The Rephaim: Burn Part 11

He rests his fingertips on the edge of my scarred timber coffee table. Even in the soft light of the bedside lamp I can see his fingernails are short and manicured, pink against his ebony skin. 'I've devoted the past century to transcribing the ancient texts from Nathaniel's library-'

'Yeah, I'm well aware of that.'

'So, I've had access to writings from every society and creed known to mankind. And yet there are truths that remain elusive to me and I can't help but think this is intentional, especially when it comes to the Fallen. If I'm right, then, by logic, it means there are other ways for us to glean answers beyond the written word-if we knew where to look for them.'

'And?' I prompt. My mouth is already dry.

'I wonder if the Outcasts have discovered one of those sources.'

'If they had, do you seriously think they'd tell me?'

He gives me a wry smile. 'No, but your brother might. Some things in this world are more important even than quarrelling with your sibling.'

Zeb's so close to the truth, and yet so far. And it burns at me that he's half right: Jude only reconnected with me because of Jason and Dani, and whatever it is she's seen.

'Do you think I'd run off with the Outcasts if they had information we didn't?'

'No, Gabe, of course not-'

'That's what you're suggesting, though, isn't it? Daniel's convinced there's another agenda running, and you think I'm signing on with the Outcasts because they've found something we haven't. Thanks for the vote of confidence, Zeb.'

'Gabe-'

'For the record, as far as I know the Outcasts have no more idea than we do about the Fallen.' It's the truth, but a thread of guilt still tugs at me. 'And if you think I'd sign up for anything that involved Mya-'

'I know that. Of course I know that.' He swallows, folds his hands in his lap. But you still haven't told me what prompted you and Jude to reconnect now.'

'Yeah, I have, you're just not listening.' I stand up. 'You need to leave.'

Zeb looks like he's going to argue, but then he glances at the rack of weapons over my bed and seems to remember whose room he's in.

'I'm sore, I'm tired and I'm not in the mood to be accused of betrayal.'

'Please, Gabe-'

'Tell Daniel the next time he wants to throw around accusations, he should come and do it himself, not drag you out of storage because he doesn't have the b.a.l.l.s to face me.'

Zeb's still apologising when I shut the door on him. I crawl into bed, angry and resentful and unsettled. I haven't lied to anyone, not yet. Not really. And I don't care what this kid Dani has to say, there's no way in h.e.l.l I will ever join the ranks of the Outcasts.

I lie there, stewing, and finally start to sink into sleep when my phone vibrates on the bedside table. I groan, grab it.

It's Jude.

'Jason just called. He's ready to take us to Dani.'

I'm instantly awake. 'When?'

'Now.'

'Like, right now?'

'Yep. He'll meet us under the pier. The marine layer is hanging in again so we should have enough cover. Then we'll go to the kid from there.'

I flick on my lamp and swing my aching leg out of bed. I reach for my jeans. 'Okay, give me five.'

The s.p.a.ce beneath the Santa Monica pier is deserted. The forest of pylons is eerie in the murky light. I can't see the waterline through the fog, but I can hear it breaking calmly onto the sand not too far away, smell the damp sea air. I didn't ask what weather to dress for, so I layered: t-s.h.i.+rt, lightweight hoodie, leather jacket. My boots sink into the soft sand and I have an almost irresistible need to kick them off and run barefoot through the mist. Bad leg and all.

Jude and Jason arrive within seconds of each other, Jude so close to me that I flinch. We smile at each other, and for a second I think he might hug me-a crazy idea because we've never been huggers.

'So where are we going?' I ask Jason.

'Boise, Idaho.'

Jude laughs. 'Where else would an eleven-year-old prophet live?'

Jason shoves his hands in the pockets of his jeans, self-conscious. 'Please don't judge Maria if she comes off a little rude. This isn't easy for her. And be gentle with Dani.' He glances at our swords. 'And try not to look too intimidating.'

Jude and I nod.

'Do you remember how to guide us in the s.h.i.+ft?' Jude asks. He and I taught Jason to s.h.i.+ft back when we were all teenagers but we only practised s.h.i.+fting together once.

'I think so.'

We move closer together.

'Are you limping?' Jude asks me.

I shrug. 'A little.'

'What happened?'

I think about lying, decide on an edited version instead. 'I had a job today. It ended with a run-in with Bel and Leon.'

He sucks in his breath. 'I really hate those two. How bad?'

'I took a blade. It's fine, no permanent damage. It's stiff and sore, that's all.'

'Who was supposed to be watching your back?' His eyes drop to my leg. 'Where was Daniel?'

I sigh. Of course his disdain of the Sanctuary-of Daniel-isn't going to evaporate simply because he and I are talking again. 'It was a surveillance job and we were ambushed. Taya and Malachi had my back and they had their hands full.'

Jude looks like he wants to say more, but Jason clears his throat before he can. 'Maria and Dani are waiting for us.'

I reach for Jason's wrist and after a brief pause Jude does the same. Jason pulls us into the vortex gently; it's like sliding into water. Two seconds later we slip out the other side into a warm kitchen that smells of fresh-baked cookies and gas heating.

A woman with short dark hair stands behind a kitchen bench, her eyes flicking between Jude and me. Her arms are wrapped tight around a child with long blonde curls. They're braced for us, barely breathing.

'You must be Maria,' Jude says and smiles in the way that makes his eyes crinkle.

Maria tightens her grip on Dani. 'Let's get one thing straight: I don't want you here.' She exhales and glances down at her daughter. 'But Dani believes she has to tell you whatever it is she's seen, and I have to trust that Jason knows what he's doing.'

Dani can't decide who to stare at, Jude or me. Her eyes, blue like a summer sky, are bright, curious. There's fear there too, but she's not as scared as she should be. 'Hi,' she says quietly.

'Hi,' Jude and I say together.

Jude unzips his leather jacket. 'Wow, it's toasty in here. Do you mind?' He takes off his jacket and I do the same. Jude's wearing an old Lynyrd Skynyrd t-s.h.i.+rt-one that I bought for him years ago. It's threadbare and faded, and he wore it for me. I feel inadequate standing here in a standard issue Sanctuary black tee. I wish I'd thought to wear something he'd given me, even the t-s.h.i.+rt that says I run with scissors. I haven't worn it since he left, but I know exactly where it is in my wardrobe.

'Nice place,' Jude says. It's old but well kept: a worn timber table with high-backed chairs, a spotless stove, a large fabric sofa with a vintage flower design. Thick carpet scuffed in places by someone else's furniture.

'Thank you,' Maria says, reluctantly accepting the compliment.

The cookies I smelled when we arrived are cooling on a rack near the sink. They smell delicious. Dani sees me eyeing them. 'Would you like one? Mom and I made them for you.' Her voice is soft and sweet, her east coast accent at odds with the northwest location.

'Sure.' I don't know how I'm supposed to behave around her-I haven't had a lot of experience with kids. It helps to remember that she's a distant relative (a fact that still spins my head). Dani pulls away from Maria and lifts the tray so I can take a cookie. Melting chocolate chips stick to my fingers. Dani watches as I eat it in three bites and lick my fingers clean. 'Not bad.'

Dani smiles. Seriously, this kid has no fear.

'Can we sit down?' Jason pulls out a chair at the table while I look around for somewhere to hang my jacket. Maria points to the pegs by the back door. 'Over there please. Along with your weapons.'

I hold out my hand for Jude's jacket and katana, and take them across the room. I see the tiny backyard through the window: a swing, a bicycle propped against the fence and a planter box with bright purple flowers. What would it be like to have a mother who teaches you to bake cookies and makes you hang up your jacket? An old ache rises, taking me by surprise. I thought I'd buried that yearning a century ago. Maybe the family connection is stirring up those dry, dead things.

'How long have you lived here?' Jude asks, and we stumble through a few minutes of small talk, finding out that Maria and Dani moved to Boise two years ago so Maria could find work. She's a trauma nurse. The teenage girl next door babysits when Maria has nights.h.i.+ft, unless Jason is visiting. I get the impression he's here a lot. Dani goes to an elementary school up the road and pretends she doesn't know about angels and demons and the Rephaim.

'Where's Dani's father?' Jude asks.

Dani reaches for a cookie and proceeds to pick it apart but not eat it.

'Back east,' Maria says, her expression flat. 'He can't deal with Dani's nightmares. It's easier this way.'

I watch Dani's mouth turn down a little and wonder who it's easier for: Dani or Maria. 'He doesn't know the truth?' I ask.

'Of course not. n.o.body does, except those of us in the family who have lived with the curse. Do you go around telling people what you are?'

'No, but I'm surrounded by people who know, so I don't have to pretend to be something I'm not. Must be exhausting.'

Jason doesn't say anything, but I see it in the way he reaches for Dani's fingers to stop her destroying a second cookie: he knows exactly what I'm talking about.

'What were your visions?' Jude asks Maria.

'I don't talk about them.'

'But-'

'Is there something wrong with your hearing?' She flicks a meaningful look in Dani's direction.

Jason clears his throat. 'Maria's visions weren't all that different from the other girls in her family, mostly battles between angels and demons.'

'But were they prophetic?' Jude interrupts.

'I don't know,' Maria says.

He leans in. 'Can you at least tell me if you ever saw Rephaim in those battles?'

I blink. What would it mean if she did? Confirmation that when the big war erupts between heaven and h.e.l.l we'll be part of it-and on the right side?

She shakes her head. 'Dani is the first of us to see you. If the Rephaim were in the battles shown to me, I didn't know it.'

Jude sinks back in his chair.

'It doesn't mean anything,' I say. He nods, slowly, but I see the disappointment in the set of his jaw. 'And we're not here about that. We're here because of Dani.'

Dani sits up straighter, all business.

'So.' I'm not sure how to approach it. 'How does your...thing work?'

She shrugs. 'If I sit quietly and concentrate, I can see you. I also have visions every now and then, but mostly I use the gift to watch what you guys are doing-'

'Us, as in me and Jude?' I have a stab of anxiety. At least she's not old enough to have seen what happened between me and Rafa, not if her abilities only started a few years ago. Unless she can see into the past too...

'I can see all of you but I mostly watch you two, and Ez and Zak. You four have always been my favourites. I search for Micah sometimes too. And Daniel.'

I don't have to look at Jude to know his reaction to Daniel's name.

'You don't believe me, do you?'

I study her. She's so open, so trusting. 'Tell me something you've seen.'

She chews on her pinkie nail, thinks. 'I saw you hurt Rafa.'

'When?'

'Last week. You and Jude were sitting outdoors somewhere. It was really sunny. You were talking, and then Rafa was there and you got into a fight with him. I think you broke his nose.'

I glance at Jude, my skin p.r.i.c.kling.

'I didn't tell anyone,' he says, looking as spooked as I feel.

'I went looking for you today, before I called Jason,' Dani says, ignoring our reactions. She points to my leg. 'You got hurt fighting a demon with long white hair and weird eyes. He cut you with a sword. And Jude had an argument with Rafa about you-'

'Okay,' Jude says, totally rattled. 'We believe you.'

She sits back in her chair, satisfied.

I reach for the tray of cookies, pick one up, put it down again. 'Okay, so what do you want to tell us?'

Dani glances at Jason and then turns to her mother. 'I need to talk to Gabe and Jude alone.'