Shadow Guardians: The Promised
Chapter 1

4 years later...

“Nooo!” The paper squirrel overwhelmed the paper frog beneath the lush cover of a grand tree, and the paper frog was gracefully turned on his back, legs in the air. Amielle pushed out her lower lip. “How does a squirrel beat a frog? Squirrels don’t even eat frogs...No fair with you controlling them.”

“I let the frog win the last time.” Marionette, who was lying on her back on the soft grass beneath the canopy’s shade, giggled as she twirled her fingers and lifted her origami creations with her telekinesis.

The sun was shining brightly, and Amielle lay next to her on the grass, using her wing to shield her from the warm rays. Mari knew she should take advantage of the sun while she could, as she was no longer as resistant to its effects as she once was.

Although younglings could withstand the sun better, they still got sunburned more easily than humans. And Mari was feeling achy, which was a sign that her transition was nearing. She just didn’t know when it would happen.

“Where did you learn to fold these?” Mari asked her.

“Oh, from a Chinese lady. I went over there yesterday and saw her do it.” Amielle replied while taking hold of her mangled frog as it was lowered down.

“You went to China?! Yesterday?”

“Yeah,” Amielle winked, “light travels fast, you know.”

“What did you do in China?” Mari turned her head, and a ray of sunshine illuminated her butterscotch-blonde locks of hair. Her hair was splayed out on the grass, which made her look like an angel too.

“I sometimes go to different places to protect people. I like to travel,” Amielle smoothed out Marionette’s hair. “Keeps things interesting.”

Mari stared at her with a soft smile.

“What?” Amielle asked, giving a half-giggle.

“You’re so beautiful.”

“Aw,” she cocked her head, “so are you. Maybe your mate is getting restless in there all by himself.”

“Is he?”

“Certainly feels that way. Or maybe he’s just having a bad dream?” More like a wet one, but she wasn’t going to admit that to Mari. Amielle stifled an impending giggle.

Mari yawned. “Maybe I should go to sleep, too,” she sighed. “I have class later.”

Amielle studied her. Marionette was different. Having grown up in an aristocratic household, she wasn’t much interested in fighting demons. Her interests lay very close to Maggie’s, she wanted to help out in her clinic in the coven house. And she felt very self-conscious about being different from the other vampires. She was more interested in biology than she was in guns. Perhaps it was a very slight bit of nosferi heritage coming through in her, owing to her father.

Mari wasn’t very popular in the underground compound among the other females. They didn’t bother her, she simply didn’t feel like she had anything in common with them. Most of her recesses, she sat with Arlena or Amielle. And she didn’t participate in the arena. She was more intellectually inclined.

Rising from the grass, she dusted her dress off and shaded her eyes with a flat hand while she watched a finch drink water by the fountain.

“You can keep these,” Amielle handed her the origami animals. “I have to go now. I’m needed,” she said, fisting her hands on her hips. “Fyre is barking orders in the seventh realm.”

“Thanks.” She said, gathering them up carefully, “Will you show me how to make them again? Especially the squirrel, that one sent my intelligence into a nosedive.”

“Of course!” Amielle beamed, “Oh, and tell him. He’ll understand.”

Mari knitted her brows. “Okay...”

Amielle vanished into a stream of sunlight.

Walking back towards the house, Mari halted and picked a lavender rose. She had been smitten with them ever since Uriah gave her that first one, and a vase with a neat arrangement of them occupied a permanent spot on the end table near the door of Uriah’s - their - living pad.

While admiring the softness of the petals, she took care to keep her fingertips away from the thorns on the stem. The delicate beauty of the flowers was contrasted by the sharpness. She wondered if she, as delicate as she was, belonged among these warriors who fought against the demonic spawn each night.

Why did she have to be different? She had dreams for a life beyond fighting, where she could pursue becoming a doctor or selling her paintings because Uriah had bought her an easel.

Gazing out over the garden, she envisioned the potential uses of her telekinesis as a surgeon. She would never need to ask anyone for assistance with delicate procedures like holding a scalpel or clamping down an artery. She could easily handle it all on her own.

As she thought of Uriah, she knew that their bond was unbreakable. He would never leave her. However, she couldn’t help but wonder if her delicate nature would cause tension within the coven. She would hate to be the reason for a rift between Uriah and his brothers, and only because she didn’t want to fully participate in their warrior lifestyle.

With a heavy heart, she made her way back inside.

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