Adrianna's Storm (11 page)

Ari's mouth dropped open as she looked at the men. They met her shocked look with a leveled one. They didn't speak a word and continued to stand quietly behind her grandmother. She didn't know what to do or say.
Well,
she thought,
I can't run away
,
I’m
somehow stuck to this fuckin' chair.
So I'm not going to say anything for fear I might scream!
She looked at her sisters who were looking at her with sorrow on their faces. Or was that pity? She looked back at her grandmother, she would deal with the men later.

"Okay, I'll bite, what are they guarding us for? Why did you send for them?" Ari asked.

Her grandmother sighed. "Ari, you are all in danger. Having this responsibility put upon your shoulders is a heavy burden at times. You already have enemies," she told Ari and then she reached out to hold her hand. "Ari, as the eldest, you will have the first battle, it is foretold. He is coming for you. That is why the Parsons are here."

"Who is coming for me?" Ari asked her, gripping her hand.

Her grandmother turned slightly in her chair and nodded to the men. Reilly stepped toward her and Ari shrank back as far as she could in her seat. She saw the hurt look flash across his face before it hardened.

"We do not know the identity of who is after you. Your grandmother has seen a force coming for you, Ari, and your sisters," he explained.

Lachlan stepped forward. "We come from a long line of Guardians. Throughout history, Guardians are the protectors of witches, to put it simply. It is deeper than that as we pledge our lives to you. To protect you for life." His eyes pierced into Ari's soul.

Ari sat there for a moment not believing what Lachlan had just said.
Did he just say he would die for me?
she thought. She cleared her throat but couldn't bring herself to say anything.

It seems that Kira did not have that problem as she said, "What happens now? I mean, we all have jobs, some of us live in another country."

"Yeah, not to mention, what are these 'powers' and how do we use them?" Erin asked.

Sheela sat up straight and said, "Mamo, can you release us? I need to pee."

All the sisters looked at Sheela and she was squirming in her seat. They all burst out laughing, including their grandmother. The men stayed serious. Ari knew Sheela had said that to lighten the mood in the room as Kira and Erin sounded like they were getting a little hysterical.

Their grandmother said, "Hear me now, my witches' cry, move they can from their chair and be able from here to there. As I will, so mote it be." She nodded to Sheela.

Their grandmother also agreed it was a good time to go to the bathroom and followed Sheela as she popped up from her chair and made a mad dash to bathroom in the hallway. Kira got up and offered to get some drinks for everyone. Erin offered to help her and they went in the kitchen. Calli jumped up and stated she would return in a moment.

Ari sat in her chair stunned. She felt her chair being pulled back and then both men were kneeling on each side of her. She couldn't look at them. They were here to protect her. It was their job, no, their life's mission, to protect witches. She was a witch.
Ari, we are not in our right mind anymore,
she thought with a small giggle.

Suddenly she got tears in her eyes. "Was any of it real?" she whispered.

Lachlan used his finger to tilt up her chin so he could look her in the eye. "All of it was real, sweet. We are yours. Not just your Guardians."

Reilly said, "We love you, Ari. That is real."

She wanted so badly to believe them, but she was overwhelmed with all that had just been said. And the fact that she had just been told they were there to do a job. A job that had them "accidentally" bump in to her as they watched her. She leaned back in her chair to put some distance between them.

"Could you excuse me for a moment?" she asked and when they stood, so did she. They stepped back from her and remained silent as she fled the room.

She ran up the stairs and into her room. She was proud of herself for not breaking down until she had shut the door and locked it. Then she slid down it, her knees bent with her head on them and cried. She didn't know what to believe as fact or what she wanted to believe was true. She realized in that moment she had fallen hard and fast for those two men. Now what was she going to do?

She didn't know how long she sat there but when the light knock on her door came, she scrambled away from it. She prayed hard it was not the men. She couldn't face them right now. She needed time to figure things out, and also to deal with this news from her grandmother.

"Ari?" It was Sheela on the other side. "Can I come in?"

Ari slowly got to her feet. "Just a minute," she called. She ran into her bathroom and quickly splashed her face, looked into the mirror and groaned. She looked like hell warmed over. She knew Sheela would not be put off and went to answer the door.

"Are you okay?" Sheela asked as she walked in, looking her up and down.

Ari sighed. "Yeah, I'm good." She tried to force a smile.

"Ari, we know this is hard. We are all in shock. We need to face this together, then deal with your men." Ari must have looked shocked as she continued. "Oh, don't think I wasn't filled in, sister. Especially about this morning and two gentlemen leaving someone's room. Uh-huh. We will talk."

Ari blushed. "Later. Right now, we need to go back down and deal with the bigger issue."

"I agree. Let's go. But I want you remember one thing. We are here for you. Always," Sheela said as she wrapped Ari in a hug.

Ari hugged her back and said, "I know that, that's why I love you all so much."

"Love you, too. Come on."

"Yeah, don't want to make the old witch angry," Ari said sarcastically and they laughed as they went back to the dining room.

Lachlan knew that Reilly was ready to explode with emotion and would need to vent. He quickly spoke to Coni and told her they were going outside to do a perimeter check. She agreed and he grabbed Reilly to pull him out the main doors. They walked around to the side of the castle and Reilly broke. He looked up at the sky and bellowed. Then he looked to Lachlan who always held his emotions in check.

"What now?" Reilly asked.

Lachlan shrugged. "Dunno, brother. We have to wait and have faith."

"She's in pain and it's because of us. We have to do something," Reilly argued.

"There is nothing we can do. She has to work this out herself, Ri, you know this," Lachlan told his brother gently. He felt the same way Reilly did, but he also knew they had an assignment. Yes, this would be their final and most personal assignment, but nonetheless, they had to focus. Once a Guardian found their match, they were released from duty. Well, their duty continued in guarding their wife or husband and it was for life. The Council never sent them out again.

Reilly sighed loudly and said, "Did you see her eyes, Lach? My God, we should have said something to her."

"No, Ri, we couldn't and you know it. It is against the code," Lachlan reminded him. "It doesn't excuse it, but it just is. We can't change what the fates have in store for us. You know this."

Reilly nodded. "I know. I just want to take away her pain and convince her of how it really is."

"We will have time for that, have no fear. Coni will help us. Ari will see we are true and destined for her," Lachlan said with confidence. "Come on, we need to check the grounds."

Reilly nodded and followed as they began to patrol to make sure no magick was afoot. If anyone were using magick within half a mile of them, their medallions would glow. They walked the entire perimeter of the castle before going back to the main doors. It was all clear, but they knew it wouldn't stay that way.

Lachlan whispered the incantation to blur the image of the castle for the night and they went inside to rejoin the discussion. He knew one thing, the minute it was over, they needed to be alone with Ari to show her they did love her and want her. He said as much to Reilly before they reentered the dining room and Reilly firmly agreed. They would do whatever it took to convince her they loved her. Even if they had to tie her to their bed to do it. He smiled to himself—that idea actually had merit.

Ari and Sheela entered the dining room to see everyone else was assembled back at the table. Everyone except for the men. Ari glanced back in the hallway, saw nothing, and then glanced toward the kitchen.

Her grandmother touched her arm gently. "They have gone to patrol the outside."

"Who?" Ari asked, acting like she didn't understand who she could be talking about.

"Reilly and Lachlan, don't play coy with me, young lady," Coni said sternly. "Never forget who you are talking to."

Ari felt a pang of regret. "I'm sorry, Mamo."

"Honey, they are your match. You must see this," her grandmother told her.

Ari waved her hand. "I do not want to talk about this right now. We have more important matters to deal with."

"Mamo, what now?" Sheela broke in and smiled when Ari gave her a grateful look.

Their grandmother cleared her throat and said, "Yes, we must go on. Now, the first thing you need to know is we all need to be together at midnight when Calli's birthday begins. This will be when you get your powers."

"What powers? Didn't you say before that each of us will have different ones?" Erin asked.

"Let me tell you a story, girls. It all began when the Sun God and Mother Earth came together for one fated moment in love. They spent a single day together on earth and on that day, the original Blessed Five were born to one of the original witches. This witch, Celeste, was a favorite to Mother, as she honored all things living as Mother did, including Sun God. The gods gave each of the five babies an element to control, or power, if you will. Earth, Air, Water, Fire, and Spirit. It is different with each witch who is blessed and how she wields her powers.

"There are spells that have been passed down through the generations. I have that book and will share it with you when you are ready." Their grandmother sat back and gave the girls a moment to let everything she had said sink in.

Kira asked, "Is there...do you know who will get what power?"

Coni shook her head. "No, that is something the god and goddess decide." She paused for a moment and then took a deep breath. "There is something else I need to say. I taught you spells as you were growing up."

Ari frowned. "I don't remember any of that."

"No, you wouldn't. I put a spell over you all to make those memories go away. Your mother didn't want you to learn the craft. She wanted you to be normal," their grandmother said sadly. "I think in some small way she was resentful that she didn't have any great powers. She could do little spells, but nothing like what you all will be able to do. I can bring them back. I think it's time to do that."

Calli spoke up. "Our mother knew?"

"She didn't want us to have powers?" Erin said.

"I don't understand," Kira told them.

Ari remained quiet. Her mother had known all about this and never said anything? So many questions were running through her mind. Her sisters were firing questions at their grandmother and her grandmother was trying to answer them. It was then she heard a noise near the main door and turned to see what it was.

There stood her men.
Her men
? Hell, she didn't know. They looked directly at her first and then scanned the room. They took in all the chatter and shook their heads. Reilly disappeared for a minute and then came back with two beers in his hand. He gave one to Lachlan and then they went over to the corner. There were two extra chairs there and they sat down as if to indicate they wanted nothing to do with the current conversation.

Ari turned back to her sisters and grandmother. She whistled and everyone stopped talking and looked at her.

"We all need to chill out and let Mamo talk. She can't answer you if you are all firing questions at her at once. I, for one, would like to hear some answers." Ari tried to give the appearance of being calm and centered when she was anything but. She could feel the men's eyes boring into her and it took all her willpower not to look at them again.

With that, her grandmother began to answer them. "Yes, your mother knew. As I said, she didn't want you to have powers, but it was not up to her. You were Blessed at birth."

The girls all nodded as if they understood then Calli jumped up, "It's gotta be five o'clock somewhere." She reached under the cabinet near her and pulled out a bottle of white wine. "Anybody want to share?"

All the girls said yes although their grandmother declined and kept answering questions. "Now, even though your mother said she wanted you to grow up "normal", I knew you were going to be anything but. So, when you came in the summer and on holidays, I would quietly teach you spells. It was important. There was no denying what would happen when Calli turned twenty-one."

"You put a spell on us to make us forget what you taught us, why?" Ari asked.

"Well, it was not long after your parents passed. I felt that you might try to use the spells to seek revenge. It was safer at the time to remove those memories until the time was right to bring them back," Coni explained.

"You can bring them back?" Calli asked.

"Yes, with a simple spell," Coni answered.

Ari took another sip of her wine while her sisters talked amongst themselves about bringing those memories back. No one seemed to be opposed to it. Ari wasn't opposed to it at all. She waited patiently for the girls to debate it back and forth until they turned to her.

Ari said calmly, "I want to know what I forgot. If we are going to get these powers, then we will need to be armed with knowledge and the spells."

All the sisters agreed and their grandmother stood up again. "I want you all to close your eyes, breathe deeply and slowly." When all the sisters had done as she asked, she began to chant.

"Powers that be, hear my cry, bring back what was once lost in time. Return the memories buried so deep, to remember a gift that is theirs to keep." Just as she finished, a strong breeze blew through the room, although there were no doors or windows open. Then a bright light flashed in a ball hovering over the center of the table and then split into five smaller balls that shot right into the chests of the five women sitting there.

For a moment, they all sat there stunned. Then gasps could be heard around the room as the girls were overwhelmed with memories being returned to them. They all turned to look at one another. It had been like watching a movie in fast-forward and now they were all caught up.

Their grandmother sat down and said, "Now you have them back. This is good. We need to prepare you for the receiving."

Ari cleared her throat. "What happens then?"

"You will all need to meet me in the circle in the grove at midnight when Calli turns twenty-one where you will all join hands. Then the Sun God and Mother Earth will bless you with your gifts," she explained.

Erin said, "Will it be painful?"

Their grandmother shook her head. "No, darling, it will be a wonderful experience. It is sacred and special."

"Then what?" Kira asked.

Reilly chose that moment to step up to their grandmother's side. At her nod of acknowledgement, he said, "In the coming days, you will all need to prepare for what is to come when you do get your powers. There is an evil out there that wishes to do you harm. He will come after you."

Lachlan also stepped up. He looked at Ari as he spoke. "He is coming for all of you but he, in particular, has to kill you all in the order of your age in order to steal your powers from you."

Calli gasped. "That means, uh, Ari..." All the sisters looked at Ari with stricken looks on their faces.

"Have no fear that we will protect you all. No one will die," Lachlan said with certainty in his voice.

Reilly nodded in agreement. "We are Guardians. We never lose."

When he said that, he and Lachlan got very scary, serious looks of determination on their faces and Ari wanted to believe them. She wasn't as concerned for herself as her prime concern was keeping her sisters safe.

Their grandmother stood and said, "Girls, using this much magick tires me now. I need to go lie down for a while. Then we will talk again." With that, she left and went upstairs for a nap.

Ari looked around at the faces of her sisters. "Well, that's it then," she said as they all looked at her. "It's margarita time!"

All the girls whooped and went to mix a batch of their famous margaritas.