The Wardens Boxed Set

by Heather D Glidewell

  “Because I do love you, Wesley! But if all you see when you are with me is her then my heart will remain my own,” I said, looking around in the dark.

  “You will be with me,” he said, grabbing my hand. “The visions show it, clear as day. You will be with me.”

  “Maybe one day, but for now I think I just need to be with myself. Like you said, I have some severe codependency issues.” I turned on my heel and I left him standing outside, looking at the stars.

  During the whole conversation that I had with Adam and Wesley I knew I was only hurting myself. Maybe that was what I needed to get through this whole mess. I just needed to take a few moments to step back and assess my life. Wesley was right – I had a track record forming and I needed to stop it before I came around full circle.

  “Honey?” my mother asked as I absent-mindedly walked by her on a quest to get to my bed.

  “Mom, I thought you were sleeping?” I asked, my head turning slowly towards her as I brought my feet to a stop.

  “I thought maybe you would want to talk about what happened while you were gone.” She took a few steps towards me and stopped. It was like I made her edgy.

  “Watch this,” I demanded as I turned around and faced the vase that held the lobby’s flowers. Placing my hands on both sides of the object, I watched as the water changed from clear to the thickness of blood. “No, I’m not OK. I’m not ready to really talk about it either.”

  My mother’s hand waved and the blood returned to water. I hung my head. Of course, this was a gift that had been passed to me by my mother. In the Bible, water had been turned to blood. I guess if God used the spell once it was a keeper.

  “I can also turn wine into blood,” she said, taking a few more steps forward.

  “At least the vampires won’t go hungry.” I tried to joke but it came out flat.

  “Mona told me. All the things that you can do.” My mother grabbed my hands and held them firmly in hers. “You are everything He hoped you would be.” A tear ran down her cheek.

  “Who, Mom?” I wanted to hold her.

  “God,” she said simply and pulled me into probably the tightest hug I have even been in.

  “Well I’m glad I didn’t disappoint him. However I have a brother to talk to and a friend to apologize to,” I said as she pulled away from me.

  “You know we love you, right?” she said, smiling.

  “You and Dad, yeah I would hope so.” I tucked my hands in my pockets and turned towards the stairs.

  “I meant all of us. Your extended family. Those that believe in you. We all love you.” My mother looked sad. It almost felt like she was saying goodbye.

  “I will see you in the morning, Mom,” I said taking a step up the stairs. She just stood there and watched me climb until I no longer felt her eyes penetrating the back of my head.

  ***

  “So it wasn’t as bad as you thought it would be?” Shawn asked as I pulled my hair out of its tie and shook it loose.

  “No, I wouldn’t say bad. I mean I wouldn’t say great either.” I reached over and pulled a piece of orange off the fruit on my plate.

  “John has the hots for you doesn’t he?” He made a kissy face at me and I felt cold.

  “You know, it is incredibly odd. The only power he ever neutralized was the fire. I could do everything else freely in his presence.” I crossed my legs and looked at my brother.

  “Probably because you aren’t its protector. The fire is your main power. The others are like special gifts from our parents. I have Dad’s super amazo mind reading. You have your mom’s odd and disgusting water to blood gift.” He laughed as I reached over and punched him on the arm.

  “I can sense when the possessed are near and you can summon the dead,” I pointed out and he looked at me, lost.

  “Oh, you mean my mother,” he laughed. “What a pair we make, Dawn. Does make me wonder what Dad was thinking when he named us.” He shook his head.

  “Do you mean the whole Shawn and Dawn thing?” I asked.

  “Yeah. I know he stayed below ground in the sixties so I’m pretty sure it has nothing to do with freedom of love and expression.” Shawn seemed perplexed by the meanings of our names.

  “He could very well have done it by accident,” I said, leaning back against my headboard.

  “Who knows? Dad is an odd duck,” Shawn said, an odd accent running from his lips.

  “You’ve been all over the world haven’t you?” I asked, looking at him. He glanced up at me with those big brown eyes and smiled.

  “Most continents I did a decent stint of time in. I could only go a few weeks in Antarctica; that was just too cold even for me.” He laughed. “I have picked up dialect everywhere I have been.”

  “Where is your favorite place to be?” I asked him. I wanted to know the world, to see it the way that Shawn had.

  “Right here with you,” he said, smiling. “I was mad at Dad for a while after hearing that you were born and that he was raising you, because he never raised me. You know what, though. I am looking forward to walking the world for another five hundred years with you.”

  “I say as soon as the war is over we just start bouncing around the globe. I’m sure we can find things to do. Maybe get rid of some of the possessed or even fight the remaining soldiers, ridding the earth of Sheridan’s evil plots,” I said, swiping my hand back and forth like I was using a sword.

  He looked at me with an odd expression.

  “Your birthday is in two days,” Shawn said changing the subject.

  “Yeah, what of it?” I asked, taking another bite of my orange.

  “You will be nineteen.” He stretched out his legs, kicking me in the hip in the process.

  “Yes I will. Not that it matters, I will see the same nineteen year-old face for the next hundred years,” I sighed. “What’s the point in celebrating a birthday when you aren’t going to actually age?”

  There was another awkward silence.

  “London,” he said sadly, looking at the bedspread.

  “What does that have to do with the price of tea in China?” I asked, confused by the outburst.

  “You asked me my favorite place. It’s London.” He picked at a loose string and stood to leave the room. “It’s past your bedtime. Tomorrow is a long day of getting you back into the flow of life around here. I have a full day of rehabilitating Wesley and avoiding Adam.”

  “How did he figure it out?” I asked before Shawn could leave my room.

  “I had to tell him. He would wake up in the middle of the night not knowing where he was. You are rooted deep in his soul. I should have seen that.” Shawn turned and, in a cloud of smoke, he was gone.

  I sat on my bed for another hour, playing with my phone and eating my orange. I wanted to talk to Adam but I knew that right now was probably not the best time. I stood up and turned out the light before covering myself beneath the thin blanket and staring at the ceiling. Wesley was safe, for now.

  Chapter Seven: Murder at the Oasis

  “How is everyone this morning?” I asked my warriors as we stood in the field on a windy summer morning.

  “Rather tired,” one of my firevamps said, winding his finger into his pendant.

  “Long night, huh?” I asked.

  “Hunting is becoming more difficult right now.” He looked at the ground. I could tell he was thirsty, his eyes were redder now than they had ever been in my presence.

  “Paul, right?” I asked the boy. He nodded at me, telling me that I was correct. “Meet me after drills.”

  He looked at me, confused, but agreed to the idea.

  “All right, I need everyone to pair off into their respective groups. Wow me.” They did as instructed, working on their routines.

  Kelly approached me slowly, watching those around her.

  “Nice to have you back,” she whispered as she turned to look at the group.

  “Where’s your partner?”
I asked slowly.

  “I don’t know. He was here last night but this morning he was nowhere to be seen,” she said, shrugging. “Sometimes the blessed ones take walks in the evening. The whole ‘one with nature’ mumbo jumbo.”

  “Is this normal for him?” I asked, trying to keep our voices from the earshot of the group.

  “No, not at all. He was coming of age, so I have a feeling he was wanting to impress his mother.” She didn’t seemed too concerned that one of our own was missing.

  “Do you know where they like to go?” I asked, pulling her further away.

  “Yeah, there is a creek about ten acres back, surrounded by trees. The blessed ones have used it for their rituals. Most recently to enhance the protection spells that are around the place.” Kelly was very knowledgeable in the comings and goings of the people on the property. I was impressed, to be honest. I knew that I had left things in capable hands.

  “Do you mind taking over from me for a few minutes?” I asked her, glancing at Shawn and Minerva.

  “Yeah. You going to check it out?” she asked, her eyes sparkling. I knew she was happy I was back but did she truly expect me to think she didn’t enjoy the power?

  “I think I should. If it is not normal for him to be late then something had to have happened,” I said, waving my brother and his partner over.

  “Understandable. What do you want me to do after drills?” she asked before walking away.

  “Whatever you did while I was gone.” I winked at her and she nodded. She passed Shawn and Minerva on her way back to the group.

  “What’s going on?” Shawn asked, looking over his shoulder at Kelly.

  “Her partner didn’t show up this morning. She said something about the blessed ones and walking with nature.” I closed my eyes, wishing I could figure things out more easily. “What is a ’blessed one’?”

  “White magic. Many of them have an element core in their soul,” Shawn said, narrowing his eyes like I was supposed to know the terminology for the people living at the compound.

  “OK,” I shrugged. “Makes sense.”

  “The creek is a few acres back. You want to retrace the steps and see if he’s back there. Could have fallen asleep. The power very well could have drained him if he was working on his spells. He is at the age for the right of passage,” Minerva suggested, pointing towards the field that Krista practiced in.

  “Yeah,” I agreed as the three of us began the walk to the blessed ones’ little oasis.

  We passed Krista and her team of wind troops without even so much as drawing attention to ourselves. I was going to have to remind her of the importance of watching the world around her. We might be on protected land but at any time the protection spells could wear off, leaving us vulnerable.

  “It’s just right up there,” Minerva pointed to a group of trees. I could hear the creek as it babbled in the distance.

  We weren’t prepared for what we came upon. I should have known from the smell in the air that something was wrong. Lying face down in the creek was a boy of about sixteen. He wasn’t moving and his body was already starting to show signs of decay. One of the perks of being non-human I suppose. Your body became one with the earth before that of a mortal man.

  “Oh, God,” Minerva gasped, rushing towards the body and flipping it over. The boy was obviously dead.

  I felt Shawn tense beside me as he started to spin in circles, looking into the trees for any sign of a second party. To assist I opened up my senses. They seemed to have heightened after my stay in the mountains. I could sense things as far back as Krista’s troops. Surprisingly, my brother felt the lack of any presence mere seconds before I did.

  “We are alone,” he said, coming to a stop and looking towards Minerva who was cradling the boy in her arms.

  “I would have to agree. There is nothing and nobody here,” I sighed. This was upsetting for my first day home.

  “Jesus,” Shawn mumbled, rubbing his nose.

  “What happened?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t have the ability to see past actions,” she said sadly, stroking the boy’s hair. It would appear that she had an emotional connection to this blessed one.

  “You may not, but I know someone who does.” I grabbed my phone from my back pocket and frantically dialed my father.

  I knew they were planning on calling Nick in for his impromptu court martial but it would appear that it was going to have to wait. If the boy was murdered, we might very well have more than one spy on our hands. The one thing that we never foresaw was the opportunity for murder. Even with all the vampires and wereanimals on the land we never even fathomed the idea of them killing the other creatures. It was sort of a hidden code. We were on the same side, and we did not kill those we fought alongside.

  “What’s going on, honey? It isn’t like you to call me when you are training.” My father’s voice was even, something told me he expected what I was about to say.

  “I need you to bring Wesley to the creek in the back of the property. Something awful has happened,” I said, keeping my voice calm as well. If the person who did this was standing nearby, we didn’t need to tip them off.

  “OK, honey. I will be back there in a second. I just have to get the boy,” he said and we hung up.

  “He’s coming,” I said, looking at the dead boy again.

  It was sad that he was so young. Of all the time that I spent in the prison camp, I had never once seen someone die. Even when I was in the hospital surrounded by the smell of death I did not let a single one of them pass from this world. Instead I prolonged their life so that it could be taken by another just a few days later. Miranda was ruthless, but she took care of her people. Not the prisoners so much but, even then, none died while I was there.

  My father was there in no time, Wesley panting at his heels. I had to fight the urge to laugh at the boy. I shouldn’t have even thought of doing such a thing due to the circumstances.

  “For an old man you move fast,” Wesley said loudly as he leaned against a tree, catching his breath.

  “For such a young man I would think you able to keep up. Especially with some of that blood in your system. I suppose I will need to work with you on that.” My father didn’t sound pleased to acknowledge that he was going to be a tutor.

  “I don’t even know what blood you are talking about,” Wesley huffed.

  I watched as Wesley’s eyes fell on the boy and he winced. Something was happening. He pulled a small stenographer’s pad from his back pocket and blindly his hands began to move over the sheet with a piece of coal from the barbecue. How could I not have seen this before when we were together?

  “Can you tell the girl to move?” His voice was hollow, no feeling in the words.

  Minerva put the boy down and stepped away from the body, taking her place next to me and hooking her hand in mine. She was shaking.

  We watched Wesley stare blankly at the area, his fingers moving in odd repetition until his focus cleared and he handed the paper to my father. I guess he was still pissed at me after all.

  “Oh, shit,” my father said, tossing the pad at me and racing to the boy. “He’s been gone too long. He’s already where he is supposed to be. There is no bringing him back.” My father frowned as he touched the boy’s forehead.

  I looked down at the paper and wanted to burn it instantly. The drawing was intricately done. There was no denying the image on the paper showing our beloved prophet with his hands around the throat of the young blessed one. This had been murder.

  “How is this possible?” I asked, my hands burning. Minerva pulled away and went to stand next to Shawn for good reason. If I burst into flames, it would charge her to do the same. With all the foliage in the area that would not be a smart idea.

  “I’m done with the secrecy. I want all wardens in my office in ten minutes. Lieutenants, I suggest you get back to the fire field. I will make sure that the others stay where they are supposed
to as well. To hell with what Mona wants. This boy has killed one of us.” My father was pissed.

  “Rose and Helen won’t listen to me,” I said as he reached down and pulled the boy into his arms. I knew the moment he touched him the gory details would unfold.

  “Tell them if they don’t I will send them straight to Purgatory,” he seethed at me as he took off with the body.

  “Want me to tell them?” Wesley asked, taking the pad from me and putting it back in his pocket.

  “If you don’t mind.” Both of them had seemed enamored with the boy when they met him. There was a better chance that they would listen to him instead of me.

  “Not a problem. I will meet you back at the house in just a few then.” He took off at a sprint towards the water field.

  “We will head back and relieve Kelly. You just get Krista,” Shawn said, hugging me. “This will all be OK.”

  “I can’t believe this. Not even back a day.” I glanced back at the water. I couldn’t believe that Nick had the power to kill such a young boy.

  ***

  “What’s this all about, Damien?” Helen asked as we were seated around the conference table in my father’s office.

  “We have a spy and murderer on our hands,” my father stated, glaring at her. He looked at the wall for a second, then back at her. “You know, your tone is so much like your father’s I have to fight the urge to smack you when you speak.”

  Helen looked at him, dumbstruck, surprised that my father had an issue with her snotty attitude.

  “What does that have to do with us?” Rose said, just as stubbornly.

  “OK, both of you listen to me and listen good. I don’t know what shit Nick has been telling you about us. A month ago I wouldn’t have cared in the least. Now it seems intel has made itself clear. What we thought was nothing more than a sick joke has turned out to be true.” My father glared back at them, his eyes burning. For a moment I thought I saw the demon he was under all the human flesh and bone.

  “She thinks she …” Rose started to gripe about me but my father shut her up with a snap.