Wilder: The Guardian Series (36 page)

Behind her, Celeste heard a rush of footsteps approaching;
Fabian reacted to them as well and turned around, finally seeing Celeste. Dante
and the others rounded the corner, swords in hand ready to resume the
fight.
 

“Give up now, and we will spare your life in return for your
years serving on the Council,” said Dante. He stood poised for battle, back
straight and shoulders high. Stellan, Sierra and the others flanked him on both
sides, faces unflinching.

Fabian let out an ominous chuckle. He made a move towards the
body, but Dante stopped him, crossing the distance between them in the blink of
an eye. He clutched Fabian by the neck and held him high in the air.

“Surrender,” hissed Dante.

“And what live powerless for the end of my days in a prison?
I’d rather die.”

“If that is what you wish,” he said coolly. All of the
Council members pooled their energy and a powerful force swept over Fabian.

“No! You can’t take away my powers!”

As he struggled futilely against Dante’s iron grip, Sierra
approached him, wielding a sword similar to the one Celeste had but with its
own unique hunter symbol.
 
With a
sharp thrust, she drove it into his heart. His body contorted unnaturally then
began to shrivel leaving only a charred black corpse in its place.

Standing behind Stellan, Celeste let out the breath she’d
been holding as she saw Fabian’s lifeless body crumple to the ground. Dante
hovered over it, mumbling a few words Celeste couldn’t make out. The other
Council members had gathered around it as well. They formed a circle and with
hands held tightly they stood together in silence.

Celeste needed to get back to Roman and Nico. She turned
away, leaving the strange and unfamiliar scene in front of her to hurry back to
the center of the cave. As she ran, she looked around for Alek of whom she had
lost track of since the appearance of the Council, but he was gone.

“It’s finally over,” she said letting relief sink in.

“I knew you could do it,” whispered Roman.

Looking down she saw Roman’s haggard expression, and crouched
down to sit next to him. She picked up his head and cradled it in her lap. He
still looked so pale, she thought worriedly.

“Roman, please take some of my blood,” she said, offering her
wrist.

“No, I can’t,” he said shaking his head.

“You are going to need your strength to get through the
portal – both of you are.”

“I’m feeling better Celeste. Dani and I shared a blood bag
that she had brought for a snack,” said Nico.

“And you didn’t save any for Roman?” she asked indignantly.

“Sorry, that was my fault. I didn’t realize how hungry I
was,” said Dani, flushed with embarrassment. “After I gave the Council my blood
to heal them, I needed to replenish.”

Celeste could see that Roman was having a hard time sitting
up, and he was doing a poor job trying to hide it. “Oh this is ridiculous,”
said Celeste picking up the dagger from the floor and slicing her wrist.

“Celeste, don’t!” said Roman.

But it was too late. She put her bleeding wrist up against
his mouth, and he was unable to control his reaction. His fangs fastened onto
her soft skin and the blood he desperately needed trickled into his mouth.

“Don’t worry, I’m fine. I’ll tell you when to stop, and you
will. I trust you,” she said looking into his worried eyes.

“What do you think you are doing?” cried Dante as he walked
over to see Roman feeding from Celeste.

Roman quickly let go of her arm and retracted his fangs, a
mortified look crossing his beautiful face.

“I’m saving his life!” Celeste insisted.

“Do you know how precious Guardian blood is? And you are
wasting it on a vampire!”

“A vampire saved
your
lives today, too. If Dani hadn’t given all of you her blood, you wouldn’t have
been strong enough to defeat Fabian.” Dante had the decency to look down,
slightly abashed.

“And I don’t care what you think. It is my blood and I will
do with it whatever I feel like,” she continued defiantly.
 
“Roman was willing to give up his life
for me today – they both were. There aren’t many humans I know that would
do the same.”

Backing down, he said, “Still, you must know that this sort
of thing is unconventional and of course frowned upon.” Dante looked at Stellan
with a smirk. “It looks like you will have your hands full with this one.”

“Yes, I am quite aware of that. Thank you for intervening
Dante. I know it is not something the Council does frequently,” said Stellan
looking at Celeste with a frown.

She suddenly felt guilty for being so rude; they had just
saved all of their lives. “Yes, Dante, Sierra and everyone, thank you,” she
said with all the sincerity she could muster.

“Well I am happy we were able to avert a disaster. The end of
the Wilder family bloodline would have been an immeasurable loss to the world,”
Dante said. With a parting bow, all four of them, carrying their fallen
companion, vanished in a burst of light just as quickly as they had appeared.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I am so ready to go home
even if that means spending the rest of my days in the basement!” said Dani.

“Go ahead; we’ll be right behind you. You can see some of
Russia while you’re out there waiting,” said Roman.

“Are you okay?” asked Celeste.

“Yes, I’m fine. Dante was
right,
your blood really is…special. I feel different somehow,” he said with a smile.
“There’s just something I need to check before we leave.”

Roman stood up slowly at first but in seconds his color and
his strength had returned. He walked over to the table that Alek had wheeled in
moments before the Council’s arrival, but the body was gone.

“Stellan, did you see what I did? I know I was at the point
of losing consciousness, but I know what I saw,” said Roman.

“What?” asked
Nico.

“It all happened so fast, I can’t be sure,” said Stellan,
shaking his head.

“But it can’t be. I buried her behind our house in Oak Bluffs
decades ago. But you thought it was her too?”

“It certainly did look like her.”

“What are you two talking about?” asked Nico perplexed.

“Fabian had her—he had our mom’s body.”

“Well at least what looked like your mother,” added Stellan.

“What?” asked
Nico.
“How is that
possible?”

Stellan walked over to Fabian’s book of spells and skimmed
over the page to which it had been opened. “It’s a resurrection spell,” he said
amazed, “which is very dark magic. It looks like he needed your blood to
complete it.”

“Why would Fabian want to resurrect your mother?” asked
Celeste.

“Yeah, that makes no sense,” said Nico.

Roman’s puzzled look slowly turned to a knowing smile. “I
think I know why. He loved her. Even after all that time and everything she did
to him. He still loved her and wanted her back,” said Roman with a furtive
glance toward Celeste. She caught his eye and warmth flooded over her.

“So where is her body now?” asked Nico.

“I don’t know. I lost track of it in the struggle,” said
Roman.

“Do you think Alek took her?” asked Celeste. “He was out of
here in a flash once the Council showed up.”

“Perhaps, but it wouldn’t make much sense,” said Stellan. “I
can try to track him down when we get back home.” Roman scanned the area around
the cavern one more time
,
then Celeste took his hand and
led him out.

Waking up in her own bed still felt strangely unfamiliar to
Celeste even though she’d been back for days now. After weeks at Stellan’s she
had become used to the lumpy mattress and timeworn smell of the guest room,
which she had begun to relate to her new life as a Guardian. Her bed seemed
much too luxurious and her room too bright and colorful. As she rolled over and
saw the picture with her parents on the nightstand, she stared longingly at it.
That was her old life, a life she hardly remembered anymore; it seemed more
like a beautiful dream she once had. Her new life as a Guardian was filled with
adventure, danger, fear and excitement, nothing what she had imagined her life
to be.

“Good morning sweetie!” said her mom peeking in through the
door.

“Hi Mom.”

“Do you know what day it is today?” she said, sitting down on
the edge of the bed.

“Monday?”

“Yes of course silly, but what I meant was that it’s exactly
one week from today that you start at NYU!”

“Wow, is it really? The past few days have been such a blur,
I can’t believe how quickly it went by.”

“Well, you did practically sleep through them all. I’m not
surprised that you lost track of time. Stellan must have really run you ragged
with all that training.”

“He sure did,” she said with a half-hearted smile.

Celeste hadn’t told her mother about Fabian and Alek and her
near-death experience. Knowing that her daughter was the Guardian was one
thing, but telling her all the dangerous details was quite another.

“Don’t you think you should at least go see Brian or
Natalie?” she asked. “You haven’t seen any of your friends since you’ve been
back.”

Celeste had been lying low since her return to Oak Bluffs. An
extreme sense of guilt washed over her as she realized she didn’t have much
time left to spend with her friends before leaving for college. She hoped that
things wouldn’t be so strained with Brian now that she had told him the truth.
And then there was Roman… He hadn’t been the same ever since their talk about
Brian back at Stellan’s house. She had spoken to him a few times, but he seemed
distant, and there was no doubt in her mind that he was avoiding her.

Real boys really are
nothing like what they are in the movies.

Celeste knew she had to face reality soon, and as her father
used to say, “There’s no time like the present.” Her mind was made up. She was
going to get up, get dressed and stop hiding out in her room. Brian’s house was
the first stop on her list.

“Hey Cel!” said Brian with a big smile as he opened the door.
“I heard you were back. I was wondering when you’d come by.”

“I’m sorry it took me so long. I’ve just been exhausted and
catching up on some much needed sleep. Being a ‘you-know what’ is quite
draining,” she said lowering her voice.

“I bet.
Don’t worry
,
you don’t have to whisper
.
No one’s home
but me.
Come on in.”

Celeste followed Brian into the familiar living room.
Countless picture frames covered the coffee table and the walls, many with
pictures of her and Brian as children. They sat down on the worn out couch.
When they were kids they used to pretend the couch was a fort and had spent
hours battling imaginary villains. Being here brought back many sweet memories.

“So how have you been?” he asked.

“Okay, I’ve just been getting settled back in at home, and
now I can’t believe I have to leave again.”

“Yeah, that’s right,” he said, pretending he had forgotten.
“You’re heading off to the big apple in a few days.”

“That’s the plan.”

“You know Natalie is leaving this weekend too. We should all
hang out before you abandon me here.”

“Absolutely! And enough with the guilt trip, you’re the one
who decided to stay in Oak Bluffs,” she said.

“I know, and I’m actually okay with it now. I made the Oak
Bluffs Community College basketball team so that should be cool.”

“That’s great Brian, congrats! I’m sure you will be their
star player.”

“Right…So are you going to tell me about what happened with
that wizard guy or are we just going to skirt around the subject for the rest
of the day?”

“I don’t even know where to begin…” and Celeste recounted the
entire harrowing tale.

***

“How is Celeste doing – happy to be home?” asked Nico.
He had just come back from a jog and little beads of sweat dripped from his
forehead.

“Yes, I’m sure she is,” said Roman as he sat looking pensive.

“That sounds like you don’t know. Are you avoiding her
again?”

“I’m not avoiding her exactly,” he said standing abruptly.
“I’m simply giving her some space so that she can make a decision.”

“What kind of a decision?”

“Why must you be so nosey, Nico?” Roman chided.

“Because I care about your happiness Roman, and if I didn’t
interfere in your love life, it would be non-existent like it has been for the
past hundred years.”

“Maybe there is a reason for that,” he said sullenly, staring
out the window.

“Just tell me what sort of ultimatum you gave her now.”

“It wasn’t an ultimatum; I simply gave her an out. She’s
leaving for college in a week for goodness sake. What kind of a life can she
have with me? I know she has some sort of feelings for Brian, and we all know
he loves her. They could be happy together and lead a normal life.”

“Is that what Celeste wants?”

“She says it’s not, but she’s not being rational. She’s not
thinking about the long term. She has no idea what it’s like for us, Nico. She
doesn’t belong in our world.”

“Whether she belongs in it or not is not your decision to
make. And let’s be honest, being the Guardian is not going to lend itself to a
normal life either.”

“No, but without me in her life, she’d have more of a
chance,” Roman conceded.

“I don’t understand why you insist on punishing yourself.
You’ve convinced yourself that you don’t deserve her, and it’s just not true.
There is no doubt that she makes you a better person, but you make her better
too. Don’t you see that?”