Chapter 5

When Ru opened her eyes, she was standing next to him.

“Hey, that’s impressive,” he said, smiling, though his eyes didn’t lose the worried expression they’d held before they flickered in recognition of her. “Where’s Rider?”

Before she could speak, there was a disturbance in the air next to her. “Damn,” Rider muttered, filling in beside her. “I had no idea you could do that. Cool. Anything to avoid running.”

“How’s your mom?” Lyric asked, stepping over. Her arms were folded across her chest, her mouth set. It seemed she was carrying the weight of what was about to happen.

“She’s okay,” Ru nodded. “She’s in the basement at the church.”

“And that’s already too much for anyone to know,” Rider said over her.

Ru turned and looked at him, her eyebrows raised. “I trust you guys.”

“Great, but your mom doesn’t,” he reminded her.

“It’s okay. I’d rather not know,” Lyric said. “As long as she’s safe. I heard the humming when we first arrived, but we were all the way over at her house, and then I realized you were here. Then, it stopped. I thought I could sense her for a few seconds. Then she was gone.”

“Yep,” Ru said, nodding. If Rider was right, there wasn’t anything else to say. “So, what do we do now?” She wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer.

“We wait,” Ivy said, her soft voice cutting through the night air.

“Has anything like this ever happened before?” Ru asked. “Keepers having a dispute?”

“Sure,” Cutter nodded, “but most of the time the Keeper with the most authority wins out. No one really wants to risk the consequences of what might happen if they don’t.”

“And what are those consequences?” Ru asked.

“If we battle Sky and prevent her from finding your mother?” Cutter asked, apparently seeking clarification.

“Adios,” Rider said, and Ru turned to look at him. He made a slashing motion across his neck.

“Seriously?” Ru asked, staring at him in disbelief and then turning back to look at Cutter. He looked as serious as she’d ever seen him before. Glancing at the faces of the ladies next to him, she realized they also knew that to be the case. Lyric still looked angry while Ru saw a bit of fear behind Ivy’s eyes. “Guys, I can’t ask you to do anything that could get you… hurt.”

“Hopefully,” Lyric spoke up, “I can talk her out of taking your mom, and everything will be fine.”

“And if you can’t?”

“Then, we’ll figure it out.” Lyric said the words, but both men nodded. Ivy toed a rock on the ground, and once again Ru was distracted, not knowing how that was possible.

“I don’t want anyone to get hurt,” Ru said, hoping they didn’t detect the waver in her voice.

“What if she wants to hurt you mom?” Cutter asked. “You know we can’t let her do that.”

Ru breathed in deeply through her nose. “You assured me from the beginning that no one wanted to hurt my mom, no Keepers anyway.”

“I was told they didn’t. I don’t think they do, but Ru, if that’s what’s about to happen here, then, you have to know we can’t let you fight them by yourself.”

“We’re in this together, kid,” Rider said, and Ru felt his hand on her shoulder—somehow.

It was almost impossible for Ru to imagine anyone at all having her back in this sort of situation, especially not four people she’d only met a few months ago. If it had been her family back home, they would’ve tucked their tails and run at the first sign of danger. Now, she was standing strong with four others, and she felt confident none of them would abandon her. “Thank you, guys,” she said, meeting each of their eyes again. Inside, she was praying that Sky could be reasoned with, but she didn’t know the woman and had no idea what she might have in store.

Resolute in her decision, Ru took another deep breath. “Okay. Any idea how many of them there are?”

“See for yourself,” Lyric replied, nodding out toward the inky black sea in front of them.

At first, Ru was confused. But then, as she stared off into the distance, human forms began to take shape. Ru had seen many startling things recently but none took her breath away quite like watching potential enemies draw closer, walking across the pristine surface of the water. There didn’t seem to be a ripple or splash as their feet touched the top of the sea, each step in unison. The moonlight cast them in an eerie glow, and Ru felt her abdomen tighten. She counted eight, eight Keepers slowly, confidently making their way across the causeway, each step bringing them closer and closer to potential conflict. Ru couldn’t pull her eyes away from the tall, dark-haired woman in front who looked like Lyric, though Ru could now see that her hair was actually a midnight blue. The look on her face told Ru that Sky Gabriels was not one to be trifled with, but once again, Ru felt a familiar burning in her gut and remembered she had her father’s black power within her veins as well. She prayed she wouldn’t need it, but Ru was prepared to do whatever necessary to save her mother.