The Conduit (The Gryphon Series Book 1)

by Stacey Rourke

  “I’m fit too. If you don’t believe me, just check out the back door of this hospital gown,” my grandmother flirted through her haze.

  “Grams!” If it was possible to die of embarrassment, I would’ve keeled over right then. Dr. Allyn blushed and grinned like a school girl. Suddenly, I was very uncomfortable in that room. Don’t I have somewhere to be, or a demon to kill?

  “Maybe another time.” The good doctor grinned back. Unbelievably, unequivocally icky. “Right now it’s time for another dose of your pain meds and some much needed rest.”

  “That would be great. My arm’s achin’,” Grams admitted.

  I gave her a feather-light kiss on her forehead. “Rest up.”

  “Call me and let me know where you end up. I love you,” she whispered.

  “I will. Love you too, Grams.” I gave her one last wave before I left the room.

  Right before it shut behind me I heard Dr. Allyn exclaim, “What the blazes happened to the IV pole?”

  “Been like that since I woke up,” Grams answered.

  Did I mention my Grams rocks?

  CHAPTER 26

  Gabe and Kendall met me in the hallway.

  “How is she?” they both asked.

  “She’s in pain but still has the strength to hit on her doctor, so I’d say she’s gonna be fine. But …” I shot a quick look around. This was too populated a locale for this conversation. I jerked my head toward the unisex bathroom. We filed in together and locked the door behind us.

  “We could’ve waited to get the update until after you did your business,” Gabe teased and jerked his head in the direction of the toilet.

  “No time for Gabe-isms right now,” I scowled. “Barnabus specifically asked her where I was. She did us a favor and told him I had already left for college, which means we now know exactly where he is—Memphis.”

  As soon as the word left my mouth a blaring siren went off in my brain. Alec’s parting words to me: “I have to go to Memphis for a little while. Apparently there’s some big story there.”

  I tried to be optimistic. It’s a big city. The odds were slim that he would be anywhere near Rhodes. He should be fine. Most likely. Probably. Hopefully. Crap.

  “Celeste? Where’d you go?” Kendall waved her hand in front of my face.

  “Sorry.” Best to worry about one thing at a time. “Barnabus isn’t restricted by rules and orders like the Seekers are. He has no problem hurting or killing people. We learned that the hard way. So we need to stop him. He wants a war? I say we take it to him. Tonight.”

  They fell silent as my words sunk in.

  Gabe pushed himself off the sink he had been leaning against. “Hells yeah. I’m in.”

  “He brought the fight to our doorstep. Now we end this,” Kendall agreed. “So, guide us—oh, Chosen One. What do we do?”

  I flipped my phone open to check the time. Eleven o’clock. The drive to Memphis would get us there around two a.m. First, we needed to know what we were walking into. “Keni, you could make the flight to Memphis in half the driving time. But can you do it without being seen and scaring people?”

  “It’s overcast and pitch black outside. As long as I stay above the clouds, it would, like, totally eliminate the risk of people seeing me and thinking it’s judgment day.”

  “Awesome. Get to Rhodes and scope out exactly where Barnabus is hiding. Find out as much as you can. What this dude looks like, how many men he brought with him, what weapons they have, if they display any powers, anything that might help. But stay out of sight! Don’t do anything stupid, like get yourself caught.” My role as the leader felt surprisingly comfortable. “Gabe and I will drive there and meet up with you. Once we get the stats on what we are facing, we can come up with a battle plan.”

  Gabe’s lip curled up in a growl. “I could run there, Cee! Let the lion stretch his legs.”

  I put one hand on my hip and looked up at him in exasperation. “You can’t run seventy miles per hour. We take the truck.”

  “You’re bossy now that you’re the Conduit,” he grumbled.

  “Is that a problem?”

  “Nope, just saying.”

  “Good. Then saddle up, gang. It’s time for a showdown.”

  They looked at each other, then erupted in giggles and snorts of laughter.

  “Exactly which Earp brother are you supposed to be?” Gabe taunted.

  “Shut up. Let’s just go.”

  CHAPTER 27

  If this were a movie, we’d be mid-battle right now, I thought to myself as I watched the numbers tick by on the gas pump. Movies never showed the superhero stopping for gas. It went inspirational speech—or in my case a paltry excuse for one—then the epic battle. Never did they show the Batmobile at the Gas-N-Go. Alfred probably handled all that kind of stuff for the Caped Crusader. I needed an Alfred. If this turned into a permanent gig, I should look into that.

  The gas station door chimed and Gabe came out. His arms overflowed with chips, beef jerky, and a two liter of pop.

  I gaped at him in slack-jawed astonishment. “What are you doing?”

  “What?” he asked. “It’s a long drive, so I got snacks.”

  “We’re not going on a road trip to an amusement park! We’re facing the forces of darkness, remember?”

  “Yeah, so? I’m hungry,” he shrugged. “It’s like before my games, there’s no point in getting my game face on until I get there. In the meantime—road trip!”

  “I bet Robin never made Batman stop for chips,” I muttered under my breath as I returned the nozzle to its resting place on the pump. I turned back toward the truck and saw a spiky blonde head bop around the side of the building. “Kendall! You’re supposed to be halfway to Memphis by now!”

  She threw her hands up. “I’m going; I’m going! I just had to stop to pee. It’s a long flight.”

  I squeezed the bridge of my nose between my fingers and shook my head. We had to be the lousiest warriors ever.

  Gabe rolled down my driver’s side window and leaned out. “What are you waiting on? We goin’ or what?”

  Batman had it easy. He was an only child.

  CHAPTER 28

  Gabe fell asleep while I drove. We were on our way to face an army of demonic forces the likes of which we—or quite possibly anyone—had never seen. Yet there he was, slumped in his seat, snoring like a chainsaw. He probably ate himself into a junk food induced coma. He still clutched the two liter in his hand and chip crumbs decorated the front of his shirt. Sure it was a long, monotonous drive. But it seemed the simple fact that we might die would keep him awake. Dozing behind the wheel wasn’t a problem for me at all. The closer we got to Memphis, the tighter I gripped the steering wheel.

  We pulled into the college parking lot in the wee hours of the morning. Sunrise was only a few hours away. Night still held a stronghold. The darkness combined with the fact that a malicious man waited here to kill me made the nice, scenic campus an ominous and foreboding place. My mind conjured up scenes from every scary movie I had ever watched. Any minute now the dark, foreshadowing music would start up and the killer would jump out at me.

  The added security of having Gabe awake suddenly became crucial. I smacked at his arm. “We’re here. Wake up.”

  “Hmmm.” He groaned and stretched. His voice heavy with sleep, he failed miserably at sounding awake and alert. “All right, let’s get this party started. How do we find Kendall to get the scoop?”

  “Uh … I don’t know. We don’t want to risk calling any attention to her or us. We need to be subtle.”

  “Like what? Doing bird calls?” Gabe scoffed.

  “That way would be a heck of a lot more discreet than calling her cell. She never turns her Glee ringtone to silent. I think it goes against her entire belief system.”

  “Hey, do you have a flashlight?”

  “No. Why?”

  “We could have shone it into the sky like the Bat Signal.”

  “Maybe next time. For now I say w
e go with bird calls.”

  My brother fought back a grin. “We’re not the best at this are we?”

  “Not even close.”

  “Think we’ll get better with time?”

  “For the sake of the world, I really hope so,” I admitted.

  “Okay,” Gabe relented. “I can do an owl or a pigeon. Which is it?”

  “It’s night time. Go with owl.”

  “Owl it is.”

  Gabe reached for the door knob, but stopped short when a dark, shadowy figure landed on the hood of my truck. We both froze as the small truck shook from the impact. My breath caught, and my heart temporarily forgot how to beat.

  Was the fight going to start so soon? Without any lead in or preparation? I was nowhere near ready! Shouldn’t I have stretched or something first? Plus, there was the added vulnerability of being trapped in an enclosed space. Barnabus could tear our heads off before we stepped out of the truck! That is if head rippage offage was one of his abilities—there was so much I still didn’t know!

  Next to me, Gabe snarled as his teeth lengthened. His skin began to churn. His bones snapped and set as he began his transformation.

  “Don’t change in my truck!” I screamed at him. “You’ll tear the whole thing apart!” Wrong thing to be worried about right then, I know. Especially when the figure began to stoop toward my windshield. In a few short seconds we would be looking into the face of evil.

  Or not.

  Kendall mashed her face up against the glass and gave herself a pig nose. “Hey, guys!” She grinned. “What took you so long?”

  Gabe growled at her, but stopped his transformation.

  “I’ll hold her down you bite her head,” I suggested to Gabe, only half kidding. Climbing out of the truck, I poured my annoyance on thick. “You better have some useful info for us.”

  “That I do. And I have to say I, like, totally loved my little covert op. Made me feel very secret-agenty!”

  “So what did you learn, Double-O Dense?” Gabe asked as his fangs retracted.

  “There was a man with long red hair, uber old-fashioned clothes, and a cape heading into the theater.”

  “Someone wearing a cape heading into the theater? Are you sure he wasn’t an actor in costume? He could have just been going to rehearsal,” I suggested.

  “Well, he could have been. If they’re having rehearsals at two a.m. and are going to use the unconscious person he had flung over his shoulder as a prop.”

  “Now there’s a hostage?” Gabe pulled his shirt off and threw it in the truck.

  Kendall nodded solemnly.

  “This just keeps getting better.”

  “Any sign of the army?” I asked.

  “I haven’t seen or heard them. I assume the long-haired, freaky guy was Barnabus. For all I know the army could have already been in the theater waiting for him. I can’t say for sure that he’s alone,” Kendall admitted.

  We really didn’t have much to go on here. “Did he demonstrate any of his powers?”

  Her blonde spikes didn’t budge as she shook her head. “Nothing other than strength. The … person he was carrying is a good-sized guy and he tossed him around like it was nothing.”

  I couldn’t help but notice her hesitation. She purposely held something back. “What aren’t you telling us, Kendall?”

  She quickly flicked her gaze away from me, adjusted her shirt, and avoided make eye contact. “Nothing.”

  “Wow, you are just the worst liar ever,” Gabe stated. “And you’re a theater buff?”

  “Spill it, Keni. Now.”

  Hesitantly, she brought her head up and sighed deeply. “Keep in mind, I’m not one hundred percent positive about this. The guy had his head down and was all limp and stuff so I couldn’t tell for sure.”

  “Couldn’t … tell … what?” I asked. I felt the muscles in my jaws tense.

  “The hostage. Celeste, I think it’s Alec.”

  I should’ve been surprised. I wasn’t. Of course he would end up in the middle of this he made the fatal mistake of trying to get close to me. Barnabus was systematically attacking the people I cared about. I needed to end this or resign myself to wearing a sandwich board for the rest of my life that reads:

  Get Close to Me

  and Get Knocked Out by

  a Cranky 300 Year Old Demon!

  Determination dripped off of me as I declared, “We have to get him out. What’s the best way in?”

  “There’s a door around back. If it is anything like the theaters back home, it will lead backstage. That’ll give us the element of surprise,” Kendall reported.

  “Good. Let’s go,” I said.

  We averted our eyes as Gabe ducked behind the truck to strip down the rest of the way and morph into the impressive, tawny lion. Kendall expanded her wings and took on her own majestic splendor. I glanced down at my t-shirt and cut-off sweatpants. Suddenly, I felt very underdressed. If the idea of myself in a superhero costume didn’t give me the willies, I may’ve considered it. No skin-hugging spandex for me. I would make my peace with my grubby clothes.

  Our odd trio—the lion, the angel and…me—came together. Cloaked by darkness, we made our way across the sleeping campus with determined strides and steeled nerves. For the most part.

  CHAPTER 29

  Bypassing the fancy, arched entrance of the theater, we crept through the trees and brush to the rear door. It was nothing more than a service entrance, which I automatically assumed would be locked.

  “Do we kick it in?” I asked.

  “Before we destroy property and stuff, maybe we could check to see if it’s unlocked,” Kendall replied. Gabe snorted and nodded.

  I held my breath as I tried the door. It opened easily and without setting off any blaring alarms. I started to expel a sigh of relief when Gabe gave a low growl beside me. “What?”

  “Unnn-lllokked,” he grumbled in his menacing vibrato.

  I stared into the pitch black doorway that gave away no clues as to the building’s contents. “Maybe we’re not as unexpected as we hoped.”

  Gabe pushed past me and led the way into the darkness. If the gigantic lion with razor sharp teeth wanted to lead the way, I was totally okay with that. I followed close behind him. Keni brought up the rear. Gabe’s slow, shuffle-footed steps told me even his feline night vision was being put to the test against the thick, heavy darkness. With no hint of light anywhere, I didn’t realize he stopped moving until I smacked into him.

  “Ooof!”

  “Ssshhhhh!” Kendall shushed in my ear.

  “Heeeerrrrrre,” Gabe rumbled.

  Something lay up ahead that only he could see. To get up to his line of sight, I placed one hand on his back and followed by touch up to his head. I grabbed Kendall’s hand to drag her along with me. A sliver of light shined through a gap in the heavy stage curtain.

  “The footlights are on,” Keni whispered.

  It was the middle of the night, the backdoor was unlocked, and the lights were on. Combine that with the fact that it was off-season for the campus, and there was only one answer. Barnabus had lured us right where he wanted us.

  “It’s a trap.” My mind clicked away at what our next move should be. Barnabus staged every element. He certainly had to know we were there. Fighting under his terms would give him yet another advantage. Running suddenly didn’t seem like such a bad idea as long as we could snatch Alec first.

  Still worried about the possibility of facing an entire army, I crept toward the curtain. I cautiously peeked around the heavy fabric. My vantage point allowed me to see more than half of the theater and the entire stage. It was empty. The space out of my view wouldn’t accommodate a horde of people. But Barnabus might be there.

  I turned back to Gabe and Keni. “His army isn’t here.”

  “So what do we do?” Kendall leaned in so I could hear her hushed tone.

  “The odds are not in our favor.” My skin prickled with anxiety. “I say we find Alec and then run lik
e heck. If we can get Barnabus on our turf, we can give ourselves an edge.”

  “Back to the mountains?” Kendall asked.

  I nodded even though she couldn’t see it. “We’ve been spending so much time there, we know the area. And we don’t have to worry about innocent people getting hurt.”

  “Hooowww?” growled Gabe.

  “We’ll just have to watch each other’s backs like we did with the fog monsters. Keep our eyes open and our feet moving. What do you think?”

  “Let’s do it.” A rush of air indicated Keni had expanded her wings out wide behind her.

  Gabe snarled his agreement.

  My heart thudded in my chest as I spun toward the lights. I replaced my trepidation with determination as my foot touched the polished wood stage. Speed and tenacity was key if this was going to work. With Gabe and Kendall behind me, I approached the center of the stage, scanning every inch of the theater. I saw nothing but rows and rows of empty seats. Even my former blind spot sat vacant.

  My spine tingled as my eyes fell on the orchestra pit directly in front of the stage. As outward appearances go, it was a perfect hiding spot. But that wasn’t why my skin suddenly crawled. There was something down there. I knew it. Something lurked in the deep shadows of the brick cavity. I slunk in the direction of it, crouching low as I approached. Mere steps from the edge, I saw a flutter of movement. I froze. My hands balled into fists so tightly my nails dug into my palms.

  A hand shot out of the darkness, clawing desperately at the brick wall. My heart skipped a beat and my bladder threatened to fail. Another hand hurriedly followed suit. The battered and scraped hands found an edge to latch onto and held tight. Disheveled, strawberry-blonde hair, streaked with blood, briefly appeared, then vanished as he lost his hold.