Wilder: The Guardian Series (12 page)

Celeste glanced over at Roman who gave her a guarded look
revealing nothing. “Yeah sure, just give me a second. I need to get something
from Roman’s car,” she answered.

Celeste walked over to Roman who was leaning casually against
his car. It astonished her how he could make any ordinary pose look so
attractive.

“Thanks for coming over to talk to me today. I appreciate
your honesty, and I feel much better about all the vampire stuff,” she
whispered.

“Of course, Celeste, anything you need,” he replied, firmly
gripping her by the shoulders. Celeste stood there transfixed for a moment
gazing into his deep blue eyes. Roman dropped his hands stepping back as Brian
pulled up, his Mustang roaring.

“Be safe,” mouthed Roman as they drove off.

As Roman drove home watching the
sun set
over the trees, he found himself smiling for no particular reason. It was the
first time in a very long time.

Celeste leaned against her bay window with an American history
book open in her lap, distractedly chewing at the end of a pen. Finals would
start tomorrow and she had been so preoccupied lately that she was behind in
her schoolwork. As she gazed out the window, enjoying the balmy morning breeze,
she couldn’t help but think about Roman and Nico. They had actually been alive
during the Great Depression, World War I and II, the Kennedy
assassination—all of the eras and events that she was studying now. Then
her father’s cautionary words from the dream crept into her conscious thought.
You must protect the world from evil
creatures.
She hadn’t told Roman or Nico about the dream and she felt
terribly guilty.

How can I tell them?
They’d think I’d gone insane. And how am I supposed to protect anyone? I’m just
a normal girl.

“Morning Celeste!” said her mom as she peeked into her room.
“How’s the studying going?”

“Not so great.”

“I brought you an energy-packed breakfast to help,” she said
as she set the tray next to her bed.

“Thanks, Mom. Have you even been to bed yet?” she asked,
noticing she was still wearing her favorite pink scrubs.

“No, I just got home about an hour ago, but I wanted to see
how you were doing before I went to sleep,” she answered. “Any more
nightmares?”

“Luckily, nothing.”

“I’m glad to hear that, sweetie. Let me know if you have
anymore, okay?”

“Sure, Mom.”

Celeste almost stopped her mother before she walked out of
the room. She wanted to ask her why she had bolted the other morning when she
had mentioned the nightmare. Instead, she buried her nose in her book and
forced herself to study. Something told her she wasn’t going to get an honest response
anyway.

After a couple more hours of studying, Celeste needed a
break. She checked her cell phone and saw that Brian had texted.

Come over.
 
I need a study break.

Convincing herself that she had already been pretty
productive, Celeste shut her book with a hint of satisfaction and headed over
to Brian’s.

Maxi came running to the door when she knocked, jumping into
Celeste’s outstretched arms.

“I missed you Cel!” she said, “You never come over and play
with me anymore.”

“I know, I’m sorry Maxi, but I’ve been so busy with the last
few weeks of school. I promise we’ll have a play date soon,” she said putting
her back down on the floor and patting her head affectionately.
 

“Okay Maxi that’s enough. Celeste and Brian have to study if
they want to graduate,” said Mrs. Kennedy as she dragged her out of the living
room.

“I miss her,” said Celeste.

“That’s just because you don’t have to live with her.”

“Don’t be mean to your little sister!” she scolded.

“Anyway, how’s the studying going?” asked Brian as they sat
down on the couch.

“Not bad. I’m glad we started studying early because the past
week has been a total loss. How about you?” she asked.

“I’m just having a hard time concentrating, but I’ll pull it
together,” Brian answered. He looked away, pulling out his cell phone from his
jeans pocket.

Celeste came back with, “Why?
 
What’s going on?” She could tell he was
avoiding her gaze as he played around with his phone.

“Just stuff,” he answered vaguely.

“I know how you feel. I’ve felt like my life has been a
whirlwind the past few weeks. You know, it’s my eighteenth birthday on Friday,
and I haven’t even given it much of a thought,” she said.

“Of course I know. I would never forget your birthday. This
will be our fifteenth time celebrating it together,” he said, finally glancing
up at her.

“You’ve been keeping track?” she asked surprised.

“It’s not that hard to figure out. My family moved in next
door when we were both three years old, and we’ve spent every birthday together
since then.”

“How about that year that you were at basketball sleep-away
camp?”

“You mean the year that I ran away from sleep-away camp?”

Celeste let out a laugh. “That’s right! Your parents and all
the camp counselors were freaking out because they thought they had lost you
and you turned up at my house.”

“I guess I just couldn’t stand the thought of missing your
birthday.” Brian smiled at the memory. “And since it’s a pretty important birthday,
I have a feeling that someone might be planning a little something special for
you.”

“Seriously? Natalie better not be throwing me some huge
party.”

“You didn’t hear anything from me, I’m not a snitch,” he
said. “But you may want to talk to her about the guest list unless you want all
of Oak Bluffs invited.”

Celeste just laughed.

“So are you and Roman dating or something?” Brian asked
abruptly.

“Whoa, where did that come from?”

“Well I know you’ve been hanging out with him, and at first I
thought you liked his brother, but now I’m not sure anymore,” he said rapidly,
as if he had been holding his breath the entire time.

“No, I’m not
dating
anyone. I like them, though. They are so different, ‘
ya
know? Not the average guys you’d meet around Oak Bluffs. They’re fun.”

“Good, I’m glad you’re not dating either of them,” said
Brian. “I think there is something weird about both of those guys.”

Celeste rolled her eyes. “I sensed that when you gave Roman
the third degree at the diner yesterday. What was up with that?” she asked.

 
“I don’t know. I
just don’t like the way he looks at you. Honestly, I don’t like it when any
other guy looks at you,” said Brian. Impulsively, he leaned in and stunned
Celeste with a soft kiss.

Celeste was so surprised that she didn’t even move at first,
but as her brain slowly realized what was happening she put her hand on Brian’s
chest to stop him. She pulled away awkwardly.

Brian looked at her face and saw confusion in her eyes. His
heart sank. “I’m sorry,” he said immediately.

“No, it’s okay,” she said uncomfortably, “You just really
surprised me.”

“I’ve been wanting to do that since the sixth grade, Cel.”

“You have?”

Brian nodded and said, “I just figured if I didn’t do it now,
I may never have the chance again.”

How could I have been
so clueless?

“Please say something.”

“I don’t know what to say, Brian,” she said, fidgeting with
her necklace nervously. “You know I care about you so much; you are my very
best friend. I’m just not sure I feel the same way that you do.”

“Okay,” he said. “Let’s just pretend this never happened.” He
stood up abruptly, trying to hide his embarrassment.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, it’s no big deal.”

Celeste felt overwhelmed with emotions. She struggled to find
a comforting word, anything to take away the misery that was written all over
her best friend’s face. When nothing came to mind, she pulled him into a hug
instead. She gave him a hasty kiss on the cheek and ran out the door.

As Celeste sprinted across the lawn to her house, tears began
streaming down her face. She felt terribly guilty for hurting Brian. That was
the last thing she wanted to do. On some level, she wished that she felt the
same way about him as he did about her; then things would be so much easier.
Instead she felt this incredibly intense connection to a vampire? What was
wrong with her? She plopped down on her bed, miserable, as she contemplated
what an awful person she was.
 

So much for my perfect
first kiss…

Celeste had imagined what her first kiss would be like at
least a thousand times. She knew very well that most of the girls her age had
already been kissed if not done much more than that. But Celeste had always
been different. She had seen countless movies where the pretty girl finally
gets the hot guy of her dreams – a tear-jerking goodbye scene at an
airport, a passionate moment of realization under dire circumstances or a
classic kiss in the pouring rain with a montage of romantic music playing in
the background. And hers had been nothing like that. She supposed it was rather
appropriate that her first kiss be with Brian, since he was “the guy” who had
been there for her through it all, but it just wasn’t the epic moment that she
had been envisioning for so many years.

Celeste must have dozed off at some point because she found
herself in a vivid dream. She was in front of the old Oak Bluffs Library, and a
horde of vampires was inexorably marching towards her. She looked in her hand
and saw that she was clutching a sword with an elaborate engraving on the hilt,
and she had an array of other weapons concealed in various parts of her
clothing. She looked
up
as they grew closer, noticing
that she was absurdly unafraid.
 
With a powerful lunge, she threw herself into the advancing mob with her
sword raised. Celeste suddenly felt someone at her side and spun around to see
her father. He was in full fighting gear, sweat glistening on his forehead, his
hazel eyes blazing as he slashed his way through the vampires.
 
She followed him, and they fought side
by side for what seemed like hours. Her sword became an extension of her arm,
so that with every slice she took down an enemy with brutal force. There was
blood everywhere, causing a wave of nausea, but she took a deep breath and drew
on a new found strength to continue on. When all of the vampires had been
killed, Celeste’s father turned to face her, putting his hand on her shoulder.
“Well done, Celeste. You are going to be a powerful hunter, and you will make
an excellent Guardian.”

Celeste awoke as Rocky licked her face enthusiastically with
his warm, rough tongue. She glanced drowsily out the window and saw the sun was
already setting; she had been dreaming for hours.
 
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught
a slight movement in the oak tree and again saw the majestic black falcon watching
her.
 
It was perched on a thick
branch closest to her window, its powerful talons clenched around the limb. Its
piercing blue eyes locked with hers. “Roman?” she said aloud, taking a step
towards the window. The bird unfolded its
black feathered
wings and took off into the night.

***

Fabian sat in front of the fireplace, his long silver hair
radiant in the firelight; impatiently he twisted the gold ring around his
finger.
 
“It has been three days,
and I have heard nothing from that incompetent vampire Patrick. How difficult
could it be to find one girl and bring her to me?” he asked Alek angrily.

“I hate to say I told you so, but you should have sent me. A
newly turned vampire is hardly reliable even on his best day,” said Alek,
smoothing his slick platinum hair back.
 

“You know very well why I couldn’t send you. As youthful as
you appear, you would not have been able to blend in with a group of high
school teenagers, which is why I needed Patrick. I thought that he would be
capable of a simple task, but apparently I was mistaken.”

“Shall I go to Oak Bluffs to see if I can find him, or will
you send another one of your minions?” asked Alek contemptuously.
 

“No, I still cannot risk Stellan recognizing you. He has
always involved himself in matters that do not concern him when it comes to the
Constantins.
 
I will send someone
else, but this time I will not leave anything up to chance.”

“Who can you trust with such an important task?”

“I will send Magnus,” Fabian responded with an evil twinkle
in his eye.

***

As Roman strode through the front door he was greeted by a
tense looking Nico.

“How is she?” he asked.

“Fine for now, I think she is coping pretty well all things
considered. And I believe that her powers are starting to kick in. She saw me
in the tree tonight, and I think she recognized me. She’s starting to sense
things beyond her normal human world,” Roman explained.

“So you neglected to tell her that we
can
transform into falcons?”

“I think we can inform her of that minor detail a little later,”
he responded.

“You just don’t want her to know that you’ve been spying on
her for weeks,” admonished Nico.

“I’ll tell her when the time is right.”

“Well we have some news from Stellan,” said Nico gravely. “He
asked that we contact him as soon as you got home.”