Awakened (24 page)

“I have to go home.”

My heart dropped. “To Coronis Isle?”

“No, L.A.” He stepped away and scrubbed his face.

Something cold settled in the pit of my stomach at the stricken expression on his face. “Why? What’s wrong?”

“Gavyn’s in trouble.”

“What kind of trouble?”

“I’ve been trying to get in touch with him since yesterday but couldn’t reach him. I asked a friend in L.A. to locate him. I just got the word that he ran into some problems with his den leader. I must go and help him.”

The Cardinals just got the go-ahead to help Bran and now his brother was in trouble. Was that too much of a coincidence or was I just being paranoid? “What kind of trouble? Why must you go? Why not the Cardinals?”

Bran ran his fingers through his hair. “This doesn’t concern them. I’m the only one who can testify on Gavyn’s behalf. Don’t look surprised—we do have a judicial system of some sort. The charges are ridiculous, of course.”

I gripped his wrists and pulled his hands down. “What charges?”

“Remember the Goetz brothers?”

I could never forget the two demons with red eyes and fiery
omnis
. I nodded.

“They’re missing, and Gavyn has been charged with their disappearance.”

I frowned. “So you think he’s not responsible?”

“I
know
he’s not. My brother is many things, but he’s not a killer. I must find out what’s going on and help.”

“With a brother like that, we wonder about you,” Remy interrupted from behind us.

Bran and I turned. Remy and Sykes stood on the grassy end of the bridge to our left. Legs apart, bodies tense and primed for action, they pulled off their gloves. What were they doing? The only time they removed those gloves was when they used their powers at the dojo.

“Who are you?” Sykes asked in a cold voice.

A sound came from the other side of the bridge, and I whipped around to find Kim pulling out a dagger from inside her boot. The serrated blade gave off a green glow. It was nothing like the ones we used during practice. A glint caught my eyes as Izzy lifted her preppy plaid skirt and pulled out shurikens from a leather belt around her stocking-clad thigh.

Realization dawned, and I swallowed a lump of panic. This was a coordinated attack, and the target was Bran. I had to diffuse the situation fast. “Guy’s, this is Bran Llyr. I told you about him last week.”

“We guessed as much,” Remy said.

“Then why the weapons? The Cardinals know he’s here.”

“They’re too trusting. They’ve forgotten what happened the last time a so-called souled demon came to us and claimed he needed refuge.” Sykes pushed his gloves in his back pocket of his pants and took a step forward, his eyes hard and cold. “More of their kind followed and the next thing they knew, there was infestation and the slaughter of our people.”

“Including your mother and grandmother, Lil,” Remy added in a hard voice.

“I know,” I snapped. “My grandfather told me everything last night.”

“And the fact that we can’t read his thoughts implies he’s hiding something?” Sykes added.

Bran cocked an eyebrow. “Maybe I prefer to keep my thoughts to myself. Do you guys mind? We were having a private conversation when you interrupted.” Though Bran’s tone was even, his body was coiled tighter than a spring wire.

I raised my hands to calm everyone. The trees and shrubberies shielded us from the other students, but this situation could get worse fast. I looked at Remy. “Just before lunch, you said we were a team and must resolve our problems together. Let Bran leave, then we can discuss this calmly.”

“I’m not leaving you to defend our relationship,” Bran whispered harshly.

“Now is not a good time to be difficult. I can deal with this.”

He reached for my hand. “Then deal with this too—I’m not going anywhere.”

“Take…your…hands…off…her,” Sykes snapped.

Bran’s hands stilled. He lifted his head and pinned the blond with a cold glare. “Or what?”

“Or you’ll have to deal with me.” An energy ball appeared above Sykes’ palm.

“You don’t scare me, fire boy,” Bran taunted him.

Sykes lifted his chin. “Then bring it on.”

Bran laughed. “Bet I can turn you into a prune faster than you can lobe that poor excuse of an energy ball.”

Sykes’ eyes flashed at his response, the energy ball growing bigger and bluer fast. I tightened my hold on Bran’s hand and jerked hard.
Stop it.

He started it.

And you can stop it.
But I might as well be telepathing a brick wall. Bran didn’t even look at me. Lord knows why he was itching to take on Sykes. I turned to Remy. “Do something.”

“You can’t trust demons, Lil.”

“Half-demon,” I retorted.

“Same difference.” His gaze didn’t waver from Bran either. He rocked on his heels, and the bridge creaked under us as though the cores of the metal were rearranging themselves. He glanced at Izzy and Kim then nodded.

I followed his gaze and realized why Kim and Izzy hadn’t said a word. While the guys distracted us, Izzy had inched closer. I locked on her thoughts and read her objective. She meant to grab my arm and teleport me to safety. Kim shuffled toward the bushes behind us, hers eyes on Bran and her movements purposeful.

Izzy extended her hand toward me. “Come with me, and I’ll explain how this works.”

Was she for real? If I left Bran’s side, they’d attack him. This little misunderstanding could escalate into something lethal. And from the way Bran tried to ease his hand off mine, he knew it, too. My grip tightened. I wasn’t sure whether it was to stop him or myself from zapping these guys and knocking some sense into their thick heads. I took a deep breath, held it then released it. “Listen to me, guys. Bran has been—”

“No,
you
listen to
us
,” Kim snapped. “You’re one of us now, and we stick together, no matter what. You don’t take sides with the enemy. Go with Izzy.”

“Shut up, Kim. Bran’s been hunting with the Cardinals the last one week.” They didn’t back down. “In the last two days, he’s been testifying before the CT in Xenith. He convinced them that he’s Tariel’s grandson and that he needs the Cardinals’ help to rescue his family. Attack him and you’ll have to answer to the CT.”

Everyone froze.

“At ease, guys,” Remy said. He relaxed his fists then slipped his gloves back on.

Sykes extinguished the energy ball by closing his hand then snatched his gloves from the back pocket of his pants. He put them on, too, his narrowed gaze still on Bran. On the other side of the bridge, Kim slipped her daggers into her boots and the shurikens disappeared under Izzy’s skirt.

“Does this mean Bran is free to leave?” I asked.

“No,” the trainees said in unison.

If we hadn’t just avoided a precarious situation, I would have found their unified front impressive. One by one, they climbed onto the bridge, settled on the opposite rail and crossed their arms. Until today, I never imagined they could be so intimidating.

“We don’t have much time, so start explaining the meeting with the CT,” Sykes said.

Do I have to put up with his crap?
Bran telepathed me

Don’t let him get to you.

He started talking, from working with the Cardinals to testifying in front of the Council. They interrupted and asked for verification. “When are the Cardinals planning to rescue your sister?” Izzy asked.

“In the next week or so.”

“What’s the point of rescuing your brother when he’s a vile soul-reaper?” Sykes added.

Bran tensed. “That’s for the Cardinals to decide, not you.”

Sykes grinned. Every time he got a rise out of Bran, he smirked. Remy punched Sykes’ arm. “Don’t sweat it, bro. Once they turn him, we’ll teach him a thing or two about how to act right.” The two trainees knocked fists, grinning. Bran didn’t move a muscle, but his resentment toward the guys slammed into me in droves.

“Good luck, man,” Remy said and started off the bridge.

“Yeah,” Sykes added. His gaze touched me, then he walked away.

Izzy approached us first. “Sorry we almost attacked you, Bran, but we’re at war and not every one of your people can be trusted.” Unease flashed on her face. “I guess I shouldn’t call them your people now that you’re fighting for us.”

Bran shrugged. “I guess not.”

She wiggled her fingers at me and took off. We turned our attention to Kim, who hadn’t moved from her position on the other rail. Instead of addressing Bran, she looked at me with narrowed eyes. “I know what I said last night offended you, but the fact still remains that people
do
have questions about the origins of your exceptional abilities. I’m the only one brave enough to voice them. As for the rest of the stuff I said, I apologize if I was out of line.” Her gaze shifted to Bran. She gave him a scathing once over. “I hope you don’t hang around after the Cardinals help your family. My father heads the local High Council and he doesn’t trust your kind.” Then she flung her hair and sashayed off the bridge, her boots beating an even staccato on the metal.

I shook my head, not sure whether to ignore her or just hate her. “She’s—”

“Not important.” Bran ran his hands up and down my arms. “I don’t know when I’ll be back, but—”

“Have you told the Cardinals about this?”

He shook his head. “No need to. I’ll be fine. I should be in and out of there within a few days.”

“You don’t know that. At least tell them where you’re going and how you can be reached.”

He scowled as though he disliked the idea. Then he sighed. “Fine. I’ll do that if it makes you happy.”

That was something, but it wasn’t enough to ease my worries. “And if it’s a trap?”

“I can take care of myself, worrywart. I’ve got to go.” Bran kissed my forehead and pulled me into his arms.

I wound mine around his waist and held him tight. “Promise you’ll be careful.”

“Always.”

The first bell rang. I didn’t want to leave.

“Lil,” he whispered.

I hugged him tighter.

“You need to go, Sunshine. But train hard while I’m gone. Master as many of your skills as you can.”

How romantic. I was hoping for how much he would miss me. I sighed and leaned back to look into his gorgeous face. The dimpled smile and the smoldering emerald eyes seemed to invite my touch. I reached up and stroked the planes of his face with the tips of my fingers, traced his dimple. “Why do you always tell me that? Train. Master your powers.”

“I don’t want you to be caught unaware.” He turned his head, pressed a kiss in the palm of my hand. “Go, or you’ll get a tardy slip.”

“I don’t care.”

“I do. I’ll be back, I promise.”

I swallowed, not sure why I had a foreboding feeling of impending doom. Were the vibes from him? Was this goodbye but he wasn’t telling me? I reached up and pressed my lips to his then turned and ran off the bridge. Grief squeezed my chest, making it hard to breathe. Then I remembered the question I meant to ask him.

“Do you know anything about the demons that raided our people ten years ago?”

He nodded. “Valafar and his men led the attack. Why?”

That name again. “I just wanted to know. Be careful, Bran.” I turned and hurried toward the cafeteria patio. When I looked back, he stood in a clearing, where I could see him and he could see me.

The second bell rang. As the door closed behind me, I could still see him through the glass pane. The hold grief had on my chest tightened. The door between us felt too much like a barrier, like he and I would always be separated by who we were. Not liking the direction of my thoughts, I hurried to my next class.

Bran stayed on my mind the entire afternoon. More then ever, I wished I’d mastered my powers so I could find him and confirm that he was okay. What was the point of being
alrunes
when I couldn’t feel his emotions whenever I wanted?

Kylie’s editorial woes kept her at school, so she didn’t need a ride home, which suited me. I was in a crappy mood. The sweet aroma of chili greeted me when I opened the door. Grampa had cooked, but he wasn’t at home. I located his psi energy. He was in the valley.

I went through the motions of doing my homework and at the dojo hours later, we concentrated on telekinesis. We used heavier objects—chairs, tables, the ceiling. No, the last one was an accident. I planned to move a hovering table to my left, but instead locked on the ceiling. Plaster and wood tumbled down, leaving behind a gaping hole. My jaw dropped then laughter bubbled through. Mrs. D’s gaped when the table danced in the air as if it had a life of its own. The harder I laughed the more the darn thing moved. She joined me.

Running feet in the hallway then the door burst open. “What’s going…?” Kenta’s voice trailed off, his gaze taking in the crazy scene. Behind him stood the instructors and trainees.

Mrs. D controlled herself long enough to say, “The ceiling exploded,” then she laughed harder.

“Help them,” Kenta said then he and the others disappeared, leaving Remy behind.

“What happened,” Remy asked as we gathered the pieces. I explained while he sealed the hole.

“We’ll start working on teleporting,” Mrs. D. said after Remy left. “Once you master that, we’ll practice telekinesis outdoors. Somewhere where you can cause mayhem without damaging anything.”

“Sahara Desert?” I asked.

She smiled. “Not enough rocks. Cederberg Mountains and Nature Reserve, South Africa. We can teleport there and make it back home in time for dinner.”

I liked Mrs. D. She was not afraid to be goofy.

***

Kylie jumped out of her trailer as soon as I drove up. She waved, said something to her mother who sat under their awning, then walked over. Her mother looked at me but didn’t nod or wave, making me wonder if seeing me with Bran yesterday had something to do with her attitude. I was tempted to read her mind, but decided not to bother.

I pushed my hands deep into the pockets of my hoodie and turned my attention to Kylie. “Still working on your article?”

She gave a dramatic sigh. “Both Sykes and Remy refused to comment. I think I’ll do one on school dances after tomorrow night. Did your grandfather say you can go?”