we're tracking all of the locations where there have been attacks that sound magical. We've found a few places where they're clustered. We think the Fractus must be building strongholds in those places, and it makes sense that they'd take Joe there."

"What's next?" she asked.

"Right now, our network is watching the cities with the most magical action to see what they can find. When we hear of any sightings of Zunya, I'll be on the next plane," Thai said, the intensity in his eyes reminding Valerie why she'd fallen for him.

"I'm grateful," Valerie said. "Knowing that someone I trust is taking care of Joe means a lot."

Thai nodded. He reached out his hand toward her cheek, and Valerie's face tingled as if he had really touched her.

"Who hurt you?" he asked, his voice gravelly.

She touched her face, remembering the bruises that Rastelli had left. "Long story. Everyone's okay, and the guy who did it is in custody."

"I bet he looks worse than you," Thai said with a little grin.

Valerie swallowed, wishing she could banish her comfort from the warmth in Thai's eyes. She had no right to yearn for that now that she was with Cyrus.

Valerie slept better that night, and she didn't want to admit to herself that part of the reason was because Thai was leading the search for Joe. Some instinctive part of her still trusted him, and she knew that he was Joe's best hope.

She told Henry everything as they walked to their morning training with Gideon, and he seemed comforted by the news, too.

"It's killing me to be doing nothing. If I could at least be on Earth, searching, it would be something," Henry said, his eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep.

"You are searching. You can travel much farther and faster by mentally projecting, remember?" Valerie reminded him.

"It's like looking for a needle in a haystack. Sometimes, I think I should go to Reaper and do what he asks," Henry said. He met Valerie's eyes. "Don't panic. I'm not going to do it."

"Of course he won't," Tan piped up. "You're one of the good ones, Henry."

Valerie wasn't surprised to see Tan at their morning training. He'd shown up to her trainings with Gideon ever since he'd arrived on the Globe. She also saw him at the Knights of Light and knew that he was considered a promising novice.

"Thanks, man," Henry said to Tan.

"Remember, your dad told you not to give in to the Fractus. And we can both guess what they want from you—to help build an army on the Globe by giving them new powers. If you did that, a lot of people would die," Valerie said.

"I know," Henry said. He started to bite his thumbnail but stopped, since there was nothing left of it now.

"Yup, our boy Henry is all that stands between us and oblivion," Tan said, managing to make Valerie sound like she was being dramatic.