03 Reckoning - Guardian

by Laury Falter

  My only consolation was that Eran was beside me and Ms. Beedinwigg taught our first period. Even though Eran noticed my mood, he didn’t say a word about it. He knew me too well to bring up the subject. Although his presence gave me a small amount of solace, the salve to my wound, my mood didn’t go unnoticed by Ms. Beedinwigg. At the end of first period, she called me to her desk as students filtered out into the hallway.

  “I couldn’t help but notice you were preoccupied this morning,” she said quiet, her tone edged with suspicion. “You also missed training last night…And that can only mean one thing. You’re hunting again.”

  “Yes.”

  Her eyebrows lifted as she waited for me to elaborate.

  “Last night was spontaneous. Tonight is planned.”

  She nodded thoughtfully. “Last night was Fernando Vega?” she asked, recalling my mention of where I’d left off in the book of dossiers.

  “That’s right.”

  “The one known for his homemade weaponry…Given you are standing before me without noticeable injuries, I can see who won.”

  “Eran fought him, actually. I didn’t get the chance,” I replied, consciously excluding from my tone the disappointment I felt.

  At that declaration, her eyes darted towards the door, inspecting him from top to bottom. I half-smiled then, realizing she cared about him just as much as she did me. It was comforting to know.

  Seeing no reason for concern, she redirected her attention back to me. “Well…you attended my class this morning and yet you’ve returned to hunting. That must mean…”

  “Yes, I’m staying here…in New Orleans,” I confirmed.

  “You understand,” she said pointedly, “your life is about to become more demanding?”

  If she was hinting at reducing my trainings, I met her head on with that decision. “That’s why I feel my trainings will need to be scaled down.”

  “Maggie, let’s be honest. You’ve cornered me the last several sessions, have given poor Alfred nightmares with your swordsmanship…Don’t you think it’s about time you let us off the hook?”

  A smile crept up in both of us then.

  The relief was overwhelming. “I didn’t know how to tell you…” I admitted, having been unable to find the words to explain to someone so dedicated to her craft that I no longer felt it was necessary.

  She was now shaking her head at me. “Never hold back with me. I have fairly thick skin.”

  I rolled my eyes at that understatement.

  Then she grew serious. “Maggie, at this point, the most help I can be to you is to assist you in your hunting. If you should need me…ever…I’m here.”

  While I knew that would never be the case, I replied, “Thanks for the offer.”

  “Now,” she said, glancing at the clock over the door. “You’re late for your next class.”

  I was, so late in fact that I didn’t get a chance to tell Eran of our decision until lunchtime.

  When that hour came, I couldn’t have been more eager. He met me outside my last class just before we headed for the cafeteria and we remained agonizingly silent until seated at a table in the far corner.

  After I whispered the details of my conversation with Ms. Beedinwigg, leaning in close so no one would hear, he sat back and reflected. As he did, his knee absentmindedly swung out, coming to rest against mine. It was a pleasant diversion. He was warm, as usual, and it took effort not to press back against him.

  “Do you feel any Fallen Ones around?” he asked.

  “No,” I replied, a bit surprised. “I would tell you.”

  “Good,” he stated and then placed his hand on my knee.

  My heart leaped in my throat, feeling almost scandalous. He never showed affection in public, but that was likely because a Fallen One always lurked nearby. With all of them having fled the school a few weeks ago, Eran seemed to be starting to relax. I was thrilled by it.

  So deep in thought, he didn’t seem to notice my reaction. “With your training out of the way, we’re free to hunt any night you are up to it.”

  “I am always up for it,” I confirmed.

  Noting my conviction, he asked with a grin, “How about we take it one night at a time? You might change your mind now that we’ll be facing the more hazardous of our enemies.”

  “I won’t,” I said, and meant it. I leaned forward then and was momentarily distracted by our proximity but recovered quickly. “I know what we’re up against, Eran. I remember it. I remember it all.”

  His head rotated towards mine, his eyes wide from my disclosure. “I didn’t realize your memory recovered so fully…Never having come here as a human myself, I…I didn’t know.”

  “It has and I know it wasn’t pleasant before. It wasn’t easy. I know it won’t be now. But it’s worth the risk. This world and the moral ones who’ve come here have a right to live safely. I won’t stop until that goal is reached.”

  He stared at me, a glimmer in his eyes the only sign he’d heard what I said. Then he leaned towards me, our lips almost touching. “Do you know…your strength has always been a powerful aphrodisiac for me?”

  I drew in a quick breath.

  Despite having known this man for centuries, he still had an effect on me. Meeting him with the same vigor, I whispered softly, “Good to know.”

  Suddenly, the table shook violently and Eran was on his feet, his body poised for conflict.

  Standing over the table with a look of uninhibited disgust was the warden.

  “Mr. Talor…Ms. Tanner. You will keep your hands off each other while on school grounds.” His eyes narrowed even further and for a moment it looked as if he were entirely closing them. “Do you understand me?”

  Eran, who by this point knew no possible danger could come from the warden, relaxed his stance. “Not a problem, sir,” he replied, holding in a chuckle.

  The warden stepped around the table and came within inches of Eran. Ironically, it was meant to be a movement to impress power over Eran but it failed miserably. At Eran’s height, the warden stood in his shadow making him look like a barking Chihuahua against a Great Dane. He must have realized this because he tilted his head back further so he could look down his nose at Eran. With a great deal of effort, given the cranked position of his neck, he struggled to deliver his threatening message. “You do realize Ms. Beedinwigg’s job is on the line here? And that you and Ms. Tanner have a direct correlation to the amount of time she will be able to remain in her current post?”

  “Yes, we’ve been told,” Eran replied, showing no sign of uneasiness.

  “Don’t forget it,” he stated snidely before spinning on his heel and marching through the cafeteria and out the door.

  Just as it slammed shut, snickers could be heard across the cavernous room. Bridgette Madison, my least favorite person on campus, sat a few tables over, her mouth turned down with loathing. We ignored them all in favor of quietly remaining at our table until lunch was over. It really didn’t matter what we did, or if we didn’t do anything at all. Eran and I were the source of countless stories of gossip on campus and retained an infamous reputation because of them. That – I was certain - would never end until we left school permanently.

  For the remainder of the day an aggravated impatience dominated me. I couldn’t recount a single word any of the teachers spoke but I could tell you exactly how slow the clock in each classroom ran. It felt as if time was testing my fortitude.

  Meeting Eran after each class, and more specifically after last period, immediately improved my day. Still, it was a very good thing Eran drove my Harley back to the house since not a single red stop light registered with me.

  Dinner was brief: a few slices of bread, a thick piece of leftover ham, and a handful of potato chips. Felix thoroughly disapproved but was told to pipe down by Rufus, which didn’t cause him to pipe down and instead set off an argument. However, it achieved the desired effect with Felix more focused on Rufus than on the meal Eran and I were practically inhaling
.

  On his last bite, Eran told them that we would be studying in my room tonight, not wanting to disturb the household by dominating the kitchen with textbooks. They waved him off in favor of continuing their argument, which had evolved to something on whether cheese could be considered a main food group all its own.

  The truth was we had no intention of studying. This was Eran’s ploy to keep our other three housemates unaware of our nightly plans. I didn’t fully agree and mentioned it on our way up the stairs.

  “There’s no harm in letting them know the truth,” I whispered, wanting to only raise my voice to normal levels once we were inside my room.

  Eran closed the door almost entirely, leaving it open a crack to abide by Ezra’s house rules, and then turned to me. “And there’s no harm in keeping it from them either, is there?”

  He was already at my bed, lifting the mattress, and pulling out my leather suit. Holding it up, he paused, his rushed pace halting for just a moment. “I really enjoy watching you move in this…”

  I sighed and swiped it out of his hand. “It’s not meant to be seductive.”

  “Intended or not…it is,” he replied with his signature smirk.

  I shook my head at him, retrieving and throwing him the book of dossiers, which he opened to review the next Fallen One’s summary. Although, we’d read through it earlier, a brush up couldn’t hurt.

  I, on the other hand, began to unbutton my jeans. The moment he saw this, he spun around and faced the balcony doors. Before I could mention how ridiculous his prudence was, he held up his hand, motioning me to listen.

  “You may disagree all you want but, as a gentleman who has seen you naked just once, I am compelled to preserve your chastity.”

  “Uh huh…until you take it from me again,” I pointed out.

  “I didn’t say virginity, Magdalene,” he corrected. “I’ve already taken that.”

  The mere mention of our wedding night together made my cheeks burn as the memory of it coursed through my mind. As it turned out, I wasn’t the only one affected by the remembrance of it.

  While dressing, my eyes stayed on Eran, whose hands clenched against the surge of emotion running through him. He breathed through his nose, too, in an effort to release the pent up aggravation of not having been able to enjoy me in the same way since then.

  I couldn’t imagine what it took for a man to live over a century without having been given another night with his wife but it certainly said a great deal about his patience and persistence.

  I cleared my throat, more to get his attention than to remove an obstruction. “Granted this isn’t the best time to ask but I’ve wondered why it is you’ve never…we’ve never been together again?”

  His back straightened and I got the distinct impression I’d offended him.

  Tightly, he replied, “You’re correct. This isn’t the best time to ask.”

  “I’m sorry for bringing it up. I didn’t mean to…”

  He relaxed a little before replying, “I’m not insulted, Magdalene. I’m…frustrated.”

  Although I wondered what he meant, I didn’t bother asking. He’d already mentioned this wasn’t a good time to open up the conversation. But, I made a mental note to ask him about it later tonight and then finished dressing in silence. Once I’d attached the last weapon to my suit, I announced, “I’m ready.”

  Without turning, he strode towards the balcony doors and pushed them open. On the way, he collected his sword from the corner of my room, where he typically left it tilted against the wall, easily available in case it was needed.

  I stepped up beside him and prepared to take flight. It was early spring which meant shortened days. This was good as it gave us the cover of darkness.

  “You’re certain you want to do this?” he asked, refusing to look at me, and instead surveying the street below to ensure it was vacant. It was a reasonable thing to do but his behavior told me something else. I got the sense my question had done more damage than I’d realized and I made a mental note that this was a sensitive subject for Eran.

  “Yes, I’m ready.”

  “François Gerard will be well guarded. As a diplomat, he’ll have a full security detail. We’ll need to perform surveillance prior to entry.”

  “I understand.”

  He didn’t respond immediately and yet he didn’t move to leave the balcony. A few long seconds passed before he announced with strain in his voice, “I’ll explain tonight…once our mission is over…why we’ve been together only once.”

  Then he stepped forward, leapt up on to the balcony railing, and sprang into the air.

  I shook the uncomfortable feeling left behind from our conversation and then followed him up and through the night sky.

  Our flight was quick. The brisk pumping of Eran’s appendages for the beginning leg of it told me that emotions conjured by my question lingered with him. Only towards the end did his flight become more paced, steady.

  Eran, being the better navigator of the two of us, led the way to François Gerard’s residence, a brownstone in the heart of downtown Washington, DC. As he’d warned, there was a car parked outside the front door and armed men stood just inside.

  Eran motioned towards the rooftop and I followed him there, settling down beside him.

  “You go through the door,” he said pointing towards the one designed for roof access. “By the time you find Gerard, I’ll be at your side.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to take care of the guards. Now go,” he commanded just before springing into the air.

  I opened the door and found a narrow chute, which I descended quickly. Opening the interior door, I found the hall lights to be on and orchestral music playing faintly from behind a closed door at the end of the hall.

  My radar was already telling me that François was nearby and as I approached the music it grew more declarative. My senses were already acting up, picking up tobacco and expensive cologne. The swoosh of soft fabric told me that he had made a brief shift but hadn’t actually moved from his spot. I knew this by the sound decibel and I knew by the angle of it that he must be across the room from the door.

  True to his word, by the time I was standing at the door leading to François Gerard, Eran was at my side.

  “All clear,” he motioned.

  I nodded and then kicked in the door.

  Inside, François stood at the window, a pipe in his mouth, a silk robe draped over his slender body. It appeared he had been waiting for us and I got the impression he’d just watched with mild amusement Eran derail his security entourage.

  “Humans…” he stated with repulsion. “Useless…”

  His accent, interestingly, was undefined and I judged this to be because he had been a world traveler for the last four hundred years. It made him perfectly suited to become a diplomat.

  “Have you noticed how they chew?” His lip curled up in disgust. “Without class…spitting…slavering…”

  I stood before a man who had worked for kings, barons, presidents and who had been given the opportunity to forge alliances between competing nations. He had instead concocted reasons for conflict and it was easy to see how he could do so without questions of morality.

  “Maybe if you had spent your time helping them-” I began but he didn’t allow me the chance to finish.

  “There is no helping them. They are extinct,” he said with brazen hinting. He turned to face Eran and me then, one hand on his pipe, the other tucked through the silk belt around his waist which kept his robe closed. “That is what you fail to see, Maggie. You are defending an extinct race. They are the English Wolf, the Dodo bird, the Caspian Tiger…though far easier to kill. I know as I personally slaughtered the last one of its kind. Just as these creatures had their time, the humans have had theirs. And yet you fight so tenaciously to defend them. My dear Maggie…why?”

  “So you know who I am…” I stated, ignoring his question.

  He smiled sym
pathetically as one does with a child. “I know everything about you. I take special notice of my enemies, paying good money to be kept informed. You did an impressive job throughout Nevada, Arizona, ridding it of my cohorts.” He smiled at me then, the pipe still protruding from his mouth. “Claden Markett, I thought, might get the best of you though.” He waited for me to admit the truth and then openly acknowledged it himself. “It was good that your guardian was there to assist…”

  “Don’t underestimate her abilities, Gerard,” Eran said, coming to my defense.

  “Or do,” I said, playfully suggesting he let his guard down. All of us knew it wouldn’t happen.

  He smiled at Eran and me. “I’ve heard you have…shall we say…a unique relationship. A guardian and ward who argue as much as the two of you should possibly be separated? Yet you’ve remained together…” His eyes took on a knowing gleam. “It makes me curious…”

  “Feel free to speculate,” I muttered, my attention was now focused on the hand looped around his robe’s belt. It appeared to be flexing, preparing for movement.

  I wondered if Eran saw it too.

  “There’s no need for it,” said François. “I have a full account of your clandestine love affair. While I’ve kept that account to myself, it has kept me pleasantly entertained on many evenings.”

  Eran stepped forward, fury radiating from him, prepared to defend my honor. But he stopped himself, which I knew was the result of his promise to allow me the victory of the kill.

  “You couldn’t have believed it would remain a secret forever…” François suggested, emboldened by Eran’s halt. Then he must have seen something – a flinch, a blink, the whiff of an uncertain expression – because he added, “You did…foolish lovers. It is no wonder you relate so well to humans. You think like them.”

  François casually took a slight puff from his pipe and then changed the subject to something far more concerning. “In fact, your love for each other is the very reason why I’ve made preparations. I’ve known that it would only be a matter of time before you reached me on your list…your book of dossiers.”