Wilder: The Guardian Series (22 page)

She got to her feet and brushed the dirt off of her jeans.
“I’m not letting you two do this alone. She’s my mom and I’m the Guardian, and
I should be protecting her,” she said resolutely.

“But we can’t protect you and fight him,” said Nico.

“I don’t need to be protected; I brought my sword,” she said
raising it up as it glimmered in the sunlight.

“Stellan is going to kill us,” said Nico.

“We don’t have time to argue,” said Roman, “it’s almost time.
Celeste, you stay behind me at all times, and please don’t try anything
stupid.”

The threesome crept up the path, weaving between headstones
and flowers for loved ones placed with the utmost of care. The sun was just
beginning to set and an eerie stillness blanketed the graveyard. Ahead Celeste
could see a tall dark figure huddled over a woman slumped on the ground.

“Mom!” she murmured.

Roman gesticulated for Nico to go around the other side, and
he and Celeste approached Magnus head on. This strategy had worked last time,
and though it was unlikely it would work twice, it seemed the only possible
course of action. As they marched towards Magnus, panic alarms sounded
throughout Celeste’s body. She tried to do as Stellan had taught her and
allowed the feelings to wash over her.

“Ah, well if it isn’t the lovely Celeste come to rescue her
mother with her handsome vampire boyfriend,” said Magnus smugly. “What, no
costumes today?”

“Let her go, Magnus. You can take me instead,” said Roman.

“Very clever boy, I see you have discovered my name. Let me
assure you that everything that people say is true. There is no point trying to
fight, since I always win.”

“No one is going to put up a fight. I am surrendering to you.
My life for hers,” said Roman pointing at Mrs. Wilder, who lay unconscious on
the grass.

A muffled “No!” came involuntarily out of Celeste’s mouth.
“My, my, she really does care about you Roman. She should be scared to death,
but instead she stands here, willful and defiant. This is no ordinary human.”
He took a step toward Celeste, his black eyes gleaming.

“Leave her out of this,” Roman advised, moving swiftly in
between him and Celeste. “I told you from the beginning, it is me that you
want, and here I am. Release her mother and let Celeste leave unharmed. I will
go with you wherever you want.”

Roman recognized a disturbing twinkle in Magnus’ eye. He
scanned the area looking for Nico, hoping he was nearby.

“This is quite a predicament we are in now isn’t it? I was
sent here to bring you and your brother back, but now I find this girl to be of
more interest to me.”

Celeste’s heart dropped.

“Why would she be of interest to you? She is nothing, just an
ordinary human girl --”

“Whose life you seem to value immensely,” Magnus finished.

“No, you are wrong. She means nothing to me,” muttered Roman
unconvincingly.

Magnus’ face glowed bright red, and his black eyes narrowed.
“Do you think I’m stupid Roman Constantin? I’ve lived for over a thousand
years, and if there is one thing I am certain of, a vampire would never give up
his life for an ordinary girl, even one as beautiful as this one.”

“This has nothing to do with her Magnus,” growled Roman, his
fangs fully extended and a chilling gleam in his eye. “Do you think
I
am stupid? I know exactly who sent you
- it was that coward Fabian. He thinks he can hide behind despicable beings
like you, but I am tired of hiding, tired of running. Take me to him and let’s
end this.” Roman took a step toward Magnus, daring him to make a move.

Celeste had never seen Roman like this, and it frightened
her.

“And what, the second I make a move towards you your brother
will plunge a stake into my back?” Magnus countered.
 
“You underestimate me. I know very well
that Nico is lurking nearby. No matter, I could easily take you both down if I
wanted, but I am far more intrigued by your friend Celeste.” Celeste looked at
him defiantly.

Addressing her he said, “As a gesture of good will, I will
release your mother. All I ask is that you come with me in her place.”

“Fine,” she said.

“No!” snarled Roman as he lunged at Magnus.

Nico darted out of the foliage and joined the fray, the three
vampires rolling into a tangled mess of snarling and biting. Roman and Nico
were young and fast, but Magnus had a lifetime of experience on his side. He
quickly broke away from them and disappeared into a mausoleum.

The brothers followed him into the foreboding structure. “Are
you sure he came in here?” whispered Nico.

“Yes!” hissed Roman as he peered into the dark tomb.

Magnus sprang up from the shadows and with one well-timed
punch sent Nico sprawling across the room. Roman reacted quickly, grabbing
Magnus by the throat and almost succeeded in snapping his neck, but Magnus was
too strong and in seconds had Roman pinned against the wall. Nico, recovering
from the blow to his head, rushed to his brother’s aid and yanked Magnus off of
him.

As the fight ensued in the mausoleum, Celeste ran to her
mother’s side and picked up her wrist frantically checking for a pulse. She was
relieved to see that she was alive and breathing, but still unconscious. She
quickly untied the thick ropes around her mom’s wrists and ankles and when
Celeste realized there was no waking her, she picked her mother up and started
running. As she reached the entrance of the cemetery, she saw a glimmer of air,
and the portal opened in front of her. Stellan stepped through it appearing in
a whirling cloud of matter. With a stern expression on his face, he held out
his arms and took her mother’s limp body.

“Please Stellan, take her with you. I have to go back,” she
said with determination in her eyes.

“Celeste, you are going to get yourself killed, and your
father will haunt me from the grave for the rest of my days,” he said, handing
Mrs. Wilder back over to her. “Take your mother through the portal, and I will
go help Roman and Nico. We will be right behind you. Now go!” he said, pushing
her through the entrance.

Stellan could hear the snarling, vicious animal sounds as he
approached the Wilder family tomb. Magnus had Nico in a chokehold, trying to
snap his neck, but Roman quickly thrust a fallen tree branch into his back,
missing his heart by inches. Although Magnus was easily able to pull it out of
his back, it provided enough of a distraction to release Nico from his grasp.
Roman and Nico stood in front of a wild-eyed Magnus ready to strike again,
pausing only momentarily from the frenzied fighting at the sight of Stellan’s
approach.

“Enough!” he said. A blast of lightning shot out of his
outstretched hand, sending all three vampires scrambling for cover.

“I was wondering when you would show your face,” said Magnus
picking himself up off the ground.

“You are meddling in affairs that do not concern you Magnus.
Believe me, if you choose to come after Celeste again, you will have me to deal
with.”

“Well, now I am more convinced than ever. There is something
special about that girl, and I will find out what it is. Fabian can come after
these two himself.”

Roman thrust himself at Magnus but he slipped through his
grasp and took off into the darkening sky.

Celeste hovered worriedly over her mother as she laid
breathing slowly on the worn leather couch in Stellan’s living room. She ran her
fingers through her mother’s fine hair and wiped away a smudge of dirt from her
cheek. The deep creases at the corners of her eyes and mouth were smooth now
– she looked so peaceful. Suddenly, the room lit up with a bright white
flash as the portal opened in the middle of the kitchen and Stellan, Roman and
Nico came hurtling through.

“Thank God you’re all right!” Celeste said as she jumped up,
trying to get her arms around all three of them. “You’re covered in blood…”

“We’re fine. We’re already beginning to heal, see? A nice hot
shower and we’ll be good as new,” assured Nico.

“How is she doing?” asked Roman.

“I don’t
know. She won’t wake up. I’ve tried everything, but it’s no use.” “Maybe it’s
magic?” suggested Roman.

“Yes, that is what I was thinking as well,” said Stellan.
“Let me take a look at her.”

Roman put a comforting arm around Celeste as she watched
nervously while Stellan examined her mother.

“It appears that Roman was correct. Mrs. Wilder is in fact
under a sleeping spell, but no need to fret my dear.
 
It will wear off soon. And the best part
is that she won’t remember any of this dreadfulness.”

“Thank goodness!” she said, rushing over to hug Stellan. The
look of awkwardness on Stellan’s blushing face coupled with the tension of the
day was more than Nico could handle. He burst into a giggle and his contagious
chuckling spread to the entire room as the relief set in.

***

Roman carried a still sleeping Mrs. Wilder up to her room as
Celeste made sure that all the windows and doors of their home were securely
locked. When he came back down the stairs, he found her sprawled on the couch.

“So are you ready for your big day tomorrow?” he asked.

Yawning, she answered, “I guess so. Graduation hasn’t really
been my top priority what with my mom being held hostage and all.”

Roman’s face with filled with remorse. “I’m so sorry about
all of this Celeste. It’s
all my
fault. Nico and I
should have never come back to Oak Bluffs. All of this could have been
avoided.”

“No, it’s not true.
I was destined for this
,
I’m the Guardian
. I would have had to deal with this
whether you had come into my life or not. And I’m so happy you did. I don’t
think I could have gotten through any of this without you,” she said, reaching
out her hand to his.

“Of course you would have. You don’t need Nico or me. You
have Stellan to guide and protect you. We are actually just making it worse for
you.”

“Don’t say that Roman. The best part of all of this has been
meeting you.” She pulled him down to the couch and kissed him whole-heartedly.

His lips were soft and gentle as they moved over hers,
seemingly testing the waters. Celeste waited for that ominous feeling to
overwhelm her again, but instead she felt only the lively sparks where his skin
touched hers. She relaxed a bit, and could feel Roman becoming more comfortable
as the fiery kiss deepened. His hands ran through her long wild hair as she held
on tightly to his well-defined arms, gradually letting all of the madness of
the day melt away. For a moment, she was able to fully let herself go and think
of nothing except enjoying the intense feelings that were spreading over every
inch of her body. Finally, breathlessly, she pulled away, all the while
maintaining his gaze hoping that he would not back away as he had so often
before. He looked guiltily at her as she inched away, but said nothing.

“What are you thinking?” she asked.

“That I don’t deserve you,” he said, averting his eyes. She
took both of his hands in hers, and forced him to look at her.

“How can you say that when you have saved my life so many
times already?”

“Your life would never have been in jeopardy in the first place
if it wasn’t for me.”

“Roman, I am not having this conversation with you again.
This is my life too, and with or without you in it, it would be dangerous.”

“I just couldn’t bear the thought of something happening to
you because of me, but for the life of me, I just can’t walk away from you
either. I know that I should. I heard what Stellan said to you at his house,
and he’s right. It would be best for you to keep away from us – to keep
away from me.”

“No, he’s wrong. He doesn’t know what’s best for me. He
doesn’t know me at all.
 
As terrible
as this past week has been, I’ve never felt so alive. Something inside of me
has been awoken, and a large part of that is because of you. I’ve never been so
terrified or so happy as when I’m with you.”

Roman’s blue eyes filled with emotion. “Celeste, in over a
hundred years I have never met anyone like you. The feelings that you have
stirred in me, I thought had long since disappeared. What I feel for you is
indescribable, and it frightens me that I may not be able to control it.”

“Everything will be all right, Roman. I know you, and I know
how strong you are. You can control it, and you can protect me. We will get
through this together.”

“Celeste, Celeste sweetie, are you down there?”

At the sound of Mrs. Wilder’s voice, Celeste and Roman
quickly pulled apart. She ran up the stairs, and when she saw her mother
sitting up in her bed, tears of joy began falling from her cheeks.

“Mom, I was so worried about you!”

“What happened? The last thing I remember was getting a page
at the hospital, and then I woke up here in my bed.”

“Nothing Mom, everything’s fine. You’re all right and that’s
all that matters.”

“I can’t believe I missed out on all the excitement last
night.”

“Trust me Mom, it’s better that you did,” said Celeste. She
was rummaging through her closet trying to find something suitable to wear
under her graduation gown.

“How about this one?” said her mom, holding up a linen powder
blue
sundress.
Celeste crinkled her nose and shook her
head.

“So I take it the handsome stranger that was in our home last
night was Roman,” her mom scolded. “He looks quite a bit older than you Celeste
– how old did you say he was?”

“Yeah, I’m sorry Mom. With everything that was going on I
totally forgot to introduce you,” she responded, purposely avoiding her
question.