Wilder: The Guardian Series (25 page)

The grass was soft under Celeste’s bare feet and the sun felt
warm on her shoulders as she and her father lunged and parried first with
swords then on to spears, axes and stakes. After what seemed like hours, her
father gave her a parting hug, and she awoke in her bed slightly sweaty and
definitely sore, but with a contented smile on her face.

“Good morning sweetie! Late night?”

“Yeah, I stayed at the party pretty late, and then we went to
grab some food at Ralph’s,” she said, pouring a hot cup of coffee.

Celeste didn’t know why she lied, but she just couldn’t tell
her mother about Dani Lynn, not with all the explanations that would have to go
along with it. She suddenly began to understand why her father had kept the
truth from her for so many years.

“Good, I’m glad you had some normal high school fun with your
friends.”

Celeste shot her a look. “Don’t start Mom.”

“Celeste, we have to talk about this.”

“No, we don’t,”
Celeste
responded,
heading for the door.

“Don’t walk away from me. I need to tell you something about
your father.”

It bothered Celeste that her mom could push her buttons so
well. She knew exactly what to say to make her stay. “What?”

“Please sit down.”

Celeste pulled out the chair at the kitchen table and slumped
down on it, defeated.

“Your father was the Guardian when I met him, and as I told
you before, he didn’t tell me at first. For the longest time, I thought he was
seeing someone else,” she grinned ruefully. “He would cancel our dates,
disappear in the middle of the night, and he was always so secretive.”

“Humph.”

“Finally, on the day he proposed, he told me everything. He
didn’t think it was fair for me to agree to marriage before knowing what I was
getting into. That’s all that I want for you – to be able to make a
choice.”

“It’s not exactly the same thing Mom. You could choose
whether or not to marry Dad. It’s not that simple for me. I was chosen.”

“I don’t pretend to know what that responsibility must feel
like for you, but I know that in life we always have a choice.”

“Well, I don’t feel like I do.”

“I wanted to talk to your father about this very thing, but
whenever I brought it up he would get upset. We had no idea he would be taken
away from us when you were still so young. We had hoped there would be time to
discuss what to do in this situation.”

“I know what he would want me to do. He’d want me to be the
Guardian.”

“But is that what you want?” her mom asked.

“Yes, I think it is.”

Mrs. Wilder put her hand on Celeste’s shoulder and squeezed.
“You’re a very brave girl, and I’ll stand by your decision as I stood by your
father.”

“Thanks, Mom. I appreciate the support.”

Her mom started to walk away, and then turned back. “By the
way, is everything okay with you and Brian now?”

“Not really. Why?”

“I saw him hanging out in front of his house earlier. It
seemed like he was trying to decide whether to come over here or not.”

“I have to go talk to him,” she said.

“Go easy on him, sweetie.”

Celeste stepped out into the warm sunny day and marched
across the yard to Brian’s house. She dreaded the thought of the awkward
conversation that would undoubtedly ensue. She had to tell Brian the truth
about how she felt no matter how scared she was of losing him. Natalie was right;
she had to set him free.

“Hey,” said Celeste as Brian opened the door in his
basketball shorts. He was
just
in his
basketball shorts, and she found herself staring appreciatively at the smooth
definition of his chest and upper arms. “Can we talk?” she said, recovering
herself
.

“Sure. Let’s go for a walk though okay? My parents and Maxi
are all home. Let me put a shirt on, and I’ll be right out.”

Celeste nervously twisted the ring around her finger as she
waited for him on the steps. Finally, he came out and by the look on his
face,
he seemed to know what was coming.

“Brian, I’m so sorry about last night. I shouldn’t have
avoided talking to you about the kiss, and I want you to know that it wasn’t
something that I took lightly. I really just needed some time to process it
all.”

“And?” he asked.

“And, you have to promise me that no matter what I won’t lose
you.”

“That doesn’t sound good.” Celeste stopped and took his arm,
forcing him to turn towards her. “Promise?”

“Yes, I promise, Celeste.”

“I have been selfish with you Brian. I love you, but not in
the same way that you love me. And I should have told you that, but I was so
scared to lose you that I didn’t want to. I can’t imagine my life without you.”

Disappointment flashed across his face. “I feel the same way,
but lately I feel like you are pulling away from me more and more each day. I
feel like I’m grasping at straws. I understand if you don’t feel the same way
about me as I do, but don’t push me out of your life.”

“I’m not Brian, I swear. There are just so many things--”

“I know, that you can’t tell me,” he said finishing her
sentence.

“Well there is something that I need to tell you. I’m going
to be gone for the next few weeks.”

“Gone where? I thought we were supposed to spend our last
summer before college together.”

“I know. I wish we could, I really do. I have to go stay with
an old friend of my dad’s. It’s just a few hours out of town in the
countryside. It was what my dad wanted.”

“And you just found out about this now?”

“Yes, just recently. It’s something I have to do, Brian. But
I promise you that when I get back we’ll hang out, okay? And maybe you can come
out and visit me one day. He lives in a beautiful big house at the foot of the
woods.”

“Yeah sure, I guess.”

Celeste got up on her tiptoes and pulled Brian into a
heartfelt hug as they approached her front door.

He turned to go, and then hesitantly turned back. “Celeste,
if you had never met Roman, would you feel differently about me?”

She felt her throat constrict at the question, deep inside
she knew the answer, but she couldn’t find the words.

Brian saw the answer clearly written on her face. “Never
mind,” he said and walked away.

Celeste finished loading her last bag into Nico’s trunk and
looked up at her mother whose eyes were brimming with tears.

“Oh Mom, don’t cry. I’m only going to be gone for a few
weeks, and it’s only a couple hours away. You can even come visit me on your
day off.”

“I know sweetie, I just can’t imagine you not living with me
under the same roof. And it’s making me dread your move to college at the end
of the summer.”

Celeste gave her mom a big hug. Clutching the family key she
now wore religiously around her neck, Celeste promised she would call her mom
everyday. She took one last long look at her childhood home and jumped into the
car. As they sped off towards Nico’s apartment, Celeste couldn’t help but think
about Brian. He knew that she was leaving today, and she had asked him to come
say goodbye, but he hadn’t shown up. Instead, he had texted her with a
last-minute excuse about early morning hockey practice. Celeste knew he was
avoiding her. Knowing that Brian was in pain and she was the cause of it made
her feel utterly miserable.

“Hey beautiful, are you okay?” asked Nico.

“Oh yeah, I’m fine. Just thinking, that’s all.”

“Staying with Stellan really is the best option, you’ll see.”

“I know,” she said. “Nico, do you think I will actually get
to go away to college like I had planned?”

“Of course you will! As a vampire, I’ve gone to college
dozens of times. Why wouldn’t a Guardian be able to go?”

“Well, I’ve been thinking about it lately, and college is the
last thing on my mind right now. How am I supposed to concentrate on picking a
major, new classes and studying when I’m training and learning how to fight and
become a Guardian?”

“Celeste, I have no doubt that you can do both. Look at your
father, he had a wife and a child and still managed to keep Oak Bluffs safe
from the supernatural.”

“Yes, by lying to us all.”

“Look, you have the rest of the summer to figure out this
Guardian thing. Take it day by day and don’t worry about it,” he said as he
patted her arm in encouragement.

“Speaking of taking it day by day, how is Dani Lynn doing?”

“Not bad. Actually I’d like you to see her today before you
and Roman head off to Stellan’s.”

“I’d like to see her too. Poor Jessica and her family are
going crazy trying to find her. They have the entire police department
searching, and there are Missing Person signs with her picture plastered all
around town. Do you think she will ever be able to go back to her family?”

“It’s still too soon to say Celeste. A new vampire’s emotions
are highly erratic, everything is heightened – as you have experienced.
Although she seems fine one moment, she could easily lose control the next.”

Standing at the door of the apartment, she could sense Roman
on the other side. She had been practicing controlling her new emotions and
supernatural urges like Stellan had taught her, and she found it much easier to
be around her vampire friends now. When she opened the door, Roman greeted her
with a bright smile and dancing blue eyes.

“Are you ready for a little road trip?” he asked her.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.”

Nico walked in behind her toting a cooler with the Oak Bluffs
Hospital logo on it. At Celeste’s questioning glance, he said, “Refreshments
for Dani.”

“I see,” she said.

“Don’t worry, I left some in the car for you too Roman. But
before you go, I’d like to borrow Celeste for a moment.”

“For what?” Roman asked defensively.

“I need to test something out with Dani.”

“You want to use my g---, Celeste as vampire bait?”

Roman tried to recover from the slip, but Celeste had caught
it and casually turned away hiding the huge smile spreading across her lips.

“Oh don’t be so dramatic Roman, I can control Dani Lynn,” he
said.

“Fine, but only if I am there too.”

“Of course, oh untrusting one.”

“Doesn’t anyone care about what I have to say?” asked
Celeste. “I’m the ‘vampire bait’ after all, and I say let’s do it.”

“Why am I not surprised?” said Roman, rolling his eyes.

Due to the bright sun, which constantly streamed in through
the floor to ceiling windows of the apartment, Dani Lynn was forced to spend
the day in hiding. Nico had built what Celeste affectionately called the “vampire
hidey hole” out of the basement laundry room. He led the way down the stairs
with Celeste trailing a few steps behind and Roman bringing up the rear.

“Hi Dani, how are you?” asked Celeste from a safe distance.

“I’m bored and I’m hungry,” she answered.

“Now, now Dani, that’s no way to talk to your friend who came
to visit you,” said Nico.

“Sorry Celeste. I’m just going crazy down here. I can’t go
outside except at night, and I have no one to talk to except these two. And I
think Roman hates me,” she said as she burst into tears.

“No, Dani Lynn, don’t cry. Roman doesn’t hate you,” Celeste
said as she moved towards her to put a comforting arm around her shoulder.

“No!” yelled Roman.

But it was too late. Dani Lynn grabbed Celeste and spun her
around, pinning her arm behind her back and poised with fangs at Celeste’s
neck.

“Stop! Dani, you don’t want to bite her,” Nico said in a calm
soothing voice. “Let her go now.”

The tension in the air was palpable. Roman’s fangs were
bared, and he was primed to strike at the slightest movement. While their
attention was focused on Dani Lynn as she struggled between instinct and
willpower, Celeste whipped around throwing Dani Lynn off balance. He flipped
her over her shoulder and pinned her to the floor with one quick movement. When
Dani Lynn opened her eyes in shock, Celeste was on top of her holding a stake
menacingly above her chest.

“Wow, impressive Celeste!” said Nico, clapping his hands.

“I told you I wasn’t vampire bait!” she said proudly. “Also,
I’ve been having training dreams with my dad.”

“Training dreams?” asked Nico.

“I’m not really sure what they are, but they seem to be
working.”

“I wish I could go with you Celeste, but I don’t think we
should leave Dani alone while she’s still transitioning,” said Nico as he
hugged her goodbye.

“I know. Just promise you’ll come visit me soon!”

“I promise, I will. And Roman, take care of my car,” he
yelled over the engine.

“Oh please, I should be saying the same to you. You’re the
lucky one in this deal.”

“It’s not my fault that your little Porsche has no trunk
space.”

“But it more than makes up for it in horsepower.”

“Okay boys, let’s not argue about whose car is better than
whose or else we’ll never leave,” said Celeste climbing into the front seat.

***

Fabian paced restlessly in front of the open window, his long
silver hair blowing in the chilly breeze. Outside the snow-covered peaks loomed
in the distance, blocking the last rays of the sun. The valley below was
finally beginning to return to life after the many harsh months of winter.

“I cannot believe that fool Magnus has double-crossed me!”
said Fabian, bringing his fist crashing down on the table.

“I hate to say I told you so--” said Alek.

“Then don’t!”

“What does he think he’s doing anyway?” asked Alek. “I
understand he is still in Oak Bluffs.”