Sacrifice (7 page)

I felt my jaw drop.

“Isn’t she awesome?” Carrie turned back to me, beaming. “Hey, I’ve got to hand more of these out. If you want to come tonight and hear more, just let me know.” Carrie hurried off, passing out another handful of flyers to pedestrians who’d stopped to take in the gathering.

“What the—?” Lucas looked at me, his eyes bulging in shock. Cassie and Royal watched the crowd, disbelief painted across their faces.

I looked down at the flyer in my hand. Written across the top, in clear, bold letters, it read,
Help Us Rebuild Her Temple.
It depicted a beautiful woman, with gracefully curved wings arching up behind her. She had a benevolent expression on her face. Beneath the image, was a small caption.

Lilith, mother of storms, fierce protector of planet Earth.

I looked up again. All around me, young women, their faces alight with excitement and enthusiasm, passed out flyers to passing women. And at the heart of it, the charismatic old woman watched it all, eyes full of tender concern.

One thing was for sure; whoever these people were, not one of them had ever met a Daughter of Lilith in the flesh.

Chapter 4

Lucas, Cassie, Royal, and I crowded onto the couch in the Guard’s living room. It sighed in resigned protest. Hale had just left to find Thane and Gretchen.

“Is this a joke?” Dad stared at the flyer in his hands, a dark look gathering on his face.

“I don’t think so.” I turned to my friends; their eyes mirrored the growing unease I’d felt since we’d fled the gathering in the plaza.

“I don’t think they know what they’re saying,” Lucas offered.

“While I appreciate you wanting to give them the benefit of the doubt, we must investigate this further before we can dismiss it as simple asinine foolishness,” Thane said, sweeping into the room. He plucked the flyer out of Dad’s hands. Dad grimaced, but crossed his arms and made no comment.

Ian, Gretchen, Matt, and Hale entered steps behind Thane. Ian joined Thane by the big bay window at the front of the room. They studied the flyer together, muttering observations to one another too quietly for me to make out.

Gretchen glanced at the four of us sitting on the couch, her eyebrows hiking up. “Hey, Cassie. Royal. It might be time for you guys to head on home.”

“They know,” I said. Gretchen turned to look at me, but it was Hale who spoke first.

“When you say ‘they know,’ I assume you mean—?”

“You said keeping them in the dark would protect them.” Emotion welled inside me, filling my mouth with a bitter taste. “It didn’t. Royal was attacked by the incubus. Cassie was at the mission when the Seal was opened. If Karayan hadn’t shown up to help me fight, we could have all been killed. I never wanted them to get mixed up in all of this, but the truth is—yes, they know. There’s no going back now.”

Gretchen tensed. Matt, standing beside her, draped an arm over her shoulder, diffusing her anger. Neither of them looked happy about this.

Hale looked like he wanted to argue, but one glance at Royal silenced him. He fixed me with a look that said,
we’ll discuss this later,
then turned toward Ian and Thane. “All right. What are we dealing with here?”

“Having nothing but this flyer to go on?” Ian shrugged. “It appears someone is founding some kind of group in Puerto Escondido based on some pro-feminist myth of Lilith.”

“Is this a new thing?” Dad eyed the archivists. “Is there historical precedence for this sort of... group?”

Thane and Ian exchanged a troubled glance.

“There were rumors of Lilith worshippers in ancient times,” Ian said, “but there has been no mention of a group celebrating Lilith in modern times, as far as I know.” He turned to Thane, who shook his head in agreement.

“What about this Temple,” Dad asked. “Does that ring any bells?”

“Could be figurative. Could be literal. No way to tell without some context. We need more information.” Thane flipped the flyer over, frustrated.

Dad ran a hand through his hair, a movement I knew all too well; he was deeply troubled. “The Seal was just opened a few weeks ago. This cannot be a coincidence.”

“I agree.” Hale reached for the flyer and Thane handed it over.

Matt glanced at Hale. “So, why do you think they’re here? What do they want?”

“Exactly,” Hale muttered. “Exactly what we need to find out.”

“Well—” Cassie raised her hand tentatively. The Guard turned to look at her and she licked her lips. “Um, sorry to interrupt, but there is a meeting tonight.”

“Okay.” Hale pointed at Dad. “Murphy. You and I will go to this meeting and get a lay for the land.”

“Right.” Dad reached for his coat, ready to leave.

“Point of interest?” Royal raised his hand, too.

“This isn’t a classroom,” Gretchen snapped. “You don’t have to raise your hands. Just spit it out.”

“Well, that group passing out flyers was kind of exclusively women.” Royal eyed Dad and Hale pointedly. “A couple of big burly guys? I’m just thinking you might stand out.”

“He’s right.” I stood, facing Hale. “I can go.”

“I’ll go with you,” Cassie said, standing beside me. Her eyes gleamed with an eager anticipation.

“You know, actually, I think it might make more sense for Gretchen to back me up,” I said. Cassie’s face fell. “Just because we’ve trained together,” I added lamely.

“Right.” Cassie sat down, staring at her hands in her lap.

“Where is this thing?” Gretchen asked.

Hale glanced back at the flyer. His brows drew together. He flipped the flyer over again, looking for something that wasn’t there. “It doesn’t say.”

“Typical cult behavior,” Thane muttered.

“Cult? Really? We’re jumping straight to cult?” Dad frowned. Thane shot him a cold glance.

Ian glanced between the two men, and gave Dad a conciliatory smile. “I think what Thane means is simply that this group is operating from a non-traditional—”

“What I mean is this group is acting like a cult,” Thane snapped. “They were recruiting members in the plaza, weren’t they? So why pass out flyers without any useful information? Why target the young if not because they’re seeking malleable minds?”

“I think he just called you a sucker,” Royal murmured to me. That earned a smile from Ian, who did his best to hide the reaction by covering his mouth and giving a fake cough.

Thane’s eyebrows twitched, betraying his irritation. “If it looks like a cult, and it acts like a cult...” Thane flicked his gaze back to Dad. “They seem particularly interested in shrouding their meetings in secrecy. I’d be willing to wager only initiates will know where the location is. And since none of us are initiates—”

“Missy’s sister,” I blurted out. “Carrie. She’s the one who gave us the flyer. She said something like, if I wanted to go to the meeting, to let her know.”

“So give her a call,” Gretchen said.

“I don’t have her number.” I glanced at Cassie, who was only half listening to the conversation. “Cass? Could you call Missy?”

Cassie startled out of her reverie and stood up, pulling a cell phone out of her pocket. “Yeah. Just a sec.” Cassie snatched up a pen and an envelope off the living room coffee table. She walked into the foyer, dialing her phone. The Guard waited in silence as Cassie had a quick conversation with Missy. In less than two minutes she returned with a number written on the back of the envelope.

“Thank you.” I dialed the number on my cell. The line rang once, then went directly to voice mail. “Um, Carrie, it’s Braedyn. Murphy. I was interested in going to that meeting you talked about, but I don’t know where it’s going to be. Could you give me a call back when you get this?” I hung up.

Thane grimaced. “If the meeting is tonight, we don’t have much time.”

“Short of waiting for Carrie to call us back, I’m not sure exactly what we can do,” said Dad.

“Get back to the plaza,” Thane growled. “Try to catch her before the end of their little rally.”

“Wait.” I straightened, remembering Carrie’s shirt. “I think she works at the plaza coffee shop. If the rally’s over, we might be able to catch her there before the meeting tonight.”

Hale nodded. “Okay. Go. Keep us updated.”

“You got it, boss.” Gretchen grabbed her jacket from where she’d tossed it over the back of a chair. Matt caught her hand and she turned toward him.

“Be careful.”

“It’s me,” Gretchen said with a winning smile. She turned and strode for the foyer.

“Braedyn.” Dad caught my shoulder as I turned to follow Gretchen out. “Reconnaissance only. Keep your head down.”

I gave Dad a quick kiss, then hurried after Gretchen.

Gretchen drove us down to Old Town in her ancient little car. It didn’t have anywhere near the power my Firebird did, and I found myself twitching with impatience. I had to clasp my hands together to keep my fingers from drumming on the passenger door.

She parked a block away from the plaza, unwilling to fight for a spot closer to the popular shops. We sprinted into the plaza, but as soon as we hit the edge of the cobblestone walk I could see the rally had ended.

“The coffee shop,” I said, pulling Gretchen along with me. “Maybe Carrie’s still at work.” Gretchen followed me through the plaza to the coffee shop. Most of the tables outside were empty now. Even with the patio heaters it was too cold to sit out here comfortably.

But inside, the coffee shop was warm and cozy. We closed the door behind us before the icy evening air could follow us in. The rich aroma of coffee and hot chocolate was as comforting as a blanket. I scanned the shop, looking for Carrie’s distinctive strawberry-blond bob.

“Do you see her?” Gretchen—who’d never seen Carrie before—watched me closely.

“No.” I turned, making another pass over the faces in the coffee shop. Carrie wasn’t behind the coffee bar, not that I could see. And she wasn’t sitting at one of the crowded tables, or—

I grabbed Gretchen’s arm. “There. Those girls.” I indicated a table as discretely as I could. Gretchen glanced over at it. Three college-aged girls were drinking coffee, sitting at a table. “I’m pretty sure they were at the rally, passing out flyers,” I whispered.

“Okay. If your friend doesn’t show up, we can follow them.”

“No need.” I spotted Carrie exiting from the back of the coffee shop. She’d changed out of her barista uniform, and was pulling her winter coat on over a cute indigo-blue shirt. She stopped by the table, and one of the other girls stood, embracing her. Carrie held up a finger, gesturing for a second. She pulled a small gadget out of her coat pocket and touched it to the tip of her finger, wincing slightly.
Testing her blood sugar,
I realized. Carrie had been born with diabetes; it was a part of her life but she didn’t let it define her. Satisfied with the results, Carrie slipped the gadget back into her pocket and clapped her hands with excitement.

The other girls downed the last of their coffees and gathered their things. I pulled my phone out and sent a quick text to Dad and Hale;
we found them.

“They’re on the move,” Gretchen said. “Do your thing.”

My phone buzzed. I thumbed it on and read Dad’s response:
Be careful.

I walked after Carrie and her friends as they headed toward the exit. But before they stepped outside, Carrie pulled her phone out of her pocket, frowning. “Hold up, guys,” she said. Her friends waited while she retrieved her messages. As she started listening, her eyes landed on my face and lit up. “Hey, Braedyn! Just in time.” She held up her phone. “Got your message. Sorry, we’re supposed to keep them off while we’re working.”

“No problem,” I said, putting on a smile. “So, can I still come with you?” I looked at the other girls, watching me with a range of expressions from curious to bored to impatient. “I mean, is there going to be room in your car?”

“No car required. We’re meeting at a local place. Come on. You can walk with us.” Carrie looped her elbow through mine. Her friends took this as the signal to move. We followed them out of the coffee shop into the cold night air. I didn’t have to glance over my shoulder to know Gretchen was close behind. “So,” Carrie leaned closer to me. “My sister tells me you helped her organize the most successful charity dance in Coronado Prep’s history.”

“Oh?” I blushed, remembering the Winter Ball I’d “helped” Missy organize. We’d originally planned to host it at the Raven club, but an ancient Lilitu and her army of Thrall had forced a change of plans. “Well, she did most of the work.”

“That’s not the way Missy tells it.” Carrie grinned at me. “So, are you excited?”

“Excited?” I looked at Carrie blankly.

“About the meeting.”

“Right, yeah. Yes. Totally excited.” I felt myself blushing. “I mean, I didn’t hear much in the plaza, but that lady seemed pretty intense.”

“She is.” Carrie closed her eyes rapturously. “I first heard Idris speak at college. She was amazing. She’s all about helping people define their own roles, never mind what other people think you should be doing. Listening to her talk—it’s so liberating.”

We crossed the plaza and headed down one of the cobblestone avenues of Old Town. The girls walked toward a shop. I recognized the place, it was the herbalist’s shop where Seth had found some of the harder-to-get-a-hold-of ingredients for the fateful ritual. The owner of the shop stood outside, smiling and waving the girls closer. I ducked my head, hoping she wouldn’t recognize me. When we’d shown up to collect the tinctures for the ritual, she’d told us she couldn’t sell alcohol to minors. I’d snuck back in, cloaked, and taken them. Whether or not Seth had left the money behind as he’d promised, I was the one who had robbed this lady.