“It’s hidden—” But she clamped her mouth shut before finishing the thought.
“Hidden where?” When she didn’t answer, I placed my forefinger on her forehead once more. An image of roiling water filled my head. Elyia’s eyes tightened, but at that moment I felt a tug at my shield—and the control I’d exerted over this dream exploded into a billion tiny fragments.
Seth appeared from nothing. Goosebumps crawled over my skin. The desperate urge to flee crowded out all other thoughts—but his eyes latched onto Elyia, not me.
“I gave you one simple task.” Seth stood over Elyia, now freed from the quicksand I’d imposed on the dream. She recoiled, trying desperately to scrabble away from him. Seth’s eyes shifted to me. He raised one finger, wagging it as though scolding a toddler. “And I believe I told you to stay out of my way.”
I glared at him, willing a strength I didn’t feel into my voice, even as I sent my mind wandering over the surface of the dream, looking for a way out. Seth had somehow knotted the thread of my consciousness into the dream, trapping me here as effectively as I’d trapped Elyia. “I know about Lilith’s return,” I said, hoping to stall for time.
“Oh?” Seth crossed his arms, examining me with faint amusement.
“There’s no way we’re going to let you sacrifice a human.”
“See, actually, I think you’re going to forget all about this little dream.” There was something so confident in his face that I could only stare. Seth’s smile broadened. “Because otherwise, I’ll have to destroy your boy, Royal. As I’m killing him—and, trust me, the process will take some time—I’ll tell him all about this little conversation, and how easy it would have been for you to spare him an agonizing death, simply by doing nothing.” His words—spoken so calmly—sent a wash of ice through my veins. “Nighty-night, Braedyn.” Seth gestured.
The world around me popped like a bubble.
I woke screaming. The daylight streamed into my room but I barely saw it, still clutched tight in the grip of my fear.
Dad lurched out of his chair, exhaustion dropping away from him in an instant. “Braedyn?!” He was at my side in half a second, clutching my shoulders, trying to read my face. I let out a ragged breath, then clung to him, burying my face into his shoulder.
I heard Karayan crash through the door to my room moments later. “What?! What happened? Braedyn?!”
When I finally pulled back, both Karayan and Dad were watching me, sharp fear evident in their eyes.
“Seth—he knows we know their plan.”
I felt Dad’s hands tighten on my shoulders. He searched my face, desperate for a reassurance I couldn’t give him.
Horror sizzled down my spine. “Cassie. We have to pull her out of this thing.”
“Does he know she’s one of the acolytes?” Karayan asked.
I shook my head. “No. No. Elyia suspected for a minute, but I ripped the memory out of her mind.” As the words left my mouth I considered them. If Seth had known Cassie was involved, wouldn’t he have said something to me? No. He would have attacked her already. If Seth suspected Cassie, she’d be dead. It was time to pull the plug and get her the hell out of this mess.
“She’s been initiated,” Dad said, concern giving his voice a husky quality. “Will they let her just walk away now?”
“I don’t care,” I hissed.
“You should.” Karayan gave me an even stare, daring me to argue. “Cassie is your connection to the cult.”
“So I’ll hitchhike in Carrie’s mind, or Emily’s,” I said.
“Uh huh.” Karayan crossed her arms. “And how well do you know those girls?”
“Why does it matter?” I glared ice at Karayan. She shrugged.
“Okay. Try it. Try contacting one of them right now. It’s past 10:00, they should both be up.” Karayan studied me shrewdly. “Go on. We’ll wait.”
Dad glanced at Karayan, trying to suss out what she was doing. I shook my head, exasperated.
“We don’t have time for this. I have to call Cassie.” I swung my feet over the side of the bed. Karayan put a hand on my chest, keeping me from standing up.
“Just try it.”
“What is your problem? You’re supposed to be on our side now!”
“Why do you think I’m doing this, sweetie?” But Karayan’s eyes flashed with anger. “If you can reach either Carrie or Emily’s mind, I’ll back off and you can un-enroll your little friend from Madame Whitelock’s school for Lilith Wannabes. If not, you need to think hard about your next move. You might need Cassie on the inside.”
I glared at her. “Fine.” I closed my eyes and tried to center my thoughts. As I turned my thoughts inward, I sensed the fabric of the dream world close. I summoned Carrie’s face into my head. Nothing happened. I pushed harder, trying to remember the sound of her voice, or the way she tossed her strawberry-blond bob. A faint light danced at the edge of my consciousness. I turned my thoughts toward it—and it flickered out.
Surprised, I opened my eyes. Karayan was watching me closely. She looked almost resigned. “That’s what I thought.”
“I just need to focus.” I closed my eyes again, and summoned Carrie’s image back to the forefront of my thoughts. I tried to recapture the sound of her voice again, or the feel of her hand on my arm. Again, I just caught the flicker of her mind at the edge of my perception. But again, as I turned toward it in my mind’s eye, it vanished. I let out a growl of frustration.
Dad caught my hand, worried. “What’s wrong?”
“I can’t pin her down,” I admitted. I gave Karayan a sour look.
“It’s because you don’t know her.”
“Yes I do,” I snapped. “We went to school together for a whole year before she graduated.”
“Oh, my bad. She invited you to a lot of slumber parties? You painted each other’s toenails? Braided each other’s hair?”
I scowled at Karayan. “Your point?”
“My point is, this isn’t like finding someone in a dream. Human minds, they’re open books as long as they’re asleep. Unless some Lilitu is shielding them, you can walk right in anytime you want. But when that human mind wakes up? It’s a whole different ballgame, sweetie. To share a conscious mind, there has to be a connection. Like, you know, a real, genuine thing you two share. That’s why you were able to reach Cassie’s waking mind. You two share a bullet-proof friendship-bond.”
“You’re forgetting,” I said through gritted teeth. “I managed to connect with your mind long before I would have called you a friend.”
Karayan smiled bitterly. “Yes, well, Lilitu.” She gestured to herself and shrugged. “The rules are a bit different for us. Also, before you and I were friends, we were enemies. That can be a strong connection, too.” Karayan shrugged. “You ever want to contact Amber’s mind, for example—”
I turned my head, unable to look at her any longer. Dad gave my hand a careful squeeze.
“Honey?” When I didn’t respond, he continued. “Whether or not it’s something you want to hear, Karayan makes a point we can’t afford to ignore. If we’re going to have any hope of keeping tabs on this cult—”
“She’s my friend.”
“I know. But until we find another way in—”
I pulled my hand free from his grip. “I know, okay!” I gritted my teeth, trying to tame the surge of anger rising up in my stomach. “I know.” Lilith was awake. The plan for her return was already in motion. We couldn’t afford to let our one connection to the cult go. It had to be Cassie. But I didn’t have to like it.
“Winter solstice is almost eight months away,” he said, keeping his voice low. “We have time. We’ll find someone else, I don’t know—maybe you can get to know Carrie or that other girl better. In the meantime, we let Cassie stay in. We monitor the situation. We’ll be ready to swoop in if she ever needs us.”
I shook my head. But the truth was, I didn’t have any better ideas. Cassie was our link to the cult, and it looked like that wou
ldn’t be changing any time soon.
Chapter 11
May arrived with a late spring rain. The deluge left the desert refreshed, kicking up that earthy smell so distinctive of New Mexico storms. I used to love this time of year—balanced on the edge of a changing season, with school about to end and summer stretching ahead, full of promise. Now, the uncertainty of what our future held made the changing season an ominous reminder of how little we knew about our enemies, or what they planned. More than that, though, the change of seasons served to highlight our powerlessness in the face of time. Even though summer had yet to officially start, each day that passed brought us closer to winter solstice.
At school, everyone was ramping up for the end of the semester. Teachers announced study sessions to help prepare students for finals. Cassie, Royal, and most of the other juniors and seniors were cramming in preparation for AP tests. I tried to focus on reviewing for AP History, but it seemed so insignificant in comparison to everything else we were facing.
Of my friends, only Lucas seemed to share my increasing anxiety. We started meeting in the basement for a warm-up session every day after school before Amber arrived. The extra training honed our instincts, but more importantly, it lessened our fear of the unknown. It felt good to be doing something to prepare for—whatever might be coming.
The Guard, on the other hand, was on full alert. Ever since I’d discovered that the Temple of Lilith was somewhere beneath our feet, the Guard had set out to locate it. Ian’s thinking was, if they could find the temple, they could keep Idris from doing whatever it was she had planned for the solstice—but until they located it, it was too risky to move on Idris or the Lilitu helping her. Thane, reluctantly, agreed. Ian and Thane had started collecting geological surveys for the region, which piled up in the Guard’s living room practically over night. They spent their days identifying every local cave, and then sending teams of Guardsmen out to search for anything matching the description I’d provided of the temple with its large stone altar.
It was a massive amount of work to go through all that material—and that didn’t even include the manpower and man-hours needed to search the caves once they’d been located. I’d never seen Thane look quite so harried. Ian, on the other hand, seemed confident that they were on the right track. He made it clear that he believed a thorough, methodical search of all geological features in the area couldn’t fail to turn up success. His confidence put the rest of us more at ease—well, all of us except for Thane. But I’d long since given up looking for positivity from that grizzled archivist.
Beyond school and the Guard’s manic search for the hidden temple, I had Cassie to keep me occupied. Every Friday night, Cassie would meet up with Carrie and the two of them would drive out to Idris’s clearing. No one—not Idris, not the Lilitu attendants—seemed to suspect that Cassie attended each meeting with a telepathic hitchhiker. I kept my eyes and ears open—through Cassie’s eyes and ears—but tried hard to shield my own feelings from Cassie herself.
Reluctant as I might have been to let her continue with the cult, Cassie was unflagging in her efforts to learn as much as she could about Idris’s plans. She’d proved to be our lifeline. As hard and thoroughly as the Guard searched for clues about the temple or the cult, Cassie was the only one turning up any information. As the weeks passed, I grew more comfortable with the idea of Cassie worming her way into the heart of this clandestine organization. Her naïveté and eager optimism ended up being the perfect disguise. She had only to be herself; Idris misinterpreted all of Cassie’s curiosity as the interest of a devoted young acolyte, hoping to do her best in the service of Lilith.
The meetings themselves became rote very quickly. Cassie and the others would arrive in the clearing, change under the light of the moon into their vestments, and then the rest of the night would be taken up chanting, meditating, or performing “rituals of purity” that involved one of the acolytes standing in the center of the clearing while the others walked a circle around her, each gently swinging a small, filigreed bronze ball full of smoking incense—I think Idris called them thuribles.
Occasionally, Idris would let slip another clue about Lilith’s return. At one point, she mentioned anointing an altar. At another, she said something about preparing a vessel. Each time she let slip one of these tidbits, Cassie would straighten, focused on soaking up each and every detail Idris managed to spill. Once, Emily—caught up in the mystery—pressed Idris for more details. I could feel Cassie’s fingernails pressing into her palms in her anticipation for more information.
But Idris simply gave Emily a fond smile and answered, “all in due time, child. Our most important task is to be ready when Lilith calls upon us.”
Though I could feel her frustration building, Cassie would fall back in line with the other acolytes. Elyia, present at each of these meetings, never gave any indication to Cassie that she was more than a simple attendant for Idris. And so, week after week, Cassie would attend a meeting where we might glean another tiny fragment of the puzzle—without ever being able to fully see the bigger picture.
As May came to a close, we were no closer to uncovering the location of the temple despite Ian’s careful mapping of each underground feature in the surrounding 100 miles. It felt like treading water while hoping to catch sight of land on the distant horizon—hopeless, and yet it was our only option. The alternative meant sinking into fatal despair.
I came home after practice one afternoon to find Dad wolfing down a sandwich at the dining room table. I gave him a wave and shrugged out of my jacket, hoping to decompress upstairs for a few minutes before starting my homework.
“Hey,” he mumbled around a mouthful of food. “Hold up.”
“Sure.” I joined him in the dining room, waiting for him to swallow.
“I’m taking part of another Guardsman’s shift at the mission tonight.”
“You are?” I sighed. “So I guess this means you can’t run flashcards with me after dinner?”
“AP History test?”
I nodded, glum.
“Sorry, kiddo. Why don’t you see if Karayan can help you out?” Dad pulled his wallet out of his pockets. “Also, I meant to hit the grocery store today. I’ll spare you the gory details—the long and the short of it is unless you want a mayonnaise-and-peanut-butter sandwich, you’ll have to fend for yourself come dinnertime.” He handed over a few bills. “Maybe order a pizza?”
“Hm. I might be able to make that work.” I took the money and shoved it into my pocket, cheered. Pizza would make studying go down a little easier.
Dad’s eyes twinkled. “Glad to see you making the best of a bad situation.”
“So how long is this shift supposed to be?” I asked.
“I’m not sure, but it could be a long one. Don’t wait up for me.” Dad shoved the last bite of sandwich into his mouth and stood. He washed the bite down with some water, then flashed me a smile. “I’m proud of you for studying, given everything else you’ve got on your plate.” He planted a tender kiss on the top of my head.
As he started to withdraw, I grabbed hold of him in a tight bear hug. “Thanks, Dad.”
Dad’s arm curled around my shoulders and he gave me a squeeze. “I am sorry about the timing. I was kind of looking forward to the history refresher.”
I pulled back and grinned up at him. “Don’t worry, there’s still three days before the test. Plenty of time to brush up on all things American Revolution.”
“Well, thank heaven for small mercies.” Dad pulled his jacket on and ran a hand through his hair. “Okay.” He opened the door and headed into the evening, pausing at the edge of the porch to wave goodbye. “Don’t study too hard.”
I waved goodbye and watched as he got into his car and pulled away. I closed the door and sighed. It was after 5:00, and I was already feeling hungry.
“Hey, Karayan!” I walked down the hall toward her room. “I’m getting pizza for dinner, you want in? Karayan?”
Karayan open
ed the door to her room before I had a chance to knock. She glanced down the hall behind me, then smoothed the front of her shirt. “I’m good.”
“Okay.” I shrugged and then, sheepishly, asked, “I don’t suppose you’d be interested in running through some flashcards with me?”
“Flashcards?” Karayan looked at me, but I could tell her attention was somewhere else.
“You know, key word on one side, list of facts on the other... I’m studying for a history test.”
“Oh. Oh.” Karayan shook her head, as if coming back to the present. “Actually, Braedyn, would it be possible for you to study upstairs tonight?”
“Uh, yeah, that’s possible.” I eyed Karayan, suddenly suspicious.
Karayan noticed my look and shrugged. “Today’s been a rough day for Hale, I figured he could use some company.”
“When you say ‘rough’—?”
“It’s the anniversary of his wife’s death.” Karayan gave me a level stare, but a hint of red rose in her cheeks.
“Uh huh.” I crossed my arms.
Karayan’s lips tightened. “Don’t. This is not an international incident. I’m doing something nice for him. As a friend.”
“And you think this is a good idea?”
“If you’re worried I’ll lose control and go all smoochy on him, relax.” Karayan shrugged humorlessly. “You’ll be right upstairs. That kind of puts a damper on the amorous stuff.”
“Does Dad know about this?”
“You’d have to ask him.”
“So, in other words, no.”
The doorbell rang and Karayan’s eyes lit up for a moment. Her expression was unguarded, and in that moment I saw a hope in her eyes, so strong it was painful. She noticed me watching and cleared her throat, trying for nonchalance. “That’s him. You can either play chaperone, or give me the benefit of the doubt and take the academic road show upstairs.”
I pulled the cash out of my pocket. “You’ll call me when the pizza gets here?”
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