"Oh, no I'm not." She waved a hand. "I'm so confused. What's going on? Cole told me you were a Primeva."
Kade blanched.
"I was wrong," Cole shouted. “Can you come inside now? It's cold as hell, and Kade hates the cold." He managed to get the front door open and shoved himself, and the boxes, inside.
Danny stayed silent, his own stack of boxes on his shoulder.
"Well, come on then." Plumb walked toward the house. "Let's have some hot chocolate. I really do hate the cold, too. I don't know how I ended up in Boulder. Arizona would have suited me better. I've always wanted to live in Sedona."
Kade smiled, unsure what to say.
The entryway inside the Brotherhood was dimly lit, rows of wing back chairs lined the semi-circular room, and the smell of vanilla wafted through the air. All of Kade's boxes were piled up near one of the round coffee tables. Cole stood by the hallway, hands in his pockets, a sweet grin on his face. Kade wanted to tackle him again. Right there in the front room. His eyes darkened like he'd heard her thoughts.
"So?" Plumb raised an eyebrow. "What's going on?" She glanced between the two of them.
"We should probably discuss it in your office." Cole tore his gaze off of Kade.
"All right." Plumb eyed the boxes. "I hope you have a home for those, because I have no storage space."
"You could always keep them with all the blankets you have hidden." Cole pushed away from the wall.
Kade snickered and fell in beside him, following Plumb down the hallway. A few old photos hung on the walls, but unlike the Kinship, there was nothing creepy about them.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Plumb said. "And where'd Danny run off to? I have no doubt this includes both of you."
"He's going to meet us in a few minutes." Cole squeezed Kade's hand and let go.
"That's never good." Plumb opened a door at the end of the long hallway and beckoned them inside. A fire raged in a grate across the room, and the warmth thawed Kade's bones. A tea cart sat near the flames with cups and a carafe resting on it.
Plumb poured two cups, handing Kade one and keeping the other for herself. "Cole doesn't like hot drinks," she scoffed. "We live in Colorado for goodness sake. No coffee, not hot tea, no hot chocolate." She sat down at her desk. "But he drinks me dry of chocolate milk and orange juice. All the little kids fight me when I try to get them to drink their orange juice, but Cole would drink it by the gallon if I let him."
Kade grinned.
"One time," Plumb went on. "During breakfast, I had an urgent call I had to take, so Cole watched the younger ones for me, and when I came back...all of their orange juice cups were empty. Every one." She smiled. "The little ones just love him."
"Plumb—" Cole's face turned red. "Can we talk about something else?"
She set her mug down. "Let me have it."
"It's about the Araneum.”
"Oh, no." She shook her head. "The Warden took you off the investigation. No, no, no. I don't want anything to do with this."
"I haven't been investigating. Much," Cole said. "The investigation sort of found me."
"Explain."
"I told you the Nefarius said that the Patriarchae had found the Araneum."
Plumb nodded, and Kade could tell her patience was slipping. She wondered how many times Cole and Danny had gotten involved in cases they weren't supposed to.
"And it also said that the Anamolia would destroy us all," Cole went on.
"Right. The Anamolia that doesn't exist."
"It exists. She exists."
"I'm not following you." There was a knock on the door and Danny entered the room, taking the seat on the other side of Cole.
"We need to hide Kade here for a while," Cole blurted out.
"Hide her?" Plumb glanced at Kadence. "Aren't you still living at home?"
"Yes, ma'am."
She waved a hand. "No need to call me ma'am, I'm not that old."
"Okay. Yes, I'm still living at home."
"Then why would she need to stay—oh, my god." Her eyes grew larger than grapefruits and she stood up.
Cole stood up, too. So did Danny. Kade stayed in her seat.
"Don't freak out." Cole raised his hands. "She's harmless. She was born a Primori, she has the pictures to prove it. Dracon, it had to be him, altered her blood with a fusionem crystal when she was a baby."
"What?"
"Remember the crystal we found? The one we showed you after we investigated the Hive?
"Yes, but that was pure. I held it up to the light."
Cole shook his head. "So did I, but it was a fusionem crystal. It was Kade's. She has a huge one that she chips pieces off of. She uses it the same way we use Ward-issued crystals. She can show it to you if you want. It’s here. In one of the boxes.”
Plumb blanched as if none of what Cole said made any sense.
"Dracon has been tracking her," he went on. "For years."
"Years?" Danny said. "You didn't tell me that."
Kade stayed silent, her nerves ricocheting everywhere.
Cole's attention remained on Plumb. "Dracon did this to her, and I'm convinced that he's planning to use her to dismantle the Araneum. We need to hide her. Here."
"Here?" Plumb's tone pitched. "Why here? Why haven't you told the Warden about this?"
"So the Ward can treat her like a lab rat?" Cole raised his voice.
Kade glanced up.
"Everyone thinks Anamolia are a myth, Plumb. Can you imagine what they'll do when they realize one exists?" He thrust his hand toward Kade. "I'm not letting that happen."
"But we can't just stash her here. People will see her, and then what?" Plumb argued. "She'll be safe at the Ward. This is what they do, Cole."
"Please," he said. "Don't fight me on this."
"What are you planning to do? Keep her here until ... what?" Her arms flew up.
"Until we locate the Araneum."
"What?" Both Danny and Plumb yelled.
"What in the holy hell would we want to do that for?" Danny asked.
"Because I want Kade to reroute all the lines."
"What?" Kade yelled that time. "I don't know how to do that. Why would I even want to?"
Plumb sank back down in her chair. "Because if the lines are rerouted, the location of the Araneum gets rerouted as well, and the Daemoneum would no longer know where it is, so they would no longer need you. Until, of course, they find it again."
"Exactly," Cole said. "We can only hide you for so long, Kade, Plumb's right. I can give your dad some BS story about you needing to be here because of Kyle, but he'll only buy it for so long, and Dracon will be searching for you. He needs you, and from what you told me he said in the woods the other night, he needs you soon. The only option is to hide you and move the Araneum."
"Makes sense." Danny sat back down. "It's completely insane. But it does make sense."
"Cole," Plumb started. "I get where you're coming from, but this is huge. You'll need the Warden's help, and if he finds out that you're doing this ... that I helped you do it ... we'll all be banished."
"Not if we're successful. Not if we contain and diffuse the threat."
"That's a massive 'if,'" Danny chimed in. "No offense, this can work, and you know I'm in, but it's a risk."
"The Ward could do the same thing with Kade's help," Plumb added. "It's a workable idea, Cole, it is, but the Ward needs to be involved."
He shook his head. "Popular belief is that Anamolia are demons. Even though no one believes in them, everyone is afraid of them. Do you really think the Ward is going to work with a mythical creature they believe is more devil than god? In relation to the Araneum? No way." He glanced at Kade. "Will you show her?"
Kade stood up, and in a blink, the devil god stood in front of them, wings, talons, and all.
Plumb let out a gasp, her hand covering her mouth.
"I won't hurt you or anything," Kade felt the need to say the same way she had when Cole had first scene her tr
ansform. "I've been like this since I was five years old. That's when my face first did this. And my wings—all of me.”
"Oh...honey." Tears welled up in Plumb's eyes.
"Don't worry," Kade rushed on. "I'm not in pain or anything. But I don't want to be this, be alone, afraid all the time, with no friends, or family, no one caring about me except for my dad. I've been afraid of what I am for as long as I can remember."
Cole reached for her waist.
"I never even knew what I was," she went on. "Only that I was different. But I was one of you once, before I knew what that even meant, and I still am in my heart. I don't want to hurt anyone. Giselle is the best friend I've ever had, and I could care less if she's a Primeva." Kade saw Danny grin. "And Lindsey, too. She's been good to me. They both have. And even though they don't admit it, they're good to Cole and Danny, too. Opposing sides. If they can work together, then why can't I work with you, too? I can help you. I want to help you."
Plumb let out a breath, tears falling down her face. "You're really just a girl trapped in there, aren't you?"
"Yes." She looked down at herself. "Nothing changes when I transform on the inside, it's all external. I don't want to die, any more than any of you do, so I don't think we have a choice ... of whether we do this or not. If Dracon finds me again, and believe me, he'll make it a point to find me, he has ways of forcing me...to…” She glanced at Cole, ashamed. His jaw tightened, but Kade went on. "You can teach me what I need to do to reroute the lines. I want to help."
"If I were to go along with this," Plumb said. "How were you planning to find the site?" She looked at Cole. "You can't just ask where it is and walk up on it."
"I don't plan on walking up on it. I plan on walking underneath it." Cole held up his right hand, red lines bleeding over it. "I know the doctor told the Warden that the fusionem crystal affected me, but what he didn't know, what none of you know, including Kade, is what it did." Cole lifted Kade's right taloned hand, and exposed her palm, placing their hands side by side, the same way he had when he'd shown Kade he was a falcon. The lines were the exact mirror image of each other.
Plumb walked around her desk.
Danny let out a low whistle. "Holy. Hell."
Cole smirked. "I'm so much smarter than you guys realize."
"It's...that's a map." Plumb's eyes grew wide.
"It's an underground map of Great Britain. The tunnels. This is a map that shows the location of the Araneum. I'm sure of it. And I have no idea how the fusionem crystal did this but—fusionem means 'to fuse,' and I think when Kade and I held the crystal at the same time, it fused my knowledge with hers." He glanced at her when she let out a breath. "Primori are hard wired to the electromagnetic field. It's like our map. We're avian. That's how we find our way... everywhere, anywhere, without needing directions. We just know where everything is, even when we don't know we know. It's in our DNA. And I'm not sure if Kade lost that knowledge when her blood was tampered with, but it would make sense." He squeezed her hand. "I think the crystal fused my knowledge to hers. This map leads her to the Araneum. There's no other explanation I can think of."
Kade stared at him. "When did you figure this out?"
"Just piecing things together as I learned about them."
"You just...pieced a few things together?” Kade said.
“Yeah. Well, Heru helped a bit.” Cole glanced at Plumb.
"Please, don't flatter him," Danny said to Kade. "His head is about to pop as it is.”
“Self-love, my liege, is not so vile a sin, as self-neglecting.” Cole grinned at Danny. “William Shakespeare.”
Danny rolled his eyes.
“Heru is retired, Cole,” Plumb scolded, interrupting their spat.
“Maybe in regard to the Ward, but not in regard to me.” He gave her his smug grin.
Plumb sighed. ”Right. Well, why would the fusionem crystal do that? How? I don't get it." Plumb leaned against her desk.
Cole closed his hand. "That's one of the issues with the crystals from what I've read. No one knows what they're capable of."
Plumb rubbed her temples. "Putting all of that aside, where would Kade sleep? The basement?"
"Where do you keep all the hidden blankets?" Cole smirked.
Plumb's mouth opened and closed.
"I've lived here since I was nine," he said. "And I'm sure you remember that I wasn't very social." He raised an eyebrow. "I explored a lot."
"Why doesn't that surprise me?"
"So?" he said. "It's perfect."
"What's perfect?" Danny asked.
"There's a bunker on the property," Cole answered with a smile. "It's where Plumb hides stuff, and it's the perfect place to hide Kade."
"A bunker?" Kade stared at him. "You want me to stay in a bunker? Some underground, dark, cold, concrete shell? No."
"You'll change your mind when you see it," Cole retorted.
"It could work," Plumb relented. "But what about her car? Where are we hiding a car?"
"We're not. It'll stay at her house. That way we aren't arousing too much suspicion. No reason to think Kade isn't still at home if her car is there every day."
"So, you're going to drive her around every day?" Danny asked. "That's not obvious or anything."
"No, but Kade needs to be trained, so she can run, with me, to her house in the morning and get her car. Good exercise. No will notice if we go through the trees. It takes twenty seconds."
"What about your Jeep? Are you riding to school with her?" Danny shook his head.
"We'll take turns between the Jeep and the Tacoma. You drive one of them in to school and everyone will think we're riding together. Gas prices and all that."
Danny rubbed his forehead. "Okay."
Plumb walked to the window. "If everything you've shared with me is true, we've got some investigating to do." She turned to Cole. "What about the Mortal Coil?"
"It's all connected. Universal control. With Kadence, the Daemoneum will call the shots. They can pull the plug on everyone, wipe us out of existence, or have us under their control by threatening to."
Plumb let out a breath. "Better gather the troops."
"Under what guise?" Danny said. "This is so unlawful, what we're talking about doing. I'm not backing out, but we have no proof of anything other than Kade is an Anamolia. We're going on hunches."
"Where do you think proof comes from?" Plumb asked.
Danny groaned. "If Cole's wrong, this could get really ugly."
"This could get really ugly if he's right. Come on, Kade, I'll show you where you'll be sleeping." Plumb led Kade toward the bookshelf in the office. "Go get her boxes," she said over her shoulder. Plumb pulled a huge book off the shelf and opened it. The center pages had been cut out. A silver key sat at the bottom.
"I have no idea how Cole knows about the bunker," Plumb said. "He finds everything, though. I couldn't even hide candy for myself when he was younger. I would find empty bags everywhere." She inserted the key into a slot in the back of the bookcase. It grumbled and slid to the side. A long, brightly lit hallway extended before them. "Go ahead."
The hall was lined with the same sconces that adorned the Kinship and Brotherhood hallways, but there were twice as many of them.
"Are we going underground?" Kade asked, as the floor veered downward. A series of other passageways broke off in various places.
"Yes. There are tunnels underneath the compound. Some mimic the floors above, some don't."
"Oh." The shuffle of footsteps made her head turn, and she was relieved to see Cole at the end of the hall arguing with Danny, both of them laden with boxes.
"You know," Plumb said. "He's never done this for anyone."
"Sorry?"
"Cole," Plumb said. "Besides Danny, and maybe me, he wouldn't break the Warden's rules for anyone."
"I know." Kade dropped her chin.
"I'm not saying that I don't trust you," she went on. "Cole is a good judge of character. I'm just saying that you're obviou
sly very special to him. That's none of my business, either. He can date who he wants, and I don't care if he chooses a Primori, a Primeva, a human, a bird, or you, as long as he's happy." Plumb stopped at a steel door and unlocked it. "He deserves to be happy. You can't imagine what he's been through, so, please..." She stared into Kadence's eyes. "Don't hurt him. He's never looked at anyone the way he looks at you, and he may not be my child by blood." She glanced toward Cole. "But he is my son."
"I won't hurt him." Kade's voice broke.
Plumb pushed the door open, and Kade let out a breath.
The room wasn't a room at all, but more like a suite someone would see at a five star hotel, and even though they were underground, Kade would never have been able to tell. The room was lit up by a multitude of hanging crystal chandeliers, lamps, and what looked like sun-infused windows.
The main room had a couch, two leather chairs, a coffee table, and a TV. A state of the art kitchen with a huge butcher block bar housed six wooden bar stools that overlooked the living room. Two bedrooms, complete with bathrooms, and flat screen T.V.'s extended off the main room, one on each side.
"I like to come to down here a lot." Plumb shrugged, likely at the look of excitement on Kade's face. "It should work well for you. It has all the comforts of home. Well, except for natural sunlight, but the faux windows give the illusion."
The sound of boxes hitting the floor had Kade turning around.
"Nice, huh?" Cole grinned. "And you thought I was going to make you sleep with Tiffany."
Kade lost the ability to speak. "This is so...thank you."
He nudged her shoulder. "Anything to keep you safe."
Danny cleared his throat. "Right. So, when are you telling her dad about the new arrangement?"
"Now. You wanna ride?" Cole lifted a brow.
"Where?"
"The children's hospital. I think it's better to make this as official as possible."
"I agree," Plumb chimed in. "If you're going to pull this off, we have to move in a very concise way. The less people who know the better."
Cole winked at Kade. "Get settled, and I'll see you in a little while."
"But." She reached for his hand. "What are you going to say to my dad? Shouldn't I come with you?"
"If you come with me, it only makes this suspicious. Your dad needs to know you're being taken care of. He has no reason to think otherwise with Kyle on the loose. You're safe here."
CRYSTALLUM (The Primordial Principles Book 1) Page 30
