by G. K. DeRosa
But all of my memories would be gone too…
Celeste wouldn’t remember anything about the supernatural world including the existence of vampires like her love Roman or her dear friend Nico. If she weren’t the Guardian, Stellan, her mentor, would never have existed for her either. She would lose all of her gifts and the incredibly empowering feeling of holding her sword. She would also undoubtedly lose her ability to visit with her father in her dreams.
Celeste wasn’t sure she could give that up and go back to being a normal human. Suddenly, the thought of being normal didn’t look so attractive when she realized all that she would lose. It ended up being a much easier choice than she had expected.
“I accept. I want to be the Guardian,” she blurted out loudly.
All of the Council stopped their idle chatter and stared at her in surprise.
“We are very pleased to hear that,” said Dante. “You were born to be the Guardian, and of that I am sure.”
“So what happens now?”
“You go on living your life, and on occasion we will summon you if you are needed. And of course you will continue to have premonitions, which will help guide you to those that are in danger. It is your duty to help them wherever they may be. And if you ever need our counsel, you know how to contact us.”
Celeste subconsciously reached for the Wilder key hanging from her neck. “Thank you, Dante. Thanks to all of you. I will do my best to make you proud.”
“Listen up everyone, I have an announcement!” Celeste glanced around the table at her dearest friends. They had all gathered at Ralph’s for a farewell dinner for Natalie, but all eyes were on her.
“Natalie, I want to wish you all the best at Richmond College. They are so lucky to have you, and I’m really going to miss you!”
Natalie smiled with tears in her eyes.
“And about college,” continued Celeste, “I’ve given it a lot of thought, and I’ve decided to postpone going to NYU.”
“What?” everyone asked in unison.
Brian raised his hand. “Why aren’t you going?”
Out of everyone there—Roman, Nico, Natalie, Brian, and Dani Lynn—who had been cloaked with a glamour spell so she could go out in public without being recognized, Natalie was the only one who didn’t know the truth about Celeste. Celeste had to be careful about what she said in front of her.
Roman glanced up and gave her a reassuring smile spurring her to continue.
“Before everyone freaks out, I’d like to point out that I said ‘postpone’. I already spoke to the university, and they have agreed to defer my enrollment for a year. As all of you know, I’ve been having some family issues to deal with. I thought it would be a better idea for me to stick close to home for a year until I figure a few things out.”
“So does that mean you will be going to community college with us?” asked Nico.
“Exactly. I enrolled this morning, and starting next week I will be an Oak Bluffs Crusader.”
“Wow, Cel, that’s awesome news for us anyway.” Brian’s face lit up. “It looks like you’re stuck with me for at least another year.”
“So now I’m the only one that’s leaving?” asked Natalie. “I’m going to miss out on all the fun!”
“Don’t worry, I’ll come visit you.” Nico shot her a flirty wink.
“We’ll all come visit you,” echoed Celeste.
“And you have to come to my games now that I’m going to be leading the Crusaders to victory,” said Brian. “I’m thinking a regional championship at least.”
As everyone chattered happily about the future, Roman turned to Celeste and whispered, “Are you sure about this?”
“I’ve never been more sure about anything.” She leaned in for a sweet kiss.
“Aww!” Natalie clapped her hands. “I think it’s more than just family reasons making you stay in Oak Bluffs.”
Celeste grinned, her cheeks heating up.
“Excuse me.” A pretty girl with fire red hair approached the table. “I couldn’t help but overhear you all talking about college. I just moved into town, and I’m starting at Oak Bluffs Community College next week too. My name is Marie.”
As Marie introduced herself to everyone, Celeste’s evil radar gave a slight pulse. She looked around in alarm, and not seeing any immediate danger she focused back in on Marie. The girl had a sweet smile and a few cute freckles on her nose—she seemed harmless enough. Still, Celeste was definitely getting a vibe from her. It was clear Marie wasn’t a vampire or a wizard, but also that she definitely wasn’t human. Celeste looked over at Roman for assurance, and he smiled casually.
“What is she?” she whispered under her breath.
“A fairy.”
“A what?”
“Shhh… they have excellent hearing.” Roman pressed his finger to his lips. “We can talk about it later.”
When Celeste looked up, Marie regarded her with big emerald green eyes.
“Sit down with us,” said Natalie. “We’ll tell you all you need to know about surviving in Oak Bluffs.”
As everyone sat around the table, Marie explained what had brought her to the small town. Celeste eyed her, but Roman seemed to be at ease so she took that as a good sign. She glanced over at Brian to see that he was gawking at the cute girl, hanging on her every word. For some reason, his smitten gaze made her happy. She leaned over to give Roman a quick kiss on the cheek. He reciprocated with a squeeze of her hand, which he was holding under the table.
All of a sudden, a searing pain tore through Celeste’s head. She bit down hard on her lower lip to suppress a scream as a terrible vision flashed through her mind.
Outside a dark figure loomed in the shadows. Watching the happy group of friends and seething with anger, he vowed to get revenge on them all.
Wilder Destiny
Chapter 1
Celeste gasped for air as her arms thrashed desperately around, but it was no use. She could feel her throat constrict as the clawed hands around her neck tightened relentlessly with every breath she took. As her chest heaved up and down, the blue sapphire encrusted in the Wilder family key that she wore around her neck glistened under the street lamp. Even if she could reach it to try to contact the Council, they would never get to her in time. She looked up into the cold, reptilian eyes of the hideous creature that had her pinned to the ground, then quickly turned away. She shut her eyes, refusing to let it see the fear that was swelling inside of her.
How did I get myself into this?
Celeste opened her eyes and caught a glimpse of her sword under the dumpster. It had fallen out of her hand when the winged beast had descended upon her in the alley. She stretched out her arm trying to reach for it, but it was still inches away from her grasp. As the creature’s foul breath pervaded the air, she cursed herself for bringing only one weapon on her routine night patrol. The corners of her vision were starting to blur, and she could feel the darkness creeping in from the lack of oxygen. She knew she had to act fast or the razor sharp teeth and dribbling saliva of her attacker were going to be the last things she would see on this earth. Celeste concentrated on her power and focused it all to her tangled legs. They were caught underneath the scaly tail of the creature, but if she could just distract him for a second…
With a powerful twist of her legs, she wrapped the monster’s tail between her thighs and pulled fiercely. It shrieked and while turning around, momentarily relaxed the death grip it had around her neck. Celeste’s power was surging now, and with a quick flip of her body she had the creature flat on its back.
“Celeste! Are you alright?” Roman came running around the corner in full vamp-speed and was at her side in a second.
“Oh, sure, now you show up,” she said, straining to hold the creature down as it struggled underneath her. “Since you’re here, can you hand me my sword please?”
Roman stared at her in disbelief, but moved toward the dumpster when she continued to glare at him. He handed her the impressive
family heirloom and stood next to her protectively.
“You might want to stand back,” Celeste warned, “this could get messy.” She raised the sword over the creature’s chest and with a powerful thrust drove it into his heart. The monster let out a hideous screech as it exploded into a puddle of scaly green goo.
“Ugh, that’s vile,” said Roman as he wiped the bright green slime off of his designer jeans. He reached out his hand and helped Celeste up. She was covered in the disgusting slimy substance and was picking out bits of goo from her curly blonde ponytail.
“What was that thing?” she asked as Roman gave her a once-over. His deep blue eyes showed concern, but he held back for now. She could sense a “you should be more careful” speech coming.
“I thought you knew,” he answered. “It’s a Bacillus demon. They are well known for their hunting and tracking skills. Once they pick up a scent, they don’t stop until their prey is – ”
“Dead?” Celeste finished for him when she realized he couldn’t.
Roman’s tense expression softened, and he wrapped his arms around her. He held her close to him, not caring about the nasty goo covering her t-shirt. She rested her head on his firm chest and for a moment everything was right in the world.
“There you guys are!” yelled Nico as he came running down the alley.
“You brought him too?” asked Celeste, looking up at Roman with annoyance written across her face.
“Of course he did,” said Nico. “We’re a team, the three of us. We’re like Batman, Robin and…Alfred.”
Celeste couldn’t help but laugh. “Look you guys, I know that you’re trying to help, but I don’t think most guardians have sidekicks. I need to learn to do this by myself.”
“You are doing it by yourself, but there’s no reason to put yourself in danger when I’m right here and could easily help you,” said Roman looking frustrated. “You shouldn’t go patrolling at night by yourself.” Nico nodded in agreement.
Celeste let out a sigh. Here it comes. “I don’t want to fight about this right now guys. I’m sticky and gross, and I just want to get home and take a shower,” she said, turning back toward her house.
After scrubbing her body raw and rinsing her hair out a couple of times, Celeste finally succeeded in getting off all of the slime from the Bacillus demon. So gross! As she stood in the steamy shower letting the hot water soothe her sore muscles, she thought about her life over the past few months. She couldn’t believe her first semester of college was almost over. Sure, she wasn’t going to NYU like she had always dreamed, but going to Oak Bluffs Community College was a good start. She was taking introductory courses and trying to figure out what to major in. More importantly, she had plenty of time to train with Stellan, her mentor and a super powerful wizard, and her powers had gotten much stronger too. She knew she had made the right decision by staying in Oak Bluffs; her life was here now.
And of course there was Roman. She had never thought it was possible to love someone the way that she loved him. She had grown up watching fairy tales, romantic comedies and reading romance novels, all making her long for her own Prince Charming. Now she had him, and it was so much better than she could have imagined. Sure he was a vampire, but there’s no such thing as the perfect guy. Right?
Celeste stepped out of the bathroom in her pink polka-dot bathrobe with a towel wrapped around her wet hair, only to find Roman sitting on her bed. Their eyes met and she could feel the heat rise in her cheeks as he took her in from head to toe. He looked away, trying to act nonchalant. It made her smile knowing she still had that effect on him. She didn’t think he would ever not have that effect on her. Sitting on her bed, he looked so perfect. His bright blue eyes twinkled as a smirk crossed his perfectly chiseled jaw, and his jet-black hair hung carelessly around his face.
“Hey you,” she said, running her hand through his stylishly messy hair. “You clean up pretty well.”
“I was just about to say the same thing to you,” he replied, pulling her into his lap as she giggled. He kissed her softly at first, and she felt comforted in his arms. Then as the kiss intensified, she could feel a longing in him that seemed to rival hers. She needed him like she needed air to breathe. She remembered a time not long ago when being around him was a struggle. When her new Guardian powers had kicked in, she was always filled with a sick feeling anytime she was around vampires. Luckily, she was now able to control those urges, and it was not being around Roman that made her ill. His hand trailing down her neck brought her back to the present. His hunger for her was all-consuming. She could see the passion blazing in his bottomless blue eyes as he looked deep into her hazel ones. Whenever they were together like this, Celeste couldn’t help but remember their first time. It had been perfect – like in the movies, but ten times better than she could have imagined. Roman suddenly stopped kissing her and abruptly pulled away.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, completely breathless.
“Your mom’s car just turned the corner,” he answered, disappointment in his voice.
“You don’t have to go,” she said, standing up reluctantly. “We can hang out downstairs and watch TV or something.”
Roman stood and kissed her chastely on the forehead. “I can’t. I have a couple things I need to take care of. I wanted to make sure you were all right after your run in with the demon. I, um, just got a little distracted.”
“Why Roman, are you blushing? I thought I was the only one that got flustered,” she said as a pleased smile crept across her face.
“Goodnight, my love,” he said with a sheepish grin and with a parting hug, he disappeared out the bay window. Celeste stood by the open window and peered into the darkness. She could just make out the outline of a large falcon flying through the moonlit sky.
“Hey, hey I’m naked in here,” scolded Nico as Roman barged into his room.
“Get dressed, we need to talk,” said Roman, averting his eyes. He picked up a towel from the floor and tossed it to his brother.
Nico hastily wrapped the damp towel around his waist. There was something in Roman’s voice that made it clear he wasn’t in a joking mood. “Okay, I’m decent. What is it?”
“You are familiar with Bacillus demons, aren’t you?” Roman asked.
“Hmm… let me think,” he said, rubbing his head. “Yes, they’re like a cross between an alligator and a bloodhound with wings only twice as nasty.”
“And…”
“Lower level demon, not very smart, but quite deadly,” continued Nico, ticking off the adjectives with his fingers as he went. “They’re trackers, generally hired by something smarter and more powerful – oh…”
“Yes, exactly – hired by someone. Who would send a Bacillus demon after Celeste?” asked Roman.
“That’s a good question.”
“One that I am determined to find the answer to.”
“It could be anyone,” said Nico. “She’s killed quite a few powerful demons, warlocks, werewolves, and vampires in the past couple months. I’m sure word has spread about the new Guardian in the underworld. There’s no telling who might be trying to seek revenge.”
“Are you trying to help, little brother, or worry me further?” he said slumping down on the chair and running his hands through his hair.
“Sorry. You know how much I care about Celeste,” Nico said, resting a comforting hand on Roman’s tense shoulder. “Perhaps the Council can help. Don’t they keep track of all Guardian kills?”
“Yes, you’re right,” he said looking up at him. “We can ask Stellan to contact them for the list, and he and Dani can sort through it. Maybe someone’s name will stand out.”
“My idea was sort of brilliant. Come on brother – you have to give me that!” said Nico.
Roman chuckled and patted his brother on the back. “Go call Stellan.”
“Wakey wakey eggs and bakey,” Maxi’s singsong voice came through the walkie-talkie.
It was quickly followed by Brian’s, whic
h was slightly less congenial, “Maxi get over here! Give that back to me!”
Celeste rolled over and reached for the walkie-talkie on her nightstand. “Hello?” she murmured. Rocky, her German shepherd, excited that she was finally up, gave her a swift lick to say good morning. She wiped the slobber off her face and put her ear to the receiver.
“Hi Cel! It’s me Maxi. Come over for breakfast. My mom said you could. Dad is out of town and she’s making pancakes!”
Celeste yawned. “Okay Maxi, just give me a few minutes to get dressed, and I’ll be right over. Oh, and tell your brother I said to stop being so mean to you.” She could still hear Brian yelling at his little sister in the background.
“Over and out,” she giggled in response.
Celeste stepped out into the cool morning air and snuggled into her worn leather jacket. It was already mid-December and the temperature was dropping fast. She longed for the sunny, carefree days of summer – well, maybe not entirely carefree. At least they weren’t ever since she was chosen to be the Guardian. Her life had been completely turned upside down when she discovered her family legacy. All her life, Celeste thought her father was a private investigator and that he had been killed in a car accident. Then she turned eighteen and learned the truth of the supernatural world around her and her pivotal role in it.
Crossing the yard, she saw Maxi waiting for her on the front steps with an excited look in her eye. Celeste felt a pang of guilt as she thought about how her new life as the Guardian had left little time to spend with her best friend or his younger sister.
“Cel, I have so much to tell you!” Maxi said as she took her hand, and ushered her into the house. “We’re going on a field trip next week to the aquarium in River Falls, and my teacher says that they have real live dolphins, and we can swim with them, and they have stingrays too, but we can’t swim with those and – ”