by Jordan Dane
“Rafael and his father.” Kendra didn’t hesitate. “I saw...something in his past when we did our mind-shield exercise. That part has got to be about Rafael.”
When she didn’t explain, Gabe felt certain that her silence was for Rafe’s sake, and he knew plenty about an abusive father. His dad never used a bat, but there were other ways to scar a kid.
“Okay, so let’s talk shrinkage,” Gabe said. “Stick to your vision.”
“I got swept away in a fast-running current. A river. I remember seeing steep canyon walls rushing by. Definitely cold water, man. Ice cold.” When Oliver got done with all his visions, he shrugged. “That’s it. That’s what I saw.”
Besides the vision connection to his mother’s murder and Rafael’s father, Gabriel didn’t have a clue what the imagery meant, but his uncle must’ve had a notion.
“If I can get you close enough, Kendra, do you think you’d feel where Rafael is?” Uncle Reginald asked, watching her in his rearview mirror.
“If he’s still alive...yeah, I think so.”
“His heart was still beating. I felt it.” Oliver glanced at Caila. They both looked sad, but what he said made Kendra happy.
“Do you know where Rafe is?” she asked his uncle. The hope in Kendra’s voice was undeniable.
“The San Gabriel Mountains are a big haystack, but if I’m right, I believe I may know where we can find a needle or two.”
Forty minutes later
“Do you know where you’re going?” Gabriel asked his uncle.
“Yes. Have faith, nephew.”
Uncle Reginald changed direction and told him he was heading for the northern L.A. suburbs of San Gabriel, located between Alhambra and Temple City. After he got off the Foothill Freeway, his uncle told him that he would have to rely on his memory to get him to the mission. It didn’t take long for them to arrive.
Gabe saw the historic site ahead.
“I’ve visited many of the old Spanish missions,” his uncle said. “I find them quite charming. When Oliver mentioned six bells, I recalled one mission had a campanario. In Spanish that means a wall of bells. At Mission San Gabriel Arcángel, there are six beautiful bells, set in arches. It’s dark now, but they look particularly stunning in the morning light. Have you seen them before, Oliver?”
“Not for real, sir.”
As Uncle Reginald turned his SUV onto the mission grounds, Gabriel gazed out his window at a piece of history. Tall palm trees lined the street in front of the old mission, and the entrance to the cathedral had a massive arched wooden door. The campanario of six bells had lights shining on them. The old stone and adobe Spanish mission would’ve looked almost ghostly at night, except that it was located on a busy street with businesses nearby.
“The mission name, it means Saint Gabriel the Archangel? Does anyone have chills like I do right now?” Kendra said.
“I’m more afraid of getting struck by lightning, actually,” Gabe muttered.
“It does seem that we have come full circle,” his uncle said. “All I can do is get you close, my dear. You’ll have to do the heavy lifting from here, I’m afraid. Do you sense Rafael, Kendra?”
When she didn’t answer right away, Gabriel had a bad feeling the mission would turn out to be another bust. He didn’t know how a mission would tie in to Rafael’s disappearance. It wasn’t a Believers’ stronghold.
“I feel...something. It’s like I’m retracing the steps he took. The essence I feel of him is weak. It’s like I know he’s been here, but he’s not here now,” she said. “I’ve never felt anything like this before.”
By the strain in her voice, Gabe knew she was trying hard to feel anything. He hoped her inkling wasn’t just wishful thinking.
“I think that he...heard those bells. It’s like they’re in my head too. Yes, I’m sure of it.”
“I’ll make one more pass, but this is good news. Don’t lose faith now. This is more than we had. You didn’t feel him at Haven Hills at all. This is something, Kendra.” His uncle’s excitement was contagious. “If you can’t get any more, I have another location to try. It’s not far. I promise you. If you’re retracing his steps, we could be onto something.”
For the first time in days, Gabriel saw a smile on the girl’s face. He dared to send a telepathic message to Lucas, to let him and the others know why they’d come here and what Kendra sensed.
“Where to now?” Gabe asked his uncle.
“San Gabriel Canyon Road isn’t far. It will take us by a reservoir, but I believe that I know the cause of Oliver’s shrinkage.”
Oliver rolled his eyes and sighed. “Okay, for the record, I never said it was my shrinkage.”
“Yes, of course. If you insist, dear fellow.” His uncle smirked. “But I believe the ice-cold river that Oliver referred to is actually the Cold Water Canyon. It’s worth a try.”
Uncle Reginald looked too sure to be guessing.
What aren’t you telling me? Gabe sent a message to his uncle and blocked out the others from hearing it. What does Rafael’s disappearance have to do with my mother?
His uncle didn’t look at him. He kept his eyes on the road and clenched his jaw.
There’s only one reason I can think of that Oliver would link your mother and her death to Rafael, the man told him.
Uncle Reginald finally looked at him with a sad expression on his face. He’d seen the look before.
Your mother must be with Rafael.
That made no sense to him. His mother had never haunted him or his uncle. Gabe had never felt her in any way. Why would she be with Rafe? Gabe narrowed his eyes at his uncle and wouldn’t let it go. A part of him wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the rest.
But why? he asked his uncle. She didn’t know Rafe.
The only thing that makes sense to me is that Rafael wasn’t abducted by the Believers for their usual agenda. That’s why we haven’t been able to find him. If I’m right, Kendra is taking us to your father, Gabriel. Your mother is with him.
Gabe stared at his uncle before he sat back into his seat, stunned. He glared out the windshield, but his uncle wasn’t done with his theories.
Your father may have taken Rafael to get to you. There could be a reason getting out of Ward 8 appeared too easy. I can’t be sure, but this could be a trap.
It didn’t matter if his uncle was right or not. Gabriel knew he’d have to face his father one way or another. He couldn’t keep running from his nature—or the man who despised him for it. Staring into the night sky, he stirred the fire in his belly and gave in to the dark side of who he was.
11:15 p.m.
When the road turned into two lanes and signs for Cold Water Canyon became easier to spot, Gabriel sensed a malevolence that went beyond his dark gift. His growing awareness of evil had nothing to do with sensing Rafael.
Thoughts of his mother got muddled with his hatred for his father and confused him. He couldn’t shove out the hurt that she might have chosen to haunt the man who killed her rather than be with him. He shouldn’t have wished that for her—either way—but in the hour before he would end this fight with his father, he couldn’t stop obsessing over those bad feelings.
It felt as if he’d betrayed her, but he couldn’t stop.
He’s here...somewhere. Kendra sent the hive a message. But something’s wrong.
I feel something off too. Gabe didn’t take his eyes off the shadowy ravine as his uncle turned down a side road that paralleled the deep gorge, with the Mercedes following them.
Uncle Reginald drove slower and the chassis rocked as the road turned into nothing more than rutted gravel. Gabriel hit a button and the passenger window rolled down. He heard the sound of rushing water and smelled the dust and humidity of the canyon.
“This could be it. It’s too dark for me to be sure though.” Oliver broke the si
lence in the vehicle.
The guy would have to learn how to speak to the hive if he stayed, but Gabriel was glad he was with them now.
“Look. There’s a light.” Gabriel pointed toward the horizon.
The glow ahead became more intense as they got closer. When the narrow road made a hard right and became asphalt again, Uncle Reginald pulled onto a shoulder and waited for Rayne to park behind him.
Gabriel couldn’t take his eyes off the horizon. A large estate that rivaled his uncle’s was lit by security lights. A stone wall surrounded the mansion with a main entrance that appeared to be guarded by armed men. They couldn’t get much closer without being seen.
“Rafael is down there. I’m sure of it.” Kendra didn’t have to confirm what Gabriel already knew.
They had found Rafael Santana—and his father.
He trusted Oliver’s vision and the sense that his mother would be with Rafael. In his heart, he knew that felt right and if any part of Oliver’s vision had got them here, then it had to be right. Seeing his father after all these years, and knowing the man had killed his mother, would be hard enough. He still didn’t know if he could kill him for what he’d done, but one thought plagued him more than seeing his father again.
Whatever he decided to do, his mother could be watching. She would see what he’d become.
21
The Estate of Alexander Reese
San Gabriel Mountains
11:35 p.m.
As Gabriel watched the mansion on the horizon with binoculars, the estate looked mired in secrets. The armed guards were a telltale sign there was something to hide. Beyond the potential danger, Gabriel felt a sense of urgency that gripped him hard. He couldn’t explain it, but when he glanced at Kendra and saw the look in her eyes, he knew she had the same feeling.
Whatever he sensed, it had to do with Rafael. He hated thinking that Rafe was in the hands of his father because of him, but he had a dark belief that they’d run out of time. If they didn’t go in soon, Rafe could die.
“I want to go with you,” Rayne said. “I know I’m not like you, but I can help.”
She’d come to him, knowing that breaching the walls and rescuing Rafael would be more dangerous with so many armed guards.
“I know you can, but we have the safety of these children to consider,” he said. “And there’s something else.”
After seeing the potential danger of his father’s small army, he never would’ve wanted Rayne here at all. She wasn’t like them, and a gun would only make her a target for cruel men without souls. He didn’t want any of this, but he didn’t see a choice. Worst of all, there were the lives of more innocent children to consider, the kids rescued from Ward 8. The pressure of making the decision on who should stay behind or come with him could mean a death sentence, either way.
When he looked in Rayne’s eyes—he didn’t want her here and carrying a gun at all—but he had another reason for asking her to stay behind.
“If my father is in there, I don’t want you to see...what could happen between us. I know I already scare you, but this will be...worse.”
“I love you, Gabriel. Nothing can change that.” She touched his cheek. “Whatever you need from me, I’ll do it.”
She put on a brave face and he saw the love in her eyes, but he wouldn’t change his mind. He hoped she understood. He’d come to stop the Believers, but the fight here was personal too.
“I need you to hide the vehicles. Get them off the road and wait. If we don’t come back...” He ran a finger down her cheek. “...take them home.”
He could tell that Rayne knew what he’d meant by them not coming back. It was the reason she didn’t argue. When she nodded, he pulled her into his arms, lifted her off the ground and held her. He shut his eyes so he could feel what it meant to be in her arms. After he put her down, he kissed her and ran his hands through the soft strands of her hair.
He wanted this to be over. He wanted a day where all he had to think about was making her happy.
“Stay alert. They could have patrols outside the walls, watching this road,” he told her. “Keep your gun handy and be prepared to move out if you see anything suspicious.”
Gabe hated leaving her behind, but he didn’t have a choice. He made sure she had the keys to both vehicles and watched as she backed the cars out and hid them off the road. When he turned to find his uncle and the others, he saw Oliver instead. The guy had been no more than a shadow in a stand of trees.
“What are we doing, Crystal?”
Before he could tell him anything, Oliver had to know the truth. There was no way around it.
“I can’t ask you to go with us,” Gabe said.
“Then don’t ask. I volunteer.”
“No, there’s something about me that might make a difference. The others know the truth, but you don’t.”
“Gabriel, there’s nothing you can tell me that will change my mind.”
Oliver stepped out of the shadows and stood in front of him. When the guy looked determined to go, Gabe blurted out what he wanted him to know.
“My father is Alexander Reese,” he told him. “He runs the Believers in L.A. That’s his house.”
Gabriel pointed at the mansion on the horizon. “He killed my mother because of me. I’m sure he’d rather see me dead. That would allow him to bury the secret that he fathered an abomination like me. I’ve got a target on my back, put there by him, and he’s probably taken Rafael to get me here. This could be a trap. Does that make a difference?”
Gabe waited for Oliver to say something.
“Man, you’ve got more baggage than Samsonite.” The guy crossed his arms. “Father’s Day must suck for you.”
“Yeah. You could say that.” Gabe took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. “It’s hard to explain what I do, except that I can magnify other Indigos’ capabilities. I could use your means of unconventional travel, but I would understand if you’d rather sit this one out.”
Oliver didn’t answer right away. He stared at him as if he was making up his mind. “I have to admit that you scare me, Gabriel. I’ve seen what you do and I don’t understand it, but I’m with you. On your orders, I’m there.”
“Just stick close to me.”
“You got it.”
Gabe didn’t bother to explain why he’d asked that. There simply wasn’t enough time, and saying anything more would make the guy feel like odd man out. Because Oliver didn’t communicate with the hive well enough—messages only seemed to come one-way—Gabe had to keep him close and remember to say stuff aloud. He’d find a way to make that work.
Heading for the overlook with Oliver, he heard two voices in his head.
We wanna go. Rafael is in there. We can feel him too. The Effin twins ran toward him, hitting him with messages before he even saw them. When they stood in front of him, he put his hands on their shoulders.
“Not this time. I need you to protect the others. I’m counting on you. We all need to do our part, or this won’t work.”
When the boys looked at him, their eyes filled with tears, but they didn’t complain or even push to go. Their stone-faced silence said more than any words they could have chosen. He knew why they wanted to go.
“Don’t worry. We’ll find him. I can feel him here too.”
He hugged the brave boys and breathed a deep sigh. The truth was that he trusted the twins to hold their own, whether they stayed or went with them. But they were still boys. If he envied Lucas his innocence, how could he push the twins to do more against so many armed men? The brothers were powerful Indigos. They’d have their day soon enough, when they got older.
But he had the same personal reason for leaving them behind as he’d asked of Rayne. He didn’t want them to witness what he might have to do when he confronted his fath
er. He never had a brother or sister, and no experience with younger kids, but it felt wrong to unleash his pent-up rage—the lifelong contempt he felt toward his father—in front of these children.
As Gabriel walked away from the Effin twins, Oliver said, “Don’t second guess. Trust your gut.”
“Easier said, my fine friend.”
Gabe joined his uncle, Lucas and Kendra on the ridge and gazed at his father’s estate. When they had attacked Ward 8, they had the benefit of Lucas’s experience and his dream visions to guide them. On his father’s estate, they would have none of that. No one knew the layout of the grounds or the mansion. They would have to rely on their instincts to find Rafael and use the hive to get through it.
Not much of a plan.
“Kendra, give Oliver the bracelet,” Gabe said. “When we get inside, he can help another way.”
“Yeah, sure.” She handed over Rafe’s leather bracelet and Oliver took it.
“Stick together.” Gabriel fixed his gaze on each one before he turned to head down a short ravine that would take them to the stone wall that surrounded the grounds.
“What a minute. What’s the plan?” Lucas asked.
Before Gabe could answer, Oliver did it for him.
“Don’t get killed. That’s the plan.” Oliver put his arm around Lucas’s neck. “That goes double for anyone wearing pastel pajamas that make them look like the fuckin’ Easter bunny. No way I’m buyin’ it, lookin’ like this.”
“You sayin’ it like that, I guess I’ve got it easy,” Luke said.
“I wasn’t gonna say anything, but yeah.”
Ten minutes later
The closer he got to the stone wall that bordered the estate, the more Gabriel realized what it all would mean. He would find his father here. The day had finally come. He’d been haunted by the man and what he’d done to his mother for so long, his father seemed more of an invincible monster in his mind. He’d only been a boy when his mother took him and ran away from a man she feared would’ve killed him for what he was. Gabriel couldn’t outrun his past anymore.
