Twilight Guardians

by Maggie Shayne

The little island exploded behind them, as drone planes bombed it into oblivion. Charlie hadn’t even looked back, Killian noted. She’d stood in the bow looking straight ahead, and she stood there still, an hour later.

  Killian couldn’t take his eyes off her, watching the wind in her hair, the straightness of her spine, the new power and strength he sensed in her. She’d changed since he’d first met her. But the change only made him love her all the more.

  Devlin was at the helm, guiding them toward the Anemone. He’d made Lieutenant Townsend put his cell on speaker so they could all listen as he’d made his call to Commandant Crowe to say that he had Charlie and was on his way. The commandant gave the coordinates, and Devlin had taken the helm from Roxy to set their new course.

  Rhiannon was below, trying to get some of that human blood into Roland. Lieutenant Townsend was sitting near the stern, silent and pensive. They hadn’t bothered tying him up. He wouldn’t try anything, partly because he wouldn’t stand a chance against them, and partly because he was so filled with self-loathing and regret. He’d be more likely to hurt himself than any of them. But Larissa was staying close, watching over him. Despite what he’d done, he was still one of The Chosen.

  “It was smart thinking, grabbing that blood for Roland,” Killian said, because he needed to say something. He moved up to stand beside Charlie, looking out over the nighttime sea with her.

  “It was selfish. We need all the help we can get to save my mother. Besides, I thought I might find some Protectol for Christian and me in there.”

  “Did you?”

  She pulled a capped syringe from her pocket. “One dose. We’ll have to split it. I hope it’s enough to keep my heart inside my chest when we attack the Anemone.”

  “And what about after that?” he asked.

  She drew a deep breath. “I can’t think about anything beyond getting my mother out of there alive, Killian. I just can’t.”

  He sighed. It was a deep, heavy sound. “I want you to live, you know.”

  Meeting his eyes, she held them, and he tried his best to read her emotions, her thoughts, and wasn’t sure he still could. There was too much going on in his own head, too much he wanted to see in her eyes, clouding his perceptions. She said, “I want to live, too.”

  He lowered his head, trying to come up with an argument he could win, but she kept on talking. “I’ve been horrible to you, Killian. I judged you because of what you are. And I regret that. If I’d trusted you, none of this would’ve happened.”

  “How could you? I wasn’t honest with you.”

  “Still–”

  “And if none of this had happened, Charlie, then all the shit the government was trying to pull, whatever they’re up to now, it would’ve just gone unchecked.”

  She nodded. “I guess that’s true.”

  “I’m in love with you,” he told her. “And it’s not because you’re one of The Chosen, and it’s not because of the bond that sharing blood caused in us. I’d love you even without all that. I know you as well as I know myself. It’s like our souls were entwined before we even met. I just...I want you to know that, before we face this battle. Just in case....” He paused, took a breath. “Just in case.”

  She lowered her head and her eyes. “I didn’t want that to happen.”

  “Didn’t want me to love you?”

  She nodded. He cupped her chin and lifted her head, and he saw tears welling and then spilling over.

  “It’s heartbreak for you, Killian.” Tears made her voice low and tight. “I’m going to die. Soon. And it’ll hurt you so much when I do.”

  He nodded. “I haven’t given up on you, so you shouldn’t either. And I don’t want to think about that right now anyway. You’re right, we need to focus on the fight we’re facing right now. We’ll figure the rest out after. But until we do, I just want to be with you, to relish every second that I have you in my life, to love you with everything in me. I’ll worry about hurting later on, if and when I have reason to.”

  “I love you, too, you know,” she whispered. She let herself drift closer to him, let her eyes fall closed. “And it’s not because you’re my vampire guardian. And it’s not because you fed me back to life from your own veins. I’d have loved you even if we were two ordinary people. I’d have loved you the first time I looked into your eyes. Because I’d have seen your soul, Killian, and I’d have known that it’s the other half of mine.”

  He kissed her, tasted her tears, felt her love for him, unreserved and endlessly deep. There was nowhere for them to be alone, to make sweet love the way they had before. No privacy on this tiny boat. And yet, the kiss held all of that inside it, and for right then, it was enough.

  “Ten minutes,” Devlin called.

  Killian lowered his forehead to hers. “We’d better tell the others.”

  Charlie walked below decks, trying to distract her heart from breaking by thinking of the things she and Killian would do together after this was over. It would be just the two of them, alone, making love and basking in each other, finding joy wherever they could, for as long as they could. He came with her, naturally. He didn’t seem to want to be too far away from her, even for a moment. And that was fine with Charlie.

  Rhiannon turned as they came down the steps, beaming a full throttle smile their way. “It worked,” she said, and then she stepped aside, so they could see Roland. He lay on his back on the table that was his makeshift bed, eyes open only slightly, but enough so Charlie could see the life in him. His lips were stained crimson and one bag of the four she had brought, lay empty.

  A blanket was over him, but Charlie could see the shape beneath it. He still had only one leg. His right thigh stopped above the knee. Nothing seemed to be growing back yet.

  “The burn is healing,” Rhiannon said, tugging the covers aside to show them the healthy pink skin that had grown over the end of the stump, where before it had been blackened. “That’s progress.”

  “Has he spoken?” Killian asked.

  She nodded. “He said my name.” Her smile wavered, but she forced it back into place. “Only once, but he said it.”

  “It’s incredible” Charlie said. “And he drank.”

  “Drop by drop, but yes, he drank.” Rhiannon let her smile fade and looked directly into Charlie’s eyes. “I owe you a debt I shall never be able to repay, Charlotte O’Malley. You have my protection, now and always, for as long as you live.”

  “You’d have thought to look for blood in the infirmary if I hadn’t,” Charlie said.

  “What would have or might have happened isn’t the point. What did happen is the point. And what did happen is that you saved my Roland for me.” She narrowed her eyes. “I think your grandmother and those DPI bastards must be right about you, Charlotte. There is something very worthy, very special, about you.”

  Charlie felt her chest swell when Rhiannon said that. But she swallowed any reply. She wasn’t sure there was a right thing to say.

  “Devlin says we’ll reach the Anemone in ten minutes,” Killian said, as he squeezed Charlie’s shoulder from behind.

  Rhiannon nodded. “And when we do? What is the plan then, Charlotte?”

  Blinking, Charlie looked up at her. “You’re asking me?” And she looked at Killian for help.

  He shrugged. “It’s your mother. This is your operation, Charlie. You seem to be the team leader here, and you’ve been doing just fine so far.”

  “Some team leader. I’ve been wrong about everything.”

  Rhiannon shook her head. “But brave about everything. And strong, and determined, and smart. If I believe you can do this Charlie, trust me, you can. I am never wrong.”

  “You...are sometimes....wrong,” Roland whispered. And as they all turned to stare at him in surprise, he smiled very slightly. “But not, I think...about this.”

  Rhiannon’s hands pressed to her face as tears streamed. “My love, my love, you’re coming back to us.”

  “I am. Is there, by chance
...any more of that lovely O-negative to be found?”

  Charlie shot a look at Killian to see him smiling as broadly as she was, while Rhiannon helped Roland sit up and handed him another pint.

  “Before he drank, he said, “I wish I could be more help. In my current state, I fear I’m not much use.”

  Killian closed a hand on Roland’s shoulder. “I can make you such an amazing prosthetic leg that you won’t even miss the one you lost, Roland. It’ll be better than the original.”

  Roland’s brows lifted. “How?”


  Killian shrugged. “It’s what I do. Used to do, anyway.”

  Roland nodded. “Then I accept. Providing, of course, it doesn’t regenerate on its own.” Then he looked at Charlie. “Go on, go make your plan. I believe in you.”

  Charlie could’ve cried. How had she ever thought these beautiful beings were monsters? She must’ve been so blind.

  “Charlie?” Killian prodded.

  “Okay, okay. Roxy must be in the galley with Christian and Olive. Will you get her and then meet me on deck, Killian? We’ll figure this out together.” She left the room, ran up onto the deck, and then up onto the bridge. “Cut the engines, Devlin.”

  He did so, then sat looking at her expectantly as Roxy, Killian and Rhiannon gathered. Larissa came to join them when she saw the huddle, tugging LT along beside her, her small hand gripping his forearm. They all gathered around, looking to Charlie to lead. To decide. It was almost too much pressure.

  Roxy moved closer, put her hand on Charlie’s arm. “This is what you were born for, Charlotte. This is the moment when you live out your destiny. Trust in that.”

  Rhiannon was nodding. “It’s why your grandmother lived so long. Her genes are special so that yours would be special. It’s why they treated you with this BDX nonsense in a different way than any of the others, and why it worked more strongly on you than it did on them–so that you would become the strongest of anyone they have ever given it to. All of that has lead you to this moment. You are important. And every bit as special as DPI believes you are.”

  The weight on her shoulders grew heavier. Killian was standing beside her, and he closed his hand around hers. “You’re the only living descendant of the oldest living Chosen. You’re one of only two surviving Exers, stronger than any of the others ever were. You hear the thoughts of vampires, even though you shouldn’t be able to. And vampiric blood runs in your veins. My blood. You’re different, Charlie. It’s true.”

  Drawing a deep breath, she looked at each of them. Devlin nodded. “When they took Roxy captive, when they took Roland and Rhiannon captive, they took them aboard that ship. The Anemone. It’s logical to think my people are there as well,” he said.

  “How many?” Charlie asked.

  “Fifteen, when I left them.” He lowered his eyes. “I just don’t know why I’m not sensing them. We’re so close, I should–”

  “DPI has technology that can block telepathic signals,” Rhiannon said. “It wouldn’t be the first time they used it in construction. We’ve encountered it before.”

  Charlie nodded slowly, then went on. “What do we have for weapons?”

  Devlin said, “Plenty of weapons, but we’re low on ammo. We also have a pair of harpoon launchers and some flare guns.”

  “Okay.” Charlie had ideas pouring into her mind and took a leap of faith, just spouting them as they came to her and hoping they were right, that she was somehow intended for this task. “LT, you’re going to take me to the Anemone on the little speedboat. Bring me to them just like you promised you would. Killian, Devlin, you’ll have to swim to the ship, otherwise they’ll see this boat and blow it out of the water. Bring the harpoon guns. You can use them like grappling hooks to get onboard.”

  “What about sharks?” Rhiannon asked, wide eyed.

  “It’s rare for a shark to attack like that,” Roxy said. “Roland had gunshot wounds, he was bleeding. That’s what drew it.”

  She didn’t look reassured and stroked Pandora nervously. The poor cat looked miserable. Charlie figured she was seasick as hell. But she was still better off than Olive, shut up in the galley below decks.

  “Larissa, Rhiannon, Roxy, you’ll have to stay behind to care for Roland and Christian, and to protect them in case you’re discovered. Also, so that we have someone to rescue us if we all end up in the water again. As soon as Killian and Devlin leave the boat, you should head a few more miles away, just to be safe. All right?”

  Everyone nodded except Killian. Charlie knew he wasn’t comfortable with her going off with LT on her own. “Rhiannon, can’t you cloak the fishing boat with some of your magic?” he asked.

  “The boat, of course. The living beings aboard? Not so easily. There are too many and I’d have to maintain it for too long,” Rhiannon replied.

  Killian looked like he wanted to argue, but gave up. He trusted her, Charlie realized. They all did.

  She hoped to God she could live up to that trust.

  It was time. LT was in the little speedboat, waiting for her. Charlie stood on the deck of the fishing boat, face to face with Killian. Leaving him behind was one of the hardest things she had ever done, or, she thought, ever would.

  He held both her hands, staring deeply into her eyes. “This isn’t goodbye. I’ll be right behind you.”

  “I know.”

  “Stay alive, okay? Wait for me,” he said.

  She nodded hard, trying to smile through her tears. “I’ll do my best.”

  “I love you, baby.”

  “I love you back.” She tipped her head up for his kiss. He wrapped her up in his arms and kissed her deeply, tenderly, and for a long, long time. When they parted, there were tears in his eyes.

  She pressed her palm to his face, then turned and jumped over the side, landing in the little speed boat. As soon as she did, LT undid the tow line, and put the smaller boat into motion.

  Charlie kept the little fishing boat in sight for as long as she could while LT piloted them toward the Anemone. For a few precious seconds she could still see them. Roland, sitting up on a deck chair now, having polished off all the human blood they’d had, waving her off as its regenerative power coursed through his body. He was regaining his strength quickly. Rhiannon was close beside him, her watchful eyes scanning the waves. Devlin, holding one of the harpoon guns, was near the rail, watchful and tense. And Killian stood away from the others, cradling his harpoon gun, holding her eyes with his even after she could no longer see him.

  Be safe, he told her softly. When you give us the word, I’ll be there. As fast as the ocean can carry me, I’ll be there.

  I know you will. And she did. Not even a dozen sharks, not a thousand armed men, would keep him from her. How had she ever doubted him?

  “It’s necessary,” LT said. “They’ll be searching the water. Even now, it’s going to be almost impossible for them to board the Anemone without being seen.”

  “Don’t worry about it. We’ll distract them.”

  He held her eyes for a second. His were dull, almost lifeless. She didn’t think he cared whether he lived or died, and that meant he didn’t care whether anyone else did, either. He’d damned himself. He didn’t see any hope of redemption. He just wanted to be done.

  “Turn around,” he said, letting go of the helm and picking up a length of rope. “I have to tie you up, make it look real.”

  She didn’t like it, didn’t trust him, but she turned around, put her hands behind her back. The speedboat had slowed way down, was still moving through the waves, but slowly. He tied her hands behind her back, taking his time about it. When he finished, she gave a tug to test them. Nice and tight. Very convincing.

  “There’s a loose end near your hands,” he said. “If you take hold of it and pull, the knot will come loose.”

  “Nice,” she said. “Good thinking.”

  He resumed steering the boat, and it picked up speed again. She looked back, but the little fishing boat was out of sight
, now, swallowed by the darkness of sea and sky that melded into one far behind them. She sat still, because with her hands behind her, she was likely to fall if she didn’t.

  “What did they really want with us, Lucas?” she asked.

  He looked at her as if she should already know the answer. “A bunch of super humans, brainwashed to think the vampires were their enemies, eager and able to kill on command.” It sounded like a rehearsed line to her.

  “Yeah, that’s what they admit to. To us, anyway. But once they realized that our life spans would be severely shortened, that going into battle could cause our hearts to explode in our chests...they still kept making more of us. Why?”

  He looked at her. She thought he’d deny it, but it wouldn’t have done any good.

  “Christian overheard the commandant say something about focusing on the offspring now. What did that mean?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “But you have an idea.”

  He shrugged, kept his gaze focused on the horizon, then pointed. “There it is.”

  She looked, saw the huge hulking shape of a large ship emerging from the darkness up ahead. It was running dark. No light emerged from it. “I don’t care. Tell me, or I’ll tell Commandant Crowe you helped me.”

  He swallowed hard, took a breath. “I really don’t know, Charlie. I only know that Dr. Mariner had orders to take samples from every Exer after the third treatment. Ova from the women. Sperm from the men. The women’s rations were spiked with fertility drugs to ensure an abundant supply.” He couldn’t even look her in the eye when he said it, and Charlie was too shocked and horrified to reply.

  A spotlight came on from the ship, sweeping across the waters and nearly blinding her when it stopped.

  LT raised a hand and waved.

  The light stayed on them, and she heard the buzzing of motors drawing nearer. Soon a couple of small, fast boats pulled up alongside. Someone, a male voice, shouted, “Kill your engine and throw out a line.”

  LT obeyed, shutting off the engine. He tossed a rope over to the closest of the boats.

  “You chose the wrong side, Lucas,” she said softly. She could see the remorse in him, and she could feel it. “You made mistakes, serious ones, but you can make up for them.”

  “Not in a hundred years,” he said. And he looked her in the eyes. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be sorry. Be right. This time, LT, be right.”

  He frowned a little, but then soldiers were hauling the boat right up close to theirs. “Untie her and get her aboard,” one of them said.

  Nodding, LT untied her, taking longer than he actually needed. Then he nodded, and she climbed a short rope ladder up onto the larger boat and got herself over the rail. He came up behind her. A man in unmarked olive drab sat in the rear, manning an outboard motor, and heading them back toward the Anemone. The other boat had sped around, shining its spotlight on the waters. It was a damn good thing they’d left the others far behind in the fishing boat.

  LT started to tie her hands again, but one of the other guys yanked the rope away from him. “I’ll do that.”

  Hell. This wasn’t good. The man tied her wrists so tightly it hurt, and within minutes, her hands were tingling from lack of circulation.

  “It’s too tight,” she said.

  The DPI thug faced her again, pulled something from his pocket, a roll of duct tape, ripped off a piece with his teeth, and smacked it over her mouth. It didn’t matter. They were at the Anemone within a minute or so, and the smaller boat was piloted right into a waiting sling, then the boat was slowly lifted up and up. It was so high, Charlie wasn’t sure whether Killian and Devlin would be able to get onboard.

  As soon as the smaller boat was lowered into its rightful place aboard the Anemone, the men piled out, the mean one taking her arm. She could kick their asses without breaking a sweat, she thought. But instead, she looked around. There were other boats, like the one she’d just been in. They were mounted above the water in those mechanical slings all the way around the entire ship.

  A big man with sagging jowls stood on deck, waiting. Charlie remembered the first time she’d seen him on TV in her mom’s apartment a hundred years ago. Commandant Crowe.

  “Well done, Lieutenant Townsend. Welcome aboard, recruit.” He said to Charlie. “You’ll be happy to know I’ve decided not to court martial you for desertion.” He nodded at the man nearest her, who reached out to rip the duct tape off her mouth so she could reply.

  It felt like he’d ripped part of a lip off with it, and she licked them to be sure they were intact. Then she met the bastardly commandant’s eyes. “So you court martial deserters? And loyal recruits only get murdered. Weird policies you have.” She didn’t give him the satisfaction of holding his gaze, and instead continued her inspection of the ship. It was large, but not ocean liner large. Not battleship large. More like a cargo ship. She counted every man she saw, even knowing it wasn’t going to tell her much. There would be more on the other decks, below.

  I’m onboard the Anemone, she told Killian, praying he could hear her. She was on an upper deck, in the open, sea wind whipping her hair. She presumed whatever technology was in place to block telepathy could only be maintained in enclosed places. There are six men walking around the deck, armed, watching the water. Two on each side, one bow, one stern. You should head this way now.

  Got you. Be safe.

  She sighed, relieved to hear his reply inside her head. Then she was led down several levels of stairs, a man on each side of her, holding her arms, Commandant Crowe leading the way, LT following behind them. She was taken into a room that looked like a doctor’s office. Sheet draped table, instruments. One step inside, she stopped and her blood chilled in her veins.

  “You remember Doctor Mariner,” The commandant said.

  Her eyes shifted to the doctor she remembered so well from Fort Rogers. She didn’t think she’d known his name until LT had said it on the way here. Jesus, what were they going to do to her?

  “Commandant,” LT said, “all due respect, sir–”

  “If you don’t have the stomach for this, get below.” The old man nodded at his cohorts. “Strap her down for Dr. Mariner. You, Smith, show the lieutenant to his quarters.”

  Two men grabbed her, one at each arm. She tensed, ready to bust them up, but the doctor caught her eye, held up a familiar looking tranquilizer gun.

  She couldn’t allow herself to be sedated. Bonds, she could fight. But not drugs. She’d just have to bide her time. So she stopped fighting.

  They shoved her toward the table with the straps on the sides and at the feet. The commandant closed the door. LT’s horrified expression was the last thing she saw as he was led away. They pushed her onto the table, forced her to lie down, because she resisted just enough to make it look good. Then they untied her hands, and quickly strapped her arms down while Commandant Crowe stood at her feet.

  “This is mainly a research vessel, Recruit O’Malley. And you are going to be a very valuable specimen. We need to know what makes you special,” he said. “We need to know why the BDX was so much more potent in you than in any of the others, and why your grandmother has lived so long, seemingly escaping the side effects of having the antigen. The early weakening and premature death. And of course, we need to harvest some samples “Your lieutenant didn’t allow Dr. Mariner to do so before. He said things got too crazy due to your...unusual reaction to the treatment. But I’m beginning to suspect he has a soft spot where you’re concerned.”

  No fucking way are you taking eggs from my ovaries, you sick bastard, she thought.

  “Now I want you to make sure not to get upset or to struggle, dear. I know you’ve seen what happens when you do. Your heart could explode, and we’d be left with just a corpse to work on. And really, while we could make due, we prefer a live subject.”

  She let them strap her arms, her legs. She had no choice, she was outnumbered four to one, and the
y had the tranquilizer ready to use if necessary.

  God, she prayed, let Killian get here before they do this. Let him get here.

  Chapter Twenty-Three