Chapter Two

A bit of history and the first disaster.

Rose stayed in the attic, as far away from the werewolf as possible. Austin had put him in a bedroom on the bottom floor, far away from their rooms. While the werewolf reposed on silken sheets, amazed by the luxury that was never used, Rose tried to let out her anger on the dummies. They were made of stone, so they wouldn’t have to be constantly creating new ones. Every time Rose hit one- which was every time she swung- her sword spit out sparks.

            Rose flung herself at the one meant to be a werewolf with a wild cry. Her emotions were running wild in a way she hadn’t allowed them to since she was younger. Tears hovered at the back of her eyes as she contemplated what the werewolf had said.

            The Royals had always worshipped something called the Phoenix. Like the humans’ god, the Phoenix had supposedly created the Royals out of pieces of herself. The vampires were made of her blood, the werewolves of her hair. The fae were created from her tears, and the demons were made of the darkness in her heart. That was all Rose knew, for they hadn’t studied Royal tradition when they learned how to cut their hearts out of their bodies. But the werewolf had said the Phoenix intended the Guardians to be something… other than what they were.

            Rose, unable to stand the idea that she was just as much a monster as the Royals, fell upon the werewolf dummy with a frenzy. She became a blur, and when Austin came up the stairs, he knew better than to interrupt her. Rose attacked the dummy with a single minded fury. The sparks ignited the silver in her gear, making it shine. The footwork that made her move almost too fast to see was second nature for her, and she didn’t have to think about it as she kept up her flurry of attacks. With a final ring of silver infused steel against rock, she cracked it.

            With a groan, the rock crumbled, leaving Rose standing with the sword she’d taken down from the wall of weapons point down in the floor. Austin watched her, his heart in his throat, as she tried to collect herself. To him, she could never be more beautiful than right after she was finished fighting. Her normally perfect ashen blonde hair fell about her pale face in wispy strands. She was flushed, breathing heavily, her chest straining at the ties of her shirt. And her eyes, those beautiful blue eyes that were almost silver, were full of an emotion that came close to a high.

            Austin alerted her to his presence by clapping, applauding her for something very few Guardians were able to do. She turned her eyes to him, blinking away the misty exhilaration, and gave him a wavering smile. Without saying a word she stripped off her gloves and boots, leaving herself only in leggings and the leotard-like top that had been cut down the middle, sown back together neatly up to her chest, where it split to accommodate the change from tiny waist to full curves. There, it was tied with a heavy ribbon that was almost leather, showing enough bare skin to tantalize the imagination. Flushed and panting as she was, it would have been enough to drive a lesser man to attempt things that would get his hands chopped off. But Austin had known Rose since they were young, and he knew better.

            “Are you okay?” he asked softly. She looked at him blankly, her mind having to slow back down to the pace of everybody else.

            “No. But I’m better.” She finally said. Austin couldn’t say anything to that. He held out his arms, and she flung herself into them. She was so tiny compared to him that her face pressed into his chest, and he buried his face in her hair. They stayed that way for a moment, deriving comfort from each other the way they always did, closer to each other than anybody else they’d ever met. It was Rose, always Rose, who pulled away. She gave him a faint smile and ran a hand through her hair, pushing it back from her face.

            “The mutt is asleep.” Austin informed her. Rose’s smile grew at the word Austin used, and she felt her tension leaking out of her.

            “Good. Could you do me a huge favor then?” Rose asked hopefully.

            “What?” he asked warily.

            “We’re out of tequila.” She said.

            “You’re sending me out… to get alcohol.” Austin said flatly.

            “Please, Austin.” She begged, batting her eyelashes. He groaned and let her go, giving in as he always did.

            “Fine, fine. Stay away from the mutt.” Austin warned. Rose rolled her eyes and gave him a push toward the door. If he hadn’t been willing, she never would have been able to move him, but she knew him better than he knew himself and he tolerated it with gentle amusement.

            “Yeah, yeah. I promise he’ll still be alive when you get back.” Rose said, keeping him walking toward the door.

            “Stay.” He said once more, sternly, before clomping down the stairs. Rose watched him go, her mouth titled up into a fond half smile, before she took back her sword and returned to her furious attack on the stone dummies.

            Austin hurried down the stairs, turning his collar up in preparation for the light rain that continued outside. Rowen, as he had promised, was safely ensconced in the downstairs room, sleeping as his body repaired itself in the extraordinarily quick way all Royals’ bodies did. Austin checked in on him before slipping his feet into his boots and squeaking out the front doors, trying not to be too loud.

            The rain was shockingly cold, and Austin hunched his shoulders against it. He walked quickly, the practiced walk of a hunter, making very little noise. The sidewalk was completely deserted, which wasn’t shocking considering how late it was. Austin shoved his hands in the pockets of his coat.

            “Next time she can get her own damn tequila.” He grumbled to himself, attempting to blow the hair out of his eyes. It clung wetly to his forehead defiantly, falling into his eyes. With a humph, he let his gaze drop to the ground and plodded down the sidewalk.

            He didn’t hear them until they were right up on him, and by then he was too late. Austin cried out as they descended upon him, his voice ringing out in the silence. But they had been smart; they were too far away from the house, and from Rose, for her to save her partner. The first one, the leader around whom all the others revolved, flew at Austin with his fangs bared and something in his hands. It was too dark to tell what it was, at first, but Austin realized it was a crude club as it was swung towards his head. He was too slow to outmaneuver the vampire, and it connected with his head, making him see stars.

            Another blow had Austin on his knees. Sometimes, unfortunately, that Guardian strength made everything harder. It took the vampire another three excruciatingly painful blows to knock Austin unconscious. The vampire looked down at the Guardian, who was slumped at his feet, and snarled.

            “The mistress wanted the girl.” He batted at another vampire, who danced out of the way.

            “The girl will come for him.” She said, pouting, but her voice was confident. The other vampire took her at her word, and held his hand up. With a laugh, the vampire high fived him as if they were normal teenagers, not undead leeches.

            “Glory to the seethe!” they parroted to each other before lifting the Guardian into their arms and carrying him into the part of town Rose never set foot in.

*          *          *

            Austin blinked blearily, his head pounding like someone was going at it with a jackhammer. His vision was fuzzy, no doubt because the leeches had bashed him almost enough times to knock his brain out of his skull. With a groan, he tried to sit up, only to find he was restrained. He fought to lift his head enough to see down the rest of his body.

            “S**t.” He groaned, letting his head drop back down. He was bound to the table with thick leather straps, no doubt run through with silver. Austin knew better than to try to break out, especially with the nauseating pain in his head. He laid back and closed his eyes, waiting for the vampires to tell him what they wanted. Some time passed before he finally heard voices.

            “The mistress said to put him back where we found him.” A girl simpered. If Austin had been awake for that portion of the night, he would have recognized her as one of the vampires who had attacked him.

            “Did she say he has to be alive?” the other vampire, the boy, asked reasonably. Austin heard crystalline laughter chime out, and it sent shivers down his spine.

            “Damn leeches.” He muttered to himself. Austin received a brisk slap to the face as a reward.

            “We did not ask you to speak, blood bag.” The boy hissed. Austin turned his head to spit blood out of his mouth and wisely remained quiet.

            “How will we do it?” the girl asked with glee. There was a pause, as if the boy were considering it. He did something out of Austin’s line of sight, and the girl squealed with glee.

            “Guardian.” The boy spoke close to Austin’s ear. “You should have stayed home. We’re going to kill you now.”

            Austin remained silent, his eyes closed. Silently, he offered up a prayer both to the humans’ gods and to the Phoenix, since there was no Guardian god. He believed in neither of them, but he would take any help he could get.

            Let me live. Rose needs me. He squinched his eyes shut against the tears that threatened. Rose, his Rose. The blind, oblivious girl from whom who kept far too many secrets.

            “Get ready to say goodbye, Guardian.” The girl chirped. The sound of the crank of a lever made Austin turn his head to the side. There came the sound of something being lowered. All that could be heard after that was a steady whoosh, whoosh, which grew faster and louder with each pass. The horrible, gut-wrenching realization hit Austin as the whooshing grew louder. He opened his eyes to look up at the pendulum, a blade so sharp it seemed to slice the air.

            “Well-” Austin let out a few choice words very quietly, conscious of the watching vampires. He knew better than anyone, thanks to years of torture 101, that he wouldn’t be getting out of this one. He closed his eyes again and waited for the sting of the blade.

            The vampires were clever. The straps came across his body at his neck and hips, as well as each of his ankles and wrists. That left his chest and his stomach open. The pendulum, as it swung lower, barely brushed his skin. That light touch split him open so cleanly he didn’t feel the pain until the pendulum was up at the top of its swing again. Austin choked back a cry, biting down hard on his lip. Blood started to flow warmly down his chest.

The pendulum came down for another swing, quicker and lower. The thing was purposely wobbly, so when it sliced Austin again, it left a deeper cut than the first higher on his chest. Again, it was clean, followed by the brilliant burst of pain. The pendulum swung quicker with each pass, cut deeper. Eventually even a Guardian had to reach their breaking point. After the seventh cut, which went an inch deep in his skin, Austin screamed.

His scream seemed to set something off. He heard the crunch of breaking wood, and the vampires that had kidnapped him let out the high-pitched scream only vampires could manage. Austin choked out another scream as the pendulum cut him again, but the pain was overcoming anything else. The sounds of whatever scuffle was going on were drowned about by wave after wave of blinding pain. Without warning, it stopped. No more new cuts came, and Austin’s pain receded enough for him to hear the pendulum being raised again and for him to wonder why it was happening. Surely the vampires hadn’t given up. He wasn’t dead yet!

“Guardian! Stay awake!” not one of the familiar two voices, but still the hiss of a vampire. Austin struggled against his bonds, sending waves of pain rebounding throughout his body.

“Make him stop moving. He’ll kill himself.” Another cold, hissing voice directed. Austin turned his head to see the two male vampires who were looking at him with worried expressions. Where Austin’s attackers had been were bodies driven through with stakes and beheaded. It did nothing to reassure him- he was caught in the middle of a blood war. He stopped moving as the vampire closest to him raised a slender hand, no doubt intending to knock him out. Though it was overshadowed by the channels in his flesh left by the pendulum, the pounding in his head warned him that another blow would not be good.

“Bindings.” The vampire nearest him said tersely, holding out a hand. The other vampire, a shorter, bulkier ginger, dashed off too fast to see. He returned moments later, so close to Austin he let out a shocked grunt, and held out slightly soiled rags. The brunette vampire who seemed to be calling the shots grimaced, but took them. He blurred with the speed of an ancient leech as he untied Austin’s binding quickly. The brunette gave his friend a look, and the ginger put his hands under Austin’s armpits and hefted him into a sitting position.

Austin would have screamed if he had the breath for it. The flow of his blood quickened, pooling in his lap as his head swam. “Quickly.” The ginger said, sounding muffled. The brunette showed an amazing amount of control, for a leech, wrapping the rags around Austin’s torso and trying to hide the lengthening of his fangs. When Austin was bound as well as possible, the brunette pulled back with a gasp. The ginger let go of Austin, who quickly put his hands out to keep from falling over. With a hungry groan, the vampires attacked each other, twining around each other in a way that was nowhere near acceptable in front of another person.

Averting his eyes, Austin struggled to get to his feet. His footing even on the solid marble floor was unsteady. The swimming of his head did nothing to help with the pounding, and he clutched at his head for a moment. The pain receded as he bit down on his lip, tasting his own blood. Stumbling, Austin made his way to the door. The sound of a clearing throat made him stop, his hand on the knob. He looked at the vampires, unsurprised to find that the brunette’s shirt was off and the ginger’s lip was bitten, bleeding.

“Remember we have helped you, Guardian. We will be back to collect the debt you owe us.” The brunette sounded ominous, until the ginger tugged on his neck and plastered himself against him, drawing a smile from the older vampire. They went back to relieving their hungers, and Austin flung the door open.

He could only be glad he was used to large houses as he made his way out, leaving blood smears on the walls where he leaned against them every so often to catch his breath. Austin at last made it to the front doors, very like the doors at the Capitol Guardian house, and stumbled out them to make his way home.