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  “Okay,” I said, trying not to let the trepidation come through the phone.

  ‘This is good. This is what you need right? A good talk with the demon-in-chief.’

  “Where should we meet?” I said.

  “Well, I would invite you over…but emotions are high over here. Why don’t I meet you at your place?”

  “Sounds good,” I said, wincing as I imagined Lola’s nasty face. At least with all the distance between us, I couldn’t feel her anger. “When do you want to come over?”

  “Now would be good.”

  “Alright, see you soon.”

  “Yes, see you soon.”

  “God, he’s so awkward,” I mumbled to myself, getting to my feet to take my dishes to the sink. I fixed my hair and put on some deodorant, but didn’t even have time to change out of my PJs before I heard him knocking at the door.

  “Jesus.” I opened the door to see Nick, his dreads pulled back in a rubber band and his pants neatly pressed. Even his dark skin looked magnificent, as if he were incredibly well rested. I envied him for a moment, sure I looked a mess in my pink pajama pants and with dark circles under my eyes.

  “Come on in,” I said, stepping back and moving behind the door.

  “Thanks.” He scanned the apartment. He had never been there before, so I wondered briefly what he thought about our place. There was a pile by the couch where I shamelessly dumped anything Sierra left laying about, praying for the day she’d pick it up. But I was sure I’d have to pick it up and put it in the room for her, like I had done time and time again.

  Other than that, the apartment was fairly clean. Most of our decor was older, but we lovingly called it vintage since the best we could afford came from Goodwill. There were prints of birds and landscapes in wooden frames on the wall, and even an old Spice Girls poster we found at a garage sale.

  “This is a fun place you got,” Nick said, his voice pleasant, but his blank expression didn’t change.

  “Um, thanks. Want anything to drink?”

  “No thank you. Can we go out to the porch?” he asked, nodding towards the sliding door in the kitchen that lead outside.

  “Yeah, sure,” I said. It was hot out, but I wasn’t about to fight him on it. We had pretty good shade out there and a fan, so I figured I could just grin and bear it.

  Outside was as hot as I had predicted, so I turned on the fan and sat in the plastic chair, pulling it back towards the apartment so that I sat under the shade of the eaves. Down below I could see our neighbor walking across the green lawn from the pool back to his place. She looked up and waved. I smiled and waved back.

  “So, what’s up?” He looked out at the lawn and seemed hesitant to speak. “Don’t worry, it’s hard for anyone to hear us up here. I mean, unless my neighbor decides to go out on her porch.” I said, nodding over to her balcony.

  He nodded in understanding. “Bailey…so much has gone on in the last few days, and I’m sorry you got caught up in it all.”

  I shrugged, avoiding his eyes. It was true, but I didn’t want to lead on to how affected I was by it all. “I mean, it’s not like you could control anything.”

  He sighed. “But I should have been more aware of your tensions with Trent. If I were, I could have prevented what happened.”

  I knew he was talking about the imprinting. I wondered suddenly if he actually could have stopped it. “Are you…I mean, can you sense things like the rest of the pack?”

  “No,” he shook his head. “That would be convenient, but that’s a bond that’s exclusive to shifter packs. I have to rely on my own intuition, and it failed me.”

  “Oh,” I said, letting the information sink in. A bird flew past us and landed in a nearby tree, dropping a twig into a nest. “Still, I don’t blame you. You’re not in charge of me, and it was partly my fault too.”

  “It’s true. But I need you to understand that now you are my responsibility. Your bond with Trent makes you a part of the pack, in a way. And I need to protect any human that’s involved with any one of them.”

  “Is there a way for me to…I don’t know, not be a part of it?” I asked, my voice small. I didn’t want Trent to know what I was feeling. After I left yesterday, confused and filled with all kinds of conflicting emotions, I couldn’t help but wonder how much of what was going on with me Trent could perceive. So far I didn’t have any more visions concerning him, but he was actually a werewolf. Maybe his senses were keener.

  Maybe he knew what I was saying to Nick at that very moment.

  “No,” Nick sighed. He was so stoic, watching the bird as it arranged the small twig. I wondered briefly about his life, his story.

  “You could ignore it if you want to, but the bond will always be there. Every time you’re near him, you’ll feel it. Every time he’s hurt, or you’re in danger, you’ll know.”

  “So…will I see the little things?” I asked, folding my hands in my lap as I took deep breath.

  “No, not unless he tells you. Mind reading is kind of a tricky gift—you have to really be careful not to abuse it, because the mind is a sacred, private space. And now you can communicate with the whole pack, so you really have to be judicious with when you use it.”

  I imagined myself trying to live a life where I could communicate mentally with Trent, where I could sense his hurt and danger, and I denied it.

  “So I have no choice,” I said quietly. Nick turned to look at me, and he gave me a sympathetic look.

  “In a way, you don’t,” he said. “But I also know that Trent doesn’t want you to have to be with him.”

  “Yeah.” A hollow laugh escaping my lips. “Trust me, that’s no secret.”

  “He wants to protect you from what he is.”

  “Yeah, he also wants to protect me from guys in general,” I sighed. “Sorry, that’s not your problem, and that’s not why you came here.”

  “Well,” Nick started, a small crease forming in his brow. “In a way, it sort of is. I wanted to talk to you about Fun Aim. Specifically about Aamir.”

  “What do you know about him?” I could feel the warm locket pressing against my thigh through my flannel pants. I had slept with it for some reason—it called to me in a weird way, and provided comfort. Even if I wasn’t thinking about Aamir, it’s presence was calming, intoxicating even.

  “I happen to know a lot about the Veisi. They’re a very important family around these parts.”

  “The…who?” I asked.

  “That’s his last name,” Nick said, giving me a funny look. At least he didn’t laugh at me, because I totally deserved that. How close did I let myself get to this guy I hardly even knew?

  “Oh, right,” I said, blushing.

  “You see Bailey, Aamir’s part of a group called the Neo-Knights of Cyrus. And Aamir has some powers of his own, I guess you were made aware of that. At least, that’s what Trent told me. It was hard to get the unbiased truth out of him.”

  “Yeah, he’s an empath,” I rolled my eyes at the mention of Trent. Of course he would be so stubborn. “And I know that the girl, Gita, she’s a nymph. That’s pretty much all I understand. I don’t even really know what being a nymph entails. Except that she can really mess me up, obviously.” I cringed at the memory.

  “Well, nymphs and empaths have a very special relationships. At least, in that cult they do.”

  “Cult?” He read the shock on my face and raised a hand as if to calm me.

  “I just mean a marginal, religious sect. Although I’m sure Trent would refer to it in the derogatory sense,” he said with a small smile. “See, the Neo-Knights of Cyrus carry a tradition over from the Middle East, and their reigning leader is Aamir’s father, the High Priest Farzad Veiri. Like many empaths, they see their role as protectors of the weak.”

  “Like you?” I asked.

  Nick’s face fell a little bit. “Not quiet. At least, they wouldn’t appreciate the comparison. You see, they exclusively protect innocents. To them, people like myself and the pack
…well, we’re impure. We’re filled with dark magic.”

  “But that nymph girl performed dark magic, didn’t she? She wanted to kill me!” I nearly yelled, and the bird in its nest fluttered away, cawing in fright.

  “I would agree with you. But for them, dark magic is magic that makes monsters—werewolves, vampires, faes, demons. Anything that changes a human.”

  “But I don’t understand…they’re not corrupted by dark magic? Whatever they do is definitely not ‘normal’ human behavior.”

  “Agreed, but it goes back to their mythology. The Veiri are just one of a number of families, Persian and otherwise, who believe that the birth of impurity came when the Akkadian god of plague, Erra, brought destruction and turmoil upon the world. He traveled to Babylon to defeat his ‘enemies,’ but in the process everything was thrown into chaos and the innocent were killed along with the guilty. For the Neo-Knights, this is when evil embodied flesh, and non-human creatures like werewolves and demons roamed free as Erra’s soldiers. Even when Erra’s reign ended, his evil lived on through them. They believe that Cyrus the Great, the Persian king, brought with him great men, scholars and soldiers, that could fight these beasts. And when Alexander the Great took over, the Greek nymphs followed, promising to help the Knights of Cyrus harness the power of nature if they would in turn use that magic to make them human.”

  “Wow.” I tried to let the information sink in, watching a guy across the green lawn come out of his apartment with his little Chihuahua, who was yipping excitedly. It all seemed more complicated and strange that I had imagined. I wasn’t really sure that I would retain any of that information, considering history had never really been my best subject.

  But it did make sense now why Aamir studied religion. I suddenly had a slightly better understanding of who he was.

  “So when does the ‘Neo’ part come in?”

  “The Neo-Knights is an off-shoot the Knights of Cyrus. I’m not sure exactly when it developed, but probably sometime in the nineteenth century. Their methods and ideology are slightly different from the original Knights of Cyrus, but the main difference is that their reach is global. That’s why many non-Persians are involved with them.”

  I tried to put the pieces together, but it still seemed like so much was missing. “So, how do people join them? And what about the nymph and empath situation? I still don’t think I get that.”

  “A lot of people who have empathic abilities aren’t aware of it, especially those people who don’t have a family history of empaths or a culture that recognizes them. Some people do become aware, however, and they find their purpose with other empaths, like the Neo-Knights. Not all empaths, I should point out, have the same mission of destroying or controlling ‘impure’ people. Some of them are monks, others are doctors or therapists. Nymphs, on the other hand, generally know what they are since birth. Their ability to harness power from nature is hereditary, and it’s very rare for a nymph to give birth to a non-nymph child. They are human, however, so they can’t do more than rob energy. They’re not immortal or anything like Greek myth suggests.”

  “And they can’t perform magic?”

  “Right. That’s why they often find an empath partner, someone who can work with them to manipulate energy and work towards a common goal. That’s why a lot of us see empaths like witches or warlocks—they do things that seem to defy nature.”

  “But...you can do that too,” I said quietly, recalling how he threw that guy out into the air without even touching him.

  “Yes. But my powers are borrowed from The Other Realm. I have to ask for permission to use that power, that’s why I have to use incantations. The Neo-Knights believe that they can only take their energy from nature if it’s completely necessary—they prefer to take it from impure individuals.”

  “So, Gita could have killed me,” I whispered. Suddenly, I didn’t feel so good. Nick nodded, and we sat in silence for a few moments, the wind blowing through the palm trees in a low, foreboding whistle.

  “I know this is strange, and a lot to absorb,” Nick said, “but I needed to let you know. I don’t know Aamir’s intentions, but even if they are good, it is very likely that others in his cult don’t trust you. Clearly Gita didn’t. And that girl, Marie, didn’t she attack us as soon as you told her who we were?”

  “Yes,” I said quietly.

  “While she’s not his chosen nymph partner, she obviously knew something about who you are. Information spreads quickly in these circles.”

  “But if Aamir could sense that you guys were different…that Brandon and Trent were wolves, why didn’t he attack them?” I asked, trying desperately to find the loophole.

  “He did, remember? That night at the party when Trent transformed?”

  I took a deep breath, recalling that horrifying night. Once I got past how Trent had jumped on me in his wolf form, I did remember that Aamir was nowhere to be seen after that.

  “Don’t be fooled. They’re not the most violent set of ‘reformers’ I’ve come across, but we also tend to keep a pretty low profile as a pack. That is…” he looked away from me, off at the guy with his dog.

  “Until now,” I said, understanding his pause.

  “Yeah. Exactly.”

  “So the wolf sightings…”

  “Lola has been a little on edge recently, I’m sure you can understand.” It was like he was asking me to have sympathy for her. And as much as I wanted to hate her because it spared me guilt, I couldn’t. I had irrevocably damaged her life.

  “Yeah.” I nodded. “I do.”

  We sat in silence for a few moments. I let my mind run over the information, trying to process it all. It wasn’t until I heard the glass door behind us slide open that I was ripped away from my thoughts and back into the present moment.

  “Hey—oh, hi Nick.” It was Sierra. The tone in her voice was strange, as if she wasn’t sure to act. Which was weird for Sierra, since she was always so social and exited around pretty much everyone.

  “Hey. I was just leaving,” he said, getting to his feet. I almost thought for a second he was avoiding eye contact with Sierra. He probably felt guilty about wiping her memory, but I couldn’t help but feel like it was something more.

  “No one’s kicking you out,” Sierra said, though she didn’t sound like she was begging him to stay.

  “I’ve overstayed my welcome. Thanks though,” he said, waiting for Sierra to move out of his way. She stepped to one side and so did he, so that they ended up doing a kind of awkward tango before he could finally get by.

  Then something occurred to me. “Is the band doing anything for Brandon’s birthday?” I called out. With all the tension in and outside of the band, I wondered if anyone had thought about it at all. But it seemed like a good chance to get everyone together again, on good terms. It would at least put a smile on Brandon’s face—he loves attention. Plus, he had been hinting at wanting a surprise party for the last few years.

  “When is it?” he asked, his expression indicating to me he wasn’t aware of it in the slightest.

  “It’s this Saturday,” I said. “Maybe we should have a surprise party or something. I think he’d like that.”

  “That’d be nice,” Nick said. “I’ll talk to Trent and Martin about it.”

  “Alright. I’ll walk you out.” I followed him to the door and opened it for him, giving him a small smile.

  “Thanks for explaining things to me. I’m sure it’s tiring, but it definitely helps me out a lot.”

  “Of course. And take it easy. You can call me any time you have a question,” he said. I appreciated the gesture, but I didn’t see myself calling him anytime soon unless I had to. He was a strangely stand-offish guy for someone so chill. I had never met a pothead before that was so conservative with his smiles.

  “Yeah, thanks.” He gave me a small head nod, and I closed the door behind him.

  “What was that about?” Sierra said, eyeing me suspiciously with her arms folded across her chest.r />
  “Um…” I started, trying to think of something to say. “He was talking to me about Trent?”

  “Try again,” Sierra tsked.

  “I can’t tell you Sierra…he was telling me personal stuff,” I said, avoiding her gaze.

  “Oooh, like secrets?”

  I gave her a hard look. “Yes, Sierra. Like secrets.” I walked over to my room.

  “I’ll get it out of you eventually!” she called out as I closed the door to my room. I could feel the heat in my cheeks and knew that I could only keep secrets from her for so long.

  Damn Nick. If only he had let her know the truth.

  Chapter Two

  Later that day Sierra’s mom had called her, begging for her help with rearranging furniture (her mother did that at least twice a month). Sierra begged me to forgive her and promised we’d have our dramatic movie night the following evening, assuming she got her paper done on time. I told her not to worry about it, but she still felt guilty, occasionally sending me texts as I watched a reality show about rich pregnant teenagers getting ready for prom called, My Super Pregnant Prom.

  Being here sux! Wish I could be with you ):

  I laughed and flipped the channel, thinking about how she would react if she found out what I was watching. So far no one in my life except Brandon supported my reality television habit.

  I was toying with the idea of calling him when I came across a Christmas in July special, with Claymation Rudolph and Santa’s elves. I put down the clicker, nostalgia gripping my heart.

  There was one Christmas, the first year my dad left, that my brother was in a psych ward and my mother spent the day with him. I didn’t want to see him. It was selfish, and cowardly, but I was the one who opened his bedroom door and saw the blood dripping down his arms.

  I was also the one that insisted we Baker Act him. I knew he didn’t want to see me, and it was just as well, because I was horrified at the thought of seeing him in that terrible, lifeless place. I was filled with guilt, and I had spent the last few nights wondering if I had done the right thing.