Read The New Guard (Crossroads Book 1) for Free Online Page B

for a moment, so she took
this opportunity to study them. One of them was a weald; the other, a Coterie
(two of the alien races the Owl had told her about). Before she should focus
too closely on the features the Owl had used to describe those races, the two
guards bowed their heads and motioned for her to enter.
    The main road
led right up to the temple. Rebekah was focused on the elaborate design of the
temple and thus did not take the time to look at the rest of the town around
her. She did not see the very different people around her as she studied the
images etched into the stone surface or the elegant scenes displayed in the
stain glass windows. Even the broad double doors, were carved with wondrous
art. As she entered through the open double doors she was taken aback by the
fairly plain interior. There were the half a dozen
stained glass windows on either side of the church and tall carved pillars of
dark wood, but this was the main decoration inside the structure. Other than
several large candle stands, each holding seven thick candles, there was no
other decoration.
    Rebekah
had walked into a room no doubt designed for corporate worship. She stood in
the middle of a main aisle with two more merging into it, one on either side of
the church. The side aisles were smaller, only allowing enough space for two
people to walking abreast. The main one, however, could easily fit four people
shoulder to shoulder. Between either of the two outside aisles and the central
one there were banisters, where Rebekah supposed worshipers would stand or
kneel during the service. There were only six benches on which people could
sit. Two small benches on either side were placed toward the front where the
three aisles came together. Then there was one large bench on either side at
the back of the church right inside the door.
    Rebekah
kept walking forward until the three aisles merged. In front of her were three
broad stairs leading up to a large stage. On either side of the stage was a
massive carved column. Between each of these columns and the exterior walls
were small carved double doors similar to the ones she had entered the temple
through. However, Rebekah’s attention was drawn back toward the stage. At the
back, one of the two small doors opened and a man had emerged.
    Though
the man wore a long robe, it could not conceal his muscular build. He was bald,
so it was easy to see that his ears did not protrude from his head. Rebekah
noted this fairly quickly and found herself staring at them trying to determine
if they were just not poking out, or truly flat against his skull. She would
later come to understand that the latter was true. As he came closer she also
noticed his eyes were dark all around, except at the very center. She was so
taken by these oddities that at first she did not realize he was speaking to
her.
    When she
recognized she’d been staring, Rebekah blushed. As she began to listen more
closely, she realized he was not speaking English. There was something familiar
about his speech, but nonetheless she couldn’t understand it. Before she could
speak herself, the Owl swooped in and landed on a banister near her. It
extended a wing and touched her. She stared at the Owl as it folded back its
wing and closed its eyes.
    “Oh,
don’t go to sleep now, I need help here. I don’t understand this man.” Rebekah
hated the exasperation clearly lacing her words, but she was getting a bit
tired of all the mysterious ways and strangeness and just wanted to rest and
process for a while.
    The man
placed a hand on Rebekah’s arm to get her attention and said, “But madam, I
understand you.”
    Rebekah
looked up to the man and almost instantly began gazing at the odd color
reversal in his eyes. While the Owl had told her this was key identifier for
the gaeder, Rebekah had not expected their eyes to be so captivating. She
quickly shook free of her trance and began to ask, “ How . . ? I couldn’t understand you . . .”