Chameleon (Supernaturals) (35 page)

“That is what we too believed,” Gabriel said.

“Yeah, them and you,” I added. “And guess what? It’s not Constance.”

“No,” the Councilor agreed. “It is not Constance. Nor is it Robert. When Robert found the human raiding party from your vision he learned that a supernatural gave them the location of the village. There were only a handful of us who even knew of the village’s existence, none of whom were Robert or Constance.”

“Wow,” Russ said. “That narrows things down quite nicely, doesn’t it? Did you want to sign a written confession for us, or should I go find a video camera?”

“The Councilor would never compromise so many innocent people!” Gabriel exploded. “Danielle!” he said to me desperately. “I know what you believe, but I am sure of it! The Councilor is
not
our enemy!”

“I appreciate your faith Gabriel, but do try to keep calm. For what I am about to say will be just as insulting to Russell as him accusing me is to you.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Because I believe the leader of the resistance is Alexander Devereaux.”

Gabriel and I fell silent. Even Russ was too stunned to have a comeback.

“What could possibly ever give you that idea?” I asked once I could finally speak again.

“Years ago Alexander was on the council with me.”

“He was
what
?” Russ asked.

“He held the warlock seat on the council for years. Robert was his replacement after he left.”

The look on Russ’s face suggested he was trying to cast a spell that would send the Councilor to the deepest part of Hell. “That can’t be possible! He would have said something to me!”

“Not necessarily,” Duncan argued. “He didn’t exactly part with the council on the best of terms.”

“Considering his love for humans, that’s not all that surprising,” I grumbled.

“Unfortunately, you are not far off, Danielle,” the Councilor replied. “It is because of a human that Alexander now hates the council, and, more importantly, believes that humans should know about supernaturals.”

“He knew the location of the school?” Gabriel asked.

The Councilor nodded. “If I am right and Alexander is leading the resistance, then we will not be able to stop him. He knows all of the council’s secrets. He will eventually succeed in starting this war.”

The Councilor threw his hand over his eyes and rubbed his temples, looking more tired than I’d ever seen him. “And he’s been manipulating the Chosen One from the start,” he muttered. “I only hope I’ve been able to repair the damage enough that all is not lost.” He lowered his hand to meet my eyes with a solemn gaze. “I pray to the Creator, Danielle, that you will make the right choice.”

“She will,” I heard Gabriel whisper under his breath. He’d said it to himself so quietly that I wasn’t sure he even realized he’d said it.

I looked up at Gabriel and he stared back with a look of pity. He believed every word the Councilor said without question. What made this so hard was that as much as I wanted to believe the Councilor guilty, and knew Alex was innocent, more than anything I wanted to believe in Gabriel. It killed me to have to doubt the Councilor when Gabriel was so sure.

“I’m sorry,” I said to the Councilor, and for Gabriel’s sake I actually meant it. “I just don’t know what the right choice is. Of course I don’t want Evil to win, but I don’t know who Evil is.”

“This is so much bull!” Russ yelled. “How can you not know? He’s talking about my dad! My father is not the leader of the freaking resistance! Dani, Evil is right here. He’s the head of the council, he’s got the Seer eating out of the palm of his hands, and now he’s got the Chosen One so confused there’s no one left to stop him. It’s brilliant actually.”

“Don’t be so naïve boy,” the Councilor said, his temper flaring again. “Do you not see that your father has done the same to Danielle her whole life? And to you as well? His own son?”

“He has not!”

“Let me ask you this—have you ever in your life desired the company of someone other than Danielle? Have you ever had a girlfriend? Thought another girl was attractive?”

“No,” Russ said then looked at me and said it again. “Never Dani. It’s always been you.”

“Have you ever even had any other friends besides Danielle? Other boys your own age perhaps?”

Russ raised his chin defiantly. “I didn’t need any.”

“And you feel that is normal? To be surrounded by an entire town of people and think only of each other? Care only for each other?”

Russ shrugged beneath Duncan’s grip. “We love each other.”

“No,” I whispered, startling everyone. “It wasn’t normal. I always knew it wasn’t normal.”

Russ looked at me like I’d just betrayed him but I shook my head firmly. “It wasn’t. That’s why I went out with Conor.”

“Alexander knew exactly what he was doing with you two from the start,” the Councilor said.

“He had to have known,” Gabriel agreed. “Or at least suspected, Danielle, that you were pure—living in that small town all alone with not one supernatural in your presence? He surely knew the strength of your aura.”

Gabriel was right. Alex had already admitted to always knowing what I was. Of course he would have suspected I was pure. What other explanation was there? And he never chose to say anything to me, or Russ, or the council? Why keep it a secret?

The Councilor nodded. “There is no doubt that you were the reason Alexander forced his son to grow up in a small town with no other supernatural influence. Danielle, he has manipulated you far worse than I because you admitted to your destiny with Gabriel before I broke your bond with Russell. I knew you were the Chosen One. I knew you were meant to be with the Seer. I acted in the best interest of the prophecy. Alexander acted purely in self-interest. He wanted your power. He wanted influence over you.”

“That’s not true,” I said. But my voice came out in a whisper making me sound unsure. “He loves us.”

“He stayed because he knew Dani was alone and he couldn’t leave her like that,” Russ said. “She had no one and he gave her a supernatural family. He watched out for her. He wasn’t being selfish. He was sacrificing a little of our comfort for Dani, and I’m glad he did.”

The Councilor’s face softened as he looked at Russ. He was watching him with pity, but he was also being sincerely regretful when he said, “You father has lied to you son. One day you should ask him why he left the council—ask him the truth about your mother.”

Russ didn’t ask what the Councilor meant, and he looked like he really didn’t want to know.

Everyone was awkwardly quiet for a moment and then the Councilor seemed to make up his mind about something. “Come, Gabriel.” He nodded to Duncan as well. “Bring Danielle. It is time to get you both back safely home.”

“No!” I shouted. Russ yelling something much more vulgar.

“That place is not my home!” I said. “You can’t make me go back there!”

Gabriel dragged his eyes from the Councilor to look at me. He was trying to hide his feelings but it wasn’t working. “Is it so bad at the consulate?” he asked. “Have you been that unhappy with me?”

I had to shut my eyes and take a deep breath in order to not become choked up. “It’s not about you. You’re the one good thing that has come of all this mess, but you’re not worth my freedom.”

“No one is taking your freedom Danielle. The Councilor just wants us home where he can keep us safe. He’s not going to lock you up like a caged animal.”

“Open your eyes Gabriel! I am literally paralyzed right now! Do you think if I say please the Councilor is just going to release me and let me go? You think he’d break our union and let me be with Russ if I said I loved him and asked really nice?”

Gabriel’s face paled. “Is that what you want?”

“Does it matter?”

“Danielle, it matters to me.”

“You think he’d let you go either?” I interrupted before Gabriel could make me feel even guiltier. “If you really wanted to leave the consulate do you think he’d let you? If you were tired of working for the council, do you think he’d just let you quit and go live a normal life somewhere on your own?”

“I would never want that.”

“Fine. Then what if I looked into your soul right now and the Creator showed me a vision of a future where we were fulfilling the prophecy together far from the consulate. Do you think the Councilor would let us go to achieve that destiny?”

“Of course he would. If it were what the Creator wanted.”

“Well, should we ask him then? Because the last two visions I’ve received from the Creator were exactly that. The vision I had of us that night that scared me so bad, and the one this morning that moved me to tears and made me so desperate to kiss you….”

Gabriel glanced self-consciously at the Councilor and I lowered my voice. “You and I will not have those moments if we’re locked up at the consulate.”

Gabriel frowned and for the first time since I met him I saw doubt in his eyes. Not doubt in me, but doubt in the Councilor. I hated that I was making him so conflicted, but I was also grateful for it.

Gabriel turned back to the Councilor. “Forgive me Councilor, but I believe she is right. I believe she and I need to stay. Just for now.”

“Do not let her manipulate your feelings for her like that, Gabriel.”

“I wasn’t manipulating him!”

“But the visions—” Gabriel began again until the Councilor quickly cut him off.

“There are many different ways to solve a problem Gabriel. Even if we could trust that Danielle is telling the truth about her visions—”

“I am not lying!”

“—they are only glimpses of one possible future. If you did not have those moments you would have others. Danielle is irrational and very inexperienced in the ways of the supernatural. She does not yet know enough to be on her own. I’m afraid you both must return to the consulate until she can be trusted to do what she was born to do.”

“You see?” I said to Gabriel. “He couldn’t care less about what’s right.”

“Oh for pity’s sake child that is not what I said. You have no idea what is right or wrong and you don’t care. All you care about is gallivanting around with your boyfriend without any regard to the safety or feelings of your mate.”

Russ huffed and grumbled, “I wish, buddy.”

To my surprise the Councilor’s accusation hurt so much I couldn’t say anything. I
was
trying to do the right thing. I totally got shafted in this whole deal and I was still trying to do the right thing.

“Sir,” Gabriel said quietly. “That is not true. Danielle has always been extremely considerate of my feelings no matter what her own have been. She did not leave the consulate to be with Russ. She left to try to stop her vision.”

“Be that as it may,” the Councilor said. “This charade has gone on long enough. Come along now. It is time to go.”

The Councilor nodded to Duncan, who began to usher Russ toward the parking lot where the council’s limo was waiting. When Russ realized he was being carted along he tried to resist, but without his magic he was useless against Duncan’s vampire strength.

“I’m sorry, Russ,” Duncan said. “I’m under orders.”

“What are you doing with Russ?” I asked. My heart raced with panic.

“We’ll be holding him at the consulate,” the Councilor replied without trying to hide the satisfaction in his voice.

“You’re throwing him in jail?”

“For what?” Russ yelled. “I didn’t do anything!”

“Your father is the suspected leader of the resistance. I do not believe that you are as innocent as you claim,” the Councilor said.

“My dad’s not the leader of the resistance! I don’t know anything about them. You can’t just take me. I haven’t done anything wrong!”

Since I knew him so well I suspect I was the only person that could tell he was really scared.

I felt sick. “Are you going to torture him too?”

Gabriel glanced sharply at the Councilor. “Sir, I can attest that Russ does not know anything. If he knew about the resistance he could have easily misdirected us, or given up our location to them. Instead he has done everything he could to help us. It was him who figured out which warehouse we needed to find, and he nearly saw the man behind the spell.”

Russ looked shocked that Gabriel had defended him but I wasn’t surprised. It was the right thing to do and Gabriel always did the right thing.

“The Devereauxs are known for their charm, Gabriel. I am not surprised the boy was able to gain your favor. However I know his father, and I do not trust him.”

The Councilor waved his hand to dismiss our conversation and began to walk back up the beach toward the parking lot where his limo was waiting.

“Councilor,” Gabriel said again. “I assure you Russ is innocent. Holding him is unnecessary. You have Danielle and me back. You should let him go.”

The Councilor whirled around and snapped, “Gabriel I will have no further arguments from you! If your wretched mate continues to influence you in this manner I will have no choice but to separate the two of you. You disappointed me enough when you left the consulate without permission. Please do not let me down again.”