The Sentinel by Holly Martin

as I tried to join them Lucas pushed me back in. Caleb hopped down from the roof and was followed immediately by Seth who threw me a scowl before he turned back to the Guardians.
    I stared at him, my mouth hanging open in shock and relief. ‘Did you fly?’
    I saw the scowl slip a bit, a smile fighting on his lips. But he didn’t answer.
    ‘Did you finish it?’ asked Eli.
    ‘I didn’t get a chance before she pulled me to her?’ said Seth.
    They all looked at me in confusion.
    I got out and reluctantly Lucas let me.
    ‘I did what?’
    ‘You pulled me to you, which really annoyed me as I was just about to break his neck. Though given your complete lack of knowledge regarding your powers I’m guessing it wasn’t something you did deliberately.’
    ‘She pulled you, are you sure?’ Caleb looked at me like I was some kind of freak.
    ‘Well it sure as hell wasn’t something I did.’
    I was stunned. ‘I pulled you to me? How did I…’ Suddenly it didn’t matter how I had done it, as relief washed through me. Seth was safe. That was the only thing that mattered. I stepped forward and hugged him tightly and after a few seconds he hugged me back.
    The sound of a car engine fast approaching made me tense, though as Seth was still stroking me soothingly, I gathered this car, at least, was no cause for alarm.
    I pulled away to see a black Porsche 911 skid to a halt in front of us. The driver, clearly another Guardian by the sheer size of him, got out and tossed Eli the keys, who immediately tossed them to Alexandria.
    ‘Car swap,’ Eli explained. ‘They’re looking for a silver car, or at the least a car big enough for a team of Guardians. This will hopefully go unnoticed, especially if Alexandria is driving.’
    The front bonnet popped open. Eli opened it and then indicated that I should get in.
    ‘What?’ I was confused for a second before I remembered that the engine was in the back of the car and the boot was in the front.
    I walked closer and could see the boot had been extended to encompass most of the passenger side as well. It actually looked quite roomy.
    ‘Get in.’
    I stared at him. ‘Are you kidding?’
    *
    It turned out Eli wasn’t kidding. Eli didn’t do kidding, I realised, as I lay in the boot listening to the roar of the engine as the Porsche took me further away from any possible attack. The silver car, filled with my Guardians had driven off in the opposite direction to act as a decoy, though Eli was quick to reassure me that if there was an attack on me, they would be able to pull themselves to me in less than a second.
    Any room that I thought I might have to stretch out in the boot had quickly disappeared when Lucas had climbed into the boot with me. He was huge, something I only really appreciated now as I was pressed into the walls of the car. It was pitch black but every part of my body was pressed tightly against his.
    How was this appropriate? I had met the man less than an hour before and now he was lying almost on top of me in what seemed like a very familiar way. I was glad it was dark, because my cheeks were burning with embarrassment. But I had to be kept safe and any embarrassment or discomfort I was feeling right now had been pushed firmly aside for the sake of my protection.
    The Putarians did seem hell bent on my destruction and it only seemed like a matter of time before they tried again.
    I felt Lucas attempt to stretch out his legs, pressing me further into the floor of the boot.
    ‘Comfy?’ I hissed.
    ‘Not exactly. You?’
    I rolled my eyes, safe in the knowledge that he couldn’t see me.
    ‘I’ll take that as a no,’ he said.
    The engine suddenly slowed and then echoed indicating that we had driven into a small room, a garage perhaps. The engine was turned off and light filtered through the tiny cracks in the boot. I heard muffled voices and footsteps and then nothing.
    ‘I am not spending the rest of the night curled up in here with you.’
    And in the