Guardians of Rhea by Jose Rodriguez Read Free Book Online Page B

humans first stepped foot on Rhea.”
    “What's an Orlok?” Sara asked.
    “One of the Vesuvian Houses, and now that I
remember, an Orlok can be younger than me and still look ugly as
sin. They start out fine, but they go downhill fast.”
    Sara laughed. “That bad, huh? How many Houses
are there?”
    “Seven.”
    “That's it? Which one do you belong?”
    At that moment Leon stopped in front of a
narrow, five-foot deep ditch with a small stream running through
it. He hopped down and extended a helping hand to Sara.
    Ignoring the offer, Sara hopped down as
well.
    Leon shrugged and skipped over the narrow
stream before making a scarcely believable eight foot leap up to
the other side of the ditch.
    It wasn't until Sara crossed the stream that
she realized the difficulty of the obstacle in front of her.
    Leon knelt down and again extended his
hand.
    This time Sara accepted, and with a quick
pull by Leon, she was up on the other side of the ditch. As Leon
turned to move on, Sara gripped his hand tight and pulled. “Which
House?” she asked.
    Leon gently pulled away. “All of them,” he
said.
    After several hours of travel, Sara and Leon
came to a small clearing and stopped.
    Sara was becoming exhausted. Stretching her
legs, she could see several small buildings across the clearing,
and noticed dusk was fast approaching.
    “There's the outpost,” Leon said, still
looking as fresh as when they journey started. “You can rest up
there.”
    “Leon, you're not tired?” Sara asked.
    “Not really,” Leon answered, walking toward
the outpost with Sara close behind.
    “I hope your beds are comfy.”
    “Just let me do the talking.”
    When they reached the outpost, Leon knocked
on the door.
    A small peephole slid open and a male voice
with an accent spoke. “What you’s doing here?!”
    “I’m escorting this human to see the
Council,” Leon said.
    “What's the matter? Ya lost?”
    “The human needs rest.”
    The peephole slammed shut and the door
opened. Standing before Leon was a grungy-looking man of similar
height, with braided hair down to the shoulders. Sara could see
both of his arms were covered with tattoos. “Come in,” he said,
stepping aside.
    Leon entered and quickly looked around. “You
alone?”
    “Yeah,” the Vesuvian guard said, and then
sitting at a table with cards laid out.
    Sara entered, making sure to stick close to
Leon as she examined the dimly lit room.
    Leon pointed. “The bed is right over
there.”
    “Thanks,” Sara said, then walking over and
sat at the edge of the bed.
    Leon sat across from the guard, who was busy
playing with the cards.
    “What’s the Council want with a human?” the
guard asked.
    “Not much,” Leon said. “With everything
that's going on, they want to see if they can help.”
    The guard laughed. “Help? Them?”
    Sara ignored the insult.
    “I take it you haven't met many humans,” Leon
said, watching the guard play. “They're full of surprises.”
    “I'm sure,” the guard said.
    Sara sat, rubbing her legs, though never
taking her eyes off the Vesuvians.
    “How far have you gotten?” Leon asked of the
game. “I've never been able to win.”
    The guard stifled a laugh. “Everyone knows
that. You still got the fastest record for using all your moves at
Nella’s Pub.”
    Sara noticed Leon shift as if he wasn't too
comfortable, and that made her uncomfortable.
    “Tell you what,” Leon said to the guard. “Why
don't you take the night off? I'll cover for you.”
    The guard looked at Leon for a moment. “You
got no bloody argument here.” He stood up and walked out.
    Leon walked to the door and locked it.
    “He wasn't too friendly,” Sara said.
    Leon shrugged and lay on a bed across the
room.
    Sara lay down also. “I thought you weren't
tired,” she said.
    “Sleep saves energy,” Leon responded.
    Sara yawned. “Good night, Leon.”
    “Good night,” Leon said before dozing off for
several hours.
    At some point in the middle of the