The Wardens Boxed Set

by Heather D Glidewell

  “Why Dawn? She’s so young,” he asked me. Well I suppose she’s not like me, exactly.

  “She is powerful and she is filled with so much love. Three boys. THREE!” she exclaimed, using my voice.

  “Three? Really? Impressive,” he said, nodding.

  “Oh Edmund, how I have missed you.” She grabbed his face and put my lips to his. The kiss was electric!

  Every fiber in my body screamed to be touched. This had to be her controlling everything. I would never feel this charged kissing Edmund.

  “It’s been so long,” he whispered, putting his cool forehead to mine.

  “I know,” she said softly.

  I decided I was going to close my eyes; I didn’t need to see or hear this anymore. I pulled myself from my own consciousness, knowing full well that they were exchanging kisses and caresses. The thought of her using my body as a vessel already made me sick. This, though, this took the cake. If Prudence really was a part of me then I was just going to have to get her out.

  I was sitting in the darkness of my mind when I heard horrific screams. According to my calculations, I still had another two minutes before I could take control of my body again. Well, according to Mona anyway. I shot into my conscious mind and peered through my eyes as Wesley’s fist collided with Edmund’s face.

  Both of their fangs were extended and they were hissing and growling at each other like feral cats. I had never seen this side of either of them. It was quite frightening.

  “What are you doing with Dawn?” Wesley demanded as they circled each other.

  “You might want to discuss this with her yourself,” Edmund growled.

  Give me my body back! I demanded.

  Of course. I’m so sorry. I didn’t think he would come out here. She was sad but she let go and allowed me full control.

  “WESLEY!” I screamed and he stopped and looked at me.

  “What the hell do you think you are doing?” He grabbed my arms roughly and shook me.

  “Stop!” I yelled, trying to pull away from his grip. “I will tell you if you stop.”

  He let me go and I collapsed on the ground at his feet. Looking up at him I frowned. I glanced at Edmund, proving that I was back and that his precious Prudence had pushed herself back into the dark hole she had been hiding in.

  “Explain,” he said calmly, pacing around. “Explain to me why I found your lips pressed to his. Are you getting even with me?”

  “No. Not getting even,” I said flatly. “Listen, there are some odd things going on that I don’t even understand. Prudence is alive.”

  “You are her,” he said. “That doesn’t tell me what is going on.”

  “No, Wesley. Prudence is alive in me.” I put my hands to my chest. “She’s inside of me.”

  “Prudence was my love centuries ago.” Edmund was still breathing heavily, his eyes still deep red.

  “What?” Wesley stiffened. “She was a real person?”

  “Very much,” I groaned.

  “How?” he asked.

  “I don’t know. Something about her soul traveling through Purgatory and latching onto me.” I closed my eyes.

  That is a bad explanation. I don’t view it that way at all. She was speaking again.

  Great. So now I’m tethered to you like I am Shawn. I’m never going to have a normal thought again. I heaved a sigh.

  “So make her go away,” Wesley demanded, looking at Edmund. “I’m not going to share your body with another. Especially not a vampire.”

  “Hey!” Edmund said defensively. “There is a little of my kind mixed in with that boiling pot of blood.”

  Wesley gave him a sharp glare and then turned back to me.

  “I wish it was that easy,” I grumbled.

  “She needs a body,” Edmund said simply.

  “A body?” Wesley laughed.

  “Her body,” Edmund corrected.

  “What the hell?” I murmured.

  “Yeah, I agree,” Wesley said, frowning.

  “Where is her body?” I asked softly.

  “I’ve already dispatched a small group to retrieve it,” he said. “There was no point in sending you to find it since you are needed here.”

  “I repeat. Where is her body?” I said again. I wanted a timeline to estimate when Prudence would be out of me.

  “In Europe. It will take them a few days.” Edmund frowned at me, his eyes losing their twinkle.

  “A few days! When did you send them?” I demanded, reaching for Wesley to help me up.

  “After you turned the barrels to feed my coven as well as others.” His eyes darted around.

  “It clicked then, huh. Well it sure would have been nice if someone could have said something to me.” I groaned as Wesley pulled me to my feet too quickly and I flew into his arms.

  “I wanted to, but Mona thought it best if we waited. At least until we know that we have Prudence’s body,” Edmund said. “I just couldn’t wait any longer. I had to speak to her to tell her that I was doing everything in my power to bring her back.”

  “I blocked out the last few minutes of the conversation. However I have the feeling that, now a link between me and her is opened, I’m not going to hear the end of it,” I moaned.

  “Can I get Dawn back inside? Her parents were concerned something had happened. Hence I am out here having this conversation at eleven at night.” Wesley grabbed my hand and started to pull.

  Please hug him. Tell him I love him, she said in my head. Fantastic. She wasted no time in getting into my brain. I pulled from Wesley’s grasp, walked over to Edmund and wrapped my arms around his neck.

  “She says she loves you,” I said flatly, then let him go and returned to my post on Wesley’s side. I glanced back at Edmund’s face as he touched his lips.

  “It won’t be long. You will get to meet her and love her as much as I do,” he called after us.

  “I’m going to kill Mona. If she thought the fires of hell were hot just wait till I get my hands on her,” I grumbled as Wesley dragged me down the hill and back towards the house.

  “How about you cool down first,” Wesley said, coming to a stop at the edge of the back porch.

  “I can’t cool down. I have been carrying two souls for a while now. She knows my thoughts.” I put my hands in my hair and pulled.

  “Then let’s give her something to think about.” He grabbed my hands out of my hair and pulled me close, locking his lips with mine softly. The kiss was slow and romantic.

  I hate using the term romantic since I did not really know about the whole romance thing too well. I had kissed three guys in the last year and each one had a different feel, a different desire. Out of all of them I found that, while Wesley was the one that my soul clenched onto, he was no longer the familiar. In fact, I found it odd to find that Aaron was my familiar. It seemed that Wesley was pretty much just a memory.

  I wrapped my arms around his neck and waited for the warmth to hit my stomach. Nothing came, but I did not feel alone in my head. That tiny little invasion that Mona had made clear was there pestering me. I swear she was clearing her throat in the back of my mind.

  I have been in your head long enough to know when you are doing something stupid. Prudence’s voice was in the back of my mind, whispering as if others could hear her. I could almost imagine her crossing her arms and looking at me sternly.

  What do you know? I demanded, hoping that my attitude was not coming out in my kiss.

  I know that you aren’t seeing him in your head, she said in a know-it-all fashion.

  Then what am I seeing? I asked her.

  She flashed images of Adam into my head. Repeating images of every kiss that he and I had shared. I squinted my eyes to stop the images but it didn’t help; they came faster and faster until I gasped and pulled away from Wesley.

  “You OK?” he asked, concerned.

  “Yeah. I need a few minutes if that is OK,” I said, rubbing
my face. The images thankfully had stopped.

  Chapter Seventeen: Confrontation

  I turned and walked away from Wesley, giving him the excuse that I needed to see my mother. I admit that it was a lie; I was going to see Adam. If Prudence was right, I needed to get a few things off my chest.

  I made my way blindly up the steps to Rose’s room. Not that I was expecting to get closure out of all of this, it was just something that I needed to do. I knocked on the door and waited for Adam to answer. The door opened slowly and I could see Rose sitting up on her bed with a game controller in her hand. I felt sick.

  What am I doing? I thought, looking at his brown eyes. His hair was tousled as if he had been resting at some point.

  If you want to get through this it’s for the best. I am quite tired of the images myself. They are always flashing in the back of your mind, Prudence pushed me.

  What if it doesn’t do any good? I love Wesley. I fought her. The entire time I was having a conversation with her I was just staring at him.

  You once said that you loved Wesley but you weren’t that ‘in love’. This is an accurate depiction of the relationship, she said, repeating my words back to me.

  Is this what you do all day? Just sit in the darkness and watch through my eyes? I asked.

  What else is there to do? She answered me in a sweet tone.

  “Did you want something?” Adam asked. His lips were tight.

  “Can I speak with you?” I asked, glancing at Rose. She turned her face towards me and smiled. I had just got her back and here I was, hopefully not giving her cause to hate me again.

  “Yeah.” He looked at her. “I’m going to step out for a second. You going to be OK?”

  “Yeah. I’ll be fine.” She winked at him and he shut the door behind him and followed me down the stairs into my father’s office.

  I shut the door and turned to face him. My heart was pounding, my palms were sweaty. This was nothing like what I experienced before but I was still nervous.

  “What’s this all about?” he asked.

  “The day of the attack you kissed me,” I said, my eyes swelling with tears.

  “What about it?” he said sternly. He sounded mad at me for even bringing it up.

  “Why did you do it?” I asked, wanting to keep my distance from him.

  “I had to, damn it,” he said loudly and I jumped.

  “Why?” I repeated. My heart was beating faster.

  “I have never been in love with anyone. Not till you!” He ran his fingers through his brown hair. “I am … was … in love with you.”

  “Oh my God.” My hand flew to my mouth.

  “Yeah, shocking isn’t it?” he said curtly. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since I got my memories back. You know, I didn’t want to do this whole thing with Rose. If you remember correctly I was against it.”

  “Then you decided you were going to give it a shot,” I said to him, pain in my voice.

  “You weren’t open. Your heart is a mess of confusion. Do you really think that I was going to swoop in and make it better? No.” He put his hand to his forehead. “Rose was open. She’s a great person. Look at you, Dawn. You traveled nearly halfway across the country disguised as another woman to get Wesley back. Would you have done that for me?”

  “Yes,” I said, taking a step towards him, expecting him to do the same, but he took a step backwards instead. He was content keeping his distance.

  “You didn’t go after Aaron. No, instead you sent a Vampire you hardly knew to seek him out.” Adam’s eyes were welling with tears themselves.

  “So why did you kiss me?” I asked one more time, louder.

  “Because! I had to know if anything was there.” His voice dropped.

  “And?” I asked.

  “We are better off as friends. You are my best friend and I do not want to lose you because we had a go at something that failed.” He looked away. “You have Wesley back. I thought you would be happy.”

  “How can I be happy when every time I kiss him I think of you?” I blurted out. The look on his face made me instantly want to take it back.

  He closed his eyes and took several long deep breaths.

  “You should have thought about that before you let your brother in my head,” he said tersely.

  “I need you,” I whispered.

  “I need you as well, but for now I think it’s best if we keep some distance. I’m sure that everything is just clouding up your head. Once you have a few uninterrupted days with Wesley you will realize that what I said is for the best.” His voice shook.

  “What?” I asked, looking at him with tears streaming down my face.

  “Rose and I are leaving for a while. Your mother thought it was a good idea if Rose took a vacation. All this shit has got to her. She isn’t as strong as you, Helen, or Krista. You guys know what you are. She’s still learning.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets. “I’m going back to Midvale. School starts in a few weeks. Rose is going to stay with me and my dad for that time. Kim is coming into town to take her place.”

  “When were you going to tell me this?” I asked.

  “When I knew that it needed to be said.” He walked towards me but stayed just out of reach. “You are my best friend. I will never have another like you. I will be back during my breaks and a few long weekends here and there. Your mother has me on a monitor so she can see how I’m doing whenever she wants.”

  “So you are leaving then,” I said shortly.

  “I have to, Dawn. Did you forget that I have one more year of high school?” He awkwardly laughed.

  “Mom started a school here. I just assumed,” I said softly.

  “Listen. I’m a phone call away. I just think you need to give it some time before you call or text me. I’m worried about Rose. I believe you are in capable hands.” He reached out and hugged me.

  I pressed my face to his chest.

  Well that didn’t go the way that I thought it was going to, the voice in my head said.

  “When are you leaving?” I asked, gripping onto him tightly.

  “In two days. Your mom is going to drive the two of us back to Midvale. Then, when Rose is ready, she will fly home.” He laughed. “I mean, literally, fly home.”

  “I know what you mean. You and your stupid jokes,” I laughed as he let me go.

  “It will pass like all things. Look how quickly you moved on after Wesley the first time and Aaron the last two times.” I knew he was poking fun at me but it was true. I did seem to find ways to move on quickly these days. “Just promise me one thing.” He pulled me back to look at him.

  “Anything,” I said, my eyes searching his for any emotion.

  “Be safe,” he smiled. “When I come here for Christmas I expect you to be happy and deadly.”

  “Always.” I smiled at him. I knew we weren’t cool but at least we were talking. “I will come and see you when I can.”

  “If you had it your way you would stow away in my locker,” he teased me. “Your mom said she would allow one or two visits but that you had to take Shawn.”

  “OK,” I said softly.

  “Oh, and Dawn,” he took my chin in his hand and turned my face up to his.

  “Yeah,” I said, breathless.

  “No more secrets,” he insisted.

  “Promise.” I crossed my heart and kissed my fingers.

  “I better get back up there. She’s been playing Call of Duty all day. I never knew I would meet a woman who loved video games more than me.” He smiled and turned to leave the room.

  “I will see you in the morning,” I said as he walked out, raising his hand over his shoulder to give me a thumbs-up.

  Happy now? I asked the voice in my head.

  Not exactly. I like the other boy and all. Mind you, I wasn’t here when you were with him the first time. Still, your heart just holds Adam so dear. She sounded sad. Did she seriously think tha
t this conversation was going to end with us wrapped in each other’s arms?

  Yeah well, I haven’t exactly had the best of luck this year, I thought as I walked out of my father’s office, closing the door behind me.

  That Aaron guy was pretty great, she purred. You seemed to really like him.

  I am not having this conversation with you, I said sternly, taking the stairs two at a time.

  Fine… Fine… Well I know when I’m not needed. Listen, Dawn. I’m sorry about tonight, she said sympathetically.

  Yeah, because it’s not odd to have a conversation in your head with another person. You know they put people in loony bins for less, I thought. I’m going to be with Wesley now so I would suggest you hide in the back of my mind. If I can’t watch you and Edmund then I’m sure you don’t want to watch me and Wesley.

  Quite the opposite. Your heart intrigues me. But I know when I am not wanted. I will be in the back of your mind until you need me again. Just call. There was a silence in my head and I felt alone.

  “You feeling better?” Wesley asked. He was lying on my bed in his t-shirt and basketball shorts. My mother had made sure he had clothes when we got him back to the compound.

  “Yeah, I just had to get some stuff off my chest,” I said, fanning myself. It was incredibly hot in the room.

  “Rose said you were talking to Adam.” He looked at me and raised an eyebrow. “Did something go on between the two of you? The last I heard you guys were all buddy-buddy. Inseparable.”

  “We had some issues that had to be taken care of,” I said slowly. “I needed to talk to him about Rose.”

  LIAR!

  “Yeah, your mom said she’s not doing so well. Sounds a lot like PTSD. Well at least that is what your mom said. I figured she would know, being married to the military and everything,” he said, shrugging.

  “Yeah, she would. She dealt with a lot of shit during that time.” I crawled to my pillow and lay down. Wesley moved my laptop out of the way so I could get comfortable.

  “You OK?” he asked, rubbing my back.

  “Yeah, I will be. They are going to Midvale. I thought that he was going to stick around and get his diploma here. I guess it was wishful thinking. It’s OK though, I know with her there he’s safe,” I said, closing my eyes.