Hunted

accompanied by thoughts I could listen to.

“Your grandfather loves you and worries when anyone, demon or otherwise, targets you,” Cardinal Janelle explained. “He’ll be fine once this mess with the Tribe is over.”

Back in the conference room, my eyes sought Grampa’s as soon as we materialized. He looked like he’d aged a century. Something about having the powers of the Kris Dagger inside me bothered him.

Master Haziel said it is only temporary, I telepathed him.

He smiled, but his eyes were sad. Of course it is.

“The marks appeared on her arms when someone tried to hurt her with an athame,” Remy said, answering a question from one of the Cardinals. “She touched the blade and it caught fire. They appeared on her arms again when we met with Dante. He couldn’t get close to her without feeling pain.”

Cardinal Seth studied me thoughtfully. “So you reacted the way the Kris Dagger would react to a demonic energy.”

I gave him a tiny smile. “Yes, but the power switch is only temporary. Master Haziel said so.”

Cardinal Seth nodded, though I had a feeling he didn’t agree with me. His focus shifted to Remy. “Did her powers ebb with her headache?”

Remy glanced at me. Do you want to tell him?

No. I didn’t like the way they reacted whenever I insisted the power shift was temporary. Besides, Cardinal Seth often treated me like I was a child who needed to be told what to do. In my mood, I might make a snarky comment. I studied the other senior Cardinals instead. I couldn’t shed the feeling that they were operating at a different level from us. They were keeping secrets and only talking to us to get information. They hadn’t shared anything new.

“We visited a few more humans, whose contracts we’d canceled months ago,” Remy said, answering another question. “Their stories were the same—they had no memories of ever seeing us and their fortunes were reversed. We don’t know how widespread it is.”

“It is worldwide,” Cardinal Hsia said.

“Anything else you’d like to add?” Cardinal Seth asked impatiently, focusing on us.

“I think my brother might be one of the Summoners,” Bran said.

“Why would you think that?” Grampa asked, not masking his shock.

Bran explained his theory then added, “I’d like a chance to find him and talk to him.”

“Not now,” Grampa said firmly.

“Can you at least tell us about the Tribe and how to fight them?” Bran asked.

“We’ve never dealt with them before, but Master Haziel suggested we find the demons who summoned them and reverse the summoning.” Cardinal Janelle glanced at the other Cardinals, who nodded, then she continued, her expression earnest. “We spent the last week searching for them. When we heard rumors about the humans getting hurt, we went to investigate. Hsia treated some, but the majority of them were beyond help. However, it was too soon to conclude that the demon you encountered on the island and the one hurting humans was one and the same.”

“Since we didn’t meet any, we were beginning to doubt your account of what happened,” Cardinal Seth added.

“After today, we believe you,” Grampa said. “We owe you an apology, because their reappearance today confirms they are here and we must stop them.”

They are here and you must stop them… the words echoed in my head.

“Say that again,” I said urgently.

Grampa scowled. “Say what again?”

I rubbed my temple as I tried to grasp the elusive memory. “I’ve heard the words ‘They are here and you must stop them’ before. But they were spoken by a woman. Why am I getting snippets of conversations I’d never heard before, or are they from my lost memories?”

“Maybe your mind can provide us with some answers.” Grampa stood and Bran gave him his seat. “Lil, you know that when we mind-blend, psi energies tend to mix.”

I nodded. Earlier in the year, they’d refused to let Bran and me link, out of fear that his energy might contaminate mine.

“At times, memories and thoughts are left behind too,” Grampa continued. “They could tell us the Tribe’s plans. Also, if we find residual energy, we can feed that energy to the Psi-dar and try to locate their whereabouts.”

Psi-dar was a pool of the purest form of psi energy that Civilian security teams used to monitor demonic energies around the globe. I heard the energy came from the residual auras of millions of Guardians who’d ascended. Being around the Psi-dar was like being in a room full of ghosts, smart ghosts all thinking together.

“Is it safe? I mean, what if I contaminate your energy? Remember, I couldn’t link with Bran before because he could contaminate mine.”

Grampa chuckled. “I’ve been doing this a lot longer than Bran, so I’ll be okay. What’s the last thing you remember?”

“Walking inside Valafar’s booth on Jarvis Island,” I explained.

“That was four months ago,” Cardinal Janelle said, coming to stand behind me. She placed her hands on my shoulders and rubbed them reassuringly.

“Then we have a point of reference.” Grampa cupped my face. His hands were clammy as though he was nervous, which didn’t make sense. Grampa was invincible. I studied the others, hating the way they were watching me as if I had all the answers. “Look at me,” he added.

I tensed.

“Relax,” he said, his voice reassuring. “I’ll be quick.”

I only grew tenser. Some of my recent memories were very private. Would Grampa blame Bran for what almost happened in my bedroom this afternoon? Did it matter? A hand wrapped around mine. Bran.

Exhaling, tension leached out of me and I let Grampa take over. At first, I didn’t feel a thing even though I knew the moment our energies overlapped. There was slight pressure in my head, but it quickly passed. After a few seconds of studying his calm expression, heat crawled up my face. He was seeing everything I’d done the last few hours, including how mean I was to Mrs. Watts and everything I’d said and done with Bran.

The pressure continued to build up on my temples and I forgot about being embarrassed. He was staying too long. My eyes watered as the pressure increased. I squeezed Bran’s hand and was probably hurting him and whoever was holding my other hand. The pressure kept going up until my head felt like a nut between pliers’ teeth.

Grandpa, I protested.

A few more seconds, he responded, his inner voice harsh.

My vision blurred. A dull throb radiated from my temples, slowly building momentum like a train taking off from a station. It grew in intensity, until I thought I’d go mad. A scream echoed in my head and mingled with the searing hot pain.

The pain stopped, leaving behind echoes of it and a buzzing sound. The pressure on my temples eased. Arms wrapped around me and pulled me against a warm chest. A blend of leather and pine scent filled my senses. Bran. I clung to him, my body shaking, tears racing down my face.

“Is she okay?” someone asked.

I strained to see through the white mist covering my eyes until I saw the faces of those around me. Their gazes kept volleying between me and something to my left. I followed their gaze and gulped. Grampa was a heap on the floor, his eyes closed, skin pasty white. Cardinal Janelle cradled his head and spoke softly to him.

I tore away from Bran’s arms and ran to their side. “What happened, Aunt Janelle? Did I…hurt him?”

“He went deeper than he should have and stayed too long. Your mind did what it did to protect itself,” she said reassuringly.

“Grampa.” Wake up, Grampa. Please. This was my worst nightmare—hurting someone I loved. I touched his cheek, searched his psi energy. It was so weak. The Kris Dagger should replenish his energy. My hand flew to my waist for the Kris Dagger before I remembered that all its powers were transferred to me.