Wild Fire by Heather Glidewell
Wild Fire
The Wardens Book Three
Copyright 2016 Heather Glidewell
ISBN: 9781370921898
For My Wonderful Husband
You watched this world take me over.
You have suffered through countless stories & plot changes.
You helped me find the place where my daydream belongs.
Through it all you have remained forever supportive.
For that I love you.
PROLOGUE
I still find myself wishing this was all a dream. I long for the days when all I dealt with was rumors. I want to be the one that is feared again, not the one that is sought out for protection. If this was a dream I could still be wrapped in the arms of Wesley as the world passes me by. Maybe this is a spell, witches did exist after all. Oh what am I thinking? I know better than that. I can let go of the delusion that it’s fake. I know Wesley is gone and Aaron is gone as well. Then there is me, I’m broken and battered, my heart is empty and alone.
I think I am cursed, it seems no matter who I get attached to something horrible happens to them. Wesley was taken from me by force, Aaron by accident, all I have no is Adam. Of all the humans in my life Adam is the one that has held on for dear life. No matter what he has been put through he keeps right on trucking.
I know I will always love Wesley, and I still have every intention of saving him. Yet after seeing the changes in him, I couldn’t be with him no matter if I wanted to. Wesley and I were pushed apart, we were nothing more than a simple what was. I will be roaming the earth fighting battles with fire in hopes of making a difference while he drained the lives of those around him because it was his only method of living. At least that is what the image said to me, the night that he had summoned me to his plain. The once sickly boy suddenly looking bright and alive. There is always a possibility that it was a mirage but I doubted it. They were changing him.
Yes, I was going to save him. I was going to find Aaron and I was going to protect Adam. My heart is torn in three separate directions. The question remains in the back of my mind. If had to sacrifice one for another would I be able to do it?
Part One
CHAPTER ONE
Stories
Dearest Dawn,
It’s been awhile since I have sent you a message. Everything is going great here. I’m learning a lot of pretty cool stuff that I wish I could tell you about. I’ve been having dreams, or they could be memories of us together. Though I can feel the emotions while I sleep when I wake I am confused. How is that I can feel for you in my thoughts but not in the real world?
I know that this must have been hard for you. I mean I bared my soul to you, told you I loved you and now I have to take it all back. Though I do love you it’s not in the way that I thought I did. I think I was attracted to the idea of love and not so much the emotion itself. I suppose it is true that at our age we have no concept of what love really is. I’m glad in a way that you never confirmed you had the same feelings. Maybe you were more understanding to the concept than I was at the time.
I do not want to lose you as my friend but once you learn what I have become you may not be so willing to allow me into your world. It’s not the same as yours. There is so much here that I wish I could tell you. I have met things that I thought were only alive in books. If you can believe that.
I have probably said too much already in concerns to what is here. I will write you more when they allow me time. I am quite busy right now. They tell me something is coming. I just pray that you will be out of the crossfire on this one.
I hope you are well. I heard you missed graduation because of your ill grandfather. I hope he finds peace soon and you and your mother can go on with life. Until then I wish you the best. I promise to write more later.
Your Friend Forever,
Aaron
The emails had been more and more like this recently. He had felt compelled to tell me that he didn’t know if he ever loved me quite a bit in our emails. I knew he did and I knew the changes he had gone through had changed how he felt about me even now. So why was he questioning it?
I hit the reply button and sent my message back to Aaron, as I had done each time he had taken a moment to think of me. My fingers flew as my thoughts developed. I didn’t care if the email made sense or not I just wanted to let him know that I was thinking about as I had done every day since his father took him away from me.
Aaron,
Sounds like things are going pretty good there. I sure wish I knew where you were. It would make me worry a lot less about you and your family. It has been hard to grasp the fact that you are gone. I understand you had to do what you did in order to move on. There is nothing wrong with moving on. We are young, we bounce back from heartbreak. You just made it easier to get through the hard spots of losing Wesley and I thank you for that.
My grandfather is doing as well as well can be. My mother spends most days wondering around the house taking care of things. Adam’s dad allowed him to come and spend the summer with us. He has made things a lot easier to deal with. Being around death really opens your eyes to a lot of things going on in the world.
Now as for you and me. Maybe I did have a better understanding of love when we were together, that could very well be what brought me to you in the first place. You shared something with me that I wished I could have but was too scared to let go. Maybe we really are too young to understand what love is.
We will always have prom night though. I think that’s a pretty good memory to hold onto. One when both of us had those moments to just let go of inhibition and go with the flow.
So you have met many new beings where you are? I truly wish you could tell me what they are. I have always thought the supernatural to be something quite fascinating. You never know what could possibly be real and what isn’t. I hope one day we can talk about things openly and not hide behind candid words. I hope to hear from you soon.
Sincerely,
Dawn
I closed my eyes and shut the lid to my lap top my mother had purchased for me as a graduation gift. She also thought it would be a good way to keep in touch with the few friends that I had made while at Midvale. Including Aaron in his unknown location and Nadine. I didn’t hear from her too often. Since her and Adam broke up she had been dating the captain of her high school’s football team. She had called him “dreamy” in our last conversation online the other night. I hadn’t told Adam that she was seeing someone else. I didn’t know how he would take it after all.
For so long I had listened to how he wanted to dump her, so when she dumped him it changed the perspective of things. I got up from my desk and checked the time. It was just after five meaning that the festivities were just gearing up outside. I grabbed my phone and beat on the door that connected mine and Adam’s room together.
“Story time.” I called through the door as I heard the knob begin to jingle.
“Awesome.” He said entering my room.
Adam enjoyed story times with the allies. He learned more about the histories of what was in the world. Who bred with who to get what creature? He enjoyed the war songs of the fae as well as the fireworks provided by the warlocks and witches. We had sessions where the other shard carriers would show us the magic’s they could pull with their chosen element. It was quite a time and everyone enjoyed the moments to just reflect on those that were here and those that were lost.
He gave me a hug and grabbing my hand yanked me down the stairs and out the back door. I looked out over the campsites towards the newly constructed barn. My father had a goal of turning it into a place for the allies to live until the time that they felt they could go home to their fr
We took our seats around the large bonfire just as the allies were pulling their camp chairs and other items towards the flames. We looked like a large AA group from the outside which I always found funny. It was my idea for the meetings. A chance for everyone to get to know each other and blend their heritage.
My mother figured if everyone knew how the others got here it would solidify our army. So she agreed with me and began the first story night just a few weeks earlier. We weren’t requiring everyone to fight, we kept it up to the being if they chose to when the time came. We just offered food, shelter, and protection to those that had seen firsthand the dangers of the Hybrid Queen's Army.
Tonight's speaker was a sixteen year old girl and her boyfriend. They had been one of the first to show when all this began. Covered in dirt and blood they traveled by foot from Iowa, she claimed that they were the last living two of their group. My mother had taken them in and cleaned them up, gave them food, and offered them rooms in the house until such a time that they decided they wanted to be with the others.
The girl was short, just about five foot two with long brown hair and piercing blue eyes. She had a wicked smile which showed the demon blood that ran in her veins. The boy was taller, about five ten with soft brown eyes and a sweet smile showing the angel blood. The complex had been where their parents lived, it was filled with those that had been visited, and most often loved, a being of celestial powers. She could turn anything into a weapon, while he had the ability of supersonic speed as well as light teleportation. The two together were astounding, being polar opposites had its advantages for these two kids. They were able to use the others power for their own gain. This of course made them deadly.
She flashed her smile at the gathering group while he shyly kept his hands in his pockets. Though not Pureblooded they had both rejected the invite to the Queens Army seeking out the Wardens for protection. Both had pledged to fight when the time came, though young they were well trained. I found myself long for more than just them to arrive from their compound. When nobody else showed it only solidified the idea that Miranda was ruthless and would kill anyone that opposed her.
“My name is Annabelle and this is my boyfriend Shane. We both come from a complex in Iowa where we lived with others of our kind in peace.” She had a deep feminine voice that held a maturity that was far beyond her age. “The Army that invaded our complex was an off branch of the Army based in New Mexico lead by a dark haired demon and a small pale woman with blonde hair. They slaughtered our families before our eyes for not joining their legion but Shane and I both got away.” She looked at the boy who was still observing at the ground, his hands stuffed safety in his pockets.
“We grew up on the stories of origins.” He said slowly looking towards the crowd. “We knew of the first flame, the first rain, the first harvest, and the first breeze. We knew that the shards of both darkness and light were kept in the cores of those that had both demon and angel blood in their veins.” He sighed, he was obvious he was not comfortable speaking to a group.
“When we declined to join the Army they put a knife to Shane’s throat and told me that they would kill him.” Annabelle laughed softly. “They had no idea the power that he possessed. As soon as he teleported I was able to take two rocks and smash in the head of the blonde girl. From there we ran, leaving her body in his father’s living room. We didn’t stick around to see what happened with the corpse, though we assume the dark haired boy found her lifeless body.”
“We walked for many days and nights sleeping only when we felt we were safe.” Shane broke in. “We had to make sure that none of them followed us. We looked for anyone that was like us but found nobody along the roads.” Shane’s voice faded as his bottom lip began to quiver. Losing his family had taken a toll on him and even in the few sacred moments I had enjoyed his company I had seen just how torn he was.
“When we got here we were greeted by Angelina and her daughter, the Fire Warden. We have been here ever sense.” Annabelle said looking at me her eyes sparkling.
“We pledge our allegiance to the allied force. Where the Wardens go we will follow. Our lives are in their debt, if there is anything that we can do for them we will do it.” Shane said finally taking one hand out of his pocket and grasping onto Annabelle’s. His pain was tearing through me and in that moment I felt my heart skip a beat.
“Our coven was attacked by the same dark haired boy.” A tall man in the back spoke. He was the leader of a coven of pureblood vampires that the Army had sought out to destroy due to their lack of hybrid blood lines. “We were able to take out half of his forces before he got the best of us. When we fled there were only twelve of the hundred and twenty vampires I cared for.”
“Same here!” Cried a young shifter. “They threatened to kill all those that did not join their forces. None of our group bent to their will and when we showed there were only twenty of us left.”
“This Queen must be destroyed!” The warlocks screamed above the others. “Either we are being slaughtered because we are pure, or because we cannot transform the way that our experimental parents wanted us to.”
“Not to mention the Carriers. Many of us had no clue what we carried within our blood we did not know that we were protectors of the earth itself. None of us realized just how important we are. They know that if they take out the Carriers that it will weaken the Wardens.” Said a tall woman who had come to us reveling she could manipulate water.
“When do we get our chance to take her out?” Asked a young warlock sitting in the front row.
“We are not at full power.” My mother said standing up. “We still have yet to bring the forth forward.”
“Why does it matter if we have her? We have the other three and from what all of us saw they are quite powerful.” Asked a female voice from somewhere in the back.
“When we find the fourth the girls will be at full power. They will be able to lead as well as train. We will be able to figure out a plan.” My mother answered her bottom lip quivering.
“When do you plan on removing the Harbinger?” Asked another voice with an unknown face.
“As soon as we have more warriors. I am only sitting at six.” My father chimed in standing next to my mother.
“Why are the Angels and Demons so quiet, why won’t they decide to fight with us?” The questions were starting to get out of hand. I couldn’t keep up with everything that was being said as it was.
“I’m sure they have their own defenses formed. The only way that Heaven and Hell will be invaded is if they are successful in ridding the world of the Wardens and their corresponding Carriers.” My father said putting his arm around my mother. She was becoming overwhelmed by the amount of honesty that was beaming from the camp. She looked unsteady.
“I hate to break the question and answer portion of this evening up but we have a situation that the girls need to handle.” Shawn interrupted his eyes black as night. “There is a presence in Harrisville, a lost soul searching for something. We need them to retrieve it.”
The crowd went quiet as the three of us got up from our seats and began to walk towards the back of the crowd. I grumbled to myself. This would figure. Right when we were getting into the good stuff it was time to be called off for crowd control.
“Be careful.” Adam said squeezing my hand as I pushed by him.
“No fear. I will see you shortly.” I said giving him a smile.