Guardians (Seers Trilogy Book 3)

by Heather Frost

  Kate Bennett, Seer. Wanted alive. Believed to be under heavy Guardian protection. Two positively identified Guardians are Patrick O’Donnell and Antonio Alverez. Both are extremely dangerous. A reward of—I choked—one million US dollars will go to those who manage to secure her. Seer may or may not be in hiding.

  My home address was included on the bottom as a starting point for anyone interested in getting the reward, along with Selena’s number, in case there were any questions.

  Clyde’s voice seemed really distant. “You haven’t seen any of these bounty hunters yet because they’re being cautious. They want that money. Badly, I would imagine. The Demon Lord doesn’t usually offer quite so much. Philippe doesn’t know you’re Henry’s granddaughter, but he knows I like to stay informed. Sharing this with me was his way of keeping me from running into these zealous killers.”

  “This isn’t the Demon Lord’s style,” I argued weakly, still staring at the monetary amount I was apparently worth. I guess I could have felt honored or something. In reality, I only felt sick.

  “If you want my honest opinion, Kate, I think you should leave here—the sooner the better. Maybe even leave the country.”

  “What? I can’t leave. They have my address!”

  “That’s exactly why you need to leave—try to cover up your tracks.” Clyde shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know what to tell you. But you can’t stay here, Kate. For that amount of money . . . Every Demon in the state is going to be trying his best to get at you. The Guardians can’t protect you from that kind of attack. Your enemies are too many.”

  “But what can I do? My friends, my family . . . They’re all in danger. Even if I leave, I can’t bring everyone I love with me.”

  Clyde’s face was calmly serious. “They’re not going to rest until they have you, Kate. That’s the Demon Lord’s style.”

  Three

  Clyde and I talked for a while longer, but time wasn’t on my side. Toni would be expecting me back any minute, and I was still a good fifteen minutes away—almost twenty. Clyde let me keep the wanted poster, and we exchanged cell phone numbers. He promised to call me if he learned anything else, though he wasn’t optimistic, then we exchanged hurried good-byes. He patted my hand before I left, and the feel of his calloused hand brushing against my skin lingered as I got into my car and started the drive back home. As soon as I was driving, I called Toni to let him know I’d lost track of time and I’d be home soon. He sounded incredibly bored, but he didn’t press me like I thought he would.

  That done, I leaned back against my seat and tried to think.

  If I told Patrick about this latest development, he’d know I’d gone to Clyde’s. He’d be upset, but he’d get over it. He needed to know about the price on my head. Almost more important, he needed to know that a bunch of Demons knew where I lived. As much as I didn’t like admitting my home may have lost all security, I needed to be smart about this.

  Still, I didn’t want to ruin our date tonight, because we both needed it so badly. We both needed a break, but that wasn’t going to happen if he knew a bunch of Demons were plotting to come after me. I felt like that piece of news could wait for several hours. Clyde had agreed it would take a bit longer for the bounty-hunting Demons to organize themselves. We still had some time, I finally decided.

  In the end, all my fragmented thoughts brought me back to a single question. What was I going to do? I couldn’t just run to another country with my Guardians. That would leave my family and friends unprotected. They were targets, almost as much as I was. But I couldn’t uproot them all and take them with me. Clyde was fairly certain bounty hunters wouldn’t concern themselves with my family, if I wasn’t around, but I wasn’t willing to take the risk.

  A small part of me wondered if I should tell my Guardians at all. What if I didn’t get a choice? What if Terence brought in his private plane and they whisked me away without asking my opinion? I couldn’t lose my family and friends. I needed them, and they needed me.

  At the same time, I couldn’t leave my Guardians unwarned. They needed to know about the danger. They needed to protect themselves, though Clyde was fairly certain there wouldn’t be one massive strike. Demons were selfish and greedy. They wouldn’t form a large band, because they’d want the biggest share of the money possible. The biggest group might hold four Demons, Clyde assumed. They were logical assumptions. But the whole situation was so illogical, so unlike the Demon Lord.

  I pulled into the driveway, turned off the car, and climbed out. Stepping inside the house, I could hear the muffled sounds of the TV in the family room, and I could see Jenna playing the piano in the front room. I assumed Grandma was in the kitchen when I heard one of the low cupboards banging closed. Toni was lying on the puffy couch opposite the piano. He was presumably invisible, though for how much concentration Jenna was pouring into practicing, even I was practically invisible to her. She didn’t move at all when I closed the door, though Toni—who was flipping idly through a large book—did. He gave me a small wave but hardly looked up from the pages. I’d never seen him reading before, but I was too overwhelmed with my own thoughts to figure out what he was looking at.

  I moved up the stairs, heading to the sanctuary of my room. There I looked at the piece of paper one last time before folding it up and pushing it back into my purse. It could wait while I showered and got ready for tonight. It might be one of the last peaceful nights I could enjoy with Patrick for a long time.

  Just this morning I’d been regretting how the Demon Lord hadn’t attempted anything. Strange how an opinion could change so quickly. My bravado from this morning was completely gone, and I was back to wishing the Demon Lord had remained silent.

  Once out of the shower, I hurried to get dressed in a nicer outfit than I’d worn to school. I wasn’t sure what Patrick was planning on doing, so I stuck to a pair of light jeans and a red blouse. I’d discarded the blue top I’d been thinking of wearing, because it was the same shirt I’d worn in my senior picture; the one that adorned my wanted poster. I was thinking about it enough, without the help of wearing the same outfit.

  Patrick was a little early, but I was more than ready to go. We didn’t linger at the house. We were both anxious to get away from the invisible Toni, who wouldn’t stop talking even when we were trying to carry on a conversation with my family.

  Jack and Patrick shook hands, pretending to have a casual knowledge of each other, since the twins were present. They’d met at the funeral and a few times since, so they weren’t exactly strangers in the eyes of my sisters.

  Toni told us not to be out too late, and finally Patrick was able to close the door on him. Once we were alone on the porch, Patrick placed his hands on either side of my face and pulled me gently forward. I kissed him deeply, my own fingers brushing over his chest, then sinking to curve around his waist. When I eventually pulled my mouth back, his eyes were closed and his smooth face was almost vacant. His lips pressed together and his eyes cracked open to regard me. “Wow, Kate,” he breathed.

  I blushed a little. “I’m excited for tonight.”

  “I can tell.” He chuckled. “You’ve been holding out on me, all this time.”

  “We haven’t had an evening alone together since—”

  “Since you kidnapped me, I think.”

  “It’s been a while,” I admitted.

  His lips twitched into a half smile, eyes shining brightly. “I should get you excited about things more often.”

  I think we would have kissed again if I hadn’t noticed Toni’s face in the living room window, watching us. I tugged on Patrick’s wrist, and after he stuck his tongue out at his partner he followed me to his car, which was waiting at the curb. He opened the passenger door for me, and I slipped into the midnight blue Altima. It was the most expensive thing my Guardians owned, hands down. They wouldn’t even have this nice of a ride, if Terence didn’t have connections in the car world.

  I set my purse on the floor by my feet while Pat
rick walked around the car. I was just pulling my seat belt on when he opened his door and settled behind the wheel. He shot me a smile that needed no interpretation, then started the car and we pulled away from my house.

  “So,” I said, reaching out to turn down the radio, “what’s on the agenda for tonight?”

  He was focused on the road, but he took a second to glance at me. “Well, I thought we’d start this very normal date off by going out to eat. You still like pizza?”

  I nodded approvingly. “A very normal choice.”

  “I can be incredibly normal,” he assured me, a small grin dominating his otherwise smooth face.

  My heart started to pound. “I’m not so sure about that,” I said, faking an ease I didn’t really feel.

  His eyes shined toward mine, his tone lightly teasing. “You think me abnormal?”

  “Just incredible, actually.”

  His eyes rolled. “At least I’ve got you fooled.”

  “You’re doing an excellent job,” I agreed with a smile.

  He might have blushed, just a little. “All right, so for this perfectly normal evening we’re about to have, are there any subjects to be avoided? Toni, for instance?”

  I shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t care—I just wanted to be alone with you.”

  “And here I am, completely alone and in your power.” He braked at a stop sign and I reached for his hand, which he’d dropped to the armrest. Our palms pressed tightly together, and he gave me a fast look before starting forward again. “You really are in a good mood, aren’t you?”

  I squeezed his fingers. “So far so good.”

  He seemed pleased, and I knew I’d made the right choice to keep my visit to Clyde a secret. Patrick needed tonight just as badly as I did.

  He took me to a popular pizza place downtown, crowded with families and young couples on dates. It took several minutes, but soon our pizza was ordered and we were seated in the corner near a front window. The atmosphere was still loud, and the background rock music didn’t help things, but since we were on the edge of the crowd we could at least hear each other without raising our voices too much.

  Across the small round table from me, Patrick was nodding. “Oh yes, I feel like we’re completely alone.”

  I smiled. “There’s no Toni. Or Jack. Or Claire . . . How’s that been going, anyway?”

  He winced just a little. “She doesn’t like speaking to me, but she’s not going to leave unless Terence tells her to go.”

  “I don’t understand her.”

  He shrugged. “She came from a different world. One where men dominated women. She didn’t like it then, and she doesn’t like it now. It’s fairly simple.”

  “So she hates you just because you’re a guy? I got the impression it had more to do with what happened in Vegas.”

  His face softened a little. “She doesn’t regret helping us. She just—”

  “She thinks I botched up her assassination. It’s okay. You don’t have to spare my feelings.”

  Patrick spoke quickly. “She doesn’t blame you, Kate. If anything, she blames me for pushing her plans forward.”

  “You?” I couldn’t hide my surprise.

  He nodded simply. His eyes followed his index finger that surreptitiously brushed across the table’s edge. “Claire feels I’m an inferior Guardian because I couldn’t keep you out of trouble.”

  “But none of that was your fault,” I protested. “It was all me. I took you to Vegas against your will!”

  He shook his head, hand dropping back to his lap, his eyes coming back to mine. “No. I’m as guilty as you, if not more so. My weakness made it necessary for her to advance her plans, so she holds me personally responsible for every breath the Demon Lord continues to draw.”

  I shook my head. “She’s such a cheerful person.”

  “Toni doesn’t seem to see her flaws.”

  “He’s still . . .” I hesitated, unable to find a delicate way to voice his more than obvious infatuation.

  “Throwing himself ostentatiously at her feet?” Patrick supplied, before nodding once. “At every opportunity.”

  “You’d think he’d get the hint.”

  He shrugged. “Toni will be Toni. I don’t think he’s really invested at all. He just likes annoying her.”

  Our drinks arrived, and I took a quick sip of the sharp root beer. I waited until Patrick had lowered his own glass, then I spoke carefully. “I’m sorry I’ve been so . . . out of it lately. That wasn’t fair to you.”

  “What are you talking about?” He honestly looked confused. “Kate, you’ve been going through an impossibly hard time.”

  I slid a finger over the rim of my glass, watching the drops of condensation slip down the frosted sides. “But I haven’t been the only one suffering.” I peered at him through my eyelashes, wondering even as I spoke if I was doing the right thing by bringing this up. “Seeing Sean again, realizing everything he’s done . . .”

  It was amazing how quickly his body stiffened. His whole bearing changed in an instant. In the second I mentioned Sean’s name, Patrick turned his head and stared out the large window, watching as the cars darted past along the thin street. “You don’t have to do this,” he said, his voice low, knowing some words were required. “We don’t have to talk about him.”

  “He’s your brother, Patrick.”

  “No, he’s not.” I couldn’t see his face, but his words were enough to stop my hand from reaching for him. “That monster, that Demon . . . he’s not my brother.”

  I pursed my lips briefly and then forced myself to continue, despite the growing unease in the pit of my stomach. I’d known this would be a hard subject for him, but I trusted Lee’s opinion that he wanted to talk about Sean. “I can’t even begin to understand what this must be like for you—”

  His eyes came back to mine in a rapid turn, and I was surprised to see how pale he was. His face was tight and his words were hard. “Stop. Please, Kate. Just stop. I can’t do this . . . not with you.”

  I tried not to let the hurt leak into my voice. “I think it would help you to talk about him.”

  He shook his head. “Not after everything he’s done to you.”

  I stretched my hand out, my fingers brushing the back of his loosely clenched fist before settling over it completely. My hand flexed around his, and our eyes remained firmly on each other. “I’m not the only one he’s hurt,” I said slowly, speaking just loud enough to be heard over the clamor of voices and music. “I love you, and I’m going to be here for you. You can talk to me about anything.”

  “Even your grandfather’s murderer?” His words might have stung me, if he hadn’t almost choked on them. His eyes were deeply pained. “Maybe you’re strong enough for this, but I’m not.”

  “You aren’t responsible for his actions.”

  He nearly snorted, his voice almost desperate. “Everything he’s done is on my head. I’m the reason he’s this way. The hate he feels for me justifies everything he’s done, at least in his mind.”

  “He can blame you all he wants, but you’re not accountable for any of it.”

  His head lowered, his eyes gazing firmly into his dark drink. “Maybe I could overlook the fact he’s a Demon. The horrible things he had to do—that he must have enjoyed doing, to reach this point—they’re haunting enough. But helping the Demon Lord and hurting you . . . My own brother tried to kill me. And you.” I could feel his hand tremble beneath mine, and his words spilled quickly after that. “I gave up everything for him, and I only succeeded in destroying him. My brother isn’t alive. Sean is dead. Only Far Darrig remains.”

  For a short moment, I wasn’t sure what to say. I just stared at his ducked head, drawing a mental blank. When my mouth opened and words started to come out, I could have sworn the message came from someone else. “Maybe I can’t help you understand that you’re not responsible for Sean. Maybe that’s because I don’t know what you’re going through, or maybe you won’t listen to me becau
se you think I’m incapable of understanding. But there is someone who knows exactly how you feel. The betrayal, the hurt, the guilt.” His eyes lifted, but his expression was still guarded. He didn’t press me to reveal a name—maybe he thought I was referring to deity. But no matter what he thought, he was surprised by the person I named. “Your father suffered through this too,” I reminded him gently.

  The song playing from the speakers was much too upbeat for this moment, but Patrick didn’t seem to be aware of the noise. He was focused on me, on my words. “My father’s gone,” he whispered at last.

  I nodded once, allowing that. “Now. But he wasn’t always . . .”

  I expected him to look relieved—maybe even excited. Instead, all I got was a rapid blink and a pale face. And he was stiffer than before. “No,” he said firmly.

  I waited for him to elaborate, but when he didn’t I let my forehead crinkle. “No? What does that mean?”

  His voice remained level, slightly clipped. “You’re not . . . I’m not going to let you use your traveling abilities to go back and visit my father for me.”

  “Why not?”

  “There’s no need to risk it. I don’t want you to travel ever again.”

  “But you could write a letter to him, get his advice—”

  His eyes bored into mine, but he wasn’t angry, just frustrated. “Kate, I don’t want you experimenting with time. The past isn’t supposed to be influenced by the present. It’s unnatural and wrong. That makes it dangerous.”

  “I did it before.”

  “That was different. You were forced to do it. There’s no reason to go back now.”

  I tried to be as persuasive as possible. “Your father would love to hear from you. After everything that’s happened—everything you both went through—he needs this contact as much as you do.”

  “I’m your Guardian. Your safety is more important than my personal problems.”