Incubus (70 page)

Acting purely on instinct, I moved. My fist connected with his cheek, rocking his head back with a

meaty thunk. He took the punch and danced back, blinking tears of pain out of his eyes. “Good one.”

From across the basement, I heard Jason and Chris laughing. They had paused in their sparring to

watch us.

“Damn,” Chris said. “She tagged you pretty good.”

“She’s had good teachers,” Matthew said with a forced smile. He turned back to me, putting his

hands up. “You ready?” he asked again. There was an edge to his voice. He didn’t like getting bested

in front of his comrades.

“Yep.” I didn’t take my eyes off of him. He threw himself into the attack, not holding back. It was

all I could do to defend, but I managed to keep him from landing a single punch. He pressed the

attack. It was the first time I’d been pushed so hard since we’d started training again. I felt my breath

coming faster, my lungs working to keep up as my body demanded more oxygen.

I heard a low whistle and was dimly aware that the newcomers were all watching us spar. Matthew

feinted and, distracted, I fell for it. As he dodged out of my way, I realized I’d stumbled into a trap. I

dropped to the mat and swept out my leg, knocking Matthew clear off his feet before he’d had a

chance to strike. Matthew hit the ground with a loud
ooof!

But it was Lucas who cried out in pain. I looked up. Lucas was reeling back, clutching his nose.

Gretchen dropped her fighting stance immediately.

“Oh, Lucas. Let me see.” She moved toward him but Lucas drew back. “Let me see,” she insisted,

when he wouldn’t let her get close.

“Just—just give me a second,” Lucas said. He took his hand away. Blood streamed freely from his

nose.

“Crap,” Gretchen said. “Tilt your head back.” She reached for Lucas’s nose, but he jerked away.

“You ladies are a force to be reckoned with,” the Guardsman named Paul said.

“Hey, kid. Come here,” Max called. “I know a trick for bloody noses.”

Lucas glanced at Gretchen, then walked over to Max. Max probed at Lucas’s nose gingerly. I heard

Lucas suck in a sharp breath, but he didn’t protest.

“Doesn’t look broken,” Max said. “Let’s go get you some ice.” Max led Lucas out of the basement.

Chris and Jason turned back to their practice.

Gretchen sank into a chair, running her hands through her hair. She looked twisted with guilt. Paul,

partnerless now that Max had left the room, walked over to us.

“That was stupid,” Gretchen said.

“He wasn’t paying attention to his fight,” Paul replied. “You did him a favor.”

“How do you figure?”

“If he’d been fighting a Lilitu, he’d be dead.”

Gretchen nodded slowly, her eyes flicking to my face. Paul glanced at me with a spreading smile.

“Though I totally get the distraction. If she was my girl, I’d be keeping an eye on her, too. I’d

better go help Max. He’s got the bedside manner of a warthog.” Paul tipped an imaginary hat at me

and headed up the stairs after Max and Lucas.

Hale appeared at the top of the stairs a minute later. “Gretchen?”

“Yeah,” she asked, as if expecting this.

“You want to tell me what happened?” Hale walked into the basement, pulling Gretchen aside for

the debrief.

Matthew glanced back at me. “We’ve still got an hour left. Want to try another round?” I didn’t,

actually. I wanted to go check on Lucas. Matthew seemed to read the conflict in my face. “How about

this,” he said. “You land three punches, you’re free to go to Lucas.”

I tried, I really did. But Matthew wasn’t holding back. After an exhausting five minute bout, we

broke, breathing heavily. A thin sheen of sweat covered Matthew’s brow, and I felt dampness

spreading down the back of my shirt. I grabbed a bottle of water from my school bag and downed it.

Hale finished with Gretchen about the same time. “Go check on him,” Hale said. Gretchen,

relieved, nodded. She hurried up the stairs and was gone. Hale glanced at us. “How’s it going?”

I shrugged.

“She’s doing pretty well one on one,” Matt said.

“Let’s step it up,” Hale said. “Time for another session of two on one.”

I groaned inwardly, but once Hale got something into his mind you’d better just deal with it.

“Fine.”

“Don’t worry,” Hale said with a smile. “Practice makes perfect.” Matthew and Hale took up

positions on either side of me.

To say that my heart wasn’t in it would be putting it mildly. But when two skilled fighters come

after you, you learn to move. I might heal quicker than the normal girl, but that didn’t make the

punches hurt any less. The problem was, as soon as I turned my attention to fight off one of them, the

other would attack from my blind spots. I’d spin around to defend, only to open up my back to the

first.

30 minutes of this had left me sore, irritated, and exhausted. Hale finally took pity on me and

called an end to the session.

“Better.”

“It’s nice of you to say,” I said, scowling. “But I think we all know that’s a load of crap.”

“It’s not complete crap,” Matthew said with a smile. “Just 90 percent crap.”

I grabbed another bottle of water out of my school bag, accidentally pulling it off the table in the

process. My bag hit the ground and Angela’s photocopied notes shot out. I dropped to scoop them up,

my heart thudding in my throat.

Hale bent to help. I looked up quickly. That was a mistake. Hale might have handed everything

back to me without even looking at it. But when he saw my face, he glanced at the pages in his hands.

And his expression hardened.

He stood, glancing down at the image of the vessel.

“Wait. I can explain,” I said.

“Get Thane,” Hale said to Matthew. His voice was quiet. His eyes didn’t leave my face. Matthew

snapped to attention and sped up the stairs.

“Hale,” I started.

“Don’t.”

His calm scared me more than if he’d lost it. “I didn’t mean to disobey,” I whispered. Hale simply

looked at me. Chris and Jason were still training behind us. Hale clearly didn’t want to alert them to

this conversation.

Thane entered a few moments later. “Yes?”

“I need your expertise.”

Thane walked down into the basement, glancing at Chris and Jason. They were focused on each

other, sparring. They didn’t pay any attention to him. Thane joined us, looking at me curiously. Hale

handed him the notes. Thane glanced at them, flipped through a few pages, then found the image of

the vessel. He stopped and looked back up at Hale, unsettled.

“I take it this is Angela’s research?” Thane asked. He and Hale shared a significant look. I got the

distinct impression that they knew something they weren’t saying.

“Do you know what—?” I started to ask.

Hale cut me off. “Thane?”

“I need to consult with Ian,” Thane murmured.

“Go. I’ll handle things here.” Hale turned back to me, his eyes snapping. He waited until Thane

had closed the door at the top of the basement stairs. “I asked you to leave Angela’s work alone.”

“I know.” I felt excruciatingly small under Hale’s glare.

“You gave me your word.”

“I know. I’m sorry.” When he didn’t answer me, I drew in a ragged breath. “I didn’t ask for it, Seth

just—”

“I don’t think you understand.” Hale took me by the arm and steered me toward the rack of

daggers against the back wall, farther from Jason and Chris. “Braedyn, we’re going to have to tell the

rest of the Guard about you. You know that, right? And I’m afraid it’s going to have to be sooner

rather than later. There are Guardsmen who will see you as the enemy. In their eyes, you will be guilty

until proven innocent. Don’t give them any reason to doubt you.” He held my gaze, his eyes piercing.

“You can’t afford to make the same mistakes as other kids your age. If you make a promise, you have

to keep it.”

His words stung. I nodded.

“Okay.” Hale bent and picked up my bag, handing it to me. “Go wash up. Dinner’s almost ready.”

Thane left the next morning, taking Angela’s photocopied research with him. Dad wouldn’t tell me

where he was going, only that he had to speak with another Guard archivist.

Lucas showed up on my doorstep early. For someone who’d never been too excited about school,

Lucas couldn’t wait to get to campus. Hale had chewed Lucas out after I’d left to get cleaned up the

night before. Whether or not it was fair, Hale made it clear to Lucas that knowing about the research

and saying nothing was as bad as taking it in the first place.

“He’s not calling it punishment,” he said when we got into my car for the drive to school. “But

I’ve got a whole list of new chores. Weapons maintenance every weekend. Oh, and KP every night

after dinner. Which, by the way, you’ll be joining me for. Hale says it’s time we contribute more to

the operation of the Guard. But I know the truth. It’s punishment.” Lucas looked at me, curious. “What

was in that research? It must have been nuclear strength secrets or something.”

I sighed. “That’s the worst part about this whole thing. If there was some big secret in there, I

didn’t find it.”

“No, the worst part about this whole thing is being stuck in the basement with Hale every Saturday

morning when I should be sleeping in.”

“At least we have our dreams,” I said.

Lucas looked at me, his eyes warm. “Yeah. That’s something they can’t take from us, no matter

how badly we screw up.”

In physics, Seth tried to slip me another envelope. “Mom made a breakthrough on the ritual,” he

whispered.

I pushed his hand back, not touching the envelope he offered.

“What’s wrong?” His face was a mask of surprise. “I thought you wanted to know this stuff.”

“Things have... changed,” I said. “With the new Guardsmen around.” I sighed. “Plus, Hale saw the

picture of the vessel and freaked out.”

“You showed it to him?”

“Not on purpose,” I said. “It fell out of my bag.”

“Crap. I’m sorry.” Seth looked glum. He slipped the envelope back into his bag.

“Actually,” I started, remembering the look Thane and Hale had exchanged, “I think he might

know something about the vessel.”

“Really? Why did he freak out at you?”

“He’s worried about what might happen if the Guardsmen figure out what I am before he’s ready

to tell them.”

“You haven’t told them you’re a Lilitu?” Seth looked outraged, but he kept his voice low.

“No,” I said.

“But—why do you have to hide from them? You’re on their side.”

I shrugged, but some part of me felt a grim satisfaction. At least someone else saw the injustice of

my situation. “You know that and I know that, but unfortunately most of these guys think of it as their

sacred duty to kill my kind. So until they get to know me a little better, we’re keeping it on the DL.”

“Well, for what it’s worth, I think that’s stupid.” Seth threw an arm over my shoulder

companionably. It was nice. Comfortable.

“Thanks.” I leaned into him, resting my head on his shoulder for a moment.

My eyes landed on Royal and Cassie. They were staring at us, speculation running wild across

their faces. I straightened, quickly, turning my attention back to my notes. But the damage had been

done. Cassie caught me alone after class.