Guardians (Seers Trilogy) (15 page)

My eyebrows scrunched up in thought. The first of the Special Seers would be arriving tomorrow, and Patrick was hoping to give me a couple more training lessons, which had been infrequent at best these past few weeks. Other than that, I was pretty open. “Nothing important that I know of. Why?”

He tilted his head faintly from side to side, as if hesitating. But his words were controversially confident. “If you guys aren’t too busy, I was wondering if you’d like to do a group date thing tomorrow night at my house. I’ve already invited Jaxon and Maria, and I was hoping Lee and Rodney might be interested.”

“Um. Yeah. That sounds like fun.”

His eyes twinkled. “Good. I thought it would be a great chance for you to meet Alyssa.”

“Alyssa?”

The yellow in his aura throbbed. “Alyssa Meadows. She’s homeschooled, but she does a few extracurricular things here.”

The name wasn’t familiar, but at least I now understood Aaron’s new happiness. He’d found a girl. Inwardly, I was cheering. “That’s great. And of course I want to meet her.” By mutual and silent consent, we were walking again, moving side-by-side toward the front doors of the school.

There was relief in his voice, though he tried to hide it—it was especially obvious in his aura. “Good. I mean, I was hoping you’d want to. She’s really awesome.”

“Have you been dating long?”

“Almost three weeks. For my part, it’s been exclusive, but I don’t know about her.”

“You haven’t asked her?”

“She’s really . . . She’s taking things slow. She barely let me hold her hand last weekend.”

I smiled, because his tone was so adoring. “So you don’t want to scare her off?”

He nodded once. “Something like that.”

“So you’re not official yet?”

He shrugged, a small grin fighting to free itself. “She hasn’t told me to get lost yet . . .”

“I’m really happy for you, Aaron.” And I was. More than I thought I’d be.

His eyes were almost shining. “Thanks, Kate. That means a lot.”

We walked up the stairs in silence, but it wasn’t awkward at all. When we reached the top, Aaron stepped ahead so he could pull the door open for me, and once we were inside he asked, “I was hoping to start the movie around seven or eight. Is there a time that works better for you guys?”

“Either time sounds great to me.”

“Sweet. Well, I guess I’ll talk to Lee and then let you know.”

“Right.” I heard a familiar voice, and I turned quickly to see Trent, one of the special-needs kids, standing halfway down a side hall, waving to every student who filed past. “Hello!” he said brightly, a huge grin splitting his face even though hardly anyone glanced his way. “Hello!”

Before I could step completely past the hallway, I hesitated. Aaron walked on another step without me, before realizing I was no longer with him. He sent me a questioning look, but then he heard Trent and understanding dawned. “Is he supposed to be away from the others?” Aaron asked.

I shook my head, feeling my ponytail sway. “No. I bet he slipped away and some aide somewhere is going crazy.” I was already stepping away from him. “I better help him out. See you in class?”

“You’re going to be late,” Aaron warned, but it was more of a playful taunt. He knew I hated being late to anything.

I tried to ignore his teasing. “Tell Patrick I’ll be there soon, okay?” As soon as I was done speaking I turned, not bothering to wait and get his answer.

I thought I heard his footsteps move away from me, but so many other people were walking the halls it was impossible to know for sure. I wasn’t the tallest person in the surrounding area, but Trent’s booming voice couldn’t be missed, so I just followed the sound whenever my view was obstructed.

“Hello!” Trent called out to someone.

I thought I heard someone in the crowd mutter, “freak,” but I don’t think Trent heard. His smile didn’t waver, in any case. I slid past a larger girl, and then Trent and I were finally face to face.

“Hello!” he burst out when he saw me, looking excited. “Kay!” It was how he pronounced my name.

A smile tugged my lips at his sheer enthusiasm. “Hey, Trent. Aren’t you supposed to be in class?”

“Hello!”

“Hi.” I reached for his hand, knowing he paid better attention when physical contact was involved. His eyes actually met mine, though they rolled away just as quickly. “Come on. I’ll take you to Mr. Thompson’s office.”

“Tom-son?” he asked eagerly.

“Yeah. Mr. Thompson.” He was the teacher over the special-needs kids; he’d know where Trent should be. I kept a firm grip on his long fingers, since I had to practically drag him the first couple of steps. But soon he fell into the rhythm of things. He just called out his hellos while we walked.

The warning bell rang just before I turned Trent over to a thankful Mr. Thompson. I told Trent good-bye, and that I’d see him at lunch. He gave me yet another big hello, and then I started back toward American Lit.

The hallways became less crowded as I made my way to the other side of the school, but in all honesty I wasn’t paying a lot of attention to the students around me. My mind was occupied with other things. More specifically, the one thought that had been in the back of my mind for days now—ever since Terrence’s visit.

I hadn’t told Patrick about the wanted poster yet. In the beginning that was just because there were other things to focus on, and I had expected Terence to mention it. When he hadn’t . . . I guess the opportunity to bring it up just hadn’t arrived yet. I mean, how was that conversation supposed to start?
By the way Patrick, I’m worth one million dollars to the Demon Lord. How do I know this? Oh, I went and visited a Demon about a week ago, and he warned me that a bunch of rogue Demons are going to be after me. I have the poster and everything, but I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to worry. How was your day?

Basically, I knew that telling him out of the blue would be a big mistake. He’d freak out that I hadn’t told him sooner, and then he’d want to lock me in my room 24/7. In the end, it was easier not to tell him at all. He was anxious enough about me teaching the Special Seers how to travel. What would he do if he found out about the other, more real danger I was in?

I’d decided last night that I just needed to put the whole thing out of my mind. Just forget I knew anything about it. After all, I had multiple bodyguards for a reason. They didn’t have to necessarily know about the threat to take care of it.

That was my current reasoning, but it was easier to convince myself of the logic when I wasn’t staring into Patrick’s pale face. He looked so worried and tense these days. Especially since I’d called Terence to let him know I was willing to do whatever was required of me. It was almost like Patrick could see something I couldn’t—feared some horrible outcome I didn’t even anticipate.

I needed to stop thinking so much. It made me jumpy.

I turned a corner, just as the starting bell rang. I quickened my step when I saw the corridor I walked was deserted. Classes were beginning. I hated walking in late . . .

And then I wasn’t alone in the hall anymore. A man rounded the corner ahead of me, his eyes going immediately to me—almost like he knew I’d be standing exactly there. Like he was expecting me.

There were still several paces between us, and I stopped moving the instant I saw him. Despite the distance between us I didn’t relax. Partly because he was smiling in a triumphant, creepy way, but mostly because his black aura and unfamiliar face marked him as just the thing I’d been telling myself there was no reason to fear—a Demon bounty hunter.

M
y heart barely
had time to pound before I was glancing wildly to the side, searching for an escape. There was a door leading to a random classroom a couple steps behind me and to the right. It might be embarrassing to dive into the wrong classroom—late—but it was better than staying out here with a Demon.

Before I could even tense to move he was speaking slowly, his brown eyes wide. “Oh dear, I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Your sisters wouldn’t thank you for it.”

He’d said possibly the only thing that would make me pause. And so I wavered, half inclined to turn and run as my eyes slid over the Demon in front of me.

He was big, his muscles thick and bulging under his tight black T-shirt. He appeared to be in his thirties, and his longish hair was black and unkempt. He looked extremely powerful and dangerous, but somehow I was able to speak without sounding too frightened.

In fact, I almost managed to sound annoyed. “What are you talking about? My sisters are perfectly safe.”

“They have a Guardian and a Seer looking after them,” he said, allowing my words with a thin smile. “But my partner could handle a pretty blonde—even if she’s got a knife.”

Claire. He knew about Claire. Meaning . . . he really
did
have someone watching my sisters.

I swallowed hard.

He started to tread closer, and I couldn’t make my taut muscles move me back to maintain the distance. His voice was deep but horribly cheerful. “You must have really rattled the Demon Lord’s cage, Miss Bennett. He doesn’t usually pay this handsomely—and never for a Seer. But I must ask—am I the first you’ve seen? It’s an issue of pride, you see.”

I decided to play dumb, for the sake of stalling. “The first? Pay—?” I choked on the word, tried to make the cut-off sound intentional. “What are you talking about?” I added quickly.

He grinned—only three steps from me now. “Good. I love being first.” He stopped directly in front of me, our toes nearly touching. I cringed back from his nearness, but my feet were frozen to the floor.

“Are you invisible?” I asked, my voice tenuous because I’d come to the realization that stalling wasn’t going to do a bit of good. Any unease Patrick might feel at my tardiness, Aaron would have annulled when he told him I’d gone to help Trent. He wouldn’t realize anything was wrong until it was too late.

The Demon didn’t miss the waver in my voice. His smile became even more confident. “Of course. I’ve been following you for a couple of days now—Friday was the start of it. I never imagined it would be this easy, though, to get you isolated. I mean, I’m good, but . . .” He shrugged. “Then again, luck was with me today.”

“So what now?” I asked, my stomach so tight I felt like it might constrict to the point of disappearing.

“My truck’s in the parking lot,” he said simply, extending a hand. “Come quietly and your sisters won’t be harmed. It’s really that simple.”

I stared at his hand, his large and tanned fingers laid out easily in front of me. Simple? Not even . . .

He sighed suddenly but was somehow able to keep the smile on his face. “We’re wasting time. If I don’t call my partner in the next five minutes, he kills one of your sisters. Do you really want to stand around waiting for that?”

Without thought my hand lifted, a purely reflexive action. He was waiting for me to touch him, because the defensive mechanism that kept him unable to touch me could only be broken by me touching him first. My fingertips brushed his palm and in a flash his hand was strangling my wrist.

“Much better,” he said happily.

I refused to show how much his grip hurt me. My face went absolutely expressionless; it was that or flinch uncontrollably. A split second later he was pulling me down the hall, back the way he’d come. Closer to Patrick . . .

“So you’re a bounty hunter?” My question was so sudden, it startled even me.

He only chuckled, continuing his advance. “Sure. And I must say you’ve got the heaviest price on your head out of anyone I’ve ever taken care of—that includes some really important people I targeted in my last life too. Though that was awhile ago, and money’s lost some value since then . . .”

There went any hope of pleading with him. He was probably as hardened as you could get.

I tried another tactic. “My Guardian is here. When he realizes I’m not where I’m supposed to be, he’ll find you.”

“The Irish guy? Yeah, I watched him beat up that guy at the bowling alley. I wasn’t impressed.”

I got chills thinking about him being so close to us without my realizing it. I mean, I was a Seer, for crying out loud! I needed to be more observant.

We passed one emo student, but he didn’t even look up from the floor. He was listening to his iPod, earphones firmly in place, shoulders slouched inside his black hoodie, and completely oblivious to the fact that I was being kidnapped by an invisible Demon.

It was amazing how empty the school seemed when I knew it was really so full.

I couldn’t think of a single thing to do. Maybe I should have tried running earlier. I might have reached Patrick. A phone call could have warned Claire to round up the twins, and in less than five minutes Patrick and I could have been at the elementary school. Why hadn’t I done that? One thing was sure—I shouldn’t have let the Demon touch me. I didn’t think I could pull away from his grip without losing my whole arm.

We turned into the main hall and the Demon jerked me toward the front doors. We passed the front office, where no one seemed to notice me and my plight, and then we were pushing out of the front doors. He pulled me down the stairs toward the wide sidewalk. There were a few scattered people around, but the Demon didn’t release me. He didn’t care if I looked like a weirdo, walking with one arm stuck out in front of me.

If I’d been panicking inside the school, now that we were walking toward the parking lot I was starting to shake. Was this really happening? I was so close to Patrick it seemed almost impossible for me to be in danger of being taken back to the Demon Lord. I could feel my phone in my pocket, but I worried he’d see me reaching for it. Maybe if I didn’t try to get it, he wouldn’t realize I had it. I could text Patrick from the trunk or wherever he planned to dump me.

As if the Demon could sense my urge to fight, he threw a look over his shoulder, still walking fast. “Think of your sisters, Miss Bennett. Or do you prefer Kate? Katie?”

I decided not to answer his question. I’d given up trying to talk to him, period. Obviously it wasn’t going to do me any good.