Betrayed (22 page)

“He said you must accept the protection of the Guardians, Gavyn too, or he’l send, uh, his people after you,” I said in rush, feeling terrible speaking the words aloud. “That’s a perfect example of extreme and uncal ed for reaction.” No shock or anger registered on Bran’s face.

He nodded.

I scowled at him. “Is that al you’re going to do? Nod? He threatened to kil your family and only relented when I threatened him.”

Bran chuckled. “You threatened him? With what?”

I snatched my hand from his. “This isn’t funny.” He gave me a solemn look. “It’s not, but I can see why he wants to tie up any loose ends. You’re vital in the war between good and evil, so your safety comes first. I’l make sure I’m not alone out there, and Gavyn
will
join us once he gets better.” Bran’s faith in his brother never failed to amaze me. The Gavyn I knew would never consider living with the Guardians. Should I mention Valafar’s offer to treat him? Maybe later.

“Valafar knows a lot about us—how much al owance I get, that you and Celeste are living here with the Guardians’ protection and even that Gavyn needs treatment. The guide he’s using must be spying on us, too.”

Bran nodded. “Your grandfather thinks so, too. Did Valafar mention Solange?”

“She was supposed to kil you and Gavyn in Seattle. He said in his annoyingly arrogant tone that she didn’t fol ow orders.” I scrunched my face. “I should have told him I plan to dispatch her to Tartarus the next time our paths crossed. So what did you do this morning?” I asked, not wanting to add the other stuff Valafar yapped about. “Did you hunt with the Cardinals?”

“A bit. Then I visited Gavyn,” he said, sipping his drink.

“How’s he doing? Is he getting any better?” Bran shook his head. “The Brotherhood Bran shook his head. “The Brotherhood healer is not powerful enough to replenish his energy al at once, so it wil take time. A long time.” His pain trickled to me along with his thoughts. He didn’t think Gavyn would make it.

Should I mention Valafar’s offer now?

I covered his free left hand. “There must be some other way.”

“If there is, I don’t see it.”

“I could heal him,” I offered again.

He shot me a look as though I was crazy.

“Told you before, that’s out of the question. I was tempted to visit one of my old haunts and ask an old Hermonite I know to find a healer for him.” His tone grew derisive, as though amazed he even contemplated such a thing. “Old Jethro has an ear on the demonic world, but I kept hearing your grandfather’s words in my head. I can’t afford to owe a demon a favor.”

Valafar’s offer was definitely off the table.

Sipping my pop, a plan formed in my head. “Can’t we kidnap Old Jethro, force him to help us, then vanquish him
and
the healer?” Bran choked on his drink.

I thumped his back until he stopped coughing.

“It was just a thought,” I added when he stared at me with a cocked eyebrow.

“A diabolical one.” His shook his head. “I’d hate to have you as an enemy.”

“Then you should try and be real y nice to me al the time,” I teased.

His smile turned cocky. “You’d never hurt me.”

“Would too.”

“If you’re into self-inflicted pain,” he added.

I wrinkled my nose. He was right. We felt each other’s pain in a way that was difficult to describe.

The discomfort tended to be dul and not exactly localized, but it was an effective way of knowing when he was hurt during a hunt or battle.

Stil smiling smugly, he wiped the corners of his mouth with a napkin and threw the pop can in the trash. A faraway look entered his eyes, the smug smile gone

“The problem is Jethro isn’t worth the time or the aggravation. He’s the one who directed me to Darius and the Brotherhood when I wanted out. I didn’t have money to pay him, so I worked for him a bit. He’s not a col ector.”

I winced at the word col ector. When we first met, Grampa suspected Bran of being a demon scout. Scouts didn’t sign contracts. They looked for vulnerable people and reported to their superiors, who sent in the col ector to negotiate the deal.

Scouts weren’t real y considered evil, just a pain in the butt. Col ectors were the badass of the bunch. If Bran had been a col ector, I wondered if I would have vanquished him. From what I heard, col ectors were charming.

“What is he then?” I asked.

“A cliché. A stubborn and grumpy old man who runs a bar.” Bran’s eyes darkened. “He could have joined the Brotherhood and gotten protection, but he chose to be alone. There are quite a number of Hermonites like him living on the fringe of demon society, mingling with humans, but Jethro is in a class of his own.”

He worried about Jethro, I could tel . “Is he the one you went to see last night?”

His eyes narrowed. “How do you know?”

“Celeste. You real y shouldn’t be going out there alone. I don’t trust Valafar not to change his mind, and Grampa said we have to be more vigilant.”

Bran grimaced. “I know. I wanted to scout the area and see who hangs out at Jethro’s bar. I haven’t visited him since the battle on Coronis Isle.” He rubbed his eyes, sighed and looked me square in the eyes. “The fact is Jethro’s the only person I know who can tel us more about Damien and lead us to the List. Zedekiah has gone underground, so that’s a dead end. I checked the drop off at that motel last night and earlier today. He didn’t pick up his messages.”

We were back on the List again. Finding it was beginning to consume him. No wonder his mood seemed off.

“Then let’s talk to Old Jethro,” I suggested.

“I was hoping we would tonight. The CP team is monitoring demonic activity in the neighborhood right now. If it’s safe, we’l go in. If not, I’l find a way.” I shook my head. “We’l find a way.”

Bran shook his head. “Oh no. Until Valafar says it is okay, you are not going anywhere.” I stared at him with rounded eyes then the corner of his lips twitched. “You…you….” I lunged forward to grab him.

forward to grab him.

He dematerialized from the chair and reappeared by the door, a teasing grin on his lips.

“So? Are you planning on going back to school anytime soon?” he asked.

I made a face and stood. “Right now. No one real y knows me as Lilith, so maybe they won’t know the cal was for me.” I real y, real y hoped so.

“Let’s use Remy’s car as point of entry.” Bran offered me his hand and pul ed me into his arms. We exchanged a sweet, long kiss.

I wound my arms around his neck. How I loved him. With every cel in my body and every breath I took. Thank goodness he was there today to share my worst moment and joke about it.

***

I made it to the second class after lunch. No one pointed at me or yel ed, “Lilith! There she is!” I tried to blend into the background, which wasn’t easy at five-nine with an abundance of multi-red curly hair.

After school, I kept a lookout for Kylie and McKenzie as I hurried to the entrance of the school.

They were nowhere to be seen, which suited me fine. I didn’t want to deal with either of them.

Bran was parked by Remy’s car, and from the way he smirked at Sykes, they were having another testosterone showdown. Maybe if I told Sykes that Bran and I were
alrunes
he’d stop flirting with me and hoping for more than friendship. I gripped my backpack and started toward the crosswalk.

Wait up, Lil,
Celeste telepathed.

I turned to search for her and hid a grin when she stepped out of the building with three boys. One carried her backpack and the other her folder. The third walked backwards ahead of them, occasional y glancing over his shoulder to make sure he didn’t bump into someone.

As they neared, I caught snippets of their discussion—basebal . I couldn’t blame the guys for being besotted with her. Celeste had the same startling beauty as Bran. Her wavy black, glorious hair and green doe-like eyes against her delicate face made her appear fragile. Throw in her knowledge of sports stats gleaned from Gavyn, video games, and the tendency to dress like a tomboy, no guy stood a chance.

Aren’t they adorable?
she gloated as she stopped where I waited.

If you like puppies.

Jealous?
“This is my friend, Lil. Lil, the guys,” she waved in their direction.

They nodded, but I might as wel have been invisible, which wasn’t the norm for me. She linked our arms and steered me toward Bran. Her adoring fans trailed behind us.

“Tel them to leave,” I whispered.

“Why? The backpack is heavy and they offered to carry it.” She smiled at them over her shoulder. “You guys are the best.”

They blushed. I rol ed my eyes. They had it bad.

Bran’s eyes narrowed as he watched us approach. Sykes said something and laughed. Even Remy grinned. It was obvious they were teasing poor Bran, who didn’t seem to think much of Celeste’s new friends. He yanked open the door of the jeep, pinned her with a glare and jerked his head, indicating she should get inside.

Celeste’s grin widened. “Thanks, guys. In there,” she waved to the backseat. Bran blocked the path of the two guys. The third hovered beside Celeste. “Don’t mind him. He’s only my brother.” Who towered over the three guys and looked dangerous dressed in black. I walked to his side, slipped a hand through his and tugged. He dug his heels in.

Play nice, Bran.

These boneheads shouldn’t be anywhere
near her.
Despite his words, he moved out of the way.

Celeste’s guy friends placed her things in the backseat while the third shuffled in one spot a few feet away. She wiggled her fingers. “Thanks, guys. I’l see you tomorrow.”

They nodded and dragged their feet as they walked away. She turned around and looked at us with an impish grin. “Hey, Remy…Sykes?” The two Guardians smirked. “What’s everyone waiting for?

Let’s go home.” She jumped into the back seat.

“I’m going to kil her,” Bran murmured through clenched teeth.

My eyes widened. “Why?”

“Because I’m sure she put some of her mind control mojo on them.”

Frowning, I glanced at Celeste. Of course, Bran was a typical brother, unable to believe any guy Bran was a typical brother, unable to believe any guy would find his sister beautiful. Besides, Celeste’s power of persuasion wasn’t that strong.

I shook my head. “I don’t think she needs to do that to get any guy’s attention.”

“No, she doesn’t,” Sykes added, smirking.

“Shut up, Sykes,” Bran growled.

My gaze met with Sykes’ and I hid a grin. He just found a new way to torment Bran. Maybe he’l leave me alone and focus his attention on Celeste.

“Everything okay, Red?” Sykes asked, the teasing light leaving his eyes. He was probably thinking about the cal from Valafar.

I shrugged. “Yeah.”

“Let’s meet at our place in half hour,” Remy suggested.

“Sure.” I didn’t want to discuss Valafar but couldn’t put it off forever.

As the two Guardians walked away, Bran opened the car door for me, stil glaring at Sykes.

“He messes with my sister, and I’l rip him apart.”

“He’s just teasing you.”

“He’s not funny.” He shot Celeste a stern look.

“Don’t look at him, encourage him or play mind games with him.”

She made a face.

As he started around the car, I turned to Celeste. “Did you real y zap those guys?”

“Of course not. Bran is just being…Bran.” Bran claimed his seat, started the engine, and took off, both hands gripping the steering wheel.

No one spoke for most of the drive.

We were half-way home when he said,

“You’re starting Guardian Academy. Today.” For a moment I wasn’t sure what he meant.

Then Celeste squealed, launched herself forward, and stuck her head between our seats.

“Real y? I got in? Please, tel me I got in. That you’re not teasing or getting back at me for being mean to you last night or—”

“You’re in,” Bran said. The car swayed when Celeste hugged him and gave him a resounding kiss on his cheek. “Whoa, watch it. I’m driving here.” When I looked back, she was sprawled on the back seat fighting tears. I had no idea how much she wanted to join the Academy. “Congrats.” She nodded and looked out the window, her chin trembling. I turned around to give her privacy.

Bran stared ahead, frowning. He should be happy he just made his sister’s day, but he wasn’t. It was that darn List, or maybe Gavyn’s condition. I slipped my hand through his. He squeezed mine and smiled. I might not be able to help his brother, but I’d make sure we found the List.

Behind us, Celeste found her voice. “When do I start? What’s the schedule like? How many clairvoyants are there? Who wil be my teacher?” Bran shrugged. “The principal is expecting you at four. He’l explain everything.” Silence fil ed the car for the rest of the drive.

Bran pul ed to a stop and waited as the gate opened slowly. Since when did they close it during the day?

“Can you come with me?” Celeste asked in a timid voice as Bran pul ed up Aunt Janel e’s driveway.

The request surprised me. Celeste might look delicate on the outside, but she was tough as nails on the inside. Bran and I shared a glance.

“Sure, pint.” He pressed the remote to open their garage door, eased inside, and kil ed the engine. He turned to smile at her. “I’l be inside in a few minutes.”

She opened the door, scooped up her backpack and folder then skipped to the house.

Bran escorted me next door. He put my backpack on the kitchen island while I kicked off my winter boots into the laundry room, which was by the garage door.

The house was quiet. Grampa must be out hunting. I hadn’t asked him about the party yet. If he said no, I’d be in deep trouble.

“Hey,” Bran said to draw my attention. “After Celeste is done at the Academy, I plan to take her to see Gavyn.”

“What do you think he’d say about Celeste joining the Academy?”

Bran shrugged. “Probably get pissed, but she wants this.”

“And you made it happen.” I stroked the back of his hand.

He turned his hand and trapped my hand with his. “Celeste made it happen when she came to see you and you retrieved the images from her head. The principal wasn’t sure she was strong enough, but between that
a n d
a strong recommendation from Mrs. D, he couldn’t say no. She might even one day work for the High Council as a clairvoyant.” He work for the High Council as a clairvoyant.” He smiled then pushed against the counter and straightened, eyes clouding. “I’d better head home.”