Hunted

- 11 - TRUTH AND LIES

A big dresser stood in the middle of Kylie’s bedroom and I would have bumped into it if I hadn’t slowed down my teleport. Izzy wasn’t so lucky.

“Dang it, Kylie. What’s this doing in the middle of your room?”

Kylie looked up and grimaced. She had been watching something on her laptop while lying on her bed. She sat up, a frown on her face. “Sorry about that.”

“Never mind. Gotta go.” Izzy glanced around and whistled softly. “Nice décor. You two have fun.”

Kylie wore a confused expression. “What was that about? I mean, what was she doing here?”

“Long story. But seriously, what’s this,” I pointed at the dresser, “doing in the middle of your room?”

Kylie wrinkled her nose. “Dad had it repainted and brought it in an hour ago. I tried to move it, but it weighs more than I do. What time is it?”

“Nine-thirty-ish,” I guessed without looking at my watch, my gaze on the Celtic symbols all over the dresser. With the black background, the squiggly drawings popped. Her new bedroom was spacious and beautifully decorated. “This is beautiful.”

“I know.” Kylie stood and stretched, her tank top hiking up to reveal a tattoo on her hip. “It’s perfect. Matches my curtains, don’t you think?”

“And your tattoo.” Kylie was a petite five-foot-four with a pixie face, grey eyes and brown hair—her natural hair color. Before, she’d dyed it black during her Gothic phase.

“So what took you?” she asked. “I texted you, like, an hour ago.”

I laughed. “What took me? Who do you think I am? Your servant?”

“Clark Kent to my Chloe Sullivan, faithful sidekick and best friend ever.” She grinned when I scrunched up my face. Still grinning, she walked to where I stood beside the dresser, hands going to her hips. “You’re not just the Chosen One, you are Lil Fáthaig. That means—”

“Lil the Mighty, I know.”

She made a face. “I hate that you can speak, like, a gazillion languages.”

“Okay. From now on I’ll pretend I don’t know Gaelic.”

“Don’t bother, smarty-pants. Anyway, when I need heavy lifting, you’re the one I text. When you need R&R from Guardian biz and computer research, I’m your girl.”

I made a derisive sound. “You can’t be Chloe. You suck with computers.”

“Nitpicking, and not my fault. My parents gave all the smart genes to my brainiac brother.” She pouted. “It’s so unfair. You can find me any time and any where, while I have to send a stupid text.”

“Texts,” I corrected her. “As in five of them. What is the emergency anyway?”

Kylie frowned. “What are you talking about? I sent you one text message because of this,” she waved at the dresser, “not four.”

“Four more after the first one. My cell phone kept vibrating while I was in the middle of a conference.”

She searched for her phone “That doesn’t make sense.”

“What?”

“I texted you once.”

She was getting pissed. “Forget it. It’s not important.”

“Is too.” She marched toward the door, her frown fierce. “I’m going to kill the slimy worm.”

Before I could ask her what she meant, Kylie had yanked open her door and stomped to the one down the hall. It had a quantum physics poster and a picture of Albert Einstein. She banged on it with her fist. “Jesse!”

No response.

“Open up or I’ll break it down!”

The door jerked open to reveal her brother, pimpled face red, a mop of curly brown hair falling over his forehead. He wore a T-shirt with the writing Schrödinger’s Cat, Dead and Alive, and a drawing of cat in a cage. Two of his friends appeared behind him and stared at Kylie with wary expressions, video game controllers clenched in their hands.

“Break it down?” Jesse asked. “Physically impossible since you are only five-three and weigh about one—”

“Shut up, you freak,” Kylie snapped. “You took my cell phone again! Where is it?”

“I don’t have it,” her brother protested. Then he saw me and smiled. “Hi, Lil.”

I gave him a tiny wave.

“Don’t talk to her. Just because she’s played a few video games with you doesn’t make her your friend. You can’t pretend to be me and text her.”

His brother shook his head. “I didn’t touch your stupid phone, Kylie. We’ve been in here playing video games all evening.”

“Liar! My phone is missing and you’ve been bugging me for days to ask her to come over.” She thrust her face forward and hissed, “She’s got a boyfriend, you loser.”

Jesse glanced my way one more time, face redder than before, then whispered through clenched teeth, “Ask Mom. She’ll tell you we haven’t left my room for hours. Maybe your witches,” he wiggled his fingers, “took it.”

“Goddesses,” Kylie snapped. “Celtic deities.”

“Get a life.” He slammed his door.

“I have a life,” she shouted through the door. “And it’s not in some online gaming world.”

Feeling bad for Jesse, who’d had a crush on me since the first time Kylie had invited me to their home, I retreated into her room. He was a year younger than her, tall, gangly, and going through the zits stage. The few times we’d played video games, I had had fun, though.

“I swear my parents found him in a crashed spaceship,” Kylie snapped when she re-entered her bedroom. “He’s so weird.”

“I’m sure he just wanted my help with a game. Where do you say you wanted the dresser?” I asked, hoping to distract her, but I shouldn’t have bothered. She continued to search for her phone while muttering under her breath.

“I’m telling on him, the worm.”

“It’s no big deal, you know,” I said, trying to calm her down.

“Is too. He’s always stealing my phone to text his friends. It’s not my fault he lost his.”

I stopped trying to help and studied her room instead. It was done in black and white, from the bed cover to the draperies; the only colors were the wooden floor and colored pillows on her bed. Celtic spirals and knots dominated everything. It was beautiful and so Kylie.

“Okay?” she asked.

I raised my brow, feeling a little guilty for ignoring her rant. “What?”

“I said, let’s move the bed first from this wall to that,” she pointed to the wall adjacent to the window. “Then the dresser to where the bed is. This way, the mirror can reflect the window and give an illusion of more space.”

“Move out of the way,” I warned. I waited until Kylie stood by the door, then moved her bed to the adjacent wall. The books shifted a little but didn’t fall. Next, I put the dresser where the bed had been while Kylie issued orders like a drill sergeant.

“A little to the right…not too much…an inch or two to the left,” she said. “Perfect. Thank you. Look, I found my phone.” It was inside the top drawer of her new dresser. “And it’s dead. I swear if catch him with it again, his DS is mine.” She placed the phone on the dresser, jumped on to her bed, scooted over and patted the area beside her. I moved the pillows behind me then flopped on my back and stared at the ceiling.

“Start talking,” she said.

I frowned. “About what?”

“What the Guardians have been up to…what I’ve missed. Duh. I haven’t seen you in over a week. You promised to keep me in the loop and I look forward to hearing about your escapades.”

“Escapades? We’ve been canceling contracts. Hardly exciting.”

“Not from the way you often tell it, and there was also the meeting with that lightning demon that blocked the light from the Kris Dagger. So start talking and don’t leave anything out,” she warned.

Obviously, I’d shared everything with her. “I’ll start with why Izzy came with me to your place. I was attacked on Saturday and lost months of memories, including those about your new home.”

Kylie sat up, her eyes round. I started with the attack and the more I talked, the more frantic she became—surprise giving way to worry then panic.

“Powerful demons are after you and you waited for nearly a week before telling me?” she screeched.

“Four days,” I corrected her.

“Whatever. And your powers…do you have a headache right now?”

I shrugged. “Just a dull throb. Sleeping this afternoon helped. But, I’ve learned to live with them.”

“Have you taken something for it?”

I cocked my brow. “Something?”

“Headache meds. It doesn’t have to be prescription strength. Just over-the-counter ones.”

I shook my head. “What?”

She rolled her eyes. “You are part human, so maybe, just maybe Ibuprofen or Aleve might take care of your human side of the headache.” She hopped off the bed and disappeared in the hallway. I was still staring after her in disbelief when she returned with a bottle and water in a glass.

“You think over-the-counter meds will cure me?”

“What do you have to lose?” She read the label, opened the bottle, and removed two pills. She pushed them in my hand, then offered me water. “Take them.”

I stared at the oval-shaped gel. “They look like miniature hellgels.”

“These have chemicals that stop headaches and whatnots. Swallow them whole too, no biting or chewing.”

I chuckled, then placed the gels on my tongue and washed them down with water. “Now what?”

“Now let human technology work its wonders. It will be absorbed into your body. Could I, you know, see them?” She indicated my back.

“Why? They look like tattoos. No big deal.”

“Thanks for spoiling the surprise for me. Now turn around.”

For such a tiny girl she could be so bossy sometimes. “I swear to Goddess, if you say anything mean…” I stood, turned and lifted my shirt.

For a moment, Kylie didn’t speak. Then she said, “Uh, Lil, there’s nothing on your skin.”

I frowned. “What do you mean? They cover my spine, from the base of my neck to my lower back.”

“Not anymore. See for yourself.”

My heart pounding, I pulled off my top and studied my back through the mirror. Kylie was right—there was nothing on my back. Not sure what it meant, I pulled my shirt back on. “That’s weird.”

“Weird good or weird bad?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know.”

She sat back on her bed and continued to study me like I was some alien she was trying to figure out. For a brief moment, I was tempted to read her thoughts, but I resisted. I had a rule about not getting inside my friends’ minds.

“Tell me what we did this summer,” I said instead.

She chuckled. “Funny, I’m usually the one with the questions. Okay, don’t give me that look. I’ll answer you, but first, do you really think Gavyn is behind this?”

“It doesn’t matter what I think.” I scowled at the ceiling, remembering the look on Bran’s face when he’d told us about a possible connection between his brother and the Summoners. “What matters is Bran and what this would mean to him if it’s true. Sometimes, I wish I had the power to spare him pain.”

“Having Gavyn for a brother totally sucks. Makes me appreciate mine.”

It didn’t seem like that a few minutes ago. “Makes me happy I’m an only child,” I said.

“Uh, you’re not an only child.”

“Thanks for reminding me.” Solange’s perfect face, gorgeous hair, and body like a swimsuit model flashed in my head. She was only my half-sister and about as evil as Gavyn. “Every time I think Gavyn has changed, wham, he does something stupid. If he deliberately summoned these powerful demons to stop Bran from canceling his contracts, we’ll have to deal with him.”

“Send him to Tartarus?” Kylie asked.

Bran would have to let go of his brother before we could do that. “I haven’t thought that far yet, but yes.”

“What if it’s not Gavyn? Don’t look at me like that,” she added when I scowled. “What if it’s…Solange?” She raised her hands in mock surrender. “There’s that look again. You told me Solange vowed to come after you.”

I scowled, trying to remember. “I did?”

“Yes, the night of your party. You know, after Jarvis Island and the mortal combat. You came back and threw a killer party. The students talked about it the rest of the semester. You’re officially, the party—”

“Yeah, that’s nice,” I said impatiently. “Tell me about Solange.”

“You told me you called the number Valafar had given, but she was the one who answered it. She vowed to make you sorry.”

I sat up and scrunched my face. “Why would I call Valafar?”

“You wanted proof that he was dead or something like that.”

“Tell me everything I told you. Bran tried to fill me in on what we did, but that only covered what he and I did.”

“I helped with his birthday party, so if he said the cake you baked was scrumptious? He lied. It was terrible.”

I threw her a disgusted look. “He told me the same thing. Now back to filling in the blanks.”

She talked about everything I’d told her about Valafar and my doubts about whether he was really in Tartarus or hiding somewhere until he healed, then she moved to the party, our mutual friends, and the things we’d done together since school closed. McKenzie, my other human friend, was visiting relatives in England. Basically, when I wasn’t out with the Guardians or with Bran, I spent time with Kylie watching reruns of her favorite TV programs online or went shopping at the mall, except for the weeks she and her mother visited her aunt in L.A. and went to the Celtic Arts Center. A door slammed shut somewhere in the house, followed by laughter. I looked up and frowned. “Your parents are home.”

Kylie shrugged. “So? They love you. Mom thinks I’m discovering my Celtic roots because of you and your Gypsy background. According to her, you are the perfect friend.”

Perfect? If only she knew. “So you’re never going to tell her about your special ability?”

“No way.” She shook her head. “Not until I have to. Despite her excitement over all this,” she waved to indicate the Celtic symbols in her room, “she’d freak out.”

There was a light knock at the door. “Sweetheart, are you asleep?”

“Still up, Mom,” Kylie yelled.

Her mother said something, then her dad’s deeper voice answered. “Can we come in?”

Kylie looked at me and cocked an eyebrow in question. I shrugged.

“Sure,” Kylie responded

The door opened and her mother peeked inside the room. A smile lit up her heavily made-up face when she saw me.

“Hey, Lil. I didn’t know you were visiting. Jim, look who’s here,” she called out and opened the door wider. Kylie’s dad moved from Jesse’s doorway to his wife’s side. He was the lumberjack type, tall and big-boned with a hearty laugh. He topped his petite wife by at least a foot.

“Howdy, Lil,” he said with a broad grin. “We haven’t seen you around lately.”

“I’ve been working. I mean, I have a summer job,” I fibbed, my face warming up.

Kylie rolled her eyes. “Daddy, I told you she works with her grandfather.”

“So you did.” He looked around the room and frowned. “Did you two move the furniture around on your own?”

“It was nothing,” Kylie said.

“Jim,” her mother scolded, giving her husband a censuring glance. “You didn’t move it for her? They shouldn’t carry such heavy things on their own. They could have gotten hurt.”

Kylie smothered a giggle.

“They’re fine, Charlene.” He dropped a kiss on her temple then leveled us a stern look, “No hauling heavy things behind my back, you two. I didn’t see your truck outside, Lil, so if you need a ride home, let me know.” He whispered something to the wife, turned and ambled down the hall toward the living room.

Kylie’s mother smiled at us. “Do you girls want something to drink or eat? We brought some takeout.”

Kylie glanced at me. I shook my head. She grinned at her mother. “Thanks, Mom. We’re fine.”

“Then I’ll leave you alone.” She glanced around and smiled. “The room looks amazing.”

“I know,” Kylie called out before the door closed.

I groaned and gave her a resigned look. “I can’t teleport home now and Bran is still not back to pick me up.”

“Leave it to me,” was Kylie’s mysterious response.

We hung out until a truck pulled up outside their home, music blaring and disrupting the tranquility of the quiet Nibley neighborhood. She peeked out the window and smiled.

“Stay away from the window.” She raced out of the room, closing the door behind her.

I lay on her bed and closed my eyes, picking out energies in the house. Then, I scanned the valley. The Cardinals and their guests were gone. Bran hadn’t returned yet, and Izzy and Kim were no longer at the guys’ house.

Voices drifted from the hallway, interrupting my telepathic searches. The engine of the truck revved, then the music grew faint.

Kylie slipped inside her bedroom, a broad grin on her face. “I just escorted you to your grandfather’s truck.”

“What did you do?”

She plopped beside me on the bed. “That was the older brother of one of Jesse’s friends. Mom saw me walk toward the house after I talked to him, and I told her your grandpa’s truck was behind theirs. You can teleport now. Text me or come over whenever. I want to know what happens next, and if I can help.”

“You don’t want to get mixed up in our mess again,” I warned, giving her a hug.

“Last time I had no choice,” she reminded me. “This time will be different.”

I’d never knowingly use her. “We’ll see. Later.”

I dematerialized.

The lights were still on in my room, just like I’d left them, but the rest of the house was in total darkness. Grampa and the Cardinals weren’t back. Since the attack, they had always made sure two senior Cardinals stayed in the enclave while three left to search for the Summoners. Bran was still not back either. I was starting to seriously worry about him.

My headache was gone, but I wasn’t fooled. It could be back. Then a thought occurred to me and I chuckled. Maybe the meds Kylie had given me actually worked. I changed into my pajamas, brushed my teeth, and crawled into bed.

I was on a beach, the sun shining bright in the clear blue sky, waves slapping against the sands, students frolicking in the water, throwing Frisbees, or sunbathing. A shirtless group of Guardians played a mean game of volleyball to my right. I recognized Bran, Remy, Sykes, Izzy’s boyfriend—Rastiel, and teachers from the Academy.

I stood on the beach next to Izzy and Kim. We were laughing about something when a shadow fell over us and we looked up. Lightning demons were everywhere, spreading darkness over the island and the surrounding waters. We didn’t get a chance to react before they attacked.

Screams split the air. Feet pounded the ground. I tried to move but I couldn’t. I called out, shouted, begged, but no one came to help us as Guardians screamed and the clang of metal filled the air. Wings and feathers fell around me and on me, making it impossible to breathe or see. My screams mingled with the echoing screeches, but when I tried to cover my ears, I couldn’t move my arms either.

Then a woman’s voice rose above the din. She sounded familiar, yet I couldn’t place her voice. Her words didn’t make sense, but I tried to do as she instructed.

I woke up gasping, my heart slamming hard against my ribs. I sat up, then realized I wasn’t alone. Two figures in long coats stood over me my bed. A scream rose from my throat.

“It’s okay, Lil,” one of them said, reaching for me. “It’s us—me and your grandfather.”

Aunt Janelle. Relief washed over me, and I started to shake. She pulled me into her arms and for a moment I clung to her, my breathing harsh in the silent room. Someone turned on the bedside lamp, and I sat back and squinted, pushing back the hair that was plastered with sweat to my forehead and neck.

“Are you okay, sweetheart?” Aunt Janelle asked.

“No…yes,” I mumbled. “They killed Guardians. So many of them and I couldn’t help. I couldn’t move. There were screams and bodies, but the woman said it wasn’t real. How is that possible? I saw them fall. Feathers…wings…” I shuddered.

Aunt Janelle rubbed my arms, then took a wet cloth from Grampa and mopped my brow. I hadn’t even noticed him go to the bathroom. After a moment, I took the cloth from her and pressed it against my neck.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” I asked accusingly, my gaze bouncing between the two of them. “I was terrified.”

Grampa sat on my other side, his brow furrowed. “Your mind blocked what happened to you on that beach, and we knew that seeing the dream—”

“Nightmare,” I interjected.

“The nightmare in its entirety would provide you some answers.” He swept unruly strands away from my face and peered at me. “Can you tell us what you saw?”

Hearing the concern in his voice, I forgot about getting mad. “I was at the beach with the others and the Academy students when the demons attacked us,” I said, my gaze volleying between them. “Everything went black. They were killing Guardians and I couldn’t help. Something held me back. Paralyzed me. It was awful. You should have woken me up, you know,” I added peevishly. A quick psi scan confirmed Bran was still not in the valley. “Bran would have woken me up.”

“That’s true. He thinks with his heart and not his mind where you are concerned.”

“So?” I became aware of something I’d missed because of my nightmare-clouded mind—Grampa and Aunt Janelle wore ceremonial robes, white with burgundy lapels and bulbous sleeves. I’d only seen Grampa dress like that once—when he was going to meet with the Circle of Twelve in Xenith to petition them to allow Bran to join us.

“Lil,” Grampa snapped, drawing my attention to his face. He’d shaven. “Tell us about the woman. What did she say?”

Aunt Janelle touched his arm and added in a softer voice, “Take your time.”

I closed my eyes and the images sprang into my head. My eyes snapped open. “She said I must stop the Tribe, or they’ll win and make her sacrifices be for nothing. She kept urging me to fight back, but it hurt and I didn’t know what to do.” I blew out a breath.

“Go on,” Grampa urged.

“She said they make you feel a pain that’s not there, a sorrow that’s forgotten and a nightmare that never ends, and the power to stop them was within me. What did she mean? I tried to focus but it was useless. In the end, I reached for my memories of you guys and Bran and the others, then I woke up.”

“She didn’t say anything else?” Grampa asked.

Why was he so interested in what the woman said? “Uh, just before I woke up, she said find the Summoners or something about her weapon.”

Silence followed, but their disappointment hung heavy in the air. When they exchanged a glance, I pounced. “Did I just relive what happened on the beach last weekend? Who is she? Why would she want to help me? Is she the reason the dagger’s powers shifted to me?”

Aunt Janelle rubbed my arms and smiled. “Yes.”

“Who is she?”

Grampa and Aunt Janelle looked at each other and stayed silent.

“Tell me, please. From your expressions you know the answer. Who—”

“The Goddess. She is known to guide us from time to time when we face formidable enemies. She chooses a conduit and relays her message through him or her. In this case, that conduit is you. It’s an honor.”

Something the librarian had said about Xenia listening and answering flashed into my head. Then there was Master Haziel giving me a book about her, and Grampa searching my mind for residual energy. Her energy?

“So you knew she was the one who did this to me on the island?” I asked.

Grampa shook his head. “No, she didn’t attack you. She helped you deal with the attack.”

“But you knew. All this time you knew and didn’t say anything?” I yelled.

“We suspected,” Grampa said calmly.

Sometimes they made me so mad I wanted to scream. “Why is she talking to me?”

“Because you are special,” Grampa added.

“Special? That’s the kind of answer you give a three-year-old, Grampa. Were you searching for her energy or the demons’ when you blended with me?”

“Her’s. Other than you, she’s the only one with the ability to control the powers of the dagger. As soon as you told us what Master Haziel said, we suspected she must have made contact with you.” Grampa glanced at Aunt Janelle then added, “We couldn’t tell you the truth until we were sure. That is why we didn’t wake you from the nightmare tonight.”

I wanted to yell at them again, but it wouldn’t change anything. “But she didn’t tell me anything we don’t already know. I mean, you already knew about the Summoners.”

Grampa smiled, though there was no humor in his eyes. “Master Haziel has vast knowledge of our world and how it works. Unfortunately, he only tells us what he thinks we should know. As for the Goddess, we expected more.” He stood, Aunt Janelle joining him. “But we now know that the images the Tribe project in our heads are not real, and the way to stop that kind of invasion is to focus on happy memories. That is what you did when you focused on us, Bran, and your friends. Love got you out of that nightmare.”

I got up too, the wet facecloth still clenched in my hands. “What about the dagger’s powers? If thinking of you helped me, what were the powers of the dagger doing inside me? And why are they gone?”

“Gone?” Aunt Janelle asked.

I turned around, and lifted the back of my pajama top, then glanced at Grampa and Aunt Janelle over my shoulder. Their expression was unreadable, but they couldn’t hide their puzzlement. “They are gone, right?”

“Were you holding the Kris when it happened?” Grampa asked slowly.

“No. The Kris is with Master Haziel. I use it during training and leave it with him. I didn’t realize the writings were gone until last night. What does it mean? And please don’t lie or say you don’t know. I don’t care if it is a theory, just tell me. Not knowing only drives me crazy. Please?”

“It means that the Kris Dagger has completely bonded with you. Do you still have the headache?” Grampa asked, his expression unreadable.

I shook my head. “It’s gone. I thought Kylie’s…never mind. Completely bonded with me? What happened to ‘it’s only temporary’?”

Grampa sighed. “I don’t like it either. The powers were supposed to move back to the dagger. They always move back.”

I blinked. “So this is not the first time this has happened to its wielder?”

“No.” Aunt Janelle rubbed his back gently. “I’m sure there’s a reason for this, Luminitsa. Maybe Master Haziel has an answer or the Goddess will let us know what it means.”

Yeah, I had a question or two for the Goddess. Like why was she screwing with my head? I couldn’t do my job when I was busy worrying about my powers.

“You know what? I don’t care anymore. I don’t have the headache, so I’m fine with whatever this means. How was the meeting?” I asked in an upbeat voice and pointed at their priestly robes. “Did everyone wear those?”

Grampa frowned. “We reached a consensus, which we plan to convey to the elders. Lil, about the dagger—”

“I’m not going to discuss it anymore, Grampa.” I rubbed my arms as goose bumps spread fast on the surface of my skin. The sleeveless pajama top and shorts weren’t exactly warm, but the chill wasn’t brought on by cold. “When you say elders, do you mean the CT?”

He nodded. “Yes. The final decision rests with them.”

“You can’t leave now,” I protested, hating the panic coiling inside me. “The CT takes forever to decide on anything. It took them days to sanction canceling contracts, yet they knew Bran’s soul was at stake.”

Aunt Janelle chuckled. “Mass canceling of contracts is not something we’ve done before and they had to weigh the pros and the cons.”

What were the cons of canceling contracts and Bran getting his soul back? Senile old goats! They made it so easy for me to hate them.

Grampa dropped a kiss on my temple. “Now go back to bed. We’ll be back by the end of the day. Cardinals Seth, Moira, and Hsia will keep an eye on things while we are gone. Don’t forget to tell Master Haziel about the missing ancient texts first thing in the morning.”

Talking about them wasn’t going to change a thing.