Acropolis (20 page)

My hands are gripping the sink now, my nails
scraping the porcelain.

"Are you saying you planned this? Are you
saying we should fight?"

Planned is a callous word, Emma. I am not
inconsiderate.

I stare at the mirror.

"How can I trust you? You're not a hybrid.
You should want us dead. And why do the Demons keep having children
with mortals if they fear us?"

It's a lot of questions, and I don't expect
her to answer them all. She's already fading.

Even as a Demon, I am not linked to Hell,
Emma. I earned my kingdom on the moon. Hell wanted new recruits for
their armies. They thought they could create them by lying with
mortal men and women. In a way they have, but they didn't count on
any of you taking after your mortal parent. If you want more
answers, find Alessandro. And trust your gargoyle, Sweet One. He's
worth trusting.

And with this she is gone. My knuckles
are white against the sink, my eyes shadowed in the mirror.
There is going to be an uprising, Emma. You will
lead it.
I am no leader, and I don't trust
Enepsigos.

"Emma?"

I hear Conor outside the bathroom door, but I
don't move. I'm not afraid, I'm anxious. There is too much going on
in my head, too many complicated feelings.

The bathroom door opens, and I see Conor
materialize in the mirror behind me. He's wearing a clean pair of
jeans, and a white t-shirt, and he's using a towel to dry his hair.
He pauses when he sees my face, my clenched knuckles against the
sink.

"Emma?" he asks.

He reaches out, a hand resting against
my fist.
Trust your gargoyle, Sweet One.
He's worth trusting.
My eyes meet Conor's in the
mirror.

"I just met my real mother," I say.

Conor's hand tightens on mine, and he looks
around the room, his body tense. I let go of the sink and place my
free hand on top of his, pulling it away from mine.

"She's gone," I add as I spin to face him.
"Who is Alessandro?"

I don't give him time to ask questions of his
own. Conor's eyes narrow.

"Your mother give you that name?" Conor
asks.

I nod.

"Enepsigos did, yes."

I still don't like calling her my mother.
Conor glances around the bathroom again.

"He's the head of a group called the Swords
of Solomon. They are a group of warriors that protect the secrets
and artifacts of the ancient wise King Solomon." Conor leans over,
his face close to mine. "What did Enepsigos tell you, Em?"

I give him the condensed version.

"She told me to find Alessandro and to trust
my gargoyle."

Conor's brow lifts.

"Your
gargoyle?"

I shrug while fighting a smile. Conor has a
lot of pride. Referenced as a belonging is stinging it. Conor's jaw
tightens as he glances at the mirror over my head.

"Well, at least she's smart enough to realize
you should trust me."

"Good pride save there, Macho Man," I say
with a grin as Conor points at the bathroom door.

"You, sweetheart, have a class. Now would be
a good time to walk."

He can act grumpy all he wants. I know
better. I push past him, moving into the residence hall before
stopping at the exit to the courtyard beyond.

"I need to talk to Alessandro," I say
softly.

I know Conor is close, and I hear him
sigh.

"Did your mother say why?" he asks.

"
Enepsigos
. And yes, she did."

"Are you going to tell me?"

I look over my shoulder at him.

"She told me I would be leading an uprising
and that Alessandro would know more."

Conor's eyes widen.

"You? An uprising? Emma . . ."

"Don't say it. I know I'm not the type. I'm
just telling you what she told me."

Conor places a hand on my shoulder, his grip
firm.

"No, Honey, you are the type. You are more
the type than you think you are. I'm done underestimating you. Your
mother . . . Enepsigos has the ability to see the future . . ."

Conor is gripping my shoulders firmly with
both hands now, and he turns me, his face serious.

"Emma, you can't tell anyone what she has
told you. Do you understand?"

His fear is paralyzing.

"Why?" I whisper.

Conor's face darkens.

"Because if the Council were to discover your
mother has predicted you will lead an uprising, you will be
exterminated."

My blood runs cold.

"W-what?"

Conor is shaking me now.

"Don't repeat it, Em. No one. Understand? For
one, we don't know what kind of uprising she's referring to. Your
mother is a Demon. The Council will assume the worst."

I nod and Conor relaxes, his eyes locked on
mine.

"I'll contact Alessandro."

I nod again as Conor leads me gently outside.
I'm not ready to mix with the other hybrids again so soon, but I'm
beginning to realize my choices are few.

Trust your gargoyle, Sweet One. He's worth
trusting."

Chapter 29

Conor

I'm beginning to wonder what I've gotten
myself into. I am demoted, I am reassigned to Emma, I am
reinstated, and I foolishly volunteer to be her Guardian. Now I am
embroiled in a complicated mess. It probably doesn't help that I'm
pretty sure I've fallen for my own mark.

"You okay, Reinhardt?" Grace Withers
asks.

The Guardians are sitting on the garden's
stone wall, our eyes trained on the class before us. Considering
the subject is first aid and the instructor is Marion, none of us
are worried about violence.

"I heard your girl Emma has caught herself a
drex," Tom Henry says, his eyes narrowed.

There are urgent whispers down the wall. My
side throbs with the reminder, and I fight not to rub the phantom
wound that almost killed me.

"Rumors cause dissention, Henry," I say.

"So it isn't true?" Sean Thomas asks
carefully.

I don't answer.

"She should be destroyed," Tom murmurs.

There are whispered agreements around me.

"No more than your girl, Lyre," I say
coldly.

Between the two girls, Lyre is the violent
one. Emma would never intentionally hurt anyone.

And you know this for sure
after this short a time
? I ask myself. I ignore my own
conscious, my eyes on Emma. She looks distracted and deservedly
so.

"Lyre can't steal magic from others or bind
herself to flesh eating monsters," Tom spits.

Emma looks up, and I know she feels the anger
coming from the Guardians. It's something I can't protect her
from—the hatred, the fear.

"She should die," Tom continues.

I look down the wall, my eyes finding the
hazel-eyed gargoyle easily.

"I'll stand between her and any of you
foolish enough to attempt murdering her."

All eyes are on me now. Grace looks between
the two of us.

"No one's going to attempt anything. That's
not our job. Let's just leave it up to the Council. Got it?" she
says quietly.

Everyone agrees, but there are still murmurs
along the wall, and when Tom's eyes meet mine, I see death there.
He has been with Lyre too long. Her Demon mother has the ability to
control men, to entice them, to corrupt them. I know better than
anyone that Lyre has inherited the same ability.

Our eyes move back to the circle of hybrids.
There is avid interest among the group, their eyes on Marion as she
demonstrates how to cauterize a wound. The Demons heal quicker than
most, but as hybrids, wounds are also more fatal for them than for
their Demonic parents. They already know how to die. Any
information on how to preserve their life is golden. The school's
protection only lasts for so long.

I focus my attention on Emma. She is leaning
forward, speaking occasionally to Fiona Windgate, a blonde-haired
Demon who is both outspoken and opinionated. Fiona keeps scooting
away, but she is fascinated by Emma, her gaze flicking occasionally
in Emma's direction. And she isn't the only one. Hesther and
Gwenyth Garner, twin daughters of the Demon Onoskelis, are also
watching Emma. They are red-haired hybrids with blue eyes and
freckles who can choke a man simply by clenching their fists. They
can also use their voices to create echoes. It's an eerie thing and
disorienting.

"Have they ever visited like that before with
each other?" Grace whispers next to me.

She has noticed the hybrids' interest in
Emma. I am hoping she is the only one.

"I'm not sure," I answer as my eyes glide
over the group.

A broad, black-haired hybrid is watching Emma
as well, his dark eyes bright. Grace's gaze follows mine.

"Bruno Riley. He's the son of the Demon
Tephras," Grace murmurs.

I stare hard at the boy. He's at least
nineteen with a black t-shirt that sits plastered to a sculpted
chest. His interest in Emma is more than obvious.

"Tephras? The dirt devil?" I ask.

Grace nods.

"Yeah, and Bruno has the same ability as his
father. He can do some serious damage with wind and soil. He can
also cause seizures."

This is comforting to know.

"Any of the hybrids ever date another
hybrid?" I ask.

Grace shrugs.

"If they have, they haven't done it under our
watch. And they have never shown a visible interest in another
hybrid in any form, friendship or romantic."

This is even less comforting. I don't know
what Emma is doing, but I fear for her. The other Guardians are
noticing the differences in her. They are scared, and they are
uncertain. This fans the flames of prejudice already lit within
them. Demons have taken a lot from us and from mankind. But what
the other Guardians refuse to see is the good in the hybrids we are
forced to watch. I have more faith in the Council. They saw a
reason to preserve half-mortal Demons, to build the Acropolis in
the first place, and I have to trust that's enough.

Chapter 30

Emma

Marion has completed her demonstrations, and
we are watching fascinated as she packs away the equipment she has
brought with her to the courtyard. Marion is young, but she knows a
lot about first aid.

"Her mother was a nurse," a male voice says
from beside me, and I look up to find myself staring into the brown
eyes of a black-haired, muscular hybrid.

"Was?"

My gaze moves between the hybrid and
Marion.

"Yeah. Her mother was killed in the field
protecting a civilian from a Demon."

"Oh," I answer softly.

My chest tightens. Marion is one of the
kindest people I have ever met. It breaks my heart knowing her
mother was killed by one of my own people.

"She doesn't seem to hold a grudge. Most of
them do," the boy says, his eyes on the Guardians sitting at the
edge of the garden. "I'm Bruno," he adds.

I look up at him, offering him my hand as I
smile slowly.

"Emma."

"I know," Bruno says as he shakes my hand.
His eyes widen a little, and he licks his lips.

"I can feel your mother in your touch," he
says, and I pull away quickly.

"Not my mother," I say stubbornly.

Bruno raises his brow.

"No? Hmmmm . . . my mistake."

"You don't claim Enepsigos?" Fiona asks from
beside me, and I look between the two hybrids.

"I don't know her," I answer. "It's not that
I don't claim her. I know her blood runs through my body, but she
isn't the woman who raised me."

Bruno shrugs.

"Well, that's honesty. Can't fault that."

Fiona rolls her eyes before standing up,
stretching her arms as she looks at the Guardians now heading in
our direction.

"There are rumors about your training session
today. Are you really controlling a drex?" Fiona asks.

The question garners attention. Hesther and
Gwenyth move in my direction as does a skinny, brown-headed boy I
haven't met yet.

"How did you do it?" Hesther asks.

"Did it really attack Conor Reinhardt?"
Gwenyth adds.

I am feeling closed in, and I'm not sure how
to answer. Will the truth hurt or help me?

"Emma," a voice says, and relief floods me as
I look up to find Conor waiting patiently at the edge of the group.
I glance at the hybrids quickly.

"It is okay if we help each other you know,"
I say before walking away.

I feel their eyes on my back as I move.

"Making friends at the Acropolis isn't
necessarily a good thing," Conor says as I reach him.

"It's not a bad thing either," I argue.

"No, maybe not," Conor agrees as we move
toward the main building.

Conor has his hands in his blue jean
pockets, and I find myself tempted to pull one out, to hold it. The
scene in the forest haunts me.
It never
happened
. I'm having a hard time forgetting
it.

Conor's cell phone suddenly rings, and he
reaches for it cautiously, his eyes staring at the screen before
flipping it open.

"Reinhardt," he answers.

There is murmuring on the other end of the
line. Conor never says a word, and when he flips the cell phone
closed, I can feel the wariness emanating from him.

"We meet with Durand in the turret now. He's
spoken with the Council," Conor says as he pulls open the door to
the main building.

"About Ace?" I ask.

Conor nods.

"Among other things."

He leads me to the spiral staircase, and we
climb in silence. There is a hallway and another smaller set of
spiral stone stairs before we find ourselves in front of a heavy,
round door. Conor lifts his hand and knocks.