Betrayed (43 page)

“Then I’d like to move on.” Taking a deep breath, I exhaled slowly. “Do you al believe that I’m the Chosen One, the one to bring our people together?”

The Cardinals looked at each other then at me as if I’d lost my mind.

“What’s this about?” Cardinal Seth snapped.

“Do you or don’t you?” I chal enged them, cocking my head.

They nodded, some taking their time.

“Good. As the Chosen One, I have a few things I’d like to say.” My heart pounded, but I lifted my chin, a stubborn confidence I couldn’t explain washing over me. “Last week, I met a young demon, a nature-bender child.” I quickly explained about Angelia, the help she gave me in Seattle and in Las Vegas. “She and her friends are but a fraction of Special children out there. I promised her I’d find a way to get her and her friends away from the Lazari.” The Cardinals looked at each other with raised

brows,

clearly

surprised.

Silent

communication fol owed, but I didn’t listen in. I waited until they turned to scowl at me. Who did they think they were trying to intimidate? I scowled right back.

Grampa leaned forward and steepled his fingers. “What do you propose we do about this child and her friends?”

“Just remember, bringing them to the val ey is not wise,” Cardinal Seth said.

Kim had said exactly the same thing. Uncle and niece must think alike.

I nodded. “We, the other Guardians and I, discussed this at length and agreed it would not be a good idea. The Specials are young and might not have complete control of their powers. We can’t have them around humans.”

“The Circle might also not approve relocating them to Xenith,” Cardinal Hsia added.

“That may be true, Cardinal Hsia, but you could convince them. If the Circle agreed to let Bran join us and become a Guardian, these children’s terrible situation can sway them to agree again.

They’re victims just like Bran and his family were.

Besides, we kil ed their families and, therefore, are responsible for them. We can have the children on our side but—”

“Can we trust them?” Cardinal Hsia asked.

“When they learn we kil ed their families, they could turn against us,” Aunt Janel e added. “We don’t want them in Xenith when that happens.”

“Let the child finish speaking,” Cardinal Moira said slowly in her sultry voice, her eyes not leaving me. “But what?”

Thank you.

She gave me a slight nod and an encouraging smile.

“I meant, we can have these children on our side, but the question is do we force them or give them the choice to join us.” I glanced at their face, them the choice to join us.” I glanced at their face, waiting for their response.

“We’re at war and must do whatever we can to win it,” Cardinal Seth stated firmly. “Besides, they’re children. They need to be guided, not given options.”

Cardinals Hsia and Aunt Janel e made faces, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with Cardinal Seth.

Grampa watched everyone without giving any indication what he thought.

“What do you think, Lil?” Cardinal Moira asked.

“I think we should let them choose. Ask Darius and the Brotherhood to take them in. That way, they can grow up without being influenced by either us or the demons, until they’re old enough to decide for themselves which side they want to support.”

Silent communication between the Cardinals fol owed this time. Once again, I didn’t dare listen in.

Grampa nodded.

“Thank you for bringing this to our attention,” he said. “We’l let you know of our decision later.

Anything else?”

One down, three to go. “I know we’ve formed ties with the Brotherhood since they helped us seven months ago when Valafar kidnapped you and Cardinal Moira. But there are some Hermonites on the fringe whom we should welcome to work with us.

I’m talking about Jethro and his group of friends.

They don’t hurt humans but aren’t part of the Brotherhood. When we needed help last Friday, they offered it wil ingly. We should reciprocate and extend a hand of friendship to them.”

There were more frowns this time and a tel ing lack of communication.

“Anything else?” Grampa asked just as the doorbel rang. He glanced toward the living room.

“That’s Kylie. The last thing I’d like to add,” I said quickly, my face warming, heart pounding, “is that for me to do my work as the Chosen One, I need Bran to help me. So you must find a way to help him save his wings, or he stays here with us as a demon.

If you force him to leave, I’m leaving with him.” The shock on their faces would have been comical if the situation wasn’t so serious.

I nodded, hands fisting. “If he goes, I go, too.”
22. News and Surprises

Pushing my chair back, I stood on unsteady legs, blood roaring past my ears. Standing up to the Cardinals was nerve racking, and the look on their faces…. Bet they wished I wasn’t their precious Chosen One.

The doorbel rang again. Grabbing my backpack, I stumbled out of the dining room and raced to the front door.

Kylie stared at me with heavily made-up Goth eyes, hands pushed deep in her coat pockets. I didn’t need to engage my empathic abilities to pick up on her wariness. At least she was here despite it.

Behind her at the curb, inside his battered blue truck, was Cade. He waved. I gave him a brief wave, watched him take off, then stepped back to let Kylie inside. A glance toward the kitchen told me the Cardinals had teleported, probably to discuss my rebel iousness. Too bad—they started it by hiding things from me. As for Aunt Janel e…I didn’t want to go there.

Kylie fol owed me into my bedroom and closed the door. Sitting on my bed with my back to the headboard, I indicated the opposite end and waited. She and I often sat cross-legged facing each other and talked for hours.

She surprised me when she kicked off her shoes and scooted to the middle of the bed and crossed her legs.

My heart pounding, I gave her a tiny smile.

“Okay, here we are.”

She nodded but didn’t speak.

Not wanting to prolong the inevitable, I exhaled sharply and said, “Look. I know you feel uncomfortable around me. Fine. I get it. If I knew you’d react like this, I wouldn’t have—”

“No, don’t say that!” She leaned forward and grasped my wrist, her eyes suddenly tearing. “You trusted me with something personal, and I let you down. I’m so sorry for the way I freaked out on you, Lil. I’m, like, the worst friend ever. I tried to apologize, but I felt bad and was, uh, kind of scared.” She squeezed my wrist. “I know we’ve only known each other for a year.”

“Seven months,” I corrected her with a smile.

She wrinkled her nose. “You know I hate math. Okay, seven months. But it feels like I’ve known you forever. I don’t care if you’re a fortune tel er and talk to ghosts, you’re my best friend. Wil you forgive me?”

In a heartbeat.

“Yeah,” I said, laughing.

We hugged.

“I was a total jerk,” she whispered, sniffing.

“Yes, you were, mousse girl,” I joked. She wore too much mousse on her black hair. Her bangs were now dark blue. Funny I didn’t notice it earlier.

She sat back and gave me a shaky a smile.

“Now for the weird part…the reason I freaked out.”

“The dangling bowl thing didn’t do it for you?” I teased.

She didn’t smile back. “No, it was more than that. Something happened to me that day I couldn’t explain. I mean, you froze the bowl and explained how you did it, yet there was this period when I heard you and Celeste talk about stuff. You know, Guardians and demons, and other weird names.” There was no way she could have heard us while frozen. It wasn’t possible.

“I couldn’t sleep that night,” Kylie continued. “I was sure it was my imagination, a dream, some was sure it was my imagination, a dream, some Gypsy magic induced state. Then you got the phone cal in the cafeteria, and it happened again. Only this time, I was seated there at the table with Cade and the others. Who’s Valafar?” she asked.

Panic had long since taken over, and my mind slowed down to a snail pace. Heart thumping hard, each beat louder than the last, I blinked.

“Excuse me?”

“The man on the phone. He cal ed you Lilith, a name you made me swear to never use or you’d turn me into a toad.” She grinned, remembering. Then the grin disappeared from her lips. “He also cal ed you daughter, but you told me you never knew your father.” She gave me a sheepish smile. “I overheard your entire phone conversation, Lil…in my head.

How is that possible? Is he real y your father? How did he hack into the phone system? Is he a Gypsy with powers, too?” Her voice then dropped to a whisper. “Why am I hearing his voice and yours in my head?”

“Oh, Kylie.” I gnawed on my lower lip, my mind racing. She was the medium. She had to be. It was the only explanation. My stomach roiled, and the urge to throw up washed over me.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Kylie screeched. “Did you do something to me when you froze the bowl? Zap me with Gypsy dust or something?”

I covered my mouth. My first instinct was to freeze her while I figured out my next move, but the freezing thing was pointless.

She peered at me. “Lil? Say something.

You’re freaking me out again.”

I swal owed, reaching a decision. A very bad and il ogical decision but I couldn’t see any way out.

We either moved forward or went back to the way things were. If she freaked out, I’d erase her memories. If not…I sighed. I’d stil have to erase her memory, just later, not now. Humans weren’t supposed to know about us.

“When I froze the bowl, I panicked and froze you and Cade, too. Celeste and I did talk about…

demons and stuff.” The words stumbled out of me like water gushing out of a geyser. Any moment, I expected Grampa or someone to appear and catch me breaking another Guardian law.

Kylie’s eyes widened. I expected her to jump up and run. She was way out there most of the time, but this was reality, not fantasy.

Instead of running, she scooted closer. “You can freeze people, too?”

Wincing, I nodded.

“How?”

“I see psi energies, or auras of things and people, and, uh, can move them with my mind.”

“Shut up.” Her eyes stayed fixed on me, unblinking and wide. “Anything?”

Last Monday’s incident with the car outside the school flitted through my mind. “Yes.” Her eyes sparkled. “Whoa. That’s just…wow.

What else can you do? Read minds? Tel the future?

Talk to spirits?”

Relief felt sweet as it swept over me. I released a breath I didn’t know I was holding.

“Promise me you’l never, ever breathe a word of this to anyone.”

She pretended to zip her lips. “Not even to Cade or my family.”

It took nearly an hour to explain everything. At first Kylie asked questions and for demonstrations, then she became quiet as I moved to the origin of the Guardians—how Xenia, the daughter of the fal en angel Azazel, used the Kris Dagger to create Xenith and relocated there with good Nephilim to continue the work of the fal en angels by guarding humans.

Then I moved to our powers, which we inherited from the fal en angels, the rebel ion by some of the Nephilim and why we hunt them down. Last, I talked about Bran and the problems he was having and why.

When I finished, it was quarter to four, and Kylie’s eyes were glazed. Maybe I overloaded her brain with too much information.

“A vampire lives in the val ey?” she whispered.

“A Nosferatu,” I corrected her. “And she’s only half.”

Without saying another word, Kylie reached for a tissue from the table and scrubbed the dark lipstick from her lips, then she went to the bathroom to scrub her face free of make-up. When she came back, she flopped on my bed, stared at the ceiling and pinched herself.

“Okay, I’m not dreaming. My best friend is part angel and fights demons. She’s dating a hottie part angel and fights demons. She’s dating a hottie who just happens to be part demon, except he’s not real y a demon because demons are bad Nephilim who want human souls and Bran has no interest in hoarding souls—”

“You don’t have to repeat everything I told you,” I cut in, smiling.

She sat up, her eyes wide. “Oh yes I do. I want to make sure I didn’t miss anything. Did you say you have the special dagger created by Azazel in here somewhere?” She giggled. “I can’t believe I said that aloud. I mean, Azazel was one of the most powerful fal en angels, one of their leaders. He could be your ancestor.” Her eyes widened.

“There’s more I need to tel you before I leave,” I said quickly, hoping to distract her.

“Please, show me the dagger first.” She gripped my hand and rocked with excitement.

I frowned. “Why?”

“Duh. It’s the most powerful weapon ever.” I stood and raised my hand.
Come.
The drawer to the right of my dresser opened and the Kris Dagger floated out and settled in my palm.

Kylie’s eyes widened as the ancient words snaked up my arm, disappeared under my shirt only to reappear along my neck.

“Whoa, your eyes,” she whispered.

I shrugged. “I know. They glow.”

“And there’s something different about you.

Scary.”

I glared at her. “Scary good or scary bad?”

“I’d-hate-to-meet-you-in-an-al ey scary.” She got up and raised her hand as though to touch the wavy blade then paused. “Can I…?”

“Sure.” I let the dagger go.
Go to her.

It didn’t move, just daggled in the air between us.

Go.
Instead of going to Kylie, it floated back into the drawer. I stared as the drawer closed.

Weird. Maybe it sensed Valafar’s energy in her. Or it was defying me.

“It is being stubborn today. Maybe next time.” For a moment, Kylie just stared at the drawer then started asking more questions.

I sighed and flopped on the bed. “I can’t answer
all
your questions about everything today,” I said on a sigh and glanced at my watch. “I have to go to practice in ten minutes.”

“With Leather Face?” she asked with a grin.

“Yes.” It was a relief to be able to tel her things without resorting to lies. “But there’s something important you need to know.” She sat on the chair and grinned. “Okay.