by G. K. DeRosa
“I hope you don’t think this is too silly?”
“No mom, this is great!” Celeste said giggling.
“I remember how much fun we used to have here when you were little. You loved feeding the goats at the petting zoo and you’d spend hours watching the howler monkeys swinging from the trees.”
“I remember. I used to want to be a monkey!” Celeste admitted.
Just spending time with her mother was a treat, and spending a relaxing, supernatural-free day at the zoo was exactly what she needed.
The sun was warm on Celeste’s shoulders, and if she focused solely on the soothing sound of the ducks paddling in the pond, she could almost forget everything that had happened last night. Celeste and her mother sat on the lush grass overlooking the pond at the zoo and enjoyed a picnic lunch together. She began recounting all the details of the extravagant birthday party that Natalie had planned for her.
“That sounds like it’s going to be quite the party! I’m sure it will be the social event of the year, if Natalie has anything to say about it.”
“That’s what I’m thinking too.”
“Well, I am so happy that you will be spending your eighteenth birthday with all your friends. And how about Nico and Roman—will they be there too?”
The thought of facing them after what happened last night made Celeste slightly nauseas. She didn’t know how her relationship with them was going to fit into her new life as a Guardian – whatever that meant.
“Yes, they’re both coming,” she answered.
“Maybe you’ll get a kiss on your birthday.”
“Mom, stop please, you’re so embarrassing!” said Celeste blushing.
When they got back home, Celeste happily headed up to her bedroom with a stuffed monkey her mother had bought her as a souvenir to commemorate her eighteenth birthday.
“Follow me sweetie,” said her mom taking her hand.
“Why are we going up into the attic?” asked Celeste.
“I have another birthday surprise for you.”
Mrs. Wilder led the way to the back corner of the attic. Celeste hadn’t been up here in years. She walked by the dusty boxes and old furniture causing her nose to twitch, reminding her why she typically avoided the attic at all costs. After her mom moved a couple of boxes and lifted a worn sheet, Celeste saw a bulky wooden trunk that she had never noticed.
Her mom paused in front of it. “This was your dad’s, and I thought it would be fun to go through it together. There is something that he wanted you to have.”
Celeste examined the old rusty lock on the trunk, and when she jiggled it, it sprung open. She lifted the lid to see stacks of letters, photos, a couple of books, and some clothing, among other things. The trunk was deep, and it would take some digging to get to the bottom of it. They started with the pictures on top. Celeste began to flip through dozens of them with her and her father, with her mom when she was pregnant, with her as a baby, and with all three of them together smiling happily. Celeste set aside some of her favorites to take with her back to her room. As her mom was sorting through the photos, Celeste came across some books – Myths and Legends, Stories of the Occult, The Underworld, along with other foreboding titles.
“You remember that your dad always had such an active imagination. He always loved reading all of those scary stories.” Celeste just smiled, and secretly set one aside to read later.
“And this is for you,” her mom said as she handed her a worn leather pouch.
“What is it?” Celeste asked inquisitively.
“It’s from your father. He told me to give it to you when you turned eighteen if anything ever happened to him. I don’t know why he would have worried about that, but I guess it’s fortunate for us that he did.”
Celeste untied the knot and opened the pouch which held an antique key on a black leather cord. The key was an ornate gold with a sparkling blue sapphire encrusted in the head.
“That key has been passed down for generations, Celeste. I have no idea what it may open, but I know that it’s been in the Wilder family for centuries, and it was important to your father that you have it,” she said, handing it to her with a wistful smile.
Celeste looked thoughtfully at the ancient key as she felt its weight in her hand. “It’s beautiful Mom. Thank you,” she said clutching it tightly.
“Celeste! Where have you been all day?” said Natalie excitedly over the phone. “I’ve been calling you for hours!”
“Sorry, Nat, I got up late and then was out with my mom. We just got home.” As she listened to Natalie, she took the stuffed monkey out of the plastic bag and placed it on her bookshelf next to a picture from her first birthday at the zoo. She couldn’t help but smile.
“Okay, well I guess I’ll forgive you since you are the birthday girl. Don’t forget to be at my house in full costume by eight o’clock.”
“Right, got it,” she said, her mind focusing back on the present. “Do you need me to bring anything?”
“Nope, just you and your fangtastic self!”
“Oh man, I’m really rethinking my costume now.”
“Don’t you dare!”
She glanced down at her watch. “Okay, okay. Brian is picking me up in an hour so I’ll see you soon.”
***
Roman had gotten home, woken Nico up and called Stellan immediately to update him on the latest developments. Stellan’s hologram was currently pacing in their living room, listening intently.
“But she didn’t tell you what happened exactly?” he asked.
“No, she was too upset to talk about it, and then her mom arrived so I had to make an impromptu exit,” explained Roman.
“But you’re sure that she had the vision? Celeste was definitely chosen?”
A look of sadness infiltrated his perfectly chiseled features. “Yes, I am sure. When she woke up, I touched her and she flinched.”
“Are you sure that wasn’t just you?” asked Nico snickering.
With a nasty glance at Nico, Roman continued, “She definitely felt something when I touched her, and it frightened her. It has to be her powers starting to emerge.”
“Yes, that does sound right,” said Stellan, a mixture of concern and awe in his tone.
“And it was certainly no ordinary dream that she was having because I repeatedly tried to wake her, but there was nothing I could do. She was in some sort of a trance.”
“Right, so we have to assume that Celeste is now a Guardian. You should start to notice when her powers come about. The only thing we can do is continue to keep an eye on her. Roman, you seem to be pretty close to her; try to get her to open up to you.”
“I will gladly try, but I think that she is holding back now because of what I am. Something has changed.” He turned his back to them, looking away sullenly.
Stellan discontinued his anxious pacing and turned to face the brothers head on. His voice took on an ominous tone as he warned, “Both of you must remember that as Celeste’s powers become stronger, her natural instinct will be to kill you. It has been ingrained in her that all vampires are evil. This may prove to be difficult considering the current situation.”
“Celeste wouldn’t hurt us. We are her friends,” said Nico.
“Though that may be true, as she is transitioning into a Guardian, her emotions will be on high gear. Until she gets a handle on them, I caution you both to be careful,” Stellan finished.
“Well, that should make for a fun party tonight,” said Nico glancing at Roman.
As Celeste put the finishing touches on her makeup, she suddenly felt ridiculous dressed up as a vampire, especially after everything that had happened last night. She wished she had enough time to get a new costume, but she knew Natalie would kill her if she showed up in her plain clothes. She looked at herself in the mirror and didn’t recognize the girl standing before her. The elaborate black eyeliner, bright red lipstick, fake fangs protruding from her upper lip and the blood dribbling down her chin was all too muc
h. I can’t believe I’m doing this.
“Celeste! I’m downstairs. Come on out!” yelled Brian through the walkie-talkie on her dresser.
Here goes nothing…
“Wow Brian, you look great!” He was wearing a white oxford shirt with buttons ripped open to reveal the classic red and yellow Superman emblem underneath. The black-rimmed glasses drew attention to his bright green eyes and were sparkling with excitement.
“Do you have your retainer on or something? You’re talking funny.”
“It’s the fangs! They give me a lisp. It’s actually getting better; at first my mom couldn’t even understand what I was saying. Maybe I should take them off?”
“No, it definitely completes the costume. The lisp is kinda sexy,” he said laughing.
“Very funny, Brian. I love the Clark Kent transforming into Superman look you’ve got going.”
“Thanks, I really didn’t think I could pull off the tights,” he said grinning.
“Aww, and I was so looking forward to that.”
“You have a little something on your chin…” he said reaching for her.
She quickly darted out of his reach. “It’s blood Brian, and it’s supposed to be there! I’m a blood-sucking vampire, remember?”
As they drove up to Natalie’s house, Celeste took one look at the number of cars parked on the street and almost made Brian turn the car around. They could hear the music booming from down the block!
“Natalie must have invited all of St. Alice’s and the community college,” she said, shaking her head.
“Well, we knew she was going to go all out for this,” said Brian walking in amazed.
The house had been flawlessly decorated in a black and white motif with candles, sparkling streamers, and eighteenth birthday banners.
“Celeste, you’re here!” said Natalie as she came bounding down the stairs in a skintight cat woman costume. “What do you think?”
Celeste looked around, taking in all the shiny decorations and hoards of people. “It’s amazing Natalie, thank you so much for doing all of this for me. Just one question – who are all of these people?”
“Oh come on, you know everyone here, and who cares anyway! All that matters is that they are all here to celebrate your eighteenth birthday!”
“I’m going to find a drink,” said Brian.
Celeste turned to follow him.
“Oh wait, I have something for you. Stay right here,” directed Natalie, as she pointed at Celeste. Seconds later she was back with a black sash, marked with sparkling gold lettering that read “Birthday Girl”.
“Oh Natalie, you shouldn’t have…” But it was too late. Natalie had already flung the sash over Celeste’s head and was meticulously adjusting it. “There, we want to make sure it doesn’t cover that cute little bat belt!”
Natalie led the way with Celeste in tow, steering her around the crowd as she received countless birthday wishes from perfect strangers. The pair made their way out to the backyard, which had been decorated with hundreds of string lights and colorful Chinese lanterns dangling from the trees. The dance floor had been set up over the pool and the DJ was spinning high-energy dance music in the corner. Everyone was dancing and laughing and having a great time. This was exactly what Celeste needed to forget all about last night. She and Natalie worked through the crowd to the middle of the dance floor, and all Celeste thought about was the pounding rhythm of the music and keeping her body moving to the beat.
Celeste was completely entranced by the pulsating music when she felt a strange sensation that snapped her into awareness. She turned around and saw the crowd parting and girls staring as Roman and Nico walked towards her. At the sight of Roman, her heart sped up a bit, but she willed it to return to normal as he approached. He and Nico were wearing one-shouldered white togas with half of their bronzed chests exposed (to all the girls’ excitement) with a crown of laurels resting on their heads.
“Let me guess, you two are Greek gods?” asked Natalie with a witty smile as they approached.
“It was just something we had lying around,” said Nico with a wink as he pulled Natalie to dance.
Roman inched closer to Celeste, and whispered, “nice costume,” in her ear. “A little ironic, don’t you think?”
A shiver went down her spine as his hands made contact with her waist. She wrapped her arms around his neck and began swaying to the music. As their bodies got closer, she felt that threatening sensation again, like every nerve in her body was on edge, telling her that something was wrong. She tried to ignore it and fight against it, but it was too overwhelming. As if Roman also sensed there was something wrong, he looked down at her questioningly.
“Sorry, I have to go check on something. I’ll be back soon,” she said pulling abruptly away from him and disappearing into the crowd.
This can’t be happening… Why am I feeling this way around Roman?
Celeste darted back to the house as a wave of misery washed over her. If being the Guardian meant feeling this terrible repulsion towards Roman, then she didn’t want to be one. Roman was the first guy that she had ever felt so strongly about, and she didn’t want to lose him. She pulled the fake fangs out of her mouth and tucked them into her purse as she waited impatiently outside of the occupied bathroom. Suddenly, an intensely ominous feeling similar to the one she felt around Roman but highly magnified overtook her. She looked around, half expecting to see Roman or Nico, but instead saw a tall man with a blood red mask walking towards her. As he approached, the terrifying feeling intensified, and every nerve in her body compelled her to run, so she did.
Celeste sprinted outside to the crowded pool deck and spotted Nico.
“Are you okay?” he asked. She looked as pale as the sheet wrapped around his waist.
“No. I don’t know. There was someone inside, and I just got a really bad feeling about him so I ran.”
“Where is he? What did he look like?”
“He was tall, dressed in black with a red mask, and jet black hair with a crazy white streak down the middle and an ugly scar above his eyebrow. I think he might have been a vampire,” she said finally.
Roman appeared out of nowhere as if he had heard the “v word” from afar. “Celeste, go stay with Brian,” said Roman, taking her arm and nudging her back out toward the party. “We’ll go check it out.”
“I want to come,” she said determinedly.
“No, it’s not safe Celeste. You’re not ready yet,” said Roman looking at her sternly.
“What do you mean, I’m not ready yet?” she asked.
“Celeste please, let us go and see if we can find this guy. Brian’s on the dance floor looking lonely. Go keep him company. We’ll be right back,” said Nico. And they turned and stalked away.
As soon as they were out of sight, Celeste doubled back toward the house.
“Do you sense anything?” asked Nico as they crept inside the quiet house.
“No, nothing. Which means he’s either very old and powerful enough to conceal himself or there’s just a strange human lurking around the party.”
“I’m going to get an aerial view while you check in here,” said Nico and he took off.
The house was practically empty; everyone was outside enjoying the DJ and music. Roman tiptoed around the kitchen, into the den, through the living room, but found no one. He tried to focus in on his keen hearing and heard a muffled noise from upstairs. He bolted up the stairs using his vamp-speed, and found himself face to face with Celeste at the top landing. The vampire had his powerful arm clenched tightly around her neck, his fangs inches from her flesh. Roman stopped dead in his tracks and looked helplessly at her frightened face. The monster took a few steps back, dragging Celeste into an open bedroom. She was fighting to get away from him, but it was no use; he was too strong for her.
“Let her go,” roared Roman, “or you won’t leave this house alive.”
The vampire’s dark eyes peered at him through the crimson mask. “I
would guess by your unnatural affection for this young lady in a rather naughty vampire costume that you must be Roman Constantin.”
“I am. And you are?” he asked, his voice unwavering.
“Obviously not as stealthy as I thought I was since you have found me. And what in God’s name are you wearing?”
Ignoring his snide question Roman continued, “I am going to ask you again, who are you and what do you want here?” He was putting on a false bravado, inside he knew very well that this vampire was much older and stronger than he was, but that was not going to stop him from saving Celeste.
“I am actually here for you and your brother.”
“Fine, here I am and I assure you that my brother is not far behind. Let her go. She has nothing to do with this.” Celeste’s eyes caught Roman’s momentarily, his blue eyes blazing with intensity.
“I’m not so sure about that,” he said. “You seem to be very attached to this pretty human. That could prove useful to me. And I simply can’t get over the irony of her choice of costume. Does she know what you are?” A flash of a smile crossed his sinister face.
“That is none of your concern.”
Celeste continued squirming, but she couldn’t break his iron grip on her neck. Behind her, Roman caught a glance at a snowy white falcon in the window; it was Nico, still in his bird form assessing the severity of the situation. Roman knew his only hope was to catch this vampire by surprise; otherwise, they would be no match for him.
As if on cue, a drunken sorority girl stumbled into the room, teetering on her high heels. “Nice costume man. You look really scary,” she said, waving her drink at the stranger. “Does anyone know where the bathroom is?”
The vampire whirled towards the girl, revealing Celeste’s panicked face straining against her captor.
“Hey, you’re the birthday girl, aren’t you?” she said, pointing at Celeste. “Are you okay?”