by Brenda Drake
Without thinking, I started for the exit, but Demos grabbed my arm. “Let’s go,” I said. “We can help—”
Kale frowned at me then said, “Do you need us to assist you?”
“No.” Crash! “We have it under control. Keep the others safe. That’s an order.” An end of call chime sounded.
“Now that’s talent,” said Deidre. “Talking on a mobile while sword fighting.”
I gaped at her. Arik was in danger and she admired his multitasking skill?
Kale pushed the off button on the screen. He grinned at Pop uncertainly. “Don’t worry about the mess. We have Cleaners who will fix everything.”
“I don’t care about the stuff,” Pop said. “I’m worried about that boy. Aren’t you?”
I turned to Kale, desperation lacing my words. “We have to help. He only has Sinead and Lei.”
Something flashed in Kale’s eyes when I mentioned Lei’s name. “Yeah, all right. We better check it out. Demos, you’ll come with me,” he said. “Where are Jaran and Nick? He can keep watch on the others.”
“We had a run in with a hunter,” Demos said. “We got separated. They should be here in a bit.”
“Shite.” Kale glanced down the street. “I can’t leave Gia alone with them. You’ll have to stay behind. I’ll go on my own.”
Like hell I’m staying. “You don’t know your way around Boston,” I said. “I’m going with you.”
“I’ve been here—” Kale hesitated when I gave a pleading look behind Pop’s back. “All right. I could use a guide.”
After some arguing, Pop agreed to let me go. Kale and I grabbed a taxi and had the man drop us off down the street from my apartment.
I adjusted the shield on my back and tied the trench’s belt tighter around my waist. Kale stopped under the apartment complex’s canopy. The place was quiet.
“How’d you know which building was mine?” I asked.
“I shadowed you the two days before you came to Asile. I was your guardian, so to speak.”
I swung a sidelong look at him. “You had to be bored. Watching me.”
“On the contrary, you have interesting habits.”
I opened my mouth to ask what habits, but the door swung open and a man in his seventies stepped out. Good thing, since I didn’t have my key.
“Oh, hello, Mr. Navarro,” I said as I dashed up the steps. He wore a dark suit with a white gardenia stuffed in the lapel.
“Gia.” He nodded, hobbling down the steps. “I have a date. I can’t talk. I’m late,” he answered my puzzled look as we passed each other.
“Have a good time,” I called after him and darted through the door Kale held open for me.
Kale strapped on his hidden blades as we ghosted up the long interior stairwell leading to the apartment. We reached the front door in a matter of seconds. A loud crash sounded upstairs. Kale and I grabbed for the doorknob at the same time. He let me open it as he readied for an attack.
It was as if something had blown up inside the apartment. Papers and couch stuffing, mingling with smoke, floated in the air. Several charred books lay beneath the cooked bookcase, and the overhead lamp hung from the ceiling by a single cord. The ornamental mirror in the entryway was in shattered pieces on the floor.
“Good thing Mr. Navarro’s hard of hearing,” I said.
When we reached the top of the stairs, it was eerily quiet.
Broken glass crunched underfoot as I eased into the apartment. “What happened here? This is horrible.” Oh please, let them be okay.
“This is dire,” said Kale, his face etched with concern.
“Where are they?” I took another step.
Kale moved in front of me. “Careful. We have to assess the situation.”
A loud crack reverberated throughout the apartment. Both Kale and I spun around looking for its origin. It sounded again above our heads, and I glanced up, plaster showering my face. With a final groan, the ceiling crashed down on us.
I lay on top of the shield strapped to my back, clawing frantically at the ceiling debris burying me. Powder choked my throat and suffocated my nose. Panic seared my mind and I willed myself to stay calm. I reached out, trying to grab onto something.
Two hands clamped onto my wrists and dragged me out of the rubble grave. I coughed, spitting plaster chunks and blowing powder out of my nose.
Kale dusted me off. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” I managed to say, shaking debris from my hair. I winced as I pulled a tiny shard of glass out of my cheek. Blood trickled from the cut, and I smeared it away with my fingertips. My head throbbed.
“Arik—Lei—Sinead!” Kale yelled.
“We’re in here!” Lei shouted from the kitchen. “Arik’s been stunned!”
Kale and I hurried through the narrow kitchen entry. Arik’s head lay on Sinead’s lap.
I sucked in a scared breath. His face was pale; his chest rose and fell, laboring for air. My hand flew to my mouth. Oh no!
Kale kneeled across from Sinead. “Did you see the bleeder who stunned him?”
Lei shook her head. “I only saw the globe whiz by. I didn’t see who sent it.”
“If you saw a globe, it had to be a Sentinel, and mine should counter the stun.” Kale raised his hand, forming a purple sphere. With a turn of his wrist, the globe dropped onto Arik’s chest, and his body glowed violet.
Arik blinked. His hand twitched. He gasped and coughed, gulping at the air. Kale guided him into a sitting position.
He’s okay! I expelled a relieved breath.
“Don’t try to fill your lungs all at once,” instructed Kale. “Do you remember where you are?”
“Of course I remember where I am. What happened?”
“I released my globe,” Lei said nervously.
“What were you thinking? The ceiling fell down on us.” Kale aided Arik to his feet. “You can’t set off lightning in this small a space.”
“I panicked. And so what? I stopped those Writhes.” Lei walked over to the kitchen window that overlooked the fire escape. She pushed the curtain aside and peered outside. “The street is quiet. We should go.”
“Wait a minute,” Kale said. “What are Sentinels doing with Writhes?”
“Before one of the fried Writhes died, I got him to talk.” Lei kept her gaze on the window. “The Writhes have joined Conemar in Esteril.”
Conemar? I gasped. “Oh, no. Merl said he was sending help to the Writhes.”
Arik stared at me until he realized what I was getting at. “It’s an ambush. We must contact Merl.” He reached into his breast pocket, dragged out the window rod, and pulled the rods apart. Static ran across the blue glow, and it suddenly went black. “Bloody hell. It’s damaged.”
Lei turned from her patrol at the window. “I’ll try mine.” She retrieved hers from her pocket and opened it. The space between the rods kindled. She put her mouth close to the screen and spoke Merl’s name. Her screen blinked out. “No blooming connection.”
“All right, then,” Arik said with resignation. “We have to get to the others. We’ll come up with a plan once we’re in the library.” He thumped out of the kitchen. Gone was his smooth stride. He was obviously struggling to rebound from the attack.
Lei hurried past Kale, her small hand brushing his arm. When Kale glanced around to see if anyone noticed the exchange, I looked away in Sinead’s direction.
“Deidre is fine,” I told her.
Sinead smiled. “Thank you.”
“Did any of you see my cat?” I gasped and glanced around. “Cleo!” I called.
“When the fight broke out, she darted out the window,” Sinead said. “I’m sorry. You’ll have to leave her.”
“As long as she didn’t get fried, she’ll be fine.” I sighed. “She’ll stay with Mr. Navarro. He likes to feed her tuna.” I crossed the kitchen, stopping to lift a chair and push it up against the table. It was silly, I knew. Everything was destroyed so why do that? I was doubtful the apart
ment could be returned to normal even with the Cleaners. I wasn’t sure anything would feel normal to me again. After giving the destruction one last look, I huffed out a breath and trailed Arik down the stairwell and out the front door.
A bright light flashed across the gray sky, and thunder cracked a moment later. Rain plastered my ponytail to the back of my neck. I ducked under a canopy.
“I’m sorry about your flat.”
“Thanks.” Hopefully, our insurance had battle coverage.
Arik pressed up to my side to avoid the torrent as we waited for everyone else. The scent of smoke clung to his clothes. With him that close, my blood rushed so fast through my body blood swished in my ears. “I can hardly stand you being mixed up in all this,” he whispered while tucking a stray ribbon of my hair behind my ear. He suddenly backed away from me. It was as if he was warring with himself. “If you were to get hurt because of me—”
“None of this is your fault.”
“It is. Veronique came to Asile to make amends. To be friends—” A sarcastic laugh cut off his words. “I guess I wanted to believe she’d changed. I trusted her. She gathered yours and the others’ information from my mission recorder. I left it unattended. Because of me, Asile is in danger.”
Trust no one, Gia, he’d said. He was so right. I placed a shaky hand on his arm. “Oh, Arik, I’m sorry.”
“No. It’s I who should be sorry, not you. I’m lead Sentinel for our group. I shouldn’t have taken such liberties and should have worked harder to keep your secrets.” He swiped his fingers through his wet hair. “With the recent goings-on, it’s best we keep our wits about us.”
“Friends, right?” The words tasted like metal and regret in my mouth. I wanted to be his everything. But what I wanted more was to make things easier for him.
His sad eyes locked with mine. “Right, then.”
The longing for him to hold me sliced my heart into pieces. The door to my apartment complex opened and Kale stumbled out with Lei and Sinead following. I turned to face the street, the pieces of my torn heart jumbled in my chest. For Arik’s sake, I had to let go of the hope of us ever being anything other than friends.
Arik stepped away from me, dragging my mess of a heart with him. “What took you so long?”
“I had to bandage Lei’s arm,” Kale said. “She has a nasty cut.”
“We’d best be on our way,” Arik said and headed up the street.
I lagged behind the rest as we rushed to the Athenæum. Every few minutes Arik ran his fingers through his wet hair to get it out of his face. Sinead kept looking back at me, giving me a reassuring smile from under the bucket hat that covered her pointed ears, which I returned with a forced one.
The nearer we got to the library, the sadder I grew about Arik saying he was sorry for taking liberties with me—for getting closer. With his sexy Irish accent, he called out instructions to the other Sentinels, leading the way along Boston’s busy streets with his swagger and panther prowess. My heart squeezed at the sight of him.
Am I falling for him? We turned on to Park Street. If I were, I’d know it, right? I was so confused. By the time we darted up the steps of the Athenæum, I decided to stay as far away from Arik as possible. It was the only way to protect my heart.
Chapter Twenty
Arik and Sinead sprang up the steps to the Athenæum’s door. The rest of us loitered on the sidewalk below. Sinead turned toward the street, fanning the air with her hand, as if she was waving to someone across the way.
Kale came to my side. “It’s glamour.”
“What?”
“Sinead is cloaking our illegal entry into the library,” he clarified.
“Oh,” I muttered.
The clouds parted over the State House and glinted over the building’s golden dome. The Boston Common was just beyond the State House. Pop and I used to picnic there, watching the blue tower light on the old Hancock building. Steady blue, clear view. Flashing blue, clouds due. Pop would recite the rhyme that helped everyone remember what the lights stood for. If the light was red, we stayed home. On the Saturdays it was blue, we’d sit on the grass, filling each other in on how our week had gone, before life got too busy. He’d hid his disappointment well when each time he’d invite me, I’d make an excuse. I never realized I missed those lazy Saturdays until now. I guess pending doom pulls on a person’s heartstrings.
Arik slid a gold rod between the cracks of the heavy, ornate doors that were only closed and locked after library hours. When he was done, he pulled them apart, revealing the red leather doors hidden behind them. He held one open as the others passed through. When I went by, he gave me his usual crooked grin. My stomach twisted.
Sinead raised her arms and twisted her hands. The lights flicked on across the room.
My heart sailed when I spotted Pop in the lobby. I ran over and flung my arms around him. He held me tight as we rocked in our silent embrace. An embrace that said what words couldn’t, that though he wasn’t my birth father, he was my pop, the one who mattered most.
“Did you have any problems getting here?” Arik asked Jaran.
“We ditched a hunter and then had to wait awhile for the street to clear, but other than that, no problems,” Jaran answered. “The library is as quiet as a tomb.”
Pop and I let go of each other. I noticed Nick stood off to the side by himself, and I sprung for him next. He wrapped his arms around me.
“Man, am I glad to see you,” he said. “The other Gia is driving me crazy.”
I giggled and released him. “Glad to see you, too. How are things going with Afton?”
“I’m over her.”
“What do you mean, you’re over her?”
Nick shrugged. “I like someone else–-you know.”
“No. I don’t know. I’ve been gone. Who exactly do you like?”
“Deidre.”
“But you just said she drives you crazy?”
His lips pulled into a mischievous grin. “Yeah, I guess it’s a good kind of insanity. It was weird at first, since she’s identical to you, but your personalities are way different.”
Really weird. “Wow. Thanks, I guess.”
“Excuse me, I have boyfriend duties.” He moseyed over to Deidre and Sinead, who were still holding each other. Deidre released Sinead and introduced Nick when he reached them. Sinead smiled as Nick slid his arm over Deidre’s shoulders. Pop shuffled over and introduced himself to Sinead.
Arik, grouped with Kale and Lei, tried to get a connection on a window rod.
Jaran came to my side. “It was quite brave of you to go with Kale to help Arik and the others.”
“Thanks for taking care of my friend.”
“It’s my duty.” Jaran’s eyes found Nick. “You know the way he dresses—I mean—well, I thought he preferred boys.”
I chuckled. “Most people think that about Nick at first because he’s into fashion, but he’s totally into the ladies.”
A flash of disappointment crossed Jaran’s face. “Well, should you need of anything, please feel free to ask,” he said.
Interesting. Is he attracted to Nick?
“Thanks, I will,” I said.
“Splendid. Excuse me,” he said and headed over to Arik’s huddle.
Afton cut across the room and gave me a tight hug. “Were you in a cat fight or what?” She snorted, pulling a piece of plaster from my hair. “You look like hell.”
“Thanks, just give it to me as it is. I hate when people sugarcoat things.”
Arik stood in the middle of the lobby. “All right, everyone. We’ll be leaving shortly. I haven’t been able to reach Asile. Sentinels, you know what that means.”
“Yep.” Demos carried in a large duffel bag and started handing out our helmets.
I stepped forward. “I’m a Sentinel, and I haven’t any idea what not hearing from Asile means.”
“You aren’t part of this, Gia,” Arik said. “You haven’t finished your training.”
I mo
ved closer to him and frowned. “I’ve had enough training.”
“I’m in command,” Arik said, “and I say you stay behind.”
“My globe can help. It shields,” I argued.
“May we speak alone?” he asked.
“Sure. Whatever.” I stomped after him to the nearest room.
Pop barged into the room after us.
“I must talk to Gia alone,” Arik said to him.
Pop folded his arms across his chest. “She’s my daughter. Her welfare’s my concern.”
Arik yielded. “If you stay, I must ask you to keep this between us. I don’t want to scare the others.”
Pop came over to me and held my hand. “I won’t say a word.”
Arik studied our linked hands for a moment then he looked up at us. “I’m afraid Asile is lost. We can only pray for survivors.”
I gasped, dropping my helmet. “Nana?”
Pop’s face twisted with concern. “She’s there?”
“I’m afraid so,” Arik answered for me. “If Merl was able to get her out–-if anyone escaped, they’ll be at the shelter.”
“Where’s the shelter?” Pop moved into his hospital emergency mode, unwavering under pressure.
“It’s a charmed chateau hidden in the countryside somewhere in France,” Arik said. “We have to summon escorts from the French Haven to take us there.”
I snatched my helmet from the floor. “We should just go and not risk alerting anyone.”
“Only Couve’s High Wizard and his Sentinels know the whereabouts of the shelter.”
“How do we know they’re on our side?” I said. “Veronique’s from there.”
“Her actions do not make them all guilty.” Arik’s face held both concern and strength at the same time.
“He’s right,” Pop said.
“The French Haven is in as much danger as us. Their council exiled Conemar to Esteril.” Arik paced around a small reading table. “Conemar must have something big planned to feel confident enough to start a war. It would end badly if he acquired all the Chiavi and gained control of the Tetrad. It’s going to get hot and too dangerous for you to be in the heat of it.”
“Why didn’t you guys put him in prison when you had him?”