“Stop sidelining me! I’m not fragile. I can take care of myself!”
“I don’t disagree with you, but this isn’t about your inability to care for yourself. I need your help, I do, but not with this.”
“Then what? I’m sorry, I’m confused. Something is wrong, but I can’t help.”
“Listen, I’m working on something; I just need a few hours. If my plan works, the danger might be gone.”
“And if not?”
“If not, I’ll need your help to retrieve that missing painting.”
“The painting? What about Celeste?”
“I’ll handle Celeste.”
“No! No way! And what is this plan you have?”
“I can’t get into that, sorry. I need you to stay here, stay calm and wait for me to attempt to sort some of this out.”
Michael closed his eyes, sighing. “So, I should sit tight and do nothing while you run around doing who knows what by yourself.”
“Myself? That’s not true.”
“It is. You cleared the room before talking to me. You’re planning to do something no one knows about. I will not let you. Either tell me or I’ll tell them.”
Celine set her jaw, unimpressed by Michael’s threats. “Oh, Michael,” she said, gazing at him with disappointment, “I can’t let you do that.” She caressed his cheek, sending him straight to sleep. He slumped in the bed, his chin falling to his chest.
Celine stood, giving him a final glance before pacing to the door. She opened it, meeting everyone grouped outside.
“Well?” Gray asked.
“He’s asleep. There was no talking to him.”
“What did you expect? He’s stubborn! You shouldn’t have wasted your time, Celine,” Gray chided.
Celine shot him a glance, rolling her eyes. “He should sleep for a few hours at least without requiring a sedative. At least he was calm enough for me to put him to sleep without needing drugs.”
“I’ll keep one close just in case,” Millie said. “Gray, will you join me to sit with him?”
“Sure. Celine, you coming?” Gray asked.
“Uh, would you mind staying with him? I wanted to clear my head with a walk.”
“Everything okay?” Gray asked.
“Yes. Just wanted some fresh air while he’s asleep.”
“I’ll walk with you, Celine, I’m returning to my house for a little while to rest,” Alexander offered.
Not wanting to create suspicion, Celine agreed. The two started down the hall.
“Guys, I’ll just be in my room doing research!” Damien shouted as the group disbanded. “So, if anyone needs me, that’s where I’ll be… in my room.”
Celine winked at Damien before following Alexander down the hall. After donning jackets, they made their way out of the house, taking the path to Alexander’s house. They chatted on their way, making light conversation. Celine thanked Alexander for his help with Michael thus far. As they approached his home, he told her he planned to return in the evening. Celine embraced him, thanking him again and telling him she’d see him in a few hours.
She circled back, pretending to be returning to the main house. After the woods closed in around her and his home was no longer visible, she veered off, heading toward the cave that led to the beach.
Celine stood for a few moments at the water’s edge. The ocean breeze blew her blonde curls away from her face as she pondered the task ahead of her. Adjudicators were difficult creatures to summon and speak to. Was she desperate enough to try this? Her mind wandered back to the last time she summoned one of these preternatural beings. Indeed, she had been desperate enough then, at her wit’s end, unable to eat, sleep or rest. It was a terrible, trying time. She pushed it from her mind. Difficult or not, she had to try. She took one last glance at the sea spreading in front of her before she turned to the cove to begin her task.
After Damien announced his plan to “research” he made a show of stalking to his room. He slammed the door shut in a loud display, standing on the other side of it with his ear pressed to the door. The hallway was quiet. He inched the door open a crack, peeking out. It was deserted. He snuck out, peering around to make sure he was alone. Satisfied that he was, he eased the door shut behind him without a sound.
He crept down the hall past Michael’s room, hurried down the stairs and out the front door after pulling on his jacket. Celine and Alexander were still visible, walking down the path toward Alexander’s house. He followed them at a safe distance, keeping to the edges of the path so as not to be noticed.
If he was correct, Celine’s need for “air” was a diversion for her to get out of the house and summon the adjudicator. She had told him it was too dangerous for him to go with her and she had insisted he keep it from her fellow supernatural friends. But Damien was not about to let her do this alone. Even if he had to hide in the shadows and watch from afar, he would. Anything to make sure she was safe.
Damien hung at the edge of the forest as Celine and Alexander chatted outside his home. Within a few moments, Celine wrapped Alexander in a hug before turning away from the home. She started toward the woods, toward Damien’s hiding spot. He backtracked further in, hiding himself behind a large pine tree.
Celine passed by him on the path to the house before veering off toward the cliffs. Damien emerged from his hiding spot, following her at a safe distance. As she approached the cliffs, she disappeared into a cave.
Damien followed her with some reluctance, afraid to become lost navigating inside. It also reminded him of his last experience in a cave on the fateful night when Celine almost lost her life. The walls closed in on him, the daylight waning away as he entered.
It didn’t take long to descend to the beach. Damien peeked out from the cave opening, noting Celine standing a few feet away, staring at the ocean. He snuck out of the cave, hiding himself behind a large rocky outcropping.
After a brief moment, Celine navigated up the beach to the cove. She took a deep breath before holding her hands in front of her, palms up. She closed her eyes, murmuring a few words. Damien couldn’t overhear what she was saying. The wind began picking up, swirling the sand around her. She spoke more words into the air before her body went rigid. Her eyes shot open, her arms reached, appearing as if they were being ripped from their sockets.
Her body went slack, and she collapsed to the beach. Damien almost ran to her, fearing for her wellbeing. Before he emerged from his hiding spot, a black cloud began forming a few feet from Celine. It swirled and spun, churning inches above the sand. The sand beneath it splayed out, driven away by the whirling of the cloud. Lightning flashed from inside the cloud.
Chapter 17
Damien stared at the cloud as it changed shape, forming into a humanlike figure. The creature morphed, shedding the black cloud like a snake sheds its skin. Damien was speechless by what he witnessed. A pale figure hovered over Celine’s limp form. Black hair poked from its head, black eyes stared down at Celine, black nails protruded from its hands. Large gray wings poked from its back.
“Rise,” the creature said in a voice that reverberated, making it impossible to determine gender.
Celine climbed to her feet, tiny compared to the creature in front of her.
“Celine Devereaux Buckley, why have you summoned me in the presence of a human?” the creature boomed.
“Human?” Celine questioned. “I am not human.”
“Not you, another.”
“There is no human here,” Celine countered.
The creature sniffed in the air. “You are mistaken. Show yourself human.”
An expression of shock and dismay crossed Celine’s face as a realization struck her. “Damien?” she called. “Damien, it’s okay, come out.”
Damien stood, revealing himself from behind the rocky outcropping. “Hey, hello!” Damien waved, climbing from behind the rocks. “Nice to meet you. Sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, sir, ma’am, oh winged one,�
�� Damien stumbled, clearing his throat.
“Damien, stop,” Celine said with a shake of her head.
“Stand before me and be judged, human,” the adjudicator decreed.
“No!” Celine yelled, stepping between the creature and Damien.
Damien swallowed hard. The creature’s black eyes glowered at Celine. “You protect this human, Celine Devereaux Buckley?”
“I do. He is off-limits to you. He shall not be judged.”
The creature approached them, its gaze flickered between Damien and Celine. This close to it, Damien noticed its eyelids closed side-to-side rather than up and down. Celine stood her ground, refusing to budge as the creature’s fiery breath wafted across them.
“I said no!” she snapped, moving to shield Damien further.
The creature slid back. “You are fortunate, human, to be protected by such a powerful being.”
“Yeah,” Damien croaked out, clutching Celine’s hand as she reached behind her toward him. “I know.”
“Let’s get down to business,” Celine insisted.
“Why have you summoned me again, Celine Devereaux Buckley?”
“I have an issue. I require your assistance.”
“State your case.”
“My sister, Celeste Devereaux VanWoodsen, has morphed into a creature of the night. I need your help to return her to her original state.”
“How did this come to pass?”
Celine hesitated, weighing her words. “She was in a lifeless state. Her lifelessness forced me to act quickly to revive her. The procedure I used was… impure. It resulted in her altered state.”
“What brought her to her lifeless state?” the creature questioned.
“Marcus Northcott orchestrated her demise to punish me for refusing to join his coven.”
“And you attempted to reverse his punishment?”
“Yes.”
“Are there any other details relevant?”
“She is my sister; I did not want to lose her. I had only just regained her.”
“After your requested absence.”
“Yes,” Celine answered.
“You did not remain human, Celine Devereaux Buckley.”
“I did not. I could not.”
“You chose your fate, Celine Devereaux Buckley. There is always a choice.”
“Can you help me?” Celine pressed.
“No,” the creature stated.
“Please, Celeste does not deserve to pay the price for my folly,” she persisted.
“Celeste made her choices centuries ago. I will not undo what is done.” Celine set her jaw in frustration, contemplating her next move. “Our business is ended, Celine Devereaux Buckley. Goodbye.”
“If I could just interject…” Damien began. Celine spun to face him, wide-eyed, covering his mouth with her hands.
Fire shown in the creature’s eyes, turning them from black to red. Its wings opened wide, flapping in agitation. “SILENCE, HUMAN,” it bellowed. Panic flashed through Damien’s eyes, wide with fear. “You dare to defy me?” it roared.
“No, he does not,” Celine answered.
“I shall speak only to the contemptuous human who dares to challenge me.”
Celine whipped around to face the adjudicator. “You have made your ruling. No one is questioning you. Return to the realm from whence you came. Leave this human alone.”
“Step aside, Celine Devereaux Buckley, this is not your affair.”
“It is my affair,” Celine argued, fire entering her voice, “he is my family, blood or not. If you cross him, you cross me. Make no mistake, I will use every power at my disposal to defend and protect him.”
The creature glanced between Celine and Damien. “You realize the consequences of this choice?”
“I do,” Celine assured the adjudicator.
“And you would still defend him knowing this?”
“To the death,” Celine said, setting her jaw and flashing a fiery stare at the creature.
The fire died in the creature’s eyes and they returned to black. It furled its wings against its back. “So be it, Celine Devereaux Buckley, I shall leave the human alone. Recognize, human, how fortunate you are to have such a strong ally pledge their allegiance to you,” the creature stated. Damien nodded his head in silent confirmation of the creature’s statement. “Goodbye and good luck in finding a solution to your problem, Celine Devereaux Buckley. Perhaps you should seek the counsel of Marcus Northcott. He is well-versed in dealing with such situations.” With that, the creature opened its wings and shot skyward, disappearing somewhere above the clouds. The sky darkened and thunder boomed overhead. Within moments, the clouds cleared, returning to a bright, sunny day with no signs of the adjudicator.
Celine turned around, wrapping Damien in a tight embrace. “Are you okay?” she asked, stepping back to study him.
“I… I… I think so,” Damien stuttered. “I’m sorry, Celine, I didn’t mean to…”
Celine cut him off with a wave of her hand. “It’s okay,” she said, “but never do that again, D, never.”
“I thought the adjudicator would be this fair, benevolent thing that just wanted to help,” Damien explained.
“Just, yes. Benevolent, no. Adjudicators can be harsh in their judgements. They exhibit no emotion. Damien he could have… I don’t even want to say it. Never do this again, it’s far too dangerous!”
Damien nodded, realizing his folly. “I only wanted to help,” he said just above a whisper, his eyes sinking to the ground.
“I understand,” Celine said, softening. “There is so much you don’t comprehend about this world yet, D. Please trust me going forward.”
“Okay, I promise I will,” Damien agreed.
They stood in silence for a few moments, recovering from the experience. “Well, that was a bust,” Celine finally replied. “We should head back to the house. I think our only option is to go with your plan.”
“My plan?”
“Yes. It looks like you’ll get your wish to time travel and get that painting after all,” Celine said.
“Really? I thought you said it was too dangerous?”
“It’s more dangerous here for Michael.” Celine grabbed Damien’s hand, pulling him toward the cave. They navigated through the cave path up to the top of the cliff, heading for the path leading to the house.
“So, in the interest of understanding,” Damien queried as they walked, “why did that thing want to judge me?”
“You’re not a supernatural creature yet you’ve seen it. Once you showed yourself to it, it wanted to judge your soul and assign a fate to you.”
“A fate? Like where I go when I die?”
“Something like that. Then it would send you there immediately.”
“Immediately?” Damien gasped. “Like I’d be dead?”
“More or less,” Celine answered.
“And then at the end? It seemed really mad.”
“It was.”
“What would it have done to me?” Damien questioned.
Celine stopped walking, shooting him a glance. “You don’t want to know. It wasn’t anything pleasant.” She resumed walking.
Damien gulped, standing for an extra moment as he recovered. After a moment, he rushed to catch up with Celine. “I don’t mean to be a pest, but why did it back down and leave me alone? I mean, you threatened it, but why did it give up?”
“That was a battle the adjudicator would never have won,” Celine explained. “It tested me when it asked if I recognized the consequences and would still defend you. When I answered yes, it realized I was serious, and the battle was lost.”
Damien pondered the information as they took the shortcut through the woods. They wound around through the forest. As they passed a clump of pine trees, Celine shrieked, dropping to her knees. She clutched her head. Damien knelt next to her, grabbing hold of her, trying to determine if she was okay.
Within a few moments, Celine lifted her head. Tears streaked her f
ace. “I’m okay,” she assured him.
“Another painful memory?” Damien inquired.
“Yes. That was the worst of them.”
“Perhaps because the adjudicator didn’t come through to help with Celeste. Perhaps that is the reason you’re suffering from these, no matter what your subconscious says.”
Celine shook her head, furrowing her brow. “I need to discuss it with Millie. Perhaps we can learn more from another hypnotherapy session.”
Damien nodded in agreement. “Let’s get you home,” he said, helping her to her feet. Damien kept a firm hold on her as they finished their walk to the house.
They entered the foyer, Damien still guiding Celine, despite her insistence that she was fine. Gray was descending the stairs. “Where have you been?” he demanded.
“Out, why? Is something wrong?” Celine asked, detecting a hint of trouble in Gray’s voice.
“She had another one of those attacks,” Damien interjected.
“Are you all right?” Gray asked, meeting them.
“I’m fine, what’s wrong?” Celine pressed.
“It’s Michael. Nothing’s working. He awoke from the sleep you put him in not long after you left. Millie tried a sedative, it did nothing.”
“Wow,” Celine mustered.
“Yes, it’s been quite the fiasco,” Gray informed her. “You’d better come upstairs.”
“She can’t handle this right now! She needs to rest and talk to Millie. This last attack she suffered made her collapse!” Damien exclaimed.
Gray stopped in his tracks, glancing at Celine. “I’m fine,” she insisted. “We’ll discuss it later after I’ve dealt with Michael.”
“Are you sure?” Gray asked.
“Celine!” Damien entreated.
“I’m sure, I’m fine. We must deal with Michael.”
“I’m not sure how you plan to deal with this, he’s uncontrollable,” Gray informed her.
“I can’t figure out why. Celeste seemed fine. But his behavior will not stop until she is no longer a vampire, or he is away from her.”
“We can’t achieve the first one at the moment,” Gray said.
Stolen Portrait Stolen Soul: A Shadow Slayers Story (Shadow Slayers Stories Book 2) Page 15