Hunted

My usual strategy wasn’t working. Lucien’s and Master Haziel’s brains were wired the same or something. They pulled a switch on me and controlled the fight, had me on run until inspiration hit—I locked on another Robin Hood sword and telekinetically yanked it to my hand. It didn’t even things out, but it improved my chances.

“You can do more, Lil,” Haziel said, scarcely breathing hard.

“Don’t. Try. To. Distract. Me!” I panted between parries.

“Reduce the odds,” he ordered.

I needed answers, not his cryptic comments. I locked on the swords in Lucien’s hands and sent them flying. He teleported and caught them before they hit the ground. Then he was back like he had never left. I was tempted to incinerate their swords, but I could seriously hurt them.

Stop, you need rest, I projected in Lucien’s head.

He didn’t stop.

Ignore me. Fight each other.

They still came at me. Either Master Haziel was shielding them against my power of persuasion, or I was too tired to focus my psi energy. Coming up with a new move wasn’t easy when you were evading being hit. Sweat rolled down my face and into my eyes, causing me to blink several times.

“You cannot control our thoughts because we expected you to do exactly that. Once opponents know your attack operations, they will anticipate them next time you fight. That means you must always improvise, come up with something new. Archangels are smart and alert and impossible to surprise.”

“Bran surprised one.”

“You are not Bran. You do not have wings, but you are faster. You have the powers of the Kris within you. You can beat them. How?”

“By making sure they don’t sneak inside my head,” I said between pants. “By being faster, teleporting and attacking them from different angles and…and by having more of us than them.”

“What if you are down to the last few Cardinals and you are outnumbered?” Master Haziel asked, his footwork and swordplay effortless. “What if it is only you against four or five of them? What if your arms are injured and you cannot hold the sword anymore and they are closing in on you? What if you cannot teleport home because the Guardians are gone or the Cardinals have been rendered useless? It is you against them. One person. Alone.”

He painted a gruesome image, which on a good day would have scared me or pissed me off. Not today. Not after meeting Raphael and his friends. It was a possible scenario and he was just preparing me.

“Got it,” I yelled, reaching the only conclusion.

“Got what?” Lucien asked.

I’d completely forgotten his presence. “If I told you, you’d anticipate it and I wouldn’t defeat you.”

Master Haziel chuckled.

I locked on two swords on the western wall and sent hurtling them toward Lucien. Surprised, he lost his footing and nearly ended up on the floor. Master Haziel expected it and adjusted his moves, using one sword to fend me off and the second to block the one I telekinetically controlled behind him.

Lucky for him, this kind of multi-tasking wasn’t easy. Throwing knives and shurikens during a battle was a piece of cake. I’d done it with real demons, but swords were a different ballgame. I tried to keep them in the air while striking repeatedly and taking knocks.

The possibilities in the maneuver were endless, but the swords kept bobbing and my hold wasn’t firm. More determined than ever to master the move, I pushed myself. I attacked from different angles, forcing Lucien and Master Haziel to focus less on me.

My hold grew firmer, until I could add two more. Lucien, not used to blocking so many swords at once, struggled and then teleported to the other end of the room.

“I guess it’s just you and me, Master Haziel,” I mocked.

“Smugness can get you killed,” he warned sharply.

“Not when I can do this.” I jerked my head and the swords I’d used on Lucien shot up in the air. My six against Master Haziel’s two. Even though my hold wasn’t strong and the swords were at weird angles, I had him surrounded. He lowered his swords, the tips touching the floor.

I let go of the swords and they dropped to the cement floor, the clang sounds mixing with the applause from behind me. I turned to find Sykes by the door, a smirk on his handsome face.

“Ganging up on the old man while we’re gone?” he asked. “Shame on you.”

Something was off about his smile. I studied his face as I closed the gap between us. His hazel eyes were shadowed, his blond hair mussed as though he’d run his fingers through it. “How did it go?”

His usually cocky smile cracked. “Not good. Mom took all this Tribe mess and sealed portal thing pretty hard. Dad was stoic. For once, I wished I had a sister or brother for them to focus on now that I’m out here.”

That was big coming from him. He loved being the center of his parents’ attention.

“Can I have a hug?” he added.

On a different day, I’d have known he was just flirting. Today, he was hurting. I tugged at my tank top. “I’m sweaty.”

He took a step closer. “I don’t care. I need your warmth right now.”

Put that way. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders while his went around my mid-section, then crossed my upper back. His pain was real and deep. It wasn’t easy being an only child. I didn’t speak, aloud or telepathically. I just held him. He dropped his face on my shoulder, arms tightening around me, breath brushing against my neck.

My traitorous body reacted to his maleness, his scent and warmth. Not the way it did with Bran. With Bran, it was an explosion of sensations whenever we touched. This was purely physical. I reached up and stroked the hair on the back of his head. A tremor shot through him. Was he crying?

“You okay?”

He stepped back and gave me a sheepish smile. His eyes were shiny. “Yeah. Thank you.”

“Sykes,” Master Haziel called out. “Stay behind. Do not leave the valley, Lil. Cardinals’ orders.”

There goes the meeting with Keiran. Maybe we could sneak out. I touched Sykes’ arm. “We have a dinner date, so tell Remy.”

“Dinner? With whom?”

“The Cardinals from the other sectors.”

He nodded, then walked backward and pretended an invisible noose was dragging him toward Master Haziel, one hand extended toward me. “Save me,” he mouthed.

What a goofball. I wiggled my fingers in goodbye and took off toward the foyer. Poor Sykes. I imagined being in his shoes, saying goodbye to Grampa, never knowing whether I’d see him again. It would kill me.

Once I cleared the academy, I teleported home.

Hey, Sunshine? You ready to go?

For a moment, I was disoriented. Then I realized Bran was back and…

Oh crap, the dinner. My gaze flew to the clock. Six-thirty. Yeah. I need to find out when we’re supposed to he there and let the others know.

Seven o’clock. I just talked to Solaris. Are we still going out tonight to meet Keiran ‘s people?

I don’t know. Master Haziel said we were on lockdown. He wants to see you, too.

Okay. See you in a hit.

I pinged and spoke with Kim and Izzy, then Esras. Lifting my gypsy skirt, I added two straps around my thighs and slipped throwing knives in the sheaths. By the time Bran appeared in my bedroom, I was putting on my sandals. He looked gorgeous in a hunter-green silk shirt and black dress-pants under his trench coat.

Heat simmered in his green eyes. “You look beautiful.”

I blushed. “You, too. How did it go with Celeste?”

He made a face. “She didn’t want to stay, but I convinced her.”

“Did you tell her about Gavyn?”

He shook his head. “I couldn’t. Knowing we were cut off from Xenith and about to face the archangels was