been right when they had said she would never really escape. Right now it seemed her past had caught up with her in the form of Essen. Was he to take her back to her family and ultimately the Dark Master? Only time would tell.
Romy scrubbed her face clean and got dressed; memories that had been locked away fought to be released. Gritting her teeth to hold them at bay was the only thing to do. She knew running was not an option; after all, getting past him would be the first problem, and if her instincts were right, there would be no outrunning him, so forget that! She would face whatever he had to say or whatever he wanted—that would be the only way, she reasoned. Romy took a deep breath and stepped out.
Essen was dressed when she came out of the bathroom. He wore blue jeans and a black T-shirt that clung to his torso and emphasized his wide shoulders. Essen’s blond hair was scraped back off his face, and his blue eyes stared down at her. He stood with his arms by his sides, hands in fists, ready to strike. Her reaction to him was instant; like a predatory animal, he drew her to him with an invisible force. Need rose in her body. Romy wanted to be in his arms, held tightly against him. The only man she had ever felt right with was staring at her like he wanted to kill her. She knew why; saying no to her family meant she was marked for death, or worse, to serve as one of the soulless. Do they plan to kill me?
“We need to travel.” His voice had a harsh edge to it.
“I’m not going anywhere until you tell me who you are.” Romy stood in front of him, hands on her hips, trying hard to be like the no-nonsense character she portrayed on stage.
He stood looking at her, then motioned to the sofa. “Okay, let’s sit.”
Folding her legs underneath her, Romy took a seat. Essen sat next to her, arm stretched out across the back of the sofa.
“I am Guardian, a demon.” Essen paused.
Romy’s heart beat faster, and her palms were sweaty, but she tried not to show her reaction, tried just to listen. This was her worst nightmare. It was not her family who had found her but the sworn enemy of her tribe. She had always been told of their barbaric nature, and now one sat opposite her. Inside, her mind was racing, trying to gain a handle on what he was saying. Surely he is out of his mind; after all, they are all dead!
“We Guardians are like peacekeepers. I come from a line of original demons. We protect the Gateway between the human world and the supernatural world. Do you understand what I have said? I am not human.” Essen stopped.
Romy felt him staring into the very depths of her. “I know you’re not human, I guessed that when you glowed.” She took deep breaths to stem the fear rising in her. Maybe trying to pretend she did not know what he was talking about would mean he would think he had made a mistake in recognizing what he thought was her lineage. Perhaps he would then leave her alone.
“I know you understand this. You have an unusual mixture of blood in you...not quite...”
“My mixed blood in no way compares to your...blood!” she spat out.
“But you have Asuriya blood in you,” Essen replied.
“How did you know that? No one knows that.” She had worked hard to erase any links to her family, choosing her own way rather than what was expected of her. Fear gripped her throat; Romy swallowed hard. He did know who she was after all. The many stories she had been told were all of Guardians wanting to destroy the Asuriya. Tales of their evil deeds against her people. It was said Guardians would take and kill the young of the Asuriya so her people would not be able to grow in numbers. They were the enemy, not to be trusted. But the older she became, the more these stories did not seem to make sense; the actions of her own people showed her that they were not innocent in this ongoing battle.
“We Guardians protect the Gateway from the Dark Master and his forces who want to unleash full force of
Kevin David Anderson, Sam Stall, Kevin David, Sam Stall Anderson
R.L. Stine - (ebook by Undead)