Wilder: The Guardian Series (13 page)

“So you are sure that it was Fabian that sent Patrick?” asked
Nico.

Stellan’s non-corporeal form had appeared in the middle of
their living room, and he was pacing animatedly.

“I am afraid so. I spoke to a colleague who confirmed that
Patrick had been turned with the sole purpose of coming to Oak Bluffs to track
the two of you,” Stellan said solemnly. “Since the selection of the next
Guardian is almost upon us, the Council has been keeping a close eye on
Celeste. When they discovered that Patrick, a new vampire, had appeared in town
they became suspicious and found what we had feared all along.”

“Why didn’t they warn you that he was here?” asked Roman
clenching his fists.

“Well technically, I am no longer a member of the Council,
Roman. I have been officially retired for some time, so they have no obligation
to inform me of anything. Additionally, when Patrick first appeared, they were
operating under the assumption that he had come for you and Nico. They did not
believe that Celeste was in any danger.”

“So it
is
our fault
that Patrick went after her?” Nico asked as he took the seriousness of the
situation in.

“I imagine that he thought it would be the quickest way to
get to the two of you,” said Stellan, shaking his head.

“But why after all of these years would he suddenly come
looking for us?” asked Roman. “Certainly he has had countless opportunities to
kill us before now. Why now, and why involve Celeste?” Roman marched restlessly
from window to window as Stellan continued.

“As to the timing, I have no clue. As for Celeste, my guess
would be that when Patrick discovered the special attachment you both feel for
her (he paused and looked accusatorially at them both), he shared this fact
with Fabian. He must have been extremely curious to find out more about her
which is why he had Patrick try to capture her,” said Stellan. “But these are
merely suppositions boys…”

“So is the Council going to do something to protect her?”
asked Nico.

“Unfortunately, they cannot intervene directly, not without
Fabian making an overt move. They will be keeping an eye on things as they
develop. Celeste’s birthday is only a few days away, and once she comes into
her powers she will be able to protect herself,” said Stellan.

“Against Fabian? Alone?” snarled Roman, “Are they insane? He
is a thousand- year-old sorcerer with more power than the devil himself. If he
has found out what she is, there will be nothing to stop him from getting to
her. Celeste is a force of good, and he will do anything to destroy her, just
like he did our parents.”

“Roman, we will protect her,” said Nico, putting his hand on
his brother’s chest to calm the mounting rage.

“No, you don’t understand Nico, you never will,” he said,
pushing his brother aside. “You didn’t see what Fabian did to our parents. Our
parents were strong and powerful vampires and they were nothing up against him.
Celeste is just a girl. She is not ready for any of this.” He looked from Nico
to Stellan, his eyes filled with fury.
 

Then Stellan broke in, “We will help her. She will not fight
alone, I promise you Roman. I will do everything in my power to keep her safe.”

“So how do you think you did on the final?” asked Brian as he
caught up with Celeste walking out toward the school parking lot.

“Pretty well, actually, it looks like all that cramming paid
off,” she answered. “How about you?”

“I think I did okay. One down and only four more to go.”

They walked towards their cars together in an uncomfortable
silence, when finally Brian said, “Look I’m really sorry about last night. I
don’t want things to be weird between us; I should have never kissed you.”

“Brian, don’t be sorry,” she said, turning to him with a
genuine smile. “And things won’t be weird unless we let them.”

“Hi guys!” said Natalie as she came bounding towards them. “Thank
God at least one final exam is over. I never want to think about American history
again!”

“Agreed,” they said together.

“Let’s go for a celebratory lunch at Ralph’s. I’m sure
everyone will be there, and I could totally use the sugar high from a chocolate
milkshake before going home to study again,” said Natalie.

“Sounds good to me,” said Celeste.

Celeste wished she could talk to Natalie about what had
happened with Brian, but she knew Natalie liked him. Now that she and Natalie
were becoming so close, she really didn’t want to ruin things. And she
really
wanted to tell her everything
about Roman and Nico, but Celeste had been sworn to secrecy. She understood
well that it was safer for Natalie
not
to know. It was just so hard to carry all of these secrets alone.

Nico came home to find Roman pacing nervously in front of the
fireplace. He couldn’t remember the last time he had seen his brother in such a
state, and it was very unsettling. Roman was always so calm and collected. Nico
shuddered at the thought of the few times when Roman had lost control; it was
not something he liked to think about.

“You’re going to wear a path into the rug if you keep that
up,” said Nico jokingly.

Roman glared at him and continued pacing.

Nico pulled out two ornate invitations from his backpack. “We
have been cordially invited to attend Celeste’s eighteenth birthday on Friday.
It will be at Natalie’s house. Apparently her family is out of town for the
weekend.”

“Great,” said Roman, “I’ll make sure to send my tux to the
dry cleaners.”

“Now that’s the spirit brother! A little humor is exactly
what we need in this situation.”

“I know your main concern is this party, but there are some
more pressing matters we need to discuss.”

Nico dropped his backpack and settled in on the massive
leather couch. “Please proceed,” he said dramatically.

 
Roman let out a
breath. “I have been debating whether or not we should tell Celeste about
Fabian. On one hand, I believe she deserves to know that her life could be at
risk. On the other, I don’t want her to be concerned about something that she
has no control over,” he said.

Nico paused to consider. “I don’t think we should tell her.
We really don’t know much for certain, and I agree that having her worry isn’t
going to help anything. She has enough going on right now with final exams and
graduation. Let’s let her enjoy her last few days of normalcy.”

“Fine, we will keep this information from her until we know
more, and in the meantime I will keep her safe,” Roman said.

“What are you going to do, follow her everywhere she goes?”
asked Nico.

“Yes, if that’s what it takes.”

“Okay, well, that’s not creepy,” countered Nico
sarcastically.

“Be careful, little brother, you are starting to sound like
her,” Roman said with a smirk.

“You are the one that needs to be careful Roman.
You
are falling in love with her.”

***

Ralph’s Diner was packed with rowdy students celebrating the
end of the first day of final exams. No one was giving a second thought to
tomorrow’s exam or the next day’s; that could wait until later this evening.
Celeste, Natalie and Brian sat at the end of a large communal table with half of
their senior class happily eating, drinking and chatting away.

“Okay, we need to talk details for your birthday on Friday!”
said Natalie excitedly.

“Let’s not go too overboard, okay? I just want a low key get
together with my dearest friends,” said Celeste.

“But it’s your eighteenth birthday! That’s a really special
year, and who knows where we will all be next year. This could be our last year
celebrating together.” Natalie crinkled her nose and furrowed her eyebrows
looking as determined as ever.

 
“Okay, okay, so
what were you thinking?” she asked afraid to hear the answer.

“I was thinking a costume ball would be fun!”

“What? That’s not low key, Natalie. That’s the total opposite
of low key!”

“Come on, it will be so much fun to get all dressed up in costumes.
I already know what I want to be – Cat Woman – meow!” said Natalie.
“And anyway, the invitations already went out so there’s really nothing we can
do now.”

Celeste just shook her head and laughed. Natalie was
absolutely incorrigible.

“Hello there beautiful ladies—and Brian,” said Nico as
he sauntered up to the table and pulled up a chair. His short dark hair was
gelled perfectly in place (as usual) and his designer sunglasses rested
casually on his head.

“Hi Nico!” the girls replied, as the entire female population
of the table turned to stare at him. Even the cute young waitress in the poodle
skirt who had been ignoring their table for most of the afternoon appeared out
of nowhere, flashing a smile.

 
“I don’t want to
be a bad influence, but can you bring me your finest pitcher of beer please?”
asked Nico playfully.

“Bad influence… only if you don’t share!” said Natalie with a
flirty wink.

As the chatter ensued, Nico took a second to send Roman a
text message.

I’m with Celeste at the
diner. Don’t worry she’ll be safe with me.

Surely his brother would relax a bit knowing she was with him
at a crowded restaurant filled with eye witnesses.

Later that evening Celeste attempted to study for her
calculus exam, but she kept glancing out the window into the oak tree hoping to
see the falcon. She unlatched the lock and pushed open the window, peering into
the dark branches of the tree. As unnerving as it had been when it first
appeared, she had started to feel curiously comforted by its presence lately.
Nearly every night before she went to bed, Celeste saw it perched on a limb
watching her. There was something almost human about the way it looked at her.
And those eyes - she had never seen a bird with blue eyes. It was the strangest
thing. It was those familiar blue eyes that had caused her to unconsciously
shout out Roman’s name the other night. A part of her knew she was crazy even
thinking it, but after everything she had discovered in the past few days,
nothing seemed impossible anymore.
 

“Celeste, are you still awake?” whispered her mother as she
noiselessly came up the stairs.

“Yup, still studying,” she responded. “What are you doing
home?”

“It was a slow night, and I feel so guilty about how I’ve
abandoned you lately. We haven’t had a night together in weeks, and I miss
you!” said Mrs. Wilder as she sat down on the bed next to her daughter.

“I miss you too, Mom,” she said as she hugged her tightly.

“You seem so preoccupied lately. Is everything okay?” she
asked, her eyebrows furrowed in concern.

Celeste wished she could tell her mother about Roman and Nico
and all of the wild thoughts that were running through her head. After her
reaction the last time, she had a feeling it wouldn’t be wise.

“I guess so, except for the fact that Brian kissed me
yesterday.”

Her mother’s eyes lit up. “He did?”

“Yup.”

 
“Well, I can’t
say that comes to me as a total surprise,” she said. “He’s been crazy for you since
you were little kids.”

“How come I’m the only one who didn’t know
that?” Celeste pondered aloud.

“Sometimes it’s harder to see when you’re the one in the
situation.”

“I guess so.”

“How do you feel about it?”

“I kind of freaked out when it happened. It was a total
surprise to
me
. Brian and I have been
best friends forever, but I had no clue he felt that way about me.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Pretend like it never happened!” said Celeste, closing her
book.

“Celeste,” scolded her mom, “you know Brian is a wonderful
boy, and I know he cares about you so much. Maybe you shouldn’t be so quick to
dismiss his feelings for you, or your feelings for him.”

“But that’s the thing, Mom, I just don’t feel that way about
him. I almost wish I did.”

“Not the way you feel about Nico, you mean?”

Celeste smiled and said, “Well, yes and no. I really like
Nico, he’s sweet, and super hot and a lot of fun—”

“But?”

“When I first met him I thought maybe there could be
something there, but there’s someone else.”

“Oh really? Spill young lady!” said Mom excitedly.

“It’s Nico’s older brother, Roman.”

“I can’t believe we’re done!” Natalie exclaimed as she,
Celeste and Brian walked under the archway of St. Alice’s for the last time.

Celeste looked back at all the swinging classroom doors,
seniors spilling out from every which way. She suddenly felt a pang of
nostalgia remembering her first day of high school. Mrs. Kennedy had driven her
and Brian, and Celeste had been so nervous, wondering if she would make new friends,
if she would like her teachers, meet a cute boy. The last four years had flown
by, and she felt that she had missed out on some of the best parts of high
school because she had felt so empty inside. But now everything was changing.
She could somehow feel it: deep inside, she knew that nothing was ever going to
be the same.
 

“Cel, are you coming to the bonfire on Parker Hill tonight?”
asked Brian as he threw his backpack into his car.

“She needs to get her beauty sleep tonight,” interjected
Natalie. “She has to be well rested for her eighteenth birthday costume bash
tomorrow!”

“Actually, I was thinking of going for a little while.”