Sheltered Roots

by Jeanne Allen

  His words hurt, and the truth behind them stings even more. But what deflates my anger like a pin to a balloon is his use of my name. Not Sweet Pea or Princess, but Rose. He never calls me Rose. I look over at Forrest, who, true to Lucas’s words, stands still in the shadow of a giant oak tree.

  As I stare at him, squirrels, birds, and even a few larger animals like a fox, come and go in a constant line of communication. Turning to Jin, I see him concentrating just as hard, scanning the area. Jackson walks in a defined pattern around the six of us. Sebastian stands near the entrance, watching the street, and even Lyle trails behind Lucas and me, his eyes watching my form like he expects me to be injured by the air.

  I realize I was the only one taking it easy and having fun this last week.

  “I’m a terrible Agora,” I mutter, and wonder, not for the first time, why Kin chose me to carry such a destiny, to deserve these amazing men. I didn’t even notice their hard work when it was right in front of me.

  “No, you’re not. A little dense sometimes? Yes.” Lucas nudges me. “Especially in new places when your little scholar side makes its appearance.”

  I can’t help the small tug on my lips at his assessment. I had been going a little crazy, trying to see as much of the historical city as I could while we’re here. The anthropologist in me wants to catalog and observe as much of the new place as possible.

  “But you’re not a bad Agora. We’ve all been to London before; some of us many times, and some of us have gotten to call this place home.” He winks at me; the twinkle is back and so is my Goblin. “We wanted to let you enjoy yourself. This last year has been hard on you, so don’t tell the guys I pointed out their assignments, okay?”

  I nod, smiling at last.

  Lucas affects a very proper English bow, holding out his arm. “Princess-Agora Rose, do you fancy a brief tour of the human palace?”

  Grinning, I tuck my arm through his and attempt to match his accent. “Why yes, Lord Wellington, I do believe that would be a splendid use of our afternoon.”

  Behind us, Lyle chuckles, while across the garden, Jackson smiles. Super speed and super strength and super hearing.

  I have a feeling Jackson isn’t the only one hiding new Gifts.

  Chapter 20

  “It’s the only food we’re proud of, I’m afraid,” Lyle laments, eyeing my half-eaten plate of fish and chips.

  I tried to hide how much I hated the dish, seeing as two of my Kladí are British, but unfortunately, one of those British Kladí happens to read emotions. Lucas still hasn’t stopped laughing for the last five minutes since he picked up on my distaste.

  “Sorry,” I mutter.

  Lyle’s rumbly laugh causes me to cross my legs under the table. “No, no, don’t apologize. I would have suggested something else, but I thought you should try it at least once, for science.”

  “For science,” I agree, scowling at the plate of fried fish and limp fries.

  The food the guys ordered looks much better. Indian curry and hamburgers seem to be the popular items at this restaurant. It’s one of the twins’ favorite places in their birth-Region. A restaurant run by Phósopoi, with wards around it so humans who walk past don’t even notice the building. The wards allow for the Kladí to use their Gifts without worry of discovery.

  To our right, a Kladí father uses his Ice Gift to cool down a steaming bowl of soup for his daughter. Next to him, his wife looks on and smiles. By the presence of two other smiling gentlemen at their table, I can guess that she’s his Agora.

  She catches me staring and shares a look with me, raising her brow at my own table of handsome men.

  Not knowing how to respond, I raise my shoulders and give her an awkward nod. It seems enough, because her attention returns to her own family.

  “What was that?” Lucas whispers.

  I shrug. “I don’t know.”

  I’m just about to ask Jackson for a bite of his Naan when a loud explosion comes from the front of the restaurant.

  Looking up, I see that the entrance was completely blown away; a large hole sits in its place, and the blueish-green of the wards waver but hold strong. In the hole they created stand five of the bulbous, no-face creatures that attacked us near Atlanta and again in Region Twelve. With them, three of the spindly, animal-like leaders push through the rubble to stand in front, hands out to face the crowd.

  “We mean you no harm, Phósopoi. Father Zeus, your creator, has come to Earth, at last, to call you home. Join in his family, realize your full potential.” The booming voice of the creature does not match its stick-like limbs or hawkish feature. The mouth on its face is pushed out and curved, almost like a beak.

  Beside him, his companions clap their hands together then open them slowly, the dark matter between their hands stretching out into large portals like the one we traveled through to get from the airport. Except, instead of the bright Gift colors, these portals are pure black, so dark they look more like solid pieces of shadow.

  Nobody moves. Nobody says a word.

  Lyle subtly moves to block my view, and out of the corner of my eye, I see Jackson’s sword glinting in his hand. Though I no longer see what’s happening, I can still hear the booming voice of what is surely another one of Velus’s henchmen.

  Who goes by Zeus, now? the back-of-my-mind voice comments.

  It’s becoming more apparent that Velus is the leader of the Sons of Zeus. He must have convinced them that he created the Phósopoi, not Kin.

  “Father Zeus requires a sacrifice to continue his great plan for us all. We must part with the young in order to secure our future,” screams an echo through the restaurant.

  From my vantage point, I see the family next to us move to circle their daughter as my Kladí circle me. Lyle moves a bit to the left, and I see Velus’s minion through the holes of his arm.

  The minion sighs, shaking his head like the Phósopoi in the room are nothing more than naughty children. “Seems like we will have to do this the hard way. Ah, well. Children?” He gestures to the no-face monsters, who head in the direction of the few visible children.

  More screams follow, and a ball of ice flies toward one of the monsters, but he brushes it off like it’s nothing. The others do the same with the various Gifts thrown their way. Ice first, then water and other various ways the Kladí try to defend their young.

  Nothing works. The Kladí are put down with an ease that makes me wonder how we ever survived that first battle.

  Almost as soon as the thought appears, the answer comes from the hawk man. “Do not try to use the Gifts He has given you! We have made some changes to our brethren, and they cannot be harmed by that which has made them.”

  I don’t have any time to ponder the implications of his speech because Jackson leans toward me. “Let’s go.”

  “We can’t,” I whisper back, panicked.

  “Rose—” Jin begins.

  “We have to help,” I whisper-yell.

  The blue color of my Will Power responds to my distress. It curls around my wrists and glows against the skin of my Kladí, who push me toward the back, where there’s an exit.

  Other Phósopoi move to the exit, most of them backing toward it like we are. The family to our right does the same, never separating enough to show the young girl in the middle of their little clump of Phósopoi what’s happening.

  Suddenly, the minion with the booming voice looks up. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

  At his words, one the Kladí opens up the door and moves to run outside. As soon as the door opens, his body is cut in two. Blood sprays over the rest of his Omás, who watch in horror as a stream of the no-face monsters rush in from the back.

  The monsters rip Phósopoi from each other, searching in the middle of protective clumps for children and brushing off the parents like flies.

  The children are carried to the front and thrown into the black portal, their cries cut off immediately as they enter into who knows what hell. I can’t handle the ina
ctivity. I move to push past my Kladí. I might be the only Phósopoi capable of defeating these monsters, and I cannot abide doing nothing while others suffer.

  “Rose, no.” Jin picks me up and hands me to Forrest, who runs with me to the other side of the room, away from the destructive path of Velus’s monsters. The family from the table next to us seems to have the same idea. They run alongside our small group. Once on the other side, we’re met by huddling Phósopoi, some with partners and others alone and crouched, staring at the massacre happening in the spacious restaurant. Almost as soon as we settle in, the monsters notice where we’ve escaped to.

  They head in our direction as the booming-voiced minion laughs. “You cannot escape, foolish children.”

  He looks Jin directly in the eyes as the Assassin turns from his position while trying to break through the Gift-made glass on the window.

  “There are many more of my brothers and my children outside. That way leads to sure death, so why not surrender now while you can?” he asks, smiling at Jin and then at me.

  My breath hitches as his eyes catch mine, but they glide over me easily to settle on the family next to us.

  Why doesn’t he recognize me? I’m sure Velus outlined my appearance to all his minions. Why does this one not recognize his master’s greatest prize?

  A shot of warmth hits my chest just as Sebastian echoes my thoughts. “Why didn’t he recognize Rose?”

  “It’s Kin.”

  Another show of warmth, and my Kladí turn to me, their eyes questioning,

  “She’s hidden us somehow, but I don’t think it will last long. We have to go.” Another shot of warmth. I intended to help before, but even I can tell this is a battle we won’t be able to walk away from.

  We’re still not used to our new Gifts, and there are too many of them now. My powers from Kin are strong, but I still don’t know how to tap into them easily. Our victory the last time we met with Velus’s servants was due more to luck than my own skill. With a heavy heart, I realize I’ll have to follow the guys’ plan and escape.

  Another shot of warmth, this one gentler than the others. Silently, I thank Kin for her support. Her acknowledgment of my decision makes it easier to push my powers back into my skin and focus on the plan for retreat.

  Already, Jin and Jackson have their heads bent together discussing something while the others keep their eyes on the encroaching monsters. In a morbid stroke of luck, the monsters seem more interested in the Omás hiding children. They ignore our little group in favor of the family to our right. The monsters reach for the little girl, but the mother screams, holding her tightly in her arms. The father with the Ice Gift blasts the monsters, but nothing works.

  Her other Kladí also blast the monsters; all of them seem to be Ice-Gifted. But only the first seems to have any sort of real power, and his isn’t strong enough to do more than make the monster pause for a second. The monster reaches for the little girl, but before he can grab her, Jackson cuts through his arm with his sword.

  Turning toward us, the monster roars with rage. Other monsters turn to aide their companion, the little girl ignored in favor of their rage.

  “They’re immune to our Gifts!” Jackson yells, cutting through a monster with his sword.

  My heart sinks. The hawk man warned us, but some part of me hoped he was lying.

  “Only strength and speed seem to have any effect,” he finishes.

  The fathers of the little girl step in front of her and her mother, who crawls to huddle next to me, under the window that Jin began to pry open.

  I jump up and try to continue the job. The glass in nearly unbreakable, but the metal siding can be pried away with enough force.

  “Help me!” I yell at a frozen Forrest.

  My voice snaps him out of whatever memory he’d been lost in. He moves to assist me. With his considerable muscles, and my feverish determination, we manage to pry the siding away enough to pop out the large glass panel. We hear a crash on the street below the restaurant building, but no other sounds.

  “He was bluffing!” I yell behind me.

  Jin looks up from where he’s in hand-to-hand combat with one of the monsters. A good pile of them already lay at his feet. Lyle hovers behind him, his hands glowing blue as he tries to keep up with Jin’s rapid movements and heal a nasty looking gash on his shoulder.

  “Lucas, you and Forrest get her out of here. We’ll follow,” Jackson calls. “Sebastian, you go first to sense any that are hiding.”

  As my Kladí’s voice various forms of assent, Sebastian doesn’t hesitate to jump through the opening. A soft thud sounds, followed by, “Clear!”

  Forrest moves to pick me up. Right before he does, I hear a bloodcurdling scream.

  Glancing to my right, I see the mangled bodies of the Ice-Kladí. One of the monsters holds the head of the most powerful father, the body he ripped it from laying slumped over his feet, blood soaking into the canvas of the monster’s crudely constructed shoes.

  I turn toward the source of the scream. The mother backs away from the advancing creature, screaming and crying as she holds her daughter tightly against her chest. The child is silent. I’m worried she’s already gone, but then I notice her small feet kicking in protest as her mother smothers her in desperation.

  “We have to go now, Rose!” Forrest reaches for me again.

  Without thinking, I push away his arm and lunge for the mother.

  “Give her to me!” I reach out my arms. I don’t know why I’m doing it. Why I want to save this one when I watched so many more being taken.

  Maybe it’s the smile we shared, or my own latent maternal instincts. Somehow, I know I must do this. The shot of warmth near my heart bolsters my confidence. Whatever it is, the mother must recognize my intentions, because she hands the child to me before facing the monster. Determination steals away her hysteria now that I’ve given her a purpose and hope.

  “Her name is Dalia,” she calls over her shoulder before launching herself at the monster who stepped around her to reach me.

  Forrest cuts off my view of Dalia’s mother as he gathers me and the child in his arms and launches us through the window opening. We land with a heavy thud, and Forrest releases us immediately. I look down into the watery blue eyes of the child I hold. She looks to be about four or five-years-old. Small enough to carry but old enough to be heavy. With a grunt, I heft her farther into my arms.

  “Here, let me.” Sebastian reaches for the child.

  I tighten my hold on her before conceding to give her to my Kladí.

  Forrest picks me up.

  “I can run!” I yell as he moves away from the restaurant.

  I only get a grunt in response.

  Behind us, my other Kladí jump out of the window, fighting off the monsters that try to follow us. Thankfully, not many saw us take the child, and none of the other monsters seem concerned with the non-parental Phósopoi.

  By the time they catch up with us, no others follow in pursuit. Again, I feel the warm strike of Kin. Did you have a hand in turning them away from us? No strike. Is whatever you did to hide us from recognition wearing off? A strike this time, harder than the first. I get the gist. Danger. We’re in danger.

  “We have to hide,” I tell Forrest, who looks me in the eye and grunts again.

  “Rose says we need to hide.” He relays to Jackson, who caught up to us easily, his Gift allowing him to follow our speedy retreat at an almost leisurely stroll.

  “I can take her to the safe house,” Jackson offers.

  “No, we stay together,” I argue.

  Jackson gives me the look he does whenever he’s about to prove someone wrong in one of his lectures.

  I sigh, already silently acknowledging my defeat.

  Before he can even voice his argument, I speak up. “I know. I know. I’m the only one they’re after. The rest of you can hide away and make your way to the safe house slowly, without pursuit.”

  Forest-green eyes widen in surprise
. If I wasn’t so shaken from the massacre in the restaurant, I would have smiled at his shock.

  “But we have to take the child, too. Can you take both of us?” The steel in my voice leaves no room for debate.

  Jackson seems to recognize this because he simply nods. “I can try.” Turning, he offers his back to me, like he did that day in the cornfield after our run-in with Kira.

  Once I’m situated, he gently takes the child from Forrest’s arms. She’s fast asleep, not even waking when Jackson jostles her in his arms. Fading blue light on Lyle’s hands tells me he must have put her to sleep with his Gift.

  She’s too young to stay silent for long, and she’ll need a safer place to deal with what just happened to her family. I close my eyes as Jackson use his Gift. Unlike the first time he used Speed with me, this time, I feel it through our Bond.

  It helps me to know when we arrive as well. Opening my eyes, I stare at the dingy entrance of the Cheshire Cheese.

  Sliding down Jackson’s back, I hold my arms out for the child, and we enter the pub.

  Inside, it’s mayhem. Groups of Phósopoi gather at tables, whispering in worried tones. It seems word of what happened at the restaurant has traveled through to whatever grapevine the Phósopoi use to spread gossip so quickly.

  I hope the Region One Knights were able to save the few children left when we escaped, but I doubt they had any more luck than a room full of desperate Phósopoi parents. The bartender barely glances up from his conversation long enough to give us a nod as we head toward the safe house entrance.

  I have a feeling we wouldn’t have gotten through the door today if we reeked of ill-intent. Every Phósopoi seems tense and primed for battle.

  Once inside the safe house, thanks to the door being keyed for our Omás a few days prior, I move to settle the child in my room, tucking her under the covers and going to the bathroom to grab a washcloth. Methodically, I attempt to wipe the blood out of her hair. My hands shake as I wonder if it’s her mother’s blood or from one of her fathers.