Awakened: Prequel GL Series

Chapter 3

3. NEW FRIENDS

I whipped around to yell at him, to tell him to leave me alone, but my breath caught in my throat. “Whoa, what happened to you?”

He had a nasty cut on his lips and cheek, and his eyes were red-rimmed. He still wore the same clothes he’d had on last night, plus a black leather jacket. The pocket of his shirt was torn, and his hair hung lank and greasy to his shoulders. I sniffed the air between us and leaned back, blanching. He smelled like he’d slept in the sewer.

“You are a mess, Bran.”

He leaned against the locker next to mine and shrugged. “I had to see you.”

“Why? To apologize for threatening me?”

The look that settled on his face indicated that the thought never crossed his mind. “No. I was in a crappy mood and you were being difficult.”

I shook my head. “You’re unbelievable.”

“Thank you.”

“It wasn’t a compliment. Go away.” I turned toward my locker.

“Wait.” He grabbed my arm, and we both froze. An electrical sensation shot up my arm, followed by a chaotic mix of emotion. Fury, shame, frustration, and fear surged through me, stealing my breath. He dropped my arm like he’d been scalded. My gaze flew to his.

He stood stiff as a board, his eyes wide. I swallowed. The sparks when we touched were intriguing, but the intensity of the emotions that had flown from him was staggering. He was terrified of something.

“What’s wrong?” I asked him.

His expression changed from bewilderment to wariness. He folded his arms across his chest, one arrogant eyebrow lifting. “So you’re an empath. Do you have all the old man’s powers?”

Even when he looked like a hobo and stared down at me like I was an axe-murderer, he managed to look interesting. It was so unfair. “I don’t know. What are you afraid of?”

“Nothing.”

“Bran—”

“My feelings are none of your business, Sunshine. So you’re the next Cardinal Psi.”

“No.” I know Grampa had told me about demons stealing powers and the chances of Bran doing just that. But looking as he did, I couldn’t find anything threatening about him. “I don’t think so.”

“Even after last night’s storm?”

My eyes widened. “You know about that?”

“I recognized your energy pattern, and I wasn’t even in the valley. Very impressive. What else can you do? What made you lose it like that?”

“Like your feelings, my powers are none of your business,” I said, drawing myself up to my full height. “Where were you last night?”

“Here and there.” His eyelids drooped, and he rocked on the balls of his feet as though he was ready to keel over.

I frowned. “Did you sleep at all?”

“Nope. I had things to do. So did you tell Cardinal Falcon what I said? What did he say?” His voice had a tinge of hope.

I sighed. Why should I care that he got beat up or hadn’t slept? His habits were none of my business. “I did, and he left to find you. This morning he said they were still searching for you.”

“He must not be looking hard enough.”

“And he wasn’t exactly sure what your message meant. The code hasn’t been used in years, and there are no Guardians missing.”