Shimmer: The Rephaim Book 3 (3 page)

‘Where’s the other one?’ I ask.

‘Zebediah is in the scriptorium. Brother Stephen will brief him.’ Daniel’s voice is thin. ‘What have you decided?’

I glance at Mya. She won’t meet my eyes. ‘We’re staying. For now.’

‘And the others?’

‘Here soon.’

Jude is still scrutinising the four council members. Measuring them. Like the rest of the Rephaim, they look about twenty, not a hundred and thirty-nine. They don’t look like the governing body of a society of half-angel bastards.

‘Jude.’ It’s Uri who speaks. ‘Did you come here for a fight?’

My brother shrugs. He seems relaxed; I know he’s not. The muscles in his neck are taut, his eyes wary. ‘That depends on what happens next.’

Mya spins her sword, threatening. Nathaniel and the Five are unarmed and I realise this could go off the rails before the others even get here. My heart gives a hard rap on my ribs. I have to keep this on track.

‘When are we attacking the farmhouse?’

All eyes shift to me. A gust of wind rattles a pane somewhere above us. Magda’s beads clack once, then again, and fall silent.

‘Gabriella.’ My name echoes back from the buttressed ceiling. ‘I have called everyone here to keep them safe. These walls—’

‘I know, I know, they’re warded against demons. What about Rafa and Taya?’

‘In a moment. We cannot overlook the significance of what has befallen you and your brother.’

‘Are you shitting me?’ I glare at Daniel. ‘Tell me again you didn’t orchestrate that attack simply to get us all here.’

His jaw tightens. ‘What sort of monsters do you think we are?’

‘The sort that thought it was a good idea to put me in a cage with a hellion.’

‘
One
hellion—and you killed it. I didn’t set a horde of Gatekeepers on you while you had your back turned.’

‘This is what you wanted though, isn’t it? Jude and me, here?’

‘Not like this. Never like this.’

‘Please,’ Nathaniel says. ‘Zachariah, Esther, Mya. We need a moment with Judah and Gabriella before the others arrive.’

‘I said no.’ I let my blankets drop to the cold floor. Ez, Zak and Mya move closer. It’s more in defiance than solidarity, but I’ll take what I can get.

Nathaniel’s eyes don’t leave mine. ‘Why will you not talk to us alone?’

‘Because I don’t trust you.’ I let my eyes narrow. ‘And since we can’t shift…’

He has the gall to look offended. Beside him, Calista squares her shoulders. As if she’s heard enough to know I’m not the Gabe she remembers.

Nathaniel shifts his attention to Jude. ‘You say you do not remember your past. Will you allow me to search your mind?’

Jude flicks me a glance.

‘He can read our thoughts, but we have to let him,’ I say. ‘Unless we’re drugged or beaten unconscious.’

He snorts. ‘No fucking way.’

‘Show some respect.’ Calista’s face is pinched, flushed.

‘That’s one thing he certainly hasn’t learned,’ Daniel says. Uri steps up beside him, flexes his fingers. The cool air fizzes with anger.

Which is when Jones and the rest of the Outcasts materialise in the middle of the chapterhouse.

Armed.

DISOBEDIENT BASTARDS

My stomach lurches the way it always does when Rephaim shift. Nathaniel and the Five turn and face a forest of swords, glinting in the dull morning light. Zak, Ez and Mya shift and reappear almost instantly in front of the other eighteen Outcasts.

Brother Stephen and Magda scuttle out of the way but Jude and I don’t move. We’re stranded by the wall, between the two groups. Too far from our swords.

‘Lay down your weapons.’ Calista’s voice rings off the walls. ‘Lay them down or we’ll take this as an act of aggression.’

‘Did you think we were going to come here unarmed?’ Mya says, all barbs and hooks. Lit up somehow, as if this is what she’s been waiting for. I feel a surge of pure exasperation that nearly floors me. How are we going to get Rafa back if these people can’t be in the same room without it turning into a brawl?

Jones moves into position next to Mya. Straight black hair sticks out from under a knitted beanie and frames his angular face. He’s wearing black jeans and a black woollen jumper. The Outcasts rejected many things when they walked away from the Sanctuary, but not the Rephaim penchant for black on black. He glances at me—the last time I saw him I was outside the club in LA with a knife sticking out of my leg—and then his eyes snap to Jude. First time since finding out my brother’s alive. His face crumples a little.

‘You are guests,’ Calista says. ‘Show some respect.’

‘Or what?’ Mya says.

‘Or we’re going to see if you’ve got any better at swinging that sword.’

I look to Nathaniel. Why isn’t he stepping in? But then I understand: he’s too busy counting. He’s looking the Outcasts over, checking they’re all there. My stomach drops again. The Outcasts as one reposition their weight and lift their weapons.

A small army stands behind Nathaniel and the Five. At least thirty Rephaim. Some I recognise from my first trip up the mountain last week. Most I don’t. They’re lined up with military precision, armed with swords and poleaxes. That night on the mountain—the night we got Maggie back after Taya took her to get to me—Rafa, Ez and Zak fought against a handful of Sanctuary Rephaim. At least until the Gatekeeper demons arrived. Then they put aside their grudges and fought shoulder to shoulder. Now, without an immediate threat from a third party, the tension between the two groups has snapped back.

Malachi is front and centre. Eyes only for me. Glaring. Does he blame me for what’s happening to Taya? Or does he blame himself? If he’d been there, his battle partner wouldn’t be imprisoned with Rafa, horribly injured and fighting off demons while we…

No.

I’m not game to move, anyway, the slightest gesture could set off either group. Eyes on both sides flick to Jude and me. We’re unarmed. Jude raises his eyebrows and I have no idea what to do. What was I thinking, bringing the Outcasts here?

I search for red hair, find Daisy in the crowd of Rephaim. She’s eyeballing the Outcasts, but a tear tracks down her freckled cheek. She’s seen Jude. They might have been enemies for the past decade but there’s no doubt how much it means to her that he’s alive. Micah is there too, tall and blond, absently spinning the hilt of his katana. He catches my eye, nods a quick greeting, and then fixes his attention back on Mya. I’m glad he and Daisy are in the room: they’re the only Sanctuary Rephaim who haven’t treated me like a sworn enemy over the past week.

‘Everyone needs to calm down,’ Daniel says. He accepts the sword Malachi offers. Calista and Uri are armed now too.

‘You want us to stay calm?’ Mya points her katana at Calista. ‘You just called in two squads.’

Calista knocks the blade away. ‘Watch your tone.’

Three blades whip up to replace Mya’s—Jones, Ez and Zak, their swords all trained on Calista’s throat.

‘Lower your weapons.’

Nathaniel. Finally.

‘Them first.’ Mya gestures to the Rephaim behind Nathaniel.

‘Lower your weapons,’ he repeats.

Nobody moves. Nathaniel shouldn’t be surprised the Outcasts don’t obey: they’ve been in open rebellion against him for a decade.

‘Don’t think we won’t take you on,’ Calista says. ‘This is long overdue.’

God, there’s no way this is ending without carnage. Blood pounds at my temples. ‘What is wrong with you people?’

The coiled rage in the room shifts, winds around me. I feel blurred, smudged, as if I don’t quite fit in my skin. I jump up on the pew, stare them down. ‘While you’re busy with your pissing contest, Zarael has Rafa and Taya in that farmhouse.’ My voice is too loud, I can’t help it. I’m buzzing with fear and anger and panic. ‘You should be falling over yourselves to save them. Or is this crap so important you’ll let Gatekeepers do what they like to them?’

‘You’re not in a position to make demands anymore, Gabe,’ Calista says.

‘Those demons killed a sixteen-year-old girl and her mother. I shouldn’t have to demand anything.’

Calista shakes her head. ‘Can’t you see the mess you’re in? I never accepted that you betrayed us, but now you turn up here with
them
pushing for an Outcast-style attack—’

Jude springs up next to me. ‘Betrayed you, yeah? What do you actually know about what we did last year? Know for a fact? Any of you?’ His eyes rake over the Rephaim on both sides of the room. He waits. Nobody speaks. ‘Then back the fuck off. I don’t remember being tight with you guys’—Jude gestures to the Sanctuary side of the room—‘or you’—to the Outcasts.

Calista shifts her weight and something about the movement catches my eye. Her trackpants are oddly loose around her left calf, like there’s something different about that leg.

‘And I sure as hell don’t remember deserting my sister a decade ago.’ His voice wavers but he doesn’t look away from the sea of faces. The chapterhouse simmers with recrimination but both sides wait for him to continue, lower their swords a fraction. I feel pride—and a prick of regret that they don’t respond to me like that. ‘Whatever we did last year brought us back together again, so don’t expect an apology from either of us any time soon.’

For a steadying moment, I fit back in my skin.

‘And we’re not talking about it anymore until we get Rafa back,’ Jude adds.

‘And Taya.’ Malachi—still glaring.

‘And Taya.’

The only sounds in the chapterhouse are boots on stone, clinking steel.

‘You are in no position to make demands either.’ The skin around Daniel’s eyes is taut: a hint of the old rivalry between him and Jude that I’ve heard so much about.

‘I don’t give a shit what position I’m in. That’s where we stand.’

They eyeball each other.

The cold gets the better of me. I shudder and instantly regret it. Daniel breaks eye contact with Jude. He waits a beat and passes his sword to Malachi. Then he comes over and picks up a blanket from the floor, offers it to me. I hesitate. Is this a test? What message will I send if I take the comfort he’s offering? I shiver again. Dammit.

‘You’re freezing,’ Daniel says, matter-of-fact. ‘You’ll be no use to anyone if you fall ill.’

I vaguely register that Rephaim can get sick. It makes sense:
I’ve
been sick. I take the blanket, wordlessly throw it around my shoulders and wait to feel its warmth. Daniel returns to Nathaniel’s side.

‘Nathaniel,’ Jude says. His bare arms are covered in goosebumps, but he shows no sign of feeling the cold. ‘What’s your call?’

The fallen angel is statue-still, his chiselled face impassive. ‘The Council and I shall meet. Then we shall send for you.’ He gestures to both groups. ‘All of you.’

I tighten my blanket. ‘How long’s that going to take?’

‘As long as necessary. It will give you the chance to shower and eat. Brother Stephen will show you to the guestrooms.’

‘We don’t have time—’

‘Gabriella.’

I bite back my next words.

‘This is not a skirmish with a handful of Gatekeepers. What you are asking for is a full battle against Zarael and his entire horde. We do not attack, Gabriella. If you had not been robbed of your past you would know and understand this, as you always have. We have authority to defend ourselves when necessary, but have no commission to seek out demons for conflict. I do not risk Rephaite lives lightly.’

‘What about defending Rafa and Taya? What about not wasting the opportunity of knowing where Zarael and his horde are for the first time in over a century?’

He makes a show of looking around the chapterhouse. ‘Have you called the lost Rephaite?’

I falter. ‘Jason?’

‘Yes. Have you phoned him?’

‘Not yet.’

‘Please do so now. He is at risk every second he is not here.’

Which means Maggie is too. Oh god, Maggie. No matter what I do, I can’t keep her safe. And I have to tell her about Simon and the Butlers. I touch my phone in my pocket. I hate that I have to drag my best friend back into this shitty mess. But what choice do I have?

I’m not letting any more people I care about get hurt.

GATHERING CLOUDS

On Nathaniel’s signal the Sanctuary Rephaim file out of the chapterhouse, resentful. I sit on the pew and cradle my phone. It’s cold and lifeless, or maybe the phone’s fine and it’s me. Daisy and Micah both catch my eye before they leave; both take one last look at Jude.

‘You may follow Brother Stephen,’ Nathaniel says to the Outcasts, and gestures to the monk waiting by the door. His head is bowed, his gnarled hands folded over his brown robe. Magda has already left.

‘We’ll wait for Gabe,’ Ez says.

Nathaniel tilts his chin a fraction as if he’s considering a tricky question. ‘As you wish.’ He makes no move to leave. Daniel, Uri and Calista stay in position as well; the Outcasts hold their line. Nathaniel’s attention flicks to them, frequently. Another gust of wind outside. The draught brushes past my ear, shifts a stray hair clinging to my neck.

Mya lets out her breath, incapable of hiding her frustration. ‘We know the way to our rooms. There’s no need to babysit us.’

‘You think we kept your rooms?’ Calista says. ‘Honestly, Mya, your delusion knows no bounds.’

Malachi lifts the tip of his sword in Mya’s direction. His eyes are hard, his skin washed out under the jet-black goatee.

‘This is your fault.’

Mya smiles, dangerous. ‘How do you figure that?’

‘You caused the split: you kept Gabe and Jude apart. Whatever they did a year ago wouldn’t have happened if they’d both still been here. This attack today wouldn’t have happened.’

Whatever they did a year ago.

‘I’m not the one who led Zarael straight to them and got a bunch of rednecks butchered,’ Mya snaps.

‘No,
you’re
the one who keeps putting people I care about in danger—’

‘Enough.’ Ez steps between them, her plait swinging across her back. ‘We’re not doing this now.’

Jude picks up the other blanket and turns his back to the others. ‘Better make that call before this turns ugly again.’

I check my watch. It’s been forty-seven minutes since the attack. I try not to think of all the things Zarael could do to Rafa in forty-seven minutes. My breath shortens again. Jude grips my elbow.