Awakened (17 page)

“Or MESA—Math, Engineering and Science Achievement,” Amelia added.

Kylie mimicked a hanging, tongue lolling from the corner of her mouth. “All they do is hook up,” she said. “Nikki met Zack at a Mesa meeting.”

“And you met Cade at a UTOPIA meeting. Artists club,” Amelia explained for my benefit. “She’s an amazing writer, an assistant editor for The Grizzly, but she carries on like being smart is a mortal sin.” She made a face at Kylie.

I liked these girls, loved their wacky personalities and their senseless bickering. I never had friends like them before. I never had friends, period.

The discussion stayed on after-school activities then moved to colleges. Since I didn’t know anything about my future, except that I’d be killing demons, I didn’t contribute to the conversation. Instead, I let my mind wander. Soon I was eavesdropping on people’s thoughts around the cafeteria. Most students stressed about the same things—hooking up, grades, family. A few worried about video games and sports. Others had serious issues—pregnancy, abusive fathers, mothers, boyfriends.

Kylie bumped me on the arm and pulled me out of my woolgathering. “I think they’re trying to get your attention.”

I followed the direction of her gaze to Kim’s table. Remy waved me over. I looked at the faces around my table and shrugged. “Dojo business. See you guys later.”

I headed across the cafeteria and slid into a seat across from Remy. They all wore serious expressions. “What’s up, guys?”

“We want to know what happened Monday night,” Remy said without hesitation. The others nodded. “The Cardinals keep things from us and won’t let us hunt while other trainees around the world do. They think we’re not ready.”

“But the fact that you faced three demons alone and survived proves them wrong,” Sykes added.

“I wasn’t alone.” Surprised registered on everyone’s face. “Remember the Cardinal Water Guardian Coronis kidnapped fifty years ago?”

“Tariel,” Sykes said.

“Coronis turned him,” Izzy added.

“She didn’t. His grandson came here looking for help.” I told them everything Bran told me about his family and the events of the past few days without revealing Gavyn’s true identity. The silence that followed was deafening.

“Tariel’s grandchildren are half demons?” Izzy said with a grimace.

“They can’t be trusted,” Sykes added.

Remy frowned. “You said he has water powers?”

I nodded.

“It doesn’t matter what his powers are,” Kim cut in. “The CT will never allow a demon to join us. I now understand why my dad’s been in a crappy mood since he met with the Cardinals two nights ago. I bet he thinks we shouldn’t help them.
I
don’t think we should.”

This was ridiculous. “Why are you guys judging Bran when you haven’t even met him? He’s not evil.” They stared at me in bewilderment. “What?”

“Sorry to burst your bubble, little sister, but you just got your powers. What do you know about demons and their sneaky ways?” Izzy asked and the others nodded. “This could be a scam.”

“It’s no—”

“And you guys know what happened the last time one of them sneaked into our community and claimed to be nice,” Kim added, cutting me off.

Remy nodded. “Others followed and they slaughtered our people in cold blood.”

“I don’t care whether he’s Tariel’s son or grandson. Once a fiend always a fiend,” Sykes said in a cold voice.

I lost it. “Stop it, guys. Just stop it!” My gaze moved from one shocked expression to another. A few nearby students looked at our table. I glared at them, then leaned forward to speak in hushed tone. “I thought you guys would understand, but it’s obvious you have prejudices against anyone that’s different from you. Bran didn’t ask for his grandfather to be kidnapped by Coronis, and neither did he choose who his mother is. He’s willing to turn his back on her and everything she stands for, yet you condemn him for it.” I locked gazes with Izzy. “You want to know how I know he’s good. I’m an empath, just like my grandfather. There’s no scam and no hidden agenda. He’s good guy.”

No one spoke.

Disappointment at their attitude cut me deep. I stood. They still didn’t say anything, their expressions unyielding. I couldn’t explain it, but I felt betrayed, like they’d turned against me. Too angry to speak, I turned and walked away.

12. WEIRD OR DEMONIC

I put the completed homework inside my folder then retrieved Homer Hickam’s
October Sky
from my backpack and left the kitchenette table. A quick glance inside the oven indicated the meatloaf was ready. I reduced the heat to warm, placed the tray of rice on the rack beside it and headed to my bedroom. Instead of getting lost in Sonny’s world, I kicked off my shoes, flopped on my bed and closed my eyes

In the last week, I had developed a nasty habit of listening to people’s thoughts to pass time. It was dumb but very entertaining. I guess I should feel guilty, but since I didn’t know their identities, I didn’t care. Besides, Mrs. D. said it strengthened by telepathic abilities.

Within seconds, I was lost in the complexity of the human mind, their obsession with wealth and possessions, and their capacity to love. Two preschoolers with overactive imagination were playing princesses in a bathtub. A woman with her newborn baby was already lining up play dates, planning his first birthday party and…college? Unbelievable. Utah State or U of U?

Why not Stanford or Yale?

Stanford or Yale, the thought flashed in the woman’s head.

I got out of her head and moved to others, just listening. No more butting in. I tried to skip the naughty and the ugly, but some couldn’t be avoided—a man thinking about a date with his girlfriend while eating dinner with his wife, a young man contemplating shooting his abusive step-father, a teenage boy fantasizing about…ew, boredom was turning me into a pervert.

I checked on the Guardians. A few were in communication, but I didn’t bother to find out their identity. Bran’s psi energy was still missing. I hadn’t bothered to locate his since the third day after he left. I missed him, which didn’t make sense since I’d only known him for a few days.

Sighing, I opened my eyes and looked at my watch. I still had thirty minutes to kill before I had to head to the dojo. For a moment, I listened to outside sounds floating in through the open, then turned my attention to the pictures on the wall and piles of fantasy novels sitting beside my laptop. An idea popped in my head.

I closed my eyes, again, took a deep breath, held it and released. Just like Mrs. D. had taught me. When I knew I was ready, I opened my eyes, propped myself on my elbow and stared at plastic cup of markers and pens on my desk.
Move.

Nothing happened.

I pointed at it and lifted my finger, slow and easy. It still didn’t move. Argh, two days of practicing telekinesis and I still couldn’t get it. Focusing harder, I tried and tried. I wasn’t sure how long I kept at it, until I flung my hand in frustration.

The cup catapulted into the air and sent its contents flying every which way. I screamed and ducked to avoid being gouged in the eye. “Yes! I did it!” I yelled and kicked the air.

Still grinning, I picked up a pen up from my bed and held it in front of me. Relaxing my fingers, I let it go. It dropped, but I managed to freeze it before it hit the floor. I didn’t get why I stopped
omnis
with so much ease yet sucked at moving everything else. The pen wobbled as I lifted it higher and higher, until it dangled above my bed.

Still pointing, I moved it around my room. As my confidence increased, I added more things—markers, pencils, erasers. Soon I had every lightweight object from my desk floating around my room. I made weird and funny formations in the air. Becoming bolder, I added lotions, deodorant, books.

“Very nice,” Grampa said in the doorway.

I lost focus and ducked for the second time to avoid being hit. No such luck. Pens, lotions, deodorants rained on me. “Thanks,” I yelled.

Grampa chuckled. “You’re welcome.”

I ignored the mess, jumped off the bed and joined him in the kitchen, where he was peering inside the oven. Now that I knew what he did for a living, I worried when I didn’t see him by the end of the day or in the morning before I left for school. Of late, he’d been keeping weird hours.

“Dinner looks good,” he said, pulling out the trays and setting them on the stove top.

“Thanks.”

“Shouldn’t you be heading to the dojo?” he added as he reached inside the cupboard for a plate.

I looked at my watch and groaned. Quarter to four. I ran into my bedroom to change into my new dojo clothes—black pants, matching tank top and hoodie, and black suede boots. Janelle dropped them off last night. When I returned, Grampa was on the sofa eating. He looked tired and distracted, and his beard needed a trim. “Is everything okay, Grampa?”

He nodded and kept chewing.

I broached the subject he’d evaded the past week. “Has the CT decided on Bran’s case yet?”

A frown touched his face as he reached for the glass of orange juice and took a mouthful. I sighed. He was going to shake his head and give me his standard answer, “Focus on your training and school.” I didn’t know why I even bothered to ask him about Bran.

I grabbed the truck keys from where I’d left them on the kitchenette table and started for the door. “See you later, Grampa. Don’t work too hard.”

“There’re a couple of them who’re not sure Tariel didn’t turn, but they’ll come around.”

My heart lifted and I turned to face him. “I hope they give Bran a chance to explain.”

Grampa nodded. “They’re doing that, right now.”

That was the best news I’d heard in the last seven days. I ran to Grampa and kissed him on the forehead. “Thanks for letting me know.” He just shook his head and went back to his food.

I left the trailer and ran to the truck. All the way to the dojo, I played the stereo loud and drummed the steering wheel. Not knowing whether the Cardinals would help Bran or not had bugged me. Maybe I’d see him again.

Izzy and Kim were in the foyer of the dojo when I arrived, both of them dressed like me. It was funny how wearing the same outfit made such a difference. I felt like I was one of them in spite of their professionally styled hair and manicures.

“Ready,” Izzy asked, interrupting my musing.

I grinned. On Monday, she started quizzing me on Xenithian history and Demonology. The others have since joined in, which kept me on my toes. After Grampa’s news, I was ready for anything. “Bring it on.”

“Name the three Nephilim subgroups?” Izzy asked.

“
Neterus, Nosferatus and Werenephils
. C’mon, challenge me.”

“Which ones left with Coronis?” Kim asked as she followed Izzy into the hallway and I fell in behind her. As usual, there were classes going on and intermittent sounds of
ki-yah…ki-yah
interrupted our conversation.

“Mainly
Werenephils
and
Nosferatus.
But some, like Moira’s father, remained in Xenith. Just like some Neteru went with Coronis.”

Izzy hit me with, “Which demons are mentioned in most mythology books?”

“
Werenephils
.” We turned the corner and almost bumped into Remy and Sykes, who were standing in the hallway talking.

“Which ones have the ability to turn into smoke and possess a person?” Remy chipped in

“The
Lazari
.” I’d studied them because Bran’s mother was one.

“That’s what they call them?” Sykes asked. “What happened to the name smoke demons?”

Izzy made a disgusted sound. “Don’t you ever read your
Demonology
?”

He smirked. “No, they make better bookends. I got one for you, Red. Who created Xenia’s Kris Dagger and why?”

I scrunched my face. “Her father, Azazel, created it. Xenia was very powerful and the other Nephilim were envious of her. He made the dagger for her protection but instead, she used it to create Xenith and moved there with her loyal friends and their families, including her older sister Coronis. They are our ancestors.”

Izzy whistled. “Someone’s been studying hard.”

“No, he asked me the same question yesterday but I didn’t know the answer. I looked it up last night. Oh, and I lifted something using telekinesis.”

They stopped and turned around to look at me with varied expressions. “You have that ability too?” Kim asked.

I nodded, feeling a bit self-conscious at the way they were staring. “My grandfather has it,” I said in a defensive voice.

“We know,” the four of them said in unison.

“So why the weird expressions?” I waved to indicate their faces and Kim, who was closest to me, cringed. I frowned, getting irritated. This wasn’t the first time she recoiled when I came close to her. It started right after I told them about Bran, but it hadn’t bothered me until I noticed that Sykes stopped putting his arm around my shoulders like he used to. “Why is it you all treat me like I’ve got the plague or something? Is it because of Bran and your crazy belief that he’s evil? The last time I checked, evilness wasn’t contagious.”

Kim flung her head, her ponytailed golden locks swinging across her back. “This is not about that demon boy. You’re an empath.” She spat the word like it was some ugly disease.

I shook my head, not understanding. “So?”

“It’s an intrusive power,” Izzy explain in a nicer voice.

“Weird,” Kim added and crossed her arm.

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “So what am I supposed to do? Turn it off.”

“Keep your hands to yourself.” Kim’s expression was serious.

I looked at Izzy, who just shrugged. Sykes couldn’t even meet my gaze. Remy tried to be diplomatic with his response. “Empaths who’ve mastered their ability can control it, only using it when they need to. We’re sure you’ll be able to do that with time.”

Meanwhile I had to keep my hands to myself. I shrugged like it didn’t matter, but frustration churned my insides like a twister. Just when I thought we were one happy team.

“Fine. Step aside. Coming through.” Both Kim and Izzy hustled out of my way, until their backs pressed against the hallway wall. Remy grabbed my hand as I passed him. Sykes took the other. I glanced at their gloved hands and threw them a disgusted look. “And what point are you two trying to prove?”