A Guardian's Salvation Read online

  A Guardian’s Salvation

  by

  Stein Willard

  Book 4

  Guardian Series

  A Guardian’s Salvation

  Guardian’s Series - Book 4

  By Stein Willard

  1st Edition Copyright 2015

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form other than that which it was purchased and without the express permission of the author or publisher. Please note that piracy of copyrighted materials violate the author’s right and is illegal.

  This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Credits:

  Editor: CK

  Cover Design: DEPE

  Back of the Book

  Alone, lonely and heartbroken, Clarissa was ready to put an end to her empty, endless existence. But as she was getting ready for the final crossover, a dark silhouette appeared on the horizon and for the first time in four hundred years she once again knew the loving touch of another.

  Hiding away from herself and her failure to hold on to the woman she loved; Jessica Milroy poured all her vigour into her work. Convinced that she had squandered her only chance at true love, she wasn’t ready to open her heart again. Not even when a beautiful, mysterious woman came knocking.

  Acknowledgements

  As always, to my readers. Through thick and thin, bad grammar and typos; you stood by me. Thank you always.

  Dedication

  To You

  Chapter 1

  Long stemmed grass grew over the graves, making the once pristine graveyard look dreadfully neglected. In the pitch-black darkness of the night, the visitor easily found and followed the now overgrown trail as she made her way toward the left corner of the small, family graveyard. There they were. She fell to her knees between the two graves and with a shaking hand brushed over the rough surface of the tombstone of one grave and then the other.

  The blonde head bent slowly and two blood-red tears rolled down her cheeks and seeped into the soft, soggy earth of the graves. They have died such senseless deaths, fuelled by the misplaced greed of one they loved and reared themselves. The present peeled away and long-gone, happier memories surfaced.

  “There is always comfort to be had here, my child. The dead may not be seen and heard, but they can hear you.” The gentle, dark eyes smiled at the tow-haired girl then, and the soft touch of the hand on her head had made the girl lean into the warm embrace of the woman.

  “Will Grandmother hear me when I tell her about the new doll that Mable made for me? I asked her to make one that looks just like you.”

  The hand on her head shifted to her chin and lifted it so she could look into warm, brown eyes.

  “You, my angel, are even prettier than the doll and when you grow older you will look as beautiful as the Queen herself, if not prettier.”

  It was a beautiful summer day and the sunbeams were playing hide and seek amongst the tall trees, making the day unforgettable to the seven-year-old. What more could a little girl ask for? She was loved.

  The present intruded rudely and coming to her feet in a fluid movement, the woman sniffed the air. Someone was coming. A human. She quickly stepped deeper into the shadowed corner of the graveyard. What is a human doing walking around this late at night?

  The rusty gate creaked and footsteps came closer and then came to a halt. She’d just fed on a deer earlier, but the scent of warm, human blood always had a unique lure and was near impossible to resist. A few sips would surely not be detrimental to the human’s health? Using the shadows as cover she began to stalk the human. When she was a few feet away from her prey, a loud beeping sound pierced the quiet of the night. The sound came so unexpected that, startled, the vampire quickly dashed for cover again. The human reached into the heavy coat.

  “Yes.” The voice was soft and husky. “I’ve already identified a few spots that I think would be ideal for the shoot. I’m exploring one now, but I can’t make up my mind whether this spot would work during the day.” There was a short silence. “OK, I’m on my way back to the castle. We can talk once I’m there.”

  The moon moved out from behind a heavy cloud, and the vampire silently studied the profile of the human. With her supernatural sight, she could see that he was tall and had short, black hair. Other than that, the soft rustling sound of blood as it coursed through the human’s veins, held her spellbound. Her fangs extended as she imagined how the thick warm brew would fill up in her mouth before it slithered down her throat to finally settle in her stomach. It would bring a warm flush to her body followed by the irresistible urge to growl in pleasure and victory at yet another successful hunt.

  The human turned slowly and walked away, but at the gate he turned back and looked straight at the spot where she stood.

  Her blood lust was raging as she stared back at the man. She inhaled deeply. With his scent in her nostrils it would be easy to follow him as he walked the distance back to the castle.

  The human must’ve sensed that he was not alone because he increased his walk to a brisk pace as she shadowed him. Giant trees lined the path back, which provided ample cover for her to follow him undetected. The man came to an abrupt halt and turned to look behind him.

  Very intuitive for a human; least of all a man, she thought as she watched him from behind the thick trunk of a tree. The man pulled his jacket tighter around his body and continued to walk. This time his pace was even quicker.

  They were a few yards from the towering castle when she decided to stage her attack. She glided forward quickly and was just about to grab the man from behind and sink her teeth into his neck when a sharp light pierced the darkness. It lit up the whole area. Cursing under her breath, she mumbled a cloaking spell and stood there silently, frozen. The human reached under his jacket, pulled out a cell phone and pressed in a number.

  “Howard, what’s with the blinding beam? Are the guys planning on hunting rabbits later?”

  She couldn’t help smiling at the human’s sense of humor. The light was exaggerated.

  The human chuckled softly, a husky sound that caused an unexpected tickle between the vampire’s legs. She hadn’t been with anyone in a very long time and the huskiness in the man’s voice reminded her so much of … Just thinking about her caused a dull ache to throb to life in her chest.

  The human turned sharply and looked right at her. Even though she knew she was undetectable to the human eye while under a cloaking spell, she held her breath. Being so close to the human she could make out its features clearly and the beauty of the man’s face stunned her. Her eyes narrowed. Was it even a man? With the light behind the human, it was difficult to make out the exact sex of the person. She leaned forward and inhaled deeply.

  She almost stumbled backward at her discovery. Her almost-prey was a woman… a very attractive one. No wonder she’d felt a slight attraction to the human. Now that she was aware of the human’s sex, she allowed her senses free reign. The human smelled wonderful, a mixture of jasmine and her unique feminine scent.

  “Are you still there, Howard?” The woman spoke into her cell phone again. “Yes, I think you’re right. There’s a definite
weirdness about this place. I feel as if I’m being watched. I’ll see you soon.”

  She hung up and pushed the phone back into her pocket and speed walked the last few yards. With a final look over her shoulder, the human opened the door and entered the castle.

  †

  Closing the door behind her, Jessica felt the air explode from her lungs. What a weird experience. Had her visit to the graveyard perhaps awakened the spirit of someone, or was she just being followed by paparazzo? Having them pitch up at photo-shoots was not surprising anymore. Photo-shoots meant the presence of high profile models and sometimes celebrities. And where the stars went, the hounds followed. But there were no camera flashes or anything and whoever, or whatever, had been following her had been very close. Close enough for her to sense an alien feeling of sadness.

  Hurried footsteps came down the hallway and she quickly pulled herself together. It would not do any good to have Howard see how spooked she really was. Howard Moore, a young sandy-haired man with laughing, blue eyes came to stand in front of her. Tonight however, his eyes were not smiling.

  “Please, don’t ever just take off in the middle of the night again. I read up on this place before we came here. What I found raised the hair on the back of my neck.”

  Tell me about it, Jessica thought, but said nothing as she pushed away from the door. No need to rattle Howard any more than he already was.

  “Let’s go grab some dinner and then you tell me everything you know about the place. After dinner we can inspect the set.”

  Howard followed her as they went in search of the dining room. After five minutes of walking up and down the corridor and peeking into rooms, Jessica pulled out her phone.

  “Maybe Grant will know where the dining room is. I swear I would never want to live in such a big place,” she scoffed and keyed in the number of the photo assistant. “I can see myself walking around in my own home with a map … Grant, where’s the dining room? Uhuh … Second door on our right and through another door on our left … Got it!” She hung up and turned to Howard. “We’ll have to use whatever energy we have left sparingly, just in case we get lost again.”

  The directions were spot on and a few minutes later they were sitting around the huge, gleaming table, feasting on cottage pie and a superb red wine. Looking down the long table, Jessica shook her head again. This table could easily sit twenty people. This was too much.

  She recalled Miss Darcy, the housekeeper, telling them earlier that most of the furniture in the castle dated back more than six hundred years. That would probably include the long table. Jessica loved intimate spaces, which translated as something smaller and homey. This castle was way over the top. When the agency’s scout told her that she was flying to England for a shoot, she was under the impression that they would be staying in London and would do the shoot at a studio, or maybe somewhere within the heart of the city. Haunted castles never crossed her mind, but here she was in an eight hundred-year-old castle, in the middle of the English countryside. And she would be here for another three days before flying back to New York. She turned to Howard and took a sip from her wine.

  “Tell me about the place?”

  Howard hastily swallowed a mouthful of cottage pie.

  “Well it’s said that about four hundred years ago, when the castle was still known as Cleaver Keep, the old Marquis, his wife, and a nursemaid were found slaughtered in the upstairs bedrooms. The strange thing about the murders was that the corpses were found drained of blood. Just a day later, the bodies of two men were discovered, also drained and with two little pinpricks in their necks. The village was abuzz with rumors of vampires and blood-drinking ghouls. Some suspected the Marquis’ children, who both disappeared that night never to be seen again. A servant girl apparently also went missing that same night and everyone feared the same fate had befallen her.”

  Jessica pulled a face and took another drink from her wine glass.

  “Where does the haunting part come in?”

  Howard looked around him and leaned closer.

  “Miss Darcy says that of late some of the staff swore they’d seen someone walking down the corridors at night. Others say they’ve seen a woman sitting in the study and there were also sightings of a figure walking around in the graveyard after dark.” Howard forked a spoonful of pie into his mouth.

  No wonder the place freaked me out. “What is the link between the ghostly figure and Marquis’ family?”

  “Apparently, the ghost is always seen standing at the graves of the Marquis and his wife.”

  Jessica nodded slowly. Interesting. She looked around the table and frowned. Only the crew was present. “Enough about ghosts for now. Did the models arrive? Morgana and Sadé were supposed to accompany them from the airport.”

  Howard nodded and Jessica smiled at the look in his eye. Howard was still very young and easily distracted by the long-legged beauties they worked with.

  “Yes. They arrived about an hour ago, while you were out patrolling the grounds. They all declined dinner.” He took a sip from his wine and leaned closer. “There is this one girl in particular that I think you would like.”

  Jessica sat back in her chair and swirled the wine in her glass, as she studied Howard intently. She had a reputation for seducing models on assignments, a fact that had been greatly exaggerated over the years. She slept with a few, a couple of times, in the past and that had eventually led to the breakup of her relationship with her long-time girlfriend. She absently rubbed the spot over her heart. She still missed her ex, terribly.

  “This girl is exotic-looking with big, brown eyes and a killer smile. You were the first person she asked after when she got here.”

  That got Jessica’s attention, and she leaned closer. She was single after all and having a no-strings-attached fling could liven up her stay in this dreary place.

  “Tell me more,” she said with a soft chuckle.

  Howard gave her a sly smile.

  “Well, everyone on the set thinks she’s extremely hot. Even Grant, married or not, couldn’t keep his eyes off her, but she snubbed them all by asking loudly for you.”

  She drained her glass and poured another. After her breakup with Gabriella, she stopped having flings and had kept to herself for the past eleven months. It wasn’t easy, at first, to control her roving eye, but after a while she started to limit the time she’d spent with the models. She took the photos and once she was done for the day, she went to her room or wherever else. She refrained from hanging out with the girls after hours, instead, opting for Howard’s company.

  That’s when he wasn’t skulking around the girls hoping to get lucky. Which he did quite often now. Maybe I should try and see if I still have what it takes to make a woman swoon.

  “Will you send her to my room tonight if you bump into her again?” she asked calmly, her eyes resting on the intricate pattern of the tablecloth beneath her hand.

  “Come again?” Howard asked incredulously and Jessica lifted her grey eyes to look at him.

  “You heard me the first time,” she snapped at him and Howard held up his hands.

  “OK. I’ll send her to your room.”

  “Good. Now finish up so that we can go inspect the set.”

  †

  With her presence cloaked, Clarissa leaned against the table, calmly listening to every word that was said between the woman and the man. Before she’d followed the woman inside, she’d stood outside trying to figure out her sudden attraction to the strange woman. She would never feel for anyone what she’d felt for Trinity, but this woman had a peculiar appeal. She had beautiful eyes, too. Their color reminded her of the doves she’d used to feed behind the castle when she was young. It’s almost impossible to think that was more than four hundred years ago. She quickly dragged her thoughts back to the present. The past would intrude soon enough, when the sun is up and she lies locked in her cold, corpse-like state.

  The woman pushed her fingers through her hair, ruffling the rich
, raven locks. Clarissa had to curb the urge to reach out and brush her fingers through the short hair. The boy cut suited her, made her look tough and dangerously attractive. It completed the biker chick look of tight, white t-shirt and heavy leather jacket.

  Studying the woman closely, Clarissa was surprised to find that she was content just looking at the woman as she ate and talked with the young man. The only time Clarissa stepped away from them was when the young man started to tell the woman about the murder of her parents.

  She made a mental note to be more careful in future. She was so engrossed in her thoughts and misery that she wasn’t aware that the staff and villagers had detected her presence. She had arrived back here three months ago after having traveled extensively. She’d been almost everywhere, visiting all the places she’d read about in the books at her disposal in the prison-like suite of rooms that Mary had built for her. She’d returned here. To the place where everything started and ended for her, Cleaver Keep. It was here, she decided, where she wanted to end it all. The castle was still in their family name. Tristan had employed a family to look after the place and had placed a sizeable amount of money in a fund for its upkeep.

  Before she ended it all, she needed to make sure that everything was neatly wrapped up. The castle would be sold and the proceeds divided between a charity and the Darcy family. But she was still having trouble letting go of her family home, for now. There were still so many memories here that she wanted to relive before she severed all ties.

  The woman’s soft chuckle interrupted her reverie and she turned to look at her again. She frowned when she heard what they were talking about. The humans rose to their feet and left the dining room.