Saving Grace: The Guardian Chronicles Book 2

Chapter 10.

Chapter 10. Eyes Kaskade remix

Xavier was seething inside, despite trying to keep a calm façade for Marie. He had heard the conversation between Emil and Malachi. He had also heard him talking to Arazel, the only other human-vampire hybrid known to exist. He was a wild card, an unknown, and it drove Xavier mad to know he had been in the same place as Marie when she had been held hostage. He had a face to go with each name from her mind, and as far as he could tell, this freak had not touched her. His presence could put her fragile mind over the edge, and he did not want to think what could happen if she suffered any further insults on her psyche.

She clung to him for dear life as he sprinted across the lobby, carrying her to the apartment Hannah had moved into several days prior, when they were uncertain if Marie would ever be found. He punched in the key code on the door, and was relieved to see very little had been disturbed in the small space. Hannah had entertained Nathan while the rest of them dealt with some of the more delicate matters having to do with the mission Emil and the others had just returned from. The teenage vampire was a conundrum on his own. He was so eerily mature at times, but occasionally the fifteen year old boy would show his face. The scared boy was still present in the music room, all signs of maturity gone as he had stared in awe at the little girl Evan had delivered. Xavier still was not one hundred percent sure where things went wrong. It was supposed to have just been a reconnaisance mission to try to find out where the Ancient One was, unless the conflict had revolved around their discovery of Marie.

Looking down at the petite woman in his arms, he saw she was shutting down, staring straight ahead at nothing. Her arms lay limply curled around his neck now, no longer clinging tightly. He moved into her bedroom and lay her on the bed. His eyes roamed over her tiny frame, taking in the amount of exposed flesh her garment offered. Shaking his head he reached for a blanket and covered her with it.

"No!" she cried. "I'm dirty! Get it off, I'll ruin everything."

"But you have to be cold, I only want to cover you up," he explained helplessly, not wanting to state the obvious that the blue gauzy material was less effective than underwear would have been at offering coverage.

"I need to wash...please...I have to get clean...I'm dirty, I need to take a shower," she cried, pushing up weakly from the bed and stumbling to her bathroom. He made to follow her to make sure she did not stumble, with the shaking he saw in her legs. "No! Don't touch me! I will be fine. Leave! Just leave...please!"

Her last words were little more than whispers as tears ran freely down her face. He stood back holding his hands to his sides, palm up, signifying he would be hands off. He watched as she leaned heavily against the door frame, and then the door shut loudly behind her. He turned and walked back to the living room, to pick up the few pieces of clothing Hannah had left out when she had changed earlier in the evening for the mission. He thought of the blonde vampire, wondering where she and the others had gone. He was uncomfortable splitting their small group, as they were all that was left of the loyal Guardians. Hannah was not a Guardian, she was not much more than an informant on Romley, one of the masterminds behind the plot to enslave humans one city at a time. She had saved Xavier a few days before when he was serving as a guard in the holding cells for vampire prisoners, where she had been held for questioning about Isaac Romley. The power crazed vampire had come through the headquarters on a rampage with humans he had turned into a vampire army, somehow commanding them as if they were of one mind. He had been accompanied by Ari, and Xavier was taken by surprise when they opened the cell doors to release the few prisoners they were holding. He had lost his arm to Romley's sword, and Hannah had come to his rescue. Hawk had been there also, but had fallen to a masterful swordsman called Rafael. He had been healed by Evan, using her power over energy. Xavier and Evan shared certain traits and he could not wait to learn more about her ability. He had been stunned as she had healed Hawk's destroyed face.