by G. K. DeRosa
Celeste gasped as the maddening haze lifted, and she realized what she had done. It had all happened so fast. Marco sprang from across the room and was at her side in a second, pulling Dani’s body off of her. Celeste slumped to the ground, in a state of shock as she stared vacantly at the lifeless figure of her former friend on the floor.
“Are you okay?” asked Marco, resting his hands on her shoulders. She rocked her head from side to side without answering. “Come on, we should get you out of here,” he said and pulled her up off the floor. As he bent down to help Celeste, he noticed the sparkling sapphire on Dani’s finger. Marco swiftly slipped the ring off and tucked it into his pocket without anyone noticing.
The others had only vaguely noticed the skirmish, still arguing over what to do with Lilliana.
“Hey!” said Marco, trying to get everyone’s attention. “We’re leaving. Are you all staying or coming with us?”
It was only then that Roman noticed Celeste’s unresponsive expression and that Marco was the only thing keeping her on her feet. He rushed over to them and put his arm around her helping Marco to carry her. His eyes darted from Lilliana and Alek then to Celeste and back again. There was nothing he could do.
“This isn’t over,” said Roman to Alek. “We’re going to figure out what you’ve done to her, and we’ll find a way to get her back.”
“Right,” said Alek snidely. “I won’t be holding my breath.”
Roman gave a quick nod to Stellan, and a bright blue whirling portal opened before them. He took one last glance at the mother he had missed for a lifetime, the woman he no longer recognized standing before him. Looking down at Celeste in his arms, he clenched his jaw and turned away, jumping into the spiraling vortex with the others.
Celeste scrubbed feverishly at her blood-stained hands in the once pristine bathroom sink. Why won’t it come off? She scrubbed harder and harder until her fingers were nearly raw. Then she stared entranced as the crimson-hued water circled the drain and finally disappeared, leaving only small pinkish droplets around the rim as the only remnant of what was once her schoolmate, her friend, someone’s daughter and sister.
“Celeste, are you still in there?” asked Roman’s muffled voice through the door.
“Yeah, I’ll be right out.” Splashing some water on her tear-stained face, she took a deep breath and opened the door.
Roman sat at the foot of her old bed with his head hanging down. She ran her hand along the footboard as she made her way toward him, lost in thought. This room held so many wonderful memories of the summer she lived here when training with Stellan after being chosen the Guardian. As she approached, Roman lifted his gaze toward hers, and she could see that his face mirrored the anguish in her own.
“Are you going to be okay?” he asked.
She attempted a weak smile. “No, not really. How about you?”
“I have an overwhelming urge to rip someone’s throat out,” he answered sullenly, “so no, I’m not doing so good.”
Celeste sat down next to him and rested her head on his shoulder. There were so many things she wanted to say to him, so many unanswered questions that needed to be discussed, but she simply couldn’t find the words. She was completely drained, physically and emotionally. So she settled on sitting with the love of her life in a comfortable silence, letting the stillness soothe both of their troubled minds.
Knock, knock.
“Come in,” said Celeste.
Marco appeared in the doorway, peering in cautiously. “Hey, sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt, but Stellan wanted to talk to all of us.”
Roman let out a reluctant grunt, but stood up regardless and followed Marco into the living room with Celeste trailing close behind.
As they filed in, they found Stellan in front of the crackling fireplace, his long silver hair dangling haphazardly over his robe. Nico and Dalla were already seated on the couch waiting for the rest to arrive. Celeste and Marco quickly took their seats on the other end of the couch, but Roman remained standing with arms crossed at the edge of the room.
Before Stellan was able to get a word out, Roman let loose. “What the hell happened back there?” he yelled accusingly at Stellan. All eyes flew to Roman in the back. “How could you just let Alek take her?”
“I didn’t let him do anything. What happened today was completely beyond what any of us had expected! What was I to do?” replied Stellan, his cheeks flushed from the outburst.
“Something! Anything! Stellan, the all-powerful sorcerer did nothing to stand up for our mother – a woman that you professed to care so much for!” Roman continued with his tirade.
“Roman, I understand that you are upset, but you have to see that your mother was not in her right mind. We have no idea what the implications are from bringing someone back from the dead. I need some time to sort this all out.”
“And for now the answer was just to leave her with that psycho? When would she ever knowingly choose that monstrous thing over her own sons?” Roman questioned as he paced the room frantically.
“She’s undoubtedly confused by the transition. I didn’t want to do anything to risk her mental state,” explained Stellan futilely. “And when she put up that protection barrier –”
“You’re a coward!” hissed Roman.
“That’s enough,” said Dalla. “That woman we saw today is only the shell of your mother, but I am certain that she is in there somewhere. I could sense her. Stellan was right not to do anything rash.”
“What do you know?” spat back Roman. “You say you were her friend, but you certainly didn’t act like it when it mattered the most.”
“Roman, do not speak on matters that you know nothing about,” reprimanded Stellan, taking a step toward him. “I will not allow you to speak to Dalla in that manner.”
Celeste had been quiet up until this point in an effort to try and decide what to say, but she couldn’t think of anything helpful. But now she felt certain that if she didn’t intervene soon, there would be an all-out brawl between the two enraged men. Rising quickly she stepped to Roman’s side. “I think we need to take a break,” she said calmly. “We are all on the same side here, and we need to remember that.” She looked pointedly at Roman as she said the words.
“Celeste’s right,” said Nico standing. “Roman, I want our mom back just as much as you do, but maybe Stellan’s right.” Roman threw his brother a traitorous glare. “I’m just saying that if forcing mother to come with us could have made things worse for her, it’s better that we didn’t. Alek seems to care for her or whatever, and I don’t think he’s going to hurt her.”
Dalla spoke up again. “For all the cruelty that Fabian doled out, I know one thing for certain: he loved Lilliana. He must have somehow demonstrated that feeling to Alek. I do not believe he would harm her either.”
“One day I’d like to know how it is that you seem to know so much about my mother and Fabian and Alek,” said Roman.
Dalla nodded her head. “Perhaps one day you will.”
“I do not wish to extend this discussion much further for today. We’ve all been through a lot and perhaps we will see things more clearly tomorrow when cooler heads prevail. However, I had a purpose in wanting to speak to you all together, before I was so rudely interrupted,” said Stellan, sort of murmuring the last phrase. “I was able to acquire a bit of Alek’s blood while he was passed out on the floor. With it, I can track him and Lilliana wherever they may go.” A look of relief fleetingly crossed Roman’s face. “I had no intention of leaving your mother without some way of finding her.”
Roman and Nico nodded, momentarily appeased.
Suddenly, Celeste felt the Wilder key around her neck begin to warm and the encrusted sapphire glowed brilliantly. “I’m being summoned by The Council,” she announced abruptly. Looking over at Roman, she gave him a comforting smile. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
With that, she and Marco disappeared.
Immediately after Celeste’s dep
arture, Roman headed out the back door and into the cool wintry air. He often found solace in the quiet of the forest, and there was never a time he needed it more. The sound of his footsteps crunching through the dead leaves and the occasional squirrel scurrying underfoot was all that could be heard for miles around. He took a deep breath and to his relief found that the fury burning inside of him was beginning to dissipate.
“Are you going to follow me all day, little brother?” asked Roman as he spun around to face his unwelcome shadow.
Nico stepped out from behind a leafless tree, looking abashed. “I wanted to make sure you were all right.”
“You thought perhaps I would storm off in a rage and ravage an entire small town?” he teased, shoving his hands into his pockets.
Nico gave him a wry grin. “You have done worse…”
“Please, don’t remind me.”
Nico moved to stand beside Roman and after a brief pause, the two continued their walk through the desolate forest. Though usually green and teeming with life, there was still something beautiful about the woods in the winter. The dark mahogany oaks still seemed majestic in the absence of colorful foliage. And when snow fell, the ice-capped evergreens with a grey sky background provided a completely different type of beauty.
“I thought maybe you could use someone to talk to,” said Nico breaking the comfortable silence, “since Celeste had to run off so quickly.”
“Right, and with Marco nonetheless,” replied Roman with a rueful smile.
“It’s just guardian business,” said Nico. Roman shot him an unconvinced look. “You don’t really think there’s something between the two of them, do you?”
“I don’t know.”
“No way! Celeste is nuts about you. No matter what is going on right now, I can still see how much she loves you,” continued Nico.
“Maybe she shouldn’t,” he said, shaking his head. “Now that she knows what I’ve done in the past, what I’m capable of… Maybe it would be better for her to be with someone like Marco.”
“You’re not serious?” asked Nico, stopping mid-step and turning toward his brother.
“At least he’s human and a guardian; he could protect her,” he replied.
“This sounds like we’re reliving the Brian argument all over again. And don’t you remember what she said to you then? She’s a big girl and she can choose who she wants to be with. Don’t make decisions for her,” said Nico.
“Thanks dad,” said Roman jokingly. “I can always count on you for love advice.”
“Why do I have the feeling that you’re not going to listen to me anyway?” he asked.
Roman patted his brother on the shoulder as they continued their hike and said, “Maybe I will this time.”
***
Celeste opened her eyes and found herself next to Marco in front of the intrusive eyes of the Council. She quickly dropped his hand and lifted her eyes to meet Dante’s inquiring glance. He, along with the others, were seated in a semi-circle on a slightly elevated bench that always reminded Celeste of judges in a television court room.
“I take it the situation in Warsaw has been handled successfully?” he asked.
“Yes it has. Thank you again Dante, and all of you, for allowing me to go,” said Celeste scanning the assembly of somber faces.
“And the vampire has been disposed of?” Dante continued.
“You mean the former Guardian?” asked Celeste, unable to curb the anger in her voice. Marco shot her a reprimanding glance and she modified her tone. “Yes, he’s been taken care of.” Lie.
“And Matilda?”
“She’s still in Poland. I’m not sure what her plans are. Marco and I had to leave rather abruptly when we got the lead on Alek,” she finished.
“Good. On to more important matters then. I understand that the Alek threat has been contained,” Dante said.
“I don’t know that ‘contained’ is the proper word,” said Dalla, speaking up. She, too, must have been summoned when Celeste and Marco were as they had all appeared at the same time.
“Dalla filled us in on what happened in St. Petersburg,” said Seraphina. “We are lucky that Alek did not have a bigger plan in mind for the Albsurori ring.”
So Dalla told them about the ring? Thanks for the heads up… Celeste fidgeted nervously as she wondered how much the Council knew about the ring and its powers. “Well I wouldn’t say raising a hundred-year-old witch from the dead was nothing, exactly,” said Celeste.
“Of course not, but things could have been much worse,” finished Seraphina.
“We still need to find out why Alek would have done such a thing,” said Dante. “But it is not my primary concern.”
So they don’t know that Lilliana is Alek’s mother. I wonder why Dalla lied.
“I thought that Alek was to be brought to justice to face punishment for the attack on Astor,” said Marco. “How is that not a primary concern?”
“We have no proof that he was behind it. For now I want all of your energies focused on finding and capturing Brazen,” said Dante.
“We do have proof – Alek had the ring! What more proof do you need? And Brazen hasn’t been heard of since the attack. His pack thinks he’s dead,” said Celeste, attempting but failing at not shouting. Alek had to pay for what he had done of that she was sure.
“My reasons are my own and you are not to question them,” answered Dante while rising abruptly and then lowering his heavy fist onto the white table. Celeste wasn’t certain, but she thought the rest of the Council members looked surprised by his outburst.
“But Dante,” said Marco, “how can we just let Alek go?”
“I think it’s time you went back to Rome, Marco. I don’t believe that Celeste’s influence on you has been for the better.”
Marco bit back a nasty reply.
“What about the ring?” asked Dalla. “We cannot let Alek keep it.”
“We will discuss that in private, Dalla,” responded Dante, taking his seat once again.
Marco fingered the Albsurori ring, which was still hidden in his pocket. Perhaps Dante had been right – Celeste was having an effect on him. In the past, he wouldn’t have thought twice about handing the ring over to Dante, but now it was the last thing he planned on doing.
“You are both dismissed,” said Balthazar. “We will be in touch if we need anything further from either one of you.”
Celeste was appalled by the behavior of the Council, but most of all by Dante. Why wouldn’t he want them to go after Alek? None of this made any sense, and she still didn’t fully trust Dalla either. She wished she had gotten a chance to speak to Stellan before being summoned. They needed to be sure to get their story straight.
As Celeste and Marco walked out of the marble hall into the bright and sunny streets of Astor, Marco stopped her. “I need to show you something,” he whispered. “Come with me.” He led her through the main square and off to one of the narrower side streets.
Celeste recognized right away the tall tapered building they were heading toward. It had been one of the apartment buildings used to house all of the visiting guardians for the Induction Ceremony and now stood completely desolate. Marco led Celeste to the back of the building to a side door marked Emergency-Exit Only. He typed a code into the dial pad to the right of the door and it swung open.
“Nice!” said Celeste, looking impressed.
Once inside, Celeste’s first impression was confirmed. The utilitarian lobby with a small, white front desk and beige couch was completely empty. “Follow me,” said Marco as they walked through the empty building to a stairwell. After running up five floors, Marco finally stopped, to Celeste’s relief, at the landing. He opened the door for Celeste and directed her to the first door on the right, number 506. He pulled out a small key from his pocket and unlocked the door.
“I guess I should be glad you weren’t on the penthouse floor!” panted Celeste, still trying to catch her breath.
“Welcome to my h
umble abode,” said Marco as he held the door open for her to enter. Celeste walked into the modestly furnished apartment complete with scenic landscape prints on stark white walls.
“I see the Council didn’t spare any expense when putting you guys up,” she said with a smirk as she walked around the small space. “Why do you still have the key anyway? It looks like everyone cleared out of here weeks ago.”
“They did, but I stayed behind a bit longer to guard Sierra, remember? Then after that with all the Alek commotion, I think they forgot that I had it,” he explained.
“That’s convenient,” said Celeste. “Now why did you bring me here?”
“I need to show you something, and I’m not sure who we can trust,” he said. He led Celeste over to the beige couch and once she was seated, he pulled the Albsurori ring out of his pocket.
“You have the ring!” she shouted, leaping out of her seat. “You are the best!” Celeste threw her arms around him and gave him a big hug as they jumped around in a circle. “How did you get it?”
“After Dani – you know – I took it when you were kind of out of it.”
The intense look of joy in Celeste’s eyes vanished in an instant. “Oh, right. Thank you for doing that,” she said, sitting back down. The guilt of killing Dani was still eating at her.
“Listen, Celeste, what you did back there? It was the right thing to do. We needed to get the ring back, especially now that Lilliana’s off her rocker and with Alek. The safest place it could be is with you,” he said offering her the ring.
“I don’t know if I deserve to wear this. I don’t know if I even want to anymore,” she said turning the gold antique ring over in her palm and watching the sapphire sparkle.
“Well, it’s yours now, and you have to decide what we should do with it,” he answered.
“Thanks for not telling Dante and the Council you had it,” she said as she slipped it into her pocket. “Why didn’t you, by the way?”