by R. D. Brady
Catching sight of Laney, Lou changed direction and sprinted toward her. Laney had asked Lou to join her on her run at the preserve today. Laney liked to run here every day if she could manage it. They had all started off running together—Laney, Lou, and the seven cats—but then Lou, with her enhanced abilities, had decided to really give the cats a run. Only Cleo had chosen to stay with Laney.
Lou’s breath now came out in pants. Laney smiled, and Lou returned it. Neither of them said anything for a few minutes, each seemingly content to stare at the undisturbed land in front of them.
Finally, Laney turned to Lou. “How are you doing?”
Lou looked at Laney, then away. “Okay. Better.”
On the car ride over, Laney had sensed that Lou wanted to ask her something, but so far all their conversations had been kept light and easy. “Anything you want to talk about?” she asked carefully.
Lou was quiet for a moment, and Laney let the quiet stretch out. “Do you ever—” Lou stopped.
“Ever what?”
Lou shrugged. “I don’t know—get fixated on something and not be able to let it go?”
Laney watched the struggle on Lou’s face. This girl had already dealt with so much in her young life. If she were any other teenage girl, her “fixation” would be boys or clothes or something else normal teenage girls worried about. But Lou was no normal teenage girl.
“Yeah,” Laney said. “After Rocky died, I couldn’t stop playing it over and over in my head. If I had made her run away, gotten her away—if I had moved right instead of left. If I had seen the ambush before—” Laney shook her head and sighed. “I still wake up some nights thinking about what I could have done differently.”
Lou took in a shuddering breath. “So you’ve never gotten past it.”
Laney paused, trying to figure out how exactly to convey what she felt about Rocky’s death. “No. Rocky, Drew—I don’t think I’ll ever be okay with them being gone. But I’ve accepted that they are. And I’ve also accepted that, as much as I wish I could have done things differently, things played out the way they did, and I can’t change that. All I can do is try to make sure it doesn’t happen to anyone else I care about. Which is why—” Laney bit off her words. Now wasn’t the time to lecture Lou about not getting involved in Fallen activities.
“Which is why you want us to stay away from Fallen activities,” Lou said quietly. “How do you do it? You face them, and others who are just as evil, over and over again. Aren’t you ever scared?”
Laney thought back to the bridge. She remembered what it felt like when her grasp on the bus was slipping while Cleo and the bus driver were still inside. “I’m always scared,” she said.
Surprise flashed across Lou’s face. “Then how do you do it? I mean, I had one incident and I’m just—”
“Hey,” Laney said. “It wasn’t just one incident. What you did was amazing, was brave, was reckless all rolled into one. These cats wouldn’t be here without you. You saved them. And you paid a price. Whenever we risk ourselves, we pay a price.”
“What about you?” Lou asked softly.
Laney looked away, pictures of Drew, Rocky, Ralph and Victoria flashing through her mind. “I’ve paid a different kind of price. I’m haunted by what’s happened as well. And the fear? At times, it’s almost paralyzing.”
“So how do you make yourself move?”
Laney wrapped an arm around Lou’s shoulder. “Because I’m more scared of what will happen if I don’t act—a world where the Fallen can run around unchecked. I can’t let that happen. There are too many good people who would get hurt. And that’s what makes me move forward when part of my brain is telling me the best idea is to run away.”
Lou’s voice was barely above a whisper. “I don’t know if I can do that.”
Gently, Laney turned Lou until she was facing her. “And you don’t have to. Lou, being a teenager is tough enough. Having to deal with the Fallen? I can’t imagine that at your age. I became the ring bearer at the right time—when I was old enough to deal with it. And still, at times it’s overwhelming. But you shouldn’t have to deal with any of this. In fact, I forbid you from dealing with any of this. Any Fallen issues, we adults will take care of.”
“But I—”
“You need to enjoy your life. Henry, Jen, Jake, ,me—we were all teenagers once. We got to do the stupid teenage things. You need to do the same. The stupid stuff you should be doing now should be the kind of thing that maybe gets you grounded, not takes your life. The Fallen are not your problem. In a few years, if you want to help, you can—but for now, you’re benched.”
Lou looked away. “That feels like hiding.”
“No. Your job is to enjoy your life so that later, if you do join the fight, you know exactly what you’re fighting for.”
Lou leaned into Laney. “Thanks.”
Laney kissed her on the forehead. “Just be a kid, Lou. You’ll be an adult soon enough.”
CHAPTER 13
Do not cry, Aaliyah reminded herself. But every time she looked over at Kai, she felt the catch at the back of her throat.
“This isn’t fair,” Noriko said, tears on her cheeks.
Kai pulled her in for a hug, but his eyes stayed on Aaliyah. “Perhaps. But it is how it is.”
The four guards waited outside. Noriko had come running into the house only minutes ago. Oasu looked completely devastated as he stood against the back wall, his shoulders slumped, his eyes wild. As a member of the Guard, it was his responsibility to protect the members of Honu Keiki and carry out the demands of the priestess. But today, Aaliyah knew he couldn’t believe what he was being asked to do.
“It must be a mistake,” Oasu said. “Maybe I could speak with—”
“No,” Kai said swiftly, then softened his tone. “It is done. And the truth is, I did help Hanake escape to find his family. I am not ashamed of that act.”
Noriko looked to Aaliyah. “There must be something we can do.”
They did not have traditional families on Malama, but Kai had been the most important male figure in Noriko’s life. Aaliyah hated this loss for her.
Aaliyah shook her head. “There is nothing. I wish there was.”
Kai looked from Noriko to Oasu. “Will you two wait for me outside? I’d like to speak to Aaliyah alone for a moment.”
Noriko hugged Kai tight, then wiped her cheeks. “I’ll be right outside.”
Oasu’s voice was full of regret. “You only have a few minutes.”
“We’ll be right there,” Kai assured him.
Oasu hesitated, looking like the little boy Aaliyah remembered so well. “I hate this.”
“I know, son. Go on. I’ll be right there.”
Oasu gave him an abrupt nod and hurried from the room, but Aaliyah caught the glint of tears in his eyes. Aaliyah watched the doorway even after he left.
“Will you not look at me?” Kai asked.
She shook her head, feeling the weight of her tears at the back of her eyes. “No.”
She felt him walk up behind her, and she took a trembling breath. He gently turned her to face him, tipping her chin up. “Aaliyah.”
Her name on his lips sounded like a caress. A tear slipped down her cheek.
“Protect yourself,” Kai said, staring into her eyes. “The priestess will be focused on you now.”
She held his hand to her face. “I know.”
He leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips. She trembled at the feel of him. He broke away too soon, leaning his forehead against hers. “We have wasted too much time not saying what we feel. And now there is no time left. I love you, Aaliyah. You are the reason my heart beats. And you are the smile in the back of my mind.”
A shudder ran through her, but she couldn’t find the words to tell him what he meant to her. There was just too much to say. So she settled for simple. “I love you too.”
His arms tightened around her. “Be careful.”
She leaned her head on his ch
est. “I will.”
With a final embrace, he strode from the room. Aaliyah wrapped her arms around herself, feeling his absence. The banishments had been increasing in the last year—almost as if the priestess needed to whittle their group down to a specific number. And with a shock she realized: that was exactly what she was doing. The priestess was making their number more manageable for the move.
Aaliyah sank down onto the bed, overwhelmed at how her world was spinning out of control. How did we get here? And how can I stop this on my own?
CHAPTER 14
Laney walked from her cottage to the main house on the Chandler estate, her conversation with Lou still on her mind.
As she headed up the circular grand staircase that led to Henry’s office, she couldn’t help but wonder at what a difference a few months had made. The cats were settled, relatively speaking, and they were each going to be as smart as Cleo. Cleo was their leader, they all looked to her, for now anyway.
And most importantly, Lou was coming along, some of her sparkle returning. Laney knew she was forever changed by what had happened, but she did seem better. There was no denying that. Part of the reason was the cats, but another part was that she had been given the time and space to heal away from the machinations of the Fallen—which just reinforced Laney’s conviction that the kids should not be allowed anywhere near these incidents.
The door to Henry’s office was open, and Jake and Henry’s laughter drifted down the hall. After a tense half year, they were all heading back to where they needed to be. As Laney entered the office, she smiled at the sight of Jake—but the butterflies that normally accompanied the sight of him were decidedly muted. She loved Jake—she always would. But something had changed between them in the last year.
He was a warrior, and he needed to protect those he loved. But Laney was a warrior too, and she couldn’t be protected from the dangers of this world. Not when it was her destiny to fight them. And that was the giant chasm that stretched between them.
After everything they had been through, she supposed it was inevitable. Still, neither of them was ready to cut the cord quite yet. So by mutual silent agreement, they kept everything light and easy—which wasn’t hard. And Laney had noticed that creating a little more distance between them had actually served to make Jake less stressed—which was really all she wanted.
Jake and Henry both turned to Laney, bright smiles on their faces. Laney sighed. Yup—she could get used to all this good will.
“Good run?” Jake asked as Laney sat on the couch next to him.
“Yes. The cats are really growing, and they all adore Lou. I think they may be helping her more than anything.” She looked quickly at Henry. “After you, of course.”
Henry chuckled. “I have no problem taking a back seat to the pack. Whatever helps Lou, I’m all for.”
Laney looked at her brother, amazed at how well he handled everything. Henry’s experience at the hands of Flourent out in Red Canyon had unfortunately made him one of the only people to truly understand what Lou had experienced. She had been tortured—there was simply no other word for it—and Henry knew what that felt like. Yet he still ran the Chandler Group, even if he’d handed off a lot of the day-to-day tasks, and he balanced his responsibilities to the company, to Danny, and to his destiny with a grace that Laney could only hope for.
It was also Henry and his responsibilities that had helped solidify her new approach to her own destiny. She had been thinking of her Fallen experiences as if they were something she had to get through and then she could have a life. But that wasn’t right: these experiences were her life. And she needed to get on with it. It was the people around her who needed to get back to living more ordinary lives.
She glanced at Jake. Even him.
Over the last few months, she had come to realize that if Jake was to have a life, it couldn’t be with her. And she was pretty sure he had come to the same understanding, despite how much they cared for one another. He couldn’t handle her being the ring bearer. He wanted to protect her and keep her safe—that’s just the type of man he was. But her job was to face danger, not stay protected from it. And as much as it hurt to admit it, that meant she and Jake couldn’t be together. Not like they had been.
Laney shoved all those thoughts aside. Her boys were smiling, and that’s what she would appreciate at this moment.
“All right,” she asked, “so what’s going on? What are we chatting about today? The school?”
Henry’s smile dimmed a little. “I’m afraid not. There are developments on two fronts you need to be aware of.” He nodded to Jake.
“Elisabeta has left hiding,” Jake said.
Laney looked at him in surprise. They had been looking for Elisabeta since China, but had been unable to find any trace of her. Elisabeta had disappeared from view after Victoria’s death, and Laney had let herself hope that maybe, just maybe, she would stay away. Apparently I’m not that lucky.
They all knew that Elisabeta had to be behind the recent spate of public Fallen incidents, though for the life of her, Laney couldn’t figure out why. And then there were the Fallen murders. They had ended after the Companion Killers incident, but Laney had never fully believed the Companion Killers had been responsible for killing the Fallen. After all, the former members of Honu Keiki weren’t even trained in combat—there was no way they could take down a Fallen. No, Elisabeta had to be behind that too. But again, why?
“Where is she?” Laney asked.
“Globetrotting,” Jake replied. “She’s done some interviews in various countries and she’s been seen at three charity events over the last week. One in Milan, one in London, and one in Geneva.”
“Charity?”
“Yes,” Henry said. “Her charitable foundations have all seen an influx of cash in the last year, and their charitable activity has increased across the globe.”
“What kind of activity?” Laney asked.
“The digging of wells in Africa, schools in Afghanistan, cancer research, malaria tents… you name it, she seems to be part of it. She was even part of President Jimmy Carter’s effort to eliminate the guinea worm.”
Laney frowned. “Is all this charity a cover for something?”
“I don’t think so,” Jake replied. “I sent some operatives to go to a handful of the sites and verify that they were doing what they said they were doing. And believe it or not, everything is on the up and up. In fact, Elisabeta is believed to be one of the top contenders for the Forbes 400 Lifetime Achievement Award for Philanthropy.”
Laney looked between Jake and Henry. “But why? Where’s the angle? How do the Fallen fit into this?”
Henry shrugged. “We don’t know, but I doubt she’s turned over a new leaf. Maybe it’s just a smoke screen so if anything negative about her ever comes out, people will have a hard time believing it of someone with this history of good works.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” Laney said. “People always seem willing to see a person’s bad side.”
Jake frowned.
“What is it?” Laney asked.
“Elisabeta has increased all this activity in the last few months.”
“You mean since everything happened with Honu Keiki,” Laney said.
Jake nodded. “Yeah. And I just have a feeling like something is on the horizon. Something we need to be ready for.”
Laney felt the same way. She had felt that way ever since they had rescued the cats and Lou. That there was a big part of the story she just couldn’t see. And she still felt blind. “Any inkling what that might be?”
“Not yet,” Henry said, “but I have people digging. Sooner or later, she’ll show her hand.”
Laney knew he was right, but she wasn’t sure whether to hope for sooner or later. “So, you guys said there were two developments.”
“The second one involves Honu Keiki,” Henry said.
“Have you heard something from them?” Laney asked. Although the group was secretive, Aaliya
h, the woman Laney had spoken with, had been forthcoming, and Laney had liked her. Laney had tried to reach her a few times since then, but unsuccessfully, and that had caused her some concern. She’d left messages asking Aaliyah to call, but so far, there had been only silence.
“No,” Henry said. “But I knew you were concerned, so I had some of our people look into them a little more deeply. And it seems they’ve made some purchases for an off-island site that doesn’t really fit with what we know about the group.”
Off the island? Laney frowned. Honu Keiki members rarely left the island. One of the tenets of the group was that they stayed away from the rest of the world so as not to be corrupted. Phone calls, computer usage, even TV viewing were severely restricted for that reason. “That’s strange, all right. But what exactly are they up to that has you so concerned?”
Henry handed her a few papers. “We’ve learned that they’ve purchased large swaths of land around Perth, Australia.”
Perth sat on the western coast of the Australian continent, and many of its suburbs were strewn along sandy beaches. It was only one of five areas in the world with a Mediterranean climate—hot summers and warm winters, with only a few periods of high humidity. If the priestess was thinking of a retirement spot, it was a good choice.
Laney flipped through the papers. “These purchases were made by Lotus Corp. Is that them?”
Henry nodded. “It’s a shell company. It traces back to Honu Keiki, but it took some digging.”
The last sheet of paper was a map of Australia, with the land purchases highlighted. Laney’s eyebrows shot up. “That’s a lot of land.”
“Over seven hundred acres,” Henry said. “But what’s more worrisome is that they’ve been building.” He pulled his tablet off the coffee table and flipped it around for Laney and Jake to see. “This is a satellite feed of the land they’ve purchased.”
Laney leaned forward. “Are those bulldozers?”
“Yes. The purchases began over three years ago. After they acquired each piece, they ousted the original tenants and razed whatever structures were in place.”
