The Guardian's Keeper (The Guardian Trilogy, Book 1) (5 page)

“
Tamas Szabo was my grandfather?” Claire asked.

“
Yes, Claire, he was. He had changed his name to Thomas Raymond when he arrived in the US, though he never legally changed it. There is no record of a Tamas Szabo immigrating to the US, but I have found records of Thomas Raymond arriving in the US from Romania in 1956. They are one and the same. I know he had the Fang of Stavros, and I know he gave it to you. I know because you resisted my persuasion, and only a human in possession of the Fang can do so.”

“
He never gave me the Fang, I swear.” Claire was so confused.

“Nikoli,”
Joyce cut in, “John had mentioned to me before his passing that you suspected Tamas may have altered the form of the Fang. Why do you suspect that?”

Nikoli grinned fondly, rememberin
g his former Keeper’s brother. “Tamas was always tinkering, never able to resist altering things from their original form.”

“
That sure sounds like Gramps.” Claire sniffled, cursing the tears that welled up again. “He could never just let things be.” A lone tear slid down her face and Nikoli released her hand long enough to reach up to wipe it away. The mere light touch of Nikoli’s hand on her cheek sent Claire’s blood pounding with desire, her heart racing. He grasped her hand again and she returned his grip in kind.

Joyce caught the tender m
oment between them, chuckling. “See Claire? A few hours ago you were ready to gouge his eyes out, anything to break away from him, and now you’re warming up to him so quickly. It’s in your bloodlines, girl, you’re a Keeper through and through and even your flesh and bones know it. It’s in your blood, Keepers take to their Guardian, vampires or not. Reminds me of my John.” She sighed wistfully.

Claire gaped at Joyce. “
John? Your husband? He was really a vampire?”

“Yes to both,
” Joyce replied, standing up to collect a framed photograph from one of the kitchen shelves filled with knick knacks and family pictures. She handed it to Claire.

“
We met when I was 17 and I was smitten instantly. He was too, that’s why I couldn’t understand why he pulled away from me so. I knew in my heart he loved me too but he kept trying to break it off.” Joyce sighed fondly, remembering happier times. “He finally broke down and showed me the truth about what he was, thinking it would send me packing. It didn’t- it made me love him more for trusting me enough to show me the secret of what he really was. He finally conceded to marrying me, saying he couldn’t stand the thought of watching my human life pass us both by, but couldn’t stand to miss it either. We married when I was 19 and he was 24. Well, he looked twenty four but he was really over three hundred years old.”

“What happened to him?”
Claire asked softly.

“
He was killed out in California. He was out there to work with a clan of vampires struggling to stay on the fringes of society. They wanted to, they tried to, but they were getting sloppy and attracting too much human attention. John was not only a great scientist but a charitable man as well. He went out there to try to help this clan, but ended up being killed by the Myrmidons. They were here in the US as well looking for the Fang.” Joyce’s eyes grew far away, the pain of her loss visible in her expression.

“
No matter,” she continued briskly. “That was years ago. John had worked with Nikoli in Hungary in the middle part of the century so when we married Nikoli and I grew acquainted with each other. John was a bit of a history buff, both human and vampire. He understood the importance of the Keepers and their Guardians and devoted his life to helping them protect the Fang of Stavros. When John passed it felt only natural to have Nikoli move in to keep me company.” She smiled gently at her undead friend.

“
So you have been nearby all this time?” Claire turned her attention back to Nikoli. “I don’t even know exactly where we are, since I fell asleep in the truck, but we can’t be that far away from home.”

Nikoli grinned at her. “
Yes, I remember your ill-timed nap, you were tired out from your fight to get away from me.”

Claire punched him playfully on
the arm. She could barely believe the emotional roller coaster she was on- just minutes ago she was fighting against an emotional breakdown, and now she was horsing around with the man she tried to knee in the groin only hours before. Joyce explained it as an instinctual pull to her Guardian, perhaps she was right.

“
We are about 25 miles from your Grandfather’s home, and I had no idea the Keeper was so close. I wound up here after John was killed, I worried about Joyce being alone.”

“
I can take care of myself, but it’s been good to have you here anyways,” Joyce replied. “The sun is up, let’s finish this so we can get some rest. Claire, think hard now for me- where is the Fang? Nikoli said he couldn’t persuade you, no human can resist persuasion unless they’ve got the Fang as it’s been enchanted by Circe herself.”

“I told you I-
” Claire trailed off as her fingers reached for to her neckline. Slowly she pulled out her Grandma’s locket, the one her Grandfather had given her as a graduation gift. She hadn’t removed it since her Grandpa put it on her that day. It had been hidden under her t-shirt all this time. Joyce gasped, and Claire felt Nikoli tense up beside her. She removed the necklace from her neck and laid it out on the table, admiring the simple, elegant design of the mother of pearl accents imbedded in the gold locket.

“Could this be it?”
she asked, gently fingering the accents.

Nikoli took it from under Cla
ire’s fingers and examined it. “Yes” he replied, barely audible. “Tamas may have turned it into a pretty trinket, but that’s it, that’s the Fang of Stavros.”

“
How can you be sure? I thought it was mother of pearl.”

“
I am the Guardian of the Keeper,” Nikoli replied. “It is my duty, my instinct, to know it, right through every fiber of my being.”

“All right now.”
Joyce pushed up briskly from the table. “We’ve all been up all night, time to turn in. We all need some sleep. We found the Keeper, we found the Fang of Stavros, and the Keeper isn’t trying to maim the Guardian anymore.” Joyce smiled at her own joke. “It’s time we turned in. You’re safe here Claire, no worries child. The only vampire in the world who can withstand sunlight is Nikoli. The Myrmidons don’t know that secret, not one in the bunch nearly as smart as my John was. I’ll show you to your room.”

Claire reluctantly released Nikoli’s
hand and rose to follow Joyce. “Goodnight then, I guess,” she said softly to Nikoli.

“I’m coming up too.”
He fell in line behind Claire, following Joyce up the staircase.

“
I’m just down there if you need anything.” Joyce pointed to the door at the end of the hall. “This will be your room while you’re here, I hope it’ll do.” She opened the second door on the right and led Claire into a lovely bedroom. It was bright with the morning sun streaming in through the huge floor to ceiling windows, with faded old wallpaper and a lovely antique fireplace. A dark wood four poster bed touched against the far wall, and a comfy-looking overstuffed chair faced the fireplace.

Joyce patted a pile of neat
ly folded clothing on the bed. “I put these out for you before you arrived. I didn’t know your size, but I figured you’d be smaller than this old rounded out country gal,” she gestured to her thick middle, “so I dug up some old clothes of mine in the attic, from my younger years when I was lean. I hope they’ll do. There are sneakers in the closet, I had a few pairs I bought and never wore kicking around, maybe one’ll fit you. The bathroom’s through there.” Joyce pointed to the adjoining private bathroom. “I intend to sleep 4 hours. I’ll wake you when I get up, we’ve much more to discuss about what happens next.”

Claire nodded. “
Thank you Joyce, it’s perfect.” She still had a thousand questions, still had no idea what these ‘next’ plans Joyce and Nikoli spoke of were. But after all she had been through in just the last night past, all Claire wanted was a hot shower and a long sleep.

Chapter
6

Under the blast of hot water in the shower Claire finally allowed herself to fall apart. She slumped to the bottom of the tub, sobbing uncontrollably. She wept for her lost parents and brother, slaughtered while they slept in their beds by cruel vampires under the control of Stavros. She wept for herself, removed from the safe world she once knew in which there were no real monsters in the night. She wept for her Gramps, who fled his homeland after the death of his brother on the battlefield. She wept for all she had lost in the last few days. When she could weep no more, she pulled herself upright and cleaned herself up. While scrubbing her hair under the shower stream, her tears spent, her thoughts wandered to Nikoli. With regret Claire realized she never bid him goodbye before they turned into their rooms, one moment he was on the stairs behind her, the next she and Joyce were in her room- without Nikoli. No matter- she’d see him when she woke up, she was sure of it. The thought of their next encounter made her smile to herself.

No sooner had she sl
ipped into the sweats and tank top Joyce had left out for her than a knock sounded on her door. Toweling her wet hair dry, she opened the door.

“
Thank you Joyce, these fit fine and…” Claire stopped mid-sentence. There stood Nikoli, holding a bouquet of wild flowers.

“
Claire, I hope I’m not disturbing you,” he began, holding out the wildflowers to her. “I picked these for you from the yard. I just wanted to apologize for earlier last night. It’s not my usual character to forcibly take a lady,” he said nervously, his demeanor stiff.

Claire stood frozen in shock for a second. Here he was, Mr. Hot Vampire, outside
her door with flowers for her. “Please, come in.” She gestured for him to enter the room.

“
I’m not sure it’s proper for me to-”

Claire cut him off
with a grin. “You carried me kicking and screaming out to your truck in the middle of the night, Nikoli. I’ve seen your fangs, seen you inject yourself with raccoon blood, seen you slice and dice your own arm. I think we’re past proper.” She gestured again for him to come in.

Nikoli nodded
abruptly and entered her room still holding out her bouquet. “I can’t tell you how sorry I am I frightened you like that when I took you. I had to get you out of there before the Myrmidons found you,” he explained, his brow wrinkling in concern.

Claire took the flowers from him and admired them befor
e placing them on the dresser. “Here,” she motioned, turning the overstuffed chair to face the bed. “Please sit.”

Nikoli obeyed, visibly relaxing once he was seated in the chair with Claire sitting across from him on the bed, legs crossed
beneath her.

“
It’s I that owe you the apology,” she explained. “Everything you told me in the truck sounded just plain crazy. I thought you were a garden variety psycho killer, not a vampire Guardian of the Keeper.” She smiled gently at him. “I hope I didn’t hurt you, fighting you like I did.” Her expression turned somber, her eyes searching his.

Nikoli
grinned back at her. “No Claire, you could never physically hurt me like that. It takes more than one wild young lady to do a vampire in,” he teased.

Claire laughed out loud.

“Also,” Nikoli reached into his front jeans pocket. “You left this on the table.” He held out her locket in his palm. “You must never, ever again let this leave your person, do you understand? It is your duty to keep and protect it.” He gave her a disapproving look.

“
Okay, I understand, it’ll take a little getting used to though,” Claire replied, standing. She turned around in front of Nikoli, sweeping her damp dark hair off her neck. “Would you please put it back on me? I won’t take it off again, I promise.”

Behind her Claire heard Nikoli
’s breath catch in his throat. “I mean, you can do that without biting me, can’t you?” she asked playfully, hiding her concern she had just exposed her neck to a proven vampire without thinking it over first.

Nikoli
stood and placed his cool hands on her shoulders, his voice low and steady in her ear. “I would never bite you Claire, it’s my duty to aid and protect you, and even if it weren’t, I could never see harm done to you.” It was all Claire could do to not push up against him. She had felt sparks when he wiped away her tear down in the kitchen, now her whole body was aflame with desire, his body just right behind her. She spun around to face him, eyes blazing, damp curls forgotten and falling down her back. Now it was her whose breath caught in her throat. She had to tilt her head up slightly to meet Nikoli’s gaze.

“
You’re quite an enchanting creature,” he murmured softly, reaching to sweep her hair out of the way again. He reached both hands behind her to clasp the locket around her slender neck.

Kiss me, Claire begged silently. His arms were around her neck, her hands resting on his biceps as he put the locket back on her, their lips only inches apart. She no longer cared why she felt this way about him, no longer wanted to dissec
t how the young man that had before seemed like such a threat to her was now the object of her desire. Claire had had boyfriends in the past few years, but no one had ever affected her like Nikoli did. Despite all her loss recently, all she could think about in that moment was kissing Nikoli. She leaned forward, resting her body against his and tilted her head up slightly, lips parted. Her heart sang when she realized Nikoli was moving to meet her in the kiss. She closed her eyes, relishing the suspense of it all.