Silver Smoke (#1 of Seven Halos Series)

by Monica O'Brien

  Pilot didn't respond, but he didn't need to; the truth hung from his face in revolting remorse.

  Brie glanced at Pilot, then at Rykken. "What?"

  "The flashes," Rykken said. "It was her. Your girlfriend has white hair, doesn't she?"

  Pilot's forearm flexed, but he didn't answer. Rykken wasn't sure that Pilot could anymore.

  "Pilot," Brie exclaimed, balancing on her feet. "I told you Hawaiian Myths and Legends was dangerous! Didn't you think the person who gave it to you might be too?"

  PIlot's voice came out as the beginning of a roar. "Kennedy didn't give it to me! I found it in our library."

  "Kennedy planted the book in our house?" Brie asked.

  "Clara told me that no one could get in unless someone who lived here wanted them to," Rykken said.

  Brie paced around the couches, her arms jittery. "Well, obviously Pilot wanted her to." Brie's eyes flashed over PIlot, blazing. "Is she the one who gave you that object that exploded the bonfire?"

  "I didn't know what it was!" Pilot barked. "It looked like a vial of blood, but she said she bought it from a prank shop..."

  Brie's temper flared. "Well gee, I wonder what it was then Pilot? Something that looks like blood...

  hmm, let me think..."

  Rykken put his hand on Brie's shoulder and shook his head slightly. "Don't take your anger out on your brother," he whispered so only Brie could hear. "He didn't know."

  Brie fumed, but her movements softened, and the fury etched across her face turned to deep distress.

  "The question is," Rykken said, "whose blood was in the vial? The day after the bonfire I turned into a seal, so that could be important."

  Pilot's expression had progressed from shock to broiling outrage. "I can't believe it. Kennedy used me." The cemented stiffness in Pilot's body ran from his pulsating neck to the knuckles on his clenched fists.

  "Are you kidding?" Brie said in despair. "She's stalking Rykken and you're worried that she used you?

  That's the least of our problems!"

  Pilot's face crumbled, and Rykken could practically see the tension in Pilot's body evaporating into helplessness. He tried to put himself in his friend's shoes, though he was still in shock himself.

  "Lighten up, Brie," he said as reasonably as he could. "He just found out his girlfriend is a liar."

  "Liar?" Brie ranted. "She's an assassin for Silver Smoke."

  "Assassin?" Pilot's voice shook with denial. "Look, she's not killing anyone. She's not that kind of person. And if she wanted to hurt any of us, she's had plenty of chances." Pilot folded his face into his hands. "She just wanted to change Rykken into a selkie."

  "Why would she want that?" Brie asked skeptically.

  Rykken didn't buy it either, but he didn't want to cause Pilot more pain. "I'm guessing it's not to get me kicked off the water polo team."

  "Alright, let's go." Brie dragged a limp, shell-shocked Pilot to his feet. "Thessa will want to hear what you just told us."

  "Wait," Pilot whispered. He locked eyes with Brie. "Before we talk to Thessa... I haven't been completely honest with you either." Pilot flinched, and the twitch echoed through several of his limbs. "There's something I need to show you."

  *****

  Pilot felt dizzy and numb as he trailed after Rykken and Brie up the stairs to his bedroom. He couldn't stand Brie's anger at him for trusting Kennedy, or Rykken's pity toward him for falling in love with the villain of their story. All the other stuff they'd told him was a jumbled mess, leaving a fog over his mind that he would have to sort out later. The only thing he could think about with clarity was how Kennedy had gotten tangled in the mess. The part of the story that didn't match up was that Kennedy was some sort of assassin. Kennedy liked tricks, but she didn't strike him as a killer. Yes, she had placed the book somewhere he could intercept it. He could accept that. And she manipulated him to activate some sort of spell on Rykken at the campfire. But that was weeks ago, and he'd just seen her. Why did she keep coming back? If she really wanted to hurt any of them, why hadn't she done so yet? Why had she instead started a relationship with him that seemed so real?

  He reviewed the facts: no one could have pulled Silver Smoke out of thin air. That meant Brie and Rykken were telling the truth, at least to the best of their knowledge. But where was their truth coming from?

  Much of it seemed to be coming from the other Hallows—Thessa, Cora, Clara, and Sirena. And hadn't he trusted Cora too? She had lied to him and manipulated him just as much as Kennedy did, but for some reason, Brie and Rykken still trusted her.

  There were only two explanations he could think of regarding Kennedy: she really did love him, and had a good explanation for her actions... or she still needed him for something. He cringed over the second option. She promised him that she wasn't using him for anything, but that could easily have been a lie.

  Still, he decided to withhold judgment about Kennedy until he had the chance to confront her. If there was any chance that what they had was real...

  They reached Pilot's room, where he kept the contents of the package from his mom. He didn't know why he had kept the package a secret from Brie for so long; partly because his mom's lawyer told him to.

  But also because his mom had picked him, not Brie, this time.

  Pilot opened the drawer and pulled out the bubble envelope the lawyer had given him. Inside, he knew, were two letters—one that had been read hundreds of times, and one that was still sealed.

  Brie looked at him curiously, while Rykken watched Brie's face carefully, a wrinkle in his forehead.

  Pilot handed her the sealed letter.

  "From mom," he said.

  Brie took the letter from Pilot's hand gingerly. Rykken stood in the door frame, his wide eyes training on Pilot now. It didn't take Pilot much to figure out what Rykken was thinking.

  Brie sat down on Pilot's bed, turning the envelope over and over in her hands.

  Rykken took a step toward her. "Do you want me to read it to you?"

  Brie simply shook her head. Rykken stood around uncomfortably, shuffling his feet.

  "Mom told me not to give it to you in her instructions," Pilot said, defending himself against the unspoken tension in the room. "She said to give it to you when you were ready, and that I would know when the right time was."

  "I spent two months locked in my room." Brie's voice wobbled. "Do you have any idea what it was like?

  Lying in bed, unable to think of anything. Not having hunger or thirst or any interest in human interaction. Wanting to die, but not having the interest in plotting my own suicide. Not wanting to think about the potential aftermath." She looked at him accusingly. "You knew, better than anyone." Brie laid her head on Pilot's pillow calmly, slowly.

  "I'm sorry," Pilot said. Rykken fixated on Brie curled up in a ball on Pilot's bed, as if he could feel the pain coursing through her.

  Pilot knelt down beside his bed. "Brie, I know you're angry with me. Maybe even angry at Mom. But I think you should open the letter. A lot of crazy stuff is happening and it might have some answers."

  Brie sat up. "Did she write you one too?"

  "Yes."

  "Did it have answers?"

  "Not really."

  "Did it give you closure?" Brie asked, raising her voice. "Did it help you get over Mom's death? Did it help you move on and deal with the paparazzi and with James and with all the ridiculous bullshit we've been through in the last three months?" Brie's tormented voice had morphed into a shrill yell.

  Pilot tried not to let Brie's dramatic tirade give him guilt. "I did what Mom wanted," he repeated. The expression on Brie's face turned to near-tears. "There's no point in dwelling on the past," he said, sitting on the bed next to her. He put his arm around her and gently pulled the letter from her. "If you don't open it, I will."

  Rykken's eyes blistered, like he was having trouble restraining his anger. "Give her a minute. She's been through a lot."

  But to Pilot's surprise, Brie
grabbed the letter from Pilot and calmly tore it from its envelope. She unfolded it, touching the paper where his mother handwrote her last instructions to her only daughter.

  Brie read it out loud.

  "Dearest Brie, If you are reading this, you know the truth. You know that I've done everything I can to help you, and I've failed. You know that the road ahead is long and there are very few people you can trust. You know that the person most like me will find you, and help you complete the work I've started.

  And I hope you know that I love you, and I'm sorry about what's happened."

  Brie stopped reading. She looked up, then glanced back at the note, her eyes skimming it. "If you have any more questions, look in your heart for the answer. We are more similar than you think. Love Mom."

  Pilot looked at Rykken, puzzled, but Rykken was watching Brie. Pilot sighed. He wondered if Rykken was always looking at Brie and he had never noticed until now.

  "Is that all?" Pilot asked.

  "No. But it's like it's written in code or something." Brie crumpled the paper, throwing it at Pilot's wastebasket and making the shot.

  Rykken walked over to the trash can and fished it out, smoothing the letter flat against the wood on Pilot's desk. He folded it twice so the paper would fit back in its envelope.

  Brie folded her arms across her chest. "That was fun. We should go talk to Thessa now."

  "Do you want to talk about this?" Pilot asked.

  "I want you both to promise me something," Brie said. The alarm on Rykken's face reflected what Pilot felt.

  "What?" Rykken and Pilot asked in unison.

  Brie's gaze sharpened. "No more secrets. From now on, we tell each other everything, no matter what. If today has proven anything, it's that we have to trust each other." Brie held her hand out, palm down.

  Pilot looked at Rykken, who shrugged. Pilot put his hand on top of Brie's. Rykken put his hand on top of Pilot's.

  Brie put her other hand on top of Rykken's. "Thessa's." Pilot felt a tug at his arm getting sucked through a vacuum. The rest of his body followed, and when he opened his eyes again, he was inside a house with white furniture and mahogany floors.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Brie didn't realize what she'd done until she was standing in Thessa's foyer. Mirrors lined the walls on either side of her, creating reflections within reflections.

  "Whoa," Pilot stammered, nearly falling over. He caught himself on a small table, almost knocking over the tall vase sitting on top of it.

  "You could have warned us," Rykken added, looking a little dizzy himself.

  "I didn't mean to bring us here." Brie walked toward the living room. "I just meant to say that we should leave."

  Pilot's sour tone was a warning to her. "Don't ever do that to me again."

  Cora walked out of the kitchen, Clara right behind her. "Pilot?" Clara said with surprise.

  "You brought your earthlie brother?" Clara said in confusion. "Thessa told me you were coming alone."

  "Pilot knows everything," Brie said. Or he would soon, she thought. Brie didn't want to overwhelm Pilot by telling him about the trip she was taking with Rykken and Sirena, and she didn't want him to alert the other Hallows or James.

  "You can't tell an earthlie about us," Clara said. She seemed to be in a good mood. "That's against the law."

  Brie pursed her lips, tilting her head to one side. "So is my existence," she said dryly. She didn't mean it as a joke, but Brie thought she caught a curl to Clara's lips.

  Pilot, on the other hand, was still a wreck. He eyed Cora with distrust. "Can I speak to you later?" he asked her.

  Her eyes widened. "Sure," she replied. Cora's eyebrows twitched, like she was turning something over in her head. "Thessa and Sirena are waiting for you upstairs."

  Brie walked up the stairs confidently, and the boys following her. She didn't feel confident though; she was about to find out who her real father was. If he was alive, she would soon be visiting him to learn more about her mother's past. If he wasn't... she was still faced with the daunting task of leaving behind the safety of the island, her family, and the Hallow's protection to face the unknown. Either way, she knew in her heart that this meeting marked the beginning of the most difficult and dangerous time of her life.

  Brie knocked on Thessa's bedroom door. When Thessa opened the door, surprise flickered on her face, but she barely missed a beat.

  "Come in," she said. "I wasn't expecting all three of you."

  Brie, Rykken, and Pilot filed in. The room was different than it had been the first time Brie saw it, when Thessa was sick and lying in her bed after the Homecoming dance. Now, it held comfortable couches and a table with cheese slices, crackers, chips, olives and pretzels.

  "Pilot!" Sirena exclaimed, nearly choking on an olive. She put her hand over her heart. "You scared me.

  You look so much like James."

  Pilot tossed his dark brown hair out of his eyes, cracking his neck to the side. "You look so much like my mother," he said, with an edge in his voice. Suddenly, Brie realized how things looked—Pilot's own aunt had barely spoken to him, even before Brie learned she was a Hallow.

  The three of them sat down in a row on one of the sofas. "Before we talk about my real dad," Brie said,

  "I have to tell you both something. Kennedy has been using Pilot to get to Rykken."

  If Thessa seemed worried, she didn't show it. "Interesting," she said. "I would advise you, earthlie, to stay away from Kennedy. She's an assassin for an organized crime group called Silver Smoke."

  "Kennedy told me that they served good causes." Pilot's voice sounded strained. "Protecting lives.

  Fighting injustice."

  "Of course she did," Thessa said. "No one thinks they are serving a bad cause, do they? People only fight passionately for what they truly believe in. Kennedy fights for the injustices she's had in her life."

  Thessa sighed. "I suppose I should tell you why Silver Smoke hates the Hallows, at least the Hallows that live and operate outside of the New Order. The monarchy did not tolerate their kind—to be one of them meant an immediate death. The members of Silver Smoke live underground because they were once exiled from our world, forced into hiding."

  "What are they?" Brie asked. "I thought they were Nephilim."

  "Half Nephilim," Thessa said. "And half Hallow. They are an abomination—neither Michael nor Luci planned for them to happen. Super human blood, loyalty to neither the light nor dark side, mixed with inherently flawed human blood. The mixture of the three types of blood strengthens their powers. They are stronger than either the Nephilim or the Hallows, but their powers are unstable at best, deadly at worst. They are called Trinities."

  Rykken rubbed his chin. "It sounds like they were persecuted for something that wasn't their fault though. No one gets to choose what blood they are born with."

  "There was one other option," Thessa said. "The stones. Anyone may be baptized again under the stones from the seven archangels. If they survived the ritual, they would have purely Hallow blood coursing through their veins."

  "That sounds terrible," Pilot said. "What if they didn't survive?"

  "It happened often," Thessa said quietly. "The arch isn't supposed to be used on anyone over a year in age, so it was safest when detected early. But even if the child had grown up, it was worth the risk. It would be better to die than to live a cursed, immortal life.

  "Mother nature works in strange ways. The Trinities can't have children and thus can't pass on their instability through reproduction. So they live and wreak havoc and ruin themselves until they are put out of their misery by falling in battle... or by murder."

  Pilot shut his eyes and held his temples between his thumbs and pointer fingers. The news must have been hard on him. Brie wondered how Pilot felt, finding out that his girlfriend was basically pure evil.

  Sirena eyed Pilot with a heightened sense of empathy. "Our family was ruthless toward the Trinities. My grandfather was obsessed with hunting them d
own and ridding them from this earth for good. He didn't believe in giving them second chances with the arch—he thought their blood was too stained to be born again into the Hallow kingdom. It was no surprise that when the rebellion started, Silver Smoke sided with the New Order to bring down the monarchy."

  "How does it happen?" Brie asked. "The Hallows and Nephilim—they never mix, do they? I can't imagine two of them conceiving children."

  "Rape," Thessa replied dully. "Every Trinity I've ever met is the product of a rape." Thessa looked away suddenly, raising a bitten cracker to her lips, but not placing it in her mouth.

  Brie's gaze met Sirena's. She wished now that she hadn't brought the boys, so she could ask the burning question she had on her tongue.

  The moment passed. "I didn't find out anything new about your birth father," Thessa said, setting the cracker down. "I went to see one of your mother's oldest friends in New York. I thought for sure if she had left a clue, she would have left it with him. But he couldn't remember anything out of the ordinary from Milena." Thessa sighed. Brie felt as deflated as Thessa sounded.

  "So I have no options left, save one. I need a sample of your blood, Brie. Yours too, Pilot. Your blood will carry both Milena's DNA and James' DNA. We can compare it to Brie's and identify the differences to narrow down the bloodline, at least. There is a guy named Thomas who owes me a favor. He can get into the New Order's research center and get the test results quickly, without raising suspicion."

  "Are you sure?" Brie asked. "Where did this guy come from, and why do you all of a sudden have access to him?"

  "I learned something new about Thomas recently that I'm confident will secure his cooperation, even for a task like this."

  "Blackmail." A pinch of nervousness rose from Brie's stomach. "It seems risky."

  "We have no choice," Thessa said. "We need to know who your father is if you are leaving to investigate Milena's map."

  "Leaving?" Pilot asked. "Who? Where?"

  Sirena looked at Brie with alarm. Rykken, who had been quiet almost the entire conversation, ducked his head.

  "How did you know?" Brie asked, realizing a few seconds too late that she had just confirmed the trip with Thessa.