by G. K. DeRosa
“I am Javier and this is my partner Milena. It is a pleasure to meet you, Celeste. We have heard many good things about you.”
Celeste blushed at the compliment. She was beginning to worry that she would not measure up to the reputation that preceded her. “Thank you,” she said. “It’s a pleasure to meet both of you.”
“Very well, now let’s get to work,” said Milena as she resumed the discussion of strategy.
As they walked around the perimeter, Celeste caught a glimpse of fire red hair. Behind a bush, Marie’s lithe form appeared, and she beckoned to Celeste with her finger. Startled, Celeste turned back to the others and was relieved to see they hadn’t noticed her.
“I think I dropped my ring back there,” said Celeste, slipping the sapphire into her pocket. “You guys go ahead, I’ll be right behind you.” She turned around and started backtracking until they were out of sight, and then headed toward Marie.
“What are you doing out here?” Celeste asked. “You’re going to get me in so much trouble. And where have you been anyway?”
“I’m sorry, but I told you I had some things I needed to take care of. And don’t worry, you’re not going to get into any trouble because of me,” she insisted. Celeste found that hard to believe.
“And why is that? How come you can get in and out of here and no other supernatural can?” asked Celeste. Marie stared at her, apparently debating her options. “Look, if you want me to trust you, you have to be straight up with me. I have enough to worry about today, and I can’t be freaking out about you too.”
Marie sighed. “I guess it’s not a big deal really. It’s just that not many of the Fey know, and I want to keep it that way.”
“Know what?” asked Celeste.
“I’m only part Fey. My mother is a fairy, but my dad is a guardian.”
Celeste had to focus on not passing out from shock. She leaned on the tree trunk next to her for support. She tried to skip the obvious questions and made an intuitive leap. “So your dad lives here?” she finally managed.
“Yeah, he’s retired and I’m allowed to come visit. Having guardian blood allows me access, and my fairy blood makes it possible for me to travel through the realms,” she explained as though it were perfectly normal.
“Why didn’t you just tell me that from the start?”
“Like I said, not many fairies know. They wouldn’t exactly embrace the fact that I’m a half-breed. So you can’t tell anyone once we leave here,” she said, looking sternly at Celeste.
“Okay, I won’t. I promise.”
“Good. So how can I help?” she asked with a smile.
Marie was met with some skeptical glances from the guardians, but after her unique situation was explained, they mostly just ignored her. The team split up, with Milena and Javier taking the outer perimeter and Celeste, Marco, and Marie guarding the area closest to town. The hours dragged on as the threesome marched the designated route in circles. They started at the Council building, cut across to the police station, circled the lake behind the town hall, passed the elementary school, then worked back to the center of town to the main square fountain. It was only an hour before the start of the ceremony, and the streets were pretty quiet with the exception of the other fifty or so guardians on duty. The rest of Astor’s inhabitants were busy getting ready for the main event.
“I wish my aunt had come,” said Celeste out of the blue. “She would have been a great addition to our team.”
“Who’s your aunt?” asked Marco.
“She’s a guardian too. Her name is Matilda Wilder. I thought you knew everything about guardian families,” she responded sarcastically.
“I do know everything, and Matilda Wilder hasn’t been a guardian for years,” he said, raising an eyebrow quizzically.
“What are you talking about?” asked Celeste, stopping abruptly and turning to face Marco. Marie looked on without saying a word.
“I guess I didn’t realize she was your aunt. She went rogue about ten years ago. Last I heard, she was wandering around Russia, killing vampires on her own.”
“No, you’re wrong. It can’t be.”
“I’m pretty sure there’s only one Matilda Wilder, and I know that I’m right. It was a big deal in the guardian community in Europe,” he said as he continued walking. “Everyone was talking about it.”
Celeste was puzzled. Why would her aunt go rogue, and more importantly, why wouldn’t she have told Celeste the truth? Her aunt’s strange behavior suddenly started to make more sense.
“Are you sure your premonition was correct?” asked Marco as they passed the fountain for the umpteenth time.
“I know what I saw, and it was bad. I just don’t know exactly when it’s going to happen,” she said with a scowl.
Perceiving the change in her tone, Marco backed off. “It’s getting late, and we need to get ready for the ceremony,” he said looking at her clothes. “You are going to change, aren’t you?”
Celeste had an urge to punch him, but she took a deep breath instead. “Yes, I am. Why don’t you go first and Marie and I will keep going?”
Marco paused and considered for a moment. “Okay. I’ll be back soon. Try not to get into too much trouble without me.”
Celeste rolled her eyes and happily watched him saunter away. “Can you believe that guy?” she said to Marie.
“What? I think he’s kinda hot,” she responded with a wink.
“The problem is that he knows he’s hot and acts like a cocky brat,” said Celeste as she marched on. Marie shrugged her shoulders and picked up the pace to catch up to her.
Celeste pushed aside the questions about her aunt and was enjoying the quiet—and the beautiful scenery. She and Marie had slipped into a comfortable silence, and it allowed her a few moments to think. The nagging pain in her chest persisted; it was as if every heart beat murmured Roman. More than anything, Celeste wished he were here with her. She always felt stronger when he was near. His absence left a gaping hole, one that was unlikely anyone else could ever fill. Shaking her head, Celeste willed herself to stop thinking about him. She had to focus on the mission. Opening her mind and body, she reached out, searching for anything supernatural nearby. As always, she got a slight twinge from Marie, but it was not the overpowering evil she was searching for. Everything was quiet.
As they circled around to the Council building, they found Milena and Javier. Milena was wearing a crimson satin floor-length gown, her bright red lipstick contrasting her pale complexion and her jet-black hair pulled in a tight bun. Javier too looked like another person in his formal black tuxedo, with his salt and pepper hair slicked back neatly.
Javier spoke up first. “Celeste, go ahead and get dressed. We will cover for you. Be back in twenty minutes.” Celeste nodded and hurried off as instructed with Marie following closely behind.
“What are you doing up at this ungodly hour?” asked Nico, rubbing his eyes as he peeked into Roman’s room. He covered his eyes to avoid the bright light from the desk lamp.
“I couldn’t sleep,” he said curtly. Roman was hunched over the computer with a stack of old books and a pad and pen at his side. Nico picked up the notebook to examine the illegible scribbles.
“What are you doing?”
“I am trying to find Alek. I have a feeling that somehow he’s behind all of this – the Bacillus demon and Celeste’s premonition.”
“Why would you think that? No one has heard anything from him since Fabian’s death,” said Nico, sitting down on the bed.
“That’s exactly why. If that had been me, I would be lying low and preparing to take my revenge.” Roman stood up abruptly and began pacing. “Don’t you see? No one would see him coming.” Nico nodded his head, not really sure where his brother was going with this. “I was curious about Alek and his motivations. Why did Fabian choose him? I’ve been reading through these books, and in a thousand years, Fabian never had an apprentice, no one he ever worked with. And then Alek appears. Don’t you
find that odd?”
“Maybe he just got lonely?” said Nico.
“Be serious for once, little brother! I truly believe we need to find out more about this connection between Alek and Fabian. If Alek is still out there, he could have answers. He could have our mother’s body.”
Nico looked at him, bewildered. “You really think that was her?”
Roman hadn’t brought up seeing his mother’s body that day at the cave to anyone except Stellan. He hadn’t even spoken about it to Celeste. But after visiting his mother’s empty grave, he couldn’t deny it any longer. “I do. And we need to find Alek if we want to get her back.”
“Why would he have kept her body? It makes no sense,” said Nico.
“I don’t know. And that is exactly why we need to find out more about Alek – not just for Celeste but for us too.” Roman picked up one of the books from his desk and flipped through a few pages. “According to this, Fabian began mentoring Alek only about a hundred years ago.”
“That’s around the time that we were turned,” said Nico, peering at the book over Roman’s shoulder. “He looks pretty good for just over a hundred.”
“Yes he does. Either Fabian halted his aging or he did it himself, which means he’s more powerful than we thought.”
“What else does it say in there?”
“Not much. I’ll have to go to Stellan’s to see what else I can find,” Roman said, dropping the book. “You up for a pre-dawn flight?”
Nico’s dark eyes sparked with excitement. Moments later a sleek black falcon dotted the morning sky with a snowy white falcon flying close behind.
A bleary-eyed Dani opened the door to Stellan’s house after incessant knocking finally got her out of bed. She was still in her pink flannel pajamas, and her long fair hair was a tangled mess.
“Geez, what are you two doing here so early?” she asked, stifling a yawn. “Stellan’s not here.”
“Yes, we know that Dani. We need to get into his library. It’s important,” said Roman with an irritated tone. He hated sitting around doing nothing, and though he wasn’t with Celeste where he desperately wanted to be, at least this was something. If he could focus on locating Alek, the constant ache of losing Celeste would at least be more tolerable.
“Can I help?” asked Dani eagerly.
Nico spoke up before Roman could object. “Sure, why don’t you pull up all the books with mention of Fabian or Alek?”
“Sure, no problem,” she said as she sat down at Stellan’s desk. She turned on the old computer and began typing away.
“What are you doing?” asked Roman, who was pulling dusty books off of shelves one by one.
“I’m searching the catalog. I’ve been helping Stellan get organized over the past few months. I have an archive of all his book collections with names, dates, and keywords. It will be much quicker to search here than manually,” she answered.
Roman, looking abashed, dropped the books in his hands and walked over to the desk. He stood over her shoulder and watched her as she expertly searched through the files. Nico couldn’t help but smirk. After a few minutes, Dani had compiled a list of a dozen titles that matched her search query. She disappeared into the rows of bookshelves, and moments later came out with a tower of books in hand.
“Thank you,” said Roman.
“Sure, no problem. Do you want me to help you look through the books too?”
Roman glanced at his watch. The Induction Ceremony would be starting momentarily. He reminded himself that there was nothing he could do but wait. “Yes, that would be nice,” he replied and even gave her a smile.
Celeste and Marco stood on high alert at the back of the long white hall. Every single one of Celeste’s muscles was tense and ready to strike at a moment’s notice. Both wore impeccable evening attire, but the expressions on their faces looked more like they were going into battle than a formal ceremony. Celeste had chosen a simple black dress that fell to her knee that would be both stylish and deadly. Its shorter length and stretchy material wouldn’t impede her demon fighting. Marco wore an elegant black tuxedo like most of the male guardians, but his was embellished with a flashy red bow tie and matching handkerchief. The hall was filled with guardians, young and old, from all parts of the world along with a few select VIP guests. Among the special invitees was a handful of powerful sorcerers like Stellan, the four heads of the great witch covens, and Elsbetta, the Queen of the Fey. They had all been granted special dispensation to enter Astor for this extraordinary event, and their positions in the first row signified their importance.
The new member to be inducted into the Council, Dalla, stood in the front of the room dressed in a flowing ivory gown. Celeste could immediately tell that she was a witch, and now she understood why the four leaders of the covens had been invited. It was a rare honor to be chosen part of the Council and especially rare for a non-guardian to be selected. Celeste wondered what made Dalla so special. As she scanned the audience, her eyes fell upon the Queen of the Fey. She really was as beautiful as everyone had said. Elsbetta was tall with a lithe figure similar to Marie’s, but her hair, cascading halfway down her back, was snow white. She wondered where Marie was, and if her Queen knew she was here.
A harp began to play a heavenly melody, and everyone’s eyes turned up to the orchestra as the room became silent. Celeste had all but forgotten Marco standing next to her, who unexpectedly jumped at the sound of the music. The double doors swung open and Dante filed into the hall, followed by Sierra, Seraphina, and Balthazar. Each wore a robe of different color similar to Stellan’s with rich hues and gold accents. Sierra gave a subtle nod to Celeste as she passed by, and a flash of envy crossed Marco’s classically handsome face. The Council marched slowly to the front of the hall, and each member took a seat at the candle-lit altar. After a moment of silence, Dante rose to address the audience.
“Thank you all for being here today. As you know this is a time-honored tradition, and we are fortunate to have Dalla joining the Council today. Her unique talents and wisdom will undoubtedly make us stronger and reinforce the entire guardian community as a whole.” Nods of approval were evident across the sea of faces in the crowd. “Let the Induction Ceremony begin.” With a solemn nod, Dalla stepped forward, and he placed his hands on her head.
Dante murmured a series of blessings in Latin and smeared pungent smelling oil across her forehead. The ceremony oddly reminded Celeste of many Catholic rituals she had experienced as a child at St. Alice’s. The mood in the hall was somber, and yet there was an undercurrent of excitement flowing through it all. She could feel the magic alive and sparkling like electricity as each member of the Council recited the ritualistic words.
Celeste glanced at the clock above her head and noticed it had been over an hour already. The time had flown by, and she sensed that the ceremony was coming to a close. She glanced over at Marco leaning lazily against a column, his eyes having glazed over a while ago. Apparently he didn’t find the ceremony as mesmerizing as she did. At the culmination, all four Council members encircled Dalla and with their hands raised over her head, chanted solemnly. Celeste could feel the rush of power that was being pulled from every direction and centered over their circle.
Suddenly, a wave of nausea hit Celeste as a terrible feeling grew in the pit of her stomach. Her heart started pounding as she scanned the room around her, searching for the source of her panic. This is it, the moment in the ceremony when the barriers to Astor are weakened. Her fellow guardians all looked calm, their eyes locked on the ritual at the altar. She turned to Marco and whispered urgently, “Something’s wrong.” Before she could explain, the grand double doors whipped open and a pack of heavily armed werewolves came hurtling through. Celeste shoved Marco out of the way before he got trampled by the surge of demons that followed the pack. He looked stunned as he hit the hard marble floor with a smack.
“Get up!” Celeste yelled as she scrambled for her sword, which was hidden under the bench in front of them.
Shaking his head, the initial look of astonishment passed over him, and he set his jaw with determination. Marco picked up his crossbow and began shooting his silver-tipped arrows into the oncoming pack. Celeste looked around in alarm as the vision from her premonition came to life before her eyes. Behind the large pack of werewolves were hundreds of horrible demons making their way through a large portal that had been opened up at the entrance of the Council hall. All of the guardians were fighting now, even though the majority of those present were retired. Glancing out the window, Celeste saw more guardians fighting the demons in the main square as they emerged from the portal. The immaculate streets of Astor were marred with blood and demon guts as the battle ensued.
Celeste’s duty was to protect the Council. Looking toward the altar she saw that they, too, were engaging the enemy. Even elderly Balthazar had his sword in hand, battling a deranged werewolf. A sense of pride came over her as she saw them all united against their supernatural enemy. As she made her way toward the front of the room, a huge, hairy beast with three-inch claws lunged for her. She drew her sword, and with a quick thrust dispatched him back to whatever hell dimension he came from. Celeste’s power was coursing through her now: she could feel her strength renewing with every swing of her sword as she cut through the melee. Another demon appeared in front of her, blocking her path. If it weren’t for the black beady eyes and forked reptilian tongue, she would have thought he was human like her. He was fast and dodged all of the thrusts of her sword. He hissed, and a nasty sticky liquid shot out of his mouth. Celeste ducked just in time as the corrosive fluid hit a bench and completely ate through the wood. Anger boiled up inside of her at this creature who was impeding her forward motion. Pointing her sword in front of her toward the advancing demon, she focused all of her energy and a blinding light shot out of her sword sending her attacker flying through the air.