Wilder: The Guardian Series (35 page)

Their private moment was shattered by a burst of laughter
from Fabian. He had moved across the room and his loathsome face hovered just
inches from them.

“Oh Alek, aren’t we dense? All this time we were searching
for a hidden reason as to why the Constantins protected her, and we missed out
on the most obvious one of all. Roman is in love with her!”

“Love? Well that is preposterous, who ever heard of a vampire
being in love with the Guardian?” asked Alek chuckling.

“And she loves him too!” said Fabian. “This is just too
much!”

Celeste’s blood was boiling; she wanted nothing more than to
rip that smug smile off of Fabian’s face. In a fit of anger, she hurled the
rock she had been gripping and it tore through the invisible barrier. The rock
flew through the air so quickly it caught Fabian entirely off guard hitting him
squarely on the forehead.

“You insolent thing!” yelled Fabian, holding his head where
the blood had started to flow.

At the sight of fresh blood, Dani who had been huddled in a
corner frozen in fear, momentarily lost control. With a savage growl, she
lunged at Fabian, knocking him to the ground. Everything had happened so
quickly that she was able to get a bite into his neck before he zapped her
sending her crumbling to the floor.

“Alek!” roared Fabian furiously as he held onto his neck to
try and stop the bleeding. “Enough of this, we must start the spell
immediately.”

“How did you do that?” asked Nico.

“I’m not sure,” said Celeste. “I was just so angry, so I threw
the rock as hard as I could. I have no idea how it broke through the barrier.”

“Can you get yourself through it?” asked Roman.

“I’ve been trying, but I haven’t been able to.”

“You have to keep trying,” said Roman with an encouraging touch
to her shoulder.

“Did you see Dani take out a chunk of Fabian’s neck?” asked
Nico. “That was awesome!”

“Let’s keep the celebrating down for now, since we are still
stuck in this cage.
 
A little
vampire bite isn’t going to keep Fabian down for long,” said Roman.

Fabian remained on the ground scowling, fastidiously wiping
away the blood from his black robe.

“I’ve been trying to summon the Council, but I don’t know if
it’s working. I’ve never done it before; shouldn’t they have answered me by
now?” Celeste clutched the key and focused intently. Again, she fervently
wished for her sword.

Alek had appeared with an ancient leather-bound book, and was
flipping through it expertly. The worn cover was filled with dark symbols that
Celeste immediately recognized as black magic. Once he found the page he was
looking for, he helped Fabian off the ground and placed it in his arms.

“Get me the first one,” he said to Alek.

Alek appeared inside the cage and taking hold of Nico popped
back out taking him with him.

“No!” said Roman, trying to reach out for Nico, but he
slipped right through his fingers. Roman hurled himself at the invisible wall
with a growl, but it remained unmoving.

“Don’t worry, you’ll be next,” said Alek with an evil grin.

With a flick of his hand, Fabian snapped Nico’s neck and
fastened him standing upright to the cave wall with iron restraints around his
limp neck, wrists and ankles. He took out an ornate dagger and sliced open each
of Nico’s wrists, inserting a pin in the wound so that the skin couldn’t heal
itself. As the blood came gushing out, Alek positioned an ancient looking
vessel on each side to contain the dark red liquid. Roman began pacing
desperately inside the cage. He bit his lower lip to keep from screaming.

Celeste could feel the pain radiating from him at the sight
of his brother’s suffering. She grasped her key tightly and summoned the
Council again, repeatedly imploring that they come to her aid. Celeste placed
her arm around Roman’s broad shoulders, holding him as he watched in
helplessness as Fabian tortured his brother.

 
“I’m so sorry,”
she whispered.

Fabian began to read from his book in a strange language, and
as he did Nico began to come to. “
Demonium
resurectus
omniam
filibus
…”

 
“What are you
doing?” he asked weakly.

Fabian ignored him and continued the chant as Nico’s blood
continued to pour into the vessels.

“Alek, I’m ready for the next one.”

Celeste looked at Roman terrified. She couldn’t lose him, not
now and not like this.

“Everything’s going to be okay,” he said. “He’ll let you go
once he has what he wants. I’ll make sure of it.” He caressed her cheek
lovingly, looking deep into her eyes.

“No, Roman, please don’t leave me. You have to fight him!”

“I’ll always be with you Celeste, I love you,” he said as
Alek yanked him out of the cage while Celeste scrambled to hold on.

“No!” screamed Celeste. “No!”

As Roman was dragged away, Celeste looked down at the
beautiful ring he had given her and couldn’t believe how useless she felt.
There was nothing she could do but watch in disbelief as Fabian took the lives
of those she loved most.

No! I won’t let this
happen!

Celeste plopped down on the hard floor and shut her eyes. She
envisioned being back in Stellan’s sun-filled yard meditating like he had
taught her. She focused all of her power and for what felt like the millionth
time, Celeste clung onto the Wilder key desperately reaching out to the Council
and wishing for her sword.

“My brother and I have done everything you wanted Fabian. Now
let Celeste, Stellan and Dani go,” said Roman. His voice was calm but forceful.

“Alek, chain him to the wall.”

“Wait!” said Roman planting his feet firmly in the ground.
“Give me your word that you will let them go.”

“Fine, fine, you have my word that I will let them go as soon
as I get what I want from the two of you,” conceded Fabian.

“Okay, then let’s get on with this,” he said with one final rueful
glance at Celeste.

Fabian repeated the exercise with the dagger on Roman as he
was restrained against the wall. The blood flowed rapidly and filled the
vessels as Fabian continued his chanting. Nico had become very pale, and could
hardly hold himself up any longer. Celeste noticed a slight movement from where
Stellan lay, and to her relief she saw that he was waking up.

“That’s enough!” cried Celeste. “You’re killing them!” She
jumped to her feet and threw herself against the invisible barrier. She hit it
with a smack. Dazed, she knelt down on the floor, willing herself to stand back
up. She put her hand down to push herself up, and felt something icy and
metallic under her hand.
 

It can’t be…

It was her sword! It had appeared from thin air as if by
magic. She glanced around cautiously and saw that no one had seen it. She left
it where it was, partially submerged in the dirt. She had about five seconds to
come up with a plan.
 

“Alek, it’s time. Bring her,” said Fabian.

Roman looked worriedly at Celeste, but noticed that Alek
didn’t make a move toward her. Instead, he suddenly disappeared from the
chamber and returned moments later wheeling in a shrouded body prone on a
table. Fabian carefully removed the sheet, gazing intensely at who or what lay
underneath. Roman, nearly unconscious from blood loss, looked up in shock when
the cover was removed.

“Mom?” he asked and then everything went black.

Celeste picked up the sword and holding it high over her head
focused all of her power into it. She felt a surge of energy flow through her
and a blazing white light shattered the invisible barrier. Fabian, momentarily
distracted from whatever was under the shroud, spun toward her.

Simultaneously, Stellan sprung up and unleashed a fiery flash
of lightning blinding everyone around him. Celeste put her arm up to shield her
eyes from the bright lights and out of the corner of her eye saw Dante, Sierra
and the other three members of the Council (whom she didn’t know by name) crash
through the outer wall of the cavern.

In the midst of the chaos, Celeste ran to Roman and Nico. She
removed the pins from their wrists to stop the blood loss and began working on
freeing them from the restraints.

“Are you okay?” she asked. Nico looked deathly pale, and
though she had removed the manacles, he hadn’t moved.

“Of course. See, we’re starting to heal already,” said Nico
with a forced smile and then collapsed to the floor.

“Nico!” she cried.

“I’m okay, I just need to rest,” he said and curled up into a
ball against the rock.

Roman looked as white as a ghost, and
didn’t say a word.
She helped him down and was rewarded with a
reassuring smile. She propped him up against the wall next to Nico.

“Stay here, I’m going to need some help getting you out of
here.” Celeste ran over to Dani shaking her vigorously until she woke up. “Get
up! We have to get out of here.”

Dani opened her eyes and looked around dazed.

“Come on Dani, you have to help me get Roman and Nico out while
Fabian is distracted. I can’t do it by myself. They’ve lost too much blood.”

“Okay, okay, I’m up. I’m coming.”

As the Council members came crashing through the wall, Fabian
attempted to pick them off one by one. There was a frightening glint in his eye
as he prepared for battle.

“It’s been much too long, Seraphina,” he said to a fearsome
raven-haired woman, and with a wave of his hand sent her flying across the
room. Dante leapt up in time to catch her before she hit the stone pavement and
lowered her gently to the ground.

While Dante tended to his companion, Fabian moved on to the
next one. “Balthazar, I didn’t think you were still alive,” he said derisively
to an elderly graying Council member. Before he could repeat the move on
Seraphina, Balthazar lunged at him with his spear.

“My, you are pretty spry for such an old fellow,” taunted
Fabian, dodging the assault.

Suddenly, Alek appeared in between Fabian and his attacker.
Balthazar
paused,
spear in hand ready to strike at
either foe.

“Alek, get Dante! He’s been meddling in my affairs for far
too long. I’ll handle this old man,” instructed Fabian.

“It would be my pleasure,” said Alek. He crossed the room in
a blur and flung himself on Dante. Dante struggled to regain his balance and unsheathed
his sword just in time to strike at Alek. With a mighty swing of his arm, he
slashed Alek across the chest. Reeling from the blow, Alek took a few steps
back then raised his hand to hurl a large boulder at his attacker. Dante sprang
away just in time to avoid the blow as the rock hit the cave wall and smashed
into a thousand pieces sending shrapnel across the room. Seraphina, who had
been unconscious, now rose to her feet to help Dante.
 
Faced with two angry guardians wielding
hefty swords, Alek stopped.

“Wait!” he said, holding both hands up.

“Finish them!” shouted Fabian from across the cavern.
Balthazar was slumped in a corner and Fabian had another Council member on his
knees. With a terrifying gleam in his eye, he looked at Dante and then back at
the man kneeled before him and with a wave of his hand snapped his neck.

“Bastard!” screamed Dante.

“No! Markus!” cried Seraphina, running toward her fallen
companion.

Alek considered the situation at hand, and with a sly twitch
of his mouth disappeared into the wall in a puff of smoke, leaving Dante
frustrated and Fabian outnumbered.

Stellan, Dante and the three remaining Council members had
Fabian cornered and successfully pinned up against the wall. He fought back
with black magic of his own, dark flashes of light emanating from his hands.
Celeste looked on in amazement at what would have been a spectacular light show
had the circumstances not been so dire.

“You fools!” said Fabian. “You think you can defeat me?”

He summoned a whirling tornado that ripped through the group
of Council members, tossing them unceremoniously about the cave. In the midst
of the fighting, Celeste and Dani each took a Constantin brother and tucked
them safely away in an alcove away from the chaos. They were still too weak to
move.

“Stay here, I have to go back and help,” said Celeste.

“Celeste, please be careful,” said Roman, but he didn’t try
to stop her.

Celeste sprinted back towards the fighting, firmly gripping
her sword. She could feel the adrenaline coursing through her veins, and it
felt good. Something had clicked inside of her, and she was in full on Guardian
mode.

When she reached the others, she found Stellan barely holding
himself up by a wall. His clothes were tattered, and there were cuts all over
his worn face. The rest of the Council members were in no better shape; some
had been badly injured by the tornado. The winds, having been swallowed up by a
portal opened by Sierra, had started to die down, but Fabian was nowhere in
sight.

“Quick, Celeste, you must find him before he gets away,” said
Dante, struggling to get to his feet. “We’ll be right behind you.” He had a
large, bloody gash across his forehead.

Celeste nodded and took off in the direction he had pointed.
She sped through the dim, winding passageways guided only by the light of her
sword and her instinct. She could feel Fabian’s evil presence nearby.
 
She slowed and crept silently through
the shadows. Turning a corner, she saw him bending over the body on the cart.
He stared at it reverently, gently caressing the
arm which
hung limp at its side. It was a look she had never seen in Fabian’s eyes, and
for a moment she pitied him.