Asmoday battles against his temper. If he reacts in any way to his outrage, Keely will never forgive him. His hands fist at his sides. Every tendon tightens and bulges under the smooth skin on his arms. Knuckles turn white, looking as angry as he feels. His foot moves, bringing him a step closer. His hand rises, still balled into a fist.
And this is when Keely feels his presence. She is off the couch. Her soft, warm hands pushing his hands back down to his side. She breathes heavy. Pushes him with her whole body until she backs him up a few steps.
Asmoday can’t see his surroundings. Can’t hear anything beyond her voice calling his name. Can’t feel anything other than her touch soothing him out of the murderous wrath he was lost in.
“It wasn’t him. It wasn’t him. Asmoday, I’m all right.” Keely puts both hands on each side of his face and forces him to concentrate on her. She tries to send feelings of peace to him through the cord. “Look at me. I’m o.k. Nick didn’t do anything.”
Asmoday stares into her eyes; this is how he sees her flinch when he speaks. “He was touching you.”
“Asmoday. Stop,” she pleads.
He looks around now. Observes the dagger outstretched toward his throat. He glares at Nick. Tries to move after him. Keely blocks him. He could easily move her, but he doesn’t even try. He senses her panic now that the adrenaline is wearing away. She’s concerned for him. His mind turns back the wheel of his memory. He replays it like a movie in his head. The way he was ready to slam his fist into Nick’s face. Nick opening his eyes. The flash of light, reflection from the street light hitting the blade of the Guardian’s dagger. Then Keely diving across Nick with the reflexes of a cat.
He had been literally blinded with rage. Unable to see how close his stupidity had brought him to dying.
Keely protected him. She saved his life.
“He didn’t hurt me,” she whispers.
“I’m sorry,” he whispers back to her. He can’t recall a time he has ever meant those words so entirely. Not until this moment. “I did not mean to.”
“I know. I felt it. You were worried. You were mad.” Her hands grip him tightly. “You need to learn to control it.” She looks down at the floor. “If anything had happened to either one of you…” She shakes her head. “Nick will never hurt me, Asmoday. He’s my Guardian. He protects me.”
“What happened?”
“I had a visit with daddy. He wants you to go home,” she explains before stepping away from Asmoday. Contemplates getting into the whole betrothal, but decides now isn’t the time. She can’t take anymore tonight.
Nick has been watching silently. Waiting. He doesn’t like the way Keely stands protectively in front of Asmoday. Doesn’t like the way they look at each other. It’s almost as if they’re communicating without words. “It’s time for you to go.”
“He’s right,” Keely says softly. “You should go.”
Asmoday tilts his head to her and then he’s gone.
Nick opens his mouth to say something. Keely shakes her head. “I know, Nick. I just can’t do this anymore right now. Yell at me tomorrow, please.”
“Keely, this is bad. Putting it off isn’t going to solve it. It’s just going to make it worse. You always make things harder on yourself.”
With a shrug, Keely says, “We aren’t solving this right now. It may not be able to be solved at all. So just back off me.”
“He was going to kill me.”
“I stopped him.”
Nick smiles sadly. “You protected him.”
“I did both. What’s wrong with that?”
“It scares me.”
Keely throws up her hands in exasperation. “Why? He’s my brother. I’m so sorry I don’t want you to kill him. And if I remember correctly, we are going to need his help.”
“He was trying to kill me.”
“But he didn’t, Nick.”
Nick laughs without humor. “Not this time. Keely, it’s no secret he and I can’t stand each other. But now he has this thing with you. He wants you for himself. Can’t you see that? What if he tries again? Am I not supposed to defend myself because he’s your brother?”
Keely blinks. “No. You can defend yourself. Of course. I’ll talk to him. If he were to hurt you, it would hurt me, so it would in turn, hurt him.”
Nick’s jaw tightens. “And how would you feel if I killed him in self defense?”
Keely feels sick to her stomach. “I don’t know. We have the connection, so it would probably hurt me.”
Nick hadn’t thought of it like that. Hadn’t thought that maybe she protected Asmoday to protect herself. Hadn’t conceived that he would cause her pain by hurting Asmoday. It’s like a punch in the face. What if killing Asmoday kills Keely?
Thirty:
The room is twice as full as it was yesterday. Keely suspects every student from the Academy is in attendance. All waiting patiently for the judgment. This is their idea of entertainment. They don’t care that Nick may lose his job. It doesn’t matter to them that Keely may not live to see tomorrow. It makes her sick to see these people. The way they stare at her and whisper. Do they not realize she can hear most of them? It makes her want to scream. She’s not a display in a window. Keely cannot stand attention. Cannot take so many eyes boring into her. Hands fist in her lap. Nails dig into her palms. Her breathing increases as the panic attack threatens to take over for all to witness.
Stop looking at me.
Stop looking at me.
Stop looking at me.
Nick glides his fingers across her knuckles. Gives them a hard tap. She unlocks her cramped fingers. Stretches them and he takes her hand in his. “Calm down. Everything will be fine,” he says. But Keely can see the nerves weighing on him. Sees the tight lines around his eyes as he struggles to smile at her. He’s sweet for trying.
“You’re an awful liar, Nick Wallace.”
“I wasn’t lying. I phrased it wrong. We’ll get through it. No matter what the judgment is.”
She smiles. Rolls her head trying to ease some of the tension in her neck. “Can’t get through death. Unless you mean you’ll get over me quickly.”
“I’ve promised to protect you. You are not going to die. And quit talking about it so casually. I know you make a joke out of it to make it easier, but seriously—stop. It’s not funny. Not to me.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I forgot it was my mission to ignore my impending death for your benefit.”
Nick sighs loudly. “Can we not fight? Just once? Can you not take every single thing I say and turn it into a personal attack against you? I just don’t want to think about someone hurting you. Or trying to live my life without you, damn it. Freaking sue me for caring about you.”
Keely growls in frustration. “I’m sorry. I can’t stand everyone staring at me. Judging me. And I’m a little stressed, because whether you want to think about it or not, I may be killed. All because my mom had to pick the Demon King to be her sperm donor. Of all the donors there must have been. Who has luck like that?” She points to herself and rolls her eyes.
Nick squeezes her hand. “Calm down.”
“Quit telling me to calm down. Every time you say ‘calm down,’ it annoys me, which obviously doesn’t help me calm down.”
“Why are we fighting?” Nick asks. “We’re in this together.”
“You know what? We’re not really. See, the worst that will happen to you—you lose your job. The worst that can happen to me is I lose my life. It’s not exactly an even playing field.”
Nick releases her hand. “I know you’re stressed and scared, but you need to quit attacking me. I love you. I’m here for you. I know what’s at stake and I am fully aware you have a shitty deal. But if you think for one second it’s not as hard for me to handle, you’re wrong. Frankly, you die, that’s it. You’ll be at peace. I’ll be left here to mo
urn you and actually feel the loss. Along with your friends and your parents. I have just as much to lose. Screw the job. I don’t care about that. I care about you.”
Why is she acting like this? She doesn’t mean to. She didn’t even mean those words she said. This isn’t Keely. Yes, she’s stressed. Yes, she’s scared. But she knows Nick is here for her. She knows he’s trying to make her feel better. “Oh my God, Nick. I started to freak and I let his emotions take over mine. He’s worried and he’s pissed. He’s blaming anyone he can. I didn’t mean any of that. I’m sorry.”
Nick’s eyes darken. “Asmoday?”
Keely nods. “I’m sorry,” she says again. “Thank you for being here for me. I love you too.” She takes his hand back. Nick brings her fingers to his mouth and brushes a kiss across them. His movements are stiff, mechanical. Keely knows he’s angry, but he isn’t going to say anything. At least not right now with higher hurdles to leap at the moment.
The double doors open and the nine members of the Hierarchy enter as the room falls into a hushed silence. Keely looks down at herself. Wishes she had the foresight to bring a change of clothes with her last night and hopes jean shorts and a tee shirt say something to the Hierarchy about her trustworthiness.
Keely can see the lump of Nick’s Adam’s apple jump as he swallows nervously. His hand tightens on hers. She leans over and kisses his cheek. “Together,” she whispers. He looks at her from the corner of his eye and gives a half smile.
“Princess Keely, will you please come forward?”
She and Nick stand together hand in hand. They move through the maze as a united front. The doors open again and Keely glances back as she takes her seat in front of the long table. Bryon and Lila squeeze in the overly filled room followed by her dad. She doesn’t see her mom. Somehow, she isn’t too surprised by this.
“Princess,” the man Keely thinks is in charge says loudly as he bows his head. “How are you today?”
“Scared.”
He smiles gently at her. “I can assure you, you have no need to be. Let me ease your mind right now. No harm shall come to you by our hands.”
Keely stares back at the man waiting for him to continue. From her peripheral, she notices Nick’s whole body relax like a deflating balloon.
“However,” he goes on.
Isn’t there always a however?
“You may be a wonderful asset to the Hierarchy or you could be a great threat. We don’t know you, Princess. We’re not convinced of your commitment. We are unsure of your abilities. The only thing we are certain of is your bravery. You willingly told us of your part in the prophecy. A prophecy we cannot read. That also spoke of your honesty. There are some of us that believe a higher calling sent you to us. While there are some who believe the opposite. I personally believe your character speaks for itself. I also trust in the opinions of our Guardians.” He looks at Nick. Holds his gaze.
The pretty woman stands. “Princess Keely, we are decided that you are in fact Doyenne. It would be irresponsible of us to not offer you our aid, but in return, we must ask something of you. We ask that you take the Doyenne Oath.”
Keely nods. She doesn’t have a clue what the Doyenne Oath is, but assumes it must be similar to the Oath Nick took. “Uh, sure. Of course.”
The pretty woman smiles patiently. “There are other…conditions. Because you are so powerful, and potentially dangerous, we will need to keep eyes on you closely. You will be given twenty-four hour security. From here on out, your privacy is a luxury of the past.”
Keely takes a deep breath. This sucks, but it’s better than the alternative. And if she’s stuck with Nick all day, every day, well, that just doesn’t seem so bad.
“We also need the Demon Grimoire as a token of your allegiance. From this moment, you are not to read from it unless otherwise asked and permitted by our Hierarchy.”
O.k. She didn’t realize she would need to make a list. And she kind of needed the Grimoire to find a way out of this mess with Asmoday. But, again, this isn’t asking too much. She’ll have to get the permission to do the research. It’s more of an inconvenience than anything.
“You will need to begin training immediately. You are very behind so you’ll need to take classes here during the day and train in the evening. You will also work with a tutor on weekends and any spare time you can find throughout the week. You have a lot to learn and not a lot of time to learn it.”
So she’ll be busy. Extremely busy. This is fine. She wanted to go to school here anyway. This is what she wanted. This is what she wants. Yeah, it’s fine. It’s fine.
“We will be relieving Guardian Wallace of his leadership duties effective today.”
Keely stands up in shock. They can’t do this to her. Not after all the demands they just placed on her. They can’t take Nick.
“Princess, please take your seat. I am not yet finished.”
Nick tugs on Keely’s hand. Tears sting her eyes as she looks at him helplessly. “Sit down, please,” he whispers softly. His hand guides her back into her chair and she wills her eyes to dry.
“Guardian Wallace will stay on as your Guardian because of the relationship you share. However, he is no longer in command. This isn’t our typical protocol. We aren’t in the habit of putting someone so young in charge of an assignment. You will be given a new member of your security contingent to take lead and replace Watcher White.”
Nick’s hand tightens on Keely’s for a moment. He’s happy with this judgment and Keely realizes she is too. He may not have a say on how things will be handled, but he still has a job and he’ll still be with her.
“There is one more thing, Princess. From what you have explained to us, it appears that though the girl in the prophecy has changed from time to time, the one thing that remains the same is the Demon King.” She gazes at Keely for confirmation.
“Yes, I believe so.”
“So what guarantee do we have that the prophecy will not change again and be fulfilled by someone else?”
Keely glances at Nick. He shifts uncomfortably. “I guess you don’t. Especially if I’m not allowed to read the Grimoire to check.”
The pretty woman stares flatly at Keely for several seconds. The man in charge leans over and whispers in the woman’s ear. She nods, never taking her eyes from Keely.
“Is there anything you have not shared with us that is pertinent to your case?”
Keely feels herself shrink back. “No. I don’t think so.”
“Princess, we are all given gifts when we come of age. Accolades. They are often similar from Guardian to Guardian, Watcher to Watcher. But White Warriors, our accolades are typically unique. Or at least uncommon. My most valued accolade, and the reason I sit on this Hierarchy, is a very special one. When I ask you a direct question, I am able to identify whether you are telling me the truth…or not. Sometimes, people don’t even realize they’re lying. But I always do. I will ask you one more time. Is there anything you have not shared with us that we would find pertinent?”
Keely’s face grows warm. Her head dizzy. She tells herself it’s not betrayal. She was going to have to tell them anyway if she was going to get their help. “I am betrothed and bonded to my brother, Prince Asmoday.”
Gasps spill through the air like a wave in the ocean. Whispers tweak her ears as she tries to concentrate on the woman before her.
The man that reminds Keely of a principal wears an expression of repulsion and disgust. She knew she didn’t like him.
“How are you bonded to Prince Asmoday?” the pretty woman asks.
“I feel his emotions and he feels mine. But he’s not bad. He’s not like our father. He gave me the Grimoire. He warned me about the prophecy. He’s helped me.”
“You trust him?”
Keely looks at her feet so she can’t see Nick. “Yes. I trust him.”
“Will this
bond affect your loyalty to your brethren?”
“I don’t think so. It hasn’t yet. I don’t want it to. I actually want out of it.” As soon as the words leave her mouth, Keely knows it was the wrong thing to say. Half of what she said, to the woman who can tell if she’s lying, wasn’t fully honest.
“I wish we could handle these things privately, but we do not. I’m very sorry, but you know I must ask. Why do you want to preserve the bond with your brother, Princess?”
Keely’s feet blur before her eyes. Sweat runs down the back of her neck causing her hair to stick to her. She can’t bear to look at Nick. “Because I love him.”
She looks up at the woman and by the sympathetic smile Keely knows she understands her true meaning.
“Our Hierarchy is only one of several. We have sister schools across the world. After several conferences, we have determined precautions must be taken against the Demon King to ensure the prophecy can never be fulfilled. A plan of action has not yet been arranged, but I understood it to mean war against the Demons. If Prince Asmoday stands with your father he will be terminated regardless of your bond.”
“He’ll stand with me,” Keely says confidently.
“I know you mean what you say, but you must understand this doesn’t assure me. I will need to speak with the Prince directly.”
Keely nods her head.
“One last thing, Princess. Are you prepared to go to war against your father?”
A small smile parts Keely’s lips. “Yes, I believe I am.”
The woman smiles back. “I look forward to working with you, Princess.”
***
Nick doesn’t speak to Keely the entire way back to her house. It isn’t until he turns off the ignition that he acknowledges her. “You lied to me,” he says, his tone level. Lacks any emotion.
“I didn’t. Not at the time. I didn’t realize until I said it today.”
“How can you want to stay bonded? You know what your father said. You’ll be like one person.”
Dark Calling Page 29