“I thought it was going to take more to convince you and your pack to help me fight,” I said, feeling unbelievably relieved.
He held up one finger. “I didn’t say I would help you fight, Zoe. I merely stated the packs are not idle right now. Yes, you told me who you are, and I believe in you, but there are many more packs to convince. I’ll do what I can. I will speak with the other Alphas, but some of them may not be so eager. They will want proof. They may want to see your tattoo or the sword.”
“I don’t have a Seraph’s Sword yet.” I blew out my breath. “So, if the other packs won’t acknowledge who I am, you won’t fight if called upon?”
“I have to discuss it with my pack. I realize what you’re asking and what’s at stake here, but this is not only my decision to make. Yes, I am Alpha, and ultimately my word is law, but I also believe each member of my pack should have an opinion on the matter.” He shifted so he stood directly in front of me. “When are you planning to leave here?”
“We’re staying the weekend, if that’s okay with you,” Kieran said.
“You’re welcome to stay here for however long you want,” Keegan said. “I’ll call a pack meeting for tomorrow night, and I’ll let you know the outcome before Sunday.” He turned to leave, then hesitated and looked back at me. “Vash and my other son, Jackson, will accompany you back to St. Joseph. They’ll help guard you and report back to me.” He left the room, and we sat in silence again.
Huh. That was not how I’d thought the meeting was going to go. First, I didn’t think he’d believe me. I’d figured I’d have to beg and plead my case. Second, he didn’t confirm whether or not the pack would fight. He had been surprisingly diplomatic about it, letting the pack as a whole decide its fate. I’d thought if they were on the side of good and had taken the oath, they would fight against evil. But maybe the wolves didn’t take oaths. Maybe that was just something the Eternals did.
And ... what was all this about other packs? Was I expected to get them on board, too? How was a seventeen-year-old girl—who didn’t have a car—supposed to travel around the world, persuading packs to fight? No one had said anything about that until now. How was I going to get money for a world tour and get the time off school? Oh. boy. Someone was going to have to find me a money tree and soon.
“What are you thinking, Zoe?” Kieran asked from his place on the couch. “You look a little lost.”
I paced the room. Then it dawned on me. Fairyland. I’d have to go there, too. I knew the Summer King wouldn’t be as diplomatic as Keegan. King Oberon might possibly even want me to grovel. At this point, I wasn’t planning to visit Queen Mab of the Winter Court, though I’d have to think about that. Maybe I could do both in the same visit, but more than likely, they’d have to be separate trips. If Sidelle didn’t come with me, I’d have to figure out how to get into Fairyland. Another problem for another day.
“I am.” I turned toward him. “I’m surprised at how different the meeting went from how I’d thought it was going to go, that’s all.” I looked to Sidelle. “Are we going to go to Fairyland soon? Are we visiting only Oberon? Or Mab, too?”
“I’m not sure,” Sidelle said. “I’d say we should visit Oberon for now and see how that goes. It’ll depend on how long we are in Fairyland, because your parents would notice you being gone longer than a weekend. We’ll have to do some more thinking about that trip. Maybe over summer vacation if it can wait that long, but I think we’re going to have to skip some school. I know you don’t like to ditch—”
“Yeah, but this is important. Like earth shattering, major stuff that I have to do. So if lying to my parents for a while is what it takes, then that’s what I have to do.”
We heard Vash and Cali giggling and whispering in the hall before they appeared in the doorway, arm in arm. I took that as a good sign, but I’d ask her about their walk later.
I jumped at the sound of a loud crash then heard male voices bantering back and forth, their voices echoing up the staircase. We left the sitting room and looked over the railing, down into the foyer. While we watched, two massive boys and a little girl with sandy blond ponytails pushed their way into the house, sidestepping a fallen vase.
“You’re in big trouble if you don’t clean that up!” the girl exclaimed. She looked to be about eight years old. “Jackson, if Mom catches you and finds another broken vase—”
“She shouldn’t keep them so close to the door,” he replied.
“Well, if you both didn’t try to walk through the door at the same time, it wouldn’t happen.”
“Go play with your chew toys, Era.”
“I don’t play—” She sniffed the air. “Strangers are in the house.”
The boys froze and inhaled, fanning out into a triangle and stepping in front of the girl. Their bodies tensed.
“Hey, Jackson,” Kieran said.
Six dark eyes swiveled to meet ours.
“Kieran?” Jackson asked, breaking into a broad smile. He led the others up the staircase. “What are you doing here? I didn’t know you were coming. Vash only told us that Father was having guests this weekend.”
Kieran grabbed my hand, surprising me. “It’s an impromptu visit.”
“Who do we have here?” Jackson gave me a once-over and then admired Sidelle. He took her hand, kissed it, and bowed. “Waterfalls surrounded by beautiful flowers dancing on the golden rays of the sun do not do you justice. And you are?”
“Corny pick-up line and I’m too good for you, puppy,” Sidelle said.
One dark eyebrow shot up, but he was still smiling. “Hey, now, no need for name calling ... yet.”
“Jackson,” Vash said. “Knock it off.”
Kieran cleared his throat. “This is Zoe, and that’s Sidelle.”
“And this is Cali,” Vash said, stepping in front of her.
“Zoe?” Jackson asked, his stare instantly on me. “The same Zoe who Vash was sent to—”
“Yes,” I said quickly.
“Come on, Jacks,” his buddy said, continuing up the stairs. Unlike Jackson, he looked bored with the visitors. “Let’s go play some Xbox. Let Vash play host tonight.”
“Yeah, okay,” he said reluctantly. “I’m coming.”
The little girl smiled up at me. “I’m Era. Don’t mind my brother or his jerk friends.” She poked Jackson’s shoulder as he passed. “He has no manners at all. Are you staying the weekend?”
“Yep,” I said.
“Awesome! It’ll be nice to have some more girls in the house.” She jerked a small thumb at Jackson’s back. “They’re just a bunch of stinky beasts most of the time.” She glanced at Kieran. “Sorry, K.”
“No apologies needed.” Kieran laughed. “How ya been?”
“Good. Been practicing chang—” She glanced between Sidelle, Cali, and me, alarmed that she might have said too much.
“I think we’re staying on your floor of the house,” I interrupted, saving us all.
She brightened again. “Really? Which room did you pick?”
“The gold one.”
“That’s my favorite. What are you doing while you’re here?”
“Not sure yet.”
“Ooh, wanna come see my room?”
“I’d love to, but—”
“Hey, Short Stuff,” Sidelle said. “I’ll come see it.”
Era grabbed her hand and hauled her up the stairs. I had to smile. Era reminded me of Stella, my little sister.
Vash said something about beating up his brother and his friend before he led Cali to the game room. Kieran and I lingered in the hallway, finally alone.
“That went well, right?” Kieran asked. “With Keegan?”
“I guess.” I leaned against the banister and sighed. “But he wasn’t clear if the pack will fight or not.”
He shrugged. “He’ll do what’s right in the end.”
“I hope so because we need them.”
I walked to a window and looked out onto the vast property. It truly wa
s amazing. So beautiful. In a way, I wished I could just stand here all day. I took a step away from the window, but stopped as an unexpected shiver ran down my spine. I turned back and squinted into the shadows of the trees, but I didn’t see anything. Vash had said the property was protected, and I couldn’t imagine anything being brave enough to attack the wolves’ den, but ... no. It was nothing. I was sure. I’m just jumpy after last night.
Kieran must have seen something on my face because he stepped over and squeezed my shoulder in reassurance.
“Come on,” I said. “I wanna change clothes; then we can go find Vash and Cali.”
We went back upstairs. By the time we headed back down, loud male voices echoed throughout the house over the bass drum that vibrated the windows.
“Sounds like Vash was serious about the beat-down,” Kieran muttered.
When we arrived at the game room, a full-on brawl was underway. Loud, heavy metal music blasted from the surround-sound speakers, and I heard some sort of battle cries over the grunting. Vash was indeed taking on his brother and his friend, dressed in a helmet, black gloves, and kneepads. His arms swung through the air while his legs kicked, but his opponents weren’t anywhere in the vicinity. Jackson and his friend were on the other side of the room, wearing the same gear Vash had on. Confused, I turned to Kieran, who pointed at the TV where four figures were duking it out. A simulator! That could be handy.
On screen, Jackson and his friend had Vash cornered in a vacant alley. Their images were so lifelike I was amazed. I sank down onto the couch beside Cali, staring.
“They’ve been going at it like this since we got here,” Cali said.
On-screen Vash turned his head. “Hi, Zoe. I’m glad you came to watch the end. I am just about to—”
“You’re letting down your guard!” Jackson shouted as his screen version ran and drop-kicked Vash. The real Jackson ran in place and made the identical move with his legs.
Chuckling, Vash dropped to the floor, and Jackson missed. “You think you had me? Focus!”
Jackson fell. His friend lunged at Vash while he was occupied, but Vash was faster. He rolled to the side and blocked the punch. He kicked his opponent from behind before turning to fight Jackson. The whole thing reminded me of Thursday night’s fight against the demons, with three beings moving against one.
“Hi, boys!” Sidelle sauntered into the room. “What am I missing?”
Thrown off by her sing-songy voice, Jackson hesitated. Vash took that second to knock him out of the game with an uppercut to the head.
“Lesson number one, Jacks: never let a female distract you.” Vash removed the helmet. “That’s game for now.”
“Oops. My bad.” Sidelle pouted. “Sorry.”
I rose from the couch and pointed at the helmet in Vash’s hand. “What is this?”
“A video simulator called Silico. We use it to learn and maintain certain skills.”
“Plus, it’s fun,” Jackson said.
“It’s really sophisticated,” Cali said, joining me. “I’ve never seen anything like it before.”
“It’s something one of my dad’s companies developed. It’s still in testing mode.”
“And on that note, I’m leaving.” With a grin, Jackson waved and headed toward the door with his buddy. “See ya tomorrow night.”
“What’s tomorrow night?” I asked after they’d gone.
“We’re having a bonfire out on the beach,” Vash said. He walked me over to the wall, opened a cabinet, and selected two smaller black helmets. “Wanna try this? Here. This should fit you.” He gave the other one to Cali. “You girls probably are about the same level: one.”
“What about Sidelle?” Cali asked, glancing back at the couch.
“Oh, I don’t do that sort of thing.” She winked at me. “Helmet hair is not my look.”
“So the first lesson—” Vash said.
“—is not to be distracted.” Cali beamed.
“Yes. That’s right.” He helped her with her helmet, gloves, and kneepads. “Keep your mind and eyes focused at all times.”
Kieran placed the mitts on my hands and the pads on my knees then tapped my head. “Ready.” He walked me to a mat and pointed at the footmarks, while Vash did the same with Cali. We waited while Vash went to the cabinet to do something.
“I’m going to create your avatars to load into the program, so hang tight for a minute,” he said. While we watched, he took out a controller and punched in a series of codes. A round disk dropped from the ceiling and emitted a blue ray, creating a circle of light around us. The beams flickered then scanned each one of us from head to toe.
“There. That should do it.”
A few more taps on the console, and our images appeared on the TV.
“This is so cool,” Cali exclaimed. “I’ve never done anything like this before.”
“Whatever movements you make, the program will make on the screen. So don’t worry. You aren’t actually hitting the other person.” The screen showed a large, white mat with a black edge. “Okay. So this is only Level One: Part One. Your view is a little different from what we see, because inside the helmet, you see the outer edge. It’s marked in red.”
Cali and I nodded.
“If you step off the mat on the screen,” he continued, “the red line will blink inside the helmet. I’ll load the instructor, so you can get basic stances and maneuvers. Don’t go all out or anything. This program is intense. Trust me, you’ll be sore tomorrow.”
The blaring music stopped when the video started, and a nondescript sensei appeared. We walked through the ten basic stances of karate, mimicking the instructor. Cali and I had just had a karate lesson in gym class the other day, so this wasn’t entirely new to us. My body followed the movements easily. Then we started doing small combinations of the different stances. My mind went to The Karate Kid—“wax on, wax off.” I glanced at Cali, and she didn’t seem to be having any problems, either. As the simulator progressed, the series of blocking and kicking became longer and harder to remember, but I was determined to finish the program. Thirty minutes later the video stopped, and we were still standing.
“Great job, you two.” Vash lifted the eye shield from Cali’s helmet. “You’re naturals.”
Cali and I grinned at each other. I rolled my shoulders and tilted my head. I didn’t even feel sore ... yet.
“Can we do that again?” I asked. “Or go on to the next level?”
“Hold on, Zoe-san.” Kieran cackled. “Why don’t you give your body a rest? We can come back another day.”
“It’s early,” I insisted. “Unless Vash has something else planned for tonight?”
“Nope,” Vash said. “We can do some more. I’ll reset the program.”
A few hours later, and after Cali changed clothes, she and I made it into Level Two, Part Two. We then watched Vash and Kieran take each other on in a street fight. This was the third time I’d seen Kieran brawl. The first had been in the warehouse last week when we’d been chased by the two demon knights. The second was last night at my house when more DKs and Marquises demons tried to kill me. Up until then, I hadn’t known he could hurt a fly, let alone kill someone.
Sidelle, Cali, and I sat on the couch watching the boys, and eventually the rhythmic thudding of the hits lulled me to sleep. I felt my eyelids closing, and Kieran’s warm hands wrapped under my legs and arms as he picked me up. I faintly heard Vash’s deep voice saying again how well I’d done using the fight Silico.
“Maybe unnaturally so,” he said.
Chapter Eight
Shay
My Friday morning started like any other. I lay in bed, thinking about last night’s events and wondering what they might mean for me.
Zoe.
I knew she was the Redeemer. I felt the solid truth of that in my bones and in my heart. And I loved her. There wasn’t anything anyone could tell me that would change my mind about her. We’d somehow overcome the fact that she could never be with me.
She was an Eternal. I was a Natural. We would always be fighting against the powers that be that said we couldn’t be together. We’d find a way. Over the years I grew to admire her. But when we finally met, I realized I loved Zoe. And I would stand by her until the day I died.
What I’d watched her become last night had been awe-inspiring. When the purple Angel Light had poured from her into me, something inside me broke. From that moment I knew that I’d follow her anywhere.
A quiet knock pulled me out of my daydream.
“Son? Are you awake?” Gabriel asked through the closed door.
I groaned in response.
“The Archangels need you to come with them today,” he told me.
“Does Kieran know?”
Gabriel opened the door. “Yes, he’s aware of the situation. He’ll take care of Zoe.”
I sat up. I needed to be the one to protect Zoe, not Kieran. “But—”
“You are one of the warriors of Heaven, Shay. You must do your duty. Kieran and the others will protect her.”
“I understand.” Rolling out of bed, I grabbed black jeans and a T-shirt from the floor, sniffed them just to be sure it didn’t smell too disgusting, and then dressed. “I’ll meet you downstairs.”
I was always startled by the appearance of my father, of his glorious gray wings, and the unearthly feel that washed over me whenever he was nearby. I got my blond hair from him, and I suspected my silver-colored wings were from him, too. But to this day, I hadn’t figured out where my aqua eyes had come from. My mother’s dark brown eyes and his blue ones could never produce the color of the ocean. Then again, I couldn’t say never. Maybe that was just what God wanted for me.
Sighing, I laced up my combat boots and left the room. Down in the kitchen, Gabriel stood with his back to me, talking with Michael.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“We have a lead on a Seraph Sword,” Michael said. “So grab some food and weapons, then we’ll go.”
On the table lay a map of Florida, specifically the Orlando area. I didn’t want to go to Florida seeking out a sword. I wanted to be with Zoe, looking after her. But being a Nephilim was my duty; her being soul mate came second. I headed to the fridge and flung it open, letting my emotions get the better of me. Michael and Gabriel glanced at me with eyebrows raised, but I shrugged off their stares. Both of them knew what I was feeling anyway.
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