When I pointed deeper into the forest, we both leaned forward and strained for a better look. Two girls walked past, clearly having given up on the whole jogging thing. I was right there with them.
“Well,” Brooke said, “I don’t see anything, but the way this day has been going, maybe we should get back to the gym, just to be safe.”
But I had seen something. An outline. A shape that resembled a head peering from behind a tree about thirty yards away. I stepped closer as a ray of light glinted off a blade. A silver blade.
Before I could comment, something moved inside me. A ripple of displeasure. A quake of something dark and dangerous. Every molecule in my body came alive as I looked at that blade. At the sun glistening off it in the shadowy forest.
“Don’t you think?” Brooke asked.
I eased my hand around her arm and stepped back onto the path.
“What?” She looked into the forest again and caught on. In a hushed whisper, she said, “I still don’t see anything.”
“I do.” When the shape emerged from behind the tree, hunched down like a wild animal, I squeezed her arm tighter and whispered, “Run.”
RATS AND SINKING SHIPS
Thankfully, Brooke needed no evidence to follow my lead. We took off at the speed of light. Or, well, at about one three-hundred-millionth the speed of light. Give or take. Suddenly traversing the uneven ground and dodging tree branches became the least of our worries. We were running for our lives and we had adrenaline on our side.
But we came to another skidding halt when someone literally jumped across the path in front of us. The movement wrenched screams from our throats and we fell back, clinging to each other like victims in a horror movie.
“It’s Cameron!” Brooke said, throwing a hand over her chest to help catch her breath. We scrambled to our feet and watched as he flew through the forest toward the figure. Only then did we realize Jared was on its heels as well. He came from behind us and ran so fast, we could hardly see him. What I could see was a being that moved with the speed and grace of an animal. The fluid motion of a predator.
Jared yelled for Cameron to get us to safety, so he reversed and hurried back, stopping in front of us. And while we panted and coughed and even sputtered a little, he stood there, completely calm, not out of breath in the least. Freaking nephilim.
Cameron Lusk was the other supernatural being at Riley High, only he was born and raised here. I’d known him since kindergarten, since he’d stopped Joss Duffy from pasting my eyelids together, but I only recently got to know the real Cameron. The half-human, half-angel who was created because of me. Apparently, when the heavens realized I was going to be born and the impending war was becoming more and more impending, an archangel by the name of Jophiel had relations, as my grandfather called it, with Cameron’s mother. And nine months later, out popped a little being who was almost as indestructible as a full-fledged angel and every bit as stubborn.
He divided his time between watching us wheeze and searching the forest, his ice blue eyes sharp, his blond hair brushing his shoulders with the breeze filtering through the leaves. After a minute, he said, “We need to go.”
“What’s going on?” Brooke asked.
“Later. Let’s move.” He looked over at me as I took a hit from my inhaler, and asked, “Can you run?”
I put my inhaler back in my pocket and nodded. We took off, following the path back to school. Brooke and I ran so fast, the leaves blurred in our periphery. The ground melted into one solid mass. We were flying.
When I glanced over my shoulder to make sure Cameron was still behind us, I pulled Brooke to a stop and glared at him. “You have got to be kidding me.”
He was right on our heels. Walking. With a bored expression on his face.
He examined himself, self-conscious. “What?”
After rolling my eyes, I said between gasps of air, “This is just really disconcerting.” We started for the school again, only this time I walked. There was no sense in exerting any more energy than necessary.
Brooke crossed her arms over her chest. “The least you could do is jog a little. Make it look like you’re putting some effort into keeping up with us.”
He cracked a smile, but his gaze stayed on full alert. “It’s not my fault your legs are shorter than my attention span.”
Brooke held up a hand, refusing to listen to him, and fell in step beside me. “Boys.”
“Right?”
We were almost to the tree line when I heard Jared jog up from behind us. I studied him a moment. Could Brooke have been right? Did he still like me? And if he did, why not just tell me? No. He wasn’t exactly the shy type. If he were that into me, I’d be the first to know.
“Well?” I asked.
He shook his head, tossing Cameron a secretive look from underneath his lashes.
“Wait,” Brooke said. “Lorelei saw someone.”
But that glance he’d offered Cameron spoke volumes.
Cameron nodded at him as though sending a secret message right back. “Let’s keep going,” he said, and led the way as Jared brought up the rear.
I tugged at Cameron’s jacket. “I saw someone with a knife.”
“Whoever it was is gone,” Jared said from behind me.
“He outran you?” I asked, incredulous. “You?”
“There’s no way,” Brooke said.
Jared didn’t respond. Maybe he and Cameron had some secret code, intel they didn’t want to share with the rest of the class. They were as bad as my grandparents. I almost argued with them, insisted they spill, but my thoughts had drifted back to two pertinent details: One, Jared was right behind me. So close, I could almost feel the heat of his body, the coolness of his gaze. And two, something had moved inside me. Literally. Like a sleeping dragon had been awakened. I clutched my stomach, worry kneading my brows, and continued onward.
Cameron had parked behind the gym, and he stopped to grab a fresh shirt from the bed of his truck. Not because he got all sweaty or anything. It probably took a lot to make a supreme being sweat. But because, according to him, he hadn’t changed from the day before.
“Where have you been?” Brooke asked him as he lifted off his shirt.
She tried so hard. She really did. But her gaze shifted for just a split second when his shirt obscured his vision, and she got an eyeful of muscle and skin.
I forced myself not to grin and focused on a rock at my foot, awkwardly pretending Jared wasn’t beside me.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Wonderful,” I said, offering him my best fake smile.
“I believe you saw someone.”
“Great. Thanks.”
After a quick glance, he asked, “What’s wrong with your stomach?”
I immediately let go of my midsection. “Nothing.”
He sighed at my terse responses and turned back to the forest. I realized this was my chance. If the Hardy Boys wouldn’t let me in on their secret, I’d try to glean it from Jared for myself.
“I’m sorry,” I said. I stepped over to him and put my hand on his arm. The touch was electric, but not because of anything extrasensory. I was touching him again for the first time in weeks. And I’d surprised him. He looked down at my hand; then his shimmering eyes locked with mine. He stepped closer, and I sucked in a soft breath.
His head descended until his mouth, full and sensual, was almost on mine, and he said, “Are you getting anything?”
I sobered instantly and jerked my hand away. “Of course not.” I couldn’t help the defensive tone in my voice. “I stopped having visions.”
He crossed his arms over his chest and pressed his mouth together in doubt. “Really?”
“Yes, really.” I tightened my jacket around me and turned my attention to Brooke and Cameron.
“Do you think the world has gotten a bit dark and fuzzy around the edges?” Brooke asked when Cameron closed his tailgate.
“It looks pretty sunny to me.”
“No,” she said, waving a hand absently, “I mean in general. Like there’s something wrong. Something waiting.”
Not even I could miss the silent exchange that time. He glanced at Jared and they held gazes for a second too long before he shrugged. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
“You know exactly what I mean,” she said, her voice accusing.
I had to admit, I was getting exasperated with their furtive behavior myself.
He pulled on his jacket, his brows raised in question.
“Cut it out and just tell us what’s going on.”
After fidgeting with the zipper, he gave up the charade with a heavy sigh. “They’re gone.” He scanned the area, deep in thought. “The spiritual elements in this area are gone.”
Jared stepped away from me and turned back to the forest, his shoulders straight, his body tense.
“What do you mean?” Brooke asked.
I wrapped my arms around my midsection again. This was bad. I could tell. Though I had no idea what he meant either, I knew it was bad. It had to be if it set the Angel of Death and a bona fide nephilim on edge.
“Like ghosts? Poltergeists?” she asked.
They started walking back to the gym. I followed at a slower pace, wanting to hear but not wanting to know. This was not part of my plan to get back to normal. Anything having to do with spiritual elements was not normal. Normal people talked about homework, the opposite sex, plans for the weekend. They did not talk about the spiritual elements in the area like they were discussing the weather.
Jared brought up the rear.
“Exactly,” Cameron said with a nod.
“What do you mean, they’re gone? Why are they gone?”
“You know how rats leave a sinking ship? That would be my guess.”
She stopped and ogled him. “So, all the ghosts left because this ship is sinking?”
He lifted one shoulder into another halfhearted shrug. “Something like that.”
“Riley’s Switch,” I said, joining the conversation at last. “Riley’s Switch is a sinking ship, and they know it.”
The moment I said it, the minute the words left my mouth, another ripple of movement shuddered inside me. Every cell from my chin to my knees reverberated like a low chord had been strummed. I tightened my hold, calming the beast within. And wondering, why now? After ten years, why awaken now?
Jared reached for me. He grabbed my arms and looked me up and down, his expression shocked. Did he feel it too? Did he know?
I jerked out of his grasp and said, “Don’t look at me like that.” Then, like a silly schoolgirl with hurt feelings—which was true on both counts—I stalked back to the gym without them.
* * *
I headed straight for the toilets. Most of the other girls, including Tabitha, were already dressed. The bell would ring in a couple of minutes, and I still had on gym shorts and a hoodie. But being tardy to my next class was the least of my worries. I crashed through a stall door and fell to my knees, heaving into the toilet. But I had yet to eat that day. Partaking in breakfast would have required some alone time with my grandparents, and I avoided that scenario as much as possible lately. So, I heaved several times to no avail. Still, that was better than upchucking actual content.
I stood and weaved toward a sink, my legs weak, my footing unsure, as one girl eyed me like I’d grown another head and a couple of others asked if I was okay. I nodded and proceeded to splash cold water on my face, groaning when the bell rang. No way would I not be late to my next class now.
“Are you okay?” Brooklyn asked, rushing in.
“Yes, but the bell rang. We need to hurry.”
“Lor, what’s wrong?”
I patted my face dry with a paper towel. “Nothing. We’re going to be late is all.”
She didn’t believe me. I figured that out when she said, “I don’t believe you, and we are going to have a very long talk, Lorelei McAlister.”
Uh-oh. She’d used both names. I was in trouble.
“Why don’t you guys iron out your problems tonight?”
We turned to see my archnemesis walk in. She handed me a pink slip of paper with crude writing and a small map.
“You can come hang and talk all you want.”
Brooke ripped the paper out of my hand. “A party? You’re inviting us to a party?”
Tabitha checked her long blond hair in the mirror. “Just thought you might like to have some fun. There’ll be boys.” With a sly grin, she retrieved the paper out of Brooke’s grasp and handed it back to me. “And you and I can chat as well. You know, girl to girl.” After offering me a playful wink, she turned on her toes and left.
Brooke gaped at me. “What was that all about? And since when do you even talk to the creature whose name shall not be spoken aloud? Especially after she just rammed you into a tree?”
I studied the paper, curious myself, but only a little. “If you noticed,” I said, stuffing it into my pocket, “I didn’t talk. She did.” I left her with that and strolled to my gym locker to get dressed. No need to rush. I was going to be tardy anyway.
My grandparents might have to be called. They might have to give up part of their day to talk to Principal Davis. They might have to worry over what has gotten into me, be bothered by my lack of respect for school rules. What a shame that would be.
* * *
As it turned out, I did not have to go to the office for a tardy slip, because the teacher was late as well. She’d had to help break up another fight in the halls, this one between two girls who had the practiced art of hair pulling down to a science. The teacher’s absence gave me time to recuperate from my last carpet-bombing of visions. While hurrying to fifth hour, the crush of the crowd trying to see the fight and the emotions running high catapulted vision after vision toward me until I could hardly see where I was going. Most were inconsequential, stuff that had already happened, but one vision—and there was always one—had a Riley High student contemplating suicide. It was a kid I didn’t know well, but the rest of my day would be lost inside the hopeless musings of depression like a deep pit I couldn’t claw my way out of.
Again.
* * *
Brooke and I walked to the Java Loft after school. It was our favorite hangout. Mostly because it served lattes and cappuccinos, but also because it was the only place in our small town that did.
Cameron was right behind us, and when I asked him about Jared, he pointed to the top of an art gallery on Main, where Jared was standing guard.
My life was so weird.
“I think I’ll just head home,” I said, stuffing my icy hands into my jacket pockets. “I’m kind of tired today.”
“On a Friday? Lor, what is going on?” Brooke asked as I watched the silhouette of Jared against the descending sun.
“What do you mean?”
She let a loud sigh slide through her lips. “You’ve been acting really strange lately. I know it’s a lot, everything you’ve been through with your parents and finding out about what happened to you as a kid, but it just seems like there’s more to it than that.”
I couldn’t suppress a soft laugh, though there was nothing humorous about it. “More than finding out that I led my parents to their deaths?”
She put her hands in her jacket pockets too and lowered her head in silence.
“More than finding out I was possessed by Lucifer’s second-in-command and he’s still inside me?”
She lifted a shoulder. “It sounds so bad when you put it that way.”
“And more than finding out my grandparents sabotaged the only real relationship I’ve ever had with a guy who could double as a supermodel slash international spy? More than that?”
“Well,” she said, looking away, “yeah. More than that.”
“You don’t think that’s enough?”
She stepped closer. “I most definitely think that’s enough, but there’s still more. I know you. I can gauge what’s going on in that head of yours.” She tapped my
forehead with her index finger. “I just think we should talk is all.”
I shook her off. “I can’t tonight. My grandparents want to have dinner,” I said, lying.
“Oh.” She seemed surprised. “Okay, that’s good. You guys need to talk. I’ll just see you tomorrow, then? It’s Saturday. We can watch movies all day and eat popcorn until we’re sick.”
“Sure.”
“Okay,” she said with a relieved smile just before she ducked into the Java Loft for a latte.
I started for home, then stopped and looked back at Cameron. “You know, you can stay here with Brooke.”
His mouth formed a thin line. “You know I can’t.”
“Dude, you’ve been gone for two days. What’s another half hour going to matter?”
When all I got in response was a glare, I dropped it and headed home. Cameron followed me as I knew he would. I decided to sneak around back to avoid a confrontation with my grandparents. Our house, or houselike dwelling, was connected to their store, The Wild ‘n Wonderful. It was technically a health food store, but we sold a little of everything. All the everyday essentials. Like soap. And Cheetos.
“I’m going back to school for my truck,” he said. “Stay inside. I’ll be back in five.”
“I think I’ll be okay in my own house,” I said, growing a little annoyed with the constant presence of one of my bodyguards.
He looked over his shoulder. “Whatever helps you sleep at night, shortstop. I’ll still be back in five.”
I shook my head and opened the screen door as quietly as I could. It was so weird to be at odds with my grandparents. We were always close, almost inseparable. But they had kept so much from me growing up, so much I could have used to understand the visions and other oddities in my life. They’d wanted to wait, to tell me everything when I turned eighteen—the Order, my lineage, the prophecies—but when I was hit by that truck and Jared was sent to take me, everything changed.
Everything.
Only then did I find out that my grandparents were part of the Order of Sanctity, a group of people who believed in the teachings of a powerful prophet named Arabeth, the first prophet in human history to be burned as a witch centuries before it became common practice. Only then did I find out my lineage, that I was apparently descended from her. And only then did I find out about the prophecies surrounding my birth and my destiny. Not to mention the fact that I’d been possessed as a child. That was a kicker.