Part 34 (1/2)

Maggie fingers the corner of the bag on the bench. 'Mum's been struggling since Dad died-we both have. I think knowing there's more to the world, that the Rephaim exist and are looking out for us...it'll help her.'

'It's not like the whole town won't be chasing answers,' I say.

Last night everyone on the esplanade got a terrifying glimpse of a world they never knew existed. Demons stalking the beach. Monsters lumbering through town. But there's no trace of any of them this morning, angel or demon. And if everyone else's phones are as useless as ours, there won't be any other evidence either. Our battle might be out in the open now, but maybe the truth will get lost in the hysteria. Maybe.

Jude nods but I see his attention drift.

'What are you thinking?'

He taps his thumb on the edge of the kitchen bench, exhales. 'Gabriel was in that forest last year.'

Rafa stops chewing his hash brown. 'You recognised his voice?'

'No, but who else has the power to change our memories?'

I try to swallow. The egg and bread and bacon feel like paper mache in my throat.

'You swore fealty to the Second Lieutenant of the Garrison?' Rafa says. 'What's he going to want in return?'

'No idea.'

I finally get my food down. 'Would Dani know?' I ask Jason.

He shakes his head. 'She can only see what Orias sees, and I doubt he has access to anything involving the Garrison.' Jason wipes his fingers on the dishcloth and then rinses it.

'Orias can see any of us whenever he wants to?'

'All of the Fallen can. The difference with Orias is that he also sees things that haven't happened-so Dani does too, whether she wants to or not. And it's a lot less precise.'

'But she goes looking for us whenever she wants to.'

He nods. 'When she meditates, she sees what we're doing in that moment. The things she sees in the future-those visions that take her completely by surprise-they've been intentionally given to her by Orias, but they haven't always come through as clearly as he's intended.'

Jason and his father must have had quite the chat last night. 'What else did he tell you?'

He folds the dishcloth over the tap. 'The Fallen communicate telepathically.'

'Yeah, I wondered about that.' Given how they s.h.i.+fted from the resort roof last night without Semyaza giving an audible command.

'That's how Dani reached out to Rafa when he was at the farmhouse. She somehow managed to tap into that too.'

I think about everything Dani's seen and done since Jude and I came into her life a year ago. Knowing the risks and wanting to help anyway. She's twelve years old and the bravest of us all.

Jason leans back against the sink, rubs his eye with his thumb. Sighs as if defeated.

'Jase,' Maggie says quietly. 'She's going to be okay.'

He brushes his fingers down her arm, almost apologetic. 'I've been trying to protect my family for so long-lying about myself to protect the people I care about. I don't know how to stop worrying. And now I've got you to worry about too.'

Maggie catches his fingers in hers. 'Orias is as curious about Dani as she is about him, he's not going to let anyone hurt her. Plus she's got the entire Rephaite army looking out for her. And I've got all of you.'

Maggie's tired and I can't imagine the nightmares she must be having after the last twenty-four hours, but she trusts us to keep her safe. Trusts me.

'Always, Mags,' I say and she smiles at me, eyes s.h.i.+ning.

Jude nods his agreement, but he's not really listening. He's already thinking about the Sanctuary, trying to second-guess what's going to happen when we get there. I stand up, needing to move. My shoulders and neck are already tight again.

'Let's get this over with. You going to get Dani now?'

Jason blows out his breath. 'Do I have a choice?'

'Nah, Goldilocks, you don't,' Rafa says. He screws up the empty paper bag and lobs it from behind his back. It hits the wall and lands in an empty beer carton by the fridge. 'None of us do.'

ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY...

Rafa, Jude and I arrive in the piazza under a cloudless night sky. It's after midnight here, and cold enough to make my breath mist.

The Rephaim are cl.u.s.tered outside the infirmary, no longer separated into Outcast and Sanctuary: we're a single group now, united not only by a common enemy-momentarily driven back-but by an uncertain future.

Light spills from the cloister lamps and a fat waxing moon hangs over the eastern wing of the Sanctuary. My eyes are good enough to find Ez, Zak and Daisy; Jones, Seth and Micah; Taya and Malachi. The Five. n.o.body is armed. The tang of cold smoke still hangs in the air, sweetened slightly by lavender and rosemary.

I remember this place now. Everything's familiar again: the fountain where we cooled off as kids on the way back from training. The timber bench by the infirmary door, scarred with my initials and Daisy's. The downpipe on the residential wing, dented under the eaves where Rafa tried to hurl my boot onto the roof and missed. How long ago was that? Twenty years? Thirty?

Daniel breaks away from the others. He makes a point of glancing at his watch but resists the urge to comment on our tardiness.

'Where are Jason and Dani?'

'They're here,' I say. 'Jason's taken Maggie and Maria upstairs.' It was a smarter option than leaving them alone in Pan Beach. Zarael might be dead and his horde banished beyond the veil but I'm not taking any chances.

'Is Gabriel here?'

'Not yet. Nathaniel's gathering the Fallen now.'

'Did they get any sleep?'

'It took a few hours to find enough bedding for everyone, but they should have had at least a few hours' rest.'

I feel a little guilty. The Rephaim who came back here didn't sit around drinking beer and eating Thai food last night. They had to accommodate the Fallen.

'Where did you put them?'

'Semyaza, Barakiel and Orias took rooms in Nathaniel's compound-without an invite, naturally-and the rest bedded down in the gym and the rec room.'

'Cosy,' Rafa says. 'How's that going to work long term?' 'It's not. We'll need to convert the entire east wing into accommodation.' Daniel says 'we' as if the Five still have authority at the Sanctuary. I check Jude. He's even more pensive now we're here. Fingers drumming his thighs, eyes scanning the piazza and the rooftop.

Fealty.

My stomach twists, and it's not purely from nerves. Mya and Jess have materialised a few metres away, backlit by the cloister. They head straight for us.

'What are you doing here?' Daniel asks Jess.