The clouds broke offering the sun a rare moment to shine down on the quiet shore, illuminating his defeated and sorrowful face. Ignoring the sudden brightness, Josh continued to stare out at the open water, shoving his hands deep into the pockets of his worn jeans. The gentle lapping at the waters edge reached his ears, and his nostrils filled with the scent of the forest as he inhaled deeply but they were a lifetime away from where his thoughts had taken him.

Swallowing down the painful lump in his throat, his mind replayed the last moments he'd shared with her in Vidaru - a town that was now submerged below this very lake. He thought back to their last words and lost himself in the tide of torment.

Two years had passed since he'd curled himself around her lifeless body and during that time he had searched the earth but there had been no sign Nikki had survived.

The words that had driven him to scour the globe listed through his mind and caused him to let out a bitter laugh.

When she comes your heart will heal.

Your love has not died.

Ignoring the solitary tear that ran down his face, he dropped his head, accepting the true meaning behind those words. No, his love had not died, it wouldn't, it couldn't for as long as he lived then so did his love for Nikki, but that didn't mean she had survived. He knew that now.

Raising his eyes, he watched the forget-me-nots he had tossed on to the water float away. It wasn't much but it was something, a way to mark yet another anniversary where he found himself alone.

When she comes, your heart will heal.

Josh curled his lip in disdain. Who ever she was, she wasn't going to fix him and there was no way he could ever entertain the idea of loving another. Nikki had been his one true love and she was gone. The rest of the world could go to hell as far as he was concerned. Unfortunately, there were others who didn't quite see it his way.

"Josh, we're up."

Sam, Josh's longest friend and ally, called over the lapping water and birdcall, snapping josh back from his heartbreak.

"Coming," he replied in a monotone voice, wiping a hand over his face to erase any trace of pain. With a sigh and a final glance towards the hidden town beneath the water he turned and strode purposefully back towards the house he now called home.

Sam's old, rundown house, settled on the shore of Lake Vidaru in rural Romania, had become his permanent residence after the night of the battle. It was where he felt closest to Nikki and where he assumed she'd return to,  when he'd still believed her to be alive. Now he clung to the memories which haunted him in each of the many rooms, sleeping in the bed he'd once shared with her.

Sam looked uncomfortable as he ushered Josh away from the lake. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt but we need to move. Nate is already waiting in the car."

Josh glared at his friend. He had never fully forgiven Sam for allowing Nikki to escape their protection on that fateful night. Unable to understand what had compelled Sam to walk away when Nikki had needed them the most, he held fast to the anger, using it as both a weapon and a shield – after all, it was easier to lay blame at Sam's door than it was to accept responsibility.

But Nikki had been Josh's Charge to protect and whilst Sam was also a Guardian, it wasn't his job to keep her away from the demons who had so desperately wanted to use her power. He might have stopped her from bringing about the apocalypse but he hadn't managed to save her. She had still become a casualty on that battlefield alongside thousands of demons.

Snapping back from his guilt trip, Josh forced himself to focus on what Sam was saying.

"Jake thinks she's a possible detector and he's pretty sure Latébris are going after her but we have time to get there first."

Pushing his discontent to the side, Josh nodded stiffly. "Where is she?"

Sam paused a beat too long.

"She's in England isn't she?"

"I know you don't want to go back but this is your job and despite it all, you've got to keep going."

As a Guardian, Josh was duty bound to defend his Charges and keep them safe in the demonic battle. Often the people he was sent to protect had supernatural powers making them all the more attractive to the demons who would stop short of nothing to use these gifts to their own advantage. What made his job even harder was the mystical bond connecting each Guardian to their Charge. Like a mothers instinct, it kicked in hard and fast, stirring psychopathic like tendencies. To keep their Charges safe, a Guardian would do just about anything. However, sometimes, 'everything' just wasn't enough. In his minds eye, Josh saw Nikki's broken body, covered in mud and surrounded by slaughtered demons. He quickly blinked the image away.

Rounding the corner of the house, Josh strode towards the sleek black car awaiting them. "Save it Sam, I'm not interested in a pep talk. Let's get this over with and bring her back here."

Sam faltered. He accepted that Josh no longer trusted him and he knew that he partly blamed him for what happened but the bitterness in his friends tone caught him off guard.

Their uneasy exchange was interrupted by a small woman surveying them from the balcony of the house. "Be nice and tread carefully, don't go in all guns blazing this time." Roxy warned.

Josh ignored her as he climbing in to the passenger side of the car and slammed the door. In his eyes, she was worse than Sam. Jake, Roxy's Charge, had revealed to her what would happen before they had even set foot in Vidaru and yet she'd chosen not to warn him. She had known all along that Nikki would die, and she'd done nothing. He hated her for that but he knew she wouldn't take offence to his rudeness; his brooding mood was now so common no one even noticed anymore.

* * *

Landing back in the north-west of England Josh noted the dreary weather and smiled sardonically. The climate matched his temperament perfectly. He didn't want to be anywhere except the lake but Sam insisted on dragging him away as often as he could. Usually he would put up a fight or at least make the whole episode as painful as possible, complaining the entire time, but this was different. The new charge was his and there was no way he could get out of it.

Things were simpler now that they had Nate. Sam had been allocated as his Guardian the previous summer and it hadn't taken Nate long to reveal his Power. He'd turned out to be a spotter, able to locate other Charges to their precise location. It was like having a living, breathing GPS system for the paranormal and as far as Josh was concerned, it cut out a hell of a lot of crap. The only down side being that Nate had to go on collections with them and wherever Nate went, Sam went.

It wasn't that Josh didn't like the boy; it was more what Josh saw when he looked at him that brought out the snide comments and general disdain. At twenty-one, he was far wiser than his years suggested, and he held a certain level of self-restraint Josh envied. Nate was focussed and dedicated, and when he was on the hunt for a charge he wouldn't let anything distract him. He was everything Josh should have been when he'd found Nikki and knowing that stung.

The dark evening streets of the small town they headed to, were quiet with few people venturing out into the persistent rain. Josh was thankful for small mercies, the less people there were, the easier his job would be. Following a few steps behind Nate and Sam he zipped up his jacket and shoved his hands into the pockets. He didn't want a new charge but he knew his resentment would fade as soon as he handed her his necklace. He scowled at the thought. It didn't belong to her, it was Nikki's.

Craning his head over his shoulder, Sam gave Josh a once over. "According to Jake, she'll trust you straight away, just, try not to be so damn surly."

Since Nikki had inadvertently unlocked Jake's power, he'd had sporadic flashes, mostly regarding himself or his Guardian Roxy, but this time it had been about Josh's new charge.

"I know, I heard him too," Josh muttered, wrestling his temper.

"Okay, so let's go get her."

The woman in question was a petite red head named Joanne. From what the group had pieced together she was a shy type who worked as a secretary for a small building contractor. She didn't have a boyfriend and shared a flat with an old university acquaintance. As far as Josh was concerned, she was easy pickings.

Crossing a dead road, Nate waved to a small alley that cut through the buildings. "She's down there."

Another alley. A brief flashback of the moment he met Nikki down a similar passage flashed through his head. The irony wasn't lost on Josh.

He uttered his thanks, more as a habit than in gratitude, before stalking towards his fate. Behind him he heard the shrill tone of Sam's phone but with each step it grew quieter. Moments later he was engulfed in the gloom of the narrow passageway, which mercifully offered him some shelter from the elements. Up ahead he could hear Joanne's foot steps but she was still a fair distance away so he decided to let her come to him.

Leaning against the wall he bent his knee and lifted his foot to the brick. Tapping his heel impatiently he glared in her direction, resentment pouring from his seething glower. He didn't want another charge, he didn't want anything to do with her and yet they were forcing him, binding him to her without a second thought for Nikki.

He clenched his jaw and moved his eyes to the cloudy sky that glowed a dirty amber from the town lights. They had used Nikki, but not just her. They'd known what would happen when they paired him with her and in his eyes that made them barely any better than the demons he fought.

To his left, two familiar figures jogged towards him, wrenching him out of his dark thoughts. Sam and Nate were hurrying up the path, wearing matching expressions.

"What the hell Josh? You're supposed to have her by now."

Josh shrugged; he didn't feel the need to justify his actions.

"I just got a call from Jake, something's changed." Sam glanced towards Joanne's direction.

His words piqued Josh's interest. "What do you mean? What's changed? I didn't think things could change after he's seen them."

"Apparently they can. He just said that after you make first contact, things went black."

"Black?"

"Yeah, as in he couldn't see anything anymore."

Josh sighed and straightened himself up. "Fine, I'll go and see what's taking her so damn long."

"You do that." Sam grumbled, his patience with Josh wearing thin.

With a smirk, Josh ambled further in to the darkness. Pissing Sam off had lightened his mood somewhat and he no longer felt the need to blame Joanne.

Peering through the darkness he saw her petite form running towards him. She hadn't seen him yet so he held still to watch her. Her shoulder length red hair was frizzy and bouncing around her face as she whipped her head back to check over her shoulder. Something was wrong.

Josh was about to move when something wearing a hooded cloak materialised behind Joanne and wrapped its bony arms around her, picking her up and tossing her over its shoulder like a weightless rag doll. She landed with a cry but didn't settle there for long.

Josh regained his senses and flew towards them at speed arriving just in time to catch the red head as she was thrown to the floor when the first cloaked demon was sideswiped by a second. Snatching Joanne up he pulled her behind him to see the two figures crash in to the wall beside him.

He paused, confused. He recognised them from their attire as two members of the Cerrada, Latébris' army, but for some reason they seemed to be on opposing sides. Was it possible that since the battle there had been a split in their demon world?

The struggle didn't last long; the first demon, with its pristine cloak, pinned the second bedraggled looking body to the floor with ease. It held both arms above the smaller demons head before raising a dagger to its subdued throat. Josh shook his head. What did it matter if one finished off the other, it just meant there was one less demon in the world for him to worry about.

Remembering himself he gathered Joanne up and began whispering soothing words as he guided her towards his companions. She was shaking violently so he removed his jacket and placed it around her frail shoulders, turning his head to look once more at the brawling demons.

As he watched the impossible happen his limbs ceased moving and the breath caught in his throat. It couldn't be, not now, not after all this time, and yet he'd seen it with his own two eyes. The flame had illuminated the darkness, the eerily familiar blue glow dissolving the first demon in to a pile of ashes that were now scattered over the figure lying on the floor.

His mind reeled. He knew that flame. Forgetting his new Charge he ran towards the body scrambling to stand. Could it really be her?

"Nikki?"

He was much quicker than the cloaked figure and reached it before they'd found their footing. Grasping at the arm, Josh pulled the mysterious body towards him and tugged the hood down. The head remained bowed but Josh didn't need to see her face to know who she was. Her long hair was knotted back and dirty but it was still undeniably hers.

"Nikki!"

He gasped, letting go of her arm and stumbling backwards as her grey eyes rose to his, briefly revealing her filthy, scarred face. It was Nikki, but it wasn't. Her empty eyes swept his face once before she turned on her heel and fled. Stunned beyond the ability to think, Josh watched her run before falling to his knees and vomiting into the pile of ashes that had once been a demon.

"What the hell are you doing?" Sam hissed, appearing from the darkness behind him. "Nate is trying to calm Joanne down but that's your job! Get a damn grip and sort your shit out!"

But Josh didn't hear a word he said. As he struggled to regain control of his body he closed his eyes and saw Nikki's face. Her large gray eyes had been devoid of life and she hadn't even seemed to recognise him. Worse than that, and the thing that had brought him to his knees, she'd run from him.

He lifted his face and stared down the long passageway. She had run away from him. Abandoned him. All this time he'd assumed she'd been taken away but now he had to face the possibility that she'd left him by choice. But she'd reciprocated his feelings, she'd said she loved him and she'd meant it. No, she couldn't have chosen this, it certainly didn't look like she was thriving, she'd been tattered and drained. He couldn't entertain the idea that this was her choice, the Nikki he knew and loved wouldn't put him through hell by choice.

As the shock of seeing her waned, Josh managed to coordinate his arms and legs until he was standing again. He had seen her. He had seen Nikki. Nikki was alive! Without a word to Sam, he took off in the direction she had fled, tearing out of the alley into an open wet street but there was no sign of her.

"Nikki!"

Josh span in a circle, his eyes darting everywhere, only he was too late, she had vanished.

"What the hell? Josh have you lost your damn mind?" Sam sprinted up with rage in his eyes. "Get your self back down there and deal with your Charge!"

"She was here! She was here, I saw her." Josh grabbed the tops of Sam's arms and shook him roughly. "She was here Sam! She was here and she's alive!"

Sam didn't have to ask, he already knew who Josh was babbling about. He sighed and laid a hand on his friends shoulder.

"Josh, I know you think that you saw her but she's gone. I'd do anything to change that, but you have to accept that she's gone."

"No she's not! It was her Sam, it was Nikki."

Running his hands through his dark wet hair Sam eyed Josh warily. He'd thought they'd moved past this stage a year ago but obviously being forced back into the role of Guardian had pushed Josh over the edge.

"No Josh, it wasn't, just like it wasn't her in Paris or Virginia. She's gone but Joanne is here and she needs you."

"I'm telling you—"

"And I'm telling you, it wasn't Nikki."

"I had her, I had her and I fucking let her go."

Sam dragged his hands down his face. Arguing with Josh in the street was getting him nowhere.

"Fine, it was her, but she's not here now and Joanne is. Let's get Joanne sorted and then you can tell me what happened with Nikki."

Josh wasn't stupid, he knew Sam was trying to placate him but he also knew that standing in the street wasn't going to help him find Nikki. He needed help and to get that he was going to have to convince Sam what he'd seen. Conceding defeat momentarily, Josh stopped searching the street. "C'mon then. Let's get Joanne sorted and then you're going to listen to what I have to say and you're going to damn well believe me!"

From her hidden perch on the rooftops, Nikki breathed a sigh of relief as Sam led Josh back down the route they had come. Pulling firmly at her hood she forced herself to turn away from the street and the Guardians. Ignoring the lump in her throat and the nausea in the pit of her stomach she headed back in to the heart of the town.