Few Are Angels (29 page)

“Are you okay?” I ventured.

“I’m fine. My dad is being amazingly stupid, and if he leaves, my mother will take him to the cleaners.”

I wasn’t sure if I should say it was none of my business, but I felt bad for Mia. I knew what it was like to have things in your life change and disintegrate in front of you. No matter how tough a person was, seeing that could do some serious damage.

“I’ll come and pick you up tomorrow after my dad leaves for work around ten-ish. Be up and ready.”

We said our goodbyes and hung up.

I went to my laptop to check for any assignments the professor might have posted. I’d earned an ‘A’ on my
Moby Dick
paper, and I was excited to start the next project. Though things in my life weren’t normal, they were bearable. I needed to fix the Alex situation before he came home for winter break, but I wasn’t sure how to do it. I also had to bite the bullet and call Dr. Lithe and talk to him before I went back to the old house for the rest of my belongings. I heard a rock hit my window and decided Dr. Lithe could wait. I went to the window, surprised to see Jace at the bottom of the lattice instead of Kale. It was Jace’s night to stay outside and keep watch, but he never made his presence known.

“Yeah?” I called down, unsure if it was appropriate to invite him into my room.

Sarah and Lea were home, but occupied, and Eric was still at work. My real worry was what Kale would think. Jace looked around before he started to climb the unsteady lattice, and I worried he would fall and break something. He may have been immortal, but I didn't think that meant he couldn't break a bone or two. Jace maneuvered stealthily up the woodwork and entered my room with a hushed whoosh of cold air. I closed the window behind him and moved away from it. He tentatively looked around the room and then at me. I was uneasy about him being there, but he made no move to leave.

“We need to remove that lattice,” Jace said. “It makes it too easy for any undesirable to climb up and get inside.”

I wrapped my arms around myself, nervous about just how easy it was for someone to climb into my room. I looked back at the window. “Oh, I never thought of that. I’m not sure how I can get it down without Eric noticing and replacing it again.”

Jace moved to my laptop. “Did you get the email I sent you?” He ignored my concerns about Eric and the lattice.

I was happy to finally know where that cryptic message had come from, even though I hadn’t thought about it since I’d first read it.

“Yeah, but I didn't know it was you who’d sent it.”

Jace nodded and sat at the computer desk in the alcove. He opened the browser and pulled up my email account. “What’s your password?”

I was silent. There was no way he was getting the password to my personal email address. I shook my head and moved the laptop so the screen was out of his view, then entered my password. When I turned it toward him again, he searched for and found the email he’d sent. Jace turned the computer toward me and pointed at the screen.

I looked at it, unsure of what he wanted me to see.

“[email protected],” I read aloud, and then it hit me. I’d heard Kale call Jace “Vesco.” I had thought it was a derogatory term, but it was his last name. Jace Vesco was [email protected].

“This is my Council email account. I sent this to you before you came here, hoping you would understand it. I see that you didn't,” he said disapprovingly, referring to the memory Kale helped me recall at the lodge.

I instantly regretted telling Jace about it. His tone was grave, and I nervously wondered what he’d really wanted to talk about. “Is this all you wanted to show me?” There was no way he was in my room—when he should have been patrolling outside—just to show me an email. Jace stood and walked to the window, looking out into the darkness.

Jace shook his head. “I wanted to tell you about why I was the one assigned to bring you in.”

He hadn’t turned from the window to face me, and I started to get a bit nervous. He wouldn’t take me to the Council against my will, would he? Kale seemed to think he would, and though I had often scolded Kale about his attitude toward Jace, maybe I should have listened to him. I looked around in search of my phone. Where had I placed it after I hung up with Mia?

Jace shifted slightly to face me. “Calm down, Ella. I am not here to take you tonight, only to explain to you why it’s important you at least reconsider this need you have to stay here with this family.”

I released a breath, but my nerves were still tingling. I wanted to call Kale and let him know I needed him, but what would I have said? “Um, hey, Kale. Jace is here in my room, late at night, gazing creepily out the window, and he wants to talk about why I should leave Cedar, but don’t worry; he’s not going to kidnap me or anything.” I knew how that would have gone, and I didn't want to risk a fight in my room. I exhaled again. The only way to get Jace to leave was to listen to him.

“I’m all ears.” I flopped down onto the bed.

Jace smirked and moved from the window. He swiveled the computer chair around and straddled it. I raised an eyebrow as he got comfortable and wondered what he could possibly say that could make me change my mind about leaving the Carltons without so much as a goodbye.

Chapter 28

Every betrayal contains a perfect moment, a coin stamped heads or tails with salvation on the other side.

—Barbara Kingsolver

It was easier than he’d thought to find the Council member who wanted a meeting with him, but he had to wonder about the boy’s enthusiasm. He was human, no more than twenty-five years of age, his inexperience evident in his lack of preparation for the meeting. He brought no backup and there was no way to call for any. Signal jammers were set in place at the meeting site. Laurent had been planning this meeting for a week. Stationed at the meeting site were five of his best half-breeds, and they had detected no movement prior to the meeting. Laurent paced the corridor, his patience worn thin. Darke was late. Laurent understood all that was needed, but anger still boiled inside of him.

“Sir,” Darke said, as he entered the room with the red vial in hand. The red vial was the traitor’s reward—eternal life in the form of disease. Laurent himself would rather die in battle than live forever as a Chorý. “The creature hadn’t been subdued before I arrived. I had to take the blood as he thrashed.”

Laurent gazed at the glistening, tainted blood. He didn't care why Darke was late. His commands were meant to be followed without fail. “Darke, I trust you understand what it means to be late.”

Darke inclined his head. His willingness to take the blame for another’s actions gave Laurent pause. Loyalty to anyone other than himself was treason in his eyes. He would not be betrayed. “The half-breed assigned to subdue the creature, what is his name?”

Darke stiffened, but only for a moment. Laurent knew the half-breed in charge of his creature was of blood relation to Darke.

“His name?” Laurent repeated.

Darke, one of Laurent’s most merciless men, still had lingering loyalties to family and bloodlines. Once recruited to the Dark Lord’s brood, there was no one that would come before him, not even oneself. Laurent had seen it once before while in battle with the Council. Darke risked his head in order to save his brother’s. With his skilled fighting, he’d survived, but he should’ve never risked his head for anyone other than his lord, as he’d vowed.

“Locke, sir,” Darke admitted. “I will handle—”

“You will do nothing other than what I command. I must say I wonder who your loyalty runs deeper for: your brother or your lord.” Laurent held Darke in his dark and malicious gaze. To his credit, he didn't falter.

“You are the reason I live, sir, and I repay you for eternity,” Darke answered.

The punishment for Locke would have to wait, but there would be one, and it would be severe.

“This Council member that I’m to meet, I trust you have at least handled that properly.” Laurent stood in front of the door to the courtyard where the Council member was being held.

Darke inclined his head. “Yes, sir. He is detained as you wished.”

“Good, because it seems as of late my men are willing to test my patience, and I would hate to have to make an example out of their commander.” Laurent found it amazing that his temper was so tame as of late. He could only attribute it to the Council member who had contacted them to strike a deal. It seemed the Council Leader would no longer create immortals. Because he refused to use the contents of the red vial as Laurent did, it seemed Laurent would no longer need to use his Arc to destroy them. They would soon be extinct because of their inability to make the difficult decisions that were necessary to survive. Laurent had no such reservations, for the lives of others meant nothing to him. It would be well for all to remember that.

Chapter 29

Ouroboros: a circular symbol of a snake or dragon devouring its tail, standing for infinity or wholeness

“There is a hierarchy in the Council, and every human has a skill that sets them apart from the others. It’s how they are chosen to join. Most members are human, but a few are immortal. The humans are our searchers and trackers. Trackers and searchers locate the Arc, and once she is found, a retriever is used to bring her in safely,” Jace explained. “There are three retrievers: Tamsin, Servitto, and myself.”

I crossed my legs on the bed and pulled my pillow into my lap. “So, you are my retriever. Who was Hélène’s?”

“That was Servitto, but he was intercepted by Kale.” Jace seemed disappointed. “Kale was in your life before Servitto, and he took you from Castle Laurent.”

“Kale was human then, so why are you upset he found Hélène? He did want the Council wanted to do. That has to count for something, right?” How dare Jace act as if what Kale had done was wrong? Maybe Kale was right that Jace was blinded by the fact Kale was a Chorý. Kale blamed himself for everything that had happened with Hélène, and it seemed the Council believed the very same thing.

“You could’ve worked with Kale to keep Hélène safe!”

Jace, surprised by my outburst, moved from the chair and toward me. “Ella,” he started.

But I wasn’t finished. “I have done nothing but defend you to Kale, and I’m starting to think I was wrong. Kale sacrificed his life to save mine, and all you and the Council can see is that he is not human. If you think I am going to go there with you, to those people, you’re crazy.” By the time I’d finished, I was off of the bed and standing directly in front of Jace. I didn't know where the anger had come from, but it was released with a roar. I stepped back as Jace’s face changed from surprise to confusion. Why couldn't he understand why I defended Kale and Hélène’s choices?

Jace smiled and shook his head. “Ella,” he began, his voice warm and patient. “Coming with me to the Council’s headquarters is what’s best for everyone involved. It’s the only way to make sure the past doesn’t repeat itself.” Jace walked to the window and opened it, then turned and faced me. “Just imagine where Hélène and Kale would be now had they allowed us to do our job.” He climbed out of the window, leaving me speechless. It seemed like every choice Hélène and Kale had made somehow backfired. Maybe it wouldn’t have been such a bad idea to ask for help. Maybe Kale wouldn’t have been changed, and he and Hélène could have lived a semi-normal life, protected by the Council.

I took my medicine before I went to bed. I thought of Jace’s comment and wondered if it had any bearing on my situation with Kale. Maybe things would’ve been different had he and Hélène asked for help, but I couldn't recall what had happened prior to Hélène’s death and Kale’s rebirth. Neither Jace nor Kale would do anything to trigger my memories, so I couldn't remember if the Council had ever approached Kale and Hélène with an offer to help. I fell asleep hoping my day with Mia would help keep my mind off of the choices Hélène and Kale made, but I also hoped Kale and I wouldn’t make the same mistakes.

I had another reason to look forward to seeing Mia that morning. When I’d looked in the mirror, my hair had screamed at me. It had grown well past my shoulders, and my roots were plainly visible. My hair was sable and I loved it. That blue-black hue used to shine in the Virginia sun, but over time and through lack of maintenance, the sun had lightened it a bit. I badly needed to cut and dye it, but I had been too preoccupied to worry about it.

I ate a blueberry muffin for breakfast and said goodbye to Lea and Sarah. Kale arrived shortly after they had left. I knew it was important that either Kale or Jace be with me at all times, but I didn't want Kale around Mia; he was a sensitive subject. Jace couldn't go either. There would be no way to explain him. Mia would probably call Alex and tell him the second she saw Jace and me together. Kale strolled to the sofa and sat down. His dark grey tee hugged his muscles as he leaned back and stretched against the cushions. His scent floated around the room and I inhaled deeply, allowing it to soothe me. I glanced at the clock. We had an hour before Mia was supposed to pick me up.

“Somewhere to go?” Kale asked, glancing at the clock himself.

I knew Kale wouldn’t agree to my trip to the mall with Mia, but I had to at least try to convince him. “Mia will be here to pick me up in an hour so we can go to the mall and then to her house.” I glanced at Kale, duly noting and ignoring his stern look. “I know what you’re going to say, Kale, but you can’t go.”

“No, no way. I don’t know why you would think I would agree to you going to Elmwood City, let alone going without me.” Kale stood and walked to the door. “Come on, I’ll give you a ride, but I will be there with you.” He motioned toward the door.

I planted my feet and crossed my arms, then thought better of it. I decided to switch my strategy. I would probably get further using my cute, pouty-girl face. Kale stiffened, so I doubled my efforts by sticking out my bottom lip a little farther and batting my lashes. Kale laughed and walked toward me until we stood not an inch apart.

Kale sighed. His breath ruffled my bangs and tickled my lips. “Ella, it’s dangerous.”