by G. K. DeRosa
Now Celeste understood why she had been chosen to attend. And she realized Stellan was correct: this was quite an honor. The Council regarded her as one of their best guardians. A wave of anxiety hit her like a ton of a bricks. She steadied her nerves so to answer as confidently as possible, “Don’t worry, I’ve got everything under control in my region. There won’t be any unexpected surprises.”
Dante and Sierra looked pleased. “Very well then,” he said. “We will see you in Astor in a few days.”
***
Stellan’s hologram materialized in front of the gigantic flat screen television just as Nico had settled down to enjoy his favorite movie, Casablanca. He grudgingly pressed pause on the remote and bellowed for Roman to join them.
“I’ve made some significant strides regarding Celeste and the Bacillus demon – or should I say Dani has. She compiled a list of the top ten most likely culprits, and I have narrowed it down to the final five,” said Stellan, his gray eyes alive with excitement. “Do you two realize that since Celeste became the Guardian she has rid the world of almost one hundred evil supernatural creatures?”
Both Roman and Nico’s mouths dropped open as they murmured in surprise.
“She has done exceptionally well in such a short amount of time, and I honestly believe that it is in large part thanks to the two of you.”
“We do make a pretty good team, if I do say so myself,” said Nico with a grin as he sat down on the couch.
“In any event, that is beside the point, but I thought it was worth mentioning that your efforts have not gone unnoticed,” Stellan said. He paused to adjust his glasses as he flipped to a specific page in the notebook, which he had pulled out of his robe. “Ah, yes here it is. The top five persons of interest in no particular order: Alek, the Black Devils Werewolf pack, the vampire Augustin, Elsbetta Queen of the Fey, and finally Cyrus, the upper level demon from the third realm.”
“That’s quite a list of heavy hitters you have there,” said Roman, exhaling deeply. “And why is it, pray tell, that these five in specific would want my girlfriend killed?”
“I believe we all know Alek’s motives, so I will skip him for now. The Black Devils are a pack of rogue werewolves who have recently given into lawlessness, drunken revelry, and even hunting humans on the full moon. The leader of the Werewolf Alliance has banished them and will not be held accountable for their actions. Celeste has had to kill a few of them in the past month for a variety of indiscretions.”
“Right, I think I remember that. The head of the pack, Brazen, he did threaten Celeste after our last encounter. One of his pack had wolfed out on the full moon and nearly killed a human family out camping. By the time Celeste and I arrived he had mauled their pet dog and was chasing the kids around the campfire. She had no choice but to run him through with her sword,” explained Roman.
“Well, apparently Brazen believes she did have another choice, and he is now waging a personal vendetta against Celeste as well as on you two,” finished Stellan.
“I wasn’t even there!” interrupted Nico.
“What happened to Batman, Robin and Alfred? You turncoat!” chided Roman.
“May I continue?” asked Stellan sternly.
The brothers quickly grew silent and urged him to resume.
“I do not believe that the vampire Augustin or Cyrus the demon either hold enough power or influence to summon a Bacillus demon to kill Celeste. Augustin has been turning a few humans, which he knows is strictly forbidden, and Cyrus has been hunting outside of his realm, in clear violation of the underworld treaty. So although I have included them on the list, we can move past them for now.”
Roman and Nico both nodded in agreement.
“Now the Queen of the Fey has piqued my curiosity. Typically I would never think that Elsbetta would be involved in anything like this, however, I would be remiss to exclude her given the sudden appearance of this young fairy Marie. The fact that she caught Celeste’s attention is of particular note.”
“I wouldn’t look too closely there,” interjected Roman. “I believe most of Celeste’s concern is stemming from Brian becoming too close to the pretty fairy and less from some other evil ulterior motive.”
“I see,” Stellan murmured disapprovingly.
“I think you’re way off base, Roman. Give Celeste some credit. She’s the Guardian, not some jealous teenager,” said Nico in a huff.
Roman shook his head and looked back up at Stellan. “Anything else?”
“That brings us back around to Alek. He does have the strongest motive of the lot of them, considering we killed his mentor Fabian, but no one has seen him for months.” Stellan closed the notebook and tucked it into the folds of his robe as a grim look crossed his face.
Roman stood up and walked around the coffee table to the mahogany liquor cabinet in the corner of the room. “Well, I could use one of these, anyone else?”
***
The following day, Celeste felt giddy with excitement as she ran up the walkway of her friend’s house. She knocked on the door and was greeted by open arms and a huge smile.
“I really missed you Nat!” she said as she squeezed her friend eagerly.
“I missed you too! But, um, have you been working out or something? You’re squeezing me a little too tight!”
“Sorry!” said Celeste as she loosened her arms around her friend and stepped back. Sometimes she had a hard time remembering how much stronger she had become.
The girls chatted for hours as Natalie unpacked her suitcase and organized her old room. She had three whole weeks off from school, and she planned to make the most of it catching up with her old friends.
“So are you done with finals?” Natalie asked.
“I just have one more this week, but I’m not too worried about it. It’s an introductory Geology class; everyone calls it “Rocks for Jocks”. All the guys on the basketball team are in the class, including Brian.”
“Of course he is. And I bet he still copies all of your homework, right?” she asked with a laugh.
Celeste smiled. “Some things never change.”
“How’s he doing?” Natalie asked. “We text every once in a while, but I mostly just get one word answers from him.”
“He’s doing good. He’s actually really happy and kind of dating someone,” said Celeste with a slight hint of wistfulness. “You remember that girl we met at Ralph’s the night before you left for college?”
“Yeah, sure. She was really cute and seemed super nice.” Celeste gave her an unconvinced look. “What, you don’t like her?”
Celeste couldn’t tell Nat that Marie was a fairy. It would certainly make things easier if her friend knew about the supernatural world, but Celeste had already made the mistake of telling Brian, and she knew she couldn’t do it again. If anyone needed to tell Natalie, it was her vampire boyfriend, Nico. “I don’t know. I guess I don’t really know her that well, but there’s just something about her I haven’t quite figured out yet,” said Celeste.
“Celeste, tell me you don’t still have unresolved feelings for Brian?”
“Of course I don’t,” she said turning away, feeling embarrassed. “You know that Brian is like a brother to me. I’m just looking out for him.”
“Brian’s a big boy who can take care of himself. But if it makes you feel any better, I’ll give the girl the third degree and make sure she’s okay.”
Celeste giggled. “I’m so glad you’re back.”
The two girls piled into Natalie’s new sporty Lexus, a graduation present from her parents, then sped over to Roman and Nico’s apartment. Celeste could see the excitement in Natalie’s eyes as they pulled into the complex. A small part of her wanted to keep Natalie all to herself today, but she knew how much her friend wanted to see Nico. Still, Celeste hadn’t realized how much she had missed her friend until stepping into her house earlier today.
Before they had even reached the walkway, the door swung open and Nico came running out. Natalie
sprinted toward him and in no time they were in each other’s arms. Behind the happy couple, Celeste saw Roman peeking through the doorway. He motioned for Celeste to come to him, so she walked around Nico and Natalie, who were oblivious to everything around them, and met Roman at the door.
“Hi,” he said. And so as not to be outdone by his brother, he wrapped his hands around Celeste’s waist and pulled her into a passionate kiss.
“Wow,” she said as she gasped for air when their lips finally unlocked.
Roman looked pleased with himself and said, “Come on, leave them out there. I think it’s going to be a while.”
No matter how many times Celeste was in Roman’s apartment, the view from the floor to ceiling windows overlooking the pond never ceased to amaze her. She walked straight toward it, pausing to admire a family of ducklings who had just emerged from the pond. Roman approached with a glass of water, and handing it to her, led her to the couch.
“We need to talk,” he said as they sat.
“So that’s what the water is for,” she said with a smirk.
“I know you hate it when I don’t tell you things, so this time I’m just going to come straight out with it.”
“Okay…”
“Stellan and Dani finished the list. He’s fairly certain that it’s one of three people that he’s narrowed it down to,” he said.
“That was fast.” Celeste smiled inwardly. She and Roman really had come a long way. In the past he would have kept this from her to protect her. She was beginning to think that Roman finally saw her as an equal and not just a fragile human girlfriend he had to safeguard. “So who are they?” she asked, steeling herself for his reply.
Roman recounted the details that Stellan had shared earlier, leaving out his opinion about the fairies. When Roman was finished, Celeste looked thoughtfully at him.
“Do you really think Alek could be behind this?” she asked. She could hear the quiver in her own voice when she spoke his name, and it infuriated her that he still held that much power over her.
“Look Celeste, we really don’t know anything yet for sure. It could be the Queen of the Fey for all we know, or it could be no one at all,” he said taking her hand and rubbing it reassuringly.
“I just thought we were finally done with Fabian and Alek,” she said as she looked into his troubled eyes.
“We are done with them. And if I’m wrong, at least we can be sure of the fact that Alek is nothing like Fabian. He was his apprentice and doesn’t have anywhere near the power that Fabian had – and look how well that turned out.”
“Right,” she said, seeking solace in his warm embrace.
Roman lifted Celeste’s chin up to look directly in her eyes. “I promise you, nothing will ever happen to you as long as I’m with you.”
And that’s when it happened. A searing pain ripped through Celeste’s skull, and she cried out. A carousel of images flashed through her mind and she clenched her teeth down to keep from screaming. Though her eyes were closed, she could feel Roman’s presence all around her, and it gave her the strength to endure the terrible pain. Once the last of the visions raced through her conscience, she opened her eyes, saw Roman’s worried face, and passed out.
Opening her eyes cautiously, Celeste took in her surroundings and let out a breath of relief. She recognized the scent of Tide mixed with Roman’s natural musky scent in the sheets, and the bare navy walls of his bedroom. She was safe. No sooner had she opened her eyes than Roman’s anxious face appeared hovering over her. She flinched. As she looked past him, she saw Nico and Natalie sitting at the edge of the bed, their faces equally filled with concern.
“Are you all right?” Roman asked.
“I’m fine,” she said, sitting up. “How long have I been out?”
“Not long, just about twenty minutes,” he answered.
Natalie got up from the corner of the bed and rushed over to her. “Nico told me not to worry and that you had only fainted, but I heard you scream and you looked so pale.”
“It’s okay Natalie, I’m fine really. I barely ate anything today, so maybe it’s low blood sugar.” She tried to sit up straighter and gave her friend a convincing smile.
The color had begun to flood back into Celeste’s cheeks, and the deathly pallor encircling her moments ago had all but vanished. She looked at the others and smiled. “I’m fine, really guys.”
“Nico, why don’t you and Natalie give us a second? We’ll be right out. You can order pizza – that will certainly get her blood sugar back to normal,” said Roman as he ushered them out of his room.
“Thanks,” she said with a half-hearted smile as she slumped back down on the bed.
Roman laid down next to her and propped his head up on his hand to face her. “What did you see?”
“It was bad Roman, really bad,” she responded, not wanting to look at him.
He clenched his fist in anger. He hated not being able to protect her from this. He wished he could take away the fear he knew she felt everyday but was too strong to admit. “Tell me everything. We’ll get through it.”
For once Celeste didn’t think Roman was right. The things she had seen were frightening and terrible—and worst of all, the vision was about him.
Celeste hurried up the stairs to her bedroom, pausing only momentarily to wave at her aunt who was practicing yoga in the living room. She shut her bedroom door and turned the lock. She needed to talk to Stellan right away. Moments later he appeared in front of her, his translucent image hovering a few feet over the floor. Rocky snarled at the strange apparition, sniffing the air suspiciously. Once her dog was convinced the ghostly image posed no threat, he retreated to his favorite spot beside Celeste’s bed and kept one wary eye on the odd visitor.
“Thank you for coming so quickly,” she said.
“Of course, my dear. What has you so upset?”
“I had a terrible premonition, Stellan. We were being attacked, all of us – the guardians, the Council – and it was chaos. Everyone was running and screaming. I can’t be sure, but I think we were in Astor. But that makes no sense—supernaturals can’t get into Astor right?” She walked back and forth trying to make sense of the vision.
“Not generally, but as you know there are always exceptions,” he admitted as he readjusted his glasses.
“What are we going to do? We have to warn the Council! What if my visions come true during the Induction Ceremony? Sierra said the magical guards would be weaker then.”
“That is exactly what we will do. We’ll make sure that the Council is protected. They will invite more guardians to keep the ceremony secure,” Stellan said. He was pacing now too, his brows furrowed. “Do you know who the attackers were?”
“No, I couldn’t make them out exactly, but there were a lot of them. More demons than I’ve ever seen before,” she replied uneasily. She slumped down on her bed and clutched the sides of her head. “Why can’t my visions be clearer? It’s so frustrating to only see half the picture.”
Stellan moved toward her with a reassuring smile. “This is very important information, Celeste. Without you we would have had no warning.” He reached out his hand to pat her shoulder, but the translucent image held no substance or warmth. Celeste was still moved by the gesture and attempted a weak grin in return.
“That’s not all, Stellan,” she said sullenly.
“Go ahead, dear.”
“The second part of the vision was different than any other I’ve ever had. Usually I have a general sense that what I’m seeing is something that has yet to happen. But this time, I saw something that I’m pretty sure already happened...a long time ago.”
Stellan raised an eyebrow, his curiosity piqued. “How so?”
“I saw Roman and – ” she paused not wanting to say it out loud. If she told someone else it would make it real, and she wasn’t sure she could bear it. She steeled herself to continue. “He was killing people! There was something in his eyes that I’ve never seen before. It was dark
ness and pure evil, and his face was covered in blood. There was so much blood, Stellan.” She buried her face in her hands and the tears came spilling out uncontrollably. Her chest heaved in and out as she sobbed for what seemed like forever.
Stellan remained quiet and waited for Celeste to regain composure. She finally looked up at him and was surprised to see that he was not shocked at her declaration. She wasn’t quite sure what she expected from him, perhaps a look of surprise or disgust, but the expression on his face was perfectly blank.
“Did you know about this?” she asked, as she wiped the tears from her eyes so she could see more clearly.
Stellan sighed. “Celeste, I have known the Constantins for their entire lives. Though they have fought fiercely to control their vampire nature, there have been times when the temptation was too difficult.” His expression grew weary, his gray eyes troubled.
For a moment his true age showed through his haggard countenance, and Celeste could almost see the centuries of struggle that he had endured. “What did he do?” she asked, afraid to hear the answer. Her mind flashed back to the many times that Roman had warned her about his past, about how hard it had been for him to control his true nature. I was stupid not to ask him more about it.
“I am afraid that is a discussion you will have to have with him, my dear,” he said as he turned to leave.
“Stellan! Wait! Why do you think I would have this vision now? Whatever I saw had to have happened a long time ago, right?”
He paused and looked back at her thoughtfully. “I wish I knew,” he said and disappeared.
Lying in her bed in the darkness, a deep sense of dread overwhelmed Celeste. She had been lying there for hours hoping that she would arrive at some decision, but she still felt utterly lost. Roman was everything to her. How could she go on if she didn’t trust him? Every time she closed her eyes, the vision of his cold, soulless eyes and terrible blood-spattered face replayed in her mind. Worst of all, she was so concerned about Roman that she hadn’t even given a second thought to the other part of her vision—the premonition that the Council was to be attacked. She reprimanded herself for being so self-involved and decided to re-focus her energy into forming a plan. Forcing herself out of bed, she stalked to the bathroom and splashed water on her face.