Wilder: The Guardian Series (21 page)

“Celeste, you remind me so much of your father – that
enormous heart and eternal optimism. The best thing for you, my dear, is to
stay as far away as possible from both Roman and Nico. It hurts me to say that
to you because I know how much they care for you, but a hunter cannot be
friends
with vampires, let alone vampires who are being
pursued by Fabian. I promised your father many years ago that I would protect
you, and I must keep my word.”

“But I need them,” she murmured softly.

***

“Paging Nurse Wilder, Nurse Wilder you are needed at the ER
front reception a.s.a.p.”

Celeste’s mom hurried to the Emergency wing of Oak Bluffs
Hospital, wondering why they would need her in the ER.

“Nurse Wilder, there is a man here looking for you. He said
it was an emergency—something about your daughter,” said the ER nurse.

As she approached the man the nurse had pointed out, Olivia
noticed a white streak in his hair and an ugly scar across his right eyebrow,
and the tiny hairs on the back of her neck shot up as a cold shiver shot down
her spine.

***

“Do you have any questions for me, my dear?” asked Stellan.

“How much time do you have?” retorted Celeste.

Stellan chuckled good-naturedly. Looking into his kind
grayish eyes, she was reminded of her own grandfather. Perhaps it was this
resemblance that allowed Celeste to trust Stellan almost immediately.

“I don’t understand how I’m supposed to fight all of these
evil creatures. After our encounter with that vampire, I just don’t see how I
could ever be a match for any of them.”

“As I’m sure the Council told you, you will begin to develop
special powers. You will become stronger and faster. And you have to train.
Some of this will come to you naturally, but there is nothing better than hard
work and effort.”

“That’s what Roman and Nico said,” Celeste agreed.

“Yes, well sometimes they do know what they’re talking
about.”

“Did Roman tell you that I see my dad in dreams?” Celeste
asked Stellan.

“No, he didn’t. That is quite extraordinary. It is not easy
for a former Guardian to manifest himself in dreams.”

“Really?”

“Yes, it is quite rare. It must be because he loves you so
much.” Celeste threw him a grateful smile.

“Is there any way to regulate my emotions? I feel like I’m
losing control of myself sometimes.”

“That’s normal and it will get better with time. As you know,
your emotions are heightened right now, but there’s a reason for it. It allows
you to become aware of the supernatural world around you,” Stellan counseled
her.

“So there’s no magical on/off button?”

 
“No, I’m afraid
not.”

Celeste bit her lip and spit out the question she had been too
scared to ask. “Is there a way to train myself to not want to kill Roman or
Nico?”

Stellan glanced at her with a knowing smile. “I’m sure we can
figure something out.”

Roman and Nico stood on one side of the sunny clearing behind
Stellan’s home while Celeste and Stellan stood on the other. Celeste wiped her
sweaty palms against her jeans and tried to focus on Stellan’s calming voice.
He was standing behind her, holding her firmly by the shoulders.

“Now the fact that you are able to be in such close proximity
to those two without being overwhelmed by your urges means that you are already
exerting a high degree of control.”

“Uh huh,” murmured Celeste, with little confidence.

“Now, I’m going to ask you to completely let go and drop
whatever defenses you’re using to block those urges.”

“Okay.”

Roman and Nico looked on anxiously from across the yard.

“Go on, don’t be afraid. I’ve got you,” said Stellan,
increasing the pressure on her shoulders.

Celeste breathed in and out slowly and closed her eyes in
concentration. She searched deep inside her mind and dropped down the wall that
she had carefully built up over the past few days. She was immediately pummeled
by an onrush of emotions, getting stronger by the minute. Blindly driven by
rage, she lunged towards the vampires. Stellan, who was stronger than he
looked, held her in check.

“Celeste, keep breathing, slowly, in and out. You can’t block
the feelings. You must take them in and allow them to become a part of you.”

“I can’t! It’s too much.” She wriggled, straining to get
away.

Celeste caught sight of Roman’s tense expression from across
the field. A different kind of emotion flowed through her. She knew she had to
try for him. She breathed in again slowly and as she inhaled the air, she let
all the intense feelings and emotions circulate through her. When she exhaled,
she blew them out as hard as she could. She repeated this exercise a few more
times while Stellan murmured encouragingly.

“I think that’s enough for today,” he said. “How do you
feel?”

“Exhausted. But I’m better, I think.”

“Good. You will see that it will get easier every day.”

Before Stellan released her, she let the wall come back up in
her mind. To her pleasant surprise, she found it wasn’t necessary to build it
quite so high this time.

Celeste sat on the squeaky porch swing staring out into the
quiet woods behind Stellan’s house. She was thinking about what he had said to
her about her father, how he didn’t want her to have anything to do with
supernaturals
.

Well it’s a little late
for that…

“Penny for your thoughts,” said Roman as he came out onto the
porch.

“With all the thoughts I have going on in my head right now,
you’d need to give me much more than a penny,” Celeste joked.

He smiled at her ruefully and joined her on the swing, which
creaked in protest at his additional weight. “So did you have a good talk with
Stellan earlier?”

 
“Yeah, I guess
you could say that. He knew my father too, Roman.”

“I had a feeling he might have. I knew he had been on the
Council so I figured he must have crossed paths with him at some point.”

“No, but he really knew my dad; he said they were very close.
Stellan is going to train me. He’s the one my dad was talking about in the
video. He promised him that he would.”

“That’s great news Celeste. Stellan will be a wonderful
mentor for you—kind, patient, wise and above all powerful, as you have
seen. He will make sure that you are prepared for what’s to come.”

“Uh huh.”

“What’s wrong?” he asked, resting his arm around her
shoulders.

“So much is wrong! I don’t even know where to begin.”

“Celeste, everything is going to work out. The fact that you
will have Stellan at your side is wonderful news.
 
Between him and Nico and me, you’re
going to have the best trainers in the world.”

“Right.”

Celeste couldn’t bear the thought of telling Roman that
Stellan didn’t want them to be a part of her life. She was pretty sure that he
wouldn’t take it well either.
But is
Stellan right?

 
“Come on, let’s
go for a walk. It’s really beautiful out there. I love coming out here and getting
lost in the woods. It’s so peaceful.”

“I could definitely use some peace,” she said.

As they strolled through the tranquil forest, Celeste did
begin to feel more at ease with every step, taking in deep cleansing breaths.
She admired the lush green evergreens and focused on the melodic chirping of
birds perched in the branches above. Crunching through the fallen leaves, she
missed a step and tripped over a fallen branch. Roman reached out for her and
thanks to his quick vampire reflexes caught her just before she hit the ground.
And this time when his arms came around her, she didn’t feel that ominous
sensation when they touched. She let herself fall into his strong arms, and she
looked up into his intensely smoldering eyes as he held her tightly.

“I got you.”

“I know,” she said, gazing breathlessly into his bottomless
blue eyes.

As he helped her stand back up, she got up on her tiptoes and
ever so lightly brushed her lips against his. The reaction she got back was
more than she had hoped for. Roman pulled her closer to him, arms enveloping
her, and kissed her feverishly. She felt his need for her, the hunger burning
inside him. The intensity of the moment startled her, and half-consciously she
pulled away.

“Sorry,” he said looking embarrassed. “I shouldn’t have done
that.”

“No, don’t,” she said, reaching out to caress his face. “I
wanted you to.” She looked away feeling the redness creeping up into her face.
“I think we should probably head back though.”

Walking back in a contented silence their hands clasped
together, Celeste couldn’t help but smile as she thought about the thrilling,
spine-tingling kiss.

Now that is what it’s
like in the movies!

“Celeste, your phone has been blowing up,” said Nico, as she
and Roman came in. Celeste hurried off to find her purse and Roman joined the
others in the kitchen.

“You see how I keep up with the slang of my contemporaries?”
he said to Stellan with a wink.

“You really are a wonder, little brother,” quipped Roman.

All of a sudden Celeste came running into the kitchen with a
look of sheer panic on her face. All three men froze.

“It’s my mom! The vampire from my birthday—I think he
has her!” Celeste’s eyes were wide with panic, and her voice had begun to
shake.

“What did he say?” asked Roman, rushing to her side.

“He said that if I don’t meet him in an hour at the Oak
Bluffs cemetery by our family plot, I’ll find her buried in it.”

“We’ll never make it back in time,” said Nico.

“Maybe you can’t, but I can get you there,” said Stellan.
“Now before I send you into a trap, we need to take a moment and make a plan.”

“Hurry Stellan please, it’s my mom,” she said, her voice
rising in panic.

“Based on what the boys told me, I am quite sure that your
mystery vampire is Magnus. He is an ancient and treacherous vampire who is
frequently sent as a mercenary to do other’s dirty work. He does not have a
shred of humanity in him, and he kills for the pure pleasure of it. He is
certainly stronger than the two of you, I’m afraid.” Stellan had begun pacing
and was waving his arms animatedly.

“But he doesn’t know about me, right?” asked Celeste.

“I hope not, but in any event Celeste, you are not ready to
fight. I am not sending you into a battle that you have no chance in winning,”
he said.

“Agreed,” said Roman and Nico in unison.

“Anyway, it’s us he wants, so we will go and trade ourselves
for your mother,” said Roman.

“No, I won’t let you!” said Celeste.

“We’ll be fine, don’t worry about us,” said Nico.

“Good, it’s settled. I will open a portal to transport Roman
and Nico to the cemetery, and Celeste will stay here with me. We will be able
to watch what is happening, and I can track you if necessary.”

Celeste walked away with arms folded obstinately across her
chest. When Roman approached her she said, “I am not okay with this.”

“I promise that no harm will come to your mother. I
will
get her back to you safely, believe
me,” Roman promised.

“And what about you and Nico? Who’s going to get you back to
me safely?”

“Nico and I can take care of ourselves. We are a lot tougher
than we look, and we defeated him last time so this time should be all the
easier.”

“What if you are all right and this is about Fabian? Stellan
pretty much confirmed that this Magnus is just hired help. He killed your
parents – what does he want with the two of you?”

“I don’t know Celeste, but I’m tired of spending my life
running. It’s been over a hundred years, maybe it’s time we finally confront
him.”

“I can’t lose you,” she said, tugging on his shirt.

“You won’t,” he said as he pulled her into his arms.

Stellan pulled out a thick leather-bound book with frayed,
yellowing pages that reminded Celeste of the spell book the
Halliwell
sisters used in
Charmed
. After
mumbling a few words, the air in front of them began to shimmer and swirl and a
portal large enough for a full-grown man to walk through appeared. Celeste
stared in awe at it, wondering what it would feel like to pass through. She
held out her hand, penetrating the swirling air in front of her and her fingers
disappeared right before her eyes. She quickly pulled it back and was relieved
to see all of her fingers were still intact.
  

“Roman, Nico – are you ready?” asked Stellan.

They both nodded in agreement.

“The portal will drop you at the entrance of the cemetery
just about one hundred yards from the Wilder family tomb, which will hopefully
provide you the element of surprise. Good luck boys!”

Roman squeezed Celeste’s hand, and she responded with an
encouraging smile. Nico jumped first with a “
Whoohoo
!”
then Roman leapt through the whirling vortex. Before Celeste knew what she was
doing, she lunged at Roman’s shirttail and plunged in after them, gleaming
sword in hand.
 

Seconds later, Celeste landed with a thud on the hard gravel
entryway of the Oak Bluffs Cemetery. “Ouch!” cried Celeste. She examined her
elbow and carefully removed a few pieces of gravel that were encrusted in her
skin.

“Celeste! What did you do?” asked Roman angrily.