by G. K. DeRosa
Through the hole, she could see Alek spin toward her, his face a mask of fury. He hauled the door open and shouted, “What the hell are you doing down here?”
Dani’s voice was quivering as she responded. “Nothing, sorry, I was just looking for you. I’m so bored…” She picked herself up off the floor and glanced around the room, catching sight of the body on the altar. “What’s that?” she asked, her eyes shooting open.
“That is none of your business, Dani,” he growled. But she shot past him, and tugged the cover off of the prone figure. She gasped when she recognized the face underneath.
“This is the same woman that Fabian had months ago in the caves,” she murmured. “Who is she?”
Alek remained silent for a moment, considering his next words carefully. “She’s my mother,” he finally blurted out.
“What?” asked Dani. “Wow, Roman is way off on this one. He thinks you have his mother.”
“I do. They are one in the same.”
Chapter 15
Celeste paced anxiously in the hotel room. It had been hours since Aunt Maddie had left, and darkness was beginning to set in. She pushed back the heavy navy curtain, and peered out the window into the busy streets of downtown Warsaw. Nothing.
“Looking out that window every five minutes isn’t going to make her appear any quicker,” said Marco, stretching lazily on the bed. Celeste shot him a look. “What? I’m sorry, I’m not trying to make light of it, it’s just that you’re wearing a path on the rug from all that pacing.”
“I think I’m going to go out there to look for her,” she said, grabbing her puffy jacket.
“No,” said Marco, standing up to stop her. “You have no idea where she went. We’re in a strange city, and it’s like twenty degrees and snowing out. You remember what your aunt said about vampires coming out to hunt at this time. I’m not going to let you go out there and get yourself killed.”
“Well I can’t just sit here,” she said. “We have to – ”
Celeste was cut off by a sudden sound at the door. They both turned toward it and tensed, ready to spring into action. The door swung open and Aunt Maddie walked in, her nose and cheeks rosy from the frigid air outside.
“Thank God you’re okay,” said Celeste as she ran to her.
“I’m fine,” she said as she dropped a black duffel bag on the floor. She brushed the snow off her coat and hung it on the rack.
“Where have you been?” Celeste asked.
“Yeah, you really shouldn’t be going off like that on your own,” Marco chimed in.
“Relax, both of you. These are my old stomping grounds, and I needed to pick up a few supplies,” she said as she unzipped the duffel bag revealing three burner phones and a variety of demon hunting weapons. “And I needed to do some recon. I checked out some of the vampires’ favorite haunts, and it looks like they’re all the same ones from when I was around. I have a pretty good idea of where Maks will be tonight.”
“Okay great,” said Marco. “So what’s the plan?”
“Just follow my lead, eager young guardian.”
“Great plan,” he said snidely, ignoring Celeste’s glare.
“Be ready to leave in an hour,” Maddie said as she locked herself in the bathroom once again.
After a warm bowl of zurek, a traditional Polish soup, and steaming hot pierogies from room service, Celeste felt much better. She zipped up her coat, placing a dagger in the interior pocket, slipped the woolen beanie on her head, and tucked a small blade into her boot. Her sword was in the duffle bag that Marco was carrying, as she couldn’t very well walk through the hotel lobby with a medieval sword swung over her shoulder. Aunt Maddie wore a turtleneck hiked up to her nose and a black beanie with her long brown hair tucked inside. It was imperative that Maks didn’t recognize her if they had any hope of capturing him.
As they headed out into the blustering cold, Celeste was again thankful for her thickly padded jacket. She stuffed her gloved hands further into her pockets as they walked. The streets were mostly free of pedestrians as they made their way to Old Town. There were a handful of black Mercedes taxis parked in front of the luxurious Bristol Hotel next door to the Presidential Palace, but due to the traffic restriction in this part of town, there weren’t even cars on the road. As they approached the Royal Castle, Celeste remembered the dream she had on the plane. It had been so vivid that she still wondered if it hadn’t been a premonition. Aunt Maddie led them down a narrow cobblestoned side street, and Celeste and Marco followed close behind. After a few blocks, the street opened up into a small square of colorful late Renaissance style houses with a lovely bronzed zinc statue of a mermaid. In one of the dark corners of the square, a small group was huddled.
Aunt Maddie pulled Celeste and Marco down behind a brick building just as an ominous feeling blossomed in the pit of Celeste’s stomach. “There!” Maddie whispered, pointing. “That’s a group of vampires, I’m sure of it. No one else would be standing around in this weather.”
Celeste nodded. Her evil radar as Nico teasingly nicknamed it was causing bouts of nausea to churn inside of her as confirmation. Peering across the square, they could just make out the figures of four men across the way. Vampires didn’t feel the cold like humans did, and it was clear from their posture that the freezing night air wasn’t causing them any discomfort.
“Let’s circle back around and come at them from one of the side streets. If we approach them head on through the square, they’ll see us coming from far,” Maddie said.
“Wait,” said Celeste as her aunt began moving. “Maybe Marco and I should go alone. If Maks recognizes you, he’ll try to escape. We should confirm it’s him, since he doesn’t know us.”
“I don’t know, Celeste. I don’t like the idea of sending just the two of you against four of them,” she replied.
“Don’t worry about us,” said Marco with a smirk.
“Just hang back a little, if we need you we’ll yell,” said Celeste.
“Fine,” agreed Aunt Maddie. “I’ll lead you around the square and then I’ll wait at the corner. But try not to do anything crazy, Celeste. Your mom will kill me if something happens to you on my watch.”
The threesome ran through the snow-blanketed streets and ended up on the other side of the square half a block away from the group of vampires, who had their backs turned toward them now. Aunt Maddie waited and Celeste and Marco tiptoed ahead, cursing the sound of the crunching snow beneath their boots. As they approached the cluster, Celeste tried to make out their faces. One was short and stocky, the other was a giant blonde man, neither of whom could be Maks. But the other two were of about average height and had dark brown hair similar to the picture she had seen. She needed to get a little closer before she could make out any specific features. She desperately needed a better look at their necks to see if either bore the black bow and arrow tattoo.
Celeste signaled to Marco and they split up, each approaching the vampires from a different side. On the count of three, they leapt out in front of them, Marco hitting the tall blonde one with a direct shot to the heart with his crossbow. As confusion ensued, one of the dark haired ones took off.
“I gotta go after him!” yelled Celeste.
Marco nodded as he fought off the two remaining vampires with his sword in one hand and crossbow in the other.
Celeste took off after the swiftly moving vampire, and before long was straining to keep up. She vaguely remembered Marco saying that he was super fast and strong and regretted her offer to chase this guy. She should have let him do it. The vampire was much more sure-footed than she was, obviously familiar with the terrain. Celeste felt certain she would land on her butt at every sharp turn, but somehow she remained on her feet.
Running through the dark streets, the vampire made a sudden turn toward a main road where the lighted lampposts provided a nice change for Celeste. As he dashed across the street by the Parliament building, a wayward taxi driver pulling out of a driveway had to sla
m on the breaks to avoid hitting him. The vampire slammed his hands against the hood of the car and yelled what sounded to Celeste like a Russian obscenity. Bright headlights illuminated his face for a split second. In that moment, Celeste was just able to make out the black tattoo on his neck. It was him: she had found Maks. He spun on the driver of the taxi and yanked him out of the car, depositing him on the frozen asphalt. As the driver cursed at him, Maks climbed into the taxi and in an instant she had lost him.
Thirty minutes later, they reconvened at the hotel thanks to the burner cells Aunt Maddie had provided. Celeste was the last to arrive. She was winded from the all-out chase, and was dreading telling the others she had lost Maks. Marco had succeeded in killing one of the vampires, but the short stocky one had managed to escape.
“So what happened out there?” asked Aunt Maddie. “I lost you after you took off after one of them.”
“It was him,” admitted Celeste, her breath still coming up short.
Aunt Maddie’s eyes shot open. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. I saw his tattoo. It was definitely him.”
Aunt Maddie’s hands flew over her mouth. Celeste wasn’t sure if she was stopping herself from yelling or crying. She slumped down on the bed next to her.
“I’m so sorry I lost him,” said Celeste. “He was just so fast, and then he jumped into a cab and sped off.” She couldn’t help feeling guilty. She had been so close!
“It’s okay. At least he didn’t see me. He’ll probably just assume there’s a new guardian in town,” she said. “What’s important is that we know he’s here. We’ll get him next time.” Celeste looked at her aunt appreciatively; she was amazed at how well she had taken the news of Maks’ escape.
“Any word from Dalla or the Albsurori?” asked Roman. He and Nico had driven up to Stellan’s for a brainstorming session. It had been days since Alek had taken Fabian’s spell book, and they still had nothing new to go on. What was more remarkable was that Alek still hadn’t made a move. As each day passed, the tension increased while everyone awaited the inevitable attack.
“Yes, actually there is, which is why I asked you both to come,” replied Stellan, taking a seat in his well-worn worn in club chair. “Dalla believes she may be able to link to your mother’s ring and track down Alek that way.”
“Great, so what are they waiting for?” asked Nico.
“The head of the Albsurori coven, Marja, has been helping Dalla in this endeavor as she would be the rightful owner of the ring and hence have the strongest link to it. She claims to feel its presence, but something is blocking her from finding its exact location,” he explained.
Roman grunted. “Another dead end,” he murmured.
“Not necessarily,” said Stellan. “Alek must be cloaking it with very powerful magic, but expending that much energy must be very draining. He will not be able to hold it forever.”
“So we just have to wait?” asked Nico.
“Basically, we’re back to sitting around and doing nothing,” complained Roman as he sagged down on the couch.
“Yes, I’m afraid so,” Stellan responded. “The other theory, and again this is simply speculation, is that should the ring be used it would exert a surge of power which Marja and Dalla believe they would feel.”
“So whatever Alek is planning, he still hasn’t done it,” said Nico.
“Precisely,” answered Stellan.
“But Celeste used the ring all the time, and they never felt anything,” said Roman. He still didn’t fully trust these witches and hated counting on them for something so important.
“There are two reasons for that, Roman. Number one, they weren’t even aware of the ring’s existence at the time and secondly, when Celeste used the ring it was a simple amplification of the daily usage of her guardian gifts. If Alek were to use the ring for a spell, let’s say, it would be an extremely high concentration of power at one time,” explained Stellan.
“That makes sense,” said Nico.
“On another note, have either of you heard from Celeste today?” asked Stellan.
“Yes, nothing new after that first sighting. At least they’re wiping up the streets of Warsaw though,” answered Roman.
“I’m glad to hear she is keeping up with her training then,” said Stellan. “I hear Marco is quite an impressive guardian as well. I hope that he is teaching her his techniques.”
“Marco?” asked Roman, his brow arching. “You mean the Italian guardian she met in Astor?” Celeste had gone on and on about what a great partner he had been, and Roman couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy. He should have been the one there with her, fighting at her side.
“Yes, that’s the one. She didn’t tell you that was who Dante had sent?”
“No, she didn’t,” he said sullenly as he stood up and walked toward the window.
“Hmm,” muttered Stellan. “In any case, I will continue working closely with Dalla until we find Alek. I don’t doubt that with patience, we will succeed.”
“And what are we supposed to do in the meantime?” asked Roman. His inability to do something productive was killing him.
“Why don’t you and Nico do some patrolling? Perhaps killing some demons will improve your mood,” responded Stellan snidely.
The flight back to the U.S. was scheduled in two days’ time, which left only two more nights to find Maks. The three guardians seemed to have run all the demons out of town, signifying that perhaps they had done too good of a job. Over the course of the past three nights, the trio had spent their evenings searching and hunting out in the frigid streets of Warsaw. They came across a few vampires and demons, quickly dispatching them all back to hell. But as news of the arrival of the three guardians spread, fewer and fewer supernatural troublemakers appeared. Celeste was starting to lose hope. If they couldn’t find Maks, this whole trip would have been a waste of time, and worse yet, she would never find out what really happened with him and Roman.
Aunt Maddie scrolled through the list of contacts on her phone, hoping to find someone she hadn’t reached out to yet, while Marco and Celeste sat in silence watching an old episode of Bones dubbed over in Polish. That was how all of their days had been spent while in Warsaw – hitting the streets as soon as darkness fell, staying out until dawn, and then spending the day cooped up in the hotel, sleeping or resting up for the night ahead.
“Why don’t you two go out for a bit?” said Aunt Maddie as she looked up from her phone.
Marco shot up quickly from the bed. “I’d be good with that,” he said, trying to pretend he didn’t want to go out more than anything in the world.
“Are you sure?” asked Celeste. “What are you going to do?”
“The same thing I’ve been doing for hours. I’m going to call a few more people and see if I can catch another lead. But there’s no reason you two have to stick around. It’s actually kind of nice out today, so why don’t you enjoy some of the city while the sun’s still out?”
Celeste finally agreed because she had to admit she was going a bit stir crazy locked up in that small hotel room. Aunt Maddie had been right; it was a nice day out for the middle of winter in Poland, anyway. The sun was peeking through the clouds and most of the snow had melted. Celeste felt refreshed as the chilly air put a spring in her step.
“You want to grab a coffee?” suggested Marco. “It probably won’t be anything like what we have in Italy, but it’s gotta be better than that American stuff you drink.”
Celeste grimaced. “Very funny, Marco. And here I was just thinking how surprised I’ve been because you hadn’t been a total cocky jerk since we got here.”
He chuckled. “It must be your good influence on me.” He interlocked his arm with hers and led the way to Old Town. As they walked, Celeste noticed the Christmas decorations were still up, and the lights were just coming on as twilight approached. The nicer weather had brought a multitude of people to venture out into the streets, and for the first time Celeste realized how prett
y the city actually was. All of the lampposts were adorned with holly and red bows, and the enormous Christmas tree by the Royal Palace was twinkling with bright lights and colorful ornaments. She hadn’t noticed any of it on the nights they had been patrolling, fully focused on the mission.
“Let’s take a picture,” she said without thinking. Marco pulled out his phone, and they squeezed their heads together for a selfie with the Royal Palace square and Christmas tree in the background. He snapped a few shots and then turned the phone back around to review the pictures. “I think we need one more,” he said, putting one arm around Celeste and holding the phone out with the other one. “Okay, on the count of three – one, two, three!” At three, he surprised Celeste with a sneak attack kiss to the cheek.
“Marco!” she squealed.
“I’m sorry! I couldn’t help myself, but look how beautiful you look in the picture.” He handed her the phone, and Celeste couldn’t help but laugh. He had snapped the picture right when his lips made contact with her cheek, and she had to admit the expression on her face was priceless. Her cheeks were rosy and her hazel eyes were wide with surprise, and the sparkling lights in the background completed the picture perfectly.
“You can’t keep kissing me, Marco,” she said with a laugh.
“It’s the Italian way,” he said with a shrug.
They finally found a café that Marco approved of – it served a well-known Italian brand of coffee, so they took a seat inside by the window overlooking the lively square.
“So I can’t kiss you because of your vampire boyfriend?” he asked mischievously as he sipped on his espresso.
“How do you know about that?” asked Celeste, turning a few shades redder.
“Celeste, I already told you that I know everything,” he said with a smirk. “And besides, you are the talk of the guardian world. Everyone has heard about that sword light trick and your vampire boyfriend.”
Celeste was hit with a renewed feeling of guilt over her supposed special guardian power. If Marco knew that the only thing that made her a great guardian was Roman’s mother’s ring, he’d never let her live that down. A part of her wanted to tell him, but they had all agreed that the fewer people that knew, the better. Celeste realized that for the first time in a while, she hadn’t thought about the ring or its power. She had been kicking demon butt for days and doing a pretty good job of it without any supernatural help. A big smile pulled at the corners of her lips.