Hunted

- 4 - LIES

Relief raced through me after we left the island and appeared on top of some building. No demon followed us. I mentally checked off teleporting on the list of ‘possibly screwed up abilities’ as we looped our route, even though something was different when I was in this energized state. I wasn’t sure whether that was good or bad.

The house was quiet when we appeared inside my bedroom. Bran leaned back and grinned, dimples appearing on his cheeks. You did great.

His smile was forced and tinged with worry, but I pretended not to notice and gave him a toothy smile. I know.

Let me take a look at your head. He walked around, parted my hair, and searched for the bump. I exchanged an uneasy smile with Sykes and Izzy, who had followed our telegate and were watching us from the doorway with worried expressions.

It is not healing, Bran added, his hand gentle and cool on my throbbing bump. See if Izzy can take care of it.

I didn’t like that suggestion—I didn’t want Izzy and Sykes to know something was wrong with my dagger and my powers. Like all Guardians, I self-healed most superficial wounds, but the dagger usually enhanced that ability. I still gripped the hilt, hoping for a miracle or a tug as we linked. So far, I felt nothing. Nothing was bad.

“Lil?”

From Bran’s scowl, it wasn’t the first time he’d tried to get my attention. Izzy and Sykes also continued to watch me. They’d eventually know the truth. Besides, my head was killing me.

I shoved the Kris Dagger in its sheath. “Izzy, could you take care of my head?”

She nodded and entered the room then gasped when I turned and Bran showed her the swelling. “Lil, this is huge. It should be gone by now.”

“My powers are off.”

I felt rather than saw her hand hover near my wound, then there was warmth and the pain disappeared. The pounding inside my head didn’t go away though. Refusing to panic, I made eye contact with Bran, who looked like he wanted to punch something. Once again, I wished he couldn’t feel my pain.

“Is that better?” Izzy asked, drawing my attention away from Bran as she entered my line of vision.

“Yes, thanks,” I lied smoothly. “Thanks for the escort too, guys, but I’d like to rest now.”

No one made a move to leave, making me feel worse. I hated being the cause of their worry. Unfortunately, something always happened to me to give them a reason to worry. This time, there was nothing they could do about it.

I glanced at Bran. Please. They won’t go unless you leave.

“Could you guys head to HQ and tell Mrs. D what happened?” Bran asked. “I’ll join you shortly.

“Sure, but first, I have something to say,” Sykes said as he sauntered to where the three of us stood and elbowed Bran and Izzy out of the way. “Give me room.”

He gripped my shoulders and looked me straight in the eye as if trying to read my thoughts. Thankfully, he couldn’t. His love and concern flowed to me though and I bit my lower lip to stop myself from saying something reassuring. Bran was in the room, watching Sykes with annoyance. Sykes had never bothered to hide the fact that he loved me. Maybe not as passionately and completely as Bran, but he loved me in his own way.

“You are going to be okay,” Sykes vowed.

“Of course she is,” Bran retorted.

Sykes ignored him and added, “You remember me, right?” He peered at me. “The guy you secretly have a crush on.”

I giggled.

“Don’t believe anything they,” he jerked his thumb to indicate Bran and Izzy, who were shaking their heads at his antics, “tell you about me. Remember this face.” He pointed between his eyes and turned his head left then right to give me side profiles, blond hair sweeping his broad shoulders. “This is the face of your number-one fan.”

I chuckled and immediately regretted it. “Thanks, Sykes.”

“See? She remembers me.” He smirked.

“Of course I do, silly.”

The smile disappeared, his hazel eyes darkening. “As soon as we come back here, we’re going after the fiends that did this to you and making them pay. No one hurts one of us and gets away with it. Meanwhile whatever you don’t remember, I’ll be available for mind-blends, memory retrieval, or whatever you want so you can relive everything you’ve forgotten through my memories. Okay?”

Tear prickled the back of my eyes, but I managed a nod. Bran snickered, but this time I shot him a censuring look. He wore that arrogant look that said the gates to Tartarus would open before he let Sykes mind-blend with me. Ignoring him, I hugged Sykes. “Thank you.”

“Okay, no slobbering over me.” He teased, then leaned back, shot Bran a defiant look, and planted a kiss on my forehead. “Let’s go, Izzy.” He added in a gruff voice and teleported.

Izzy gave me a tiny smile. “He was really worried that you wouldn’t remember us. David Lee lost most of his adult memories.”

“Who’s David Lee?”

“The Damned Human the demon attacked in New York.”

“I could never forget you guys, Izzy.” I hugged her too. “Your voices pulled me out of that dark, horrible…place.” The words poured out of my mouth, yet when I tried to grasp the memory to support it, all I got were white-hot slashes of pain across my skull.

“You remembered something?” Bran asked urgently, his eyes searching my face.

I tried again to search for the shadow of the memory and winced at the pain on my temples. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

“How much have you forgotten?” Izzy asked.

Bran shook his head. “Let’s discuss that later, Izzy. She needs to rest.”

She shrugged and left. I released a breath I didn’t know I was holding, sat on my bed and glanced at Bran. “What kind of demons are we dealing with?”

“We don’t know.” Bran settled beside me and covered my hands with his. “Today was the second time we met them. First encounter was a week ago. We told the Cardinals what happened. Something about the demon bothered them enough to put us on a lockdown while they searched for them. You picked up on their unease right away, though.” Bran tucked a lock of my hair behind my ear and tilted my chin. His emerald eyes were shadowed. “How much have you forgotten?”

“What year and month are we in?”

“August. You’re turning seventeen in about two weeks.”

I’d lost about four months. “The last thing I remember is entering Valafar’s booth on Jarvis Island.”

Surprise flashed across Bran’s face. “That’s not bad.”

“Compared to the guy Izzy said lost most of his memories, I guess I am lucky. Still so much has happened. Are Kylie and I still friends?”

“Yes. You grandfather didn’t erase her memories yet, so you two do stuff whenever we’re not busy.”

“Stuff?”

He grinned. “Girl stuff—you know, shop, talk, watch movies. We’ve even double-dated.”

“Really?” Only Bran could put up with Kylie’s incessant chatter for me. Kylie was my best friend, but our friendship almost got destroyed when I froze a cup in front of her then tried to B.S. my way out of telling her the truth by claiming it was a Gypsy trick. In the end I had to tell her who and what I was when we learned she had the ability to channel our energies and thoughts, and hear our telepathic communications. Humans called people like her psychics. We preferred the term ‘mediums’. Humans weren’t supposed to know about our existence, but her case was different.

Something else occurred to me. “Did we get the List?”

He smiled. “Yes, and we’ve canceled most of the contracts. We have fifteen more to go and those are all Runners.”

“Runners?”

“Humans who’d rather run than cancel their contracts.”

“Why would they do that?”

He chuckled. “Because they can. We’ll discuss all that later. Right now, I have to go.” He cupped my face and gently brushed my skin with his thumb. “I know your head still hurts, so rest until we get back. Maybe you might get more fleeting memories like you just did.”

I hoped so. “Okay.”

He pulled me into his arms. “We’ll find out what’s wrong with you and fix it, Sunshine. I promise.”

That was something about the men on my team. They always believed they could fix everything. Maybe this was something I had to fix by myself. “Are we going after the demons?”

He shot me a determined look. “Oh yeah.”

Panic followed his words and I immediately felt terrible. No matter how strong or evil a demon was, I’d never been scared of hunting until now. Not knowing what I could or couldn’t do didn’t help either.

“About mind-blending, I was going to suggest it before he did. You will blend with me. Not Sykes or anyone else. I don’t know what crazy crap they’ve been up to this summer, especially him. He still changes girlfriends every week.”

I wasn’t too sure about the mind-blend thing either, but I wanted him gone so I could take inventory of my powers. “Okay. No one but you.”

“You are giving in without a fight?” he asked in disbelief.

I smiled. “No, I’m trying to get rid of you.”

He chuckled. “You wish.”

“So I can rest,” I finished.

As soon as he left, I set out to confirm something I thought I’d seen when I teleported, something that had me a bit worried. Visualizing the kitchen, I willed myself there.

My teleport was definitely different. I could slow down and see other psi energies around me while I was in my energy form. I studied the kitchen. The energies pulsed and grew stronger until I recognized objects. Two cups sat side-by-side inside the sink, indicating Grampa and Aunt Janelle had been home earlier. Flowers on the kitchen counter and dining room table filled the air with their fragrance. A new garbage can was by the garbage disposal. I couldn’t identify it until I materialized. It was a blue recycling can, probably put there by Aunt Janelle. As an Earth Cardinal Guardian, she loved nature and was big on saving the earth.

As I teleported back to my room, I slowed down again. Moving through the wall felt weird and ticklish. Something was different about my bedroom too. I hovered near the ceiling and drew from my old memories until something clicked—I had moved my furniture around. I materialized and walked around, noting the changes. The lime and lemon cover was new and so were the dresser, lamps, and the draperies. I even had a DVD/VHS player. A digital frame sat on my dresser, the photographs changing every few seconds. One showed my mother laughing, then another of her with a baby with a mop of red hair. Me? I lifted it up and studied the pictures. I must have received Valafar’s present.

Mom appeared happy in the photographs. Valafar too. In fact, they looked like normal, doting parents. Not that I knew anything about regular parents. Grampa had raised me by himself and he was a demon hunter.

Putting the frame back, I pulled the dagger from its sheath and placed it on the bed. Come.

It didn’t move. It usually obeyed me.

Extending my hand toward it, I recited the words I used when I’d first commanded the dagger. By the Order of Goddess Xenia and the Principalities, I command you, Kris Dagger, to come to me.

Nothing. My dagger, the most feared and coveted Nephilim weapon, just sat there like an ordinary kitchen knife, the link between us gone.

Refusing to panic, I moved on to my other abilities. Placing the computer chair at the other end of the room, I stepped back. Just a small lightning bolt to melt the leather seat, something Remy could fix later, I told myself.

Several large bolts appeared from thin air, zipped across the room and incinerated the chair with a blinding explosion, leaving behind a giant hole on my bedroom floor. Oh, crapola. That was too easy and over the top.

A pounding came from the front door, causing me to jump. A psi scan told who my visitors were—Security Team. I raced to answer the door. A man and woman stared at me with scowls. “Yes?”

“The psi-dar detected an energy surge in your house, Cardinal Lil,” the man said. “Is everything okay?”

My face warmed, but I tried to give them a relaxed smile. “Oh yeah. I had a little accident, that’s all.”

“Do you need our help?” the woman asked.

Then the entire enclave would know about it. I didn’t think so. “No, thanks. It’s nothing. Really. I already took care of it.”

They didn’t look convinced, but nodded and apologized for disturbing me, then left. Exhaling, I closed the door and headed back to my bedroom. For a moment, I just studied the charred carpet. I could see the guest room under my bedroom through the gaping hole. Those were some serious bolts. Giggling, I mentally checked off energy abilities.

Moving on, I lifted things around the room, starting with lighter then moving to heavier objects until I finished with my bed. Once again, the entire exercise was effortless. All my abilities were heightened, but my connection with the dagger was gone. It didn’t make sense.

I got a wad of sticky notes from my desk drawer and quickly scribbled what I could and couldn’t do, how many months of my memories were gone. On the last pad, I added what I’d told Izzy word for word. Just in case I met the same demons and more of my memories got erased, I’d have these notes for reference.

Feeling better, I went to my closet to get a fresh towel. As I turned to reenter my room, the box tucked away on the top shelf caught my attention.

Instead of heading to the showers, I grabbed it and sat on the lounge. Two manila envelopes were wedged between layers of white packaging foam. A memory teased me, but it disappeared fast, before I could grasp it. I pulled from the last envelope pictures of me with my parents. They were the same pictures that were on the digital frame on my dresser.

I reached for the second envelope. It had VHS tapes inside, which explained the VHS player. Popping one in, I pressed play and watched, smiling at some of my antics, frowning at the others. I was a healthy baby with riotous red hair. Who would have guessed Valafar loved to read to me when I was a baby? But my favorite part was when he videotaped me asleep in my mother’s arms while she read. She had a beautiful voice, yet I couldn’t remember hearing her voice before or watching these movies.

“Hey,” Bran said from my bedroom doorway. In his hand were my beach bag and flip-flops. “I brought your stuff.”

“Thanks.” I pressed the remote control to pause the replay as he dropped the colorful bag by the door and met him across the room. He still wore his swim trunks and no T-shirt. He was all muscles, lean and hard. Beautiful.

“You’re not ready?” he asked.

“I was rediscovering my room, which I obviously changed.”

“So as not to remind you of the one Valafar kept you in on Jarvis Island,” Bran explained. “We repainted the wall, and you even insisted on changing the car…whoa, what happened?”

I winced at his shocked expression. “I tested my powers to see which ones were still working. You think Remy might fix it before Grampa gets home?”

“Sure.” Bran walked to the edge of the hole and peered below. “That’s a big hole.”

“They were big lightning bolts.”

He cocked his right eyebrow at me. “What else?”

“My dagger is not responding to me yet and my other abilities are on hyperdrive. The bolts appeared too easily. I can also slow down my teleport, which is both cool and weird. While we were at the beach, I tried to raise my shield and block emotions from you guys and failed. I think my empathic abilities are over the charts too.”

“That is strange,” Bran said then joined me. “When Solange’s minions attacked you, your powers were drained.”

“And I was okay within twenty-four hours.”

“Maybe that’s all you need for your powers to stabilize. How is your head?”

“It’s getting better, just at a snail’s pace.” I waved toward the TV screen, where the replay was on pause. “Did I ever watch that?”

Bran chuckled. “Over and over again the last few months.”

“And the digital frame?”

“I got that for you and scanned the pictures a couple of months ago. It was a surprise. You loved it.”

Another precious moment gone. “I want my memories back,” I griped.

“You will get them back,” Bran vowed, wrapped his arms around me and held me close.

My heightened senses picked up on everything—the way his warm skin felt against mine, his pounding heart, his scent. But it was more than that. I tapped into his inner feelings without meaning to. He was worried about me, but his love for me shone brighter and purer than anything I’d ever felt. My senses leaped in response.

“We should head to HQ,” he said, leaning back.

“Not yet.” I cupped his face, leaned forward and kissed him. “We need to make some new memories.”

“Lil, we…” his voice trailed off as though he forgot what he was about to say. We kissed, breathing impossible as we got lost in sensations.

How many moments like this had I lost? Would I ever get them back?

Something snapped inside me and I threw my arms around his neck, making him lose his balance. He landed on the lounge with me on the top.

“Sorry,” I whispered.

“No, you’re not.” His eyes went to my lips. “You got me exactly where you want me.”

“You don’t have to sound so tortured about it,” I teased. “I’m making things easy for you.”

“The opposite.” Then he kissed me. Really, really kissed me without holding anything back. The kiss mushroomed into something both scary and exciting. Heat surged through me like a giant wave. I wasn’t sure whether what I felt was my reaction to him, his reaction to me, or a combination of our needs. My wacky empathic senses just soaked it all in until I thought I would explode.

Heat followed his hands across my skin, making me squirm and press against him. Then he tugged the string holding my bikini top and we both froze. Confusion flashed in his eyes as though he wasn’t sure about what we were doing and how we got on the lounge.

“I should go.” He spoke slowly, his breathing uneven against my skin.

“Why?” I whispered, feeling hot and cold at the same time, wanting him to kiss me again, to make me forget all problems, even for just a moment.

Emerald eyes met mine and begged for forgiveness. “Because we shouldn’t be doing this now, not when you got hurt and your powers are off.”

“I don’t care.”

“I do.”

“You have memories of everything we did the last four months, Bran. I don’t. It’s unfair.”

“I know.” He reached behind me and retied the strings of my bikini top. “You can mind-blend with me and retrieve them whenever you like. We will create more memories. I promise.”

I blew out air, closed my eyes then rested my cheek on his chest. His heated skin smelled so good. Of sun and sea. And it bugged me that he was so rational. Why couldn’t he ever let his emotions rule his head? I know he loved me, wanted to be with me in every way. Worse, he was right this time. We couldn’t make out until we were sure about the extent of my injuries, the damage the demons did to my Psi energy. Even the thought of mind-blending with him scared me. What if whatever the demons did to me was contagious and I passed it on to him?

I lifted my head off Bran’s chest and sat up, forcing myself not to stroke his bare chest. He was pure muscles, six-pack, and warmth.

“Are we really going after the demons?” I asked.

“Yes.” A smile filled with anticipation curled Bran’s lips. “Vengeance is the only thing demons respect. We want to catch them while they’re still celebrating and with their guard down.”

A hollow feeling settled in my stomach. Fear was fast becoming my constant companion and it sucked. If facing those demons would help me overcome it, I was in. “Okay. Let’s do it.”

Bran grinned. “I’ll tell the others. They weren’t sure you’d want to come with us.”

I bristled. “Why wouldn’t I? I’ll be fine, but we can’t mind-blend.”

A frown chased the smile from his lips. “Why not?”

“The demons probably contaminated my energy, Bran. If I mind-blend with you, I could do the same to you.”

He tucked strands of hair behind my ear. “Don’t worry about me. I want to do this. You recovered in twenty-four hours when you blended with Lottius. If it makes you feel better, we can give your mind a couple of days to recover then give it try.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but he put a stop to that before I uttered a word. He cupped my chin and ran a thumb across my lips. His emerald eyes heated and his head dipped as though to kiss me. Then he stopped, confusion flashing in his eyes.

“I have to go.” He disappeared and reappeared by the door. “Change and head to HQ. Mrs. D is expecting you.”

I shook my head. I should be empowered that I had that kind of effect on him. Usually, I was. Now his behavior just annoyed me.

I took a quick shower, then pulled on the standard hunting clothes—black pants and a matching T-shirt. Inside the bathroom, I studied my reflection. Nothing was out of place. Same slanted green eyes stared at me. Same multi-colored red hair. My skin, inherited from my gypsy grandmother, was more tanned than usual. I couldn’t see any changes to explain my heightened powers.

I hated feeling out of sorts, hated not knowing what surprises my body hid. My father was a nature-bender with unknown lineage, so there was no telling what blood flowed in my veins. Maybe one day I would turn into smoke like a Lazari, grow horns or a tail like a Werenephil, or worse, start craving blood like a Nosferatu.

Hating the direction of my thoughts, I splashed water on my face and teleported to HQ.

“I already dispatched several members of my security team to the island.” Mrs. D, the head of security and my former English lit teacher, said as I entered HQ’s main office. She and Remy frowned when they saw me. I gave them a weak smile, which only made them frown harder. “They’ll keep an eye on the portal in case the demons return. As for the students, I’ll confer with the chairman and see what he decides to do about them. Come here, sweetheart,” she added, beckoning me forward.

She cupped my face and peered at me from above her rhinestone glasses, her colorful bangles jingling. “I was told you fainted while fighting demons.”

I shrugged.

“Shrug all you want, but fainting and memory loss are symptoms of something serious,” she scolded. “How are you feeling?”

“Okay. The bump is gone.” The headache was still there, but no one needed to know that. Remy continued to stare at me with a weird expression.

“And your memories?” Mrs. D asked.

“They are coming back.” It wasn’t exactly a lie. I remembered a dark place.

“Were you holding the dagger when they attacked?”

“I was and now it’s not responding to me.”

“Leave it with Master Haziel.”

I sighed. I didn’t want to be grilled by my trainer yet. He could smell my lies a mile away. At the same time, I couldn’t disobey an order from Mrs. D.

“Where did you say the others went?” Mrs. D asked as I walked away.

“To the library,” Remy said. “They are trying to figure out the words Lil yelled after she fainted.”

“I said something?” I asked, turning to face them.

“Bran and I were creating the fake iceberg islands and weren’t there when you were attacked,” Remy explained. “Sykes said you fell and started talking in the ancient language, but even they can’t agree on what you said. They hoped the librarian might help decipher the words.”

“Ms. Laylah is very knowledgeable and will do whatever she can to help,” Mrs. D said. Laylah had better not give them anything on the Tribe.

Not sure I’d heard Mrs. D’s thoughts correctly, I studied her expressionless face. I didn’t usually hear others’ thoughts unless I eavesdropped, yet her thoughts had floated to me as clear as though she’d telepathed them to me intentionally.

The Tribe. Why did that word sound familiar? I racked my brain for an answer and only made my headache worse. And why would Mrs. D pretend she didn’t know the identity of the demons, or ‘the Tribe’ as she called them?

Civilians in the inner rooms also continued to look our way instead of at their computer screens or the clairvoyant images they were communicating with. Their wariness streamed my way, the distance not lessening the intensity. I raised my shield to shut them out, with little success. Instead, their thoughts trickled through.

The junior Cardinals should be told the truth…

We should go back to Xenith until this blows over…

If the Cardinals don’t find the Summoners, we are in trouble…

Summoners. The word echoed in my head like a distant memory too. Going on a hunch, I asked, “Have we found the Summoners yet, Mrs. D?”

She blinked. “Excuse me?”

“The Summoners. Have you found them?”

She frowned. “Where did you hear that word?”

“It just popped in my head. The other word is the Tribe. I know I’ve heard them before, but I can’t remember from where. What do they mean?”

Her eyes narrowed, the pupil slitting like a cat’s. “I don’t know. When you remember where you’d heard them, let me know. Now run along and take that dagger to Master Haziel.”

Liar, I wanted to yell. “So you and the senior Cardinals haven’t identified these demons even though one attacked us a week ago.”

She frowned at my combatant tone and for one brief moment, I thought I’d given myself away. I smiled, but I must not have been very convincing, because she continued to stare at me suspiciously.

“No, we haven’t. With Coronis’ minions on the loose, there’s no telling what new breeds are out there. And yes, the Cardinals have taken to naming new breeds of demons in order to differentiate them from each other. Maybe that’s where you heard those words.” She glanced over my shoulder and added quickly, “Ah, there you are, Cardinal Bran. What did Master Haziel say?”

“He said we can go,” Bran said as he entered the room. He had changed into jeans and a black T-shirt. “But first, he wants to see Lil.”

Mrs. D opened her mouth as though to speak, then humphed. The Cardinals are not going to like this. I must inform them at once. “Okay. We tracked down four Runners, including Mr. and Mrs. Watts.” Her gaze touched the three of us, lingering on me, before it settled on Bran. “Stop by the security room for the crystals.”

I waited until Mrs. D left, then grabbed Bran and Remy’s arms. “Come with me.”

“What’s going on?” Bran asked at the same time as Remy said, “Where are we going?”

“I need a favor. I have a giant hole in the middle of my bedroom that I accidently created,” I explained as I led them out of the office and down the hallway toward the tunnels then stopped. “Do you think you can fix it for me, Remy?”

Remy eyed me with his brow furrowed. “You don’t have accidents, Lil.”

“Okay, my powers are messed up and I had a little mishap. Ask Bran. He saw the damage.”

“Little? Half the floor is gone. You could watch TV from the basement,” Bran said and grinned.

I elbowed him. “Very funny, but the hole is not why I brought you guys out here.” I glanced toward the office and did a quick scan. No one was eavesdropping on us. “I didn’t want the Civilians to hear us. They are in on something.”

“In on what?” Bran asked, eyes narrowing.

“Mrs. D and the Civilians know the identity of the demon that attacked me,” I whispered. “She referred to them as the Tribe.”

“You eavesdropped on her thoughts?” Remy asked reproachfully.

“Not intentionally,” I said, shooting him an annoyed look. “My powers are off, so I hear and feel everyone’s emotions even when I don’t want to, even with my shield or theirs up. I faked knowing the Summoners and the Tribe after I heard Mrs. D and the Civilians’ thoughts.” I quickly explained everything I had heard while inside the office. “The words sounded familiar, so I asked her but she denied knowing them. Have you guys heard of the Tribe and Summoners before?”

They shook their heads.

“Then we should ask Mrs. D about them and force her to tell us the truth.”

“No,” Remy and Bran said at the same time, horror on their faces.

“Why not?”

“We are going after the demons, and she “will stop us from leaving if she knows. She might not be able to read your mind, but she can read ours,” Bran explained. “Right now she thinks we’re going after the Runners to finish canceling the contracts.”

I frowned. “She doesn’t agree with Master Haziel’s decision and is trying to find Grampa and the senior Cardinals to stop us from leaving the valley. I heard her thoughts before she left.”

Bran and Remy exchanged a glance.

“No one is stopping us from leaving, but having a name will make it much easier to locate them,” Bran said. “Lil, go and see what Master Haziel wants while I get the crystals.” He glanced at Remy.

“I’ll fix the hole in Lil’s bedroom and get the others,” Remy said. “Let’s meet at my place ASAP.”