The Brotherhood of the Snake (Return of the Ancients Book 2)

by Carmen Caine

  The Glass Wall - Book Two

  The

  Brotherhood

  of the

  Snake

  By

  Madison Adler

  and

  Carmen Caine

  Published By Bento Box Books

  Edited By Grace Benson

  Copyright © 2012 by Madison Adler/Carmen Caine

  ISBN: 978-0-9835240-7-6

  Ebook Edition License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and didn’t purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it to MyBentoBoxBooks.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.

  This book is dedicated to my favorite Starbucks baristas

  You guys are always there with a smile and you keep me going every day!

  Thank you:

  Jessica, Jenna, Chris, Danny O,

  Danny S, Julie, Kate, Trevor,

  Kelly, and Annie!

  And Brock, thank you for letting me pick your brain!

  Table of Contents

  Sydney’s Note to the Reader

  Chapter One - Another New Neighbor

  Chapter Two - Shadows in the Night

  Chapter Three - In Love with Who?

  Chapter Four – Chupacabras

  Chapter Five – The Impersonator

  Chapter Six – The Red Sky

  Chapter Seven – The Puppet Masters

  Chapter Eight – Abnormally Normal

  Chapter Nine – The Tree of Life

  Chapter Ten - Marquis

  Chapter Eleven – Too Many Answers

  Chapter Twelve – Home Again, Home Again

  Chapter Thirteen – Brock the Troll

  Chapter Fourteen – “Silence, Minion!”

  Chapter Fifteen – The Figure in White

  Chapter Sixteen – The Many Uses of Nail Polish

  Chapter Seventeen – Blondie

  Chapter Eighteen – The White Mask

  Sydney’s Note to the Reader

  It would be much better if you just read the first book The Glass Wall, but let me summarize it for those who didn’t.

  My name is Sydney. There’s nothing extraordinary about me. I’m not a vampire, a werewolf, or an angel, and I don’t have any superpowers. I’m just an average seventeen-year-old girl, struggling a bit in school but making it all work.

  A few months ago, I found myself in Mercer Island, Washington, with my mother back in rehab and with myself bundled off to a new foster family. I thought they were a bit nutty at first, but now I think they’re just loveably unique. In fact, I’m feeling a bit like they’re more my real family than my poor mother, Maya.

  The day I arrived in the neighborhood, a mysterious and extraordinarily handsome stranger moved in across the street. From the very beginning, there was something odd about Rafael and his sister, Harmony, but it wasn’t until Jareth, one of the hottest rising rock stars in the nation, began showing up that my life took a strange twist into the stuff of legends and dreams.

  I’d started spying on them all with Al, my foster father—using his kooky spy contraptions that surprisingly worked—and discovered that Rafael, Harmony, and Jareth were Fae (whom we call “fairies”) and that they were searching Earth for Rafael’s missing mentor, Melody.

  But as destiny would have it, they soon became interested in me.

  It turned out that Rafael and Jareth were Fate Trackers, those who traced the Threads of Fate, looking for the Blue Threads in the noble pursuit of diverting disaster.

  They told me that I was Blue-Threaded.

  Being Blue-Threaded didn’t mean that I’d get superpowers or anything cool. It meant that it was my fate to make a choice. And it was a double-edged sword type of thing. It was a choice that would affect everyone in either the most wondrously positive or the most horribly disastrous of ways.

  Unfortunately, there was no way to know ahead of time when I would make this choice. I’d just have to keep wondering if each decision I’d just made had been The One.

  Apparently, the Fae were very worried that I wouldn’t make the right choice because they all hovered around me, watching my every move.

  And then both Rafael and Jareth turned Blue-Threaded as well.

  But it was when I stumbled upon the Tulpa—the manifestation of emotion that humans create in the second dimension—and it tried to devour and convert me into the emotion of fear, that Rafael broke the rules and saved my life by transporting me to Avalon, the world of the Fae in the first dimension.

  There I saw the Glass Wall, a wall the Fae had built to protect humanity from the lizard people. But the Tulpa’s presence on Earth convinced Rafael that the wall was broken and that it wasn’t really protecting Earth at all but hiding something sinister instead.

  It was then that he told me more about the lizard people, the race of aliens watching humanity from the second dimension, eating our emotions and looking for ways to possess our bodies so they could walk our planet once more as they used to, long ago.

  Anyway, the first book ended with Jareth pointing his trion at me in Avalon, narrowly missing my head and burning off a chunk of my hair as I stood with Rafael in front of the Glass Wall. He really gave us no choice but to run right through it, and since I was human, the entire wall shattered, removing any protection humanity had against the lizard people, or, as Rafael was convinced, revealing what it had been protecting all along.

  After what seemed like endless hours of falling through showers of broken glass, I found myself once again back on Earth in my bedroom with Rafael. And then Harmony, who wasn’t actually Rafael’s sister but his bodyguard, appeared and told us to “start running” because the protection runes she’d given us to keep us safe had broken.

  But before I get ahead too far, it’s time to start the first chapter of The Brotherhood of the Snake.

  Chapter One – Another New Neighbor

  “Start running!” Harmony shouted again, her blue eyes wide with horror. She stood there, cradling the crumbling remains of her protection runes in her outstretched hands, her blonde hair flying wildly in all directions.

  I felt the blood drain from my face as I glanced down at my own rune. It was black and smoking. Only a moment ago, it had been white and sparkling with Harmony’s gold mark protecting me from the Fae now on our trail.

  Dimly, I heard her alternately begging, cajoling, and commanding us to leave. Rafael’s fingers of steel curved about my wrist, pulling me forward, and I felt the surge of adrenaline as I prepared to run.

  “Go!” Harmony pushed us toward my bedroom door. “The Queens’ Guards are after you now, Rafael! I’ll return to Avalon to distract them, but you’ll have to run! You shouldn’t phase shift, they might’ve already set up traps for you!” And she disappeared abruptly in a puff of mist.

  “Where are we going?” I asked as Rafael pulled me down the hall and through the living room filled with mountains of Betty’s Ebay boxes. My heart was pounding, and my lips could barely form the words. “Where can we hide?’

  He didn’t answer. He wrenched the front door open but stopped so abruptly that I crashed right into him.

  “Where’s the fire, kiddo?” I heard Al’s distinct voice ask.

  Peering around Rafael, I saw Al standing on the threshold in his fatigues, a battalion cap covering his bald head and his arm
s full of white PVC pipes and rolls of plastic sheeting. His bright blue eyes turned suspicious as his brows knit into a frown. “What’s up?”

  I knew we didn’t have time to talk. We had to get out of there. Recalling the Mackenzie Covert Code Phrase Al had taught me to say when no questions should be asked, I said in a rush, “We’re just on our way to get some of those Blue Pickles, Al. We’ve got to hurry!” I hoped he had enough faith in me to give me his complete trust.

  I wasn’t disappointed.

  His face lit, and he stepped back immediately, balancing the plastic and pipes long enough to snap off a sharp salute. “Then you'd better get going! We’ll talk when you get back.”

  Rafael didn’t hesitate. Firmly grasping my arm, he almost lifted me across the porch, and as I passed Al, my foster father pulled his neighborhood watch whistle from around his neck and tossed it to me. “Take this with you, kiddo.”

  Somehow, I caught the chain.

  We ran across the yard, past the evergreen trees, and across the street to Rafael’s house.

  “Sydney!” Mrs. Patton’s raspy voice called out from next door. “Rafael!”

  The little old lady stood in the front yard of her pink Victorian house, almost hidden in her lawn ornament menagerie of garden gnomes, deer, and flamingos. She waved her hand for our attention, watching us through her Coke-bottle glasses, a red parka bundled over her purple housecoat.

  I barely had time to wave back before Rafael pushed me through his front door and into the living room.

  Once again, he stopped abruptly.

  I blinked in surprise.

  The living room was completely empty, except for a mirror hanging on the wall next to the window.

  Rafael caught his breath and stared at it as if he’d seen a ghost.

  In the reflection of the glass, I saw him at my side, tall and imposing, black eyeliner ringing his charismatic gray eyes, his usually perfectly styled blond hair disheveled, and the long dark sleeves of his bodysuit torn from fighting Jareth in Avalon. The cloth had ripped over one shoulder, revealing glimpses of his hard and toned physique beneath.

  A cloud of smoke and blazing fire exploded in the center of room and a tall, dark form emerged from it.

  It was Jareth.

  Wearing black leather wrist cuffs, laced leather pants, and a graffiti t-shirt, he swaggered forward to pause in front of the window and bowed with a dramatic flair. His long, black hair fell loose over his shoulders, not teased or tortured in the usual rock star manner, but smooth and sleek.

  Straightening, he began brushing dust from his sleeves and shoulders, dust I recognized as bits of the Glass Wall that Rafael had sent through the pocket mirror just moments before.

  “I got your message, Rafael,” he drawled sarcastically. “I’ll have this glass in my hair for days.”

  They locked gazes in the tense silence that followed before Jareth’s dark lashes flicked my way.

  Rafael’s arm instinctively flew out in response, blocking me in a protective gesture. Suddenly, I was aware of how close he’d been standing, and then he was leaping forward, slamming Jareth back against the wall and forcing him to his knees.

  I blinked in surprise.

  Rafael had always been the cool, calm, and collected one, a bit formal and perpetually polite, but now I realized there had always been an undercurrent of emotion barely contained beneath the surface. He was complex. Secretive. Fascinating.

  He towered over Jareth, stance wide, intimidation radiating from every inch of him.

  Jareth shot him an angry look.

  As I watched them, I suddenly remembered Rafael telling me that they were 'counterparts’, what should have been the perfect team of Fate-Trackers. The Dark Fae and the Light Fae. The Yin and Yang.

  But they weren’t a team.

  They were borderline enemies.

  Rafael broke the prolonged silence with a smile. It was a cold smile, one without a hint of warmth.

  “And what brings you here, Jareth?” he asked. “Only a short time ago in Avalon, you seemed quite intent on my death.”

  With eyes blazing in anger, Jareth struggled to his feet. Shoving Rafael back, he braced himself against the doorjamb and took a deep breath. “I’m here because you asked for my protection, you fool!”

  Rafael inhaled sharply, his lips parting slightly in surprise. “Your protection?”

  “You’ve seen Harmony’s runes.” Jareth shrugged. “There’s only one way they could’ve fractured…” He paused dramatically.

  Rafael’s eyes narrowed.

  “You broke them yourself, Rafael,” Jareth announced. With a flamboyant gesture, he drew a small, triangular rune from his pocket. “You rejected her protection in favor of mine, moments ago.” He tossed the stone to Rafael.

  Catching it in mid-air, Rafael held it up to the light.

  It was white, shiny, and new. I immediately recognized the black protection symbol glistening on the stone’s smooth surface. Apparently, Jareth had used his Fae Fate Tracker symbol to market his rock star career on Earth. He’d emblazoned it on the covers of his albums, and there were t-shirts and posters of it everywhere.

  But how could Rafael have demanded Jareth’s protection?

  I snorted suspiciously.

  It had to be a trick.

  Jareth noticed my reaction. “Yes, Sydney. His Royal Highness, the mighty Rafael, has chosen my protection above all others,” he said in a voice laced with sarcasm. “Now you’ll have to trust me above all others.”

  “Trust you?” I asked in outright disbelief. I pointed to my missing chunk of hair he’d burned off with his trion not even an hour ago. “You tried to kill me!”

  “No!” Jareth rolled his eyes. “I forced you to run!”

  My anger began to surface. “And I’m simply supposed to believe you?” How could he expect me to put my life in his hands? My stomach revolted at the thought. “You tried to kill me!” I repeated louder, jabbing an accusatory finger in his direction.

  “You wouldn’t be alive if I’d tried!” His tone was disgusted. “Any Fae childling could’ve done what I did. In fact, I could’ve shot you with my eyes closed and even been sound asleep and still have given you that haircut!” His dark eyes flickered with perverse amusement as he added, “And I must say, it’s an improvement. You seriously need a better hairstylist—”

  “Enough!” Rafael cut him short. Something dangerous flashed in his eyes. He held up Jareth’s rune and twirled it between long, elegant fingers. “I fail to see why I’d give you such complete trust, especially now of all times and under these circumstances. It would be much akin to giving the chickens to the fox!”

  “I knew you’d need proof,” Jareth grunted and pointed to the mirror on the wall. “That’s why I sent this first.”

  A spark appeared on the tip of his finger, a small glowing ball of light. With a flicking motion, he flung it at the glass.

  Immediately, a brilliant flash bathed the entire surface of the mirror before it turned black, and what looked like a movie began to play on it.

  My mouth dropped open.

  “Mirrors record everything,” Rafael whispered softly in my ear, apparently noting my astonishment. His hand curved over my shoulder.

  My heart lurched unexpectedly at his touch, but then his words registered.

  “Everything?” My voice came out garbled. Immediately, I recalled how I’d paraded naked in front of my own mirror, pinched my fat, and searched for pimples, but then the scene playing out before me on the mirror caught my complete attention:

  Jareth stood before the lighted floor-to-ceiling mirror in Rafael’s quarters in Avalon. He was breathing heavily, wearing the black outfit that he’d worn while fighting Rafael in front of the Glass Wall. The black cloth was ripped and covered in dust, and he was clutching his hand tightly over a gash on his shoulder.

  Taking a long, dragging breath, he threw back his head and roared, “Rafael!”

  Instantly, Rafael appeared in the mirr
or’s reflection, cool and calm, dressed in a white shirt and designer torn jeans.

  Jareth raised a brow. “So enamored with Sydney now, that your soul prefers human clothing?”

  Those words jerked me out of the movie playing before me.

  I glanced up at Rafael, but his gaze remained focused on the mirror.

  He must have noticed me looking at him, because he pressed his lips in a grim line as his hand fell from my shoulder.

  Frowning, I turned my attention back to the scene still playing out.

  Jareth was glaring. There was no mistaking the hostility behind his dark eyes as he announced bluntly, “You need me. The Queens seek your head, and not just yours but Sydney’s as well. You broke the Glass Wall.”

  Rafael paused, his penetrating gaze raked Jareth. “And you made that happen. Why? To secure the Queens’ wrath and seal my doom?”

  With a bit of a sarcastic sneer, Jareth replied, “What a fantastic idea. I regret I never thought of it. Yet, I’ll cherish the hope it may still come to pass if you can’t answer the one question I can’t ignore.”

  Rafael sent Jareth a frosty look, folded his arms across his chest, and waited.

  “In spite of your inability to think clearly,” Jareth continued in a superior tone, “you were right about one thing. The Tulpa. That Tulpa was too strong. And we should never have seen it on Earth. How did it leave the second dimension?”

  A flicker of surprise rippled across Rafael’s face. “Then you agree we must find out what the Glass Wall was truly protecting! We must uncover the truth of it.”