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

by Carmen Caine

  I didn’t move. I sat where I was, across from Jareth and Rafael, watching as the color slowly returned to their faces.

  “What do we do now?” I whispered, swallowing nervously.

  “We find that Tulpa!” Jareth slammed his palm onto the table. “Then they’ll have no choice but to undo this travesty of justice!”

  It was odd to see Jareth sticking up for Rafael. It only made me realize even more how grave his sentence had been.

  A quick peek at Ellison revealed him still wiping the same spot, but he was openly staring at us now, leaving me to speculate on just how much he’d witnessed.

  Catching my eyes on him, he jerked, and coughing behind his hand, grabbed a pen and began writing furiously on a piece of paper.

  Rafael stood, breathing heavily. For a moment, he looked as if he wanted to say something, but swiftly changing his mind, pivoted on his heel and headed for the door.

  I glanced at Samantha.

  She was watching me, absently chewing on the end of her pen, and reading my silent plea, answered with a distracted wave, giving me permission to go.

  “We’ll do the cappuccino butterflies tomorrow,” she called after me as I bolted out of the coffee shop after Rafael.

  I was worried about him.

  Bursting out onto the sidewalk, I saw him heading down the street.

  He knew I was following him, and at first, he seemed determined to shake me off, lengthening his stride and cutting around the corner of the coffee shop before I could catch up.

  By the time I made it to the corner, it was too dark to see where he’d gone.

  I scowled.

  But I couldn’t really be angry. I figured losing a sense like that wasn’t easy.

  Determined not to let him slip away, I decided to check the back parking lot.

  As I stepped into the alley, a blast of cold wind greeted me, its icy edge chilling me to the bone and making my teeth chatter.

  I hadn’t remembered to bring a coat. Hugging my arms close for warmth, I ran to the back, but the lot was virtually empty.

  Briskly rubbing my arms, I quickly scanned the area. Noticing the shadows, my thoughts turned to Mesmers. I glanced around, wondering if any Mesmers were lurking nearby when I spied Rafael’s Bentley parked under a tree.

  I didn’t know where he was now, but I knew where he was going to be. By banishing his sense of Light, the Queens had removed his ability to shift.

  He wasn’t going anywhere far without his car.

  I made a beeline straight for it and folding my arms tightly for warmth, leaned against the hood and settled down to wait, burying my nose inside my sweatshirt.

  It didn’t take him long to show up. He must have been watching me.

  He arrived, shrugging out of his jacket to gallantly place it around my shoulders, stilling my protests by placing a single finger on my lips.

  I held still.

  He did, too, standing close and studying me as if he were trying to solve a riddle. His finger dipped to trace my jawline before his hand dropped to his side.

  “You’re not really helping me much, Sydney,” he said with a forced smile. “It’s hard to be your friend.”

  My pulse leapt at that, but I didn’t let myself dwell on the implications of that statement. I couldn’t, because I didn’t want to make myself depressed. It was hard not to daydream about him when my heart wanted to.

  He heaved a sigh. A particularly icy gust of wind prompted us to take shelter in his car, and yanking the passenger door open, I slipped inside. He turned the engine on and adjusted the heater.

  We sat inside the idling Bentley for a time, sharing a companionable silence. He just stared straight ahead, gripping the steering wheel hard and with his mouth twisted to one side.

  It was strangely peaceful sitting there with him. I looked at my hand a couple of times, thinking a bit about the golden feather, but I didn’t see anything unusual. All I saw was a normal looking hand. Maybe it was some ceremonial, symbolic Fae gesture. When things settled down a bit, maybe I could ask Rafael or Jareth. But I kept thinking about it, mostly because I felt it was so familiar, as if I’d seen it somewhere before. I frowned, watching the soft, white snowflakes drift slowly down from the sky as I racked my brain, but I couldn’t dredge up the memory.

  Dimly, I heard Rafael’s soft voice.

  Shaking my head a little as if to wake up, I turned and asked, “What was that?”

  His smile made my pulse leap all at once.

  “I can be quiet with you,” he said but then frowned and looked away. “But I can’t protect you anymore.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked, not quite following him.

  Holding up his bracelet, he tapped it and replied, “I’m powerless. My runes are useless now.”

  I hadn’t looked at his protection rune since they’d stripped his power of Light away. Jamming my hand into my pocket, my fingers encountered the hard, cracked edge of his protection rune.

  It was broken.

  For some reason, I couldn’t bear to actually see it shattered, so I just nodded instead, clutching it tightly in my fingers.

  “You’ll have to trust Jareth now,” he continued with a bitter edge to his tone. “You’ll need his protection.”

  Though not as strongly opposed to the idea as before, I wasn’t sure I trusted him enough for the protection runes to work.

  Rafael easily followed my thoughts because he said, “Then I’ll give you bodyguards. I’m still a prince, after all. Maybe now I’ll finally find that useful.”

  “Bodyguards?” I repeated. Were they effective against Mesmers?

  “I’ve already assigned Brock as your protector,” he began, “And I’ll—”

  “Brock the Troll?” I interrupted in surprise.

  He frowned at me, appearing faintly insulted. “I beg your pardon?”

  I didn’t feel like repeating the Troll conversation again, so I just shrugged and accepted my fate. “He’ll do fine,” I said.

  Rafael hung both of his arms over the steering wheel. He just looked at me a little sadly.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “It must be terrible to lose one of your senses.” I imagined it was like suddenly going blind or deaf.

  His lips quirked briefly, but he didn’t say anything.

  “But you … can get it back,” I said, trying to sound encouraging. “Once we’ve cleared all this up, they can give it back to you, right?”

  His face darkened with anger then, and he replied through clenched teeth, “If the Queens so choose.” Abruptly, he switched subjects. “Go get your things. I’ll give you a ride home.”

  I didn’t really want to leave him, but I knew it had to be close to when I’d promised Al I’d be home for the Neighborhood Crime Watch round. So I just nodded and slipping out of the car, ran into the back of the coffee shop and nearly collided with Ellison tossing out a bag of trash.

  “What’s up?” he asked, skidding to a stop next to me.

  I didn’t know how to answer.

  “I get it,” he said suddenly and mimed zipping his lips shut. “What’re friends for, huh?”

  I didn’t know exactly what he’d thought that he ‘got’, but I felt a warm and fuzzy wave wash over me again.

  Grinning at me, he waved and grabbing an empty trash bag, he disappeared through the door to the front of the shop. As it swung shut, I could see him begin moving about, bag in hand, scooping up the trash littering the tables.

  He really was a good friend.

  And I really hoped he hadn’t overheard much.

  I wanted him to be safe.

  Grabbing my backpack out of my locker, I returned to Rafael’s Bentley.

  We drove home in silence.

  The snowfall had intensified. Looking out through the Bentley’s tinted windows, I watched big, sticky flakes attack the windshield. It looked like Grace was going to get her wish. I couldn’t see how we’d have school tomorrow.

  As we pulled up in front of Al and Bett
y’s blue house, I felt all warm and fuzzy again, like I’d stepped into one of those classic winter scenes where the long lost child returns home to find a welcoming warm light shining in the kitchen window.

  “You have a beautiful smile,” I heard Rafael say.

  Startled, I looked up to see him watching me with his magnetic gray eyes, and I felt myself blushing.

  He opened my door and escorted me to the porch. And when we’d reached the door, he suddenly pulled me close, holding me a moment as if I were something precious before fiercely crushing me to his chest. He whispered, “I’ll see you safe, little pixie. I promise. I’ll always be here to protect you.”

  I caught my breath, suddenly wanting to cry.

  He strode away, and I watched him go, backing his Bentley straight into his own driveway before I mechanically opened the front door and slammed it shut behind me.

  But my sadness didn’t last long.

  It morphed almost immediately into anger, and I found myself once again mad at fate. Why had destiny opened my eyes to the promise of love, only to snatch it away before I’d even experienced what it could be?

  And how was I going to be true to my heart like the Light Queen had advised me? My heart sure didn’t just want to be friends with this guy. It wanted something more. Or it at least wanted to explore the possibility.

  But I couldn’t even do that. I couldn’t explore anything or make a mistake.

  If I made a mistake, I was going to blow up the universe.

  Chapter Fifteen – The Figure in White

  Al was in the kitchen lacing up his boots. His camouflage jacket was carefully folded over the chair with his Neighborhood Watch crime notebook and a black Sharpie tucked in the pocket.

  “Good timing, Sydney!” He wagged his finger at me.

  I nodded, actually glad to go tromping out in the snow.

  I was too angry for anything else.

  “Betty thought this one would fit you,” he said, reaching for a paper sack next to his chair and handing it to me.

  It was a smaller version of his camouflage jacket.

  I put it on and smiled.

  It strangely made me feel powerful.

  “And this one’s yours,” he continued, handing me a flashlight. “We’ll practice proper flashlight usage techniques. There’s one for patrol and one for criminals, but we’ll have to do it outside. Betty’s not too keen about having a flashlight in her eyes.”

  I smiled, empathizing with Betty.

  “Go get your notebook, whistle, and Ajax, and we’ll be ready,” Al said, standing up and rubbing his palms together in anticipation.

  I ran to my room, finding the notebook and whistle easily enough, but no Doberman.

  A quick search found him sprawled comfortably at Betty’s feet in the family room as she sat somberly viewing the contents of a large cardboard box.

  “What’s wrong,” I asked her curiously.

  She sent me a rueful smile. “Oh, I got my bargain mystery box today. I usually have such luck with these, but it looks like I goofed up this time, honey.”

  I peered into the box to see twelve gallons of neon purple nail polish.

  “You could always donate it to the zoo so they could paint their elephants’ toenails,” Grace chortled.

  Even Betty laughed at that.

  “Up, Ajax,” I said, prodding him with my toe. “It’s time to go catch criminals.”

  His ears perked up at that, and he jumped eagerly to his feet.

  “Bloodthirsty little beastie,” I muttered under my breath, but I didn’t really mean it. I felt safer hearing his toenails clicking behind me.

  As Betty and Grace called after us to have fun, Al and I burrowed into our camouflage jackets, grabbed our flashlights, and stepped out into the snow.

  It was falling incredibly fast now, turning our neighborhood into a kind of magical wonderland but a mysteriously dark one. The weak glow of the streetlights barely penetrated the flurry of white snowflakes floating down from the sky.

  As I stepped off the porch, I noticed Ajax balk from the corner of my eye. Astounded, I teased him, “You’re not afraid of getting a little cold or wet are you, Ajax?”

  Al glanced over his shoulder.

  “A Doberman?” he asked incredulously. “They’re police dogs, the fiercest of the lot! A little water means nothing to them!”

  Without a backwards glance, he continued down the driveway.

  Ajax flattened his ears at me, and then stretched out a finicky paw as if to test the coldness of the snow.

  I began to snicker.

  He clearly didn’t like getting wet.

  “You’re such a little weenie!” I laughed, rubbing it in unmercifully. After all, he deserved it. “Who’d have thought such a big, bad Doberman could be such a baby—”

  Lifting his lip, he growled at me and then launching off the porch, plowed through the snow after Al.

  “Such a short temper,” I muttered, a little subdued. Apparently, you couldn’t tease that dog too much.

  I caught up to Al, and we walked down the street, Ajax stamping peevishly behind us as Al swept his huge flashlight from side to side.

  “You should use the wide beam technique while looking for anything that appears out of the ordinary," Al advised. "Really get your wrist into it, kiddo.”

  I switched my flashlight on and followed his example.

  “Well done!” He smiled proudly at me. “There’s one more technique to learn and that’s the criminal procedure. When you see a suspect, shine the beam directly into their eyes. Not at their forehead or neck. In the eyes, Sydney, in the eyes!”

  I smiled and nodded. No wonder Betty hated that maneuver. “Maybe I can practice that one on Ajax,” I suggested sweetly.

  Ajax shot me a disdainful look, knowing that I’d never dare do such a thing.

  “You’ll do fine, kiddo!” Al chuckled. Patting the shirt pocket containing his notebook, he continued his speech, “As captain of this neighborhood crime block, it’s my duty to track all changes in the neighborhood. And that means that everything is documented!”

  “Check!” I said, getting into the swing of things.

  “Remember, we’re part of a network,” he said, shining his beam up and down. “It’s a two-way street. We inform other crime watch blocks of changes, and in return they keep us informed of things going on in their domains. Remember, it’s up to us. There are more citizens than cops, kiddo. It’s our duty to keep our country safe!”

  “Check!” I said. Thinking of the chupacabras, I asked, “Any strange doings lately on the other blocks?”

  “I didn’t want to stress out the girls, but there’s talk,” he said.

  I waited in suspense.

  “We’ve lost another captain.” Al shook his head, clearly affected. “He was a great man. We’re going to miss him.”

  I gasped.

  “How did he die?” I asked, but wondered to myself had the chupacabras killed him?

  “Die?” Al blinked in surprise. “He got promoted, kiddo. He’s moving to the Eastside to manage a new grocery store.”

  At my side, I could see Ajax grinning at me, amused by my mistake.

  I frowned at him.

  “We’ll have to change our phone-tree now and elect a new captain, but they’re all green on that block.” Al clucked. “It’s going to be quite the challenge, Sydney, quite the challenge!”

  “Yeah,” I mumbled.

  “Now, one of our jobs is to look for suspicious vehicles,” Al said, resuming my training. “And remember, we gather as much intel as possible for the police. Note the appearance of suspicious cars, their color, make and model, and even get a partial license plate number, if you can!”

  He’d clearly been watching too many crime shows. But thinking of what he’d said, I asked curiously, “How do you tell if a car’s suspicious or not?” I thought any unfamiliar vehicle could look suspicious.

  “That’s easy!” He brightened.

  Appar
ently, we’d reached the end of his domain, because he began circling back and heading in the direction of Mrs. Patton’s yard.

  “Look for people parked in unusual places, cars driving by too slowly, or strange comings and goings.” He began running down a list he’d clearly memorized. “And the most important thing on this block is to watch out for anyone moving things around under cover of dark.”

  “Most important?” I asked curiously.

  “Because of Mrs. Patton,” he answered, swinging his beam straight ahead to illuminate her lawn menagerie. “Mrs. Patton’s yard is the biggest challenge we’ve got.”

  “Yeah, there’s so much in it,” I agreed, training my flashlight on her garden gnomes. I didn’t like her yard. I thought of it as a Mesmer playground.

  “Not because of the quantity of targets!” Al explained with an earnest chuckle. “It’s because she doesn’t properly maintain her items for Operation ID!”

  “Operation ID?” I repeated. How did he remember so many code names in life?

  “All diligent homeowners here mark their outdoor valuables with an ID to permit proper tracking if an item is stolen,” he informed me in a serious tone. “As captain, I keep a spreadsheet for our block.”

  I looked at Mrs. Patton’s yard all covered in snow, wondering who would really want to steal used garden gnomes.

  “Look, she’s got a new one over there.” He flicked his beam at a weird looking gnome huddled under a tree and handed me his black Sharpie. “Just go mark that one with the number ‘884’, and I’ll scratch it in for her later, kiddo.”

  I hesitated.

  Mrs. Patton’s yard was the last place I wanted to venture into, especially at night.

  I glanced at Ajax to see if he was sensing any Mesmer activity, but he was only looking highly annoyed that his paws were wet.

  Al wiggled the Sharpie, trying to get my attention, and I took it with great reluctance.

  “Shouldn’t we do it in the morning?” I couldn’t resist suggesting. “I mean, surely she doesn’t want us tromping around her yard at night! We might scare her.”

  “Oh, she knows the drill!” Al smiled, giving me a nod of encouragement.

  Gritting my teeth, I nudged Ajax. “Come on, let’s go.”