“The surprising truth is that Shawn was born in 1498. Though he has aged a bit over the last five hundred years, he is the oldest existing Carrier, and he knows more than most. He is an asset to your team. He is, however, a demon. There is no angel blood in his body, so he is not as conflicted as you are, Dawn.
“I don’t know why he is here, but it is safe to assume that it has to do with Miranda and her army of the dead. I haven’t seen him since that day we took him from the church. I don’t know how he feels about me, or even if he remembers me. However, it would be nice to find out what his other blood is, scientifically speaking that is.”
My mother stopped and looked at us. Adam’s hands had not moved from my waist, and by the way, his heart was pounding. This was the most exciting story he had ever heard.
“So, does this mean that I will stop aging too?” I asked, noticing my throat was dry.
“At some point, you will. I haven’t aged in the last eighteen years. Then again, I spent most of my existence on a cloud outside the Pearly Gates.” She laughed at this.
“So, when I’m eighty, she’s going to look twenty?” Adam piped up.
I looked over my shoulder at him and saw that his eyes were wide.
“Most likely. That is if she survives that long.”
“What do you mean, if I survive that long?” I exclaimed.
“With everything that is about to happen, we just don’t know the outcome. People are going to die, Dawn!” My mother’s tone was stern, her voice hitting a high peak by the end of her sentence.
“That doesn’t mean that I will,” I said sulkily, feeling the prickle in my fingertips.
If I burst into flames right now would I hurt Adam?
“No, it doesn’t mean that you will,” she conceded. “But have you put any thought into this, Dawn? Have you thought about what’s going to happen when this war is waged? We started this to save Wesley and only Wesley. It has become so much more than just that. There should never have been a reason to call all the Wardens together, and definitely no need to create an army of our own.” She was shaking. I had never seen her so crazed.
“I know how it started, Mom. I know this is all because of Wesley. I didn’t know what Miranda was, or about her mother when all this started. I didn’t even know what I was. I have come to terms with the fact that I have mixed blood. Now all this other shit is happening. The Prophet is here, and Helen and I have to raise Krista from the dead. Adam knows everything. But how am I supposed to raise someone from the dead?” I felt the tears burning my eyes and my skin getting hotter.
“I know this is a lot of responsibility, Dawn! I have seen centuries of wars waged, and good people die.” Tears were rolling down my mother’s cheeks now.
Adam’s heart was racing behind me, and his grip on my waist had become more insistent.
“Then we need to secure some key targets without starting a war,” Adam said quietly, almost too quietly, but we both heard him.
“What do you mean?” my mother asked.
“You need all four Wardens, as you call them,” he explained. “Instead of waging war, why not employ some secret ops tactics. Take out Miranda and save Wesley. You might need him, anyway, if his gifts are what you say they are. From there flush out her mother. You take out the queen, and the monarchy falls.”
“He has a valid point, Mom,” I said. ‘Perhaps we can avoid all-out war.”
Adam leaned over my shoulder. “Shawn could gather as many Carriers as he can muster and train them, show them how to survive. If he has lived five hundred years, then he’ll know how to survive. Mrs. Weathers, can you let any of the purebloods know what’s going on?”
I didn’t know if Adam had really thought about this or it was formulating a plan as he went along. The question was though, would such a plan work?
“How do we get ahold of Shawn?” I asked.
“Leave that to me,” my mother said softly. “You remember when Nick said it takes someone with a tremendous amount of power to summon a Demon?”
I nodded.
“Well, I’m going to do to him what Mr. No Name did to you.” She stood up and left the room.
“Do you think it will work?” I asked Adam as I pushed myself off the bed.
“I don’t know. I was just trying to come up with something that didn’t involve a conversation about people dying. It’s worth a shot, I reckon.”
He followed me from my mother’s room and back into the living room, where Helen and Nick sat silent.
“We heard yelling, and your mom just ran out the door. Everything okay?” Nick asked.
“I have a brother,” I announced loudly. It felt weird to say it, but it was true.
“You mean Shawn?” Nick asked, seemingly unperturbed by the news.
“Did you know?” I asked, flabbergasted.
Adam had his hands on my shoulders and was rubbing furiously.
“No, I just heard his name come up a few times,” Nick said as a smile spread across his lips.
“Ass.” I laughed as Adam dropped his hands and walked to the couch, shaking his head.
“Alright, so, I thought we need to get everything out in the open here,” said Helen. “So far the last week has been pretty much one thing after another. We can’t go anywhere, so we might as well get the whole story from you, Dawn. From start to finish. Leave nothing out.”
“I think we should wait for Mom,” I replied, looking at her. The pang of misgiving was no longer there now that I knew she in no way threatened me.
“Yeah, we can do that, but afterward the floor is yours,” she answered, glancing at Nick.
“Do I need to be here for this?” asked Adam. “I mean, I don’t know if I want to go through all that again…”
“I think you have a lot of insight, being an outside party,” Helen countered. “Not to mention knowing what a mortal sees could be key to a lot of questions.”
Adam didn’t seem to like that answer and started to fidget.
We sat in silence after that, Adam with his hand in mine, tracing the outline of my finger creases. Helen and Nick sat side by side, having a thumb war tournament. When Helen won, she would throw her hands in the air and make whispered cheering noises.
It seemed an hour or more passed before my mother re-entered the living room, with Shawn at her heels. He nodded at me and smiled at Adam before turning his eyes to Helen. He froze right there when their gazes locked. It was like seeing something out of a romance novel. Nobody else in the room mattered.
“Shawn!” My mother called his name several times, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from Helen.
My mom gave him a smack on the side of his head, and he finally turned to look at her. Either he really hated to be touched, or he just didn’t like being hit.
“What, angel?” he yelled at her.
My mother gave him a stern look, and at once the anger on his face disappeared.
“I’m sorry,” he mumbled.
“That’s what I thought,” she said.
She talked to him just like she spoke to me.
“Why did you summon me?” Shawn asked her politely.
“We would first like to know why you came here,” my mother said. “You see, nobody has seen or heard from you in decades, but now you show up from nowhere right here in Midvale.”
“I came here because my father so nicely asked me to,” he said, looking at me. “He wanted me to see her.”
“So, he wanted you to see Dawn. Did he tell you who Dawn was?”
She was using her power on him. I could tell from his hesitation when he answered her.
“She’s my sister. Well, my half-sister,” he said, taking his eyes off me.
“That’s right. Do you remember me?”
“You are the angel who brought me to the pastor and his wife.” He looked pleased with his answer.
“Do you remember why?” She was holding his gaze now.
“My mother died. She died having me.” He said it almost r
obotically.
“Do you know what your mother was?” my mother probed.
“A witch.”
My mother broke their gaze, and Shawn shook his head.
“Next time warn me before you do that,” he said, rubbing his face.
“I had to be sure, Shawn. You did well.” My mother opened her arms to embrace him.
“It’s been so long, Puriel,” he mumbled, hugging her.
Here we went again with the angel names. I still wasn’t used to it.
“Yes, it has,” she said tenderly, stroking his back.
“Is there anyone else that I need to know about who’s coming to this party?” I said sourly, looking at Shawn. I couldn’t believe that this boy was my brother.
“I think he’s the last unknown,” Helen said, standing up.
Chapter 16
Astral Planes
I told my story right from the beginning to the present. I shared all the facts that I had accumulated over the last few months, along the way proving that Wesley was a Harbinger, as my mother had stated before. I told them about John and his ability to render a gift useless, and how he had taken from me the last bit of innocence that I had left. I spoke of Miranda and her ability to hijack my mind and make me say things in a language that up until that moment I had no idea I could speak. I explained the weakness with Aaron and the calling deep in my gut, how I had wanted his soul to be mine and that when he handed it over, unknowingly, of course, I had instantly felt guilty and fled.
They asked me about the phone call and the urgency in Wesley’s voice. I replied that I didn’t understand what he was saying because this was all before I knew what I was. This meant he had seen it for himself and Miranda had confirmed it. I told them about Dracula’s castle and my visits there, firstly when I became acquainted with Krista and then later when the no-named demon told me he had put the fire in me. If my father was the keeper, I told them, then this didn’t make any sense to me at all.
I shared with them all the anguish and fear I had felt when Wesley left, of the pain that filled me and still haunted me every day. Nobody spoke. Instead, they all just listened as I went through every dirty detail that I had logged in my journal. Adam, sweet Adam, sat there and listened to it all, breaking in from time to time to share with them the things that he had seen. The whole conversation went on for hours, it seemed, with one story after another until we reached the present. The last concerned the birth of my unknown brother, the boy who was sitting on the floor before me, wild-eyed and confused.
“So, it’s true then,” he said when I had finished.
“What’s true?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.
“You are the Fire Warden. You are the master flame.”
“That is what they tell me, at least.”
“So, we have two Wardens, the Prophet, the pureblood, the human, and me; the carrier.” He chuckled to himself.
“Why is this so funny to you?” I asked, sounding defensive, which wasn’t at all the impression I wanted to give.
“I met a girl in the late seventeenth century when I was on one of my many trips around the world,” he responded. “She was young in appearance, yet her eyes were old. She was very strong. I could sense that just by being near her. She could literally have crushed me if she wanted to, yet she didn’t. She was the master flame. Her reason for not hurting me was the fact she sensed the flame in me too.” He looked at my mother. “Obviously, the girl died, otherwise Dawn wouldn’t be here. It was a sudden death, but no one was sure what caused it. One day she was fine and the next she was cold.”
“Some say that if the Warden shifts too much in one direction, it can put the body into shock. If they are unable to fix the balance then they slowly die,” Nick muttered.
“That could be what happened,” Shawn admitted. “However, this was the seventeenth century, so there were many theories, but none of them turned out to be correct.” He sighed. “When she died the country turned against itself. If a core is lost the world loses that element. Fire would have ceased to exist. The lucky thing was that there was a shocking number of Carriers available to keep the world in balance until the next master flame was born.”
“How many Wardens have you met?” I asked.
“Just the one really. After her, I couldn’t stand to watch another die. It’s one thing to be there when a Carrier is taken down, but it’s quite another when it is the Master.”
“I understand that,” I said. “However, that doesn’t answer why you should find it so funny.”
“The girl’s companion was a young man, mortal. He was knowledgeable about everything. I think he even knew history in more detail than the professors at any college I ever attended. With her traveled another master element. I want to say it was Earth, but I’m not sure anymore. The Prophet was a woman, a rather old woman who must have received her calling long into her life. Either that or she decided to ignore it till she could ignore it no more. The pureblood that traveled with her was exquisite. He had a smile that could light up a room.” Shawn looked lost in memories. “I just find it funny how the last time I was in the presence of the master flame the same type of companions were present.”
“What are you saying?” my mother asked.
“History has a silly way of repeating itself,” Shawn answered, a smile forming on his lips. That sealed it for me; seeing that smile reminded me so much of my father it was uncanny.
“So, what do you intend to do?” I asked.
“Well, to my understanding your friend has a plan. I’m not saying that it will work, but it is a good start. I have connections with both sides. I know that the Carriers I find will be willing to learn some arts of survival. I also know a White Carrier who can show you how to harness Heaven’s flame, and I would like to think that I have mastered Hell’s fire,” he said, looking at my mother. “That is if all this is okay with you.”
She nodded. So that meant more people were coming. Where were we going to put all these new guests?
“First things first,” Shawn continued, switching his attention to Nick. “You have to raise the third Warden before you can find the fourth? You will only ever be able to find one at a time. Your third isn’t here. Therefore you cannot find your fourth. You were able to bypass the originating order due to Krista’s infliction. Earth is always found first, wind is second, fire is third, and water is last. Do not think for one minute that this is listed from strongest to weakest. However, you know who Wind is, so this is the Creator’s way of saying figure it out.”
“That’s good to know.” Nick looked at Helen. “You see? My visions aren’t flawed. I just have to get Krista above ground before we find Water.”
“I never questioned your ability,” Helen protested. “I just said that you were having difficulty.” She laughed and punched him playfully on the arm. She seemed to enjoy abusing the Prophet.
“So, when is the resurrection to be?” Shawn asked me.
“Two weeks. They are adamant that I go to my senior prom,” I said slowly, feeling the misery sink in. I really didn’t want to go.
“Just think of it this way,” Shawn replied. “The longer it takes for you to bring her back, the longer your Water has before she’s found.” He smiled at me like that was really something I needed to hear.
“So, Water’s life is resting on me going to prom. That seems kind of half-assed backward to me.” I groaned.
****
“How are you doing with all of this?” Adam asked me that night.
We were lying on my bed listening to music. His father had called, saying that he had found a place for them to stay, so this was Adam’s last night with us.
“I don’t know. It seems like I’m lost in some dream. I have thought over and over again that this isn’t real.” I sighed and turned my head to look at him.
“You’re telling me.” He laughed. “I never would have thought I would be mixed up with the likes of angels and demons.”
“There is a whole other wo
rld out there now, Adam. It looks like you and I will be traveling it together.” I rolled onto my side.
“I couldn’t think of anyone better to travel it with though,” he murmured. That softness was back in his eyes as he reached over and touched my face.
I smiled at him and felt my heart pounding.
“So, I heard you and Aaron are going in for a limo for the prom,” I said, trying to change the subject. His expression altered and my heart slowed back to normal.
“Yeah, it was his idea really. He wanted you to have this wonderful experience. That boy has it bad for you just so you know.” He blinked, and the softness was gone.
“Yeah, that I know,” I mumbled.
“Explain this claim thing to me,” he said, squinting at me. “You mentioned it briefly, and everyone else seems to understand what it is, but I don’t have a clue.”
“Well, it isn’t complicated. Dad said that it’s simply someone giving themselves to you. So, I would beware of phrases like ‘I would sell my soul for that,’ because in a way that means you’re handing your soul over to me. From what I gather, it usually happens in a sexual context — intimacy, romance, heat-of-the-moment type stuff. Wesley was different for me because from the moment he kissed me till the second it happened, I wanted to devour him. I wanted his soul, his breath, his everything. When he willed himself to me, there was this blood-curdling scream that penetrated my core. It felt like someone was ripping out my nerves one at a time.”
I paused to let it sink in.
“With Aaron it was different. It started out innocent enough, then that same carnal urge took over. I wanted his soul too. When he willed himself to me, there was nothing but silence. Dad said that the claim creates a bond between a demon and a mortal. If anything tries to hurt him, I guess I will know.” I sighed and looked at Adam. He was just staring at me, with no expression really on his face.
“So, what happens when the contract is broken?”
“With Wesley, it felt like my world was shattering. I had this pain in my heart. It even stopped beating for a while. It was like he took all the life out of me.” I closed my eyes for a second. “Dad said that with Aaron it would probably be different since there aren’t any binding feelings.”
Smoke & Ash (Wardens Series Book 2) Page 14
