The door to the pit opened and in walked Master Haziel. Cardinal Hsia waited until he had crossed the room and sat on the empty chair beside Cardinal Moira.
“At the peak of every civilization, humans sit back and marvel at their brilliance,” Cardinal Hsia explained. “They start to act like they are better than those who came before them or even those among them. Some go as far as to set themselves as gods. That kind of pompous attitude leads to civil unrest, wars and many deaths, and the end of another civilization. Humans are unaware of the war being waged on them by the Tribe. Unfortunately, the archangels never stay around to witnesses the chaos that follows,” he added. “They leave it to us to clean up their messes.”
This time, the heavy silence was longer. What was the point of battling demons when there was no end in sight? Was getting our redemption worth all this trouble? Immediately, I felt like such a traitor for harboring such thoughts. Of course it was. Everyone had a purpose. Ours was to minimize the influence of the demons and earn back our grace. Humans’ was to better their world, until it tumbled down and they had to rebuild again. It was a vicious cycle.
“Do you want to add anything, Master Haziel?” Grampa asked.
The trainer pursed his lips, then said, “Junior has something to say.”
Bran winced. He hated that nickname even though the older Cardinals used it because he reminded them of his grandfather, whom they’d hunted with.
Instead of talking while seated, Bran stood and gripped the back of his chair. “Over the last two days, I’ve been searching for the demons who summoned the court. Last night, I learned that their new council, The Order, is not behind the summoning. In the last few weeks, young demons have gone missing and they suspect that we took them, so their main concern right now is mounting an attack against us. We know that the group that summoned the Nephilim Court is the same one forcing these young demons to join them. What we don’t know is their agenda. Yes?” he added and pointed at someone behind me.
“How did you find out The Order is not behind the summoning?” a woman asked.
“The Order’s new headquarters is somewhere in downtown Detroit and heavily guarded, but I managed to get inside and eavesdropped on their conversations and thoughts. They held a meeting, but all they discussed were the missing children and how to mount an attack against us.” Bran glanced at Master Haziel, who nodded.
“This morning, one of our allies was also kidnapped. Master Haziel sent,” Bran glanced at me and smiled, “Lil, Solaris, Lunaris, Lucien, and Esras to help with the search, but before they caught up with me, they were attacked by the archangels.”
There was no collective gasp or murmur. Just silence. Necks craned to look at us. Kim and Izzy glared at me as though I’d held back on them. Sykes and Remy scowled.
“It was Raphael and some of his men. One was in the air. The Cardinals stood their grounds, their weapons drawn. They weren’t backing down.”
I fought the urge to giggle. He was such a good liar. Where were Dante and Kael in his narration?
“I surprised the one in the air. We fought and I managed to chop off his wings.”
Whispers rippled through the room.
“The wings are our answer to defeating an angel. They are their source of strength, their source of power and their shield when attacked.” Bran slipped his hand in the front pockets of his pants and rocked on his heels. “Without them, they are useless. Without them, they are reduced to lower ranks. It takes years to earn wings back, so they always make sure you don’t go after their wings. I will work with fliers on how to attack them from the air.”
Questions followed but I didn’t really listen. I was exhausted, lack of sleep finally taking a toll on me. My eyelids kept drooping, until I realized Bran was no longer talking and Master Haziel had taken over.
“Remember,” he said. “The only way to send them running is to disable their leader. When you identify the archangel leading them and force him to quit, his followers will leave too. From now on,” Master Haziel continued, “Cardinals with like powers will train together in the mornings. Psi Team will be led by Mrs. Deveraux and the trainers from other sectors. Earth Team will have Nero and other earth instructors. Energy Team… Air Team and so on and so forth. The purpose of doing this is not only to sharpen your skills and let you learn from your peers. During a battle, you won’t need to look around for one of your teammates to help you in a crisis. If you need help from a psi, any psi will help because they’ve learned the same moves. If you’re looking for extra weapons, any Earth Guardian should know when you telepath them.”
He paused and glanced around. No one spoke, though I could tell they were unhappy with his announcement.
“In the afternoons, you’ll go back to your sector teams and share with them what you’ve learned. Occasionally, you will spar with the SGs with the same abilities. In the evenings, dinner will be served at the Academy cafeteria. Attendance is mandatory. Once again, you will sit with your new teams. This will continue until you learn to get along and think as a team. We are at war, Guardians. A war we plan to win.”
The silence stretched as he studied each of us intently, then he bowed to the Senior Cardinals and walked out of the room.
“A few more things before you disperse,” Grampa said after the door closed behind Master Haziel. “Keep a low profile around the valley. I don’t want to hear of trouble with the locals.” His gaze swept everyone and stopped on us. “But most important, no one must leave the valley. We are on full security alert. The Psi-dar is working at its maximum capacity. If there’s an emergency and you feel you must leave the valley, come and talk to us first.”
“Any questions?” Grampa asked, drawing my attention back to him.
Silence.
“Then head to your assigned homes. Training begins tomorrow morning at six. Lil, Bran, Esras, Solaris, and Lunaris, stay behind.”
“What happened in L.A.?” he asked.
We took turns explaining, not leaving anything out including what Gavyn and Archangel Raphael had said. No one tried to reassure me that I’d be okay, that whatever Gavyn and Raphael had said was wrong. Not even Grampa.
All he said when we were done talking was, “We can’t use our powers without alerting the archangels. That means doubling the amount of weapons we carry from now on.”
The other Cardinals nodded.
Grampa turned and studied me. “You have a question?”
I really wanted to know if he believed I was in danger, but I didn’t want to appear self-absorbed, so I asked, “Is it possible to bring the Specials here?”
Grampa shook his head. “There’s no space at the Academy or the houses to accommodate them.”
“There’s room in our house, Remy and Sykes’ place,” I insisted.
“Not anymore. We’ll find a solution, Lil. Go home.” Grampa stood, signaling the end of the meeting. “The rest of you, stay behind.”
I glanced at Bran, but his expression was unreadable. Sighing, I headed for the door. I needed to clear my head. From the foyer, I teleported outside Number 1—the house above the underground offices. It was bigger than all the houses in the enclave and was officially the guesthouse for all visiting Guardians. Kim’s house was next to it.
The sun had already set, but the summer evening was warm. Most of the Guardians were indoors, lights burning bright behind curtains. Even at my house.
I pinged Remy.
