Catch Me When I Fall (21 page)

A loud knock on my door woke me. Rolling out of bed, I opened it, still feeling the grogginess from a little too much Moscato. Seth stood on the other side.

“Hey, man. Sorry to catch you like this, but Giovanni wants to see us all right away. Don’t bring Kayla.”

“What’s going on?”

He looked down at the ground. “I can’t tell you. Get dressed and come upstairs.” He left without another word.

I stared after him, nausea building in my stomach. I closed the door, dressed, then ran up the stairs to Giovanni’s office.

Bartholomew, Giovanni and six other Protectors were present, as were Seth, Samantha and Tabbi. Every face was tense. Given what I knew already, the haste with which Seth called us up here meant some new piece of information was uncovered. My heart pounded as I stood next to Tabbi and waited for Giovanni to begin.

“Last night, the team watching over Adelynn Rudolf was attacked. One of the three, Ivan, was able to escape. He’s downstairs in Bartholomew’s medical center recovering.”

After our bar brawl, I could’ve cared less that Ivan was injured. But my gut told me this was somehow connected to Kayla, so my knees locked. I waited for Giovanni to continue, my body stiff.

“But we lost Alektor and Adelynn’s Weaver, Josefine. From what Ivan said, they were attacked by fifteen Nightmares at one time, and before he left, screams came from the parents’ room. We have not heard from the parents’ Protectors.” He picked up the controller to his TV. “And then this news report ran this morning.”

Giovanni flipped on the TV and changed the channel to the news station in Seattle.

“The search for sixteen-year-old Adelynn Rudolf is still under way,” the reporter said. “Both parents were found dead in their beds when their maid came for her regularly scheduled cleaning. There are no suspects yet.”

Giovanni flicked off the television and turned to my group. “The attack happened within an hour of Kayla’s. Bartholomew and I both agree—we believe the warlock may have Adelynn.”

My heart stopped.

Everyone spoke at once. “What do you mean a warlock has her?”

“There was another attack?”

“What aren’t you telling us?”

Giovanni raised his hands. “Okay, everybody
silenzio
. You’re giving me a headache. We only put the pieces together last night. After Daniel brought Kayla to Rome, we researched the attacks a little further. Kayla and Adelynn were both receiving regular visits of five or more Nightmares.”

He turned to the other six Protectors. “As were your charges, Margaret Tucker and Alex Sheffield. But what we then discovered was that all of you had reported your humans to be ‘abnormal.’ They were all capable of some kind of… power. Like this Adelynn girl—Ivan told me she touched her boyfriend, and he was electrocuted.”

Bartholomew jumped in. “All of your charges, we discovered, are not human at all. They’re Magus. And they all carry a specific characteristic: They were all born sixteen years ago on October thirty-first, exactly at midnight.”

I gripped the bookshelf behind me to keep from falling. Kayla wasn’t just a witch—she was born on the Magus’ holiest night. This was why the warlock wanted them. They all had dark, powerful blood running through their veins, more than an average witch or warlock.

Bartholomew continued, “I’ve spoken with Trishna, our primary contact in the supernatural realm. She too agrees there is something bigger going on than we were aware of, and given this warlock’s possible identity… well, let’s just say, it’s imperative this man not get the other three Magus.”

“So what do we do?” one of the Weavers, Cindy, asked.

Giovanni replied, “Well, the good news is, one of them is already within our walls. Kayla Bartlett is here and safe. The bad news is, two are still out there, and from what we can tell, this warlock is moving quickly. We must bring them to Rome immediately.”

“You mean kidnap them?” Cindy asked.

“What other choice do we have? If we don’t, he could attack another one of them tonight, and then he’ll be one step closer to getting all the pieces he needs. He is capable of controlling Nightmares, creatures as bound to the Underworld as we are to the Heavens, and forcing them to attack while our humans are awake. If he is successful in capturing all four Magus, his power will quadruple and an apocalypse will rain on this earth.

“I will call for a meeting at lunch hour. All who can be there will be, and those who can’t I’m sure will hear the news through the grapevine. Our orders have come from Above. We’re going to war.”

couldn’t get Giovanni’s news out of my mind. He refused to give us more specifics until everyone could hear, but our orders had come from Above.
Above
. That never happened. Sure, the Angels gave us our positions in our afterlives, but that was the only time a Protector ever had communication with the Heavens. For them to send us a direct order for war meant something catastrophic was happening.

And Kayla was right damn smack in the middle of it.

“You’re awfully quiet today,” Kayla said.

“Yeah, sorry. Rough morning. Did you want a Coke or something?” Jumping up, I crossed the room to the small fridge next to my desk.

“Um, sure. Is everything okay?”

I grabbed two cans of Coke, handed one to her and plopped back on the bed. “Just a meeting with Giovanni. You’ll hear soon enough.”

“Does it have to do with the warlock?”

I sighed, not really wanting to have this conversation with her. But I also didn’t want her to have a panic attack in front of hundreds, maybe thousands, of Protectors. Turning off the TV, I tried to calm my turbulent stomach.

“There was another attack last night. We’re certain the warlock was involved. Giovanni’s holding a meeting at lunch today to relay everything we’ve uncovered.”

Kayla gripped her can so hard I thought her fingers were going to burst through the metal. I slipped the Coke out of her hand before she hurt herself.

“Why is he going after us? What could he possibly want?”

I paused, not sure how I wanted to answer her question. How does someone tell another they’re not fully human? I scratched the back of my neck. “I don’t know how to say this. It’s not going to be easy to hear.”

Kayla’s face paled. “Daniel, you’re scaring me.”

“I know. I’m sorry. Just… that night when your mom’s boyfriend went up in flames…” I couldn’t seem to find the words, so I spoke as quickly as I could. “You weren’t seeing things. It really happened.”

Her eyes filled with tears. “What do you mean?”

I shifted in my seat, not wanting to continue. But I knew I had to. “You’re different, Kayla.” I ran my hand down my face.
Why was this so bloody hard?
“You’re a witch.”

She jumped off the bed and glared at me like I’d told her I just ran over her puppy. “What? No. No, you’re wrong. I’m normal, just like everyone else. I am not a… a
witch
.”

“Kayla—”

“I can’t be.” Her hands shook, and she paced.

Standing, I grabbed her shoulders and forced her to look at me. “I told you it wasn’t going to be easy to hear. But people don’t explode into flames for no reason. Think about it. Did you feel anything before it happened, like a tingling sensation or something?”

I knew she had, but I didn’t want to scare her more by telling her I’d felt the prickling, too. While being in her head.

She let out a soft whimper and nodded.

“And after everything, do you really think I’d tell you something like this if I wasn’t certain?”

Kayla shook her head. A tear fell from her eye. “Is that why he wants me—the warlock?”

“We think so. But I promise I will keep you safe. No matter what happens, I will not let anyone hurt you.”

Kayla nodded, but the fear never left her eyes. Before I could say anything else, the loud gong in the cafeteria shook the house. Giovanni’s meeting was about to start.

Kayla and I walked hand-in-hand through the crowded hallways and filed into the cafeteria on the second floor. Protectors from across the globe had been summoned to the meeting and the room was filling quickly. Kayla gripped my hand tighter.

The usual tables had been removed and replaced by benches. The only other piece of furniture in the entire room was the podium at the far end where Giovanni would stand. I grabbed seats in the middle of the room. Tabbi, Seth and Samantha joined us soon after, and by the time everyone had arrived, we were packed wall-to-wall.

Giovanni stepped up to the podium, dressed in a black suit I’d only seen him wear at funerals. Again, his black hair was slicked back like Dracula, and his olive skin had a sheen to it. He spoke into a microphone, his thick, Italian accent filling the room. “It is with anxiety and sadness that I call you all here today. I trust you will share what I have to say with those who are not here. Our world, my friends, is under attack. Last night, Alektor and Josephine fell at the hands of a very powerful warlock.”

He paused briefly to let the Protectors take in the news. “This warlock is capable of summoning the Nightmares to do his bidding—a feat that only one other warlock in existence has ever achieved. Many died at that man’s hand, and unless
this
warlock is stopped, many more will die. The Angels have seen, have heard. And they have spoken to us. Humans cannot see the creatures that haunt their dreams and now attack them while they’re awake. We can. As of this moment, we are at war.”

Gasps and whispers filled the room. “War” was not a word we were accustomed to. We were the peacekeepers.

Giovanni continued, “Those of you who are currently overseeing the care of your charge will continue to do so. It’s important that you remain in your position. But for the rest of you, the time for relaxation is over. At dawn tomorrow, you will be given specific instructions as to where you will be sent. There, we expect you to seek out and bring to us any creature with knowledge of this warlock and his plans.

“In addition, we will play host to three Magus—individuals this warlock intends to use for malicious purposes. You are responsible for their safety. If any of you determine the whereabouts of this warlock, report to me immediately. I will have a team on standby to follow through with your intel.

“These are your instructions. If you have any further questions, you will find me in my office. On behalf of the Angels we serve, I thank you for your dedication and wish you the best of luck.”