The Guardian (The Guardian Book 1)

by Paula Stephanie Grogan

  Rowan watched her sleep every night, sometimes she would sleep easy, other nights she would wake up screaming. Her powers were coming to her and her abilities would be blooming soon. As she neared her eighteenth birthday her nightmares would get worse, as the evil started homing in on her.

  On the opposite side of the world plans were already set in motion, the vampires had assembled a plan and knew exactly how they would execute it. In a large plantation house on the outskirts of Houston lived a coven of vampires. It was night and coven had all awoken. The eldest vampire Marcus had a vision. In his vision he saw the chosen one, and the life she had lived so far on earth and what he was meant to do next.

  He got up from his lavish bed in his pitch-black room and walked out past the guard who stood in front of his door, the guard still following he headed to the executive desk in his meeting room.

  “I need Demetrious, he said to his guard.” “I will send for him, sire.” Marcus sat in front of his desk and began drawing a picture of the man who attacked Coura, the chosen one, when Demetrious walked in the room.

  “Sire,” the handsome vampire with dark hair and an olive complexion said. He bent down and kissed the elder vampire on the hand. “Please take a seat; I need to speak to you about something. Demetrious, I am sending you Orange, Texas. I have a little friend that we need to turn, and I would rather use him then one of our own for this expedition.”

  “What is the plan sire, I will do anything you ask of me?” He said with his head down not daring to look into his sires’ eyes.

  “I need you to collect someone for me. His name is Steve Matheson he has been sentenced to a year in a military camp in Orange. He is going to be a great value to me if we can turn him. He has a strong motivation to get to the chosen one, or so I have interpreted I believe that we can use him to our advantage. I want you to break him out of prison, make him one of us, and train him to kill. He will do the rest on his own, I have seen it happen.”

  Demetrious went around and gathered his tools and left the house. He got to Orange before daylight and buried himself in the ground in the woods by the Military encampment. When sunset came the next evening, he did what he was ordered to do. He watched from the woods and waited for a guard patrol around the property. It was getting colder and feeling so much better; the guard had just lit a cigarette and started walking around on his patrol.

  The guard took a deep drag of his cigarette and blew out. He really hated his job, and couldn’t wait to get home, and smoke some weed. He was planning on his next female endeavor, when Demetrious attacked him. “Hey there,” he said. The guard flipped around, and Demetrious flew on him from nowhere. The man barely had time to exhale as his blood was being drawn from his neck. The man ripped him-self from the death like grip hold. The guards flesh torn blood squirting everywhere. The guard pulled his gun and fired, that really pissed Demetrious off and he flipped over guard’s body hands twisting his head, and his neck snapped in one solid clean movement.

  Well I’m not going to get to wear that uniform he chucked to himself plan B. He walked straight to the side gate and flew over the barbed wire fence. He walked up to the third bunker and he stopped and listened. He did not hear the slightest heartbeat so he knew it would be safe to continue. He made his way to the office, and got the registration information, and schedule. Then with the information he located where Steve Matheson should be on the campus. It appeared that he was on his way to cell from showers. The showers were located across the field from where he was at. He closed the book he was looking at and headed out in search of his conquest.

  Demetrious found Steve Matheson. Just as Steve rounded the corner three armed guards appeared from behind the barracks. In no time rendered, Demetrious had three guards knocked senseless and was able to have Matheson out before the major authorities knew what was going on.

  “Who are you?” Steve asked the man who was breaking him out. “There is no time for introductions right now we need to get you to a different location and fast.” Demetrious picked Steve up by the collar of his jump suit and hopped over the fence with him. Then holding onto Steve, he ran through the forest at great speed.

  “Oooh my god! He screamed who……. I mean whaaaaat thee… the hell are you!!!!!” Steve knew this was not a normal person, he was moving too fast. Finally, the scenery changed and they were in a city called Newton, Texas. The population was like zip. There was only one store, Brookshire Brothers, two gas stations, Pawn shop and a dollar general. He took Steve deep in the woods again, through the city and ended up upon a beaten trail that led to an abandoned single wide trailer.

  Demetrious sat Steve down, taking in his surroundings make sure of the security of the area that he had stopped. Steve had barley regained his faculties and tried to regain a train a thought when out of his mouth he pops off at the odd being. “Are you ready to tell me why I have been treated like a rag doll for the last two hours?”

  “Um…ya...no not really.” said Demetrious. Then Demetrious turned and faced Steve and pounced on him. More like flew really, Steve fought desperately, clawing and punching trying to get the man off of him, but he couldn’t. “Let go of me, you” …but he was cut off. As Demetrious drank deeply Steve’s punches got softer, until finally he was at death's door. His strength fading and body completely weekend.

  Demetrious bent down to Steve and bit his own wrist drawing blood from it, drink he said. “No! That’s disgusting,” “Just drink” Demetrious’s wrist had already healed the he heard Steve’s pulse weakening more, he bit his own wrist again and forced Steve to drink. Steve did drink and after a few moments his body started to go into painful spasms,

  “It hurts!!!! Oh, it hurts SOOO bad, please!! Make it stop!” He screamed twisting and turning in pain. His body was changing, his DNA changing evolving making all his weaknesses strengths, his slim arms became muscular and bulky. His poor eyesight cleared, his senses heightened and then his eyes opened.

  A burning thirst hit him hard, and he heard a deer in the woods, he ran, but it appeared as if he was flying, he pounced on the dear like a savage beast his fangs tearing the dear’s skin open and draining him dry. When he was finished, he looked up, he could feel someone staring at him. He got up and heard someone clapping. Good job, Steve,” said Demetrious “you won’t be so hard to train after all.”

  “Where is Coura?” Steve said. “I need her so badly, I felt like I saw her when I was in pain. We were in a place unknown to me and she was there, it was almost real. It was like we were in a dream together.

  Steve had spent many hours prior to his arrest studying Coura, watching her do everything, from taking a shower to sleeping. He had recorded hours of video footage. When she had refused him the night of Prom, something inside him snapped. He became obsessed over her and had to see her at every second of every day. But then her stupid father messed it up when he showed up at the park just as Coura was coming around to him.

  Being in the prison camp was the hardest thing that could have ever happened to Steve, it was like a drug to see Coura and he was having serious withdrawals. Everything in him craved her, and he would do whatever it took to have her. “I think that you have been given a gift of dream projection. It is a rare gift that some of our kind get from time to time.” He furrowed his eyebrows “I don’t understand that. What is dream projection, and what do you mean our kind?” Steve said confused.

  “Dream projection is an ability to focus on one person and then be able to appear in their dreams. It is a strong psychic gift, in which you can change a lot of things, including your appearance, and the desires of others. You can even kill the person that you are focusing on in your dream, if they don’t wake up before they die. The answer to your other question, you are now a child of the night…a vampire and a descendant of the uThukela tribe, and your conquest…the girl in vision, Coura.”

  “The uThukela, the descendants of the children of the night, an ancient vampire clan, were a smart people, they used their talents t
o drive the women of the tribes off and make meals of them. The stupid Natives thought they were being attacked by demon incubi, and they traded their souls to the moon God for the power to protect their people. But the truth was, they were cursed and were forced to become Werewolves.”

  “Similar to our species, they have evolved and can change at will. These are creatures that you must be cautious around. You are now immortal, but these dogs still have the power to take you from existence with one clean bite of their teeth. There is a temporary truce right now with the older wolf clans, but I still must warn you because you can never trust a Wolf. I will train you to protect yourself and then you will be able to fulfill your destiny.” “Why would you do that?” Steve said. “Why would you help me?”

  “I am destined to help you, I have been instructed to do so by my sire, and I will not fail him. You will be trained, and the rest is up to you.” Demetrious looked at Steve, calculatingly. “Tell me more of this Coura you have seen in your dreams?” “Well,” Steve said, “She is my ex-girlfriend. I see her constantly in my mind; she is my every thought and desire. Somehow, I feel that my destiny is her. I know that I must find her and make her love me, I cannot live an eternity without her.” He was pacing around; roughing his hands through his hair. There is something about her that draws me to her. I can’t explain it. It made me do crazy things, things I’m not too proud of and it pushed her away from me. But the thought of being without her is driving me insane, she hates me now. But I will be damned if I allow anyone else to be with her. I will kill her first.

  Demetrious put his hand on Steve and looked him in the eye “I have been sent to help you get to Coura; she has a special future and has been marked by our kind. The only way you can save her is to kill her. It is my Job to ensure you do so. In this you will not fail.” Steve shook his head. Kill her; he thought to himself would he really be able to do it. Steve felt conflicted but knew that there was nothing that he could do to refuse a direct order from his maker, so he planned to kill her.

  Coura dreamed again but this time was different. She was walking in the woods with tall pines on either side of her. She was following a tight trail of thicket then came to an opening and there in the distance. Along the flowers in the meadow was the man from her previous dreams. He stood there looking at her, with seductive eyes. He was wearing a black v neck t-shirt and tight whitewashed jeans. The man looked like he came out of advertisement for American eagle. He was stunning. So young, and yet old, his eyes were like those of someone who has experienced life and has come to know the truths in it, like he could stare into the depths of her soul and charm the existence from her.

  Then suddenly he was upon her. Looking into her deep brown round eyes, he moved so fast, so unusually fast. He whispered my love, and as she turned to face him, he grabbed her in his arms and laid a gentle kiss on her lips. She pulled back; fear consumed her. Her instincts array, heart pounding words barely escaping her mouth. “Is this real?” She stuttered, “Or is this just another dream?”

  “I am as real as you are and yet my being is another thing entirely.” His chilled cold hands gently caressed the side of her face. She was drawn to him like a moth to a flame a strong want came from deep inside of her and as it was about to reach the boiling point, he was gone.

  Unknowingly even to her subconscious, Coura cried out for Keric in her sleep after the nightmare had left her. She was moaning and crying, begging him to come back. Although she would have no recollection of it, she cried for the loss of him. Rowan felt his heart break at the sight of Coura in pain. He felt his heart soften toward Keric. I get it now, why Keric would sacrifice his soul to protect her and how easily he fell in love with her, he thought to himself. I have been too hard on him. He realized this because he too was finding himself developing feelings for the first time in a very long time. There was something about Coura that could melt the armor of the iciest heart, even one as wounded as Rowans.

  Rowan had fallen in love with a young bride named Elisa who had already taken on a husband for herself. When he met her, she was at a debutant masquerade ball she caught his eye immediately. Unfortunately for Rowan he didn’t know she was married when they met, or the following months after. Being a young man in the 17th century he did what all men do, he courted her. Never knowing the truth until one night at her estate, her husband walked into the room as the couple lay there in bed. Rowan would have been killed that night if it not for fast action. Elisa’s husband Robert was furious to find another man in his bed. What Robert didn’t know as he pulled out his gun on Rowan was that he too was furious, but more than that he was hurt. Still though, he was able to think clearly as the gun fired and moved out of the way just in time. Unfortunately for Elisa the shot didn’t miss her. She was killed instantly. Lying in her adulterous body bore for both her husband and her lover. Robert was engulfed with so much grief and turmoil that it gave Rowan leave to escape.

  The days following Elisa’s death were hard for him, and he focused all his energy on never loving again. When he was offered the position of guardian a few nights later he went leaving behind everything of his old life, and not feeling again. Well, that was until he was called to replace Keric with Coura. Rowan was annoyed at Keric’s blunder, how could he have fallen in love with his charge, a stupid human girl, it was beneath them; he thought to himself. But after being with Coura, seeing her night and day, knowing everything about her, it somehow melted the wire gates that wound his heart.

  Rowan knew even though he was beginning to develop feelings for Coura that he would never be with her. His love for her was in more of a big brother’s protective way, then any passion filled desire. But she did warm his heart, with her innocence, and maybe one day because of her he too could find love.

  Rowan had watched the darkness slink in through Coura’s mind. No matter what he did, he couldn’t find a way to stop it. He knew that whatever it was, it was not a normal dream or nightmare. Usually when Coura slept she had a soft gold glowing aura. But tonight, it burned a bright read, and when the unknown darkness seeped in it almost turned blood red.

  Rowan knew that her presence was now known to the Elders, it was the only way to explain that kind of spiritual attack. The tribes of Elders wanted to do away with her and prevent her from fulfilling The Prophecy. Keric was right, I may be a good guardian but the only way to help protect her is by working with him. Rowan thought to himself. He left Coura to her dreams and flashed away thinking deeply of Keric who had returned to Louisiana before Coura came to live with her dad.

  Chapter 5

  Keric did not tell the Elders of the local Werewolf council that he was there to watch over Skye. Keric wished to remain veiled in hopes that he would draw less attention. If the Elders were to hear there was a guardian watching over someone, in the area they would come in full force, and attempt to kill whomever he was protecting. Although he did not enjoy being away from Coura and often felt jealous of the time that Rowan had watching over Coura, he knew deep down that it was the way things had to be. Keric was dedicated no matter who his charge was and watched over Skye Longleaf with all the protection he would have bestowed on Coura.

  Doubt filled Keric, he felt like being pulled from Coura was more than punishment. It was like having teeth pulled without any Novocain. His heart was torn. He had begun to doubt the wisdom of his separation from Coura. But watching over Skye let his mind wonder from her and concentrate on what needed to be done to protect him. Keric was bored mostly, Skye didn’t do much. He either spent his time at work or at the Cliffs with his friends. Skye seemed normal like every other teenager on the planet. Keric was beginning to think that his assignment was a joke until he saw Skye in combat training. One of Skye’s opponents in the first round got angry that he had won and during the second Archery test tried to shoot Skye when his back was turned. Keric saw what the kid was going to do and was able to intervene. The shot missed Skye within inches. Keric had called the wind element and it blew the arrow from it
s path from Sky, to the butt cheek of their chief master instructor Mathious.

  The instructor was a portly warrior, with a high and tight haircut. Tattoos and scars all over his face, arms and legs. Mathious was a renowned warrior of the tribe. He worked diligently with the tribe. But even being the most feared warrior, everyone still burst out laughing as his girlish screams filled the air, running in circles screaming about what dumbass shot him. Even Keric laughed, but the prick that shot him really got it once the arrow was out. When the next lesson came along Skye really outplayed everyone who participated. Skye had been playing capture the prisoners. The Prisoners just happened to have their choice of weapons to fight their capturers with, while their capturers were allowed none. When the game began Skye got into back-to-back combats with three of his opponents. The prisoners each had chosen a sword and were simultaneously trying to attack. Skye out maneuvered each one. He used a finely tuned roundhouse kick and knocked his last opponent out, before returning to his pack mates, and assisting them in their captures. When all was said and done, Skye had hog tied and captured 10 opponents’, and was the titleholder of that game.

  Keric knew, from watching Skye battle that he had been wrong in doubting him. Sometimes the greatest warriors come from the strangest of people. Keric had been in many battles over the centuries and recognized the gleam in Skye’s eyes. He had the fire, the passion, and the skills to become a great warrior. Keric then understood why Skye had to be the one to couple with Coura. She needed a warrior, one who belonged to her in both heart and soul. With that knowledge Keric let a piece of the hostility that he had inside go, he saw the wisdom in this match and decided then not to be a hindrance. Sometimes if you Love someone, truly love someone you must be willing to let them go. And that is precisely what Keric planned to do, no matter how much it hurt him to do it.