Chapter 22
Henry
Dupont Circle was busier than I expected for mid-morning as commuters and tourists wove through the park.
A lot of people must’ve needed a pick me up to get through their Friday.
I claimed a section of empty weathered wooden bench and let the rhythmic splash of water from the fountain calm my nerves.
Subtly, I wove a veil around myself—a gentle nudge that encouraged passersby to keep their distance. I needed privacy for this conversation.
Across the way, I spotted my father striding toward me, his gait purposeful amid the swirl of activity. Dressed in a tailored light gray suit, he drew admiring glances from those he passed. His blond hair caught the sunlight, and for an instant it gave him an almost ethereal glow.
“Hi Dad,” I said, standing to greet him. “It’s good to see you.”
“Henry.” He pulled me into a hug, holding on a bit longer than usual. When he stepped back, he studied me as if we hadn’t seen each other in years. “Good to see you, too. Your mother sends her love.”
The image of Mom pointedly telling my father to give me her message made me smile. “Tell her thanks.”
“You might consider calling her once in a while.” He raised an eyebrow and stared down his nose. “She’s still a bit miffed you didn’t tell her about Nick.”
I should have expected she’d be annoyed hearing things third hand. “I’ll do it today.”
“Good.” He patted my leg. “Your aura is bright, and you look happier than when you set out on this mission. You even remembered to encourage people to avoid us. I’m very happy for you, son.”
Dad hadn’t come in person to have a casual chat, so I realized I’d really screwed up not calling home. “Sorry for being too wrapped up in things to call. I’ll try to do better.”
“You’re doing fine,” he said. “She understands, but she’ll always be your mother first.”
He’d always be my father first too. “Got it.”
“How are things with Nick?”
I hesitated. “It’s complicated.”
“Everything is with you,” he teased lightly, then his expression sobered. “I can see the weight you’re carrying, Henry. It’s more than just your assignment.”
I looked away, focusing on a squirrel darting up a nearby tree. “I want to protect him. I need to. But Uriel’s orders—”
“Uriel has his reasons,” Dad said gently. “Even if he doesn’t share them.”
“That’s part of the problem,” I muttered. “We’re all in the dark, following his cryptic instructions. That, however, isn’t why you’re here, is it?”
Dad sighed, the levity slipping from his face.
“No. And I also didn’t come in person to tell you to call home more often.
” He exhaled and his expression changed.
“As you know, we’ve been searching for the person Lael worked with to create the Drevlin energy weapons.
Last week we captured someone who’s working with the leader. ”
A knot formed in my stomach. “Go on.”
My father swept his gaze around the area around us before returning to me. “As you know, no one was convinced it was a rogue angel working with the Drevlin. Michael assumed the end game was to either remove the current leadership, or carve out a new group with different leaders.”
There’d been rumblings among some angels about wanting to reveal ourselves and claim our own territory. I hadn’t given them much credence because they were vague and unfocused. “So it’s true?”
“It would be easier if it was, but that’s not what we learned.
” Dad surveyed the circle again and then touched his watch.
The disruption field washed over us, making sure our conversation stayed private.
“A Drevlin scout ship managed to sneak onto earth. I’d worried it would happen after we destroyed several scout ships over the last few decades.
We’re not sure how, or how many, but there are at least two Drevlin operatives working on Earth. ”
A chill ran down my spine. The noises of the park faded into the background. “How long have they been here?”
“At least a year. We’re still piecing it together, but the good news is we haven’t found any evidence angels are knowingly working with the Drevlin. Lael and his team got their information and plans from the human we caught.
“Michael and his team are still extracting information from this human, but one thing we gleaned is the Drevlin are aware of the concentration of powerful angels in this area.”
I resisted the urge to yell at my father. He was just the messenger. “Are they after Nick?”
“Not directly,” he said. “Nick’s identity is a very closely guarded secret. They’re after you and the others guarding him. Of course, they don’t know you’re guarding someone, only that you’re here.”
Which meant the closer we stayed to Nick, the more we put him at risk. Leaving him also wasn’t an option. “He’s just starting to gain his powers. If they detect him he’d be helpless.”
“No one’s suggesting you leave him alone, but this does make things… complicated.” Dad smiled, tossing my word back at me. “You and the others need to be extra careful to shield yourselves when using your powers and vigilant for any abnormal energy around you.”
“If they’ve been hidden for a year, they’re not emitting any signatures we can read.” I sounded like I’d given up, but they needed to give us more than be on guard. “Should we move Nick to a more secure location?”
Dad shook his head. “As I said, he’s not their target, the rest of you are.”
None of this made sense. Not with our technological superiority. “How is it they can hide from us, but we can’t hide from them?”
“Micheal is still working on the first part, but we can hide from them, we didn’t know we needed to until now.”
The implication was daunting. Angels used their powers in small ways every day. We weren’t in the habit of shielding ourselves every time we used our abilities. “Can we create safe zones?”
“Yes.” Dad tapped his watch and mine buzzed.
“I transferred information on how to cloak your location even when you’re not there.
Keep them small, preferably inside a larger structure like your condo, or Nick’s apartment.
If you cover too large an area the dead space will alert them to what you’re doing. ”
I quickly skimmed the data. The process wasn’t hard, but it took time. “What about you and Mom? You don’t live in a dense area. Won’t shielding your house tip them off?”
“Thank you for your concern, but we’re fine.” Dad said with a smile. “We’re only shielded on the second floor.”
Voicing my concern was borderline insulting. Dad was so powerful, there weren’t enough Drevlin on earth to take him down. “Other than shielding our homes and ourselves, is there anything else?”
“I’ve told Orion and Zeke to help. I’ll leave it to you to work out how to integrate them into your team.”
Nothing like leaving me the hard part. “Anything else?”
“Yes.” He scrolled on his watch face before tapping. “Finding Uriel is no longer a priority. He’s made contact with you, so we know he’s watching the situation.”
Dad pointed to my wrist and I took the hint. Reading the new information, I wasn’t sure if I was happy or upset. “Victoria is now working for me?”
“That came from Michael. She should be aware of her new assignment by now.”
Great. Just what I needed. A pissed off cousin. “I’ll talk to her.”
“She can’t be in charge of you because of your connection with Nick, and you’re not an autocratic leader.” He patted my arm. “It will be fine.”
Easy for him to say. The devil was always in the details. I’d worry about Vicky when we had a chance to talk. “What’s the Drevlin’s end game? If you know.”
“Ultimately, it’s to conquer the earth. In the short term, however, they want to take out as many of us as possible.”
Dad had the benefit of being there four thousand years ago when the Drevlin destroyed our home world. He also had direct contact with Michael. To someone like me, this was a confusing mess. “How did they even find us?”
“They didn’t,” he said. “Earth is in the path of their expansion. I doubt they know who we are, only that we’re powerful. Their tactic is to take out the strongest members of a race before they invade. It didn’t work when they attacked us, which is how we were able to escape.”
I had a million questions, but before I could ask any, Dad held up a hand. “Big picture questions need to wait. Right now, our focus is on stopping this threat to you and the others. Once we root out this cell, we can have a broader conversation.”
I preferred to have as much information as possible, but Dad was right. I needed to concentrate on everyone’s safety. “What about Uriel? Does he know about this?”
“If he does, he hasn’t said anything to us.
” Dad sounded more frustrated than I’d ever heard him.
“Uriel didn’t share much in the best of times.
Now he’s following his secret plan. Michael might be mad at him, but this time I agree with Uriel.
There may be someone close to Michael, Raphael, or me who’s a traitor.
Uriel doesn’t want to risk getting you or the others killed. ”
Uriel’s secretive ways didn’t seem as eccentric as they appeared on the surface.
“What should we do about Nick’s emerging powers?
They show up whenever he’s overly emotional.
He can’t control them, much less use them to defend himself.
Should we tell him the truth so we can train him?
Otherwise, he’ll be leaking any time he gets upset. ”
“Not until Uriel says it’s time.” Dad held up his hands in a sign of defeat. “For good or bad, we’ve followed his visions this far. It would be foolish to deviate now.”
My father wasn’t wrong, but I didn’t feel better. It was much harder to protect Nick if he didn’t know he was in danger or how to minimize the risk. “Can you contact Uriel and ask him if we can tell him the truth before it’s too late?”
“You think he answers my calls? All our calls are blocked, and our messages never get read. Maybe you should try.”
I didn’t think it would work, but I pulled out my phone.
{Henry: Can we talk? Dad warned me about the Drevlin being on earth and targeting us. I think we need to tell Nick the truth so we can teach him to use his powers to protect himself.”
I showed my father and he shrugged. “It’s worth a try.”
We waited until my screen saver kicked in a minute later, but the text hadn’t been read. I shouldn’t have expected he was glued to his phone waiting for one of us to text, but I’d been hopeful. “Maybe he’ll answer me later.”
“Hopefully.” Dad smiled. “You can handle this, Henry. You’re smart, strong, and you care about him and the others.
The Drevlin are no match for us one-on-one, so they’ll need weapons.
Those give off energy signatures we should be able to detect before they can use them. Stay vigilant, but don’t hunker down.”
Good advice, but the urge to wrap Nick in a protective cocoon was going to be hard to overcome. “I understand,”
Dad pulled me into a hug, this one tighter and longer than the first. “I love you, son. Stay safe.”
“I love you too, Dad,” I replied, feeling like a child again for a moment, safe in my father’s arms. He gave me one last searching look before turning and blending into the crowd.
I missed him before he disappeared from my sight.
Dad was a steady hand in a crisis. But he had his own responsibilities.
My team and I had to handle how to protect Nick and each other.
My phone vibrated. Checking the screen it was Uriel. My first thought was he’d been watching and waited to reply until Dad had left? I shook off that paranoid thinking and read his message.
{Uriel: Stay the course. All is proceeding as it should. Do not seek further counsel on this matter.}
I stared at the message, and wanted to scream at the fucked up situation and throw my phone into the fountain. Instead, I closed my eyes, inhaling deeply to steady myself. Deep down, I knew Uriel wouldn’t take unnecessary risks with Nick’s life, but every instinct screamed at me to tell him.
I couldn’t, but that didn’t mean we were helpless.
After composing an email to Vicky asking to meet, I drafted a message to the rest of my team.
{Henry: We need to meet ASAP. New intel on the Drevlin threat. Don’t use powers unless absolutely necessary and be on alert for anything suspicious. Let’s meet at the courthouse in two hours.}
I hesitated before sending another message to Trevor.
{Henry: We might need to adjust our strategy with Nick. Let’s discuss options without breaking protocol.}
Sliding my phone back into my pocket, I headed toward my office. The midday sun peeked through the canopy of trees, and life moved on around me, blissfully unaware of the invisible war inching closer. I didn’t envy their obliviousness. Knowledge was power.
Uriel said if we deviated from his plan Nick would die. He never said what would happen if I stuck to his direction, but the converse should be Nick survived. Clinging to that logic, I focused on what I could control. Taking a deep breath, I released it slowly, letting it calm my frayed nerves.
Time to get to work.