Incubus (22 page)

punches hurt any less. The problem was, as soon as I turned my attention to fight off one of them, the

other would attack from my blind spots. I’d spin around to defend, only to open up my back to the

first.

30 minutes of this had left me sore, irritated, and exhausted. Hale finally took pity on me and

called an end to the session.

“Better.”

“It’s nice of you to say,” I said, scowling. “But I think we all know that’s a load of crap.”

“It’s not complete crap,” Matthew said with a smile. “Just 90 percent crap.”

I grabbed another bottle of water out of my school bag, accidentally pulling it off the table in the

process. My bag hit the ground and Angela’s photocopied notes shot out. I dropped to scoop them up,

my heart thudding in my throat.

Hale bent to help. I looked up quickly. That was a mistake. Hale might have handed everything

back to me without even looking at it. But when he saw my face, he glanced at the pages in his hands.

And his expression hardened.

He stood, glancing down at the image of the vessel.

“Wait. I can explain,” I said.

“Get Thane,” Hale said to Matthew. His voice was quiet. His eyes didn’t leave my face. Matthew

snapped to attention and sped up the stairs.

“Hale,” I started.

“Don’t.”

His calm scared me more than if he’d lost it. “I didn’t mean to disobey,” I whispered. Hale simply

looked at me. Chris and Jason were still training behind us. Hale clearly didn’t want to alert them to

this conversation.

Thane entered a few moments later. “Yes?”

“I need your expertise.”

Thane walked down into the basement, glancing at Chris and Jason. They were focused on each

other, sparring. They didn’t pay any attention to him. Thane joined us, looking at me curiously. Hale

handed him the notes. Thane glanced at them, flipped through a few pages, then found the image of

the vessel. He stopped and looked back up at Hale, unsettled.

“I take it this is Angela’s research?” Thane asked. He and Hale shared a significant look. I got the

distinct impression that they knew something they weren’t saying.

“Do you know what—?” I started to ask.

Hale cut me off. “Thane?”

“I need to consult with Ian,” Thane murmured.

“Go. I’ll handle things here.” Hale turned back to me, his eyes snapping. He waited until Thane

had closed the door at the top of the basement stairs. “I asked you to leave Angela’s work alone.”

“I know.” I felt excruciatingly small under Hale’s glare.

“You gave me your word.”

“I know. I’m sorry.” When he didn’t answer me, I drew in a ragged breath. “I didn’t ask for it, Seth

just—”

“I don’t think you understand.” Hale took me by the arm and steered me toward the rack of

daggers against the back wall, farther from Jason and Chris. “Braedyn, we’re going to have to tell the

rest of the Guard about you. You know that, right? And I’m afraid it’s going to have to be sooner

rather than later. There are Guardsmen who will see you as the enemy. In their eyes, you will be guilty

until proven innocent. Don’t give them any reason to doubt you.” He held my gaze, his eyes piercing.

“You can’t afford to make the same mistakes as other kids your age. If you make a promise, you have

to keep it.”

His words stung. I nodded.

“Okay.” Hale bent and picked up my bag, handing it to me. “Go wash up. Dinner’s almost ready.”

Thane left the next morning, taking Angela’s photocopied research with him. Dad wouldn’t tell me

where he was going, only that he had to speak with another Guard archivist.

Lucas showed up on my doorstep early. For someone who’d never been too excited about school,

Lucas couldn’t wait to get to campus. Hale had chewed Lucas out after I’d left to get cleaned up the

night before. Whether or not it was fair, Hale made it clear to Lucas that knowing about the research

and saying nothing was as bad as taking it in the first place.

“He’s not calling it punishment,” he said when we got into my car for the drive to school. “But

I’ve got a whole list of new chores. Weapons maintenance every weekend. Oh, and KP every night

after dinner. Which, by the way, you’ll be joining me for. Hale says it’s time we contribute more to

the operation of the Guard. But I know the truth. It’s punishment.” Lucas looked at me, curious. “What

was in that research? It must have been nuclear strength secrets or something.”

I sighed. “That’s the worst part about this whole thing. If there was some big secret in there, I

didn’t find it.”

“No, the worst part about this whole thing is being stuck in the basement with Hale every Saturday

morning when I should be sleeping in.”

“At least we have our dreams,” I said.

Lucas looked at me, his eyes warm. “Yeah. That’s something they can’t take from us, no matter

how badly we screw up.”

In physics, Seth tried to slip me another envelope. “Mom made a breakthrough on the ritual,” he

whispered.

I pushed his hand back, not touching the envelope he offered.

“What’s wrong?” His face was a mask of surprise. “I thought you wanted to know this stuff.”

“Things have... changed,” I said. “With the new Guardsmen around.” I sighed. “Plus, Hale saw the

picture of the vessel and freaked out.”

“You showed it to him?”

“Not on purpose,” I said. “It fell out of my bag.”

“Crap. I’m sorry.” Seth looked glum. He slipped the envelope back into his bag.

“Actually,” I started, remembering the look Thane and Hale had exchanged, “I think he might

know something about the vessel.”

“Really? Why did he freak out at you?”

“He’s worried about what might happen if the Guardsmen figure out what I am before he’s ready

to tell them.”

“You haven’t told them you’re a Lilitu?” Seth looked outraged, but he kept his voice low.

“No,” I said.

“But—why do you have to hide from them? You’re on their side.”

I shrugged, but some part of me felt a grim satisfaction. At least someone else saw the injustice of

my situation. “You know that and I know that, but unfortunately most of these guys think of it as their

sacred duty to kill my kind. So until they get to know me a little better, we’re keeping it on the DL.”

“Well, for what it’s worth, I think that’s stupid.” Seth threw an arm over my shoulder

companionably. It was nice. Comfortable.

“Thanks.” I leaned into him, resting my head on his shoulder for a moment.

My eyes landed on Royal and Cassie. They were staring at us, speculation running wild across

their faces. I straightened, quickly, turning my attention back to my notes. But the damage had been

done. Cassie caught me alone after class.

“What’s going on with you and Seth?”

“What? No. Nothing,” I said.

“I told you,” Royal said to Cassie, curling his arm through mine on my other side.

“Okay.” But she didn’t look convinced. “And the part where you snuggled up to him?”

“Snuggled up?” I felt my cheeks growing hot. “It was just a friendly hug, okay?”

“What was just a friendly hug? Who’s hugging who?” Lucas asked, joining us in the hall.

“Seth hugged Braedyn,” Royal said, sounding bored. “It’s not Watergate.”

Lucas’s eyes lingered on my face for a moment before he turned to Cassie and Royal. “Oh.”

“It was totally innocent,” I said, feeling the blush spread. “He was trying to cheer me up.”

“It’s cool,” Lucas said, giving me a strange look. “You can hug your friends. It’s not a big deal.”

“Right. Thank you.” But some part of me felt... guilty.

“Look what you did,” said Royal, crossing his arms and giving Cassie a small frown. “Like we

need more drama at this school.”

“My mistake,” Cassie said. She and Royal hurried ahead, leaving Lucas and me behind. Lucas took

my hand in his.

“It was nothing,” I said again.

“Okay.”

“You trust me, right?” I asked, suddenly self-conscious. Lucas gave me a pained look, then

glanced around. Spotting whatever it was he was looking for, Lucas took my hand and pulled me into

an empty classroom. He closed the door, buying us a moment alone.

“Braedyn. I have total faith in you.” Lucas brushed my hair back from my cheek. I leaned into the

touch unconsciously. Lucas’s breath caught. The sound shot like a bolt of energy through my stomach.

I felt something stir in response. The Lilitu storm rose within me, stronger than I’d ever felt it. Strong

enough to drive me closer to Lucas, blocking everything else out. Lucas read the desire in my face and

tipped his head down, lips parting.

“Stop,” I hissed. The warning was meant for Lucas, but it was also a command to the Lilitu power,

coiled inside me, ready to spring.

Lucas’s eyes seemed to clear. He took a quick step back, like you might if you’d just realized you

were standing at the edge of a 100-foot drop. “This is getting more difficult,” he said. His voice was

husky.

“Maybe we should dial it down a bit,” I said, clenching my hands to stop them from shaking.

“Dial it down?”

“You know. Limit... physical contact.”

“If you think it will help.” He sounded shaken. I nodded. We stood there for a moment, recovering.

“Time for lunch?”

I nodded again, and Lucas opened the door for me.

“On the bright side,” I said, before walking through it. “You’ve got nothing to worry about. When

I touched Seth, I didn’t feel a thing.”

Lucas’s face split into a lopsided grin. “Well,” he murmured, “that’s a relief.”

Lucas and I refrained from touching for the rest of the day, but it was harder than I would have

imagined. I’d grown accustomed to holding his hand, leaning against him in the hall, brushing my foot

against his in class. The absence of these little touches ended up serving as a constant reminder of

what we couldn’t share.

After school, Seth’s mom was waiting to pick him up. So I drove Lucas and myself home alone.

You would have thought there was an invisible gorilla sitting between us, pressing us to the outer

edges of our seats.

When we got home, I pulled into my driveway and killed the engine. But neither of us moved to

get out of the car. I gripped the wheel tightly. “Lucas?”

“It’s not forever,” Lucas said. The look he gave me sent a shiver through my core. “I’ll see you at

practice?”

I nodded. We exited the car and parted, each to our own house.

I didn’t see her until I was turning my key in the front door lock. It was the woman in Thrall—the