by G. K. DeRosa
“You tried to kill my girlfriend a couple times, in case you’ve forgotten,” he retorted.
Dani looked at Celeste, and she couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. “I’m sure Dani can handle this. Like you said, Roman, there’s nothing to worry about.”
“See, Celeste’s gotten over it, why can’t you?” Dani said, taking a step forward and pointing a finger straight at Roman.
“Dani, get that finger out of my face or you will no longer have one,” he uttered menacingly.
Celeste jumped in between the two of them, placing her hand on Roman’s chest. “That’s enough, both of you. What’s wrong with you Roman?”
Roman shook his head, took a deep breath, and sat down on the worn leather couch. “Just try to find out some information from that notebook, Dani. I’m sure the Council will want it back soon.”
Dani glared at him for a long minute, then turned away and stomped up the stairs with the notebook in hand. Celeste stared at Roman accusingly as she sat down beside him, but he wouldn’t meet her eyes.
“Speaking of the Council, we have been invited to the Induction Ceremony,” said Stellan, breaking the uncomfortable silence. “They have finally chosen someone to take the place of Markus, who as I’m sure you both recall, was killed in the encounter with Fabian and Alek last summer.”
“Do I have to go?” asked Celeste. The prospect of attending a daylong ceremony with the Council members didn’t sound too appealing. She still felt uneasy in their presence, especially when they were all together. She felt as if they were scrutinizing her every move.
“Celeste, it is an honor to be invited to the ceremony – not many young guardians are. This is a centuries-old ritual, and it will be good for you to learn more about these sacred traditions.”
“Okay,” she said with a whiney ring in her tone. “When is it?”
“Next Thursday. Do you think you’ll be able to get us there?”
Celeste looked up at him in surprise. “You mean with my own powers? Without being asleep and being summoned?”
“Yes, exactly,” he said.
“I’m not sure. I’ve never done it before,” she said, looking nervously between Stellan and Roman.
“I’m sure you can do it,” Roman said, squeezing her hand reassuringly.
“Can I take a date?” she asked Stellan with a grin.
Stellan shook his head grimly. “You know that vampires are not permitted in Astor. Though the Council has been very lenient in turning a blind eye to your relationship with Roman, it’s best you don’t push your luck.”
Celeste knew he was right. Her relationship with Roman was just barely tolerated, and it was only because of how many times he and Nico had saved her life. But having Roman with her at the ceremony in Astor would have made her feel much more at ease. Not to mention the fact that she wasn’t entirely sure she could get them there on her own. Dante, the head of the Council, had told her that as her powers increased she would be able to come and go into Astor as she pleased, but she still hadn’t tried.
“Anyhow, we’ve gotten a bit off track. You said there was something you needed from me?” asked Stellan, hoping to change the subject.
“Oh yes! I was wondering if you could give us some information about the fairy world,” she said.
“Why? Have they been causing any trouble?”
“No, but we do have one living in Oak Bluffs. And I thought I should learn as much as I could about them.”
“Yes, yes of course. That is very enterprising of you. Though fairies are generally not evil, they can certainly be quite mischievous at times.” Stellan stood and walked slowly to one of the many bookshelves lining the corridor. He pulled a few small leather bound books from the shelf and handed them to Celeste.
She wiped off the dust and looked at the curious gold script on the cover. “What language is this written in?”
“It’s Faerie, the ancient language of the Fey.”
Celeste cracked open the book and flipped through a few pages. “How am I supposed to read it?”
Stellan smiled. “Just try,” he said.
Celeste looked at the strange writing and concentrated on the swirls and dashes. For a time, it all seemed like gibberish. Then suddenly, as if magical blinders had been removed, all of the words made perfect sense. She scanned through one page and the next and soon, to her surprise, she discovered that she could read it all.
“I can read Faerie?” she asked.
“You can read all of the ancient supernatural languages, as can all guardians. You must only open up your mind to it.”
“Cool,” she said. “So is there anything else I need to know besides what’s in these books?”
“Of course my dear. The Fey are a very old people, but that will be enough to get you started,” he replied.
“Roman, are you okay?” she asked. Looking over at him, she realized that he hadn’t spoken much since Dani ran out.
“Yes fine, I was just thinking about something else. I feel bad about how I spoke to Dani. If you’ve gotten everything you needed about the fairies, would you mind checking on her for me?”
“Sure,” she said, standing.
“Maybe you could help smooth things over for me, and then I’ll come in and apologize,” he said, squeezing her hand.
Celeste nodded and disappeared up the spiral staircase.
Once she was out of earshot, he turned to Stellan. “Have you been able to track Alek down?”
“Unfortunately not,” he said. “He seems to have completely disappeared after that confrontation with Fabian in the summer. I’ve tried several different tracking spells, but have been entirely unsuccessful.”
“Hmm…” said Roman with a far off gaze.
“Do you believe he sent the demon after Celeste?” asked Stellan.
“Possibly. It didn’t escape my attention that he is one of the first on the list that the Council sent over,” Roman paused. “But even if he had nothing to do with this, I need to find him. I still can’t get the image of my mother’s body in the cave that day out of my head.”
“Roman, we can’t be sure that really was your mother,” Stellan said, resting his hand on Roman’s shoulder.
“It had to be. I know what I saw. And I’ve been to her grave…” His mother’s image had haunted him for weeks, until finally one evening, after awaking in a cold sweat from a far too vivid nightmare, he had gone to their old home with a shovel in hand.
“You didn’t?” asked Stellan aghast.
“I had to! I had to be sure that it really was her. And the coffin was empty.”
Chapter 3
“Are you sure everything’s okay?” Celeste asked again as they drove back toward Oak Bluffs. Roman had been staring blankly ahead for the past half hour without so much as a word to offer. She was worried that he was more upset about Brian and this fairy research trip than he had let on.
“I’m fine, just thinking,” he said, turning toward her. He took one hand off of the steering wheel and caressed her cheek. “Don’t worry about me.”
But she was worried. Celeste knew Roman well enough by now to know that something was really wrong. His brilliant blue eyes were clouded with concern, but for what, she couldn’t guess.
“So where are we going on this double date that you are dragging me to tomorrow?” he asked, trying to lighten the mood.
“I’m not sure actually. Brian’s in charge of the planning.”
“Oh wonderful. This is going to be a pizza and bowling night, isn’t it?” he said with a smirk.
Celeste playfully punched him in the arm. So much of their time spent together was fraught with fear and danger that she cherished these light-hearted moments.
“Be careful! I’m driving!” he teased as he jerked the steering wheel to the left causing Celeste to tumble toward him.
She laughed and then straightened back up in her seat. “Where would you plan the date if you think you could do so much better?”
“Oh,
I don’t think. I know I could. I would take the Porsche up into the winding hillside. There’s a beautiful little spot up in the bluffs that you can only reach by trail. I’d pack up a picnic basket with some candles and red wine, and we’d hike up the last few meters before the sun sets. Then I’d lay out the blanket by the opening of a small hidden cave up there that overlooks the town. The view is actually quite breathtaking. And we’d make it just in time to see the fiery orange rays of sun setting over Oak Bluffs.”
Celeste stared dreamily at Roman as he spoke. She could clearly see the picture that his words had painted of the two of them, snuggled up in the blanket as the sun set on the world below them. She was pleasantly surprised that he had put so much thought into their dream date.
“Okay, so I guess that would be pretty amazing. But you forgot one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“This is supposed to be a double date, not a romantic one for just the two of us.”
Roman grunted. “What’s wrong with wanting you all to myself?” He turned toward her, his eyes blazing.
A warm sensation flowed through her entire body at his words, and she felt her cheeks flush. “Nothing at all,” she responded. “So why haven’t you taken me there already?” The truth was that though they had been dating for months now, they never really went out on dates. The majority of their time spent together involved fighting off demons, practicing fighting demons, or running away from demons.
Roman frowned. “You’re right, I should have. I will, I promise. And it will be just the two of us.”
As they drove up the street to Celeste’s house, Roman tensed. She could tell that his superior vampire eyesight had seen something that she had not.
“Are you expecting a visitor?” he asked.
“No, I don’t think so,” she said as they pulled in front of her home. There was a small red rental car with a New York license plate parked in the driveway.
“Does anyone have the key to your house besides you and your mom?” he asked.
“Not that I know of. We have that extra key hidden in that fake rock in the backyard, though, but I don’t think anyone knows about it except you, me, my mom, and Brian.”
“Let me go first. You wait in the car,” he said as he closed the door silently.
“No way, I’m coming too. Besides, how many supernaturals do you know that drive a Hyundai rental car?”
“Fine, but stay behind me,” he whispered as they walked gingerly up the porch steps. Roman twisted the doorknob and slowly pushed the door open. The house was dark except for one light in the kitchen. They tiptoed through the entrance hallway and around the corner toward the faint glow. As Roman stepped into the kitchen, a tall woman with a baseball bat swung at him. He quickly ducked and missed her blow, and Celeste backed up just in time to miss the tip of the bat from breaking her nose.
“Aunt Maddie?” Celeste asked from her crouched position on the floor.
“My little Celeste, is that you?” The tall woman with the ponytail hastily pushed by Roman to pull Celeste back to her feet, then wrapped her arms around her. “I can’t believe how big you’ve gotten! You were just a little girl the last time I saw you.”
Celeste stiffened in her embrace. “Yeah, I was ten and it was for my dad’s funeral. And then you disappeared.” She didn’t have many fond memories of her aunt, probably because she didn’t have any memories of her at all.
“I’m so sorry about that, Celeste. He was my brother, and I guess I didn’t handle it well,” she said, stepping back. “You look a lot like him. You have his warm hazel eyes and that beautiful curly blonde hair.” She gently tugged at one of the curls and watched in delight as it bounced back into place. “He was blonde, too, when he was young, and then it got darker like mine,” she said, pointing to her own light brown hair that fell in wisps in front of her face.
Celeste felt a pang in her chest at the mention of her father. She didn’t get to hear about him much, and his sister saying that she resembled her dad brought on a swell of bottled-up emotions. “Thank you,” was all she could muster.
Roman had been watching the exchange from a distance, not wanting to interrupt the family reunion. He leaned casually against the wall, noticing slight similarities between the two women. Though Roman had only met Celeste’s father once many years earlier, he had always thought Celeste looked a lot like him. Now, having seen his sister, it only further confirmed his first impression.
Celeste suddenly remembered that Roman was there and turned to him, taking his hand to introduce him to her aunt. A strange look crossed Aunt Maddie’s face as she seemed to truly notice him for the first time. Roman stretched out his hand, and she recoiled in disgust.
“What is he doing here?” she yelled, and grabbed the bat she had let fall on the floor.
Celeste jumped in front of Roman as her aunt waved the bat in the air menacingly. “What are you talking about Aunt Maddie?”
“Don’t you know what he is?” she asked.
Celeste’s mouth dropped open. “You know what he is?”
“Of course I do. He’s a vampire—an evil, blood-sucking creature from hell. Now get out of the way so I can kill him,” she said as she lunged toward him.
A thousand questions popped into Celeste’s head, but she had to focus on the immediate danger. She had to keep her aunt from killing her boyfriend. “Aunt Maddie, put the bat down and let me explain. He’s not like other vampires. He’s not evil,” she said as she put her hands in the air trying to stop her.
“Of course he is, they all are. He must have you under a spell, influencing you with his mind,” she said, taking another step toward him. She swung the bat above Celeste’s head and almost got a direct hit on Roman’s temple. He darted to the side just in time.
“I don’t want to hurt her, Celeste, but I’m going to have to get that bat away from her before she harms either one of us,” hissed Roman, who was ducking behind her and using her as a human shield.
“Aunt Maddie, please put the bat down. We need to talk about this,” she said. Celeste was trying to keep her cool, but she was starting to worry that she wouldn’t be able to quash this standoff. Roman jerked back and forth behind her as Aunt Maddie matched his every move. She held the bat high above her head, expertly poised to deliver a crushing blow.
“Matilda, put that bat down before you hurt my daughter!” shouted an enraged voice from the hallway. In all the commotion, Celeste’s mom had come home, and she now stood firmly planted between Aunt Maddie and Celeste, with Roman close behind.
“Thank goodness,” murmured Celeste under her breath.
Aunt Maddie lowered the bat, but did not drop it. “You know that your daughter is friends with a vampire?”
“He’s my boyfriend!” announced Celeste proudly.
Aunt Maddie made the sign of the cross on her chest and looked like she was about to faint. “Thank God your father is not here to see this,” she said.
At that, Celeste’s blood began to boil. “You don’t know anything about my dad, or me, or Roman. We haven’t seen or heard from you in eight years. How dare you show up here and judge me?”
“Celeste, I came here to help you. I heard that you had been chosen to be the new Guardian. I know what that’s like, and I wanted to be here for you,” she explained.
“You’re a guardian too?” asked Roman, the pieces of the strange puzzle unexpectedly clicking into place.
Aunt Maddie didn’t acknowledge his question, and from the look in her eye, she might have launched another attack if Celeste didn’t interrupt.
Celeste’s mind raced as she thought about her often-absent Aunt Maddie. It suddenly all made sense: her nomadic lifestyle, the secrecy, her disappearance. “Mom, did you know about this too?”
She nodded.
“I need to get out of here,” Celeste said. She grabbed Roman’s hand and pulled him toward the door.
“Celeste wait sweetie, I can explain,” pleaded her mother.
&n
bsp; Celeste didn’t even look back as she slammed the door behind her.
A lithe young man with wiry platinum hair stood gazing out through a frosted window. A wintry breeze rushed inside, causing some strands of his hair to come loose from the perfectly gelled ponytail. Irritated, he quickly smoothed them back. The vast mountain range to the East was covered in snow and the trees in the valley below him were bare and lifeless. Months had passed since Celeste and the Constantins, with the help of the Council, had killed Fabian, but the image of that day was burned into his mind. To him, it was as fresh as if it had happened only yesterday. He had not forgotten his promise: he had vowed to get revenge and he would have it. The time had come.
Celeste swirled her cereal around in the bowl as she sat absentmindedly gazing out the kitchen window. There was a slight wind stirring outside, and the typically smooth water of the pond rippled back and forth in the breeze. It was quite soothing. So many questions had arisen since she discovered the truth about her aunt, and her mind was racing. How could Aunt Maddie not have told me?
“You can’t hide out here forever,” said Nico as he poured Celeste a glass of orange juice, interrupting her reverie.
“Why not? You don’t want a third roommate?” she asked with a smile.
“You know I love you like a sister, but what kind of a bachelor pad would this be if a girl lived here?”
“This is not a bachelor pad,” said Roman, hair still dripping from the shower.
Celeste watched him, appreciating the finely-toned muscles in his arms and chest as he walked around the kitchen in only a towel. Glancing over at Nico, she had to admit that he too wasn’t hard on the eyes with that roguish smile and spikey espresso-colored hair. She wondered if a perfect body came naturally to all vampires or if this was something they had to work for.
“You really are no fun, Roman,” said Nico, scowling.
“Don’t pout, little brother. Natalie will be back soon enough.”
“I’m not pouting. And it’s not like I’ve just been sitting at home waiting all this time while she’s off in Richmond meeting frat boys and doing God knows what,” said Nico as he cracked a few eggs in a bowl and began beating them a bit too vigorously.