Guardian of the Sacred Fire Ch. 09-Final

I didn't know what to say. I looked down at my feet and hot tears came to my eyes. I seemed to do that a lot lately. Before all this happened and my whole world changed, the last time I had cried was my grandmother's funeral. That was back in 2002. I wasn't really the type that cried often.

I watched Adrian's feet move and then a snap. I looked up and Adrian slowly and gently put down Oriel's arm. He grabbed ace bandages and began to wrap it around his arm.

"What if we get flooded?" I asked.

"Well, you see, I haven't thought of that yet. One emergency at a time." He said and did the same with the other arm. I cringed at the pop the bone made.

"Great." I said. I got up and went to the parlor. The place was quiet. I walked outside and the rain was pretty much a wall. I faintly saw the silhouette of a small jet. At least they made it out. I didn't witness Katrina first hand, but I had heard stories from the ones that were there and were forced to move. If this was that bad, I prayed it didn't make landfall. Hopefully someone was actually listening.

Chapter Sixteen: Thunder

I went into the parlor. I watched the fire that had been burning for 23 years. What would happen if it went out? Did they take a part of it with them? I thought that I had learned a lot, but I actually knew nothing at all.

Drop landed on my shoulder. "You must tell Adrian to come to the cupboard. The three of you. He won't listen. I am a part of the earth, and this storm isn't natural. It won't stop until someone dies. One of us." She said.

"How do you know?" I asked.

"Because the Lord of Storms made it." She answered.

"Lord of Storms?" I asked.

"One of the Fallen, he was second in command, or so I've heard." Adrian said walking towards us.

"What does he want?" I asked. It was a dumb question, I know.

"I don't know." Adrian answered.

"How do you summon one of the Fallen?" I asked.

"Using their real name, why? Anna, you're not planning to-." He was finally catching up with me. I had gotten a great idea and headed towards the small library.

"You can't do that." Adrian said and grabbed my hand as I grabbed an ancient book.

"Why can't I?" I asked and looked at him in the eye. "I am Vesta, and I'm invoking my power right now as Guardian of the Sacred Fire to save those I love. I don't know if the others can fly safely in this. As my Sentinel, you will have to stand back, your job is to protect me until I am needed, and right now, I'm needed." I said.

He let go of my hand and slowly looked away. "I love you Anna." He said quietly.

"I love you too, now can I save our asses from drowning, or can you swim an entire ocean with us on your back?" I saw the idea entertain his mind. "Sarcasm doesn't come by you does it?" I said.

"Just be safe." He said.

I nodded and put the ancient book on a table. I skimmed through the pages and sighed as I reached the back of the book. I grabbed another and did the same until I found what I was searching for. I wrote down the name and headed towards the doors.

Adrian grabbed me and kissed me. "Just in case." He said.

I smiled and opened the doors. The winds nearly pushed me back as I headed down the stairs. I was soaked before I reached the bottom step. It was only three steps. I walked a ways away from the mansion and leaned against a palm tree. The wind pretty much held me against it. I looked at the paper for just a brief second before the ink smeared in the rain.

"Heiglot! Lord of Storms, I Vesta summon thee. In the name that is holy, I summon thee." I had read how to do it, I just never tried it. My voice barely made a sound over the wind and thunder. I smelled ozone and the hair on my arms and the back of my neck stood on end. Lightning struck about twenty feet away from me. The sand turned to glass and I watched a figure rise up out of the glass.

"You dare summon me!" His voice made my head ache. I had read stories of not being able to stand to look upon or to hear those that were holy or used to be holy.

"Why did you create this storm?" I hollered over the wind. It suddenly went quiet. It still rained but the wind vanished.

"I create what I want, when I want. It is none of your business what I do or do not do." He said. Heiglot walked towards me. His face was a halo of white light like lightning. It hurt to look upon him. I lowered my head and I heard him chuckle. "You bow to me? How quaint."

"I do not bow. It hurts to look upon you." I answered.

"Good." He answered. It wasn't the thing I was looking forward to hearing. I kind of liked being able to look at a person when I talked to them. "So why did you summon me?" He asked.

"This is my home, there are people here that I love, and if you continue as you are, we will die." I answered.

"That is what I do. It is why I was created in the first place."

"To kill?" I asked.

"To punish those who need to be punished." He said.

"We on the island need to be punished?" I asked.

"You are just a bump in my way." He said.

"The Guardian of the Sacred Fire is just a bump in your way?" I said, getting a little cocky now.

"You are not the Guardian that has the entire world has waited for." He said.

I let my fire come then. The flames of my aura engulfed me like it usually did, but this time I called the blue fire, the sacred fire. "How else could I summon you Lord of Storms?" I asked. For some reason I knew not to say his name again. Saying names can give things power. Like he needed more power.

"Then you shall die. My master has ordered us to kill those who would stand against his rising." He said and a hand was suddenly at my throat. The wind picked up again and the rain came down heavier.

I couldn't breathe as he squeezed my neck. I clawed at his arm and brought forth the burning fire. I could see it licking down his arms. It was the same fire that I had killed Azrael with. As soon as I thought of Azrael I saw him behind Heiglot. Just a figure floating in the rain. He was coming closer at an alarming speed. Azrael smashed into Heiglot and he dropped me.

"Run now, while I have control. It won't last but a few moments. Run!" Azrael's voice said. I nodded and got up. I coughed as I ran. It burned to breathe as I hit the steps. I heard a roar behind me that sounded more like thunder. I had to fight to get the doors shut.

"We go now!" My voice rasped. Adrian came with Oriel in a wheel chair. His arms were in splints but he was awake.

"Where are we going to go?" Adrian asked while carrying our things.

I had them follow me to the kitchen and I went to the cupboard. I knocked and the door opened for me. The hallway no longer looked like a hallway, but a meadow with its own sun. I no longer saw walls, but open land. We quickly went inside and shut the doors behind us. The doors vanished as a warm breeze chilled me through my wet clothes.

Drop came up to us in her large form. Her wings fluttered behind her in a dazzling show of gold.

"Where are we?" Adrian asked and looked around.

"This is my world, lycanthrope." She said. "Your evils cannot touch here."

"My evils?" Adrian said.

"The evils of man." She answered and started to walk away. "You may stay here until it is safe."

"Thank you Drop." I said.

Oriel stood up and Adrian was suddenly by his side. "Please take the bandages off." He said.

"But your arms aren't healed." Adrian said.

"I am home, they will heal quickly." Oriel said and smiled.

Adrian just nodded and started to undo the splints and bandages. I started to walk. I don't know where I was headed, I just walked. I reached a line of trees and sat down. The realm was beautiful, untouched by humans and technology. It was its own paradise. I wished I could bring my family here. Away from evil, away from the worries. I wouldn't have to worry about the real world.

I looked up at the sun and watched as clouds lazily passed by. Were the others okay? Did they make it? I wished I knew.

"So what do you want to do?" Adrian asked as he came up and sat next to me.

"I want to go home." I answered.

"I want to go home too." He answered.

"Home as in Oklahoma."

"That's what I meant." Adrian said and looked at me.

"Can we?" I asked.

"We can do whatever you want to do. I just have one request." He said and put his head on my shoulder.

"What's that?"

"That I can go with you. Wherever you go, I want to go."

"Only if I can pee by myself." I said with a smile.

"You know what I mean Anna." He said and grabbed my hand. "I would go to hell and back with you if you'd let me."

"See, you sound like the perfect guy, but when is this perfection going to go away?" I asked and looked down at him.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"You're a doctor, you're the most flippin' handsomest guy I have ever met, and you said you loved me. When does all that stop? When do I wake up to an empty bed and a heart that needs mending again?"

"Anna I won't hurt you."

"That's what the last guy said." I said and rolled my eyes.

"What brings all this on?" He asked.

"Midael slept with me for power, as did Oriel. They just wanted power. Not me, not who I am. Why did you become my Sentinel?"

"Because I enjoy myself around you. I can be me, all of me and not have to hide my other half. You're a strong woman; you can take things in stride. You don't freak out at the slightest things." He said. He stood up and went over to our bags. He brought just his and mine with him. He reached into the front pocket and pulled something out. It glittered in the sunlight. He went in front of me and went to both of his knees.

"I know it's not romantic, but damn it Anna, I want to spend the rest of my life with you, no matter how long or short that may be." He said and held out a ring in his hand.

I looked at it then at him. A blush rose to my cheeks. "I know what you are saying, but all my life I've wanted to hear the words." I said.

"Anastasia Hallow, will you marry me?" He said.

"Yes." I said. I figured if I was going to die, why not be married to someone that loved me? Yes, I did love Adrian, but enough to marry him. Why the hell not?

He slipped on the ring and kissed me. "How did you know my ring size?" I asked.

"Oh, about that." He said and went back to his bag. He grabbed a small box that I thought was lost to the fire so many months ago. "Azrael gave it to Bernael to restore. He was going to give it to you on your birthday, but things didn't go according to plan. Bernael was able to save some of the things." Adrian said.

I took the box and opened it. Tears came to my eyes. It was a family heirloom that was given to me to give to my daughter. It was a brooch that used to be my great-great grandmother's. It was beautiful and still looked new. It had went through five generations and if I didn't die it would go on to see the sixth. It was silver and had diamonds and sapphires in flowers.

"Thank you." I said and put the brooch back in the box. I hugged it to my chest, not bothering with the rest of the contents. They were mainly trinkets I picked up here and there when I had the extra cash.

"So, how are we supposed to get home?" Adrian asked.

"I can help with that." Oriel answered walking up. He looked completely healed. The stitches were gone and he had no hints of scarring. He held his bag over his shoulder.

"We're Oklahoma bound." Adrian said and stood up.

"I know. You see, I'm a prince here, I know what goes on in my lands. I am the Faerie of Light and All Things In between." He said. "I can get you to the Red River, close enough to a city where you can get a car." He said.

"With what money?" I scoffed. "Everything is probably underwater by now."

"Not a problem." Oriel handed us his bag. Adrian opened it and gasped.

"I haven't lived millennia and not learn how to save. I have currency for all major countries stashed away, just in case. And Anna, I owe you that much. I can't tell you how sorry I am, I can never express it."

"Get us home, and consider you forgiven." I said and stood up.

"You might want to change first. You know how it is there. It hasn't rained in over a month. How would you explain being sopping wet?"

"I don't know about you, but I'm personally sick of rain." I said with a smile. Southwest Oklahoma hardly ever got rain. It was very few and far in between rain storms. I remember one year we hadn't seen rain from February to November. It was bad for the wheat and cotton harvesters that lived in the area. But of course central Oklahoma was dealing with floods. We have a motto when the news predicts rain. "I'll believe it when I see it." That's sums up Southwest Oklahoma's weather. It's either really hot and dry, or really cold and dry. Dust storms were becoming more and more common when I had left.

"What about your family? They believe you dead." Adrian said and zipped the bag. I went to mine and grabbed clothes.

"I don't know what to tell them." I said and I really didn't. I've been gone since March and it was now the middle of July. "It's only been four months?" I asked. "It seems so much longer than that."

"Use your powers Bernael taught you. Didn't he teach you memory spells?" Oriel asked.

"I don't know if I can do one that big. And what do I tell them?"

"You were away at college." Adrian said. "We can wipe out all evidence of your grave."

"My grave." I said. I had never thought of that. I had a grave. It was a shock to me. Then something funny came to me. "At least I can say I walked on my own grave." I started laughing.

"You are one weird, weird woman." Oriel said.

"You were away when your house burned down and just never bothered to come back. Nobody was found in the ruins." Adrian continued.

"It might work." I said still chuckling.

"You'll have to perform it on your mother and step-father as well. The less they know the better off they are." Oriel said.

"Right." I said and nodded.

Chapter Seventeen: Home

Oriel led us farther into the woods after I had changed clothes. He suddenly stopped nowhere in particular and knocked on a tree four times. A door appeared and I gasped. He opened the door and a sunny highway was in the tree.

"Good luck. Be happy while you can." Oriel said. He laid a kiss on my forehead.

"Thank you." I said and went through the door. Adrian followed behind me. I turned to tell Oriel something and the door was gone. Instead there was a sign that said; Altus 3 miles.

It was pretty close to home. It was the highway that went from Altus to Lawton. We were headed away from Lawton, towards my home town called Mangum.

"I had never asked where you are from around here."

"I'm from Altus." He answered. "Let's go get us a car. I know where we can get a good one fairly cheap, and it's not that far."

"I like good and cheap." I said. I lived by those rules. If it was good and cheap, get it. My car was good and cheap. I just hoped my brother took good care of it. Knowing him, he didn't.

The sun overhead beat down on us as we walked. As much as I hated to admit it, I missed the island weather; it was never too hot or too cold. No matter how long you lived here, you just can't get used to 115 degree weather.

Adrian handed me a water bottle and he opened one for himself.

"Do you have a bottomless pit in there I don't know about?" I asked after taking a small sip.

"My backpack is like a woman's purse, it can fit anything in it, but I can never find anything unless I really need it."

"You got me there." I said. I had carried a purse as a teenager, my rule now is, if it can fit in my pocket, I really don't need it.

We continued walking in silence. I caught glimpses of my ring shining on my finger. I finally got enough balls to outright look at it. It was a simple thing, as most engagement rings were. It had a teardrop diamond set in a heart. To me it was beautiful.

I caught Adrian stealing glances at me. I smiled up at him. He flung both backpacks over one shoulder and took my hand. I felt like a teenager again with a crush.

"You know I have a faster way of getting there." He said. "How good are you at hiding things?"

"I can hide a teacup." I said. I knew he meant making things vanish. I had trouble with it from the moment Oriel started teaching me. It was a matter of pulling your aura around something to make it vanish to others, only you can see it, because well, it was hidden by your aura.

"Can you do bigger?" He asked.

"If you can turn into a horse, we won't have to hide."

"I wasn't thinking of a horse, but I can do it." He said.

"What were you thinking of? A cheetah? A cheetah can only go fast in spurts, not for long distances."

"No, something a little larger, and a little slower. A bear can carry you, but a horse makes more sense." He said. I followed him behind a line of trees. There were many along the highway, planted during the Dust Bowl.

He took off his clothes when we were hidden behind a tree. "It's easier; I don't have to concentrate as hard to blend in the clothes."

I just nodded like I understood. I watch him change into a horse. I heard the bones breaking and reforming themselves until he was no longer a man but a chestnut colored horse. I grabbed the three bags and situated them as good as I was going to get them. I probably looked like an idiot with one in front of me and two behind me. But hey, it was easier to carry.

"I've never done bareback before, so not so fast. I might fall off." I said. Adrian nodded his head and he headed back towards the highway. I was used to having reigns and stirrups to balance me, this time I had nothing. I grabbed on to his mane as he started to trot quickly. The other good thing about a saddle, you can use the stirrups and sort of crouch on the horse so your ass isn't jumping up and down. I just leaned forward as far as the backpack would let me and he ran.

We made it to the small city quicker, but by the time I dismounted my ass was sore and I couldn't walk right. To all the horse riders, you know what I mean.

Adrian chose to change back behind an empty shed. He put on his clothes before he collapsed on the ground. "I haven't done that in years." He said catching his breath. I handed him his bottle of water and he gulped it down.

He went to put his shoes on and I noticed his feet were a little bloody. Horses wear horseshoes for a reason.

"Now I feel bad." I said.

"Give it a second." He said.

I watched as they healed. He poured a little water on them to get the blood off and then put his socks and shoes on.

"I don't think I will ever get used to that." I said.

"I didn't think so either." He told me. He took two of the bags from me and opened the one with the money. I hadn't seen that much except for in movies. He looked around and then started pulling money out. There were twenty bundles of a $5,000. I quietly thanked Oriel over and over. He put one bundle in his own bag.

"I don't want to open up a bag full of cash in front of people. People get suspicious; probably think we robbed a bank or something."

I nodded and I watched as he searched the other pockets. He pulled out a note and read it. He laughed and handed it to me.

Anna and Adrian,

Think of it as a wedding present.

"He knew." I said with a laugh.

"We can get a small house or rent an apartment for a long while." Adrian said.

"I'd prefer a house." I said. "If you don't mind."

"I told you, I'm following you." He said and got up. He zipped up the bag after putting the note in it and he took my hand.

After we drove off of the dealership parking lot in our 'new' used car, we headed for my home town. We were headed towards the cemetery. I was going to see my own grave. Actually it was probably Uriel's grave with my name on the headstone. All they had found were the charred remains of a person, and since I was the only one that lived there, they figured it was me. Don't ask me how they figured it, some people in the town can be pretty short minded. I knew they wouldn't have done a dental check or an autopsy. Apparent cause of death was fire. But Uriel was taller than me and definitely didn't have my curves. So don't ask me. I wondered how many people showed up to my funeral.