by G. K. DeRosa
“Bastard!” screamed Dante.
“No! Markus!” cried Seraphina, running toward her fallen companion.
Alek considered the situation at hand, and with a sly twitch of his mouth disappeared into the wall in a puff of smoke, leaving Dante frustrated and Fabian outnumbered.
Stellan, Dante and the three remaining Council members had Fabian cornered and successfully pinned up against the wall. He fought back with black magic of his own, dark flashes of light emanating from his hands. Celeste looked on in amazement at what would have been a spectacular light show had the circumstances not been so dire.
“You fools!” said Fabian. “You think you can defeat me?”
He summoned a whirling tornado that ripped through the group of Council members, tossing them unceremoniously about the cave. In the midst of the fighting, Celeste and Dani each took a Constantin brother and tucked them safely away in an alcove away from the chaos. They were still too weak to move.
“Stay here, I have to go back and help,” said Celeste.
“Celeste, please be careful,” said Roman, but he didn’t try to stop her.
Celeste sprinted back towards the fighting, firmly gripping her sword. She could feel the adrenaline coursing through her veins, and it felt good. Something had clicked inside of her, and she was in full on Guardian mode.
When she reached the others, she found Stellan barely holding himself up by a wall. His clothes were tattered, and there were cuts all over his worn face. The rest of the Council members were in no better shape; some had been badly injured by the tornado. The winds, having been swallowed up by a portal opened by Sierra, had started to die down, but Fabian was nowhere in sight.
“Quick, Celeste, you must find him before he gets away,” said Dante, struggling to get to his feet. “We’ll be right behind you.” He had a large, bloody gash across his forehead.
Celeste nodded and took off in the direction he had pointed. She sped through the dim, winding passageways guided only by the light of her sword and her instinct. She could feel Fabian’s evil presence nearby. She slowed and crept silently through the shadows. Turning a corner, she saw him bending over the body on the cart. He stared at it reverently, gently caressing the arm which hung limp at its side. It was a look she had never seen in Fabian’s eyes, and for a moment she pitied him.
Behind her, Celeste heard a rush of footsteps approaching; Fabian reacted to them as well and turned around, finally seeing Celeste. Dante and the others rounded the corner, swords in hand ready to resume the fight.
“Give up now, and we will spare your life in return for your years serving on the Council,” said Dante. He stood poised for battle, back straight and shoulders high. Stellan, Sierra and the others flanked him on both sides, faces unflinching.
Fabian let out an ominous chuckle. He made a move towards the body, but Dante stopped him, crossing the distance between them in the blink of an eye. He clutched Fabian by the neck and held him high in the air.
“Surrender,” hissed Dante.
“And what live powerless for the end of my days in a prison? I’d rather die.”
“If that is what you wish,” he said coolly. All of the Council members pooled their energy and a powerful force swept over Fabian.
“No! You can’t take away my powers!”
As he struggled futilely against Dante’s iron grip, Sierra approached him, wielding a sword similar to the one Celeste had but with its own unique hunter symbol. With a sharp thrust, she drove it into his heart. His body contorted unnaturally then began to shrivel leaving only a charred black corpse in its place.
Standing behind Stellan, Celeste let out the breath she’d been holding as she saw Fabian’s lifeless body crumple to the ground. Dante hovered over it, mumbling a few words Celeste couldn’t make out. The other Council members had gathered around it as well. They formed a circle and with hands held tightly they stood together in silence.
Celeste needed to get back to Roman and Nico. She turned away, leaving the strange and unfamiliar scene in front of her to hurry back to the center of the cave. As she ran, she looked around for Alek of whom she had lost track of since the appearance of the Council, but he was gone.
“It’s finally over,” she said letting relief sink in.
“I knew you could do it,” whispered Roman.
Looking down she saw Roman’s haggard expression, and crouched down to sit next to him. She picked up his head and cradled it in her lap. He still looked so pale, she thought worriedly.
“Roman, please take some of my blood,” she said, offering her wrist.
“No, I can’t,” he said shaking his head.
“You are going to need your strength to get through the portal – both of you are.”
“I’m feeling better Celeste. Dani and I shared a blood bag that she had brought for a snack,” said Nico.
“And you didn’t save any for Roman?” she asked indignantly.
“Sorry, that was my fault. I didn’t realize how hungry I was,” said Dani, flushed with embarrassment. “After I gave the Council my blood to heal them, I needed to replenish.”
Celeste could see that Roman was having a hard time sitting up, and he was doing a poor job trying to hide it. “Oh this is ridiculous,” said Celeste picking up the dagger from the floor and slicing her wrist.
“Celeste, don’t!” said Roman.
But it was too late. She put her bleeding wrist up against his mouth, and he was unable to control his reaction. His fangs fastened onto her soft skin and the blood he desperately needed trickled into his mouth.
“Don’t worry, I’m fine. I’ll tell you when to stop, and you will. I trust you,” she said looking into his worried eyes.
“What do you think you are doing?” cried Dante as he walked over to see Roman feeding from Celeste.
Roman quickly let go of her arm and retracted his fangs, a mortified look crossing his beautiful face.
“I’m saving his life!” Celeste insisted.
“Do you know how precious Guardian blood is? And you are wasting it on a vampire!”
“A vampire saved your lives today, too. If Dani hadn’t given all of you her blood, you wouldn’t have been strong enough to defeat Fabian.” Dante had the decency to look down, slightly abashed.
“And I don’t care what you think. It is my blood and I will do with it whatever I feel like,” she continued defiantly. “Roman was willing to give up his life for me today – they both were. There aren’t many humans I know that would do the same.”
Backing down, he said, “Still, you must know that this sort of thing is unconventional and of course frowned upon.” Dante looked at Stellan with a smirk. “It looks like you will have your hands full with this one.”
“Yes, I am quite aware of that. Thank you for intervening Dante. I know it is not something the Council does frequently,” said Stellan looking at Celeste with a frown.
She suddenly felt guilty for being so rude; they had just saved all of their lives. “Yes, Dante, Sierra and everyone, thank you,” she said with all the sincerity she could muster.
“Well I am happy we were able to avert a disaster. The end of the Wilder family bloodline would have been an immeasurable loss to the world,” Dante said. With a parting bow, all four of them, carrying their fallen companion, vanished in a burst of light just as quickly as they had appeared.
“I don’t know about you guys, but I am so ready to go home even if that means spending the rest of my days in the basement!” said Dani.
“Go ahead; we’ll be right behind you. You can see some of Russia while you’re out there waiting,” said Roman.
“Are you okay?” asked Celeste.
“Yes, I’m fine. Dante was right, your blood really is…special. I feel different somehow,” he said with a smile. “There’s just something I need to check before we leave.”
Roman stood up slowly at first but in seconds his color and his strength had returned. He walked over to the table that Alek had whee
led in moments before the Council’s arrival, but the body was gone.
“Stellan, did you see what I did? I know I was at the point of losing consciousness, but I know what I saw,” said Roman.
“What?” asked Nico.
“It all happened so fast, I can’t be sure,” said Stellan, shaking his head.
“But it can’t be. I buried her behind our house in Oak Bluffs decades ago. But you thought it was her too?”
“It certainly did look like her.”
“What are you two talking about?” asked Nico perplexed.
“Fabian had her—he had our mom’s body.”
“Well at least what looked like your mother,” added Stellan.
“What?” asked Nico. “How is that possible?”
Stellan walked over to Fabian’s book of spells and skimmed over the page to which it had been opened. “It’s a resurrection spell,” he said amazed, “which is very dark magic. It looks like he needed your blood to complete it.”
“Why would Fabian want to resurrect your mother?” asked Celeste.
“Yeah, that makes no sense,” said Nico.
Roman’s puzzled look slowly turned to a knowing smile. “I think I know why. He loved her. Even after all that time and everything she did to him. He still loved her and wanted her back,” said Roman with a furtive glance toward Celeste. She caught his eye and warmth flooded over her.
“So where is her body now?” asked Nico.
“I don’t know. I lost track of it in the struggle,” said Roman.
“Do you think Alek took her?” asked Celeste. “He was out of here in a flash once the Council showed up.”
“Perhaps, but it wouldn’t make much sense,” said Stellan. “I can try to track him down when we get back home.” Roman scanned the area around the cavern one more time, then Celeste took his hand and led him out.
Chapter 20
Waking up in her own bed still felt strangely unfamiliar to Celeste even though she’d been back for days now. After weeks at Stellan’s she had become used to the lumpy mattress and timeworn smell of the guest room, which she had begun to relate to her new life as a Guardian. Her bed seemed much too luxurious and her room too bright and colorful. As she rolled over and saw the picture with her parents on the nightstand, she stared longingly at it. That was her old life, a life she hardly remembered anymore; it seemed more like a beautiful dream she once had. Her new life as a Guardian was filled with adventure, danger, fear and excitement, nothing what she had imagined her life to be.
“Good morning sweetie!” said her mom peeking in through the door.
“Hi Mom.”
“Do you know what day it is today?” she said, sitting down on the edge of the bed.
“Monday?”
“Yes of course silly, but what I meant was that it’s exactly one week from today that you start at NYU!”
“Wow, is it really? The past few days have been such a blur, I can’t believe how quickly it went by.”
“Well, you did practically sleep through them all. I’m not surprised that you lost track of time. Stellan must have really run you ragged with all that training.”
“He sure did,” she said with a half-hearted smile.
Celeste hadn’t told her mother about Fabian and Alek and her near-death experience. Knowing that her daughter was the Guardian was one thing, but telling her all the dangerous details was quite another.
“Don’t you think you should at least go see Brian or Natalie?” she asked. “You haven’t seen any of your friends since you’ve been back.”
Celeste had been lying low since her return to Oak Bluffs. An extreme sense of guilt washed over her as she realized she didn’t have much time left to spend with her friends before leaving for college. She hoped that things wouldn’t be so strained with Brian now that she had told him the truth. And then there was Roman… He hadn’t been the same ever since their talk about Brian back at Stellan’s house. She had spoken to him a few times, but he seemed distant, and there was no doubt in her mind that he was avoiding her.
Real boys really are nothing like what they are in the movies.
Celeste knew she had to face reality soon, and as her father used to say, “There’s no time like the present.” Her mind was made up. She was going to get up, get dressed and stop hiding out in her room. Brian’s house was the first stop on her list.
“Hey Cel!” said Brian with a big smile as he opened the door. “I heard you were back. I was wondering when you’d come by.”
“I’m sorry it took me so long. I’ve just been exhausted and catching up on some much needed sleep. Being a ‘you-know what’ is quite draining,” she said lowering her voice.
“I bet. Don’t worry, you don’t have to whisper. No one’s home but me. Come on in.”
Celeste followed Brian into the familiar living room. Countless picture frames covered the coffee table and the walls, many with pictures of her and Brian as children. They sat down on the worn out couch. When they were kids they used to pretend the couch was a fort and had spent hours battling imaginary villains. Being here brought back many sweet memories.
“So how have you been?” he asked.
“Okay, I’ve just been getting settled back in at home, and now I can’t believe I have to leave again.”
“Yeah, that’s right,” he said, pretending he had forgotten. “You’re heading off to the big apple in a few days.”
“That’s the plan.”
“You know Natalie is leaving this weekend too. We should all hang out before you abandon me here.”
“Absolutely! And enough with the guilt trip, you’re the one who decided to stay in Oak Bluffs,” she said.
“I know, and I’m actually okay with it now. I made the Oak Bluffs Community College basketball team so that should be cool.”
“That’s great Brian, congrats! I’m sure you will be their star player.”
“Right…So are you going to tell me about what happened with that wizard guy or are we just going to skirt around the subject for the rest of the day?”
“I don’t even know where to begin…” and Celeste recounted the entire harrowing tale.
***
“How is Celeste doing – happy to be home?” asked Nico. He had just come back from a jog and little beads of sweat dripped from his forehead.
“Yes, I’m sure she is,” said Roman as he sat looking pensive.
“That sounds like you don’t know. Are you avoiding her again?”
“I’m not avoiding her exactly,” he said standing abruptly. “I’m simply giving her some space so that she can make a decision.”
“What kind of a decision?”
“Why must you be so nosey, Nico?” Roman chided.
“Because I care about your happiness Roman, and if I didn’t interfere in your love life, it would be non-existent like it has been for the past hundred years.”
“Maybe there is a reason for that,” he said sullenly, staring out the window.
“Just tell me what sort of ultimatum you gave her now.”
“It wasn’t an ultimatum; I simply gave her an out. She’s leaving for college in a week for goodness sake. What kind of a life can she have with me? I know she has some sort of feelings for Brian, and we all know he loves her. They could be happy together and lead a normal life.”
“Is that what Celeste wants?”
“She says it’s not, but she’s not being rational. She’s not thinking about the long term. She has no idea what it’s like for us, Nico. She doesn’t belong in our world.”
“Whether she belongs in it or not is not your decision to make. And let’s be honest, being the Guardian is not going to lend itself to a normal life either.”
“No, but without me in her life, she’d have more of a chance,” Roman conceded.
“I don’t understand why you insist on punishing yourself. You’ve convinced yourself that you don’t deserve her, and it’s just not true. There is no doubt that she makes you a better
person, but you make her better too. Don’t you see that?”
Roman just shook his head. “Shouldn’t you be getting in the shower?”
“Don’t you let her go, Roman. It will be the biggest mistake you’ve ever made.”
“That sounds like a story right out of Buffy The Vampire Slayer – the TV show not the movie,” said Brian when Celeste finished.
“Yeah, only there were way fewer hot guys!” said Celeste laughing. It felt good talking to Brian like this, not having to keep anything from him.
“I’m really glad you’re alive, Cel. I know I joke around about it, but that is some pretty crazy stuff.”
“I know, but it’s my life now.” She paused and took a sip of her iced tea.
“What are you going to do when you’re in college? I bet there’s a ton of demonic activity in New York City.”
“Great, thanks Brian. I hadn’t even started thinking about that yet.”
“So how does Roman feel about you leaving?” he asked, trying to be nonchalant.
“I don’t know. We haven’t really been talking much lately,” she said, looking away.
“Why not?”
“It’s complicated…”
“Come on Cel, you can tell me.”
“It’s kind of about you,” she said awkwardly.
“Me?”
“He thinks that I would be better off with you than him…”
“Well, I can’t argue with him there,” he said with a smirk.
“He knows how you feel about me, and he wants me to be happy, have a family and all that. He can’t give me that so he thinks he should let me go.”
“This guy is already planning a family for us?”
“Brian! Stop joking around, this is serious,” Celeste demanded.
“Okay, okay, don’t hit me! You know I love you Cel, and I probably always will. But I’ve been thinking about you a lot over the past few days, and I don’t want you to choose me because I’m the safer choice or the more comfortable option. I want you to choose who you love and who you can’t see yourself living without.”
