Affinity (The Guardians Book 1)

by K Fisher

  “I sit in here and there’s a piano, I can hear it through the walls.” She pointed at the wall then, glancing back to observe his reaction. “I saw a man in here yesterday while I was outside, he was looking through the window at me.” Where was she going with this? It didn’t matter anymore, he was there and she needed to know if he could hear it, too. If he had seen the man she spoke of.

  “Was it the reflection on the window? I’m sure you probably heard the music in my office. I have it loud in there,” her father said, one hand rising to rest on his chin as though he was thinking heavily on it.

  His eyes were not on the window nor the wall that she had pressed her face against. They were on her. As though he was studying what was amiss with her.

  “No. He was real. There was a man in this house, in this room.” She was not going to tell him the voice spoke to her and she had communicated with it.

  It was clear he was already starting to wonder how deep things went with all of this. Hazel may have been young, but watching her father’s reactions to her adoptive mother before her passing? She knew that tolerant skepticism from anywhere and she had to turn the tides fast. But what happened next shocked her far more than anything else he could have done.

  Her father took several steps over to her, leaning down onto one knee as he looked her right in the eye. One warm hand fell on her shoulder and Hazel found herself wanting nothing more than to wrap her arms around her father and just live in that security for a few moments. She was certain he was about to tell her she was crazy, that she was not seeing the things or hearing the things she claimed she did.

  Instead, his voice was calm and collected, honest and understanding.

  “This is an old house. Built on old land. The maids have said they see things and hear things. I, myself have seen things I cannot explain. I believe you if you say you have seen something here, but if we had an intruder, we would know about it. We’ve got very good security here, Hazel.” She nodded dumbly, still blown away by him saying he believed her at all.

  Her mother had whispered of ghosts and spirits and never once had she heard her father discourage her or say he did not believe what she spoke of. He knew she was losing her mind and her old self, but were there truly things in that home with them? Did his words really mean he believed their house was haunted?

  “There are things in this world we will never be able to explain or understand, Hazel. There are so many things I heard I did not believe until I saw it myself. We should not open ourselves up to these things, we should not give them the attention they desire. Then they cannot hurt us.” Her father leaned forward and planted a kiss on her forehead, his hair scratchy on her skin. His hand extended and messed with her hair before he stood to his full height next to her.

  “You can come to me with these concerns at any time, Hazel. I believe you.” But he did not offer her any more time or information, did not listen for the music to come through the walls. A busy man, he felt the situation had been more than dealt with, and left Hazel in the room to attend to his work. “You have an hour until your piano lesson, Hazel! I hope to hear you’ve been practicing.” He said over his shoulder, giving her a wink before closing her in the reading room.

  Realizing she was suddenly alone in the room, Hazel felt the familiar fear start to chew away at her confidence, eyes scanning for anything moving. The room was silent, the rays of sunshine breaking through one window and amplifying the dust in the air. Aside from the maids that came on a weekly basis, the room almost seemed slightly untouched. When her father had mentioned that the maids had seen things as well, she wondered if it all stemmed from this room. Perhaps that was why the maids did not take the time and care like they did everywhere else.

  Just as Hazel was about to move away from that wall and leave the room, the soft piano music was heard. The initial calm it brought made Hazel pause there, eyes closing as she rested her forehead against the wall.

  “I don’t know what you want from me,” she said, and despite the words being the exact opposite of what her father’s advice had been, she found them escaping her lips.

  “You shouldn’t be speaking with me.”

  Hazel knew she should have run, should have ignored it, but she remembered the strength she had shown outside that home and she was not going to let this man? Being? Spirit? Control her in any way.

  “You shouldn’t be here and you shouldn’t be playing music for me,” Hazel snapped back bravely.

  There was silence for a few seconds, and she could have sworn she saw a flash of blue to her left, resting in the corner. Hazel kept her forehead against the wall, eyes open as she focused on the wallpaper in front of her. She was not going to turn around and face it, not going to acknowledge it there until she regained her confidence fully.

  “I cannot leave this land. You can see me, that’s an oddity.”

  Hazel didn’t understand him, but still did not stop her quick response. “My father can see you, too! The maids, too! You’re going to get removed from here if you keep it up.” There was laughter then, a warm and happy sound that eliminated some of the fear.

  But the fact this thing wasn’t taking her seriously, took away any power she thought she had in her words, deflating her entirely.

  “They can’t see me. They can feel me; perhaps see a shadow they cannot explain. Everyone on this earth is sensitive to those energies. But you? You can hear and see me so effortlessly. You saw me in the window, you’re a rude little girl.”

  It was enough to give her the confidence to lift her head from the wall and turn around, facing the corner where that soft glow had remained. The man she had seen the previous day did not stand there. Instead, the bright blue glow had pressed against the wall, seeming to move and pulse like smoke. The smoke had outlined a shape against the wall. He was there, she knew it, hidden within the magical mist that compiled his being.

  She could still remember the lightning blue of his eyes as he peered down at her from the window, it was the same blue that surrounded the being now. The smoke seemed to create more definition with each passing second, she could start to make out the lines of his jaw, fingertips moving at his side. He was slowly coming to life in the room with her.

  “What do you want with me?” Hazel asked, her voice raising.

  “Nothing. What you can do is special. You’re like me, like I was. A being with an Affinity. It has been so long since I’ve spoken with a real person.”

  Hazel’s name was called from the hallway. Her father had clearly noticed she was not leaving and preparing for her lesson. She couldn’t make out the words, but with ‘Hazel’ and ‘ready’ the girl could put two-and-two together. She should have been relieved to leave the spirit there, but his words had intrigued her.

  “I’m coming back,” Hazel said the words even though she knew she shouldn’t. “What’s your name?”

  “Guardian, just your Guardian.”

  “HAZEL!”

  The voice was right outside the door then, the irritation plain as day.

  “I’m coming!” Hazel yelled back, moving quickly to the door, despite her legs feeling like jelly. She turned to look back at the corner, but the smoke and the Guardian were gone.

  Chapter Seven

  Present day

  “You may not know jack shit about how to utilize your Affinity, but that comes with training. We know you can see and speak with the spirits on our plane, visit them in their world. A plane jumper, I am so excited to meet one in the flesh after hearing so many stories. Your Affinity is passed down along your line. You’re quite a rarity, were you aware? Your parents were hot stuff, Hazel, took us forever to find you.”

  Faye was talking a million words a minute as they traveled in the back of the large grey van. Hazel had yet to get the information she desired, and no longer found herself wanting to ask, not even about more information regarding her parents. It was a subject she so desperately wanted to learn about, but until she was somewhere that wasn’t moving and cle
ar of head, she would not be able to retain any further information. She was certain this was part of the hold Faye had on her. The small woman was sitting right next to Hazel, the calm radiating off her skin like a portable human Xanax.

  Hazel glanced around the van. From the outside, it looked like it was ready to assist with a kidnapping with the chipped paint and the darkened windows. On the inside, it was whirring with the sounds of electronics, monitors shining against the side of the van. The only thing keeping Hazel sane was the realization that all her interactions with her Guardian, all those conversations she had finally pried from him as a child, were real.

  The words Faye used struck a chord with Hazel, reminding her of the stories and adventures she had been told of when she'd lived at her father’s home long ago. Planes of existence, the magically inclined, honing and learning magic, spirits, but there had been no warning of Danira Lacko, and Hazel only wanted to know about her and why she desired to mess with her life.

  “I can see and talk to spirits, yeah,” Hazel responded, tearing her eyes away from Faye and focusing on the monitors surrounding her instead. She decided to start with answering that question, taking things slowly.

  The screens of the monitors were black, but there were dozens scattered across the side of the van, two desks propped up on either side. The seats they sat in nestled against the back, the seatbelts something out of a theme park ride. Faye had talked her into buckling in the heavy black straps, which was not at all a hard feat for the alluring woman and her magical words, but Hazel had been immediately relieved she agreed the moment the van took off with a roar of power.

  Despite how old it looked, the thing hauled ass with Tucker behind the wheel. The military cut hair poked out from over the top of his seat, head leaning and bobbing with whatever turn he forced the large vehicle to make. They left the old building in the dust behind them, turning onto the highway and making their way to the outskirts of Portland.

  Anxiety attempted to force its way to the forefront of Hazel’s mind. What was real in her world and what was fake now? Did the police force know where she was? Did she even have a therapist anymore? Was Charlie okay? The cat was self-reliant but she was still having a hard time getting a grasp on how long she had been kept in the fog.

  “What’s the date?” she choked out, and this time Caden responded.

  The man was strapped in beside Faye, peering past her to Hazel while his hands paused what they were doing, “You’ve been out for two weeks, it’s November 11th.” After responding, he returned to his small project. What looked like a battery rested in his lap, one hand tinkered with the side of it while the other screwed on the top…hat? The metal atop the battery-looking device looked exactly like a top hat. When he saw her looking over at him, he paused what he was doing and adjusted his glasses with an irritated sigh, tucking the small metal device he was tinkering with in the pocket of his jacket and out of sight.

  Two. Weeks.

  “I…have bills, a cat, a life. How did I even eat? How is that even…” But the panicked words ended as soon as Faye’s hand fell on her knee.

  It was gentle and kind, no need for Hazel be worried about anyone or anything. They were going to be okay. She would get her answers soon and should just be thankful she was saved, right?

  All of these thoughts were not her own. Still, the questions ceased and her body relaxed against the seat once more. Just in time for Tucker to squeal around a right corner and start up a mountain road. They were building altitude with every minute, heading up unfamiliar roads that led to camping centers, fish hatcheries, and the falls. Hazel vaguely remembered visiting this area with her adoptive mother and father when she was quite young to camp, marveling at the beautiful scenery around her. A small voice in the back of Hazel’s mind reminded her this was most likely where she was going to be killed. Much harder to find her body out there in the wilderness, wasn’t it?

  Finally, the van came to a screeching halt and Tucker turned it off. Only the sounds coming from the computers disrupted the silence for several moments, then clicks as Caden took off his support belts and opened the side door, filling the van with the spill of sunlight.

  Hazel blinked against the rays, the fall day made everything seem just a bit brighter than it should have been. Faye’s eerie, pale green eyes peered back at her as she took off her own belt and gave Hazel’s a tap to release it.

  “So, we took your cat. He’s here. I really like him, it’s going to be a bitch giving him back to you.” A strange sense of relief washed over Hazel as she crouched forward and followed the rest of them out into the clearing.

  On one hand, she was happy her cat was taken care of, on the other hand it meant they broke into her home. Her mind flashed back to the note outside her apartment the previous night.

  “So, what was with the note? I assume it was from you guys?”

  Faye smiled, nodding her head as she faced forward, making her way into a large lodge. “We needed to start the spell by instilling some fear and doubt. The more you believed something was wrong, the more paranoid you became, making it easier for me to slip into the scene Danira was playing out for you. The spell she kept you in was a power she stole from someone long ago, not the Affinity she was born with, so it’s much weaker than her ability to keep herself alive.”

  Stole? Keep herself alive?

  Hazel followed the group up the large wooden steps to the front of the empty lodge. It was clearly still in use. Everything was clean and perfectly manicured, the inside of the lodge welcomed them with warmth.

  Tucker ducked to the left, motioning them to follow him through the front check-in area. Hazel took a look around, there was a large fire nestled inside stone against the side of the room, couches were scattered throughout the open area. There was one large man at check-in and one woman reading a book on a couch nearest to the fire, but everything else seemed quiet. Of course, snow had not yet fallen, so skiing was not yet an option. Hazel was certain the beautiful place was filled the moment the ground was covered in white.

  The large man up front gave them a nod, a smile breaking out from beneath the large gray beard, eyes cheerful and warm amidst the rosy red face.

  “Tucker’s dad,” Faye murmured. “His parents own the place, makes things easier.”

  Tucker unlocked a back door, his massive frame blocking Hazel’s view until they were led through. There was a separate seating area there and doors to either side of the hallway. One was cracked open as they passed, a bed and dresser in sight. Did they all live here together? While people went about their business and holiday on the other side of the locked door?

  Her thought process broke when a black, long haired cat crept out from under a table in the middle of the room. Charlie slinked towards her, yellow eyes studying them all reluctantly, just as suspicious over the situation as Hazel was. She lowered herself to the ground, all too aware of how sore her muscles were. Had she really been lying down trapped in a spell for two weeks?

  Tucker was already lounging back on the couch, Faye taking a spot near him looking just as exhausted. Caden was on another, pulling a laptop up onto his lap, his fingertips dancing along the keyboard as he dove right into the technology and ignored every situation occurring around them. He reached into his pocket and brought out the device he had been messing with in the car, setting the small thing next to him on the couch as he looked to his laptop, then back to the slab of metal.

  Hazel reached out and scratched Charlie behind the ear, the cat staying just within reach, but not at all receptive to the pets. Hazel didn’t question it, certain the cat was angry for her extended absence. He wasn’t the only one. “Okay,” she huffed, “so am I going to get some more answers here?” The absence of Faye’s touch and calming words had brought back her suspicion and cautiousness. “No more of that Vicodin touch, either. I don’t need to feel like you guys are screwing with me just as much as Danira did.”

  Faye shrugged nonchalantly. “Fair enough.”

>   Hazel had a million questions surging through her brain, but exhaustion told her answers to the most important things would suffice for now. She would get everything else figured out in time. Wait, in time? Did she actually plan to stay there with them any longer?

  “First of all, I remember this Lacko woman, she’s a psychic down at the Saturday market. We had an odd encounter and I went home. Are you telling me she wanted something with me, so she trapped me in a spell built around my own memories, and somehow you guys found me, saved me and I’m here with my damn cat at your ski lodge?”

  Tucker looked over at her then, his emerald eyes filled with humor. “What questions do you need us to answer, exactly? It seems like you pretty much hit it on the head there.”

  Faye spoke up before Hazel had a chance to snap back; seeming to pick up on the disinterest in his sarcastic response, especially given the very life altering, terrifying things they had both just witnessed with each other. “How about I just spell it all out,” she waited for a moment, and when no one laughed, she rolled her eyes and continued on. “We can fill in the blanks after some food. Or in the morning after a good night of sleep. I am sure you are exhausted from what she put you through. I’m starving and the whole fighting off Danira’s main henchmen thing has been far from relaxing. I need bacon, I need sleep, and I need a stiff drink.”

  “Yeah, well you should consider bringing the bottle,” Hazel murmured, eyes still scanning the room and taking in all details as if this situation was going to turn worse and she needed to bring some officers in there or describe where she was being held. Did they even know she was alive? If she had truly been gone for two weeks, surely someone would have noticed she wasn’t responding to messages. It wasn’t like Hazel didn’t have friends, she had just not taken the time to water the fields of friendship that had started in the city, so when work had taken over, a lot of her relationships had gone to the wayside.