Determinant, a YA Paranormal Romance (Book 3 of The Guardians of Vesturon)

by A. M. Hargrove

  “No, you owe me nothing January. I do this freely for you and you know exactly why.” He turned his head into my hand and kissed my palm. I swallowed the boulder that had formed in my throat and nodded.

  “I know and I feel the same Rykerian.” His eyes widened at my words and I felt his surprise, but at that moment I did care for him, as much or more than I had ever cared for anyone before.

  The four of us made our way back to where the other Guardians were waiting. Rykerian leaned over to me and said, “This delivery should not take much time and then we will be on our way to your family.”

  I nodded as I felt myself, again, swirling and spinning. When everything stopped, I saw we were in a warehouse district of sorts. I realized that this time I only felt slightly dizzy from the teleporting, so at least that was improving.

  The Guardians began teleporting all the vaccine into the refrigerated storage facility and completed that task in short order.

  We bid farewell to Rayn, Tesslar, Kennar and the other Guardians. Rykerian looked at me and said, “Are you ready?” lacing his fingers with mine.

  “I’m so scared. What if they’re all...?”

  “Do not think those thoughts. Can you tell me exactly where the house is so I can locate it with my tracker?”

  I gave him the necessary information and he began tapping his shadar. He looked at me in askance and I nodded. He grasped my hand in his and off we went.

  Chapter 2

  We materialized in the backyard of the house I grew up in. In the three years I had been gone, nothing had changed. Everything was completely silent. There wasn’t a trace of sound from cars or people. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise and I rubbed my sweaty palms together.

  I ran to the back door and pushed it open.

  “Mom, Tommy, Sarah! Is anyone here?”

  I ran though the kitchen and came to a screeching halt in the den. They were all sitting there, staring at me like they were seeing a ghost.

  “January?” It was Tommy who spoke first.

  “Tommy! Are you okay? Sarah!”

  I turned to look at my mom and she sat there with a look of horror upon her face.

  “How did you get here?” she demanded in a scathing voice.

  “Do NOT speak to her in such a manner or I swear I will...”

  “Rykerian! Stop! Please!” His face was flushed with anger.

  I turned back to my mom and saw that she and her husband were staring at Rykerian, wide-eyed and mouths agape. I briefly wondered if they saw what I did...an impossibly gorgeous man with brilliant blue eyes and hair that looked as though each strand had been individually hand-painted a unique shade of bronze. Impressively tall, and broad shouldered, he looked like he could take down my father with a slight flick of his wrist.

  They kept gaping, looking as if they were struggling with whether to say something.

  “We’ve come to vaccinate you against smallpox,” Rykerian said, bringing me back to the present.

  Rykerian pulled out the vial, along with the syringes and prepared to give them the injections.

  “Wait a minute. First of all, who are you and second of all, there is no vaccine. Do you think we’re stupid?” she asked, her tone accusing.

  “Mom, shut up! I’m not going to answer that last question, because you won’t like my response. You have no clue of what’s going on. Yes, this is a vaccine and it will save your life. Now, I’ll be happy to walk away and let you die a horrible death, if that’s what you want.”

  I swung my head in my father’s direction and the look on his face would have been comical in any other situation. He was still staring at Rykerian and he looked like he was badly in need of a toilet. All the color had drained from his face and his hands were fisted so tightly I could see his white knuckles from where I stood. He was either going to hurl or mess himself, and I really didn’t care to witness either.

  “How do I know that what’s in that stuff won’t kill us?” Mom asked.

  “Seriously! Do you honestly think I would ever harm Tommy or Sarah? I love them more than my own life!” I said fervently.

  “No, I know you won’t harm them, but I wasn’t asking about that. I want to know if you intend to harm me and your fath...” her voice trailed off.

  “I would never do that. Do you know so little of me that you think I could be capable of that?” I was astonished she would think such horrid thoughts.

  “You must hate us for what we did,” she said bitterly.

  “You’re the ones filled with hatred, not me!”

  I turned to Rykerian and he nodded.

  “Tommy and Sarah come here please,” I said softly.

  They were both crouching in the corner holding each other. They looked at my mom and she nodded. They slowly rose and walked to me. Tommy was trembling and Sarah was crying. I raised my eyes to my mom.

  “What have you done to them? What have you told them about me?” I cried. I knew in my heart she had filled their heads with lies. They were scared to death of me.

  “I told them the truth is all,” she snarled.

  I turned back to them and knelt down. I opened my arms and they stood back from me. I gave them a shaky smile. It was becoming unbearably difficult to hold back my tears. I didn’t want to hurt them, but I wanted them to know the truth.

  “Tommy, Sarah,” I began in a whisper, “I would never ever in a million years hurt you. I love you with all my heart and would do anything for you. I’m here because...well you know how everyone is getting sick? I am here to give you some medicine that will help you not get sick like everyone else. Does that make sense?”

  They both stared at me with their huge eyes and beautiful little faces and I broke down. I felt Rykerian lift me into his arms and walk to a chair where he sat down with me in his lap.

  “Sshh. It is going to be okay love. We will take care of things here...I will take care of things here and make it right.” He whispered to me as he rubbed circles on my back and ran his fingers through my hair. My sobs finally subsided and I was able to speak.

  I lifted my head and looked him in the eye. “I feel like a roller coaster of emotions right now. Sorry about that,” I sniffed.

  He gave me one of his disarming smiles and said, “No need for apologies. Let’s get this taken care of so I can have a nice little chat with your parents.”

  I stood and turned back to Tommy and Sarah and called them over.

  “Tommy, Sarah, we need your arms so we can give you this medicine, okay?”

  They glanced to my mom and she nodded. They rolled up their sleeves and Rykerian quickly injected them. Sarah cried a bit while Tommy scrunched up his face, trying to be the tough guy.

  Rykerian looked at me and his thoughts passed to me. I was startled at the extent of his anger. He was asking for my permission to confront my parents. I was so weary I didn’t have the strength to say no.

  He walked to my parents and they had to crane their necks to look at him. My father’s scowl vanished, as did my mom’s.

  Rykerian began addressing my mom first. “You have been the most pitiful excuse for a mother that I have ever encountered. To blame what happened to you on your daughter is reprehensible. If I had my way I would cut you down and walk away without remorse, but your beautiful daughter would never allow that.”

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” my mother retorted.

  “Cease your prattle female!” Rykerian thundered, causing the walls to vibrate.

  “Don’t you speak to her like that,” my father shouted.

  Rykerian turned to him, venom spilling from his eyes and thundered, “I Command you to Silence!”

  My father’s eyes widened and his mouth attempted to form words but no sound came out. His body went absolutely rigid and he looked like he had turned into a stone statue.

  What is happening to him? Why is he acting like that?

  Rykerian looked at me with guilt in his eyes and shook his head. He raked his hand thr
ough his hair, then extended it toward my father and said, “Release.”

  My father fell forward onto his knees and rolled into the fetal position, drawing deep breaths into his lungs.

  I ran to Rykerian and grabbed his arm. “What...”

  He cut me off saying, “I will explain later.”

  He turned back toward my mother and said, “If you two ever do anything to hurt January again, you will regret it for the remainder of your life. Now, you will sit down with your children and tell them that January is not the evil demon you have made her out to be, but a wonderful, loving female.”

  My mom just stood there, immobile.

  “Now!” Rykerian shouted.

  She scurried to Tommy and Sarah and the words started to spill forth. She explained to them how she had done me wrong. She confessed she had never given them the letters I had written and that I loved them dearly and wouldn’t hurt them for anything. She also explained to them that it was okay for them to love me back. They looked at me, and I had tears pouring down my face. I held out my arms and they ran to me, crying as well.

  The three of us hugged and I couldn’t stop telling them how much I loved them. We were all on the floor, me in the middle and they were crawling all over me.

  “You two have grown up so much since the last time I was here. Tommy, remember that day I came here and you two were playing outside? Did you keep your promise and take good care of Sarah?”

  “Yeah, I think so January.”

  “Sarah, how about you? Did you take good care of Tommy?” She nodded her head vigorously up and down.

  “Good! I knew I could count on you two! Now I’m going to be leaving in a few minutes, but I want you to know something. I love you with all my heart. You are always right here,” I said as I pointed to my head, “and right here,” as I pointed to my heart. “I’m going to write you letters and if for some reason you ever need me for anything...anything at all, you just think serious thoughts about me and I’ll come to you. Okay?”

  “Do you gotta leave?” Sarah asked.

  “Yeah, I do sweetie, but don’t forget what I said, okay?”

  “We won’t,” Tommy said.

  I hugged them both again as hard as I could without squishing them to death. Then I kissed them both and stood up.

  While I had been talking with Tommy and Sarah, Rykerian had given my parents their vaccinations. Then he looked at my dad first and his eyes glazed over and then closed. My mom was next, and then finally Tommy and Sarah.

  “What did you just do?” I wanted to know.

  “I erased their memories of us but left the good ones of you with your siblings. They deserve to know what a loving sister you are.”

  I gave him a watery smile and hugged him, my arms around his waist.

  “Thank you!” I said into his chest.

  “Come, take my hand sweet thing and we will depart from here.”

  I tightly held onto his hand and Rykerian tapped his shadar. Moments later we were back at the mountain house.

  Chapter 3

  When we took form back at the house in the mountains, I felt my head spinning. This time it was different. My vision seemed distorted and I felt like I was going to throw up, but before I could say anything, my legs crumpled beneath me and everything went dark.

  Vague voices in the distance infiltrated my mind. It sounded like several people were whispering. I wanted to open my eyes but they felt like lead. My attempts at speaking failed; my tongue felt swollen and my mouth was like sawdust. I drifted back to unconsciousness.

  I’m not sure how long I slept, but I awakened to see golden streaks of sunlight softening the room. My eyes darted around, searching for something familiar, not recognizing where I was. The room looked similar to the one I had been staying in at Rykerian’s, yet this one was different...more masculine.

  The furnishings were massive...a large chest of drawers, a beautiful armoire and a gigantic bed. I felt I was lying on the softest cloud ever and I was swathed in silken bedding. I lifted my head to gaze around and sitting in a chair next to me was Rykerian. He must have felt me move for he sprang to his feet and his eyes shot around the room before landing on me.

  A grin immediately spread from ear to ear and he sat down next to me and began to tenderly brush the backs of his fingers across my cheek.

  “What happened to me? Where are we?” I croaked. My throat felt sore and scratchy.

  “You are in my bedroom at the house. You fainted when we returned here and you have been unconscious for a time.”

  “For ‘a time?’ How long of a time?”

  He glanced down before answering. “Five days,” he muttered.

  “Five days? I have been unconscious for five days? What happened?” I squeaked.

  “As soon as we teleported back here, I looked at you and your body simply collapsed. I carried you up here and called our healer, Julian. He has examined you every day. He is certain you suffered from a combination of shock and exhaustion. I was furious with Rayn. I told him you were not ready to undertake this mission.” Rykerian stood and dragged his hand through his hair. He began pacing next to the bed.

  “Hey. Rykerian. Is anyone in there?” He kept pacing. I sat up and threw the covers back, intending to stand. I didn’t get very far before the dizziness hit me. That seemed to get his attention.

  “January, what are you doing?”

  “I was trying to grab your attention. I thought I’d stand but I guess I’m too weak or something.”

  “Deity! Do not do that again. You have been here for five days, completely unconscious. Your mind and body have suffered a great shock. You must take time to recover and regain your strength!” he was nearly bellowing by now.

  “Rykerian! Please, lower your voice. You’re upsetting me!” I was trembling now.

  “Bloody hell! Forgive me,” he said as he sat next to me and took me into his arms. He pulled me across his lap and cocooned me, using his Power of Tranquility to calm me.

  “Thank you. Please don’t yell at me. It upsets me when you raise your voice like that. It’s a throwback you know.”

  He drew back to look at me and I could see the regret in his eyes.

  “Please forgive me. I never want to upset you in any way January. I’ve been so distraught over your collapse that I haven’t been myself lately. Forgive me, please?”

  I nodded. “Okay. Do you think it was seeing my family again because I can tell you it really upset me? I was a wreck Rykerian,” I confessed.

  “I know. I could see you were. I could feel it radiating from you. I had every intention of comforting you with Tranquility when we returned here, but I never got the opportunity. I am sorry for the way your parents treated you. It was disgraceful.”

  I thought for a moment and then said, “I don’t know why I expected any different. I guess I thought that maybe since I was bringing them the chance to live they would be grateful. I must be a slow learner,” I admitted ruefully.

  “Seriously January? That was your mother. Every child wants one thing and only one thing from their mother and that is love and respect. Well, I should have said two things. In any event, you received neither. It will always be something you hope for.”

  “No...not any more Rykerian. I think it took this one last time to make me see something. She is not worthy of me or my love. There... I’ve finally said it and I mean it this time.”

  He looked into my eyes and I could feel him poking in my mind.

  “Hey, you don’t believe me, do you?” I asked.

  He gave me an utterly disarming smile and said, “I do now!”

  I shook my head. “Yeah, but you had to poke my mind first?”

  “Okay,” he admitted remorsefully, “Yes, I did have to see for myself, but only because I would imagine it would be an exceedingly difficult thing to accept. I do believe you. Trust me when I say this: they are not worth your time January.”

  “It totally killed me when Tommy and Sarah were afraid of me. I
thought I would die.”

  “I know,” he whispered as he nuzzled my ear. “It nearly destroyed me to see you so upset.”

  We sat together, tangled up in each other, for a long time. I felt myself drifting when a question popped into my head.

  “Did Julian say how long I would remain this way? You know, weak from the smallpox?”

  “He thinks you will improve every day, providing you eat well and rest. No more excitement for a while.”

  We heard a slight tap on the door and Maddie stuck her head inside. Her eyes lit up when she saw I was awake.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “Tired and hungry!”

  At my words, Rykerian was off the bed so fast, it made my head spin.

  “I will return shortly,” he said as he dashed out of the room.

  I crinkled my forehead and Maddie shrugged.

  “So did he tell you what happened?”

  Maddie nodded. “I never knew how it was for you January. I’m so sorry.”

  “Forget it. I never talked about it because it was so awkward and embarrassing. Who wants to tell their friends about parents like mine? I mean Carlson would blather on about how her parents bought her this and that, and there I was struggling to find the money to buy a stupid hot dog for dinner. And it wasn’t Carlson’s fault. She didn’t have a mean bone in her body. She was just totally clueless. She’d get these calls and texts from her mom telling her how much she missed and adored her and couldn’t wait to see her. And there I’d sit, thinking about how I got ousted out of my house the night of my high school graduation.” I had gotten on a roll and didn’t realize all I said until I looked at Maddie and saw her stricken face.

  “I thought you...you didn’t know all of this, did you?”

  She shook her head and I could see her working her throat, trying to hold back her tears.

  “Hey, Maddie, I thought Rykerian told you everything. I guess I shouldn’t have run my mouth.”

  Before I knew what was happening, I found myself wrapped in her arms.

  “January, I am so sorry. I never knew. I wish I had, I really do. I could have been there for you somehow.”