Cade looked like he’d swallowed a fly.
“You don’t have to buy me anything. I’m here with friends.”
“I’ll have a slushy.” Kylie giggled and pulled her boyfriend’s arm until he gave her a kiss. Then she gripped my arm and pulled me up the ramp to the bowling side of Fun Park.
Cade was still watching us when we reached the counter overlooking the lanes. Regular people were being turned away, so the stools were unoccupied. The Guardians were still pouring in, but most of them went straight to get their bowling shoes, then to the seats by the scoreboards.
“Do you think he’s buying the Gypsy angle?”
Kylie laughed. “Oh yeah. It would never cross his mind that you are anything else. It never crossed mine.”
“Good. Now back to you. Why are you getting mixed up in Guardian business?”
She rolled her eyes. “Kim told me about the lockdown, which you forgot to tell me, you meanie.”
“I would have if you’d bothered to call me back. I thought you were out of town again.”
“I was, then I came back. Is it true they destroyed all the portals and you have, like, a gazillion Guardians secretly training at HQ?”
“Hundreds,” I corrected.
“Gazillions sounds more urgent and exciting.”
“There’s nothing exciting about it.” I was a bit jealous of Kim. Okay, not a bit. A lot. Kylie was my friend, and
“While I drove her to the cave,” Kylie explained. “The first time she texted me to pick her up, I thought
“So you’re not mad about the mind-blend thing?”
She snickered. “No. I, sort of, understood why you couldn’t do it. You’ll get around to showing me everything after your powers are stable, right?”
“Right. Did she tell you why she needed to sneak out?”
She looked toward the food counter to check on Cade, who was talking to Nikki and Amelia near the food court. “I told Cade that Kim was studying bats, but she told me she was carrying messages back and forth between you and your allies. So, is it true about the secret training?” Kylie leaned forward, her eyes wide.
I was tempted to tell her the truth, that Kim had gone to see her boyfriend, but I couldn’t do that to either of them. Kylie wanted a chance to help us, even though there never seem to be anything for her to do. And Kim was in love.
“Yes, we are training, but all the Cardinal Guardians are here.” I indicated the chairs near the lanes that were filling up fast.
Kylie’s eyes popped. “How many in all?”
“Sixty. We’re going to have a bowling game.”
She made a face. “Bowling? That’s boring.”
I laughed. “You should sit with us and watch. You’ll change your mind about what is boring and what isn’t.”
She blinked. “They’ll…you’ll let me sit with you guys?”
“Of course, silly.” Lucien appeared at the entrance of the room and looked around. Since we were only nine in the psi team, I’d invited him. Plus, I sucked at bowling and he’d said he was good. Apparently, bowling was a pastime in Xenith. “Come on, I’ll introduce you to Lucien, Master Haziel’s great-great-great-grandson, and my Psi Team.”
She followed my gaze over and her jaw dropped. “Whoa, he’s hot. They all are. Is the really pale one with black hair a Nosferatu?”
“Yes, but don’t worry, he won’t combust in the sun or feed on anyone.”
For a moment, she just stared at the group. “Thanks for the invite, but I think I’ll pass. Cade, Nikki, and Amelia are waiting for me.”
“Chicken,” I called after her, then started around the long counter toward the others.
The Air Team had fifteen members in all, nine men and six women, and from their expressions they still weren’t getting along. Sykes winked at me, but kept his distance because of Lucien. They had to make nice. It was hardly time for old feuds. Remy’s Earth Team was the largest. The tension within the other teams hadn’t disappeared, despite the fact that Master Haziel had pitted them against SGs like he had with the Psi Team. Maybe the fact that there were fewer of us made it easier to get along.
We paired up, each team using six of its members for the first round—Psi against Air, Earth against Energy. Lucien and the two Water guys, who arrived with Remy, joined our team to even out the teams. The extra Cardinals opted to be timekeepers and subs. Even though we had four lanes designated to the teams and left the remaining eight empty, no humans were allowed to bowl. Warm-up was fun, with a lot of teasing.
At first, everyone used their normal skills, which wasn’t exceptional by human standards. Then suddenly a ball veering off-course changed directions. A gust of wind shot past a bowler and made the ball move so fast it was a blur. Balls rose in the air without being touched, and spun as they raced down the lane, or rolled at never- before seen angles. My personal favorites were the smoking balls that left behind charred lanes, which Earth Guardians fixed.
Each team tried to outdo each other, with Izzy and her timer friends awarding higher points for more spectacular moves. People started to line up along the wall surrounding the lanes. Others moved closer. The glamour had to be working still, since no one else was pointing.
“Do you wonder what they see?” Onora asked.
“A bunch of serious players,” I said, watching Sykes. He had an energy ball the size of a grapefruit. He pressed it against the bowling ball, making the red decorations on the ball glow. Then he walked forward and took aim at the pin. The ball shot off toward the pins like a rocket, charring the wooden lane for a moment before Remy repaired it. “With the majority of us dressed the same, they probably think we are some kind of a bowling team.”
The games became more competitive and loud, with opposing teams doing whatever they could to stop the ball from reaching the pins. The drinks kept coming. Then pizza. The crowd watching us grew bigger and bigger.
Then the people walked away, went back to their video games and playing pool. Only a powerful psi could influence an entire room like that. Even as the thought flashed in my head, Grampa appeared.
I checked my watch. It was seven. We’d lost track of time, and going by his expressions, he wasn’t happy.
“I’ll take care of the bill,” Grampa said. “Go home, change, and head to the cafeteria. Stay with your group.”
The SGs and all the senior Cardinals, including Bran, were already in the cafeteria when we arrived. The tables and chairs had been moved to leave an empty area in front of the room.
“What is going on?” Eva asked.
“I don’t know, but the senior Cardinals love to hold unexpected meetings around here. It’s usually over something bad.” The SGs had stayed behind this afternoon, but after a week of training, I was sure they needed some R and R too. “Or maybe we have some kind of entertainment.”
“No, I vote for bad news,” Onora said as she sat across from me.
I shrugged. She was such a glass-half-empty person.
“Maybe this is about your human friend,” she added. “The one you were talking to at the bowling place.”
I frowned. “What about her?”
“Her psi energy is larger and brighter than in most humans,” she said.
“She could see through the glamour,” Nio added. “I heard her thoughts.”
“Don’t you mean you read her thoughts?” Onora said and chuckled. “I saw you checking her out.”
“Did not,” he said with disgust as though he wouldn’t be caught fraternizing with a human girl. He had just
