Awakened (8 page)

I shook my head. “He’s not a demon, Grampa.”

“You’re new to your powers. How would you know what he is or is not?”

I pulled out my amulet from under my top and dangled it. “The jadeite didn’t work on him.”

If Grampa was surprised I knew about the amulet’s powers, he didn’t show it. “He could have found some way to become immune to it. Demons are crafty.”

I let out my breath in a whoosh, as doubts seeped in. Images of how Bran had looked, all banged up and scruffy-looking, flashed in my head. “He’s scared…
terrified
of something.”

Grampa scratched his chin, frowning. “A scout would be terrified of being caught, I suppose. How do you know what he feels?”

Something in his voice told me he already knew the truth. I swallowed and forced myself to tell him about our meeting. “When I saw him today, he touched my hand and I felt his emotions. He’s terrified. He also had cut lips, bruises all over his face, a ripped shirt. I think he fought with someone, and then slept in the streets. He smelled awful.” I wrinkled my nose at the memory.

“I see.”

I rolled my eyes. “Is that all you’re going to say? Aren’t you going to yell at me for disobeying you and talking to him?”

“I don’t yell. Finish your cereal.”

I pushed my bowl aside, my appetite gone. “We must help him, Grampa.”

He didn’t respond.

“I didn’t mean to talk to him. It happened so fast. One minute I was opening my locker, the next he was there. But we weren’t alone. There were lots of students around.”

“But he touched you.”

“Accidentally. He showed me a scar on his chest and said he’ll be in the valley if you want to meet with him.”

Grampa stared at me for a few moments without speaking, then sighed.

“Well? Aren’t you going to retrieve the images from my head?” I asked.

“For starters, you shouldn’t have talked to him. I keep telling you, he may be dangerous. Second, you can’t be involved in this investigation anymore.” His eyes drifted past me, dismissing me, and anger surged through me.

“Why not?”

He got up. “You’re not a Cardinal Guardian, Lil. It takes decades to become one. You’re not even a trainee yet. And from what you told me last night, you’re not sure you want to help people.”

My jaw dropped open. “That’s not fair. I didn’t ask for my powers or for Bran to approach me.”

“No, you didn’t.”

“But the fact that he did means I’m involved.”

“Not anymore.” He took a step away from the table.

I grabbed his arm. “But Bran wants me involved. He told me about his family needing help, showed me his scar. It’s shaped just like my amulet, similar to the ones Sykes, Remy, Kim and Izzy wear.” When Grampa frowned, I let go of his hand. “I met them at school today, talked to them. They showed me theirs.”

“Kim and Izzy?”

“Isadora and Pilar. They prefer to be called Izzy and Kim.”

Grampa scowled. “You discussed what Bran told you with them?”

“Of course not. We just talked about when they got their powers and stuff. But from what they said, only Cardinals wear the six-pointed star amulet, which means Bran’s a Guardian trainee. There must be a trainee missing somewhere.”

Grampa laughed, continuing on to his bedroom. “I’d know if one was missing.”

“Grampa!”

“No, Lil. Stay out of this.” His black eyes flashed, his lips pressed in an uncompromising thin line.

I knew that look. It meant he wouldn’t change his mind. “Okay, I’ll stay out of your investigation. But at least take a look at the images in my memory.”

He shook his head. “I already did. You need to make up your mind whether you want to be a trainee or a Civilian. If you don’t want to be either, I’ll send you to live in Xenith.” He stopped by his bedroom door. “Next time Bran contacts you, tell him to talk to Izzy or Kim.”

Those two Barbie dolls? Over my dead body. “Bran chose to ask
me
for help, not them.”

“And have you asked yourself why?” His bushy eyebrows rose as he stared at me.

I opened my mouth to respond then closed it without speaking. Why hadn’t I asked myself that question?

“He probably knew the others would recognize him for what he is, a demon scout,” he finished.

A heavy silence followed, and I sat back with a defeated sigh, misery constricting my chest. It made perfect sense Bran would choose someone who wasn’t a threat to him. In my ignorance, I assumed we had a special bond. How stupid.

“Look at me, sweetheart.”

I couldn’t.

“Lil?”

He was back at the kitchenette table. I couldn’t meet his gaze so I stared at his chin. “Yes, Grampa?”

“I’m sorry to be so blunt, but it’s a dangerous war we fight and demons play many games. They can’t be trusted. I just don’t want you hurt.”

Too late for that. I nodded.

“Think seriously about what you want.”

“I don’t want to go to Xenith.”

“And I don’t want you to, sweetheart. I don’t mean to push, but the sooner you start training, the better.”

I closed my eyes, so many emotions twisting my insides I felt ill. “Next week…I’ll start next week. Right now I have homework, and then I’m going swimming with Kylie.” There was defiance in my tone, but I didn’t care. I needed my five days of normalcy, of not thinking about being a Guardian or the monsters out there.

Grampa squeezed my arm. “Sounds good.”

I got up and walked to my bedroom, flopped on the bed and stared at the ceiling. I remembered the storm I caused yesterday when I’d felt scared, angry and frantic. I let thoughts of blue skies, soft, fluffy clouds, fresh snow and gentle breezes drift in my head, things that made me happy, calm. They didn’t work.

I got up, dived inside my drawer for my swimsuit, changed and added sweatpants and a hoodie. Sandals replaced sneakers. I grabbed my terry robe and left my bedroom. Grampa’s door was open, and I saw him sitting on his bed.

“Going for a swim,” I called out, grabbed an apple from the kitchen counter and let myself out of the trailer before he answered. The air was dry, and not a single cloud drifted in the sky. Today the weather was warm for fall. Sometimes I forgot Utah was a desert.

Kylie’s mother and a friend, a short and heavy blonde, sat outside their trailer cooing to a chubby baby girl in a playpen. I crossed the street and approached them, envying their simple, uncomplicated existence. Wouldn’t it be nice to go back twenty-four hours, when all I worried about was fitting in and having friends?

“Mrs. Danes?”

Kylie’s mom looked up and smiled. “Oh, Lil. How are you doing, hon?”

“Good. Could you tell Kylie I’ve already left for the pool?”

“Sure, hon.”

I hurried toward the two-story motel, munching on my apple with gusto. As usual, my eyes were drawn to the weeping willow tree. My thoughts drifted to Bran. Where was he? What was he doing right now? Demon or not, I hoped Grampa and the Cardinals would agree to help him.

There were dozens of cars in the parking lot of the motel but no guests in the foyer when I walked through the motel’s double doors.

“May I help you?” the young lady manning the front desk asked, running a critical eye over my attire, the robe on my shoulder.

“My name is Lil Falcon. I was told residents of the RV Park can use your pool.”

“Uh-huh.” She pulled out a key card and pointed at a hallway. “Go on straight then turn left. Bring back the key card when you’re done.”

The medium size pool was empty and perfect for swimming laps. The water reflected the large windows dominating the northern wall and the cedar ceiling. A hot tub sat to my left, and white and green deck chairs were scattered around the deck.

I dropped my robe on a chair, removed the sweatpants and hoodie and dove into the pristine water. I lost count of the number of laps I did before I felt spent enough to switch from freestyle to breaststroke. Even then, I couldn’t stop the thoughts that whirled through my head. Most pressing was what to tell Kylie and the others if they asked me about my defection to Kim’s table. I needed to come up with an excuse before they joined me.

“Hey?” Kylie shouted a little later and pulled me out of my daydream.

“You made it.” My sports watch said it was five-thirty.

She shrugged. “Yeah, I was wrestling with Algebra. Guess who lost? Now I have to wait for my brainiac brother to come home from his chess club and rescue me. It’s so unfair. He’s younger but creams me at math.” She removed her tank top and shorts to reveal a skimpy, hot pink bikini, walked to the edge of the pool and skimmed the surface of the water with her toes. “Hmm, nice and toasty.” She dove into the water and swam to where I was treading water at the deep end. “Mom said you left eons ago. How many laps did you do?”

“Thirty or so.”

“Wow. So are you, like, seriously into swimming?”

I made a face, but she gave me a perfect opening for the excuse I came up with. “No, martial arts. Grampa already found a local dojo for me to join.”

“Which one?” Kylie asked.

“C12. Have you heard of it?”

“Who hasn’t? Is that what you were discussing with Kim and the others?”

I blinked at how fast she made the connection. I nodded though my cheeks warmed at the lie. “Grampa talked to the dojo yesterday.”

Her eyes widened. “Wow, you must be good. I know students who trained at C12, but none of them have ever made the elite team. Kim and her friends perform during pep rallies right after the cheer squad and the Hi-Los. They’re really good. I hear they win lots of tournaments at the nationals. They even go to international events.”

My stomach sunk. Would they expect me to perform as well? Or pretending to go to tournaments was a cover? “I had no idea.”

Amelia, Cade and Zack arrived while we were still discussing sports. Zack had a ball under his arm. “Nikki couldn’t come…violin lessons,” he informed everyone then pulled off his sweatshirt and jumped into the pool with a big splash. “Ready for water polo?”

“Not today,” Amelia yelled as she pulled off her jeans and placed her glasses on a poolside table. “Let’s play something else.”

I heard their exchange, but my gaze was locked on Kylie and Cade. As soon as he slid into the water, she swam into his arms for a hug. And boy had that hug developed into something deeper. They kissed as if they hadn’t seen each other in weeks, instead of just hours. Cade’s hand cradled the back of Kyle’s head, kneading through her wet hair.

Bran’s face flitted through my head, and I swallowed, my mouth going dry. What would it be like if he kissed me like that? Heck, what would it be like if any boy kissed me like that? I was sixteen and never been kissed, never had a boyfriend. I pushed the image of Bran away and turned from the kissing couple only to find Zack and Amelia watching me with knowing smiles. My cheeks grew warmer.

“They do that a lot, so you’d better get used to it,” Amelia warned.

She was right. The couple stole kisses for the next hour as we played water games. When two families with younger kids and an older couple entered the pool, we moved to the hot tub.

Zack watched me, his gaze drifting to my chest. I fought back a blush until he said, “I swear I’ve seen that shape before somewhere, Lil.”

I gave him a weak smile. “Grampa gave it to me.” By the time they find out that Kim or Izzy each have one like mine and that Remy and Sykes have similar amulet on their bracelets, I’d be an irrefutable elite member of C12 dojo.

“What are those writings on it?” Amelia asked, peering at the amulet.

I glanced down. The symbols at the corners, I’d concluded, stood for the powers of the six Cardinal Guardians, but that wasn’t something I could share. “I don’t know what….”

My voice trailed off when the pool house door opened and Bran walked inside. Our gazes connected and my heart started a crazy dance. What was he doing here? I searched his handsome face for clues, then frowned. What happened to his bruises? It was as though they were never there to begin with.

He moved toward the hot tub, and I remembered my conversation with Grampa. But how could I avoid Bran in here? And why did I feel the urge to ignore Grampa’s warnings again?

There was something about this guy that got to me every time I saw him. Even now, my insides did jumping jacks with excitement as he drew closer to us. All of a sudden, I felt self-conscious in my one piece swimsuit, which was ridiculous. I hadn’t felt awkward around Cade and Zack. I struggled to breathe, act normal.

“Sorry to interrupt, guys,” he said, squatting a few inches from me, his pine scent teasing my heightened senses. Then he turned to me. “Hey.”

His voice had gone soft, sending a shiver through me. I performed the introductions and was annoyed when my voice sounded breathless. Kylie must have noticed because she winked at me and grinned.

“Are you joining us, Bran?” she asked.

I scrunched my face at her then glanced at Bran to see whether he’d noticed. He hadn’t. I hoped. Instead, a wistful expression settled on his features as he gave our group a sweeping glance. “Maybe some other time. I just want to steal Lil for a few minutes.”

I found myself studying his lips as he spoke.

“Lil?” he asked, yanking me back to the fact that I was ogling him and fantasizing about kissing him.

Kylie and Cade’s cuddling had put ideas in my head. And there was no way I was getting up and waltzing across the deck in a swimsuit with Bran watching. I don’t know where the thought came from, but once it sunk in, I couldn’t get past it either. My heart hammered in an uneven staccato.

I pointed at the chairs where we left our things. “Could you pass me my robe, please?”

He stood and walked away. When he came back holding my robe up, ready for me to slip it on, his dimples flashed as though he’d read my thoughts and was suppressing a smile. I narrowed my eyes at him. His expression became indifferent, like our interaction bored him.

Still, my legs weren’t steady when I got out of the tub. I pushed my arms through the sleeves, tied the sash and pulled the hood of my robe on to cover my hair.

“I’ll be back,” I told the others with a wave as we walked away from the hot tub. Bran was close enough that I could feel his warmth through my robe.