The Guardian's Keeper (The Guardian Trilogy, Book 1) (17 page)

Claire watched the dancers intently. It was fascinating, this dance. The men began first, slapping their thighs and arms at amazing speeds as they stamped their feet in intricate r
hythms. The women in the circle stood in place swishing their skirts, swaying their hips in time to the music. Suddenly the men stopped and moved to the women and the women came to life, swishing and twirling and rotating their hips. They danced around the men coquettishly, flirting with their bodies. Claire noticed some men touched their partner here and there- a hand on the hip for a moment, a hand to help them twirl. She gathered it was the married men dancing with their wives, those who were not married did not actually touch during the dance.

At some unspoken cue they switched partners as the women moved over to the left. Claire watched closely and saw her earlier thesis was correct. Now no man touched any woman- they had started with their wives and now were partnered with other women they would not touch. Someone near Claire cleared their throat loudly. It was a young man from the
Camp. He motioned to Claire, inviting her to join in the dance with him.

“I’d love to.”
Claire smiled at him.

“No English,” h
e replied with an apologetic shrug.

Claire followed him into the circle and watched him closely as he joined the men in their frenzied dance. Claire swished her skirt and la
ughed out loud with delight as her little medallions jangled in time to the beat as she moved. When the men stopped Claire followed the other women’s’ lead and twirled about, lost in the music. The time came and Claire moved onto her next partner, an older gentleman with a grey beard. As he danced his part Claire caught sight of Nikoli in his seat, watching her in the firelight. He caught her gaze and waggled his fingers in greeting as he smiled at her. Claire felt glum he could not join her.

Again and again she changed partners. Everyone was friendly, smiling at her and helping her to have a great time. Around the circle she went, intoxicated by the expressive
Gypsy music, out of breath from all the dancing. As she switched partners again she felt her stomach drop. There stood Garridan with a dangerous glint in his eye when he realized his new partner was Claire.

He danced his part with a fever Claire had not seen in her other partners. He slapped his body and moved his feet at a mesmerizing pace while his eyes never left Claire’s. Her part of the dance came next and she stepped back a pace as Garridan boldly stepped right up to her. Claire spotted Nikoli across the way on his feet now, watching them closely.

Claire danced her part half-heartedly and lost her step when she felt Garridan’s hand around her waist. She pushed his hand away with a frown as he grinned at her. He grabbed her hand and twirled her while she fought to pull her hand out from his strong grasp. He released her when her twirl was done, only to grasp her hips with both hands. Claire shoved against him, trying to break free of his unwanted advances.

‘You sure can move
.’ He told her. ‘But you have a lot yet to learn. I can’t wait to teach you.’ With that he released her suddenly.

Claire stopped a moment to catch her breath. She felt violated and dirty. It was time to change partners again so she moved down the line
, relieved to be free of Garridan. Her mind raced. How was she supposed to travel with this lecherous man? How much of a danger to her was he?

All threatening thoughts were pushed aside when sh
e recognized her next partner. “Nikoli!” she beamed.

Nikoli was there
in the circle, dancing the men’s part. Claire felt her blood race as she watched his strong and powerful body beat through the men’s dance. She picked up her pace, swishing her skirt and moving her hips. Her part of the dance began.

Nikoli approached her and she stepped in to meet him. She took his hand and placed it on her hip as she rotated to the music. Nikoli raised an eyebrow at her. She nodded at him. Yes, this is what she wanted, and she didn’t care who didn’t like it. He twirled her as she lost herself in the music, expres
sing her feelings for her Guardian through the sultry dance. Claire felt Garridan’s eyes boring into her but she ignored him. She had her love, she didn’t want him.

When it was time to change partners Nikoli ducked out of the dance circle and pulled Claire with him. He sat her down on a low stool and hunkered down beside her as they
watched the dancers.

“
Are you okay?” he asked her gently. “I saw what Garridan was trying to do.”

“
I’m okay,” Claire nodded. “How could he do that? Men don’t touch women who aren’t their wives here, I saw it with the other dancers.”

Nikoli reach
ed behind her to rub her back. “You’re right, it’s not acceptable in this culture to touch a woman like that if you’re not married. But Anya told me Garridan is a bit of a ‘golden boy’ here in Camp- he can do no wrong in Renka’s eyes. He gets what he wants, always, and he’s not afraid to fight dirty to get it. Both the men and women are a bit afraid of him according to Anya.”

Claire was not surprised to hear tha
t. “Is Anya afraid of him?”

“
No. They were raised together. He knows she’s every bit as tough as he is and he doesn’t mess with her. I’m glad you’re okay. When I saw him touch you like that I wanted to rip his throat out- literally.” Claire chuckled at the thought. “But then I figured that might be too big of a transgression for Renka to overlook and I didn’t want to be caught in the circle when the mob came for me,” Nikoli teased.

Claire squeezed his knee. “
I don’t want to go with him,” she said seriously.

Nikoli sighed. “
Me neither, but Renka has ordered it. You’ll be okay.” He turned her head to him and kissed her softly. “Anya and I will be there too, don’t forget. I’ll make sure he leaves you alone.” He kissed her again, a bit harder this time. His kiss made Claire forget they were in the middle of a celebration with people looking on.

“
Mmmm.” Nikoli broke off the kiss and stroked her hair. “We best stop now, you’re throwing me all those signals that make me wild.”

Claire’s response was broken off before it started by
Renka’s angry shriek and the thunk of her wooden cane on the dirt behind them as she hobbled off.

Claire laughed out loud. “
She always knows, doesn’t she?”

Nikoli smiled as he
backed away from Claire a bit. “Yes,” he agreed, “she always does. Hey, what did she keep you for, back at the caravan?”

“
Oh nothing really. She dumped out my tea leaves and read my future.” Claire put the last few words in exaggerated air quotes.

Nikoli’s eyes widened. “
What did she tell you?” he asked.

“
Not much. I’ve traveled far, I’ve lost many I loved, I found love.” She grinned at Nikoli. “Well, at least those parts are true.”

“
What else did she say? Did she predict anything?” Nikoli prodded.

Claire shook her head.
“Nothing important, just a lot of blah-blah-blah.” She didn’t want to tell Nikoli she said they would be bound by blood. He seemed to take stock in Renka’s side show fortune telling. No need to upset him by telling him.

“Claire, I need to know.”

A shriek from across the Camp silenced Nikoli and the rest of the crowd gathered around the pyre. The musicians stopped playing.

“What was that?”
Claire whispered as she gripped Nikoli’s hand. He held his free hand up to quiet her. It seemed like time stood still as silence fell across the entire Camp.

“Claire,” c
alled a disjointed voice from outside the circle. “Come out, Keeper, and bring the Fang with you.”

Claire’s blood ran
cold- the Myrmidons had found them.

Chapter 23

Chaos broke out in the
Camp. People ran screaming through the crowds as they scooped up their children and locked themselves in their caravans. The men grabbed their weapons and watched for danger through the curtain cracks.

Nikoli grabbed Claire
’s hand. “We have to find Renka!” he shouted over the screams of the terrified Camp occupants. Claire nodded and took off beside him. The crowd of panicked people in front of them parted as they saw Nikoli coming. They crossed themselves and murmured old prayers to ward off evil.

An
ya fell into step beside them. “I think she is at home,” she hollered. She knew they were looking for Renka and she was coming along with them.

They found Renka outside her caravan.
She looked at Nikoli soberly. “They have found you,” she stated simply. Nikoli nodded.

“
They cannot come into Camp, Anya laid the circle, they cannot cross it. Everyone is safe here,” Renka declared. Claire wished she had the same confidence in their safety within the Camp.

“Oh Keeper,” t
he disembodied voice sang again from the dark outside the Camp circle. “Let’s end this tonight- you come out and bring the Fang with you or we’ll slaughter all these people in their sleep.”

Renka snorted with disgust. “
Let them try, they can’t even get in here.”

The population of the
Camp had grown silent again when the voice spoke, but this last proclamation brought about weeping and wailing from every corner.

“
Anya, find Garridan. You two go door to door and remind everyone the circle is up and is strong- these jackals bluff,” Renka directed. Anya nodded and let out her shrill call into the night. Garridan answered her back with his own call and Anya sprinted off to find him.

“
Renka,” the voice hissed. “Send her out and we’ll leave you alone. Send us the Keeper and keep your Camp safe. Send us the Guardian too and you can live in peace without fear of us returning,” the voice offered, echoing through the huge pines around the Camp.

Renka spat into the dirt.
“Let them threaten. They won’t have much to say once the sun comes up.” She seemed totally unafraid.

Claire heard someone yelling something across the
Camp. Nikoli grabbed her and made for Anya’s caravan in a hurry. He led her inside.

“Stay here,” h
e barked at her. Claire sat on the bed and hugged her knees up to her chest. Fear rose in her throat.

She heard more shouts proclaiming something spread across the
Camp. She heard caravan doors bang shut as people poured out into the night. A chant of some sort had begun, mimicking the previous shouts. She dared a peek out the window. The people were forming a mob and headed her way.

Niko
li stuck his head in the door. “Don’t worry, my Keeper, I’ve got this,” he reassured her. “I’ll keep you safe. I told you that the first night we met and I meant it.” He closed the door before Claire had a chance to reply.

The chanting grew louder as the crowd outside the caravan increased in size. Suddenly it fell quiet as
Renka’s cantankerous voice filled the night air. Claire couldn’t understand what she was saying, but when she stopped speaking someone let out a call that got the crowd riled up again. The calls and whoops went on, louder and louder. Claire trembled involuntarily. She couldn’t understand what they were saying but she got the gist of it. This angry mob wanted to turn her over to the Myrmidons so they could be free of their terror.

Suddenly the crowd dispersed as people began to run once again back to their homes. The silence was deafening. Claire flinched when the door opened. Anya came in and
rushed over to her.

“You are ok
ay?” she asked. Claire nodded mutely. Anya patted her hand kindly. “Nikoli, he….Renka is so mad…..he made vampire face at our people, they go away then,” she explained to Claire as best she could in her broken English.

In her state of fear Claire took a moment to process that new
s. “He made the vampire face?” she said in wonder. “The red eyes, the fangs?”

Anya nodded, giggling. “
They scared like little girls. He told them he eat them himself if they try to put you out.”

“
You weren’t scared of him?”

“
No, Nikoli look big and scary but I know he would not hurt any of us. He is good, inside.” Anya pointed to her heart. “He not want to hurt my people, he want to keep you safe.” Claire hugged Anya fiercely. The spontaneous hug took Anya by surprise but she hugged Claire back.

“Thank you,”
Claire whispered through her tears. “Thank you for understanding who Nikoli really is.”

“Anya!” a
gruff voice called from outside. “Come out now.”

Claire muttered a curse under her breath. She knew that voice.
Garridan was outside too.

An
ya patted Claire’s hand again. “You are safe here. Safe from Myrmidons, safe from scared people. I have to go, I be back soon. You stay in, do not go out”. She pointed her finger at Claire to emphasize this. Claire nodded her agreement.

As soon as Anya closed the door Claire cranked open the caravan window and stuck her head out, straining to hear the conversation going on by the caravan door. At first she could understand
anything, they were all speaking the language of the Gypsies. She could tell by their tones that Nikoli and Garridan were arguing and Anya was trying to calm down the two. Renka interjected once in a while but mostly stayed silent.