The Guardian (Callista Ryan Series)

by Alexandra Weiss

  “Maggie,” Callie said, shocked.

  “It’s true,” Maggie went on, angrily wiping a tear away. “If I hadn’t been so selfish, insisting that I go somewhere far away, we’d still have a mom and dad. It’s because of me that they’re gone.”

  Callie hadn’t let her finish before she had closed the space between them and hugged her. “You’ve been thinking this all these years?” Callie asked.

  Maggie didn’t reply. But this time, she hugged Callie back.

  “Maggie, you had every right to go away to college. Mom and Dad were proud of you. They were happy, even as we drove home.”

  “But you wouldn’t have had to drive so far if I—“

  “Stop,” Callie said. “None of this is true. The accident wasn’t your fault. The truck came out of nowhere. Dad tried to avoid it but… It was no one’s fault, Mags. It was an accident. I don’t blame you.”

  “I blame me,” she said softly.

  Callie pulled away, and brushed away the matted hair from Maggie’s forehead.

  “Hey,” she said. “Do you remember the story Mom used to tell us? About how they met?”

  Maggie sniffed. Then, without meaning to, she laughed. “The gardenia.”

  “He was buying a corsage for his date,” Callie said.

  “Who wasn’t Mom.”

  “Nope. But she was the one who sold it to him. She was working at Grandma Anne’s flower shop after school.”

  “She said, ‘If anyone ever bought me gardenia like this, I’d love him the rest of my life.’”

  Callie laughed at Maggie’s impression of their mother. “And so he gave it to her,” she said.

  Maggie nodded. “And she loved him the rest of her life.”

  “Do you remember the way they used to dance out in the front yard on the first really warm night of spring?”

  “Oh, God,” Maggie said, rolling her eyes. “I hated that. It was so embarrassing.”

  “Yeah,” Callie replied. “It was awful.”

  They were both quiet for a minute. “I miss them,” Maggie said, and she sounded like a child again.

  “I know,” Callie said. “I do, too.”

  “So what do we do now?” Maggie asked.

  Callie shrugged. “I don’t know. I think we kind of threw the rule book out the window a long time ago.”

  “You know, you can go to college,” Maggie said. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that. I just never really knew how to tell you. I don’t want to be the reason you don’t go.”

  “I just thought…you know. If I went, well, that wouldn’t really be fair to you.”

  “No,” Maggie said, shaking her head. “You’re allowed to be happy, Cal. Don’t let my problems become yours.”

  “But,” Callie said, feeling awkward, “I thought you said…well, when I left—“

  “To tell you the truth, yeah, you scared me. But I needed to be scared. It woke me up. I think, if I know that you’re okay, the next time you leave won’t be so bad.”

  Callie smirked. “Does that have anything to do with Jacob?”

  Maggie drew a deep breath, and sighed. “Jacob. Who knows what will happen with him.”

  “Oh, come on Mags,” Callie said. “Anyone can tell he’s still crazy about you.”

  “Yeah, but look what happened the last time.”

  Callie reached across the bed and placed her hand on top of Maggie’s. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that there are always going to be things we don’t know about that factor into the way things turn out. Maybe he had his reasons,” she said. “Don’t let last time ruin this time.”

  Maggie frowned. “Where were you, anyways?” she asked.

  She paused, then shook her head. “Nowhere I’m going back to anytime soon.”

  Callie couldn’t fall asleep. Her bed felt empty without Alex next to her. She kept thinking about the canopy, and the Big Ben, and the way he’d looked at her the last time they talked. And she kept wondering if that would be the last time they talked. Even though she was angry, she couldn’t bear the thought of never seeing him again.

  Somewhere between midnight and sunrise, she realized that this was the first night she’d spent in her bedroom since the accident that she hadn’t felt his eyes on her. The thought occurred to her that maybe he was still here, somewhere, hiding in the shadows as he had done all those years. Maybe he hadn’t been able to stand being apart from her, either.

  “Alex?” she whispered. A moment went by, and she felt foolish. “Alex,” she said a little louder. “Are you there?”

  Still, there was nothing.

  She rolled over onto her side, disappointment washing through her. Of course he wasn’t there. He’d made it clear that they were going to be apart. She was an idiot for expecting—

  Just then, there was a loud crash at the window. Callie bolted upright in bed, drawing the covers up around her.

  Hesitantly, she stepped out of bed. “Alex?” she whispered, reaching forwards to open the window.

  As soon as she did, a mass of blond hair and panic came rushing into her bedroom, and crashed into the desk at the far side of Callie’s room. The newcomer cursed and hopped about on one foot while the fractured bone in the other began to heal.

  Callie gasped at the intrusion, and narrowed her eyes to see who was causing such commotion.

  “Serena?” she asked, noticing the blond mane.

  Serena didn’t reply for a few moments, her mouth too full of dark oaths against humanity and their cramped spaces.

  Callie ran up to the woman and flung her arms around her. As strange as it was, given that Serena was always more prepared to kill Callie than to hug her, Callie couldn’t help feeling grateful to see her. This was a part of her world, the one in which she belonged. She could hardly believe the image was anything more than a dream.

  “What are you doing here?” Callie asked.

  “Oh, please save your sentiment for someone who cares,” Serena said, pushing Callie off of her. But she did so gently, making sure Callie landed at the foot of her bed, which softened the words.

  She glanced down at her ankle, and, after having ascertained that the bruise had faded, she breathed a long-suffering sigh and sank down next to Callie on the bed.

  Only when she was that near did Callie see it. There, staining the white dress with patches of red and brown, were patches of blood. The dress was torn and frayed in places where it had been angrily clawed at. And all across Serena’s flesh, though the abrasions had healed, were crusts of ruddy, dried blood.

  “Serena, what happened?” Callie asked, her stomach plummeting.

  “Damned Sirens,” she growled. She looked at Callie harshly, though Callie realized that the anger wasn’t directed towards her. “It was like they knew you’d left. The second you and Zeke were out of the forest’s perimeters, something went wrong. I don’t know how it all happened, exactly—it was too fast. But someone shouted, and then there was a flurry of motion as everyone rose above the canopy to see what was happening. That was their plan, I think, because as soon as everyone was in plain sight, a swarm of them came out of nowhere, started clawing and ripping and tearing in every direction. We must have lost a couple dozen right on the spot, before everyone went flying in different directions.”

  Callie felt her heart speed up. “Is—is….” She swallowed and closed her eyes, not wanting to ask the question for fear of the answer.

  “Oh, for god’s sake, he’s fine,” Serena spat. “Aren’t you listening? They attacked, human! We lost huge numbers of our village!”

  Callie couldn’t quite bring herself to acknowledge it, because she knew that what Serena was informing her of was tragic, but a wave of relief crashed over her to know that Alex was alright.

  “What happened?” Callie asked. “After that, I mean.”

  “Well, Zeke wasn’t around to help. Alex and I and a few other protectors who have been trained in battle began to retaliate. It was sloppy, though, and there w
as no strategy involved. That’s why we lost so many before we were able to drive them back. After an hour or so, they suddenly left, as though it had been a planned retreat. They had the upper hand; we were all in such confusion and chaos, they could have easily finished us off within the day. But they left after such a short time,” Serena said, sounding distraught.

  “Which means what, exactly?” Callie asked.

  Serena took a shaky breath, and said, “It means it was a test. They infiltrated our forest, knowing they’d retreat after an hour or so, with the purpose of feeling us out. They now know who the warriors are, who are those most able to fight. They know that you are gone. It means they will be back. And soon, before we have time to restructure.”

  “But I don’t understand,” Callie said. “Why did they leave, if they could have won?”

  “Advanced planning. They must have figured that they would have greater odds of success if they only stayed a short while during the first attack. That way, if things went wrong, if we were winning, there would need to be no discussion; they would leave within the hour, regardless,” Serena said. Then she shook her head and hissed, “Does it matter? I could waste hours trying to force the art of war into your feeble mind, but that’s not why I’m here.”

  “Why are you here, then?” Callie asked.

  “Shay is hurt,” Serena said bluntly. “They almost detached one of her arms completely, and nearly every inch of the rest of her has either been pierced, torn, or gnarled beyond immediate repair. I suppose they did it on purpose; if you take out the Healer, there is no one to provide remedy for the rest of the village.”

  “Is she going to be alright?” Callie asked, feeling a little lightheaded at the image Serena had provided.

  “Well of course she is,” Serena retorted. “We are immortal, or do you not recall? Unless they kill her, she will heal. The reason I’m here is that she keeps saying your name. I don’t know why, she can barely speak to explain it. But Emeric forbade me to come and retrieve you. Which is exactly why I’m here.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Serena paused, and then said, “It was his behavior. He was acting oddly during battle, almost not even attempting to fight. I couldn’t understand it; maybe he was simply taken off guard. But you know enough about our leader to know that he never loses control for long. He should have been able to ward them off more efficiently.”

  Callie frowned. “You think he wasn’t trying to win?” she asked. “But why?”

  Serena shook her head. “I am not one to speculate. My mission was to get you and bring you to Shay. Will you come with me?”

  It was a question that did not even need utterance.

  Chapter Twenty Four

  Admittance

  The sun was just beginning to crest over the ocean as Serena and Callie returned to the forest. Callie cringed as, when they flew over the beach, she saw a dead man lying on the sand, one of his wings lying near the water, the other dangling from a tree branch above his head.

  The rest of the bodies, she knew, were hidden beneath layers of foliage on the forest floor. She tried not to think about them, the people whose faces she may have seen in passing on the shore, forgotten and mangled in the branches of leaves.

  Serena barely landed in Shay’s house before she was running towards the couch, leaving Callie on the ground near the doorway. Callie reached towards the wall to steady herself, instantly taking in the scene around her.

  Shay was lying on the couch, a blanket draped across her torso which Callie suspected hid the worst of the damage. She didn’t wear a dress, probably because, from the looks of the Healer, doing so would have been too painful. Her right arm was folded across her chest, and Callie saw the jagged, swollen pink line which circled her shoulder; it was framed by gruesome purple ripples of skin which stood and puckered in all the wrong places. The off-black splotches continued to paint her flesh, all the way down to her wrist, where her hand curled into a twisted claw.

  “Shay,” Callie breathed, shocked at the extent of the damage that they had done in so little time. She walked up to the couch and crouched down next to the woman. Serena stood behind the couch, gently combing her fingers through the Healer’s hair, a surprisingly soothing gesture for her.

  “Callie,” Shay said, her head rolling in the direction of Callie’s voice.

  Callie swallowed when she saw how lackluster her eyes were; how void of the usual intellectual passion they were. She couldn’t fathom how much pain the woman must be in.

  “I’m here,” Callie said, softly taking hold of her uninjured hand.

  “Callie,” Shay said again. “It’s you.”

  “It’s me,” she said. “Shh, I’m right next to you.”

  “I know,” Shay snapped. “I’m hurt, not blind. I mean it’s you. You are the only way we’re going to win this war.”

  Callie was taken aback at the ferocity in the woman’s voice. But, for some odd reason, she had to laugh at it. “Well, I’m glad you’re not becoming an invalid,” Callie said. “You almost sounded like Serena just now.”

  Shay smirked, though it was weak. “I’ll be fine,” she said. “Recovery time shouldn’t be more than a day or two.”

  “Well that’s good to hear,” Callie said. “From the way Serena was worrying about you, you should be on your death bed.”

  Serena scowled across Shay’s head at Callie.

  “I figured it out,” Shay said, struggling to sit up. Callie helped to prop her back against the arm of the couch. Shay sighed. “Thank you.”

  “What did you figure out?” Callie asked.

  “Why you were sent home in the first place,” Shay said. “And why Emeric nearly lost the battle. It is connected.”

  “What do you mean?” Callie asked.

  “I saw him,” Shay said, wincing as something stung. “He was on the forest floor, thinking no one would find him there. But he was speaking with four of the Sirens. I saw him only because I had to find a patch of wild ginger that I know of; I needed it to make poultices. I could not hear his words, but it looked as though they were planning something. And then, moments later, the cry erupted, and the Sirens infiltrated the forest. The three on the floor left, and Emeric remained for a moment. He looked upset. But then he, too, ascended. I rose to witness the commotion, and that was when….” Shay faded off, her face troubled.

  Callie gently squeezed her hand. “You’ll be alright,” she said. Shay rolled her eyes, and was about to reply. “I don’t mean physically,” Callie interrupted. “I know you’ll heal soon. I mean everything will be alright. We’ll figure this out.”

  Serena cut in, “Do you think he knew of the attack?”

  “I’m certain of it,” Shay replied. “He showed absolutely no surprise when wings began to fall.”

  “But why?” Serena asked. “He’s been the one who, from the beginning, has been anticipating this war and trying to ward it off. He has been in control of our strategies, our missions….Why would he sabotage us?”

  “That is where I, too, became confused,” Shay said. “Until I remembered Callie.”

  Shay turned to look at Callie, whose eyes widened in confusion. “Me?” she asked. “What have I got to do with any of this?”

  “I first realized that Emeric was acting strangely when he accepted Alex’s proposal to send you home,” Shay said. “Emeric never acts in anything other than the interest of the village. To salvage the health of one human, when that human’s death could mean the survival of his people, was unlike him. And so I began to think about his patterns. Before he was abducted by the Siren community in 1945, he hardly left the canopy. When he did leave, which was perhaps once every century, it was public knowledge where he was going, and how long he would be gone. But after his abduction, he began to make short trips to unknown places, leaving the rainforest much more frequently. No one ever read into this; most never even knew he left.”

  “What are you saying, Shay?” Serena asked. “Emeric hates the Sirens.
Do you propose that he went to visit them?”

  “I do, but wait to hear my reasons,” Shay said. “Emeric never disclosed what happened during his confinement on the island. And he became much more vocal in his hatred of the Sirens in the years which followed his return to the rainforest. What if that was an act, though? Think about this: he planned to send a handful of the greatest protectors to the island in order to attack them, to lower their numbers.”

  “He wanted to kill them,” Serena said, as though Shay had just disproved her own argument. “The only thing that stopped him was the invention of my position.”

  “The only thing that stopped him was the public knowledge that there was an alternate means of preventing battle,” Shay reasoned. “Which meant that if he did send in the protectors, and they all died, then he would be to blame for making a foolish decision which led to such a tragedy. People would turn against him, which would be counterproductive.”

  “That theory only works if the protectors were sure to die, which they—“ Serena began, but Shay interrupted.

  “Which they were.”

  Serena stopped short at the confidence in Shay’s voice.

  “Think about this, Serena. He would have sent in perhaps a dozen protectors. But the numbers of the Siren community had grown. And the terrain had become rougher and less conducive to foreign invasion. So our soldiers would have been outnumbered and at a territorial disadvantage,” Shay pointed out.

  Serena shook her head. “He was going to send Raymond, Tasnia, and Yvette. Alex and Zeke would have gone. I would have gone. He would have sent our best warriors.”

  “Exactly. And what would have become of our power as a people once our best warriors were wiped out?” Shay asked. “We would have been left vulnerable. If he truly wanted to win, he would have kept a small number of these people on reserve, and sent in a larger number of less talented fighters. He was weakening us.”

  “I can’t believe it,” Serena said.