David chuckled and tossed Meino the remote, but he couldn’t catch it and fumbled in the air for it. The heavy feeling in his face had gotten worse, and he felt tired. But he managed to get a hold of the remote before he gave Burkhart a quick run through of the buttons needed. Burkhart pointed the remote at the screen and pressed a button. Meino watched his expressions as he zapped through the contents of the channel pack.
Yeah, Meino wasn’t the only one on an adventure. He should show Burkhart all of his world while Burkhart kept him safe in the world of magic and fire-breathing humans that was the Gargoyle’s world.
Chapter Seventeen
Something was wrong. Since Jenny had been by and told of the threat against the uninitiated Alex Rhoden, Lucien had watched Nathan and the people around him much closer. And he’d kept a closer eye on Alex, too. He hadn’t been to breakfast the past few days. A girl from his study group had asked about him repeatedly, and there was no mistaking her concern.
Lucien wanted to tell Nathan, but the morning had started with an assembly where everybody had been told the news that Professor Nigel Gershman had fallen ill and that students shouldn’t expect to be taught by the beloved old professor again.
Sadness oozed from Nathan, and Lucien tried to share essence with him as much as possible to soothe his lover, but Nathan’s sorrow crept in and made Lucien sad, too. He sometimes pulled away just to not drag Nathan down any further. But he had to talk to him—had to tell him about Alex, since it was relevant to the Order.
It was the last period of the day, and the December sun was setting. Lucien couldn’t wait to hold Nathan and soothe him better than he could from the shadows.
Nathan pulled out his phone and tapped the screen. “Lucien?” he whispered. Lucien moved into him and tried to focus on the screen. “Mr. Severin has a message for you. It’s still dark there, go.”
As you wish. Lucien left Nathan and soared through the shadows, focusing on the house he knew. He found Blake and Mr. Severin in the winter garden, both looking like Lucien had been called to hear more bad news.
Lucien stepped from shadow. “Hi. Nathan told me to come and see you.”
“Yes, please.” Mr. Severin motioned for Lucien to take a seat. “Would you like a cup of tea?”
“Yes, thank you.” It was just before dawn, and they were having the cup of tea Mr. Severin usually served before bedtime.
Mr. Severin poured before going into whatever was the reason for Lucien to hurry there. “Please tell me what observations you have made around campus.” Mr. Severin pushed a tray of cookies closer to Lucien.
“Nothing indicating a threat against Nathan. Some party guy is looking at him more than I, as a boyfriend, like, but it might just be because Nathan made an impression at a party a while back when we introduced Jenny and Ethan to the scene. Alex Rhoden, however, has not been seen at school the past few days. I noticed today, and I am going to talk to Nathan about it when the sun sets. I’ll have him talk to Alex’s study group, but they don’t know where he is, either, from what I’ve been able to hear. As ordered, I have stayed away from his dorm so—”
“Pritchard picked Alex up and is dusting his tracks back home,” Mr. Severin said, and Lucien knew the reason for the old man’s grave expression. “He was being watched,” Severin continued. “Someone took photos of him and sent them to Mr. Henry’s home. Alex Rhoden is being hunted. Keep an extra sharp eye out for anyone around Nathan.”
Lucien definitely became worried, and the watchman in him stirred. “Yes, sir. What am I looking for?”
“Magic. People with magic on them. I will see if it is possible to have a small Gargoyle moved to your home on campus. I would be very sad to have to make it look like an art donation to the school, but be that as it may, I will secure extra eyes on Nathan. Knowing how close Nathan is to Jenny, I have spoken to her mentor as well. He is planning for her to be part of the detail that keeps Nathan safe.”
“Thank you,” Lucien said, happy to know Jenny would be around. Maybe she could help bring a smile back to Nathan’s lips with what sounded like the imminent loss of his favorite professor.
“How is he?” Severin asked, softly.
“Nathan? He’s sad. Nigel Gershman has fallen ill, and the school doesn’t expect him to return to his position again.”
“Oh, how sad. A great mind I have admired for many years.”
“Nathan loves the old man. His office is full of magic—you guys know that, right?”
“I would be surprised if it wasn’t. We have an active member of the Order working at the school, and he knows about it. He has informed us that he has never seen the professor use magic, and he has detected no harmful magic.”
“How does he detect it?”
“With spells.”
“I see.” It was outside Lucien’s range of understanding, and he’d leave it to the ones competent. He’d protect Nathan, and he had to tell him about Alex. Determined and with a heavy heart, Lucien finished his tea and stood. “I’d better get back. Sun is setting in our parts, and I’ll tell him about Alex Rhoden.”
“Thank you, my friend.”
Lucien exchanged a nod with Blake and left through the shadows to meet up with Nathan, who had just made it inside their apartment.
“Hi,” Nathan said, smiling, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
Lucien pulled him into an embrace and felt useful as he heard the sigh of relief and felt the grip around him tighten. “I’m so sorry for the news you get today.”
“Get?” Nathan pulled back enough to look at Lucien.
“Yeah. Alex Rhoden is being hunted. People took pictures of him here at school and mailed them to Mr. Henry’s home. Pritchard collected Alex a few nights ago and is dusting him. I’ve been asked to watch you closer, and Jenny and Ethan are put on your security detail as well.”
Nathan’s bravado fell, and Lucien wished he could take it all back or make it all go away. He’d seen how being dusted had affected Nathan from the day the Thule master had pulled a gun on him in the basement of the auction house. Their trip with faceless people on their tail had not been as bad, because Nathan had been able to lose himself in books and research. Once he met the Order and found out just what was out there, who was after him, and how competent they were, things had taken on a different feel. Nathan had done all right in the face of danger, but his reactions to it afterward...
Lucien’s heart still squeezed when remembering how Nathan had lost himself in shock after the incident at the train station. How Nathan had willingly let the darkness take him because he felt safe in the dark. Lucien was always in there, he’d said. If Lucien had wondered whether he was loved or whether he loved Nathan, that one comment had shone a true light on the love they held for each other.
“Am I in danger again?” Nathan asked.
Lucien cupped his face and brushed his cheeks. “No, mon coeur, we’re just taking precautions because we know they found Alex. I won’t ever let anyone hurt you again.” The last part came out with less conviction than he’d wanted, but with the memories of the train station came the memory of having failed Nathan, and the scar, slithering up Nathan’s thigh and hip, still held an angry purple color.
“You didn’t fail me. You stopped him.” Nathan put his arms around Lucien’s neck and pulled him down for a tender kiss on the lips. Lucien responded and deepened the kiss, hoping it could chase away all the bad news of the day and the memories of when he’d almost lost his beloved master.
Nathan drew back and gave a weak smile. “Well, I won’t have to finish that assignment for Professor Gershman then. Any ideas for what you and I should spend that time doing?”
“Don’t you have other assignments?”
“Yeah, but I don’t want to look at them today. I just want to be with you. We could go to the movies. Or...” Nathan looked worried. “Am I on lockdown?”
“No, you’re not. We can go to the movies. And I’m in the mood for pi
zza.”
Nathan chuckled. “Let’s go see what we can find, then.”
Chapter Eighteen
Rebecca and Tavi sat on the train on their way back to the church to meet Father. She worried, maybe needlessly, but she was pretty sure her plan to flush Alex out had caused trouble instead. And, of course, Father would know, since Alex had all but disappeared on them. No one knew anything, not the study group or Brett or anyone they usually hung out with.
Nervousness burned in the pit of her stomach, and she hadn’t even wanted to share her latest failures with Tavi. He’d been so good at helping her settle with having to do things she wasn’t comfortable with. He’d helped her look at her life and responsibilities to God and what that meant for her way of thinking about herself and the profane.
And then it all blew up in her face because Alex didn’t want her, and she’d had to make up completely new plans. Neither she nor Tavi had ever been allowed to make plans or improvise outside set parameters, but she just couldn’t call Father and report another failure. Plus, the situation had called for immediate action the parameters didn’t take into account.
Tavi sat slumped in his seat, reading a book for school. Rebecca tried to do the same, but it didn’t work—she couldn’t focus on it. At least she had it to hide behind.
They arrived at the church. Father rose when he saw them, came their way, and drew the sign of the cross on their forehead. But this time he didn’t smile as happily as he usually did.
“Please, have a seat. Let’s have tea.”
They sat and poured, and Rebecca waited with bated breath.
“Why did you want to see us, Father?” Tavi asked.
“Do you have news?” Father asked.
“Well, nothing substantial. Since identifying Alex Rhoden as one of the Collectors, I’ve looked for connections in those lines and have a few names but...” Tavi shrugged and glanced at Rebecca.
“Please, Tavi, write them down for me, and I will have them checked.”
“Yes, Father.” Tavi drank his tea, wincing—it must have burned his lips.
“And you, Rebecca?”
“No. I’ve tried everything to get close to Alex, but he just doesn’t want to be around people.”
“I see.” Father sat back, steepling his fingers under his chin. “Maybe it is time to move from the study group to a different kind of social circle? One men tend to respond to—”
“I did that,” Rebecca said, still not finding it in herself to make the words in her mouth or not to feel ashamed of having offered herself up like that.
“You attempted to seduce him?”
“Yes, Father,” she whispered.
“And?”
“And he turned me down. Flat. Said... he called me a whore, and said he didn’t want women who acted like that.”
“He what?” Tavi exclaimed, spilling his tea. He quickly placed his cup and turned to face her. “Why didn’t you tell me that? No wonder you’ve been so sad the past couple of days.”
“Remember, my child,” Father said as he sat forward. He reached for her hand and waited for her to place her hand in his. Once she did, he covered it with his other hand and stroked it gently. “This man knows nothing about you. It is not his place to judge you, and you shouldn’t take anything he says to heart, because he has no valid foundation to judge you upon.”
“I kinda did go to his room to...” The words stuck in her throat.
“That does not make you a whore. It makes you a soldier of God and keeper of his Temple on Earth. Mr. Rhoden does not understand the powers and freedoms we are granted by God to seek out His justice against those who work against His Kingdom on Earth. A whore is a woman who seeks out strange men to fulfill only herself and the needs of her flesh. When a common man turns a weapon on another common man it is murder—a true crime under God to slay one of his children. But when it is a Warrior of God who turns a weapon against someone who works to undo His great work on Earth, then it is not murder, because He has granted us both the power and the absolution from our deeds to secure His great work. Do you understand?”
Rebecca nodded, finding it to be a reworded version of what Tavi had said.
“Now. What did you do about it?” Father continued, still holding her hand.
“I left and... I was angry and sad that I had failed God so... I did something petty.”
“What, my child?”
She glanced up, finding the steadfast brown eyes she had found trust and love in since she was a child.
“I told some of the girls who like him that he’s a homosexual.”
“It is not in our place to lie about even our enemies, Rebecca, unless it serves the purpose of God.”
“I know, Father, please forgive me.”
“Ask God for that in prayer, as his forgiveness is the only one that truly matters.” Father sat back, keeping a weighing glance at her. “Did you do other things?”
The hour of truth. “Yes. Alex Rhoden was withdrawing more and more, and he participated less and less in study group. I feared I was losing him, and since he isn’t in any of the groups Tavi can get close to either, I tried to force his hand and reveal some of the others, if there are any, so Tavi—”
“What exactly did you do, Rebecca?” Father demanded, and the sternness in his voice made Rebecca’s eyes sting.
“I tried to scare him.”
“How?”
“I took candid pictures of him and sent them.” She couldn’t bear to look at him, but she couldn’t keep her eyes from glancing at him, and the gaping expression did not look like it would be followed by one of approval.
Father jerked forward to lean his elbows on his knees. “Tavi, please leave the room.”
“Yes, Father.” Tavi got up and left, glancing in Rebecca’s direction as he hurried out of the office and closed the door behind him.
“And how did that go?” Father continued.
She already knew she’d failed—she’d feared that since she’d found out Alex wasn’t just keeping to himself because of the rumor. “I don’t know. He hasn’t been seen on campus since before the weekend, and he didn’t come to classes or study group today. I went to knock on his door, but no one opened.”
“And the last time he was seen?”
“Friday.”
“Friday. He can have been gone since Friday? Do you know how delicate an operation it is to track someone, Rebecca?”
She had been with some of her older siblings in town where they’d practiced just that, but she also knew that the Collectors were very skilled and often gave them the slip. She chose to shake her head.
“If Alex Rhoden disappeared from the school three days ago, then he will be impossible to find unless God wills us easy work, and He seldom does, because he tests us and our resolve to serve Him, too. This was stupid!”
“I didn’t think he’d run,” she said, wondering what she’d have done if someone had sent pictures of her picking pockets around the campus pond.
“When we make plans for an operation like this, we have several teams at the ready to keep an eye out for our opponent’s next move. If we’d had teams there, then this could have worked, but there’s a reason why you and Tavi don’t make decisions like that. You look at it from the inside, others look at it from the outside, and we always need both sides before we can make decisions on how to proceed.”
“Yes, Father. I’m sorry.”
“So am I.” Father fell back in his chair and stared at her with a look of disappointment. “I’m mostly sorry you have so little faith in our hierarchy and the people you are supposed to be working with.”
“I don’t have a lack of faith—”
“Then why this going off on your own? Did he hurt your pride?” Father almost spat the word at her, and she flinched.
“No, not like that. He... I was so scared I couldn’t bring you any results, Father. Of disappointing you.”
“Oh, child.
It is not my approval you should seek but that of our Heavenly Father. And He will love you for being strong in faith and loyal to His cause here on Earth.”
Rebecca sobbed, having lost all interest in her tea and the half-eaten cookie on the saucer. “How can I make it right?”
“Oh, I think you’ve done enough. I also wonder if it’s because you know too little, and I have given you too big a task too soon.”
That was the worst thing he could have said to her. It was the same as saying he didn’t have any confidence in her or in her determination to fulfill the tasks set forth by God. She was still just that little girl he’d picked up from the orphanage those many years ago. Would she ever be trusted?
“Soon, Christmas vacation will begin. You will take a short sabbatical and be sent to a convent, where you will be given time to talk to God. Time to go deep inside yourself in prayer. When you are ready and truly know in your heart what place God has for you in this world, then you will be sent back on the mission.”
Rebecca looked up. “Thank you, Father.” Her nose felt stuffy, and the skin around her eyes burned. She had to look awful.
“Come.” Father held out his arms. Rebecca fell to her knees next to him and put her head in his lap. He stroked her hair gently, and she tried to calm herself. He wasn’t so disappointed in her that he would remove her from the team. That meant she hadn’t failed as miserably as she’d feared.
She did see the need for time to find her place. She had doubted and stumbled so dreadfully the past weeks, and it was that doubt that had led her to make the mistake in the first place. Without guidance, mankind really was like a child not knowing the world. Like a lost sheep.
“Thank you, Father, for not giving up on me. For wanting to help me.”
“Shush, my child. Of course, I will always help you.”
She sat up and tried for a smile, as he handed her a handkerchief.
“Now.” Father smiled. “Go clean yourself up and send in your brother. We’ll have another cup of tea.”
Gargoyle Rising Page 15
