The Nexus: The Watcher Series: Book Two: The Watcher Series, #2

PROLOGUE—PROPHECY

October 2nd, 3:00 A.M.

Private Archive in the London Library

Despite the chill, the air in the library was dusty and stale. Gabriel sat in the creaky booth in the far corner of the building, pressing his thumbs into his temples. He strained over his notes, haunted by an elusive feeling. Something was coming, and he hoped to find a clue as to what it was.

There was a flash of movement, and Gabriel’s Durateus dagger was instantly at the throat of his uninvited guest. The veins on his arm stood out like ropes as he blinked, shocked by the identity of the intruder.

Bowen sat calmly on the bench with hands raised in surrender, his blond hair glinting in the light from the wall sconce. Not a hint of aggression was in his posture. I came in peace, he reassured. Please, you will want to hear what I’m going to say.

Gabriel eased back into his seat, still poised to fight. I did not sense you.

I, unlike my brother, can mask my presence. It’s beneficial at times, he admitted, tipping his head to acknowledge the powerful Slayer sitting so close to him.

Gabriel’s jaw flexed, and his dark eyes narrowed. Finally, he nodded for Bowen to continue.

I, he paused. I don’t know if, by some miracle, she is with you and hasn’t been seen. But I… another pause, his face tormented, feel compelled to protect her.

Gabriel’s body was stone—no reaction. Bowen’s fierce blue eyes were fastened on him, analyzing every breath. Gabriel knew Aleria was being hunted and wondered if this was a trick to see if Bowen was getting close, to see if he was in the correct city. But Gabriel’s gut told him to believe Bowen.

We are protecting her, Gabriel acknowledged.

All of your training facilities are under surveillance. My brother is obsessed with finding both her and Joshua. My mother is supporting the effort with unprecedented resources.

Why?

My brother simply wants Joshua dead, he said with a shrug. But there is something else with Aleria. I believe she is important. You are familiar with the exile of the Devourer? When he was banished from our realm?

Gabriel nodded.

Seven Watcher families were responsible—all royalty in their own lands. In order to reverse the banishment, my mother needs the blood of specific members from each family. He hesitated. And a member of the Lux.

Gabriel shifted uneasily in his seat, not liking what he was hearing. Specific members? The Lux?

People with specific genetic traits, like a warrior from the Van Heerden family or a Polyglot from the Sato family…

What does this have to do with Aleria?

We have a partial copy of one of Ahijah’s personal journals. He was the Old Testament prophet who originally warned King Solomon to cease consorting with pagan women or be punished by God. In later journals, he prophesied about every aspect of the Devourer’s banishment and… He closed his eyes as if wanting to shut out the next two words, his return. His mouth was pulled down in the corners. I don’t want to return to the old ways, but I will not betray my family.

Is not speaking to me a betrayal?

Bowen exhaled harshly. Besides the surveillance, I haven’t told you anything you didn’t already know. He struggled for a moment. I have to protect her, he said, shaking his head.

What makes you think the prophecies have something to do with Aleria?

His gaze bore into Gabriel. How many girls have you known with lavender eyes? As I have said, I only have part of the manuscript, but what I do have… His thoughts became more fragmented as he spewed out his ideas. She fits. Eyes of amethyst. Humble life. She was to unite what was once divided—that could be your Concilium. And her nightmares. I don’t know about the rest. I don’t have access to your archives.

But she would have to be from one of those families.

What if she is? What if her ancestors fled to America during the French Revolution? Many were believed to have perished at the guillotine, but what if...

Gabriel sank back in his seat, weighted down by the possibilities, his thoughts racing. A surviving member of the Lux? The hope of having a seer amongst the Watchers again was invaluable. But the threat of having Aleria captured. He could not allow himself to finish the thought. The world would be plunged into chaos if the Devourer was ever to return.

Bowen slid an envelope across the table, and then vanished without a word. It was filled with surveillance photos—they had found the public front for the London academy, the actual academy, and most importantly, the secret satellite campus forty kilometers outside the city where the Concilium had Aleria.

He quickly shuffled through the pictures one more time; they had images of everyone except Joshua and Aleria. Then he realized that there was also a single slip of paper with the title of Ahijah’s journal, The Nexus.

With a phone pressed to his ear, Gabriel was out the door in seconds. Though he had left two other Slayers on campus, he still felt as if he had abandoned his post.

Gabriel gripped the phone hard. Uriel, wake Sebastian and Raphael. Leaving the city; be there in thirty. Prep transports. Zero ripples.

1

SIGNUM ACADEMY

Y ou’re acting awfully cavalier about my pain, I scolded in mock irritation.

He tried to stifle his grin. Cavalier?

"You know, indifferent, offhand, uncaring, thoughtless, condescending. You need another synonym or two?"

No, I know what it means. I just wanted to see how many you could come up with. Five is quite impressive for such a mentally challenged person.

Urgh! I tossed my book at him.

Peter ducked and let out a roar of laughter.

Not all of us were born with the foreign language gene. You’re impossible. At some point, I started getting genuinely upset. I popped out of my seat and began thrusting my books into my bag.

No, no, no, no. Sorry, sorry. Please sit back down. I promise to help.

Glaring at him through narrowed eyes, I measured his sincerity. Fine, but I’ve reached my teasing limit today. I exhaled hard and sprawled back onto the sofa. I started to laugh, feeling a little stupid for my tantrum, even though it was partially justifiable. Peter had been teasing me a lot all day.

He settled back onto the other couch again and was fanning the pages of the book I’d flung at him. His light brown hair was sticking up all over the place in a serious case of bedhead. His skin had grown pale without the help of the California sun. He had used to spend so many hours in the pool playing water polo that he had radiated a golden glow even in the winter. Now, his natural blond streaks were almost gone. Our relocation to England had altered him dramatically.

You know you are remarkably good at most of this stuff, he said. His expression was earnest.

I sighed, feeling conflicted, but appreciating the olive branch. Not as good as you, genius boy.

Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses.

"And Sebastian seems to know mine. This is my own personal hell—not one, but two foreign languages. I think my head may spontaneously combust one of these days." I dramatically reclined, pressing the back of my hand to my forehead.

Hey, you wouldn’t have to conjugate anything in Latin.

Or French.

"Don’t worry, I would write a nice epitaph for your tombstone. Something like:

Here lies Aleria Hayes.

She has seen better days.

In Latin and French, she was no good.

Too bad she never understood."

I’d better not combust if that’s the best you can come up with.

I was on the spot.

And poetically gifted you are not.

We both laughed. Bad poetry aside, Peter kept me grounded. He’d been a close friend for over three years, but here in exile, he was my best friend. Besides Joshua, he was now the only person in my life who’d known me for more than a few months.

While I pondered in silence, he grew thoughtful.

You ever get homesick? he asked, raising his dark brown eyes to meet mine. It was the first time he’d voiced that question.

It’d been four months since we’d fled here to protect our families. Of course, the parental units were under the impression that we had earned scholarships to an exclusive academy in London. They didn’t know that the academy was actually not in London and was run by the Council, which was part of the Concilium of Watchers. Nor did they know about vampires and their conflict with the aforementioned Watchers and how we mere mortals had been swept up in the middle of it.

Yeah, sometimes, but we’re always so busy that I don’t really think about it that much. I frowned. I guess that makes me kind of heartless, doesn’t it?

I’ve always thought you were a little heartless. His eyes widened, and he put up his hand before I could react. Sorry. No more teasing, really.

It’s fine. I was just being a baby. I paused for a beat. "No comments; I know I just opened myself up again."

He laughed.

It’s going to be hard being away for the holidays, isn’t it? I questioned. I thought about my thirteen-year-old brother, dressing up in his Halloween costume, stuffing his cheeks with too much turkey at Thanksgiving, opening Christmas presents with religious zeal—all without me.

If we couldn’t solve some very serious issues with the French coven, it would never be safe for me to go back. I would have to die in an accident while abroad and disappear.

I studied Peter for a second and felt miserable. He’d been kidnapped and used as a pawn to control me, thrust unwillingly into the vampire world, nearly dying because of it. Well, he actually had died in surgery for about sixty seconds.

Yeah, it’ll be hard to be away, especially at Christmas.

Do you regret it? Choosing to come? My voice sounded thicker than I’d wanted it to.

Sometimes.

My heart clenched, and guilt flooded in. I tried to be still and not react.

He rolled onto his stomach and gathered a throw pillow against his chest, resting most of his weight on his elbows. But I know it’s better I’m here. I just couldn’t risk my family. Part of me is really excited. I love learning about all this, and I actually like England. I can’t wait to be a Watcher out in the field. It’s this whole world that I would’ve never known about. He paused thoughtfully, and seemed to be chewing on what he had said. No, I don’t regret it. I like this life.

My heart started beating regularly again, and I tried not to exhale in a noticeable gust. I didn’t want him to realize I’d literally been holding my breath, awaiting his answer. I looked at the antique grandfather clock next to the entrance of the common room. It’s 5:40. We'd better get changed. Sunset is in twenty minutes. We’re supposed to be in the mat room by 6:10.

I guess the break is over. He stood, stretched, and let out a long groan. Time to get our butts kicked.

Speak for yourself. I plan to do the kicking.

See you in thirty. I— He cut himself off when we heard someone frantically running down the hall.

Gentry emerged, visibly shaken, her red hair wild and skin so pale it was almost translucent. Meeting in room 110 right now; grab anyone else you see. Go now, she commanded, then sprinted down the hall.

Peter and I looked at one another for a split-second, then simultaneously sprang up and ran to the stairs. I could hear Gentry behind us as we sped down the last hall. The large classroom was already full. All faculty, staff, and students—about twenty in total—were abuzz with nervous energy. Peter found a seat in the front.

I surveyed the room for a place to sit. Leslie motioned to me from the back and slid over to make room for me on the table where she was sitting. When we’d first met, I’d wondered how she could possibly be a Watcher in training. She appeared to be more supermodel than stealth. The whole leggy, blonde thing had really intimidated me, though she was nothing but welcoming. She and Gentry had helped me adjust to life in the Watchers.

I shuffled through everyone on my way to the table. It was so tall I had to jump a little to seat myself next to her. Leslie looked at me; instead of giggling from my lack of grace getting up there, her grey-blue eyes were apprehensive. A horrible feeling gripped my stomach. I nudged her shoulder with mine, and she smiled thinly at me while we waited.

Sebastian entered the front of the room like a gust of wind and stood before us. Gabriel and Joshua arrived behind him and positioned themselves to the side, both leaning against the wall. Sebastian’s shirt was misbuttoned and his tweed jacket rumpled. I’d never seen him with even a hair out of place.

He launched into the briefing: "I am ordering an immediate evacuation of this facility. You have thirty minutes to pack your things. Bring only what you can carry. Destroy anything personal that you are not taking with you. Pull hard drives if you cannot take the computer. Leave nothing that can be traced.

Three days’ worth of clothing will be required. You will get wet leaving here, so wrap anything that needs to stay dry. He surveyed the faces in the room, but it seemed like he looked at me a split-second longer than everyone else.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Gabriel staring at me with a peculiar expression, but I kept my focus on Sebastian, wanting answers. Gabriel’s eye contact made me realize that Joshua had kept his gaze away from me, without wavering. He had stayed focused on the front of the room. Am I imagining this?

I wasn’t surprised when Ian, one of my classmates, raised his tattooed arm and started to ask a question. He was never afraid to make extra inquiries, even if that meant having someone irritated with him. But somehow, his cool factor and intelligence seemed to keep his constant questioning from getting annoying. Sir, why do we need—

Sebastian held up his hand and exhaled noisily. We have lost contact with all of the other academies in the last three hours. Four experienced Watchers have gone missing; they are presumed dead after the message we decoded from one of them. We are out of time. Go now. No more questions. Meet in the basement. Leave the lights on, so it appears to be business as usual.

With that, he left the room. Everyone seemed frozen for a moment, reeling from the information. Then, with a purpose, everyone erupted from the room.

I lingered for a few seconds as the last few rushed off. Reality seemed to slow and sounds became indistinct and hollow as though I were trapped under water. In this daze, I was only vaguely aware of Gabriel stepping out with a grim expression. When I realized I’d lost sight of Joshua, I started to leave the room.

Then, suddenly, he was behind me and gently caught my arm. He turned me to face him, holding both my arms firmly. I need you to promise me something. Can you do that?

I nodded mutely, still feeling numb.

When we evacuate, I won’t be with you. You need to stick with Gabriel. No matter what. Don’t leave his side.

I can’t ask him to babysit me. Everyone needs—

Promise me. His green eyes blazed into mine.

I wanted to argue, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was somehow involved in what was happening. Okay, I agreed hoarsely.

He pulled me against his chest and kissed the top of my head. You should go pack, he said as he released me. Then I started to turn and head for the door. Ali, wait. He looked at the door warily, then grabbed my wrist and spun me back towards him.

He took my face in both hands and kissed me urgently. I wrapped my arms around his waist and pulled him as close to me as humanly possible. A calm pulsed through my body as his cool lips moved with mine.

Sorry, but you'd better get packing. I’ll see you in a few minutes.

Love you, I murmured.

I love you, too, he breathed. His eyes were warm, but his expression was fixed with worry.

I turned on my heel and dashed up the stairs, then barreled into the postage stamp-sized room that I shared with Gentry. We’d only known each other a short time, but she was already a trusted friend. I’d seen her briefly in San Francisco the day I’d moved to England.

We looked enough alike that she had been one of the decoys for my extraction. All it took was a pair of sunglasses, temporary hair dye, and a curling iron. Even my parents would’ve had to do a double take. Having Gentry around was kind of like being able to have my friend Kaela with me; somehow, she always knew how I was really feeling, even if I put up a brave front.

When I entered, she already had most of her things packed; I’d thought I was efficient until I had started rooming with her.

You’re done already? I asked, knowing the answer. I started putting my things in the oversized Ziplocs she’d left on the dresser for me.

"Of course, darlin’. I didn’t feel the need to hang about after the meetin’," she teased in her adorable Irish accent.

I didn’t ‘hang about,’ Gentry.

"Sure ya didn’t. You needed to talk to the hot vampire. I get it." She winked and started forcing the air out of some of my bags, sealing them, and loading them into my backpack for me.

My romantic relationship with Joshua was a secret. It was becoming increasingly hard to keep it that way since everyone in school was being trained to be observant. I think most dismissed it since Joshua and I’d known each other all our lives. They expected there to be a close relationship. Gabriel had had it figured out since the beginning, but he’d always turned a blind eye.

I put on some dark clothing that would dry quickly and sat on my bed for a moment, trying to think of anything I might’ve missed. Gentry… I hesitated, wondering if I should ask.

Time is a tickin’ here. What’s on your mind, love?

I sighed. Was it just me? Or did both Gabriel and Sebastian…never mind. I remembered my journal. That would have been disastrous to leave behind. I reached under the mattress to procure it and sealed it in a bag.

A funny look twisted itself across her face. Now that ya mention it… Her words hung in the air.

I didn’t mention anything. It’s fine, I said, shaking my head as I stuck a knife in my boot.

They both looked at you more than the rest of us. I’d disregarded it, but…

I sighed. Which means that they think Bowen’s coven is most likely to blame. I dropped my head into my hands.

Time to go, love, she prompted, then strapped on her backpack. I agreed and did likewise. We left our room for the last time and navigated our way to the basement.

Gabriel appeared with a pack over his shoulder and a canvas bag in his hand. He unlocked a door marked Storage with a brass key, then ducked into the room for a moment to light a torch on the far wall.

We all strained to see inside. Instead of an industrial room lined with shelves and stacked with dusty boxes, the large space was empty, with ancient-looking stone walls befitting a castle. A murmur went through the room as we looked at one another in surprise. Gabriel opened the canvas bag and handed Ian a compact electric lantern as he motioned him into the room. As each of us filed in, he handed us a lantern.

The room was cool and smelled like some of the medieval cathedrals I’d visited while heavily disguised on my days off. The odor resembled dust, wax, incense, and a hint of iron. Joshua arrived with an oddly shaped pry bar and an ornamental-looking metal object about the size of my hand. He tossed the fancy metal item to Gabriel, who walked over to a decorative design chiseled into the wall. He pressed the object into the center of the design, and it fit snugly. Then he proceeded to twist it clockwise.

The sound of sliding stone rumbled beneath us, followed by a clank, as if something had unlocked. Everyone instinctively moved to the edges of the chamber. Joshua bent down and lodged the pry bar into a deep groove that must have appeared after Gabriel twisted what I then realized was a key. I expected him to try to lift the stone, but instead, he pulled it down like a lever, and the entire section of the floor sank down a few inches. Gabriel twisted the key counter-clockwise in the wall, and a mammoth stone in the ground slid to the side. Only blackness could be seen beneath.

Joshua stepped into the gaping hole in the floor and disappeared. I listened for him to land, but there was nothing. Of course, he’s a vampire, so that doesn’t mean anything.

Light began to glow from the opening. Joshua called up, Okay, I’m ready.

Gabriel walked to the edge of the hole and looked down. Good. Turning to us, he spoke quietly. Toss Joshua your bag, then follow. He will help steady your landing. Quickly, go.

One after another, members of our group disappeared through the opening. Within a couple of minutes, I turned and looked around. It was my turn; only Gabriel was left. He motioned me towards the entrance with an open hand and a grin. He seemed to enjoy the adventure of this much more than anyone else, or maybe he just wanted it to appear that way to me.

There was some murmuring drifting up from below. It sounded muted, like the others were in a passageway a little farther away from the room beneath me. I peered over the edge—there was about an eight-foot drop down to a stone platform of some sort.

I dropped my bag and sat down at the edge, dangling my feet into the hole like a small child. At that moment, I felt like I was five years old, sitting next to my mom on the piano bench, wishing I was big enough to reach the pedals.

Sliding off the ledge, I hit the ground hard enough that my feet tingled. Joshua steadied me when I arched backwards. If he hadn’t been there, I would’ve toppled off the ledge onto my head. I noticed that we were essentially alone and that everyone else had moved down the hallway because the room was quite small. He gently kept hold of my arms and projected his voice to Gabriel. Is that it?

Gabriel peered down at us. Yes. You ready?

Joshua shrugged, and then looked at me with the same concern he had shown earlier.

Then I realized we were missing someone. Where’s Sebastian?

Gabriel nodded to Joshua and disappeared from view.

Joshua kept his voice low. He wants everything to appear like business as usual. I am going to escort him to his weekly meeting with the Concilium in London as I usually do when Gabriel isn’t attending. Well, it will look like we are heading that way from Signum’s main campus. We have an alternate exit plan.

I opened my mouth to say something, but he squeezed my elbow and glanced towards the passageway. All within a second, I slumped my shoulders, set my jaw in protest, then exhaled in defeat. I already knew he wasn’t leaving with me. He looked towards the murmuring, gave me a quick grin, kissed my forehead, and jumped up through the opening above with ease.

Take care of her, Josh said overhead.

Gabriel reappeared, and I scrambled off the platform. At that moment, I realized we were actually in a tomb, and it was the entrance to a network of catacombs. Shelves were carved into the south wall where bones rested, crowded together. Gabriel landed on the lid to the crypt and strapped on his pack. As the ceiling started to close, I looked up and watched Joshua until the room went dark. Gabriel handed me the lantern I’d left on top of the crypt, and then urged me forward.

The last expression on Joshua’s face—the worry—and something else, was burned into my vision while my eyes adjusted to the darkness. Sensing the urgency, I caught up to Gabriel, his presence making me feel better. But the other part of me kept thinking about the sound of that sliding stone sealing us into the catacombs—sealing us into a tomb.

2

FOUND

Quiet fell over the crowd as soon as Gabriel and I entered the next chamber in the catacombs. There were twelve students—including myself—three Slayers, and three of the Watchers who taught classes.

Gabriel always commanded everyone’s respect. He was head Slayer and a born leader, who was very physically imposing at 6’4". He spoke openly with me, which was not the norm for him. He was usually the quiet warrior; but when he did speak, people listened. Of course, the jagged fishhook-shaped scar on the left side of his face didn’t hurt the image.

Gabriel addressed everyone. I will take point. We need six teams. Leaders, I want each of you to have two students with you at all times. Let’s move out.

Peter had already moved to my side. Gabriel acknowledged him as our third. We started moving towards the next chamber with considerable speed, bearing in mind the darkness and the uneven ground. I glanced back. Gentry and Leslie were right behind us with Uriel, the second Slayer.

We walked and walked and walked, for what seemed to be forever, passing chamber after chamber of petrified remains in an unending network underneath the suburbs of London. Gabriel proceeded with utter confidence. Without him, I would’ve gotten hopelessly lost within a few minutes.

As we moved forward, a sense of urgency continued to push at me, and I tried to not let it overwhelm me. It was bad enough being in creepy passageways filled with forgotten bones. We entered one large room after another with exits spiraling out like spokes on a wagon wheel, but Gabriel always knew exactly which one to take.

Finally, we came to a different kind of hollow where there were no carved-out cavities for remains, and the far wall was a grey brick archway that reminded me of a trip to Rome I’d taken with my parents during sophomore year. I could hear running water in the distance.

We ducked through the archway and proceeded down a long tunnel towards the sound of the water. The walls were not as reflective as the previous carved, natural stone. This type of rock seemed to devour the light from my small lantern. I glanced at it, hoping the battery life was very, very long. We had already been walking for hours.

I shivered. The temperature felt as if it was dropping with each step as we neared the water. With the echoing sound of the droplets, I realized that we must’ve been headed for a rather large cavern.

We exited the passageway, and I saw I’d been correct; we entered a huge room and stood on a large terrace. A little ways off from us, it sloped down to a series of stairs, which descended into a huge pool of midnight water. The reflection of our lanterns looked like yellow stars. A similar platform was on the far end of the room about one hundred yards away. Circular ducts on the walls spilled water into the main pool.

At water level, there were a few half-submerged tubes keeping the pool from overflowing. I figured this was where we would get wet, but prayed we were going to use the stairs on the far side and not have to go into one of the tubes containing water.

Gabriel’s voice startled me, as I hadn’t heard anyone speak in over an hour. Take five and prep yourselves to go into the water. We will be heading to the stairs on the north side. He pointed to the stairs mirroring the ones we were on. There was an audible sigh of relief in the crowd. So I’m not the only one having claustrophobic thoughts about the prospect of crawling through water-filled ducts.

I sat down on the frigid ground and pulled a granola bar from my pack. Leslie gazed at me longingly, so I handed her a spare one. She smiled and eased down next to me. It was a small slice of heaven to be off my feet.

I looked over at Gabriel. He’d pulled some type of laminated blueprint out of his bag and was examining it. I rubbed my eyes with the backs of my index fingers, wishing I could lie down, but with all of us sitting on the platform, there wasn’t much room left.

Ian asked, What is this place? It seems like we’re really deep underground.

We are, Raphael, the third Slayer, answered. The Romans started building an aqueduct system here when they occupied this area. This is channeling an underground river. We will start ascending towards the sewer system soon.

Great. Sewers. It was hard to keep from sighing. I gritted my teeth and determined that I would keep a good attitude, even if we had to go through the sewers. I shivered at the thought.

Time’s up, Gabriel’s voice echoed.

Peter stood, offered me his hand, and hoisted me onto my aching feet with a groan. I resealed my bag of snacks and secured my pack as I moved toward the water.

Gabriel waded in silence, not making so much as a splash. He waited at the bottom of the steps, the water to his waist.

I hesitated for a moment. The water was as black as coffee. I half-expected some creature to rise from the depths and pull me under. Clenching my jaw, I descended the steps and tried not to let my teeth chatter.

When I reached the bottom, we moved forward. I kept my arms up to keep as dry as possible, but the bitterly cold water was already at my chest. We reached the other side and sloshed up the steps, continuing into the next chamber. To my relief, the air in there was much warmer than the water, so I felt a teensy bit better.

After another five minutes of walking, our entire group reached a huge junction of eight passageways with approximately ten feet between each of them. We were about to continue to the passageway on the easternmost wall when I stopped dead in my tracks, simultaneously grabbing Gabriel’s arm.

He whipped his head towards me. I peered at him through terrified eyes, frozen with fear. He looked