What would that do to a person? Elena wondered. The Guardians she had met, the ones of the Celestial Court, had taken their duties seriously. Surely Andres would be well versed in all the Powers and responsibilities of Guardianship, everything Elena herself didn't know, and would have been adequately cared for, at least physically.
But how would it affect a human child to be raised by creatures as cold and emotionless as the Guardians? Her skin crawled at the idea.
By the time she got to James's door, Elena was anticipating a cold-eyed, unemotional greeting from an Earthly Guardian who would teach her exactly as much as he thought Elena should know.
Well, he would have to learn that he couldn't push her around. The Celestial Court full of Guardians at the peak of their Power hadn't been able to make Elena obey them, and there was only one of Andres. Elena rang James's doorbell with determination.
James's face was serious, but not apprehensive, when he opened the door. He looked wide-eyed and solemn, as if, Elena thought, he was witnessing something momentous he didn't fully understand.
"My dear, I'm glad you could come," he said, ushering her in with little beckoning waves of his hand and taking her empty coffee cup. "Andres is in the backyard." He escorted her through his small, extremely neat house, and showed her out the back door.
The door closed behind her and, with a start of surprise, Elena realized James had sent her out alone.
The yard was lit in gold and green by sunlight filtering through the leaves of a large beech tree. On the grass beneath the tree sat a young, dark-haired man who raised his head to look at Elena. As she met his eyes, the nervousness drained out of her and she felt a great peace settle on her. Without even meaning to, she found herself smiling.
Andres rose unhurriedly and came to her. "Hello, Elena," he said, and wrapped his arms around her.
At first, Elena tensed in surprise at the hug, but then a calming warmth seemed to flow through her, and she laughed. Andres let go of her and laughed, too, a pure note of joy.
"I'm sorry," he said. His English was fluent, but he had a slight South American accent. "But I've never met another human Guardian before, and I just . . . felt like I knew you."
Elena nodded, hot tears pricking at her eyes. She could feel a connection between them, humming with energy and joy, and she realized with happy surprise that it wasn't just emotions sent to her by Andres. They were coming from her as well, her own happiness rushing toward him. "It's like I'm seeing family for the first time in ages," she told him. They couldn't seem to stop smiling at each other. Andres took her hand and tugged her gently over to the tree, and they sat down beneath it together.
"I had a Guide, of course," he said. "My beloved Javier, who raised me. But he passed away last year" - Andres suddenly looked ineffably sad, his brown eyes liquid - "and since then I have been alone." He brightened again. "But now you are here, and I can help you as Javier helped me."
"Javier was a Guardian?" Elena asked, surprised. Andres had loved Javier, clearly, and love was not something she associated with the Guardians.
Andres gave a mock shudder. "God forbid," he said. "The Guardians wish the world well, but they are cold, yes? Imagine one of them in charge of a growing child. No, Javier was a Guide. A good man, a wise man, but fully human. A priest, actually, and a teacher."
"Oh." Elena thought for a while, carefully plucking a blade of grass and pulling it to pieces, looking down at her hands. "I thought that the Guardians themselves raised the human children they took. I don't - my parents didn't want to let me go. I guess I would have had a Guide if I had gone with them when I was little."
Andres nodded, his face solemn. "James has told me of your situation," he said. "I'm sorry about what happened to your parents, and I wish I could offer some kind of explanation. But since you don't have a Guide assigned to you, I hope I can help you with what I know."
"Yes," Elena said. "Thank you. I mean, I really do appreciate it. Do you - " She hesitated, ripping another blade of grass apart. There was something she had wondered. It wasn't something she could imagine asking a stranger, but that curious, happy connection between them made her relax enough to turn to Andres. "Do you think it would have been better if my parents had let them take me? Are you glad the Guardians took you away from your family?"
Andres leaned his head back against the tree and sighed. "No," he admitted. "I never stopped missing my parents. I wish they had tried to keep me with them. But they saw me as a child who belonged to the Guardians, not to them. They're lost to me now." He turned to look at her. "But I did come to love Javier, and I was glad to have someone with me when I went through the transformation."
"Transformation?" Elena asked, sitting up straight and hearing her own voice go high and panicky. "What do you mean, transformation?"
Andres smiled at her reassuringly, and despite herself, Elena instinctively relaxed a bit at the warmth in his eyes.
"It will be all right," he said quietly, and part of Elena believed him. Andres sat up, too, wrapping his arms around his knees. "It's nothing to be afraid of. When your first task as a Guardian comes up, a Principal Guardian will come and explain to you what you must do. Your Powers will start developing when you have a task. Until you've finished your task, you won't be able to think of anything else. You'll feel this overwhelming need to complete it. The Principal Guardian returns when the task is done and releases you from your compulsion." He shrugged, looking self-conscious. "I've only had a few tasks, but when they ended, I couldn't wait for the next one. And the Powers I've developed for a task, I've kept over time."