Awakened (4 page)

“What’s that?”

“Someone with the ability to feel other people’s emotions.”

Despite my misgivings about my powers, I was impressed. “And the other Guardians?”

“You’ll meet them tomorrow, including the trainees who go to your school—Sykes, Remy, Pilar and Isadora.”

Guardian trainees at my school? I wasn’t looking forward to starting school to begin with. And now this? Great. I sipped my drink, my mind racing. “Did Mom have powers?”

Furrows appeared on Grampa forehead, and his eyes shadowed as though he were in pain. He drained his drink and put down his mug. “Tatiana had some, but not enough to become a Cardinal.”

“Was it because Grandma was human?”

“Maybe. Powers are known to skip generations or disappear all together in a family. We’ve been lucky. Your mother had just enough to join the High Council.”

“What were her powers?”

He shook his head. “This is not the time to talk about
her
powers, Lil.”

And I wasn’t ready to talk about mine. I glared into my drink.

“You must start training to master yours, learn about our people and our world, the demons we hunt.”

My head whipped up. “Whoa. Slow down, Grampa. Why do I have to learn these things, train?”

He smiled. “Your gifts indicate you have the powers of a Cardinal Guardian, Lil. I’m not sure which one yet, but I’m happy we’ve been so lucky.”

I stared at him in horror, my mouth opening and closing without making a sound. Grampa’s eyes twinkled as though my speechlessness amused him. “But I don’t want be a Guardian,” I blurted out. The smile died on his lips and his eyes became serious. “I didn’t ask for any of this, Grampa. Why should having these abilities seal my fate? Can’t I, like, just ignore them, and they’ll disappear?”

“No, you can’t. We’re few and need all the help we can get.” Grampa scrubbed his face then studied me with narrowed eyes. “Taking up your Cardinal Guardian duties is voluntary, an honor—but the benefits to us and humans are many.” Before I could ask what he meant, he added, “Many of our people wait for their children’s powers to manifest themselves when they turn sixteen. Some parents even go so far as to arrange marriages for their children with the hopes of having a Cardinal in their family.”

So? That didn’t mean I wanted to become one. Mean kids from various schools I’d attended flitted through my mind. Why should I put my life on the line for them, for those who more often than not treated us like crap during our travels?

I got up, threw the lukewarm contents of my mug into the sink and turned to face Grampa. “Right now, all I care about is how to control my powers so this mess doesn’t happen again.”

Grampa’s gaze stayed steady on me, disappointment shimmering in their depth. “I know the world can seem cruel at times and human nature is often hard to understand, but you can make a difference by fighting the forces that make humans do evil things.”

He was trying to make me feel guilty. It wasn’t going to work. I crossed my arms across my chest and scrunched up my face. “You mean Hermonites, don’t you? Demons?”

Surprise flashed on his face. “Yes. They were once Guardians, like us. But then they decided guarding humans wasn’t enough. They wanted more power, immortality, and found a way to achieve them by collecting human souls.” His voice hardened but I could sense his pain. “We banished them to the unexplored regions of Xenith, but many of them escaped to Earth, where they’ve been causing more mayhem. We hunt them down now.” He paused, his gaze narrowed. “How did you know about Hermonites?”

“From a boy I met earlier. He said he was a Guardian.” I told Grampa what transpired between Bran and me under the willow tree. “He gave me this weird message to pass to you.”

“What is it?”

“Coronis has found a way to open the door, uh, the gateway to Tar…Tar—”

“Tartarus?” Grampa’s voice whipped out. He got to his feet and walked to where I stood.

“Yes, Tartarus and release the Damned Ones. You should alert the Circle of Twelve.”

Color drained from his face.

“What does it mean?”

Instead of answering, he tugged at the chain around my neck until he clasped my amulet in his hand. “He didn’t touch you, did he?”

I shook my head, not liking the change that had come over him. “No.”

“You didn’t feel helpless or your powers weaken?”

“No.” Fear gripped my chest. I fingered my amulet when he let it go. “You’re scaring me, Grampa. What is it? What did that boy mean? He told me he was a Guardian-in-training and to tell you he didn’t hurt me.”

Instead of answering me, Grampa gripped my shoulders and looked into my eyes. I winced as pressure built in my head.

“Don’t fight me,” he said in a quiet voice. “Did he tell you where he was headed?”

The pressure in my head increased. “No. What are you doing to me?” I griped.

“Retrieving images from your head.” He let go of my shoulders and stepped away from me. The pressure disappeared.

I stared at him with wide eyes, shocked but at the same time, fascinated. How often had he done that to me before without my knowledge?

He started toward his bedroom. “I must talk to the High Council, track this boy down.”

“What does his message mean?” I asked.

“It is a code used when one of our own is captured by Coronis and her followers. Coronis is the most powerful demoness on earth. That code hasn’t been used in decades and I haven’t heard of a Guardian trainee missing.”

“So there’re no such things as Damned Ones or Tartarus?”

“That’s the least of our worries, Lil. Tartarus is where the Watchers or the Damned Ones are imprisoned and where we send the demons we vanquish. They’ll never be released until the end of time. But Bran’s identity and how he passed our shield undetected by the Civilian Psi Team is another story.”

“Why?”

Grampa grabbed his hat from a hook by his door and plopped it on his head. “He could be a demon out to harm you. Coronis and her followers not only trade in human souls, they corrupt Guardians and turn them to their dark side. They tend to prey on the young who have just discovered their powers and are scared, or on those who have just enough powers to become Council members but want more. If they can’t turn you, they take your powers by draining your psi energy.”

So that was what Bran meant by ‘I’d be in and out of your head so fast you wouldn’t know what hit you’. And the weird reminder that he hadn’t hurt me. I shivered. Had he lied about being a Guardian trainee?

“Hermonites come in many forms and disguises, Lil. Don’t let Bran get anywhere near you again. Meanwhile, the Council must explain how he got inside our valley. Either the shield has blind spots, or demons have found a way around it.” He paused, his eyes reflective. “Think about joining the Cardinal Guardian Training Program.”

Yeah, train to be a freak. Right.

“Don’t stay up too late. Tomorrow is your first day of school.” One minute Grampa was standing near his bedroom door, the next he shimmered in an explosion of blinding lights.

My eyes widened. He must have seen the look on my face because he chuckled and wiggled his fingers, or pinpoint of lights where his fingers should have been. Then poof, he was gone. If it weren’t for the echo of his chuckle lingering, I’d never have believed he was here a second ago.

I frowned, something tickling my memory. Bran’s way of teleporting was different from Grampa’s. Was that another way of teleporting or the demonic way?

I wrapped my arms around me and ambled back to my room, my mind going in circles. Bran’s identity was the least of my problems. All I ever wanted was to fit in and be like everyone else. Having powers and training to fight demons would put me on the freak list. No, I didn’t want to be a Cardinal Guardian.

***

The next morning, I woke up edgy after a restless sleep. I dragged my feet getting dressed, eating breakfast. I didn’t want to leave the trailer and everything familiar, but if I stayed home, I’d wallow in self-pity. Or drive myself nuts going over every detail of my life, searching for clues that should have warned me Grampa was different, that
I
was different.

“Did you find Bran?” I asked Grampa when he joined me in the kitchen.

He gave me a strange look as though he found my interest in Bran weird. “No, but we’re still searching.”

I shouldn’t be concerned with Bran. I had enough on my plate. Dread squeezed my chest at the thought of my powers. What if they reappeared while I was at school? Maybe if I didn’t think about them, they wouldn’t bother me this much.

During the drive to school, I rolled my window down and kept a lookout for residual mess from last night’s electric storm. Broken branches and debris littered the roadside, but everyone appeared normal—grownups in their cars heading to work, kids rushing to school, all falsely secure in their ignorance. I would trade places with them in a heartbeat.

The drop-off zone outside Cache Valley High was busy. Students hailed their friends, laughing and shouting their conversations across the parking lot. Engines of old trucks coughed and popped as though on their last legs and in defiance to the smooth purr of sleek late-model foreign cars. Fallen leaves carpeted the ground, blending with the long yellow buses dropping off more students. We parked across from the school’s main building, and Grampa and I crossed Grizzly Boulevard.

“It’s huge,” he said with a smile.

I was too busy trying to control my unease to respond. If I created a storm when I got angry, what would happen when I was sad or scared? Were my emotions tied to my powers? What if someone set me off at school? A chill crawled under my skin at my thoughts.

I caught my reflection on the glass door just before we went through the front entrance and winced. A gypsy skirt and a simple black lacy blouse. Maybe I should have gone for jeans and a t-shirt and tried to blend in. I pursed my lips. No, my outfit was a statement. As long as Grandma’s blood flowed in my veins, I was a gypsy…human.

Inside, I glanced around with lack of interest. Gray industrial carpet, bland off-white walls, Cache Valley High had the same look and feel as all of the other schools I’d attended. Grampa led me to the right passed a set of doors and straight into the counselors’ waiting room. Everything happened fast after that—the registration and locker assignment, paying for lunches and school pictures.

“I’ve got to go, sweetheart,” Grampa mumbled, his eyes searching my face.

I looked around at the students milling around to make sure there were no eavesdroppers. “To find Bran?” I whispered.

“And to Xenith to talk to the Circle of Twelve. Use the truck.” He pushed the keys into my hand.

“Are you planning to go poof right here? Right now?” My voice ended in a squeak.

Grampa chuckled. “I’ve been doing this for several centuries now, kiddo. I think I can be more discreet than that.” He peered at my face. “Are you going to be okay?”

Centuries? Just how old was he? Instead of asking, I stepped away from him. “Of course. You know me, Grampa.”

“That’s my girl.” He patted my arm. “I’ll convene a meeting at the HQ to introduce you—”

“Not yet.” I needed time to catch my breath and get used to the new me.

Grampa’s lips pressed together in disapproval, but he’d raised me to stand up for myself, be my own person and never back down from my stance. From his expression, that wasn’t going to work this time.

“I’ll see you after school. We’ll talk then.” His voice sounded determined. He kissed my forehead, turned and headed toward the entrance of the school

As I watched him walk away, my fake confidence evaporated. I hated this. The new school, my stranger powers, the tension between me and Grampa. I wished I could rewind time and erase the last twenty-four hours of my life. No, moving back time was not sanctioned by the Council. What else wasn’t allowed? Maybe I could break a few rules and not get accepted into the guardianship program. I pushed the idea in the back of my mind for later.

Staying close to the wall, I pulled out the map and tried to get a general idea of where my locker and first class were located. I had algebra in the first hour. I already took it last year. Grampa must have misplaced my report card. I sighed. The thought of tracking down my counselor right now and changing it was too overwhelming. There was always tomorrow. I slipped the map back in my pocket and started down a broad hallway.

The curious eyes of the students swarming the hallways bore into me. A few elbowed their friends and nodded in my direction. Two girls in ultra-skinny jeans and layered tops eyed my gypsy outfit as they passed and giggled. “Retro?” one asked.

“Fashion challenged.”

I ignored the gawking, gripped the strap of my backpack and followed a noisy bunch down one hallway then another, searching for my locker.

Lil, wait up.

I winced as the words echoed in my head. Would I ever get used to this? I glanced over my shoulder. Students hurried toward me, but two of them stood out from the crowd—a brown guy with short-cropped black hair and a blond with a sucker in his mouth. They waved at me at the same time. Both were taller than most students and built like runners. They also wore black tee shirts, matching sweatpants and weight-lifting gloves. Could they be the trainees Grampa mentioned last night?

I pressed against the wall to let the other students pass and waited for the two guys to get closer. They couldn’t be Isadora and Pilar. “Remy and Sykes?” I asked.

The blond grinned, his amber eyes flashing. He had a boyish face and long pale hair tied back into a ponytail. “Sykes. He’s Remy.” He slanted his head to indicate his friend who had honey-brown skin, serious grey eyes and high cheekbones. “How did you recognize us?”

“You told her to wait up, bro,” Remy said in a deep, serious voice.

“I meant our names, Einstein.” Sykes continued to smirk.

“My grandfather mentioned you guys yesterday,” I added.

Remy offered me his hand. The leather covering his hand was soft and very thin, unlike any I’d felt before. “Welcome to the valley, Lil.”

“And to the team, since you’re now one of us. So?” Sykes draped an arm across my shoulders, his gaze on my face. “What happened last night, Red?”