Hunted tgl-3 (24 page)

Being able to fly and having the element of surprise had helped him. Dante might use his wings to his advantage too. How many of their friends had wings? Kael was busy inspecting Dante’s singed wing. They looked so cute together. Unfortunately, they also had kept secrets from us.

“Dante and Kael knew about the archangels, but didn’t tell us,” I said.

Bran shrugged. “Can you blame them? The archangels are scary beings.”

He didn’t sound remotely afraid, but thinking about them filled me with both fear and anger, which was counterproductive. “Can we go home now?”

“Sure. What’s wrong?” Bran asked, frowning.

“We’ll talk later.” I incline my head toward Esras and the twins. “Tell them we’re leaving while I say goodbye to Kael and Dante.” Bran’s gaze followed me as I walked toward the two nature-benders.

“Hey,” I said to draw their attention. “Thanks for helping us escape Raphael and his warriors.”

Dante’s wing folded behind his back like a cloak. “Thank us when they are gone. I want to show you something.” He took my arm and led me to the wall. “Do you know where we are?”

“Las Vegas.”

“Treasure Planet Casino to be precise,” he corrected. “It is our building on the Strip. We will be open for business in a few weeks, but whenever you need to contact us, come to this floor. As soon as you teleport in, we’ll detect your presence. No humans or demons will be allowed on this floor, except you, Bran, and your Cardinal friends.” He glanced over his shoulder at the Cardinals. “The other ones,” he amended. “If you need us, come here. No more sending signals.”

I studied his face, then Kael’s, who’d moved closer and now stood by his side. “You guys knew we were dealing with archangels when we mentioned them last week, didn’t you?”

Dante frowned and exchanged another glance with Kael. “Our paths have crossed before. We had to be sure it was the same horde of archangels.”

“Just how old are you?”

“Old,” Dante said with a finality that didn’t invite more questions. “We’re still searching for the Summoners, but we know they are the ones kidnapping young demons. We don’t know why.”

“To start an army. Gavyn, Bran’s brother, told me,” I added when they scowled. “He also said that he and his friends summoned the Tri…the Nephilim court. He said other stuff too, which I’m beginning to believe might be true after what that archangel said.”

“Don’t take anything Raphael said to heart,” Dante said reassuringly. “Most archangels resent the fact that the Principalities rebelled against the prime directive, and chose free will and love. The thought that you could unite the Nephilim and start our path to ascension bothers them. I don’t know what verdict the court came up with, but Raphael is running his own show, so be very careful. Any time you leave the safety of your enclave, make sure you let us know. Stop by here first, or send someone to inform us.”

“Okay. Since you know more about them than we do, do you know if they or the court can bring back someone from Tartarus?”

Dante’s eyes narrowed. “They are the ones who put the Principalities there to begin with, so that is possible, but I’ve never heard of anyone coming back. Why do you ask?”

“Just something Gavyn said. Could they…do you know if Valafar is alive?”

Dante shook his head. “Of course not. Your grandfather defeated him and sent him to Tartarus.”

“Who told you Valafar is alive?” Bran asked from behind me, his voice deceptively soft. I hadn’t realized he’d joined us. “Gavyn?”

“No, Solaris,” I said, turned and realized my mistake when his emerald eyes grew stormy. “Bran—”

“You what?” He was by the twins’ side by the time he finished the question.

Solaris cringed.

“I…I, uh…” Solaris stammered.

“What did you tell her?” Bran snarled through gritted teeth. Esras opened his mouth and started to speak up, but Bran silenced him with a look. “Home. Now. Follow us.”

He was back by my side before I could protest his attitude. I didn’t need him fighting my battles. Worse, he was humiliating the Cardinals in front of Dante and Kael.

“Bran,” I protested.

“She had no right to screw with your head like that, Lil. Not right now with all the crap we are going through. I’ll be in touch.” A nod at Kael and Dante and we teleported.

He looped our teleport before we ended in the foyer of my house. Along the way I tried to reason with him, but I might as well have been talking to a wall. The others appeared behind us, not giving me a chance to calm Bran or lecture him on his high-handedness.

He rounded on Solaris. “Start talking.”

Fear paralyzed her. Lucien distanced himself from her as though her guilt might rub off on him. Esras wore a resigned look.

“Our parents were killed during the nature-bender’s raid and we wanted Valafar to pay when we heard he was alive,” Lunaris said. “We’d been searching for several weeks when we heard that Cardinal Falcon had killed him.”

Bran’s eyes narrowed. “So you decided to mess with Lil’s head, while we are in the middle of a crisis, by saying he’s alive.”

“We were told he was alive,” Lunaris said.

“Told by whom?”

“A Civilian Guardian saw him in Buenos Aires,” Solaris finally spoke up. “I set off with my Cardinals to investigate. There’s a group of Werenephils in the Amazon. They are hiding a powerful but aging demon.”

Bran cocked his brow. “And?”

“They were gone by the time we got there.”

“That is because Valafar is dead and trapped in Tartarus for eternity. I was there. I watched him die,” Bran said. “The two nature-benders who helped us today were his men. Dante was his right-hand man, Kael one ofhis senior guards. They betrayed Valafar by helping us. Do you know what he would have done to them had he survived?”

The twins shook their heads.

“Used them as an example. Hunted them down and publicly punished them before killing them, so no demon would ever thinking of crossing him. He was ruthless, the kind of demon not afraid to get his hands dirty.”

Silence filled the room, but in my head the conversation with Gavyn kept replaying. Could Valafar have summoned the Tribunal and sent the archangels after us, then asked Gavyn to offer Bran and me a deal? Bran stepped aside and said, “Now about what you said to Lil…”

“No, that’s okay,” I said.
Please, let me handle this
.

He hesitated, then stepped back.

When I glanced at him, I found him standing guard, arm crossed, legs apart, gaze locked on the twins as though to warn them to act right or else.

Please, wait for me in the kitchen
.

His eyes narrowed and he appeared ready to refuse, then he nodded and left. I waited until he disappeared, then faced the Cardinals. “Tell me again what you learned about Valafar.”

Surprise flashed across the twins’ faces.

“It’s just like I said,” Solaris said, for once her voice not belligerent. “We had a lead, a den of Werenephils in the middle of the Amazon guarding an aging, powerful Lord that fit Valafar’s description. That lead turned cold. We were about to give up when one of my Civilian Guardians spotted him in Buenos Aires again. Before we could confirm it, the Damned Humans in our sector whose contracts we’d canceled were being attacked and their fortunes reversed, and young demons started disappearing. We even thought our inquiries had led to the attacks. Then the incident on the island happened and we were put on lockdown.” Lunaris gave me a look I couldn’t explain, like she felt sorry for me and wasn’t too happy about it.

The hated hollow feeling settled in my tummy again. “You heard what Gavyn said about the Tribunal bringing back demons from Tartarus. There could be a connection.”

“Can we trust anything he says?” Lunaris whispered.

I shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ll ask Dante and Kael to look into it after we’re done with the archangels.” If
I
survived.

They nodded.

“Okay. I’ll see you guys around.” I turned to head to the kitchen.

“I’m sorry, Cardinal Lil,” Lunaris said, stopping me in my tracks. “We shouldn’t have brought up Valafar during a mission or now when we have other things to worry about.”

“That’s okay.”

Solaris looked like she’d swallowed a rotten egg. An apology from her wasn’t going to happen. Fine. I didn’t need it. “See you later, Cardinals.”

“May I say something, please?” Esras said. He’d been so quiet I’d forgotten his presence. Lucien’s too.

Why couldn’t they just leave? I was sure they had to report to Master Haziel or something. “Esras, I’ve a lot on my mind, so please make it quick.”

“I’m sorry if you feel we misled you about our identities,” he said.

“I don’t
feel
you misled me, Esras. You misled me. Whether Master Haziel put you up to it or it was your brilliant idea to test me is now pointless. Are you a Cardinal too, Lucien?”

Shoulders hunched, the younger man shook his head. “No. Master Haziel asked meto…to…”

“To what?” I asked impatiently.

Lucien swallowed visibly. “To be his, uh, ‘eyes and ears’ is how he put it. He wanted to see if the four of you, all sector heads, could work together. He said you could learn a thing or two from each other.”

Yeah, Ilearned something all right, how to be a jackass. “My grandfather heads this sector, not me,” I reminded Lucien.

“But you will be the leader when your grandfather retires,” Lucien said.

Sure, if I survived the archangels. I was too tired to argue with him. “Thanks for having the guts to tell me the truth. I did learn something from you guys, so all in all a successful mission.” I turned to leave, but the Cardinals didn’t move.

Lucien looked confused. “But Master Haziel expects all of us back in the pit.”

“You guys go ahead. I’ll see him later.”

“But—”

“Go,” Bran barked from behind me.

Lucien teleported, but Esras and the twins stayed.

“Before we leave, I have something to say.” Esras moved closer, his gaze intense. “Let’s start over. I’m Esras, son of Fearghal, head of Southeast Sector, headquarters Melbourne. Master Haziel was right. There’s much we can learn from the way your team operates and the alliances you form. It doesn’t matter whether they are with demons or Neutrals, they come in handy. We would not have made it out alive today if it weren’t for your friends.”

He smiled, but I wasn’t ready to forgive him yet.

“It is true Master Haziel told us not to say anything,” Esras continued. “I wasn’t happy with his decision, but I was trained to never question orders from my superiors.”

“Funny, my team is the opposite. We question everything and break rules often.”

He nodded. “We’ve heard. Maybe we will learn to be more… spontaneous with time. All I know is Guardians should stick together.”

Tell that to his two companions, especially Solaris.

“To make up for this afternoon’s fiasco,” Esras continued, “I’d like to invite your team to our house for dinner tonight. The rest of my team will arrive this evening after visiting their families in Xenith. We’re staying at Cardinal Hsia’s until this crisis is over.”

“We’re staying with Cardinal Moira,” Lunaris said. “I head Northeast Sector, headquarters Brussels.”

“Southwest Sector, Buenos Aires,” Solaris said. “We’re staying with Cardinal Janelle.”

Bran lived with Aunt Janelle too. From his scowl, he wasn’t too thrilled by Solaris’s news. I’d hate to have a twin and live away from her just because of my powers. I wondered how often they saw each other.

“Is the dinner for all the Cardinals or just us and Esras’ team?” Bran asked.

Esras glanced at Solaris and Lunaris. “You should all come, so we can get to know each other in a relaxed environment. So? How about it?” He glanced at me.

I didn’t really want to deal with a roomful of Cardinals who knew so much about us while we knew next to nothing about them. On the other hand, we had a common enemy—archangels—to defeat. We had to learn to work together.

“I’ll talk to my friends as soon they return and we’ll let you know,” I said then started for the kitchen.

“
I still don’t like them,” I said as soon as the Cardinals left. “Especially the twins.”

Bran chuckled, following me into the kitchen. “I’ve hunted with them. They’re not so bad.”

“They deliberately misled me about where they were from. Solaris and her sister even refused to eat at Keiran’s,” I made a face, “which was so insulting because we can’t use his restaurant anymore, yet he offered us food.”

“I know. The Brotherhood is pissed at the CT because of the Specials’ situation.”

“Your Cardinal buddies didn’t seem to care.”

“They’re not my buddies,” he protested, though the corner of his lips lifted and a dimple flashed on his cheek.

“It’s not funny. They’re stuck-up. I never thought I’d say this, but I miss Kim. In fact, I can’t wait for her and the others to come back.”

“I don’t know about that. I like having you to myself.” He wrapped his arms around my waist, lifted me, and placed me on the kitchen counter. He moved closer, his expression serious as he studied my face as though he hadn’t seen me in weeks.

“The archangels are after me, Bran,” I whispered.

“They’ll have to go through me first to get to you,” he said confidently. “And through your grandfather, the Cardinals, the Brotherhood…I don’t know if Keiran told you, but he and his friends are with us. Then there’s Dante and his nature-bender friends, Jethro’s Hermonites. No one is touching you.”

Feeling a little better, I pushed my fingers through his hair, held his head in place, and leaned forward until our lips touched. I gently rubbed my lips across his. “You need a haircut.”

“Are you offering to trim it?”

“Maybe.”

He chuckled and mashed our lips together, taking me to that special place where want, need, and acceptance met, where nothing else mattered. No Tribunal, no archangels, no annoying brother. Our breathing came out faster and faster, hearts beating at the same pace and threatening to burst free of our chests.

He eased back and pressed his forehead against mine. I opened my eyes to find him studying me intently as though memorizing my face, his emerald eyes fierce. “I couldn’t sleep last night.”

He frowned. “Nightmare?”

I shrugged, not wanting to bring up Goddess Xenia and the vessel thing. “You must have slept in a hard, bumpy place.”

“Sorry about that. I found the Order’s new quarters, an old hotel in Detroit. It is being renovated on the outside, but all the action is in the sub-levels. After they refused me entrance, I used the back door.”

“Filthy underground sewer?”

He cocked his eyebrow. “How do you know?”

“I saw your shirt at Jethro’s, and you still smell awful.”

He chuckled. “The funniest thing was they didn’t seem to care about us. Not once did any of them think or mention the Tribe or the archangels.”

“That’s because they aren’t the ones who summoned the Tribunal, uh, the court.”

He cocked his eyebrow. “Tribunal?”

“We have a lot to talk about.”

“Just a minute.” He dropped a kiss on my forehead and stepped back. “Do you have anything to eat around here?”

“Sure. We have some cold cuts. I can make you a sandwich and—”

“No, I’ll do it.” He stepped around the counter and went to the sink to wash his hands. He knew where everything was. “I overheard what you told the Cardinals about Gavyn.” He spoke calmly, but the way he scowled said he wasn’t calm.

Wishing I could spare him the heartache, I said slowly, “I, uh, didn’t mean for you to hear that until I explained everything.”

“Then explain away.” He got busy making his sandwich.

“Gavyn was in high spirits when he came to Jethro’s,” I started. Bran went chalk-white as I talked. He came around the counter and sat on a stool, his sandwich forgotten.

“That’s a load of crap. For starters, no one convinced me to change sides. Second, the contract I signed to fight on Jarvis Island was a fake. It was between me and Damien, but since he doesn’t exist, the contract was null and void. I’m no more the winner of that stupid combat than you are.” Angrily, he turned and grabbed his sandwich.

That thought had never crossed my mind. Hope stirred deep inside me as I continued to talk while he demolished his sandwich. His eyes flashed dangerously when I explained Gavyn’s claim that the Tribunal could bring a demon back from Tartarus.

“That’s explains why you think Valafar is alive. Yeah, I overheard your conversation with Solaris. Tartarus is the end of the line for demons, Lil. There’s no coming back until time stops. Who represented us in this cockamamie court? Either they weren’t prepared or they were just incompetent.” Bran blew out air, ruffling the hair sloping over his forehead. “Did Gavyn ask about Celeste?”

I shook my head.

“It doesn’t make sense. He knows this place,” Bran said. “If he and his new friends summoned the Tribunal, why didn’t he give the archangels our location?”

“I don’t know. Maybe he wants you and Celeste out of harm’s way first. Remember, he wants to see you.”

Bran grunted. “I’m tired.”

“You can nap here. I’m sure you don’t want to deal with your sour-faced guests.”

He chuckled. “I meant I’m tired of Gavyn’s bullshit. I’ve given him chances, always hoping he’d change only to see him blow it.” He got up to make another sandwich. “I thought Celeste would make him change, but his hatred for the Guardians keeps growing instead of lessening.”

“So you’re not going to see him?”

“No. I don’t want to listen to any more of his excuses for betraying me.”

This was what I’d wanted to hear since I’d fallen in love with Bran, yet now it made me angry. Gavyn was a poor excuse for a brother and always managed to drag Bran down. This time he had gone too far.

“What about Celeste? She loves both of you.”

“I’ll go see her before they destroy the portal. Want to come?”

I wrinkled my nose. He was lucky he got a free pass to go whenever he pleased after the CT proved he was Tariel’s grandson. “No, thanks.”

He paused in the process of removing another slice of bread and cocked his right brow. “The CT never said you can’t visit.”

“They never said I could, either.”

“You just want the red carpet, marching bands, and confetti,” he teased.

That he could find humor now was so amazing. “Why not? I’m the wielder of the Kris Dagger. We took out Coronis, stopped the demons from electing a leader, and rescued the Specials. I should get a hero’s welcome.”

“Not going to happen. Instead of marching bands, we have archangels gunning for us.”

And we were back to my nightmare. I sighed. “Actually, they’re gunning for me.”

“You mentioned that before and I went with it. Why are you so sure about that?”

I explained what Raphael had said. Bran’s eyes darkened the more I talked. He piled meat on top of the slice of bread absentmindedly. “What if there’s a connection between Gavyn’s rants and what Raphael said? According to Dante, the Chosen One will unite the Nephilim and lead them down the path to ascension. What if it’s already happening? Without me, you would never have switched sides or fought on Jarvis Island. Without me, the Specials would still be with the demons and Coronis would still be alive. Without me, Dante and Kael might not have found love.”

Bran shot me a skeptical look. “What?”

“They love each other. It’s really cute.”

“Are you sure about that? It doesn’t matter. The archangels won’t win. Like I said, we won’t let them.
You
won’t let them.” He rounded the counter to rejoin me, another sandwich in his hand. He paused instead of taking his seat and added, “Once we talk to your grandfather, you’ll see that I’m telling the truth.”

I should have stopped talking right there, but I couldn’t. “What if Valafar is alive?”

Bran scowled. “I’m beginning to hate this game. You know, when you say ‘what if and I come up with an answer.”

I pouted. “It’s not a game. I’m serious. What if he survived the attack on Jarvis Island?”

His green eyes darkened. A shrug followed. “Then wherever he is, he’s too weak to do anything. The last time we saw him, he was a shriveled old man. A shadow of the powerful nature-bender he once was.”

“Physically, yes, but mentally…” I shook my head. “He could be behind this mess.”

Bran shrugged and asked, “How are your powers?” His attempt to change the subject was pathetic.

“We have to explore all possibilities, Bran. About Valafar, the archangels, Gavyn’s agenda.”

He pushed back the hair from his forehead, his expression angry. “What do you want me to say? That there could be some truth to what Gavyn said about Valafar and that the thought of losing you to the archangels is already haunting me? Or that I blame Gavyn for all of the above? Is that what you want to hear?” he asked sharply.

“Yes,” I snapped right back. “I need to know exactly how you feel, so I know I’m not the only one feeling like this. I’m scared, Bran. Terrified. I keep thinking that this time we won’t win. That no matter what you or anyone says, this is it.” My voice was shaking by the time I finished talking.

“Come here.” Bran put his sandwich down and pulled me into his arms. “You drive me crazy, you know that?”

“I know.”

“But I love you anyway.”

“I know.”

“You are never alone, and we’ll find a way to beat them,” he vowed.

Should I tell him about the Goddess using me as a vessel? No, that would be too much information for now. There was always the chance that I’d ascend and escape the archangels once she was done with me.

Not liking my thoughts, I stepped away from Bran’s arms. Even though he picked up his sandwich and bit into it, his eyes stayed on me. I started making my own sandwich, wishing I’d eaten something at Kieran’s.

“How’s your headache?”

“Gone.”

“Your powers?”

“Steady for now.”

He nodded. “That’s good.”

“Do I look different since the attack?” I asked when he continued to watch me.

“You mean other than the glow and the sparkle in your eyes, or the fact that you’re the most beautiful girl in the entire world? Because that’s not different.”

Heat rushed to my cheeks at the compliment. “I’m serious, Bran. Something happens to me every time my powers are off. My heartbeat shoots up, I get hot and—”

“Release lots of pheromones,” he finished.

“Phero…what?”

He chuckled. “The chemicals that make humans act like idiots around us. Nephilim release them. It’s what makes us so irresistible and,” he licked the mustard off his finger, “gives us a higher sex drive.”

Everything that happened after the attack rushed back—the way we’d made out in my room, Remy’s stare, Gavyn’s disgusting fascination with me. This was something I didn’t want to deal with now.

“Never mind.” I scooped up the bread, even the sandwich I’d started making, and dumped them in the fridge, then retrieved a bottle of water. “I have to report to Master Haziel.”

“Whoa, stop.” Bran blocked my path. “This is nothing to stress about. Most of us start releasing at eighteen. You started early. The attack may have something to do with the sudden spike in pheromones.”

“Then it can’t be good.”

“No, it is. We almost made it to third base.”

His words were slow to register. When they did, I smacked his chest. “Did you just use a baseball metaphor? That’s so Sykes.”

Bran made a disgusted face. “If I can handle your pheromone overload, so can you. Without feeling embarrassed. I’m the one who must fight even harder to resist you.”

I wasn’t worried about him. He could control himself in any given situation. “Do the others know?”

“I don’t think so, but they’ll eventually figure it out.”

I made a face.

“You know why?”

“I don’t want to know.” I twisted the cap off the water bottle and took a sip. I didn’t like the look in his eyes as he went back to his sandwich and took a bite. “Okay. Why?”

“When you’re tense or excited, you release more. When you panic or get pissed, any drastic change in emotions triggers them.”

My eyes narrowed. “Now you’re just making stuff up.”

He gave me a wide-eyed innocent look. “Would I lie to you?”

He would if it meant making me forget my other problems. I wrinkled my nose.

“I stink, I know.” He pressed a kiss on my nose. “I’m hitting the showers, then heading to Xenith. Don’t mess with some poor guy’s head while I’m gone.”

I rolled my eyes. “We’re having dinner with your Cardinal buddies, so hurry back. And tell Celeste I said hi.”

He stopped smiling. “Okay.”

I called Kylie as soon as he left. When she didn’t pick up her phone, I sent her a text message.

HQ was so quiet now that the Civilian Guardians were gone. Things changed as I crossed the Academy’s foyer and got closer to the pit. The clang of metal reached me. I shivered, remembering the archangel’s sword. I reached up and touched my neck. What happened to Guardians when they died?

I tried not to gape when I entered the pit. Master Haziel was sparring with Lucien, their swords colliding, lifting, and thrusting. I had never seen Lucien spar before, and he was pretty good for a SG.