Awakening (Promiscus Guardians Book 1)

by Brianna West

  “While I don't trust you to keep your hands to yourself, Blondie, I will accept your instruction. I don't care if it's at the same time or not, but I'd like to get on with it.”

  “Very well, moya solnishka,” Pavel said as he sidestepped to let me through. “I will teach you tomorrow.” He glanced towards Lucas who had his jaw tightly clenched which was recognizably the no-no face, but Lucas surprisingly didn't argue against it.

  Fabulous. Any more macho battles, and I might be sick.

  Walking past the two of them, I headed outside. I pulled on the jacket that Lucas had tossed me earlier, noting the heaviness of it, and decided that I would put the pants on once we arrived at the place Lucas had designated for our training ground. Although, the idea of changing behind some kind of bush or tree with Lucas’ perfect senses nearby made my heart speed up in my chest.

  The morning sun was breaking through the canopy of trees above us, casting patches of light on the ground. Large pine trees circled around the small clearing that was to be our training area. The foliage was sparse, bushes low enough to not hinder our movements and far enough away to give us enough space to battle in. Soft hums of insects echoed around us. I could feel the essence of several animals nearby, probably deer as their soft pulses were neutral, and I could hardly feel them at all.

  Lucas was facing me, setting the bag he carried onto the ground, and proceeding to pull out large weapons: knives, swords, guns, and beating sticks. I was momentarily startled by the contents. I didn't care much for weapons, but I knew that Lucas would not allow harm to come to me. Sure as I was, I couldn't help the growing ball of unease that settled in my stomach.

  “You will learn to use these weapons,” Lucas started as he held out one of the large black sticks towards me. “But today, we will focus on protecting yourself against them.”

  “I didn't know demons used weapons,” I joked as I took the proffered weapon. The demon from the other night sure didn't need to. His strength alone could have crippled me.

  “Most do not,” Lucas admitted.

  “Then what's the point?” I asked.

  “Demons use objects around them to attack their victims,” Lucas explained. “While many of them are equipped with strength, speed, and more often than not, claws and teeth, they prefer to use weapons as to not give themselves away. If it appears that their victims were attacked by something that was not a demon, they can keep their identity hidden and their tracks covered.”

  “Okay,” I said, agreeing that it was starting to make sense.

  Lucas started by showing me how to defend myself by focusing my energy into the item I held to increase my ability and speed to defend against an attack. It was difficult at first, imaging myself becoming, as he put it, one with the weapon. But after a few tries, I was starting to get the hang of it.

  Lucas explained that my power was incredible enough to give me skills in which took others years to master. It was, however, increasingly hard to focus on what he was saying when my thoughts were entirely occupied with watching just how incredible his body looked when he fought. It was like a dance. His movements were so graceful that I was becoming entranced by them.

  “Visualize yourself as a weapon,” he instructed as I blocked his strike against me, but not without effort. I was becoming weaker with each blow.

  “Pull energy from the life around you,” he demanded as he struck me with yet another blow.

  I buckled under it. I was having a hard time breathing and collapsed to the ground, my legs having gone to jelly.

  “Time out,” I gasped.

  Lucas halted his offense and knelt beside me. “You need to pull energy from around you.”

  “From what?” I groaned as my body quaked beneath me. I was trembling fiercely. “There's no energy around me.”

  “Everything has energy,” Lucas said with a small smile. “You need to harness that energy.”

  “Sure thing,” I replied sarcastically.

  “I think we should conclude our training for today,” Lucas finally said as he pulled me from the ground.

  I had no strength left in me, so I used his body to keep me upright. I could feel the coolness of his shirt and was suddenly weak for another reason entirely.

  Holy hell! He smelled heavenly. A mixture of a masculine musk signature to him only, wet dirt, and a hint of mint. It was a scent that caused my lady parts to thrum with anticipation.

  Lucas grasped me about my waist, helping me back to the house. After a short distance, it would seem he decided our pace too slow; without a word of warning, he lifted me bridal style to carry me the rest of the way. I was swooning, but seriously embarrassed as my cheeks suffused with heat.

  I cried out in horror, “What are you doing?!”

  “We would take the rest of the afternoon to get home at the rate we were going,” Lucas responded without a glance my way.

  “That doesn't give you a right—“ I started, feeling insulted.

  “You will not claim victory in this argument, Izzy. It’s best if you admit defeat and allow me this one courtesy,” he interrupted.

  Bastard!

  “You can be a real jerk sometimes, Captain Lucas,” I said, defeated. However, I was seething, but the fight had all but left me.

  Lucas was grinning, and already my heart was responding in its usual manner of nearly pounding right out of my chest. “I cannot argue otherwise, pet,” he concurred sweetly.

  –

  Pavel's instruction was just as hands-on as I expected it to be.

  For the umpteenth time, I shrugged away his hands from my hips as he stood directly behind me. He chuckled as he removed his hands but kept himself nearly painted against my back. Voice near my ear. Teasing me.

  “Visualize your energy in the palms of your hand, moya solnishka,” he instructed huskily.

  I had my eyes closed, my palms held out as if in offering. “I am, you bastard,” I growled.

  He chuckled again, the sound reverberating through me as his chest rumbled against my sensitive back. “You have to focus. You need to visualize that your energy is in your palms as a solid object.”

  Pavel was teaching me how to create a ball of energy to throw at my enemies. So far, I had been unsuccessful. Part of harnessing the energy was pulling it from everything around me.

  Apparently, everything from humans to blades of grass carried energy. Of course, beings of our origin had the most, but we could essentially pull energy from anything around us—living that is. Buildings and inanimate objects of that nature had little to no energy.

  “Pull what you need from me,” he whispered, his breath warming the sensitive cartilage of my ear.

  There was a sensuality to him that couldn't be ignored even if I tried. I was quickly falling victim to the close proximity.

  “Blondie, you need to back off,” I growled insistently. “I can hardly focus with you whispering in my ear like some horny beast.”

  Instead of moving from his position behind me, Pavel eased closer, his arms wrapping around my outstretched ones, and his large, eclipsing palms cradling my own. I stiffened at the unbelievable heat his body exuded. It was like bathing in sunlight on a hot summer day. His body was warm and comforting against the October chill.

  “Focus on my body,” Pavel instructed. Well, that's not hard considering his body was about all I could think about at the moment. “Imagine yourself pulling the energy from my body into yours.”

  The sexual innuendo was not lost on me, but I ignored it as I tried to do as he said. I imagined pulling the heat that I felt from him, dragging his essence into me that pulsed as if it had its own will. The heat that I associated with his body started to warm my own, spreading through me as if I had just drank a warm cup of hot chocolate.

  Mm, hot chocolate. Frothy, chocolatey goodness.

  “Focus, moya solnishka. Don’t lose focus. You are doing well,” Pavel whispered against my ear as his large body nearly consumed my own.

  Ignoring the tingles
that resulted every time Pavel chose to whisper to me—it was becoming a real problem—I focused again on trying to pull that pulsating power into me. I could feel Pavel's smile before I was able to see it because his mouth was still against my ear.

  “You did it,” he announced, his hot breath once more falling onto my ear and causing an unbidden tremor to run through me.

  I opened my eyes and captured sight of the sphere of energy that was collected into my palms. It hovered above them, lights of every color dancing and weaving inside it. The sight was amazing to watch as it seemed to pulsate and gyrate in a way I had only seen in science fiction movies.

  “Fucking awesome,” I gasped in surprise. “Okay, now what do I do with it?'

  Pavel pulled away from me, his warmth immediately missed, and took his place in front of me. He was still smiling in his usual Pavel-esque way as he created a sphere of his own. Turning without a word, he sent the ball of power against a nearby tree.

  To my astonishment, the tree was cut through and began to collapse. The sudden crash of trees as the assaulted tree continued its downward descent startled me and nearly had me losing the sphere of energy in my palms that I had worked so tirelessly to create.

  “Throw it, moya solnishka,” he commanded.

  No need to tell me twice.

  With unpracticed aim, I took my little sphere-o-energy and tossed it at the nearest tree. When the sphere made contact, there was an earth-shattering crash. Pavel was immediately at my side, shielding me from the blast with his body. I had to cover my ears in an effort to keep the tremendous sound out, but it was as if the sound itself was vibrating from the very ground around us.

  When the tremors ceased, I was made privy to the desolation I had caused. The area I had thrown my sphere was cleared for nearly a mile. I turned towards Pavel, my eyes wide with shock, and found a similar expression on his face.

  “Holy hell,” I whispered as I pulled away from the warmth of Pavel's body. He was becoming my very own heat lamp.

  Pavel said nothing as he examined the area.

  Guilt clenched my stomach as I followed after him, truly seeing the destruction I had caused. Trees had been blasted to splinters of wood, unrecognizable to their original forms. The floor of the forest was covered in blasted bits, piled in areas and lain bare in others.

  I had made mincemeat of these freaking trees.

  Aren't faeries supposed to protect nature? I had just nearly taken out an entire area of wildlife. I feared for the wrath that might be brought down upon me as a result. However, when Pavel pivoted to gaze at me, there was no wrath at all. Instead, his face was lit up with awe and pride. He grabbed me bodily and lifted me into the air as if I weighed nothing at all.

  “You are truly incredible, moya solnishka!” he exclaimed as he continued to throw me about—I, the proverbial rag doll.

  My hands ate into his shoulders as the fear he might drop me claimed me.

  Dear lord, Pavel and Lucas were equally strong brutes that lacked common decency.

  Despite fearing that Pavel would drop me, I was unbelievably proud of being able to pull that sphere weapon off. I wasn't sure what was amazing about nearly killing an entire forest, but I wasn't about to complain.

  “Lucas will be pleased to hear about this,” Pavel went on to explain as he returned me to solid ground.

  Oh dear solid ground, how I did miss thee.

  “Oh yeah?” I asked, still shaken from my toss about and new lumberjack qualifications. “Is it really that big of a deal?”

  “It is unlike I have ever seen.” I have been getting that a lot lately. “With a little training, I believe you will be an incredible asset to the Guardians.”

  Asset? I was not some sort of weapon to be used at their discretion. I was suddenly a lot less amazed and much more disgusted. Pavel seemed to comprehend the change in my mood because he came beside me, placing an arm around me, of which I promptly shrugged off.

  “You will make an amazing Guardian,” he entreated.

  I wasn't biting.

  “I don't want to be a Guardian,” I replied petulantly.

  “Becoming a Guardian is the highest honor of our kind, moya solnishka,” he expressed with a grin which soon turned severe. “You will be sought after not only by the Light but by the Dark as well.”

  Oh, how fabulous.

  I was starting to believe that this so called gift was becoming more of a curse by the day. Doing my best not to become morose with my thoughts, I gave Pavel one last knowing glare and headed back towards the house.

  –

  Lucas was in the living room, engrossed in a newspaper, upon our return. Pavel had tried to argue his case further, but I was done listening. I just wanted to take a long bath and hole myself up in my room with a good book. I had only trained the last two days, but it felt like I had been training for months. My body felt weak despite only getting out one sphere of destruction today.

  Lucas watched me, suddenly curious as Pavel trailed after me. “Were you able to accomplish what you sought to do today?”

  Pavel's eyes danced as he said, “Much more than what was sought.”

  I groaned, knowing I was not going to sneak away any time soon. I threw myself into the couch with a huff and did my best to relax my sore body.

  “What do you mean, Pavel?” Lucas questioned with a raise of one eyebrow.

  “She destroyed a mile of forest with a small collection of her and my power combined,” Pavel explained eagerly. “It is unlike any power I have seen. Especially an untrained power.”

  I could feel Lucas' eyes on me and decided to ignore them. I was sure they said about the same as what Pavel's had earlier after I had gone and decimated all the nearby wildlife. So instead, I busied myself with my nails which were broken and torn unevenly.

  If I was any part girly girl, it would have been a sad day indeed. As I was not, I could disregard their poor state.

  “I would like to see it for myself,” Lucas said as I continued to fiddle with my nails.

  I was determined not to be baited into doing anything I didn't want to, but he was paying me.

  Earlier, I had gone online to check my bank account to find three thousand dollars already deposited. I had almost swallowed my tongue then. Lucas had assured me that it was compensation for my good work the night before and wouldn't let me return it.

  So, being the efficient spender I was, I bought some boots that would serve against demons, vampires, and any other bad guy that I might find myself on the opposing end of. Plus they were incredibly cute. Lucas had instantly reimbursed the expenditure dictating it “work expenses” which left me yet again with over three grand in my account and nothing to spend it on.

  Maybe I would save for a new car.

  “Izzy,” Lucas called, interrupting me from my task. “I would like to see if you could replicate what you did earlier.”

  “I'm really tired, Captain Lucas,” I nearly whined. “That little sphere thing took me all morning to accomplish, and now I feel like I haven't slept in days.”

  His eyebrow rose as if he were dealing with a child's tantrum. This look caused my hands to fist and face to heat with anger. I was not being petulant! Or at least I didn't think I was. It was the truth that I had spent all morning pulling energy, and it was also true that I felt as though I might collapse into unconsciousness at any moment.

  “Pavel,” was all he said.

  As if understanding just what he meant to say, Pavel came before me and settled his large hand on my shoulder. I tried to shrug it away, but he merely smiled and kept his hand firmly placed there.

  Dammit!

  It was a few seconds before I realized that I was beginning to feel warm where he touched, and soon it spread throughout my entire frame. My body hummed with the power he was pouring into me. Like hot water into cold water, it spread from the spot on my shoulder, and then slowly through me until even my fingers and toes felt warm.

  “How do you feel now?” Lucas quest
ioned, having come to stand behind Pavel.

  I felt incredible!

  “Better,” I replied reluctantly. “I didn't even know Blondie here could do that.”

  “You both can, within reason. Anyone with your abilities can share their energy,” Lucas explained as he brushed aside Pavel to help me to my feet. “Now that you are well again, I need you to show me what you did earlier.”

  I grumbled my reply. “It’s not like I have a choice. You are paying me...”

  “Yes, I am,” Lucas responded with a slow grin that restarted my heart like he were the embodiment of a defibrillator.

  Damn the bastard for knowing how easily I fell for a good-looking face.

  “Well, let's get this over with,” I murmured as I once more headed towards the forest.

  I wasn't sure why Lucas needed to see it for himself, but I figured it had to be similar to my need to see-it-to-believe-it attitude. Also, Blondie had a tendency to over exaggerate things. The Russian got excited easily—in more ways than one.

  We took the path over the hills of grass that led to a creek that passed through the land just before trees crowded into a dense and deep forest. Lucas kept pace with me, helping me a few times when my feet betrayed me and tripped over whatever rock, root, or lift in the ground they found.

  Once we reached the clearing we had been using to train in, Lucas was given the opportunity to view the destruction for himself. He walked over to where it began, inspecting the ground as if he would find answers in the piles of what were once trees.

  After coming to whatever conclusion—he failed to share it with me—he came before me and gave me a curt nod to begin.

  Well, alrighty then.

  Inhaling deeply, I cradled the air with my palms up in front of me. I closed my eyes, focusing on pulling the energy, like Pavel had taught me, from Lucas. His pulsating essence was intoxicating. I could feel the power surging like a great body of electricity, and I a current of water, drawing it out and into me.