“Until they decide to do a psi energy count,” Izzy said.
Kim glared at her. “Negative much?”
“No one is sneaking out of the valley,” Remy said firmly. “There’s a time to break rules and a time to lay low. Bran can try and ask the senior Cardinals’ permission, and see what they say.”
Bran smiled. “I agree.” He glanced at Kim. “If you need to tell him or give him something, I’ll pass through here before I leave.”
“You really think they’ll let you go?” Kim asked.
Bran nodded.
Kim grinned, then did something so out of character that we stared. She kissed Bran’s cheek. “Thank you.”
As soon as she teleported upstairs, Bran grabbed my hand. “Come with me.”
We teleported to my bedroom. Voices filtered into the room through the closed door, but their energies weren’t Grampa and Aunt Janelle’s. Our houseguests must have been settling in.
“Do you really have to go? The archangels probably know your energy signature by now.”
“I have to go, Lil.”
“Why? Is it Gavyn? Are you going to see him?”
Bran sighed. “I’m not supposed to tell you this, but the senior Cardinals want to contact the Order and tell them what we know about their missing children. We can’t afford to have them target us while we are still figuring out how to defend ourselves against the archangels.”
That made sense. “They want you to go alone?”
“No. Cardinals Moira and Seth are coming with me. They won’t be happy about a detour to the Brotherhood, but…,” he shrugged.
At least he wasn’t going out alone. “Be careful.” He grinned, not in the least worried. “And if you guys run into trouble, go to Dante’s. We have an open invitation.”
Bran chuckled. “Yes, worrywart. I’ll be back in a few, so wait up for me.”
“Tell Angelia I’ll visit her as soon as I can.” I gripped Bran’s shirt, pulled him closer, and kissed him. “Please, be safe.”
“Promise.” He teleported.
Releasing a breath, I debated whether to go and introduce myself to our new houseguests or head back to the guys’ home. Despite Kim and Izzy’s moving in, the house would always be Remy and Sykes’ to me.
Kim was still in her room when I arrived, probably making a recording for Kieran. The others were watching an animé on TV.
“Is our hero gone?” Sykes asked.
I smiled. “If you mean Bran, no. He’s gone to talk to the senior Cardinals first.”
“How come they let him leave and not us?”
“You’re turning green, Sykes,” Izzy teased.
Sykes chuckled and stretched. “Nope. I just think he doesn’t know how to have fun. Rules are boring.” He patted the area of the sectional beside him. “Sit by me, Red, and let’s break some.”
“You really need to stop messing with me.”
“Chicken,” he muttered.
I sat beside Izzy. She and Remy had their eyes glued to the screen, where a dark-haired girl with red eyes was busy ferrying a boat through a misty lake with floating lanterns.
You know he only flirts with you because he knows you aren’t available and to push Bran’s buttons, Izzy said. Flirt back and he’ll run.
I don’t think that’s going to work. What are you guys watching?
An animé series the guys like. This one is actually interesting. It is about revenge and how you lose your soul when you seek it. Another episode is about to start. Izzy glanced at me and added, ignoring him hasn’t worked either. Go over there, kiss him, and scare the heebie-jeebies out of him.
Somehow I didn’t see Sykes running. Besides, I didn’t want to kiss him. I continued to watch the introduction to the next episode, though I could feel Sykes’ eyes on me. Getting irritated, I glared at him. He winked and patted the seat beside him. I made a face and turned my attention on the screen.
Bran came back sooner than we’d expected.
“Well?” Remy asked.
“It’s a go. Cardinal Moira and Seth are coming with me. Where’s Kim?”
“In her room. I’ll get her.” Izzy teleported and Bran took her place.
I sank against his side. Knowing he wasn’t going alone was a relief. Bran could handle himself in most situations, but the archangels were a mean bunch.
The animé was interesting, but all the training and not getting enough sleep because of the nightmares had drained me. My eyelids kept dropping, no matter how hard I tried to stay awake. Finally, I gave in. Just a few seconds of sleep was all I needed.
Something tickled my nose. I swatted at it. It flitted across my nose again. I protested and tried to turn my face away. A familiar chuckle followed. My eyes flew open and my gaze collided with Bran’s.
“Why are you tormenting me?”
“We need to talk about the Specials.”
“Oh, yeah, tell Angelia I’ll visit…” A feeling of déjà vu rolled over me. I’d said that before. My eyes widened. I was in my bedroom, not at Sykes and Remy’s. “Did you already leave and come back?”
He nodded. “Move over.”
The clock on my bedside table said it was nine-thirty. “I fell asleep?”
“Yep. Before I left. I came back and you were still out.” He kicked off his shoes and snuggled beside me.
I settled on my stomach, so I could see his expression. “So how did it go? Did you talk to the Order? What’s wrong with the Specials?”
“Everything is okay with the Brotherhood. They know we have their backs. The Specials, on the other hand, are scared out of their minds.”
I sat up. “Darius told them about the archangels?”
“That’s the problem. No one told them anything, but with their abilities, they feel the others’ fear. At least, the empaths in their group do. They know something is not right and they want to see you, especially Angelia. She made me swear to take you to them, but the Cardinals overheard us, so no sneaking out.”
“And the Order?”
“Refused to talk to us. They insisted on talking to you—the Chosen One.”
“No,” Grampa said firmly.
After giving his verdict, the matter of meeting the Order was all but forgotten. I didn’t get to visit the Specials either, which worried me. Angelia would think I had abandoned them. Grampa’s stance didn’t change despite my arguments. I even begged, which earned me a long lecture on priorities. Apparently mine were to train, train, and train some more. He promised to visit them instead.
My next visit with Kylie, the day after we met Raphael, didn’t exactly go as I’d hoped. Everything went downhill as soon as I mentioned the archangels.
“Please, mind-blend with me. I have to see him,” she begged.
“Did you hear anything I just said? Gavyn used you to find my cell phone number, Valafar might be back and the archangels want me dead.”
She shrugged. “I don’t care if Gavyn used me, and Valafar is a total loser, so whether he’s back or not, he’ll never convince you to join him. As for the archangel,” she giggled, “even saying the word fills me with, I don’t know, a shiver. The way you described him…”
Annoyed, I reminded her, “Cold eyes? Mean? Hates us and humans? And he wants me dead.”
“Oh, I know, but you are…the Chosen One. You have the powers of the Kris Dagger and the entire Guardian army behind you. The archangels won’t win. Please, show me.”
“No.” I got up from her bed, too annoyed to stay. “I can’t even link with Bran to get my lost memories because I’m scared of messing up his energy. There’s no way I’m going to link with you.”
I didn’t hear from Kylie for days. Just as well. Our houseguests, six female SG instructors, monopolized my time at home. They were nice, if I looked past their need to share every story about Xenith and make me watch homemade clairvoyant movies. It was like dangling something I really wanted in front of me, but keeping it out of my reach. So many times I just wanted to say “enough”. But
I couldn’t be rude.
The first time we met, I’d entered the kitchen to find them making breakfast. I took a step back, wanting to teleport back and disappear in my room until they were done, when the one standing by the stove had turned and smiled.
“Join us, Lil,” she’d said with a smile. “Unless you’d rather not.”
How could I refuse?
Watching the Guardian children frolic in the water and chase butterflies at a park in Xenith made me wonder what my childhood would have been like growing up there.
“Those little girls could easily have been me,” I told Bran when were alone after another long training session.
“Do you feel cheated?” Bran asked absentmindedly, his concentration on the pad he was sketching on.
“Hmm, no.” My childhood had been complicated. First living with Grandma’s circus tribe, then later moving from place to place with Grampa as he tried to keep the promise he gave my mother—keeping me safe from Valafar. My relationship with my grandfather was special because of the years we’d spent together. “I wouldn’t trade the years I spent with Grampa or my Gypsy relatives for anything.”
- 19 -
THE TEAMS
Our training became mentally, physically, and psychically draining as the week progressed. Each power team took over a classroom, while the SGs used the pit. Evenings, we ate together. The Cardinal Guardians sat in one corner of the cafeteria with our regular/sector teams, while the SGs took over the rest of the tables. They outnumbered us five to one.
The first two days were a nightmare. The Psi team focused on telekinetically controlling suspended swords while wielding one or two with their hands. Lucky for me, Master Haziel and I had already started working on the routine. The others hadn’t. They grumbled and whined, and drove Mrs. D nuts.
I began to bond with a quiet guy with wavy brown hair and gray eyes. I didn’t even know his name, but he was determined to master the move and seemed the nicest. I’d hoped his niceness would rub off on the rest of the Psi team. It didn’t. Their attitude toward our team was like poison that seeped into everything they did.
On the third day, Master Haziel walked into the psi training room just as we were warming up with wooden staffs. He and Mrs. D spoke in low tones and kept glancing at us.
“Are you sure they are ready?” Mrs. D asked, her voice reaching us.
Master Haziel answered, so quietly that we could not hear, then left.
“Today, we are using the pit, Psi Cardinals,” Mrs. D announced. “Grab your preferred swords and let’s go.”
The other Psi Cardinals looked at me for answers. Considering how they’d treated me with distain the last two days, I gave them a blank stare.
There were eight in total. Two of them—a black girl with red-streaked hair and a guy with pitch-black hair—came from Esras’ team. The guy was either a full-blooded Nosferatu—or at least half, he was so pale. The other six were split evenly between Solaris and Lunaris’ sectors. One had all guys, a redhead and two obnoxious dweebs. The last group had the nice, quiet guy I liked and two girls—a bubbly girl with freckles and a Werenephil with yellow cat eyes. Mrs. D’s eyes only shifted when she was angry, so it was interesting to be so close to a pure Werenephil. The first time she caught me staring, she’d glared and hissed. I wondered what other unusual features she had. As for Mrs. D, after two days she was getting frazzled by the animosity in the room.
Ask him what’s going on. Someone telepathed me, without pinging first, which was totally rude. I recognized the voice as Onora’s, the girl with streaked hair. After two days, she was the only one I knew by name because the Nosferatu from her sector tended to defer to her.
Why can’t you ask him yourself? I shot back.
Because you are his favorite, she retorted.
Who cares what he thinks? one of the obnoxious guys said. He had pale blond hair and a perpetual sneer. He’s senile.
And bitter because he’ll never be a Cardinal like us, his curly-haired friend added. Trainers are expendable.
We should tell the CT he’s incompetent, the blond finished.
Cat-eyes and Freckles giggled. Onora’s Nosferatu partner and the other two guys caught my gaze and looked away. I was sure my fury was visible. Mrs. D, waiting by the door, shook her head in warning, but I was too pissed to care.
“You stupid, pretentious morons,” I said through clenched teeth.
They backed up.
“Lil,” Mrs. D called out warningly.
“Master Haziel is not senile, bitter, or incompetent,” I continued. “He is wise,” I pressed a finger for emphasis, “he’s strong, and he’s a saint for putting up with all of you. He’s trained more powerful Guardians than you’ll ever be, and he takes pride in all the Cardinals’ accomplishments.”
Mrs. D clapped to get our attention. “Cardinals!”
“Powerful Guardians?” the curly-haired guy whispered, but I heard him. “Think she’s talking about herself?”
“Must be,” his blond buddy answered. “No modesty whatsoever.”
I wanted to zap them both. “I’m not talking about me, you idiot. I meant the Senior Cardinals.”
“Lil,” Mrs. D called out again. She sounded pissed and closer.
“Listen to your Psi teacher, Lil,” Onora mocked.
“Why don’t you try listening, Onora? Maybe you might learn to lift multiple swords without whining. We could be attacked any moment while you play stupid mind games.”
“I hope we are,” the blond said. “Then we’ll see how ridiculous the trainers’ ideas are.”
“What does he know about fighting demons anyway?” Onora said with a sneer. “He’s never faced one, and if he did, he’d probably hide behind us—”
My hand shot up toward her, my reaction so instinctive I didn’t stop to think of the consequences. I sent her flying across the room. Lucky for her, the foam blocks and mats were piled against the back wall and cushioned her fall.
“Lil Falcon!” Mrs. D snapped as she appeared beside Onora.
Onora refused Mrs. D’s help and scampered to her feet. “You saw that. She,” she jabbed her finger in my direction, “used her powers against me. It is against the rules—”
“To disrespect your trainers, Cardinal Onora,” Mrs. D finished. “That alone is enough to put you on probation.”
“Probation? Since when?” Onora retorted.
“Since now,” Mrs. D snapped.
“I’m a Cardinal Guardian. You can’t order me around.”
“You have a perfectly capable, younger Cardinal Psi in your team.” She waved toward the Nosferatu boy. “We are in the middle of a crisis and I will not tolerate your shenanigans anymore. How you do things in Melbourne,” she glared at Onora, then cocked her head toward the blond boy and his curly-haired friend, “or Brussels is none of my business. But when you are in our sector, you will behave like Cardinals. You will listen to your trainers. And for the love of Xenia, keep your poisonous opinions to yourself. Your behavior the last two days has been unworthy of Cardinals. From now on, you listen, train, and master whatever Master Haziel throws your way. Without mouthing off.”
“But—”
“Do…you…understand?” Mrs. D cut Onora off, her voice deceptively calm.
Onora swallowed and nodded. “Yes, Mrs. Deveraux.”
Mrs. D turned, faced the blond and his sidekick, and cocked her brow.
“Yes, ma’am,” they said in unison.
“Good. Now move. Wait by the door. Lil, stay behind.”
Onora glowered as she walked away. I waited until they left the room. “She had no right to say the things she—”
“That’s enough,” Mrs. D snapped.
I blinked. She’d never spoken to me like that before.
She started to pace. “What she said was wrong and I didn’t intervene at first because I thought you could handle the situation. Not by attacking her. Not by yelling, but by calmly explaining how we do things here.”
“Reason with them? After the way they’ve been acting the last two days?”
“That is beside the point. You know better than to use your powers against a fellow Guardian. What if you’d shot lightning bolts and killed her? Do you know the consequences for killing another Cardinal?”
I sighed and stopped short of rolling my eyes.
“A dead Cardinal would bring the wrath of the Circle of Twelve on your head. Do you know why? They were forced to ascend early, leaving no energy and consciousness behind to feed the Psi-dar. I know you occasionally use your abilities while goofing around with your friends, but you cannot act the same way with other Guardians. There are rules we all must follow or there will be chaos.”
“But you heard them, Mrs. D. They were disrespecting Master Haziel.”
“I understand, but that doesn’t give you the right to lash out like you just did,” her voice softened. “You may be the youngest in the group, but you’re the most powerful. You could hurt them quite easily.”
Great! I defended my teacher and/was the bad guy. “They are impossible to train with. You’ve seen the way they act. Why do they hate our team so much? We are on the same side. Who cares about accomplishments?”
Mrs. D sighed. “They don’t hate you. They fear and envy you. Most of them only know you by your reputation. Once they get to know you better, they’ll see what we see—a humble young lady. Give them a chance.”
I rolled my eyes this time. Fear? I didn’t think so. Curiosity, resentment, envy, yes. “I’ve tried.”
“Try harder. Spending more time with them might help, too. Invite them over for video games or a movie. They don’t have such things at the guesthouses. Or go downtown for coffee or something.”
No way. I already had to train with them for three hours in the mornings.
“Come on,” Mrs. D said. “Let’s not keep Master Haziel waiting.”
The others were waiting for us outside the pit. This time, I was the one who avoided their probing gazes. Mrs. D waved and the door flew open.
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