Laughter followed.
Trust Sykes to lighten the mood. Cardinal Hsia grinned as she explained. “The tribunal is made up of Guardians and demons. Six demons get free passes from Tartarus to join six ascended Cardinals.”
Sykes got up and talked louder, to be heard above the questions being fired left and right. “How do we summon it? We would like to appeal its decision, because it’s obvious whoever represented us never finished law school.”
Cardinal Hsia chuckled as she motioned him to sit. “One question at a time. We are always represented by the same person, Sykes. Goddess Xenia. And since she was the one who charged us with the task of guarding humans, I’d say she graduated summa cum laude.”
Laughter rolled through the room.
Sykes slowly sat down.
“The court usually convenes whenever and wherever you summon it,” Cardinal Hsia continued, “which means, it could appear right here and right now.”
I raised my hand. “Do we really summon it by calling out its name?”
“Yes,” Cardinal Hsia answered. “When a group of Nephilim—Guardians or demons—gather and synchronize their thoughts and energy while calling its name, the Tribunal will appear, so please refrain from saying the name. If you must refer to them, use ‘Nephilim Court’ or the term ‘The Tribe’. It is a generic term that refers to both the archangels and the court they serve.”
“Has the Tribe ever had a reason to hunt us like this?” someone asked.
“Yes. They are the ones who rounded up the Principalities and later their children, our forefathers, and sent them to Tartarus. Luckily, our Goddess had already created Xenith and we relocated it before the attack. The Tribe is also behind the fall of every ancient civilization known to man…Egyptian, Roman, Persian, Mayan, Mesopotamian,” Cardinal Hsia continued. “When the balance is in our favor and evil is at an all-time low, civilizations thrive. More inventions are made, illnesses and diseases get cured. Humanity is at its best. The demons are never happy when humans thrive and there is peace. Then, they usually summon the Nephilim Court, which sends the Tribe to reset the balance.”
“How?” someone asked.
“They let out more powerful demons from Tartarus to counteract our influence.”
A shiver ran down my spine. My gut said Valafar was back, that Solaris and Lunaris were right.
“Others say they undo some of the work we’ve done,” Cardinal Hsia continued. “The next thing you know, demons have the upper hand, and they start messing with people’s heads.”
The door to the pit opened and in walked Master Haziel. Cardinal Hsia waited until he had crossed the room and sat on the empty chair beside Cardinal Moira.
“At the peak of every civilization, humans sit back and marvel at their brilliance,” Cardinal Hsia explained. “They start to act like they are better than those who came before them or even those among them. Some go as far as to set themselves as gods. That kind of pompous attitude leads to civil unrest, wars and many deaths, and the end of another civilization. Humans are unaware of the war being waged on them by the Tribe. Unfortunately, the archangels never stay around to witnesses the chaos that follows,” he added. “They leave it to us to clean up their messes.”
This time, the heavy silence was longer. What was the point of battling demons when there was no end in sight? Was getting our redemption worth all this trouble? Immediately, I felt like such a traitor for harboring such thoughts. Of course it was. Everyone had a purpose. Ours was to minimize the influence of the demons and earn back our grace. Humans’ was to better their world, until it tumbled down and they had to rebuild again. It was a vicious cycle.
“Do you want to add anything, Master Haziel?” Grampa asked.
The trainer pursed his lips, then said, “Junior has something to say.”
Bran winced. He hated that nickname even though the older Cardinals used it because he reminded them of his grandfather, whom they’d hunted with.
Instead of talking while seated, Bran stood and gripped the back of his chair. “Over the last two days, I’ve been searching for the demons who summoned the court. Last night, I learned that their new council, The Order, is not behind the summoning. In the last few weeks, young demons have gone missing and they suspect that we took them, so their main concern right now is mounting an attack against us. We know that the group that summoned the Nephilim Court is the same one forcing these young demons to join them. What we don’t know is their agenda. Yes?” he added and pointed at someone behind me.
“How did you find out The Order is not behind the summoning?” a woman asked.
“The Order’s new headquarters is somewhere in downtown Detroit and heavily guarded, but I managed to get inside and eavesdropped on their conversations and thoughts. They held a meeting, but all they discussed were the missing children and how to mount an attack against us.” Bran glanced at Master Haziel, who nodded.
“This morning, one of our allies was also kidnapped. Master Haziel sent,” Bran glanced at me and smiled, “Lil, Solaris, Lunaris, Lucien, and Esras to help with the search, but before they caught up with me, they were attacked by the archangels.”
There was no collective gasp or murmur. Just silence. Necks craned to look at us. Kim and Izzy glared at me as though I’d held back on them. Sykes and Remy scowled.
Later, I telepathed them.
“It was Raphael and some of his men. One was in the air. The Cardinals stood their grounds, their weapons drawn. They weren’t backing down.”
I fought the urge to giggle. He was such a good liar. Where were Dante and Kael in his narration?
“I surprised the one in the air. We fought and I managed to chop off his wings.”
Whispers rippled through the room.
“The wings are our answer to defeating an angel. They are their source of strength, their source of power and their shield when attacked.” Bran slipped his hand in the front pockets of his pants and rocked on his heels. “Without them, they are useless. Without them, they are reduced to lower ranks. It takes years to earn wings back, so they always make sure you don’t go after their wings. I will work with fliers on how to attack them from the air.”
Questions followed but I didn’t really listen. I was exhausted, lack of sleep finally taking a toll on me. My eyelids kept drooping, until I realized Bran was no longer talking and Master Haziel had taken over.
“Remember,” he said. “The only way to send them running is to disable their leader. When you identify the archangel leading them and force him to quit, his followers will leave too. From now on,” Master Haziel continued, “Cardinals with like powers will train together in the mornings. Psi Team will be led by Mrs. Deveraux and the trainers from other sectors. Earth Team will have Nero and other earth instructors. Energy Team… Air Team and so on and so forth. The purpose of doing this is not only to sharpen your skills and let you learn from your peers. During a battle, you won’t need to look around for one of your teammates to help you in a crisis. If you need help from a psi, any psi will help because they’ve learned the same moves. If you’re looking for extra weapons, any Earth Guardian should know when you telepath them.”
He paused and glanced around. No one spoke, though I could tell they were unhappy with his announcement.
“In the afternoons, you’ll go back to your sector teams and share with them what you’ve learned. Occasionally, you will spar with the SGs with the same abilities. In the evenings, dinner will be served at the Academy cafeteria. Attendance is mandatory. Once again, you will sit with your new teams. This will continue until you learn to get along and think as a team. We are at war, Guardians. A war we plan to win.”
The silence stretched as he studied each of us intently, then he bowed to the Senior Cardinals and walked out of the room.
“A few more things before you disperse,” Grampa said after the door closed behind Master Haziel. “Keep a low profile around the valley. I don’t want to hear of trouble with the locals.” His gaze swep
t everyone and stopped on us. “But most important, no one must leave the valley. We are on full security alert. The Psi-dar is working at its maximum capacity. If there’s an emergency and you feel you must leave the valley, come and talk to us first.”
You think he knows about tonight? I asked Bran.
How could he?
Nothing ever escapes him, I reminded Bran.
“Any questions?” Grampa asked, drawing my attention back to him.
Silence.
“Then head to your assigned homes. Training begins tomorrow morning at six. Lil, Bran, Esras, Solaris, and Lunaris, stay behind.”
Meeting at my place when you are done, Remy telepathed before he left. The room emptied fast. Grampa signaled us to move closer.
“What happened in L.A.?” he asked.
We took turns explaining, not leaving anything out including what Gavyn and Archangel Raphael had said. No one tried to reassure me that I’d be okay, that whatever Gavyn and Raphael had said was wrong. Not even Grampa.
All he said when we were done talking was, “We can’t use our powers without alerting the archangels. That means doubling the amount of weapons we carry from now on.”
The other Cardinals nodded.
Grampa turned and studied me. “You have a question?”
I really wanted to know if he believed I was in danger, but I didn’t want to appear self-absorbed, so I asked, “Is it possible to bring the Specials here?”
Grampa shook his head. “There’s no space at the Academy or the houses to accommodate them.”
“There’s room in our house, Remy and Sykes’ place,” I insisted.
“Not anymore. We’ll find a solution, Lil. Go home.” Grampa stood, signaling the end of the meeting. “The rest of you, stay behind.”
I glanced at Bran, but his expression was unreadable. Sighing, I headed for the door. I needed to clear my head. From the foyer, I teleported outside Number 1—the house above the underground offices. It was bigger than all the houses in the enclave and was officially the guesthouse for all visiting Guardians. Kim’s house was next to it.
The sun had already set, but the summer evening was warm. Most of the Guardians were indoors, lights burning bright behind curtains. Even at my house.
I pinged Remy.
Come over, he said. We’re rearranging the furniture.
I crossed Sagebrush Drive and started downhill toward Remy and Sykes’ place.
How many ‘houseguests’ do you have?
Just two.
Two wasn’t bad, but it meant we couldn’t meet at their place anymore. How many guests did we have at my house? All the rooms in our basement were empty, and the sectional in the family area could be converted into a queen bed. Having people around was going to be weird. I was used to being with just Grampa and Aunt Janelle who came and went.
- 18 -
NEW ROOMMATES
Remy and Sykes’ front door flew open before I reached it. “Welcome to our new home,” Izzy said.
“You and Kim are their houseguests?”
“Oh yeah.” She closed the door behind me. “When your grandfather told us we were getting houseguests, we decided—”
“Rather the slobs we know than ones we don’t know,” Kim cut in as she walked by with a clear tote bag filled with creams, lotions, and hair gels. She disappeared inside the bedroom that had been Remy’s.
“You guys kicked Remy downstairs?” Sykes already had a bedroom downstairs and didn’t need to move.
“Not really. The guys chose downstairs, which is great for the nudist colony wanna-be.”
“I heard that,” Sykes yelled from downstairs. “I eat breakfast in the morning, so I’ll still come upstairs.”
“Don’t care,” Izzy yelled back, grinning. “Just put on some damn clothes before you do or you’ll know firsthand what Kim can do with frigid air. Want to see my room?” she added softly. “Remy transported the furniture in one teleport.”
The perks of being an Earth Guardian was his ability to manipulate solids, including shrinking them to portable sizes. “Your clothes?”
She laughed. “Oh, no, he didn’t touch those. Or my shoes. He’s good, but I wasn’t taking chances.”
Izzy’s bedroom was right by the front entrance, like mine. It used to be a workout room; now it was a replica of Izzy’s old bedroom. Done in palettes of brown, gold and jungle green, and a queen bed with a sheer golden canopy over it, it exuded warmth.
I noticed two clairvoyant crystals on her computer desk. One projected images of a family of five. I recognized Izzy in some of them. In others, she was much younger. The second crystal showed short homemade movies of a young girl about ten, her hair even curlier than Izzy’s. She was a gymnast. Another one showed the same girl dancing. The images changed to show a handsome guy. Something about his expression and the way he moved reminded me of Dante.
Izzy was so private that I had never asked her about her family, but she noticed my interest. “My brother, Dominic, and my baby sister, Aria, short for Arianna,” she said with forced cheerfulness. She picked up the second crystal and smiled. “Dom is studying to be an art historian while Aria… Aria wants to be everything.”
“Your brother is handsome,” I said.
“Sadly, he thinks so too, which makes him insufferable.” Izzy put the crystal down, waved a hand over it, and deactivated the images. Her eyes were overly bright as though she was holding back tears.
“And those are my parents.” She pointed at an image of a lovely couple seated next to each other on a loveseat. I could see her brother Dom in both her mother and father.
“You look like your mom,” I said.
“I know.” She turned abruptly. “Come on, I’ll show you Kim’s new room.”
I’d never entered Remy’s bedroom before, but Kim had definitely transformed it into hers—everything was white and designer, from the dresser, to the vanity chair with a skirt, to the canopied bed, to the throw rug.
“When this mess with the Tribunal is over, Izzy and I will get our own place instead of moving back with my parents,” Kim said.
“Good to know this move is not permanent,” Sykes said from the doorway. “Aren’t you guys done yet? We want more info on the archangels.”
“Out of my room, Sykes,” Kim ordered. “You don’t waltz in without knocking or pinging me first.”
“I knew this was a bad idea from the word go.” Shaking his head, he disappeared downstairs.
Kim and Izzy looked at each other and giggled. Poor Sykes. They were going to make his life hell. We followed him downstairs and settled on the couch. By the time Bran joined us, we were done dissecting everything, down to Gavyn’s use of Kylie as a medium.
“Are you going to tell her what he did?” Izzy asked.
“Yeah. She’s out of town right now.”
“Now can we discuss Keiran and tonight?” Kim interrupted impatiently. “We won’t be able to meet with them.”
“Or any other night until the Cardinals lift the lockdown,” Remy added.
Kim sighed.
“Why not just call him and explain the situation?” Bran asked. “He’ll understand.”
“He doesn’t have a phone,” Kim explained. “His customers use telepathy to make reservations. If we don’t meet with them tonight, they’ll believe we don’t care about them.”
“The Cardinals promised to find a way to help the Specials and the older members of the Brotherhood,” Bran explained.
“But they always take forever to decide on anything,” Kim said and sighed again. “By the time they agree on what to do, how and when to do it, it would be too late.”
“Let’s just sneak out and make the meeting,” Sykes suggested.
“No way,” Izzy protested. “The Cardinals will have our heads on a platter.”
“Just a second, Izzy.” Kim’s gaze didn’t leave Sykes. “How can we sneak out undetected?”
“Do what?” Remy asked, reappearing with drinks on a tray, whi
ch he placed on the coffee table.
“Sneak out of the valley,” I said, not believing what they were planning.
Kim cut me a quick look. “From your tone, I take it you’re out.”
“I think we should be careful because Raphael and his men are waiting for us out there,” I retorted. “Even the senior Cardinals decided they won’t use their powers anymore because it could alert the archangels. The only thing stopping Raphael from finding us is the shield over the valley.”
“After the attack on the island, I doubt the shield is that effective,” Izzy added. “They can still sense us.”
“So let’s not use our powers,” Kim insisted. “The Brotherhood will believe we don’t care about them if we don’t make the meeting.”
“Don’t you mean this will screw up things between you and a certain violet-eyed guy?” Sykes mocked.
“That’s not it.” She bit her lower lip, then looked at Bran. “We must contact Keiran and let him know what’s going on.”
My gaze volleyed between Bran and Kim. Before I could protest, Bran nodded. “Okay, I’ll do it.”
“What?” I squealed.
Before Bran could respond, Sykes spoke. “How do you plan to accomplish this amazing feat without us? I know you’re the hero of the moment, but the Psi-dar is on alert mode. You teleport anyway, the remaining security team will be on your tail.”
Bran chuckled. “I’ll tell the Cardinals I have to meet with my brother.”
“I thought you were going to use the other route,” Sykes said in disappointment.
Bran cocked his eyebrow. “What other route?”
“You know, sneak to the canyon’s Wind Caves and teleport from there, therefore outsmarting the Psi-dar.”
There was a collective groan.
“The security shield doesn’t cover the cave?” Kim asked curiously.
“You’re not thinking of using it, are you?” Izzy protested.
Kim shot her an annoyed glance. “Of course not. Tell us about the cave, Sykes.”
“It’s a blind spot in the almighty Psi-dar’s all-seeing eyes. I discovered it years ago. You can teleport in and out without the Psi-dar picking up your energy.”
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