by G. K. DeRosa
Roman and Celeste walked through the silent library, their footsteps echoing on the marble floor. The children’s room was empty luckily, with the exception of a few colorful children’s books strewn on the bright yellow carpet. Celeste had no idea what the video contained, but she figured the least amount of prying eyes the better. She tried to steady her trembling hands as she inserted the videotape into the VCR and pressed “Play.” First a few lines of static flashed across the screen, and then her father’s face appeared. It was nothing like she remembered it though. She was astonished at how young he looked. His hazel eyes were vibrant and his wavy shoulder-length brown hair was tousled, and he seemed excited yet anxious.
“He must have recorded this video a long time ago,” she whispered to Roman. “I remember seeing pictures of him looking like this when I was a baby.”
Hi Celeste! Well, I don’t know really know where to begin… It’s hard for me to picture the future you watching this video since I just left the present you in your crib moments ago. This is all so surreal. But now that I am a father, I feel that it is important to document our family history so that one day you can fully understand it. I hope that we will be able to watch this together on your eighteenth birthday, but if for some reason I am no longer with you, I hope that this will help. I will give your mother very specific instructions to give you our family key on the day of your eighteenth birthday. At that time, you will have had the vision if you were chosen. The key is charmed as is the trunk, and the secret compartment will only reveal itself to those who have been chosen. Perhaps this will clear up a few things for you.
You have been born into a very special family – the Wilders are a long line of hunters that have been protecting the human world from evil for centuries. In fact, the name Wilder comes from an ancient language meaning “hunter”- you are a hunter, my dear Celeste. It’s hard for me to imagine that when I see your sweet innocent face. When I turned eighteen, I had a vision in which I was chosen by the Council of Guardians to be the next Guardian, and I was trained by my father. And my father was trained by my grandfather and so on. Not all Wilders in a family line are chosen, and no one really knows why some are passed over. If you are watching this video, I can only assume that you have been selected. This is a very special honor Celeste, but I am not going to lie to you and say that it is an easy task that you are poised to take on. You will have to make many sacrifices in your life in order to fulfill your duties. But I want you to have as much of a normal life as possible. As you know now, I managed to do so. I got married to a wonderful woman, and I had you, my beautiful daughter. I wish the same happiness for you.
As a Guardian, you have been given special abilities; you should begin feeling them shortly after your birthday if you haven’t already. You will become stronger and faster, and you will begin to sense the supernatural world around you. Your emotions will be heightened and your survival instinct will intensify. You must learn to trust that instinct, as it is in place to protect you. If I am no longer here to train you, I will make sure to designate someone in my place. The Council will guide you, so turn to them if you need anything. They have been sworn to protect all guardians, and will keep our family secret safe.
There are so many things I want to tell you my darling daughter. Be strong and be brave, and know that I will always be with you. I love you.
At some point during the story Roman had taken her trembling hand in his. As Celeste sat in silence attempting to process what her father had said in the video, she felt a reassuring squeeze.
“So he knew all along,” she said her voice small and shaky as the weight of her father’s message sunk in. “He knew that it was very likely that I would become a Guardian like he was. All those years he lied to us. I thought he was a private investigator, and meanwhile he had been fighting the forces of evil?”
“I know it’s a lot to take in Celeste,” said Roman.
“I don’t think you do. I feel like everything I knew about my father was a lie, all he did was keep secrets and live this double life,” said Celeste sadly.
“But he did it to protect you and your mother, to keep you safe,” he said turning towards her.
“And how am I ever going to be safe now? If he had just told me when I was younger, at least I would have been prepared.”
“It’s not going to be easy Celeste, but you’ll get through this. We will help you.” He cupped her face in his hands tenderly.
“And who is this someone that is supposed to train me? Don’t you think I would have met them by now?”
Roman hated feeling powerless. Seeing Celeste so upset and not being able to do anything to comfort her was killing him.
“My dad was supposed to train me, and he’s gone. How am I supposed to do this alone?” Celeste wailed.
“You’re not alone Celeste. You have me and Nico, and we can train you. We have both done our fair share of fighting, and who better to teach you than the enemy,” he said with a smirk.
She couldn’t help but feel a little better any time Roman flashed that million-dollar smile. As draining as it was for her to fight the push and pull inside of her whenever she was around Roman, she felt it was somehow worth it.
“Yeah, I guess,” she said sounding slightly less miserable.
“Come on, there’s still one more place we have to go today,” he said, taking her hand.
Roman led Celeste through the gray sterile hallways of the storage facility as the fluorescent motion-sensor lights flicked on upon their approach. The feeling of desolation that Celeste felt inside mirrored the empty walkways.
“Well this is it, storage number 99,” Celeste said as she unlocked the door.
When the door swung open, Celeste’s mouth dropped in shock. Roman stood stiffly behind her taking it all in. The small storage unit looked like a military arsenal from medieval times. As she surveyed the room, she saw swords, crossbows, knives, spears and even wooden stakes lining the walls. Even Roman was taken aback by the magnitude of weapons. He reached up and removed an iron broadsword from the hook on the wall to take a closer look.
“This sword is quite old. Judging from the etchings in the hilt my guess would be sometime in the eighteenth century.”
Celeste picked up a couple of knives and said, “Look they all have the same symbol engraved on them.”
“Do you recognize it?” he asked.
“No, should I?”
“I think it might be the Wilder family symbol. I’ve heard stories that every hunter family has a unique one.”
“Wait a minute,” she said examining the symbol more closely, “it does look kind of familiar. Yes! I think I saw it in my dream.” It was the first dream she had in which her father was training her. She had been holding a sword with the exact same symbol on it.
“All of these weapons must have been passed down through the generations,” he said.
“That’s pretty crazy, huh? This sword could have belonged to my great-great grandfather,” she said inspecting it.
Roman looked at the symbol more closely. “I believe this is from the Phoenician alphabet – that looks like the letter W.”
“And what are those? Swords and a sun?”
“Yes, those are common elements in hunter symbols.”
Roman continued walking around the room to more closely admire the archaic weapons. As strange as this had all seemed to Celeste when she first walked in, she began to feel more at ease as she familiarized herself with her families’ treasures. There was something about being here that made her feel closer to her father and to all of her ancestors. She felt a surge of power springing from inside of her as she picked up a small sword with a gilded handle and the now familiar engraving. As if by instinct, she began swinging it around ever so gracefully.
“Look at you, you’re quite a natural,” said Roman.
“It’s weird, but I felt something when I picked up the sword – like it was supposed to be mine.”
“Well then, I think you shou
ld take it with you,” suggested Roman.
“Where am I going to keep it, under my bed? What if my mom finds it?”
“Celeste, I think it’s time you had a talk with your mother. From what your father said, it seemed like she may know a little more than what we think she does.”
***
“Where have you been all day?” asked Nico looking up from his laptop as Roman shut the door behind him.
“Researching some family history with Celeste,” he said evasively.
“So is everything alright with the two of you now? She didn’t try to kill you or anything?” Nico asked.
“She’s getting a handle on her urges, yes.”
“And how about your urges, Roman?” He gave his brother a sidelong glance.
“I’m fine,” he retorted.
Nico looked at him doubtfully.
“I’m keeping my distance, okay?” Roman tried to assure his brother.
Nico chuckled. “Are you really? If this is keeping your distance, I can’t imagine what dating would be like for the two of you.”
“Dating? Nico, don’t be absurd. I don’t date, and even if I wanted to be with Celeste, we both know that’s impossible.” He turned away from Nico, shielding the tortured expression in his eye.
“Why is it so impossible? You can deny it all you want, but I’ve never seen you act this way with anyone before. You obviously care about her, so why can’t you just admit it?”
“To what end, Nico? So that I can torture myself with something that I can never have? She’s a hunter and I’m a vampire. The universe certainly likes to play its dirty tricks, doesn’t it?”
“So that’s it? You’re just going to “protect” her and be her friend?”
“Exactly. And I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” said Roman, slumping down on the couch. “On another note, I was thinking about what you said about bringing Celeste to meet Stellan. You were right, and I think we should go tomorrow.”
***
“Hey Mom, do you have a sec to talk?”
“Oh sure sweetie, I’m just going to pop this lasagna in the oven for you for dinner tonight, and I’m all yours.” Celeste often wondered how her mother found the time to still cook dinners for her while pulling twelve-hour shifts at the hospital.
Celeste went into the living room to wait for her mother. She considered what would be the best way to tell her that she had been chosen to be the next Guardian and that she would be responsible for saving the world from all things evil. Why don’t they make a Hallmark card for that?
“So what’s up?” her mother asked as she sat down beside her.
Celeste steeled her nerves. “Mom, remember that key you gave me for my birthday from dad?”
“Yes, sure.”
“Well the other day, I was looking through the trunk, and I found a secret compartment on the bottom.”
Celeste paused to read her Mom’s face to gauge a reaction, but so far it was blank.
“And the key was a perfect fit. I found a note from dad. It was more than a note; there were actually instructions and a video tape.”
Her mom’s cool façade began to crumble as Celeste continued. She stood up and walked back and forth in front of the window.
“I watched the video, and it was of dad when he was much younger, and he told me about our family…uh… legacy.”
At that, her mother broke down and turned to her, angry tears streaming down her face. “Oh no Celeste, I never wanted any of this for you. I was hoping that I could protect you from it all.”
“So you knew? Why didn’t you tell me? I’ve been going crazy for the past few weeks having the strangest nightmares and visions, and worrying about what I was going to tell you.” Celeste was up pacing now too.
“I’m sorry sweetie, but I had hoped with all my heart that you wouldn’t be chosen. That you wouldn’t have to bear the responsibility that your father had to.”
“Well, I was chosen and I do have to. How could you keep that from me?”
“You have to understand that when I first met your father, he kept everything a secret from me, but as time went on, it was a secret too difficult to keep hidden. We tried to protect you from it, to let you lead a normal life, but when your father was killed…”
A sudden realization hit Celeste like a speeding freight train. “Wait, Mom – Dad wasn’t killed in a car accident was he? Oh my God, he was killed fighting, wasn’t he?”
“I’m so sorry, Celeste,” said her mom between sobs.
Celeste felt a horrible tightening in her chest, and a terrible anger building. “Who killed him Mom?” She was gripping her mom by the shoulders now and she was shaking her roughly.
Her mother didn’t answer, purposely averting her grief-filled eyes from her daughter’s as angry tears continued to spill.
“Mom, who killed dad? Tell me, I deserve to know.”
She choked back a sob, looking at her daughter’s determined face. “I don’t know exactly. All I know is that there had been a series of supposed ‘animal attacks’ in the area and your father had been hunting a vampire.”
Celeste took off out of the house with her mother chasing after her, but it was no use she was much too quick for her. The streets whizzed by in a blur. Celeste ran and ran until the pain in her chest had subsided, only to be replaced by the burning fatigue in her legs. She stopped where she was and flung herself on the grass, staring blankly into the sky as dark clouds rolled in overhead.
“Cel, are you okay?”
“Brian? What are you doing here?” she asked in a daze. A tidal wave of emotions hit her at the sight of her best friend. Impulsively, she jumped into the comfort of his arms.
“Whoa, nice to see you too. Your mom called me in a panic about a half an hour ago saying you had a fight, so I’ve been driving around looking for you.” He held onto her for a minute longer before finally letting go.
“Thanks for coming, I’m sorry she freaked out.”
“What happened?”
Celeste wanted more than anything to tell Brian what had happened over the past few weeks. She had always told him everything, and yet now it was like an invisible wall had been built between them.
Celeste took a deep cleansing breath, expelling all the pent up hurt and anger. “Nothing, I just overreacted and ran out of the house. I’ve been feeling really emotional lately with graduation coming and everything.”
Brian raised an eyebrow at her skeptically.
“Well it didn’t seem like nothing to me. Your mom was hysterical, and seemed really scared for you. And I know you’ve been crying,” he said, as he reached to tenderly wipe smudged mascara under her eye. He held up her chin examining her face worriedly.
“I want to tell you, Brian, but I just can’t right now. There have been some things that I’ve recently found out about my family and my dad. I’m just trying to work through them.”
He dropped his hand from her face. “But why do you have to do it by yourself? I’m here for you, and maybe I can help you get through whatever it is.”
She just shook her head.
“Why are you shutting me out? We’ve been through so much together. What makes you think that you can’t let me in on this? I love you, Celeste.”
Something happened to Celeste when she heard those three little words that every girl dreams about. She felt a huge weight lifted and stopped fighting the emotional battle that had been surging inside of her for days. So when Brian leaned in to kiss her, she let him. There was something so comfortable and safe about being in Brian’s arms, and the kissing wasn’t bad either. After a couple seconds of allowing herself to get lost in the moment, she pulled away, back to reality.
“I should probably get back home. I’m sure my mom must be worried,” she stammered.
“Sure, whatever you want Cel,” said Brian.
As they drove back in silence, Celeste tried not to think about the repercussions of the stolen kiss. On one hand, she wished it would be enough
that Brian loved her, and she could be a normal teenager with a normal boyfriend. On the other hand, she knew it would never be.
Why did I let Brian kiss me again?
She certainly couldn’t deal with this right now, not with everything else going on. She had to focus on becoming a Guardian, training, becoming a skilled hunter and avenging her father’s death. She would find the vampire who killed him, and she would make him pay for taking him away from her.
Celeste felt strange as she opened the door to her house: everything seemed to be tainted by lies. Everyone in her family had kept secrets from her. She looked at her mother’s tear-stained face and felt a slight pang of guilt. Her mother wrapped her arms around her tightly.
“We need to talk about this,” said her mother.
“Not now. Everything’s going to be fine, Mom. I just need some time,” she said numbly and went up to her room.
She had left the house in such a frenzy that she hadn’t even bothered to take her phone with her. As she glanced down at it now, she noticed three missed calls from Roman and one from Nico. Celeste felt torn between the desire to talk to Roman and tell him about her father’s death, and the terrible anger growing inside of her that a vampire had killed him—a vampire just like what Roman is.
Celeste pulled the small sword from its hiding place under the bed and clutched it in her hands. She knew it wasn’t rational, but she was angry with Roman for being a vampire, and most of all she was angry with herself for letting Brian kiss her. She had an overwhelming urge to stab something with her sword. Instead, she attempted to channel her energy and swung the sword in a few arcs around her bedroom. Her phone rang again, and seeing that it was Roman, she sent it to voicemail, continuing her swordplay against an imaginary foe.
***