by Anna Edwards
A few moments later, Emmie runs in with James and Sebastian hot on her heels.
“What happened?” she shrieks.
“Shhh,” I complain, holding my head.
“Oh, sorry.” She comes to sit next to me. “Jacobi came to find me. He said I needed to get you to the nurse. What the hell is going on with you two?”
I shrug. “Hell if I know.”
“You two are weird.”
I nod, unable to say anything else. Emmie helps me to my feet and steers me out the door.
“Hey, what’s this?” I hear Sebastian ask James as I leave.
“Who knows, probably an assignment,” James replies.
“He loves you, you know that right?” Emmie whispers to me.
I open my mouth to say I do know how much he loves me, but then I spot them. Jacobi and Taya across the hall. She has her hands on his chest and is trying to lick his neck by the looks of it. His sad eyes are glued to mine, but the pain which slices through my chest almost brings me to my knees, so I do the only thing I can, I look away.
“Hey, Mum, did I have an operation on my heart when I was a baby?” I question her at dinner that night.
“What, honey?” she asks, turning away from the oven to look at me. “That’s a strange question to ask.”
“Maybe, but did I?”
She wipes her hands on a tea towel and comes to sit at the table next to me. “No, you’ve never had an operation, but then, we didn’t adopt you until you were eight.” She looks up at the ceiling like she’s thinking about something, “There was never a mention of any operations in your notes. I guess I could ask your father.”
“No, that’s okay,” I reply quickly.
“Why do you ask?” She pushes her glasses back on her head and waits for an answer.
“Oh, urm, we were talking about operations at school today. I don’t remember ever having one, so I figured I’d ask you if I had one when I was too young to remember.”
She seems appeased by my answer. “Oh, I’d better stir the soup,” she mutters, standing and moving back to the cooker.
Later in the evening, Mum falls asleep on the sofa, and covering her with a blanket, I get ready to leave. As I grab my bag, a book catches my attention. I don’t come to the London place very often, so I don’t know every inch of the house or its contents.
‘The Century Witch and her Guardian’.
The title pulls at me, so I grab the book and stuff it into my backpack before kissing Mum lightly on the cheek and heading home.
The minute I walk through the door to my flat, I throw my jacket off, collect my phone and the book from my bag, and head to the balcony. Even at night, I love to be out here.
I crack the first page and become engrossed.
When I wake up the next morning, I’m on the sofa with the book over my face. I remember coming in because it was getting cold out on the balcony, but I don’t recall falling asleep.
My phone vibrates, and grabbing it, I see texts from both Jacobi and Sebastian. I open Sebastian’s first.
Seb – Can we meet today? I need to chat with you.
I rub my eyes and realise he sent the text two hours ago. One glance at my clock shows me it’s after ten. I’m so late for school! I jump up and rush to pull some clothes on. Forgoing the usual shower and makeup, I only brush my teeth and my long, grey hair before rushing out the door. When I make it to school, I realise I have magical history, the only class of the week I attend with both Jacobi and Taya. I step inside.
“I’m so sorry, Mrs Masters, I overslept,” I apologise.
“Probably out whoring all night,” Taya mumbles, loud enough for everyone to hear, and students snicker all around the class. Annoyingly, my eyes flit to Jacobi, who has an angry expression on his face. “You can look, but you can’t touch. He’s all mine,” Taya taunts me, running her fingertips over Jacobi’s shoulder and down his arm.
I’m pretty sure I see him shiver, and not in a good way. His stare is glued to the floor now, but his blanched knuckles tell me how he’s really feeling. I look back to Mrs Masters. Her face is soft on me, and a tale of understanding is in her eyes.
“Juniper, I saved a seat for you,” Sebastian calls, and smiling, thankful he’s in this class, I rush over to sit next to him.
The class continues, and everyone listens as Mrs Masters waxes lyrical about magical history. I pull out my phone, remembering I had a text from Jacobi, and that’s when I see it only has one word.
Jacobi - Beautiful.
My mind wanders to what he said to me yesterday, and I glance over at him. His eyes are on me and the love in them is raw. So raw it’s almost painful to look at him. I need to speak to him about the book I found at my parents’ flat, but I want to read it all first, to understand it a little more. So, I look away, and it kills me to do it.
“Juni,” Sebastian calls after me as we leave the classroom, and Jacobi barges past him.
“Her name is Juniper to you,” Jacobi grits out before rushing off and continuing to barrel into anyone in his way. Taya’s nowhere to be seen.
“Wow, so he’s got it as badly as you, huh?” Sebastian grins. “This could be fun.”
I roll my eyes. “Do you really want to wind up being the biggest arsehole in the academy?”
He shrugs. “Probably not. Anyway, enough about him. Do you have any free time after school? I need to speak to you.”
I frown. “What about?”
“This,” he says, pulling a document out of his bag. I recognise it immediately as the one Jacobi sent me, the one I printed out. It’s the translation of the book about Guardians.
“Where did you find this?” I hiss, snatching it from him.
“Whoa,” he says, holding his hands up, “it was in that classroom. You know, the one you were in yesterday when you felt unwell. I figured it was an assignment so I grabbed it. Then,” he scratches his chin, “I didn’t see you for the rest of the day and well, I was-“
“Nosy! You were nosy,” I snap.
His cheeks redden slightly, and he looks sheepish. “Yeah, but hey, it’s a good thing I was. I know a bit about this.”
“You do?” I question.
He nods. “U-huh. So, can I see you after school?”
“Okay. Come to my place, and we can talk.”
“See you later,” he says before running off to his next class.
I can’t keep my mind off Sebastian and what he might know about the book. So when he finally knocks at my door later that evening, I’m pacing, and I practically pounce on the door.
“Eager much?” he teases, and I slap his shoulder. I’m so glad we’ve sunk into a natural friendship. It’s a blessing right now.
“Tell me everything,” I order, dragging him to the sofa.
“You’re not even going to offer me a drink?” he says, aghast.
“Fridge is over there. Help yourself,” I reply. “Now, come on, tell me.”
He chuckles, grabbing a Sprite and sitting back on the sofa.
“My grandad was a Guardian.”
I know my mouth drops open, and not just because Sebastian taps it shut again. “Shut the front door.” I’m amazed and confused.
“Yeah, true story.” He shrugs. “He was a very cool dude, very cool, like James Dean cool, you know?” I nod in reply. “He died seventeen years ago.” My heart rate spikes. “You know when a Guardian gets old, another takes his place?” He eyes me suspiciously. “Of course you know that because you know who the latest Guardian is, don’t you?” I shake my head, but Sebastian just grins. “It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me,” he says. “It’s just cool someone else knows about them. Most people think they’re folklore, and I can never mention my grandad to anyone.” He looks across at me, sincerity in his eyes. “That’s why I was certain you did know a Guardian because if I’d said my grandad was one to anyone else, they’d have thought I’d lost the plot.” He smiles, but it’s sad.
“So, do you know anything about Guard
ians?” I ask tentatively.
“What do you want to know?”
“Do Guardians have something which… makes them turn?”
“Turn? You mean something which makes them keep the balance?”
“Keep the balance?” I pull my hair back and tie it on top of my head, waiting for his answer.
“Guardians are meant to keep the balance between good and evil. It’s why they can take an evil soul or save a good one. Depending on the situation they find themselves in, they can do either, but it’s still a choice. They don’t have to react to the call of the Superiors.”
“Superiors?” I mumble, the word almost getting stuck in my throat.
“I thought you knew a Guardian? You don’t appear to know anything about them.” He frowns.
“Humour me,” I demand.
“Okay.” He shakes his head, giving me a suspicious look. “The Superiors, I guess, are similar to what normal humans would call angels. They send the tasks to the Guardian’s brain, almost like an order, but the Guardian can choose whether to carry them out. Normally they accept because they have no real emotion when they’re doing the job.”
“So… so they don’t turn into the Guardian after being kissed by the person they love?” I question.
“Are you sure you’re okay after the accident?” Sebastian asks, rubbing my head like a kid.
“Sure, just curious.”
“Hmm, what’s this?” he says, reaching for the book I picked up from home.
“It’s a story. A fiction book about a witch who controls a Guardian. She’s evil and wants to use him to rule the Witch Council and ultimately overthrow the Royal Empire.”
“So how does it turn out?” he asks.
I shrug. I “I haven’t read the end yet.”
“You want to watch a movie?”
“Sure,” I reply, and we settle down to the TV.
“Oh my God!” I shout. “I overslept again and this time you were with me,” I complain, jumping off the sofa, my narrowed eyes pinning Sebastian to his seat like it’s all his fault.
We both rush to get ready and practically run to school. This time we’re not late to class, but we do burst through the school doors right into a corridor full of students. At our loud entrance, everyone stops what they’re doing and turns to stare.
“See, told you she likes whoring,” Taya sneers, laughing with her friends.
I barely see Jacobi’s back as he walks away from me.
I slip into the toilets and pull my phone out. I look at Jacobi’s last text and squeeze my eyes closed. He may be parading around with Taya and therefore has no right to be angry when seeing me with Sebastian, especially as I’m not the one kissing and pawing anyone, but still, I want him to know the truth.
Me – There’s nothing between him and me. We’re only friends. It’s you. It always has been. I’m going to ask my dad to transfer me out of Caspian. I think it’s for the best.
My stomach drops at the text, but I know it’s what I need to do, so I press send, then pull up my dad’s number and touch the call button.
I can’t stop staring at the message from Juniper. She’s leaving Caspian which is the last thing I want to happen. She needs this place, to learn and grow as a witch. She’s more powerful than she realises. I sensed it when I was healing her. I wish I could have explored her power more, but there wasn’t the time. Why can’t we just be left alone to get on with life? I thought being young and at school was supposed to be easy, compared to later life. Damn, if this is easy, I dread to think what’s going to happen in the future.
“Jacobi.” Taya screams at me from across the corridor. “It’s time to go. I want to get ready for our date tonight. You can walk me home.”
I really can’t be dealing with this woman right now. I begin to stomp off down the corridor, hoping to escape in the new car my mother and father had delivered for me without even questioning how I lost the old one.
“I don’t think you want to do that, Jacobi. I might just get lost if I walk home on my own. I might find myself in Juniper’s flat, and we know that’ll only lead to trouble.”
I stop dead and look up at the ceiling in frustration. Then, letting out a sigh of annoyance, I make my way over to Taya and pin her against the wall. I stare intensely into her eyes, silently conveying the anger I feel towards her for threatening Juniper again.
“I’m warning you, Taya. Stop with the games you’re playing,” I order her, slamming my hands against the wall, on either side of her head. “I’ll do what you want and put the charade on when there are people around, but as soon as we’re alone, all bets are off. I will not act like the dutiful boyfriend when I hate your guts, and I’m warning you, if you so much as touch a hair on Juniper’s head again, I will destroy you. What you did to Juniper will look like a walk in the park, compared to the pain I’ll put you through. There’s something which lurks inside me, Taya, it’s dangerous and dark, and if I let it out anywhere near you, you’ll regret the day you set your sights on me. Now, walk yourself home and try to make yourself look pretty, if that’s possible with your dark heart. I’ll see you at the arcade later where I will play the dutiful boyfriend, and then I’ll go home and scrub myself until I bleed just to get the scent of you off my skin.”
I thump my fist hard against the wall, and Taya flinches before ducking underneath my arms and putting as much distance between us as she can.
“What has she got that I haven’t?” she asks desperately.
I throw my head back and laugh. “Class, Taya, class. Now, get out of here.”
As if fearing for her life, Taya rushes out of the academy, leaving the doors blowing in the wind behind her. I take a moment to compose myself before looking down at my phone and Juniper’s message again. She can’t leave Caspian. I can’t let it happen, and there’s probably only one person who can help me stop her. I shove my phone in my pocket and collect my school bag before leaving through the still swinging front doors.
“I need your help,” I inform Sebastian as he opens the door to his room.
His eyes go wide when he sees me, and he opens his mouth to reply, but nothing comes out. I barge past him and into his room. It’s not one of the larger ones on campus, but as I look around it, I can see he keeps it tidy and is obviously conscientious about his studies. He’s owns a lot of books on the different elements of magic.
“Er...you can’t just barge in here.” Sebastian finally recovers his voice and stands up to me.
Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I show him the text message from Juniper.
“She’s going to leave?” he questions in shock.
“Yes, and I need your help to stop it. What do you know about what’s going on?” It’s my turn to seek answers.
“I know she loves you, and it’s pretty obvious you feel the same way about her, but what I don’t get is why you aren’t together? Why are you out there sucking face with Taya every day? If Juniper looked at me the way she does you, I’d be by her side every moment I could.” Sebastian motions for me to sit down on an old Windsor chair in his room. He obviously senses I’m not going to leave anytime soon.
“I wish it were that easy. I do love Juniper. I’ve been crazy about her since the day I first met her. I don’t want her to leave Caspian, even though I can’t give her a reason to stay. As you already know, Taya was the one who ran Juniper over, but she’s got powerful parents, so she’s got away with it.”
The puzzle pieces must fall into place for Sebastian. He sits down on the end of his bed, and I see understanding dawn on his face.
“You’re only with Taya to stop her hurting Juniper.”
I nod. “I can’t risk it happening again. I might not be able to save Juniper next time.” I clamp my mouth shut, realising I might have said a little too much in my haste to get Sebastian to help me keep Juniper at the school.
“Save her?”
I rest my head on the back of the chair and think carefully about how I phrase my next words.
No one knows about Guardians, and I’m not sure how much it will freak Sebastian out.
“When Juniper and I kiss, something happens to me, I change. I become something different, and it allows me to heal people.” I stop short of telling him it could possibly also allow me to kill them.
Sebastian’s mouth falls open. “It’s you, the one she was talking about? You’re the Guardian.”
I cock my head his way, shocked to know he’s heard about what I become. “You know about Guardians?”
“Er, just a little. My grandfather was one. He died seventeen years ago, which probably means you’re the one who replaced him. The timing would be about right.”
This is not how I saw the conversation going when I came here. I’m struggling to keep up at the moment with the shock cascading through my body. I’m talking to someone whose relative was a Guardian. He’s met and spent time with him. It means I’ll be able to get some answers.
“Yes, when it’s time for a Guardian to die, there’s always another waiting in the wings, growing until it’s time to take over the responsibility.”
My shoulder’s shrug. “I wish your grandfather was still alive. I wouldn’t be in this mess, then.”
“You don’t wish that, being a Guardian is a great honour and responsibility. You hold the power in your hands to judge who’s worthy or not of life. Isn’t there anything you can do about Taya?” Sebastian winks at me. “Sorry, only joking. Besides, I know your targets come from the Superiors. It must be strange not feeling anything when you take someone’s life or heal them. A thousand faces in your head, but you can keep them separate from everything else in your life. It was something I found hard to understand when my grandfather returned from his callings.”
I hold my hands up. “Wait, slow down, Sebastian. What happens to me is nothing like that. I only change when I kiss Juniper, and in the hospital when she was dying, I kissed her not knowing whether I’d take her soul or revive her. All I knew was I had to try. Juniper and her mother are the only ones I remember. Everyone else's face is a blur. I don’t know whether I cured them or killed them. It’s twisting me up inside because I’m not devoid of emotion when I do it. I feel everything at the time, but I just don’t remember it.”
