The Wardens Boxed Set

by Heather D Glidewell

  “Sounds about right,” I mumbled. “So where are we going?”

  “You want your life back?” Mona asked. Her eyes were far away. She didn’t want to let me go back.

  “I want both,” I said, smiling. “Marshall and I purchased a lot of really nice clothes and I will be damned if we don’t get to wear them.”

  “We only have the day. At dawn, we leave. There is far too much to do and too little time in which to get it done,” my mother said, nodding at Mona. “Marshall, you are welcome to join us. I’m sure Dawn has many uses for a friend like you.”

  “Of course, ma’am. What about my sister? The others from the camp?” he asked, his voice excited.

  “Your sister is still sedated. I do apologize, we have tried to rehabilitate her but it’s taken a little longer than expected. She will remain here for now, until such time as she has been found competent.” My mother spoke sadly, as if she truly wished she could provide him with good news.

  “What about Wesley?” I asked, squeezing Aaron’s hand in the process.

  “Wesley will be returning to us. He first has to break the bond between himself and Miranda. We cannot afford for her to be able to find out where he is.” There was a momentary pause. “We do not want him giving his soul to you so we have chosen another for him to give it to.” My father looked down at the floorboards.

  What were they talking about? They didn’t want him to will his soul to me. Why couldn’t I be the one that claimed him? Not that I wanted to, but it still hurt to have my father say that to me.

  “Who?” I asked.

  “Krista,” my mother stated. “She is pure in heart and mind. It would just be more beneficial to go about the claim in another way than it was made before. Hopefully we can have it broken before we leave in the morning.”

  “I didn’t even know that was why they asked me to come along,” Krista sniffed. “I don’t want to take your boyfriend away from you.”

  I saw her glance at my hand in Aaron’s. She apparently had not thought through on what she had just said. Yet by the time she was brought back to earth, Aaron was already with the incubi.

  “Wesley isn’t my boyfriend, Krista. I understand what my father is saying. Miranda has no ties to you so she won’t know.” I looked away before she could see the tears in my eyes.

  Aaron leaned over and pressed his lips to my ear. “I can help you forget the pain.”

  I turned my head to look at him. There was a smile on his beautiful pale face. I knew he meant well but I wasn’t quite sure how he could get rid of the pain. I was always in pain. If it wasn’t Wesley, it was him or Adam. What sorts of manipulation had the incubi taught him?

  “You are the other one. I thought Prudence was just humoring me,” Marshall gasped, pointing at Krista.

  “That other what?” she asked, looking at me.

  “John talked about two wardens. Dawn and you. You are the one that he murdered.” He sounded excited by making the connection but instantly bowed his head when he realized what he had just said.

  “Yes. I spent eighteen years in Purgatory. Not the best place to get stuck in, trust me.” She smiled at him. I knew in a way it had to bother her, then again Krista was strong – she just looked fragile.

  “That sucks.” He gave Krista a sad face. “Good to see you found your way back.”

  “Why do you say that?” She cocked her head to the side and pursed her lips.

  “You are far more beautiful than John mentioned.” Marshall blushed and I bit my lip to fight the giggle that wanted to come out of my mouth. Marshall was obviously hitting on Krista. My father hid a smile and my mother rolled her eyes and looked out the limo window.

  “Why thank you, Marshall.” She blushed and put her hand up to hide her smile.

  “Where are we going?” I asked calmly, wishing to change the subject to anything other than Marshall and Krista.

  “I have an old friend who is going to make you look like yourself again,” Mona said, looking at her fingernails and frowning.

  “I can do most of that on my own.” I looked around the car.

  “Maybe, but I have yet to meet anyone who can make their own hair grow,” she laughed, pointing at me. “Besides, I promised Kelly a girls’ day out for being such a good sport this last month.”

  “So why are my mother and father here?” I looked at my parents sitting across from me with innocent looks on their faces.

  “They have some errands to run in town. They asked if they could ride along.” Mona looked at my mother. There was definitely some tension there.

  ***

  The limo parked outside an old house in the middle of nowhere and I was ushered out of the back seat and down the cobblestone path to the front door. Mona rang the bell and we waited. The moment I saw a face in the doorway I wanted to turn and run. How was this crap even possible? Standing in front of me was Kyle, the stylist from the mall in New Mexico.

  “I knew we would meet again, Miss Warren,” he said, stepping out onto the patio and taking my hand in his, kissing the back delicately. I heard Aaron growl behind me and my interest was piqued. He may not feel love but does he feel jealousy?

  “I should have known. Kyle.” I looked at Mona as she shrugged.

  “Please do come in. My grandmother awaits you in the living room. Can I get you anything to drink?” I knew he was talking to everyone around me but he wouldn’t look at them, his eyes stayed locked on me. It was quite uncomfortable.

  I did not understand the reason for the sudden change in the way that men looked at me. I had assumed many theories that could assist in allowing me to gain an understanding. Instead, they made me laugh out loud when I tried to look deeper. The only thing that made sense was the power. They had to be drawn to the power. That was one emotion that I could understand. I had been pulled into Edmund’s the few times that we had been together. I was pretty sure there would be plenty more in my future.

  “Maybe they just see something in you that you have never seen yourself.” Aaron’s voice was in my ear again before his lips gently brushed my neck. I closed my eyes and tried to regain control of my breathing. There was something about him that was drawing me in. It wasn’t power, that much I knew. It was something else similar to the claim that I once held on him. Maybe it was our history, or maybe it was something different and alien to me.

  “I’m sure in a little bit, Kyle.” Mona walked into the living room and sat down next to an older woman.

  “Mona?” The woman asked when she saw my stepmother.

  “Who else would come to see you with a trail of children?” Mona laughed, taking the older woman’s hand in hers.

  “Goodness.” The woman looked at the five of us and smiled wide. “Do let me guess who they are.”

  “Of course,” Mona said as the older woman stood. She walked in front of Krista and touched her face.

  “This must be the wind warden. I can tell she’s full of hot air.” The woman laughed and wrapped Krista in a warm hug.

  “How did you know?” she asked as the woman pushed back to look at her face.

  “I have my ways,” she winked.

  She moved to Kelly and grabbed her hands.

  “Dear me, you are an old one. Firewere… oh I do like that, Dawn, keep thinking of such names.” My mouth dropped open as the use of my term of endearment for Kelly was said out loud.

  Gran’s abilities were quite extraordinary. Sure a telepath could probably pull that information for an individual with ease, but something told me that she was not this. Gran was something far older than any of us would have expected.

  She touched Marshall on the shoulder and then instantly pulled him to her in a huge hug.

  “I am so sorry for your losses, dear. To live in that place, held against your will. All those horrible things she made you do.” Marshall looked around, trying not to make eye contact with the woman. “Still, you are young but amazingly strong. Your ability will c
ome in handy in the not-so-distant future.”

  I watched Marshall start to shake the moment she let him go. He glanced at me, gave me a half smile and then put his face in his hands. Krista was there in a second, pulling the boy close to her and rubbing his back.

  She was standing in front of me now.

  “You were only a babe when I first saw you. A tiny little thing.” She touched my face and smiled at me. “You have grown up so fast and so strong. All the gifts bestowed upon you are flourishing without issue. Your mother and father have done well with you.”

  “I did help, you know,” Mona pouted from the couch.

  “Oh dear Mona. Yes you did.” The older woman smiled at my stepmother and then looked back at me.

  “You look so much like your father.” She kissed me on the cheek and moved to the last person in line.

  “Hey there, Gran,” Aaron said as he pulled the old woman in for a hug.

  “Beware of this one. The little scamp! The incubi brought me this beaten and bruised boy. Told me to make him better. Took everything in my power for him not to turn into one of those braindead drones that follow Lilliana. He had this secret blood in his system, thank God for that. Made it easy to reverse the change to follow it instead.” She shook her head and looked at Marshall. “Oh dear me, boy. I mean no offense to you by that.”

  “It’s quite fine, ma’am, I know exactly what you are talking about,” Marshall said, holding onto Krista’s hand.

  “Gran was the one that took care of me,” Aaron said, smiling at me.

  “Saddest thing was watching the love he had for you fade away.” She reached over and took my hand and placed it in his. “You two would have been one hell of a couple.”

  The woman gave our hands a squeeze and turned back to look at Mona.

  “So why are you here?”

  “We are here to make her look like herself again,” Mona smiled.

  “What’s wrong with how she is now? I personally think she looks stunning,” Gran said, looking back at me and winking.

  “She cannot look like Prudence any more. We need her to look like her old self,” Mona said, crossing her ankles.

  “Did you just say Prudence?” Gran’s eyes shadowed and her lips pursed as she looked at me.

  “I did.” Mona gave Gran a hard stare. I had already realized that there was far more to this story than they had initially told me. “Can you please help me restore Dawn’s previous appearance?”

  “Of course, dear. I can do what I can but I cannot promise a miracle. It will take far greater power to separate one from the other.” Gran shrugged and turned towards Kyle.

  “I only ask for assistance in the areas that my magic will not touch,” Mona said, shrugging.

  “Take care of the firewere. Give her a new look, something that will make her appear as if she was gone.” Gran pointed at Kelly and Kyle took her by the arm, leading her into the other room. “Dawn, you come with me. This is going to hurt a little.”

  I followed Gran into an adjacent room that had a large bed in it, and heavy curtains on the windows. I sat down on the edge and looked at the older woman as she entered with Aaron on her tail.

  “Why did you bring him?” I asked, looking at the boy. It wasn’t that I didn’t want him there, it was more along the lines of I didn’t understand.

  “I need an accurate image of what you were before this whole mess happened. I cannot pull that from you because you never saw yourself through another person’s eyes.” Gran reached for Aaron and pulled him close to us. “He has seen you through the eyes of a lover. I will be able accurately to pinpoint exactly what has to be done to rewind time.”

  “Rewind time?” I raised an eyebrow at her.

  “Precisely. I will be able to pinpoint the last time that Aaron saw you before you turned blonde with crystal eyes. I hope you do not mind having your image rewound.” Gran sat Aaron down on the bed next to me.

  “Do as you must,” I said to her as I felt my eyes grow heavy. “I fear I must sleep.”

  “Yes, dear. Sleep is calling to both of you. When you are awake, you will find you appear as if this whole mess was a dream.” Gran stroked my hair and laid me down on the bed. Aaron’s eyes were already fluttering as he fell on the pillow next to me.

  Chapter Four: Rewound

  “Why do things always seem to happen in dreams?” I asked myself out loud as I looked at the green field before me. The sky was gray and the air smelled of fresh fallen rain.

  “Anything can happen in dreams.” I heard Aaron’s voice behind me and felt his arms wrap around my waist.

  “I fear you are growing fond of me again.” I laughed as he buried his face in my hair.

  “My fondness for you only goes so far. I am drawn to you because of how I felt for you. That doesn’t mean that I still feel that way. Besides, you heard Gran, she watched the love fall away,” Aaron said, gripping me tighter.

  “So what you are saying is that there will always be an attraction to me?” I asked, feeling the cool breeze hitting my face.

  “Yes. I will always be drawn to you. I just do not love you.” He sounded sad, as if he longed to love again.

  “Well that has to suck. Are you sure you are an incubus?” I laughed as I felt his fingers start to loosen.

  “I was going to be something worse but one of the elders offered Gran an out. She had to use some of his essence in order to keep me from changing into the creatures that attacked me. Instead my body just sort of took on the appearance of the incubus.” He sighed and turned away from me.

  I looked up at the sky and breathed.

  “This is all my fault,” I said softly.

  “None of this is your fault.” He turned to me, his eyebrows furrowed together. “It would have happened with or without you.”

  “If I had just been honest with you in the first place. Told you that I wasn’t looking for love. You were only supposed to fill the void. I was never supposed to care about you.” I felt my heart wrench.

  “I know that. I saw an opening to take you out and I went for it. I never knew it was going to lead to what happened between us. I do not regret a damn thing that happened, either.” He grabbed my face and forced me to look at him.

  “You should hate me for what you have become,” I said, looking into his eyes.

  “I could never hate you,” he said softly, brushing his lips against mine.

  It was familiar, welcome, and made me feel at ease. There were few things that had not changed about Aaron in the last few months. The way he walked and talked was different to the man whom I had known. But the way my body reacted to him when he touched me was familiar. He still meant so much to me.

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered when he pulled his lips from mine.

  “No need to say you’re sorry. My family is quite content with what happened.” He kissed me one last time and the world started to spin. We were being called back to reality, away from the dream world.

  “I need you,” I said as the world became a black blob of nothing.

  The last thing I saw before my eyes fluttered open was the smile on Aaron’s face.

  “Welcome back to the land of the living,” Aaron said as I opened my eyes.

  I didn’t exactly feel different, but I didn’t feel the same either. We were laying on the bed in the old woman’s home, our hands twined together. Aaron had a seductive smile on his face that made my heart melt. I winked at him and let a smile spread across mine as well. “That was an interesting nap to say the least,” I laughed as he rolled his eyes.

  “That is only a hint of the powers that I have inherited,” he laughed, rolling on to his back and sitting up. “You look amazing. I missed those brown eyes of yours.”

  “They are brown again?” I shot up and ran to the closest mirror, marveling at my appearance.

  My hair was shoulder length with the same Cleopatra bangs. I had almost forgotten how my hair looked black. My brown
eyes were huge and sparkling, all hint of the blue gone. I blinked at the sight of my old face. Prudence was officially dead and Dawn lived again.

  I was going to miss the high society living of Prudence. The well-crafted persona that I had created in order to get Wesley out of the camp. She had a sense of fashion and a strong personality: everything that I didn’t have. However, after Mona admitted that the powers Prudence used were indeed mine, I felt that I needed to attempt the same powers that I had while in the camp.

  “It’s weird,” I said, turning to look at Aaron.

  “How is it weird?” he asked as he came up behind me.

  “I became so used to her face. Knowing she’s gone now makes me sad.” I closed my eyes as he rested his chin on my shoulder. Again the familiarity of his body close to mine made my heart pound.

  “She wasn’t you. I honestly do not know what she was but she wasn’t you.” He kissed me on the cheek and I smiled to myself.

  “That is probably the sweetest thing I have heard coming out of all of this.” I kissed him briefly out of reflex.

  So I had Wesley back and I was happy about that, but at the same time, there was something about Aaron at this time that was making him almost irresistible.

  “It is still nice to have you back,” he said when I pulled away from him.

  “So what happens now?” I asked, wondering why we were still alone.

  “I guess you go back to Harrisville and try and figure out what happened with Nick. He seemed nice enough when I met him.” Aaron looked confused at the thought.

  We were all confused when it came to Nick. Anything could have happened to cause him to switch to being Miranda’s lapdog. I was still holding on to the theory that she threatened his family if he did not do as she asked.

  “You’re staying behind aren’t you?” I asked, feeling a sadness consume me.

  “I have to. We have our own army which needs to be trained. I’m lucky they even let me out long enough to come and see you here.” Aaron frowned. “I wish it was possible for me to come with you.”