Page 82 of Guardian's Heart

The sweetness of the cookie made my teeth hurt and did something to my taste buds, which I can only describe as twisting them every which way. My eyes watered. Nova watchedme like a hunter watches his prey and I tried to smile for her, but it was hard when the entire inside of my mouth contorted.

Zoe's laughter broke the ice. Raasla pounded on my back. "No worries, that's how I felt the first time, too. You get used to it."

Why anybody wanted to get used to having their tongue twisted was beyond me, but I managed a more convincing grin this time.

"I'm flattered you watch my streams," Nock blustered at Luph.

"Oh, I love your streams. Especially the one of you and him." She nodded at me, making me cringe. I still felt like wanting to wring Nock's neck for it.

"That one was good, hilarious." Noodar laughed, slapping his thigh.

"You never showed me." Raasla looked hurt.

"You don't like Nock," Luph retorted accusingly.

"Yeah, you really missed out on that," Zoe added.

"Did everybody in the universe see it?" I asked, bewildered.

Vraax's snort confirmed it, even before Nock bragged. "I told you I had trillions of followers."

Noodar seemed the only one to have mercy on me. He cleared his throat. "Let's fill each other in on what we discovered first, shall we?"

"Alright." Raasla took a deep breath. "After some digging through various databases, the only lead we got is the planet Darlam. The Ohrurs terminated all the original inhabitants and absorbed the planet into their system."

"Hold on, the information we discovered said that Darlam is under quarantine. It and two other planets, around the same time a mysterious disease killed fifty percent of the Ohrur population," I interjected. "Soon after the first Space Guardians appeared and the Ohrur Oligarchy made a comeback."

"Hmm, interesting." Noodar scratched the back of his neck. "We discovered something similar, only that it happened after the Darlams went extinct."

"Either way, I think we'll find answers on that planet," Raasla stated.

"One more thing," I interjected, "do any of you experience any weird dreams? Or discovered some startling things?"

Raasla shook his head. "No, like what?"

I hated being the center of attention like this, and I hated talking about my dreams, but something inside me told me that it could be important. "Alright, when Nova ran from me," I was interrupted by snickers and some oohs, but continued, "she ran into a forest. I've never been in a forest. Have never hunted any animals, but somehow I knew how to, and not only that, I knew how to skin and prepare them."

A moment of silence followed, and I added, "It just felt like I'd been there before, not exactly the same spot, but in a forest. I even dream about running through a forest, being hunted by—"

"Some unknown predator," Vraax finished my sentence, rising. Could it be possible that he had had the same dream? He shook his head. "What is this? What are you doing? You're all traitors to the Ohrur Oligarchy, and you're…" he faltered. Rubbing his neck, he stared from one of us to the other.

"That predator," I asked, "did you ever get a glimpse of it?"

Vraax shook his head. "No, I wake up before, but sometimes I wake up with a splitting headache, and my neck hurts as if a needle was injected."

"I get headaches when I try to remember things." I couldn't shake a foreboding feeling growing inside me.

"Same," Noodar offered. "Luph and I"—he took her hand, and they smiled at each other—"we were talking about having younglings." Luph's face transformed into a dreamy state, making her look beautiful, and I realized what Noodar saw inher, deep underneath her not so enticing exterior lay a warm and giving soul. One that shone through her. "Which led to us discussing our childhoods."

Luph explained, "I've been cursed with a perfect memory. I remember every moment of my life from the instant I was conceived." I blinked, wondering what that must be like. "So I remembered every minute detail of my childhood, which wasn't exactly pretty. I worried about not being a good mother, but hoped Noodar would fill the gap."

"Unfortunately, as it turns out, I have zero memories about anything other than the last forty years of my life since I became a Space Guardian. In the past, whenever I tried to remember, my head felt like it was about to split in half. And then, yes, that's when the dreams started. Dreams about a beautiful planet with three moons, one that has the most beautiful purple color, and a bright red sun. Gorgeous trees, a small city, and people who look like us and, yes, danger. Something chasing me through the forest before everything turns black."

That was a lot more than I had ever dreamed. "People? You actually see people like us, as in males and females?"

"And younglings, yes," Noodar confirmed.

A slight tingle inside my skull warned me about the imminent headache.

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