Part Twenty:
 

Rating: PG
 

Arianna and Gabriel immediately put Arianna’s plan into effect. Arianna’s vampire senses picked up on a river close by, and before they dragged Mary-Lynnette’s unconscious attacker up to the bank, Arianna pulled on a leather glove and stuck her hand into the man’s pants pocket. She retrieved a book of matches and a ring of house keys.

“Bingo,” she whispered, satisfied. She put them in a plastic specimen bag Gabriel had found in the car.

They went down to the river and threw the man in. Gabriel pulled him from the water before he drowned. Then they removed all of the man’s clothing and Arianna tossed it into the branches of three different trees.

They returned to the clearing where Mary-Lynnette’s car was parked. She was talking with Ash. The blood had dried in rivulets down her cheeks. Arianna approached them.

“Mary-Lynnette, take everything out of your car that you might want to keep. You’re never seeing it again.”

“What?” Mary-Lynnette stared at Arianna.

“You heard me.” Arianna showed her the matches. “The guy who attacked you had these in his pocket. Gabe and I threw him and all his clothes in the river to get rid of any fingerprints. Don’t worry; we didn’t drown him, just wiped his memory of the past day. The only thing in his pocket besides these matches was this set of keys. We’re leaving those by the car to make it seem like he torched it. The matchbook’s going next to them. The guy’s clothes are in a tree by the river, and he’s lying facedown in the mud by the water. We’re getting out of here, and so are you. As of tomorrow, the world will think you’re dead. You’re about to stage your own death, Mary-Lynnette Carter, and I happen to be an expert on it. Right, Ash?”

Ash didn’t answer.

“Wait—” Mary-Lynnette attempted to get to her feet and almost fell over. With Ash’s assistance she was able to stand. “Why are we doing all this? And why do you have to burn my car? That’s what happened to the last one! This is going to be the second car I’ve owned that’s going to go up in flames!” Ash snickered. Mary-Lynnette pinched him and told him to shut up.

Arianna raised an eyebrow. “Would you rather sit underground in a coffin for a few days until Ash and I come and dig you out? That’s what happened to Ash’s cousin James and his soulmate, Poppy. Poppy was sick and dying, so James changed her and put her to sleep. Then he had to go and dig her up again. When she woke up she was so hungry she almost ate her own brother. Is that what you want? And I’ve seen your brother. He’s pretty cute. It’d be a shame to have you eat him.”

Mary-Lynnette looked horrified. “But what if they start an investigation to look for me? My dad won’t rest until they at least find my body.”

Arianna and Ash exchanged looks. “A little mind control will change that. Don’t worry! We’ve got everything taken care of.”

Gabriel came walking over just then. “I just made sure there was an oil leakage,” he said. “On an old car like that there’s bound to be some problems. It was almost too easy making it look natural. All we need now is a match.” He grinned at Arianna and she couldn’t help but smile back.

“I don’t understand,” Mary-Lynnette said.

Arianna patted her arm sympathetically. “Of course you don’t, dear. That’s to be expected from—” She caught the look Ash was giving her and stopped talking.

Mary-Lynnette decided to ignore whatever it was Arianna was about to say. “But why do you have to blow up my car?”

“Because it’s fun!” Arianna exclaimed giddily. Ash rolled his eyes. She was about to get dramatic. Arianna was one of the smartest, most levelheaded people he knew, but she went through the strangest mood swings. One minute she would be perfectly calm and logical, and the next she would be a raving lunatic. It was hard to keep up.

Arianna grabbed Mary-Lynnette’s hand and pulled her towards the car. “Do you want to light it?”

Mary-Lynnette struggled in Arianna's grip. “No! I don’t want to blow it up at all; why would I want to be the one to light it?”

Arianna looked at her as if she had three heads and one was singing the “Star-Spangled Banner.” “Because it’s fun,” she said, as though it should be obvious. She made a sound of annoyance and left Mary-Lynnette to join Gabriel by the car. Gabriel was playing with a cigarette lighter.

“All ready?” Arianna asked him. He nodded and handed her the plastic bag containing the matches they had picked up from the drunk.

Together they stepped back. Using her gloved hand, Arianna tore a match from the booklet and examined the red tip. She lit it with a flourish and then made a big show of throwing it at the car.

The effect was beautiful. The fire spread over the grass like a breaking wave, surrounding the automobile and engulfing it. Arianna grinned in excitement. The flames were like something living – dancing, and writhing, with tails swishing and mouths smiling, biting– and eyes – oh, the eyes! They winked at her, and the grinning mouths blew kisses into the sky.

She draped an arm around Gabriel’s waist. “The salamanders,” she whispered. “Do you see them? Do you see them in the fire?” The experience was magical and invigorating. Arianna felt alive.

And yet…she was scared. She had always been frightened of fire. And this – this was the same scene that she had witnessed four years earlier, back in New York. The fire had taken her old life. But for some reason it hadn’t taken her.

I will not think of this now, she thought, burying her face in Gabriel’s shoulder. But she would have to – soon. She would have to face the pain. She had to tell all of it to Mary-Lynnette. And Gabriel would finally hear everything all at once. He deserved that, at least. He had a right to know the complete unabridged story of her past. And she would do this for Ash. He had been there when she needed him – literally saving her life. Now he needed her to save his, after she had tried so many times to destroy it.

Arianna remembered the ache she used to have – the ache to hold Ash’s life in her hands and crush it. That ache was gone, now that she had Gabriel. She’d stopped hurting once she’d found him again. Right now he was smoothing down her hair, comforting her.

“Damn, where are the marshmallows when you need them?” he said. She turned her face up towards his and he grinned down at her. She gave him a happy smile. He was the best.

“Is this going to be an annual thing with us?” Mary-Lynnette asked. “Because I don’t think I can afford another car.”

“Don’t worry,” Ash told her. “Next year we’ll barbecue mine.”

Mary-Lynnette grinned and leaned against his solid warmth. They were sitting in the grass, watching Arianna and Gabriel watch the fire. What had once been her car was now a metal shell with flames pouring out. The smile disappeared from her face. Her car wasn’t the only thing being destroyed right now. Her life was disintegrating with it.

I’m never coming back, she thought. Mary-Lynnette looked around her. In all likelihood she would never set foot in these woods again. She might never even come back to Oregon. She would never again see her family, or that sorry excuse for a town, Briar Creek. She looked at Ash. He gave her one of those gorgeous smiles she had missed so much while he was gone. She would be seeing those a lot more now. That was some consolation. She’d spend every hour of every day with Ash – her soulmate. She was in love with her soulmate. And he was in love with her.

Maybe she would learn how to deal with living in the Night World after all.

Kestrel and Company were gone when they returned to the house. The entire place was empty, and Arianna was glad of it. As much as she liked Ash’s sisters, and as nice as their soulmates seemed, she didn’t want anyone around when she told her story.

“Let’s sit in the living room,” she suggested. “It’s a more relaxed environment.”

Arianna sat on the sofa next to Gabriel. She faced Mary-Lynnette, who was sitting beside Ash on the loveseat. “All right,” she said. “You’re about to hear everything. And, because it’s a lot, I’m going to save myself the trouble of sitting here and talking for the next three days. Gabriel here is going connect all of our minds, and then I will select certain memories from my own mind and anything from Gabe’s or Ash’s that’s relevant to the memory. That way you’ll be getting an objective view of what’s happening, along with the thoughts of everyone involved. Got that?” Mary-Lynnette nodded, and Arianna turned to Gabriel. She could see his uneasiness at the thought of connecting a group of people. C’mon, babe. What’s the use of knowing how to control your powers if you’re never going to use them? she sent.

You’re right, he said mentally. But if I end up connected to Ash and Kessler I’m killing myself to break the links.

Arianna rolled her eyes at him. Just do it. Arianna felt a surge of energy coming from Gabriel as he gathered his power. Then she felt it burst out in three directions, stopping as it hit its targets. The next thing she knew she could feel Ash and Mary-Lynnette’s presence more strongly than she had before. She was always aware of Gabriel, so that was nothing new. She concentrated on holding back her thoughts, and then spoke aloud to Mary-Lynnette. There was no need for telepathy when things were about to get very intimate. Mary-Lynnette was about to see into Arianna’s mind – she didn’t need to hear her talking in her head. Leaning her elbows on her lap, she dropped her chin into her hands. “Where do I begin?” she asked. “There’s so much to tell. Maybe the best place to begin is the beginning. All right, fine. The beginning then…”

And thus begins the tale of the Guardian.
 

Note: At this point the story comes to a standstill. It goes into a flashback that all four people in the room are seeing, as if it were a movie, but with insight to the characters' thoughts and feelings. The flashback is called Blazing Memories - The History of Arianna Blaze, and when it ends The Guardian picks up again on part 21, got it? Have any questions? E-mail me.