Chapter 8

Santana's POV

Nana?

Oh my God!

It was her. In the...weird brown cloth thingy. She looked so old and different. Nothing like the gorgeous smiling goddess I had seen in the other picture but it was definitely her.

My heart clenched painfully. She had messed up the family but I felt an irresistible connection to her. I felt my heart strings being tugged towards her. I can't explain it but before i knew it my eyes had filled with tears.

Nana was alive.

Nana was being kept as a slave.

Some evil person has kidnapped my grandmother and faked her death. And made us mourn for someone who is alive!

"Who did this?" I whispered feeling the steady bubble of emotions raise in me.

"The hunters." Gabriel replied calmly.

How the hell could be be so calm?!

I angrily flung the envelope asking with the pictures to the side. "I want names, Gabriel."

"You need to calm down." He told me.

"Don't you tell me to calm down! Someone kidnapped my grandmother and is holding her captive. I want to know who it is." I bit out through gritted teeth.

Aaaand the desk started rattling. I was doing that.

Gabriel looked at the desk then back at me. "Stop it."

I glared at him. "I can't freaking control it!"

"So if I tell you who it is what are you planning to do?"

"I will hunt them down and-"

"What? What will you do? They have decades worth experience and you have what, two days. You can't even control this." He punctuated the last word by punching the desk hard. It stopped rattling immediately.

I opened my mouth to argue then shut it again once again realising that I had no argument. He was right I had no experience. I was a baby.

I was a baby Guardian.

Well baby or not, I was determined to find Nana. I wanted my Nana. I was going to find her.

"Okay, I'm sorry." I started looking up to meet his eyes. "Gabriel, will you help me?"

"That's what I'm here for, Santana." He stood up and walked around the desk then he sat on the chair next to mine.

I turned to him my eyes wide.

"We have to be a team." He leaned in really close and spoke in a low intimate voice that made a chill run up my spine. Oh Lord. "That's the way it was meant to be but if you want to leave, then you are free to do so. I can't force you to stay."

I blinked at him rendered temporarily speechless. All the coldness in his eyes had disappeared replaced by an emotion i couldn't read.

"Er...I want to find my grandmother. And the people who did this to her. I have to stay."

He smiled. Well, it was more a smirk than a smile but it was the first time I had seen it. I felt a smile of my own tugging at my lips but I resisted.

"Thats good to hear. Now about the names of the people- "

"No."

"No?"

"Don't tell me. It will distract me I need to focus on the training first. When you think I'm ready, then tell me. And we will go find them." I stated. Nothing was more important than finding Nana.

"When do we start the training?"

I could tell he was fighting a smile. "Are you sure you don't want to know yet?"

I closed my eyes fighting down the urge to tell him to give me the names right now. I had to stay focused plus I didn't want him to think I was some bitter girl who only thinks about revenge.

I nodded firmly.

Gabriel hesitated before he conceded with a nod of his head. "Alright, if you say so."

"I have to go home and tell my parents about Nana. Dad will be so happy." I mumbled almost to myself but Gabriel heard me.

"Am afraid I can't allow that." Aaaand the coldness was back.

"Why not?"

"This is a top secret base, Santana. We don't need to be discovered. And you are going to have intense training starting today. We need you ready as soon as yesterday." He stated standing up and going to his side of the desk.

"So I can't go home?" I had to go home. Mum and dad must be worried. "My parents are supernaturals too, right? I'm sure they will understand."

"No. They won't." He didn't offer further explanation.

"Why not?" I stood up and put my hands on my hips.

"Do you trust me?" He had the nerve to ask.

"No!"

"Fair enough. Well-"

There was a knock on the door and without waiting for a response, a rather large man stuck his head into the office.

"Gabriel, we have a situation." He said in about the deepest voice I had ever heard.

Gabriel was immediately on his feet and heading to the door.

"What is it?"

"Intruder." He responded opening the door wider for Gabriel.

"Intruder?" I echoed following closely at Gabriel's heels.

"Stay here." Gabriel turned back to order me just before he shut the door in my face.

Eejit!

I opened the door and ran down the stairs after them.

I finished the stairs just as they were entering the sitting room. So I followed at a slower pace and paused at the door - so I could eavesdrop.

"Who are you?" I heard Gabriel ask.

"Whats it to you?"

I froze. I knew that voice.

"You will answer the questions asked." So voice I didn't recognize ordered.

"Look, I'm just looking for somebody. I mean no trouble!"

Ohh I definitely knew that voice!

"Did the hunters send you?" Someone else asked.

"The what, now?"

I decided to steal a peak. I gasped.

"Lola!"

"Oh, Santana!" She nearly fainted in relief.

I ran towards her but before I could reach her I felt myself being lifted off the ground.

"What the...? Hey!" I struggled. It was Gabriel effortlessly holding me up by my waist.

"You know her?" He asked with a nod towards Lola.

"Yes! Put me down, you brute!" I struggled to free myself.

"Not until you tell me who she is." He shot back lifting me even higher.

"She's my best friend, Lola Jones." I told him almost desperately. I did not like being lifted.

"Put her down!" Lola yelled from the floor where she was being held down by two men.

"How did you find out about this place?" Gabriel persisted with the questions.

"Put her down and I will tell you." Lola said looking desperate.

"No."

"Okay then. Looks like I have to stay here." I said sighing then I laid my head on his shoulder.

Instant regret.

I could smell his aftershave. It was intoxicating and I just wanted to snuggle closer and -

He dropped me to the ground like I burned and I landed with a groan.

"Ouch!" I complained then I ran to Lola hugging her close when I got to her.

"Lola, what are you doing here?" I asked her releasing her momentarily.

"I could ask you the same question." She lowered her voice. "Did they kidnap you?" When asking that question she pointedly looked at Gabriel.

"What? No, umm... What are you doing here?" I didn't know what to tell her. I couldn't lie to my best friend but I couldn't tell her the truth either. But what was she doing here?

"I was looking for you. You were acting so strange, Santana. Is that your history teacher?" Lola was looking at some spot behind me.

I turned only to see that we had attracted quite an audience. I stood up pulling Lola with me.

"Mr McLain, was it?" She insisted. "Looking better than the last time I saw you." She raised an eyebrow.

Cedric smiled charmingly. "I am better. How you doin'"

"Cedric!" I chastised him because he was trying to hit on my best friend.

"Cedric?" She turned to me. "Y'all on first name basis now?"

"Lola."

"She's on a retreat." Gabriel clearly noticing my dilemma.

"What kind of a retreat that you don't tell your best friend about?" Lola shouted. She looked angry. "You been acting real strange, girl. You got some explainin' to do."

"Who is this?" Oh no, Gisele was here.

"Let's get out of here." I pulled Lola towards the door.

I dragged her unprotesting body out of the sitting room towards the stairs but I didn't miss Gisele saying. "She's been here one day and she's already stirring trouble."

I ignored it as I continued to pull my bestfriend towards my designated room. Once we got there I locked the door behind me then I slowly turned to Lola who was standing by the bed with her hands on her waist.

"A retreat?" Lola started.

"Lola-"

"A retreat?" She repeated as if she was trying to make sense out of it.

"Yes. Um... This is a retreat. I'm trying to er... recover from what happened at school." I was lying to my only friend!

"By coming here to be with your history teacher? The victim?" She raised her eyebrows as well as her voice.

"Yes." I knew she wasn't buying it but I couldn't tell her the truth. She was human and humans were not supposed to find out about us supernaturals. Gabriel would kill me if I told her.

Lola laughed. "Santana. What's gotten into you, girl? We don't lie to each other, remember?"

"Lola, it's a retreat. I'm not lying." My voice was becoming thick with emotion. I generally hated lying so I didn't usually do it. And until now, I had never had a reason to lie to Lola.

"So who are these guys? The hot one who lifted you up? Who are they? There facilitators? And look at the place. It's looks like the white house." Lola asked incredulously as she started pacing up and down the floor.

I sighed. "Yes they are the facilitators. Lola."

"I'm not buying it." She stopped pacing right in front of me and looked me in the eye. "You are going to tell me exactly what's going on here and who these guys are. Are you datin' him? The hot one?"

"No! He's a duche." I scoffed thinking how could she possibly think I was dating that cold bastard. Was he hot? Sure. Was he making my heart pound irrationally? Sure. But was he a duche? Totally.

Lola kept a straight face crossing her arms over her chest.

I sighed then I reached over and put my hands on her slight shoulders. "Lola, you have to go. But please, please I'm asking you to trust me. In time I will explain everything to you but not yet. Please just trust me." My eyes pleased with her to understand.

I was suddenly feeling this strange urgency to get her to leave. I felt like I couldn't get her out of here fast enough.

But she was shaking her head. Why was she shaking her head?

"No." She said. "How can you expect me to trust you when you are blatantly lying to me?"

"Lola, please. Right now I need you to leave. It's not safe for you here." I said urgently.

"And it's safe for you? Santana, come with me." Lola says catching on the urgency in my eyes.

"I..l can't. I have to stay. But please go, I will walk you down the stairs. How did you get here?" I asked as I pulled her yet again down the stairs but this time she protested.

"My car is outside the gate. And you are coming with me." She insisted.

I pulled her down the stairs through the entrance hall then outside.

I'll walk you to your car. How did you even find me? " I asked her holding her hand firmly and walking her to the gate.

"I followed you yesterday. I knew something was going on and I had to find out what. But don't worry I got my answer." She snatched her hand away from mine.

"Lola."

"No, Santana. You have changed. And I can't be friends with this new Santana who lies to her bestfriend." I stated. "So why don't you go back in that house and have your retreat."

"Im sorry, Lola but I promise I'll make things clear to you soon." She was my only friend and I didn't want to lose her over this but I couldn't help the way things were.

"Don't bother." She gave me a look over before she turned away and started walking quickly away from me.

"Lola, please don't tell any one about this. Please." I called after her my heart clenching so hard. I could barely believe I had lost a friend.

"I'm gonna tell them you lost your mind like your grandmummy." She snapped.

I gasped. How dare she?

"I'm out of here." She ran the rest of the distance towards the gate and I just stared after her as tears started gathering in my eyes.

Oh, I hope this will all be worth it.

I had just lost my bestfriend, I couldn't go home and my dead Nana was alive. My life was going out of control! But I knew that after this there was no going back. This was the end of life as I knew it. I let the tears fall on my cheeks.

This all better be worth it.

Now I had focus all my strength on training and bring strong then I will find Nana. And everything will be okay and I will go back to my life. For now, I had to be strong and be the Guardian everyone expected me to be. I could do this, right?

"Santana!"

I turned when I heard my name being called. Well, I might have lost Lola but at least I still had my brother.

Finn ran towards me from the house and he stopped right in front of me. Taking in my tear streaked cheeks and red eyes, he swooped down and wrapped me in his arms.

I sighed into his chest accepting the embrace gratefully. I was extra glad he was here with me.

He released me and stepped back a little. "I heard Lola was here."

I nodded mournfully.

"Are you okay? Is she gone?" He looked towards the gate. Lola was long gone.

"She left. I didn't tell her anything. I think this might be the last time I'm ever seeing her." I told him solemnly shaking my head.

He hugged me again. "She will come around."

"I don't think so." I really didn't think so. She looked pretty mad.

"Well, at least you have Gabriel." He said and I shot him a glare.

"Okay, you have Cedric." I snorted at that. "Okay okay, you have me."

I smiled slightly. "It's gonna be okay right?"

"It is. It really is." He replied nodding his head continuously.

"Is this you talking or...?" I really didn't know how his gift worked. Does he always know what's going to happen?

He chuckled. "That's both."

"What?" I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Come on, let's take a walk." He suggested then we started walking away from the drive way towards the back of the house.

"Hey, where have you been all this time?" I asked remembering that I had last seen him almost five hours ago.

"Those twins, the vampires, they are hot, aren't they?" He grinned a light blush covering his cheeks.

I gasped. "No! You didn't...Finn!" My eyes widened.

"What? No! What are you thinking? Eew, Santana!" He laughed. "That's gross. No, that isn't what we were doing."

I laughed in relief. "I wouldn't want to think that my baby brother is indulging in...you know."

"Ha-ha! No. They took me to the forest. Jesus, Santana vampires are fast! It's amazing. I'm gonna marry a vampire." He declared punching his open palm like he was making a stamp.

"I gotta tell you, Finn. All this freaks me out. And there's something I need to tell you." I sighed.

"What is it?" He frowned.

I sighed then I stopped walking and turned to him. "Nana is alive, Finn."

"W-what?" Finn stammered.

Finn was five when Nana "passed away" so he remembered her the least.

"She didn't die. She was kidnapped and who ever kidnapped her faked her death. She has been living as a slave somewhere we don't know."

"What?"

"She's the leader of the supernaturals. She's the Queen we came to find." I told him watching the play of emotions on his face. It was probably exactly how Gabriel saw the play of emotions on my own face though I was probably more dramatic.

"You mean Nana, our dead Nana is actually not dead?"

I nodded.

"Instead she was kidnapped because is the leader of the supernaturals and they are keeping her slave?"

I nodded again.

"Who kidnapped her?" He asked furrowing his eyebrows and folding his arms over his chest.

"These people called hunters. They are kind of in the middle of being humans and supernaturals. They took our Nana and faked her death." I supplied solemnly.

"Oh God, that's messed up." He ran his hand through his hair. He started walking down the path and I followed him quietly allowing him process the information.

"You know I keep seeing her in my dreams." Finn said with a small humorless laugh. "Poor Nana." He muttered.

We walked for a while in silence until we were almost reaching the trees. The sun was already going down and there was a soft cool breeze. Finn finally stopped and turned to face me.

"What do we do now?" His eyes were hardened into a kind of determination I could relate to.

"We train. Then we fight."