Sacrifice (17 page)

“I don’t see any alternative,” Thane said. “We cannot turn down this gift of an opportunity. Not when we know so little about this Temple of Lilith—”

“No.” I shook my head, glaring at Hale. “I gave myself wholeheartedly to the Guard to help protect my friends. Don’t do this. Don’t put her on the front lines.”

Hale lowered his eyes, considering my words for a long moment. “Braedyn. This could be the end of days.” Hale looked up, and the depth of pain in his eyes struck me to the core. “There’s no telling which soldier might make the difference in this war.” Hale placed a hand on Cassie’s shoulder. “Cassie has committed herself to this cause. None of us has the right to refuse her help.”

I stared at Hale, at a loss for words. One by one, everyone turned from me to Cassie.

Cassie watched me, her eyes tight with concern. My mind unspooled a flood of memories from our past together, from sharing crayons in elementary school to the first time we’d gone to the fabric district together to buy material for our Halloween costumes as spindly 13-year-olds. Cassie had been a part of my life ten times longer than the Guard had. It felt like my worlds were colliding. No. Worse. It felt like this new reality I’d been exposed to since learning of the existence of the Lilitu was devouring my old reality, one loved one at a time.

I dropped my eyes, unable to face Cassie. “What do we do now?” I asked quietly.

“What we’ve been doing,” Hale said. “Guard the Seal. Wait for the cult’s next move. Watch for Lilitu.”

“And us?” I glanced at Cassie and Royal.

No one spoke for a moment.

Then Dad pulled an envelope out of his coat pocket. “Well, if you’re looking for something to keep yourselves occupied, there’s always this.” He handed me the envelope. “It came in yesterday’s mail. The school’s organizing a practice SAT for the entire Junior class after finals.”

“You can’t be serious?” I looked up.

“A practice SAT, huh?” Gretchen looked at Lucas. “I don’t recall getting that letter.”

Lucas shifted his feet unhappily. “I figured, with everything else that was going on—”

“You figured wrong,” Gretchen said.

Lucas groaned, but Royal and Cassie traded a small smile. School was familiar. School was safe.

“Sounds like a plan,” Dad said. He threw an arm around my shoulders and pulled me into a hug. I let him hold me for a long moment. I knew what he was thinking. Dad had to believe I’d have a future beyond this war. And that meant, willing or no, I’d be taking that test. To refuse would be admitting the possibility that we might fail. And there was no way I was going to do that to my dad.

I woke up early again the next morning. Rather than lay in bed, I got up and got dressed. I headed downstairs, hoping I might catch Dad up, but as I passed his bedroom I heard the faint sound of his snores. I sighed. At least one of us had managed to beat insomnia tonight.

I made my way into the dark kitchen, opting to turn on the under-counter lights. They illuminated the space with a gentle glow, much more suited to my current mood than overhead lights would have been. I put some water on to boil, meaning to make some tea.

I heard the bolt turn at the front door. Karayan had filled in for another sick spotter, partnering with Gretchen—who was the only spotter willing to work with either of us. She must be returning from the late shift. I was walking through the dining room to offer her a cup of tea when I saw her turn back to face someone on the porch. I pressed myself against the wall in the dining room, suddenly unsure what to do.

“I’d invite you in, but I think that’d send the wrong message,” Karayan was saying.

“Strange that two adults have to worry so much what other people think.” It was Hale. I held my breath, frozen against the wall. “Like we’d ever do anything stupid.”

There was a long silence, and then Karayan sighed. “I had fun tonight.”

“Me too,” Hale said. “You know, ‘fun’ within the context of guarding a supernatural portal to another realm filled with malicious demons waiting to destroy the world.”

“Right.” Karayan laughed quietly. “Within
that
context, I had a blast.”

“It does make one wonder in what other contexts we might have fun.”

“It does indeed.” Karayan’s voice was rich with amused affection. “Well.”

“Yeah.” Hale cleared his throat. “I should probably get some sleep.”

“That whole ‘beauty’ problem,” Karayan agreed.

“Exactly. Good night, Karayan.” I heard Hale turn and walk off our front porch, heading back to the Guard’s house next door.

“Sleep tight,” Karayan whispered, her voice filled with regret. After another long moment, she closed the door.

I stepped out from my hiding place. Karayan saw me and froze. Then her eyes shifted to the kitchen, where the dim under-counter lights offered the only illumination.

“Couldn’t sleep?” she asked, a little too brightly.

“Karayan—”

“If you’re making tea, I could use a cup.” Karayan walked past me and into the kitchen. I followed her inside. Karayan busied herself at the counter, pulling two mugs out of a cupboard. “Do we have any chamomile left?”

I wanted to confront her. To ask what was going on with Hale. To advise her—if they were going to try to form any kind of relationship—to be open about it. To warn her how dangerous it would be to keep this secret from the rest of the Guard.

But then she glanced at me. In her face I saw a mixture of pain, longing, shame, fear.

“You’re falling for him,” I said simply.

Karayan shook her head. But she couldn’t bring herself to voice the denial. A rosy blush stained her cheeks, and she turned back to the cupboard. “Found it. You probably want something with caffeine, though. How about Earl Grey?”

Karayan glanced back at me. She’d managed to get her expression under control, but I could still see the urgency in her eyes, begging me not to push.

I hesitated. There was nothing simple, nothing harmless about this crush. But I couldn’t make myself voice my fears. I shrugged. “Earl Grey sounds great.”

Karayan rewarded me with a tremulous smile and reached for the kettle on the stove. I sighed. Maybe she and Hale were right. They were two adults. They knew the risks. If Karayan needed me to pretend I didn’t see the truth, who was I to challenge her? As long as she didn’t act on her feelings, the only one Karayan could hurt was herself.

Chapter 9

Amber was as good as her word. That next Monday, she arrived at Hale’s after school, ready to begin her “job.”

Lucas and I were sitting at the Guard’s old round dining table, hunched over our homework, when she walked in. We had opened a window, taking advantage of one of the first warm days of Spring to let in a breeze. We heard her car pulling up outside. When Amber approached up the stairs, Lucas stared at her out the window in surprise. She looked ready for Spring, too, wearing deep purple yoga pants and a tank top over a sports bra. She carried a backpack casually over one shoulder, and her hair was pulled back into an artful ponytail. She knocked, the opened the front door, peering into the house. Her eyes landed on us and she walked inside without ceremony.

“So, I’m here,” she said, closing the door behind her. She eyed the house with distaste, and I was suddenly conscious of how worn and threadbare the Guard’s furnishings must look to Amber, who—up until very recently, apparently—had lived a charmed life in one of Puerto Escondido’s most exclusive neighborhoods. “What now?”

Lucas glanced at me with thinly veiled curiosity. Still wondering why I recruited her, I’d bet. “I’ll get Hale.” Lucas pushed back from the table and walked into the foyer, passing Amber without a second glance. He ascended the stairs, leaving us alone on the first floor.

Amber’s eyes settled on me. She shifted her weight. I returned the look, unsure what to say. We shared an awkward silence until Lucas reappeared at the head of the stairs with Hale in tow.

“Amber. Excellent.” Hale bounded down the steps, grinning broadly. “Let’s get straight to it.” Hale led Amber down the narrow hall beside the staircase, stopping at the door to the basement.

I had just settled back over my history book when Hale called my name. I looked up, startled. “Yeah?”

“You too. Let’s go.” He jerked his head toward the basement stairs. “Amber’s going to need a sparring partner.”

I glanced at Lucas, as if he could free me from this obligation. Hale wanted us to train
together?
With a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, I closed the heavy book and stood. My feet suddenly felt like lead weights. This was not how I’d wanted to spend my afternoon.

Amber seemed equally thrilled about the prospect of us training together. She pursed her lips and flicked her eyes toward Hale. If he saw the irritated expression on her face, he ignored it. Hale started down the stairs and Amber followed. I was the last one into the basement.

“You two should go ahead and warm up.” Hale turned to Amber. “Do you know some good stretches to get started—?”

Amber dropped into a front split, right leg forward. She reached forward, lowering her body nearly flat against her thigh. Hale’s eyes bulged slightly.

“Well, great.” Hale turned to me. “You should warm up, too, Braedyn.”

I joined Amber on the mat and started my own stretches—which were nowhere near as limber as Amber’s. A spark of irrational competition flared in the back of my mind and I squashed it. After we’d warmed up sufficiently, Hale clapped his hands together.

“Okay. So, Amber, have you ever done any kind of self-defense training.”

“No.” Amber crossed her arms, giving Hale a flat look.

“She’s a cheerleader,” I offered brightly.

Amber shot a dark glance at me. “I’ve studied dance and cheer since I was six.”

“Fantastic.” Hale gestured Amber and me closer. As he positioned us facing one another, he gave Amber an encouraging smile. “You’re clearly very familiar with your body and what you’re capable of. I’m betting much of what you’ve learned in your other pursuits will translate very well to what we’re going to be doing.”

“Does this mean I get to hit her now?” Amber gave me a cold smile.

“You can try.” I shrugged lightly, daring her to make a move.

Hale glanced between the two of us, and for the first time a flicker of uncertainty passed over his face. But then he shook his head and met my gaze.

“Braedyn, defensive position, please.”

I got into the basic stance, hands raised, elbows close to my body, relaxed but ready to move.

Hale turned back to Amber. “Go ahead, Amber.”

She eyed him, startled. “Go ahead and what?”

“Try to hit me, cheerleader,” I muttered.

Amber’s eyes flashed. She brought her fists up awkwardly, hands balled too tightly. And then she struck. Or tried to. She launched a fist at me, putting almost none of her body behind it. It was a simple matter to knock her fist aside. My muscle memory took over then, following up the block with an attack of my own, suddenly eager to drive my fist into her stomach—

Hale caught my wrist and twisted it to the side, forcing me up onto my toes. I gave a furious shriek of surprise. Amber’s eyes glinted in surprise.

“I expect you to control your feelings,” Hale murmured into my ear. “Is that clear?”

I swallowed and nodded, feeling my cheeks go red. Hale released me, but he put a hand on my shoulder in a conciliatory gesture. I rubbed my sore wrist and avoided Amber’s gloating smirk.

“You want to land a punch?” Hale turned on Amber, keeping his voice light. “Then apply yourself to our training with as much dedication as you do to your dance. Actually, the only real difference between fighting and dancing is that fighting might save your life.”

Amber’s smirk faded. She eyed me with a new understanding. “Fine.”

“Let’s start from the top, then, shall we?” Hale walked up behind Amber and began with the first lesson he’d ever taught me. For nearly two hours, she drilled the same basic punch over and over again. I blocked every one of them, but at the end of our session I was breathing hard and my arms were noodley with fatigue.

Amber was… surprisingly good at this for a beginner. Hale knew it, too. He grinned as Amber and I downed our bottles of water after practice.

“This was an excellent start to your training, Amber. I hope we didn’t tire you out too much.”

Amber shrugged. “It was a good workout, I’ll give you that. It’ll be interesting to see what’s next.” She eyed me, with a calculating look that made my skin crawl. “How long before I get good at this stuff?”

“Let’s just take it one session at a time.” Hale glanced at his watch and stretched. “I’m on duty tonight, so I need to grab some sleep before my shift starts. Same time tomorrow, girls?”

We nodded agreement with varying degrees of enthusiasm.

“Seriously. Nice work today.” Hale gave us another proud smile and walked out of the basement, leaving me alone with Amber.

“Well.” I flashed a brief smile at Amber and eyed the stairs. “I should probably get back to history.” I headed toward the stairs.

“You and Lucas spend a lot of time together,” Amber mused out loud.