"Hey, don't underestimate the power of fear. Besides, everybody knows bugs are just creepy," I said thinking of my own squeamishness.
"Ha, if you would have been with us a few years back you would have died," she said, lying back against my pillows.
"Why? What happened?" I asked, completely intrigued. Over the last eleven months, I'd heard patches of their missions before I joined them. Each time, I soaked up their words as I analyzed the situation in my head like an equation. By the time the story would end, I would have a clear picture of how I would've handled the situation had I been there.
"It was when we were in the mountains on a rescue mission to get Mark. It was a big deal. There were other Bands from around the world that came to help. The Dark One was using any method imaginable to keep us away. Luckily, Haniel suggested we string up a net to cover the entire campsite. Still, there was no way we were prepared for what came next. Krista, Shawn, and me and Robert, took the first watch while everyone else slept," she said, shuddering at the memory.
My skin began to crawl before she even said any more. I knew where the story was heading, yet I didn't stop her as I listened with morbid fascination.
"Of course, we fell asleep," Lynn continued, shaking her head. "See, even we effed up when we were younger. Anyway, we woke a few hours later to Krista screaming bloody murder," Lynn went on. "At first, we were confused at what she was screaming about. It was pitch black and even the moon was blotted out. It took us a few seconds to realize that the moon and stars were missing because the net surrounding our camp was covered by, like, every insect imaginable. The netting bowed down from their weight, but we didn't think they'd be able to get in. We were wrong."
"Oh my freaking god!" I yelled, gripping a pillow tightly to my chest. Just the image in my ever-processing mind was enough to make me want to jump up and shake all over. "What happened?" I asked in a whisper, not sure I wanted to hear more.
"They found a way in, behind our tents. Millions of bugs flooded our campsite. At first, we tried to fight them off with torches from the fire pit, but they were relentless. They crawled over the bugs we had burned, snuffing out the fires."
"Nooo, freaking frick. Did Haniel save you guys or what?" I asked, completely baffled on how they had been able to escape.
"Nah, Haniel did his typical Houdini disappearing act. It was Krista who saved us. She came up with all these powers we didn't even know she had. She saved all of us more than once on that trip. Later we found out it was because she had become an Ascended, lucky for us."
"Wow, she was badass. I wonder what changed her?" I pondered, lying back on my pillows next to Lynn.
"She's still badass. She just doesn't wear her status on her sleeve like other badasses we know," Lynn said, giving me a nudge. "You really should cut her a little slack. She's just worried about you."
I acknowledged her words with a nod. Humble pie was bitter going down, but I knew she had a point. Lynn lapsed into silence after that, and soon she was lightly snoring beside me. So much for the slumber party. I switched off the light, plunging the room into darkness. Even I was quickly feeling the effects of my travels with Emrys earlier that day. I was still miffed he'd dumped my body in my room without waking me, but I was too tired to dwell on it. My last thought before drifting off was when I'd be able to see him again now that I had prisoner status.
CHAPTER TEN
I was still on lockdown the next day, and the day after, and the day after that. By the time three weeks passed, with no sign of parole and no sign of Emrys, I was beyond aggravated. My wardens tried not to give me much of an opportunity to dwell on it. I was whisked away on one mission after the next. Sometimes with just Haniel and the Protectors, other times it would be a total group effort. I did the majority of the fighting under their observation so they could get a rough idea how my skills worked.
When we weren't on missions, I was busy with one-on-one combat training with each of the Protectors. Curbing down my moves so I wouldn't hurt them proved to be more of a challenge than I would have anticipated. Even holding back I still left my mark on each of them. A bruise here, accidental broken nose there—which despite my apologies, Shawn still didn't believe me on that one. None of them complained though as they hobbled back to the house, trying to rub away various aches and pains.
Three-and-half weeks now passed since my trip "gallivanting around the world," as Krista liked to refer to it. There was still no sign of Emrys, but I was able to continue taking out my frustrations on the guys. Mark tried to outmaneuver me by coming up from behind as we worked on a group exercise–by "group," I mean me against the three of them. We'd been at it for over two hours, and they had yet to last longer than two minutes with me before I knocked them on their asses and Haniel declared them out. >"Damn him," I said, glancing at the clock on my nightstand table. It showed ten o'clock, and judging by the darkness outside, it was obviously the evening.
I stood up and swung my legs off the bed. "Great," I grumbled, noticing the sand that now coated my bed sheets. My skin felt gritty from the layer of sand that still covered my arms. I brushed it off as best I could, and desperately needed a shower, but with the raised voices hitting a higher octave, it was probably best to face the music sooner than later.
It was no surprise to see everyone in the living room when I entered. It's what they did in a crisis.
Everyone looked my way at once, taking in my disheveled appearance. I probably should have at least run a brush through my hair before I made my grand entrance.
"What happened to you?" Krista gasped, dragging me in for a tight hug before pulling back and wrinkling her nose in distaste. "You smell like seaweed. Where have you been?" she asked as her voice turned shrill. She was clearly pissed.
"Just around," I said, not sure what to tell her. I'm sure getting a tattoo in Shanghai wouldn't go over well at the moment.
"Jordyn?" Haniel commanded.
"Haniel," I mocked him. "It sucks to be kept in the dark, doesn't it?" I said, working to ignore Krista's hurt expression.
"Jordyn, that's enough," Mark said in a loud booming voice as he wrapped his arm around Krista. "We're all kept in the dark about some things, but that doesn't give you the right to disrespect us. We've bent over backward to welcome you into our home, and you repay us by mocking our rules and throwing our words back in our faces."
His words cut me to the core. He had every right to be angry. My beef was with Haniel, not the Guides and Protectors. They'd all welcomed me in and treated me like I belonged, despite our differences.
Worst of all was Lynn, who looked so conflicted, like she didn't know what to think about me at the moment. By snapping at Krista, I was hurting their whole group. That's how they worked. Lynn and I may be best friends, but her loyalty would always belong to those in her group. At that moment, I felt every bit the outsider that I was.
My stomach felt like I'd swallowed a bowling ball, but I spoke up. "You're right," I said remorsefully as my eyes welled up. "You guys don't deserve my disrespect, but you also need to understand that I'm almost an adult. If I was a normal person, I'd be heading off to college in the fall all on my own. You guys should be less worried about me, knowing I can take care of myself."
"Yes, but even with your gifts, it doesn't help if your mind is being bent by thatTrader," Krista said, grimacing over the word Trader like it had left a foul taste in her mouth.
"I…" I bit back the urge to argue with her. The air felt sticky with their prejudice and narrow-minded beliefs. For a moment, I debated coming clean about the whole mind-bending thing, but if I admitted it now, they'd be even more pissed.