by S. A. Moss
Adele’s large body quivered with outrage. “A ghost! Train Guardians! Don’t be absurd.”
“Why not?” I shot back.
Sada answered, gazing at me thoughtfully. “Ghosts are not of the Shroud or of Earth. They are therefore out of our purview. We do what we can to control them, but they’re unpredictable and prone to outbursts when disturbed. They are better left alone.”
I glanced around the table, blinking. Alex looked as confused as I felt, but everyone else in the booth—Arjun included, that traitor—was nodding in agreement with Sada.
“That doesn’t—I don’t—” I shook my head. “Okay, fine. Ghosts are bad. We shouldn’t learn from them, even though this one knows skills that already helped us defeat a powerful supernatural today.”
Sada’s lip twitched at my obvious sarcasm and she inclined her head. “Perhaps we’ll revisit the subject soon. You make an interesting point.”
“I’d be all for that.” I blew out a breath, gathering my thoughts. “But back to today—what do we do now? The Fallen are obviously getting close to having a portal big enough to allow the strongest of their members to pass through. If Akaron makes it to Earth, I honestly don’t know if we’ll stand a chance against him, especially with so few of us left.”
Serious faces greeted Debra when she returned with our coffees and Alex’s breakfast. She looked around the table for a moment, seeming about to ask something, then shrugged and walked away.
“I had a thought,” Owen said in his thick accent, running a hand through his wild red-blond mane. “If the chimera was tearing down Michigan Avenue, then the portal must be somewhere nearby there, right? I suppose it’s possible the chimera appeared somewhere else and walked peacefully over to Michigan to begin its rampage, but…”
He trailed off, shrugging.
“But that would be unlikely.” Arcadius nodded sharply. “It’s a sound theory, Owen.”
I scrunched up my face, trying to remember where the destruction along Michigan Avenue had begun. “There was a two mile stretch where the chimera had obviously passed by. We can narrow our search for the Fallen camp to that area.”
“Good.”
I hesitated. “When we find them, what’s the plan? I know you want us to report back to you, but… do you really think you can free the Guardians?”
Arcadius and Sada shared a glance, so brief I almost missed it; but in that look was everything I needed to know. They weren’t sure. I had no doubt they’d try, but given what we were up against, that might not be enough to secure victory.
“We will do what we can,” Arcadius said grimly.
A sudden sadness gripped my chest. When I’d first met the Council, they’d seemed infinitely wise and powerful, their combined years of existence elevating them to almost godlike status in my mind. But looking at them now, worry pinching their features as they huddled around a booth in a rundown diner, I saw their vast age as something else entirely—a weight around their necks.
It seemed like the answer to every question I had about the Council’s rules was, “because it’s always been that way.” The world they were protecting now wasn’t the same world it had once been, but they couldn’t seem to leave the old ways behind.
“Okay,” I said softly. “Alex and I will start narrowing our search right away. We’ll keep you posted.”
“Do you want Arjun and me to come with you?” Pearl asked brightly.
“No!” Arcadius and I blurted at the same time, and the staid Council-member shifted awkwardly before adding, “We need you both to help protect the Haven. We’ve lost far too many of our rank.”
I tried to suppress my grin, since this was all very serious business. But speaking of being too old and stuck in his ways—when on earth was Arcadius going to admit his feelings for Pearl? They were so obvious he might as well be wearing a neon sign. And it was clear she had it just as bad for him.
I rolled my eyes. They were likely both repressing their feelings because of another old and totally pointless Guardian rule.
With not much more to say and plenty to do, everyone scooted awkwardly out of the booth. Poor Alex had barely even touched his breakfast yet, and as Arcadius paid the bill and dropped another generous tip on the table, I tilted my head at him. “Finish eating. I’m sure you’re starving, and I need to talk to Arcadius for a second anyway.”
19
Alex nodded gratefully then sat back down, tucking into his eggs, bacon and pancakes with vigor.
I bit my lip, trying not to let the drool pooling in my mouth slip out the sides. Alex loved food almost as much as I did. If I were still alive, it would’ve been one of our biggest shared interests. Instead, I was forced to live vicariously through him and subsist on the smells of his food alone. He had actually let me stick my nose near his plate and inhale deeply on a few occasions, for which he got major bonus points.
Ripping my eyes away from the syrup and melted butter sliding slowly across the golden brown surface of his pancakes, I met Arcadius’s gaze. We walked outside, but instead of following the rest of the Guardians, we stopped outside the large window with faded lettering declaring this place The Golden Crown. Inside, Debra returned to refill Alex’s coffee, and she actually cracked a smile when he looked up and thanked her.
Arcadius crossed his arms over his chest, regarding me. With his legs spread wide in a warrior’s stance, he once again projected the intimidating aura of a leader, and for a moment, I wavered.
Then I squared my shoulders and straightened to my full height, meeting his gaze confidently even though I still had to crane my neck to do so. “I think you’re wrong.”
His eyebrows raised slightly, but otherwise his expression didn’t change. “About?”
“Well, a few things, actually. I think you’re wrong to not trust ghosts. Or at least to distrust them as a general rule. Some may be uncontrollable, but some could help us, if you’d give them the chance.”
I paused, but he didn’t interject—either to argue with me or to defend his position—so I continued.
“And I think you’re wrong about keeping our existence a secret from humans. People were hurt today; some of them may have died. But they wouldn’t have been in that position if they knew we were there. They couldn’t possibly fight that chimera. Nothing they did was going to stop it. We could barely stop it, and we had three Guardians and a magical human on our side. They all saw the chimera, so they know for sure that supernatural beings exist—but all they know of it is the evil side. Shouldn’t they know that good exists too?”
I stumbled to a stop, closing my mouth over my word vomit. There was so much I wanted to say, but more than that, I wanted to hear Arcadius talk. To explain the Council’s rules in a way that would finally make sense, or to admit they were wrong. I stared up at him with a mixture of challenge and hope. Maybe he’d finally see reason.
He pursed his lips, relaxing his stance a bit. The look in his dark gray eyes was almost fatherly. “You’re young, Cam. Both in the human perception of time and as an immortal. You haven’t seen what we’ve seen.”
“So tell me! I know I’m young, but that doesn’t make me stupid.”
Arcadius regarded me seriously. “Do you really think, in all the time Guardians have existed, that humans have never been aware of our presence?”
I hesitated. “Well, I…”
“Where do you think the concept of angels comes from? What most of the stories in the Bible, the Koran, and nearly every other religious text are based on?”
“You guys?”
He chuckled. “Us guys. We have, at various points throughout history, made the mistake of being lax about keeping our existence a secret. And every single time we’ve shown ourselves to humans, the repercussions have been grave. Humans are not capable of handling this knowledge.”
“But… if the Fallen attack, then people see them! Why is it okay for them to know about demons and banshees and stuff, but not about us? It makes no sense!”
Arcadius tipped his head. Sunlight glinted off his dark hair. “First of all, we do try to limit their exposure to the Fallen. The current debacle notwithstanding, the Fallen have historically been easy to control. Akaron and your father have stepped forward as leaders, bribing or compelling lesser supernaturals to fall in line and follow their orders.”
I opened my mouth to interject, but he continued. “And if humans do see one of the Fallen, it puts fear in their hearts, but ends there. However, good is easier to corrupt than evil. When humans become aware that Guardians are watching over them, they begin to worship us. They form religions around us—and in the name of religion, what horrors are wrought.” He shuddered. “We are not gods, and should not be treated as such. That is how the Fallen want to exist, but it is not our way.”
I rocked on my heels, trying to absorb everything he’d said and formulate my counterargument. I could see the point he was making, but I still thought he was wrong. “But this world, and the people living in it, are not the same as when you became a Guardian. People have changed. They’re more advanced, more educated.”
Arcadius smiled wryly. “We have thought that of every generation for thousands of years. Trust me. It’s never true.”
“You don’t know that!” I blurted. “Besides, if all they’ve ever seen is glimpses of Guardians, no wonder they’ve filled in the blanks with fantastical stories! Have you ever just tried being open and honest about who you all are? If we didn’t have to hide from humans, we could actually help them, actually be effective against the Fallen for once. Don’t you think it’s a little sad that two leaders stepping forward was all it took for the Fallen to put us this far back on our heels? I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but they’re handing our butts to us! And that’s because you insist on cutting your Guardians off at the knees. You’re making them ineffectual fighters! You call yourselves Guardians, but you can’t guard shit!”
I broke off, biting my lip.
Oops. That was probably too far.
As I’d talked, Arcadius’s chiseled face had become like iron—cold and unbending. He spoke softly, his voice booming with authority. “I will not have my leadership questioned by someone who has existed for a mere twenty years and been a Guardian for a fraction of that time. You do not understand the full situation, although you speak, as many humans do, with a cavalier certainty that your limited view is correct. I have witnessed the damage that can be done when Guardians reveal themselves, and if you continue to disregard our rules, as you have done since your arrival, I will reassign you to the Haven and keep you there.”
My eyes bulged. “What? You can’t do that! You need me, and you need Alex—”
“We can assign another Guardian to Alex.”
I gaped at him, not even trying to hide the betrayed look on my face.
Arcadius sighed, scrubbing his dark hair with one hand. “I don’t want to do that, Cam. You and Alex are a good team. But please understand that allowing a human to help us, as Alex is doing, goes against rules the Guardians have followed for millennia. We’ve made exceptions for you. But you want to change too much too fast.”
I clamped by jaw shut, swallowing down my disappointment. This was not how I’d hoped this conversation would go.
“Right. Thank you, sir.”
If Arcadius noticed my somewhat bitter tone, he didn’t acknowledge it. “Your passion is admirable, Cam. There will be a time and place for it. But now is not that time.”
As he turned on his heel and walked down the street in the direction the others had gone, I could feel myself deflating like a balloon with a hole in it.
20
Ten minutes later, Alex pushed open the door of The Golden Crown. Catching sight of my expression, he frowned. “I take it your talk didn’t go well?”
I blew out a breath, trying to shake off my frustration. “Not like I was hoping, no.”
He wrinkled his face in sympathy before glancing down the street at the blue Hyundai. “I guess we don’t have time to return it. We need to get back over to Michigan.”
I really hadn’t wanted to add “car thief” to my resume today. Car borrowing, I was okay with. And part of me was slightly embarrassed that I, an immortal supernatural being, was reduced to stealing cars to get around. Why couldn’t being a Guardian come with teleportation powers or super speed or something?
I sighed. “Yeah, guess not. But hey, if we save humanity, at least that girl will be alive a week from now to go looking for it. And you didn’t even dent the fender. She’ll get it back, good as new.”
“Wanna walk over to Michigan? It’ll take us a little longer, but I’m sure they’re starting to cordon off the area. We’ll have a better chance at sneaking in on foot.”
I nodded, turning up the street. When we passed by the blue car, I gave the hood a little pat. “Thanks, ol’ girl. You were great.”
Alex shot me a surprised look, then pursed his lips against the smile threatening to break out.
I raised my eyebrows. “What?”
He allowed the grin to take over his face. “Nothing. I’ve just never seen someone talk to a car before.”
“Yeah, yeah. I get it. I’m weird.” I rolled my eyes.
“No! Well, yeah, you are a bit.” He chuckled at my outraged yelp. “But I like it. You don’t take anything for granted. Not even a little blue car. It’s nice.”
I dipped my head, embarrassed. “I grew up on my own. My foster parents were okay people, but they didn’t really care about me. I only ever had a few actual friends, Sarah especially. I guess being alone so much made me appreciate the connections I did have. And made it easy to have long conversations with inanimate objects.”
He laughed lightly, then glanced at me, squinting as the late afternoon sunlight hit his green eyes. “So, what was your fight with Arcadius about?”
I kicked at a plastic cup lying on the sidewalk. It skittered several feet then rolled in lazy circles around the lid. “It wasn’t a fight. It was just a… strongly worded disagreement. He doesn’t think humans can handle knowing about Guardians.”
“Ah.” Alex looked like he had more to say, but he closed his mouth on the words.
“And I know I’m new at this whole Guardian thing, but I’m so sick and tired of everyone telling me I’m too young to understand. I—”
I broke off, not sure I should even say the next thought out loud.
Alex quirked an eyebrow. “What?”
“Sometimes…I think I understand why my dad left the Guardians. Not saying that I think we should let the Fallen take over the world!” I added quickly. “But why do we have to keep ourselves and our powers hidden? We could do so much more good if we were out in the open. I mean, you know about us, and you’re handling it okay.”
Alex tipped his head from side to side. “I’m not sure I’m a great test case. I don’t just know about you, I’m involved in all this—whether I wanted to be or not.”
“That’s my point!” I waved my arms wildly, then tamped down my excitement level. “If people knew about us, they could be involved. What if protecting humanity was a joint venture between Guardians and humans themselves?”
We turned onto Ohio, heading towards the stretch of chimera destruction.
Alex shrugged. “I see your point. But to be honest, I think some people would rather just not know. Some people don’t want to be involved.”
“Well, they shouldn’t win! We shouldn’t base our decisions around the people who don’t give a crap. We should base them around the people who care. Who are brave and honorable and selfless, who’d step up and risk their own lives to save a stranger.” I paused. “Like you.”
Alex’s smile made the gorgeous dimples pop out on his cheeks. “Some people would call all those qualities stupid.”
I fixed him with a hard look. “Well, those people shouldn’t win either.”
He draped an arm around my shoulder, matching our strides. “Well, if you have anything to say about it, I’m sure they won’t
.”
“Yeah, maybe.” I sighed, enjoying the feel of his fingertips brushing my upper arm a little too much. “Arcadius threatened to bench me if I don’t fall in line. I trust him, and I believe in him. Plus, Pearl is head over heels for him, and I definitely trust her. But he can be so flippin’ stubborn sometimes it makes me furious. He’s like a grandpa in a Greek god’s body.”
Alex threw back his head and belted a laugh. “That’s the most accurate description of a person I’ve ever heard.” He tilted his head down to look at me. I’d wrapped my arm around his waist to counterbalance the weight of his around my shoulder—just so I didn’t fall over, I swear!—and faces were only inches apart. “Sorry he’s being a dick. If you want, you can take it out on me.” He waved his free hand in the air. “My palms make excellent punching bags.”
I groaned. “Thanks, but I don’t want to hit you. I’d rather kiss you.”
I stopped suddenly, biting my lip so hard I almost took off a chunk of it.
Alex withdrew his arm from around my shoulder, turning to look at me curiously. “You’d rather what?”
“Oh, nothing.” I knew it was impossible with no blood flow, but I swore I could feel a blush creep up my cheeks.
His head dipped as he regarded me more closely. Then he reached for my hand. “Cam, are you—?”
I backed away a step, stiffening. “I’m sorry. I was just letting my brain run away with itself, and as you’ve already probably noticed, I tend to just babble weird shit when I’m nervous. It was nothing.”
Alex’s hand dropped back to his side, an almost disappointed look on his face. “Yeah, I’ve noticed that. Cam, I—”
“No, no. You’re totally right. You said we should just be partners, and that’s exactly what we are. And we’re good partners too! I shouldn’t let my stupid thoughts mess that up. I’m sorry.”