Ungifted (22 page)

“I’m sorry! They just followed—” Cynthia started to say until she noticed Duncan. Then her mouth dropped all the way to the ground.

“It’s okay, I’ve got tag alongs, too. We seem to be all about the unwanted company lately,” I tried to joke. It fell flat. No one was even paying attention to me at all. Cyn and her brothers were in shock, all staring dumbfounded at Duncan with even more amazement than Ethan had regarded him.

“Cynthia, Preston, Caleb,” I said nervously. “You met Russ Devereaux briefly last night, and this is his friend Duncan Moore.”

I used the term
friend,
hoping it might soften the distrust they had for Russ since clearly they all thought of Duncan as some sort of god. Seriously, what was that about, anyway? Russ didn’t appreciate the association, though. “‘Friend’?” he scoffed. “That’s stretching it.”

Duncan surprised me with a laugh. “It’s true for my part, anyway. It’s very hard not to like Russ.” At Russ’s dirty look, Duncan laughed again. “Oh, come on. Even the Supreme High Councilor had a soft spot for you, despite the fact that you kidnapped the Seer and the Chosen One.”

Now everyone was staring at Russ with looks of incredulity. Russ didn’t notice. He was glaring so furiously at Duncan that his face was bright red. “I didn’t
kidnap
them,” he grumbled. “Dani left on her own and she forced me to bring Gabriel. I tried to leave his worthless ass at the consulate.”

“I don’t doubt you did.” Duncan laughed even harder and slung his arm casually around Russ’s shoulder. “Calm down, Russ. I told you I’m not here to arrest you.” He smiled a heartbreaking smile at the rest of us. “Shall we sit? I believe Grace is in need of some breakfast.”

My friends somehow managed to close their gaping mouths and nodded. It looked as if it took serious effort. Russ was the only one not starstruck by Duncan’s presence. Though, everyone now seemed as mystified by Russ as Duncan.

Russ shrugged Duncan’s arm off of him and grabbed my hand as he slid into the large booth. He pushed himself all the way to the wall and pulled me close to him. Apparently I was the only person in this group he trusted. I liked that more than I should.

I tried not to shiver as I settled in next to him and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze under the table. I looked up at him and got lost in his eyes until someone cleared their throat across the table. Cynthia gave me a look. “You’re mooning,” she mouthed.

Startled, I quickly cast a glance around the table. Caleb, Preston, and Ethan were all frowning at me, and Duncan wasn’t bothering to hide how much the situation entertained him.

Thankfully, the waitress came by and took our order then because I was seriously dying of embarrassment. Once she was gone, Russ skipped the small talk. “Tell me what happened, Duncan.”

I was surprised by how desperate Russ was. It must have been driving him crazy this whole time to wait for this news.

Duncan debated internally and then sighed. “It’s like I said, Russ. I’m not here looking for you. I picked up your scent in a stroke of dumb luck. I came to D.C. on official council business. The Supreme High Councilor is dead.”

Everyone at the table gasped. Russ’s eyes widened for a second, then narrowed into hard, angry slits. “Good. The bastard had it coming.”

I was shocked. Not that I had any idea who the Supreme High Councilor was, but I couldn’t believe Russ was so callous about his death. “Russ,” I whispered.

“Don’t blame Russ for his anger,” Duncan told me. “The Supreme High Councilor was a monster in his eyes, and not unjustly.”

“Who’s the Supreme High Councilor?”

“The supernatural equivalent of your dad—if he wins the election Thursday,” Caleb said. “Is he really dead?”

Duncan nodded again. “I apologize for just blurting it out like that. It’s the reason for my being in D.C. The guardians were dispatched all over the world today to bring the news in person to as many supernaturals as possible. A colleague of mine is meeting with your father as we speak.”

“So what happened?” Russ asked. “You said my dad attacked Dani and Gabe.”

Duncan sighed. “Your father was the warlock behind Dani’s visions.”

“Not possible!”

“He killed the Supreme High Councilor and nearly succeeded with Gabriel, too—slit his throat. He stabbed Dani and sacrificed the Seer to raise Addonexus.”

“His father raised the Angel of Death?” Cynthia gasped while Preston said, “The Seer is dead, too?”

I was completely lost on this entire conversation. Seer? Angel of Death? Murder? Sacrifices? I knew there was a dark side to the supernatural world, but I hadn’t imagined it was quite that dark. I was frustrated, but at the same time I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what they were talking about.

I had a million questions but decided to sit still and go as unnoticed as possible. I’d rather get my explanations later from Cynthia or Russ. Hopefully it wouldn’t seem so terrifying then.

I felt my hand shaking but realized it wasn’t me doing it. Russ was trembling. “Dani?” he whispered.

“She’s okay, Russ,” Duncan promised. “I told you she and the Seer are back at the consulate. Her wound was only meant to hinder her while Alexander raised the demon. He planned to take her with him afterward and undo what the Councilor had done to her. His intentions toward the Seer were a lot more malicious. The Seer would have died if not for Dani. She healed him and sent Addonexus back to the underworld, but your father slipped away in the chaos.”

Russ looked as if he might pass out. His body sunk against me as if it could no longer hold itself up.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

Russ was so out of it that he didn’t even hear me. “She banished Addonexus?” he asked Duncan.

“Yes,” Duncan answered.

“So the prophecy’s been fulfilled?”

“Yes.”

Another round of gasps and unanswered questions.

“So…” Russ’s face slowly started to come back to life. “That means Dani can come home now.”

When Duncan said nothing, Russ lost it. “Damn it, Duncan, she’s done enough! She has a right to go home if she wants!” he shouted.

“Dani
is
home, Russ,” Duncan said quietly, obviously feeling very bad about something.

“You mean the consulate,” Russ growled. He was no longer leaning against me. His body was charged with so much energy that I could feel it seeping off his skin. Not energy. Anger.

“Dani’s having a very hard time right now. Your father betrayed her even worse than he betrayed you. She’s really upset, and completely sick with worry over you. I promised her that as soon as the Councilor’s death was dealt with that I’d make it my mission to find you. She wants you to come to the consulate. The council would like to talk to you also. They’re prepared to offer you a position in the guardians.”

“They want him to join the guardians?” Ethan gasped.

This was one question Duncan didn’t ignore. He smiled at Ethan. “The guardians would be lucky to have him. He is maybe the most powerful warlock alive, though he doesn’t know it. He has also shown great strength and courage despite his lack in knowledge of the supernatural and having next to no training.”

Russ looked offended so Duncan added, “Your father kept you in the dark as much as possible, Russ. I assume because of Dani. He’s manipulated you as much as her. With your power, you should be fully developed by now. The council would like to help you reach your potential. They’re hoping you’ll help them find your father, and Dani just wants to see you safe. She’s torn apart over your disappearance.”

“Dani,” Russ said, sounding as if it hurt to even say her name, “and Gabriel, and especially the council can all go to hell.”

This time it was only me who gasped. I was shocked to hear Russ talk about Dani that way. I knew how much he loved her—that had been obvious from the moment he kissed me.

Everyone stared at me with confused faces, but I wasn’t about to explain myself. I blushed, though, and so did Russ, so my thoughts must have been obvious to him. Duncan sighed a long, weighted sigh. “The council also feels bad about your bond with Dani. They want to help you overcome it if they can.”

“They can’t do that and you know it. The Councilor knew it and he did this to us anyway. They can’t help me, and I wouldn’t let them if they could.”

Duncan looked pointedly at me and said, “She’s not her, Russ. She may look like her, but she’s not her. She isn’t a solution.”

Russ and I both stiffened and he let go of my hand. “This isn’t about her,” he said. “The council needs to be stopped. They’ve taken everything from me. My mother. My father. My home. Dani.” His voice faltered and he steeled himself again. “They’ll pay for that.”

“What are you going to do, Russ? Join the resistance?”

Russ took a long swig of the ice water in front of him. “If I have to.”

“
If
you could even find them,” Duncan said, and he sounded sure that Russ wouldn’t. “You’re a Devereaux. They would never trust you.”

“I have a lot of information about the council and the Seer and the Chosen One that makes me think otherwise. And if they don’t help me, I’ll go find my father. It’s only a matter of time before he comes looking for me anyway. He’ll help me take down the council if no one else will.”

Duncan studied Russ for a long moment, and nobody at the table dared breathe. The tension had become very thick when the resistance was brought up, and even though I knew next to nothing about what was going on, I knew that Duncan learning any of them knew about the resistance would be a very bad thing.

“Be careful, Russ,” Duncan said, breaking the deafening silence. “Don’t forget who you’re talking to. I sympathize with you, but I can’t ignore blatant threats. You’re very close to becoming an enemy to the council.”

“The council is already my enemy.”

Duncan sighed again. “Dani has joined the council. Is she to be your enemy, then, too?”

Russ mindlessly sipped his water again and turned his face to the window. “She’s not Dani anymore.”

“It would kill her to hear you say that. She still loves you, Russ.”

That was the one thing Russ couldn’t hear. He smashed his water glass down on the table, shattering it into a hundred pieces. He cut his hand and began to bleed all over, but he hardly even noticed and did nothing to take care of it.

My heart stopped at the sight of the blood and I glanced quickly at Duncan. In this one vampire book I read, the sight of blood was too much for them and they turned into crazed monsters. But I guess that specific bit of lore was fiction. None of the wolves seemed to think anything of it, and Duncan didn’t appear at all affected.

“Russ,” he said.

Russ flinched at his name and I couldn’t stand it anymore. “Please leave him alone,” I said to Duncan. “Can’t you see how much you’re hurting him? He obviously needs time to deal with everything you’ve just told him.”

Duncan turned his calculating gaze on me. “Curious how much she already cares about you.” He was obviously talking to Russ but hadn’t taken his eyes off me. “Almost as if she doesn’t have a choice.”

I turned a blazing shade of red. That’s exactly how it felt, but still. The fact that he could tell, and that he was pointing it out to everybody? I wanted to die.

Duncan’s eyes thankfully flicked to Russ. “And you to her,” he said. “The draw between the two of you is so strong and immediate. Just like you and Dani. I can’t help wondering at the connection between the three of you.”

“Coincidence,” Russ muttered, but the expression on his face betrayed his doubt.

“Fascinating,” Duncan breathed, staring at me again. “I’m sure the council would be very interested in meeting—”

Before he could finish that sentence Russ had pulled me fully into his lap, his arms fastened like steel around me. Ethan, Cynthia, Caleb, and Preston had also scrambled to their feet, pushing Duncan to his as well. They stood in a protective line in front of the booth, blocking Duncan from even being able to see me.

“You’re not taking her to the consulate,” Ethan warned, his voice hard. “She’s not in violation of any supernatural law. You have no reason to detain her.”

“Russ,” Duncan said, eyeing Ethan. “Please explain to your new friends that I mean Grace no harm. It was only an invitation. If Grace doesn’t want to meet Dani, I’m not going to force her.”

That seemed to be enough for my friends, who inexplicably seemed to trust the stranger, but Russ refused to let go of me. Not that I was complaining about that. Having Russ’s arms around me was something I hoped never came to an end. I couldn’t help the way I melted against him. His warmth and security felt like home in a way I didn’t understand. It was as if I’d known him all my life and belonged nowhere else.

“Russ,” Duncan said, still standing and eyeing my friends warily now. “The resemblance to the Chosen One cannot be coincidence. The council would want to know.
Dani
would want to know.”

“Grace is not going anywhere near the council!” Russ hissed. “If you so much as breathe a single word about her to any of them, I’ll kill you, Duncan. I swear I will.”

“Russ, you’re being unreasonable. She may be important to Dani in ways we can’t imagine. She may be needed.”