House of Guardians

by Beatrice Sand

  “B-but, how…” I stutter.

  Sam narrows his eyes, looking at me askance. “You want me to tell you how I was conceived?”

  I bat my lashes and I can hear a soft giggle.

  “All I know is that I came into this world naturally. My mother gave birth to me on Olympus.”

  “In Greece?”

  “No, on the Olympic Peninsula. Phaedra spent her pregnancy on the mountain. I don’t care much about the specifics. I’m here and that’s that.”

  “And what about your friends? Are they all gods and goddesses?”

  Quietly, Sam takes a sip from his coffee. “You’re getting ahead of yourself. Demigods and demigoddesses. My friends all have their own mother or father on the old Mount Olympus. Don descends from Poseidon, he can make the ground shake. Andreas descends from Ares, he’s all military. Filemon’s father is Eroos, he can make gods—and humans—fall in love with each other. And so on. We all inherited our parent’s personality trait.”

  “What about your personality?”

  Sam is reading my face. “I think you’ve studied Apollon more than enough. You already know what I’m like.”

  First thing that comes to mind is Apollon’s bad luck with earthly women.

  “Any more questions?” He brings up his mug for another sip.

  I can feel my face light up. “Really?”

  “Don’t get too excited!”

  “The Keepers, are they high priests?”

  “You’ve done your homework. Yeah, the Keepers carry out the wishes of our supreme god. They watch over the welfare of our community, punish our misdeeds… And when the time is right the well-being of mortals.”

  “But how?”

  Sam shrugs. “It’s too soon to talk about that. It will take generations, but one day, there will be a completely new world order.”

  I shiver. “Can the high priests communicate with the gods?”

  “They communicate trough messengers. Bow is a messenger, well, he’s trying to be one. All of us are developing ourselves and our skills.”

  I have so many questions now that I’m falling all over myself trying to get them out. “You really can’t read minds?” I give him a tense look and await his answer with my heart pounding.

  “Impossible.”

  I sigh and Sam smiles while taking another sip. “Are you immortal?” Sam shakes his head. “Why don’t you eat bread?”

  “So, you’ve noticed?”

  “I’ve never known anyone who can resist Martin’s rolls.”

  Sam smiles again. “I admit, they were tempting, but we pay a high price for it if we indulge. Our physique doesn’t tolerate wheat and alcohol.”

  “Is that why Bastian got sick?”

  “Yeah. Bastian is not really the best at resisting temptation.”

  “Why do you keep turning up in my life?” I suddenly hear myself ask.

  Sam takes his time with the answer. “You’re ruthless, you know that?”

  “That’s not an answer.”

  “I have my reasons, Laurel. Next question—time’s almost up.”

  Reluctantly, I look at him. I am dying to ask about Philene, but I am afraid to mention her name. It’s not hard to guess that she descends from Aphrodite.

  Sam sets down his mug. “Ask me and I’ll answer.”

  “Are you really getting married?”

  “It’s complicated. Once a sentence has been imposed, we can’t appeal. It’s my fate now to marry Philene. The thing is that for me personally, marriage won’t work. It goes against my principles.”

  “Marriage is against your principles?”

  Sam nods. “It’s been passed down to me. You might say it runs in the family,” he says, winking.

  “I think I understand. Your genes.”

  Sam looks at me for a long time. “There are just certain things I am not cut out for. Marriage—and raising a family—is one of them. I think you have enough answers now,” Sam suddenly says gruffly and gets up. “I’ll get you another cup of coffee.”

  “Sam?”

  He pauses.

  “Earlier, on the beach, you told me that you were going to protect me. If I were in any danger, you would tell me, right?”

  Sam squats next to me and fixes his eyes on mine. “If you were in any danger, I would protect you, Laurel. I promise. And we take our promises very seriously on Olympus.”

  “But you would t…”

  “Ssh, enough.” He studies the contents of the box, and then takes out a piece of cake. “Carrots, right?” He looks a little worried, but nonetheless takes a huge bite of the cake. Even with frosting on his upper lip, he is still devastatingly attractive. Apparently, a demigod can get away with anything, and it is taking every ounce of my willpower not to lick the frosting from his lip.

  I look aside shyly, as I think about my birthday wish and Sam’s sensuous mouth. When he tops it off by uttering an approving sound and starts to lick his fingers, I almost moan out loud.

  “I believe I like it. Can I have some more?”

  “Hmm, go ahead. It’s all yours.”

  “Cool.”

  “Where’s your pet, by the way?”

  “If I had to guess, I would say he’s hunting. He takes care of his own food.”

  “He does what?” I ask cautiously.

  A roguish look appears on Sam’s face. “You sound like Don. He doesn’t want to believe it either.”

  “What doesn’t Don believe?”

  “That Storm’s a dog.” With a big smile, he dives back into the cake box and takes out another piece. “Baked it yourself?” he asks with his mouth full of cake.

  “Martin did,” I say absentmindedly. I am thinking about Storm and his narrow rib cage, and about how I’ve never seen his tail curl upward, now that I think about it. I have always known—from our very first encounter.

  “What kind of flour did he use?”

  “What?” I ask disgruntled, my mind on the wolf dog.

  “The flour, what kind?”

  “Whole wheat.”

  “Oh, fuck.”

  I turn my head to Sam, who is taking the cake apart—studying it. What the hell is he doing? “Storm, is he a dog or a wolf?”

  “He’s a wolf. Are you sure Martin used whole wheat?”

  In a fit of anger, I knock the cake out of his hand. “What does it matter what kind of flour he used? You have a predator walking around that is genetically capable of killing, and you didn’t think it was necessary to tell me when you left me with him the other day?”

  “It matters a lot, because I can’t digest it. And no, I didn’t think it was necessary.”

  “I’ve been attacked by lower-ranking relatives of his!”

  “I didn’t know that at the time. I’m sorry.”

  “And you’re trying to lecture me on promises? I really can’t believe this…”

  “Hey, I told you he is a wolf dog. I never promised you.”

  Now I am getting really mad. “I asked you if you were sure Storm was a dog, and you said you were pretty sure. That was the first time I noticed how arrogant you can be.”

  “Me, arrogant? Listen, you don’t really believe that I would’ve left you alone with Storm if I didn’t trust him, do you? He’s completely submissive. Now that you know who I am, I was hoping to get a little more respect from you.”

  “You can forget about that. I’m going home.”

  “Come on, Laurel, don’t get mad. He really is tame. Listen, about that cake…”

  “How do you get a wolf tame?”

  “I found him out in the woods when he was still a pup. He was near starving to death and I bottle-fed him for months. When he was strong enough, I send him back to the woods, but he kept coming back. So I raised and trained him. Really, he’s very easygoing,
he wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

  “Well, that’s very comforting, but easygoing isn’t exactly the word that comes to mind when I hear his name.”

  “It was a stormy night when I found him, it has nothing to do with his personality.”

  My stomach churns as I think of Storm ripping apart his dinner somewhere nearby. I place my head in my hands. “My God, I could have been ripped apart.”

  “No chance.”

  “How would you know? You just told me you can’t read minds,” I snarl.

  A slow grin spreads across his face. “It’s only when he has to defend his pack that he transforms into a lethal, bloodthirsty beast.”

  “And your point is?”

  “He thinks you’re a pack member.”

  “A pack member? He thinks I belong to his pack?”

  “He seems to think so. I don’t get it either, normally he isn’t that protective with others.”

  The coffee mug handle dangles on Sam’s finger and his facial expression changes from playful to deadly serious, as his eyes fall on the scar on my upper arm. Horrified, I shift my weight as he looks into my eyes.

  “How come you moved up to Vancouver Island?”

  The question totally takes me by surprise. “Excuse me?”

  “You were in your senior year, so why such as drastic change? Why not wait until after graduation?”

  “Is this to distract me from Storm?”

  “No, I’m just curious. Why the big rush?”

  I shrug my shoulders. “One day I woke up and thought to myself that I was going to live with my dad and that was it.”

  “Just like that?”

  “Yep. Within a few weeks time, I had planned the whole move. It wasn’t until I was up here that I started to wonder what I was doing here. I didn’t get along with Renee and Mia, and Martin is more married to his brasserie than to his family.” I shrug again. “I guess there must be an explanation somewhere, I just haven’t found it yet.”

  “And yet, you went to the same school as Renee. Why?”

  “Why do you want to know all this?”

  “You had your chance to ask questions. Now it’s my turn.”

  “I didn’t want to go to the same school as Renee, but something went wrong with the application for the other school. There was no place for me anymore.”

  “How did your mother pass away?”

  His question is all business, his voice unemotional. “She was caught out in extreme weather,” I reply in the same tone of voice.

  “Like Renee’s father?”

  I blink. “Yeah, you knew that?”

  “Don told me. Where is your name derived from?”

  I rub my arms. I am cold and I don’t like his questioning, but I can only assume he didn’t liked mine either. “I don’t know about my name.”

  With an agile leap, Sam jumps to his feet. “Let’s get inside.”

  I follow him into the house. “I really need to get going, Sam,” I say with a glance at the clock. “It’s already dawning.”

  “You know how I feel about that. It’s not safe yet.”

  “In a little over an hour, Martin will be getting up. If he notices that I’m not at home, or he sees the van is missing, I’m in serious trouble.”

  “I’ll take you. One more thing. I don’t want to hear any more about you having drinks with Adrian.”

  My eyes widen. “Excuse me?”

  “You heard me. Don’t invite him over for drinks, lunch, whatever. From now on you avoid him.”

  I feel my cheeks glow. “You’re serious?”

  “I’ve never been more serious in my life.”

  “I didn’t invite him!” I hiss through my teeth. “I offered him a drink as I would have with any guest. Believe me, if I had known his ancestry, I’d have offered him something else.”

  “I’ve warned you about him, but you went to the movies with him anyway.”

  “Are you really on about that still? That happened months ago, and maybe you forgot, but Olivia already lectured me about him.”

  “Just making sure you really get it, because sooner or later he’s going to approach you again.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Because I know now he’s obsessed with you, okay?”

  I swallow. “What do you want me to do, Sam? Kick his butt if he drops by? Lock the door? You tell me.”

  In a sudden, quick-tempered move, he stands before me and wrinkles his nose. There’s not much space between us. “You don’t take his order, you don’t wait on him, you don’t talk to him, and you don’t go see a movie with him. You do nothing at all. If he walks into the restaurant, you walk out. Am I making myself clear?”

  I hear the blood rushing through my head. “You really think I ever want to meet with him again?”

  Sam’s jaw tenses. “I want you to understand that he’s not giving up. And he will succeed if you give him the chance.”

  I just can’t believe what he is saying. “You just don’t want to see it, do you? You have a blind spot when it comes to Adrian.” I push my hair out of my damp face and start to walk away. Sam rapidly spins me around, and for a moment I feel dizzy.

  “Don’t walk away from me, Laurel,” he snorts.

  “You’re trying to scare me out of seeing Adrian,” I say calmly, hoarse from having raised my voice earlier. “But it’s not necessary, I’m already afraid of him. But you now what, Sam? Right now I am afraid of you too.”

  He breathes heavily through his nose. “Don’t you dare.”

  “Dare what?” I look up, uncertain.

  “Compare us.”

  Was I? All of a sudden, his hand grips the back of my neck. Sam lowers his head and his mouth hovers over mine. I can feel his hot, rapid breath on my face. Goose bumps quickly spread all over my body.

  “Don’t compare me to him, please don’t,” he says emotionally. His thumb rubs my bottom lip. My heart is beating against my rib cage.

  “I wasn’t,” I whisper.

  A strand of Sam’s hair touches my forehead, and I wait for him to kiss me. His hands slide over my shoulders. He pulls back.

  “Give me your keys. I’ll drive you home,” he says hoarsely.

  He’s waiting for me at the front door, avoiding my gaze. I walk past him. “Don’t bother,” I say confused and walk over to my car. I open the door and the next second I am lifted and being put down a little farther away. Sam plucks the keys out of my hand.

  “It wasn’t a request.”

  Sam parks in front of the restaurant. He has broken practically every speed limit there is to break in order to get me home as soon as possible. Or to get rid of me as soon as possible. He turns the key, but the music is still playing softly.

  “Are we cool? You haven’t said anything for a while.”

  “It’s not every day an Olympic demigod tries to kiss me, puts gas in my tank, and then takes me home. My brain is working hard to take it all in, just give me a little time.”

  “Laurel, I’m sorry. I lost control, and…”

  “Never mind the excuses, I’ve already heard them. I get it.”

  There’s a long pause. A pause I spend torturing myself by bringing back the moment—his warm hand around my neck, his mouth hovering over mine, his intoxicating scent…

  Sam turns off the music. “Laurel, I’m going to ask you something one more time, and I need to know that I can count on you.”

  “Sure.”

  “I’m not going to ask you politely, I won’t beg, and I’m certainly not going to let you promise me.”

  “Then how are you going to do it?”

  “I command you! Do you understand what that means?”

  “I think so.”

  “I’m afraid that’s not good enough. It means you obey me, and if you don’t, there wil
l be repercussions.”

  I nod. “I understand.”

  “Okay then. When Adrian tries to contact you, one way or the other, you ignore him. You shut him out. Are we clear?”

  “Yes.”

  “I can’t hear you.”

  “Yes, Sam, we’re clear. I’ll ignore Adrian.”

  “I’m dead-serious, Laurel. No more secrets, you know who you are dealing with now, and I’m not just talking about Adrian. This is an order, and you’d better take it seriously.”

  Sam is staring at me hard, and right now I am afraid to even blink. “I do.”

  He seems to relax a little. “Good. Listen, we can’t be seen together anymore.”

  My stomach knots up. “So this is it? I never get to see you again?”

  Sam remains silent. It tells me all I need to know. Sam commands, protects me, and I follow his orders. I feel like a fool to think that it ever could be more than that. Maybe there is some sort of weird attraction between us that comes up to the surface every now and then, but Sam will never listen to his heart. Not with his background, he is far too rational for that. I know that much. He would never make the mistakes his father made with mortal women. He knows much too well that there will be no happy ending.

  I glance sideways. “Your family secret, your descendancy, is safe with me. And I can promise the same for Lou.”

  “I was counting on that.” Sam presses his lips together. “It’s a burden you will carry from now on, for the rest of your life. You can’t be too careful in your conversations with other people. If the Keepers find out that you know about us, you and your family won’t be safe another day.”

  “I’ll be careful. You’ll never have to worry about that.”

  Then I guess everything has been said that needed to be said. I open the door, and as I step out, Sam is already standing in front of me. He hands me my keys.

  “Thanks for driving me home.”

  “Try to get some rest.”

  “Sam,” I exclaim desperately.

  “Take care of yourself, Laurel,” he says softly.

  30

  laurel

  I am just putting my toothbrush back in the cup when I hear a bone-chilling scream.

  I storm out of the bathroom and almost throw myself over the railing. Renee is standing in the hall and looks livid. “What’s up?” I run down the stairs.