Karen Duvall - Darkest Knight

Granted, I still had a lot to learn, but I was confused. “Guardians don’t guard?”

“They’re more like guides,” Natalie said. “Once we’re old enough to be knights, our guardians shift roles from protector to partner. They come to our aid only when summoned.”

Okay, I could buy that, but I had to admit the partner thing made me squeamish. I was about to say so when the two EMTs came back to the ambulance with the boy on a backboard. They stood statute-still and stared at Rusty, their mouths gaping like howler monkeys.

“Oh!” Rusty scrambled to her feet and wobbled, but Natalie caught her before she could fall. “The boy! Is he okay?”

“Chalice saved him, too.” Natalie sounded like a proud sister. It gave me a warm feeling.

Rusty blinked. “Cool,” she said as Natalie helped her down from the ambulance.

The EMTs were sputtering something about Rusty being dead, her heart having stopped, blah-blah-blah. I’d been around the supernatural long enough to know death wasn’t always a permanent condition, but these guys had no clue.

I infused my voice with amazement when I told them, “It was so strange. Rusty suddenly sat straight up. We about jumped right out of our skins, didn’t we, Natalie?”

Natalie trilled a nervous giggle that sounded about as real as a sitcom laugh track. She patted her chest. “Oh, yes. Quite a shock.”

The men shook their heads and went on with their work, securing the boy to a gurney. One of them said, “Miss, you need to come with us to the hospital and get checked out. You could be more injured than you think.”

“I’m fine,” Rusty said, waving them off like flies. “You have a more important patient to worry about.”

I tilted my head toward the boy. “Does anyone know where his parents are?”

The EMT who’d expressed concern about Rusty said, “They’ve been notified. The boy was supposed to be in school, but he snuck out to go home.” He frowned at Timmy, who looked no older than six or seven. “We suspect he started the fire.”

Someone was in big trouble. “I’m just happy he’s okay.”

“So are his parents. Thanks for your help.” The EMT nodded at me before slipping into the seat behind the wheel. His partner stayed in back and closed the ambulance doors.

We watched them drive off, siren blaring.

Rusty gave my shoulder a friendly yet firm slap. “Welcome to Halo Home.”

six

“YOU WERE DEAD?” MY GRANDMOTHER asked, her turquoise eyes intent on Rusty.

Rusty nodded. “Suffocated. And not from inhaling smoke.”

“She had the breath sucked out of her,” Natalie said. “Sound familiar?”

Aurora’s face went pale. “That does it. No one leaves this house until the murderer is found and dealt with. Is that understood?”

“The Hatchet murderer.” Rusty waggled her fingers and made a ghostly wailing sound.

My grandmother closed her eyes as if praying for patience. “There’s nothing funny about this. Over forty knights have been picked off like flies, leaving only a half dozen left. That’s counting the four of us.”

Rusty bent her head and mumbled, “Sorry.”

“I think Rusty is still suffering from shock. Death will do that to a person.” I felt my grandmother looking at me and sensed she didn’t appreciate a smart-ass.

Aurora sighed. “Okay, I get it. A little levity in a crisis can be cathartic, but please, let’s not forget the knights we have lost.”

Damn. Now I felt guilty. I was trying hard not to feel anything at all and being a smart-ass usually worked for that.

Rafe and my grandfather stood by the fireplace in stony silence. They hadn’t involved themselves in our discussion, which was probably just as well. I’m sure they grieved in their own way.

“Am I interrupting?” asked a young but strong voice from the foot of the stairs. A teenage girl stood with her arms crossed, her jeans torn in a way that should be fashionable, but I didn’t think hers were like that on purpose. Her razor-cut white hair that was too pale to be bleached hung over half her face and the dark liner around her eyes made her look ghoulish. She tugged at her woolen cap as if trying to hide her eyes. Wise choice. She had so much eyeliner on that I couldn’t tell what part of her face was real and what was painted.

“Xenia, come in,” my grandmother said, making a scooping gesture with her hand. “I want you to meet my granddaughter.”

Oh, another knight. Great, but I wondered why she hadn’t come with Natalie and Rusty to the kitchen this morning. Had she slept in?

Xenia avoided my eyes, and she didn’t venture any farther into the room. If I thought I was out of place, this one acted like she was in a whole other world.

Aurora smiled. “Xenia is a new recruit for the knighthood,” she explained. “She came to us last week.”

“A normie,” Rusty said under her breath.

“A what?” I asked.

“Normie,” Natalie repeated. “Means her father wasn’t an angel. She just talks to them.”

Exactly like Quin Dee, who was an angel whisperer like his father had been, and his father’s father, and so on down the line. Saint Geraldine had been an angel whisperer, too.

“Where do the Arelim find these…normies?” I asked.

“Angel whisperers have a telepathic link with the Arelim,” my grandmother said. “The ones selected to train as knights have been screened based on their willingness to devote their entire lives to serving our order.

“Now that we have to practically start the order over from scratch, more young women like Xenia will be joining us.” Aurora gave each of us a long look before adding, “And I’ll be depending on you three to train them.”

I was almost as new as Xenia and still had a lot to learn myself, but I’d do my part. “What kind of powers will the new recruits have?”

“None,” Aurora said. “Their only gift is an ability to communicate with all Arelim, not just their guardians. Plus they will only die if the Arelim allow it.”

“Normies are immortal?” I asked, stunned by this news.

“Sucks, doesn’t it?” Rusty said. “I mean for us. Not for them.”

“This only applies to those whisperers who become Hatchet knights. Possible immortality compensates for their lack of supernatural powers,” my grandmother explained. “It’s their only protection from the evil they will vow to fight.”

Of course. Quin had sacrificed himself to the enemy, and the Arelim had given him his life back. It made sense that these new knights would be granted the same gift.

Xenia rolled her eyes. She obviously didn’t appreciate her immortal status, or she didn’t believe it. If I were her, I’m not sure I’d believe it, either. Pretty far-fetched if you asked me.

“Does this mean they’re protected from whatever is killing the knights?” I asked.

“We don’t know,” my grandfather said. These were the first words I’d heard out of him since this morning. “The angel whisperers, or normies as you girls like to call them, don’t have to succumb to natural causes of death. At least not permanently. We’re not so sure about the unnatural kind.”

“And I suppose guinea pigs for testing this theory are in short supply,” Rusty said.

“Let’s just say we’re not taking any chances,” Zeke told her.

Wow, what a day. Too much too fast, and I was starting to fade. I stifled a yawn.

My grandmother cleared her throat. “Chalice, you’ll be sharing a room with Xenia.”

Xenia rolled her eyes again. If she kept doing that they’d get stuck staring at the back of her own head. The girl jerked her chin in the direction of the stairs before heading that way herself.

“Hold on, Xenia. I need to give Chalice something first.” Aurora tugged at a loop of thin chain she wore around her neck and pulled a shiny object out from beneath her sweater. She dragged it up and over her head, then held it out to me. “This belongs to you now.”