Wilder

by G. K. DeRosa

  “I don’t think Nico would forgive me if I intruded on his date with such a beautiful girl.”

  Celeste’s face flushed and she glanced down momentarily, embarrassed. When she looked up again, Roman was gone.

  “No, nothing happened Natalie, I swear we just had lunch.” Celeste kicked her legs as she lay in her bed chatting on the phone. “Nico’s a really nice guy, fun and super sweet. I’m really glad I met him and his brother Roman!”

  After she recounted the entire series of events of the afternoon, she laid back in her bed, completely content and dozed off.

  Nico returned from his lunch date to find Roman waiting sulkily on the couch with arms crossed.

  “What do you think you’re doing, little brother?” A slight edge laced Roman’s tone.

  “Relax, I’m just trying to get to know her.” Nico leaned against the couch.

  “Do you have any idea how dangerous that is? What if she finds out about us? You know what she is…” Roman rose from the couch to follow Nico toward the window.

  “She doesn’t even know what she is!” He poked his older brother in the chest. “And don’t think that I haven’t noticed you sneaking off at night. I know exactly where you’ve been going.”

  “Well at least I have been discreet about it. And although we do need to keep an eye on her, we still have to keep our distance.”

  “Look, Roman, you can do whatever you want to do, but I’m doing it my way.”

  Roman’s eyes blazed. Sharp incisors burst out, protruding from his upper lip. With fangs bared, he lunged across the room at Nico, backing him against the wall. “You will do as I say little brother,” he growled.

  “Earth to Celeste, come in Celeste, come in Celeste.”

  The fuzzy, static-filled sound of Brian’s voice came through her walkie-talkie. It was already dark outside and Celeste wondered drowsily how long she had been asleep. She reached over for the walkie on her bedside table. “I hear you loud and clear Brian – go ahead…”

  “I’m coming over, so let me in.”

  Celeste got out of bed, splashed some water on her face and went downstairs. She found Brian waiting impatiently on the other side of the door.

  “Thank God you’re finally awake.” Brian walked right in and plopped down on the living room couch. “You’ve got to help me out; I don’t know what to do.”

  “What’s wrong?” She sat beside him.

  “Natalie called and asked me to be her date to senior prom,” he answered, his copper-flecked brows creased in concern.

  Celeste took a breath to hold back the laughter that was bubbling up inside her. “So what are you so worried about?” She bit her lip to keep her face serious.

  “I don’t know! I totally panicked and said that my mom was calling me, and I had to call her back. I practically hung up on her.” He threw his hands up. “That was two hours ago, and now I don’t know what to say.”

  “Well, Natalie is a lot of fun. She’s beautiful, and I think you would have a great time going with her. Why wouldn’t you say yes?”

  “I don’t know. I guess I had always figured we would go together,” Brian answered sheepishly, looking up to catch Celeste’s eye.

  Celeste had to stop and think about that for a few seconds. It was true; she’d always thought they would end up going to prom together too. For so many years there had never been another boy in her life besides Brian. But she knew that Natalie really liked him, in a way that she didn’t think she ever would. Brian deserved that. She wanted him to be happy more than anything else. She wouldn’t be selfish with him, not when she cared so much about his happiness. So with a slight twinge of wistfulness, she said, “Aw, come on Brian, we can still hang out together while we’re there. I’ll even save you a dance. I really think you should go with her.”

  Brian’s eyes grew serious. “Yeah I guess you’re right.” He was quiet for a second, and then he added, “So who are you going to take then?”

  Celeste shrugged off the question. “I wasn’t planning on taking anyone.”

  Chapter 5

  Roman stared at the computer as his mind wandered, remembering the last time he was in Oak Bluffs. It had been so long ago, and yet sometimes it felt like it was only yesterday. His parents had been with him and his brother back then, when they first came to live in this small town. Perhaps that’s what drew him here again. Well, that, and finding out about Celeste Wilder, of course. At the thought of her, a twinge of hunger unfurled in his gut; he walked over to the mini-fridge hidden in his closet. Bottles of deep-red liquid filled the refrigerator, and with a grimace, Roman gulped one down. After centuries of suppressing his nature, he still found it difficult. But he had promised his mother that he would not become the thing he hated—that he would not give in to the monster inside him. His beautiful mother, who had always felt so guilty for what had befallen their family because of what she had done. She never gave up on them. She was the one that insisted they were better; they were not like the rest because they were the first of their kind.

  Roman remembered everything so clearly. Walking into their home, which was normally so neat, everything in its place. That day it looked like it had been ransacked by a supernatural force. The door had been taken off its hinges; there was furniture upturned and broken shards of glass strewn across the floor. And the blood… There was so much blood everywhere. All of the myths about vampires being killed by a stake through the heart seemed so trite, and yet there laid his beloved parents with wooden stakes protruding from their chests. Roman had taken their bodies and buried them with the utmost care in the backyard, hoping to save Nico from the tragic scene that would forever be seared in his mind.

  Nico barged into Roman’s room and tore him away from his dark musings. “I’m going out. Are you going to be okay here by yourself?”

  “Enjoy yourself, and please try to keep out of trouble, okay?” Roman’s older brother tone was back, and it was clear the fight from earlier had been forgotten.

  “Of course.” Nico smiled and sauntered happily out of the house.

  Roman was on edge and needed to get out of the house as well. A long walk would help clear his thoughts; so he headed out with no particular destination in mind. As he walked, he thought about Celeste and the uncertain future before her. He resolved to call Stellan to discuss it further in the morning.

  Celeste took a big bite of the cheesy pizza and looked over at Brian who was wiping his greasy chin with a napkin. He was totally engrossed by the movie. She had let him pick and of course he had chosen Super Bad, a film she had no interest in.

  “Come on, how can you not like this movie?” he asked.

  “It’s so stupid!”

  “No it’s not, it’s hilarious! And there’s even some of that romance stuff you like.” He poked her nose. “Boop!”

  She giggled and swatted at his finger. “Brian, you know nothing about romance and obviously the writers of this flick don’t have a clue either.”

  He shrugged and took another bite of the pizza, resuming his focus on the screen.

  A few hours later, after Brian had gone home, Celeste hustled around the living room clearing away the table and tidying up the kitchen. She nearly tripped over Rocky who looked up at her with big pleading eyes and whined.

  “Oh no! I forgot to take you out – poor guy.”

  She hurriedly snapped on his leash and took him outside as his tail wagged furiously in excitement. The streets were so quiet she could hear the muffled sound of Rocky snuffling through the grass searching for just the right spot. As she passed a tall oak tree, a rustle caught her attention. Looking up, she saw a small dark creature hanging upside down from one of the lower branches. She took a step closer to get a better look, and the animal unfurled its thin leathery wings.

  First a falcon and now a bat? What’s going on with all of these weird winged creatures all of a sudden?

  Slightly spooked, Celeste made a quick one-hundred-and-eighty-three degree turn to head bac
k toward her house and found herself face-to-face with Roman. Before she could speak, Rocky let out a startled bark. He sniffed the stranger suspiciously and growled, his hackles raised in alarm.

  “Oh hi,” said Celeste, unconsciously running her hand through her disheveled hair. “You surprised us, and nothing much gets by Rocky.”

  “I’m sorry if I frightened you. In a former life I used to be a ninja.” Roman threw her a sly smile.

  “What are you doing out here?”

  “Well, I could ask you the same thing…”

  “I live right there.” Celeste pointed at her house with the white picket fence and wrap-around porch. “I’m just taking Rocky for a quick walk before bed. So what are you doing here, really?” She eyed him questioningly with a hand on her hip.

  “I’m not sure actually, I just started walking and somehow I found myself here.” He shrugged, his dark brows furrowed as if he really didn’t have an answer.

  She cocked her head, gazing up at him. “You walked all the way from your place to here? That’s more than a couple miles, isn’t it?”

  “I’ve had some things on my mind, and I thought a good long hike would help. I went through town, kept walking, and found myself here admiring all of these beautiful turn-of-the century houses.”

  They continued their casual conversation, and Celeste couldn’t help but notice that he kept glancing over her head at the tree behind her. Finally she interrupted, “Did you see the bat up there?” She turned around to point it out to him, but it was gone.

  “No, I didn’t see anything. Actually, I didn’t think bats were native to Oak Bluffs.”

  Celeste thought she saw a flash of concern in his eyes, but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared. “They’re not. I’ve grown up here my entire life, and I’ve never seen one until today.”

  “Well, I better walk you to your house just to be safe. We certainly don’t want one following you home.”

  Roman accompanied Celeste to her front door and paused at the threshold.

  “Thanks for protecting me from the scary bats,” she said jokingly, anything to break the silence.

  He took her hand in his and she felt the familiar sparks, like tiny little explosions all over her skin. For a moment he looked at her longingly as if there were something more he wanted to say, but then he dropped her hand and with a quick goodnight hurried off into the darkness.

  Roman marched through the doorway and hurried up the stairs to Nico’s room. “We have a problem.” Nico was passed out in bed, and the faint scent of liquor lingered in the air. He shook his brother roughly until he finally opened a drowsy eye.

  “Wake up!”

  “Okay, okay, I’m up, what’s wrong with you?” asked Nico as he tried to sit up, rubbing his eyes.

  “There’s another one of us here in town.”

  “Another pair of devastatingly handsome brothers?” teased Nico.

  “This is not a laughing matter. There’s a vampire in Oak Bluffs. And I don’t believe this one shares our predilection toward blood bags.”

  Roman went on to tell him about his midnight stroll, and how he had felt the vampire’s presence through town. As he tracked it, it had led right to Celeste’s house. “It can’t be a coincidence that it was in a tree not fifty feet away from her door.”

  “Okay, but what would he want with her?” He stifled a yawn. “Unless he knows what she is…”

  Roman had thought of that too, but there shouldn’t have been any vampires who knew about the Wilders. Their family secret had been kept guarded by powerful magic for centuries in order to protect them. Suddenly, a terrible thought crossed Roman’s mind – Fabian. He was certainly powerful enough to have found out, but would he dare interfere?

  Nico’s raspy voice interrupted Roman’s thoughts. “It could be a coincidence. Maybe the vampire saw her out somewhere and followed her home. She is a rather striking young woman, and you can’t deny the appeal she seems to have with our kind. I know I feel incredibly drawn to her.”

  “I suppose it’s possible. I have seen it before with others like her, but I’ve never experienced it myself.” Roman shoved his hands in his pockets.

  Nico looked over at him skeptically. “Oh no?”

  He cleared his throat, staring at the floor. “Regardless of the reason that this visitor has dropped into Oak Bluffs, I think it’s time to consult our dear friend Stellan. The sooner, the better.”

  The following morning, Roman pulled out his shiny midnight-black Porsche 911 from the garage. He rolled the top down, and revving the engine, readied himself for a road trip with his brother. They hadn’t seen Stellan in over fifty years. Not since after their parents had died, and they had fled Oak Bluffs. Stellan, like Fabian, was a very powerful sorcerer; however, unlike Fabian he did not practice dark magic. He had been close to their mother before they were all turned. Although he generally did not associate with vampires or any of what he termed “evil creatures,” he had always made an exception for them. Over the years, they had often sought his guidance, and he had proven to be a trustworthy and faithful friend. In fact, it had been Stellan who had informed them of the Wilders’ presence in Oak Bluffs.

  Celeste tossed and turned in her bed as nightmares filled her subconscious. She was walking home from school when an enormous bat swooped down from the darkening sky and attacked her. She screamed as it tore at her face and hands with its claws and tried to bite her with its sharp fangs. Just as she thought she was dead for sure, a burly gray wolf with three-inch incisors bared had pounced on top of them. With the distraction, she was able to roll away from the snarling fury. As she turned to run away, she glanced up in the sky and caught a glimpse of a colony of enraged bats descending upon the wolf.

  At a distance, an ominous grumbling echoed and the asphalt began to crack and crumble. From the opening the most frightening creatures began to emerge – slithering, snake-like animals, six-legged hell dogs, horribly disfigured ghosts, and other demons of all hideous shapes and sizes. Celeste shut her eyes in terror. It seemed like the gates of hell had opened up and spit into her backyard all the vilest creatures of the underworld.

  In a panic, Celeste, previously frozen and unable to move, found her legs under her and took off running. As she turned to look back, she saw that the demons (the only word she seemed to have to describe them) were chasing her. To her surprise, she found that the more she ran, the faster she got and the less fatigue she felt. After what seemed like she had been running forever, she turned around to find that nothing was chasing her anymore. She was alone in the middle of an unfamiliar town where she collapsed on the spot.

  Celeste awoke with a start, her heart pounding and forehead drenched in sweat. She went to the bathroom to splash cold water on her face, her lungs still burning from the exertion in her dream. As she stood looking in the mirror at her tear-stained reflection, she felt so weak in the knees she thought she might pass out. “It was only a dream,” she said to herself out loud, hoping that the sound of her own voice would steady her. She pulled herself together and shuffled down the stairs to look for her mother.

  Although Celeste was practically eighteen, she needed some soothing words from her mom to forget all about her terrible nightmare. She found her mom in her hospital scrubs bent down in front of the refrigerator pulling out leafy green veggies and piling them on the counter.

  After taking one look at Celeste’s pale, drawn face, she dropped everything and rushed over to her. “What’s wrong sweetie? Are you okay?”

  “Yeah. I just had the most horrifying nightmare.” She nestled into her mom’s warm embrace.

  “What did you dream? Maybe you’ll feel better if you talk about it. That always seemed to help when you were younger.” Mrs. Wilder sat her daughter down at the kitchen table and began preparing her a cup of soothing chamomile tea.

  Celeste had completely forgotten about that, it had been so long ago. When her father had first passed away, she had been plagued with horrific dreams for
weeks. She was so young, only ten years old back then. She must have buried those memories along with everything else around that traumatic time. She took a breath and explained the dream to her mother. As she spoke, she began to shake uncontrollably, as if she were reliving the vivid nightmare once again.

  “This wasn’t the first weird dream I’ve had about birds and bats. It seems to be a new trend. And I even saw a bat outside the other night, and there’s a falcon nesting in the oak tree outside my window. It’s all so strange.”

  At the mention of the bat, her mom looked slightly disconcerted. “Everything is going to be okay,” she said, but Celeste couldn’t miss the preoccupied look in her eye.

  Chapter 6

  Stellan’s house looked exactly as Roman had remembered it. It was immense, sprawling over five acres of land in a remote wooded area and seemingly untouched by modern civilization. It was rustic, completely built of the wood from the towering oaks native to the surrounding forest and exuded a cozy feeling of home.

  As the brothers got out of the car, Stellan appeared, greeting them wearing his signature tattered blue robe. Sorcerers, unlike vampires, did age, although at a much slower rate than humans. If they were great ones they could spell themselves against aging all together. Stellan chose the former and though he was several hundreds of years old, he looked to be only in his late sixties with graying hair past his shoulders and a lengthy beard. His kind gray eyes brightened at the sight of the boys.

  Roman regarded him fondly. “How are you doing, old man?”

  “Now Roman Constantin, I know you have better manners than that. Your parents taught you to respect your elders.” Stellan smiled as he looked him up and down. “It has been far too long, my boy.” He yanked Roman into an awkward embrace. Nico, just steps behind, happily joined in on the long overdue reunion.