by M. R. Polish
“Esmerelda…” he hesitated.
“What? No Princess?” I jested with a smile.
He stopped walking and looked at me. “I have to tell you something. If something goes wrong with this spell or even after, I want you to know.”
He was never this hesitant with me before, and it caused my heart to speed up. What was wrong?
“I love you. With every fiber of my being. I have loved you for years. Since I was eight I’ve had dreams of you. I can’t live without you and I need you to choose me.” He still held my hands in his, and his eyes searched my wide ones.
He’s dreamed of me? He loves me? Choose him? My heart pounded. This wasn’t making my decision any easier.
“Please say something, anything,” he pleaded.
I opened my mouth to speak, unsure of what I would actually say, then Jarak came into the small clearing where we stopped. “Es, what are you doing outside the perimeter?” He looked at Ian and then at our hands. “I see.” His jaw went tight, and he marched closer.
“Jarak, it’s not what you think.” Tears blurred my vision. This was certainly not how I pictured this day going. I had enough on my plate, and this was just added crap.
“Oh it’s not? Then please tell me because I’d love to know.”
Ian squeezed my hands, and I understood. Somehow I could feel his thoughts, not hear them, but feel them. He didn’t want me to tell Jarak what he’d just told me. He had nothing to worry about. I wasn’t about to share that with anyone just yet.
“How about we start with you. Why don’t you tell her your secret?” Ian let me go and stood in front of me just a little.
Jarak’s face paled, which caused my heart to plummet. Secret? What secret?
“Why would you bring that up brother?” Jarak’s nostrils flared as he spoke.
“She has the right to know, especially before she brings her back to life!”
Okay, now they really got my attention. “What is going on? Jarak, what is he talking about?”
I watched his adams apple bob as he swallowed deeply. “Julie and I were together once.”
“Wait a minute, you and Julie? But that would mean you’re… You’d have to be…” I looked at Ian. “What is he saying?” I was ready to hyperventilate, and I could feel the world around me start to spin.
“He is a lot older than you think. We both are… I left home early, but that was back in 1946.”
I did the math in my head quickly. “Oh my God! That means you’re at least eighty years old! How is that possible? I thought Guardians weren’t immortal unless they were gifted or bonded with an immortal.” My head spun. I couldn’t begin to fathom what they were saying.
“We aren’t immortal unless we choose to be with one forever, a bonding so to speak. Guardians however, age at a slower rate than humans so we have a longer life span.”
All I could feel was animosity toward Jarak. I was angry at him for lying to me and the surprise of it all. I stepped in front of Ian, swung my fist, and hit Jarak in the face, “Why would you lie to me? I thought we had something going. You jerk! Is this why you seriously wanted to be with me? So you can save your long lost, dead girlfriend?”
He stepped forward, his arms reached out for me. “No, it’s not like that. At least not now. I love you.” He tried to hold my hands, but I pulled away.
“What do you mean at least not now?”
“I mean, at first when I found out you could awaken her… but then I got to know you and all of that changed. Please, Es, you must trust me on that.”
I backed up. “I can’t trust you right now.” As if things weren’t confusing enough. I threw my arms in the air and stomped off away from both of them. What would happen once I awakened Julie? Would things go back the way they left off?
“Princess, wait up.”
I didn’t stop. “I can’t believe this.” I twirled around to face Ian. I walked backwards and brushed the tears off my face. “I can’t believe you’re eighty years old!”
“Esmerelda, I told you Guardians don’t age like everyone else. We both look as if we are in our early twenties, but we’ve lived a long life. I told you the truth when I said I have dreamed of you since I was eight, which is seventy-three years of dreams Princess. I know how I feel about you.”
“Ian I can’t do this right now. You have to understand how confusing this must be for me.”
“I do and I will be patient, but I won’t give up.”
“Whatever.” I turned on my heel and walked back toward the tomb. One problem at a time.
My mom looked up as I stomped back to our circle. “Is everything okay dear?”
“Just old man problems, don’t worry about it.” I sat down on a fallen log close to the tomb.
She smiled, her eyes soft. “So Jarak told you.”
“You knew?” Everyone was against me.
“Honey, I’ve been around longer than they have.” She licked her lips and sat down next to me. “Their grandfather was your dad’s best friend. I watched them grow up. When Jarak and Julie were together, it was different than when he is with you. They both knew she would die, yet he stayed with her anyway… till the end, but I see the way he looks at you, and I think it could be something great.”
“What about Ian?”
“Ian is special. I’ve know for a long time how he feels about you. I think I knew how he’d feel before you were born. He was always around, waiting for you to arrive. Even way before I conceived you. He told me once that he could feel you inside his heart when he was eight, telling me that one day I would have you. It was sweet.”
“So what do I do?” I buried my face in my hands.
She placed her hand on my back and rubbed in small circles. “Only you can choose.”
Ugh, of course she would say that.
“Come on, we should start before it gets any later.”
I followed her into the circle.
“I will start the flames, you concentrate on the wind. We’ll need to set the tomb on fire, consume it in flames. That’s when we can chant the awakening spell, only then can you send forth the flooding waters to cleanse the death from their spirits. Ready?”
I shook my hands out and breathed in deep. I was as ready as I’ll ever be. “Yeah.”
I spotted Ian, Jarak, Ailaina and my dad walking toward us, stopping just outside the circle. Jarak kept his hands clamped together in front of him, and stared at the cement entrance. Of course, he’s just waiting for his girlfriend to walk right out.
Ian, on the other hand, watched me and nodded. He had faith I could do this, but I could feel his anxiety that something might happen to me. It was strange that I could feel his thoughts and not Jarak’s. There was no time to think about it. I needed to clear my head.
Ailaina smiled at me and gave two thumbs up. I grinned back at her while giving her one back.
Luna stood with Hela, Dregan and Maztic, watching off to the side. I knew she would watch out for me. Victor was on patrol, making sure Nicholas couldn’t disrupt the awakening.
I locked eye contact with my mom. We were ready. She raised her arms high up over her head. “I call upon the spirit of fire and ask thee to set a blaze.” At once, all the candles lit with tall flames.
I mimicked her motion with my arms. “Mother Nature hear my call, send the wind this way to blow.”
A gust of wind swarmed all around us and all the flames on the candles roared like torches, pointing directly at the tomb. The wind picked up even more, leaves and branches flew around us like a tornado.
My mom grabbed my hands as the tomb blazed. The heat was intense, and I wanted to run away from it.
“Now Esmerelda!”
I closed my eyes and chanted with her. “Purus justo animae excitandis surgant et nos vivere.”
I wasted no time after saying it three times to bring the water. I needed the heat to subside. It was too hot. I pushed out until I could feel the cool liquid with my powers. I forced them to enter the area, tryi
ng to drench and douse the flames, but when the water got close, it just evaporated in the heat.
“Push harder Esmerelda.” My mom’s voice strained as she continued to chant.
I fought against the heat and pushed the water closer. It wasn’t working. Agh!
“Harder!” This time Ian pushed for me.
My whole body was heavy, and I wasn’t sure how I still stood. With every breath, it became more challenging. The weight of the world thrust down on me. I fell to the ground on my knees.
“I can’t!” I screamed. The heat singed my soul. It was as if I breathed in the inferno tongues that lashed out at me.
Warm liquid trickled from my nose, and I could taste the salty metallic blood as it dripped to my mouth. I can’t do this… There is no way I am strong enough.
Faintly, Dregan’s voice came through to me. “You can do this, use the elements around you, use us, pull from us Esmerelda.”
I did as he said, pulling from everyone outside the circle that I could reach. The wolves, Ian, Jarak, my dad, even Victor and Ailaina. They were all strong and willing to let me pull strength from them. Surges of energy flew through my body until it overflowed.
I reached out for the water and knew what I needed to do. Gathering it all at once, I dumped it on the tomb from overhead, smothering the flames. Smoke wafted from the doused blaze. I coughed and ran out of the circle, gasping for oxygen.
I looked at the charcoal colored cement grave and shivered. It was done. The guys walked past me, except Jarak who still stood staring at the entrance.
“You okay?” My dad’s voice brought me back to the present.
“Hum? Oh, yeah. I’m okay. A little weak though.”
My mom came up behind him and he wrapped an arm around her, supporting her. “It’s to be expected. Big spells like that take a lot out of a witch. You did good though. It’s good that you pulled from the others.”
I smiled at her. She hadn’t needed to pull from anyone, at least I didn’t feel her when I did, and I hoped that one day I could be as strong as she was. “Thanks.”
Ian was at the door, crowbar in hand, prying away. I wanted to laugh but thought better of it. Warm energy filled the circle, and I could feel them alive on the inside.
I reached up and placed a hand on his shoulder stopping him. “Here, let me help.”
Resting my other hand on the door, it was still hot to the touch, but not too hot. I used my powers to unseal it. The grinding of stone on stone sounded, and the door moved. We both moved back and watched as it opened.
Ian put his arm around my waist protectively, pulling me back a little more away from the entrance. The entire woods stood silent in anticipation. I’m not sure any of us dared to breathe as we waited.
Seconds passed, but they seemed like hours. Moriah walked out into the sunlight causing me to jump. I knew they were supposed to be alive, but it scared me to see it happen. She looked just like before. Her long golden hair lay in waves down her back, and she had on a long, beautiful silver dress with black trim.
She smiled once she saw me. “You did well Esmerelda.”
I was speechless, not sure what to say exactly.
The other four came out behind her. They also looked the same as in my dream. All of them wore dresses similar to Moriah’s, only different colors. As soon as I spotted Julie, my eyes darted to Jarak to watch his reaction.
My heart broke as he smiled at her. His eyes only on her. She wasted no time and embraced him, he held her tightly, and I swore I saw a tear fall from his eye. She buried her face in his neck and spoke in sobs that I couldn’t understand from where I stood.
Ian pulled me closer to him. “Are you okay?”
I nodded and wiped the drying blood from my nose. “Yeah. Just fine.”
Tamlynn came over and hugged me. “Thank you so much. That wind was marvelous. I am tremendously proud.”
This was too weird. They didn’t look as if they spent almost nineteen years buried in a tomb.
It was Gabriella’s turn next. Her mesmerizing blue eyes sparkled. “Sometimes water can be a tricky element, and it’s always surprising, but I knew you could do it.”
My mom hugged Valis. They looked as if they’d been friends forever. As far as I knew, they had been.
Jarak and Julie finally broke off their embrace, and she walked toward me. I cringed inwardly. I owed her so much, but I was upset about Jarak. How was I supposed to like her?
I managed to hug her back, but it was brief, and I pulled away quickly.
“Esmerelda I have waited so long to actually meet you. You sure have grown up.”
Ugh, just the way she talked made me sick. It also reminded me of how much Jarak lied to me about his age, making the nauseous feeling worse. I tried my best at a smile, but failed miserably. I averted my gaze and found Jarak watching me. I wasn’t sure what he thought at that moment, but I didn’t care.
“Now that we are all reunited, maybe we should talk. I know that’s fast, but I don’t think we have a lot of time where Nicholas is concerned. His followers are growing in number, and it won’t be long before our kind is all but gone.” My dad gathered us together with his words. He was right. We didn’t have a lot of time, and wasting it on someone else was not in the plans.
“What about Nicholas? We should find a place safe enough to talk.” Julie spoke up. She stood close to Jarak and held his hand. The sight made me feel even worse.
“This is about as safe as we’re gonna get.” I stared at her, almost tempting her to go against me. “I’ve set up a perimeter that even he can’t get through.”
“Well, you had a hard time with the water. I’m just saying maybe I should go behind you and make sure it’s strong enough.”
The nerve of that woman! Seriously? I just awakened this witch from death, and she had the audacity to say that? All my muscles tightened as I fought the urge to rip out her eyes. Ian grabbed my hand and pulled me next to his side. “Shh… later Princess, not right now,” he whispered close to my cheek.
Clenching my jaw, I spoke through my teeth. “Do you what you want, but I assure you that it’s strong enough.”
“Girls, let’s just think about what we need to do.” Jarak stepped forward between us but hesitated a little more in front of her. It had better be to protect her because I knew I sure as hell didn’t need protection from his little witchy poo.
“Jarak’s right, we need help with a Reaping Spell.” My mom bent over to pick up a candle, placing it in her bag.
I folded my arms over my chest and planted my feet firmly on the ground. “I say the sooner we do this, the sooner we can get on with our lives.”
“I agree,” Ian said.
Ailaina spoke up, “Me too.”
“It takes a while to perform one, you know this Adonia. After you both rest, we can try. It might take more than one time.” Valis looked over at me. “Not because of you Sweet. It takes a lot out of the elements and spirits as well. A spell this large will take time. We have to have the spell reach everyone who’s been cursed.”
A new realization hit me. Everyone who Nicholas cursed? How was I to push a spell over the whole world? How would I know who was cursed? I slumped down to the ground and wedged my head in between my raised knees. “How?” I asked no one in general.
“That is why you need us. Your mother is the oldest, wisest witch still alive and,” Moriah pointed to each of the newly arisen witches. “We are the most powerful when together. No other witch has ever been comparable to our strength. In unison, we will be able to uncurse those made into crossbreeds by Nicholas’s evil.”
I now fully understood why we needed them. There was no way I could do this myself, even if I was the one they gave their powers to. “Wait a minute, how are you supposed to help if you gave me your powers?”
Moriah smiled at me. “A touch of your magic ignited ours during the awakening, giving them back to us. It’s something we knew would happen.”
“You knew? How?”
Tamlynn spoke this time, “We were given visions of this part of life before you were born by our Seers. That is when we were given the vision to give you our powers, knowing we’d get them back.”
I nodded. It was still fuzzy, but I understood. All this witch stuff sometimes drove me crazy. “Why is it that you need me, I mean, why or how am I the only one who can stop and kill Nicholas? If you guys are all so powerful, I don’t understand.”
“In our visions, the way to actually stop the curse of the crossbreeds was through a special witch. One who had all the elements. Together we have them all, but the spirit said only one. We knew it needed to be you. You are the first half-breed, Guardian Witch, and with your parents, it was more obvious than not. We are not sure why the spirit said only one, when it will take all of us to do a Reaping. We have just followed through with it.” Moriah always sounded so wise when she spoke, and right now was no different.
I sighed. I was nowhere near closer to understanding the ‘why me’ part of this equation. I guess we will find out soon. I yawned. It was still early, but I was tired.
“Okay, so we try tomorrow then?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Then I am going to get some sleep. Are we staying here?”
Moriah glanced over each of us. “I think we’ve been here this long, we might as well finish it here. Besides, all the elements are here, making it the perfect place to do a Reaping. Unless Nicholas arrives to ruin our plans, I say stay.”
I nodded in agreement and walked away, letting them talk amongst themselves. They had lots to talk about I was sure, being dead for eighteen years.
I found another blanket in the closet of the room I was using and laid it out on the bed. Although I honestly didn’t want to since I got to use Ian’s chest as a pillow last night, and used his body heat to keep me warm. I smiled at the memory and exhaled loudly.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized I couldn’t be completely mad at Jarak. While we had something fun for a while, it must have been the excitement. We rushed into a relationship while dealing with vampires and death. Ian, on the other hand, I got to know on a different level. While he still irritated the crap out of me, I could honestly say I was falling in love with him. It was a lot different from the love I have for Jarak. There was a deep, warming ache inside of me when I was around Ian. I wanted his touch, I craved his kiss, but most of all, I needed his love. Jarak will always have a special spot in my heart, but I knew he was no longer the one. Tears brimmed on my eyes.
