Li looked at Gabriella. “I follow you in hopes of earning my own freedom.”
“Don’t you say it like that,” Gabriella warned. “I never took or wanted your freedom. I’ve been trying to get rid of you for years.” She smiled and stood so Justin could fold the blanket.
“May you never be successful,” Li replied. “I tremble at the thought of you in danger.”
A thought crossed Justin’s mind that he cursed himself for not thinking sooner. Did Li stay near Gabriella because he loved her? Was Li’s heart tied to Gabriella’s by cords of passion rather than cords of gratitude? Justin decided to look for signs of love on Li’s part and reciprocation on hers. He didn’t want to look the fool for intruding on an already established relationship.
Nick leaned casually on his arm as he lay on the blanket and finished his snack. The boost in energy was needed, and now fulfilled, the desire to keep moving motivated him. Nick hopped up from the blanket and said, “We’re losing time.” Nick gathered his belongings and picked up his bags. “There will be trouble at Daevas’s. We must scope it out and formulate a plan.”
“Agreed,” Li said. He hoped he hid his nervousness. He didn’t relish walking into the lion’s den, especially with Gabriella. He loved her. He didn’t think he’d survive if she was hurt or killed. He’d been with her for too long to let her go now.
They paced up the mountainside, leaving the lush foothill below. The path was craggy and vegetation hid them as they journeyed closer to their destination. Many of the trees’ roots stood exposed since rain and snow had washed away the soil. The area was quiet, even of animal noise. It felt cold and dead. They journeyed on until the sun hung low in the sky.
“This way,” Li whispered.
“How far are we from Daevas’s home?” Justin asked.
“It won’t be long now,” Li said, his eyes roaming over the mountainside. He feared their discovery.
“You nervous?” Nick said. He’d noticed Li’s wandering eyes and felt the fear in the air around Li.
Li looked at Nick, his lips pressed together in frustration. He didn’t want to look weak and cowardly, but he knew the Avenger could sense his emotions. “A little,” he said. “Only a fool wouldn’t feel some fear, for we walk into the devil’s playground with very little to protect us.”
“I brought a few toys,” Nick said, and he patted his backpack. “I’m ready to play.”
5. About Last Night
Kate loved it over here. She basked in the warmth of the sun on her skin and relaxed as the songs of the birds washed over her. Their calls reminded her that life still thrived, even in an environment surrounded by predators. Not only did life thrive, but creation took time to enjoy the glories that abound. Kate inhaled and reveled in the variety of scents that danced through the air. The grass tickled her legs, and she enjoyed the peace of the moment.
She squinted and looked up when a dark shadow blocked the sun. “Hi,” she said. She raised herself up and rested on her elbows. “Care to join me?” She’d been thinking about Alex. He was ever-present in her thoughts, and each time she saw him, the butterflies in her stomach fluttered with excitement.
Alex did want to join her. He wanted to cuddle up to her and add his touch to the list of sensations Kate was obviously enjoying in this dimension. “No.” He inhaled deeply, taking in her scent. “How did it go last night? After I left.”
She tossed her head back with a little chuckle. “You mean after my dad found out that I have an angelic heritage and that demons from Hell are after me?” She lay back again and closed her eyes. “No worries. He’s cool.” She gave the okay sign with her hand.
“I sense the sarcasm,” Alex said. “Did he say anything to your mom?”
“No, thank God. That’s all we need.” Kate scoffed. “She’d completely freak. I don’t think he’d tell her even if a demon was standing in the room with them in all his horrific glory and the gates of Hell open behind him. Dad would come up with some excuse other than the truth.”
“Did she notice the wet spot on the rug and the missing curtains?” Alex rubbed the back of his neck. There were a lot of variables that needed to be controlled if their lie was to be believed.
“You’re kidding right?” Kate opened one eye to look at Alex. She enjoyed the way his muscles shaped his legs. Her view from this angle was perfect. “The woman’s a bloodhound for messes.” Alex chuckled while Kate continued talking. “Dad told her that he’d gotten sick after his run and threw up on them. He even bragged about what a great job he did cleaning up the mess.” Kate laughed. “But I bet she’ll clean the rug again today, just for good measure. Anyway, everything looks kosher in there.”
“Excellent.” Alex took a slow, appreciative look at Kate’s form as she lay on the ground. Then he cleared his throat, reigning in his thoughts, and sat next to her. “We need to talk about our next step. Last night changed things.”
Kate inhaled deeply and sat up. She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. She looked at Alex. “My dad won’t tell my mom. I think part of him wishes he didn’t know. In some way, I think he’s trying to remain in denial about last night.” She hadn’t wanted this to affect her family, but it seemed inevitable. She hoped it wouldn’t affect her relationship with her father now that he knew.
“That’s understandable. Even probably for the best, but we still have to talk about what’s best for your family.”
Kate narrowed her eyes. “Best for my family? Keeping them out of this is best for my family.” Yet she had no idea how to guarantee that, and her dad was already involved.
“Precisely,” Alex said. “We have a cabin in the woods up north. I’d like to take you there to finish your training.”
Kate’s eyebrows rose in suspicion. Sounds romantic. Is this really about protecting my family? “When do you want to do this?”
“As soon as possible,” Alex took Kate’s hand in his. He loved how her smaller fingers fit into his hand. “You need to talk this over with your dad. You’ll need your stories straight to convince your mom that leaving before the end of the school year is a good idea.”
Kate laughed at Alex’s naiveté. Her parents would never let her drop out of school and go off with another family. “Before school is out?” Kate scoffed. “There’s no way my parents will agree to that.”
“So you think your dad wants your brother or mother to come face-to-face with a monster the way he did?” Alex’s thumb caressed the top of Kate’s hand. He wanted her to know how he felt, and he hoped his touch relayed some of his affections. “I have a feeling he’ll agree.”
Alex’s gentle touches on Kate’s skin sent tingles sparking through her body. He’s adding gentle touches of affection to our interactions. Do I reciprocate? “What about school? Am I going to be a high school drop-out? I can promise you, that is not part of their plans for me.”
Alex studied Kate’s hand as he caressed her skin. Although she was so much smaller than him, her powers were impressive. It would be so easy to underestimate her, but that would come with a price. “I’ll finish your schooling. That’s the way it was done in my day. I had a private instructor, and I did very well.”
“Ha!” Kate laughed out loud. “Good luck selling that scheme.” She smiled and lay back on the ground, pulling her hand free from his. As much as she wanted his touch, it was too distracting. She needed to focus on reality.
“This needs to happen,” Alex said.
She relished the warmth of the sun on her skin. She’d miss this place if they left. She could imagine that staying in a cabin with Alex would be a lot of fun, but it also posed a lot of problems that made her uneasy.
Her relationship with Alex and Nick had changed. Even though she no longer wanted Nick romantically, she still cared about him. She would do whatever she could to help Nick save Hayden, just like he’d helped her. When she’d been with Nick, their relationship was fun and flirty. No pressure. But her relationship with Alex was differen
t. The weight of the past and their future hung over her, robbing her of the carefree pleasure of dating. She wasn’t sure how fast her feelings for him would grow. How would their relationship impact their day-to-day life? There was no way she was going to talk to Alex about it, either. She’d just feel awkward, so instead she said, “Would Zoe and Evan come to the cabin with us?”
“They may show up at some point, but they have other responsibilities. Their focus is Vires. We need a solution for that ring, and they’re going to find it.” Alex could tell something was bothering her.
“Hmm.” The idea of being alone with Alex for an extended amount of time made Kate’s stomach flutter, but in a way that confused her. The possibilities of their relationship advancing excited her, but on the other hand, there would be no one there to counterbalance the pressure when the relationship began to move along too quickly. That scared her. She wasn’t sure that she wanted to rush into the next stage.
“Are you okay with that?” Alex felt her nerves. Part of him was jealous. He’d never noticed nervous energy flowing from her while she’d been with Nick. She’d seemed so comfortable with him. Alex had seen her kiss and touch Nick without any hesitation. He didn’t want her to feel nervous about being alone with him.
“Being alone with you?” Kate held her hand up to her eyes to shield the sun. “Of course I’m okay. I trust you.”
“That’s refreshing,” Alex said with a chuckle. That wasn’t what he’d wanted to hear. He didn’t want to hear that she trusted him. He wanted to hear that she wanted him. That she wanted to be alone with him. That she wanted to build their relationship, because he certainly did. He wanted to breathe her words and warm her with his love. He wanted to wrap her in his arms and tell her that she’d always be safe, that he’d never let anything happen to her.
“You know what I mean.” Kate sat up so she could look him in the eyes. “We’ll have a good time at the cabin,” she chuckled, “when Hell freezes over and my parents let me go there with you.”
“I believe the temperature is dropping in Hell,” he said. “I already got your father’s blessing. He agrees. We’ll talk with your mom tonight. Your father and I have already discussed how to spin it.”
Anger roiled through Kate at his betrayal. She glared at him. “You went to my father and got his approval before talking with me about my life decision? Is that how it was done in your day?” she snapped.
Alex instantly wished he’d handled this differently. Kate was mad, and he couldn’t blame her, but he was only trying to help. “I’m sorry,” he said, his eyebrows pulled together. “Your father came to me.”
“What? When?” she barked. Why would her father go to Alex instead of her? She grit her teeth in frustration. She knew why. He didn’t trust her. He trusted Alex. Even after she saved him last night, he still thought of her as his little girl, and that ticked her off.
Alex felt her frustration. “This morning before he left for work, he came to my house. He’s concerned for your family. He wanted to know how to stop an attack like last night from happening again.” Alex took a deep breath and continued, “I was honest with him. He deserves that respect. I told him that they were drawn to you, to all of us, and that the best way to protect his family would be to remove you from their presence. He didn’t like it, but he sees the importance of it.”
Kate didn’t think she’d ever be kicked out of her home, but then again, she’d always been told that nothing was impossible. “He doesn’t want me around,” she mumbled. Her father was afraid of her. Tears puddled in her eyes. “Who can blame him?” She flopped back on the ground.
“That’s not it,” Alex gently laid a hand on her shoulder. “He cried when I told him that you needed to leave. I explained how I could train you better without the distraction of living two lives.” Alex paused and took a deep breath as he stared at Kate; she stared at the sky. She appeared focused on a puffy cloud. “This transition is hard enough without trying to pretend that nothing’s changed when you’re around others. It would be safer for you and your family.”
Alex’s heart clenched with each tear that trickled down Kate’s cheek. He wanted to lie next to her and cradle her against his body. If she were Sarah, he wouldn’t hesitate, but she wasn’t Sarah. She was Kate, a woman whose love he had to earn. “He’s not happy about losing his little girl,” Alex continued. “He’s overwhelmed by all of this. He’s trying to save his family, and you are still a part of that family, but you have branched out and have been grafted into another family.”
“So that’s it? I’m moving out and in with you?” Confliction pulled Kate in two. She wanted to develop her relationship with Alex. She wanted to love him, but not at the expense of her family. She wanted both when reality forced her to choose one.
Alex nodded. He’d been happy about the idea at first, but seeing her pain at the realization of losing her family squelched his happiness. “Yes, and you need to sell it. You need to look excited around your mother, or she won’t agree. Can you pull this off?”
Here was a true test of her skills. Nick could con the fangs off a viper with his smooth words, but Kate had never been good at deceit. It wasn’t in her nature. “I can do it,” Kate mumbled.
Alex wasn’t convinced, but she’d have to pull it off. He looked at his watch and stood. “We need to go. We’re meeting your dad.”
“To get our stories straight,” she replied flatly.
Alex nodded and put out his hand. She placed her hand in his, and he pulled her up.
She took a long look at the lake and trees that surrounded her. “I’m going to miss this place,” she whispered.
“Don’t worry. It’s beautiful where we’re going.”
6. Michael
Li led the group along the trail. The greenery thinned, and the ground became rockier as they ascended the mountain. The setting sun cast an orange haze in the evening sky. As they came to a ridge in the mountain, Daevas’ home came into view.
Nick crouched behind a scraggly evergreen. “That’s not a mansion. That’s a castle,” he groaned. Instantly his mind worked out problems and solutions for how to take such a place. The castle was perched at the edge of the mountain and surrounded by a stone wall. Only one side of the castle offered entrance. The other walls of the castle lined the edge of the mountain terrain, leaving no walking area, only a sharp fall off the side of the mountain. The castle walls and turrets provided plenty of places for Daevas’s soldiers to safely kill any attackers. Nick had known that fighting Daevas would not be easy, but he had hoped that getting into his house would not be this difficult.
“Honestly,” Gabriella started. “You didn’t actually think a Nephilim as powerful as Daevas would live in a defenseless cottage or mini-mansion, did you? I know it looks impressive, but there has to be a weak spot. There always is.”
The hairs on Justin’s arms rose at the mention of the weak spot. It didn’t matter how strong you were, everyone has a weak spot. Find it, and you can crush your enemy. He knew that from experience. He stared at the castle. It looked strong. Built from rocks, it blended in with the craggy topography. From a distance, it blended in with the mountain so well that many travelers could pass right by it, completely unaware that they rubbed shoulders with a devil.
Justin wandered through the forest’s edge to get a better look at the side of the castle. The castle walls extended to the edge of the mountainside which then dropped straight down for hundreds of feet. If he’d been searching for a home, this location would be perfect. This castle was easily defended. The only problem he saw for the owner was no escape route once the walls had been breached; however, breaching the walls would not be easy.
The leaves and twigs rustled as Nick squatted beside Justin. Any noise they made could destroy their cover and reveal their location. “There.” Nick pointed to the side of the castle. “That’s our point of entry.”
“What?” Justin asked in disbelief. “Go in on the side?”
“Yes,” Ni
ck said. “Look towards the back. All the way.” He pointed to the far end of the castle wall. “There are no turrets in that section, which means less security. There’s only one wall to penetrate, and then we’re in.”
Justin studied the spot. It looked as if the side of the mountain had been sheared off. It reminded him a little of Half Dome in Yosemite. The castle wall came up from the very edge of the mountain. There was no pathway along the sides of the castle. “Yes, there may be less security, but getting to that part of the mountain will not be easy,” Justin said with a grimace.
Nick opened one of Gabriella’s bags. “She came prepared,” Nick said, removing items from the bag and setting them on the ground.
“Hmm,” Justin mumbled. That far wall was probably their best shot, but getting there would not be easy. “I guess we have part of a plan.” He studied the items Nick set beside him. “What do we do once we’re inside?”
“Improvise,” Nick said.
“Hmm,” Justin mumbled again. He was not a fan of improvisation. He preferred a well thought-out plan with a good back-up plan. A job like this should not rely on a wish and a prayer, and Nick knew that too. Justin looked over his shoulder towards the others. “Are they coming with us?”
Nick nodded. “They’re gearing up.”
This made Justin nervous. He hadn’t scaled a mountain in ages, and the idea of being discovered on the side of the mountain didn’t make him happy. If they were discovered, they’d be easily killed. They were essentially defenseless on the mountainside.
“Chalk up,” Nick said. He tossed a little bag to Justin along with a pair of fingerless, leather gloves that he’d taken from the bag. “We’ll use the grappling hook once we get in place, but we’ll have to go out horizontally before we can go vertically.”
Synchronicity (Scintillate Series Book 3) Page 8