Valor: The Custos Saga

by Jessica Tastet

  This was his opportunity, and Angelica, sister or not, stood in his way.

  Fifty-Six

  Angelica chewed on her lip as she folded another shirt. An overflowing suitcase rested on the bed before her, and she didn’t believe all her belongings were going to fit. She’d managed to squeeze it all in a few weeks ago, but it would seem she’d collected a few more items in New Orleans.

  Denise flung herself across the bed causing the suitcase to bounce. “You can come back if it doesn’t all fit. You’re only moving a few blocks away.”

  Angelica smiled, busying herself with pushing down on the clothes to stuff them all inside. “I just want to get it over without tears.”

  Denise pursed her lips, clutching an art magazine against her chest. “I don’t want you to think I wanted you to go even if we haven’t… well, you know.”

  Angelica paused in folding. Denise would never say it aloud, but Angelica sensed her sadness. Denise had believed they’d recapture the closeness of high school, but neither was that same person. “I’m only moving a few streets away, besides don’t they say separation makes the heart grow fonder?”

  Denise shrugged. “The apartment will be empty, that’s all. Trevor gone and now you.”

  Angelica laughed. “I promise I’ll visit, and Trevor threatened me with Christmas.”

  “You’ll be careful, right? I mean, I’m still not sure about these people.”

  Rodney appeared at the doorway, frowning. “Angelica, there are suits here to see you.”

  Angelica tossed the last items in the suitcase. “Suits?”

  Rodney’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Five of them. I don’t like the looks of them.”

  Angelica’s muscles tensed. Since her genealogy revelation, she’d been anxious, waiting for something to happen. At this point, it could be anything from the Vindica calling to say they changed their mind about her being Valor to a Custos showing up to drag her into some tribe she’d disappear into like some television after school special. John had insisted she move into the house today for protection so he would not have sent anyone to retrieve her.

  “Denise, stay here,” Angelica said, assessing the audience she’d have.

  Rodney’s mouth opened, and his eyebrows furrowed in his defiant way.

  She nodded. “Stay out of the way.” No use arguing with him and wasting time.

  Angelica breathed in deep and focused on what waited. She crossed toward the living room, lingering over the vivid painting, her heart thundering.

  Waiting in the living area, Larkin Luke stood in the middle of the floor flanked by four men in black with hands behind their backs. They’d sucked the oxygen out of the room with their stiff postures and sunglasses. If these were Vindica henchmen, the organization had more secrets to share.

  Larkin’s voice trembled, as he wiped his moist head with a white handkerchief. “After recent events, a decision has been reached. You have to understand that self-preservation…” He trailed off. Her parentage must have reached the Vindica’s ears. A message would have sufficed telling her that her services weren’t needed anymore; the henchmen were overkill. Unless they weren’t just delivering a pink slip.

  “What decision?”

  He stumbled forward. “He promised no one else would get hurt. No more girls…”

  One of the muscle men shoved Larkin from behind and Larkin whimpered. “What he’s trying to say is that you’re being sacrificed for the good of your kind. In exchange for you and the amulet, we won’t kill all the residents of Landon House.”

  Anger surged through her. Larkin had sacrificed her to save his own neck. Bringing them here made her vulnerable with no one else to help her.

  “Larkin doesn’t own me, so if I’m going to surrender, it’s going to be on my own terms. And I’m not really one to give up.”

  Larkin stumbled back, droplets dripping down his temple. He glanced toward the door, and Angelica knew he was planning to run.

  Two of the men moved toward her. The earlier speaker, the one with the crescent shaped scar beneath his left eye, said, “They said you were smart.”

  Angelica telekinetically flung one of Denise’s iron candle stands at the man to her left. It thwacked him in the center of his forehead and he dropped to the ground, clutching his temple.

  She focused on the three left standing.

  As the man to her right lunged at her, she flung him backwards, and he bowled Larkin over as he slid toward the door.

  Scar face speaker advanced, and she entered his body and squeezed his throat. He pushed forward against the pain and moved toward her in slow motion, clutching at his throat. With a well-aimed kick at his shins, he keeled over, struggling to breath.

  A hard thwack hit the side of her head causing silence in her ear. She struggled against the sharp pain and blinked into focus the soldier who’d thrown an iron candleholder at her.

  She lifted him in the air, feeling her focus dissipating.

  “Rodney, get the door!”

  Rodney lunged over the leader and swung the door open as Larkin gaped at the room. Angelica flung the floater out the door where he disappeared below, falling the two stories as she couldn’t hold him anymore.

  Scar face struggled to his feet and backed away. Angelica allowed his lungs to fill with air, but with his first breath, he threw his right hook.

  It stung and anger surged. She pooled her strength and flung him forward. He catapulted backwards, slamming into the railing.

  The man lying next to Larkin’s feet picked himself up and stumbled to the door. He was sprinting by the time he reached the iron staircase.

  Larkin trembled, straightening the collar of his suit jacket. “I’m so sorry… I didn’t have a choice… I’m glad it all worked out.”

  Angelica glared at him, stepping forward.

  He bolted for the door, not looking back.

  Angelica assessed the room. Candlestick man had passed out on the floor, and the one in the courtyard wasn’t going anywhere. Scar face had hobbled off after the sprinter.

  She’d need help cleaning up this mess. Detective Gavin would not be happy to hear from her so soon.

  “I knew it!”

  Angelica’s ears throbbed at the piercing sounds. Denise stared at her from the doorway, with sheer madness gripping her face. Rodney huffed, pumping his fists, unsure what to do next.

  Maybe if she knocked Denise out, Detective Gavin could clean up this mess, too.

  Fifty-Seven

  The new recruits created weakness among the Dark Soldiers. At least that’s what Rex surmised after observing the intense regiment of an initiate. Many barely passed muster, yet they laughed and carried on as if they had earned entry-level status already.

  This would not do; order must be restored. Before the split, these soldiers served as the Vindica’s great army, the protectors of all knowledge. Before ideals had split them into two alliances in opposition to each other, these men carried out all manners of tasks for the Custos hybrid to maintain secrecy. If Rex’s plan succeeded, he’d unite the two once again, and wished only the best to serve in the position.

  Rex looked up from the sparing sessions as two soldiers entered the warehouse. One limped but kept pace with the other. He recognized them as two of the four soldiers sent to return with Angelica Acacia.

  They approached him, wearing grim expressions.

  Bowing their heads, they waited for permission to speak.

  “Where is she?” Rex asked, looking to the door for the others.

  The limper cleared his throat. “Our mission has failed. We lost two men in the struggle. She is more powerful than we were prepared to encounter.”

  Rex rose from his seat. “Are you not trained and capable Dark Soldiers? Why is it that my men cannot defeat a young girl?”

  The one with dried blood near his ear put his head up. “But sir, she’s not normal. We can’t be expected…”

  “Silence.” Rex shouted forcefully, cutting off his words, h
is breathe.

  Dark Knight excused himself from the training recruits and hurried over. Rex swept across the product of the laxness of this institution that had been allowed to grow while he delved into his search for their future. It would not do.

  “You are expected to follow orders even if that requires death. It is the oath you swore as a Dark Soldier.”

  The soldier’s face reddened; he clutched at his throat. He fell to his knees as he became lightheaded.

  The initiates stopped mid spar to gawk at the scene.

  “Lord,” Dark Knight squeaked. “His father…”

  “I don’t care who his father is,” Rex said, feeling his muscles grow taunt with the surge of control. “It is time we weed out the weak. I demand quality of my men, of the people I choose to back me up. You, Dark Knight, have allowed weakness to fester. If we are to rise and survive the Reckoning, we need to be merciless with our code.”

  The initiate fell to the ground, still.

  No one spoke; the warehouse quiet under the strain of fear.

  “Now gather your best men, Dark Knight,” Rex said, stepping around the corpse. “I want to see what qualifies as your best.”

  “Where… where are you going?” Dark Knight squeaked again.

  “To see the girl,” Rex said. “I was gentle before, but now is not the time for manners. I will have that book.”

  Rex walked to the back storage container where Simone rested. He’d been easy earlier today, believing that he’d have Angelica and his book by nightfall and then he could return the feisty young Anihi to his son. Maybe even forge a bond between the two and achieve that much more.

  But that time had passed. He would not allow Cain to swipe that book from him or even this unknown daughter to defeat him.

  Sometimes sacrifice was necessary. He’d learned that lesson many times before.

  Fifty-Eight

  The sky burned orange against the backdrop of the Quarters as streetlights flickered. Angelica jangled her key against the brass doorknob, and it creaked as it clicked open. The darkened entrance of Landon House was silent except for the slow ticking of the grandfather clock.

  Home. She breathed in the eccentric smells of old books, antique wood, and spice. For better or worse, she now lived here, among the other hybrids. John believed it safer for everyone involved if she stayed in the house, but the other residents may have felt differently.

  After hours of cleaning up at Denise’s, Detective Gavin had finally released her, and with Denise’s silent, crazy eyes following her around the room, Angelica had to agree that it was probably best she stay away from the outside population for awhile. Detective Gavin, however, had warmed to her as he’d assessed the scene and realized he now had two Dark Soldiers in custody. He’d ordered police guards on each man as they were bused to the hospital.

  Angelica dumped her suitcase by the staircase and strolled toward Landon’s library door. Pushing the door open, she blinked against the dim lighting where Mark studied her from John’s favorite chair.

  “Where are John and Gabney?”

  Mark unfolded his hands. “John’s resting, and I haven’t seen Gabney today.”

  Angelica hesitantly walked into the room. “I guess you heard about today?”

  Mark nodded. “I hear you performed your first act as Valor. At least that’s how everyone is labeling it in the gossip.”

  Angelica shrugged. “I did what I had to do.”

  “You’ll of course get to decide Larkin’s punishment.”

  “I think the council would be better suited for that.”

  Mark smiled, but his eyes remained cold. “Pick your daisies carefully.”

  A shiver ran through her. The line teased at a memory. “What?”

  He laughed. “It’s the moral of a story I was told when I was young. A little girl climbs over a fence to pick daisies in someone’s field, but she can’t get back over the fence without ruining the daises.”

  “What does that have to do with Larkin?”

  “Now that you’ve opened the golden doors of Valor, you can’t walk out when you get squeamish. The traditions are firmly in place.”

  “The traditions could always use updating.”

  Mark stood up and slipped a book back onto the shelf. “At the beginning of the prophecy, Valor was a quality to be exhibited with actions. It required a willingness to fight and die for our people. Don’t you think it should mean the same today?”

  The iron clad invisible wall he maintained around his thoughts was firmly in place. “I’m really tired. If you have a lesson somewhere in this, can we not do it fortune cookie style.”

  He shrugged, looking over the room. “Just my thoughts on the whole Valor debate. Everyone has an opinion these days.”

  “Valor’s a legend, and I’m going to do the best I can to help people, but we all need to show a certain willingness to protect ourselves.”

  “And we should look out for ourselves at times like these.” Mark nodded as he crossed to the door. “I’ll see you, Angelica. Bruce is waiting for me.”

  Angelica reminded herself that Mark’s loyalty belonged to his girlfriend, and Serena hadn’t made this easy. Angelica would imagine that Mark had received the brunt of Serena’s anger. Serena could just wait it out, as it appeared from the circulating gossip that Angelica’s days as Valor were numbered.

  She shrugged away the conflicting feelings of rejection and failure and faced the fireplace, gripping the metal key in the palm of her hand. She could feel the prongs edging into her flesh. After the dark soldier incident, this calmness had descended over her. It was this unexplainable feeling that she was where she was supposed to be.

  A younger Lily than she remembered stared back at her from the mantle, smiling. Clear, hopeful eyes instead of the creases and sadness that had always edged around the corners of the Lily Angelica knew.

  Angelica had forgotten about this key. At first, she’d thought it opened Landon House, but it didn’t match the key John had handed her this morning. When she’d found Lily’s journal among Gram’s things, the key had been taped inside the back cover. Weeks ago when she’d removed it, she’d figured it was something lost along the way, but today when she’d gone to toss it into the bottom of her suitcase, it had occurred to her that Lily wouldn’t have included it in this journal if it didn’t have a purpose.

  Angelica looked into her mother’s photographed eyes, seeing them again the night she’d said good-bye. “Help me out Lily. Where does this fit?”

  A thump vibrated the floor behind her. She whirled around to John limping into the room. “Where does what fit and was that Gabney leaving?”

  Angelica dropped into the red velvet chair. “Just Mark. Another one who thinks I need to prove myself. It seems to be an epidemic.”

  John sank into his chair, closing his eyes. “Ms. Cammie’s at the young lady’s apartment. She volunteered since she knew the family.”

  Angelica shuddered. “I wish her luck as Denise was psychotic when I left.”

  John’s fingers rubbed the carvings on his cane as they did when he worried. “Rex daring to go after you means he’s afraid or wants something. Either is dangerous.”

  Angelica clutched the key tighter in her hand. “Did Rex lose the book at the same time Lily ran away?”

  John frowned, his forehead wrinkles becoming more pronounced. “The rumors began after Rosemary’s death which was a year later.”

  “Did Rosemary stay in touch with Lily? I didn’t see it, but maybe it was kept secret.”

  John shook his head. “It would have been too dangerous for the two of you. What are you thinking?”

  Angelica frowned. She needed a connection, but she needed something to actually connect.

  “Lily left me with three things on Gram’s front porch.”

  John cleared his throat. “I know about the amulet and the journal, but what else?”

  She held out the brass key, her palm tingling where it had impressed its outline
. “I have this feeling it has to do with that book.”

  John’s legs swayed as he stood. “Does it have an inscription?”

  She studied the ridges of the key. Carved crudely in the top were three letters. “AVA, why?”

  John swayed forward abandoning his cane, but he did not pause until he reached the bookcases. Her mouth fell in a silent gasp as he yanked books away from the bottom shelf. When the shelf lay empty, he pulled a hidden door open. Angelica went and knelt down beside him and helped ease a wooden trunk from the darkness of the hole.

  They carried the trunk to his empty desk. The trunk had a small brass lock affixed to the front.

  John’s hands rubbed the lid. “Before Rosemary disappeared, this trunk arrived with a brief note. It said that it was to only be opened by the person bearing an inscribed key with AVA. It was unsigned, but I am the Vindica secret keeper, so I don’t question, I keep things hidden for our people according to their instructions because it is the oath I swore. I’ve wondered all these years, but I had to fulfill my duty.”

  Angelica’s trembling fingers slipped the key into the lock, and with a deep breath, she turned the key right and it clicked. She lifted the lid. Her heart beat in her ears. She reached inside with trembling hands, and grasped a worn green leather book with Field of Shadows burned black onto its cover. The cover squeaked as she flipped it open.

  She ran her hand over the first sheet. It was not a page in the book, but was stuck to the first page in an off-centered way as though added in a hurry. “It’s the prophecy Lily had in her journal. It’s the same handwriting.”

  She glanced down the page, noticing a scribbled message. “Wait, there’s more. It says Dear Angelica Acacia Vale. We will have never had the opportunity to meet, but our paths did cross. In each generation, our people could have named Valor. Events set in motion before your birth, allowed for you to have this right. Be thankful to those who’ve given you the opportunity, but do not grieve. Repay them with fulfilling the prophecy. Use your abilities well. Love Rosemary.”