Betrayed (18 page)

Silence fol owed. The others made eye contact and smiled uneasily. I cringed. Who cared that some old Guardian foretold of a united Nephilim race under a red-headed leader with powers over al elements like Goddess Xenia. My powers were psi, and that was it.

Izzy threw me an apologetic look and spoke first. “I’d completely forgotten about the Chosen One’s destiny. I guess to us, Lil is just Lil, the newest member of the team who always seems to get in trouble.”

The others laughed.

Bran nodded. “I understand that, but the fact is she’s not just the newest—”

I gripped his hand and cut him off. I hated this
Chosen One
crap. “Thanks, Izzy. I like to be treated like everyone else and sorry for being…me, for lack of a better word. I don’t know anything about this destiny thing or uniting the Nephilim, but if helping Angelia and her friends is good for our side, I want to do it. But like Bran said, I need your help.”

“How many Specials live with Solange?” Remy asked.

“Ten, but Angelia said there are more elsewhere. She could be exaggerating, I don’t know.

Whatever their numbers, they survived the attack on Coronis Isle.”

“Bringing them to the val ey is out of the question,” Kim stated in a firm tone.

“Why?” we al asked at the same time.

“They can’t control their powers yet.” Her voice rose and several people at the neighboring table glanced at us. She lowered her voice as she continued. “How wil the Council ensure human safety?”

I could imagine a kindergartener creating energy bal s or bending objects and spooking other children. Remy and Sykes stil wore their special gloves at school just so they didn’t cause accidents.

“Kim is right,” I replied. “The Academy is too smal to accommodate them
and
the new trainees.

They haven’t even finished the dorms.”

“What about Xenith?” Izzy asked. “Coronis Isle was on the other end of Xenith, so sending them there would be like going home.”

Sykes chuckled. “Hardly going home. Xenith is paradise. Coronis Isle was a frozen hel -hole.”

“I could pitch the idea to the Council, but it wil

“I could pitch the idea to the Council, but it wil take some convincing,” I said. “If they won’t let Nephlings like me and my mother visit, how wil they accept the Specials?”

The discussion moved to Xenith and their archaic laws until Bran cut in. “Can we finish this discussion later? It’s getting late and I stil have to leave a message for Zedekiah before we head home.”

“What do you think happened to him?” Sykes asked.

Bran shrugged. “I don’t know, but I hope he escaped the hounds if Solange wasn’t control ing them. If he’s out there, I’l find him.” As we left the restaurant, another thing I couldn’t control returned to haunt me—the medium.

Hopeful y, it wasn’t Kylie, or McKenzie, or Amelia….

An idea popped in my head on how to get al of them together without arousing their suspicion.

The more I thought about it, the more I liked it.

“Guys,” I raised my voice to get everyone’s attention. We were the only ones in the elevator, so I talked freely. “I’m going to throw Bran a welcome-to-the-val ey party next Friday and you are al invited.” Bran shook his head before I even finished speaking. “No. I hate parties.”

I hugged his arm. “You’l love this one.” He scowled. “Why?”

“Because I am giving it. You also suggested we have one to catch the medium.” Bran closed his eyes and groaned. I gave the others a hopeful smile.

“This is also going to be my
first party, so I’l need some pointers from you guys.”

Kim and Izzy grinned. Remy wore his usual poker face but nodded. Sykes smirked. I had no idea what he was planning. Whatever it was, I was sure it spel ed trouble.

***

Grampa and Aunt Janel e were talking in the hal way outside the weapons room at HQ when we arrived back home. Going by their dark hunter clothes and weapons, they must have just arrived from a hunt or were about to leave. When Aunt Janel e teleported away, Grampa looked at his watch and signaled us to stop.

I searched his face for signs of anger, and at the same time, tried to lock on his emotions. Nothing came from him, but that didn’t surprise me.

Grampa’s empathic powers trumped mine by far.

Wariness from my friends slammed into me before I lifted my shields and shut them out.

“We stopped for a bite,” I said, trying to buffer them in case Grampa was pissed. “I didn’t eat much because of the medium thing and my friends hadn’t

—”

“It’s okay. Seraphina told us,” Grampa explained.

Of course she did. Seraphina, the Civilian hostess at the Eiffel Tower Restaurant probably reported our presence as soon as we got there.

“There’s a meeting in the conference room,” Grampa added. “So change and join us.” We hustled inside the room, returned our weapons and disappeared in our closets to change back into normal clothes. I glanced at my watch and sighed. Ten o’clock. Physics and English lit homework awaited me.

“Does anyone else hate these last minute meetings?” Kim asked. “Somebody needs to tel the Cardinals we need sleep.”

“You want to volunteer?” Izzy teased.

“No,” Kim retorted. “Hey, Remy? As our team leader, we can gripe to you and you forward our complaints to the old geezers. Right?”

“As long as you take the credit, Goldie,” Sykes answered as he walked past my closet.

“Wasn’t talking to you, smarty pants,” Kim snapped.

“If you haven’t noticed, they hold these meetings when there’s an emergency,” Remy said in a calm tone. “Come on, let’s not keep them waiting.” Their voices grew faint as they left the room.

For once, I agreed with Kim. The Cardinals hunted, ate and rested briefly to restore their powers, then went back to hunting. To go without sleep was an ability the Cardinals had but we didn’t. It came with age.

Bran, dressed in black pants and a dark-green polo shirt, was waiting when I stepped out of my changing room. He grabbed my hand and hustled me out of the weapons room, the door sealing behind us.

“What do you think is going on?” I asked.

“Maybe the Cardinals discovered the identity of the guide.”

My eyes widened, excitement zipping through My eyes widened, excitement zipping through me. “That would be amazing.”

We ran toward the conference room. The hal ways usual y buzzed with activity twenty-four-seven. They were deserted, the first sign that something was off.

I hope it’s the guide thing,
I telepathed Bran.

No more worries about a traitor. We can force him
to reveal who the medium is.

I was only kidding,
he said.

I tugged his hand.
It’s possible, so don’t jinx…

oh my.

We paused in the doorway of the conference room. It was packed. Cardinals and Civilians debated verbal y and telepathical y, the tension in the room obvious. Bran nudged me forward to sit beside Remy, Sykes, and…Cardinal Moira, the Cardinal Energy Guardian. If she was here then something big was going on.

It had to be the guide thing. No more medium hanging over my head. Anticipation of the news sent my heartbeat into overdrive. I sat, looked around and fidgeted. My gaze connected with Cardinal Moira and I smiled. She winked back. Could she be the one?

Even though she had a house in the val ey, across from ours actual y, we rarely saw Cardinal Moira. As usual, she outshined everyone with her black leather hunting clothes. The way her pale skin enhanced the white streak in her black hair was attention grabbing. Aunt Janel e and Cardinal Hsia hung on her words. I stil believed Moira released pheromones men found irresistible. Even now, several of the instructors kept looking at her with dopey eyes.

Kim’s uncle, Cardinal Air Guardian Seth, conversed with Grampa to my left. Every time I thought of who could be in cahoots with Valafar’s medium, he always came to mind. Something about him rubbed me the wrong way. But he couldn’t be that relaxed if he were guilty.

At the other end of the table sat the Civilians

—Master Haziel and the trainers, the five members of the High Council including the chairman, Kim’s father. Haziel and the trainers rarely attended Cardinal meetings. Was one of them the traitor?

Grampa stood.

Everyone stopped talking, eyes turned toward him. I swal owed, so tense I could snap. Bran took my hand under the table and squeezed.

“Okay. Everyone is here, so let’s start.

Cardinal Moira brought us some very disturbing news tonight, which we must share with everyone.

The demon world has formed a council. Hermonite Council, they cal it. It has representatives from the four houses—the House of Neteru, which is made up of mainly nature-benders, House of Lazari, House of Nosferatu, and House of Werenephils.” Dang, the meeting had nothing to do with the guide. The let down made me want to cry.

“Weren’t most of the Werenephils destroyed on Coronis Isle?” someone asked, yanking me back to the conference.

Grampa nodded. “Some of the Werenephils were on the island when we destroyed it, but others live among humans. They just don’t show their true form.”

Boredom settled over me as I listened to my grandfather. Most demons in religious books and mythology were usual y Werenephils—part human and part animal. They wouldn’t dare show their true forms to humans without causing mass hysteria.

Bigfoot, Mothman, and Chupacabra tried with dire consequences. Lazari were a sub-group of Werenephils.

Remy raised a finger. “From our encounter with the Lazari today, we know some of them are working with nature-benders.”

Murmurs fol owed.

“If the Lazari aren’t unified, chances are the other houses aren’t either. We can pit them against each other.” Grampa leaned forward and stared at the faces around the table. “Whenever demons become organized, the world experiences mass mortalities.”

At his words, I sat up. The hated hol ow feeling settled in my stomach.

“I’m talking about wars, genocide, famine, disease outbreaks. Unless we want another world war or an epidemic, we
must
stop them.” He looked down at Kim’s dad. “The chairman wil be in contact with the other High Councils so we know what’s happening across the globe.”

Kim’s dad nodded.

Grampa glanced at Mrs. D. “We want the Psi team to ante up their surveil ance of demonic activity.

team to ante up their surveil ance of demonic activity.

Stay in touch with the field teams in our sector. If the teen Guardians are on an assignment, get them support in the city they’re headed without delay. That means knowing when and where demons are, how ma ny
before
we send anyone in, and continued surveil ance while they’re there. Organized demons are sneaky. They seduce and play on your sympathies. When those fail, they attack.” The hol ow feeling in my stomach grew.

Thirteen years ago, Valafar and his minions came after the Guardians and massacred almost al our people. I lost both my mother and grandmother in that raid.

“We cannot stop them without everyone doing their part,” my grandfather continued. He glanced around the table. Nods fol owed.

“Now back to the reason for their new order.

This concerns mainly our Junior Cardinals.” He fixed each of us with a deliberate stare. “The demons plan to choose a leader, an event we haven’t seen in mil ennia. From now on, you don’t just vanquish them. Interrogate them first. Don’t trust just one source. Verify everything one says before you bring that information to us. We need to know when and where this event wil take place. Understood?” We nodded.

“Good. Questions? Comments?” He looked around.

No one spoke. My friends looked at me and cocked their brow, silently asking me to speak up. I knew what they wanted but shook my head. There was no way I could bring up Angelia and her friends now. The mistrust toward demons ran too high. I needed to work them in a conversation, starting with Grampa, maybe Aunt Janel e.

Grampa nodded. “The meeting is adjourned.” Everyone started to talk at once. Several groups poured into the hal way, others remained seated while some teleported.

Grampa stopped by Bran’s chair. “How was Vegas?”

Bran looked up and swal owed. “We had some setbacks, sir.”

“Setbacks happen, just keep searching.” Grampa briefly gripped Bran’s shoulder. “Do you need help enrol ing Celeste in school tomorrow?”

“No, sir,” Bran said, shaking his head. “I have that covered.”

“Good. Hsia wil be there just in case.” Grampa patted my hair.
Are you okay?

I touched his hand and smiled.
Yes, Grampa.

I’m leaving now.

They were going demon hunting. I stood and pressed my lips on his cheek.
Love you. Take care
out there.

I always do, sweetheart. Always do. Love
you, too.
He kissed my temple then teleported.

Bran and I skirted around the Civilians standing in the room. Once in the hal way, he pul ed me to the side to let Remy and Sykes pass. The two Guardians headed to our right, preferring to walk home instead of teleporting. They weren’t the only ones. Most houses had secret entrances in their basements, which led to tunnels and connected with HQ. Because of my fear of confined spaces, I rarely used them, but I wanted to know what Remy and Sykes thought about tonight’s news.

As though he noticed me watching the two Guardians, Bran hugged me closer. His display of jealousy was so groundless. No matter what he claimed, I knew he didn’t like me hanging out with Remy or Sykes without him.

“I’m a bit disappointed this wasn’t about the guide,” I griped.

“I know. But this is big, too. I’l check on Celeste, make sure she knows what’s going on, then come over.”

The acrid scent of hel hounds stil clung to me and I desperately needed a shower. “Give me fifteen, twenty minutes. Oh, and I stil need help with physics, so come prepared to answer questions.”

“I’m always prepared, Sunshine.” With a sexy grin, he teleported.

Trying to catch up with Remy and Sykes, I zipped by people stil yapping about the meeting. I sucked my breath and clenched my fist as I hurried past exiting tunnels leading to various homes. After I passed the one to Aunt Janel e’s house, I realized I couldn’t catch up with the guys. I slowed down and entered our tunnel. High enough for a grown man to walk upright and wide enough for two people to walk side by side, light sources on the ceiling and the floor il uminated it, just like the underground HQ