Wilder: The Guardian Series (18 page)

What seemed like hundreds of people gathered around Celeste
in the middle of the dance floor waiting for her to blow out the eighteen
candles on her beautifully decorated cake. She paused for a moment thinking
about what to wish for. A part of her wanted to wish that none of this had ever
happened—that she had never met Nico or Roman or learned about the
supernatural world. She especially wished that she had never become a Guardian.
As she reflected on the past day, a bigger part of her felt that somehow
everything was finally as it should be. So she closed her eyes, wished that she
would become the greatest Guardian that ever lived, and blew out the
candles.
 

The next morning, Celeste awoke feeling much better about the
prospect of her life as a Guardian. In fact, she may even have felt cheery. She
performed a quick scan of her emotions and everything seemed in check –
no intense anger, no burning desire to kill vampires, no supernatural alarm in
the pit of her stomach. She decided she could be the Guardian and still live a
normal, or at least semi-normal life. Graduation day was the day after
tomorrow, and all she wanted to do was enjoy the momentous occasion with her
friends and family.

“Good morning day-after-birthday girl,” said her mom. Her
mother’s face looked weary and something else too. She couldn’t quite put a
finger on it – was it anxiety, fear? “How was the party?” she asked,
forcing a cheery smile.

Celeste decided to do the same. “It was so great, Mom!
Natalie did an amazing job with all the planning, and the decorations were over
the top as usual. I have a bunch of pictures on my phone that I’ll show you.”

“Great, I can’t wait to see them!” she said. “So what’s your
plan for today sweetie?”

“I want to go through more of dad’s stuff in the attic. I
didn’t even get halfway through it the other day.”

As soon as Celeste heard her mother’s car pull out of the
driveway, she climbed up the creaking stairs to the musty attic. She sorted
through more pictures, miscellaneous knick-knacks and yellowing newspaper
clippings, among other things. One old newspaper in particular caught her
attention; it was from eight years ago, just a month or so before her father
died. The headline read “Mysterious Death Blamed on Wild Animal Attack
.
”
She went on to read the editorial, which explained that a woman had been
found with bite marks on her neck and had bled to death on the side of the
road. A shiver went down Celeste’s spine as she imagined another creature that
could have caused that horrific death. She put the article aside, and continued
digging in the trunk. She finally reached the bottom, and when she pushed aside
a heavy photo album, she noticed a small keyhole and what looked like a hidden
compartment.

Celeste dashed down to her room to retrieve the old key that
her mother had just given her and ran quickly back upstairs. She knelt down,
breathless, in front of the trunk and examined the keyhole. She inserted the
key and gave it a twist and was awarded with a
click
. The lid popped open and in the small compartment she
discovered an old VHS tape and an envelope. Celeste’s heart was racing as she
looked at the envelope and recognized the familiar writing. It was from her
father and it was addressed to her. She opened it carefully, scanning the note
in her dad’s meticulous penmanship.

My Dear Celeste,

I have no idea how old you will be when you
read this, but I can only hope that you are a grown woman with children of your
own and that you have led a long and happy life – a life that I was a
part of. If not, that means that I have met an untimely death and unfortunately
you’ve had to bear the burden of my passing. I’m sorry. Although I am gone,
please know that I will always be with you in spirit especially now with all
that awaits you. There is so much that I want to tell you and yet I cannot seem
to find the words. Many years ago when you were just a baby I made a video for
you, and I hope that it will bring you comfort during this difficult time.

I love you Celeste, and I know that you will
become the exceptional woman that you were destined to be. Take care of your
mother, and above all things trust your instincts.

Love, Dad

P.S. I have a few items that may be of use
to you, I have included the address below:

U-Save Self Storage

Unit# 99

125
Willowbend
Road

A lone tear rolled down Celeste’s cheek as she clutched the
note against her chest. She allowed herself a moment of grief to remember her
father then pulled herself together. Celeste had a mission. She picked up the
tape and wondered where in the world she would find a VHS player.

***

“Well that was a huge revelation yesterday,” said Nico
barging into the living room.

“Which revelation was that little brother, the fact that an
ancient vampire is looking for us or that Celeste is pre-programmed to hate and
possibly kill us?” asked Roman, the turmoil evident in his troubled eyes.

“When you put it that way, you make things sound so
depressing…”

“We need to find out who that was and why he’s looking for
us. I’d bet my life on the fact that this has something to do with Fabian.”

“Yes, I tend to agree with you,” Nico admitted.

Roman slumped down on the couch and buried his head in his
hands.

“How’s Celeste?” asked Nico.

“She seemed to be okay when we left the party.”

“And how are you holding up?” he questioned.

“Me? I’m fine.”

“You don’t think that this aversion that Celeste has
developed will affect your…uh…relationship?” Nico asked.

“What are you getting at brother?” he asked, irritation
ringing in his voice.

“Nothing, never mind. But I think it’s necessary that we
figure out this new ‘evil radar’ that she has magically been gifted with.”

“She will learn how to control it.” Roman paused
tentatively,
 
“But yes perhaps we
could use some help.”

“I think it’s time we pay another visit to Stellan. And maybe
this time, we take Celeste with us,” said Nico.

Celeste made a quick call to the Oak Bluffs Library, and just
as she had guessed, they still had VHS players in their children’s movie room. Picking
up her purse and car keys, she headed towards the door. Suddenly, the prospect
of facing such an important discovery alone made her stop in her tracks. She
picked up the phone to call Brian; he would go with her anywhere. Then she
hesitated: Celeste didn’t want Brian to know anything about this. Without
realizing it, she found herself dialing Roman’s number instead.

“Thanks for coming to get me,” she said to Roman as she
hopped in his car.

“Of course, it’s my pleasure,” he said formally.
 

Every so often when Roman spoke, Celeste was reminded that he
wasn’t your average twenty-three year old; in fact he was well over one hundred
years old. The thought that he had been alive for more than a century was too
overwhelming at times, so she tried not to think about it often.

“Roman, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about my visit with the
Council right away. I’ve just been struggling with all of these new feelings
that come along with being the Guardian,” she blurted out.

“You don’t have to apologize to me. I know that you will tell
me when the time is right.”

“I want to tell you about everything.” Celeste began to
describe her vision of the Council in detail, including the appearance of her
father. As she spoke the words aloud, it all became much more real and being
able to share it with Roman also made it much more bearable.
 

“I just have so many questions for them. And they wouldn’t
tell me anything!”

“From what I’ve heard, the process of becoming a Guardian is
shrouded in mystery.”

“Can’t they just give me a guidebook or something?” Celeste
asked, only half-kidding.

“Celeste, it’s not that easy. But remember that you were born
into this, everything will come naturally to you,” Roman reassured her.

“Now you’re starting to sound like them with their vague
advice.”

“I’m serious. Don’t you remember how well you took the news
about me and Nico being vampires?”

“You’re joking right?” she asked with a sidelong glance.
           
“Okay,
well I meant after you ran off,” he said with a smile pulling at the edge of
his lips.
 
“As unbelievable as all
of this may seem, there is something inside of you that is taking it in stride,
right?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“It’s innate Celeste. And it’s that something that will lead
you to become the next Guardian – without a guidebook.” He gave her a
smirk.

Roman and Celeste walked through the silent library, their
footsteps echoing on the marble floor. The children’s room was empty luckily,
with the exception of a few colorful children’s books strewn on the bright
yellow carpet. Celeste had no idea what the video contained, but she figured
the least amount of prying eyes the better. She tried to steady her trembling
hands as she inserted the videotape into the VCR and
pressed
“Play.” First a few lines of static flashed across the screen, and then her
father’s face appeared. It was nothing like she remembered it though. She was
astonished at how young he looked. His hazel eyes were vibrant and his wavy
shoulder-length brown hair was tousled, and he seemed excited yet anxious.

“He must have recorded this video a long time ago,” she
whispered to Roman. “I remember seeing pictures of him looking like this when I
was a baby.”

Hi Celeste! Well, I
don’t know really know where to begin… It’s hard for me to picture the future
you watching this video since I just left the present you in your crib moments
ago. This is all so surreal. But now that I am a father, I feel that it is
important to document our family history so that one day you can fully
understand it. I hope that we will be able to watch this together on your
eighteenth birthday, but if for some reason I am no longer with you, I hope
that this will help. I will give your mother very specific instructions to give
you our family key on the day of your eighteenth birthday. At that time, you
will have had the vision if you were chosen. The key is charmed as is the
trunk, and the secret compartment will only reveal itself to those who have
been chosen. Perhaps this will clear up a few things for you.

You have been born into
a very special family – the Wilders are a long line of hunters that have
been protecting the human world from evil for centuries.
 
In fact, the name Wilder comes from an
ancient language meaning “hunter”- you are a hunter, my dear Celeste. It’s hard
for me to imagine that when I see your sweet innocent face. When I turned
eighteen, I had a vision in which I was chosen by the Council of Guardians to
be the next Guardian, and
I was trained by my father
.
And my
father was trained by my grandfather and so on
.
Not all Wilders in a family line are chosen, and no one really knows why some
are passed over.
 
If you are
watching this video, I can only assume that you have been selected. This is a
very special honor Celeste, but I am not going to lie to you and say that it is
an easy task that you are poised to take on. You will have to make many
sacrifices in your life in order to fulfill your duties.
 
But I want you to have as much of a
normal life as possible. As you know now, I managed to do so. I got married to
a wonderful woman, and I had you, my beautiful daughter. I wish the same happiness
for you.

As a Guardian, you have
been given special abilities; you should begin feeling them shortly after your
birthday if you haven’t already. You will become stronger and faster, and you
will begin to sense the supernatural world around you. Your emotions will be
heightened and your survival instinct will intensify. You must learn to trust
that instinct, as it is in place to protect you. If I am no longer here to train
you, I will make sure to designate someone in my place. The Council will guide
you, so turn to them if you need anything. They have been sworn to protect all
guardians, and will keep our family secret safe.

There are so many
things I want to tell you my darling daughter. Be strong and be brave, and know
that I will always be with you. I love you.

At some point during the story Roman had taken her trembling hand
in his. As Celeste sat in silence attempting to process what her father had
said in the video, she felt a reassuring squeeze.

“So he knew all along,” she said her voice small and shaky as
the weight of her father’s message sunk in. “He knew that it was very likely
that I would become a Guardian like he was. All those years he lied to us. I
thought he was a private investigator, and meanwhile he had been fighting the
forces of evil?”

“I know it’s a lot to take in Celeste,” said Roman.

“I don’t think you do. I feel like everything I knew about my
father was a lie, all he did was keep secrets and live this double life,” said
Celeste sadly.