Guardians (Seers Trilogy) (50 page)

“What is it?” she asked, concerned.

She was here, and now my stupidity was going to take me away from her. What if Terence couldn’t help me find the cure for this strain of the virus?

I glanced over my shoulder and met Sean’s deep stare. As I turned, Kate got a partial view of the car’s interior. It was enough. The clutter on the floor easily drew her attention—the discarded needle making her body go still.

“Patrick . . . ?” she questioned, uncertain fear coloring her tone.

Sean addressed me before she could fully ask her question. “You’re not in any danger,” he said softly.

“But . . . it was the virus,” I argued thinly, trying to ignore the pained gasp Kate produced at the confirmation.

Sean nodded. “But it’s the same strain I used on you before. That’s one of the reasons I didn’t take it in with me when I got to the farmhouse with Yuri. I knew it would be ineffective on you.”

“But . . . you were upset with me. For using it.”

“Of course. You were trying to kill yourself. It didn’t matter that your attempt was doomed to fail. You didn’t know that. You were obviously in a fragile state of mind.”

I could feel Kate’s sharp look, but I remained focused on Sean. “But then . . . why pretend I was going to die? You were going to go with me—help me!”

“Yeah—to keep you from trying anything else stupid, once you realized your health wasn’t declining.”

Kate had found her voice, though it shook dangerously. “You actually tried to . . . ?” She abruptly slapped my hand, and I winced—more from the idea that I’d upset her, than the actual blow. “You boneheaded moron!” she piped, the pain in her eyes somewhat belaying the outrage in her words. “What were you thinking? How could you do something like that to yourself? And what about my sisters? Toni? Sean?” She looked like she might hit me again. Instead she pulled my head closer and kissed me soundly.

She pulled back too soon, her voice quivering. “You swear to me right now you’re never going to even think about doing something like that ever again.
Ever
.”

I swallowed hard and ran my fingers along the side of her face. “Kate, if I have you, I promise I’m not going anywhere.”

Her answer was immediate. “You have me, Patrick. Forever.”

I wrapped her firmly in my arms again, more content with the idea of forever than I’d ever been before.

T
he colored lights
from the Christmas tree sparkled in the brightly lit room. Discarded wrapping paper littered the floor and holiday carols played in the background. Wonderful smells drifted from the kitchen, including buttery rolls and juicy ham. There was also a sweeter scent that could have been strawberry cheesecake, and, knowing my grandma, it probably was.

Though there was plenty of couch space I was sitting on the soft carpet, leaning back against Patrick’s chest. His legs were stretched out on either side of me, his arms curled loosely around my stomach. From the sound of it, he’d fallen asleep with his head tipped back against the sofa. I smiled, feeling a little bad for him. The twins were all about waking up at four or five on Christmas morning, and Grandma was such a pushover that she allowed it. Though it was Patrick’s second Christmas with my family, he still wasn’t quite used to waking up before the sun. He wasn’t exactly a morning person, to put it mildly. Still, when the twins wanted something, he was usually pretty quick at giving in.

We were alone in the family room, but the house wasn’t even close to being empty. Grandma was in the kitchen, probably with Maddy, who was eager to learn her cooking secrets. Sean was most likely with the twins, since they adored him every bit as much as they loved Patrick. The two O’Donnell brothers were better than celebrities around here. They were the Bennett family’s personal guardian angels, though they weren’t the only ones.

I could hear Jack’s booming voice in the next room, taking up the long time argument with Claire about the pros and cons concerning turkey and ham. It was the same debate that happened every holiday, it seemed, except the Fourth of July—they both loved hamburgers, so there was nothing to argue about.

The twins knew a good portion of the truth about our family now, but not everything. They knew Patrick, Jack, Claire, Toni, and Sean were immortal, but they didn’t know that Lee and I were too. Grandma agreed they could wait to learn until they were older. That was fine by me. I didn’t want to get too distracted by the supernatural while I had Jenna and Josie in my life, so I’d told Terence I needed a break from Demon hunting. Lee, Patrick and Toni had quickly agreed, all in the interest of enjoying the life we had, now that the Demon Lord was gone

I exhaled deeply, reveling in how great it felt to just sit and not have to think. My first semester of college was finished, and I was more than happy to be done with finals. So far, college was everything I’d hoped it would be. With Lee as my roommate, things never got boring. We lived in a small apartment with Maria Turner and Alyssa Meadows, girlfriends to Jaxon and Aaron—who were roommates with Toni and Patrick. We were all attending the nearby university, and for the record, Toni complained about college a lot more, now that he was enrolled for real.

My eyes swept over the room, taking in the piles of presents that were scattered around. Near the TV was a large plastic tote I’d given Patrick, containing all of my old painting supplies. Now that I was focusing on sketching, I didn’t really need them anymore. Of course, art was only my minor. My main focus in school was English—something I was really enjoying so far.

Jack had given my Grandma a new Crock-Pot, extra large in size. His only request was that he needed to be around when she broke it in, and whenever else she used it. Sean had bought sheet music for Jenna and a new soccer ball for Josie. Claire had given Sean a camera, along with an invitation for him to come with her on her newest Guardian assignment in France. Though he’d been struggling for a while to find his niche in the world, I was confident Claire would be able to help him figure it out.

I had many presents in this room, but picking my favorite was simple. It was the one glittering on my left hand. The wedding was set for May, once the school year was over. Though I’d said yes to him a long time ago, we’d decided to at least wait until after I graduated from high school to make the engagement official. I knew some people thought we were young and crazy, but the people who knew us best didn’t have a negative word to say about it. Even my grandma cheered when Patrick gently handed me the velvet box, a glowing smile on his face. Even wrapped in red paper with a green bow on top, the gift was no mystery for me. He’d slid the ring on my finger, and the fit had been perfect.

I lifted my hand now, tilting my finger up to view the modest diamond arrangement with the enhancing rainbow effect of the Christmas tree lights. The result was beautiful and hypnotic. The silver band was simple, but better than anything I could have ever imagined.

“Do you need a magnifying glass to see it?”

I looked to the doorway where Sean was standing with his hands in his pockets. His blue eyes were bright and his face was lifted happily. He hardly looked like Far Darrig anymore. It was hard to remember that he’d ever been that person, though it was obvious in the way he grew silent sometimes that he remembered the past well. Maybe a little too well. He was wearing a dark purple shirt, sleeves rolled to the elbows, just like his brother chose to wear his shirts. It was a good look for both of them, showing off their muscular forearms.

When he saw my slight smile he wandered into the room, drawing closer.

“You can joke all you like,” I said calmly. “But I think it’s wonderful.”

He tossed his chin toward his sleeping brother. “He never was much for company.”

“He’s not really a morning person,” I agreed fondly, flattening my hand against Patrick’s limp fingers that rested on my leg. I watched Sean sit on the far edge of the couch, and I cocked my head at him. “The twins let you go?”

“They bought up my property and stole all my money.”

“Yeah, Josie’s pretty competitive when it comes to Monopoly.”

“Or anything else on the planet.”

I giggled, mostly because having this conversation with him was such a miracle. “They’re going to miss you. When you’re in France.”

He nodded. “Until I promised to bring them souvenirs. Then Jenna offered to go pack my bags.”

I pursed my lips, but the smile still escaped. “They do love you, you know.”

“I know.” He hesitated and then spoke more carefully. “Thank you again—for the letter.”

“It wasn’t from me.”

“I know. But thank you for going to get it from him. It meant a lot, hearing from him.”

I smiled. “Your dad was really happy to hear from you. More than happy—he was
this
close to singing praises.”

“That, I believe.”

“You told him you’re going to France?”

He nodded. “And that Claire would be accompanying me.”

I grinned. “Ah, that’s why he was so happy for you . . .”

The corner of Sean’s mouth twitched. “We’re taking it slow,” he said, and I took that as my cue to stop teasing him for now.

Patrick suddenly snorted and jerked awake. His arms wrapped tightly around me as he raised his head. “Wha . . . ?” he groaned, lifting one hand to rub his face. “I’m sorry. How long was I out?”

Sean was smirking. “Let me put it this way—Happy New Year.”

Patrick’s body shifted around me as he tried to sit up fully. “Yeah—thanks, Sean.”

“No problem.”

I twisted around so I could set a kiss against his cheek. “Did you get any rest? That’s the real question.”

“A little,” he said. “Enough to keep me going until tonight, hopefully.” He slipped a hand up to my face, holding me in place so he could press his lips to mine. “Mmm,” he murmured when he pulled back. “I could get used to that.” He glanced down at my left hand and the smile on his tired face was adorably heartwarming. “I could also get used to
that
.”

Before I could form any response the doorbell rang, and the twins went running to answer it.

“I got it!”

“No,
I’ve
got it!”

Not a minute later I heard Lee’s excited voice. “Make way! Excuse me! Best friend to the future bride, coming through!”

Patrick and I helped each other to our feet so that when Lee bustled into the family room I was already halfway to her. My eyes popped wide at the sight of her.

She wore a floor length dress of dazzling white and silver. The sleeves were long and draping, reaching as low as the skirt. It was a medieval princess–style dress, with a tight bodice that laced up with thick cords. Her hair was as long as mine now, maybe a little longer, and the only thing that held it back was a shiny metal tiara.

“Uh . . . Lee?”

She didn’t seem to hear me or register my shock at all. She snatched up my hand, pulling the fingers close so she could size up my ring. “Oh my
Oreos
—it’s so pretty!” she gushed. “Ugh! I just wish I could have been here for the unveiling.” She didn’t drop my hand, but she lowered it so she could peer over my shoulder. “Patrick, you better have taken pictures of her face. I can’t believe my best friend is engaged! It makes you sound ancient.”

“Lee . . . Since when did you become a princess?”

Her eyes flitted back to my face. “What? You too? What
is
this?”

“That’s what we’d like to know,” Sean muttered from the couch.

Lee was shaking her head at me in disappointment. “Geez, Kate, I thought you’d get it.”

“You’re not a princess?” I guessed.

“Of course not!”

I could feel Patrick standing right behind me. “Lee, are those . . . plastic ears?”

“Yes!” She let my hand fall so she could finger the pointy tips of her plastic ears, just sticking out of her brown hair. “Congratulations, you’re the first to spot them without a guided tour. People can be so unobservant.”

“Why are you wearing plastic ears?” I asked.

Toni answered that, strolling easily into the room with a sugar cookie in one hand. “She’s an elf this week. Abigail, or something.”

“Arwen!” she snapped at him. “How in the
world
do you get Abigail out of that?”

He shrugged, taking a big bite of his cookie. “I don’t know. How’d you get Arwen?”

Before she could offer a rebuttal he’d caught sight of the ring. “Wow. Not bad,” he muttered through his cookie. “Terence spring for that?” he asked Patrick.

“No, as a matter of fact, he didn’t.”

Toni beamed like a proud parent. “You stole it?”

“I bought it. Is that so surprising?”

“Bought it? With what money?”

Patrick rolled his eyes. “If you didn’t spend every cent of your allowance, and if you actually got a job—”

“I’d be considered a big fat stick in the mud,” Toni summed up with a nod. He turned to me. “So—you think you can stand him for eternity, huh?”

“I’m here anyway,” I joked. “I figured I might as well give it a shot.”

Patrick poked my side lightly and I squirmed happily. He was quick to snatch my wrist, to keep me from moving far.

Lee was almost glaring at Toni. “At least
some
men have a grasp of the romantic.”

Toni had taken another bite, and he was chewing loudly with his mouth open. “Huh? You say something, hon?”

She snorted low in her throat. “Never mind.” She suddenly prodded his arm. “Go eat in the kitchen—you’re getting crumbs all over the place.”

He obediently returned to the kitchen, passing Jeanette and Peter, who were on their way into the family room. Jeanette’s grin was huge as she embraced me and then took a look at the ring. “Oh, it’s just
gorgeous
, Kate. Congratulations!” She kissed me on the cheek before folding a faintly surprised Patrick into her arms. “I’m so happy for the both of you. You certainly deserve this.”

Jeanette Pearson had taken the news of Seers and Guardians pretty well, considering her unwitting involvement in things. Lee and Peter hadn’t been in a rush to bring her up to speed, but before Peter dared to approach her with his proposal of marriage, they’d sat her down for a serious talk. Learning that her daughter was immortal was a bit of a shock, as was discovering Peter’s somewhat shady past. Still, she was a good-hearted person and extremely understanding. And since Lee had given Peter the thumbs-up, Jeanette hadn’t hesitated. They’d been married for almost five months now, and neither of them had ever been happier. Now that he wasn’t being threatened by Selena anymore, Peter had been able to clear everything up with the school board. He was teaching subjects on the high school level, like he used to do before moving here.