Wilder: The Guardian Series (31 page)

“It’s really great to be back home,” said Celeste. She and
her mom sat in the sunny backyard and nibbled on warm chocolate chip cookies
after lunch.

“Then why don’t you just come back already?” asked her mom.

“There are some things going on that I need to take care of,
Mom. I can’t come back here until I do. It’s not safe for you or anyone.”

Her mom gave her a worried look. “And how about you, who is
going to keep you safe?”

“You don’t have to worry about me, Mom. I have my Guardian
powers now and everyday I’m getting stronger. Plus I have Stellan, Roman and
Nico to protect me.”

“I don’t know Celeste. You are still my little girl, and I’ll
always want to protect you.”

“I killed a vampire,” she blurted out.

“You did what?” she asked leaping out of her seat.

“I killed him, Mom, the vampire that killed Dad.”

Saying the words out loud opened a floodgate of emotions that
she hadn’t realized she had been suppressing. Quite unexpectedly, she found
herself sobbing like a baby in her mother’s comforting arms. Feeling
embarrassed, she said, “I’m okay, I just feel everything so strongly now. It’s
part of being a Guardian I guess.”

 
“Who was this
vampire that killed your dad? And how in the world did you kill him?”

“It’s a long story Mom, and I promise I’ll tell you about it
later. I’d rather not think about it right now,” she said pausing. “I had lots
of help though; I couldn’t have done it without Roman, Nico and Stellan.”

“You are a very brave young woman. Your father would be so
proud of you.”

“Remember how I told you I was having dreams about him? I see
him all the time now. He’s been helping to train me. It all seems so real, it’s
like he’s really there with me.”

“I’m so glad that he is helping you through this.”

“Me too. I guess it’s one of the positive side effects of
being the Guardian.”

Her mom smiled ruefully. “I wish I could see him. I miss him
terribly, you know?”

“You never really talk about him. You’re always so busy with
your patients and the hospital. I used to think you had forgotten about him.”

“Of course not, Celeste! I’m sorry if how I acted made you
think that. It’s easier for me not to think about him or talk about him. It
hurts too much,” she said with tears in her eyes.

“I thought maybe you didn’t talk about him because he was a
Guardian, and you were mad at him for that. And that you’d be mad at me too.”

“I could never be mad at either of you for that. I may not
like the idea of it, but I know it’s a very important duty that you were chosen
for.”

Celeste smiled at her mother gratefully.

“I don’t know if Stellan shared this with you, but he’s been
keeping me updated on your progress.”

“No, he didn’t tell me that,” said Celeste. She wondered why
he hadn’t.

“You think I’m just going to send you off to live with a man
I hardly know without keeping an eye on you?”

Celeste laughed.

“It’s been very enlightening. He’s been very helpful actually
in making me understand all of this.”

“I’m glad, Mom.”

“Tell me the truth though, how do you really feel about all
of this?”

“It’s hard. Sometimes I just want to run away from it all,
the responsibility, the training,
the
fear, all of it.
But then other times when I have my sword in my hand and I’m swinging it
through the air, everything just feels so right, like this is what I was born
to do.”

Celeste’s mom looked at her proudly as she continued.

“Stellan has been great. He’s taught me so many things. He
always seems to know the right thing to say. I could see why he and dad were
close, and why he chose him to train me. And Roman, I don’t think I’d still be
here today if it weren’t for him. He makes me stronger, like I can do anything
when I’m with him. And he’s the one who gets me through all of this craziness.”

“Yes, Stellan has told me that he has been quite instrumental
in your training.”

“He has been.” Celeste couldn’t help but smile when she
thought of him.

“You’re in love with Roman aren’t you?”

“Yes,” Celeste admitted, her face reddening.

“First loves are very important, Celeste. I know I haven’t
been as supportive as I should have been, but I trust your judgment. If you
love Roman, I know he must deserve it, even if he is a vampire.”

“Thanks Mom, that means a lot to me.”

“Maybe when you come back home in a few weeks, we can have him
over for dinner so I can get to know him a little better. He does eat, doesn’t
he?”

“Yeah, he does. That would be really great,” she said.

“You know, you’ve grown up a lot these past few weeks. I can
see it in your eyes. Something has changed.”

“I’m not a little girl anymore, Mom.”

***

“How is it possible that that traitor has gone missing?”
asked Fabian, clenching his fist angrily.

“The word underground is that he’s dead – killed by the
Constantins,” said Alek.

“That’s impossible! Magnus was over a thousand years old.
Those two boys were no
match
for him.”

“Perhaps they had help.”

“Stellan?”

“That would be my guess,” said Alek.

“But it is not Stellan’s style to involve himself in this
sort of thing. I know he cares for those boys, but he’s practically retired.”

“One thing is for certain: there is no way that the
Constantins took Magnus out on their own. There must be a new player in town.”

“Whoever it is, we will have to make sure they do not
interfere with my plan. There is too much at stake, and I will not risk losing
my chance at finally being reunited with Lilliana,” finished Fabian.

***

Roman and Nico had been driving in silence each lost in
thought. Nico turned to look at his brother and noticed a smile on his face.

“You seem different, you know?” said Nico, breaking the
stillness.

“How so?”

“Happier I suppose, and more determined.”

“
Umhmm
…”

“I don’t know exactly, but it’s good to see you like this.
It’s like you have a renewed purpose in life. I take it things are going well
with Celeste?”

“Don’t be nosey, little brother,” Roman said with a grin.

“Oh come on Roman, it’s the least you can do considering you
pretty much stole her out from under my nose.”

“I did no such thing,” he said defensively. “Don’t forget who
spent nearly every night in a tree for weeks watching over her.”

“Aha!” Nico announced victoriously. “I knew you felt
something for her even back then!”

“Fine Nico.
 
Yes
everything is going well with Celeste, and I am happy. I feel like I finally
have a purpose in this eternal life we are forced to lead, but all of that
terrifies me. I have so much more to lose now.”

“You’re not going to lose her.”

“You don’t know that Nico. Fabian is coming—he could be
here already for all we know. And who knows what he will do once he finds out
what she is. Assuming he doesn’t kill us all, what kind of life could we even
have together?”

Putting a hand on his brother’s shoulder, Nico said, “Roman,
you need to stop and take a breath. Let’s focus on one thing at a time, okay?
First we’ll find Fabian and kill him, just like we did with Magnus. And then
you can worry about living happily ever after with Celeste.”

“If only it were that easy,” said Roman.

As Celeste drove to the quaint town square for the annual
end-of-summer barbecue to meet Brian and Natalie, she thought about the
orientation package she had just received from NYU.
 
For as long as she could remember all
she had ever wanted was to go to college there, and now it couldn’t be further
from her mind. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to go; she simply couldn’t
imagine juggling college with her duties as a Guardian. Celeste wished that her
father were here to talk to, since he was the only one that would truly
understand.

How did he do both?

And then there was Roman: how could she leave him? Celeste
was relieved to see the park up ahead so she could put off her worrying to
another time. All she wanted was to enjoy this beautiful summer day with her
friends like a normal teenager.

“Celeste, over here!” said Natalie as she waved her over
eagerly.

Celeste crossed the grassy lawn to join her and Brian and a
group of their former classmates. They all hovered around a long picnic table
clad with a red and
white checkered
tablecloth and
covered with half empty plastic cups and barbecue favorites.

“I’m so glad you made it home for the barbecue—it is an
Oak Bluffs summer tradition after all,” said Natalie, “and this could be our
last one together.”

Celeste looked at her friend sadly and stuck out her lower
lip in a pout. “I know.”

“Celeste! You made it!” said Brian as he stumbled over.

“Whoa there, are you okay?” She grabbed him by the shoulders
to keep him from toppling her over. His bright green eyes were shinier than
normal and there was a noticeable slurring of his words.

“Yeah, great, never been better!”

As the words came out of his mouth, Celeste was overcome by
the intoxicating smell of beer. “Are you drunk in the middle of the day?”

“No, of course not,” he said with a big goofy grin.

“He’s been drinking for hours,” said Natalie with a scowl.

“Nothing wrong with that,” he said. “We are celebrating
right? Summer’s almost over, and everyone’s going away to college, and I’m
going to be stuck here in Oak Bluffs for the rest of my life while you all move
on without me.”
 
There was an
awkward silence as everyone seated turned to stare at Brian.

“Hey, why don’t you come with me, and we’ll get you some
water,” said Celeste, grabbing his hand like a disobedient child.

“I don’t want any water. I’m going to sit right here with my
new friend, Lacey and drink my beer,” he said, as he plopped down on the bench
and put his arm around the girl. Celeste recognized Lacey from one of her
classes. She was a junior – semi-popular with a cute blonde pixie cut
hairstyle.

“Come on Celeste, let’s get you a drink, then maybe Brian
won’t seem so obnoxious,” said Natalie, glaring at him.

Celeste poured the frothy beer into her cup and as it slowly filled
she thought about Brian. She couldn’t remember the last time she had seen him
like that. Sure, he would get drunk sometimes, but never like this and never so
full of hostility.

“What is going on with him?” Celeste wondered out loud.

“He’s been having a rough time lately, I think,” said
Natalie. “With you being gone and the summer ending and everyone getting ready
to go away for college, he’s been acting weird.” She shrugged and dropped the
spout hastily back on the keg.

“Did he say something to you?”

“No, of course not. He’s too proud to admit it when he’s
sober anyway.”

“I had no idea he was feeling that way.”

“Have you talked to him much at all lately?” Natalie asked
her.

“No,” Celeste said. “And thanks for making me feel like a bad
friend!”

“You’re not a bad friend, and he knows that. You just don’t
love him the way that he loves you and that’s bound to make things weird.”

“Has he said anything about me?”

“He told me that you told him that you and Roman were
together. He said he was okay with it, but I know he’s not,” said Natalie,
pausing to take a sip of the beer.

“I don’t know what to do Natalie. I can’t help how I feel,
but I don’t want to hurt Brian. Everything I do or say is wrong. How can I fix
this?”

“I don’t think there is anything you can do, Celeste. He has
to move on, and it’s just going to take some time.”

“I should go talk to him,” Celeste said as she turned back
toward the picnic table.

“I don’t think now is the best time. He probably won’t
remember most of the conversation anyway.”

“That’s kind of what I was hoping for,” said Celeste.

Sitting at the edge of the table, Celeste took a gulp of her
lukewarm beer and picked at the coleslaw on her plate. She tried to enjoy
herself, but she had so many things running through her mind it was almost
impossible. She glanced over at Brian who had his head buried in his supersized
cup. Seeing him so upset was killing her inside, and not knowing how to fix it
was even worse. She watched her classmates from afar, so happy and carefree,
and she felt a twinge of envy. Part of Celeste wanted to be like them –
their biggest concern was deciding their fall class schedules. Then she thought
about Roman and Nico and even Stellan, if she hadn’t been chosen, she would
never have met any of them. Roman made her feel whole again, and if she had
never met him, she was certain that she would have spent the rest of her life
feeling incomplete. She took another sip and as if he had sensed that she was
thinking of him, she felt a vibration in her pocket and saw a text message from
Roman.

How’s the picnic?

She quickly typed out a response and forced herself to snap
out of her funk and went to join her friends.

“Look at that junior, Lacey, all over Brian like a cheap
suit!” said Natalie.

She and Celeste were sitting across from Brian and his new
friend and had a front seat view of the drunken flirtations. “At least it looks
like he’s having fun,” said Celeste.

“He has no idea what he’s doing. Brian would flirt with an
inanimate object at this point.”