The twins appeared, one after the other. They looked around with disgust. Once again, I couldn’t tell them apart until they spoke.
“Where are we?” one asked. Her voice was gentler, which meant she was Lunaris.
“L.A. warehouse district. This building belongs to Jethro. The bar’s entrance is that way.” I pointed toward the front of the building.
“Yeah, I can feel them,” Solaris said in her high-pitched annoying voice. “Demons,” she added, reaching for the ninja stars she’d placed in sheaths around her waist when we were in the weapons room.
“No weapons, please,” I warned. Her eyes narrowed as though she wanted to defy me, then she backed down, her hands dropping to her sides and forming fists.
“Where’s Esras?” I asked when the Guardian didn’t appear.
“Master Haziel came to the weapons room right after you teleported and needed to have a word,” Lunaris answered.
“He’ll miss the telegate if he’s not careful,” I warned. A telegate was a trail of energy disturbance left behind when one teleported. “One time, when we teleported here, only two of us made it while the others ended up across town.”
Esras appeared just as I finished speaking. He was red in the face, uneasiness pouring from him.
“Is everything okay?” I asked.
“Yeah,” he said and tugged the collar of his shirt. The fact that he couldn’t meet my eyes told me his nervousness had something to do with me. If he didn’t want to talk about it, fine. I couldn’t take any more mess directed at me. What bugged me more was the twins’ antagonistic attitude toward all demons. They had grumbled while we chose weapons, and I was sure they wouldn’t stop.
“Before we go inside the restaurant, you need to know it is packed. Don’t do or say anything to antagonize them, because we are not here to fight. In fact, Jethro has a policy against many things, including fights and teleporting, in his bar. If a demon makes a sudden move, don’t assume he or she is about to attack. If you have to respond, just subdue them.”
“This is not right,” Solaris murmured.
“Solaris,” her twin warned.
“You know I’m right,” Solaris snapped. “He did this on purpose. He knows how we feel about…about…” she glanced at me and lifted her chin, “about being friendly with demons.” I had a feeling she meant to say something else.
Lunaris sighed and glanced at me. “I apologize for my sister—”
“You don’t need to apologize to her.”
The way she said “her”, I might as well be something that crawled from the sewer.
“What is your problem, Solaris?” I asked, working hard to control my temper. “If you feel so strongly about them, why did you volunteer to come with me?”
“We didn’t volunteer. The senile old fart told us to come,” Solaris said.
Something inside me snapped. “Don’t call Master Haziel names. He’s many things, but he’s not senile or a fart, whatever that is. I’m sure he had his reasons for choosing you.”
“Of course, he does,” Solaris snapped. “He is playing head games with us, as usual.”
My eyes narrowed. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“He knows how we feel about demons because they killed our parents,” she snarled.
I blinked at the hatred in her voice. “Oh, I didn’t know.”
“Why should you? It happened thirteen years ago during the demonic raid,” she answered, her eyes flashing. “You were only three.”
Oh, no, not that again. Did they know my father was behind it? Would I ever put what he did behind me? My father had gone on a murderous rampage while searching for my mother and me, but no one had ever made me feel guilty for his actions until today.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
“You should be,” Solaris said with so much venom I cringed.
“That is enough,” Esras interjected.
“You stay out of this, Esras,” Solaris snapped.
Solaris, her sister warned her telepathically, but somehow I heard her. It is not her fault.
Of course it is. He was searching for her.
Was this the purpose of this mission? To see if I could work with people who hated my guts?
Solaris continued to glare at me. “Your father—”
“Is in Tartarus,” I said with as much venom as I could master, which was easy because I was now pissed.
“No, he’s not. He’s been seen more than once the last two weeks.”
My stomach hollowed out. “That’s crap. My grandfather defeated him during the battle on Jarvis Island, and anyone who claims he’s alive is calling my grandfather a liar. I’m sorry you lost your family, but I lost my mother and grandmother, too. And, I am not responsible for Valafar’s actions.”
Solaris opened her mouth again, but her twin grabbed her arm and marched her to the back of the building. I didn’t bother to listen to their exchange. I took some deep calming breaths, then glanced at Lucien and Esras.
“You handled that very well,” Esras said. Lucien nodded.
I shook my head. The very thought that Valafar could be alive filled me with dread. My feelings toward him were still conflicted. Part of me wished he wasn’t suffering in Tartarus. He had once loved me enough to raid Guardian enclaves while searching for my mother and me. The other part of me wished he would just disappear forever. He’d been ruthless and ambitious, and if by some remote chance he’d survived Jarvis Island, he’d come for me again. Even giving weight to Solaris’s rants pissed me off.
“Are your feelings going to get in the way of this mission?” I asked when the twins rejoined us.
“Of course not,” Lunaris answered and I could tell she was telling the truth.
Solaris glowered instead.
I cocked my eyebrow, but she still refused to speak. “If you can’t be objective, Solaris, then go back to the valley and report to Master Haziel.”
A flicker of uncertainty flashed in her eyes.
“I mean it. If you can’t take orders from me, you have no business being here.”
“My feelings won’t get in the way of my duties, Cardinal,” she said through clenched teeth.
“Good because rule number one is never let personal feelings get in the way of getting a job done.” I glanced at Esras, then Lucien, before coming back to the twins. “If any of you have a problem with me because Valafar was my father, put it aside for now. You’ll have plenty of time afterward to continue hating me. Jethro may be a Hermonite, but he’s an ally. His customers are our allies too. You don’t attack anyone unless I say so.”
Silence.
“Is that understood?”
“Yes, Cardinal,” the four said in unison.
This time, I didn’t tell them not to call me Cardinal. We’d wasted enough time talking. “Let’s go.”
No one spoke as we sidestepped puddles of grey muck and walked toward the entrance. Valafar alive? What utter nonsense. We exited the alley and entered the road running in front of hulking warehouses. The parking area in front of the bar was packed with bikes.
Like most of the warehouses in the area, the exterior needed fixing. In fact, it looked exactly the same as the first time I saw it. The green and black canopy above the metal railing was faded, the chairs and table were chipped and paint was falling off the surface. The only new additions were the ancient words scrawled on the glass window.
“Ready?” I asked before opening the door. Lucien and Esras nodded right away. The twins took their time, but they eventually did.
The aroma of freshly brewed coffee mixed with spicy foods greeted us when I opened the front entrance. The tingle and heat at the base of my spine slowly spread upward and outward as though someone had injected something hot into my spine. My fingers grew warm and for one brief moment, my vision blurred then sharpened as I glanced around.