"Oh yeah, some big revelation, I"m sure, she loves those," Gabe added.
Rachel considered the words she had shared with the oracle. She couldn"t help but focus on the irony of Gabe"s statement. If he only had known how big of a revelation had been revealed. He was going to be a father sooner than he ever imagined. There was something that Rachel couldn"t deny about what Clarite had said; soon enough she would begin to show and would no longer be able to conceal it from her husband.
"Well?" Gabe prompted.
"Well, what?" Rachel peered at her husband.
"Are you going to share what you two talked about, or what?" Gabe pushed.
"Oh, I thought you didn"t want to hear what she had to say. Isn"t that why you left?" Rachel taunted. She knew it was torture for Gabe, but she was also a little thrilled to put him in his place.
"Fine, don"t tell me," Gabe replied sternly.
"Geez, you take all the fun out of this. She confirmed the Guardians crown exists. Only problem is that she doesn"t know where it is."
"Only problem is her lips were moving, and we all know what that means," Gabe snarled.
"All righty, yes, we all know you can"t stand her and it"s clear you definitely do not trust her, but you need to lighten up a little." Rachel instructed, growing impatient with his att.i.tude. "Let"s just not talk about her anymore. Did you find Uri?"
"Yeah, he had some stuff to take care of, but he said he saw Sophie earlier at the back of the grounds, near the forest."
"Perfect, we should get going then. The sooner we get Sophie on the case, the sooner we find the Guardians crown," Rachel suggested.
Rachel linked her arm around Gabe"s as they made their way to the rear of the compound, weaving in and out of the refugees. Her touch immediately brought a peace over him.
"I really am sorry I"ve been such a pain in the a.s.s," Gabe offered, looking down at the profile of his beloved.
"Oh, I don"t know if I"d go that far, perhaps a pain in the neck," Rachel giggled.
"Gee, thanks," Gabe replied.
"Seriously, are you okay?" Rachel asked, looking up briefly into her husband"s eyes.
"Of course I am," Gabe quickly answered in a light-hearted tone.
"Gabe, I think I know you well enough to tell when something"s wrong," Rachel protested.
Gabe hesitated. He didn"t want to worry Rachel, but he also didn"t want to be the guy he used to be. The type who pushed the people he cared about away. "I promise, I"m fine. I think I"m just feeling the stress of it all. It seems like right when I think we might be getting close to an answer, we find out something else that puts us back at square one."
"We knew this wouldn"t be easy."
"I know, and that"s not the part that has me freaking out. It"s the fact that I feel completely and utterly helpless. I have no control over the situation, I simply hold my breath and wait for the next surprise," Gabe explained.
Rachel held her breath for a moment, she wanted to tell him about their expected child more than anything, but it was clear now, more than ever, that he wasn"t in any frame of mind to take in that kind of information.
"Rachel, honey, I want to keep you safe, that"s all," Gabe added softly.
"We"ll figure this out." She attempted to rea.s.sure him. "I know you a" the words lodged in her throat as she caught sight of something she hadn"t expected to see.
"Sophie?" Gabe gasped as they came to a stop.
"Damon!" Rachel cried, still processing the scene in front of her.
Damon and Sophie"s bodies were pressed into one another, leaning against a nearby tree. Their lips interlocked, and tongues exploring the inside of one another"s mouths. At the sound of their names, they pulled apart.
Damon wiped a little saliva away from the corner of his mouth, "Hey sis."
"Hey sis?" Rachel challenged, in a raised voice. "Are you kidding me?"
"What?" Damon inquired defensively.
"What"s going on here?" Gabe asked, in hopes to reduce his wife"s stress level.
Damon looked over at Gabe, his glare twisting as he barked, "I don"t really think that"s any of your d.a.m.n business."
Sophie quickly reached up and placed a hand on Damon"s chest, attempting to push him back into a more submissive posture.
"Excuse me?" Gabe asked, his jaw dropping in disbelief.
"That"s my husband, Damon, you don"t talk to him like that," Rachel demanded.
"I"ll talk to him any way I want," Damon argued, unwilling to back down.
"What has gotten into you?" Rachel shouted.
"Into me? You"re the one who disappears forever, we all think your dead, months later I get kidnapped and brought to this G.o.d-forsaken place, only to be abandoned by you again. And for what? For this douche-bag? So pardon me if I don"t roll out the welcome mat sis," Damon"s voice dripped with contempt.
"Look man, I don"t know what I ever did to you, but a" Gabe quickly jumped in, attempting to diffuse the situation.
"It"s not what you did to me," Damon replied, looking over at Sophie, wrapping an arm around her.
"What did you tell him?" Gabe snapped.
"The truth," Sophie replied flatly.
"Oh really?" Gabe was quickly becoming agitated. "Which version?"
"Look, this is ridiculous, are you here for a reason?" Sophie asked, hoping to avoid delving any deeper into the conversation. Stepping in Gabe"s direction, she stood directly in the path between Gabe and Damon.
"That"s my brother-in-law Sophie. Are you really so bitter that you would try and get in between family?" Gabe shouted, ignoring her question.
"Don"t talk to her like that," Damon snapped, leaping forward.
Rachel"s senses finally returned, the initial shock of what she had witnessed fading. "That"s enough! This isn"t going to get us anywhere. Damon, you and I can talk about all of this later. For now, we need Sophie"s help, so put this c.r.a.p aside for another time. Got it?"
"Help with what?" Sophie inquired, put out by the entire situation.
Rachel did her best to ignore the obvious contempt in the girl"s voice and continued as her arm wrapped tighter around Gabe"s and she tried to keep his temper in check. "We"re trying to find out some important information."
"What sort of information?" Sophie inquired, her curiosity peaked.
"Information that doesn"t want to be found and Michael said it would be right up your alley," Rachel paused, looking into Sophie"s eyes, pushing her anger down, deep within. She did her best to convey their sincere desperation. "We need your help."
"Maybe if you could give me some details?" Sophie pushed.
"We need to locate an ancient weapon," Rachel continued. "Michael thinks that maybe you could find some information as to where it might be hidden inside the archives."
Sophie took a step closer to Rachel, furrowing her brow she asked, "How ancient are we talking?"
"We"re not sure, at least hundreds of years, but probably much older," Gabe chimed in.
"I don"t understand, isn"t that something you could go to the weapons master for records on?" Sophie inquired, Damon moving in close to her, taking a protective posture.
"Not this one. Soon after its creation it was hidden away. n.o.body was supposed to know about it to protect it from falling into the wrong hands. It"s become legend," Rachel explained.
Sophie looked down at the ground, processing the information and then shaking her head.
"What"s wrong?" Gabe asked.
"I don"t think we"ll find what we need at Iron Gate," she replied flatly.
"I don"t understand. Why not?" Rachel questioned.
Sophie shifted her weight from side to side, looking at the people surrounding her for any sign they may share the knowledge she already possessed. Her time in the records room had exposed her to all sorts of information, but she had a.s.sumed there were some things that everyone knew. "Well a there was a fire about fifteen years ago here at Iron Gate. Anything before that time was destroyed. If this weapon is as ancient as you say, we won"t find any trace of it in the records here."
"So it"s hopeless," Gabe grumbled.
Sophie paused, pondering the situation, "Maybe not!" She exclaimed.
Rachel and Gabe peered at her, their mouths slightly agape, hanging on her every word.
"The historic archives were underground at Rampart, there"s a good chance everything is still there, hidden," Sophie suggested.
"Umm, isn"t that place overrun with demons?" Damon asked, uncomfortable at the mere mention of the location.
"Yes, it is," Gabe answered, then continued. "Which means that it is far too dangerous of an option. We"ll find another way."
Sophie quickly reminded the group, "Dina made it in and out, no problem. She saved Clarite and was barely noticed."
"That was a long time ago. We have no idea what"s happened to Rampart since then." Gabe argued.
"You said you needed my help; at least hear me out," Sophie pleaded.
Rachel elbowed her beloved gently in the side. Sophie was right, they were coming to her for help, and the least they could do was hear what she had to say.
"I think with the right small team we could get in and out unnoticed," Sophie continued.
"This is crazy!" Gabe cried. "You"re working off the a.s.sumption that the demons haven"t found the caverns. That"s a pretty big a.s.sumption after more than five years have gone by."
"I know, but do we have any other choice?" Sophie inquired.
Gabe considered the question, "there has to be some other way."
Rachel looked up at her husband, examining the lines that formed at the corner of his eyes. She wished she could take some of the worry away from him.
"I"m open to any other idea you might have," Sophie replied.
Gabe moved in close, forcing Sophie to lock eyes with him. "You"re so sure about this idea you"re willing to stake people"s lives on it?"
"Not at all," Sophie admitted honestly. "But you want to find this weapon and I"m telling you the best place to look for some trace of it."
Gabe turned towards Rachel, pulling her hand up to his chest. "What do you think?"
Lifting her shoulders, she replied heavily, "I don"t really see that we have any other options." Gabe nodded and turned back to face Sophie.
"Fine, I"ll go in alone with Uri," Gabe relented.
"Oh no you won"t!" Sophie shouted. "n.o.body knows the archives like me. The only way you have a shot of getting in there, finding what you need, and making it out alive is with me, and you know that."
Rachel quickly jumped in, sensing the tension quickly increasing. "She"s right Gabe, you need her."
"What?" Damon demanded. "Have you all lost your freaking minds? There"s no way I"m letting Sophie go anywhere near that place."
Gabe burst out in a hearty laughter. Even Sophie and Rachel were smiling.
"What"s so funny?" Damon demanded.
"You clearly don"t know Sophie very well, yet. n.o.body lets or doesn"t let Sophie do anything," Gabe answered, wrapping his arm around Rachel.
"Excuse me? I think a" Damon began, before being interrupted by Sophie.
"No, he"s right. You"re a sweet kid, don"t get me wrong, but I do what I want."
Damon gasped, he looked around at each member of the group in silence, then turned and stormed off towards the main building.
"Is he going to be all right?" Gabe inquired, glancing at his wife.
"Yeah, he"s just embarra.s.sed," Rachel answered.
"So back to this plan," Sophie interjected, ignoring the tantrum of her newest love interest. "I say you, me, and Uri. The smaller the group is, the better chance that we have. Agreed?"
Gabe looked to Rachel who nodded slowly. "Agreed," he confirmed at last.
Sophie stumbled, attempting to regain her composure after the transportation spell. Even after years of trying to master the spell, for some reason it was one of those that always threw her off her game.
"Are you all right Soph?" Uri asked, walking up behind her on the beach and placing a hand on her back.
"Huh?" she moaned. "Oh, yeah, I"m fine."