The Curse of the Guardian

The next two days were extremely busy at the bakery so I had no time to think about Tim or ask Penelope about him. Penelope and Mia were awol most of the time, getting ready for the ceremony, most importantly getting their aura cleanse on, while I was stuck at home being in charge of everything. Finally the night before the full moon, one night before the ceremony I took some time for myself. I put the daily report papers in the drawers, put on some loud music and baked some mini muffins. A long time employee of the bakery, Tamara, requested if we could sell some mini muffins, since they have apparently been the newest craze at her daughter’s high school. I decided to look at some recipes online and try baking them, just to see how they end up and if they would be an appropriate item to sell. Baking was my favorite relaxing activity, since you can do whatever the hell you want and most of the time you get a yummy dessert or at least you have some fun and you can post fail pictures on whatever social media you use. I personally don’t have social media, but the bakery has several profiles on several sites, so they need to be constantly updated and customers really do appreciate seeing how we make our delicious muffins. After a couple of hours of mixing ingredients, playing around in the kitchen and eventually tasting half of them I’ve had enough. I finally felt relaxed and I was ready to battle the big bad evil tomorrow night, together with my cousin and her on and off again girlfriend. I put half of the muffins in a little basket so I could take pictures and the other half went into little bins to see how they would sell in a couple of hours during the morning rush.

I picked two of the most flavorful, most colorful cupcakes and put them on a little plate on a window. They were an offering for our Domovoy, the spirit that has chosen to protect my family line. She wears the image of a small, older woman with a smile that is too big for her face. She doesn’t show herself often, only when something extremely bad will happen or something extremely good and with the spirits that usually means death or birth, as those impact them the most. My grandma said that she still sees the Domovoy at their house, so I guess it either spends half its time here and half over there, or Mia and I got our own Domovoy, which does seem unlikely. Nevertheless, once we moved into this apartment the Domovoy showed her face with her creepy smile and I knew we were safe. I offered her my food then and have continued to offer anytime I remember. It is always good to have a Domovoy at your house as that shows the health of the house and of the household. No evil spirits or curses can impact us directly while at the house, as Domovoy will protect us. There are horror stories that we tell at the bonfire, whenever the family of the Domovoy turns evil, so will the Domovoy and instead of having a nice spirit who helps you and protects you, it turns demonic and it will punish the family it was supposed to protect. I looked over at the cupcakes, happy that I remembered that someone else in the house will enjoy them as well and decided I was done for today.

I changed my nasty baking shirt for a slightly less nasty sleeping shirt and called my favorite Chinese restaurant to order a feast. I always ordered way more than I could eat, because I love leftovers and if Mia comes home and realizes that there isn’t enough leftovers for her, she will cause a fight. The Chinese restaurant knew us as silly white girls who always ordered enough food to feed the local homeless population, but hey, at least we always got extra cookies and soy sauce.

I put on a movie that I have been dying to watch, The Queen of the Damned, and went to the kitchen to make a tea from Brazil that my aunt sent me in a care package. My aunt loves to travel around the world and every time she finds some kind of interesting food or drink she sends it to me, because she knows I appreciate it more than anyone else. Just as my tea was finished, and it smelled divine by the way, I heard a doorbell ring. I was surprised since it was kind of fast to be my Chinese food, but I went anyway and opened the door, money in hand. As soon as I saw Tim standing there my mouth opened but no sound escaped it. I stared at him until he finally asked me to come in.

“Hello there, I was wandering in the neighborhood and I thought we could talk a little?” His voice caught me unaware, and I opened the door more.

“Of course, come on in.” I said and moved aside. Too late I remembered that my kitchen is a mess, so I quickly added.

“Please don’t judge me by the state of the kitchen!”

“I would never judge a woman by the state…,” he was saying as he entered but then he actually saw the mess and whistled in surprise.

“I hope whatever you made tastes as good as it smells?” He asked me with a raised eyebrow and gave me a once over. I was suddenly very aware that I was wearing a long t-shirt that although does cover all the important parts, it was not meant to be seen by anyone else but me. Blushing, I offered him a basket full of mini cupcakes and whispered.

“I tried making different kinds of mini cupcakes and you are welcome to try them.” He accepted the basket and sat down in front of the tv, interested in the movie. I quickly went to the bedroom to find a pretty summer dress and some short leggings, not because I was ashamed of my legs, I just felt more comfortable with leggings when wearing a short skirt. By the time I came back, Tim was on his third cupcake. He looked at me, mouth full of food, trying to say something but stopped as he saw me. I don’t know if it was because he liked what he saw or he was just surprised at my quick changing skills.

I sat next to him and smiled at his cupcake eating skills.

“Don’t fill too much with cupcakes, I have food coming soon!” He quickly finished the cupcake he was holding and returned the smile.

“I hope I’m not imposing, I just wanted to have a short conversation since our last one got interrupted, and Penelope mentioned that you should have some time later today.” I tried not to roll my eyes at the comment, but I guess I didn’t specify to the girls that I had planned a night for myself tonight.

“No, you are good. I just wasn’t expecting any company.” I said, trying to be confident. I suddenly remembered the tea on the kitchen counter.

“Would you like to try some tea? My aunt sent it to me from Brazil and it’s supposed to relax you and prepare you for the day ahead?” He took a second to think it through and accepted the offer. I got up, poured us two cups and brought them to the sofa. He accepted his cup gracefully and smelled it as if he was some kind of tea expert. He smiled from behind the cup, and the smile made me all giggly. Once again I was reminded of just how handsome he was, and for a second I thought he was here to seduce me, but that thought went out of my head rather quickly, since I was sure this was not a social visit.

“It smells divine, this miracle tea. Your aunt got it in Brazil?”

“Yeah she likes to travel around and then she sends me all kinds of treats and specialties.” We both took a sip and the tea truly was nice, but it was not making me relaxed. To fill the silence I finally asked.

“So, how can I help you?” I leaned over to take a mini cupcake from the basket at the same time as he leaned to get the cupcake himself. Our hands touched and I quickly pulled myself back. He took his cupcake and smiled.

“First you can tell me what are you watching?” He waved his hand toward the tv so suddenly that the dessert almost flew out of his hands.

“It’s just Queen of the Damned. I recently read all of Anne Rice novels and now I’m watching the movies, just so I can complain how much the movie writers got it wrong. I love to do that on occasion. I also love watching vampire movies in general, only to ask the vampires if they’ve seen it and what is their opinion on garlic.” I giggled, remembering the last vampire answer and how one question led into a full length conversation about where movies and books got these ideas of how vampires are. Tim turned toward the tv.

“I would love to watch Queen of the Damned with you, would you mind restarting the movie?” he was being completely serious and I stared at him a little in surprise.

“Did you just invite yourself…” he interrupted my thought.

“Shh, let’s just start the movie, yes?” I laughed but restarted the movie and pressed play.

I am usually quite loud at commenting and pointing out all the wrong things, but I held myself back because I knew it was rude. It’s a bad habit and it’s the reason why I don’t go to the cinema to watch the movies, I just wait until they are released on bluray and watch them at home, where I’m alone and no one minds my nasty comments. Yes it does get lonely, but hey you can’t have everything. Luckily for me, Tim seemed to be the same as me, as he immediately commented on Lestat’s singing and how he has never heard of a vampire singing quite like that. I paused the movie, because it was too interesting to miss even a second of it and leaned over to Tim. As he leaned back I whispered:

“Actually there is a local legend about one of the castles around the area where I lived. Well not around, a couple of hours away, but close enough that it was an important scary story in my youth.”

“I’m all ears,” he said. I leaned even closer because when you talk about local scary legends, you just have to whisper. We were so close, that if either one of us would lean a bit more we could kiss.

“There once was a vampire lord, old and scary, living all alone in his castle. The castle was on top of the hill overlooking several towns below, as it was a custom at the time. One of the towns was filled with life and theater and it was meant for the richer merchants instead of serfs and farmers and it was his favorite place to be and to hunt. One night a singer arrived, a pretty girl, fresh from a nearby village. She was lovely to look at but not a great beauty, until she started to sing. She sat at the water fountain one day and sang a song about a sunflower looking for the sun. It was as if her whole body was illuminated from the inside. At the moment she started singing she became the most beautiful girl in the entire town and beyond, maybe even in the entire world. She became famous and would sing every other day in the biggest theater in the town. One night a few years after this happened, the old, lonely vampire was walking around the town, searching for something to do, something to watch or listen to. That’s when he heard her sing and he fell in love. He would watch her every performance, and became her biggest fan. He would pay for everything she wanted, everything her little heart desired. But what she wanted was not something that can be bought. She wanted eternal youth. Vampire lord knew that not many great artists are meant to be young eternally as it breaks something in them after a few decades. Killing kills the soul, he would often say and vampires sooner or later, start to kill. The singer was relentless. The day she noticed the first wrinkle, she stopped singing and declared she was sick and dying. The vampire lord, thinking she was sincere, did what he thought was right. He took her to his castle and made her a vampire. Soon she rose, dead and pale, a vampire and she sang, even more beautifully than before.”

The doorbell interrupted the tale. We both jumped a little in surprise and laughed. I got up and got my immense order of Chinese food. I put everything on the coffee table in front of us and invited Tim to eat.

“Woman, did you lie to me when you said you didn’t expect company or have you not eaten for days?” He exclaimed. I laughed, a bit embarrassed.

“I just really like Chinese and I couldn’t decide on what to get, so I got all my favorites.” I paid the delivery boy and got my favorite bowls and chopsticks. I handed another bowl with some funny text to Tim, and started piling up food. He watched me in awe as I ate with chopsticks as a master, inhaling my food more than actually eating it.

“Oh I’m sorry, do you prefer a fork?” I realized maybe not everyone likes eating with chopsticks.

“No, I’m good,” he laughed.

“You just surprised me.”

“Good surprise or bad surprise?” I asked a bit more quietly.

“Very good.” He started choosing his own food from the big selection on the table.

“So what happened to the vampire lady? Did she kill and become depressed and meet the sun?” I sat a bit straighter, putting the bowl on the table and continued the tale of woe.

“She still sang, but now she sang at night for the creatures of the night. Vampires from all around the world would come to visit her and she was known as the Transylvanian beauty. She married the vampire lord in a lavish ceremony and for a while all seemed good. But she grew jealous of humans who could still sing in the light of the day, who could walk around and in her eyes enjoy things she could no longer enjoy. Every time she would hear a woman with a nice voice she would go to town and drain her dry. Everywhere she would go, bodies would start piling up and people started to wonder. Women would disappear, girls would follow and the great singer could or would not stop. The Lord was devastated. Her appetite was too great and before the people of the town would storm the castle with fire and pitchforks, he took it upon himself to resolve the situation. He sent his son a letter, explaining what has been happening and that he needs to return to become the lord in his stead, then gave his wife a cup of blood, as if nothing was wrong. But inside that cup was the poison that paralyzed the woman. He took her to the roof of the castle and sang to her for the first time in centuries. She never knew that the vampire lord was once a great singer himself and he was the most famous singer of his time, but she was so selfish she never bothered to ask anything about him. As he sang the melody, ancient and long forgotten they met the sun together and perished.” Tim was staring at me, mouth open.

“That is such a sad story, and yet so… thrilling.” I smiled and picked up my bowl.

“My mother always said that if I hadn’t been chosen to become a guardian, I would have followed the first storyteller who came to the village.” I giggled a little and continued eating, not noticing the strange look Tim was giving me.

“Ok, I have several questions, but let’s finish the movie and food and then we can talk.” Before I pressed play I looked at him, squinting my eyes.

“Didn’t you come here to talk to me about something?”

“Yes, but then I wouldn’t get to spend time with you. Now we can enjoy each other’s company and accomplish the task I set out to.” I rolled my eyes just a little, and pressed play. We ate, we watched and we talked about the movie. He had his own thoughts about how Akasha should have done things and I informed him that books are better, but I really did like how Akasha was in the movie. I also exclaimed how I would totally wear that dress, if I had her body and made Tim blush.

Once the movie was over I offered Tim some ice cream, but he politely refused due to his stomach exploding.

“So,” he said a few minutes after the movie ended.

“How can a vampire have a son? I thought they can’t have children?” I turned toward him, putting my feet on the couch and leaned on the back of it. It took me a second to realize he was talking about the story that I told him before, and not the movie.

“It was his child in a sense that he made him a vampire. The lady would have been considered his daughter. In this time and age it’s frowned upon to marry your own children, simply because marriage should be of two equals, and once you sire a vampire it can take them centuries to become your equal. But this was centuries ago and vampires were a lot less civilized for a lack of a better word.”

“How do you know so much about all this?” He wondered. He slowly got up and sat next to me. If we didn’t do this a few days ago I would have been uncomfortable, but hey at least we weren’t touching each other. Yet.

“Well two things. I actually know the son in the story.” I said, looking down. Tim’s eyes widened.

“Wait, really?” I nodded and told him.

“So I don’t know if you are aware of this, but Vampires have their own territorial boundaries and most of the time they are not the same as those of other communities. So our territory actually belongs to the same vampire who is the son of the vampire lord who had to kill his own wife since she became crazy. He is actually really nice and hosts dinners for important events and he is super helpful to the supernatural community in his territory. He is also strong enough to hold his territory against every other vampire so we support him as much as we can, since it is beneficial for everyone if he stays in charge. He doesn’t have a large vampire family to protect him, so we often go there to meet him and be his bodyguards for some vampire events. It’s in our best interest if he stays the lord of the land.” I explained. Since he seemed interested I continued.

“I visited him several times with my grandmother after she became the matriarch, because I was just too interested in vampires for my own good, as she would often say. She wanted to dissuade me of my curiosity, but she, of course, made it worse. If he would be actually scary or mean it might have worked, but he loved children and found me especially entertaining. When Mia decided that she wanted to move to a different place I actually convinced her to go visit Levi first, and he really helped us arrange everything and even gave us a letter for the local vampires so they knew that if they fucked with us, we were under his protection.” I said everything as a matter of fact, because I didn’t want my voice to show my feelings for the vampire in question.

“Wait, can you just randomly visit a vampire of such stature?” I shrugged.

“I don’t know about any other vampires, but like I said, I knew him since I was a child and he has been very helpful to me and my family. I consider him a close friend and we still exchange letters monthly. I do think that is mostly because he is very lonely and he loves writing letters, and I am the only one who isn’t really afraid of him, you know?”

“Fascinating,” said Tim, clearly surprised. What I didn’t say and I would never tell anyone is that the vampire proposed more than just a friendship with me. When I told him that I can’t leave Mia and that we are bound by forces beyond our reach, he said he doesn’t mind Mia staying with us, if only I would be there and be his. In the end I had to decline, because I knew that Mia would never go for it and I just couldn’t leave her alone. I never told her, or anyone else, that Levi was my first love and if I could choose I would stay with him and be his in every sense of the word.

I shrugged at Tim’s comment.

“Vampires in Europe are a lot more civil. They are older and meaner, but they have a lot of rules and they hold themselves to a higher standard. If one of them breaks a rule, they die. It is simple but effective. That’s why a lot of ‘trouble makers’ come to America, because they can’t stand the rules and the limitations of the older vampires.” He sat there quietly for a few minutes and just when I thought I answered all his questions, he surprised me once again.

“So this vampire just told you the story of his father or is it a known legend?” I smiled, because I knew that he would love the answer.

“Both in a way. Every couple of years a storyteller would visit my village and we would hold a week-long celebration and during that time the storyteller tells stories.” I wanted to add, as if you can’t tell from the title, but that seemed condescending so I held the comment to myself. Before he even asked what a storyteller is, I continued.

“The Storyteller is… human but a part of the supernatural community. They are blessed with a memory and a knack for telling stories and they are well known and welcomed everywhere. There isn’t a supernatural creature who would mess with a storyteller, because they would die a most horrendous death by everyone else. Storytellers are our most sacred human members and they hold the stories of our past. We all have someone in the family who would know some of the legends and myths, but storytellers are the ones that know every legend and every myth of every community. There are rumors going on that they actually know how each of the supernatural creatures was created, but they hold that secret close to their heart and will never ever tell.” I explained. It was a short explanation and I was sure that I missed some details, but I was getting tired and I suddenly realized that I have been talking a lot, while Tim was just silent and observant.

“But how do you know someone is a storyteller?”

“Because a storyteller will find an apprentice and they will travel together for 3 to 5 years, all around the world, gathering stories and visiting everyone. In those years the apprentice will learn most, if not all of the stories and he will be introduced to most of the supernatural community. I believe that there is even a list, a family tree of sorts that can be traced all the way back to the first storyteller, but I’m not sure that rumor is true.” Tim looked in awe.

“I never knew or heard anything like that. We have our own storytellers, of native descent, but they only tell our stories. We haven’t even imagined that you might have your own traditions of storytelling.” I shrugged and for a few seconds sat in silence.

“Do you think we could get one of your storytellers to our gathering? I don’t know how many people would be interested, but I know a storyteller personally who would love to swap a story or two.” He suddenly said and surprised me. I sat up straight, thinking. I actually did know someone who, years ago, mentioned he would love to hear a new story and visit the USA, but he never had the courage as he didn’t know how a story teller would be welcomed in the community. He has been asking me if he could visit us and we would introduce him around, but we are not all that well known in the local community and I just wasn’t sure how he would be accepted. But throwing all doubts aside I smiled.

“Yes, I do! I actually know someone who would love to listen to your stories and tell a few of his own. He was always the odd one out of the storytellers, including that he never took on an apprentice even though he is getting on in years. I can contact him and tell him about this opportunity and I am sure he would love to come, but he will require a body guard because I really don’t want to be held responsible for his death by someone who doesn’t know what a storyteller is. I can make sure he is safe around here, but I don’t know how welcomed I would be within your community, so if you can assure me he would be safe, I would love to send him a letter and invite him over?” Tim seemed surprised by my fast talking and he was all for it, assuring me that a storyteller is sacred to them as well, and even if he belongs to a different community they would love to share and listen. Before Tim got too invested I had to add that I didn’t exactly know when he would be able to come.

“Sadly, last I heard he was in India, talking to some of the cult worshipers so it might be some months before he can finally make the trip over the ocean.”

Tim couldn’t help but let his jaw drop.

“Fascinating.” He said. We stared at each other, smiling and content that we arrived at the same conclusion.

I don’t know how long we sat there just chit chatting about the weather, before Tim finally admitted that he had an ulterior motive for his visit.

“I actually didn’t visit just because I wanted to spend time with you, although this was the best evening I have had in a while,” Tim finally said.

“I kind of guessed that you were here on some sort of quest.” I said, eating my third bowl of leftovers. Tim leaned a bit away from me, but his knees were still touching mine. I turned toward him, putting the bowl down, as his face became more serious.

“I went on a vision quest on behalf of an elder who saw something disturbing in the forest and I saw something.” I turned my whole body toward him, pulling my feet under me.

“I saw you in the vision, or at least I’m pretty sure it was you? It was a huge brown bear and it was fighting a… monster.” He finished quietly. I raised an eyebrow, but before I could ask any questions he continued.

“After consulting with an elder, we have deduced that it was most likely a wendigo, who must have just woken up from his sleep and it will start hunting soon or maybe it’s already hunting just outside of our territory and we haven’t gotten any reports yet. The elder is pretty convinced it’s the same wendigo that they have tried to kill thirty some years ago and failed, so he wants to try again. But the vision was pretty clear, it’s a bear who has any chance of killing the monster, anyone else will fail.” I cocked my head to the side and asked.

“So you see a random bear fighting this wendigo monster and now if I don’t go and fight it, you will fail?” He sighed.

“Visions aren’t an exact science, but it was a bear who finished the monster and you are the only bear around here, as far as I know. Not only that, but this was the biggest damn bear I have ever seen.” That sort of filled me with pride. I was quite a big and good looking bear, if I can say so myself. I sighed loudly and in annoyance.

“I guess I don’t have much of a choice then? It’s either kill the wendigo with you or let you be killed?” Tim nodded, but didn’t say anything.

“Do you have any clue when the hunt is starting? I am kind of busy tomorrow with a ceremony and I have to be there, but I believe that after that I could take some time off for a quick hunt?” Tim looked more surprised than anything else.

“Don’t you have any other questions? I mean, you just agreed to go kill a monster, and all you say is I’m busy tomorrow but after that I am all yours?” I laughed.

“Hey, believe it or not, I do enjoy hunting some monsters and this will most certainly not be my first monster. It will be my first wendigo so, instead of being surprised you might want to tell me about wendigos.” I said smugly. It’s true, in my career as Mias guardian I have encountered several creatures that could only be described as a monster, so taking on a wendigo sounds like fun. Tim looked at me, more scared than surprised, but answered my request.

“Wendigo is an old native legend, something that elders aren’t quite sure even existed before the white men came to our land. It is a man transformed by his own greed and gluttony and an outside force, starvation to be exact.” I had so many questions, but I didn’t want to interrupt.

“The first wendigo that the elders knew of, was a native who was trapped in a cave fleeing the white man. He wasn’t alone as there were others already hiding deep in the caves and together they tried to escape the white man’s wrath. But the white men had explosives and they collapsed the entrance of the cave, capturing all the people inside and condemning them to death. We know little of what happened during their time inside, but we found evidence that the man killed everyone in the cave and ate their flesh. Eating the flesh of his own people, acting with greed and gluttony not known before, he transformed into a horrific creature. He grew taller and skinnier, got stronger and faster, better than any man could, but he was always hungry. Once he escaped the cave, he went crazy with hunger and ate everything in his sight, animals and humans alike. The elders didn’t know what to do about this new monster and simply went away, disappeared, but the white men decided to fight it. The monster, called Wendigo now, killed a whole battalion of white men, before disappearing back into the cave where it rested for decades. But this wasn’t the end, since the monster would reappear after a couple of decades and went on a spree to kill more and more, sometimes he would hunt natives and sometimes he would hunt white men, whoever was set in his path.” I was enthralled with his story especially since I realized I have heard of similar legends, how people who engage in cannibalism transform into a monster, but I’ve never imagined it was true.

“Sadly, more and more wendigos would appear, as if seeing that first one was a chain reaction and people who were in its presence and survived were far more likely to find themselves in situations that changed them into a wendigo. The native people finally decided to do something about it and hunt some of them down, and slowly and with great sacrifice the number of wendigos appearing was less and less each decade.” He sighed loudly, as if he really didn’t want to talk about it.

“It would seem, some survived till today. We have an elder who was a hunter of monsters and he has a list of places where wendigos appeared last and when, so we have at least an inkling of where to fight them next. It would seem that this area is next so he came to me, as a dream walker and asked me to guide him on a vision, to maybe see if the hunt will be successful. I was his first stop and at this moment he is gathering warriors in the tribes surrounding this area, since you can not fight the wendigo alone, but I don’t have much hope for his success. Modern youngsters have all but lost faith in the old ways and they simply don’t believe in monsters anymore or they don’t want to risk dying.” I nodded in acknowledgement.

“So, he is gathering warriors or other hunters and you have decided to invite me? Because you saw a big brown bear in your vision and you are sure I have to be there for this to be a successful hunt?” I summarized.

“Yes, I will be there as well and I would much appreciate your help.” He had huge puppy eyes and I just couldn’t resist teasing him.

“Of course I will help you kill the big bad wendigo, no need for puppy eyes.” I winked at him and he started laughing.

“It won’t be easy,” he whispered as he leaned toward me. His face was now so close, it was as if he wanted to kiss me.

“I sure hope so, I like to show off,” I leaned in as well and whispered into his ear. My cheek was touching his and his scent overwhelmed my senses. He still smelled great and I didn’t realize just how much I missed it. I felt his hand on my other cheek as he guided my face toward his and kissed me. I really shouldn’t have been surprised, but I was and for a few seconds I just sat there like an idiot. But only for a few seconds. I got more comfortable in his embrace and returned the kiss.

It was in that position that Mia and Penelope found us a few hours later, as they returned from their errands. Only after he said his goodbyes did I realize I forgot to ask him why he is called The Wander