As first Basal, followed by Kade and finally Zafir, are released by security, my anxiety fades leaving only disgust in its wake—while every member of our group was singled out no one bothered to look twice at the potheads behind us.
"Gate B11," Kade tells me as he leads the way. Holding tighter to my list of questions I follow him, adding, “How do you do that mind control thing?” to the list, a question that up until this point I've been too intimidated to bring up.
As I settle into my seat on the airplane, I'm still itching to talk with Kade, but I bide my time. At least the Wanderers can afford to fly in style.
I smile to myself, relishing in the comfort of my first class seat. Bored I broaden my focus, watching both my companions and the line of passengers boarding the plane. I notice a striking phenomenon right off the bat. Every woman between the ages of 20- and 45-years-old is drawn to the model-like Adonis traveling with me. Caught up in the bashful blushes of the younger girls and the outright lustful smiles of the cougars, I begin to snicker, which earns me a series of nasty looks from the 30-somethings group passing by.
Irked by their jealousy, I slide my arm over Kade's, resting my hand in his—a petty move sure to send my female counterparts over the edge, but I don't care. It feels good to assert some dominance in lieu of their shameless flirting.
My gloating is short lived, however. The smirk slides off my face as strong fingers stroke my skin, their grip unbreakable even when the line of passengers fades and the steward closes the plane’s outer door. Kade's response, coupled with the warmth in his gaze, floors me, as unexpected as the sudden flight of butterflies in my stomach.
"Ouch," I blurt out, pulling my hand back to rub a now throbbing shoulder. "What was that for?" I ask, glaring at Zafir.
Shrugging his massive shoulders he grins and leans back in is seat. "Had to get your attention somehow. You totally ignored me when I asked you to hand me a pillow."
I huff loudly and pull the pillow from the seatback in front of me, handing it to Z, being sure to hit him with the thing a couple of times for good measure. Chuckling he weathers my assault good naturedly before making a grab for the pillow. Tucking the thing behind his head he closes his eyes and turns away. Shaking out my still sore shoulder I roll my eyes; the guy is nothing but an overgrown teenager. Facing forward I try to relax as the plane taxis to the runway. As the plane accelerates and pulls away from the ground, I squeeze my eyes shut and grip the armrests of my seat until my knuckles are white, whispering a silent prayer.
"Are you okay?"
I nod, acknowledging the velvety voice without opening my eyes. As the fasten seatbelt sign dings and the stewardess comes across the loud speaker informing everyone we have achieved altitude and the captain has just turned off the fasten seatbelt sign, my eyelids pop open.
"Never pegged you for an aviophobic," Kade says frowning.
"I'm not, I just have trust issues," I tell him.
"Trust issues," Kade repeats to himself chuckling.
Leaning close to him I ask, "What did Basal mean when he said he didn't always believe in me?"
Motioning for me to keep quiet, Kade quickly looks around, checking to see if anyone has overheard us I assume. After sharing a look with Basal who nods, somehow understanding the nonverbal cue from Kade, he returns his attention to me.
"There, now it’s safe to speak freely."
Glancing around the cabin, unable to detect any change in our environment, I ask, "How do you do that?"
"Do you want me to tell you about mind tricks or answer your original question?" He grins mischievously. Momentarily struck dumb—because I want to know it all—I have to think about his question.
"First question, please," I grumble.
"Okay, where to begin ..." He draws it out, toying with me. I punch him in the shoulder on principle, letting him know I haven't forgotten about question two.
"Do you remember organic chemistry?" he asks unexpectedly.
"Yes," I answer, not following him.
"I was in San Diego on Wanderer business when I saw you in the library at UCSD. Recognizing you as Nephilim—" he says tugging on a red strand of hair, "—I followed you across campus to the chemistry building. You were working late on a group project of some sort. In a moment of frustration, I saw you pick up a can of soda and throw it across the room."
Frowning, puzzled, I quickly interject. "So?"
Kade arches a brow and continues, "You did it without using your hands."
"I did?!" I shriek a little too loudly. Quickly I glance around to see if anyone noticed before I remember no one will hear us. "I did?" I repeat in a whisper.
"Yes, you used telekinesis, a power historically common among the Nephilim, though it’s virtually nonexistent nowadays."
"Wow," I reply. "I remember that night, but have no memory of doing that."
"I'm not surprised," he tells me. "The next day I enrolled at UCSD and have been stalking you ever since, I'm afraid." His last admission should really bother me but I'm too busy wrapping my head around the fact I picked something up with my mind.
"What else can I do?" I ask expectantly.
A bit deflated, he runs a hand through his hair. "That's just it, I don't know. Till last night you've never utilized your powers again."
"So that's why Basal was surprised to see me—I wasn't supposed to go with you," I admit feeling dejected. Apparently over the last twenty-four hours I'd really bought into the fact I was super special.
Picking up on my tone Kade tucks a stray piece of hair behind my ear. "Hey, look at me," he commands, his voice that combination of comfort and steel I know so well. Looking up from my lap I meet his gaze. "I've never stopped believing in you; you're powerful and, now that you've discovered it, you'll be the savior of us all."
I turn away blushing at the firm conviction in his voice.
"After a few years, when your powers never surfaced again, my brothers lost faith and urged me to move on to another assignment. I've worked many assignments over the years but always returned, knowing there’s more to you than meets the eye."
A loud throat clearing effectively breaks the overwhelming silence that had begun to stretch between Kade and me.
"You're forgetting I never turned my back on Gwen either," Zafir announces, winking at me before rolling over and closing his eyes again.
Reflecting on what Kade has told me I notice Basal in my peripheral vision. The Wanderer sits shrunken in on himself against the window. It can't have been easy for him to sit there silently while Kade threw him and his brothers under the bus. I stand up and lean over the mountain that is Zafir and reach for Basal’s arm.
"It's alright, I didn't know either," I tell Basal, locking onto his hazel eyes with my own. "Friends," I tell him taking my seat once more. He nods courteously but continues to hold his tongue. I'm going to seriously put the hurt on that guy if he continues to berate himself for no reason, I tell myself.
"Okay, on to the question of the hour," I say, returning my attention to Kade who's been sitting solemn with pride as I reached out to his brother.
"Still hung up on that mind control thing, huh?" he teases.
"We'll get back to that. What I want to know now is how did a Sylph get into my lab?"
The humor drains from Kade's face as he contemplates my inquiry. "I'm not one hundred percent sure. It was you who tipped me off about that one."
"I did?" I blurt out, shocked again. Nodding he continues.
"I put it together when we had lunch a few days ago, when you told me about compound 253B and how it responded when you worked with it. Coupled with what happened to Mr. Johnson, I saw a big red flag."
Kade pauses when the stewardess interrupts us to ask if we'd care for a beverage. After we politely refuse, she moves on.
"I broke into work after hours to check my theory. In Mr. Taylor's office, I found the Sylph's sphere, along with plans to synthetically duplicate the Sylph's essence. Looks like he was hoping to replica
te their powers, so he could sell limitless power like a drug," Kade finishes.
Sitting back, appalled, I realize unknowingly just how deeply involved in this new world I’d become.
"It was my team, Kade. That rat bastard had us knee deep in evil!” I shout indignantly, temper flaring. "Someone could have gotten terribly hurt on my watch."
"That's why you're never going back," Kade replies, unquestionable authority underlining his statement. "There will be an investigation to determine how Taylor came into possession of a Sylph after the resealing."
Never going back, I think, a point Kade seems to reemphasize as often as he can. It leaves me with a dilemma. Just what am I to do? I've spent the better part of my twenties in a lab. I have no other marketable skills. When all this is over, where will that leave me?
As we make our descent, I find personal reflection will have to wait; the current pace of my life is like a jet engine, affording me little time to think. Once the wheels touch down our plane taxis on to the next stop along our journey, and I find myself in possession of a whole new set of questions ... and only a few answers.
Chapter 30
"Come on, you're gonna miss the best part," Z says, shaking my shoulder a little more vigorously than necessary to wake a person.
"Alright!" I exclaim, exasperated. "I'm awake."
I peel my head off of the seatbelt housing I'd been resting against in our newly acquired SUV and slump forward in my seat to stare out the window. I'm no good when I'm tired, and in the last forty-eight hours I've only managed to log about eight hours of sleep so I'm less than thrilled with Zafir's interruption. Moodily I glare out the window at ... sand?
No, it’s salt, I remind myself. Miles and miles of salt. We have reached the Bonneville Salt Flats. Imagine my surprise when what I thought was a simple layover in Salt Lake turned out to be what Basal coined a short road trip.
As I take in the landscape I groan, vaguely recalling the one summer in elementary school when my parents dragged me out here for my first and only visit. This place was ugly then and it's ugly now.
I drag my gaze back to the car’s interior and continue to fume in my seat. "Explain to me again why you guys have a hideout in the middle of all this." Not picking up on the distaste in my tone Z answers honestly.
"It's great, not another soul for miles."
"Exactly," I mutter, disengaging from the conversation. I return to staring out the window. Truthfully, I shouldn't be this grumpy; the detour won't take long, according to Kade. Because I’m trying to shake the funk I'm in thanks to exhaustion, I'm not paying any attention when Basal addresses me.
"Huh, I didn't catch that," I reply focusing on my companions.
"He said that having a headquarters on American soil is more convenient than anywhere else," Kade repeats.
"Yeah, I imagine getting the Internet in the desert is problematic," I jest. Basal rolls his eyes.
"You have no idea. It's not just the technology; contracting construction for a building of any sort, let alone a compound like ours, is more difficult."
"But why here?" I ask.
"It's simple really: space. No one will ever develop this land, which affords us a certain amount of privacy."
"But you guys can do that mind control thing."
"Just because you can do a thing doesn't always mean that you should," Bass tells me.
I frown but hold my tongue like a child weathering a parental lecture.
"Our facility is spelled to deter detection, but out here we hardly need it, the only foot traffic being a few sightseers and fans visiting the nearby speedway," Kade tacks on. Turning around in his seat to look at me, Kade lowers his voice. "Using power of any kind has consequences. It's best to abstain from it."
Staring back at him I ponder this but fail to see his point of view. Maybe if these guys had used a little more magic to get the job done, my lab wouldn't be in pieces.
"We're here," Zafir interrupts, pointing to the huge cement building just coming into view ahead of us.
Holy cow! Compound is right. It looks more like a military fortress—well, what I assume a military fortress looks like. The structure is at least three stories of sand colored concrete, ghastly and imposing all rolled into one. Z is practically jumping in his seat like a little school-girl next to me.
"And the basement has a state of the art range."
"Range?" I question.
"Gun range. Z's a bit of a weapons nut," Kade leans around his seat to whisper. Biting my tongue I try not to laugh.
"That's perfect. The roided up adolescent has an itching trigger finger," I whisper back. Kade smiles, his honey-colored eyes snapping with mirth.
Rolling into Wanderer headquarters through a stone arch near the base on the north side, Basal parks the SUV in the large open courtyard. With my legs stiff from travel, I immediately reach for the door handle, needing to stretch. My forward motion is stopped abruptly when a large hand comes to rest heavily on my shoulder.
Turning I come face to face with Zafir, whose normally stormy grey eyes have become hard and menacing. Suddenly afraid, I hold my breath, frozen.
"Stick close to me. My brothers won’t be any more welcoming than Bass was."
Releasing my shoulder, Z smiles at me, his face returning to that arrogant frat guy expression I've come to associate with him. "Don’t look so constipated. Kade will straighten it out."
Finally able to breathe, I smack him in the shoulder. "You scared the shit out of me is more like it," I say shoving the car door open and stepping out into the semi-blinding light.
The compound’s walls cuts down on the glare considerably, thank goodness. Pulling my sunglasses tighter to my face I orient myself near Zafir, as instructed, and wait.
We don't have to wait long.
A tall dark shadow, similar in appearance to every one of my traveling companions, is making his way toward us as we enter the nearest passageway. A few strides closer and I notice he’s flanked by another.
"What's the meaning of this?" he shouts angrily, his aggressive posturing making the confrontation all the more intimidating. Man, these guys are big, I think to myself again.
"I gave you explicit orders not to bring her, Kade!" Cowering under his ferocious scrutiny, I shrink down next to Zafir.
"Wait," Kade interjects, but the other man ignores him, turning to face off with Basal instead.
"And you, you were clear on my instructions when you left, so what," he yells pointing at me, "is this?"
I see Kade flick the briefest of glances my direction, a curtain of controlled rage sharpening his usually comforting face when he sees me all but hiding behind Zafir. My blood runs cold—I've seen that face before. If this guy isn't careful he's going to eat pavement.
"That's Adil, and the guy behind him is Hal," Zafir whispers down at me, making the necessary introductions.
Stepping forward Kade draws all attention to himself when he barks, "Z, the bag."
Handing Kade the black duffle, Zafir steps back, once again by my side. Forcefully unzipping the thing, Kade pulls out the Sylph sphere, letting everything else fall to the floor.
"She has a name. Gwen imprisoned this Sylph in his sphere." He hisses through clenched teeth while forcing the orb into Adil's chest.
"It's true, we all witnessed it," Basal adds, stepping up to flank Kade. The Wanderer that Z introduced as Hal speaks up for the first time since the confrontation started.
"How fortuitous, this is indeed good news.” Side-stepping Adil he approaches and says, “Gwen, I'm pleased to make your acquaintance." He moves forward to kiss my hand like the gentlemen do in those old movies I don't admit to watching. And then he locks forearms with Kade.
"You were right, my brother," he acknowledges, slapping Kade on the back for good measure. As one, the men turn to face Adil, silently waiting for something. I seem to be in the clear but I'm gripped with the overwhelming feeling that my fate lies completely in this man’s hands.
N
ot typically a coward I force my legs to move the two steps separating Kade and myself, taking his free hand in my own as a show of solidarity. After a moment’s contemplation, Adil looks up from the sphere, his demeanor a tad less frosty than before.
"It appears I've been mistaken. Good work," he tells Kade, still all business. "Thank you for making the trip to help us, Gwen, we all are greatly in your debt." With a half-bow of respect to me, he dismisses the lot of us, claiming Bass, Zafir, and Hal to help finalize the preparations for departure.
Alone in the corridor with Kade I finally let out a sigh, relieved the intense moment has passed. I release his hand and step back to lean against the wall.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm fine," I reply, managing to smile weakly. Concern etches his strong features.
"Tell me what you’re thinking," Kade requests. Eyes on the floor I admit to feeling overwhelmed and out of my league.
"I don’t understand what am I? Or what I am doing here?" I say searching his amber eyes for answers, admiring their soft iridescent glow in the darkened hallway.
"Come on, let's go sight-seeing." I grasp his outstretched hand and let him lead me deeper into the compound.
This place is amazing. Rough around the edges and bare bones practical, yes, but somehow the Wanderers have snuck in a few luxurious hideaways, starting with their barracks. Well, at least I assumed the sleeping quarters would be barrack-like until Kade opened a door to the first of many suites. These bedrooms rival a five star hotel, richly decorated with all the amenities you could want. I run a hand over the heavy brocade comforter on a bed, impressed.
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