Protected (Book 1 in the Ariya Adams trilogy) (22 page)

“
During that time, the early 17
th
century, legends were forming about vampires. Everyone had a different word for them, something in each language, but it all meant the same thing. In Poland, it was
wapierz
. There was fear, speculation and rumors flying around about the evil, the cursed ones who drank the blood of humans.”

“
One night on his way to see Christiane, Krystian was attacked. He never made it to her that evening. Christiane asked some guards to search for him after he hadn’t shown. They ended up finding him and bringing him to the palace. Krystian kept saying he was thirsty, groaning, and shivering. The guards said he was stronger and much too quick for them to restrain easily. Krystian had bitten one of the guards, and drank his blood forcefully before Christiane called to him to stop. She seemed to be able to calm him down, but they were all scared.”

“
Christiane called on the warlock for help, since they had never seen this behavior in anyone before. The warlock confirmed that Krystian had been attacked and that he believed him to now be a
wapierz
, a vampire. Christiane was devastated.”

“
Of all that knew her, the warlock had especially seen how the King treated Christiane so poorly and how lonely she was when Krystian wasn’t around. He had seen how she lived to help others and wanted to help her. When the warlock saw how heartbroken she was over Krystian’s condition, he decided to talk to her and Krystian about an option they might have. Krystian wanted to leave. He didn’t want Christiane in danger since he craved blood now. He described it as an extremely painful need and that pain caused Christiane stress.”

“T
he warlock came to both of them, letting them know that he couldn’t reverse the fact that Krystian was a vampire, but he could protect him. He told them both that Christiane was pregnant. It was a girl. The warlock said he could put a spell on Christiane’s bloodline. The blood of the first-born daughter would be able to heal vampires that were killed. With the superstitions forming during that time, that was Christiane’s biggest fear. If people knew that Krystian was a vampire, they’d try to kill him. The warlock told them both once the child was born until she had a daughter of her own, the power in her blood would remain. It would leave her once she had a daughter, and the power would transfer, and so on and so on through generations. He said there must be a way to ensure that a spell wouldn’t be all-powerful, which was why it had to stop once another child was born. Once her child was born, Christiane could decide if she wanted to be a vampire as well or not.”

I sat enthralled
, taking in all the bits and pieces. Nick and Caroline looked like children listening to a story for the first time, but I knew it wasn’t the first time they had heard this. I watched James, in awe of him and how he spoke of this woman’s history so passionately. His voice resonated with authority as he spoke and I began to realize just how long 250 years was and how much knowledge he must have inside of him. He continued as I stared on, amazed.

“
The warlock told them what it took to be turned. Christiane must drink the blood of a vampire after being bitten and nearly drained by him. The warlock confirmed for them many of the superstitions and legends that had been floating around to make sure they would realize how much their lives would change. The warlock warned that a spell like this could be taken into the wrong hands and used for evil if not protected. For that reason, there would need to be those in charge of protecting the child so that evil couldn’t take over. Only those pure of heart, those with fierce loyalty, could be chosen to do so. There were some guards close to Christiane at the time that had sworn to protect her as a human already. Two of them were chosen as Protectors.”

“
They were noble and loyal, and they were most trusted by the Queen. They made it their purpose in life to protect others and agreed that should Krystian and Christiane want this, they would be turned to protect the child and the bloodline of the Queen. They had decided this was what it would be, and moved forward with the spell and the plan. Once the Queen gave birth, she had Krystian turn her.”

“
Their family continued to grow for years. Legends of their power began to spread. Other vampires worried about this all-powerful family. The warlock was rumored to have died and so the protection the family had from him had worn off. The legend goes that one night, there was a raid on the place where they were all living. Other creatures wanted to crush the bloodline to prevent one set of ghouls from becoming more powerful than the others. They had been looking for the child and in the process, all of the members of the family were staked. The legions of wolves that had been instrumental in forming the army that raided the Queen and King’s bloodline made sure no one survived.”

“
The legend says the child was hidden and watched her Protector get staked. Knowing her responsibility, she saved him and they narrowly escaped the vampires that had attacked their loved ones. Since the attackers claimed that all were killed, vampires, werewolves, and all creatures of the night believed it. The royal bloodline had turned into nothing more than myth.“

My eyes were wide. Some part of me felt that I kne
w all this information somehow.

“I saved Caroline,” I whispered.

James nodded. “Since that time, there have still been Protectors and only Protectors know where the child of the bloodline is. Legends have turned into whispers and nothing more than rumors over the centuries. Many do not believe any more, and the few that do have had no luck in finding the bloodline. Some have come close. Your grandmother was killed before she could pass along the family history to your mother. Therefore, your mother knows nothing about it. It’s only because you chose to come here, a school where there are known werewolves nearby, that you even had to have more protection than those before you. That’s the only reason you know who we are.”

“My grandmother was killed?”

“Yes,” James said, nodding. Sympathy flashed in his perfectly blue eyes, clearly forgetting the “truth” I had been told as he spoke. Had he known her?

“So, Caroline has been protecting me? That’s why y
ou were my roommate? You’re my Protector?”

“No, Ariya,” Caroline said.

“I am.” It was James who spoke.

Things were starting
to click for me. James was my Protector. He was supposed to be protecting me, not kissing me. No wonder our relationship had been a strained one. He was my protector? How many others in my family had he been in charge of protecting? He must have protected Emma, that’s how they met.
Of course
, I thought.

“Oh,” was all I could say. My brain was churning. This gift was why they were all here. “So you’re here because you have to be?
Because of me? I’m the reason you’re in danger from Devon. You have to look out for me.”

“Ariya, we all wanted this life. We chose to protect. I mean
, James’ family is directly descended from the original Protectors. He turned Nick and Nick turned me, so we are an extension of that line, but he is the direct lineage. We knew what it meant, getting involved, before we did it.” Caroline was trying to stop my fear for them and turn it back around to be something good they were doing.

“So, are you reall
y my best friend?” I asked her.

It was such a stupid question to ask at the moment
, and there were far better ones to focus on, but none were coming to me. My feelings were getting the better of me. They had been in charge of watching me, which meant they didn’t really have to have any feeling towards me other than doing their job.

“Of course
I am, Ariya! I only had to be in your group of friends, but we hit it off and I got a best friend out of the deal of protecting you. I kind of won out over everyone else.” I smiled at her response.

“Ariya, we aren
’t done. There is another thing,” James mentioned. “Caroline, you want to explain why her mind-set is all over the place?

“Oh yes! You’ll feel relieved
, I think. Your mom did go through the same thing, but since no one had told her the history, she just believed it was because of graduation stress. That’s what she told you the other day on the phone, too.”

“
The Queen turned when she was twenty-two, right after she gave birth to her daughter. We think that the members of the bloodline get emotionally disoriented and all over the place because they feel something is missing. With the Queen being pregnant right before she turned and having the gift given while she was pregnant, it is believed that those in the bloodline get the urge to turn as well and that there is a feeling of instability until they do. At least, during the time before they are twenty-two.”

“
You’re emotional and tired, and worked up because that feeling of there being something else is lurking in your subconscious. It may be a side effect of having the power that you have. We aren’t sure, since the warlock who created the spell isn’t around to ask. At least, this is what we’ve gathered over the years, since it happens to every member of the bloodline around her twenty-second birthday. You’re turning twenty-two in a couple months, and being surrounded by supernaturals may have triggered that early. It does wear off after that birthday, though, so things start to go back to normal. I know you’ve felt like you aren’t yourself lately, but you don't have to worry. You won’t be this emotional forever.”

What she said did not make
me feel better. Not even close.

“Wait, wait,
wait. You’re telling me that I’m supposed to turn into a vampire? I don’t want to be a vampire!” I yelled.

I was starting to get worked up. This s
eemed like so much to take in. A descendant of some royal healing bloodline who was supposed to pop out a kid at twenty-two and then turn into a vampire? This was the 21
st
century for heavens’ sake, and they were talking about legends, myths. Believing they were vampires was still a challenge, but now I was a part of this craziness?

“You don’t have to do anything
. That’s just what people before you have done. Your grandmother hadn’t turned and neither has your mom. Plus, you probably shouldn’t turn until you have a kid anyway, so that the bloodline continues.” Caroline, again, was trying to calm me down.

I needed to listen to her so that I could reel it in when I was overreacting and gain some control over this curse, yes
, curse. There was no way this was going to be considered a gift in my eyes, except for the fact, that it allowed me to save Caroline. But she wouldn’t have been staked in the first place if it weren’t for me so yes, curse it was. And I was not about to let it control me. Taking in deep breaths, I tried to process everything again.

Shouldn’t turn until I have a kid?
What she said finally sank in and I know my eyes got big. I wasn’t sure if it was from fear or shock. I’m being protected just so I can pop out a kid to continue the bloodline, that it seems no one is using, and then I get discarded.

“So you
Protectors
just want me to have a kid so you can watch them, and then I’m old news and no longer matter?”

“No,” James said. “Ariya, we wouldn’t do that. My father still protects your mother.”

“He does?”

“Yes, and she isn’t a vampire and she doesn’t have healing blood
, either. We don’t just leave you. You weren’t even supposed to know we were protecting you. Most of the line doesn’t until they have a child, or until they themselves turn. Like we said, in your family’s case, a whole generation doesn’t know about this with your mom.”

His answer brought about some peace. At least I wouldn’t lose my friends once I had a kid, which hopefully would
be quite a ways down the road.

“So
, what exactly does this have to do with Devon being after me? I mean, I get he’s a werewolf and knows I saved Caroline…” I started.

Nick spoke up,
“I’ve been monitoring the werewolves in the area throughout your college years, Ariya. They have grown in numbers, which was a concern to us and the reason James and I both showed up in a more personal way this year.”

I cringed at the comment that they’d become involved. Were James’ feelings for me planned
, too? Should he make me feel safe as part of his job?

“We think they may have believed the legends and
, with an increase in vampire activity, they think their suspicions have proven accurate. When Devon staked Caroline and you saved her, those suspicions were confirmed.” He paused, and I waited for him to continue.

After getting silent nods from James and then Caroline
, he continued more slowly. “The werewolves don’t like that vampires have this special bloodline. They think if they can capture the current human in the line. They can create their own bloodline where werewolves could also be saved from death.” He paused and looked at me like he was waiting to let that statement sink in.

I
didn’t understand what he’d said so his pause meant nothing to me. “So, they want me to what? Get a spell cast on me to only help werewolves in the future?” I questioned.