I perched on the edge of the chair and shrugged. “It’s okay.”
“Made friends yet?”
I nodded but she was off again. She spoke fast, jumping from topic to topic.
“Appearance is everything, okay? We must fit in as much as we can, but if anyone meets you in the dead of the night hunting, you don’t want them to recognize you.”
Was that why she dressed so flamboyantly during the day?
“Do you have a cell phone?”
“No. Grampa doesn’t like modern technology.”
Hsia laughed. “I know. Ask him to get you all these gadgets young people insist on having these days. Money shouldn’t be an issue. There’s more than enough in the accounts to go around.”
Great. Grampa had resisted buying me a cell phone. I begged for an iPod two birthdays in a row and my present laptop was at least three years old. I told him I needed wireless Internet for homework and research, but he always had excuses. I always assumed money was the issue. Now I knew better.
While Hsia typed something on her computer, I gave her office a sweeping glance. One wall had a bookshelf of old leather books. On another, several clocks vied for space. They all showed different times. Two ancient maps of the world took up the remaining two walls. One, with more land than water, didn’t look like any world atlas I knew. The second had an exaggerated size of North America.
“Ptolemy’s,” Hsia said, pointing to the first one. “And that one over there is Ortelius’. Dutch geographer. I hear you don’t like history.”
Mrs. D. talked to her already? “Not really.”
“Has Ares talked to you about why Xenia chose a parallel universe for us?”
I guess she was going to give me history lessons whether I wanted it or not. “No.”
“So we’re not tempted to influence humanity like our ancestors did. And that’s why we blend in, and try not to alter the course of history or people’s perception of things.”
“Even if they destroy each other in the process,” I mumbled.
Hsia nodded. “That’s the beauty of free will, choosing right from wrong, making mistakes and learning from them. All we can do is level the playing field by stopping demons.” The printer whirred, and a paper snaked out. Hsia picked it and passed it to me.
“This is why we want Bran, Lil. Having Tariel’s family back would be wonderful, but if we can convert more demons to our side, we come out winners. Some of our people don’t agree with that assessment, but it’s an opportunity we can’t ignore.” She got up. “Get in touch if you have any history questions.”
I stood, backpack in one hand, my new schedule in the other. “Thank you, Mrs. Kwan.”
“Hsia, please. Keep training and stay out of trouble.”
I slipped my new schedule in the back pocket of my jeans, gave her a brief wave and left her office. The woman could talk. I hurried to my locker, not paying attention to the students in the hallway.
The morning dragged, especially after my brief meeting with the pre-calc teacher, Mr. Johnson. “You’ve missed two weeks of class, Ms. Falcon,” the rotunda teacher with curly brown hair told me. “Do you have a legitimate reason?”
I couldn’t tell him that my grandfather had waited until I started showing powers before he decided to relocate us to the valley, or that along the way, he’d taken detours to annihilate pesky demons and added a week to our trip. “We moved here last week,” I explained.
“Make sure your parents fill out an Absence Form. You have a choice to either read on your own and do past assignments and tests, or attend credit restoration classes on Saturdays.”
“I’ll do the assignments,” I said.
“Fine.” He dismissed me with a wave. I hurried back to my seat, too aware of the other students’ curious gazes. It was the first day of school all over, and I hated it.
Later, I felt even weirder in Mrs. Deveraux’s class now that I knew she was a Civilian Guardian. First time I saw her, I thought she was a laid back, non-conformist. With her charm bracelets and dangling earrings, bright clothes and trendy glasses, she was a flashy dresser like Hsia.
Someone tugged at one of my braids as soon as I took two steps out of the class.
“Hey, Red.”
I ground my teeth and turned to find a grinning Sykes. I would have said something rude if it weren’t for the buffed up jock by his side.
His friend whipped out his cell phone, snapped my picture before I could say anything then gave me an expectant grin. “Cool name. How do you spell it?”
“Red is not my name.” I continued to walk, mindful of students coming toward us.
“Her name is Lilith,” Sykes said, moving to my left. “L.I.L.I.T.H.”
I sent him a withering look. I hated that name. No one, not even Grampa, ever used it.
“I’m Doug,” his friend said, flanking me on the other side, his eyes running up and down my jean-clad legs and lingering on my chest. He leered. “You’re new, right?”
I rolled my eyes. This was so old. “Right.” I didn’t mean to listen to his thoughts, but the gleam in his eyes had me digging into his psyche. He thought I was hot. Cool. And he wanted to…ew, bad jock, bad, bad. Forget free will. I’m stopping this bonehead.
No, don’t ask me out…go away…leave me alone…pretend you don’t know me.
“Are you going to the school dance…?” Doug’s voice trailed off in the middle of the sentence then he turned to Sykes. “I’ve got to go, man.” He took off without looking at me.
I stared after him with round eyes. Did it work?
Sykes put his arm around my shoulder. “Power of persuasion. Way to go, Red.”
Bran had said I could make people do things, but I never believed him. “Did I really…no-no, I didn’t.”
“Did too,” Sykes retorted.
“Are you sure?” I grinned, proud of my accomplishment.
“What kind of moron starts to ask a babe out then stops mid-sentence and bolts? You zapped him.”
I gave Sykes’ worn-out jeans with rips and scruffy white tee a disgusted look. Why did he always wear worn-out clothes? The only things that looked new and well-kept were the ever-present fingerless gloves. “Maybe you scared him off with your hobo-inspired fashion.”
He let go of my shoulders, spun on his black canvas shoes and posed. “You like?”
“No.”
He laughed, planted his arm on my shoulders again. “I’ve style, Red. And no, it wasn’t me. ‘Don’t ask me out… go away…leave me alone’. Sound familiar?”
He even got the sequence right. I laughed. Having powers wasn’t so bad. If only it didn’t include hunting demons.
“You think you could use that particular talent on some of the babes in my class?”
I rolled my eyes and tried to dislodge his arm. “You have a…one…track…mind.”
As if to prove my point, two gorgeous girls in ultra-slim pants and figure-hugging tops walked toward us, their eyes eating him up. “Hi, Sykes,” they said in a chorus then gave me a sharp look.
“Hey.” He flashed a charming smile then turned his head to check them out as they walked past, brow lifting in appreciation. He whispered, “Me with a one track mind? Try them, totally shameless. They can’t seem to think about anything but me. I hear their thoughts all the time.”
“You mean you listen to their thoughts,” I corrected him.
“Same difference. And it’s so distracting.” His grin said otherwise.
Sykes was a class act, incorrigible. Studying him on the sly, I could see what girls saw in him—long blond hair and amber eyes, dented chin and a lithe, masculine body. Add a flirtatious smile and clean masculine scent, and you had a teen heartthrob. I inhaled. He did smell nice.
Not like Bran though. Bran’s pine scent was addictive, made my mind go foggy and my insides mushy. His dazzling smile—
“Are you drooling over me, Red?” Sykes asked, yanking me to the present.
I made a play of sniffing him t
o cover my embarrassment. “No, just appreciating that scent you favor. What is it? Soap or lotion?”
Sykes’s eyes widened. He laughed. “You are full of surprises, Lil. I like that.” He stopped in front of a door. “Here we are. Your chemistry class.” His arm dropped from my shoulders.
I peeked inside. The class was already packed. I pulled out the new schedule Hsia had given me and verified it was the right room. “How did you know?”
“Hsia. Come on, I’ll find you an empty seat.”
His cavalier attitude wasn’t funny. “I can find my own way, thank you.” One empty seat was in front of the class. I took it.
Sykes waved to a few students, pointed at one and signaled something that escaped me then squatted beside my desk. “See you at lunch, right?”
“Sure. I’ll be seated with my friends across from your table.”
He chuckled. “I don’t have a table, but today, you sit with us.”
“Why?” I asked. Before he could answer, a boyish-looking man walked into the classroom with quick steps and went in front of the class. “The teacher just walked in. You need to leave.”
Sykes didn’t even bother to look. “See you at lunch.” His voice had more steel than sweet. Just then, I was reminded that behind his charming, playful exterior was a killing machine. I scowled as he swaggered out of the class. Why was he acting weird?
The teacher spoke, and I pushed matters of the Guardians aside. Mr. Whitley turned out to be cool. The class was already on chapter four, Atomic Structure, but he promised to give me a packet of reading material, homework and tests. “Take you time, there’s no hurry,” he added.
I liked him.
***
Sykes was outside my class when the bell rang, girls swarming around him. He left them and fell in step with me as I walked past.
“Don’t let me pull you away from your adoring fans,” I teased him.
“They’re not important. You are.”
“Yeah, right.” Heads whipped around to watch us. I ignored them.
Down by the lockers, I realized I needed to get rid of him. I planned to eat lunch, then find a quiet place to telepath Bran. I couldn’t do that with Sykes dogging my footsteps.
I closed my locker and pinned him down with a glare. “So? What’s up with the overbearing, big-brother routine?”
He stopped smiling, glanced around and spoke in a lowered voice. “You were attacked and the Cardinals left us out of the loop. We didn’t know about it until last evening when you told Moira about freezing the omnis, which, by the way, must have been something. We want details.”
Grampa hadn’t said I shouldn’t talk to the trainees about Bran. Besides, I wanted to set the record straight about his grandfather. Tariel was not turned.
“I heard your grandfather read both the tech guys and the security team the riot act for not catching demonic presence,” Sykes said as we headed toward the cafeteria. “He almost ripped the chairman’s man head off. Everyone is tense or pissed. Demons in our valley are unacceptable.”
What about half-demons? I wanted to ask him. We entered the cafeteria, and noticed Kylie, McKenzie and Amelia at a table. Nikki, Cade and Zack were missing. Kim’s table was still empty. “Okay. I’ll stop by your table later.”
“Like I said, I don’t have a table. See ya.”
I got my food and joined my friends. “Where were you this morning?” McKenzie asked as soon as I sat. “You missed Cook’s quiz. It was hard.”
I explained the whole paperwork mix up and my new class schedule.
“I wanted you to be my study partner,” McKenzie moaned, pouting.
The brunette was sweet, but out of the four girls, she was the most melodramatic. Everything was personal with her.
“So you’re a dork like my brother,” Kylie teased.
I scrunched my face. “I wouldn’t call myself that.”
“You should join my clubs,” Amelia said.
Kylie shook her head, her horrified expression made comical by her Goth make-up. When Amelia looked at her, Kylie gave her an innocent smile.
“What clubs?” I asked Amelia.
“Math,” she said. “It’s fun.”
Kylie stuck a finger in her mouth, imitating vomiting.
“Or MESA—Math, Engineering and Science Achievement,” Amelia added.
Kylie mimicked a hanging, tongue lolling from the corner of her mouth. “All they do is hook up,” she said. “Nikki met Zack at a Mesa meeting.”
“And you met Cade at a UTOPIA meeting. Artists club,” Amelia explained for my benefit. “She’s an amazing writer, an assistant editor for The Grizzly, but she carries on like being smart is a mortal sin.” She made a face at Kylie.
I liked these girls, loved their wacky personalities and their senseless bickering. I never had friends like them before. I never had friends, period.
The discussion stayed on after-school activities then moved to colleges. Since I didn’t know anything about my future, except that I’d be killing demons, I didn’t contribute to the conversation. Instead, I let my mind wander. Soon I was eavesdropping on people’s thoughts around the cafeteria. Most students stressed about the same things—hooking up, grades, family. A few worried about video games and sports. Others had serious issues—pregnancy, abusive fathers, mothers, boyfriends.
Kylie bumped me on the arm and pulled me out of my woolgathering. “I think they’re trying to get your attention.”
I followed the direction of her gaze to Kim’s table. Remy waved me over. I looked at the faces around my table and shrugged. “Dojo business. See you guys later.”
I headed across the cafeteria and slid into a seat across from Remy. They all wore serious expressions. “What’s up, guys?”
“We want to know what happened Monday night,” Remy said without hesitation. The others nodded. “The Cardinals keep things from us and won’t let us hunt while other trainees around the world do. They think we’re not ready.”
“But the fact that you faced three demons alone and survived proves them wrong,” Sykes added.
“I wasn’t alone.” Surprised registered on everyone’s face. “Remember the Cardinal Water Guardian Coronis kidnapped fifty years ago?”
“Tariel,” Sykes said.
“Coronis turned him,” Izzy added.
“She didn’t. His grandson came here looking for help.” I told them everything Bran told me about his family and the events of the past few days without revealing Gavyn’s true identity. The silence that followed was deafening.
“Tariel’s grandchildren are half demons?” Izzy said with a grimace.
“They can’t be trusted,” Sykes added.
Remy frowned. “You said he has water powers?”
I nodded.
“It doesn’t matter what his powers are,” Kim cut in. “The CT will never allow a demon to join us. I now understand why my dad’s been in a crappy mood since he met with the Cardinals two nights ago. I bet he thinks we shouldn’t help them. I don’t think we should.”
This was ridiculous. “Why are you guys judging Bran when you haven’t even met him? He’s not evil.” They stared at me in bewilderment. “What?”
“Sorry to burst your bubble, little sister, but you just got your powers. What do you know about demons and their sneaky ways?” Izzy asked and the others nodded. “This could be a scam.”
“It’s no—”
“And you guys know what happened the last time one of them sneaked into our community and claimed to be nice,” Kim added, cutting me off.
Remy nodded. “Others followed and they slaughtered our people in cold blood.”
“I don’t care whether he’s Tariel’s son or grandson. Once a fiend always a fiend,” Sykes said in a cold voice.
I lost it. “Stop it, guys. Just stop it!” My gaze moved from one shocked expression to another. A few nearby students looked at our table. I glared at them, then leaned forward to speak in hushed tone. “I thought you guys would understand, bu
t it’s obvious you have prejudices against anyone that’s different from you. Bran didn’t ask for his grandfather to be kidnapped by Coronis, and neither did he choose who his mother is. He’s willing to turn his back on her and everything she stands for, yet you condemn him for it.” I locked gazes with Izzy. “You want to know how I know he’s good. I’m an empath, just like my grandfather. There’s no scam and no hidden agenda. He’s good guy.”
No one spoke.
Disappointment at their attitude cut me deep. I stood. They still didn’t say anything, their expressions unyielding. I couldn’t explain it, but I felt betrayed, like they’d turned against me. Too angry to speak, I turned and walked away.
12. WEIRD OR DEMONIC
I put the completed homework inside my folder then retrieved Homer Hickam’s October Sky from my backpack and left the kitchenette table. A quick glance inside the oven indicated the meatloaf was ready. I reduced the heat to warm, placed the tray of rice on the rack beside it and headed to my bedroom. Instead of getting lost in Sonny’s world, I kicked off my shoes, flopped on my bed and closed my eyes
In the last week, I had developed a nasty habit of listening to people’s thoughts to pass time. It was dumb but very entertaining. I guess I should feel guilty, but since I didn’t know their identities, I didn’t care. Besides, Mrs. D. said it strengthened by telepathic abilities.
Within seconds, I was lost in the complexity of the human mind, their obsession with wealth and possessions, and their capacity to love. Two preschoolers with overactive imagination were playing princesses in a bathtub. A woman with her newborn baby was already lining up play dates, planning his first birthday party and…college? Unbelievable. Utah State or U of U?
Why not Stanford or Yale?
Stanford or Yale, the thought flashed in the woman’s head.
I got out of her head and moved to others, just listening. No more butting in. I tried to skip the naughty and the ugly, but some couldn’t be avoided—a man thinking about a date with his girlfriend while eating dinner with his wife, a young man contemplating shooting his abusive step-father, a teenage boy fantasizing about…ew, boredom was turning me into a pervert.
Awakened (Paranormal romance, YA fantasy) (The Guardian Legacy) Page 13
