House of Guardians

by Beatrice Sand

  “Calm down a little, Laurel.” He looks at me with calm, green eyes. “I’m not planning to chop you up and feed you to his dogs.”

  Worried and nervous, I lick my lips as I look up at the young warrior with his muscular neck and buzz cut. “I need to leave,” I whisper as softly as I can. He releases his tight grip.

  “Come on, I’ll take you home.”

  “Ava,” I pant. “I have to find Ava. And Maude.”

  “Your friends will be taken care of. Let’s go.”

  Adrian blocks our way. “Did I say something wrong?” he asks, astonished.

  I shiver when I feel his hand on my arm. “I would like to go home, Adrian. I’m not feeling very well.”

  “Then I’ll take you. You shouldn’t drive like this.”

  “I’m taking her,” Andreas says curtly.

  Adrian shifts his eyes to Andreas. They turn even darker. “Step down, Andreas.”

  Andreas ignores his remark and simply pushes him aside. Adrian pushes back and then gets creepily close to me. I can hear him breathing heavily.

  “I can drive myself, really,” I mutter.

  “I said I would take you,” Adrian suddenly barks with a deep voice. He grabs my arm.

  “Hey, take it easy, man,” Andreas says. “Don’t forget who you’re talking to.”

  “Says the one with zero respect for people. Now take a hike!”

  Andreas’ eyes grow wide and dark and I feel the tension increasing. “You’re scaring her, Adrian. Let her go.”

  “Did you pay any attention on Olympus at all, Andreas? Why don’t you ask your crony over there what’s been said? I’m sure Sampson can bring you up to speed as soon as he’s done kissing Philene. Now get the fuck out of my way, unless you’ve got a craving for blood.”

  “Control yourself, Adrian,” Andreas says through clenched teeth. “This is not the way.”

  I have finally managed to free myself and quietly I slip away. Then I’m forcefully yanked back. “Get the hell back here,” Adrian snarls.

  Out of nowhere, Don and Sam fly at Adrian. Adrian stumbles, and takes me with him as he falls. Don hauls me back up.

  “Go home, Laurel,” he says in a commanding tone. “Now!”

  I quickly walk through the basement, and it feels like everyone is watching me. Maude stops me.

  “What’s going on?” she asks rather angrily.

  “What do you mean?” I straighten my dress and push a strand of hair behind my ear.

  “I saw you dancing with Adrian. It looked kind of intimately, or am I wrong?”

  “I think so.” My fingers curl around the curtain.

  “Look at them. All those guys are upset because of you.”

  I glance over my shoulder and see that Sam and Andreas are firmly pressing Adrian against the wall. Don is talking to him. Bastian and Ava are still on the dance floor, and they only have for each other.

  “What’s going on, Laurel?”

  “I don’t know. They suddenly went at each other. I… I’m not feeling well. I need to go upstairs. Please, come home with me.” My eyes beg her.

  “No, thanks. I’m staying.”

  I yank the curtain away and spurt up the stairs. I put my trust in Andreas and can only hope that he will protect Ava and Maude if need be.

  Desperately, I look around. Where is my coat? I couldn’t care less about the coat, but I need it for the car key. I don’t even care if I have to hitchhike—I’m not staying any longer in a house full of volatile creatures.

  I walk into a long hallway and come across a variety of doors. Still panicking, I push one open, but I don’t find a wardrobe. When I try another door, the ground starts trembling and I falter. A chandelier begins to shake dangerously. When the soft wobbling turns into violent careening, I take a tumble to the floor. On the other side of the hallway a cabinet begins to stagger. I try to crawl away from it.

  33

  laurel

  With nothing but willpower I keep my eyes open. It feels like somebody placed stones on my eyelids, and my head feels like it will explode any second. My throat is like sandpaper and the air around me smells sterile. Where am I?

  “Laurel?”

  I let my head fall sideways and look into the face of my stepsister. Her expression tells me I’m more dead than alive. I want to say something, or rather ask something, but I don’t make it past a smacking sound.

  Renee pushes a straw between my dry lips. “Drink some water, Laurel,” she says softly.

  “Am I in a hospital?” My eyes shift away and back again. And back again. Don? He looks the way I feel—wasted.

  “Careful, small sips only,” Renee says like a concerned mother. “You’ve been unconscious for a while.”

  “What?” I try to push myself upright, but then I notice there is an IV needle sticking out of my arm.

  Don gently pushes me back into the pillow. “Please stay down, Laurel. The doctor is on his way.”

  “Why? What happened to me?”

  Renee starts talking. “There has been a minor earthquake. You ended up under a closet and you suffered a concussion.”

  “An earthquake?” I mumble.

  Don pulls out his cell phone and walks to the other side of the room. “Yeah, she’s conscious, but she doesn’t remember any of it.”

  “What is he doing here?” I whisper.

  “Don is the one who found you.”

  “What do you mean, he found me?”

  “He was at the same party as you and they lost you. You said you were going home, but your car was still there.”

  “What party?”

  “Don’t you remember? You borrowed one of my dresses.”

  Don shoves his phone back into his pocket and sits down next to Renee. Worry is etched on his face.

  “Maude’s boyfriend was throwing the party,” Renee explains. “Some guy named Adrian, I believe.”

  A shock ripples through my body. “Adrian? I was at Adrian’s?” I whisper his name. Don carefully watches my face.

  “The party was in his basement,” Don says. “You were there with your friends—Ava and Maude.”

  I look at Don, confused. I was at a party with Ava and Maude at Adrian’s? The descendant of darkness… “Oh no… I have amnesia.”

  “That’s because of your concussion. George already warned us about that,” Don says. “In a lot of cases, people don’t recall what happened before the event. Nothing to worry about, it’s temporary,” he reassures me with a faint smile.

  “George?”

  “Sam’s father.”

  Tears well up in my eyes. “It seems like you’re speaking a different language. I don’t understand anything about what you’re saying. What does Sam’s father have to do with me?”

  “Sam’s father is a surgeon at this hospital,” Don clarifies with a straight face. I suddenly wonder if Don knows that I know everything about their background.

  “Don says he’s one of the best neurosurgeons in the country, so you’re in good hands. He came over here tonight just for you, and you can probably go home tomorrow.”

  “Is everything okay with Ava and Maude?”

  Don nods. “Your friends are fine. Everyone is fine.”

  I heave a sigh of relief. “Does Martin know I’m in the hospital?”

  “Sam picked us up,” Renee says with a soft smile. “He’s getting coffee with Martin right now. They’ll probably be back soon.”

  A man enters the room. He is casually dressed in slacks and a shirt with a pullover. His face seems familiar, but I can’t figure out where I might have seen him. There’s too much chaos in my head for that right now. Don briefly speaks with him, and I see him nod as he glances at me.

  He walks toward me and gives me a reassuring smile.

  “We’ll be right back,” Re
nee whispers, as she and Don walk out of the room. He places his hand on the small of her back.

  “Well, young lady, that’s quite the tumble you took.” He places his hand over mine. “I’m Dr. Laurens.”

  Oh no… “Laurel Harper,” I say nervously. His hand feels surprisingly cold in comparison to his son’s, but then I remember that he isn’t Sam’s biological father. That would be Apollon.

  “How do you feel, Laurel?”

  “Dizzy and nauseated.”

  “You have a concussion. Tomorrow you’ll feel much better.”

  “I was at a party when it happened, but I can’t remember. Did I lose my memory?”

  Dr. Laurens sits down at the edge of my bed. “You didn’t lose your memory. You have a temporary blackout, which is completely normal in head trauma. It’s possible you’ll never remember last night’s event. Your brain is blocking it, but other than that it’s fine. I just looked at your brain scan and it’s looking good. But you did sustain a significant blow to the head, so I’m keeping you overnight for observation and then you’ll be discharged tomorrow.”

  Sam’s father runs some tests, shines a light into my eyes, and measures my blood pressure. He listens to my heartbeat and reassures me again I am hale and hearty. I just can’t believe I’m talking to Sam’s dad. He’s a good-looking, charming man with lush black hair that’s going slightly gray at the temples. He radiates comfort, which is exactly what I need right now.

  “I understand that they called you in for me. I’m sorry, you probably have more important things to do.”

  He smiles. “We have my son to thank for that. Sam is the one who called me in. He must have been really worried about you, because this is the first time he’s ever done something like that.” He looks over his shoulder. “Ah, there he is now, and he brought your father. I’ll go reassure him right away.” He gets up off the bed. “Try to get some sleep, Laurel. I’ll come visit you again in the morning.”

  “Dr. Laurens?” He turns around. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome, Laurel.”

  A few moments later Martin walks in. “Dad.”

  “Hey, sweetie.” He carefully embraces me. “I can’t leave you alone for one moment, can I?” He puts a bag on the ground. “Mia packed some things for you. I hope it’s okay.”

  “Is everything okay with you and Mia after the earthquake?”

  “We’re fine—the earthquake was local. You just had the bad luck to be near a closet. Sam informed us immediately after he found out and drove us here.”

  “Should I be worried?”

  “No, we just had a good conversation with each other. Everything is all right. I misjudged him.”

  I stare at him openmouthed. “You did?”

  Martin smiles. “I did. He’s very mature for his age, and he knows his responsibilities.’

  I narrow my eyes. “Does the fact that his father is one of the best neurosurgeons in the country have anything to do with that?”

  Martin laughs. “Well, that fact certainly doesn’t hurt. I just spoke to Dr. Laurens in the hallway. You’re going to be just fine.”

  We chat some more until my temples start pounding. Martin walks away and joins Sam and Don. Renee takes my hands into hers. “Tomorrow you’ll come home, and I’ll take care of every little thing for you,” she says firmly. “We’ll go now so you can get some sleep—you need it.” She looks over her shoulder. “I believe Sam is staying a little while longer.”

  “Then how will you get home?”

  “Don will take us home.”

  “Don? As in… Don?” I whisper. “The guy you didn’t even want to serve steak?” From the corner of my eye, I see Don react. Sam starts to laugh. Martin, not aware of all the activity and energy fields around him, rigidly keeps talking.

  Renee embraces me. “Hey, if he rescues my little sister, something about him has to be good, right?”

  I look at her, unsure. Then I glance sideways and see that Don has a big smile on his face. I know that they’re eavesdropping.

  When they’re all gone, Sam grabs one of the chairs and sits down. With his lips pursed together he looks at me. An image of Sam and Philene holding each other flashes before my eyes.

  “I have five minutes, or I get into trouble with the nightshift. How do you feel, Laurel?”

  I feel like I was dragged to hell and back by my hair, but I keep that information to myself. “I don’t remember a thing.”

  He nods. “I’ve heard.”

  “Your father is nice.”

  Sam smiles. “Good.”

  “Isn’t it a bit extravagant to bother a top neurosurgeon for a scan and some tests?”

  “I would’ve preferred to help you myself, but for a host of obvious reasons, I couldn’t. George was the second best option.”

  “Are you saying you could’ve helped me?”

  He looks at me, offended. “In the regular way and in the… alternative way.”

  “The alternative way? You’re making me curious.”

  “I bet.”

  “I’m in a hospital bed, Sam! You don’t get to be mean to me.”

  He smiles. “Then let me put it this way—tomorrow you wouldn’t have been eating your father’s bread.”

  A shockwave goes through my body. “You mean that I would be imm… imm…” I am so shocked that I can’t even utter the bizarre word. “You can make me… immortal?”

  “But I never will, so forget about it.”

  “But how?”

  “Just leave it alone, Laurel,” he says gruffly.

  Sam’s moods are as unpredictable as the weather—sunny and warm one moment and a hailstorm with heavy winds the next. “Do you think I’ll be able to sleep now?”

  “It would be better for you. Please, I don’t want to talk about it. I wasn’t being serious.”

  “But can you do it, or not?”

  “There are countless other ways to save someone before condemning them to eternity.”

  “Would you do it, Sam? For me?” I press on.

  Silence fills the room.

  “I would do it if I had my back against the wall.”

  Our gazes meet and hold. Briefly, I wonder what it would be like if I could go through life without a care in the world—immortal.

  “Don’t do that,” Sam softly says, already guessing my thoughts.

  “Renee just said that Maude is seeing Adrian,” I whisper. “Is she in trouble?”

  “No, and he’ll most likely forget about her in no time. I don’t want you to worry about anything, especially not Maude.”

  “Were you at the party, too?”

  “Yes, we all were.”

  “I don’t understand how Maude and Adrian could have met.”

  Sam sighs and pulls his chair closer. “You know Adrian has an obsession with you. He would do anything to get near to you. I’m not sure what his plan was tonight, but my best guess is that he…”

  “That he what?”

  “That he wanted you to see me with Philene.”

  “Did I?”

  Sam nods. “Yeah, you saw us.”

  I lower my head, and Sam reaches for me hand. “Try to get some sleep. I have to go.”

  With his thumb, he strokes the back of my hand. The familiar tingling sensation makes me want to smile just as it wants to make me cry. “I’m sorry, Sam. I’m sorry I was there. I know you forbid me to come near him.”

  His face softens. “It’s not your fault, Laurel. You were lured there under false pretenses.”

  “So you’re not mad at me?”

  He stops his stroking. “Mad does not cover it. Furious, disappointed… All kinds of emotions passed through me when I saw you there. Then our eyes met and…” He closes his eyes. “You were so terrified of me last night, Laurel. I saw it, I felt your fe
ar for me and I’m disgusted with myself because of it. But you have to believe me.” He opens his eyes again. “It was the urge to protect you that took control of me.”

  I laugh sourly. “I don’t remember anyway.”

  “You really don’t remember a thing, do you?”

  “Nope. I experience an earthquake for the first time in my life, and I can’t even remember.”

  “Well, maybe that’s a good thing. It’s not a pretty sight to see him like that.”

  “Him?”

  “Don.”

  “What do you mean? I was talking about the earthquake.”

  “Yeah, me t…” Sam looks at me, puzzled. “Laurel, the earthquake… you do know that it was Don, right?”

  I feel the blood drain from my face when I understand what he’s getting at. Not for a single moment did I make the connection to Don’s father, Poseidon. I throw off the sheets and try to climb out of bed. Sam jumps to his feet.

  “What the hell you think you’re doing?” he asks surly.

  “Renee, Martin… He’s taking them home. I have to…”

  “You don’t have to do anything except lay down!” Sam guides me back to the bed. “You got crushed by a closet, Laurel! You have a major concussion. I really want you to take this seriously, or I’ll have you restrained to the bed.”

  I look up at him. “You wouldn’t!”

  He looks back at me with dark eyes. “Just watch me.”

  “My family is in danger. I have to warn them.”

  “Look at me!” He tucks his hand under my chin and turns my head toward him. “Renee and Martin are safe. Listen to me for a change, Laurel, and try to understand. I know it’s hard for you,” he adds softly. “Don caused those quakes, mild quakes, to create a commotion with all the people there. You were on your way home, and Adrian was threatening to come after you. We couldn’t control him any longer. He would’ve never let you go, Laurel, not when you were so close to him. Don didn’t have any other choice. He wanted to protect you.” His expression intensifies. “Your family is not in danger with Don. Say that you understand, Laurel. I won’t leave until I know for sure that you understand, even if that means I have to stay here all night. You will understand, dammit!” he says, agitated.