Nathaniel agreed. “I wonder if their blood would be strong enough to open the vault, though? They are only one-quarter Guardian.”
“Actually, they may be more. I think that Celine mentioned that her family and Lucille’s were cousins, when the Thorndikes first arrived.”
“We should look into that.”
“Agreed. Well, children, we are finished for now. Once we have cleared everyone, you will all be learning to shield properly from these attacks, so that no one can ever do anything like this to you ever again. Your entire family will be learning these techniques. There is a very special teacher coming to teach you. They will be here tomorrow.”
“Cool,” Mickey said. “Can we go now? We have stuff to do.”
“Yes, off you go,” Ciaran said. Mikey and Milena ran to join their cousins in the treehouse. They climbed up and found Allie and Ian in an argument about which Gift was better, Fire or Air.
“It doesn’t matter, does it?” Mikey asked. “Besides, we are more powerful when we work together. Guess what? Ciaran told us that we are all getting lessons in special shielding techniques. Some important teacher is coming to teach us all tomorrow.”
“I wonder what makes this way of shielding so special?” Milena wondered. “I mean, we are already pretty good. We learned how when we were little, just in case our powers came in early.”
“Well, we didn’t,” Ian said. “Dad would have flipped if Mom had taught us anything. We didn’t even know we were magical until we got here this summer, remember?”
“Can we look up different types of shielding?” Allie asked.
Mikey got up and went to the bookshelves. “There isn’t a lot here,” he said. “Let’s go ask Mom.” Grabbing their schoolbags, the children climbed down from the treehouse and ran back up to the house.
Celine was in the kitchen with Malia, getting started on dinner. They were preparing steaks for the grill, salads, steamed vegetables with a vinaigrette dressing, and salmon.
“Granny Celine, what kind of shielding are we going to learn? I mean, what is there that you and Grandpa couldn’t teach us?” Allie asked.
“Theo’s family are Guardians. They are a special line of Witches, tasked with guarding people and objects of significant power or importance. They have some of the best shielding in the world, techniques that are not typically shared outside their families.”
“Wow! I thought Guardians were made up for stories!” Mikey exclaimed. Celine smiled.
“They are very real. Actually, there are Guardians in our family as well. My grandfather is a retired Guardian. He retired early, due to injuries, and married my grandmother in France. They raise Familiars for the Guardians on their estate there.”
“Familiars are real?” Allie gasped. “I want one!”
“Not many Witches choose to have Familiars any more, unless they are from lines like the Guardians,” Celine informed her. “Familiars boost a Witch’s power and help them control it. They are not pets, but partners. They are to be treated with respect.”
Allie’s eyes were shining. Celine sighed. She had a feeling they were not going to hear the end of the Familiar discussion for quite a while.
Tony joined the Casey household for dinner. Malia’s heart was racing, as if she were about to jump out of her skin with excitement. She couldn’t wait to tell her family that she and Tony were going to make their Bond official. She led him into the dining room where everyone was gathered for dinner. Celine looked up and gasped. Her eyes watered as she put her hand to her mouth.
“Everyone, Tony and I have an announcement to make,” Malia declared. Everyone looked up at them.
“Malia has agreed to make our Bond official,” Tony said. “With your blessing,” he nodded at Brendan and Celine, “We would like to be handfasted as soon as we can arrange it.”
“Where will we live?” Allie asked.
“I was hoping that we could live here for a short while?” Malia said to her parents. “We are building a house on Pack lands. As Alpha, Tony really will need to live there. It’s not that far from here, really.” She looked at her mother.
Celine and Brendan looked at each other.
“That would be fine, Sweetheart. Tony is already a member of this family. What will you do with your house in town, Tony?” Celine asked.
“I am going to give it to the Pack as a place where single pack members who want to live in town can stay. Also, visitors to the Pack can stay there when everything else is full.”
“That’s an excellent idea, son,” Brendan said.
“I am not quite ready to leave here again, yet,” Malia said. “I feel as if I have only just come home. Thank you for agreeing to have us here.”
“I guess we asked Granny Niamh to inhabit the house just in time,” Celine said. “Malia, remember to introduce Tony to her after dinner.” Malia grinned and agreed.
17
The Guardians arrived at ten the next morning. The two bodyguards arrived first, stepping out of a portal that opened suddenly directly in front of the Casey house. They looked around the surrounding area for any sign of trouble. Unseen to normal eyes, they searched with their magic as well as their eyes. When they were satisfied it was safe, the teacher stepped through. She looked up at the bodyguard closest to her and laughed.
“Really, Declan. We are hardly in a war zone. Relax.”
“We are dealing with a Mind Mage and possibly a Fae. I will relax when you are no longer in need of Guarding, which will be never, until you die. Probably not even then,” He grinned down at her. She swatted him across the chest and climbed the stairs of the Casey’s porch. Declan and his partner, Sean, followed. Declan stepped around her to knock on the door.
Celine answered the door, still drying her hands from the morning kitchen cleanup. She started in surprise.
“Oh! We didn’t expect you until this afternoon,” she exclaimed.
“I find it’s always better to get a start as early as possible,” the teacher informed her. The teacher grinned.
“I am Devra Drake, Guardian Teacher. These muscle-bound idiots are Declan and Sean, my protectors. I have come to help you all learn to shield against human and Fae Mind Mages, at the requests of the Guardians Thorndike. Plus, I needed a break from earnest young Guardians who think they are so special, and I have always wanted to see Valerian’s Cove and the fabled Casey gardens.” Devra grinned at Celine.
Celine found her self staring to a moment before catching herself. Drake was, like it sounded, a Dragon name. The dragon shifters were notoriously stand-offish, rarely leaving their Clan lands. And now there was one on her front porch. More, she was friendly. Mind, blown. Celine collected herself quickly.
“I am Celine Benoit Casey. Be welcome to my home.” She bowed to Devra, then stepped aside to let her in. Declan and Sean followed. Sean moved to check out the sitting room, then the kitchen while Declan stayed with Devra. Sean rejoined them in the hallway.
“Clear.”
“Would you like something to drink, or to eat?” Celine asked.
“A cup of tea would be lovely,” Devra replied.
“Come through to the kitchen. I would normally invite you to sit out on the patio on such a lovely morning, but we have two Fae Mages staying with us now making sure that we are all free from outside influence, and they have taken over the patio as their workspace. They are currently working with my daughter, Malia, and her fiancé Tony. I think they will be done soon. I don’t know why Clarice would have bothered with compelling either of them. Malia wasn’t even living here when all this started. Anyway, please come this way.” Celine led Devra to the kitchen and pulled out a chair for her.
“We seem to be collecting Declans,” Celine said. “My nephew’s name is Declan. He lives in Ireland with his mother and grandparents. And Declan Murphy here in town is one of our dearest friends.” She smiled at the stern-faced bodyguard. The corner of his mouth twitched, just a bit. Celine laughed at him.
“It must take an immen
se amount of energy to remain so stern all the time,” she said.
“I know, right?” Devra agreed. “I keep telling him to relax a little, but he says he’ll relax when I’m dead. Which, you know, is almost impossible, so like, never.” She pouted at Declan. This time he outright grinned.
Sean smacked him upside the head. “She got you there,” he informed his partner.
“If you don’t mind me asking,” Celine said to Devra, “How did you come to be working with the Guardians? I had heard that Dragons rarely, if ever, left their Clan lands.”
“We have an arrangement with the Guardians,” Devra replied. “Most people don’t know that the Guardian bloodline began with the union of a Witch and a Dragon. In honor of that union, in each generation the Dragons send a representative to be a teacher to the Guardians, while the Guardians send a representative to live with the dragons. This way the dragons keep up on what’s going on in the world, and the Guardians keep their bloodline strong. Because usually, they end up mating with each other’s species. It helps everyone out and keeps fresh blood and magic coming to both groups. I volunteered to be the Dragon representative for my generation. It’s fun, and I get to see the world. I’m not really very good at staying in one place for very long. To have to stay on Clan lands, get married and hatch out children and never travel seems like hell to me. So, here I am. Each Dragon representative is given two bodyguards when they leave the Clan. I got stuck with these two.” She grinned up at them, standing beside her.
“You don’t seem to mind them very much,” Celine said.
“I guess I’m just used to them. Sean’s my younger brother, and Declan’s my cousin. He’s been trailing around after us since we all could walk. So I guess we’re pretty much stuck together for life. Why not make the best of it?”
“If you don’t mind my saying, you seem very young to be in such an important position with the Guardians. All three of you do.”
“Eh, age is relevant. We are young for Dragons. I am two hundred, Sean’s one hundred and seventy-five, and Declan is two hundred and five. We have been with the Guardians for fifty years already. We taught the Thorndikes, didn’t we, boys?”
“You know, my grandfather was a Guardian,” Celine said, slowly. “He was injured and retired young. He breeds Familiars for the Guardians in France with my grandmother. My Aunt Camille helps them. So, that would mean that I and my children have Dragon blood?”
“Yep. Are any of your Gifts particularly strong? That can happen sometimes.”
“My daughters are two of the strongest Witches of their generation,” Celine said proudly. “And my granddaughter, Allie, has recently developed Fire Mage abilities. We might have to find a special teacher for her. That’s not exactly common around here. Fire Element, yes. Mage, with the extra Power, not so much.”
“We would be delighted to help Allie grow into her Gifts, right, boys?” Devra said.
“Ooh a young Fire Mage! Yes, please. That could be fun!” Sean said.
“Allie’s best friend is a powerful Fire Witch. Siobhan’s family is from Ireland. Her grandfather worked with her this past summer while she was on vacation there, but do you think you could teach the two of them together? Otherwise, Allie will just show Vannie what she is learning in secret, and I think you can imagine how that will go.”
“Of course. This will be fun!” Devra declared. “We will need to go do Guardian stuff from time to time, but there are currently enough Dragons serving the Guardians that we can afford to spend some time here. Actually, we should probably test your family for Guardian abilities. I’m surprised that you weren’t actually tested before now. They usually keep a pretty good eye on all Guardian families.”
“I think I may have been, as a child. I can ask my mother.”
“That would be good to know.”
They sipped their tea for a few moments. Celine brought out a plate of cookies, which Declan and Sean promptly devoured. Celine got up to replenish the plate. As she was setting the plate back on the table, the back door opened and Malia came in.
“Malia, this is Devra Drake and her bodyguards, Sean and Declan,” Celine introduced. “Devra, this is my daughter, Malia Casey-O’Sullivan, soon to be Casey-Gianetti.”
“How did it go, darling?”
Malia shook her head. “You were right, we’re clean. Tony was still in the military when Marissa met Theo. And I was in San Diego, with no plans to ever come home again. I guess we were not important to Clarice’s plans. Thank Goodness. Tony is talking to Ciaran and Nathaniel about battle plans. I think they will be ready for you in a few minutes, Mom. They’ll check Dad when he gets home from teaching this afternoon.”
Celine nodded.
“So, Malia,” Devra said. “I’d like to test you for Guardian abilities. Celine tells me that you have a Guardian in your family tree. You all should have been tested at birth. I’m not sure why you wouldn’t have been. Would you mind? It doesn’t hurt.”
“Sure. That’s fine. Go ahead. Do I need to do anything?”
“No, just close your eyes. It’s a magical testing. No worries.”
“Sounds like what I’ve been doing all morning with the Fae.” Malia replied.
“I am going to call my parents,” Celine said. “I will let you know what I find out.”
Devra nodded. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”
Celine went to her room to use her mirror.
In her room, Celine took a deep breath, then, placing her hand on the mirror’s frame, thought of her parents. You never knew what kind of mood Rosalie Benoit would be in. Celine hoped she would reach her father, Paul, instead.
Rosalie answered the mirror.
“Ma chérie! How lovely to see you. To what do we owe this pleasure?”
“We’ve been having a bit of drama here, and some things have come to light that I needed to ask you about, you and Papa,” Celine said.
“But of course. What do you need to know?”
“Papa’s father was a Guardian, isn’t that right?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“Was I ever tested for Guardian abilities as a child?”
“Yes, you and Luna both were. The Guardians keep a close eye on all their family lines. Your Grand-père, Luc, he was a very important Guardian. When he retired, they granted him whatever he wanted. He made the Guardians promise to leave his family alone, that his family line’s service was complete. You were tested and showed low-level abilities. Nothing was ever done about it because of the promise to your Grand-père.”
“Why were my children not tested?”
“They were, darling. When they were little. It’s a simple little test. Like I said, they promised to leave the family alone, but they have to keep an eye on the family line, to ensure their safety, and in case the abilities surface in a way that could cause trouble later on. Or, there is the possibility that the abilities could create a child with full Guardian strength, that would need to be trained for their own safety.”
“Did you know that Guardians have Dragon blood?”
“Oui, of course. Your Grand-père explained it. That is why Marissa and Malia are so strong in their magic.”
“It seems that Allie is as well, though her Gifts are still developing. She is a Fire Mage. We are extremely lucky that as part of the story we have playing out here, we have a Dragon who is willing to teach her.”
“There is a Dragon in Valerian’s Cove? At your house? What is going on, Celine? Tell me this instant.”
Celine explained.
“We will be there immediately,” Rosalie declared. “We must meet this teacher, and these Guardians. Also, I dearly wish to meet Clarice. No one has the right to mess with my family, no one. We will be there in the afternoon. I will bring your Grand-père.”
“Maman, I think it would be better to wait. We have a lot of people here as it is. Devra will be coming back to teach Allie to handle her Fire Mage abilities. You can meet her then.”
“Nonsense. Je vi
ens. I will see you soon.” The mirror went dark. Celine sighed and went to inform the household.
Malia groaned upon hearing that Grandmamma Rosalie would be arriving that afternoon. She turned to Devra.
“Would it be possible to start working with Allie this evening as soon as she gets home from school? My Grandmamma is… a little hard to get along with. She and Allie don’t really do well together at all. If Allie gets angry, with her new Fire abilities….” Malia threw hands in the air.
“Of course. We will work with Allie this evening and begin shielding training tomorrow.”
She turned to Celine.
“You mentioned that your grandfather retired to a farm in France?”
“Yes. He and my grandmother are the top breeders of Guardian Familiars.”
“Is your grandfather Luc Benoit?”
“Yes, he is.”
“Well, that explains your granddaughter! Luc had formidable Fire abilities. This will make teaching Allie even more fun. I didn’t teach Luc myself, he was before my time with the Guardians. But I saw him fight, when I first arrived. He was amazing. I look forward to seeing him again. He can help us teach Allie.”
“We should set up a safe training area. I imagine that you would prefer nothing to get burned,” Declan said.
“That would be wonderful. I would greatly appreciate it,” Celine answered.
“We can set up shielding around the practice area, keyed to Allie, her friend and her teachers. We can make the shielding permanent. Does it need to be hidden? Valerian’s Cove is an all-paranormal town. Even normals coming here expect to see magic now. We don’t need a physical structure, I don’t think?”
“A permanently shielded area would be fine,” Celine agreed. “There is plenty of space in the back field.
“Excellent. Come on, boys. Let’s get that out of the way now, then we can talk to the Fae Mages about what they’ve found so far, and what they think needs to be done.”
Broken Bonds (Valerian's Cove Book 2) Page 12