Worlds on Fire (Guardians Book 1.5)

by Lexi Ostrow

  He growled when she ignored his hand a third time. “Serena, get up now. We have things to discuss and I haven't the time or the energy to fight with you on this.” She was adamant in her refusal of his hand, but at least she got up. She wrapped her arms around herself, an attempt at comfort he assumed.

  His own body ached with an intensity no one except an immortal could ever know without the sweet release of death. Huracan had thrown them around so many times in such a short time span the pain of it had crept in slowly and hung like weights on his whole body. He could have healed himself, but he wanted to teach himself a lesson. Aversion therapy may be the only way he stopped attacking his brother.

  “I should think I would like both questions answered really.” She held her head high and her tone spoke of the respect she thought he owed her. To an extent he found that quality admirable. A Guardian ought to know he or she was a tough cookie. This war would not be for the weak.

  His eyes traveled over her again. Her dress was in ruins and her blonde hair was tumbled about her shoulders. Her skin was flushed from the heat of the fire and her green eyes bore into his own and once again he admired that. But it was not enough. A princess who spent her days dallying in the fields could not help this war in any sense. If he hadn't just pissed the God off he would try getting Huracan to answer why he would even allow beings that would only be a hindrance in the war to be pulled out of books. Not that the Mayan God ever answered a damn thing he said, but he had always asked.

  He supposed he could send her back. Block her out from Julian. That would be twice he’d interfered with the direct course of a Word Speaker. Three times if someone included that helping Ciara also changed Dale's life. His hand ran through his hair and he sighed. No, he couldn't do that. His brother was known for fucking things up, but he wouldn't be. He had always played by the rules and he wouldn't let his heart get in the way of that again. The Word Speakers on his side were warriors. Serena wouldn't be fully created unless Julian wanted it to be so and maybe, just maybe the valiant human would see the problem in her being his last Guardian. If he could feel the emotional tie wrapping around his heart.

  “Or maybe he will be so enamored by her obvious beauty and finally getting a Guardian that he won't be paying any damn attention the danger,” he muttered and then punched at the wall. It wasn’t needed to open the shimmering doorway, but the release of aggression felt good. It changed from fully distorted to distorted around the edges only and showed Julian and his fellow humans fighting an inferno.

  She gasped and took a step back. At least she was smart enough to know magic was something not to be messed with. “That's witchcraft. The black arts.” Her voice was shrill and he sent out a wave of his power over to her lock in her place.

  “Not quite. Very close though.”

  Her eyes widened and true panic shone from the dark green depths and he hated himself. True sometimes he had to be rough with an unwilling Guardian, Stryder for one, but he didn't like that she feared him, thought of him as a bad person. He wasn’t his brother, no matter how bad his behavior and attitude had been.

  He unlocked her from the frozen position and gestured to Julian. The fire was growing worse and even a hero like Julian was suffering as he battled the smoke and flames. “Do you see that man?”

  She nodded, of course she would nod it was impossible to miss his big form even in the disaster.

  “He is the reason you are here. You are special, Serena, and you are not what you think you are.”

  She backed up a step again and he frowned. Just once he would like for someone to accept his explanation of being a fictional character from a fictional world without freaking out. The Word Speakers accepted their gifts far easier than the Guardians did most of the time.

  “Promise me you won't faint and I will tell you a story about creation, good and evil and a man named Julian Michelson.”

  Chapter Four

  The fire leapt across his vision and he could feel the heat of it even through the fire suit and mask. Julian had to remind himself to breathe slowly. Two fires so close together was insane. Especially since they’d caught the arsonists the last time. Over exerting himself or getting high on a rush of adrenaline would not only not save the people in the building it would also potentially injure him.

  He nodded at Tyler before placing a hand on the door in front of them. He was nervous. He couldn't tell if a backdraft awaited them or not. Raising his left hand in a count he kicked in the door. The wood splintered and he shoved Tyler backwards as a huge column of flame burst out of the door at them.

  He felt the book he’d crammed into his back pocket because he’d had it in his hand, crush into the doorway. It had been moronic bringing paper into a fire, but he had been reading about Serena’s time away from the castle and he’d jumped up so fast he hadn’t put it down and didn’t want it seen so he had shoved it in his pocket.

  He shook his head to clear the shock from slamming both of them into the wall. “You ok, man?”

  Tyler nodded and the two of them pushed forward cautiously and they could hear the commands and footsteps of the other men working as hard as they could to put out the fire.

  The Best Western Inn had erupted in flames barely eleven minutes before. Being the middle of the week in autumn, it wasn't too booked up. According to the manager on duty there were at least twenty rooms booked and that meant they had to search all the floors and break down as many doors as they could open because they were reading off a manifest. It meant they knew who they could lose, how many lives, and helped them form an attack plan to get them all to safety.

  They'd already cleared the first floor and didn't have to many to go. But he'd bet the integrity of the building was failing fast and they were still doing their best to get the fire out and keep the structure standing. Pushing through the room, his eyes scanned the blackened and charred furniture. The mirror reflected the scene back at him and not for the first time he cursed fire.

  Walking back into the hall, he crossed it and immediately kicked open the door. A flash of blue and a feminine cry passed behind him. He saw a satin gown in the mirror, burned and giving off a little bit of smoke, and it was obvious, in that quick glance, the gown was nothing women would be wearing today. The sleeves had been puffy with full sleeves and it reached the floor. But it was the cry that had thrown him off. He would have sworn the woman had called his name.

  He was about to turn and get her when an almost silent cough could be heard in the room on the side of the bed, just behind a small wall of flames. He shoved Tyler down the hall and hoped he realized that there was someone else in there to grab in the inferno. The building groaned and piece of ceiling crashed next to him and Julian cursed as he pushed through the fire and found a middle-aged man curled on the floor, his jacket helplessly raised to his face. The flames were beginning to spiral in a higher column and he felt the heat of them against his face. The higher they grew, the less time the building had to be saved before more than a few ceiling tiles would burn off and hit the floor.

  “Don't panic, sir. I've got you.” Helping the man to his feet Julian supported his weight. The man stumbled and Julian realized he was going to have to take him all the way out if he wanted to make sure the man didn't collapse on his way down.

  Just in front of him in the hall he saw Tyler's head and the blue dress. The woman's hair was a pale blonde tied up and for a second Julian stopped moving completely. Serena? The man at his side coughed and he pushed forward again; out of the hallway and down the steps back to the first floor. Outside the afternoon sky had shifted to evening. Flames leapt up the side of the building, but appeared smaller than when they arrived and he took count. Seven firefighters and the chief stood and knelt helping people in the lot. The building must be clear. The explosion of sirens was as deafening as the crackle of the fire inside the hotel. He passed the man off to the nearest Paramedic and yanked his helmet off. Fresh air slammed into him and he a took a few moments just to calm himse
lf and get the taste of ash from his mouth before going to find out who the woman was. There was no explanation for why he needed to find her, he just did.

  His eyes were focused, searching for any scrap of blue he could find. There. He studied the woman who he'd seen briefly in the building. Her dress certainly couldn't be classified as anything but a gown. It was destroyed; torn in some places, blackened and disintegrated in others, but definitely a prom type gown. Pearls and flowers were weaved into what was left of the hair that was up. The loose strands held no trim and he had to bite his lip not to laugh at the fact that one section had been slightly burned off. Her face was covered in soot, her hands blackened and as he walked closer to her he saw that they had plenty of cuts on them. She was deep in conversation with Tyler, who was checking her over for wounds and though her tone was sharp, her voice was beautiful.

  Taking the last step to Tyler he put his hands on his friend's shoulder. “May I step in? Something personal about this one.”

  Tyler chuckled and backed away. “Not the place to be picking up the chicks Michelson, but she's all yours.” As he walked past Julian he whispered, “And probably not all right in the head with the way she flipped out when she saw the fire truck.”

  “No. Wait please! Julian, Julian Michelson. Sir! I was sent her to find you. Please come back I am terribly sorry I screamed. I was frightened.” Her voice was raised and she picked up her dress to chase after Tyler.

  It was Serena after all. There was no longer any doubt in his mind that the beautiful woman before him was indeed Serena De Bauc, fictional princess of Britain. He had finally done it. His elation was momentarily defeated when he realized Tyler could see her as well. She was real. Not only had he found his first Guardian, he'd found his last.

  The thought unsettled him that he had brought someone so innocent and pure, not to mention useless in a fight, into a war. So you still failed, Michelson. He didn't get to chastise himself any longer as she was getting to far away and he had to stop her before she did or said something that really made her look crazy.

  In two quick strides he had crossed the distance between them. His gloved hand wrapped around her bicep and she was jerked backwards by his strength when she tried to keep moving. She turned and he saw her green eyes up close. They were wild with fury, but he could see the confusion and fear mixing in their depths. Did she even know what was going on? She would have to or how else would she have known his name?

  “Unhand me, Sir.” She tried to yank from his grasp, but it only resulted in her slipping and dangling helplessly above the ground because his grip stopped her from falling on her butt completely.

  “Serena De Bauc, I am Julian Michelson. I am the one you're here for.”

  Her eyes lit with intelligence and he wasn't expecting the hand that slapped across his face.

  * * *

  Serena was tired of being man handled. In a matter of mere minutes the strange man in the trench coat that wielded magic had tossed her around. Then the man she had mistaken for her Word Speaker had all but dragged her out of the burning building with strange and similar furniture. Now this brute of a man, tall and with the softest brown eyes she had ever seen, was holding onto her so tightly she couldn't possibly break free.

  If that hadn't been enough, if his sheer size didn't make her feel like she was as useless as a small bug to him, then her terror at the world around her did. The man in the strange coat had explained to her that things would be different. That there would be inventions far beyond her imagination and she would learn them in time, but that she did indeed have much to learn. That her world was beyond her now and she was to be a warrior. The thought was ludicrous even when she’d been told it. Looking at Julian Michelson it made even less sense.

  However, she couldn’t discredit what she had been told. There was no telling what kind of witchcraft was tied up in this, but it hadn’t been a lie. She was standing amongst buildings far too tall and staring at more oddly dressed people than the men who had saved her life. Colors flashed, much like a celebratory firework and there were more strange noises than she could possibly count.

  At the sight of the big white building on wheels with flashing lights and a shrill noise she had realized that the man had been right. While she had been speaking with the one who did save her, she'd tried to take in everything and it had overwhelmed her. She had panicked and screamed and shouted about wanting to leave this world immediately. But the way this Julian Michelson, the correct Julian Michelson, was looking at her, the way his eyes seemed to understand her, it had a calming effect on her.

  “If you really do not mean to harm me, consider unhanding me. From what I gathered it would be rude of you to treat your Guardian in such a fashion.” Her tone of voice was commanding and she saw a smile of amusement cross his lips and felt her anger and frustration return. “Do not laugh at me. It's your fault I'm here in the first place.”

  He did laugh then. The sound was louder than the talking around them and the noise from the big transport things as they turned off their noisemakers and appeared to leave in much the same manner as a carriage. All the while he continued to laugh at her, she was finding it quite rude. She had never been laughed at before, princesses were not laughed at.

  His hand did drop away from her arm and she rubbed it as soon as he did. It would certainly leave a mark and she would be certain to make him feel guilty for it. She had heard her mother do it often enough when her father annoyed her. Some things would not be changed, regardless of whatever year this was supposed to be.

  “I'm sorry if I hurt you. Let's start over.” His voice was softer, his hand rubbed gently across her arm and despite the heat from the flames a shiver raced through her body.

  Serena bit her lip and nodded at him. “I think that would be acceptable, yes.” Her hand tucked some hair behind her ear and she watched as his eyes widened and his nostrils flared a little. Could it be that he had the same reaction to watching her as she was feeling watching him? She wanted to put her hands on the strange yellow garments and push them down so she might run her hands over the hard muscles of his body. Her throat went dry and she quickly looked at the ground as a flush covered her cheeks.

  “Good. I can't leave right this minute. It's not protocol, but let me see what I can swing with the boss.”

  His lopsided smile made her stomach twist into knots and she smiled in return. The man in the trench coat had warned her that it would be near impossible to ignore her Word Speaker. But she had not expected the surge of lust that rocked her body when he smiled at her. She was untouched, pure, as princess ought to be, and yet her mind was calling up a million ways she would like for him to touch her.

  He jogged over to another man in the same ugly yellow garments. She could not hear their conversation and made no attempt to. Instead, her eyes shifted over the grounds she was on. The dirt was covered in a hard blacktop that felt uncomfortable under her flats. The building before her appeared to be made out of a material she couldn't place at all. Straw, mud bricks and stone were all she had ever seen before and yet the building that was slowly winning against the fire seemed to be made of nothing except a thin white wood of some sort.

  She scrunched her nose and frowned. There were more buildings she could see in the distance, short like the homes in the villages from her world. She shook her head at the thought that there even was a ‘her world’ and ‘his world’. It still seemed ridiculous to her. And yet here she was standing upon a strange black road near buildings that rivaled the majesty of the castles and keeps in what was supposedly two hundred years in the past.

  One of the strange carriages started up behind her and she jumped at the blaring noise that came from it. Smoke circled around her, she assumed from it, and she choked. Tears filled her eyes as they felt the smoke and ash that had been kicked up into the air touch them. She wanted to move, but he had told her not to and she feared this world too much at this point to disobey him. A man's voice seemed to be singing, but the b
anging of the drums was not at all melodic like the court minstrels, but harsh and ear splintering. She cringed and took a step in the direction Julian Michelson was still engaged in conversation in. Fear be damned, she wanted to get as close to him as she could, anything to feel safe.

  Watching him under the moonlight set her heart beating quickly. The pull she felt to him was unmistakable. She wanted nothing more than for his hands to strip her bare and caress her skin. Yet another part of her wanted nothing to do with this man, nothing to do with this world that seemed plagued by witchcraft. Her place was at home and her parents would have surely set the guards and knights out on a search for her by now. It had been barely past midday when she last saw her mother. By now the whole castle would be in an uproar. She could only pray that a war did not break out, that her father did not lose his temper and accuse their neighbors to the west of kidnapping her.

  Distress wrapped itself around her, squeezed her stomach and wrapped fingers around her throat. Her breathing grew rough, as it had been when flames encircled her. Panic lanced through her chest and she sat on the hard, black ground and forced herself to breathe in and out as the physician had taught her the last time such a sensation had overtaken her.

  Her breathing began to return to normal as Julian turned around from the man he was speaking too. “Serena!” His voice barked her name and she winced as he raced to her side and dropped to the ground beside her. His face was directly in hers and his hands wrapped firmly, but not hard, around her shoulders. “Serena, what's wrong are you ok?”

  She swallowed a breath of air and shook her head to indicate yes. The taste of ash made her gag before she could speak. “I am fine. I am not certain I wish to be here though. Perhaps there is a place we can talk about this situation in private?”

  His hands were free of the gloves and she didn't notice until they wrapped around hers to help her rise. The heat from his hands trickled over her and she sighed and barely caught herself as she went to lean against his body. Giving into this connection would mean she was accepting this was her new home and she wasn't interested in doing that. She had a family and a happy life, no one had asked her if she wanted to come here. To be a Guardian.