BRAYDEN
SIXTEEN
When I got back to the house, I headed directly to Micah’s room.
When I reached it, I didn’t even knock before I walked in.
I found Micah lying on his bed with his obnoxious red headphones on and his foot tapping to the beat.
Walking over to him, I grabbed his phone and unplugged the headphones.
Quickly stepping back out of reach, I watched as he bolted upright with murder in his eyes.
I walked over to his desk and rolled his computer chair over and sat down facing him. “Remember when you told me that you met Synergy, and I laughed it off?”
“Yeah . . .”
“Well, I’m listening.”
“What happened? Something must have changed for you to believe me now.”
“I just had a coffee date with Lailah, the one you ran into that night we killed the demon in the bathroom.”
“You’re telling me about your dating life, why?”
“Because I ended that date with Parker and Hudson joining us.”
“Okay, that’s awkward, but I don’t get the correlation here, Bray.”
“I spent an hour with them after they crashed our date, and I wasn’t pleased, but I also didn’t want to chop their dicks off for interfering. We all had a good time and didn’t bicker once after we got settled. Not to mention that Lailah is leaking elemental energy like crazy.”
Micah grinned. “You sure it was energy she was leaking?”
“Shut the fuck up, you know what I’m talking about. I just didn’t connect it, but Lailah is the one you met in the library, isn’t she?”
“Yeah, that’s why I was so thrown off when I ran into her again that same night. It seemed odd that the demon was trying to get in the dorm, but when I thought about it, I think they’re going after her.”
After Micah dropped that bomb, I was glad I was sitting. Holy shit, it all made sense. The demons were trying to get to her before we did. I sat up and jumped to my feet.
“Where are you going?” Micah called after me.
“We need a family meeting now,” I said, pulling out my phone and scrolling to the group text Beth had created, but we hardly ever used.
Brayden:
Meeting in the library in 10 min this is NOT an option, Synergy has been found and is in danger.
Parker:
WTF Brayden you’re joking, right?
Beth:
Brayden what is the meaning of calling this meeting. You need to run these things by me.
Beth texted me privately. I knew I was going to piss her off doing it, but I was more worried about Lailah and the unknown danger that she was in.
Jay:
Already there.
“Brayden, are you trying to get Beth to salt your Wheaties with a stunt like that? You know she takes her role way too seriously,” Micah said, jogging up to me.
Shrugging my shoulders, I pushed open the door to the library and came face-to-face with the woman, her hands on her hips and a look that told me I was in for a tongue-lashing.
“Brayden Dolton, what the hell is the meaning of this?”
Beth was our mother while we lived here at school. She ran the house and made sure we had everything we needed. She was also the person in charge of training the new generation of Elementi Warriors.
“Like I said, we found Synergy, and she’s in danger. We need to protect her before the demons get to her,” I said, cutting to the chase, knowing I couldn’t bullshit Beth.
“How could you possibly know about her?” Beth asked, letting out a breath.
“You knew?” Micah snapped, catching us all off guard.
Micah was one of the loudest to mock Synergy's existence, so for him to be upset about it was something I didn’t see coming. I figured he would have been happy if we never found Synergy and were able to let this task die out.
“I’ll explain when the others get here,” Beth said as she walked over to the couch and took a seat.
I gripped Micah’s shoulder and then walked over to take a seat and wait for the other two.
Jay was already in one of the leather armchairs with what looked like files in his lap.
He must have been working on something for his dad.
We didn’t have to wait long for Parker and Hudson to join us.
I knew they were somewhere in the house since we all walked back together after hanging out with Lailah.
“How should we start this?” Beth asked, looking at me.
“Did you know that Synergy was human, female, and here, attending school?” I demanded.
Beth nodded her head, looking at all of us before she spoke. “Yes, we found her and brought her to the school on a scholarship.”
“Brayden, what are you guys talking about?” Hudson inquired.
“It would seem that the reason for the rise in demon activity is because Synergy is here at the school, trickling elemental energy all over the place,” I explained.
“Talk about dropping a bomb! Hell, Beth, why didn’t you say anything?” Parker said, running his hands through his hair.
“She has no idea who or what she is. I wanted her here so we could keep her safe and give her a chance to learn about us. I purposely helped make sure that many of her teachers were Elementi and could direct her to find out about us on her own, before we brought her into the fold,” Beth said, laying it all out for us.
“Who is it?” Jay demanded.
“Lailah,” I answered.
The room went into chaos at that final piece of the puzzle.
“What the actual fuck, Beth!”
“How could you leave her to fend for herself like that?”
“How long till you were going to tell us?”
“What the hell are we going to do now?”
“Enough!” Beth commanded, silencing everyone.
“Keep in mind that she was raised in the states with a normal family, and she has no idea that this is even a possibility for her. You were all told about the idea of being an Elementi Warrior from birth. Imagine the shock she would face if we just pulled her in cold turkey.”
“She knows more than you give her credit for,” I said, thinking back on our conversation.
“Phillips has been keeping me apprised of her interest and what she has figured out. I also have Cami as her personal guardian, who is also letting me know her findings,” Beth informed us.
“That’s how you got Cami to come back,” Parker said, connecting the dots.
Beth nodded. “I needed the best guardian for her, and Cami is one of our elites.”
“At the rate her power is building, she’s going to crack sooner rather than later. How are you going to deal with her coming into her powers now that she’s around all of us?” Hudson asked.
“I knew keeping you all away from her wasn’t going to work, but I had to try,” Beth said, rubbing the back of her neck.
“That’s why you kept it from us,” Micah stated.
“Yes, the more she’s around you, the faster her power will awaken. It’s also causing the demons to come in greater numbers because they can taste her power.” Beth looked at all of us before she continued, “The only way to contain her powers is for her to bond with the group.”
“So, this is what it’s come to,” Micah said bitterly. “I have to give over control of my powers to a directionally-challenged, doe-eyed, country bumpkin.”
“Shut the hell up, Micah, you don’t even know her,” Parker growled.
Micah smirked at him. “Well, it seems like you have already become the perfect pet without even getting the benefits.”
Parker jumped to his feet and charged at Micah. I met Jay’s gaze and gave him a nod, right before a gust of wind shoved Parker to the other side of the room, pinned to the wall.
“Don’t think you’re safe with your fancy trick, Jay. I would be careful when you fall asleep tonight. No telling who might take control of your body,” Parker taunted.
“Parker Jones, do not make me put you in a void room tonight because, so help me God, I will do it,” Beth barked.
At this threat, he sagged against the wall, surrendering, and Jay released his hold. I dropped my head into my hands. Now we had all the information, but we were no better off in understanding how to handle the fact that Synergy was found and had already worked her way into our lives.
“I’m sure it may come as a surprise to you all, but I do have a plan in the works,” Beth said once everyone had calmed back down. “I have been in charge of making sure you all get trained and prepared for the battles to come since you all came into your powers. I know how to handle Lailah.”
“It’s not that we don’t have faith in your abilities, Beth.
Lord knows you have been through it with all of us,” Hudson said, rubbing his chin thinking.
“Synergy is an unknown. We all know what each of the five is capable of, but we know so little about Synergy. If she is to be the axis that we all pivot from, we need to be around her. That portal attempt almost worked; we need to keep her safe until you decide to bring her here to The Manor.”
“I agree with Hudson, Lailah is a walking accident,” Parker said. “I think we need to be around her more. If the demons are getting worse, then we need to be ready for something bigger to happen.”
I looked around the room, wondering if anyone else was aware that this was the first time that we were working toward a common goal.
Typically, after an outburst like Parker’s, Micah would have stormed off not to be seen for the rest of the night.
Now here we all were, trying to hold it together to make sure Lailah was safe.
Beth seemed to contemplate this suggestion a moment before she answered, “How do we do this without making it seem strange? I’ve already had to back Cami off, so she doesn’t think it’s suspicious that her best friend never leaves her alone.”
“I’ll get her to run with me in the morning,” Jay said. The room froze in shock.
Beth coughed surreptitiously before nodding her head. “That would kill two birds with one stone. It will help to burn off some of her energy and not have her sitting in one location for too long.”
“I’m already meeting up with her Tuesdays and Thursdays for tutoring and lab work,” Hudson said.
“I can be around whenever you need me to be; she’s used to me popping up at random times,” Parker said with a grin directed at me.
“Coordinating with Cami, I’m sure all of us can be around when she feels like she can’t,” I said, not willing to fall for Parker’s bait.
We all turned to Micah, waiting to see what he had to offer.
“Fuck, I’ll look after her, but that doesn’t mean I have to hang out with her. I can be around if she needs help. I will intervene, but I’m not a damn babysitter,” Micah grumbled.
“We can work with that,” Beth said, standing up. “I had hoped to give her time to adjust to being in a new school and in a new country before we dropped this all on her. Best laid plans and all. Goodnight, boys; let me know if you need me for anything.”