Affinity (The Guardians Book 1)

by K Fisher

The realization that very little to no people were probably alarmed by her absence did not sit well with Hazel, and she was surprised she hadn’t realized it before. In fact, her landlady was probably more alarmed than anyone else and that was not something Hazel would ever find herself bragging about.

  “You can see spirits, yes?” Faye asked.

  Hazel nodded then, and it was so easy to just accept it and admit it when she had just seen and gone through what she had with Faye.

  “Good, we established that. Here’s the deal. We’ve got a problem with a magically inclined ‘gal gone power hungry’. She wants the magic you have, but the only way to get it? Trap you and slowly drain it from you with her dark magic, or get you to give it up to her willingly. She has always been charming and good at getting what she wants, but with the new powers she has collected over the years, she’s damn near unstoppable now.”

  Behind Faye, Tucker put his hands up, fingers waving in the air. “Oooh, dark magic.” She nudged him with her elbow, flashing an irritated glance his direction before speaking again.

  “She has her little lap dog, Nico. He can seek out those who are magically inclined for her, and teleport around in the realms, but cannot merge the two realms like you can. In exchange for finding her new victims, she allows him to live. We come from a long line of protectors. Our parents ensured those who could interact with the spirits were kept in line, ensured that no normal people were hurt. Our grandparents as well, so forth.” Her hand was waving in the air, as though she had told this story so many times and grew tired of it. “We each have an Affinity to this energy at birth and harness it in different ways based on our roots. There’s no rhyme or reason to it all. You can see and interact with those who have passed, merge the two worlds and pull the spirits free. None of us can do that.”

  Hazel interrupted then, eyes fixed on Faye. “But you saw that thing, you were there with me, you saw it as well. You were in the spirit realm or whatever with me.”

  Faye nodded, taking a deep breath as a flash of irritation crossed her face. “Yeah, but that was in a spell, not the actual spirit realm. We stole ourselves a little artifact from Danira that allows me to get in and access the spell but what I saw wasn’t a spirit, that was Nico. It seems you’ve already met all our main players, so that makes things easier, but we’re getting off track. I use the energy and magic I possess to calm others, to persuade them. As you witnessed earlier. Caden…” She pointed to the man on his computer, who did not look up, merely placed a hand in the air.

  “Present,” he murmured as Faye continued.

  “Caden is our tech boy. He can use his magic to reach through those electrical currents. He’s a good little spy, aren’t you Caden? Also, he is a brainiac, can build anything you could possibly need. Always messing around with his little doo-dads.” No response. “Tucker over here…” She pushed out with one small foot, her shoes long forgotten in her quest for comfort. The foot pressed into Tucker’s side and he grimaced, shoving away at it playfully. “He comes from a long line of magical fighters. Sure, we all know spells that can assist if shit hits the fan, but this guy? I’ve seen him take a fully trained Affinity under Danira’s control to the ground and shove his own fist in his mouth. Beautiful, artistic, that’s our boy.” She pointed to Hazel then, smiling. “You, Hazel? You come from a long line of plane jumpers. You’re our key to finally burying this bitch.”

  “Plane jumpers? What the hell is that supposed to mean? I’m adopted, closed case. I hardly think you know where I came from. You mentioned hearing things about my parents before, give me that information.”

  Faye shrugged then, standing as her bare feet padded along the wood floor towards a door to the left of the hallway. Opening it, she disappeared and left Hazel alone with the two strange men. Thankfully, Caden was too busy typing away at something to attempt small talk, and Tucker was completely enthralled with something on his knuckles, eyes only looking up when Faye returned, her hands filled with manila file folders.

  She walked over to Hazel on the ground, and Charlie scampered off under the couch, his yellow eyes peering at them as Faye dropped the folders on Hazel’s lap. A few of the papers spilled out on the ground.

  “Sorry. Anyway, there’s all you need to know about your parents and some research of our own. We’ve been looking for you for a while.”

  Hazel gathered up the paperwork, staring down at the folders blankly, not really knowing where to start. She wasn’t going to discredit anything after what she had just witnessed for herself, and she knew that those folders had been what she herself had fought to find for so long.

  “Looking for me? We live in the same city, couldn’t you just sense me out there or something like Danira?” Faye shook her head, her pale eyes observing Hazel carefully. There was suspicion in her stare now. It was unsettling, to say the least.

  “Something’s protecting you, something that she’s finding a way to break down. Someone, probably. When normal people die, their energy is dispersed to the plane they belong. The heaven or hell, if you will. But when the magically inclined die? Our energy continues on, we continue on. We are trapped where we die and the memories we had there. If we have enough strength in our power, we may also visit the world of the living. These are the people you are in contact with, these are who you have sensitivities to.”

  It was a lot of information, and Hazel’s hand lifted in the air to stop her, still gripping those folders as though her life depended on it.

  “I don’t want anything to do with this, I don’t want to help you destroy anyone. I just want to work on putting my life back together. I don’t even know where anything stands right now.” She was fighting back hysteria, wishing that damn cat was still at her side. But the thing had abandoned her so easily. “I need you to take Charlie and me home, right now.”

  Hazel stood, her brown eyes fixing on each and every one of them. Caden had stopped typing, and Tucker was suddenly interested in the situation at hand, glancing over to Faye. But for once, the woman did not talk. She didn’t seem stunned by the request, but instead confused. This time, Caden spoke. He shut the laptop and placed it to his side, grabbing the small device and shoving it away once more, his blue eyes keeping her there, capturing her.

  “She will send Nico to your home to look for you. It’s not safe. She knows you are gone and she doesn't know how to locate this place. It’s well protected. Please just consider staying here for a night at the very least, until we have a better grasp on the situation.”

  He pulled out a phone at his side, tossing it over to Hazel. She caught it, looking down at the cracked, large screen in front of her.

  “It’s shit, but it’s one of our burner phones. Protected. Call whoever you need to, but do not tell them where we are. Think about things until the morning? We have a room set up for you.”

  No. Absolutely not going to happen. She glanced down at the phone, then back at Caden, remembering Faye’s words previously. If this man could work with technology, what else was this phone capable of? Relaying all the information to her captors here? But even more detrimental than the understanding that she had no privacy was the fact that she had no one to call. Sure, she had her group at the precinct, but with two weeks of her absence? Had there been a report? There was that sinking feeling again at the pit of her stomach, that dread. How would she even get back home?

  In a way, these people were being friendly with their proposal, but they were all aware she didn’t seem to have a choice unless she was going to take the trek down the mountain with her cat in her arms. Hazel didn’t know what possessed her to answer the way she did, or if she had any control over the words in the first place, exhaustion and the overload of information hitting her hard and fast.

  “One night. But tomorrow? You’re taking me home.”

  Chapter Eight

  Nineteen years earlier

  Hazel could not focus on anything but the Guardian for the entirety of her piano lesson. Which, in a way, was not much dif
ferent from the mental state she found herself in on a regular basis. She did not hate the piano, it simply reminded her of the reading room and the sounds that came from the walls.

  Miss Marie was more than aware of the extra distraction that plagued her student’s mind. Her lips were pursed the entire practice as she fought to keep herself from reprimanding Hazel, which was a surprise to the small girl. Normally, her teacher had no issue letting her know when something was less than appealing. She fought to not say the things on her mind, disapproving of every moment she was there with Hazel. Every time the girl messed up, she made a small tutting noise under her breath until finally the woman broke. Towards the end of the lesson, she could not stop herself from making comments about how she believed the girl was not taking the practice seriously, not practicing nearly enough, how disappointed her father would be to know he was wasting precious money on something she was not invested in. Still, the time needed to be filled and Hazel knew her father would not stop the lessons no matter what the woman said. She had begged her father to put an end to the lessons many times in the past.

  There was no use disagreeing with her teacher, the woman was correct on all fronts. But soon enough, the hour was over. Miss Marie looked down at the watch on her skinny wrist and let out of breath of relief, standing to gather her things. Hazel swung around on the piano chair and hopped to her feet in a joyous leap of freedom. Yelling out a quick thank you, she booked it from the room and out of sight. She didn’t have time to hear what else her teacher had to tell her, Hazel would be busy with her school tutoring next and wanted to get back to the reading room as fast as possible afterward.

  Once she got to the reading room, however, there was no presence, no blue hue, nothing. It was as though the room had not changed since she left and harnessed no mysteries or magic.

  Hazel waited there for almost an hour before she was forced to go eat and get ready for her next instructor to come. She had always excelled in school and despite how much she craved the interaction of other kids her age, there was always a small part of her that really looked forward to those studies and learning more. No matter how distracted she was, Hazel floated through her studies until midday. The small drawings of the shadow in her notebook still captured her attention, a reminder that there were a great many secrets in her home. If her father wasn’t going to get to the bottom of it, she was. Her mother may have been crazy, but the spirits could have also been the cause of her emotional and physical breakdown, and if these things had caused her adoptive mother’s death in any way, Hazel was going to do something about it.

  The day escaped her with no opportunity to return to the reading room as she had planned to do once more. Rushing through dinner and her lessons, Hazel found herself curled up in bed before she knew it; the entire day a haze as she filled her distracted mind with thoughts of Guardian. When her adoptive father entered her room to wish her goodnight, Hazel had closed her eyes, pretending to already be fast asleep. She did not want to speak with her father further about the spirit, knowing he would only encourage her to remain silent and not interact with it or engage it. She didn’t want him up and listening that night, or worried that she was succumbing to anything his wife had endured.

  After he whispered his goodnight and the door shut behind him, she shot up in bed, whipping her sheets to the side before leaving the bed behind. Moving quickly to the door, Hazel pressed her ear against the wood and listened to her father’s footsteps trailing off down the hallway toward his study. Taking a deep breath, she moved her hand to the door knob, slowly turning it to allow herself out. Before she had a chance to open the door, she heard that familiar deep voice behind her.

  “You’ll get in trouble if you’re caught.”

  Hazel whirled around, eyes narrowing as she caught sight of the familiar blue shape in the corner. This time, she could see the collar of his shirt, his pants, the hands at his sides, clothing that she was unfamiliar with; it all looked old and out of place. It was as though each second brought this man further and further into focus, ridding him of the smoke and blue energy until he stood there, completely normal as he had been the previous day in the library window.

  “Why not earlier?” she cried, “You didn’t show up. I wanted to show him,” Hazel spurted out the words and he blinked in confusion as they registered.

  “Oh, in the reading room? Because I was hoping you would see the logic in things and become discouraged. But I see that’s not an option.” He grimaced, glancing at the door she had attempted to escape from.

  Guardian seemed hesitant to come any closer, his hands leaving his side as he crossed his arms against his broad chest. Piercing blue eyes were on her once more, trapping her there as she removed her hand from the doorknob.

  The fear made way for accusations and confusion, the young girl not knowing how to harness the shocking things she was hearing and witnessing, not knowing why she saw him, or what he was. But in a desperate attempt to regain some control in her mind, she began speaking quickly and frantically at the man in her room, stepping closer as bravery filled her.

  “Why are you here? You aren’t supposed to be here. Are you a ghost? You made my mother crazy, she died, and no one believed her. Why are you scaring the maids here? Guardian, I want you to leave my home!”

  His face was both horrified and amused, the features clear as day with the absence of the unearthly smoke. She caught a twitch at the side of his lips and didn’t know if he was fighting back a frown, or a smile.

  “Little girl, you have no idea what you are talking about.”

  Hazel was suddenly in front of him, her head cocked back to get a look up at the tall man before her. Fear was no longer there. The determination to rid her home of the being who had terrorized her mother had overruled everything else she possessed and drove her forward with a ferocity she did not know she possessed. “Answer my questions.”

  “Sit down, Hazel. I’ll tell you a story,” he said softly, motioning over towards her bed. “If you don’t listen, I can’t help you understand what’s happening.” His voice was strained and husky; she knew the tone of an adult wishing he did not have to have a conversation with a child, she had heard it a great many times from the lips of her adoptive father.

  But she would be getting some answers and that childlike excitement over speaking with someone that may be a spirit, or at the very least someone who could bring some clarity to her mother’s situation? She couldn’t pass it down.

  Stepping away from Guardian, she took a seat on her bed slowly, curling her legs up to her chest as she peered over at the strange man. He seemed to contemplate walking over to her, but instead, sat down upon the ground near her bed, legs crossed and his arms back on the floor as he propped himself up to look at her. For several moments both were silent, weighing out the situation at hand. Then, he broke the silence with a sigh.

  “I died a long time ago, Hazel. You’re the first person to really see me. The others may have been able to sense something, but I assure you that none of them were ever able to speak with me, or interact with me as you do now. Your adoptive mother was very sick, I did nothing to continue that sickness or feed it.”

  Hazel froze at his admission of death, but without something to blame for her mother’s passing, she felt herself more lost than ever.

  “How did you die?” she asked, and he seemed surprised at the question, as though he had fully expected her to run screaming instead of inquiring further. The man blinked, those eyes scanning her room like it was the first time he had ever been in there. It made her wonder if he often spied over those in the home or if he kept to himself in the room. Where was his piano? Where was his own room and belongings? Did ghosts get them, at least?

  “I made a big mistake, Hazel. I had to pay for my mistake over a hundred years ago.”

  Hazel’s eyes widened, body moving forward until she was leaning off the bed to get closer to him.

  “What! A hundred years! You’re so old!”

&nbs
p; His laughter was lyrical and soft, just as she had remembered it from before. The joyous sound erased some of the remaining discomfort in the small girl.

  “Yes. I am very old.” He seemed humored by her, not annoyed. The small girl fed off that, so used to adults shooing her away or finding her to be an inconvenience to their day or time. Guardian was continuing to speak with her and explain things, engaging with her and giving her some information, even if she was not yet sure how to understand it all. “I’m just like you, Hazel. I have magic in me as well, an Affinity. There aren’t many of us, and it’s a pleasure to meet you.” He was being so kind to her, but there was still a hesitance to his words. The man kept his distance despite Hazel leaning forward to get closer.

  Was he solid? One small finger poked forward suddenly, attempting to touch the Guardian’s shoulder, but the finger went right through, a shimmering blue mist erupting where she would have made contact with him. He gave her an amused but saddened smile, shaking his head almost seeming disappointed that he had not been able to feel the touch.

  “I have magic? How? I want to see.” The little girl felt excitement gripping at her chest.

  Now there was a belief she was special, no matter what she may have felt in the past, she had something within her she did not understand, but something special, nonetheless. It was all she had ever wanted, to have a friend and to be important in someone’s life. Somehow she had been dealt a hand that did not provide what she needed, but there with Guardian, she felt comforted.

  Guardian shook his head softly and pointed back towards the head of her bed where the stuffed cat was propped up against her pillows. “How about this. I’ll make you a deal. I’ll tell you the story of how I died and then you sleep. I’ll tell you a story and communicate with you once a week. You may ask me one question each time I see you. In return, you cannot tell anyone you are speaking with me.”

  It didn’t seem fair to the small girl. Why couldn’t he just stay there and answer all her questions? It was a game that didn’t make sense to her impatient mind, a game the man before her didn’t seem to be sold on, either. The moment he mentioned it, what she could see of his face darkened; a deep, pondering look residing there. She had waited so long to speak with him, but there was still an underlying fear there and Hazel did not want to push her luck with this unknown force. Nodding wordlessly, she climbed back away from him, clutching at the cat and leaning herself against the pillows. Hazel felt younger than she actually was, like the man was about to read her a bedtime story. Her question burst from her lips before she had a chance to stop herself, not caring to wonder if her previous questions had counted.