Hunted tgl-3 (22 page)

I swallowed, refusing to panic. “Fix how?”

“Hunt you guys down and make Bran take his rightful place with us. If he can’t,
then you
must take his place. You both won, so technically you should be co-rulers. The Specials must be returned to us. However, if you and Bran join me now, the Guardians can keep them. Oh, and no more helping humans. We’ve recovered our losses over the last two weeks and even acquired new ones, so we are even. The bottom line is if we get you and Bran, we can ask the Tribunal to rescind its orders and send the Tribe home.”

He was nuts. There was no way I’d ever willingly join the dark side. On the other hand, if Bran were in danger… Unfortunately, he would do the same to protect me. There had to be a way to stop the Tribe. But what if Gavyn was lying to manipulate me?

“When do you want an answer? I mean, can we sit down and discuss the details with your council?”

Gavyn chuckled. “Nice try. You can meet the council
after
you agree to join us.”

“Where? Mount Hermon?”

“The assistant manager who gave you that name is in Tartarus. Don’t worry about the details. I’ll finalize them with Bran.”

“With both of us,” I corrected him. “Did your council kidnap Jethro?”

He cocked an eyebrow, the gesture so like Bran’s it annoyed me to see it on his face. “You ask way too many questions, Lil.”

“Did you?”

“We didn’t kidnap anyone. They volunteered. You have your army of Guardians willing to die for the cause, and now we have ours.” He smirked as though he knew his words would shut me up. “One little personal piece of advice, Lilith. That new ability you have can be very tempting to a power-hungry demon, so be careful who you show off to, especially when you meet my council.”

I stared after him, surprised. He’d just warned me. Now why would he do that? He opened the door and disappeared out of view. I thought I heard him say something to the others, but I was busy replaying the conversation I just had. It was crazy, yet everything made sense, especially the way the Tribe only came after us, never the senior Cardinals.

I released a breath I didn’t know I was holding, my gaze meeting with Esras’. Behind him stood Solaris, Lunaris, and Lucien. They slowly entered the room.

“You heard?” I asked them.

“Everything,” Esras said. The other three nodded.

“Are you going to consider their offer?” Solaris asked. “Take one for the Guardians?”

I shot her an annoyed look. “Of course not. You can’t believe anything Gavyn says. He’s mean and manipulative.”

“What if he was speaking the truth?”

“Not now, Solaris,” Esras warned.

“Why not? The CT ordered the portal closed and hundreds of SGs are being asked to put their lives in danger for something her team did. What if she and Llyr can stop this nightmare?” She faced me and raised her brow.

Put that way, it made sense to give in to Gavyn’s diabolical plan. “I don’t know, Solaris. Maybe we will. I have to talk to Bran and my grandfather about all this before…” I cleared my throat, refusing to give in to my emotions. I hated Gavyn Llyr.

“So who really won the battle on Jarvis Island?” Solaris asked.

Part of me wanted to blow her off, but another realized the truth would eventually come out. “Bran did, but I helped him during the last fight.”

“So it’s true, the two of you won?” she continued

I shrugged. “Something like that. Let’s go. I have to talk to Jethro’s Neutrals.”

The others started out of the room, but Solaris wasn’t done. “So the demon wasn’t lying. You two are co-rulers, king and queen of the Hermonites.”

“Shut up, Solaris,” her sister snapped from the doorway. “I swear, sometimes I wonder what goes on in your head.”

“We now know why they are after us and
we
will stop them,” Esras said. He shot Solaris a glance. “Cardinals don’t run or throw their own under the bus, Solaris. We find out the Tribe’s weaknesses, and use them to our advantage.”

“One thing still doesn’t make sense,” Lucien said. “Tribunal means court, right?”

Esras and Lunaris nodded. Solaris didn’t bother to respond. She was probably thinking up another line of attack.

“Why would a demon court decide our fate?” he asked.

Silence followed his question, but with it came another possibility. “If they have a Tribunal who decide their cases, then we probably have one too,” I said. “We could have a rebuttal for the accusations leveled against us.”

“Maybe the Senior Cardinals have answers,” Lunaris said.

“Master Haziel, not the seniors,” I said.

“Then let’s go home. I’d like to know if a Tribunal can really bring people from Tartarus like he claimed,” Solaris added. “It might explain why a Guardian saw Valafar. Maybe their Tribunal brought him back.”

I inhaled, then exhaled slowly. Of all the things Gavyn had said, that worried me the most. No one was supposed to escape from Tartarus, yet he had said their Tribunal could bring demons back.

“We can’t go home yet,” I said. “We must find Bran before Gavyn does.”

Solaris eyes narrowed. “Why?”

“He’s likely to do exactly what you want—sacrifice himself.” To save me.

“
Why didn’t you tell them the truth back there?” Esras asked when we left Jethro’s bar.

“That Jethro joined a demonic faction run by Gavyn and his evil friends?” I shook my head as I led the way back into the alley. “He didn’t. He wouldn’t. Gavyn might act like he has all the answers, but he’s a manipulator.”

“You promised to bring back Jethro and the children Gavyn’s new council kidnapped,” Lucien said.

“We will, Lucien. I always try to think positive.” I stopped when we reached the back of the alley. “There are two places we can search for Bran. There’s a restaurant we usually hang out when we are in town. It is lunchtime now, so if he stopped to eat, he should be there. It is owned by a member of the Brotherhood.”

“Lead the way,” Esras said. He’d become more talkative since the meeting with Gavyn, while Solaris had grown more quiet. I liked it.

I teleported inside Keiran’s office and found him behind his desk, eating. He looked up, violet eyes widening underneath thick lashes. “Lil? What are you doing here?”

“Looking for Bran.” The others appeared beside me. “Lucien, Esras, Lunaris, and Solaris.” I indicated the restaurateur. “Keiran, a member of the Brotherhood. His restaurant is the best in L.A.”

Keiran put his plate down and stood. “I’m sorry we’re meeting under these circumstances, Guardians. I would have loved to welcome you with open arms. Unfortunately, I can’t.”

I blinked. “What?”

“Guardians are officially
persona non grata
around here.”

“Since when?”

“Since last night.”

Great! The day couldn’t get any worse. “Does that mean Bran hasn’t been here today?”

“Oh, he has…was here. He stopped by for breakfast and said he’d be back for lunch at,” he looked at his watch, “noon. It is five to. If you want to wait for him, sit.” He waved toward the chairs around the room. “I’ll even get you something to eat.”

No one moved.

“But you just said we are not allowed here,” I said.

“In the restaurant. This is my office,” Keiran explained, flashing a lopsided grin. “Besides, I choose my friends, not my leaders.”

I glanced at the others and indicated the chairs. Lucien was the first one to sit, but his fascinated gaze stayed on Kieran. He’d never met a member of the Brotherhood before. Not that they were really different from us. I grabbed a seat, too. Esras and the others had no choice but to sit.

“So? Why can’t we eat here anymore?” I asked.

Kieran perched his butt on the edge of his desk, crossed his arms and legs, and shrugged. “Last night, we got a visit from the senior Cardinals. They brought us the news about the arrival of the Tribe. Our leaders asked the Cardinals if they could offer sanctuary to our young, the Specials, and our elderly until the situation with the Tribe was resolved. We’d hoped they’d take them to Xenith or at the very least, hide them at one of your High Council Headquarters.” He sighed and shook his head.

“They refused?” I asked, even though his scowl answered for him.

“This morning Cardinal Hsia brought us the news. Your leaders in Xenith said no. So as of today, no Cardinal is allowed in our compound or at any business run by a member of the Brotherhood. Officially, we’ve gone back to being neutral. Literally.” He grinned and placed a clairvoyant crystal on his table. “So what would you like to eat?”

I shook my head. “We don’t want you to go against your leaders, Keiran. We can eat at one of the Civilian-run restaurants.”

“No, you can’t. Every restaurant and business run by your Civilian Guardians is closed. They all have
Will Re-Open Under New Management
signs on their doors. I was going to ask Bran what’s going on.”

“All Civilians were told to head back to Xenith,” I explained.

“Of course.” Keiran waved a hand over the crystal, activating it. “Order something while you wait for Bran. It’s on the house.”

Despite his words, no one moved. I caught the furtive glances between Esras and the twins and focused on them. Their guilt hung thick in the air.

“You knew about the Circle’s refusal to help the Specials,” I said in an accusatory voice. No one answered. “Esras?”

“Yes, we knew about the orders,” he answered.

“And you’re okay with them?”

He shook his head. “We’ve been taught to always follow directives given to us by the CT, Lil. When we heard about this, we knew there was nothing we could do to change things.”

“Besides, you know the Specials on a personal level,” Solaris added. “We don’t, so we’re not really emotionally invested.”

And…the bitch was back. “What about logic, Solaris? Does sealing the portal and leaving behind helpless children make sense to you?”

“Helpless?” Solaris asked. “The Specials have more powers in their little fingers than hundreds of Guardians in Xenith combined. We don’t know where their loyalties lie, and as nature-benders, they might be more useful here than in Xenith.”

“Shut up, Solaris,” I snapped. “Every time you open your mouth, you say something that makes me want to zap you to the last millennium. For starters, the Specials and the Brotherhood are our allies. Maybe not yours, but definitely ours. My grandfather will not bail on them. Second, Keiran said there are Brotherhood children and the elderly who need shelter, too.”

The silence that followed my outburst was eerie. Keiran grinned. Lucien’s eyes were wide with, I don’t know, shock. Esras kept a straight, a face while Solaris sputtered with indignation. Lunaris was staring at her hands, so I couldn’t tell her reaction.

“You can’t talk to me like that,” Solaris said belligerently.

“I just did,” I said. “Third, the Specials are children, not warriors. We are not supposed to decide for them which side to support in this endless battle between us and demons. That will be their decision when they turn sixteen.”

Solaris opened her mouth to speak.

“I’m not done. Fourth, we are the ones who left them defenseless when we killed their parents and destroyed Coronis Isle. But my team did the humane thing—”

“We’re not human,” Solaris retorted.

“Yet it is our humanity that makes us different from demons. My friends and I rescued the Specials from demons when they were being forced to do despicable things. How’s the CT’s agenda different from the demons? Why should the shriveled old goats sit in their hidden world, destroy the only portal, and ask children to save them from the worst demons we’ve ever encountered? Where’s their moral high ground?”

“You shouldn’t talk about our leaders like that,” Solaris warned. “Xenith is our home. Of course, we must protect it.”

“You know what? I was born right here, so my leaders are right here on Earth, the ones I battle demons every day to protect. I’ve never met the CT, never been to your precious Xenith, and from what they’re doing, don’t ever want to visit it, so protecting
your
leaders and their perfect world is not
my
problem. If I were to choose between defending them and the Specials, I’d choose the children.”

“They’re hardly helpless,” Lunaris cut in, repeating what her sister had said.

“So?” I shot back. “No matter how powerful they are, they’re not ready to battle demons like the Tribe.”

Solaris’s brown eyes flashed. “Maybe we should give them back, along with you and Bran, and get the Tribe off our backs once and for all.”

Now I understood why they only let Cardinal Guardians fight demons. These SGs were wimps. “You know what? I’m done arguing with you. Cardinals don’t give in to demons, and they don’t run away. If SGs are taught to act cowardly in the face of danger, then you should head to the valley right now, pack your things, and go back to Xenith.”

Another silence followed. From the look on Solaris’s red face, she wasn’t backing down. Neither was I. If she opened her mouth again and spouted more nonsense, I was going to reduce her to a blabbering idiot forever. The others avoided eye contact. Keiran continued to grin.

I marched out of the room, barely resisting the urge to slam the door. Burying my face in my hands, I slid down the wall and sat on the hallway floor. Me and my temper. It didn’t matter that the CT’s decision was callous. I shouldn’t have said the things I did. Of course, I wanted to visit Xenith, see where my grandfather was born. That I’ve never been invited rankled me a bit.

“Somehow I knew you weren’t told about the Specials,” Keiran said from behind.

I glanced at him. “I was awful.”

“You were brilliant.”

“I shouldn’t have said anything. They’re scared, that’s all.”

Silver flashed in his violet eyes.

“Of a bunch of children?” he asked in disbelief.

“No, of the Tribunal,” I said.

He winced. “Don’t say that name out loud.”

I glanced at him. “Why not?”

“It is how they are summoned. The council warned us against calling out the name.”

Interesting. “Yeah, a court made up of demons. No wonder they were impartial.”

“No, Lil.” He slid down the opposite wall and joined me on the floor. “The Tri-whatever is made up of both demons and Guardians…dead ones. They mediate Nephilimic matters. When the Brotherhood wanted recognition as a legitimate subgroup of the Guardians, neutral to the war between demons and Guardians, my people summoned the Tri… the Nephilimic court. We lost the petition, but we still went ahead and formed the Brotherhood anyway. Whoever summoned them this time has a grudge against the Guardians.”

Or felt they were cheated out of a leader and powerful children. What if Gavyn had spoken the truth? It meant there had been a trial and we’d lost, except the verdict was unacceptable and so out there, I couldn’t begin to imagine leaving the Guardians to live with the demons. Whoever had represented us had to be a freaking Guardian Law School dropout. If such a school existed.

“What else do you know about the Tribe’s powers?”

Keiran shook his head. “Our council was stingy with those details. We were hoping you’d fill us in.”

“We?”

“A bunch of us believe we should fight with the Guardians regardless of the CT’s decision. I want you to talk to them, convince them that you’ll have our backs if we are attacked.”

“Me?”

He nodded. “Yes, you, Lil. You are the Chosen One.”

Not again. What would he say if he knew the Tribe was after us because of what we did?

“We’ll have your back. The decision not to offer shelter to the children and your elderly came from the CT, not my grandfather and the Cardinals.”

“The Cardinals will do what the CT tells them. That’s what Darius said. We’d rather have a pact with you and the junior Cardinals. Meet us at Club Zero, talk to my friends, and convince them you are our allies.”

“When?”

“Tonight. We’ll be there from ten to one.”

I nodded. “The others will be back by then.” I slanted my head and indicated his office. “Did they order lunch?”

“The men did. The women didn’t.” He got to his feet. “I’ll ask them again. You want the usual?”

“I’m not really hungry. I’ll have a drink…the usual. Whatever that is.”

He chuckled. “Oh, I forgot about your memory loss. Kim mentioned it. One tall glass of strawberry-lemonade slushy coming up. And you usually a prefer shrimp salad sandwich for lunch and oven-baked chicken pasta for dinner. If you change your mind, let me know.” He disappeared into his office.

Kim must have shared quite a bit of Guardian business with Keiran. Not that I was complaining. Love made us do all sorts of crazy things. I leaned against the wall and sighed. I wasn’t sure how long I sat there before Keiran returned with my slushy. “You sure you don’t want the salad?”

I smiled. “Thank, Kieran. I’m okay.”

He disappeared back into his office and I went back to my thoughts and my drink. Noon came and went, but Bran didn’t appear. Refusing to worry, I put my empty glass down, then sat straighter and slightly forward, closing my eyes and letting my mind go blank. I took deep breaths, held and released.

Pranayama
often calmed my mind, but it wasn’t enough this time. I forced myself to replace the images with more loving ones. Bran. Grampa. People who loved me regardless of what I did, what I was, who would face anything to keep me safe.

As though I’d pushed a switch, calmness rushed over me. Reasoning returned. Instead of getting worked up, I realized I had to talk to someone from the inside—Kael and Dante. They’d know about the Tribunal and their verdict.

I gave Bran fifteen more minutes, then got up and went inside Kieran’s office to join the others.

Esras and Lucien were chatting with Kieran, but stopped when I walked in. The two empty plates on a tray said only the guys had eaten. The twins must have declined Keiran’s offer. Their loss.

“Thanks for lunch, Kieran, but we have to go,” I said. “If Bran stops by, please tell him to wait here. We’ll be back in a few minutes.”

“If he asks where you guys are?”

“Tell him we’ve gone to see Kael and Dante.”

His brow shot up. “The two nature-benders?”

Someone protested, Solaris or Lunaris, I didn’t check or care. Instead, I focused on Lucien, who didn’t bother to hide his excitement. “Follow me.”