Guardian of the Sacred Fire Ch. 03-04

Chapter Three: Dreaming

After another week in the hospital I went home and back to work. They were told I was in a car accident and Adrian signed off on it. Mustn't tell the normal people what's really going on. Azrael left me alone; I didn't feel him anywhere in my small town. I did search too. The snow had melted and things went back to like they always were. Mundane. I went back to hating my life and everything in it. My brother went to Vegas and eloped with his girlfriend. She was six weeks pregnant. Months went by without word from anyone. I did see the doctor Adrian but he just smiled and waved, nothing more. I thought maybe that what I went through was a dream, but I had scars to prove what had happened. People shied away from me because them. It literally looked like someone ate my throat out.

I woke one night in a cold sweat; I could feel Uriel's power. I knew that feeling from anywhere. It's the one that scare the shit out of me.

"So you're still alive." He said sitting next to my bed.

I jumped clean off my bed across the room.

"Don't worry; I'm not here to kill you this time." He said. "But I would love a taste of your sweet blood again." He smiled in the dark. He was suddenly in front of me and my body betrayed me and started shaking. He chuckled and laid his lips on the scars he made. I tried pushing him away but he didn't budge.

He grabbed my wrists and pinned them above my head, he looked into my eyes and I sank into the drowning black pools of his eyes. Anger washed over me and I fought back against the pull of his power.

"Ow." He said and gripped harder. My wrists popped painfully and his teeth sank into the scar tissue. It's probably the scar tissue but it hurt a lot more than last time.

Suddenly he was no longer holding me but against another wall slumped to the ground. The sheetrock was cracked and I saw who had done it.

Azrael stood there breathing heavily. His hands were in fists and Uriel had blood streaming from his mouth. I didn't know if it was his or mine.

"Run." He told me.

"No." I said and let my anger build up. I could see flames coming from my body. Suddenly I knew what to do like I knew it all along. I concentrated that anger on Uriel and the flames licked off of me and towards the vampire on the floor. His eyes widened as he screamed and suddenly burst into flames. He got up and a scream no human throat could do came from the burning creature. I watched as he caught various things of my bedroom on fire. I was shocked and the flames suddenly stopped coming from me. The vampire was still on fire.

Azrael grabbed me and went through the window. I was shivering as I watched my house burn. All the years it took for me to buy it. Sure it wasn't the best thing in the world but it was mine. It was home. Silent tears fell down my face as everything I owned burned to ash. Sirens were down the street and Azrael grabbed me once again and we were running. I looked up into his eyes and he just continued to watch the horizon. We ran passed cars and I wondered what they saw. I knew a few did a double take but we were out of their vision before they could get a second glance.

We were at the town motel in mere minutes. He left me outside for a brief minute. How could you explain a bleeding girl just in night clothes without the cops being called? That I understood. I shivered silently as he came out with the key and I walked behind him barefoot on the cold concrete sidewalk. He unlocked the room and I walked in. He took off the blanket from the bed and wrapped it around us. He was warm. I soon stopped shivering and noticed he was looking at me. Our eyes locked and he kissed me gently, just a small peck.

"Go take a shower, get the blood and soot off of you." He said. "I will have clothes for you before you get out."

I nodded and left the warmth of him and headed to the bathroom. I closed the door and looked in the mirror. I gasped when I saw my eyes. They were black, my entire eyes, including the white parts. I watched them as they slowly turned back to my hazel blue. My skin was paler than usual, translucent. I could see my veins under my skin.

"What is happening to me?" I muttered to myself. I went to the shower and turned on the water. I stripped off my shorts and spaghetti strap that I had worn to bed. I got in and let the water cascade over me. The water that ran off was a mixture of pink and grey. A sob escaped my lips and I let the tears fall. I knew that Azrael wasn't there to hear me. I cleaned and rinsed off myself and turned off the water. My shoulders were shaking with the now silent sobs. A knock came to the bathroom door as I got out and wrapped a white towel around me. I opened the door and Azrael stood there with a handful of clothes.

"Where did you get them?" I asked.

"You aren't the only one with friends." He answered and handed them to me. "They found Uriel's charred remains. They think it was you. You can't go back now; you can't be around humans until you can control the fire."

"So let them believe I'm dead?" I asked.

"Yes." He simply said.

"Easy for you to say, you're already dead." I said and slammed the door shut.

I leaned against the door and sighed. I looked down at the clothes and picked out something that covered me the most. It was a t-shirt with jeans. Sadly there was no underwear with them. I put the clothes on and opened the bathroom door. Azrael was flipping through the basic cable on the television. He stopped and looked at me. His eyes watched me move.

"I missed you." He said.

"Then why did you leave?" I asked.

"To protect you."

"Bullshit." I told him.

He sighed and looked at the ground. "Years before your great grandparents were even a twinkle in his father's eye there was a woman. Her name was Ariella. It was a time when demons roamed the earth freely, it was known as the time of Chaos. I was appointed as her Sentinel and was sworn to protect the Lioness of God. Each one has a different name. Your technical name is Vesta, Guardian of the Sacred Fire. But anyways, back to Ariella. We were in a battle against Asmodeus and he was winning. She had claimed a revolt against God and he had turned his back against us. She was dying from a fatal curse and there was nothing I could do. Uriel found us and offered me my servitude for the power to save her. I took it in a heartbeat not even asking what it was. He changed me into what he was. I, not knowing that my servitude meant my soul. He himself was part demon and part human. The way to take the curse was to drink her blood and take the curse as my own, but she was my first. The hunger is very unforgiving in the beginning. I drank until she wasn't breathing. I heard her heart stop beating while I drained her to death. Uriel owned me since then. Until you sacrificed yourself to free me. That's how the curse worked. Someone had to make the ultimate sacrifice for me." Pink tears streamed down his face. They were tears stained with blood.

"I wanted to protect you, because you tasted like Her. You are Ariella reborn, I believe. Usually the Guardians have different abilities and fire isn't used very often. When it is, they are always female with auburn hair and blue eyes. Just like Her."

I was taken aback. "You truly love her." I said and went to his side. I knelt down and looked into his eyes. "And my eyes aren't true blue."

"Loved." He said.

"No, love. After all these years you are still in love with Ariella." I said quietly.

He gave me a weak smile and looked into my eyes. "How many have there been that looked like her?" I asked.

"You make the fourth." He answered.

"So my real given name is Vesta?" I changed the subject quickly.

"Yes." He said simply.

I went and lied down on the bed, so many thoughts running through my head. He was still in love with a woman that was long dead and he believed I was her. I sighed and closed my eyes. The bed moved and I opened them again and he was above me. His brilliant blue eyes bore into mine.

"You feel more powerful." I said.

"Because I'm free. I no longer have to give my energy to Uriel."

"Did I free the entire coven when I killed him?" I asked.

"Yes." He answered. "Sleep now." He said.

I felt the lull of sleep where there wasn't one a second before. My eyes fluttered shut. "Cheater." I muttered. He softly kissed my lips and moved away from me. "Will you still be here in the morning?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Promise?"

I heard him hesitate. "Yes." He said and I was off to sleep. I slept better than I had in months. The dreams bothered me though. I was facing a woman that looked like me. Her auburn hair swayed in the wind and her blue eyes were like blue fire. She spoke in a long dead language but I could understand her.

"You have been chosen to fight for the side of angels against an evil that has never been faced before. Lucifel the Angel of Light is trying to rise up and rule the Cosmos once again. You must stop him." She said.

"Why me?" I asked. "Why do I have to be the one to save the world?"

"It has to be someone doesn't it?" She said and smiled. Even though she wasn't old her eyes showed wisdom beyond her years.

"Are you Ariella?"

"I am the Lioness of God." She said as though that were the answer.

"You were Azrael's lover." I said.

"Do not speak that name to me!" she snapped. Her face contorted to something not human for a brief second. Her face went back to normal without her even blinking.

I took a step back, now afraid of her. She was no longer human. Even though this was a dream (I hoped) I felt her power radiate of her. I saw the fire in her aura. I brought my own fire and she tested me. Just a trickle of her energy sent me to my knees.

"You are weak." She said and started to disappear.

"Wait!" I yelled and stood up. "He's sorry, he still loves you Ariella." I called out to her.

I woke breathing heavy. Azrael stared at me, his eyes wide and his skin was paler than usual.

"You talk in your sleep. You saw Her?" he asked. I sat up and nodded. "Azrael, how old are you and Beast?" I asked.

"I don't know exactly. They didn't keep records back then but it was in ancient Rome." He answered. I knew he was old, but that old? He had to be kidding right? I didn't say that out loud.

"What did she tell you?"

"That Lucifel is coming to rule the cosmos once again."

"I have to go; I will be back by dawn." He said and the door was behind him before I could blink.

I sighed and flipped on the television. Infomercial after infomercial. I finally settled for I Love Lucy reruns. The show always put me in a better mood.

Chapter Four: Elders

Dawn pressed at the windows when the door finally opened. Azrael came in and just stared at me. "Get dressed; you are meeting the Elder Races." He said and threw a dress at me. I just nodded and went to the bathroom. The dress was a deep red that made my skin look like alabaster. It had a plunging neck line and it brought a blush to my cheeks. A knock came to the door and a woman entered. She had a bag in her hand and she smiled at me.

"My name is Pancia; I'm here to help you get ready." She said and closed the door behind her. She made me sit on the toilet as she did my hair and makeup. She handed me a pair of high shoes and I just eyed her.

"I will break my legs in those." I said and looked at the size of the heel.

"Not with Azrael there to catch you." She said. She had short black hair and green eyes the color of grass. She smelled of blood and peppermint.

"Were you one of Uriel's coven?" I asked and reluctantly slipped on the high heels.

"Yes, and now we are free thanks to you Vesta." She said. That was supposedly my real name. Vesta, Guardian of the Sacred Flame. She helped me stand up and took me to the mirror. My jaw dropped. I looked otherworldly. I closed my eyes and opened them again. I was the type of girl, give me eyeliner and lip gloss and I was good to go. She made me look like a girl. And honestly I hated it and loved it at the same time.

Pancia helped me walk out of the bathroom. Three more vampires were in there and stopped talking once I came out. Azrael's eyes widened just a little when he saw me.

"So this is Vesta then?" one of the older looking males said. He was probably 40 when he was changed.

"She looks like Ariella." The other said. He was perhaps 25 when changed over. He looked pretty young. Now that I looked at Azrael, and I mean truly looked I could tell his age. His aura read 23 years old but there was an aura above that that said hundreds of years. Come to look at them all they all had two auras.

Beast walked into the room and I couldn't help but smile at him. He was just that type of person. "Hey beautiful." He said and came up and hugged me. "We have to go, it's a long trip." Beast wasn't a vampire, but he was old like the others. He wasn't human, but what made him live that long I didn't know. My curiosity could wait.

Pancia helped out the door. I would be better with no shoes. That's how I preferred it. Shoes were my enemy.

I gaped when I saw a limo waiting in front of the door. How inconspicuous. A limo going through a small town. Sure no one would notice us. Beast opened the door for us and I climbed in as lady like as possible. Pretty hard to do in a floor length dress that showed enough cleavage to make a nun blush.

Once in only Pancia followed after me. Azrael poked his head inside and gave me a peck on the cheek.

"I will see you there." He said as another limo pulled in. He closed the door and walked away.

"So girl talk!" Pancia said.

I could tell this was going to be a very annoying ride already.

"Have you and Azrael-you know?"

"I don't think that's any of your business." I said.

"You have! If you didn't you would have said no!" she smiled. "I'm not surprised honestly. You look somewhat like Ariella. He was her Sentinel. He has not been named your Sentinel but he acts like it. The Elders will choose your Sentinel." She said.

The car ride lasted a little over an hour before we boarded a private jet. I had never flown before and was actually a little nervous. I refused to answer any more of Pancia's questions. Hell I refused to talk at all. She got the message after five minutes and left me alone. I watched the sun rise higher in the sky as we took off from the ground. Azrael held my hand as I had a death grip on the arm rest. I decided I didn't like to fly.

The flight lasted for a while. I fell asleep on Azrael's shoulder after the fourteenth hour of flying. Somewhere in the middle of the flight we had landed for fuel. Six hours later I was looking down at a large island in the middle of nowhere. From horizon to horizon all I could see was the vast ocean. I didn't know which ocean we had even crossed to get here. I should have paid more attention.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"Welcome to Ailsa Island. We are in the middle of the Atlantic by the way."

Pancia touched up my makeup and hair before we landed. It was a fairly large island as far as I could tell. I stepped off the plane and the salty air was comforting. Then again, the ground was more comforting. A black jeep was waiting for us as soon as we got off the plane. I didn't even get a chance to look around. The sun was just barely on the horizon as we reached a large stone mansion. It was too small to be considered a castle but it looked like one.

I followed behind Beast and Azrael had taken my arm like an escort. We walked down a long corridor and reached a large room that reminded me of a throne room, but instead of one throne there were five.

Each man was as different as the man beside him. From left to right was a man that looked like he was at least six feet tall if he were standing. Everything about him was gold. From his hair to his skin and eyes. All like they were spun from gold. The next was a short stout man with a large belly and red hair with a red beard. His feet didn't touch the ground. His skin was a pale cream color. The one in the center was beautiful. So beautiful it made me want to drop to my knees and cry. His hair was like the night, his eyes were like the silver moon and his skin was white as milk. I had to tear my eyes away to look at the other two. The next one had skin black like tar, and I don't mean African black I mean black like his skin was created from a black void. He was like the gold one. Everything about him matched. His skin, his eyes, his hair. I think the only reason he seemed so dark skinned to me was he was wearing a pure white suit. Nicely drastic coloring. The one after him looked human. But power rolled off of him in waves. He had chestnut hair and green eyes. To my shock it was Adrian, the doctor. He smiled at me and I smiled back.

"State your name." The one in the center said. His voice was deep and made things in my chest tighten.

"Anastasia Hallow." I said. My voice was shaking. Damn it.

"How old are you Anastasia?"

"I am twenty-two years old." I answered.

"Do you know why you are here?" Adrian asked, his smile gone.

"Honestly? No idea." I told him truthfully.

"You were told that Lucifel the Angel of Light is going to return. Who told you this? The short red haired said.

"Ariella."

"But she has been dead for centuries, which is absurd!" Goldie said.

"Not impossible, if Anastasia here is Ariella's reincarnate, they would be able to speak. It simply means Ariella is in her mind, just trapped." Adrian said.

I felt Azrael stiffen next to me. I let go of his hand automatically and actually wanted to take a step away but didn't. I knew he still loved her, but I'm not her. I'm Anna. As far as I could tell Ariella hated his guts for killing her. But I had to get this right. I was a long dead warrior for God who had to stop the devil from rising. Suddenly my future seemed really bleak and nonexistent. How was I supposed to stop the devil?

"So awaken Ariella." The dark one said.

"It would kill Anastasia, and the Lioness of God has already served her purpose and gave up her life for it. It is Anna's turn." Adrian said and I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding.

"Do you accept being the Guardian of the Sacred Fire?" the beautiful one said.

"Do I have a choice?" I asked.

"You do. You can deny what you are, the world as you know it come to an end, you watch as your family is brutally tortured by Lucifel's minions. Or you can train and fight and at least try." He answered.

"Well as long as I have a choice." I said sarcastically.

I guess sarcasm doesn't travel through times but at least Adrian got it. He smiled and stood up from his throne and walked down to me. He clasped my hands in his and kissed my cheek. It might have been just me but his lips lingered a little longer than necessary. He looked into my eyes still smiling. I could now see his aura unlike before. I could see an animal there. But not just one, many. I could make out a wolf, bear, and lion but there were more that were jumbled all together. Something in my head just clicked. If I truly wanted to see auras I could. I could turn it on and off. I wondered what an actual human aura looked like. I haven't tested it. Unlike what regular humans believed they weren't different colors, but levels of power. Azrael had an aura that stretched out a few inches from his skin. While Adrian's I damn near drowned in while he was this close. I looked up at all the others on the thrones. The golden one looked like he had faerie wings. Was he an actual faerie? The short one's aura looked like it was holding something. And axe or a sword, I couldn't make out which. The middle one made me gasp. Wings that spread out the length of all the chairs. Angel was my first impression, but no-not angel. I didn't know what. The dark one also had wings but not as big and they didn't look like feathers. They were bat-like. Also like the middle one, I thought demon, but he wasn't. So there were faeries, dwarves or trolls, two I couldn't tell and lycanthropes. No vampires?