CHAPTER 14
Gabe prowled the length of the clearing in agitation. “So because of some stupid deal an ancestor of ours, about a million times removed made, we have to fight for this half-bird, half-cat thing?”
“To over simplify a complex matter, yes.” Alaina said with a serene smile.
Gabe stopped in front of her and planted his feet. “Explain to me why this is our problem? I watched your little fire skit.” He waved his arm at the still smoldering embers. “That Gryphon’s a big, scary dude. Why does he need us to fight for him? Why can’t he fend for himself?”
Alaina’s smile vanished. Her head twitched to the side in a bird-like manner. “He is not allowed on this plane of existence. He should not have ventured here to save our town, yet he did. Believe me when I say there were repercussions for that above and beyond this matter with Barnabus. Yet he had hoped to eradicate this issue himself. Unfortunately, that was not to be. Barnabus’ obsession led him to seek help. He sought out a mysterious woman with a vast supply of mystical power. Very little is known about her, but we know she goes by the title of Countess. Rumor has it she once held regal stature until her ties to the dark arts were discovered. Children in her village went missing. It was believed she sacrificed them to unholy forces in exchange for greater powers. A torch and pitchfork-wielding horde chased her into exile where Barnabus found her. He told her of the Gryphon, and she agreed to help him. She ordered him to gather all his men and bring them to her. Their Dark Army assembled…then vanished.”
“Vanished?” I gasped. I hadn’t even noticed I’d been holding my breath.
With her hands behind her back, Alaina paced in front of us. “We believe the Countess took them all to the Underworld but cannot confirm this. Only demons, devils, and other malevolent beings can venture there. Since then, we have relied on the occasional informant to get whispers of what they are doing. This is how we learned of the impending attack.”
“We?” Kendall asked, her arms wrapped tightly around herself.
“Yes, we. My family was massacred that terrible day. I begged the Gryphon to take me with him to the Spirit Plane. My heroism in my village qualified me for a position as a Spirit Guide, and here I am.”
“Kudos on the promotions and all, but I don’t understand why all this is happening now.” Keni’s voice was rapidly transitioning into a full out whine. “Centuries have passed! Why couldn’t they attack sooner, like before we were born? Or better yet, why can’t they just let it go?”
“In alternate dimensions such as the Underworld or the Spirit Plane, time passes differently. A rapid succession there takes centuries here. As sorry as I am to say, a battle is eminent.”
A fire raged in my brother’s eyes. “If it’s the Gryphon that Barnabus wants, then I say let him have him! Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t just walk away?”
Alaina crossed to Gabe. She didn’t shy away but met his gaze with passionate resolution. “You have been chosen and that cannot be undone. You can accept that and prepare yourself, or you can sit idly by and wait for them to find and kill you. Your powers will emerge and once they do, they will draw the Dark Army to you like a lighthouse beacon. The choice is yours.”
“Uh, that’s not much of a choice,” Kendall squeaked.
“And you really believe we can take down an entire army?” A hard lump of disbelief seemed to be lodged in my throat.
She didn’t hesitate for a second. “If you let me train you, you can.”
Gabe, Kendall, and I looked from one to the other and back again. Kendall nodded. I nodded. Gabe groaned. “All right. Arm us with knowledge.”
“As I explained three are chosen: the Protector, the Guardian, and the Conduit. The Protector is the essence of the eagle.” Another bird-like twitch as Alaina looked to Kendall. “She will take the same form the women of my village did—a winged heroine. The Protector is a creature of love that uses their flight, impenetrable wings, and healing feathers to protect those they love.”
“I’m going to grow wings and fly?”
“It appears that is your calling, yes.”
Keni twirled a lock of hair around her finger. “Hmm…I’m going to have to seriously reconsider my wardrobe options.”
Alaina seemed uncertain of how to respond to that. She opted to ignore it and move on to Gabe. “The Guardian, the sentry to the Conduit, takes the form of the lion. Their brute strength and raw, feline instincts make them a formidable adversary to any that means to harm their charges.”
“I’m going to turn into a big, hairy lion?” Gabe jammed his hands into the pockets of his jeans. One corner of his mouth pulled back in a smirk. “That’s actually kinda cool.”
“So that means Celeste is the…what did you call it?” Kendall asked.
Alaina’s avian eyes zeroed in on me. “She is the Conduit.”
I shifted uncomfortably. “What does that mean? What’s gonna happen to me?”
Her shoulders and wings shrugged simultaneously. “That I do not know.”
“What?” Everyone else knew exactly what was in store for them. It seemed cruel and unfair that she couldn’t offer me that same courtesy.
“Don’t you live with the Gryphon? Didn’t he clue you in on his plans for me before he booted your butt to earth?”
She held up one finger to correct me. “I live on the Spirit Plane where the Gryphon resides, but we are not roommates. And I do not know what it means for you because you will only be given talents and abilities as the need arises. Your circumstances will decide your path, and that I cannot predict.”
“Crappy excuse for a guide you are,” I grumbled.
“Have you not yet received any talents?”
“You know I have. I’m an empathe. You left me a nifty little note about it, remember?”
“Note?”
“Yeah.” I reached into the backpack and pulled out the note I had thrown in on a whim. I handed it to Alaina and watched her eagle eyes flick across the scroll as she read.
Her brows lowered. Her lips set in a firm line. “I did not give this to you. I have no answers as to who did. But…you can read this?”
“Of course I can read it. Why wouldn’t I be able to?”
Kendall jumped up and strode to Alaina. She peaked over her shoulder at my note. “Oh, yeah, that’s not English.”
I scrambled to my feet. “What? Of course it is!”
Alaina handed me the paper. “The empathe feels the emotions of others. This power is meant to guide by ‘listening’ to those in need of aid.” I read out-loud. “Seriously, are you guys messing with me?”
“Celeste.” Alaina’s tone was patient, if slightly bewildered. “That is written in Gaelic.”
“No it’s not,” I argued and checked the scroll again.
“An Bhfuil Gaeilige agat on will gale-geh ah-gut?”
“Gesundheit.”
She looked at me like she wanted to tie me to a table and do experiments on me. “Fascinating. You cannot speak the language, but you can read it.”
I threw my hands in the air in frustration. “Well, what the heck does that mean? And who left me this note?”
“It means someone else is attempting to guide and influence you.” Alaina’s delicate jaw tightened as she spoke. “As we do not know who it is or what their motives are, this is a matter of great worry.”
I held the parchment between two fingers and eyed it like it was a snake about to strike. “Someone that may want me dead left a note on my pillow? Fantastic. Anyway we can tell the Gryphon about this, so he can zap me a way to protect myself?”
Alaina folded her hands in front of her. “He already knows. He keeps an ongoing link with your thoughts, so he is aware of any situation that may require his attention. When he knows you are in need, he will grant you the power.”
The Gryphon was in my head? The “Protector of the Divine” rummaged around in my thoughts whenever he felt like it? I tried to think back to where my mind may have wandered since my bump on the cran
ium. No doubt there had been some unsavory stuff in there.
Alaina noticed the sweat that broke out across my forehead and my pained expression. She took my hand in hers. Her touch was unbelievably soft, like the whisper of a feather being dragged over my skin.
“Celeste, he only uses your thoughts and experiences to be his eyes and ears here on earth. He does not pry any further than that or pass any judgments.”
“But…but…I’m eighteen! Teenagers…as a rule…think dirty stuff!” The hyperventilation portion of my panic attack approached right on schedule.
With an exasperated sigh, Gabe grabbed the back of my neck and shoved my head between my knees. “Breathe, you dope.”
“Is she okay?” Kendall tried to brush my hair back off my face. I swatted her hands away. “She turned kind of grey.”
“She’s fine. She just needs to grow a pair and deal with it.” Gabe joyfully reveled in the opportunity to throw my own words back at me.
Kendall scooted closer and bent down to peek at me from under my knee. She spoke in a confidential whisper. “If you have some sort of sick or kinky thoughts that you’re worried about, maybe you should just tell Alaina. It might make you feel better to get it out.”
That brought me around quick. I flipped my head up and glared at my sister, who wore the sincere expression of someone who thought they were helping. “I do not have any sick or kinky thoughts!”
Gabe snorted his disbelief.
“Oh, like your mind is squeaky clean!”
“Never said it was,” Gabe shrugged. “I’m a twenty-year-old guy. If the Gryphon was in my head, he’d probably feel the need to shower often, if you know what I’m sayin’.”
“You’re disgusting,” Kendall grimaced.
“Yeah, he’s gross. But he’s making my point for me!”
Alaina intervened as the voice of reason. “Celeste, the Gryphon is an imperfect being that makes mistakes just like everyone else. In my village, he took lives. Human lives. He knows what he has done. He will pass no judgments on you. You have nothing to worry about.”
“Fine.” I huffed. “But I am not okay with this.”
“Noted. Now, can we get back to the legion of killers heading this way?”
“Sure, go ahead.”
“Somehow the Dark Army learned of our plans to call on you.” Alaina resumed pacing. “However, they have not figured in the earthly time difference. It was a decade ago that…things…were put into motion to commence in choosing a Conduit. Yet they do not realize that and are looking for a child around eight or nine years of age.”
I don’t like being the center of attention. More than that, I don’t like having a big, red bulls-eye painted on my back. “Uh, why are they looking for me at all?”
Alaina paused and looked at me as if I should already know that answer. “Because you are the Chosen One. You alone are linked to the Gryphon. If you die, he will be weakened. He cloaks the portal to the Spirit Plane. In his weakened state, he would not be able to maintain that glamour, and the Dark Army would gain entry. If that happens, if we cannot stop them, darkness will gain dominion over the earth.”
“My death could lead to the end of the world?”
“Yes.”
I looked longingly at Gabe and Kendall. “Does anybody want to switch callings?” To my dismay, they both shook their heads.
Alaina continued on as if she hadn’t heard me try to pawn my sacred calling off on someone else. “The demons enlisted to track you down are called Seekers. They had been searching in Michigan but seem to have followed you here.”
“The break-ins.”
“What was that?”
“The reason our Mom sent us here.” Gabe sat down on the fallen tree trunk and scooped a handful of rocks off the ground. One by one he tossed them into our makeshift fire-pit. The set of his jaw and the tensed tendons in his neck hinted to the stress and agitation that still gnawed at him. “Houses in our neighborhood kept getting broken into. Nothing was ever taken, but the places were trashed. It must have been the Seekers looking for her. How will we know these guys if we see them?”
“The Seeker that is here in Gainesboro is a shape-shifter that can transform into a…”
“Panther.” I finished for her. “That’s why he was nosing around Ella. He’s checking out kids about the right age. We have to stop him before he does something crazy like randomly killing kids in hopes of stumbling onto the right one.”
Alaina drew her wings in close to her back, which gave her a more human appearance. “No, he may threaten, but he cannot risk killing the Conduit. Barnabus wants to dispose of it himself.”
“Could you not refer to me as an ‘it’?”
“Apologies,” Alaina said with a formal bow of her head. “You must understand though that if a Seeker figures out who you are, it will notify Barnabus. Therefore if the opportunity presents itself, you must not hesitate. It very much is a kill or be killed situation.”
“Wait!” Kendall shrieked and hopped up off the ground. “We have to actually kill him? What if he’s not evil at all? What if he just fell into this like we did? We can’t destroy a life without giving the guy a chance to change!”
Gabe leaned back and supported his weight on his palms. Condescension dripped from his tone. “You wanna try to reason with the demon, Keni? Maybe get him into an evil rehab group? Then maybe he could get a job as a candy striper at a local hospital and devote his life to helping others. What do you think?”
Fury clouded Kendall’s normally perfect face. She pounced at Gabe, and slapped at any part of him he didn’t shield from her frantic blows. “I am a creature of love, dammit! Did you miss that part? I don’t want to hurt anyone!”
Gabe risked a look up in between blows, “You sure about that?” He asked with a victorious grin.
Keni backed off and straightened her clothing. I glanced over at Alaina to see how she felt about this show of sibling love. With one eyebrow raised, she muttered under her breath, “Kids have changed over the centuries.”
Awkward moment over, Gabe bounced off the log and clapped his hands in completely manufactured exuberance. “All right! We have absolutely no choice in this matter at all. It’s do or die, and I—for one—don’t wanna die. So, let’s get our abilities up and running. Where do we start?”
“I appreciate your enthusiasm.” Alaina totally missed his sarcasm. “For now, I am going to send the three of you home to get a good night’s rest. You are no good to me exhausted. First thing tomorrow, we awaken your inner warriors.”
The Conduit Page 16
