Stop it!I scolded myself. This was not the time for those thoughts.
I opened my mouth to rebuke him, but he distracted me by pushing his cup of coffee across the table toward me. “Umm, no thanks,” I said, glancing at the way-too-creamy contents. I preferred my coffee black, thank you very much.
“I’m not telling ye to drink it,” he said as if I was an idiot. “I want ye to look inside.”
Suppressing a sigh, I pulled the half-full cup of coffee closer, then took a good look. Brodie passed his hand over it, and the liquid began to shake. Before my very eyes, the cream separated from the coffee, creating spinning rings that grew larger and larger as they neared the cup’s circular wall.
“What is this?” I asked, trying not to sound awed. After all, I’d already seen so many impossible things tonight. This wasn’t at the top of the list by any means. And yet…
“I’m teaching ye something,” he said. “The world as you currently know it doesna exist, at least, not in the way ye think it does. The earth we live in—Sentinels, Druids, plain old human beings—is just one of seven realms in existence.”
“Seven realms?” I echoed. “I thought there was only Heaven, Hell, and Earth.” That was what I’d always been taught, and I was having a hard time wrapping my head around the idea that there were more.
“Well, there used to be eight, but that’s beside the point right now.” He shrugged. “What’s important is that ye know that these realms do exist and that the Earth Realm is special among them.” He stretched his fingers, and the center-most ring spun quicker. “The Earth Realm is the anchor realm. It exists as a port between all the others. That means that no one and nothing from any of the other realms can travel through the realms without going through Earth first. As ye can imagine, that makes our home realm something of a refugee camp of sorts. Black-market magic traders, mystical outlaws, basically every bottom feeder from across the other realms end up here.” He shook his head. “And that’s where the Sentinels come in.” He passed his hand over the cup again, and the outermost ring began to spin faster. “That’s the Celestial Realm. It’s what humans in this realm know as heaven. Angels rule the Celestial Realm, and they’re by far the most powerful creatures in existence and absolutely concerned with justice and righteousness, like you see in all the movies. Their powers are fickle though, and diminish the longer they stay away from their home realm. That’s why, a handful of centuries ago, they mixed their blood with earth dwellers. They created bloodlines of half human/half angel beings.”
“Those are the Sentinels?” I asked, my eyes wide with wonder. This was the strangest thing I had ever heard, but something about it felt right. As if there were a part of me inside that had known it all along.
“No,” Brodie said. “Those are the Watchers. The Watchers have the potential to become Sentinels, and they raise their children with the hopes that an angel from the Celestial Realm—because those buggers are always watching—will choose one of their children to be a warrior. To fight against the darkness and all that.”
“And these warriors are the Sentinels?”
“Now yer gettin’ it. The best of the best, chosen by the angels, and gifted with soul weapons and guardians.” Brodie must have read the confusion on my face, because he continued without being prodded. “As a Druid, I’m more focused on earth energies and how to channel them, but from what I understand, once a Watcher is chosen by the angels, he or she is given two things. Their souls are imbued with celestial energy, energy that takes the shape of a weapon. It can be used to help exorcise demons, like the ones we dealt with back in the city.”
“Demons?” My mind stalled on the word. “I thought you called them Demonkin.”
“Aye,” Brodie said. “Demonkin and Sentinels are descended from the same blood, but the Demonkin serve the masters of Hell. They are a breed of Watcher that has merged their soul with that of a demon in order to gain unholy powers. The Sentinels seek out and destroy them, but they also do regular exorcisms. Ye wouldna believe how many of the crazies and evildoers in this city are actually possessed by demons.”
“Huh.” I thought about that for a moment. “So the glowing mace Lucas wielded…that’s a celestial weapon?”
“Who is Lucas?”
I gave him a brief rundown of the man who’d gotten those Demonkin to kidnap me, and what little information he’d given me. By the time I’d finished, Brodie was scowling. “I dinnae see how that would make any sense. I’ve never heard of a Sentinel working with Demonkin before.”
“Yeah, but Lucas said that he and I used to be lovers.” I bit my lip. “So if I was a Sentinel, he must have been too.”
Brodie stared at me for a long moment, as if he couldn’t believe it. “That smarmy bastard must be daft in the head to let a bonny lass like yerself walk out of his life,” he said, shaking his head. “Even more so if he wants to kill ye.”
“He said he wanted something called the Infinity Key, and he needed me to get it.” I swallowed hard. “He said that once he had it, that the two of us would rule together.”
Brodie rolled his eyes. “Megalomaniacs. Always wanting to take over the world.” He took another sip of coffee. “I dinnae ken much about Infinity Keys, lass, but they are powerful, and ’tis best not to let anyone running around with Demonkin get their filthy hands on one. If yer so important in his quest to find the key, then it’s best we make sure he doesna get to ye.”
A chill ran down my spine. I couldn’t imagine what would happen if he did get this key. “What’s the other gift you mentioned?” I asked, remembering that he hadn’t told me.
Brodie shoved the last bit of his French toast into his mouth, then chewed for a long moment. “An angel,” he finally answered. “The Celestial host assigns an angel to ye, and it is that angel who bestows yer soul weapon. As I understand it, a Sentinel’s angel is a sort of companion, who watches over ye.” A scowl crossed his handsome face. “That’s what’s got me so confused. Even if ye dinnae remember who ye are, ye should still have yer angel. Where in the Seven Realms is it?”
“Maybe I’m not a Sentinel,” I said, and the words were like a punch to the gut. Would I ever belong anywhere? “Maybe I wasn’t good enough to be chosen.”
“Nope,” he said, swigging the rest of the coffee. “The mark on your chest is supposed to be yer angel brand. At least, that’s what we were taught in the Moors. My guess is whoever stole yer memory also screwed with your brand, screwed with yer powers, and did something bad with yer angel.” He shook his head. “I dinnae ken why, though.” He set the coffee down. “Now, if yer finished, we need to get going.”
“Move?” I demanded as he began to rise out of his chair. How could he even think of leaving, when I was too stunned to do anything but gape? “Where are we going?”
“Yer a Sentinel, lass. Where else would I take ye, but to a Watchtower?”
A rush of excitement filled me. “I thought you said they were hidden?”
“They are,” he conceded. “But they tend to sprout up in populated cities, and besides, Gaia told me where to take ye.” A grin spread across his handsome face. “What better place to take an angel than to the City of Angels itself?”
8
