The Acropolis

by R.K. Ryals

  Chapter 23

  Conor

  I don't sleep. I stare up at the ceiling's exposed beams instead. They are grey and charcoal. Gargoyles can see in the dark but only in various shades of grey. I suddenly hate the ability. I can't get past the last look Emma had given me. It hadn't been disgust exactly. Disappointment, maybe. Disappointment is worse.

  Emma is sleeping below me, tossing restlessly, and I wonder if the emotions in the other room are seeping into her sleep. If they are, I need to be on alert. If she's a sleep walker, she can be more than just a little dangerous. Being insensible with amazing powers equals horrible destruction. But then again, I'm in the mood for a fight.

  "It might help if you count sheep," Emma says suddenly from below me. It startles me, and I freeze before smiling. The words are familiar ones, and I remember another night, me on the floor, Emma on my bed.

  "Counting doesn't help," I say, throwing her words back at her.

  She laughs a little, and for a moment I let myself pretend I'm not her Guardian, that it isn't my duty to keep her in line. She's made me more aware of my hatred for Demons, and I'm beginning to realize it isn't all fair.

  "Did I wake you?" I ask.

  She rolls again.

  "You're worried," she says.

  Emotions are messing with her dreams, but they aren't coming from the main room. They belong to me. I'm not sure how to answer her. Worried is a mild word for the chaos going on in my head.

  "I'm fine, Em. Go to sleep."

  I force my mind blank, thinking instead about the next day, the trials ahead. There is rustling below, and Emma is still. Without my stress, she is finally able to sleep. But my body won't let me join her. I am too keyed up.

  The Acropolis is a good idea. The school is transforming hybrid Demons, turning them from Hell's ranks and bringing them over to our cause. But Luther is right. The school is a prison. Each student is guarded, the violent are put to death, and the non-violent are forced into compliance. They don't choose to join our ranks. We need change.

  I pull my cell phone out of my pocket, my fingers running silently over the keys. The cell phone belongs to the Inner Circle. All calls are traced. I shove it under my pillow and stare at the ceiling.

  I'm not sure I sleep, but there is suddenly sound in the room beyond, and I know the other students are stirring. I sit up, propelling myself over the side of the bed before opening a drawer in a table nearby. Emma's clothes sit on top, and I avoid staring at them as I pull out an extra pair of jeans and a t-shirt Will has left behind for me. I notice the shirt is red. It matches Emma's. Apparently, Will is still upset about Emma's treatment in class the day before. Guardians never wear the same color as the hybrids. It suggests unity.

  I change quickly before turning to the bed. Emma is sprawled on her stomach, one pajama clad leg hanging out from under the comforter, the other tangled in the sheets. Her hair hangs in a tangled mess around her face. She has a fist against her cheek. Her other hand is tucked under her pillow, and her lips are parted slightly. She doesn't snore, but I wouldn't be surprised if she drools.

  I pinch my lips together to keep from smiling as I make my way over to her side, poking her gently between her shoulder blades. She swats at my hand, and I poke her again. This time she opens an eye and immediately jumps.

  "Geez!" she shrieks.

  She hits her head on the bunk above her, and she rubs at the spot as she scowls at me. I lose the smiling battle.

  "Do you ever cuss, Em?" I ask.

  She rubs her red-rimmed eyes and looks around the room, her gaze landing on the pile of clothes.

  "I don't guess so," she says as she climbs out of the bed, moving over to the table slowly. "I've never really thought about it. I guess I don't see any point in it."

  I am suddenly taken aback by the differences in us. Her mother is a Demon. She has the blood of monsters, and she is innocent, straight forward, and clean-mouthed. I'm a Guardian, a gargoyle whose destiny has always been to protect, and I lack all of the same qualities. I keep hearing Luther's voice in my head. The lines are blurred, Reinhardt. The lines are blurred.

  "Get dressed. I'll wait outside. There's a brush in the drawer."

  Emma nods, her hand rubbing self-consciously at the tangles in her dark hair. It's probably the first time she's had to worry about looking presentable for anyone in the morning. I want to tell her it doesn't bother me, but I don't.

  I walk out, closing the door behind me and wait, my arms crossed as I face the outer room. Curious gazes meet mine, but I keep my expression even. Most of the Guardians are up and alert. The hybrids are sluggish. A few still sit on bottom bunks. A male hybrid I don't know rubs his hands over his face before throwing a shirt at another male hybrid across the room.

  "Dude, you have got to quit putting your shit in my space. It can't be that hard to remember which bunk is yours."

  The other hybrid flips him off and changes shirts.

  "Sleep well, Reinhardt?" a female voice asks, but I ignore it. Showing any reaction will only feed Lyre's anger.

  The door creaks open from behind me, and I turn to see Emma standing uncertainly in the open entrance. She's in the red t-shirt and jeans, both obviously borrowed. She isn't having luck in the shirt department. People keep assuming she's not as tall as she is, and she pulls at the hem as the room beyond grows quiet. Our shirts have garnered attention. I don't make excuses.

  "Everyone to the showers!" Grace Withers shouts, and I'm more than a little grateful for her interference.

  The Demons move, but they don't do it without complaint. Emma showered the night before separately, but she'll need to use the bathroom regardless.

  "Anyone got an extra kit?" I ask as Emma and I move toward the other Guardians. Grace nods and reaches into a trunk at the end of her bunk. She throws a small green nylon bag in my direction, and I catch it easily before handing it off to Emma.

  "Toothbrush, toothpaste . . . you name it," I say as she looks at it curiously. "There's a girl's shower to the right of the entrance."

  Emma nods, and I barely glance at the other Guardians before heading in that direction. The door to the residence hall opens, and I see Will enter from the grounds beyond as Emma leaves me. I glare as I settle back against the wall. It's not safe for me to be too far away from Emma. Will grins.

  "Bad morning?" he asks.

  "You'd know wouldn't you?" I spit back.

  Will's brow furrows.

  "No," he says slowly. "What's with the attitude?"

  I pull at my shirt.

  "Red, Will?"

  He had seen Emma entering the restroom, and his eyes narrow.

  "It wasn't me."

  We look at each other.

  "Deidra!" we say simultaneously.

  Imps! It's simply a pair of shirts, but they make a big statement. It's going to cause problems.

  "Just switch with me," Will says easily.

  He pulls a navy tee over his head and hands it to me. I pull mine off and do the same. Will isn't quite as broad as I am in the shoulders, but because of his height, we still wear the same size.

  "Guess what the Circle has captured for training?" Will says conversationally. I barely glance at him, my eyes on the bathroom.

  "Right now, I'm hoping you say a full-blooded imp."

  Will is quiet. Too quiet. I look up.

  "What did they capture?"

  Will's gaze meets mine.

  "A drex."