The Guardian (Callista Ryan Series)

by Alexandra Weiss

  Adeline stood at the top of the falls, her arms crossed tensely over her chest as she watched something in the distance. Callie turned to see what she was staring at, and was surprised to find Alex and herself standing on the rocks. It was the scene from yesterday. They were sitting on the ledge outside of the cave. Callie’s vision kept getting pulled back to Alex’s face, honing in on the mixture of amusement and affection she saw there. But she knew that it wasn’t her own will which made her focus so intently on Alex now; it was the nature of the memory itself. Adeline watched him jealously, the mood almost protective. Callie looked at Adeline’s expression. She looked heartbroken, unguarded now because there was no one around. A tear spilled over the brim of one eye.

  Callie sucked in a breath, focusing on the feel of dirt beneath her toes in the present, and stepped out of the memory. When she opened her eyes, Adeline was still staring at her, her purple eyes regarding Callie curiously. Callie blinked, stunned. “You still love him, don’t you?” she asked with amazement.

  Adeline’s eyes widened. “So it’s true,” she whispered.

  “What?” Callie asked, taking a step backwards at the sudden intensity.

  “You can Perceive?” she hissed. She took an urgent step closer to Callie, and roughly grasped Callie’s shoulders. She turned Callie around and pressed flat palms to her back, probing once more for wings. “I didn’t believe it before,” she mumbled to herself. “But yet there are still no wings.”

  She twirled Callie roughly so that they faced each other, and stared with imperative alarm into Callie’s eyes, her own purple irises bright with shock. “How is it possible?” she asked.

  Callie returned her gaze with an icy stillness, unwilling to answer the woman while she was pinching her skin so roughly. Sensing this to be the case, Adeline raked her fingers up the back of Callie’s skull and clutched a handful of hair, yanking it backwards so that Callie’s head jerked back. “You would be wise to answer my questions, human,” she spat.

  Callie bit back the tears that sprang automatically to her eyes. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said.

  “You’re lying,” Adeline said assuredly, though she released Callie by pushing her head forward.

  She stepped backwards, looking Callie up and down. “How old are you?” she asked.

  Callie bit her lip so that her mouth didn’t tremble as her scalp began to throb. “Seventeen,” she said.

  “Seventeen,” Adeline repeated thoughtfully. “And no wings yet.”

  She began to speak in low mutterings, talking too quickly for Callie to understand. “It isn’t inconceivable that….And it would explain Emeric’s….”

  Callie tuned out, massaging the back of her head. Truth be told, she didn’t much care what Adeline was prattling on about. She was beginning to understand why Sirens had been banished in the first place.

  A thought struck Callie then. “How are you even here?” Callie asked. Adeline’s attention snapped back to Callie. “I mean, isn’t it dangerous for you to be around this place? Doesn’t it make you crazy or something?” And then, as an afterthought, Callie mumbled, “Well, crazier.”

  Adeline seemed annoyed. “I see you’ve been doing your research. But no, it is not dangerous for me to be here. For now.”

  “No?” Callie asked. “I thought being around this place caused insanity for you guys.”

  Adeline laughed bitterly. “Four thousand years I have been alive. I haven’t gone insane yet.”

  “But what about the whole frequency thing?” Callie asked. “The Guardians’ feathers are supposed to…I don’t know. Do something to your nervous system. Make you lose your mind.”

  Adeline scowled. “Is that the word around the forest these days? Shay’s concoction, no doubt. And Milo not around to explain himself....”

  Callie frowned, unsure about her meaning. Adeline took another step closer. She tipped her head with mock sympathy.

  “You don’t belong here, do you?” she asked, her words falsely sweet. “I’ll just bet Emeric is saving you for himself, though. Oh well. At least we’ll be able to pinpoint their weak spot.”

  “What are you talking about?” Callie demanded.

  Adeline took a breath, as though to explain. But then a warning breeze passed through the leaves, kicking up debris on the ground. Adeline’s smile grew wider, and she began to laugh maniacally. Callie felt as though she were trapped here, unsure of how to get out of this situation. Clearly something was about to happen.

  But she didn’t worry for much longer. Even as the tornado of strong wind circled around them, and even as Adeline’s laughter frayed Callie’s nerves, a white-winged warrior descended from above, landing between the two women with grace and authority.

  “Adeline,” Emeric said, polite as always. “To what do I owe the displeasure?”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Undue Company

  “You tell me,” Adeline replied, cocking an eyebrow at Emeric. “Accepting humans into your village now, Emeric?”

  “I am certain we are not accepting Sirens,” Emeric replied. “You should be on your way now.”

  Adeline chuckled. “Just as hospitable as ever, I see.”

  Emeric smiled with cold civility, though there was cruelty behind the expression. Adeline sighed.

  “Well, I suppose you’re right,” she said. And then, with a glint in her eye, she added, “And now that I know your secret, there is no longer reason for me to stay.”

  She flicked her gaze to Callie and, with a warning grin, said, “I am sure we will meet again soon.”

  “Adeline,” Emeric said calmly. “If you even consider harming this girl, I will know. And I will rip your wings from your back before you ever even leave your island.”

  Adeline frowned, and Emeric stepped closer, his height growing more intimidating by the second. “Now get out of my forest.”

  Within the space of a second, her silver wings shot outwards, and she stole into the sky. The trees rippled with the aftershock of the movement, leaves falling from the branches, dipping and diving on the current of the air.

  Emeric closed his eyes, his face falling. He shook his head. “They are becoming more difficult. Braver,” he said. Returning his gaze to the skies, he said solemnly, “It won’t be long now.”

  He turned to Callie, and nodded towards the treetops. “How about some lunch?”

  She narrowed her eyes in accusation, folding her arms. “How did you know I was here?” she asked.

  His face remained artfully blank, which made Callie more suspicious. She studied the washed blue rims of his grey eyes, feeling fed up and annoyed. Her irritation only intensified when Emeric refused to tell her what she already knew.

  “He sent you, didn’t he?” she asked. “Alex. I told him that he couldn’t follow me, and so he sent you instead.”

  “He was worried about your safety. To be honest, you do not possess much knowledge of these woods. Navigating them would be difficult for you,” Emeric confessed. “And besides that, I would think you would be happy for his caution. Adeline is not a person one would like to cross alone.”

  Callie sighed, but didn’t argue the point. She actually was glad that Emeric had been there; Adeline had sort of freaked her out. Still, she would need to tell Alex to listen to her, rather than spend time finding loopholes in her rules.

  Emeric opened his arms. “If you will join me, I happened upon a school of marlin this morning.”

  “Marlin?” she asked, walking to him and circling her arms around his neck.

  Emeric grinned. “Fish,” he clarified.

  Callie shrugged, and watched over her shoulder as the ground sank further and further beneath them. Emeric cradled her gently, the smooth calm of his pace lulling her into a peaceful frame of mind. She smiled at him, remembering the journey two days ago, marveling at how long ago that trip seemed.

  “What is it?” he asked, noting her amusement.

  “I was just thinking about the last t
ime I was in your arms. The circumstances were so different,” she admitted.

  “Yes,” he said, though he wasn’t amused at the memory. “I see that your leg has healed well.”

  “Oh, yeah,” she said, looking at her calf. “Actually, I was meaning to talk to Shay about that. Something weird happened yesterday. I was climbing down a tree, and I cut myself, but almost as soon as I saw the cut, it healed. Completely. Nothing like that has ever happened before. I mean, I’ve always healed faster than normal, just never…instantly.”

  Emeric frowned at the news, but said nothing as they flew into his cottage. He placed her lightly on the ground, and walked away, into the kitchen. She was a little unsettled at his reaction; he had been so willing over the past few weeks to share the smallest details with her. His lack of desire to discuss the possible causes of her newest ability was unexpected.

  As he began to chop a small bunch of green onions, Callie sat at one of the counter stools. She decided not to bring up yesterday’s experience again. Maybe he didn’t know the answer; maybe he had to rationalize a bit first.

  “So is Adeline the leader?” Callie asked, watching as he skillfully sliced the onions into thin, fleshy ribbons. “Of the Sirens, I mean. She seems to be the female you.”

  He smirked at her phrasing. “No. I don’t believe that they have a leader, actually. When Serena visits, they are usually scattered about the island in no particular order. No one steps forward as being more politically important than the rest.”

  “But she was the one they sent here,” Callie reasoned.

  “She probably was not sent. Adeline doesn’t follow orders well,” Emeric said wryly. “Had they told her to come here, she would not have been the Siren you met in the forest today. More likely, she chose to come of her own volition. She wanted to address your presence on her island personally.”

  Callie stayed quiet for a second, feeling guilty about having exposed herself to Adeline. “Emeric,” she said slowly. She wasn’t used to apologizing to him. She had been awful to him in the past. But she had never regretted those actions. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gone out into the forest today. I didn’t mean for Adeline to find out that I could Perceive.”

  “That’s alright,” Emeric said, pushing the little discs of onion into a frying pan and retrieving a small glass jug of what looked like oil from a cupboard. “Actually, things are better this way. The fact that Adeline violated our agreement today might have been a sign that their confidence is too strong. Knowing that you are here, that you have the abilities you do, might be enough of a threat to keep them at bay for a while.”

  “A while?” Callie asked, hearing something in those words that she didn’t like. Maggie reappeared in her mind.

  Emeric nodded and turned a dial on the electric stove, and the spitting tongues of flame which leapt from the burner began to heat the oil and onions in the pan. “Perhaps even into the next century,” he said, though there was not much hope in his words.

  “A century?” Callie asked. “But I’m not staying.” She waited for him to answer, but all he did was tip the pan sideways to let the oil coat the bottom. “Emeric…I’m leaving soon, aren’t I?”

  He drew a careful breath, and said slowly, “We will continue to monitor your progress, and once we are certain—“

  “No, wait,” she protested. “You promised me that if I helped for a little while, then you would take me home.”

  “And we will,” Emeric replied.

  The vague nature of his promise began to sink in. “My sister needs me. I can’t—I can’t stay here forever. You know that, right?” she asked.

  “Of course, Callista. Of course I know that,” Emeric said, rounding the counter as though sensing her growing panic. He sat down on the stool next to her, facing her with unguarded eyes. “Please understand, I do not intend to keep you as a hostage. You will return to your true home soon.”

  “Okay, and when is soon?” she asked.

  Emeric paused, his gaze solemn, and then said, “There is no way to be sure. I am watching for several developments in the coming week. Once these things take or fail to take shape, I will happily restore you to your proper place.”

  His words were ambiguous. Callie raised an eyebrow. “A week?” she asked, seeking definition in his assurance.

  “I would say no longer than another several days,” Emeric said. Callie frowned in suspicion, but then nodded.

  “Alright,” she said. “Fine. I just—I need to go home. Soon. My sister…she isn’t really the best keeper of herself.”

  Emeric cocked his head. “Why is that?” he asked. Callie felt her face heat under his scrutiny, embarrassed that he seemed so concerned with the trivialities of her life.

  “She, uh…well, she drinks too much, I guess,” Callie stammered. She figured that he knew anyhow. Alex must have told him. “I think it helps her forget.”

  “About what?” Emeric asked.

  “That she’s lonely,” Callie said, shrugging a shoulder. “That she’s twenty two and the sole guardian of her sister. She was really smart at one point. And, you know, she still is. She isn’t exactly living the life she had pictured. So now her main priority is paying the bills. And I think she’s been reminded lately of everything that she’s had to miss out on.” Jacob’s name floated through her mind, and she wondered if Maggie had talked to him yet since he’d been home. She glanced up at him, and said, “Sometimes things aren’t fair.”

  “So you take care of her?” Emeric asked.

  “No. Well, I try. But I’m at school all day, and she’s at work, and the only time we see each other is in the middle of the night. That’s when I usually find her in the kitchen or in the living room, when she doesn’t have the energy or the clarity of mind to walk up the stairs to her bedroom. So I help her. But other than that....” Callie shook her head. “I think it must have been a whole year since we had our last real conversation. I don’t even remember what it could have been about. We haven’t had much to talk about since the accident.”

  “I’m sure that isn’t true,” Emeric said kindly. Callie looked up, knowing what she would find. The practiced sympathy, the gentle regret. People were masters when it came to feigning emotion in the face of a tragedy.

  But she was surprised to find none of it. Instead, she saw genuine care there, true sympathy. His grey eyes tenderly coaxed her to tell him more, and she felt herself smile at a memory.

  “It used to be that you couldn’t shut Maggie up,” she said. “She was too talkative for her own good, always getting into trouble at school. She had an opinion on just about everything, and she wasn’t shy about sharing it. When we were little, we used to sleep in the same room, and she would talk to me, her own personal audience, until our parents went just about crazy and had to put us in different rooms. But even after I had my own room, I would sneak back into her bed, just to listen to her talk. That was my favorite time of the day. I used to think that she knew…everything.”

  Callie cleared her throat, the memory darkening. “After they died, though, I think the world shrunk for her. It’s like, one day she had hundreds of opportunities, just waiting for her to claim them. And the next she’s trapped in the role of caretaker, all of the doors shutting to her.”

  “Can she not return to school one day?” Emeric asked.

  “She could, I guess,” Callie said. “Or, at least, she could have. But now…I don’t know how she’s going to get her act together. She’s had a problem for a while. And it doesn’t look like she really wants to fix it.”

  Emeric frowned, and said, “I’m sorry, Callista.”

  She shook her head. “It’s her I’m worried about. It’s not like I have such big problems,” she reasoned. Emeric pinned her with omniscient grey eyes, leaning towards her with honest gravity.

  “I’m sorry,” he said again, his voice quieter now.

  Callie froze. When he sat like that, his attention riveted upon her, his face inches away…. She didn’t know w
hat to make of his the situation. For the first time, she noticed the grace in his expressions, the way his princely features softened when he looked at her. He wasn’t so scary when he sat like that; at the same time, Callie was beginning to feel petrified.

  She didn’t know what the next few seconds might have held, had a tree branch not snapped right outside the door at that moment. Callie gasped and her head jerked towards the door, and she found Alex standing in the frame, his jaw slightly slack, his eyes a little too wide. It was a subtle countenance, but Callie could read the shock there.

  He hid the emotion quickly when he saw her looking at him. Emeric turned his head, Alex’s jaw snapped shut. Callie was reminded of the fact that Alex had sent Emeric to watch her, and she found herself scowling again.

  “I see you found a way around the whole no-babysitting thing,” she said to him. His face bore no apology; it was completely void.

  “It turns out to be a good thing I did,” he replied coolly. To Emeric, he said, “I’ve followed Adeline back to the island. She is no longer an issue.”

  Emeric nodded while Callie felt taken aback. She didn’t know why he had brushed her off so brusquely.

  “Also,” Alex said, “Serena has found out about our newest visitor.”

  Callie glanced at Emeric, hoping for him to make sense of the words. She saw that he looked annoyed.

  “Where are they?” he asked.

  “At her cottage,” Alex replied. With something akin to amusement in his voice, he continued, “He was the one to seek her out.”

  Emeric sighed deeply. “Well,” he said, standing. “We ought to rectify this situation as quickly as possible. How long is he to remain in the forest, Alexander? Has Shay decided?”

  “His wounds are healed. However, he insists that he remain in the canopy for the present, and resume his mission once the upcoming battle has ceased,” Alex said.