The Inner Circle, Book 3 of the Glass Wall ( A YA Urban Fantasy Romance ) (25 page)

Closing the cupboards, I joined Rafael and
Jareth at the kitchen table, and we all waited in silence for Al’s
return.

He came back just as the coffee finished,
looking pale and with his brows drawn into a straight line. And
after pouring himself a cup, he sat down to join us.

We waited.

But Al didn’t speak.

He just sat there, slowly sipping his
coffee.

I was desperately thinking of ways to break
the silence when Tigger waddled into the room. I suppose the smell
of coffee had given him the false hope that we were cooking
breakfast.

Once the old hound dog figured out that he’d
been duped, his long ears drooped in disappointment, and then
shuffling over to the refrigerator, he slowly turned in three
circles before laying down with a loud, long sigh.

The noise broke the tension, and the line
between Al’s brows disappeared.

“That’s quite some place you boys have there
in Avalon,” he said, shaking his head in disbelief. And then
looking Rafael straight in the eye, he held out his hand in
greeting. “It’s a real honor to meet you.”

Rafael solemnly shook his hand in reply.

There was another silence this time, but it
was much shorter.

Al drained his cup and slammed it down onto
the table. “Now then, let’s get down to business,” he boomed.
“What’s going on here? What do I need to know now?”

Jareth expelled a long breath through his
nose. “Don’t ask me, I wouldn’t know where to start,” he said
sardonically. And then crossing his arms, he slouched in his chair,
apparently satisfied with his contribution to the conversation.

After sending him a disparaging look, Rafael
began, “Jareth and I are Fate Trackers. Fate Trackers dedicate
their lives to protecting Earth, since the time of Queen
Morgan—”

Knowing Al a lot better than he did, I knew
this was never going to work.

“Let me handle this,” I interrupted. And
turning to my foster father, I gave him the rundown in a single
breath. “The lizard people in the second dimension are creating a
portal to invade Earth. They’ve got Mesmers—your Chupacabras—who
can control you with their voices and eyes—so that’s why you have
to wear the hats. And they created this horrible mutant Tulpa out
of human fear that Marquis caught in that orange tube, and I
accidentally let it go, and it tried to eat me.”

I’d gotten a little side-tracked, so I took a
deep breath and course-corrected.

“We also have a renegade evil mastermind Fae
named Melody running around with a mysterious weapon,” I said, and
then added, “And Rafael may have just started a civil war on Avalon
that’ll probably cause us problems. Oh, and there’s this Shadow
Person with a black top hat that appears at times and seems to be
trying to help.” I nodded in satisfaction, figuring that was a
fairly good overview. I was sure Melody would be quite displeased
to know that I’d labeled her a renegade evil mastermind, but I felt
it was a fitting title.

Al didn’t say anything.

I was beginning to worry that I’d lost him
when he began to fire off questions, “So, Betty’s missing
time—”

“Lizard people,” I cut him short.

“Marquis?” he asked.

“He’s a Fae controlled by the lizard people,”
I replied.

“Harmony?” he asked.

“Fae,” I answered and then added, “She’s
Rafael’s bodyguard.”

“Zelphie?”

“She really
is
Rafael’s mom.”

“You know, this explains a lot about last
Thanksgiving,” he muttered to himself and then looked at me with a
keen eye. “And this Shadow Person?”

“We don’t know much about him,” I said
honestly. “I’m the only one that’s seen him here. He started out as
that gnome in Mrs. Patton’s yard.”

Al’s brows rose at that one.

“He seems to be trying to help me,” I felt
compelled to say.

Al nodded and then asked me from under bushy
brows, “And when you got sick in the park?”

“Blondie,” I said with a shudder, recalling
how close I’d come to death.

“Blondie?” Al repeated the name
curiously.

“The leader of the lizard people,” Rafael
supplied quietly. “The most dangerous one of them all. At present,
he’s still trapped in the second dimension, and has only managed to
gain control of the body of a Mesmer. He seeks to return to Earth
and gain a human body to possess.”

I shuddered. I hadn’t known that.

Al nodded, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, and
then he asked, “So, how long do we’ve got before these lizard
people get this portal operational?”

“My best guess is no more than a month.”
Rafael’s jaw clenched. “At least that’s what Marquis believes.”

Jareth and I looked at him in surprise.

“Then what’s the plan?” Al asked. “Who’s in
charge of our defensive strategy here?”

“As of today,” Rafael answered. “I am.”

I blinked and shot a quick glance at Jareth.
Somehow, I figured he was going to object, or at the least, say
something snarky. But to my surprise, he only gave me a belligerent
shrug and drawing a coin from his pocket, began to flip it through
his fingers.

“Melody and Marquis were tasked by our Queens
to oversee Earth’s protection,” Rafael began to explain. “But both
Jareth and I have uncovered their duplicity. I … made the …
choice…” He paused noticeably on each word before continuing, “The
choice to use my heritage and position in the Inner Circle to take
control, to keep the peace in Avalon and protect Earth, as is my
duty.”

My eyes misted with angry tears. How could
such a choice be deemed bad? It made little sense. If this was
considered wrong, then something was really wrong with the
system.

“Already I’ve used my new position to order a
contingent of Protectors to aid us in finding this portal,” Rafael
was still speaking. He pointed across the street to his house. “We
would greatly benefit from your insight, should you care to join
us.”

An expression of pure delight crossed Al’s
face. He was beaming. “Then let’s get busy,” he said, pushing his
empty coffee cup away. “But give me three minutes. I’ve got to get
ready.”

Precisely three minutes later, Al returned to
the kitchen, and I could tell by his heavy military boots and
fatigues that he was prepared.

Rubbing his hands briskly together, he said,
“Let’s get this show on the road! I’ve told Betty that you boys
have joined the Neighborhood Watch and that we’re out on a training
patrol.” He was practically bubbling with excitement. “Now, let’s
be off to this Mission Control Center of yours.”

Thinking Neighborhood Watch was a bit of an
understatement, I followed them across the street, listening to the
sound of their boots crunching in the newly fallen snow. But as I
stepped through the front door of Rafael’s house, I paused on the
threshold in surprise.

The place was crawling with Fae
Protectors.

They’d set up their equipment in the living
room and kitchen. But it didn’t look like much of a Mission Control
Center. It looked more like an art gallery with different sized
crystals of varying hues arranged around the rooms on marble
pedestals. One wall of the living room was lined with gilt-edged
mirrors.

It was a stark reminder of Rafael’s recent
loss of his own mirror.

He must have read it on my face because soon
he was at my side, murmuring into my hair, “There’s more to be
gained by living in the present than by being trapped in the past,
little green-eyed pixie.”

My head snapped up just as he leaned down,
and for a moment our lips brushed together. And then he moved away,
leaving me to think that he’d strategically timed it. Apparently, I
wasn’t the only one to conclude that, because as Rafael left, I
caught Jareth rolling his eyes.

As Rafael led us through the rooms, a few
different Fae approached to give him updates.

“The Queens have sequestered themselves in
the Hall of Mirrors,” a particularly thin Light Fae female named
Sadaf informed him. “They’ve given orders for peace to rule Avalon
while they search for the truth.”

“That is well.” Rafael nodded, obviously
pleased. “See that the Inner Circle obeys these orders as well.
I’ll sanction no violence.”

Sadaf gave him a salute and stepped back.

It was Brock’s turn to report next. He gave
me a quick smile before announcing, “Melody has disappeared. We can
find no trace of her.”

Rafael’s face remained calm, but I knew him
well enough to see the tension in the corners of his mouth.

“Keep looking,” was all he said as he moved
to where Jareth slouched near a particularly large blue
crystal.

The soft murmuring of the Fae died in an
instant, and all eyes turned upon us.

“And Jareth, will you now share your insight
into the Brotherhood?” Rafael asked, bowing his head in respect.
“We need the vast knowledge and help of the Dark Fae if we’re to
succeed.”

I understood some of the significance of his
words. I mean, it was clear that Rafael was extending an olive
branch of some kind, and that he was publicly going against
whatever Melody had said about getting rid of the Dark Fae.

But from the way everyone was watching them,
it appeared deeper than that. Far deeper.

Jareth stood there a full three minutes in
complete silence. And then he finally opened his mouth. “You’ve
become unpredictable of late, Rafael,” he said.

“I know that’s a compliment coming from you,”
Rafael observed in reply. Bowing his head, he murmured, “Thank
you.”

Again, Jareth studied him. And then he
divulged, “The Brotherhood’s in an uproar. They hit an unexpected
roadblock with their portal, and Ajax nearly severed Blondie’s
connection. They’re waiting for Blondie to recover.”

“Then we’ve bought time,” Rafael said in
overt relief.

“Time we must use to our advantage,” Jareth
agreed. “I’ll track Marquis, if you’ll lend me you aid. He’s likely
to be near Blondie. Perhaps we’ll learn the nature of the
Brotherhood’s connection and more of this portal.”

Rafael nodded. “A promising approach. But the
tracking will be solely up to you now, Jareth. My mirror is …
gone.”

It struck me then. It was the decided lack of
snarky comments and barbs. Jareth and Rafael were
working
together—together, as true counterparts should.

And in spite of the fact that things were
still dire, I felt a strong surge of hope.

Maybe, just maybe, things would be all
right.

And then Al was stepping forward, clearly
intrigued.

“You know, I should give Jack a call,” he
said, rubbing his jaw thoughtfully. “Sounds like we need his brain
on this portal mystery.”

“By all means, the more help we have, the
better chance we have,” Rafael replied.

I wanted to offer my help, but I hung
back.

I couldn’t mention my tulpa theory in front
of Jareth. Not until I’d figured out what was going on with him.
Reaching over, I tugged Rafael’s sleeve.

“Can we talk later?” I asked.

His eyes lit with a smile as he looked down
at me. “I’ll find you in a little while,” he promised.

I watched him work with Jareth for a bit.
They stood in front of the mirrors, but there were no images
displaying on them. Only clouds of mist. And then not wanting to
disturb them, I went outside to join Al on the front porch.

Al was staring at the sky with his face knit
into a frown. But he smiled when he saw me and pulled a small
notebook and pencil out of his shirt pocket.

“I guess I always figured we weren’t alone,”
he said, waving his hand absently at the sky. “But I thought
someone else would discover that a few hundred years from now.”

I joined him at the railing.

Al didn’t know the half of it. We hadn’t told
him about the Blue Threads or the impending disaster of the Tree of
Life’s destruction.

It was an awful lot to hold in.

Closing my eyes, I whispered, “I'm scared,
Al. I feel like I'm flying too high, and if I open my eyes, I’ll
see that and fall.”

Al’s sharp blue eyes zeroed in on mine. He
waited for me to continue, but when I didn’t reveal anymore, he
chuckled.

“Don’t worry so much, kiddo,” he said. “If
you’re flying, you’ve got wings, right? You won’t fall. You’ll only
glide down.”

Al always knew what to say. Or, I guess his
words just made a lot of sense to me. I smiled, finding his company
comforting.

He gave me a fond pat on the head. “You’ve
got quite a head on that shoulder of yours, Sydney. And I’m even
more impressed now, knowing what you’ve been dealing with. You’re
one tough cookie! Never doubt yourself!”

I’m not one given to tears, but tears
threatened upon hearing that, and I quickly dropped my gaze and
focused on his army boots. No one had ever called me a tough cookie
before. I liked it. It only made me more determined to be a tougher
one.

And then Al flipped his notebook open, and
wetting the pencil with the tip of his tongue, he wrote “Mission
Control Center” in big, block letters.

He paused and gave me a conspiratorial grin.
“We need some codenames here,” he said. “Something that won’t tip
Betty and Grace off. I’m not sure they could deal with this
yet.”

I nodded in whole-hearted agreement.

He wrote “Lizard People Portal”, “Mesmer
Attack”, “Mysterious Weapon”, and “Shadow People” on the page and
knit his brows in concentration.

It didn’t take him long.

“I’ve got it,” he said with a crisp nod.
“‘Operation Take Down’ should cover the portal problem, ‘Operation
Defense’ can handle the Mesmer attack, ‘Operation Bloodhound’ to
find Melody, and ‘Operation Gumshoe’ for these Shadow People.”

“Gumshoe?” I asked, puzzled.

“You know, to creep around like you’re
wearing soft shoes,” he said, waggling his brows.

I knew a lot of people would take one look at
Al and assume he was an uneducated redneck. But that would be their
loss. I knew different. Al was one of the sharpest, smartest, and
inspiring people that I’d ever met.