“I don’t know. It just happened.” I checked my palm and the back of my hand. The writings were gone. I winced when Uni-brow landed a blow on Bran’s chin. He staggered backward, recovered and went after the demon with a kick, followed by a well-placed jab between his neck and shoulder. The demon dropped to his knees.
“We might as well get something to drink while we wait for them to finish,” Kim said and teleported behind the bar. She got three glasses, made eye contact with the assistant manager and added a fourth one.
A groan drew my attention back to the fighters. They all had bruises on their faces, more on the demons than our guys. Bran was so caught up in the moment he’d forgotten I could feel his pain. Two more minutes was all I would give them, then I was stopping the fight. It was one thing to let out steam and quite another to pound each other into pulp.
“Here you go,” Kim said.
I accepted the red liquid in a wine glass with a lemon wedge on the edge. “What is it?”
“Cranberry juice for you and something else for us.” She took a sip of her drink and looked at the assistant manager, who had moved to the bar. “So, do you have a name, Mr. Assistant Manager?”
Kim grilled the demon about the Summoners and the Tribe, threatening him with instant decapitation if he lied. When she realized he was clueless, she changed the subject to managing a restaurant. I shook my head. Kim was a class act.
The guys staggered to the bar, bruises and broad grins on their faces. The demons teleported one by one while Kim passed out drinks. I touched a cut on Bran’s forehead and froze when the cut just closed up and healed without leaving a mark or redness. I looked at my hand and frowned. The writings weren’t there, yet I’d just healed him.
“You okay?” he asked, peering at me.
I opened my mouth to tell him about the markings and what just happened, then decided against it. “Yeah. You?”
“I feel great.” He glanced at Sykes and Remy. “Guys?”
Remy stopped dabbing a cut on his lip and grinned, his eyes going to Kim. I’d noticed the way his eyes kept straying to her when we were at his place. She, on the other hand, seemed oblivious. Could he be into her? Sykes stuck up his thumbs, his knuckles red, showing off as usual.
“Liars,” Izzy retorted. “You look like something Tartarus spit out. Do you want me to take care of your wounds or what?”
“We’ll be fine,” Remy said. Sykes nodded.
Bran was busy fingering his forehead as though he just realized I had healed him. He caught my gaze and cocked his right brow.
His expression said he intended to discuss it later. “Anyone hungry?” he asked.
Everyone nodded.
“But not the food from here.” Kim exchanged a knowing look with Izzy. “Let’s go to Kieran’s.”
“Again?” Remy asked and scowled.
“It’s the only place you can walk in looking like a road kill and get a hero’s welcome,” Izzy said.
“And waitresses inspecting our battle wounds,” Sykes added with a grin then tried to bump fists with Remy. Remy glared at him. I had no idea where Kieran’s was, but it sounded like a Guardian restaurant, which shouldn’t bother Remy. What was his problem?
“Kieran’s it is,” Bran said then glanced at the assistant manager. “Tell my brother we’re looking for him. We’ll be back.”
- 8 -
A NEW ORDER
We materialized inside a large office, where a Guardian was hunched over a computer while telekinetically pounding on the keyboard. On the screen, two warriors dueled with swords, a Werenephil and the other, going by the halo above his head and the self-righteous smirk on his face, an archangel.
The Guardian lifted his middle finger, then he rotated his chair around and studied us with a lopsided grin. “Cardinals, nice of you to drop by looking so…presentable.”
“Just open the damn door, Keiran,” Bran said testily.
Keiran ignored him. Tall and slender, Keiran had a dimpled chin, chiseled features and wavy brown hair with highlights. Alchemy Gothic earrings looped around his ears and a silver full-finger armor ring gleamed on one of his fingers. But his most striking features were his eyes. They were a deep shade of violet. They twinkled as his gaze swept us and zeroed in on Kim, a slow smile curling his lips.
Kim blushed.
Interesting. I’d never seen Kim blush before.
His smile deepened as though her blush pleased him, then he got to his feet, waved and a door appeared on the wall beside his computer desk. Bran, Remy, and Sykes made a beeline for it. “I’ll start charging.”
“You already do,” Bran said. “Your food is outrageously expensive.”
“That’s because it’s the best in town.” He turned and smiled, his gaze locking with Kim’s again. “What is it going to be? Something heavy or light?”
She smiled. “We had lunch in Bermuda earlier.”
“Light it is. The usual Lil…Izzy?”
Izzy nodded, and so did I, even though I had no idea what my usual was.
“I’ll see to it.” He teleported to the door, opened it and winked at Kim. “You want to sample something new? I know you like variety and I saved something just for you.”
Kim sashayed to where he stood by the door and whispered as she brushed past him, “And here I thought you couldn’t surprise me anymore.”
As the door closed behind them, I turned and faced Izzy. “Is Kim…?”
“Dating him?” Izzy finished. “Oh yeah. I thought it was the excitement of a forbidden love, but I think she might actually be in love. Don’t tell the guys though. It’s supposed to be a secret.”
“Why? They wouldn’t care.”
“Her family would if they found out. He’s a member of the Brotherhood, hardly what her family considers ‘suitable’. Her parents want to choose a mate for her.” Izzy rolled her eyes.
“That’s so archaic and…” my voice trailed off when her glance shifted to the guys as they re-entered the room. They were blood-free, the cuts on their faces and knuckles already healing but still visible.
“Are we eating in here or out there?” Izzy asked.
“Out there,” Sykes said, cutting across the room. “I’m starving.”
Remy and Izzy followed him.
“We’ll catch up,” Bran called out and walked to where I stood. He pushed his hair away from his face.
I touched the bruise on his lower lip. It closed up nicely. Funny, I was used to being awed by Izzy as she healed us, yet because of my new, temporary powers, I could do it too.
Bran touched his lip and smiled. “How’s your head?”
“Not so bad.”
He cupped my face and studied my face as though searching for something.
“Don’t do that, please,” I whispered.
He cocked his right eyebrow. “Do what?”
“Look at me like I’m, you know, different.” Then a thought occurred to me and I reached up to touch my forehead and hair. “I
He chuckled and pressed his forehead against mine. “Of course you are the same…physically. Your psi
