The smile quickly faded as he gestured for Kyle to sit and approached with a look of apprehension on his face. In fact, Kyle had never seen the Tall White so unsettled. He’d always been the perfect example of peace, always full of assurance and comfort. And praise. Oh, how Kyle needed the praise.
“What is it you desire, Kyle?” Jura sat across from him and poured steaming liquid into two cups.
“You seem upset,” Kyle asked. “Has something happened?”
Jura passed him a cup. “Nothing to concern you.”
The mug began to quiver in his hands, and Kyle set it down. “I’ve been wondering.” He drew a deep breath to calm his nerves. “It seems the spy you placed with Thomas has been trying to keep them from their destination.”
A moment passed in which Jura studied him. “Why say such a thing?”
“I checked on all the tragedies that have happened to them, and none of them actually occurred. Seems they were somehow generated or maybe part of an interdimensional event.”
“Hmm.” Jura curled both arms over the back of the couch. His lips twisted slightly, and Kyle gulped. Had he upset him?
“Is your spy trying to keep them from UnderHisWings?” Kyle pressed.
Cocking his head, he gave Kyle a sideways grin. “You are a very clever lad, aren’t you?”
Yet this time, the words didn’t seem like a compliment. “So, it’s true. But why?”
Jura leaned forward and took a sip from his cup, ever so calmly, before he looked up at Kyle. “It is better Thomas and the Deviants die before they reach this UnderHisWings.” He spat out the last word with more disdain than Kyle remembered hearing from him.
“What?” Kyle stood. “UnderHisWings is the top Deviant hideout in the North American Region. How could finding its location be a bad thing?”
“Sit!” Jura spoke with commanding authority, his eyes blue icicles.
Kyle lowered to the couch, suddenly fearful of this creature before him.
“Do you dare question my decisions, Kyle?” Gone was the affection and pride from Jura’s voice.
“No.” Kyle stared at the floor. “I just don’t understand.”
“Then know this, young human, should Tori and Thomas make it to UnderHisWings safely, their power increases ten-fold. We may never be able to defeat them.”
Kyle dared to look up at Jura. “What power?”
“The power of their God.” Jura’s lips twisted as if he tasted something sour. And for a brief second, the Tall White’s eyes turned a deep black.
“But if we know where they are, surely we—”
“Nay!” Jura’s shout sent Kyle’s heart thumping so loudly, he was sure Jura could hear it.
“It won’t matter.” Jura waved his long fingernails through the air. “They must die before they reach it.”
“Then why doesn’t your spy just kill them?”
Jura’s eyes flared. “Because he cannot! He cannot touch them until they willfully step away from our enemy’s protection.” Smoke emerged from his lips even as he smiled. “Like young Sara.”
Kyle folded his hands together. He could care less about Sara. What hedidcare about was his promotion—a promotion he wouldn’t get if he didn’t find the Deviant hideout. “Killing a few Deviants is nothing compared to finding UnderHisWings.”
“Stop saying that word!” Jura pressed hands over his ears and walked to his desk.
When he spun back around, he wore that alluring smile of his. “We all must make sacrifices in this war.”
It was at that very moment that Kyle realized Jura had used him, lied to him, told him what he’d wanted to hear in order to get what he wanted.
He’d been betrayed, just like his parents had done when they’d left him, and Nyla, his sister, who had abandoned him as well.
