"Maybe he does. If he's as far along as I think he is, G.o.d help the police if they try to arrest him."

I wondered what he was talking about. "What do you mean? How are we going to get Kim back?"

"I think he's the Seer. You would have read about him in the book I gave you." I nodded. But I wondered how someone who had lived thousands of years ago could stil be alive.

"The Seer is a spirit. He can be kil ed, but only by one of the Sons of G.o.d. We must be careful how we go about our business, Airel. If we kil Stan and leave the Seer without a host, he wil be driven into the bloodstone." Kale looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "Do you know what that is?"

I shook my head. It was too much to take in. If I had read something about it I couldn't remember it now.

"The stone was stolen from paradise when the Sons of G.o.d fel . It is a pure union of Diamond and Onyx that glows red in the presence of the spirit of the Seer on earth. It does not belong here in the earthly realm. It is a talisman that al ows him unnatural power, power that he continual y consumes via the bridge enabled by the bloodstone between the spirit realm and this one. He uses this power to try to subjugate any created thing he desires to control. He is a demon prince from the substructures of Hel ; some believe he may even be Lucifer himself-it is difficult to discern these things. The spirit of the Seer is confined to the immediate vicinity of the red bloodstone. If his host is kil ed, the Seer wil be recaptured by the bloodstone until he finds someone else to enter."

"So Stan invited this Seer to possess him?" I couldn't believe someone would be wil ing to do that.

"He can be very convincing. He wil say anything, as I said: you name it, he wil promise it. A person who's drunk or high wil let him in without even realizing it. Al the defenses of the mind, the gateway to the spirit, are nul ified and the doors stand open wide."

I shuddered. She fluttered in my mind, as if asking for my attention. "What about me? I'm not possessed, am I? I hear this voice in my head-like my conscience, but almost audible to me. I cal her She."

Kale's eyes narrowed. "I have one, too. She, as you cal her, is your inner man. Or woman. I keep forgetting that these days, man means a man, not the race of men." He gave me another smile, and I was struck by it-there was something in it that I couldn't quite figure out. It felt warm.

"When you were awakened, your inner woman, your angelic spirit, was awakened in you at the same time. It's like a sixth sense, only separately cognitive. She is there to help you and protect you. In battle, for example, She wil warn you in advance of any threat to your life."

"So, it's a good thing." I could feel her sitting back down and fluttering her wings, folding them under her. They sounded like the pages of a book sometimes, like the fluttering of a bird at other times. It was so bizarre how I could visualize what she looked like, and simultaneously be unable to see her.

"Yes. It's a very good thing, if you listen to her. In time she wil blend with and compliment al of your other senses. It wil be simple instinct to trust her and respond to her leading. She also heightens your other natural senses. You may have noticed this already."

Those were the times when I lost my breakfast. I figured that I started to get sick the day Michael came to school. As I thought back I recal ed that every time I was got sick Michael was close by. Then the last time at Kale's house ,when I pa.s.sed out for 8 days, must have been an overload. Maybe one of the reasons I had always gotten sick around Michael was because She was amplifying my sense of smel and the scent of the Brotherhood, Stanley, was probably al over Michael. "So why did I get so sick?"

"When you began to change, your body was rejecting your angelic side; it makes you sick. Being close to someone in the Brotherhood wil start the process-Michael's job is to find our kind-he can feel when someone is turning and feeds off the power. You, however, somehow resist him and his drain on you is not as strong at is should be."

"Sometimes I would get sick and a second later he would be there, but other times I' was fine."

"I think when you were out for 8 days, that was your system adjusting, al owing your angelic side to take over. I'm not sure if this wil make it better or worse for you around one of the Brotherhood."

"So what do we do now?"

"Airel, If I had my way you would not be here and I would go get Kim by myself. However, I don't think you wil listen or obey me on that particular point, so we'l go in as a team. I wil provide the diversion, and you wil keep yourself alive. Your job is simple: get Kim out. I wil deal with Stan."

"But you could be kil ed! He has superhuman abilities; you said so yourself."

"I know. This is not about me, though. Al you need to know today is what I have already told you." His eyes softened to a washed out blue-hazel, and his voice flowed freely with compa.s.sion. "Obey me." I flushed at being talked at like a child, and shook my head. I didn't want Kale to put himself in harm's way, but I couldn't stand by and let that monster kil Kim either.

"No, I'l listen. Just tel me what to do."

Kale nodded, obviously pleased.

I looked over my shoulder to the two seats and the straps and tie downs. My stomach turned.

Kale noticed and gave me a smile in excuse. "I had no choice, Airel. You understand I was never going to hurt you."

I nodded. "I know; it's just that it seems like forever ago. My family must be beside themselves. What am I gonna do about them?"

"We can talk about that later."

Great. More mysteries.

I sighed and thought about what my parents must be going through. I bet the police were involved by now. I could see my mom sitting on my bed looking at a picture of me and crying. G.o.d only knew what Dad was doing. I needed Mom, especial y now.

My whole world was being torn apart, but I didn't have the luxury to dwel on the past. "Past is perfect; what's done is done. You must leave it where it is and move on today. Only learn." I wanted nothing more than to go home and cry on Mom's shoulder, lie in bed for the next month, and bathe in my sorrows.

I started to recognize landmarks and saw a sign: Now Leaving the Sawtooth Wilderness Area . My stomach was tight, bal ed up, and b.u.t.terflies flipped and flopped inside it.

I had wanted to bring some sort of weapon: a gun or a sword, but Kale refused. "You wil be going after Kim, not Stan. Remember that. You should have no use for a gun or any other weapon." I protested, but it fel on deaf ears. I thought I was stubborn, but compared to Kale I didn't stand a chance.

He armed himself with a smal black dagger that ended with a wicked curve at its tip. He put in its sheath on his belt. He was stil wearing his white robes, and he looked positively out of place behind the wheel. "This is comfortable," he said, catching my disapproving glance. I guessed men were al the same; it didn't matter how they looked as long as they were comfortable. Fashion? What's that?

I was nervous. I didn't know what to expect. I checked in with my little winged friend and she sent me a wave of comfort for which I was grateful, and I tried to remember to breathe. I focused on Kim, thought of her face in my mind, and recounted al the fun we had together. She was like a sister to me, my best friend.

"Some things to remember," Kale interrupted my reverie. "If you fight Stan, you wil lose. Most likely he wil kil you. If I fail, you must get Kim out of there and hope that Michael did not tel his father where my home is. Do not try to fight. You have not been trained, and you wil lose. Do you understand?" Kale's face was somber and I could tel that he was not joking. Not that he ever would.

"Yeah, but..."

"Promise me. Run. Do not fight." I thought in my heart that I could beat him, but Kale was not backing down. I promised.

Kale looked at me.

Again, there was that old feeling, the same one I felt when I first saw Michael in the coffee shop: Destiny.

Chapter I.

Eagle Idaho, present day I sighed loudly and looked out the window. We had pul ed in four houses down from where Stanley Alexander lived. Maple trees looked like they were on fire in a spray of yel ow, orange and red-with only a memory of green from the summer. Pines stood dark green against gray skies, and it felt as if I was on the edge of something.

I climbed down out of the Yukon and shut the door as quietly as possible. The neighborhood seemed empty. Fittingly, there were no signs of the police -they were busy cruising the blue col ar areas. There wasn't even an Eagle soccer mom running behind a strol er. It was lifeless and foreboding. Kale pointed with a subtle jerk of his head up the road. I fol owed him along the little bike path.

The Alexander residence was al stucco and wrought iron. Fake Italian, like those wretched casinos in Vegas-my least favorite town in the whole wide world, because literal y everything is fake. This house seemed to have a similar scent. I wasn't sure if She was helping me or not, but I smel ed stench.

Cigarettes-no, stale cigar smoke. I searched for Michael's scent.

We approached the house. A three-car garage was attached to the right side, and a black BMW sat in the driveway, looking like it hadn't been washed in quite a while. It was just like a horror movie, when the camera shows something completely normal and innocent, but the mind processes al of it in a different context. It chil ed me; the wind gusted through a drift of leaves, and She stood up, taking it al in just as I was.

What do you see? I asked.

"Be careful; he's sleeping, but not like you think."

I could feel a warm augmentation fil ing my veins with power. My vision became much clearer, richer. Colors seemed bolder, sounds louder, and I could even hear Kale's heart beat through his sil y white Moses robes. I guess it works... Halloween is right around the corner. I reached out with my mind to try to read his thoughts. I didn't know if it would work, but I had to try. Al I got was static; nothing worth anything, so I gave up.

I fol owed Kale to the back of the house. Everything was wide open in this ritzy neighborhood. No fences or anything between houses. The gra.s.s was deep green, having come back from the oppressive heat of summer, and smel ed like it had just been cut. I fil ed my lungs with it. Kale elbowed me to pay attention to what I was doing. I apologized with my eyes.

Before I knew it, Kale had drawn his sword-dagger thing. We entered through a sliding door into the kitchen of Stan's house. No one sat eating lunch; no one had washed any dishes in quite a long time. Something was rotting in the sink. Probably in the trashcan, too. Kale motioned for me to go to the garage while he stood guard. I knew, even without the benefit of reading his mind, that he preferred to avoid a confrontation with the Seer if we could.

I crept silently toward the white door that I a.s.sumed led to the garage. It was unlocked. When I opened it, I saw Kim's back, her head slumped over on her chest, her body stil taped to the chair. My heart failed me. Too late! She was limp. Dead.

Upstairs, Stanley Alexander was sleeping. As he lay there, the creature within poked, prodded, and slid free of his body like excrement. It was not the biggest demon by any means, but covetous ruthlessness and the wil to act where others would not dare gave him rank and t.i.tle. None knew his true ident.i.ty.

He was cal ed by many names, 'the Seer' one of them, and that because of the bloodstone. His wings were long, black, and ragged, and hung around his twisted body like tattered sails on a forgotten ship. He pul ed the left one free of the host and noticed for the ten thousandth time that it had been clipped. The memory of how he had lost part of it made him seethe with anger.

He stood over eight feet tal when hunched over. His eyes were dark red and glowing. A black fume fel constantly from his mouth. Two horns curved downward from the top of his skul , and protected his face from the edge of the sword. The thin tail twitched and bobbed like that of an excited dog. The tip was barbed with a mace-like hook. Th.o.r.n.y scales ran the length of his back ending at his short neck.

The Seer took the red stone from the sleeping weak husk of a man and held it. He looked into it and frowned with thin black lips. He sneered, and yel ow and brown rotten teeth exposed themselves in a menacing grin.

"You have come at last, my daughter. Now I claim and take what is rightfully mine." The voice was guttural. The stone throbbed, humming, and he watched through it as Airel opened the door to the garage, finding her best friend. The gasp that escaped her mouth made him smile, revealing crooked and gnarled teeth as he crossed his arms and embraced himself, shivering with excitement.

Then the stone showed him something else in the house. Airel's guardian companion. The Seer howled in a shriek of delight and fury. Thick smoke vomited out from his mouth as he crouched, then he threw back his ma.s.sive head and roared, "You return to me! My old friend-Kreios! KREIOS!"

The cry of the beast woke Stanley from the sleep of the dead. The house shook from footing to rafter. Dust rained down on the Seer, and Stan sat up in utter horror-he had never quite gotten used to it-as he saw what was standing next to his bed. Before he could gather the breath to scream, the Seer dove at him, grabbed his frightened face, and looked into his bloodshot eyes.

"Look at me, you sniveling slob. Look into my eyes. You will bring Airel to me; do not kill her, do you understand?"

"Do not kil her; yes master, I understand." Stan's voice was low and droned on. He was a man who had lost his soul and replaced it with nothing but darkness. He stood up and clawed at the open sores that refused to heal, covering his body from head to foot.

He was already dead; his body was trying to tel him so, but he would not believe it. As his body decayed and rotted, he stil moved, he continued among the sentient, he was autonomous-this was evidence enough of his power, at least to him-which made him useful enough for the demon who pul ed his strings. The Seer unfurled his ragged wings, enclosing his slave within them. A boiling pool of blackness col ected at his clawed feet.

Stan smiled as he felt his strength returning. He felt unstoppable once more. Stan is the man- true master of the Brotherhood. It was his destiny to destroy Airel before she could discover anything more of her true ident.i.ty. Michael had done a wonderful job. Stan swel ed with fatherly pride at the thought of his only son. He would move quickly through the ranks, indeed.

The Seer placed the bloodstone into Stan's hand. Stan replaced it around his neck. He felt like he was naked without it. Of course, he had plans of his own that did not involve the Seer. He would keep it. With it, he could do anything, go anywhere, and rise to be the most powerful being in the world.

Slave would be master.

The demon withdrew the shroud of his iniquitous wings, discharging Stan to his work, newly empowered by the unnatural. Stan fished out an ancient dagger from under the bed. He had stolen it; from where, he could no longer remember. These days, he could not remember much-his memories had been mixed and adulterated with those of a thousand hosts before him. In the final a.n.a.lysis, he had no idea who he was anymore. But it didn't matter. Stan was the new Seer, de facto, and soon he wouldn't need the wretched lizard to cal the plays, to direct and control the power. Soon...

I stood in the doorway to the garage frozen in horror-my best friend, dead. I felt like throwing up but held it down. How could...? This was al wrong; this kind of thing was not supposed to happen. Reverberating through my bones, cal ing me back from the nightmare, I heard an unearthly scream that chil ed me absolutely-and more than the sight of Kim's lifeless body.

"Kreios? KREIOS!"

Images superimposed themselves on top of each other, of the man I was growing to love in the Book, and of the man named Kale who had abducted me and kept me prisoner. His marble skin, blond-almost-white hair, and his odd ways-he seemed so old, but at the same time looked so young. It al crashed into me with violence, stopping me.

I looked at my hand on the door jamb, but my mind saw beyond the physical. What I saw... Angels, half-breed offspring, demons, Ke'elei, an immortal race, Kreios, Kale, Airel. Could it be? Could he still be alive? Why had the Book withheld that part of its story from me? Kreios was not merely one of the Sons of G.o.d; he was an Angel, descended from heaven itself. He would live forever, unless a demon like the Seer kil ed him, which even then was not an easy task. Kreios was a fearless warrior, with more skil in battle than I could dream of.

"KREIOS!" The roar grew louder, and I would have stood there dumbly, frozen, if Kreios himself hadn't yel ed at me.

"Airel! Move! Get Kim out the back!" His voice had changed, ripping through me with the essence of deadly command. It had real physical weight to it.

My head cleared instantly, and I bolted into the darkness of the garage. To my utter disbelief, Kim was moving. Her head came up slowly, and she opened her eyes as I fel on my knees at her feet. Blue and purple bruises covered her face, masked partial y by the gag of duct tape. Her left eye was swol en shut, yet she managed a smile.

"Oh, Kim! I'm so sorry. Oh baby, hang on!" I tore the tape from her mouth, and before I knew what I was thinking, I had torn through al that bound her to the chair, including part of the chair itself. I let my instincts take over, and shreds of tape littered the garage floor, along with whole chunks of chair.

Kim's head lol ed and she opened her eyes in a groggy slow fluttering. I felt sick to my stomach.

"Oh how I missed you, Kim." She stood on very shaky legs, and I could tel she was not strong enough to run with me back to the SUV. The sound of a fight erupted from upstairs in the house, and I heard a scream of pain. The sound was like fingernails on a chalkboard. I cringed and took my bearings, looking around for a way out.

"Look," I said in a whisper. "We've got to get out of here! I'l explain later; so just go with it, okay?" Kim looked at me with raised eyebrows; she had no idea what I was talking about.

I grabbed her and threw her over my right shoulder, like firemen carry fire victims. Leading with my left side, I lowered my shoulder and, like the would-be hero, lunged at the garage door, punching through it like paper. Unlike the would-be hero, I tripped on one of the steel spars that reinforced the door and lost everything. Kim and I tumbled out like rag dol s. Oops. I scrambled to my feet and moved toward Kim-we had to get out of there before we were discovered.

Standing in the driveway like a bent-over zombie was what I could only imagine was Michael's father. Stan. He was grasping a large curved black knife and had a wicked smile on his face.

"Going somewhere, Airel?" Black goo dripped from his mouth. "I've been looking forward to meeting you. I must admit... I thought you would be tal er."

He laughed and began choking and coughing. I knew I was out of time. I had to do something so I rushed him, again lowering my shoulder like a battering ram.

Stan was doubled over with both hands on his knees, spitting out blood or something worse as I made contact. The blow landed between his neck and col arbone. I felt a crack sound as something inside him broke, dul y. That sound fil ed me with something that had to have come from al the warriors in the line of my family-satisfaction.

The next thing I saw was his body wildly flying, landing on and skidding across the lawn across the street. He was up and on his feet so fast that I wondered if he was as old and broken as he appeared.

I didn't have any time to waste. I turned, scooped Kim up again, and ran to the SUV. Everything was just a blur of colors, but I could stil see everything in crisp detail. Kim was screaming, but I tuned her out. I had dumped her onto the pa.s.senger seat and slid myself behind the wheel before Stan knew what was happening.

Like the voice of She, I heard the command ringing in my mind-but it was decidedly not She. "Go, Airel; take Kim and go! I'll meet you at the house -can you find your way back?"

I think so.

"Be careful."

I turned the keys in the ignition and the engine roared to life. Kim had buckled up and was looking at me with mouth wide open. I just looked at her, dropped the shifter into drive, and floored it. The rear tires lit up, I aggressively yanked the wheel left, and executed a total y pro-style burnout u-turn. We were outta there.

I scanned the rearview mirror to see Stan standing like a drunk and screaming curses. I smiled and somehow his outrage made me happy. Next time, Stan... Next time.

Chapter II.

We got on the freeway. I didn't begin to relax until after we were headed out of town and on our way to Sun Val ey. I didn't hear a single thing more from Kreios. I was stil in awe and speechless about that whole thing.