Guardian Angel (39 page)

I heard voices from the living room, quiet but cheerful. Entering, I found Cindy and another suited Seraph sitting across from each other, sipping coffee. They both immediately stood up and looked at me.

“Hi,” I said quietly.

Cindy smiled. “Adrian! You’re up.”

She briskly walked up to me and stretched out her arms to hug me, but I took a step back.

Her long silvery hair was draped over her shoulders. There might have been a few more wrinkles around her calm, peaceful eyes, but otherwise she was, for the most part, just as I remembered her. But something was different. Was it her smile? The way she walked? The way her hands moved? I couldn’t put my finger on it. It might have been all in my head, but something about her was just a little… less Cindy.

“Adrian,” she said gently. “Adrian, it’s me.”

I shook my head. “No, it’s not.”

Cindy turned to the Seraph and said, “Could you please give us a moment alone?”

“Certainly,” the man replied politely.

He gave me a curt nod before disappearing into the dining room, and Cindy turned back to me.

“What’s with the Seraphim, Cindy?” I asked her. “You never allowed live-in security here before.”

“Times have changed,” said Cindy. “There are so many more people depending on me now.”

I lifted my wrists a little and showed her my control bands.

“I’m sorry, but those stay on,” said Cindy. “Just for a little longer. Until you’re safe.”

I nodded sadly.

Cindy knelt in front of me and grasped my arms. “Adrian! It really is me. I know you’re worried about conversion, but it’s not as terrible as you think. I’m still the same person you knew two years ago.”

“Then why haven’t you asked me about Alia?” I asked coldly. “Why haven’t you asked me where she is, or if she’s alright?”

“I heard that she was injured in an accident,” said Cindy. “I thought maybe you didn’t want to talk about it.”

“Injured in an accident?” I repeated savagely. “She was shot in the back! She’s not injured, Cindy. She’s dead.”

Still kneeling, Cindy stared into my eyes. She blinked, and a single teardrop fell to the floor.

“You were supposed to look after her,” she whispered.

“As were you!” I hissed back.

Cindy looked away. “I have… other… responsibilities as well now.”

I pulled my arms free of her and walked across the room.

Turning around, I said furiously, “For two years I dreamed of coming back here, Cindy! I dreamed of bringing Alia back so that we could be a family again. And all this time you were here playing hider for Randal and Cat!”

“I searched for you,” said Cindy, standing up. “I searched for Alia. There was nothing I wanted more than to find you again!”

“Except to serve your master,” I said, my voice shaking horribly. “Betraying the Guardians wasn’t enough, was it? You had to cheat the Angels too!”

“That’s not true.”

“I heard from Mark what Ralph told you about my bloodline, Cindy! Randal couldn’t have erased a memory that old. You know what Cat is! You’ve always known that the Angels are deceived.”

“I am a loyal servant of my queen, Adrian,” Cindy said unapologetically. “It was her wish that her father remained king for a while longer.”

I scoffed at her words. “And you think you’re still the same person who rescued me from that rooftop? You used to know the difference between freedom and slavery, Cindy.”

“And you used to know the difference between right and wrong!” Cindy shot back. “Don’t pretend like I’m the only one who changed! I’ve heard of the things you’ve been up to since you left Lumina.”

“Since I left New Haven,” I corrected.

“The risks you took… the risks you made Alia take!”

“What I did was for our family, Cindy! Not some… Angel queen!”

“That Angel queen is your sister!” Cindy said heatedly. “She’s no different from Alia. And yet you were out there trying to kill her! Your own sister! How could you, Adrian?!”

I let out a quiet huff and looked away. I didn’t want to argue that point with Cindy, especially since her allegiance to Cat rendered her just as blind to reason as I was.

Cindy took a few steps toward me as she said, “Queen Catherine Divine was originally of the Angels, Adrian, and you are of the Guardians. You could help your sister bring order to the Guardian Angels. You could help bridge the gap between us and the rest of the Guardians who haven’t joined us yet. We need unity, Adrian. The Guardian Angels have always been there for humanity in times of great need. Now is such a time, more than ever.”

“You’re crazy.”

“The world is crazy!” countered Cindy. “Millions of people are starving every day. People are dying needlessly because those who have refuse to share. Human greed is eating up our planet, and wars over water and other resources will destroy us all. With psionics in charge, all of that could be fixed. Your sister could lead humanity to peace and equality. Don’t you see? This is what the Guardian Angels were meant to do. We guide and protect. Just because there’s a master makes no difference in the final outcome.”

“It makes all the difference in the world, Cindy,” I said, looking her in the eyes. “Who wants to live like a drone?”

“Adrian, you make it sound much worse than it really is. I told you before that conversion doesn’t rob you of your free will. You can still have your opinions and likes and dislikes. You can still choose your own life.”

“So then it’s your own will and your own choice that you help the Seraphim hunt down Guardian children to force their parents to surrender?”

“I am not in complete agreement with all of King Divine’s tactics.”

“But you still support him. Because you’ve been converted and your queen tells you what to think.”

“No, Adrian! Because this really is the only way to end this horrible war before even more people are hurt and killed.”

“You’re wrong, Cindy,” I told her quietly. “You’re wrong.”

Cindy smiled. “You’ll see things differently very soon. You see, the Seraphim brought you straight to Lumina because your sister and her father are currently visiting for a special celebration. In fact, they’re in the gathering place right now, and you’ll be converted as soon as I get you down there.”

“What are they celebrating?” I asked apprehensively.

“The official surrender of the Guardian Council,” said Cindy, confirming my fears. “There are still many breakaways and independent factions out there, but with the dissolution of the Council, the war is officially over now. The Guardian Angels have won.”

“Congratulations,” I said coolly. “But I’m not going to be converted, Cindy. Not today. Not ever.”

“I know you’re scared, Adrian. I was the one who taught you to hate and fear master controllers. To hate peace and order.” Cindy sighed heavily once and then forced a smile. “But you will be converted. And once you see the truth in our ways, if you want, we can live here again as a family.”

I showed her my control bands again. “Do you really think draining is going to stop me? Do you think I couldn’t kill you with my bare hands?”

“It doesn’t matter whether you could,” said Cindy. “You won’t. I know you better than that.”

“Do you?” I said evenly.

Cindy calmly walked up to me.

For a moment, I really did think of attacking her. I wanted to reach out and break her neck. Even though I knew she was converted, her betrayal had hurt so much. To think she had but one tear to shed for Alia! Did she know that Terry was dead too? Did she even care?

But I still had the bomb in me, and I knew that this was my last chance to reverse the course of this war.

Cindy reached out to hug me. I looked at her peaceful, unafraid smile, and I decided that so long as I was going to die today, even this broken, twisted Cindy was better than none at all.

I held her tightly, and she whispered into my ear, “Welcome home, Adrian.”

Then Cindy made a quick phone call.

Five minutes later, a team of four “Seraph Knights,” as Cindy called them, came up to the penthouse and escorted me into the elevator. Cindy didn’t come with us, but said to me at the door, “Please don’t resist, Adrian. It could really hurt you if you do. I’ve seen it.”

“I won’t,” I said. I wanted to say goodbye, but that would have been suspicious.

My escorts took me down the elevator and into the concrete entrance hall of the underground gathering place. They led me through a side door and down a narrow corridor which brought us into a small square interrogation chamber. The room was furnished with just a single straight-back chair set in the middle. The chair was equipped with leather restraints on its armrests and front legs.

“Have a seat,” said one of the Seraphim, gesturing toward the chair.

“I prefer to stand,” I told him.

“Your preferences will receive due consideration once you are one of us,” he replied, forcing me into the chair and tightening the restraints around my forearms and ankles.

Two of the guards remained in the room with me as the other two disappeared, presumably to go fetch their master.

But when the door opened again, it wasn’t the queen of the Angels that entered.

“Leave us,” Randal Divine commanded the Seraphim, and they quietly bowed themselves out.

Alone, Randal slowly approached my chair.

I glared up at him. He smiled back.

“The prodigal son returns,” he whispered.

Let there be light,
I thought to myself.
But not yet.

“You once told me to pray that I would never see you again, Adrian Howell,” said Randal, bringing his face up close to mine. “But I have prayed. For Cathy, I have prayed for your return. And finally, now, here you are.”

I stared stonily back at him.

Randal took a step back and shook his head in wonder, saying, “To think I almost killed you at the gathering of lesser gods. But of course I didn’t know how special you were, Adrian. Not just to Cathy, but to the future of our world. You see, in order to keep Cathy from harm, my aunt, the late Queen Divine, may God rest her soul, kept your lineage secret even from me. I only learned the truth when, as fate would have it, only three days after my aunt was killed, Cathy came into her full power as a master controller. Since then, I too have done everything in my power to protect her secret… and yours.”

Still I said nothing. There was nothing to say to this man. As soon as he brought Cat in here, he would die too.

“You hate me,” Randal said quietly. “I know, and I don’t blame you. But try to understand that when my aunt asked me to raise Cathy as my daughter, I did not take her in out of greed or duty. I love her. She is a part of my family, and we both want you to be a part of it too.”

I slowly shook my head.

Randal sighed heavily. “She still loves you, Adrian. And she knows that you have been on a mission to kill her. She has known for a long time, and it has hurt her more than you can imagine. I have watched her suffer. I have watched her cry for you.”

“You wanted me back,” I said in a low voice. “I’m here. Get this over with.”

Randal studied my face for a moment, and then said, “My daughter wishes to speak with you privately. I trust you will hear her words better than you hear mine.”

He turned around and left the room.

Less than a minute later, the door opened again, and in stepped Queen Catherine “Cat” Howell-Divine.

She had cut her once-long hair really short, a bit like Terry’s. It made her look very grown-up. She was wearing a simple but elegant violet dress and matching silk gloves. Cat was smiling, but everything else about her looked sad.

Let there be light,
I thought to myself again. But I didn’t say it. I couldn’t detonate the bomb just yet. Not because Randal wasn’t in the room. He was just a bonus extra, anyway. But I had to be sure of what I was doing. I had come this far and I was certainly prepared to take the final step, but first I had to be absolutely sure that there was no other way.

“Hello, Catherine,” I said stiffly.

“I had a feeling I would see you again,” said Cat, shaking her head a little. “Just not like this.”

“Are you really going to convert me?” I asked.

“I wish I didn’t have to,” Cat said unhappily. “But it’s probably for the best. Father thinks you can’t be trusted.”

“What do you think?”

“I want to trust you, Adrian. But you were trying to kill me.”

“I was trying to kill the last psionic master,” I informed her. “I was trying to keep the Angels from taking over the world. I was trying to keep my sister from becoming a tyrant.”

Cat gave me an injured look. “Won’t you at least hear my side of it?”

“I’ve heard plenty from Cindy already, thank you,” I said savagely. “I heard about all the wonderful things the Guardian Angels are going to do for the world.”

“It’s all true, Adrian,” said Cat. “I never wanted anything for myself. And I know that humans would be better off in our care.”

“I was human once, Cat,” I said evenly. “As were you. It is not our place to rule them.”

“And why not?” she asked, taking a step closer to my chair. “It would be a far better world for everyone than if we continued to let humans rule themselves. We could put an end to all of their ridiculous wars. We could unite the entire human race under one flag. Think about it, Adrian. A world without borders. We could end conflict for good.”

“You’re fifteen years old,” I scoffed. “What do you know about running a planet?”

“Not much,” admitted Cat. “But I do know what the biggest problems are. After I came into my power, Father took me on a trip around the world. I traveled with him for half a year. I saw babies starving to death in tiny dirt huts, and I dined under crystal chandeliers in the palaces of kings. Father showed me how unbalanced this world really is, and how close we all are to destruction.”

“It’s not for us to change that, Cat. You know it isn’t. You can’t force the world to change.”

“You’re wrong, Adrian. This is exactly what the Guardian Angels are all about.”

“Controlling the minds of billions of people?” I asked disgustedly.

“Of course not!” Cat said in a scandalized tone. “I couldn’t do that if I tried. Just the leaders, Adrian. The leaders of politics and the economy. We need to make them think of the masses first and their own personal gain second. If only they worked together, all of our problems would be solved. That is what we’re about. That is what the original Guardian Angels were created to do. To protect humanity from its own mistakes. It’s the only reason psionics exist.”