Shadow Guardians: The Promised

Marionette packed her history books back into her backpack and took out her biology textbook.

The textbook was a college-level compared to a high school-level. It wasn’t part of their curriculum, and she’d borrowed it from Maggie. She couldn’t help the feeling of unease that tightened her throat when she took it out.

A few of the male nosferi pored her over. She felt as out of place as their stares suggested she was. While she had learned to wear pants in the last couple of years, she felt like her style was way outdated compared to the other females.

Her upbringing encouraged females to be modest. Mari had no problem with the way other females dressed, but the high heels and cleavage-flaunting tops just weren’t her. It wasn’t in her blood.

She was dressed in tan-brown high-waisted pants, flat pumps, and a simple white blouse with a few ruffles around the collar.

And if Uriah ever caught them scrutinizing her...

That’s why she never mentioned it. She felt sorry for them.

With the last class finished, she was going to head over to Maggie’s. She’d been so kind to Mari, taking her under her wing and teaching her all the tricks of her trade and providing her with practical classes where she could lend aid and watch how procedures were done. And since Mari had a natural interest in vampiric biology, she was a quick study.

She worried what the brothers would think about her hanging out so much with Maggie, however. She was with her nearly every day after her classes to help out in the clinic. Were they starting to notice that she wasn’t into the fighting?

Uriah had suggested to her that he would talk to them about it, but she just didn’t feel ready. What if they decided she had to leave? This was a coven of warriors, and she didn’t belong here.

She thought of Maggie, but it was different for her. She was human.

As Mari walked out of the classroom, Bella, Keira, and Naleen waved at her. She waved back.

“See you tomorrow, Mari.” Bella said, and the other two girls seemed to squash down giggles.

“Bye.” Mari smiled at their friendliness.

Outside in the corridor, some of the males grinned at her and shook their heads, then went back to their conversations.

She thought it may have been because of Uriah, because he was post-transition and looked like an adult compared to her, which naturally made some of them assume he was much older than her.

But he wasn’t here to collect her today.

The chilly night air stung her exposed skin and made her bones throb, and she immediately wished she’d taken her sweater. She should’ve known better. With her transition nearing, her body didn’t hold on to heat like it used to.

The brothers and the other women would be home any minute now. Arlena had told her that they would be working New York Central tonight, while the brothers took the east side.

They worked that way most of the time, since they covered more ground that way. But they’d been thinking about implementing a rotational schedule.

Once inside the house, she took the elevator to their living pad. Inside, she dropped her backpack and dug out a snuggly, pelt-lined black sweater, the length of which ended just above her knees.

She buttoned up, her eyes wandering to her drying canvas next to the armoire. She’d painted a natural landscape with mighty mountains as the backdrop, a dark green forest of trees, and a majestic eagle soaring through the sky.

She smiled lightly, thinking of how wonderful it must be for that eagle to be so free. To be exactly what it was and not to have to pretend to be something else.

That was how she felt around Uriah.

He had found a way to sell her paintings online. At first, she felt self-conscious and like they wouldn’t be good enough, but she was pleasantly surprised. And she’d already surrendered thirty for a pretty price.

He’d mentioned that he’d already found a potential buyer for this one online, but she wondered now if she truly wanted to sell it. If they could keep it, she had the perfect spot in mind on the wall.

She divided her hair in two and brought locks over each of her shoulders to keep her ears and cheeks warm. Then she left their living pad to go to Maggie’s.

Her stomach grumbled, but she wasn’t in the mood for eating. Everything seemed to cramp up her gut in the last few weeks.

As she took the corridor to the elevator, passing nosferi cheerily greeted her and some stopped to ask how training went, and how her latest painting was coming along.

It was an odd thing, how the adults were so friendly, but the ones in the training center were so... strange.

Perhaps it was puberty, she mused as she went into the elevator and pushed number 4.

Maggie’s clinic was at odds with the typical sterile white atmosphere of most hospitals. The walls were a washed-out sunshine yellow, and graced with some of Mari’s beautiful paintings and plaques with words like love is a language that needs no words, and be happy for this moment.

The tiles were terracotta, and there was a vase of fresh daffodils in the corner. The furniture was all in warm, dark wood. And Maggie had taken the option of silver over white for her equipment where she could, because it was less sterile.

Even the temperature was cozier, and Mari was very thankful for that. Odd, she thought, that Uriah’s body could warm her better now than any amount of clothing.

“Hi!” Maggie greeted cheerily while sterilizing some tools. “How was school, er, training?”

She was dressed mostly in yellow. If it weren’t for the red flower print and her wavy burgundy hair, she would’ve disappeared into the walls.

“It was alright.” Mari replied, putting down her textbook and coming up to the other sink to wash her hands. “I got an A on the pop quiz for history.”

“Well done, girl!”

Mari smiled. She wished she could confide in Maggie about her concerns.

But she wouldn’t understand.

“Hasn’t been too busy tonight. Couple of stitches here and there, and Yurgun that came in with a dislocated shoulder.”

“Again?”

Maggie shook her head. “Honestly, I have no idea what the hell the man does every time. I swear he needs a lighter sword.”

Mari giggled. “Probably. He’s shorter than I am, and I can barely lift that thing.”

She could barely lift any sword. Even Uriah’s daggers were heavy. He’d allowed her to feel once. More evidence that she wasn’t cut out for the fighting thing.

“Honey, you can lift anything you put your mind to.”

Mari slanted her eyes to Maggie. “Telekinesis doesn’t count, Aunt Mag.”

They both dried their hands and Maggie opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the door that flew open and a little rug rat toddled on over to them excitedly.

“Maggie!”

Maggie laughed. “There’s my little man!” She held out her arms and Terronth ran right into them.

His arms went around Maggie’s neck, and Mari saw Uriah appear in the doorway with a grin.

Terronth held out a suspect-looking chocolate chip cookie to Mari. “Cookie for Maui.”

Mari giggled. He hadn’t learned how to make the ‘r’ sound yet. So, his ‘Maui’ was really supposed to be Mari.

“Aw, thank you! Does mom and dad know you’re having cookies?”

Terronth looked at her for a moment, then nodded very slowly.

“Terronth, are you lying?” Mari asked with her hands on her hips.

He shook his head rapidly.

She glanced at Uriah, who nodded.

“He had ice cream.” Uriah said.

“What flavor?” Maggie asked excitedly.

“Choc-fudge! I scaled the wombats!”

“They’re demons, Terronth. Not wombats.” Uriah corrected, chuckling.

Other vampires his age were supposed to be afraid of them still.

He drew his mouth to one side in a pout. “Is not.”

“Is too.”

“Nnnot!”

“Too.”

“Alright, alright, let’s have a look at those gums. Say ahhh!” Maggie intervened.

Terronth opened his mouth with an aahhhh, and Mari took a peek. The very tips of his fangs were just starting to show.

Another two weeks, and they would be fully exposed. She gently felt at their tips with her fingers, and he winced a little. They would be very sore to the touch, but they were already razor sharp.

If it were any other person sticking her fingers in his mouth, even his mother, Terronth would be screaming murder.

“They look good, on schedule.” She held her hand to his forehead and felt he had a slight fever, which was normal. “Zachiel send you here with him?” She asked Uriah.

“He wanted to give you the cookie.” Uriah smiled.

“Maui! One wombat went poopie!” He was so excited about it, he forgot to swallow and drooled.

Mari raised an eyebrow and snorted a laugh, while taking a handkerchief and wiping his mouth. “Poopie? Terronth what did you do?”

“They went nuts,” Uriah said. “They ran into the walls.”

“Oh,” Mari giggled. “I’m going to give you some of that strawberry-flavored jelly you like so much. That way, you can eat your porridge without hurt, okay?”

The ‘jelly’ was really a gel that numbed his teeth and gums.

“Kay. Kiss-kiss Maggie!”

Maggie gave Terronth a kiss, and then he extended little arms to Mari. “Kiss-kiss Maui!”

Mari gave him a kiss on the mouth, not minding the baby spit. “You be a good boy, and go to bed when mom and dad tell you to, okay?”

It wasn’t gonna happen. Not after ice cream and cookies. But she had to try.

Terronth gave her a devilish smile and nodded enthusiastically, as if he really did have the intention to go to bed on time.

But she knew, not long from now, when she and Uriah were back in their pad, he would be wheeee!-ing up and down the halls for a few hours. Thank the Gods their pads were soundproofed.