Davin laughed. “I ’m happy to see Claudia. What ’s wrong with that ? But if that smack was for not hugging you or Austin that way, then you can smack me again.”
Austin scoffed and lifted his brows with an “I wouldn ’t want you to ” look. I didn ’t get th ose two , always making sly comments about how much they disliked each other. I didn ’t bother to ask what was up with them , and just figure d it was a male thing I couldn ’t understand.
Davin gave me a quick smile and turned to Austin. “See you when I see you, don ’t want to be near you.” Then he walked away.
It was the first time I’d heard Davin use that line, but why did it sound like I had heard it many times before ? See you when I see you echoed in my head. I racked my mind to figure out where I had heard it before. Surely someone else must have said it and I got confused.
“Claudia? Claudia?”
I looked up to see Holly waving her hands in front of my face with a worried look. “Are you okay?”
“Sorry , I was just thinking about something .” I knew it would bug me until I f ou nd the answer. My distraction was quickly reso lved when two females came toward us .
“Hello, ” one said and the other repeated.
Austin turned to me. “Claudia, this is Kate and Avalon. Avalon is new to our team.”
They both smiled with bright eyes.
I returned the smile, “Hello.” Afterward, we stood there in silence , as neither of us knew what to say, but their eyes were flirting with Austin. He seemed to have that kind of e ffect , especially on the newbies. Gratefully , Katherine interrupted when she entered.
“Glad to see you, Claudia.”
“Hello, ” I greeted nervously , worried she would give me few words about the incident at Gamma ’s house, especially about going there by myself .
“Gather your Alpha team and meet me in my office in ten minutes, ” Katherine directed Austin. “Claudia, why don ’t you walk with me now ?”
Suddenly my blood pressure skyrocketed and I flashed my eyes at Austin. He gave me a “don ’t worry ” look and turned away, leaving me with anxiety , wondering why Katherine wanted to be alone with me. Ten minutes of conversation was not a long time when you want ed to chat with a friend, but it was awfully long one on one with Katherine. She walked out the door and I quicken ed my steps to her s .
“Don ’t be nervous, ” she said with a tender tone. She must have felt my heart bea t escalate . “I know you have many questions. It is quite normal to want to find the missing pieces of your forgotten life. One thing you must understand is that you should never go anywhere by yourself. You are still learning about your powers and you r capabilities . Unless you are fully aware of your limitations, you are still vulnerable. I ’m only saying this because I care about your safety. I promised your g randmother I would keep you safe. Please don ’t make me break my promise.”
She stopped and turned to look me squarely in the eye. I saw compassion , and at the same time her eyes were filled with power that could only be ge nerated by angels. The serious l ook in her eyes sobered me to never go against her words again.
Austin had told his mom about that night. On the one hand, I understood why he had to ; a fter all, he report ed all supernatural activities to her . But I still felt hurt and betrayed by him. I had assume d he would keep it between us . She continued her steps. “One more thing. Happiness is not something readymade . It comes from your own action. That’s a quote from the Dalai Lama , and I try to follow it. My advice is that you should too. You are a leader, a great asset to the venator team. How you feel and what you do a ffects your team. Take control of your emotions, seize the moment that you are here and alive , for life is too short, even for us angels.”
“Yes, I will, ” I agreed and nodded , as we now stood in front of her office. Katherine was right. I had to stop moping around. Too much time was wasted on thinking what parts of my life I had no memories of , when I should be asserting my energy on creating new ones. Memory was a way of holding on to the things you love d , the things you were , the things you never want ed to lose. I c ould n ’t hold onto memories I d id n ’t have. I need ed to hold on to the things I c ould remember.
The door automatically opened by her will. Cool! I thought. I ’m going to try to do what she did someday soon . I guess ed ten minutes must have passed, because t he Alpha team was entering right behind me. Katherine sat in her black leather chair behind her desk, looking as elegant as ever. She looked proud to see the Alpha team standing in front of her.
“There have been several supernatural occurrences throughout the city, mostly in bars. The one you need to check out is called the Rave.”
“Cool. My kind of demons, ” Davin cheer ed .
Surprised by Davin’s blurt, everyone let out a short laugh as they tried to hold in their laughter. Katherine raised her brows in amusement and continued. “I would like your team to investigate.”
“Woo hoo. Double cool, ” Davin said , a nd everyone let out a nother short laugh.
“Davin, please keep your comments to yourself, ” Katherine requested.
“Oh…I ’m so sorry. I ’m just too excited. I ’ll keep my comments to myself. Sometimes I don ’t know that I am excited . Maybe it ’s because I ’ve been in Crossroads too long or maybe, you see —”
Davin suddenly stopped when Holly nudged him hard and he almost fell on Austin. Davin glared at Holly . “Holly did it . She likes to push me. She touched my butt before.”
“What?” Holly said, feeling mortified.
Katherine raised her hand and stopped the laughter. Davin covered his mouth with both of his hands and nodded , acknowledging that he understood.
“Okay…where were we? Oh…yes. I believe these supernatural activities are created by the dark shadows. They ’ve beg u n to take human souls. I was afraid this would happen.” Katherine was deep in thought . She lower ed her head and then looked up again. “I ’ve changed my mind. I ’m not sending t he whole team …it would look suspicious. Austin, Claudia, Davin, Holly, Delilah , Avalon and Connor…I ’m sending the seven of you. The rest stand by. God be with you. You are all dismissed.”
The ones remain ing behind le t out a disappointed sigh. Elissa gave me a sad face, waved and mouthed, “See you later.”
We headed out the door toward the open sky. I was the last to exit. Delilah and Avalon caught up to Davin, but instead of holding a conversation, Davin purposely slowed his pace. I caught up to Austin, but instead of walking beside me, he practically ignored me and paced faster to catch up to Avalon and Delilah . He positioned himself in the middle and all I could hear were the giggles. Occasionally he would g lance my way. Was Austin mad at me? He had been less flirtatious with me lately, not that I want ed that kind of attention from him. Or did I ?
Davin was now beside me, but he was unusually quiet. Narrowing his eyes intently , his line of gaze was toward Avalon if I was not mistaken, but he had walked away from her. It didn ’t make sense. “Hello, Davin.” I had to find out what was wrong.
“Oh, Claudia, ” Davin flashed a quick smile and resumed his analyzing expression.
“What ’s wrong ?” I whispered.
He looked at me, surprised that I knew something was out of place.
“I ’m not sure .”
“What do you mean? Why don ’t you tell me , and maybe I can help you figure it out.”
He stopped. “I think something is not right with Avalon.”
“What do you mean?”
Davin’s eyes widened and leaned closer. “She makes my heart beat faster. Every time she is near me, she makes me feel weak, as if she is stealing my powers. And when she asked me a question, my mind be came frazzled and I couldn ’t speak. The first time I met her , y ou were not here , but s he put me in a trance. I couldn ’t stop staring at her. When I tried to break away from her spell, I walked away, but then I ran into a wall. She made me do it. I think she ’s evil. Maybe she ’s a demon and we don ’t kn
ow. Should I tell Katherine?”
I had to keep myself from laughing out loud . Davin was too cute. We were not allowed to have relationship s , but we were half -human. That alone was enough to make us weak, have crushes , and also fall in love. Davin simply had a crush , and the fact he didn ’t know it was the most adorable thing. “No, why don ’t you let me find out.”
“Okay, but you need to hurry , because she makes me feel funny inside. I can ’t explain it. Every time I see her, I feel tingly all over , and I feel like I have butterflies in my stomach. Maybe she is trying to put a demon inside me !”
I laughed inwardly. Davin was so cute I could just squeeze him. “I don ’t think that ’s what she ’s doing. We can talk about this more later.” Austin motioned his hands for us to hurry. “We better catch up. Just stay close to me. I ’ll observe her when we ’re together down on Earth.”
“Thanks, Claudia. You ’re one person I ’ve always counted on. Well…besides Michael, Caleb and .…”
He stopped speaking and looked at me in shock, like he had revealed a secret. His body bec a me tense and he looked away.
“Michael, ” I said softly. It felt like lightning had struck me. I didn ’t know any Michael, but the name pained me for a split second, making my heart skip a beat. It gave me the same tingly emotions Davin had described , the way he felt about Avalon.
“I meant, Michelle and Gracie . See what she is doing to me ? I can ’t even say the right names. Next time, I may even call you by something else. They ’re waiting for us.” Davin grabbed my hand, pulling me out of something I c ould n ’t e xplain as we headed to meet the others in the open sky : a meeting place to discuss our plan before we head ed to our destination.
Chapter 14
Up in the sky, a full moon was ready to cast her light a s the sun was shin ing her final rays to prepare to end the day. The air was cool, but not cold enough for a sweater. The Rave was situated near an alley. Hardly anything was nearby besides sev eral abandon ed warehouses toward the back and a gas station in front . Streetlights dimly lit the neighborhood, but other than that, the town was pretty empty . On top of the club , a huge red neon sign flashed the name, “Rave .”
Claudia linked arms with Austin and they walked through the wooden double door s . The rest waited around the corner of the building. Connor and Avalon agreed to wait outside a t lookout. After ten minutes, Holly, Delilah an d Davin entered. Heavy metal tune s blasted. Davin smiled from ear to ear, enjoy ing the music and the different am biance he had never felt before—dangerous.
The large, square room was divided into sections. Several pool tables occupied the back. About four men and a couple of woman were playing a game on one table and six men were on another . The bar section had ten barstool s , but only a few were occupied by patrons dr i nk ing their troubles away. The dining area was empty .
They spotted Claudia and Austin sitting with menus in front of th em , and simply gave them a brief nod and s at at a separate table. A waitress appeared at their table fairly quickly . She cro o ked her brows , obviously thinking they didn ’t belong t here , but handed the m the menus anyway. There were very few items listed on the one page menu.
“They don ’t have much, ” Davin frowned and peered from the side of the menu to Delilah . “What kind of a restaurant is this?”
“It ’s not really a restaurant. They sell snacks, ” Delilah explained.
“Oh…then maybe I ’ll order some chips and salsa.”
“We ’re not here to order, Davin. Would you be more observant ?” Holly huffed.
“I ’m just curious. Why would they name food after a guy and a type of a dance? It must be one heck of a combination.”
“Stop being curious . We don ’t have time to be curious. See that guy wearing a pair of jeans and a gray T-shirt , in the back of the room by the pool table ?” Holly gesture d her head to the back.
“Yeah, ” they nodded.
Holly scooted her chair closer. “Watch how he shoots the ball right into the hole.”
“Maybe he ’s just good, ” Delilah said, drumming her fingers.
“Nobody is that good. And would you stop drumming your fingers ?” Holly rested her hands on Delilah’s .
“Sorry, I ’m a tad nervous. My first time out.”
“That ’s okay. Just stay close to me and don ’t do things to irritate me, ” Holly replied and stopped the conversation when the waitress approached.
“Hello, are you ready to order?”
Davin seized th e opportunity . “I would like some chips and salsa and a beer.”
Holly gave a smile and a fake giggle, “Actually , could you give us like five minutes ?”
“Sure. My name is Tammy if you need anything.” The waitress popped her gum and left.
Holly smacked Davin’s arm. “Why did you order? It ’s not like we ’re going to eat here.”
“Chill out. I wanted to know what chips and salsa look like , and I was only trying to make us look normal. At least if we order, she ’ll be out of our hair for a while. Now she ’ll come back.”
Holly knew Davin had a good plan, but she wasn’t going to burn her ego . “Whatever, ” Holly scoffed. She didn ’t want to explain. “Chips are chips and salsa is salsa. No big deal.”
“Shhh …w ould you two stop arguing for a minute ?” Delilah said , breaking up their annoying conversation . “Look, he is looking around suspiciously , and so are his friends.”
Austin and Claudia must have seen the same thing. Austin took a sip of his drink and cleared his throat to get his friend s ’ attention. He gestured them to look by the pool table. The six men headed to the other table with a pool stick in their hands, obviously looking for trouble. Austin stood up, placed his hand out to command Claudia to wait , and gradually sauntered toward them.
The guy in the gray shirt snatche d a female and flung her over to his friends.
“What the hell ?” one of guy s yelled and punched the gray T-shirt guy, but it had no effect. The man delivering the punch yelped in pain from the impact and turned.
With a swift motion, Austin placed himself between the gray T-shirt guy and the one in pain. Shock ed to see Austin right in front of him and realiz ing he was not human, the guy darted out the door with his friends so fast that the rest of the Alpha team needed a second to realize they were gone.
“After them !” Austin said as he flashed out the door.
“Darn! I guess chips and salsa will have to wait.” Davin frowned and took off.
They followed them around the back to the abandon ed warehouse s , but there were thre e building s and t he demons spli t up, each group going to different buildings. Davin, Claudia, and Austin went to the first building on the left.
“They are in human form so they should be easy to identify, ” Austin informed as they willed their bows and sword , taking in the smell of wood and metal. Though the light seeped through the windows, graffiti markings blocked most of it. Spider webs decorated the empty space between the cracks and glowed in silky threads. The dust swirled in f unnels as it danced where the ray s of light entered . Though it would have been dark, daylight savings gave them extend ed time , and along with their weapons, it produced enough light.
“Great ; we ’ll look like one big , giant flashlight, ” Davin remarked. Austin and Claudia willed their light s off and Davin kept his lit. “Much better.”
Inside the warehouse, there w as nothing but tables, file cabinets and junk spread across the room. Further ahead, in the middle , were wooden crates piled up high. The stairs and the elevator were located toward the back and were indicated by a sign.
“Come out, come out, where ever you are, ” Davin sang , and gracefully leap t on top of the crates. He was so high Claudia had to tilt her head back to see him walking along the edge . Effortlessly, he jumped from one crate to another. When he ran out of crates , he dove off them with a so mersault flip and headed toward the back right side of the room .
Cla
udia and Austin turned to the left. She gripped her bow tightly and followed him toward the stairs. After taking several steps , she heard a sound from the elevator, the sound that signals its arrival. Without fear Claudia ran toward it , thinking Austin had heard it too . Claudia ’s back was now flat against the wall, anticipating that something was going to pop out when the door opened, but instead, there was only silence . Bravely, she took a quick peek inside—nothing.
Thinking all was safe, she relaxed and was on her way to find Austin, noting he didn ’t follow her. Without warning, she was thrown in to the elevator by a supernatural force. When she tumbled in, she found herself on the floor , dazed and confused. Without a second to lose, she grabbed her bow and stood up , but she was too late .
The elevator whizzed up, giving her a knotted feeling in her stomach. The r ott en smell didn ’t help either. She willed her bow to li ght , moved to the corner, and closed her eyes to prepare for what she would have to face when the door opened. The spider web and the pe e led chipped paint on the wall and the ceiling gave her the creeps. I ’m a venator, a daughter of God ’s first angels. I can do this , she thought bravely. The higher the elevator went the faster her heart hammered, pounding out of her chest uncontrollabl y as her who le body shuddered. She knew Austin and Davin would race up the stairs and find her. But how many floors would they have to check?
Placing her bow in front of her, she closed one eye, ready to t h rash the li ghtning arrows at whatever was waiting for her . It was s o quiet, and all she could hear w ere her heaving breath s of fear that tightened her chest like she was having a heart attack . Her hands trembled, and she desperately tr ied to steady her bow.
Ding. The elevator bell rang and the door opened . She took one step out, staying close to the door, and let out an in tense huff when she saw about fifty big men with eyes as bright as the stars. They were human in their physical entities, but their souls had been taken by the dark shadows. Now they were called demons , and they too possess ed supernatural powers. Given no choice, she had to fire as they came at her.