Wilder: The Guardian Series (14 page)

Both Natalie and Brian paused dramatically.

“I never thought I would see the day when Celeste Wilder
actually wanted to go to a party – two days in a row, even!” said
Natalie.

“This is the new Celeste Wilder,” she said with a smile.

“Great, do you want to go together Cel?” Brian asked.

“You can pick us both up,” said Natalie. “I’ll be at
Celeste’s making sure her costume is appropriate for the birthday extravaganza
I have planned.”

“So what do you think?” Celeste asked Natalie as she did a
little twirl in her costume.

“I love it! That black mini dress is
super
sexy with that chiffon cape, and is that a bat on your belt? Amazing! Let’s see
the fangs!”

“I don’t want to put them in yet. I sound funny when I talk,”
said Celeste, holding out the pointy white fangs in demonstration.

“This is going to be the best party ever! I am so excited.”

“I am too, Nat. I don’t think I ever thanked you for planning
this amazing birthday party or for being such a good friend. I know I was the
one that pushed you away when we were younger, and I really appreciate you
giving me a second chance.”

“Don’t be silly Celeste, I love you! You are one of my best
friends and always will be,” she said, putting an arm around her friend.

Celeste felt tears welling in her eyes, but Natalie
interjected, “No, no, none of that tonight. We are going to our last bonfire as
seniors, exams are over and we are done with high school!”

When they reached Parker Hill, there was hardly a place to
park Brian’s Mustang. It seemed like all of St. Alice High School along with
some of the recent grads now attending the community college had shown up. The
clearing was teeming with students drinking, laughing and enjoying their first
night of freedom after exams. Natalie bounded ahead toward a group of girls,
leaving Brian and Celeste struggling to keep up.

“I’m going to grab a beer. Do you want one too?” asked Brian
over the blaring music coming from a nearby parked car.

“I thought you were our designated driver,” she said with
hands on her hips.

“I said I’d bring you girls here, but I never promised a ride
back,” he said.

Now Celeste really frowned.

“Relax, I’m kidding, Cel. The Oak Bluffs taxi company is giving
free rides for graduating seniors all night so I’m planning on leaving the ’
Stang
here for the night.”

“Then yes, I will have a beer!” she said with a grin.

Brian had gone off in search of Natalie, and Celeste sat sipping
her beer gazing at the flickering flames of the fire. As she stared, the flames
appeared to change and transform, taking on ominous figures – first a skeleton,
then a monster, next a demon. It seemed like they were dancing in the
firelight. She gasped and quickly turned away, but when she looked back they
were gone. As Celeste rubbed her eyes in disbelief, she felt a cold hand on her
shoulder and almost jumped out of her skin.

“It’s okay Celeste, it’s just me, Roman. Are you alright?”

She leapt into his arms without thinking.
 
“Oh Roman, yeah, I’m okay.” Feeling
suddenly awkward she quickly released him and took a step back. “What are you
doing here?”

“Nico forced me to come along so that I would get out of the
house and have fun,
and
serve as his
designated driver, no doubt.” The look on his face made her think he didn’t mind
it as much as he was pretending to. She laughed and slid over on the bench to
make room for him.

 
“What were you
thinking about when I walked over? You seemed to be deep in thought when I
startled you,” he said.

“If I tell you, do you promise not to think I’m crazy?”

Roman nodded.

“I’ve been having these dreams, and they are filled with
horrible creatures coming for me. And my father is in the dreams with me
sometimes, training me to fight so that I can protect the human world from
these monsters. I don’t even know how to explain it. You must think I’ve
totally lost it.”

“Of course I don’t Celeste. Of all people, I know what kind
of monsters this world is filled with.” He gave her an encouraging smile.

“When I was looking at the fire just a minute ago, I had
another dream – or more of a vision, I guess. It was terrifying.”

“Do you want to tell me about it?”

“No, not really. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’m
dreaming about my dead father, I’m having supernatural visions. I’m pretty sure
I’m going crazy.”

“You’re not going crazy,” Roman began.

“Do you believe in ghosts Roman? I mean, are they real?” She
looked up at him anxiously, her hazel eyes lit up by the glowing fire.

“With everything that you’ve learned in the past few days, do
you really find it that hard to believe that they could be?”

“I don’t know what to believe anymore.”

“Why are you asking?”

“Well, these dreams that I’ve been having about my dad
– I guess I’ve never really told you much about him.”

“Nico mentioned he passed away when you were young.”

“I was ten. He was a private investigator so he worked late
and traveled a lot. He had gone out to meet a client on a rainy night, and he
was killed in a terrible car crash. I never got to say goodbye.”

“I’m sorry, Celeste.” He reached out for her hand, squeezing
it reassuringly.

“So do you think he could be a ghost?”

“I’m not sure, but if he’s only appearing to you in your
dreams, I would think not,” Roman assured her.

“You’re probably right. It’s just that the things he says to
me, they seem so real.”

“Like what?”

Again Celeste considered telling Roman all the details of her
dreams, but something stopped her. How could she tell him that she dreamt about
killing vampires?

“I don’t really want to talk about it. I just hope all the
bad dreams or visions or whatever they are go away soon.”

Roman searched for words to comfort her, but anything he said
would have been a lie. He wanted to tell her that it was just a dream, to
assure her that everything was going to be all right, but he couldn’t be
certain of that. So instead he put his strong arm around her shoulders and let
the warmth of the fire soothe both their worried minds.

“There you guys are,” said Natalie as she and Nico stumbled
to an adjacent bench by the crackling fire pit.

“You two look like you’ve been making the most out of the
keg,” said Celeste.

“Well, it looks like the two of
you
have been making the most out of the romantic firelight,”
countered Natalie. “And I am perfectly fine, Celeste, see – I can touch
my nose while walking in a straight line – no problem!”

Nico caught Natalie just in time as she stumbled trying to
keep her balance.

Celeste laughed and asked, “Where’s Brian?”

“We thought he was with you,” she replied.

“No, he went off a while ago looking for you, and we haven’t
seen him since.”

“I’m sure he found a cute blonde to hit on or something,”
said Nico.

Both Natalie and Celeste shot him a look.

“Should we all go look for him then?” suggested Roman.

They split up to cover more ground: Natalie and Nico went
toward the center of the bonfire and Celeste and Roman took the outer
perimeter. It was a brisk night for May and Celeste wrapped her jeans jacket
tightly around herself as they searched. She tried to keep up with Roman, but her
stride was no match for his. He stopped suddenly, surveying a tall tree ahead.
It was obvious that his keen vampire sight had seen something that she did not.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Nothing. Come on, this way,” he said with a worried look in
his eye.

As they walked deeper into the woods, all of the festive
sounds of the bonfire dissipated and the darkness enveloped them.

Brian, with a red Solo cup in hand, had been wandering around
Parker Hill looking for Natalie. With as much as he had been drinking, he knew
he needed to stay safely away from Celeste, and Natalie could prove a useful
distraction. He had walked up to countless groups of pretty brunettes, but
Natalie was nowhere in sight. Tired and losing focus on his mission, he plopped
down on the ground. Leaning against a tree, Brian pulled out his cell phone and
noticed missed calls and texts from both Natalie and Celeste.
 
He started to type out a reply when a
tall man came out of the shadows.

“Geez, I guess they don’t have an age limit at the community
college these days,” mumbled Brian.

The mysterious man said nothing, inexorably marching towards
him. Before Brian could utter a word, the man grabbed his head and forced him to
look into his fearsome black eyes. Brian felt like the whole world was spinning
for a moment, and then he felt nothing.

“Are you Celeste Wilder’s best friend Brian?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Where is she?”

“She’s here somewhere, but I don’t know where,” he replied
with a vacant stare.

“Do you know Roman and Nico Constantin?”

“Yes.”

“Are they here too?” the stranger questioned.

“I don’t know,” Brian managed. “I haven’t seen them.”

“Do you know what the Constantins want with Celeste?”

“Want with her? I don’t know, I guess they are into her,”
said Brian.

The strange man continued to assault Brian with questions never
dropping his dark gaze until he heard voices approaching. He quickly turned
back to him saying, “Brian, you will remember nothing that just happened,” and
he disappeared into the dark forest.

“Brian, where have you been? We’ve been looking everywhere
for you,” said Celeste.

“Oh sorry, I think I passed out. Too much beer and not enough
sleep I guess,” he said shaking his head drowsily.

Roman offered him his hand and hauled him up onto his feet.
“Come on it’s getting late, why don’t I get you kids home?”

Walking back to the bonfire, they reconnected with Natalie
and Nico, and all piled into Nico’s car with Roman at the steering wheel and
Celeste riding shotgun. As Roman drove, Celeste looked over at him and he
caught her eye. She silently mouthed “thank you” and he shot her a quick smile
before turning his focus back on the road.

When they pulled into Celeste’s driveway, Brian mumbled his
goodnights and walked unsteadily home while Nico snored in the back seat. Roman
escorted Celeste to the front door.

“Is your mom home?” he asked, looking at her intently.

“No, she’s working the overnight shift again.”

“Are you going to be all right by yourself?”

“I’ll be fine. I do it all the time,” Celeste reassured him.

Roman looked at her for a long moment, and she could see the
inner struggle flash through his eyes. Finally he said, “I can stay with you if
you want, so you don’t have to be alone.”

Celeste felt her face flush at the thought of spending the
night with Roman in any capacity. “I’d really like that, as long as we get you
out of here before my mom gets back in the morning,” she said, trying to hide
the beaming smile on her face.

Roman returned to the car to wake Nico and let him know he’d
be staying for the night. Even in his inebriated state, Nico had to question
this decision.

“You’re going to spend the night inside her house, just the
two of you? Do you really think that’s wise?”

“I’m doing it to protect her,” he responded. “It’s the night
before her birthday. According to Stellan if we are right about her, it will
happen tonight. Someone needs to be there for her.”

Nico shook his head, but knew there was no arguing with his
brother on the matter. “Have you fed today, Roman?” he asked.

“No, but I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Yes,” he said resolutely.

Celeste had put on her cutest pajamas, and was brushing her
teeth looking at her reflection in the mirror contemplating how much her life
had changed in a matter of weeks. Just a few short weeks ago she knew nothing
about the existence of vampires, and now she was fairly sure she was falling in
love with one. She felt an intense excitement building inside of
her
as she giddily thought about a night alone with Roman.

Am I crazy to think he
could possibly feel the same way about me? He must have dated hundreds of
girls…literally!
The sound of Roman’s footsteps coming up the stairs snapped
her out of her musings.

“Hi,” she said as she popped her head out of her bedroom
door, “come on in.”

“You don’t have to invite me into every room in the house
individually,” said Roman, eyes twinkling.

As he walked around the room admiring her pictures, Celeste
suddenly felt uncomfortable being alone in her bedroom with him. Her heart was
racing and her palms were getting sweaty.

“Everything okay?” he asked as he sat down on the foot of her
bed.

She was a bit thrown by his observation. She wasn’t entirely
sure he
wasn’t
reading her mind. She
wondered if he felt the intimate connection as strongly as she did.

“Yeah, sure, I was just thinking about how my mom would
totally freak out if she knew I had a guy in my room in the middle of the night
when she wasn’t home.”

“Am I making you uncomfortable? Do you want me to leave?” he
asked sounding a little hurt.

“Of course not. I’m really happy that you are here. But maybe
we can go sit in the den instead?”

“After you,” said Roman and he let her lead the way back
downstairs.

Once they were settled in on the couch with the television
tuned into a late night talk show, Celeste felt much more at ease. Roman had
taken off his jacket to reveal a cozy black Henley shirt underneath, paired
with dark, stylish jeans. She tried not to stare at him, but her eyes kept
wandering in his direction. His dark, wavy hair rested right above his brow,
drawing attention to his beautiful deep cobalt blue eyes. His hand rested
casually next to her thigh, almost touching it. The attraction that she felt
towards him was uncanny, but as striking as he was to look at, she knew it was
much more than just his good looks drawing her in. She had felt something
similar when she had first met Nico, but it was nothing as powerful as this. Looking
up she realized he was staring at her too.