Hunted

- 6 - MRS. WATTS

We appeared behind a walled fence. A barking dog alerted an elderly couple walking down the narrow street of our presence, and they eyed us suspiciously. Six teens in trench coats in the middle of summer in L.A. were bound to draw attention.

Ignore us, I projected into their thoughts.

They continued with their walk, but when I turned around, the others were watching me like they expected me to do something crazy.

“Will you guys think of something else? The Summoners, demons, Mrs. Watts, anything,” I said through clenched teeth. “Just stop stressing about me. Look at them,” I pointed at the couple. “I just told them to ignore us and their heads didn’t explode.”

Bran’s energy brushed against mine and I exhaled. No matter how much I loved that he could excite or calm me down with a touch, he really shouldn’t allow his energy near mine until my powers were stable.

Squinting against the sun, I started up the slabs leading to the front entrance of Mrs. Watts’ home. The clairvoyant image had been kind. Plywood—or possibly cardboard—covered some of the windows, as though she was in the process of boarding up her house for a hurricane or tornado. A lone hose snaked past untrimmed rose bushes and shrubberies, crossed the dry grass and ended in a plastic pool filled with dirty water and dead bugs. A van, its windows shattered, stood in the driveway.

My senses picked up a familiar energy. The more I tried to identify it, the more elusive it became and the harder my head pounded. As we got closer, I realized that most of the windows had no covering. Our boots crunched on shards of glass littering the porch.

“What’s with the glass?” Kim murmured.

“It’s from the windows.” Remy pointed at the jagged edges of broken glass bordering the windows. He picked up a large piece, turned it over in his hand, then glanced through one of the windows. “Every glass surface in the room is shattered, even the TV screen. It’s like a gas explosion or something.”

“Yet there’s no evidence of fire,” Sykes said.

“No, this is the work of a demon.” Bran stepped forward and pressed the doorbell. “Strong wind can shatter glass, right?” He glanced at Kim.

“And everything in its path,” Kim said. “This is something else.”

“Sound is more selective,” Izzy said. “But sound demons don’t exist.”

“I don’t know about that. I knew several Banshees on Coronis Isle,” Bran added, ringing the doorbell again. “They were funny.”

Izzy rolled her eyes. “Ha-ha funny or hey-you-are-about-to-die funny?”

The energy was stronger now, but not enough to get a reading. Even our amulets didn’t glow in response to it. It bugged me that I couldn’t identify it. Running footsteps resounded in the air and drew closer. Bolts clicked then the door was flung open.

A petite freckled-faced woman squinted at us. Her eyes were red-rimmed, her hair sticking every which way, and her pajamas, a wrinkled one-piece, had wet blotches. There was no sudden rush of memories as I stared at her.

“Finally,” she said with relief and indicated we follow her.

No one moved.

Why is she being so nice? Izzy telepathed.

Yeah, Runners usually slam the door in our faces, Kim added.

“Mrs. Watts, we are here to—” Bran said.

“I know,” she said, interrupting him then gestured that we follow her. “This way. Mind the glass. It is everywhere and on everything. Vandals broke in last night and destroyed everything.” The living room wooden floor had an area rug littered with toys and more shards of glass. “The children are in the bedroom,” she added.

Bran gripped my arm. “Do you remember her?”

I shook my head.

He muttered a curse, then looked at his watch. “Okay, let’s find out why a demon was here, then get out of here. The perfect time to pay demons’ dens a visit is during lunch, when their guard is down. Come on.” He led the way inside the house.

“What’s that smell?” Kim asked.

“Smells like Lazari,” Izzy mumbled. “You think some did this to her home?”

“I never heard of Lazari with the ability to break glass,” Bran said. “Whatever did this might still be here. Do you sense anything, Lil?”

“Yeah. Something gooey.” I rolled my eyes when they all stopped and reached for their weapons. The way they blended in at school, I often forgot they hadn’t grown up around humans, but instead spent their first sixteen years in Xenith. They all grew up in Xenith until they got their powers at age sixteen. “The scent is not demonic, it’s puke,” I explained.

“As in partially digested food?” Kim asked, her expression dubious, one hand covering her nose, the other holding her knife.

I nodded. “Yes.”

“How do you know?” Sykes asked.

“I’ve been around sick humans.” From their expressions, they didn’t believe me. I shrugged. I had enough on my plate without trying to convince them of something so mundane. “Whatever, but you need to put those weapons away before Mrs. Watts sees them and concludes we’re here to hurt her.”

We continued along a narrow hallway, following sounds to a medium-sized room. The windows were boarded up with cardboard, so the only light came from a bedside lamp on top of a dresser. The room had two twin beds and a crib.

Two boys about six shared one bed, Mrs. Watts mopping the brow of one of them as he threw up into a bucket. An older girl about eight lay curled up in another bed. She looked so pale, her psi energy weak. The youngest child sleeping in the crib was hardly breathing.

“Mrs. Watts,” Bran called out.

She looked up from her boy and frowned.

“Why are you just standing there?” she asked, refolding the wet towel and cleaning her son’s face. “Help me. They need treatment.”

“What happened to them, Mrs. Watts?” Bran asked.

“I don’t know. They were perfectly fine when we went to sleep last night,” Mrs. Watts said in a tired voice, “but they woke me up at four in the morning crying and running high fevers. I gave them over-the-counter medication and they seemed to be doing okay several hours later. They even had some soup. Then their fevers returned and they couldn’t hold down anything. I can’t drive them to the hospital because the same people who vandalized my house also broke into my car, so I called you guys.”

Bran frowned. “The broken windows happened last night?”

“Or this morning, I don’t know. I woke up and the glass was everywhere and my children were sick.”

“We’ll take the children to the hospital. In the meantime, come with me.” Bran extended a hand toward the woman.

“I want to ride with them to the ER.”

“You will,” Izzy reassured her gently. “As soon as we figure out what’s wrong with them.”

Mrs. Watts hesitated, a haunted look entering her eyes.

Go with him, I projected into her thoughts. Everything will be okay.

She allowed Bran to lead her out of the room. Sykes lifted the cell phone from the dresser and showed it to us. It looked like road kill.

“Unless the demons were here after her kids got sick, I doubt she used this. I’ll check the houseline.” He threw the phone to Remy and left the room.

Remy’s ability to manipulate solids came in handy at a time like this. Within seconds, the cell phone was whole again. He flipped it open and checked the calls.

“There’s no record of a call to the emergency room,” he said.

“So the demons were here before the kids became ill,” Kim said.

“Let’s not jump to conclusions. Maybe this is the result of food poisoning.” Izzy placed a hand on one of the twins’ chest. She moved to the next child, then the older girl and finally the baby. “Forget I said that. They’re dying.”

“Of what?” Kim mumbled. She stood close to the window as she tried to breathe the fresh air from outside.

“Bone cancer,” Izzy said. “The same illness the oldest had before their mother sold her soul. Why is this happening?”

No one answered her, but my mind started racing. What were the chances of an entire family coming down with the same cancer overnight? Nil. This could be an attempt to scare Mrs. Watts against canceling her contract.

“Can you heal them, Izzy?” I asked.

“I could try.” Izzy placed a hand above the baby’s chest. Aglow started in the middle of her palms and spread until her fingers sparkled. Tiny electrical bolts shot from her hands to the baby, filling her and making her skin iridescent under the pink blanket.

A movement to my right showed Remy getting busy too. He pressed a hand on the plank covering the window. The wood shimmered and grew light and transparent as it transformed from wood to glass. He opened the glass windows to let the stale air out. He moved to the next window.

Sykes appeared in the doorway. “Her phone’s working. She made a call about an hour ago.”

“The paramedics should have been here by now,” Kim murmured in a muffled voice, hand covering both mouth and nose now. “I have to do something. I can’t breathe.” She lifted her hands, creating a soft gust. It swept the stale air out of the room and through the window. Air scented with wild roses drifted inside.

My gaze moved back to the baby Izzy was healing. Color appeared to be returning to his cheeks.

Guys, you need to come to the living room, Bran telepathed us.

What is it? Remy asked.

Mrs. Watts doesn’t remember us. The demons who jerked her house wiped out her memories too.

Only one kind of demon did that. We looked at each other and hurried out of the room. Izzy stayed, her focus on the kids.

Mrs. Watts’ voice reached us before we joined her and Bran in the living room.

“Why should I?” she said, sounding frustrated. “I’m good with faces, and I’m telling you I’ve never met you before. Or them,” she waved toward us as we entered the room. “What does remembering you have to do with my children? Are you the paramedics or the police?” she studied our outfits. “Your uniform is…is…who are you?”

My headache got worse as I listened to them as they tried to convince Mrs. Watts they were the good guys. Then Izzy walked into the room with her youngest.

Mrs. Watts jumped to her feet and plucked the baby from Izzy’s arms. She touched her forehead. “Her fever broke.”

“Izzy healed her,” Bran said and indicated the couch. “Please sit down, Mrs. Watts. We need to finish our talk.”

“Are the others okay?” His gaze clung desperately to Izzy’s face.

“They will be when I’m done with them.” Izzy answered confidently. She glanced at us. Lightning demons did this to her?

We think so, Bran said.

Why? She asked.

We are still trying to figure that out, Bran said. Why don’t you finish with the other children while we figure out how to deal with this?

“I’ll take care of the broken glass while you guys deal with her,” Remy said, drawing our attention.

From her confused expression, Mrs. Watts didn’t understand what Remy meant, until some glass bits lifted from the floor like weightless crystals, while others raced across the floor as though they’d grown legs.

Mrs. Watts screeched and moved back, her little girl clenched in her arms. The child laughed gleefully and wiggled her pudgy fingers, wanting to play with the moving things. The shards coalesced into mirrors, vases, cabinet doors and picture frames. The cracked TV screen shifted and flowed until it was whole again while the discarded toys pooled in the middle of the room.

Bran had explained that we often demonstrated our abilities to convince Damned Humans that we were the good guys, but Mrs. Watts wasn’t impressed. She was totally freaked out.

It’s okay, I reassured her. We’re not here to hurt you. We wouldn’t heal your child if we were bad.

“I’ll take care of the other rooms, then your van,” Remy said. She’s all yours, guys, he telepathed as he left the living room.

“How did he do that?” Mrs. Watts whispered, her gaze following Remy, her arms tightening around her child.

“We already explained who we are, our abilities, and why we are here,” Kim snapped. “Make up your mind already.” She left the room to join Izzy.

“What my friend meant to say was we can’t force you to cancel your contract, Mrs. Watts,” Bran said, leaning forward and flashing his signature, charming smile. He reached inside his coat, pulled out the contract and unrolled it on the coffee table. “You get to decide whether you want to or not.”

She still hesitated. This was taking forever. How in Tartarus had we canceled hundreds of contracts when it took forever to convince one human to make up her mind?

“Mommy!”

Mrs. Watts whipped around as Kim entered the room with the twins. They let go of her hand and ran to their mother. Mrs. Watts fussed over them, touching a cheek here, a nape there, kissing their foreheads.

“Their fevers are gone.” Tears filled her eyes and streamed down her face. “Thank you. Thank you for healing them.”

“My friend healed them, Mrs. Watts, not me,” Kim said.

The woman craned her neck and looked expectantly behind Kim. “Where’s my Michele?”

Kim indicated the hallway. “Izzy’s working on her.”

“Stay here,” Mrs. Watts told the twins, then jumped to her feet and ran from the room. The children followed her anyway. The two year old continued to play with her toys, oblivious to the drama.

“How bad is her daughter?” I asked.

“Bad. Izzy can’t heal her, but you know Izzy. She’ll keep trying, until she exhausts her powers.” Kim brushed something off the arm of the sofa and gingerly sat on the edge. She picked up the contract from the table. “She refused to cancel again?”

Bran nodded and scrubbed his face.

“Does it always take this long to convince them, or is her case just special because of her lost memories?” I asked, not masking my frustration.

“It takes this long,” Kim said.

“It doesn’t always,” Sykes countered. “Do you guys think the lightning cloud demons are going after our humans and reversing their deals?”

“Oh yeah. But why now?” Kim asked. “Why not last month, or when we started after Jarvis Island? Are they after the ones who haven’t canceled or the ones who already did too?”

“Let’s not jump to conclusions yet.” Bran’s expression grew thoughtful. “We need to confirm this first. This is only one case.”

“Two if you include David Lee,” Remy said, entering the room. “Someone needs to talk to Izzy. She’s determined to heal that child when it’s obvious it’s not going to happen. I think we should either call an ambulance or drive Mrs. Watts to the hospital before we check on the others.”

“Call the ambulance,” Bran said and got to his feet. “Where’s her phone?”

I didn’t like the calm way they were taking the woman’s refusal. We were doing the woman a favor. Besides, we had already healed her kids.

“No,” I interjected, getting up.

Everyone turned to look at me.

I stared right back at them. “I don’t know how we’ve done things before, but we are not leaving. Remy, don’t fix her van. We are not doing anything more for her until she cancels that contract.”

Uneasy silence followed my outburst.

“Lil,” Bran warned, closing the gap between us.

“Red, where did that come from?” Sykes asked.

“Yeah, you’re usually the voice of reason,” Kim added. “You and Bleeding Heart Izzy.”

“It’s time we stopped being nice and make them face the consequences of their actions. Izzy already healed three of her children, and you and Remy restored her house. It’s time she did something for us.”

“I’m liking this new you,” Sykes said, smirking.

Bran scowled. “We can’t.”

Sykes squinted at him. “We can’t like the new Lil, or can’t blackmail Mrs. Watts?”

Bran glared at him. “We can’t blackmail or coerce Mrs. Watts. Remember free will? Lil will erase her memory, then we will leave and revisit her some other time.”

“I’m not erasing her memory. Let her have nightmares for all I care.” I teleported to the bedroom before anyone could respond.

Mrs. Watts knelt by the bed, her boys watched from her side, while Izzy worked on Michele. The girl’s eyes were closed, her expression peaceful as though she were asleep. Izzy, on the other hand, was a mess. Sweat dotted her forehead and her hands trembled. I checked her psi energy. It was dimming, which meant she was growing weak.

“We are leaving,” Bran whispered as he walked past me. He put his arms around Izzy and said, “That’s enough, Izzy.”

“No,” she protested. “I healed the others. I can do this.”

“Her situation is different,” he insisted, his voice gentle but firm. “There’s nothing you can do for her.”

“Of course there is,” Izzy snapped.

“You healed her brothers and her little sister, Izzy,” I added. “That’s plenty enough. We need to get out of here and focus on the de…” I remembered Mrs. Watts’ boys. Go play outside. I waited until they filed out. “We need to confirm that the lightning demons are messing with our humans, not waste our time and energy on something we can’t change.”

Bran threw me a warning look, then turned Izzy around. She was shaking so badly, she stumbled. He pulled her into his arms and murmured, “It’s okay. You did your best.”

Watching them reminded me of why I loved Bran. It wasn’t just his looks. It was moments like this, when he showed his loving, caring side. The thought that there were demons trying to stop us from canceling all his contracts filled me with rage.

I picked up the cell phone from the dresser, where Remy had placed it, and thrust it toward Mrs. Watts. “Call for an ambulance to take your daughter to the hospital.”

“Why? Your friend will heal her.”

“No, she will not,” I snapped.

“Why not?” she asked, looking confused.

“Because you are ungrateful,” I snapped.

“Lil!” Bran and Izzy said at the same time.

I ignored them, my gaze not leaving Mrs. Watts. “She’s already healed your other children and she’s so weak she can’t even stand.” I took a step closer and thrust the phone toward her. “Take it and do it. Now.”

“Lil!” Bran barked again.

I ignored him. Mrs. Watts swallowed, glanced at him then me. Something in my expression had her snatching the phone from my hand. She ran out of the room. When I turned around, both Bran and Izzy were staring at me with shocked expressions.

“What?” I asked.

“What’s gotten into you?” Izzy asked.

“Reality.”

“You are being cruel,” Izzy snapped. “Deliberately cruel. That’s so unlike you.”

“Oh, yes, this is so me. The new me.” I refused to look at Bran, but when I turned, I did it so fast the room swam. I thought I heard Bran said something, but I had already teleported.

“You have to cancel it before the paramedics get here, Mrs. Watts,” Kim said as I hovered above them in energized state.

“Will my Michele get better?” Mrs. Watts asked.

“No, she’ll not,” Kim said impatiently. “There’s nothing we can do about your daughter’s cancer.”

I thought of a way to make Mrs. Watts cancel the contract. Through the window, I could see Remy’s psi energy next to the children near the van. Bran and Izzy entered the room, then left. They were probably searching for me.

“So why should I cancel the contract?” Mrs. Watts insisted. “What is the benefit to me?”

“Uh, you’ll get your soul back,” Sykes said. “You know, that thing inside you that makes you human, that makes you have compassion, kindness and—”

“Can I sell it back to you again to save her?” Mrs. Watts asked, cutting him off.

“We. Are. Guardians,” Kim said through gritted teeth. “We’re not in the business of buying and selling souls.”

“But I signed with one of you before,” Mrs. Watts insisted, desperation in her voice.

I materialized beside her. Surprised, she took a step away from me, tripped on a toy and plopped on the couch behind her. “What part of ‘he doesn’t work for demons anymore’ didn’t you get?” I asked.

“But—”

“Mrs. Watts,” I said, getting in her face and forcing her to lean back. “My friends have the ability to heal and restore things, but there’s a lot more that I can do. A lot more and a lot worse.”

My hand shot up and everything in her house lifted off the ground, including her TV console. Her eyes widened. I wiggled my finger and tiny bolts of lightning zipped between the bobbing things.

“You see, my friends here are pure Guardians. I, on the other hand, have demon blood in my veins and a massive headache that’s refused to go away, so you do not want to mess with me. Those three children Izzy healed can easily become ill again like that.” I snapped my fingers. Everything came back down with thuds, a few missing their places and crashing to the floor. “Then I can do things to your head that you’ll beg me to kill you.”

Mrs. Watts swallowed, his gaze swinging from me to my friends. “Can she…?”

“Oh yes,” Sykes said, grinning.

“Don’t encourage her,” Kim snapped. “She’s not herself.”

I glanced at Kim and chuckled. “Actually, Kim, I am.” Turning, I studied Mrs. Watts. “So what is it going to be, Mrs. Watts? One sick child or four?”

She swallowed.

“You’re wasting our time, Mrs. Watts,” I snapped.

“That’s enough, Lil,” Bran said.

Mrs. Watts looked at him with relief.

“Don’t look at him. He’s not going to help you.”

“Lil!”

I glared at Bran and for one brief moment, my sight blurred until all I saw was a shadow where his face had been. Dizziness washed over me again. His thoughts, along with the others’, crashed into my psyche, but they were jumbled and didn’t make sense. My knees gave away.

I’ve got you, Bran telepathed me just as he pulled me against his chest. You are okay.

Calmness settled on my mind as his psi energy blended with mine. Cool hands touched my forehead and voices echoed in my head as though filtered by a mist.

“She’s burning up,” someone said in a distorted voice.

“We’ll finish here, then take her home,” another added.

My vision and hearing cleared. The headache was slow to react.

“She’ll be fine,” Bran reassured them.

“She fainted, Bran,” Kim insisted.

“And her eyes glowed just like they did on the island,” Izzy added.

“I’m fine,” I finally spoke, but my eyes stayed locked with Bran’s. I tried to disengage our energies but he wouldn’t let me. I could have pushed him out of my head, but I might have ended up hurting him. I wiggled, hoping physical distance would do the trick, but he refused to let me go. You can’t do this.

Says who?

You’re sharing a burden that’s not yours, I insisted. You’ll get my headache and mess up your powers.

So what? You and I are mated/or better and for worse.

I frowned. We are?

Yes, so sit back and let me take care of you.

Reasoning with him was getting me nowhere. It was time to lay on the guilt. You are draining my energy, something you swore you’d never do.

He grinned. Nice try. When we are done here, I’m taking you home, where you’ll stay until your powers stabilize. He severed the link. Can you take care of Mrs. Watts ‘memories without turning her into Mrs. Hyde again?

I rolled my eyes, but at the back of my mind I kept hearing “Mated.” When? Another lost memory? Leaving that for later, I turned to see the contract burst into flame. Mrs. Watts let out a screech.

Amazed at how much better I felt, I approached her. “One last thing, Mrs. Watts.”

She cringed, “Stay away from me.”

Don’t be afraid. I won’t hurt you. I could feel the others’ stares, knew they worried about me dealing with Mrs. Watts fairly. Don’t worry, guys. I won’t blow up her head.

“That’s not funny,” Izzy said then added softly, “Are you sure she should do this?”

“She can handle this,” Bran answered.

“What did you do to her? Kim asked.

“I drained some of her energy.”

Silence followed. I shook my head. He really shouldn’t blurt out things like that. Only demons drained energies, and it was usually to enhance theirs.

“Dude, that’s messed up,” Sykes said.

“And demonic,” Izzy asked tentatively.

Bran shrugged. “So? She’s stable now.”

From the smile on his face, he was getting a kick out of shocking the others. Cupping Mrs. Watts’ face, I stared into her eyes and meshed our minds. Snapshots of her fake memories zipped past, most of them of her children, women friends. The most recent showed her eating dinner with her children, then waking up and finding her children sick.

Was that how my memories were? Hours of nothing mixed with a few treasured moments? Bran and I were mated. How could I forget that?

Focusing on Mrs. Watts, I let my thoughts flow into her head. When I let go of your face, turn around and walk out the door to your van. Wait there with your children until the ambulance arrives to take Michele to the hospital. Forget you saw us or that we were here. Forget your broken windows. Only your oldest daughter is ill. She was okay for a long time, but now she’s ill again.

When I let her go, she turned around and walked out the door without glancing left or right. She walked to the van with even, measured steps. When Remy held the door open for her, she got in without looking at him.

“What in Tartarus did you do to her?” Izzy asked.

“I just erased her memories and told her to wait outside for the ambulance.”

“But the people usually talk to us in confusion and ask who we are, what we’re doing in their home, office or wherever. They don’t walk away like zombies.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Bran cut in. “What’s done is done.” He walked to my side and touched my forehead. “You’re still feverish and—”

“Nothing.” I didn’t want to hear another lecture about going back home. “I’m fine now. We should teleport to our next stop.”

Bran frowned. “I’m not going to force you to do anything you don’t want to do, but you cannot treat humans like you just did Mrs. Watts.”

“She was being impossible.”

“I know, but you must control your anger and frustrations or they’ll control you.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m not responsible for what’s happening to me. Are you forgetting the transfer of the dagger’s powers into me?”

“I’m not. But I know you, Sunshine. I know what you are capable of. You can control anything.” He studied me intently, love and utter belief in me shining in his emerald eyes. His hair, shorter on the sides, swung across his cheeks as he peered at me. “You can control them.”

Of course I could…would with time. I reached out, twirled the lock of his hair around my finger and smiled. “Yes, I can.”

He took my hand and pressed his lips into my palm. When he stepped back, my gaze met with the others. I’d completely forgotten their presence.

That was intense, Izzy telepathed me.

I just shrugged. My gaze met with Sykes and it was hard to describe the look in his eyes. Annoyance? Jealousy? A combination of both. I just couldn’t deal with him and his feelings.

“Okay, let’s do this.” Bran removed his clairvoyant stone and activated it. Light shot up from the core of the stone and projected a holographic image of a house. “This is Mr. Watts’ new place in Palos Verdes. The roof is flat, so let’s teleport there.”

“What happened?” Remy asked when he joined us and saw the mess on the floor. “I just cleaned this place up.”

Sykes pointed at me like a child tattling. “Lil did it.”

I laughed, happy to see him bounce back. I was also thrilled I could laugh without wincing. “But Mrs. Watts canceled the contract.”

Remy’s eyes narrowed. “You forced her?”

“Of course not,” I said. “I couldn’t see or hear a thing when she agreed to cancel it.”

Remy looked confused. “What?”

Sykes slapped Remy on the back. “Long story, dude, but the EMT is here. We need to disappear.”

The ambulance pulled up outside Mrs. Watts’ van. We dematerialized before the EMT reached the house.