Read Online The Guardian Chronicles 2: Dark Horizon by Matthew Burkey - Free Book Online

over when Cody sat down.
    “Lion, Wolf, Owl, and Phoenix. Lion and Phoenix are the warrior clans, Wolf are the hunters, scouts, probably the best shots on the planet, and Owl are the magic users. Anyone that undergoes the Rite has to have a sponsor from a clan. I sponsored you into Phoenix.”
    “Hence the Phoenix tattoo?” Gabriel asked.
    “Yup,” Ryan nodded. He stood up and pulled up his tee-shirt, revealing a tattoo that looked exactly like his, minus the fact that Ryan’s tattoo was located on a well-defined and muscular chest.
    “So, you’re Phoenix?”
    “So am I,” Tony said, although he didn’t stand up and show his tattoo.
    “And you are?” Gabriel asked, looking at Cody.
    “Wolf,” Cody smiled. He pulled up the sleeve on his left arm, all the way to the shoulder. A wolf’s head covered his bicep and the same intricate lines flowed out from it and wrapped his way down the rest of his arm. Cody’s tattoo gave off an emerald glow unlike his own.
    “Cody here likes to play with bows and arrows,” Tony smiled. “And he’s totally a badass with them, like Hawk-Eye good.”
    Cody turned red at both those comments.
    “And now…I’m a Phoenix?” Gabriel asked.
    “Yeah,” Ryan nodded. “You’re one of us now.”
    “Like hell I am,” Gabriel sighed. “Sounds like you guys have a ton of training! I can barely walk down the hallway without bumping into anything.”
    “You’ll get the same training,” Ryan pointed out. “The Rite also helps us learn faster, it gives us enhanced muscle memory so you’ll pick up on stuff pretty quick.”
    Gabriel shook his head, he always wanted to make a difference but he was pretty sure that they got the wrong person. Gabriel wasn’t a fighter, although he would admit that the thought of kicking bad guy ass was pretty appealing.
    “Wait a minute,” Gabriel asked. “You said that both Phoenix and Lion were the warriors, why have two warrior clans?”
    “A long time ago those in clan Phoenix could harness the elements of fire and lighting in battle the trade-off being that they weren’t as powerful as some of elemental spells that the mages could cast,” Ryan spoke, prodding the fire with a stick. “But over time that ability seemed to disappear, as tradition we haven’t combined the clans.”
    “Is there any member of Phoenix alive that can do that?”
    “A few,” Ryan said, shrugging his shoulders. “But most of them are retired or spend their lives in seclusion.”
    “So?” Tony asked.
    “Um…can I think about it?” Gabriel asked, although he had a feeling that he already knew the answer to that question.
    “I hate to say it like this, but not really,” Ryan said. “We had to do it so that you would live but as soon as you underwent the Rite you became one of us.”
    “So, I don’t really have a choice?” Gabriel asked.
    “Considering the rather unique circumstances, if you really wanted out we might be able to persuade the council to let you go on living a normal life,” Tony interjected, ignoring the rather annoyed look that he got from Ryan. “We could even mind wipe you now that they are pretty sure you didn’t suffer any brain damage or anything.”
    “Brain damage? Mind wipe?” Gabriel asked.
    “Mind wiping is a spell that we use repress someone’s memories,” Ryan explained. “The downside is that it can cause brain damage in people that were already severely injured, like you were before we got you all healed up.”
    “Sounds dangerous,” Gabriel grunted.
    “Think about it,” Ryan said. Gabriel turned to look at Ryan, finding those dark brown orbs staring right into his; again he felt an oddly calming effect. “You’re a good person, you know what’s right and what’s wrong and you stand up for what you believe in.”
    “I have no idea where you got that impression,” Gabriel sighed.
    “We’ve seen you at school,” Cody smiled, poking at the fire with a stick. “We know that you dislike seeing others