The Wardens Boxed Set

by Heather D Glidewell

  ***

  Adam didn’t talk to me on the drive home. He even avoided eye contact with me the few times that I attempted to look at him. I had a feeling I was in big trouble with him. Nadine was nestled against him with a smile on her face, while Kim was leaning on Shawn with her eyes half closed. I had my head against the window, trying to cool my still overheated flesh. Aaron had his hand in mine and his head resting on the back of the seat. He was worn out, ready for bed.

  “When we get back I’ll take Aaron home,” Shawn offered, looking at me.

  I nodded, without removing my forehead from the cool window. I felt so hot.

  When we got back to our house everyone went inside to see my mother. She was taking a head count as we entered. When I looked at her I saw she had a disapproving look on her face. I had a feeling we were about to get an earful.

  “Alright, so you’re all here.” Her hands moved to her hips in typical stern mom stance. “Adam, your father has called me three times, and Nadine, your mother called once. I told them you guys were still sleeping.” She was more than a little put out. “I don’t mind you all saying that you were staying with Dawn, but I think you should have called your parents and told them where you were last night.”

  “Sorry, Mrs. Peterson,” said Adam, giving her a hug. “I guess we need to head out, then.” He looked at Nadine, still avoiding me.

  “Yeah, I need to get Aaron home, too, before he passes out,” said Shawn. “Kim, you ready?”

  Aaron kissed me on the cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Bye,” I said breathlessly.

  “I’ll call you when I get home,” said Nadine, wrapping her arms around me in a warm hug.

  Adam was the last one to leave. I seized his arm and he turned and looked at me.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked, noticing the hurt in his eyes.

  “Nothing. See you tomorrow,” he said, automatically kissing me on the cheek and then walking out the door.

  Why did it feel like my heart was about to burst out of my chest? I felt like I was being broken in two. If I had done something to hurt Adam I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. My mother watched as everyone left the house, then turned to stare at me.

  “Young lady,” she said, frowning.

  “What?”

  “You have to be more careful,” she said, reaching out and feeling my forehead. “You’re burning up.” She felt my arms and then my neck. “I want you to get in bed right now. I’m going to get you something cool to drink. If that doesn’t work I’m going to have to dunk you in an ice bath. You overheated.”

  “How did I overheat?” I asked, reaching out to soothe my hands on the glass doors.

  “You got far too worked up. What happened last night?” she inquired, steering me from the kitchen to my room.

  “Aside from dealing with one of the possessed watching me at the dance?” I asked, closing my eyes.

  “You didn’t call and tell me? Dawn, that was reckless!”

  “I had no reason to. It was gone almost as quickly as it showed.” I groaned. My head felt like it was on fire.

  “That doesn’t matter. You were being watched,” my mother said, stripping my dress off and throwing a short-sleeved bathrobe around me.

  “Where are Helen, Nick and Minerva?” I asked, realizing I hadn’t seen them since I came in.

  “They went up Friday night to get set for this next weekend. I told them you would be up after school this Friday. Minerva followed yesterday. She’s getting the house ready. Shawn is going to show you how to do the protection flame.” She laid me down in my bed and turned on my fan. “I’m going to get the fan out of my room,” she said, walking out.

  I lay there, staring at the ceiling and thinking of Wesley. Why had he said that I should love Aaron? Why did he think that I would wind up with Adam? I loved Adam, but not in the same way that I loved Wesley. I couldn’t make sense of his summons. What was the purpose of calling me to the astral plane for something as simple as a question of loyalty?

  “He summoned you again?” my mother asked, taking her hand off my head.

  How long had she been standing there? I hadn’t even felt her fingers in my hair.

  “Last night,” I told her as she put a cool cloth on my head.

  “Where are they?” she asked, sitting down next to me.

  “They haven’t moved. Adam was right. It’s a prime location for recruiting and training.” I started to shiver. I was so hot but yet felt so cold.

  “How did he summon you?” she asked, taking my hand in hers.

  “He said she had drained him to the point of death and then just sort of left him. He had to leave me when he felt her trying to wake him,” I said, my teeth knocking together.

  “He must have used his stored power to pull you in.”

  “What?”

  “He was on the verge of death. It was his last wish to see you before his life ended, therefore, you were pulled to his location of choice,” my mother frowned.

  “I guess that is possible.” I closed my eyes.

  “Dawn, this is going to sound odd but I need you to trust me.”

  I nodded and wondered what she was talking about.

  “I need you to burst into flames,” she said. “It will get the heat out of your body. I’m surprised you haven’t combusted yet as it is.”

  “You think it will work?” I asked, feeling my muscles contract from the coldness.

  “It’s worth a shot,” she said, dabbing at my forehead.

  I leaned my head back and willed the fire. My body convulsed and lifted from the bed. My eyes burned in the way that told me they were changing. My head flew further back and suddenly I was aflame.

  “It burns, mother!” I screamed. “It burns!” Tears started to flow down my cheeks but evaporated before they could hit the bed below me.

  “It’s okay, Dawn, just let it burn out,” my mother said, holding my hand through the fire.

  “We are not alone,” I said in a deep voice, my eyes shooting toward the window.

  My mother jumped and put her hand to her mouth. When she saw what was outside my window she threw herself back against my bed. The being out there was certainly not human. Its mouth was open and it had two fangs protruding from the top jaw as well as a sinister smile on its face. My mother’s defenses kicked in and she burst into flames herself, her eyes turning white and her mouth moving. I couldn’t hear the words she was saying I knew she was praying. I managed to lower myself to the floor, still burning, and adopt a standing posture. Then I smiled cruelly at the beast and its own smile faltered. I knew I was looking at the were-vamp that Xic had talked about. So they were real after all.

  “Why are you here?” I yelled at my window as it shattered.

  I grumbled to myself. I had prided myself on making my room impenetrable but I’d completely forgotten how easily glass shattered.

  “I was merely sent to observe,” the beast stammered as my mother’s flame flashed forward and grabbed it by the face, forcing it to look at her.

  “Who are you?” my mother demanded.

  “I am Matthew, progeny of Gregory and Penelope.” It knew what she was doing, yet it didn’t seem to care.

  “What are you?”

  “I am… what do you call it?” It stumbled with its words.

  “A were-vamp,” I said, letting the fire fade. I felt so much better. Next time I overheated I was just going to have to find a private place and let off some steam.

  “That sounds like something Xic would say,” my mother muttered, looking at me. She turned back to the creature in her fiery grasp. “It’s too bad that you won’t be making it back to your master.”

  “The master is already here,” the beast retorted, looking at me.

  I frowned. The killings in Midvale had been the work of three different beings. If we killed one there would still be two more out there. It was not an ideal situation. We were to
rn between what was right and what was logical.

  “Then I shall send you with a message for your masters,” my mother said, clearly thinking along the same lines as me and relenting. She looked at me.

  “Wir sind dein Tod. Wir sind Ihre Rettung. Komm Sonne, deine Seele wird mein sein.” I said.

  My mother waited for a translation. I couldn’t believe that I had reverted to German yet again.

  “I said, ‘We are your death. We are your salvation. I will have your soul.’”

  My mother nodded. “Be gone, beast. Return to your masters and tell them this.”

  The creature bowed and stepped away from my window. I couldn’t believe we were letting it go, but I knew my mother had a reason for everything.

  “They will be here tonight. Once the message has been received they will attempt to kill you,” she said. Her brow furrowed and I could almost see the wheels turning in her head.

  “Then I suppose it’s a good thing that I am here,” said a voice behind us. We both spun round and there, standing in the doorway with a proud smile on his face, was my father.

  “Daddy!” I screamed, rushing to him and throwing my arms around him. He seemed surprised; I knew I hadn’t done this since I was a child. Even then he would stand like stone as I squeezed him tightly.

  “I received your text last night of our kids in their formal dress and I had to come and see them,” he explained to my mother.

  She, too, had a look of joy on her face. No matter how much she denied it, she still had a thing for my dad.

  “So why didn’t that creature come in?” I asked after we had all calmed down.

  “You would think you would know this already,” said my father reprovingly. “It’s part vampire so it has to be invited in.”

  I blushed, embarrassed. I knew that, of course, what with all the books that I’d read and all the movies I’d watched.

  “Any news about Wesley?” my father asked my mother.

  “He summoned Dawn again last night. Same location. Miranda has started the changing process. He fears that when the change is complete he won’t be able to protect her anymore.”

  “You didn’t need me to say anything. You already knew,” I said, pointing an accusing finger at her.

  “I was standing there for a while, honey. While you were staring off into space I got everything I needed from your memory,” she said, shrugging. “Don’t look at me like I was invading your privacy.”

  ***

  “So what do we do now? Nick and Helen left on Friday and Minerva left yesterday morning. Kim is by no means ready to stand up to something this powerful. Now that we know there are three I just pray that she is safe,” Shawn said as we sat together in the living room that afternoon.

  “They will return,” my father said, looking at his son. “We need as many as we can get.” He shook his head. “How many have you found here?”

  “Four, but only one is alive,” said Shawn, slamming his head into his hands. “What if we call them, tell them to come back?”

  “They wouldn’t get here in time,” my mother said, frowning. “We need more.”

  “What I don’t understand is why we didn’t just end that miserable being’s life right then and there,” I said, crossing my arms. “It couldn’t get in but we sure could get out. Not to mention that we’ve given it a considerable amount of time to find another element and kill it.”

  “It won’t kill anything without its master’s approval,” said Shawn. “It was probably sent here for that reason, but you foiled its plan. You have to realize that Miranda may know you are a Warden, but the other beings here probably don’t know. These aren’t mortals that she transformed while in New Mexico. These are creatures that she’s allied herself with in exchange for promises of a new world.”

  “Miranda isn’t running the show,” I countered. “It’s her mother, Sheridan. She’s the one promising them a new world, not Miranda.”

  “Sheridan is Miranda’s mother,” Shawn replied. “Miranda is a princess in all terms. She’s the one doing the face-to-face recruiting while her mother sits and ponders what to do next. We need purebloods. We need to rally those that she is trying to destroy. If the purebloods stand with the Wardens these beasts can be destroyed.”

  “I don’t foresee angels and demons coming together to fight these creatures,” I said dryly.

  “Who said it had to be the high and mighty, the top of the pureblood chain of command?” Shawn pointed out. “I’m talking about pureblood vampires and were-animals, and maybe pure-witches and warlocks. If we mix them in with the Carriers and Wardens we have a fighting chance.”

  “You aren’t talking about just this tiny little battle, then,” my mother suggested.

  “No, I’m talking about the big picture. You said there was a coven here. Are they pure or hybrid?” Shawn asked.

  My mother shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. They were destroyed the day they took Wesley.”

  “Shit,” Shawn exclaimed, his face paling.

  “So this means it’s just the four of us,” I said softly, my heart pounding.

  “No, this just means I need to make some phone calls,” said Shawn, getting up.

  “Who are you going to call?” I asked, following him as he left the living room.

  “I do have friends, you know. Over the years I have seen cities grow and countries shrink. As population increases amongst mortals it also increases in purebloods. Then the pure start to mix together. That is how you get the turned vampire, the bitten werewolf, and you.” He paused. “My mother was a powerful witch, as pure as witches could be for the time. She was a white witch, though tempted by our father. It just so happens that not all demons are pure evil. That is why I told you that you cannot judge a book by its cover.”

  “So who are you calling?” I asked again.

  “I have a friend born to two ancients. He still lives. I wonder if I can persuade him to join the fight...” Shawn’s eyes looking hopeful for just a moment.

  “The vampire that tried to kill me… was she a hybrid?” I asked, remembering back all those months ago when the damned creature lay dead at my feet.

  “Anything that consists of two blood types is a hybrid,” Shawn said, motioning for me to leave him.

  I turned and left so he could have his moment to contact his friends. I found myself hoping that his idea worked. We were going to need as many beings as we could get in order to win this battle. I had no clue how many they had in their group. The were-vamp had said that there were three. I knew, however, that there could be as many as a hundred or more.

  I went to the living room and sat down on the couch. There was nothing that I could do. The only connections that I had in this world were human. Thanks to my parents, I hadn’t even known such beings as the ones we had talked about even existed until we moved to Midvale.

  Chapter Twenty-Two: War Cry

  “Hey,” said Aaron’s voice when I picked up my phone.

  It had been several hours now since Shawn had turned to his phone for help. My parents had gone into town to see Greg and to check on Adam’s father. It would seem that they had taken to protecting them from the beings that were wreaking havoc on our town.

  “Hey,” I replied, my heart fluttering.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “Much better now, thank you.” I rolled over on my bed and put a pillow under my chest.

  “I’m still recovering.” He laughed. “I have to ask. What brought on last night?”

  “What do you mean?” I asked him.

  “I mean, the claw marks on my back. The fact I feel like I haven’t slept in days, and the reason I keep having dreams about fire.”

  “Oh...” I blushed, grateful he couldn’t see my face. “That.”

  “Yes, that,” he said, laughing.

  “I don’t know.” I shrugged, though I knew he couldn’t see me.

  “Actually, something a bit odd hap
pened last night. Something that I can’t get out of my head.” His voice sounded strained.

  “What?”

  “I was very much aware of everything that happened, I still felt as if I wasn’t the one controlling my movements. And I could see fire in your eyes. I mean, real fire, not the metaphorical kind. At one moment it seemed we were surrounded by flames, then my eyes adjusted and they were gone. You had this look on your face… I can’t explain it. It was like you were rejuvenated. The black circles under your eyes were gone and your lips were redder.” He sounded like he wasn’t really sure he should be saying any of this to me.

  I sat up, trying to remember if any of this had happened or if this was something that he had fabricated in his mind.

  “I don’t know,” I told him. “Maybe it was just the heat of the moment. I don’t remember seeing any flames. And I haven’t noticed any changes in my appearance this afternoon,” I said, fidgeting. This was why it was smart to stick to my guns, but it was a bit late to see that now.

  “Maybe it was a dream then. Perhaps the excitement was so great that I started having hallucinations.” He laughed again. “Man, what with that and all these weird dreams I’ve been having...”

  “What do you mean?” I asked quickly.

  “Well, first I had this dream that I was being chased by vampires. Then I had one where I saw this creature standing outside my window. It said something to me but I couldn’t understand it. Do you have dreams where people speak to you in languages you don’t understand?”

  “I personally think anything is possible in a dream. That is why they are dreams. They make what we want a reality,” I said, trying to sound smart. I wished I just had dreams, instead of being summoned onto astral planes and having to search for beings that wanted to hurt me.

  “Yeah, you’re probably right.” He sighed. “Maybe last night was just so hot that it felt like I was on fire.”

  “I’m glad I could oblige,” I said, muffling a giggle.

  “I love you, Dawn.” He broke off. “I have to go now. My mother is calling me. I told my dad you would be in the office on Tuesday to see him.”