Page 36

Kerry

Gemma squeaked out of math ahead of me on Wednesday and several students were crowded behind me, which made me tense up, so I stepped aside and let them go by first. Then the last girl dropped her folder and papers went everywhere. I helped her gather them up and nodded when she said a quiet thank you.

When I finally made it into the hallway, I found Anderson and Peale standing far too close to Gemma. My first instinct was to smash their skulls together, but I held back, wanting to give her a chance to deal with it. She wasn’t weak and she wasn’t dumb, not by a long shot, and I needed to remember that.

Then Anderson grabbed her arm, which crossed the line. Sliding between them, I tore his hand away from her and heard a satisfying crack. Hopefully, I’d snapped his wrist.

“And here’s your guard dog to save you,” he sneered, shaking out his hand.

“She can save herself, jerk-off.” My chest rumbled with a warning growl. I had to be careful. Too much of this and I would go off. “I’m just her back-up.”

“Tell me, dog , does she make you sit and stay? Does she make you beg?”

“Yap at me all you want, ankle-biter.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “But you touch her again, and Argaud will be missing one of his boys. I didn’t promise not to kill you .”

“I can’t believe she taught you to speak!” Anderson’s eyes narrowed, but I couldn’t tell whether it was from fear or anger. “I wonder what other tricks you could learn. Maybe if you work hard enough at it, no one will guess you’re just a monster who’s been taught how to act like a man.”

I was done with this piece of crap. My control was slipping, and he wasn’t worth the trouble I’d get into for hurting him. Before I could do anything, though, a little red whirlwind blew past me, and Gemma’s hand blurred as she slapped his face.

Everything got real quiet then and, not gonna lie, I wasn’t sure what to do. The angel in a temper was a new experience.

“How dare you, you pampered, babied brat?!” she snarled at him. “Have you ever once in your entire life endured anything that even came close to the torture he endured for a decade?”

Everyone in the crowd seemed as stunned as I was. She was furious . Her whole body bent forward, her chest heaved, and her face was redder than I’d ever seen it.

“You can’t possibly understand what he went through unless you’ve had your assaulted raped every single day for ten years, then tried to be a man afterward while others jeered at you. Since you haven’t, you can keep your filthy mouth shut about it, you pompous jerk!”

Rage replaced Anderson’s shock, and I worried he might make the mistake of hitting her. No matter how angry she was, I didn’t think she’d like it if I killed him, so I looped an arm around her waist, pulled her back, and growled at the tears on her face.

With a little sob, she slipped away from me and ran down the hall, and I was torn.

Follow her and risk Anderson getting me in the back, or give her a head start and deal with him first?

It wasn’t much of a choice. I clipped Anderson on the jaw, and he went down in a heap.

“That’s for making her cry.”

I looked around for Peale, but he’d disappeared in the crowd.

“Gemma ran toward the office,” Kyo Yumi called out.

I took off, students diving outta my way after one look at my face, and found her in a gap between two sets of lockers. She sat on the floor with her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking.

“Gemma?”

She didn’t respond, and I felt helpless. Jax and John hadn’t covered this situation in any of their advice.

Listening to my gut, I slipped one arm under her knees and the other under her shoulders and picked her up. I wasn’t sure it was the right thing at first, but figured it was okay when she put her arms around my neck, buried her face in my throat, and sobbed.

Right then, I made myself a promise. Before this day is over, I was gonna put the fear of Hell into Whit Anderson.

“Hang on, angel. I’ll find you a quiet place.”

I looked around and saw we were near all the teachers’ offices. Figuring it would be quieter and more private, I carried her toward the closest once. I tried to check her face, but she was so tucked into me that I only saw one red, wet cheek.

“Bring her in here, boy.”

I jerked my head up and saw that ancient bald warden standing next to an open door. His offer seemed odd, but I wasn’t going to say no, so I nodded at him and carried my armload inside.

“Take your time, son. It looks like you have a big job on your hands. Just pull the door closed when you leave. It’ll lock by itself.”

“Thank you, sir.”

I dug deep to remember my manners because the power rolling off him was enough to make me respect him, but he only waved and walked away, the door swinging shut behind him.

Spying a long wooden bench, I sat down on it and rocked Gemma like a baby.

“Go ahead and cry, angel. I’m here. You’re safe.”

I didn’t know what else to do to help her, so I held her and tried to ignore how wet my shirt was getting. I didn’t care about that, but she was gonna need a hanky pretty soon and my bookbag was somewhere in the math hall. She would be embarrassed if she dripped snot all over me. Again, I didn’t care, but she would.

Looking around, I saw a box of tissues on the desk. Shifting her a little, I reached out and snagged it.

“Here, Gemma.”

She took it and, thinking she wouldn’t want me staring at her as she cleaned up, I looked around again. I wondered why the old man had left us alone in his office. Wasn’t he worried about anything disappearing?

I figured it out pretty quick, though. The room had most of the things I guessed an office should have. Desk, chair, computer, bookcase, books, fake green tree—and that was about it. No pictures or knick-knacks on the bookshelves. No framed diplomas or certificates. No little toys or calendars on the desk. Not even a clock on the wall.

I frowned. Maybe he was retiring. Or maybe he’d just been moved to this office. Or maybe he was a visitor and this was a “guest” office.

But it’s weird to not have a clock .

The bookshelf was right in front of us, and I looked at the spines of the books. They mostly had cloth or leather covers, but there was a copper one and a clay tablet. A lot were in languages I couldn’t read, but I recognized a few titles that had Angelic sigilla. There was one that glowed green and had enough of a Diabolical stink to make me edgy, and I wondered if it was written in Infernal.

A few modern paperbacks caught my eye because they looked so outta place. They were stacked messily on the shelf nearest the desk, and I looked closer.

No way. Are those —

The covers were mostly pink and had gold cursive letters I didn’t have a chance of puzzling out. They also showed a whole lotta skin and other body parts I tried not to think about this close to Gemma.

Romance novels. You are kidding me ! I hope I meet that old man again. I have some questions for him.

Just then, Gemma sniffed and lifted her face from my shirt. Her nose was red, her cheeks not much better, and her eyes were bloodshot and raw. My heart dipped.

“Uh oh. We should find you a cool, wet washcloth to wipe your face, angel. That would feel good, I bet.”

“I know I look awful.” Her voice was small and tense.

“You don’t. You just look like a girl who had a good cry. Why were you crying, anyway? Did he hurt your arm? If he did — ”

She cut me off before I could get worked up.

“No, he didn’t hurt me. It’s just, I can’t stand people talking about you that way!” Her face was on fire, but I was pretty sure it was temper again. “That arrogant toad! I’m not sorry I hit him. I wish I could make him understand that it’s a miracle you are as pure and uncorrupted as you are, but it would be a waste of breath to try. Those of his mentality only know how to scorn and ridicule and debase.”

A lot of her words were wasted on me, but I caught the gist of what she was saying.

“You…” I shook my head. “You were crying for me .”

I looked into her eyes and the rest of the world fell away. The longer we stared at each other, the more I felt as if a piece of her was passing into me, and me into her. I never could have guessed this feeling was possible, let alone that I might experience it, and my heart twisted up into a painful little ball.

Is that normal ? Is it supposed to do that? Why didn’t Jax warn me? Why didn’t John? Why didn’t anyone?

She stood, gathered the mountain of used tissues, and dropped the mess into the trash can by the door.

“What was so entertaining earlier?” She still sounded snuffed-up. “When I stopped crying and looked at you, you had this … goofy look on your face. Not a smile, but it was obvious you found something amusing.”

“Oh. Yeah. Heh.”

“There it is again. Goofy face.”

“Wait. What?”

“Goofy face. I want to know what was so funny, Goofy.”

“Oh, no. Don’t. Don’t start calling me that. It will end up sticking. I do not want that for a nickname.” I glowered at her and made my expression fierce, which was hard to do since I was pretty chill now that she wasn’t crying.

“Whatever you say.”

I didn’t trust that little smile. Not at all. She would call me Goofy when I least expected it and I would respond and that would be it. I would be Goofy forever.

Nuh-uh. Not gonna happen.

“I mean it, Gemma. If you wanna give me a nickname, think of something else. Something you can call me in front of Jax and John.” I was almost ashamed of the whine in my voice, but I knew how these things worked. I had to protect my future self.

“Like calling you a lab rat rather than a guinea pig?”

“Even that is better than Goofy.”

“All right.” She giggled. “Since it seems so important to you, I’ll think about it. Now, let’s head to class, okay? We’re going to be late as it is.”

I was so glad she was back to normal, I would have agreed to anything.

And if I keep her distracted enough for the rest of the day, she might even forget all about the Goofy crap.

#

Gemma

“So what was so funny earlier?” I demanded. “You never did tell me, Kerry.”

At dinner time, we met up with our friends at the cafeteria and claimed our usual table. Jax and Gigi had heard the story from Kyo, but wanted to hear it from us. Now that Kerry had explained it, I was trying to divert their attention away from me.

“Oh, that.” He waved his hand. “The warden who let me in his office was this old man. Very old. Like you could feel centuries on him. And the office was empty except for all the books, and it made me curious. I saw some paperbacks that didn’t fit in, so I looked again and they were romance novels!”

Jax burst out laughing, and Gigi and I smiled, although neither of us found it as funny as the boys obviously did.

While Jax joked around, I thought of how much Kerry had improved over the past few weeks. I almost had trouble believing he was the same boy who had almost killed Reilly in Fight Club a few weeks ago. He hadn’t even spiked up during today’s … unpleasantness with Whit.

I wanted to show him how much he had gained. I would never try it if he were upset or tense, but he was relaxed and surrounded by friends. And he’d already shown he could take a little gentle teasing when I’d called him Goofy. He’d even played back with his ‘lab rat’ comment.

Deciding there wouldn’t be a better time, I plotted my strategy while listening to the conversation around me.

“Do you know which warden it was?” Jax twirled his fork into his spaghetti for another giant bite. “The one whose office you used?”

“Did you see that old guy last night? The one who stopped me from banishing that harpy? He was bald, but he had these crazy white eyebrows. Gemma, if I get like that when we’re old, I’m begging you, mow them down!”

We all laughed.

When we’re old? Meaning, you want us to be together when we’re old? I shook my head. Oh, stop trying to read so much into everything!

“Do you know who he is?” Gigi asked Jax.

Kerry and I looked at him, too. He’d been at the Sanctuary the longest, arriving in third grade.

“The wardens call him Clem, short for Clemency,” he said.

“That’s a weird name.” Kerry frowned.

I could tell by the look on his face that he didn’t know what clemency meant.

“He’s five hundred years old, bro! Being named for a virtue was common back then.”

I knew what Kerry was going to do as soon as he turned away from the others.

“What’s a virtue?” he whispered in my ear, then swiveled his head to hear the answer.

While I thought about how to say it so he would understand, he grew impatient. Like he had once before, he moved so we were eye-to-eye, as if demanding I answer him. His expression was adorable and made my heart squeeze.

“I need to think,” I told him.

He grumbled and moved away, slumping back in his chair and crossing his arms so that his hands were buried in his armpits. He looked like he was pouting, and I had to work hard not to grin.

Finally, I came up with something and stood to cup my hand over his ear.

“A virtue is all that is good and right, all that is pure and proper. The opposite of a sin. Like patience and kindness.”

“And what’s clemency?”

That’s even harder to explain to someone with no reference points!

I rested my overlapping hands on his shoulder while I sifted through ideas. He sat still, his incredible eyes watching me, and waited more patiently now.

“It means you have the power to punish someone who deserves it, but you don’t,” I whispered finally. “To have mercy on someone.”

“And it is a virtue to do that?” He seemed determined to make sure he understood.

“Of course it is.”

#

Kerry

Mercy is a virtue? Huh. I always saw it as a weakness.

That was too much to wrap my mind around right then, so I let it go and asked Jax if he knew anything more about that old warden. When he took a deep breath and opened his mouth, Gigi held up one finger.

“Lunch is almost over, babe. Keep it short and sweet.”

I suddenly saw a chance to try a joke.

“Yeah, Jax.” I grinned at my angel. “Short and sweet … like Gemma.”

She didn’t react. At first I was disappointed, then I got worried that I mighta hurt her feelings. I wasn’t in her league when it came to anything, but especially not playing.

Shoulda just kept my mouth shut, I guess.

“Clem’s a living legend,” Jax was saying. “Oldest warden at this Sanctuary, and still fighting the good fight. He always seems to be in the thick of it when things get interesting. Every neph textbook includes at least one reference to his exploits. You can read all about him in our library.”

When the warning bell rang, Gemma stood, so I chugged my milk, thinking she was in a hurry. Then she leaned down and put her lips against my ear, and I relaxed a little, figuring I was forgiven for trying to tease her earlier.

Until the words she’d whispered made it to my brain.

“So you think I’m short and sweet, do you, Goofy ?”

Milk spewed outta my mouth and dripped from my nose. Gigi jumped up and, grabbing napkins with both hands, giggling like crazy. Jax snarled and pointed at his spaghetti, which I’d coated with milk, spit, and snot, but I went on coughing and gagging and tried to clear my throat.

And Gemma laughed.

I glared at her as I choked, but she knew I didn’t mean it and kept laughing. Finally, I recovered enough to help clean up, then apologized to Jax.

“We’re good, buddy.” His face split into a huge grin.

As we left the cafe, I thought about what had just happened. Even two weeks ago, I would have exploded—or exhausted myself fighting to not explode—over someone making a joke outta me.

Getting better. Not whole. Not by a long shot. But better. I glanced at the girl walking beside me. I know why, too .

#

Much later that night, I caught up to Anderson as he was walking home from a meeting of those F-Fers. I trailed him until he took a shortcut across the dark quad and figured that was as good a place as any. I was behind him with my katana at his throat before he finished taking his next step.

“I’ll give you the same warning I gave Argaud and Farley.” I had to make myself stay calm. Otherwise, I’d get mad too quick and ruin it. “If you got an issue with me, take it up with me. I’ll throw down any time, anywhere. But you stay away from Gemma Shepherd.”

I’ll give the dude credit: He had the balls to run his mouth.

“You don’t scare me, Harker.”

Sure I didn’t. The little butt-wipe was shaking already and I hadn’t even done anything to him yet.

With my free hand, I grabbed a fistful of his hair and jerked his head back so it almost touched my chest. He made a noise and the whites of his eyes flashed in the darkness, but he was smart enough to stay still otherwise.

“You ever been in a real fight, Anderson?” I growled in his ear. “A fight for your life, not just throwing power at some poor sucker who’s weaker than you? The kind of fight that only ends when one of you is a corpse?”

“Let me go!” Sweat popped out on his forehead. “Get your demon-tainted hands off me!”

“You ever punch someone over and over and over until his bones crunch under your knuckles and his blood sprays your face and you almost can’t lift your arm anymore, but you keep on hitting him because if you let up, you know he was gonna try to do the same to you? You ever kill anyone? Because I have. Lots of times.”

“Enough!”

His heart was slamming so loud now, I could hear it. Good.

“If you wanna mix it up with me, boy, I’ll show you how it’s done. I might even remember to show a little mercy and let you live.” Dropping my voice, I edged the next words with a little power. “But you mess with her again, and I will end you.”

I dissolved the katana before I stepped back. I didn’t want to slit his throat by accident. Oh, no, I’d do it on purpose if it needed to be done. Curious to see what he’d do, I watched with surprise as he just walked away. Not how most people react when I threaten them.

After about five steps, though, he took off like a Belmont racehorse and sprinted toward his dorm, and I had to grin.

That was the kinda response I expected.

So was the dark stain spreading across the back of his pants.