by R. D. Brady
Max smiled. “He wants you to know he loves you. He said he should have taken the other road that night.”
Kati went still, but then she continued straightening his blankets. “What do you mean, honey?”
“Dad says he’s sorry. He should have listened to you and taken the other road.”
Kati just stared at Max, her eyes wide, her mouth open.
What’s going on? Laney thought.
Just then Max looked past Kati and caught sight of Laney. “Laney! Cleo!”
Laney tried to smooth her face as she stepped into the room. At least I got top billing. “Hey, little man.”
Kati let out a breath and smiled. “Hey, Laney.”
Laney went and sat on the other side of the bed. “Thought I’d come say goodnight to my favorite little guy.”
“Me?” Max asked. He drew out the word, his eyes big.
Laney laughed. “Yes, you.”
Cleo came over and put her head right next to Max’s. He leaned over and rubbed her ears. “Good night, Cleo.”
Cleo stayed still for a moment before stepping back and slinking out of the room. Laney shook her head. When she’d first met Cleo she’d been terrified, and now she trusted her implicitly. It was strange the turns her life had taken.
“Where’s Lamby?” Kati asked, drawing Laney’s attention back to the bed.
“I left him downstairs.” Max started to climb out of the bed.
Kati gently pushed him back down. “Oh, no you don’t. I’ll get it.” She looked over at Laney. “You want to tuck our little guy in?”
“Absolutely,” Laney said.
Laney pulled Max’s blankets up to just below his chin. “So what did you do today?”
“I went to the park and played with Sally. We played trucks.”
“Is Sally a new friend?”
Max nodded.
“That’s nice.” Laney tucked the blankets tight around him. “Snug as a bug in a rug.”
Max giggled. “I’m not a bug.”
“You’re my little love bug.”
Max giggled again, but then his face went serious. “Your friends play with me sometimes, too.”
“Oh? And who’s that?”
“Rocky and Drew.”
Laney went still. Rocky and Drew had been two of her best friends. Drew had died at the beginning of all of this craziness, and Rocky had died saving Laney’s life just a few months ago. Laney swallowed. “Um, what did they say?”
“That it wasn’t your fault. And that you need to keep fighting because something’s coming. Something bad.”
Laney couldn’t think of anything to say to that. Something bad?
Kati bustled back into the room, holding up the stuffed lamb that Laney had brought to Max in the hospital when he was only a day old. It had been well loved: once white, it was now a light grey, and both of its eyes were missing.
“Lamby!” Max yelled with a smile.
Kati handed him the lamb. “Now to sleep for you.”
“Okay.” Max leaned on his side, pulling Lamby to his chest. He closed his eyes and immediately started to snore.
Kati playfully whacked his blankets. “Real sleep.”
Max stopped snoring with a grin, but kept his eyes closed.
Kati kissed him on the forehead. “I love you forever and always.”
“No matter what,” Max replied.
Laney shook herself from her surprise and kissed him on the cheek. “Goodnight, buddy. I love you too.”
He snuggled deeper into the blankets. “I love you too, Laney.”
Laney followed Kati out of the room, pausing in the doorway to glance back at Max. He looked so tiny, swallowed up in the big bed.
She looked over to where Max had said his dad was sitting. A chill crept over her again. What had all that been about Drew and Rocky?
Shaking her head, she caught up with Kati at the top of the stairs. “Kati?”
Kati turned, and Laney could tell that the smile on her face was forced. “Hey. Wasn’t sure you’d make it.”
“Everything okay?”
Kati nodded. “Sure. Good.”
Laney glanced back over her shoulder at Max’s room before turning back to Kati. “Max just told me that he talks to Drew and Rocky.”
Kati’s mouth fell open. “Uh, well, he’s imagining things.”
“I heard what he said about David.”
Kati shook her head. “It’s nothing. Just his way of coping. I was about to make myself something to eat, would you like to join me?”
“Um, sure.”
Kati headed down the stairs.
Laney watched her friend go. What was going on? Kati was hiding something. Laney was sure of that.
She sank down onto the top step, her chin resting on her hands. Was it possible that Max really talked to Rocky and Drew? She ran her hands over her face. Okay. Now you’re looking for the supernatural in everything. He knew Drew and Rocky, and of course he heard about his dad. Kati was right. It’s just his way of coping.
Laney stood up. No point in looking for problems that didn’t exist when she had plenty of problems that did.
CHAPTER 4
Early the next morning, Henry Chandler drove the large van down the rough, potholed side road. Last winter had been murder on all the roads in the area, and apparently this particular one, rarely used, didn’t yet warrant attention by the state.
“How can they sleep through this?” Jen asked from the passenger seat.
Henry smiled over at her. Her Korean-American features were striking in the morning light, even with her dark hair pulled back and no makeup. “I believe that’s a special power attributed to only teenagers.”
He glanced in the back: three of the teens were sleeping, and the two right behind them were talking quietly. Jake was a few minutes behind them with Jen’s brother Jordan and another five kids.
Jen glanced out the rear window and then faced forward again, biting her lower lip.
“They’ll be okay, Jen.”
She nodded. “I know.”
Henry reached over and took her hand. “They will. You did good.”
Jen met his eyes and Henry once again was taken aback by her beauty. She had an almond shape to her pale brown eyes. At six feet, she was still fourteen inches shorter than him, but a lot closer than most females.
Jen had found one of the teens before the girl had even been recruited. But the girl had volunteered to allow herself to be recruited anyway, so that she could lead them to the camp and save the others. Jen hadn’t much liked the idea, but the girl convinced her, and in the end they did successfully liberate the camp.
Still, Jen’s feelings about the whole thing were mixed. On the one hand, the kids from the camp were safe, which was wonderful. But knowing that this camp existed at all… it meant that someone else besides Amar was still recruiting potentials. And they had no idea who it was.
Jen smiled sadly. “I just wish none of them had to go through that.”
“I know,” Henry said softly. “But we can’t control that. We can only help them from this point on.”
Jen dropped Henry’s hand, and he felt the loss. But they were taking baby steps with one another. And that was okay. He could wait.
As he drove, Henry became aware of the debate going on behind him between the two teenagers.
“Yeah, but he would totally be able to escape. I mean, why stay there?” Dark hair framed Lou Thomas’s serious face.
“Maybe he didn’t have enough strength to escape,” said Roland—a.k.a. “Rolly”—Escabi, the sixteen-year-old African-American boy.
“But then he wasn’t one of us,” Lou countered.
“What are you two talking about?” Jen interrupted.
Lou looked over at Rolly, one eyebrow arched. Rolly grinned before turning to face Jen and Henry. “I think Prometheus was a nephilim or a Fallen. One of the good ones like us.”
Henry glanced back in surprise. Prometheus was the Greek god who alleg
edly gave fire to humans against the wishes of Zeus. As punishment, Zeus condemned Prometheus to have his liver eaten by an eagle.
Each night, though, the liver regenerated, only to be eaten the next day by the same eagle. And the punishment was said to be eternal.
Lou shook her head. “But I say that if he was like us, there’s no way he would just stand still and let his liver be eaten every day. There would be nothing that could hold him.”
This was one of the problems with teenagers learning about their abilities. Non-super-powered teenagers tended to think they were invulnerable. Super-powered ones were a step above even that dangerously uninformed belief.
Jen looked over at Henry, and he knew she was thinking about his torture at the direction of Sebastian Flourent. He clenched his fists on the steering wheel as a vision of Hugo slashing his torso with a knife flashed through his mind.
“Henry,” Jen said softly, grabbing his attention. And although telepathy wasn’t part of their nephilim bag of tricks, he could hear the words in her mind clearly. It’s over—it’s in the past. It can’t hurt you any more.
“It’s okay.” He glanced back at the kids. “We’re not omnipotent. We can be restrained, held against our will—hurt. You guys need to remember that.”
The teenagers seemed to realize that Henry wasn’t speaking idly, and they both went quiet. Then Lou spoke. “Do you think the story’s true?”
“I don’t know,” Jen said. “Personally, I look at all of the myths a little differently now.”
“But does that mean—” Rolly looked over at Lou.
Lou looked back. “What?”
“It was an eternal punishment, right?” Rolly asked.
Lou nodded.
“Do you think there’s any chance Prometheus is still locked up somewhere? Being pecked away?” Rolly asked.
Henry jolted at the image. No. It wasn’t possible. Was it?
“I’m sure it’s…” Jen stopped speaking. “I don’t know what it is. But whoever he was, he must have died a long time ago. We’re not immortal, either.”
“Yeah, but that’s really not the way I want to go,” Rolly muttered.
Henry rounded a bend and all the trees disappeared. A field of grass stretched for a mile straight ahead and a massive three-story building sat at the end of it, nestled against a tall rock outcropping. A ten-foot-high wrought iron and stone fence surrounded the school. And today, the gates were open, waiting for the new arrivals.
“Wow.” Lou moved up so her head was in between Henry and Jen. “That’s the school? Fancy.”
Rolly poked his head up right next to Lou, then let out a low whistle. “Nice.”
Jen rolled her eyes. “All right, you two. Try to tamp down the excitement. You’re not lord and lady of the manor. You get a room. And you’ll probably have to share it.”
“No problem,” Lou said, her eyes wide. “I bet mine has some serious velvet drapes and a window seat. I’ve always wanted a window seat.”
Henry smiled over their heads at Jen, who smiled back. A fresh start: something they all could use.
“Hey, is that Laney?” Lou asked.
Laney stood by the front door, waving. Henry nodded.
“She looks kind of small for an all-powerful nephilim,” Rolly said.
Jen laughed. “Just don’t let her hear you say that.”
“Where’s her pet?” Lou asked, craning her neck.
“Probably in her cage,” Henry said. “Cleo is… well, she requires a special introduction.” A few seconds later, he pulled to a stop next to the main entrance. “All right. Everybody out.”
The kids scrambled out of the van, stretching and gawking as they huddled together.
Laney walked over to them. “Hi, everybody. Welcome to the Chandler House.”
Some of the kids smiled back at her. Most just looked around nervously.
Laney gestured behind her. “If you head inside, Yoni and Sasha will show you to your rooms. We’ll meet in the dining room in about forty minutes and tell you all about the place.”
The kids filed passed her, but Henry and Jen grabbed Lou and Rolly before they could go inside. They led them over to Laney.
“Laney, this is Lou and Rolly,” Jen said.
“The heroes,” Laney said.
Lou blushed and looked at her feet.
Rolly grinned broadly. “Yup. That’s us.”
Laney laughed. “We’re really glad you guys are here. You saved a lot of lives.”
“Does that mean we get better rooms?” Rolly asked.
Jen swatted him on the shoulder. “Get inside before your ego makes it impossible for your head to fit through the door.”
“Bye, guys,” Laney said as they disappeared through the entrance. Then she greeted Jen with a hug. “I’m glad you’re back.”
“Me too.” Jen pulled back and tilted her head toward the door. “I’ll go help Yoni and Sasha. See you in a few?”
Laney nodded.
Henry smiled down at Laney. “Hey there, sis.”
Laney hugged him. “I’m glad you’re safe.”
Henry returned the hug, amazed at how a little hug could make him feel like he was home. He looked around. “Where’s Danny?”
Laney looked around, her eyes ranging over the teenagers through the open doorway. “I don’t know. I thought he’d be here.”
Her phone beeped and she pulled it out. Her face went pale.
“What is it?”
She turned the phone around so Henry could read the text. “It’s from Danny.”
A pit formed at the base of Henry’s stomach as he read the text:
I’ve found more kids.
CHAPTER 5
Laney clasped Jake’s hand as they made their way down the hall. He had arrived a few minutes ago with another group of students. But even as Laney had greeted the new students, Danny’s text had stayed in the forefront of her mind. More kids in danger.
As they walked, Laney had to keep herself from sprinting down the hallways to Danny’s office. When they’d set up the school they’d all agreed that it was important to provide the kids here with a calm and soothing environment. Laney and Jake charging down the hall wouldn’t exactly inspire feelings of tranquility.
To distract herself, she told Jake about her last few days. “I swear, Jake, the paperwork is multiplying. Someone is sneaking into my office while I’m not looking and adding piles of the stuff.”
Jake was fighting a losing battle to keep a smile off his face. “I’m sure that’s exactly what’s happening.”
“You are not being sympathetic.”
He pulled her to a stop and kissed her. “Better?”
“Better.”
Whistles and claps from down the hall made her pull away. She could feel her cheeks flame. But Jake held her hand and performed a deep bow.
But despite her embarrassment, Laney knew the kids’ reaction was a good sign: it meant they were beginning to feel comfortable here.
Laney knew all twenty-eight kids at the school by name. And they all knew her. Somehow, though, the fact that she was the ring bearer had also become common knowledge among the kids. At first, it had resulted in the kids being a little frightened of her. She could understand that; after what she’d observed in Amar’s camp, she could see why they’d worry about someone with the ability to control them.
It didn’t take long, though, for Laney to show them that she wasn’t interested in controlling anyone. Besides, she very rarely wore the ring, at least on her finger, which she thought probably helped allay their concerns. And the fact that they thought they could whistle when Jake kissed her meant they were feeling at home. So she’d take the embarrassment.
She reached up and grabbed the ring on the chain around her neck as she and Jake continued down the hall. Making sure the kids felt safe was one of the reasons she kept the ring on a chain. But it wasn’t the only one.
The power of the ring was seductive. It gave her control over nephilim, Fal
len, weather, animals, and probably gave her a few other abilities she hadn’t figured out yet. That much power was not something anyone should wield on a daily basis. So she kept it close if she needed it, but tried to avoid using it.
On the way to Danny’s office, she reminded herself how important it was for these kids to feel at home here. So she forced herself to say hello to each one as they passed, even though all she really wanted was to sprint past them and hear what Danny had found out.
Three teenagers, two boys and a girl, headed down the hall toward her. “Hey, Laney. Hi, Jake,” they called as they approached.
“Hi, guys,” Jake called out.
The girl stopped and said something to the boys before jogging over to Laney. “Um, Laney?”
Laney smiled at the young girl. Theresa was tall for her age, making her appear older than her sixteen years, and had been with them since the school had opened. She hadn’t had any abilities prior to being in the camp, but they had been turned on by that brutal experience.
Laney was happy to see a little color in Theresa’s cheeks and to see her spending time with some of the other kids. Theresa was one of the few teenagers here who knew about the abilities of one of her parents. She and her sister had been separated and moved into foster care after her parents’ deaths.
Laney smiled. “Hi, Theresa. What’s going on?”
“Um, hi, um. Yoni… he said that they found my sister.”
“I know. I heard. That’s great.”
Theresa smiled. “Yeah. Yoni said she’ll be here tomorrow afternoon. I was wondering, though: is there anyway we could share rooms?”
Laney nodded. “I’ll take care of it.”
Theresa’s shoulders sagged with relief and she gave Laney a quick hug. “Thank you.”
Laney hugged her back. “You’re very welcome.”
Laney watched with a feeling of contentment as Theresa dashed back down the hall in the direction her friends had gone. They were really making a difference here.
Jake raised an eyebrow at her.