Sacrifice (10 page)

“Lilitu?” Hale glanced at Gretchen sharply. “Lilitu at the meeting?”

“Three of them,” I said. The Guard turned toward me. “One was the Lilitu who attacked me at the mission.”

“What?!” Dad stared, stricken. “How did she get past the spotters?” He glanced at Gretchen, who blushed hotly.

“We’re spread thin as it is, and with the increased shifts—” Gretchen threw her hands up in the air. “I don’t know. Someone must have lost focus.”

“Or, we have a bigger problem on our hands,” Thane said quietly. “A traitor in our midst.” The group turned to look at Thane, unsettled. “Someone who’d choose to look the other way, should a Lilitu attempt to slip out of the mission undetected.”

“A spotter?” Gretchen stiffened, pissed. “You’re saying you think a spotter—?”

“Or two,” Thane said, shrugging. “Spotters aren’t supposed to leave their posts. So unless both spotters fell asleep, logic dictates that one or both of the spotters on duty when this Lilitu escaped allowed her to pass without alerting the Guard.”

“Logic?” Gretchen’s fists balled tightly at her sides. “You can take that logic and shove it up your—”

“We have to consider all scenarios,” Hale said, moving toward Gretchen with a conciliatory gesture. “But I agree with you, Gretchen. It’s extremely unlikely that a spotter would knowingly allow a Lilitu to escape.”

“I find the prospect of an accidental lapse in attention equally troubling,” Thane said. “It means that we are vulnerable in ways we have not planned for.”

“No,” growled Gretchen. “Like I said, it means we are spread too thin.” She turned to Amber. “Which is why we need more spotters on the team.”

Amber glanced up. “What?”

“You’ve got a very special talent—” Gretchen started.

“No. No way.” Amber’s eyes narrowed.

“Sorry?” Gretchen studied Amber’s face, confused.

“No way am I joining your little circus. I’ve got more extracurricular activities than I can handle as it is.” Amber pulled a cell phone out of her pocket. “I should be getting home.”

“Extracurricular—?” Gretchen’s eyes narrowed. “You’ve seen what kind of damage they can do, and you’re willing to just turn a blind eye?”

“I’m seventeen years old,” Amber sniffed. “What exactly do you think I can do?”

“You can see them!”

Amber took a step back, startled by the power behind Gretchen’s outburst.

“We need spotters.” Gretchen grew quiet, but the intensity of her voice sent a shiver across my back. “We can train soldiers. We can teach people how to fight. But only a tiny fraction of humans ever develop the ability to see through a Lilitu’s disguise. And without the ability to see the Lilitu, our soldiers are helpless to fight them.” Gretchen’s voice grew hoarse with emotion. “We need you, Amber.”

“I’m sorry.” Amber retreated toward the foyer. Hale blocked her path. She glared at him, but her fear was evident in her voice. “I want to go home.”

After a moment, Hale moved aside. Amber fled, slamming the front door behind her.

“You let her go?” Gretchen clenched her jaw.

“You heard her, Gretchen. She doesn’t want to help.” Hale sighed. “And if I’m not mistaken, holding her here against her will is a felony. So until we can change her mind, we have to respect her wishes.”

Gretchen let out a growl of frustration. “So this whole night was a disaster!” She threw herself onto the couch.

“How do you figure?” Dad asked.

“Well, our covert surveillance plan is blown,” Gretchen muttered. “I think it’s safe to say neither Braedyn nor I will be welcome at another one of their meetings.”

“We’ll have to get another spotter to go,” I said.

“Yeah.” Gretchen sighed. “Maybe Rhea and June?”

“If we dedicate more spotters to the cult, we’ll have to increase shifts for the rest of you,” Hale said.

Gretchen glowered at him. “This is just perfect.”

“I could go.” Cassie stood slowly. “I mean, if most of the people at these meetings are girls anyway, no one would suspect me, right? It sounds like you need all the help you can get.”

“No.” I caught Cassie’s hand. “It’s way too dangerous, Cassie. Leave this to the Guard.”

“Sorry, kiddo,” Dad said, seeing Cassie’s disappointment, “but Braedyn’s right.”

Cassie sat back down, blushing. I tried to catch her eye, but she kept her gaze fixed on her lap.

“I wouldn’t turn down anything at this point,” Karayan said. “You’re going to have to figure out something, and fast. This Cult of Lilith isn’t some misguided girl-power fad. Lilitu are involved, and that makes it a serious threat. You still don’t know what they’re hoping to achieve, and if you can’t get a mole into those meetings, you’re never going to find out.”

Cassie looked up at Karayan with a small smile of gratitude.

“Besides,” Karayan added. “Cassie’s right. You’re going to need all the help you can get.”

Chapter 6

What I wouldn’t give for a night of human dreams. To wander once more through the surreal landscapes of my subconscious mind, lost in some random narrative whose logic—upon waking—dissolves in the light of a new day. To be spared, even for a few hours, the anxiety of my waking life, the knowledge of this war.

When I was a little girl, I used to dream of flying. Those dreams were gifts; even if they started out as nightmares where I’d be running from some unseen enemy, they ended up full of joy. Nothing matched the sensation of pure freedom those dreams of flying gave me.

It had been over a year since my Lilitu powers had awakened. One of the side effects? I no longer had dreams, not in the way I used to. Now, I had conscious command of my dreams—whether or not I wanted it. Yes, I could fly in my mind, but it wasn’t the same. I knew it was a dream, and that alone killed most of the pleasure of the sensation. My mind couldn’t deceive me into believing I had discovered this amazing ability to glide through the skies. I was aware it was simply a trick of my imagination. If I chose not to dream, I could pass the night in empty darkness. Or I could slip into Lucas’s dreaming mind and give over control to him, riding the dream almost like a human dream. Almost. Because, again, I was aware of the nature of the dream, even if I wasn’t in the driver’s seat of my own experience.

Those blissful dreams of flight were lost to me now, and might be forever. How much farther could I stray down the Lilitu path before I’d gone too far to turn back?

I rolled over in bed and looked at my alarm clock. I let out a soft groan when I saw the gleaming green read out: 4:55 AM. Too early to get up for school. And yet I couldn’t stand to lay here any longer. I pushed my comforter back, shivering against the February chill in the air. Our automatic thermostat wouldn’t adjust the temperature of the house to 68 degrees for another hour. At night, it let the temperature drop to 50 to save energy, which was great—unless you needed to get up. I dressed quickly, pulling on a fleece jacket over my school sweater to battle the crisp morning air.

Heading down the staircase, I saw warm light spilling out of the entrance to the dining room and kitchen. When I reached the foyer, I stepped into the dining room and had a clear view of the kitchen. Dad was sitting at the island, hands cradling a mug of coffee. He looked up as I entered. His eyes, tight with concern, eased when he spotted me. He smiled and patted the stool next to him.

“Couldn’t sleep?”

I shook my head and took the stool next to him. “You neither?”

Dad looked back at his mug. “The Lilitu who attacked you, did she give any indication what she wanted? Why she went after you specifically?”

I bit my lip. “I’ve been thinking about that.” I’d had more than enough time since the meeting last week to mull it over. It was almost the only thing I could think about. It was like she
knew
me, but how? “She—it’s like she’s got something personal against me. But I never saw her before she attacked me at the mission.”

“Describe her to me.”

“She’s got long brown hair. Blue eyes. Slight build, but tall.” I looked up, hearing my words. “She looks kind of like me, I guess.”

Dad studied me. I could feel his unease.

“Did Hale figure out how she slipped past the Guard?”

“No.” Dad’s brows drew together, and his hands tightened on the mug. “Thane and Ian are investigating the mission, trying to find an explanation. It’s possible the spotters simply missed her.” Dad’s voice trailed off.

“But you think there’s something else going on?”

He nodded slowly. “There’ve been too many coincidences lately.”

“The cult.” I felt a sour lump rising in my throat.

“We just don’t have enough information about them.” Dad took a drink of his coffee.

I caught his hand and gave it a warm squeeze. “We’ll get some of the other spotters to infiltrate the next meeting.”

“Provided we can find out when and where the next meeting takes place.” Dad covered my hand with his, giving me a kind smile, but it was tinged with a deeper concern.

“Dad?” I tried to catch his eye, but he avoided my gaze. “What’s wrong?”

“This talk of the Temple. I can’t get it out of my head. Whatever this woman, Idris, knows—” Dad sighed. “Well, one thing we can be sure of; she knows we’re onto her now. If I had to guess?” He shrugged. “She’ll take her meetings underground. I doubt we’ll catch her followers passing out flyers around town again. It’ll be personal invitation only from now on.”

“We still know Carrie.”

“But she doesn’t know our spotters. It’ll take them time to forge a relationship with her, and they’ll risk showing their hand if they ask about the Cult directly.”

I frowned, unsettled. “So we follow Carrie around the clock. She’ll lead us to the next meeting, right?”

“Let’s hope so.” Dad’s gaze turned inward. “The trick will be getting inside the meeting. But Rhea’s resourceful. I’m sure she’ll figure something out.”

“Yeah. Resourceful. Among other things.” I heard my voice harden. Dad glanced at me sharply.

“Hale told me about your sparring session with Rhea. Is she still giving you grief?”

“Whatever.” I forced a smile, shrugging it off. “It’s not like I have to see her very often. And it’s not like I have to like her. Let’s just hope she can worm her way into the cult.”

Dad looped an arm around my shoulders and gave me a warm squeeze. “Right. What do you say I make something interesting for breakfast. Goat cheese and roasted red pepper omelet?”

I leaned into his hug, feeling some of my tension ease. “Sounds awesome.”

Dad started puttering around the kitchen, collecting the necessary tools for his culinary creation. As I watched him, I tried to shrug off this feeling of helplessness. Until Ian and Thane figured out how the Lilitu had escaped the mission, until Rhea got an inside line on the Cult, there wasn’t much I could do but keep my eyes open and wait.

The sun had done little to warm the day by the time Lucas and I arrived on campus.

“Another Monday,” Lucas sighed. I leaned into him. Surprised, Lucas wrapped his arms around me. “What’s this for?”

I closed my eyes, drinking in the sensation of his embrace. I felt a stirring through my core; the Lilitu storm was waking. I held it at bay, trying to savor this moment. As the storm twisted inside me, I sighed and pulled back, meeting Lucas’s eyes. They looked almost green against the cloudy sky. “Thank you.”

Lucas gave me one of his little half-smiles, and I felt my heart flutter in my chest. “You’re no end of mystery, Braedyn Murphy.”

“We never did finish that dream,” I murmured.

Lucas’s eyes sharpened on mine. “Does that mean you want to?”

I swallowed. “What I want is for us to be together without fear. Right now—unfortunately—a dream is our best option.”

“If you say so.”

I looked up at him, surprised by the note of doubt in his voice.

“Missy!” Cassie’s clear voice cut across the morning.

I turned and Lucas followed my gaze. We watched as Cassie caught up to Missy on the quad. I couldn’t hear their conversation, but Missy looked at Cassie with genuine surprise, then shrugged and wrote something down on a paper for Cassie.

“What do you think she’s doing?” I asked.

“I don’t know.” Lucas frowned, studying Cassie with a speculative look on his face.

Missy gave Cassie a hug and walked off toward North building. Cassie studied the scrap of paper in her hand, lost in thought—until Parker approached.

Even from where we stood, we could hear Cassie’s voice, harsh with anger. “Leave me alone, Parker. I told you, I don’t want to talk. I don’t want to see you. Just leave me alone!”

Parker made a soothing gesture, saying something too quietly for me to make out. Cassie shoved Parker back, growing even angrier.

“That son of a—” I growled, taking a step forward.

First bell rang out, summoning students for the start of the school day. Cassie tucked the paper into her pocket and dashed into North Hall, leaving Parker staring after her.

“What do you think he wanted?” Lucas asked.

Watching her go, I couldn’t shake a sinking feeling. “I’ll ask her in first period.” Lucas and I parted ways, each heading off to class. Cassie and I shared Mr. Landon’s history class for first period. I made my way to class, taking my usual seat. Cassie entered a few minutes later, talking on her cell phone.