The Wardens Boxed Set

by Heather D Glidewell

  “Alright,” I said softly. Then I bit my lip and said something I had never thought would come out of my mouth. “Aaron, in a way I know I love you. I just don’t know if it is the same way that you love me.”

  There was a long pause at the other end.

  “That is the best thing I have heard in a long time,” he said at last. “I can go with that. See you tomorrow.”

  He hung up and I lay back on my bed, wanting to slam my head into the wall. What had I done? This was what I got for letting the darkness control me.

  “It wasn’t the darkness,” Shawn said, coming into my room.

  “Huh?” I rolled over as he sat down on my bed.

  “It wasn’t the darkness controlling you. You want to think that it was because it solidifies what you think of yourself. However, everything that you did you did because you wanted to. The darkness inside only controls a small part of you. It may deepen desires, but it doesn’t make you act on them. Now, the fire part…” He sighed. “Yeah, you set the boy on fire. However, it was a protective fire that would not harm him. I suppose it was something that you did in the heat of passion. Thankfully he is convinced now that it was a dream.”

  “You are far more invasive than our father,” I told him reproachfully.

  “Yeah, well, the one thing that Dad has learned over the years is how to ignore the voices in his head and only pick out the ones that matter. I, on the other hand, have an open line to those I care about. I could even hear Aaron, right now, if I chose to.”

  I sat up. “Does he really love me?”

  “He loves you more than you could imagine. Of course, at the same time, his love for you is young. Next week the feelings could disappear.” He shrugged. “I never have grasped the concept of human love.”

  “You know this was never the plan,” I said, looking at my feet.

  “It never is. Wesley was gone, you were lonely, and you did something stupid. The consequence is that you now own the boy’s soul until he wills it to someone else.” Shawn patted me on the leg. “Now my news,” he said.

  “You have news?” I asked, glad to be off the subject.

  “They’re coming.” He smiled.

  “Who’s they?”

  “Edmund, the friend I was speaking of, of course.” He said it as if I should have known that already. “He will be here in the next few hours. I was lucky he was already in the States on holiday. Along the way he will pick up pure strays as he sees fit.”

  “I hope they get here before the other three,” I said quietly.

  “You and me both, sister.” He laughed. “Edmund has never let me down, so we can safely assume they will be here in time.”

  ***

  Shawn did not disappoint regarding his promise. At seven o’clock there was a knock on the door. When I opened it I found a man in his mid-thirties standing there. He had long black hair and pale blue eyes. His skin was as white as milk and looked smooth and satiny. I could feel power pouring off him and I nearly swooned as it swept over me.

  “Edmund! Do come in!” Shawn called as the tall vampire stepped inside.

  I felt the air around me turn cold and I shivered. My eyes were transfixed by vampire’s fluid movement.

  “Have no fear, young one,” he said to me as he walked past me. “I do not wish to die just to have a taste of your blood.” He held out his hand to Shawn. “It has been ages since I have seen you, my friend. Do tell me of the adventures that lie ahead.”

  “Hybrids are trying to demolish the elements. They are taking out the Carriers to weaken the Wardens, then they plan on taking out the Wardens to weaken the pure. It’s somewhat complicated. A woman came to power, calling herself the hybrid queen. We are assuming it is Sheridan, the hybrid love of Xic. Where are the others? You said you were bringing your entire coven.”

  “The others are in the woods behind the property. I figured that it was not smart having thirty vampires outside your house. Not to mention the strong human scent in this area. I haven’t trained them to not follow their first instinct.” He smiled at me. “This your sister?”

  “Yes, this is her.”

  I was still wide-eyed, just staring at this beautiful creature. He had grace and he had power, everything my blood wanted. I could feel the attraction to this man growing with every second he was near me. It didn’t matter that I knew one drop of my blood could potentially kill him. I just wanted to feel his power.

  “She’s a little young,” Edmund said.

  His attraction suddenly plummeted. I didn’t want his grace and power that bad.

  “She is the reason this is happening,” my brother said, smiling at me.

  “Making the wrong friends, huh?” Edmund said, reaching out and touching my face with his cool smooth hands.

  “I want to save my Wesley, but things keep happening,” I said, my eyes locked on his again.

  “Who is this Wesley?” he asked, glancing at Shawn.

  “When Dawn moved here she found herself head over heels for a harbinger, before her and her mother knew that he was what he is. Apparently, Sheridan’s daughter had already laid claim to Wesley. When Dawn made hers, Miranda, or Lilliana, as you may know her, became intent on finding out what Dawn was. When she made the discovery, she ran off with Wesley and severed Dawn’s claim by threatening to kill both Dawn and his family. Afterwards she told the boy what Dawn was. Now she’s got him up in the mountains of New Mexico, creating an army for her mother in hopes that they can overthrow the purebloods and take over the world.”

  Shawn took a deep breath and exchanged a long look with the wide-eyed Edmund.

  “I think I’m just going to talk to her for a moment,” Edmund said, turning to me, “because I have no idea what the Hell just came out of your mouth.”

  I blushed. He was so beautiful.

  “Let me get this straight,” he said. “There is going to be war between the hybrids and the purebloods?”

  “No. Well, maybe. They have to get through the elements first. Right now they are hitting Carriers, mostly those who had no idea that they have the element in their core. They are murdering innocent people before they have a chance to realize what they are.” I tried to ignore the fact that just looking at him made my knees go weak. “So if she can deplete the number of element Carriers she will directly affect the Wardens.”

  “Who are the Wardens?” he asked, his eyes shining.

  “We know of three right now. The fourth won’t be known till the third is resurrected,” I said. God, he was gorgeous.

  “Okay. So Lilliana is sending hybrids and their masters to Midvale to take out the Carriers in order to weaken the Wardens?”

  “Precisely.”

  “And this Wesley is your boyfriend.”

  “Ex-boyfriend, though I still find myself considering him mine,” I said, looking at the ground.

  “Too bad you are the fire Warden. Otherwise you would make an extraordinary vampire,” he murmured, watching me melt.

  “Edmund, my sister is about to have an aneurism. Can you take it easy on her?” Shawn asked, an eyebrow raised.

  “When are these creatures supposed to be here?” Edmund asked, transferring his attention from me to my brother.

  “No clue. Puriel says that it will be tonight. Just not sure when.”

  “Puriel? The angel?” Edmund said, looking suddenly uneasy.

  “Yeah. Puriel is Dawn’s mother.” It really was a bad habit of his, thinking everyone knew as much as him.

  “My, how the mighty have fallen,” Edmund mumbled to himself.

  “Dawn, you might want to call Aaron and tell him to lock his door,” Shawn instructed.

  “Who’s Aaron?” Edmund asked, frowning.

  I just couldn’t take my eyes off him.

  “Her boyfriend.” Shawn said laughing.

  I came back to earth with a jolt, suddenly registering what Shawn had said about Aaron locking his door. “Is he okay?” I
asked in sudden alarm.

  “For now, but I think with everything going on it would be in your best interest to keep him informed, to a point. Anyway, certainly tell him that he needs to lock his door,” Shawn said seriously.

  “How do you know so much about Aaron?” I asked, cocking my head on one side.

  “I know all about Adam, too, but right now I’m not wanting to share with you the thoughts he has in his head,” Shawn said, pursing his lips.

  I looked at my brother and frowned. Something was going on with Adam and he knew it. Whatever it was had to be bad if he wasn’t willing to share with me what was going on in my best friend’s head.

  I pulled my phone from my pocket and dialed Aaron’s number. It rang three times and then I heard the groggy voice of my boyfriend on the other end.

  “Hey, baby,” he said, yawning.

  I lowered my gaze from Edmund’s. “Hey.”

  “What’s up? I figured you would be asleep most of the day.”

  “I had a bad feeling and wanted to check on you. Is your door locked?” I asked, feeling stupid.

  What girlfriend calls her boyfriend and says that he needs to lock his door?

  “It’s always locked. My parents insist. Especially now that my mom is acting so skittish.”

  That reassured me, yet something was still eating at me. And why was his mother acting skittish?

  “Alright. I’m going to let you get back to sleep. I’m so sorry I woke you,” I said softly, turning my back on the group in the living room.

  “Okay, babe. You get some rest, too. I’ll see you in the morning.” He hung up the phone and I turned back to Shawn with a sober expression.

  “The doors are secured.”

  “Good. We don’t have to worry about something happening to him at least.”

  My parents walked through the door a second later. My mother took one look at Edmund and scowled. I could almost hear her repeating how much she hated vampires. Now there was one in her living room, standing between her children. Edmund looked back at her and gave her a toothy smile.

  “Angelina,” he said.

  “Edmund,” she replied.

  My God, did she know everyone?

  A smile spread across my father’s face as he stepped forward and wrapped the tall vampire in an embrace that could only be described as awkward. A cold prickle passed over my body and I shivered. I looked at Shawn and frowned as my phone fell to the floor with a thud. It was the same feeling I had felt earlier.

  They were here.

  Chapter Twenty-Three: Changes

  My mother’s eyes were already white and her lips were twitching. My father seemed to realize as well. I watched as his eyes turned black and a taut smile spread on his face. The same happened with Shawn, as he turned toward the door. Edmund’s eyes went a deep red and his fangs extended further. It was one of the most amazing things I had ever seen. I felt my own eyes burn. I had a nagging feeling that something that wasn’t supposed to be there was standing on my turf. It was our time to save the others. If I could give life to at least one Carrier then my role here was fulfilled.

  We emerged from the house as darkness began to take over the sky. My gaze trailed along the faces of those opposite us across the yard. There they were, the three savage killers. Matthew, with his violet eyes that matched that of the female creature, Penelope, and the smile that matched the other male, Gregory. Gregory hadn’t been created through a bite; he had been created through birth, so in a way I felt like he was a pureblood hybrid.

  “Sie beschlossen, zu zeigen,” I said, smiling as if in friendly greeting.

  “We speak English,” said the woman, with a thick accent that I couldn’t place. She seemed perturbed that I had even attempted to speak to them in anything other than English.

  “My apologies. So. You decided to show,” I said, unsure why I had resorted to German if their primary language was English in the first place.

  “Matthew gave us your message,” Gregory snapped, with venom in his voice.

  “We want to know why you’re killing the town’s people,” I demanded, crossing my arms.

  My parents had my flanks and my brother stood directly behind me. Edmond was standing on the porch, no doubt sending a telepathic message to those in the trees.

  “We were hired,” said the woman, smiling.

  “Who by?” I could feel the cold prickle in my right hand and a dark burning tingle in my left. I was charged with both forms of fire.

  “The queen, of course,” Matthew said, frowning.

  Here we go again with this queen shit…

  “You are pureblood. Why do you stand against us?” Edmund asked as he started to walk forward. “After all the things I did for you in the past, Gregory, you stand with a self-proclaimed hybrid queen. A woman you once vowed to overthrow when she tried to take over your coven.”

  “Sheridan has changed, old friend,” said Gregory.

  “How has she changed? She’s sent you here to destroy the human elements.”

  Edmund passed me and stepped in front of the trio.

  “She will allow us to continue our work,” Penelope hissed, her violet eyes blazing. She was seconds from turning.

  “What work, bitch?” Edmund demanded, snarling at her.

  I raised an eyebrow. Apparently the books I’d read were accurate. Vampires and werewolves were not the best of friends.

  “Both our bloods run in Matthew,” she continued, baring her teeth at the vampire.

  I felt like I could just walk back inside and go to bed. It seemed like Edmund had everything out here under control. Everyone but me seemed to know who he was and recognize his influences over his kind.

  “We came for the element,” Matthew said, pointing at me.

  “I don’t think you’ll get it,” Edmund said, staring down the were-vamp.

  “She’ll go down just like the others. Her blood will satisfy my increasing thirst,” Matthew snarled. He was already in the process of changing.

  Edmund shook his head and frowned. “Be my guest then.” Edmund moved out of the way and motioned to the creature to go past him.

  The moment Edmund stepped aside Matthew lunged for me. I levitated instantly and flames sprang from my fingers. Matthew didn’t stop. He charged ahead, fangs ready to bite. I looked down at him and the overwhelming need to take his soul consumed me. There was nothing this creature could do now that would keep it alive.

  As Matthew went for the bite the eyes of the other two widened as they realized by the flames in my hands what I was. Fear flashed across their faces. Gregory screamed at Matthew to stop but Edmund grabbed him by the throat and threw him to the ground. Penelope transformed into her other body and lunging for my brother as my mother grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and held her so that two of Edmund’s followers could savage her. Matthew, meanwhile, had managed to sink his teeth into my skin. I merely laughed. His body started to tremble and he had a look of utter terror on his face as he started to burn from the inside.

  In the space of a few seconds all three creatures lay dead at our feet. I felt rejuvenated and my body renewed as more power filled my core. Laughing, I soared into the air, higher than I had ever gone before. Flames shot from my fingertips as I looked down on those below me, my family and allies.

  Those who would have murdered us were gone. Midvale was now safe again for the element Carriers. And it would stay that way if I had anything to do with it. By ingesting the power of another I had increased my brute strength and it felt wonderful. Then I was hit with a sudden pain and tumbled back to earth, with a terrible scream.

  “Aaron!”

  Shawn managed to grab me before my head hit the ground. He looked wide-eyed at my father, who took my mother by the arm and pulled her away from me. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion.

  This pain was nothing like what I’d felt when I lost Wesley. This was excruciating. It was like I was witnessing
someone ripping Aaron to shreds and feeling what he was feeling. I could hear his screaming in my head.

  Edmund looked unsure if he should touch me, even though my flame had burnt out. Shawn scooped me up and yelled orders at everyone. There were more than three; I knew it as a cold certainty. There were many others. While these three had come to detain us the rest had ascended on Midvale.

  “Aaron!” I screamed again, struggling to release myself from Shawn’s hold. But my limbs would hardly move. I was frozen rigid, listening to the screaming in my head.

  Shawn put me down on the couch in the living room, then ran back outside, leaving me with a pale-faced woman I’d never seen before. Edmund instructed her to stay with me, explaining that my claim had come under attack.

  I don’t know when I blacked out, but before I did I saw Aaron’s face. They had him pinned to the wall and were biting him, clawing at him, while he screamed for someone, anyone, to come to his rescue. Shawn had told me to tell him to lock his door; now I understood why. I watched him fade and the entire world went dark.

  ***

  I came to in the grass outside Aaron’s house. My mother was standing with her mouth moving, her eyes white, and her hands clasped with my father’s and Shawn’s. They, too, seemed to be speaking. As I stood up I realized what they had done. They had summoned me.

  Fear washed over me as I looked at them and then at the house. The door was broken open and there was blood on the steps. I sprinted up them, ignoring cries for me to stop. As I entered the house I fell over. Aaron was lying in the center of the living room, his eyes closed. He wasn’t moving. Tears streamed down my face as I crawled toward him and threw my arms across his body.

  “It was a distraction,” I heard Shawn saying behind me. “Just in case the three failed, the rest of the pack and coven had orders to take out what mattered to you most.” His hand touched my shoulder.

  I covered Aaron’s body with my own, sobbing helplessly.

  “Dawn, listen to me,” Shawn insisted. “We called you here so you could see he wasn’t dead.”

  It took a few seconds for his meaning to filter into my brain. Then I looked up at him. His mouth was a thin line and his eyes were glistening with tears, but he nodded at me encouragingly.