Hunted

“You’re not thinking of using it, are you?” Izzy protested.

Kim shot her an annoyed glance. “Of course not. Tell us about the cave, Sykes.”

“It’s a blind spot in the almighty Psi-dar’s all-seeing eyes. I discovered it years ago. You can teleport in and out without the Psi-dar picking up your energy.”

“Until they decide to do a psi energy count,” Izzy said.

Kim glared at her. “Negative much?”

“No one is sneaking out of the valley,” Remy said firmly. “There’s a time to break rules and a time to lay low. Bran can try and ask the senior Cardinals’ permission, and see what they say.”

Bran smiled. “I agree.” He glanced at Kim. “If you need to tell him or give him something, I’ll pass through here before I leave.”

“You really think they’ll let you go?” Kim asked.

Bran nodded.

Kim grinned, then did something so out of character that we stared. She kissed Bran’s cheek. “Thank you.”

As soon as she teleported upstairs, Bran grabbed my hand. “Come with me.”

We teleported to my bedroom. Voices filtered into the room through the closed door, but their energies weren’t Grampa and Aunt Janelle’s. Our houseguests must have been settling in.

“Do you really have to go? The archangels probably know your energy signature by now.”

“I have to go, Lil.”

“Why? Is it Gavyn? Are you going to see him?”

Bran sighed. “I’m not supposed to tell you this, but the senior Cardinals want to contact the Order and tell them what we know about their missing children. We can’t afford to have them target us while we are still figuring out how to defend ourselves against the archangels.”

That made sense. “They want you to go alone?”

“No. Cardinals Moira and Seth are coming with me. They won’t be happy about a detour to the Brotherhood, but…,” he shrugged.

At least he wasn’t going out alone. “Be careful.” He grinned, not in the least worried. “And if you guys run into trouble, go to Dante’s. We have an open invitation.”

Bran chuckled. “Yes, worrywart. I’ll be back in a few, so wait up for me.”

“Tell Angelia I’ll visit her as soon as I can.” I gripped Bran’s shirt, pulled him closer, and kissed him. “Please, be safe.”

“Promise.” He teleported.

Releasing a breath, I debated whether to go and introduce myself to our new houseguests or head back to the guys’ home. Despite Kim and Izzy’s moving in, the house would always be Remy and Sykes’ to me.

Kim was still in her room when I arrived, probably making a recording for Kieran. The others were watching an anime on TV.

“Is our hero gone?” Sykes asked.

I smiled. “If you mean Bran, no. He’s gone to talk to the senior Cardinals first.”

“How come they let him leave and not us?”

“You’re turning green, Sykes,” Izzy teased.

Sykes chuckled and stretched. “Nope. I just think he doesn’t know how to have fun. Rules are boring.” He patted the area of the sectional beside him. “Sit by me, Red, and let’s break some.”

“You really need to stop messing with me.”

“Chicken,” he muttered.

I sat beside Izzy. She and Remy had their eyes glued to the screen, where a dark-haired girl with red eyes was busy ferrying a boat through a misty lake with floating lanterns.

You know he only flirts with you because he knows you aren’t available and to push Bran’s buttons, Izzy said. Flirt back and he’ll run.

I don’t think that’s going to work. What are you guys watching?

An anime series the guys like. This one is actually interesting. It is about revenge and how you lose your soul when you seek it. Another episode is about to start. Izzy glanced at me and added, ignoring him hasn’t worked either. Go over there, kiss him, and scare the heebie-jeebies out of him.

Somehow I didn’t see Sykes running. Besides, I didn’t want to kiss him. I continued to watch the introduction to the next episode, though I could feel Sykes’ eyes on me. Getting irritated, I glared at him. He winked and patted the seat beside him. I made a face and turned my attention on the screen.

Bran came back sooner than we’d expected.

“Well?” Remy asked.

“It’s a go. Cardinal Moira and Seth are coming with me. Where’s Kim?”

“In her room. I’ll get her.” Izzy teleported and Bran took her place.

I sank against his side. Knowing he wasn’t going alone was a relief. Bran could handle himself in most situations, but the archangels were a mean bunch.

The anime was interesting, but all the training and not getting enough sleep because of the nightmares had drained me. My eyelids kept dropping, no matter how hard I tried to stay awake. Finally, I gave in. Just a few seconds of sleep was all I needed.

Something tickled my nose. I swatted at it. It flitted across my nose again. I protested and tried to turn my face away. A familiar chuckle followed. My eyes flew open and my gaze collided with Bran’s.

“Why are you tormenting me?”

“We need to talk about the Specials.”

“Oh, yeah, tell Angelia I’ll visit…” A feeling of deja vu rolled over me. I’d said that before. My eyes widened. I was in my bedroom, not at Sykes and Remy’s. “Did you already leave and come back?”

He nodded. “Move over.”

The clock on my bedside table said it was nine-thirty. “I fell asleep?”

“Yep. Before I left. I came back and you were still out.” He kicked off his shoes and snuggled beside me.

I settled on my stomach, so I could see his expression. “So how did it go? Did you talk to the Order? What’s wrong with the Specials?”

“Everything is okay with the Brotherhood. They know we have their backs. The Specials, on the other hand, are scared out of their minds.”

I sat up. “Darius told them about the archangels?”

“That’s the problem. No one told them anything, but with their abilities, they feel the others’ fear. At least, the empaths in their group do. They know something is not right and they want to see you, especially Angelia. She made me swear to take you to them, but the Cardinals overheard us, so no sneaking out.”

“And the Order?”

“Refused to talk to us. They insisted on talking to you—the Chosen One.”

“No,” Grampa said firmly.

After giving his verdict, the matter of meeting the Order was all but forgotten. I didn’t get to visit the Specials either, which worried me. Angelia would think I had abandoned them. Grampa’s stance didn’t change despite my arguments. I even begged, which earned me a long lecture on priorities. Apparently mine were to train, train, and train some more. He promised to visit them instead.

My next visit with Kylie, the day after we met Raphael, didn’t exactly go as I’d hoped. Everything went downhill as soon as I mentioned the archangels.

“Please, mind-blend with me. I have to see him,” she begged.

“Did you hear anything I just said? Gavyn used you to find my cell phone number, Valafar might be back and the archangels want me dead.”

She shrugged. “I don’t care if Gavyn used me, and Valafar is a total loser, so whether he’s back or not, he’ll never convince you to join him. As for the archangel,” she giggled, “even saying the word fills me with, I don’t