Incubus (6 page)

“Braedyn?” Gretchen said. She followed my gaze to the TV.

“She was a mother,” I whispered. On screen, the woman played with two little girls at a birthday

party. Smiling. Happy. Alive. Her husband came onto the screen. They kissed, and the touch was one

of deep and genuine love.

This missing woman, this loving wife and mother, she was the Thrall who’d attacked me at the

mission.

News of the Thrall’s identity energized the Guard. Thane and Gretchen went to canvass her

neighborhood, trying to find out what they could about her life before she’d become a Thrall.

Whatever they’d managed to learn, it wasn’t enough to satisfy Gretchen. If anything, she seemed more

puzzled after their research trip. I heard her talking to Dad in a low voice after dinner.

“As far as I can tell, the marriage was real.”

“Really?” Dad sounded surprised, which made no sense to me.

“I don’t know,” Gretchen said. “Maybe she played both sides?”

Before I had the chance to find out what they were talking about, Hale asked Lucas and me to help

with the dishes. By the time I remembered the conversation later that night, I was already in bed. I laid

my head down on my pillow, making a mental note to talk to Dad about it tomorrow.

I closed my eyes in my bedroom, and opened them in the dream.

As always, I found myself in my own private dream within the larger, universal dream that all

living things share. A field of roses ringed a tiny meadow. The flowers had once been pure white.

Now, every petal gleamed a rich blood red, except for a small white spot at its base. I touched one of

the roses absently. They were my warning. Each time I fed on the spiritual energy of a living human in

the physical world, the petals grew a little more red, a little less white. I didn’t know exactly how it

worked, but I knew that it was connected to the angel’s caveat; there was only so much damage I could

do to others before I’d cross a line. If that happened, I would never become human.

I turned from the roses, meaning to search out Lucas and join him in his dream.

She was standing in my meadow, arms crossed, watching me. I took an involuntary step back.

Honey blond hair cascaded down her shoulders, framing a perfect face. There was no denying her

beauty. Karayan. The only other Lilitu ever to have been raised by the Guard.

A jumble of emotions crashed through me, but I fought them back. “What are you doing here?”

“I see you haven’t changed much,” she said, grimly amused at my reaction. “Not that I was

expecting a warm welcome. Maybe your basic ‘hello’ or something.”

“Actually, I never got the chance to thank you,” I said in a rush, interrupting her. “For the night

Ais died.”

Karayan’s beautiful lips narrowed in a small frown. “Whatever.”

“No, seriously,” I breathed. “What you did—If you hadn’t been there—” I took a step toward her.

“We owe you our lives.”

Karayan turned away abruptly. “I didn’t want to see you get killed. It doesn’t mean we’re BFFs or

anything.”

I stopped in my tracks. “Sure, my mistake.” I crossed my arms awkwardly. “So, what
are
you

doing here?”

Karayan flipped her hair over one shoulder and fixed her piercing green eyes on me. “Something’s

brewing on the Lilitu side. I don’t know the plan, exactly, but it involves some kind of weapon.”

“Okay.” I waited, unsure how to respond to this.

“You don’t get it,” Karayan said, eyes narrowing in irritation. “This is important. Like, ‘it could

decide the War for the Lilitu’ important.”

“Okay.” A thought struck me. “Karayan, do you know where the seal is?”

Karayan gave me a disgusted look. “Are you seriously telling me you’re still playing the Guard’s

devoted lap dog? They don’t own you, Braedyn.”

“Um, I’m confused,” I said. “Why are you telling me about this weapon thing if you’re not trying

to help us win?”

“Us,” Karayan snorted.

“The Guard,” I snapped back.

“I’m not trying to help the Guard, you idiot. I’m trying to help you.”

“And I’m trying to protect my friends and family.” I got the distinct impression Karayan wanted to

roll her eyes, but I pressed on. “We could really use your help.”

“My help?” Karayan’s voice sounded incredulous. “Those people aren’t my family, remember?”

“They could be,” I said.

Karayan turned to look out over the field of roses, but not before I saw the stricken look in her eye.

After a long moment she spoke again. “Watch your back, Braedyn.” Karayan glanced over her

shoulder to meet my eyes. “I don’t know how, but you’re a part of their plan.”

And then she was gone.

Chapter 3

Karayan’s words still shrouded my thoughts the following Monday when Lucas and I arrived at

school. I’d told Dad what she’d said as soon as I’d woken up. He hadn’t liked it any more than I had,

and had looped Hale and the others into the conversation at breakfast. After an entire Sunday spent

deliberating, we’d reached no conclusions about what to do. Karayan’s warning that I was somehow a

part of the Lilitu’s plan was too vague to act on, and too frightening to ignore. Hale had even

questioned Karayan’s motives, suggesting she might have wanted to upset me to keep me distracted

and unfocused. That had given me pause. What did I really know about Karayan? On the one hand, she

had basically delivered Derek to the Guard for execution as a Thrall. On the other hand, she had saved

all our lives the night of Ais’s death. Would Karayan have gone to the trouble of sparing us once in

order to have the pleasure of watching us destroyed later? In the end, whether or not upsetting me had

been Karayan’s aim, it was the end result of our conversation.

Lucas curved his arm around my shoulders protectively while we walked from the parking lot to

school. We had to part ways for first period, but he lingered with me outside my class until the last

moment.

“We’re going to figure this out,” he said. He brushed the hair back from my forehead, smoothing it

behind my ear. I felt a twinge in my middle when he withdrew his hand.

“You sound so sure.”

Lucas gave me a crooked grin. “Come on. You’re Braedyn Murphy. You went head to head with an

ancient Lilitu and emerged victorious.”

“One,” I said softly. “And I had a lot of help.” He heard the unspoken fear in my voice. His smile

dimmed. If the final battle was drawing closer, it was unlikely we’d be facing just one powerful

demon.

“When Gretchen and I first discovered the Guard, we hooked up with this unit. Their oldest soldier

was this guy Anders. He must have been 60. Tough.” Lucas smiled faintly at some memory. “He had

this saying; ‘don’t go looking for tomorrow’s trouble, it’ll come find you. Just be ready when it

does.’”

“That’s supposed to be comforting?”

Lucas laughed softly. “Right. Yeah, it sounds pretty terrible, doesn’t it? But I think what he meant

was worrying about what might happen doesn’t help.” The bell rang, and Lucas sighed. “When trouble

comes, I’ll be standing right by your side.” He leaned his forehead against mine and we stood there for

a long moment, drawing strength from one another. Then he turned and walked down the hallway.

With a leaden stomach, I walked into first period. I spotted Cassie and dropped my books onto the

empty desk beside her. She looked up, startled, then smiled.

“Hey, rock star.”

“Huh?” I saw Cassie’s grin deepen and she pointed down to the school newspaper on her desk.

“You’re kind of a big deal,” she said. Her eyes flicked lightly around the room.

I turned and noticed most of the class staring at me with varying degrees of interest. More than

one guy straightened when my gaze passed over him. I groaned under my breath and snatched the

paper up off Cassie’s desk. Someone had snapped a picture in the mission. It must have been just after

the Thrall had attacked Lucas, but neither of them were in the shot. I was standing in the middle of the

sanctuary, hair streaming back from my face, my eyes shining with furious power.

Someone slid into the desk on my other side. I braced myself, expecting to find a dreamy-eyed boy

giving me a watery smile. I’d learned from experience that the best thing to do in these situations was

to end the crush before it had a chance to grow. But as I turned, my prepared speech died on my lips.

It was Amber. She gave me a cool glance, then turned her attention to the front of class where Mr.

Landon was writing today’s lesson on the board.

At 8:05, morning announcements began as they always did. Headmaster Fiedler read through the

day’s notes with his usual cheerful efficiency, but I wasn’t paying attention. I was trying to figure out

why Amber was sitting next to me, ignoring me. There were other seats available, including one by

her friend Missy.

Headmaster Fiedler finished with the day’s announcements and his voice brightened. “Okay, last

but not least, we’ve got a special announcement from the drama department for you this morning.”

A tinny recording filled the room.

“
I’m ready,
” came a girl’s hushed voice.

“
Are you sure?
” a boy asked. Something prickled on the back of my neck.

“
I think I love you, Parker,
” came the sweet reply.

Cassie gripped the desk beside me, her body going rigid with shock.

The muffled sounds of kissing, the rustle of sheets, then a pause.

“
Cassie?
” Parker’s voice sounded exasperated. “
I thought you wanted this.
”

“
It’s just— I’ve never done this before,
” the recorded Cassie breathed. Students started giggling, a

few glanced at Cassie. Cassie’s face could have been carved from stone. Her eyes found mine with

silent, desperate pleading. “
Can we go slow?
”

Titters spread throughout the classroom.

“Um,” Mr. Landon realized at last that this was not the drama department’s special announcement.

“Okay, clearly there’s been—” he rushed to the speaker, trying to locate an off-switch he’d never

needed before. The recorded sounds of movement grew louder. Cassie leapt to her feet, knocking over

her chair in her haste to escape. She fled the classroom, horrified. I stood to follow her.

“No, just— Stay in your seats,” Mr. Landon said, racing out the door after Cassie.

I grabbed Cassie’s and my bags, ready to drive her away from this place, my heart pounding.

“He told you to stay seated,” came Amber’s calm voice. I turned. Of everyone in the classroom,

only Amber wasn’t reacting to the sounds issuing over the loudspeakers. She sat, calmly, while our

peers clamped their hands over their mouths or laughed outright in disbelief.

“You?” Realization came in an icy rush. Amber’s eyes didn’t waver.

A shrill whine screeched over the speaker and students clutched hands over their ears, wincing in

pain.

“...said turn it off!” roared Fiedler. The speaker finally fell silent.

“I told you not to come back to school,” Amber said. Her eyes hadn’t left my face.

I felt my hands balling into fists at my sides. A growing rage clouded my vision. “Why Cassie?”

“Be honest, Lilitu,” Amber said, lowering her voice to a hiss. “You didn’t think I was any kind of

threat, did you? Sure, maybe I can’t do anything to you. But you better believe I can make your friends

suffer. If you don’t decide to leave Coronado Prep, things are going to get a lot harder for the people

you love.”

For a moment, the only thing I could hear was the rush of blood in my ears. I lunged for Amber,

but she was faster than I’d bargained for. She jumped out of her seat and grinned at me. The class spun

around in their seats to stare at us.

“Girl fight!” one of the guys called, and another round of laughter filled the class. I was too pissed

to care. Amber didn’t take her eyes off of me. She was grinning with malicious glee.

“Do it,” Amber said. “I dare you. You’ll be doing me a huge favor by getting yourself expelled.”

It took all of my self-control, but I forced myself to turn my back on her, pick up Cassie’s and my

things, and walk out of the classroom.