Read Online Soul to Shepherd by Linda Lamberson - Free Book Online
Authors: Linda Lamberson
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open the heavy door and entered the room. Rather than sitting behind the large, intimidating desk at one end of the room, Tara was reclined in one of the embroidered reading chairs by the window. I noticed her view overlooked the private Japanese garden she’d taken me to earlier.
“I have good news,” she announced. “Tartuf has agreed to speak with you. He should be here shortly. I have taken the liberty of setting up an appointment for you to meet with him in one hour Aura time to discuss your predicament. Please see that you are in the Archives’ library at that time.”
“Of course. Thank you for reaching out to him. Again, I really appreciate your help.”
Tara nodded. I glanced at my watch. It was sixteen hundred hours Central Standard Time, or Mora, time. One hour in Aura time gave me one day on Earth, putting me back in the Archives at four tomorrow afternoon.
“Was there something else you wished to discuss with me?” she inquired.
“Umm, yes, I wanted to ask a favor,” I stammered slightly, unsure of how begin to my unusual request.
“Yes?”
“It’s about Dylan. I think it’d be best—I mean, if he doesn’t have an upcoming assignment, then I’d like him to help me—officially.”
“Is that so? And what do you propose we do? Assign two Shepherds to protect a single human?”
“No, not exactly.” I took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. “I’d like Dylan to replace me as Quinn’s Shepherd.” I paused for her reaction, mentally prioritizing my list of arguments in support of my plan.
Tara looked at me with raised brows. “This is quite an unusual request. How, in your opinion, would his replacing you on this case be beneficial? Dylan has never had an assignment. He has never been solely responsible for protecting anyone. Are you sure you are willing to risk Quinn’s life to test whether or not Dylan is capable of the task at hand?”
“I’m not sure I have any other choice,” I began. “I need his help. And the way I see it, I’m the one who has to track down information about what, where, when, and how the Servants plan to attack Quinn. That’s in addition to having to coordinate a defense to keep Quinn safe, keep up with my training, and prevent the Servants from eliminating me. And since I can’t be everywhere at once, there’s no way I’ll be able to watch Quinn twenty-four-seven and do everything else I need to do.
“And there’s no way I can leave Quinn unprotected and vulnerable. Even if his Watcher could be reassigned to Quinn, it wouldn’t help. Peter told me Watchers aren’t trained to protect humans. Plus, we both know if Quinn tagged along with me up here for everyone to see, I’d be thrown out of the Archives so fast I wouldn’t even feel the door hit me on my way out … So, I thought of Dylan. As far as we know, he’s not a direct target of the Servants. And, if he’s there to help me out, I can investigate what’s going on, knowing Quinn will have protection while I’m away. Moreover, if the Servants don’t find out about the switch, we might have an edge over them—confuse them as to who’s guarding him, who’s linked to him.
“Besides,” I continued without giving Tara a chance to protest, “my being ‘officially’ removed from the case doesn’t have to change my actual level of day-to-day involvement. It’s not like I can protect someone else from the same things hunting me, so there’s no way I’ll get another assignment until all of this blows over. And, you know the Order will never let me walk away and wipe my hands clean of this case until they give the say so.
“Not to mention, this would be like on-the-job training for Dylan,” I rambled on. “I’ll stay on top of Quinn’s case by acting as a hands-on mentor. Dylan and I already have proven we work well together. And, more importantly, Quinn trusts him. Plus, I don’t have to teach Dylan how to fight a Servant because he already knows how to hunt and destroy them.
“I have good news,” she announced. “Tartuf has agreed to speak with you. He should be here shortly. I have taken the liberty of setting up an appointment for you to meet with him in one hour Aura time to discuss your predicament. Please see that you are in the Archives’ library at that time.”
“Of course. Thank you for reaching out to him. Again, I really appreciate your help.”
Tara nodded. I glanced at my watch. It was sixteen hundred hours Central Standard Time, or Mora, time. One hour in Aura time gave me one day on Earth, putting me back in the Archives at four tomorrow afternoon.
“Was there something else you wished to discuss with me?” she inquired.
“Umm, yes, I wanted to ask a favor,” I stammered slightly, unsure of how begin to my unusual request.
“Yes?”
“It’s about Dylan. I think it’d be best—I mean, if he doesn’t have an upcoming assignment, then I’d like him to help me—officially.”
“Is that so? And what do you propose we do? Assign two Shepherds to protect a single human?”
“No, not exactly.” I took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. “I’d like Dylan to replace me as Quinn’s Shepherd.” I paused for her reaction, mentally prioritizing my list of arguments in support of my plan.
Tara looked at me with raised brows. “This is quite an unusual request. How, in your opinion, would his replacing you on this case be beneficial? Dylan has never had an assignment. He has never been solely responsible for protecting anyone. Are you sure you are willing to risk Quinn’s life to test whether or not Dylan is capable of the task at hand?”
“I’m not sure I have any other choice,” I began. “I need his help. And the way I see it, I’m the one who has to track down information about what, where, when, and how the Servants plan to attack Quinn. That’s in addition to having to coordinate a defense to keep Quinn safe, keep up with my training, and prevent the Servants from eliminating me. And since I can’t be everywhere at once, there’s no way I’ll be able to watch Quinn twenty-four-seven and do everything else I need to do.
“And there’s no way I can leave Quinn unprotected and vulnerable. Even if his Watcher could be reassigned to Quinn, it wouldn’t help. Peter told me Watchers aren’t trained to protect humans. Plus, we both know if Quinn tagged along with me up here for everyone to see, I’d be thrown out of the Archives so fast I wouldn’t even feel the door hit me on my way out … So, I thought of Dylan. As far as we know, he’s not a direct target of the Servants. And, if he’s there to help me out, I can investigate what’s going on, knowing Quinn will have protection while I’m away. Moreover, if the Servants don’t find out about the switch, we might have an edge over them—confuse them as to who’s guarding him, who’s linked to him.
“Besides,” I continued without giving Tara a chance to protest, “my being ‘officially’ removed from the case doesn’t have to change my actual level of day-to-day involvement. It’s not like I can protect someone else from the same things hunting me, so there’s no way I’ll get another assignment until all of this blows over. And, you know the Order will never let me walk away and wipe my hands clean of this case until they give the say so.
“Not to mention, this would be like on-the-job training for Dylan,” I rambled on. “I’ll stay on top of Quinn’s case by acting as a hands-on mentor. Dylan and I already have proven we work well together. And, more importantly, Quinn trusts him. Plus, I don’t have to teach Dylan how to fight a Servant because he already knows how to hunt and destroy them.
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