Affinity (The Guardians Book 1)

by K Fisher

  “Where is your piano? You can play much better than I can,” she said matter of factly, but she desperately wanted to know. No matter how much she disliked playing the piano herself, Hazel had found such comfort in the sounds she wanted to believe this man produced.

  Guardian blinked, glancing down at his long fingers in his lap. Sitting on the ground, the man seemed so much less threatening than he had been in the corner, and softened even more.

  “The piano is a part of my memories,” he said after a moment of thinking, one finger rising to tap at the side of his head. “I cannot leave this land. Those who have Affinities are connected to the spirit realm and remain there while others move on to their final destination. So sometimes you may hear me while I am in the other plane. Perhaps your ability allows this. I did not mean to scare you yesterday. I just,” he paused, “I felt you starting to enter the spirit realm, and could not stop.”

  Hazel did not understand his words fully, remembering the loud music and his apology. He picked up on her confused look immediately, and flashed her a warm smile that did not quite reach his blue eyes.

  “Enough about that, let me tell you a story. A story about why you should never misuse your Affinity, or explore it further. What you have is dangerous, and should be treated as such.”

  So, he hoped to smash down the ability he had told her she possessed? Hazel was not going to turn down his story, wanting to know everything she could about Guardian and about what he claimed she may have control over, certain that there was nothing he could do to stop her from looking into it further. She closed her mouth and leaned against the pillows, pulling Charlie close to her as she allowed the melodic tone of his voice take her away.

  “When I was alive, my name was Aiden. My family made The Oregon Territory their home in 1901.” Hazel could not even comprehend the time period but remained silent, worried that if she spoke up, he would cease talking and her knowledge would be interrupted. “My family worked digging trenches for water lines, but through several good trades and good luck, we acquired land and began raising cattle. I had a brother and two sisters. My family was Greek, and we traveled long and hard to get to this area, this area that you now call Portland. We lived on the very land this house was built on. This used to be my home, you see.” She glanced around the room, trying to imagine it so many years in the past. “It has changed quite a bit since then,” he said, blue eyes fixing on her, keeping her captured in that moment as he continued to speak.

  “My older sister was magically inclined, as well, she had an Affinity. I did not know what this meant until she died. We had been playing by the train tracks one day. We used to play chicken with the trains there when my parents were unable to watch us. A stupid, stupid thing. She tripped trying to race away and was hit by a train. I remember it coming closer and closer, her excitement and that brave stubbornness. I had long run from the tracks, never as brave as she was. But the train came faster than she had anticipated. Her body had been clipped by the side, destroyed by the impact. There was no doubt my sister was dead,” he continued, shoulders relaxing slightly as he seemed to calm, easing into the story with a face void of emotion.

  Hazel clutched Charlie close to her chest, eyes on the steady rise and fall of his chest as though the man really was alive there with her.

  “It was a fortnight later when she returned to us from the grave we dug her. The dirt clung to every inch of her, as though a ghost returned to plague us. My mother even called to kill her eldest child for fear that it was an angered spirit, but it was indeed sweet Dani. She claimed she had seen death and vanquished it. That she had powers beyond what we could comprehend. Claims of others with power and abilities had swept the lands years prior, but out of fear they had all been killed by those who did not possess it, a true and real witch hunt that left those who could do things that were not understood at risk. This power leads only to destruction, Hazel. My sister should not have come back from the dead, although we know now she did not have a choice. Our Affinity, our powers reflect what we want the most. If you escaped the horrors of your life through music, you’d have a magical connection to it. All Dani wanted to do was live on the edge, survive the things that others feared. In return, her Affinity granted her another life when hers had been taken. Still, my mother feared my sister would be viewed as a witch, just as the other Affinities had been, that she would be killed. That fear overrode her own senses that her daughter had changed. She had seen things we will never see until it’s too late, and the innocence was long gone from the eyes and heart of my dearest sister.”

  Guardian paused then, as though sensing to see if the words had made an impact on Hazel, or if she was still following. Her big brown eyes remained on him, unwavering as she listened.

  “A great many years later, another magically inclined came into his power in our town. He was foolish and wished to explore these powers that grew as he aged, seeking Dani’s help. Dani had power over life, this man had power over death. He wished to control it, despite the spread of famine he brought with him. At the time, it was only crops and the occasional herd of cattle. But in those times, such a loss was detrimental. Dani claimed she could help him control it and they worked together. See, if he could control his powers, his abilities, perhaps he would not be seen as a monster, but as an angel like Dani. But my sister had a terrible secret she did not disclose until it was far too late. The power had consumed her, and despite what was done to her body she would never die. Still her skin aged, she aged. My sister was starving for more of the power and a way to cease the aging she knew would render her body useless in the end. She turned to the darkness for an answer, and the darkness consumed her. My sister opened herself up to the evil that resides in the darkest parts of the spirit realm, desiring nothing more than to control all those she could and combine the two realms so no one with an Affinity could ever truly be gone.”

  Guardian leaned forward then, his crystal eyes shining in the darkness of the room, narrowed in anger as he spoke the next words softly.

  “She was possessed by the darkness and used it to drain the powers from those who were magically inclined. It kept her youthful. The darkness appealed to the man with the Affinity for death and he started to seek out that power himself. But he was not as controlled as Dani, and when he made that mistake to broaden his ability, he infected the land, killing every person who stood upon it, a sickness that left the ground tainted for many years. My sister escaped the sickness. Every person who has opened themselves up to their power has fallen victim to the darkness. You will too Hazel, if you continue to search into this. You must listen to my stories and heed my warnings; this power holds a darkness you will not survive. It’s foolish to play with it as though it’s magic to wield for good.”

  “How did you get free?” Hazel asked, her own eyes narrowing as she watched him. “You, you were death, weren’t you?” He nodded slowly then, not at all surprised she had understood, but he straightened up a moment later, standing.

  “If I had left things alone, if I had known by the way my sister was acting, the way she was consumed by the need to get Affinities from the universe, from me, I could have saved everyone’s life. I could have stopped my Affinity before it consumed me.” Hazel looked down at her hands then in horror, unable to imagine that this man would be dangerous to her. “You don’t yet have all your abilities, but they will come and you must block them out. Shove down the need to explore them or unleash them. If you practice your Affinity, you will only become more and more powerful until that’s all you desire, and it destroys you. We humans are not supposed to harness this Affinity, despite some of us being born of it.”

  Hazel shoved her hands under the blankets, feeling fear grip at her. “I don’t want to hurt anyone.” He nodded, looking almost as if he was going to extend a hand towards her but pulled it back before there was any contact, standing.

  “I have to go. It takes a lot to remain here, even with your power assisting. Please heed your father�
��s warning, and mine. This is not something to tamper with.”

  Hazel sat up in her bed, not yet wanting him to leave or the stories to end; not finding herself afraid of him as she felt she should have been. Instead she was curious, wanting to understand things further. But the Guardian said nothing more, the billowing blue mist surrounding him, and just like that, he was gone, his warm presence no longer keeping her company in the darkness.

  Chapter Nine

  Present day

  Faye slowly closed the door behind Tucker and herself after ensuring Hazel was settled in her temporary room for the night. After speaking with Hazel, the three of them had hung out for a little longer until they were convinced she wouldn’t run on them the moment their backs were turned. After a little bit, they had all headed to bed. Instead of going to her own room, Faye had followed Tucker to his.

  She turned around to face him as soon as they were alone, her light green eyes were intensely focused, lasered right at him. In response, Tucker shook his head and crossed his arms over his broad chest. “Get those pissy eyes off me, Faye. We did the best we could.”

  “Why did it have to take years to finally find a plane jumper? Why? She’s damn near close to thirty, there’s no way we are going to talk her into this entire thing and change her entire thought process about the spirit realm and whatever she has tried to convince herself her power is. She has tried to live her entire life in denial. That’s some repressed shit right there, and part of the reason I’m convinced Anakin became Darth Vader. Repressed. Children. Aren’t. Sane.” Faye’s small hand was twirling a thick strand of her long black hair, the movement looking less adorable and more panicked with each manic twist of her finger.

  “She’s an ex-cop, some of that loyalty and bravery has to have been part of her genetic makeup. I know a fighter when I see one. She’s probably sick of everything that’s going on around her and will be happy to get it to stop. If she doesn’t partner up with us, Danira is going to kill her or drain every bit of her power until Hazel is a ball of nothing. This isn’t a matter of which side is correct and which is evil and wrong. This is join us or die in some spirit realm spell the head bitch-witch puts you in.”

  Faye stared at Tucker, abandoning her twirling as she assessed what he was saying. “I suppose you’re right. Besides, I can always make the entire arrangement a bit more appealing for her…” Her hands lowered to clasp each other in front of her torso, both glowing a light red, almost pink in the darkness of Tucker’s small room.

  “Not a good way to start a friendship. I don’t want to bring up…”

  “Don’t throw Annie in my face, please. Drop that right the fuck now.” All desperation had left Faye’s voice as it turned into the cold, icy tone Tucker had heard quite a few times in the past. But it was a cold demeanor that always appeared when their old friend was brought up and the reminder of what had happened settled in deep. “You’re probably right, and I won’t use my Affinity against her to get her to agree to team up, but there’s no way we can allow Danira to get her hands on Hazel’s plane jumping. Sure, she has Nico and he can wander around anywhere he wishes, but that’s not the same as pulling physical and spiritual beings from one plane to the other. She can make her own army of loyal, powerful undead, she can open the realms and unleash all the undead Affinity and I’m really not looking to kill a bunch of magical-”

  Tucker was in front of Faye in a flash, his finger rising until it rested against her full lips, silencing the next words before she had a chance to continue her rant.

  “Seriously, don’t you have a hidden pipe in here from last time? Smoke away some of that irrational chatter and take a breath.”

  Her lips spread into a smile beneath his finger and Tucker retracted it. “For someone who hates me smoking, you sure have been suggesting it a lot lately.”

  “I hate the smoke, it reminds me of hippies. But if it gets you to calm down a little bit, I’ll encourage it. Besides, we’re far enough away from the main check-in, no one can smell it back here and I’m not in charge of you, you’re an adult. Whatever the hell you choose, just make sure it calms you down.” Tucker shrugged, walking away from Faye as he made his way towards the bathroom attached to his bedroom, disappearing inside.

  Faye heard the sink and headed towards Tucker’s side table, propping herself onto his large bed. Bending over, she opened the drawer and peered inside, rummaging for a moment before leaning back, small pipe and lighter in hand. Faye wasn’t necessarily proud of her dependence on weed, however, the repercussions of her Affinity had left her obsessed and addicted to much worse things in the past.

  Compared to those, weed was a legal, deliverable product that she’d take any day. Weed and sex, of course. They were both things she could easily obtain and didn’t leave her feeling like she had ruined her life and the pride of her family and friends.

  Thanks to her recurring sexual relationship with Tucker, they were both able to scratch an itch and focus on the main mission at hand; protecting the powerless from those like Danira. Faye was able to burn out her anxiety and influence through physical contact, something she always desired.

  Tucker was able to feel love. Sure, her allure helped that along, but from what he had said, Faye was the only person who had been able to invoke any feelings in him. It was not a concept Faye was going to spend too much time thinking about, not when she needed the release more than the worry over his emotions and whether or not they would bypass sex and move to something real.

  She lit the half remaining bowl, sucking the smoke in deep just as Tucker returned from the bathroom. His shirt was long abandoned, heavily muscled and tattooed body exposed to her hungry eyes as she breathed out the smoke. The runes and jagged, dark ink that decorated his arms and chest were beckoning her in the dark room, his emerald eyes darkening as he took note of her assessment, one hand moved to the front of his basketball shorts as he pinned her with a promising stare.

  “Calm down yet?” he growled, approaching the bed.

  “Almost.”

  Faye observed the rippling of his muscles. Tucker had a fighter’s body, always had. The scars of his past had been covered with tattoos she earlier observed, scars that danced along his arms and the side of his body, disappearing beneath the brim of his shorts. It was a trail that Faye had often journeyed, learning about every inch of the warrior’s body, every story the old runes and unknown shapes hid. But no matter how much time they spent forgetting everything on the outside, they could not bridge the friendship gap between them until her Affinity’s power was flexed. At least, it had never been a serious discussion between the two of them.

  Tucker was laying down on the bed beside her, stretching his arms up over his head as he pressed them against the wall above him. Faye observed the lengthening of his body, taking another hit before she put the pipe back in the deep corners of his side table. Turning back to the gorgeous body beside her, Faye slunk down in the bed.

  “Do you really think she’ll join up with us and help?”

  “I think she may be used to taking care of herself, but she has to want to help others, right? She went into law enforcement, was in the system for a while. If people are in danger, I think she’s more likely to help than run.”

  “Yeah, I think you’re right.” Faye’s eyes were shiny from the impact of the weed, the familiar calm taking over as she relaxed into the bed.

  Already her body had begun to feel hypersensitive, her needs shifting from the desire of escape to something else entirely. Tucker’s needs matched her own, the energy in the room changing in a matter of seconds as he rolled over, propping his body above Faye’s. His strong arms kept him above her, hips lowering slowly to hers as he read her energy and met her with a needy one of his own.

  Faye could feel his thick hardness between his legs, her core warming the moment it made contact with her. There was far too much clothing between the two of them, but it never stayed that way for long. All she had to do was wiggle against him, urge h
is need and take him to a new level of desperation.

  Hands ripped clothing upward and off, fumbling with zippers and frustration as they both struggled to get each other naked, and fast. Without wasting any time with foreplay, Tucker was deep inside her, filling every inch as Faye moaned and writhed in pleasure beneath his strong and demanding body.

  The sex between them was always an erotic blur, movements already rolling into the familiar next steps as they succumbed to the need. Still, Faye knew what Tucker truly wanted, and it wasn’t the sex with her; he was happy to comply as long as her own desire for physical contact was fed in turn.

  Her hands began to glow a soft red, head falling back to the pillow as his thrusting intensified. He was looking away from her, eyes closed as he fell into his own mind and the thoughts within instead of residing in the moment with her. Her power called to him, hands landing on either side of his face as she commanded his attention. Tucker’s strong body paused, pushed deep inside her as his emerald eyes opened, stretching her body to the limit as the movement urged another moan from her lips. His eyes were filled with a ‘thank you’ he’d never truly say out loud.

  Faye’s Affinity and allure pushed into Tucker, her words securing the deal her touch did not do alone. “In this moment, at this time, you feel love. You are in love with me, and I am in love with you.” She had spoken the words a great many times before and the feeling always dissipated once they awoke in the morning, never truly something they had organically felt for each other, not even close.