After all the events of last night, by the time I got home, it had been late again. My sleep allotments were declining while my near-death experiences were clearly on the up. But, of course, it wasn’t the lack of sleep that had me so agitated. It was the lack of something else. Someone else.
I had hoped the whole time we were at Dapper’s, listening to Onyx tell his tale of doom, that Lincoln might come back. That somehow he might realize I would never have kissed Spence willingly. I even held out hope that Magda might have talked some sense into him. Wishful thinking. But Lincoln—he knew me. Surely he would have known I wouldn’t be so…
Even though I slept with a dark exile!
And there was my problem—the nagging voice of truth we all have buried deep within. The one that is always there, painting with primary colors, not bothering to mix it up.
Onyx was right. I had planted all the seeds of doubt that Phoenix was now watering. I may have had my reasons, but that didn’t change the fact that Lincoln would probably never forgive me or that the sacrifice required for us to be together would be more than he would ever willingly make for me.
He has his real problem—and I have mine.
I’d sacrificed everything to save Lincoln, but right now I feared surrendering his strengths and risking his power would not be something Lincoln could do. Not so he could be with me.
By the time the bell rang for lunch, I’d barely made a mark on my canvas. As I packed up, my art teacher came over to me.
“Violet, you’ve been distracted lately. I know you have other studies to concentrate on and plenty of social events to attend. However, if you still plan on making the impact I know you can at the Fenton course, you will need to start applying yourself again in art.”
I took a deep breath, deflated and cross with myself. “I know, Miss Hastings. I’ll try harder. I really want to do well at the Fenton course.”
“Well, if that’s the case, you have work to do,” she said in that voice only teachers can put on, somewhere between parental and guilt-trip. It worked.
In the cafeteria, I grabbed a salad and a bread roll and slumped down in my usual spot. When the chair beside me was pulled out and a tray dropped down next to mine, I didn’t even look up. I assumed it would be Steph.
“Jeez, Eden. You awake?”
I jumped in my seat and looked up to see Spence laughing away.
“What? What are you doing here?” Then, paranoid, I started looking around. “You’re going to get caught. You can’t be here. You’re going to get me in trouble! Again!”
He gave me a cheeky wink and his smile widened. “Glamour.”
I looked around the room again and realized no one else seemed aware of his presence, even though he was not wearing a school uniform and clearly didn’t belong there.
“What are you doing here?”
“Apart from nursing a wicked hangover? I came to clear the air,” he said, squaring his shoulders to me. He had no intention of going away.
“Oh.” I blew out an I-don’t-want-to-be-here breath.
“Look. A lot of stuff went down last night, and I get the feeling that of all the awful, if you could take one thing away, it would be the you-and-me-getting-dirty-on-the-dance-floor bit?”
I squinted my eyes at him. “You certainly have a way with words, Spence.”
He shrugged. “It’s a gift.” He raised his eyebrows and waited. He really wasn’t going to go away.
“Okay. Look, it’s not that I don’t…You know. I think you’re really nice and all and you were…I mean…It wasn’t bad or anything. Crap. I just don’t…”
“Like me like that?” he suggested, smiling.
“Yeah.”
“It’s okay. I get it. It wasn’t exactly my choice either, you know. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not feeling violated or anything. You kiss like a maniac. No guy in his right mind would be disappointed after that—I mean—”
“Spence!” I cut him off.
“Oh, yeah. Sorry. What I was saying was, it’s all good. We’re friends. The fact that we’ve shared one particularly hot kiss isn’t going to change that, make it all weird. Okay?”
I nodded, relieved that at least one of my concerns wasn’t going to develop into a major crisis.
Steph pulled out a chair and sat down on the other side of Spence. “Hi,” she said to Spence. “What are you doing here?”
“Hey!” I jumped in. “How come she can see you?”
“It’s a pick-and-choose thing. Right now I’m only providing glamour to those who don’t already know me. As far as they’re concerned, a very inconspicuous, but seriously smokin’, girl is sitting down beside you in a school uniform having lunch.”
“Smokin’?” Steph repeated.
“Hey, some things just happen naturally.” Spence opened his arms. “It’s hard for me to cover up innate hotness, no matter what form I’m in.”
Steph made a gagging motion. “You do realize this is a co-ed school. You could have stayed male,” she said.
Spence took a huge bite of his sandwich. “True, but then it wouldn’t have been so easy to stop by the girls’ locker room on the way here.” He shrugged.
I started picking at pieces of my bread roll, throwing them at him. Steph picked up her salad bowl and dumped its contents over his head.
• • •
It had been good to clear the air with Spence, and by the end of the day, I started to get myself together and built up toward my next task: Lincoln.
After school, Steph and I detoured via the bank so I could withdraw some money from my dad’s Amex account. He’d set it up with joint cards for us both years ago. I paid most of the household bills and did the majority of any shopping, so it was just easier if I had access to cash. Dad had told me it was okay to use it to buy a few things here and there, but on the whole I didn’t bother. I didn’t know how much two Armani shirts and an electric shaver would cost, so when Steph suggested I take out a thousand dollars, I almost fell over.
“What do you mean a thousand dollars? Are you crazy?” I only really withdrew cash for lunch money and groceries. Coffee and milk don’t cost much.
“Listen, sweetie, when it comes to matters of designer clothing, I’m as reliable as they come. You’re just lucky that there are sales on—otherwise, we’d need more.”
I blew out a breath. If she was telling me it was so, it was so. Still, I couldn’t help the aggravation at handing over money so Onyx could get his reward for telling me I might die.
“Are you going to be okay? Do you know what size to get?”
Steph gave me a full-blown eye roll. “Honestly, Vi, I could shop with my eyes closed. Anyway”—she pulled out a cocktail napkin from her pocket—“Mr. Reminisce-on-the-dark-days gave me all his measurements. I really dislike that guy.”
“Try hate with a vengeance.”
Steph gave me a pitying look. “Are you sure you want me to go? I can stay with you, come over to Lincoln’s, just in case…?”
But this was something I had to do on my own. There was no point arriving with reinforcements; my best chance was to just go myself, try and be completely honest.
“No. You go. We need this stuff. I’ll have to deliver it to Onyx by tomorrow or he’ll start causing more problems. Why don’t you ask Salvatore if he wants to go with you?”
Steph planted a good-bye kiss on my cheek. “Already done. I’m meeting him at the mall. Um…Vi?” she started, uncharacteristically unsure.
“Yeah?”
“Do you mind if I stay at yours again tonight? Dad’s still away and well…Mom’s…entertaining.” She looked past me, suddenly distracted by something in the shop window. It was almost believable…if we weren’t standing outside a bank.
“Sure, Steph.” Then, deciding that wasn’t enough, I added, “I was going to ask you the same thing. I rea
lly don’t feel like being alone at the moment, so maybe you could just come and stay till Dad gets back? If that’s okay with you?” I didn’t know what was going on in Steph’s home life, but her discomfort said enough.
Steph shifted her weight from one foot to the other and shrugged a shoulder. “Yeah. I could do that.” She finally looked up briefly, pushed the hair back from her forehead, and checked her watch. “Time to fly.” As she walked past, unable to look at me again, she grabbed hold of my hand and we both gave a quick squeeze before letting each other go.
• • •
When I walked down Lincoln’s street, I couldn’t see his four-wheel-drive parked anywhere on the road. The warehouse door was open, which was no surprise as everyone was using it as a drop-in center lately. I wondered if that was bothering him—if he was feeling put out by everyone else.
Especially since last night.
Griffin was at the dining table, watching as Spence and Zoe practiced tactical maneuvers. The boring stuff—no combat, just exercises. I smiled when I caught the frustrated looks on both of their faces.
Rudyard was overseeing, calling out whenever they made a bad decision and instructing them to go back and start again.
I felt quite smug until I noticed Griffin watching me.
“You’re up next,” he said.
I gave him a smart-ass smile.
“Where’s Lincoln?”
Griffin’s expression tightened. I thought I could see a little frustration in his eyes too.
“Not here. He and Magda had something to do that couldn’t wait.” And there again, I heard a change in his voice. A hint of sarcasm.
“Do you know what’s going on?”
“No idea.” Griffin’s uneasy expression softened when he took in my obvious unhappiness. “Look, we all have things to do at times that are…private. That doesn’t mean we want to hurt the people around us or push them away. Sometimes we are just trying to protect them.”
“Griffin?” I began, pulling out a chair and plonking myself beside him. “Nyla and Rudyard told Linc and me how they’re soul mates, how being together made them stronger. Did you ever consider being with—”
“Magda?”
I nodded.
“You have seen her, haven’t you? Of course I considered it. Who wouldn’t?” Then quickly, he added, “I…ah, well. What I meant to say was—she’s very beautiful, but that’s not everything. Magda and I were never in love. More like brother and sister or best friends at first, and now…Well…” But he didn’t elaborate. I got the feeling that their partnership had not always been smooth sailing.
“Would you have tried, if you’d loved her? Would you, you know, have risked your powers?”
He leaned back in his chair. “That’s a big question you’re asking.” He frowned. “The answer is: probably not. I believe in being Grigori, the role I play. It’s been hard for me at times, to be from a Seraph when so few are, the responsibility and expectation that comes with being a leader. I’m not always the one I wish I could be, that I should be, but nonetheless, it is my place. If I were to ever show a commitment to something other than my leadership, which could jeopardize the function I have, I would be risking too many lives. I couldn’t live with that.”
I nodded. I understood what he was saying, but at the same time, I couldn’t help but think the only reason he admitted it so easily was because what existed between him and Magda never pushed him beyond reason, enticed him beyond the rational.
“Griffin, is Magda from the Seraphim too?” I asked, realizing that I didn’t really know that much about her.
Other than that I hate her!
“No. No, she’s of an Angel.”
“What do you mean? Aren’t we all?”
“Yes, but one of the orders is referred to as simply Angel. Technically, it is the tenth order. You didn’t pay much attention to that hierarchy chart I drew up for you, did you?”
“Sorry,” I said, suddenly guilty.
He let it slide. “Her strength is that she can speak telepathically.”
“Wow. So you’re from the highest order and she’s from the lowest? That must have been hard for her.”
“Well, the order isn’t always a reflection of importance, Violet, but yes, at times it has been a challenge for her.”
“I guess speaking telepathically is cool, though. Can she speak to anyone?”
Griffin looked around the room. I could tell this conversation was not one he was enjoying. He pushed his chair up to stand. “No. She can only speak to others who have the same gift.”
“Oh,” I said, as he gestured to Zoe and Spence and moved closer to observe their game of cat and mouse.
I stayed sitting at the table and watched. My mind was racing with everything Griffin had told me. The only others I knew of who could speak telepathically were exiles. Questions kept forming in my mind, and I realized that I was just creating more problems and not solving any.
Rudyard stood up. “That’s enough for you two today,” he called out, stopping the grateful-looking Spence and Zoe. Rudyard walked toward the door and started putting on a long trench coat, which looked awkward on him. Like Griffin, he was the type of person who was destined to grow old. Though he pulled it off better than Griffin and managed an up-to-date wardrobe, he was one of those people you know will look their best in midlife. I wondered how many more hundreds of years it would take for him to hit middle age.
Rudyard opened the front door and stood aside, just as Nyla walked in. He knew she was coming. That was pretty creepy. I was jealous as hell.
“What’s up?” Griffin asked, joining them as I got up too.
“Magda just called me,” Nyla said, smoothing down her windblown hair. “She said her source told her where a couple of exiles are holing up. She thinks they’re connected to the Scripture. Apparently, her source heard them bragging about how they would soon have the key to destroying all Grigori.”
“Sounds like the Scripture,” Griffin agreed.
“Are we hunting?” Rudyard asked.
Griffin grabbed his coat. “You bet. This is the first good lead we’ve had. Why didn’t Magda call me?”
“She said she tried to, but couldn’t get through,” Nyla said.
“Makes sense. I’ve been on and off the phone all day,” Griffin said, but he didn’t sound convinced. I wondered if he knew something I didn’t about Magda. And Lincoln, for that matter.
“I’m coming,” I said.
“No, you shouldn’t be going out without Lincoln. It’s not safe,” Griffin said.
“You’re going out without Magda, and Lincoln and Magda are both out without us. I think I’m entitled. Plus, this Scripture is…Well, I want in.”
“Okay,” said Griffin. I smiled, loving that he was that sort of guy. The kind that respected guts and people who fought for what they believed in. “But you’d better get changed. Hurry up!”
I looked down at my school uniform and then ran to the bathroom to put on the spare clothes I had in my bag.
When I emerged in shorts and a T-shirt, I heard raised voices from down the hallway. Spence was yelling.
“It’s not fair. You just told Violet she can go and her partner’s not here!” he complained.
“Yes, but her partner is not far away. If she is hurt, we can get her to him. Spence, it’s Griffin’s call what happens with Violet, but you are under our care, and we have to abide by Academy regulation,” Rudyard said.
“You’re kidding! I have all the other abilities of strength and speed that everyone else does. I’m not going to get hurt! You can’t do this, hold me back forever!”
Before I made it out to the living room, I heard the front door slam. Spence had taken off.
Nyla had a hand on Zoe’s shoulder. “Go get him, Zoe. He needs a friend. You’re the closest thing he has to a part
ner at the moment. Help him.”
“Oh perfect! Just what I need. Another imbecile to baby-sit. So I suppose that means I don’t get to go on the hunt either?”
“Please, Zoe,” Nyla pleaded, looking worriedly toward the door.
“Whatever.”
And just as Spence had stormed out, Zoe yanked the door back open and stubbornly followed. Before the door slammed for a second time, a rush of dried leaves blew through into the living room.
Nyla, Rudyard, and Griffin were brushing themselves down as I joined them.
“Zoe?” I asked, assessing the leaf attack.
“Hmm,” Rudyard said, completely unimpressed. “Using nature as a weapon against us is not a good use of her strengths.”
No. But I could see why she had and was just glad I’d been out of range when she let rip.
“The wise man in the storm prays to God, not for safety from danger, but deliverance from fear.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
From the car, Griffin tried to call Magda but had no luck. He threw his phone in the glove box, shutting it with a snap. I understood his disappointment. It mirrored my own. Not only had I failed to clear the air with Lincoln, I hadn’t even seen him. I sent him a text. No reply.
We drove for a while and were well out of the city before I asked Nyla where we were heading.
“To an abandoned farmhouse. Magda said it would take about ten minutes after we pass the airport.”
When she mentioned the airport, I felt a prickle down my spine—the kind you get when someone walks over your grave.
We drove on and when I saw the sign for the turn-off to the airport, I carefully lowered a lid on my senses. I didn’t want everyone to know what I was doing, but I felt compelled to investigate, so I tried to ensure I didn’t release my power’s mist.
“Violet?” Rudyard began conversationally.
“Yes,” I said, trying to appear relaxed while also holding my concentration.
“Have I explained my power to you?”
“No, not really.” I couldn’t feel anything yet.
“Well, now seems an appropriate time. I’m what you might call a spotter. I can tell the size of someone’s strengths, can gauge their power levels and their potential. I can also see power in exiles, can tell what they can do to an extent.”
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