branches above us and said quietly, “New Haven isn’t my biggest concern right now.”
I asked apprehensively, “Then you’re sure that Randal is a master controller, the Angels’ new, uh… king?” I was still clinging to the hope that it was all some kind of mistake. “I mean, you didn’t believe in regenerative healers back when I lost my eyes.”
Terry gave me a wry smile. “I never said regenerative healers don’t exist. They’re just exceptionally rare, and kings are even rarer. But yes, Adrian, I do believe Mr. Simms. How else could someone like Randal Divine take control of the Angels?”
“Yeah…” I sighed, snapping the twig in my hands. “King Divine… But how could something like that be kept a secret? He was at the gathering of lesser gods, Terry! Why couldn’t a finder sense him?”
“He was probably given individual hiding protection, or maybe he’s a hider himself.”
“But even if your power is hidden, someone who gets really close can sense you,” I pointed out. “And yet it’s like even the Angels didn’t know he was a master until after Larissa died.”
“I’m sure the top Angels knew,” said Terry. “Guardian finders never got close enough, of course. But as for the common Angels, some of their finders might have sensed his power in passing. The only problem is that masters themselves are so rare that many finders have trouble identifying their signature, or so I’m told. And who’s to say exactly when Randal Divine came into his power? It could be fairly recently. Besides, no one would be on the lookout for a male master controller anyway.”
Fingering my pendant, I wondered if my first sister had known what her new father was. Cat had insisted that Larissa Divine never converted her, and that she was with the Angels by choice. But what if she had been lying? Perhaps not lying about Larissa, but about conversion? What if Randal had converted her himself? When Randal told me that he had somehow “convinced” Cat to become an Angel, had Cat simply supported his lie? If she had been psionically converted, what would Cat not have done for her master?
I asked Terry, “Is what you said earlier about kings also true, then? They’re really more powerful than queens?”
Terry nodded grimly. “This is the first time a king has appeared since the schism more than seven hundred years ago. Make no mistake, Adrian, once Randal takes control of the outer factions, he’ll come after the rest of the Guardians, and then the whole planet next, just like Simms said. It’s too bad you couldn’t kill Randal back at the blood trial.”
I bit my lip. Terry still believed my story about Randal Divine escaping me. She didn’t know that I had spared the Angel king.
Terry looked me in the eye. “Somehow, we’re just going to have to stop him.”
“We?” I repeated, shaking my head. “What’s this ‘we’ stuff, Terry? My only mission is to find Cindy and get Alia back to her.”
“And what then, Adrian?” Terry asked seriously. “The Angels are more powerful than ever now. It’ll only be a matter of time before they absorb anyone who doesn’t fight back.” Terry glanced over at Alia once and then continued gently, “Listen, I’m with you on finding Cindy, but once we do, I really think you should start rethinking your priorities. Honor? Duty? Loyalty? Any of that ring a bell?”
I narrowed my eyes. “Don’t try to prey on my better nature, Terry. I killed a man in cold blood today, remember?”
Terry grinned. “My grandfather would have been proud.”
I scowled at her. “Oh, shut up.”
Chapter 4: Far from Paradise
I looked up at the dim, early-morning light filtering through the tree branches as I slowly stretched my aching muscles. It was hard to locate a single part of my body that wasn’t sore. Hiking through a forest might have seemed like a vacation after the nightmare we had gone through to escape New Haven, but now that the former was
I asked apprehensively, “Then you’re sure that Randal is a master controller, the Angels’ new, uh… king?” I was still clinging to the hope that it was all some kind of mistake. “I mean, you didn’t believe in regenerative healers back when I lost my eyes.”
Terry gave me a wry smile. “I never said regenerative healers don’t exist. They’re just exceptionally rare, and kings are even rarer. But yes, Adrian, I do believe Mr. Simms. How else could someone like Randal Divine take control of the Angels?”
“Yeah…” I sighed, snapping the twig in my hands. “King Divine… But how could something like that be kept a secret? He was at the gathering of lesser gods, Terry! Why couldn’t a finder sense him?”
“He was probably given individual hiding protection, or maybe he’s a hider himself.”
“But even if your power is hidden, someone who gets really close can sense you,” I pointed out. “And yet it’s like even the Angels didn’t know he was a master until after Larissa died.”
“I’m sure the top Angels knew,” said Terry. “Guardian finders never got close enough, of course. But as for the common Angels, some of their finders might have sensed his power in passing. The only problem is that masters themselves are so rare that many finders have trouble identifying their signature, or so I’m told. And who’s to say exactly when Randal Divine came into his power? It could be fairly recently. Besides, no one would be on the lookout for a male master controller anyway.”
Fingering my pendant, I wondered if my first sister had known what her new father was. Cat had insisted that Larissa Divine never converted her, and that she was with the Angels by choice. But what if she had been lying? Perhaps not lying about Larissa, but about conversion? What if Randal had converted her himself? When Randal told me that he had somehow “convinced” Cat to become an Angel, had Cat simply supported his lie? If she had been psionically converted, what would Cat not have done for her master?
I asked Terry, “Is what you said earlier about kings also true, then? They’re really more powerful than queens?”
Terry nodded grimly. “This is the first time a king has appeared since the schism more than seven hundred years ago. Make no mistake, Adrian, once Randal takes control of the outer factions, he’ll come after the rest of the Guardians, and then the whole planet next, just like Simms said. It’s too bad you couldn’t kill Randal back at the blood trial.”
I bit my lip. Terry still believed my story about Randal Divine escaping me. She didn’t know that I had spared the Angel king.
Terry looked me in the eye. “Somehow, we’re just going to have to stop him.”
“We?” I repeated, shaking my head. “What’s this ‘we’ stuff, Terry? My only mission is to find Cindy and get Alia back to her.”
“And what then, Adrian?” Terry asked seriously. “The Angels are more powerful than ever now. It’ll only be a matter of time before they absorb anyone who doesn’t fight back.” Terry glanced over at Alia once and then continued gently, “Listen, I’m with you on finding Cindy, but once we do, I really think you should start rethinking your priorities. Honor? Duty? Loyalty? Any of that ring a bell?”
I narrowed my eyes. “Don’t try to prey on my better nature, Terry. I killed a man in cold blood today, remember?”
Terry grinned. “My grandfather would have been proud.”
I scowled at her. “Oh, shut up.”
Chapter 4: Far from Paradise
I looked up at the dim, early-morning light filtering through the tree branches as I slowly stretched my aching muscles. It was hard to locate a single part of my body that wasn’t sore. Hiking through a forest might have seemed like a vacation after the nightmare we had gone through to escape New Haven, but now that the former was
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