INVISIBLE FATE BOOK THREE: ALEX NOZIAK (INVISIBLE RECRUITS) (22 page)

Chapter Forty-seven

It took a little over ten minutes for Ling Mai to contact all the team members and what sounded like a few more allies to assemble in her room. When she ended her last conversation I asked, “Aren’t you a little concerned about my attracting Weres? After all I should still be marked.”

She shook her head. “Bran informed me that when he was unable to remove the tracking device on you he did the next best thing.”

“Which was?” I was getting mighty tired of folks conspiring to take care of me like I was some fragile, conservatory flower. I was more a weed, through and through. Hack me down again and again, but don’t expect me to stay down.

“He covered your scent with his own.”

I thought of those moments in the bedroom, feeling my face heat. “I don’t understand.”

“The Weres could no longer track you because they couldn’t use your scent.”

“Instead they’d find Bran’s?”

She nodded.

I slid into the nearest chair, my knees no longer solid. No wonder Padraig was fishing at my father’s. Maybe he’d expected if he found Bran he would have found me. Or one of us in hand was better than continue to seek me.

I was still shaking my head at what Bran had done for me when the first knock hit the door. He’d sacrificed himself for me more than once and that was just in the last twenty-four hours.

When would he stop twisting me in knots? Just when I thought I had a handle on how I felt about him everything changed. Hating him for killing Van was easier than caring for him, and I feared caring might be easier than what was roiling through me now. I feared for him. Didn’t want to face a world without him in it and didn’t know if we stood a chance finding and freeing him.

Focus on saving
his sorry ass. Then deal with … whatever … later.

Too bad my emotions wouldn’t fall in line so easily.

“Alex?”

I glanced up, not aware Sabina had been standing in front of me. Some
hotshot agent I was.

“Hey
.” It didn’t have a lot of oomph to it, and then I realized who I was seeing. “Why are you here?”

“Ling Mai seemed to think I could help.” She smiled over at the Director. More wheels within spinning wheels.
Sabina waved Herc over. “In fact, the director asked if I’d be interested in being trained.”

“For what?” That wiped the smile off her face. Way to go Alex. Way to kick the stuffing out of a kitten, but she had no idea how devious
Ling Mai could be with her “offers of help. ”

Sabina squared her shoulders in a move I recognized only too well. She was growing her attitude. “I’m going to be a real witch.” She glanced at Herc. “And we’re going to be trained as agents.”

I stood up, towering over her. “You’re a kid. And this sure isn’t a game for kids.” Hell, it wasn’t a game for adults either but no point in sharing that because it didn’t take any witchy magic to see she wasn’t going to listen to a single thing I said.

Oh yeah, attitude in spades.

“Look, Sabina.” I tried a different approach, though back-pedaling wasn’t my style. “You should be doing teen things.”

“Such as?”

Oh crap. “I dunno, like proms and football games. First dates. First kisses. Girlfriends. That kind of stuff.”

“You seem to forget I’ve been living on the streets. There are no proms, football games, girlfriends where I’ve been.” Bitterness etched her words, cutting into me too as she glanced at a silent Ling Mai. “This is the first chance I’ve been offered in a pretty crappy life.” She turned back to me, determination steeling each word. “I’m grabbing my chance with both hands, with or without your help. Or your permission.”

“Okay.” I held my hands in front of me. “I deserve that. You’re right and I’m wrong.” At her hesitant smile I added, “But don’t expect to hear me say that again. Got it?”

She jumped forward and wrapped me in a hug. I could see Herc’s grin over her shoulder as I wondered how to protect her without her knowing I was protecting her. I hadn’t done anything so far, except embroil her in a boatload of trouble.

I pulled back, bracing both her shoulders with my hands. “You’ve got to promise me one thing.”

“What?” Wariness slipped back in her voice and in her eyes. If she could just hold on to those hard won lessons she’d already learned
, she just might survive.

“Don’t go taking any chances, any risks until you’re fully trained. You got me?”

She gave me a two-handed salute. “Yes, Momma.”

I gave her a one-finger salute in return. “I soooooo am not your momma.”

“Oh, Lord have mercy, who’s claiming you?” Jaylene laughed as she walked through the door.

“Love you too
.” I smiled back, aware how the tension eased from my shoulders.

Then Mandy and New Girl walked in.

Well some moments lasted only a few seconds.

Stone was the last person arriving, or so I thought
, until one more tap sounded on the door.

I looked at Kelly who shrugged, then her eyes widened as she faced the door and saw who was entering.

I turned in my seat, not sure who I expected.

It sure as hell wasn’t my brother and father.

Chapter Forty-eight

Oh, no Ling Mai wasn’t. She so wasn’t going to pull my family deeper into this mess. Not until we had a chance to sort out a few things amongst ourselves. Which wasn’t going to be happening anytime soon. Not until I lost the huge lump of anger choking me.

Ling Mai played gracious hostess, looking at the group as she announced, “This is Jeb Noziak
, and his son, Van.”

There were a few hellos and head nods even as all eyes snapped from my family to me like a stinging rubber band.

“You know about this?” Kelly leaned forward to ask as Mandy gave a small snicker. Obviously her family had no skeletons in their closets.

I stood, answering Kelly’s question
, as well as the unspoken ones from the group in the same breath. “I don’t think this is such a good idea.” I looked at Ling Mai. A look that screamed–oh, no, you don’t. Fat lot of good it did.

Van waltzed up to me and slung his arm around my shoulder.
“Nice to see you again too, little sis. You ran off in such a snit earlier you didn’t get to hear a few things you needed to hear.”

That took the cake. All the cake as I glared up at him. Not an easy feat as my head was smooched in the crook of his arm. “I don’t do snits and you, or more specifically, dear
Dad here, are responsible for Bran being taken prisoner by a crazy slime ball who wants to gut him in the process of unleashing terror on the world. That’s all I needed to hear.”

“Bran knew what he was walking into,” my father said smoothly
, as he walked away from the door and stood amongst the circle of us sitting on chairs and the room’s single gigantean couch.

His words stopped me in my tracks. “What do you mean, he knew?”

Dad didn’t answer me directly but instead glanced at Ling Mai. Why was I feeling more and more like I was the last person in on the must-know crap swirling around? Maybe because I was.

I pushed Van’s arm off me. Was it only hours ago I was so very happy to see him alive? I’d forgotten what a pain in the backside he could be.

He smiled as if he knew exactly what I was thinking, leaned in and gave me a hug, whispering, “Love ya too, Alex.”

Then he skipped backwards and grabbed a seat next to Kelly who scooted over to make room for him.

In my next life, I was going to be nice like Kelly because I sure wasn’t feeling the love right now. I turned back to my dad. “I asked what you meant about Bran knowing.”

“He knew there was a good chance he’d be apprehended by the Council if he contacted me
, and he still chose to do so.”

I was beginning to hate that word. Choose. Chose. Choices. Bull-puckey! As if any of us chose anything. Cr
ap happens and then you shovel as fast as you can.

“So you’re saying Bran walked eyes open into an ambush?” I knew the warlock was smarter than that.

“To save you, yes.”

Oh, fuddelbuckets. He so didn’t say that.

But when I heard Kelly’s sigh I knew he had. She was a dyed-in-the-fluffy-cotton romantic.

“I didn’t ask him to,” I said with a high breathless sound to my voice I couldn’t control.

“Bran knew that unless Padraig found an alternative to using you he’d keep coming after you,” Van added, like this whole mess made perfect sense.

It didn’t.

“And he let himself be taken?” New Girl asked. I was with her. Go figure.

“Part of a larger plan,” my father said, stepping near Ling Mai who inclined her head, adding, “We need every resource we can get to outwit Padraig.”

“What exactly is this Padraig?” Kelly asked, saving me the trouble.

“A druid.” Van was the one who answered, looking directly at her with a smile I hadn’t seen on his face since high school and his first over-his head
crush.

“I thought druids were tree huggers,” New Girl piped in, turning everyone’s attention to her, except mine as Van leaned in to ask Kelly a question. I saw her blush, dip her head and whisper something back that had Van’s brows arch. He said something else that had Kelly pausing then giving him an I-dare-you smile, so unlike her I wanted to jump up and pull them apart. Van was way too experienced for sweet Kels. She didn’t realize there was a place inside him that might never heal.

A cough dragged my attention back to the group and my dad looking at me like he’d just asked a question.

Obviously he had by everyone’s expectant glances as I said, “Sorry. You said something?”

“I asked if you wanted to add anything about druids,” he repeated, his look saying he too had been watching Van interacting with Kelly. Which Dad probably took as a good sign. Sort of like watching someone awake from a dormant state.

“Druids?” I’d only met one once before who
’d tried to rape me when I was thirteen. “Nasty, arrogant pricks who think the world still deserves to bow down and kiss their feet. Egos a million miles wide, dominant personalities, sneaky rat-bastards.” I looked around at the stunned expressions. “I think that about covers what I know.”

“Jeez
.” Jaylene whistled. “Tell us what you really think girlfriend.”

“I’m sure Fraulein Fassbinder will love to add your insights to her grimoire,” Ling Mai interceded, a small smile dancing around her mouth before shifting to her all-business-all-the-time mode. “Now that we have an idea of who we’re facing
, let’s get back on target here.”

“Is this when the rest of us expendable pawns are going to be let in on this almighty plan?” I asked
, and yes, you could’ve cut my snark with an axe.

Dad gave me that stink-eye I recognized from childhood. But I wasn’t a kid anymore and my cutting glance at him said as much.

So instead of answering me directly he glanced to Ling Mai. At her nod, he pulled up a chair and sat down. “Looks like we’re all ready to hear the plan now.”

Why did that not make me feel much better?

Chapter Forty-nine

There were okay plans, might-work plans, and then oh-hell-no plans. After   thirty minutes of my father’s patient laying out of each step of our let’s-save-Bran-while-stopping-a-determined demon plan, a demon who’d been looking for a way back to Earth, for three thousand years, we were way deep into the oh-hell-no plan.

I hadn’t said a word. Not because I didn’t have a few doubts, more than a few, but because I didn’t want another public smack down. I was still reeling from the last one. But when
Dad described Sabina’s assistance in this cockamamie scheme I rose to my feet.

“Oh, no you don’t,” I said, spearing both Ling Mai and him with my gaze. “Sabina’s too young and too inexperienced to be involved today. End of story.”

“Not your choice,” Sabina jumped to her own feet.

Choice.
If I heard that phrase one more time, I was going to take off heads.

“You said you would wait until you were properly and fully trained.” I stabbed a finger in her direction, not caring if she sassed me by calling me momma, g-ma or great g-ma. “You are not going to get hurt because of me.”

Kelly reached up to touch Sabina’s hand, then looked at me, before speaking, “Alex, it’s going to take all of our abilities and all of our help to stop this de … this really bad guy. Sabina wants to help. How can you deny her that?”

Et-tu
, Kelly?

So much for thinking
my best friend had my back. Kelly of all people, I expected to understand. I saw the look Van cast her, a quizzical glance that at least reassured me I wasn’t the only one caught broadsided by Kelly’s comments.

I looked to the room at large. “She’s a kid, guys. Since when do we put kids at risk? Isn’t that what we’re fighting for? To protect the Sabinas of the world?”

Vaughn glanced away, obviously not comfortable with my words, but it was Mandy who eyed me. “What about you?” she said, for once not jabbing me with her tone but simply asking a question.

“I don’t know what you mean. Am I going to fight? Hell, yes. But risk Sabina? Doesn’t make sense.”

“I’m asking what you would do if you were Sabina’s age and knew you might be able to help, even in a small way, to stop this Zaradian? Would you fight or be willing to sit on the sidelines?”

That was not fair. “She’s not me.” I glanced at where Sabina still stood, a small smile playing about her lips. “She has no training as a witch and no training as an agent
, and no idea what she’s getting herself into. “

“Neither
did you at her age.” Mandy kept that calm, even, tone and expression I wanted to wipe from her face. Not because she was being unreasonable, for once, but because she had a point. A frustratingly valid point.

“Fudge a bunny,” I mumbled, sinking back to my chair.

“Is that anatomically possible?” Kelly asked, earning a few snorts, including one from Van who had to duck his head until he could bring himself back under control.

“Doesn’t mean I’m happy with the situation,” I said specifically to my dad, Ling Mai and Sabina.

“Then we’re back to business as usual,” Mandy inserted.

I gave her
an I’ll-get-you-and-soon glance which she ignored.

When I held my tongue, which I could, every now and then, my dad looked around. “Then we’re clear about what we’ll be doing?”

He looked at each person and only when they nodded did he slap his hands on his knees and stand. “Good. Then let’s get started.”