Phantom Pain (trilogy)

Lucas

Chapter 26: Lucas

The first person to enter was a boy I did not recognized. He looked young, dark brown hair buzzed close to his skull, and bright green eyes. He walked in with confidence, and with the best poker face I had seen yet on anyone encountering Ambriel.

The second person to enter was Dez.

I froze, working through a thousand different things I could say. But none of them measured up. I'd killed her mother. What could I possible say to make that go away?

“When I heard you were back I didn't believe it.” She took a step towards me.

“I'm sorry.” I knew the words lost more of their meaning every time I said them. “I'm sorry I came back. But I couldn't just leave Gavyn... I couldn't just leave any of you in the middle of this storm.”

She didn't look angry, not any more. “I know. I'm glad you're here, Ramie.” Her eyes flitted to the angel beside me. “And you must be the famous Ambriel. I have to say, you look much better than the last time I saw you.”

She was speaking, of course, of the ransom message Beelzebub had sent out during the first storm. Ambriel, who had already been standing defensively, let her hand hover on the hilt of her sword. Her wings were extended away from her body, as she stared down the cambion.

“Ramie,” the mysterious boy spoke, voice completely calm. “Tell your brother to stand down. We mean her no harm.”

“Ambriel.” I touched her arm reassuringly. “They want the same thing as us, you have to remember.”

“Exactly.” The boy directed his comment towards Dez.

Who was he? He felt light, at least in contrast to Dez's shadow. He wore a leather jacket, and he carried himself with a confidence that confused me. He may have helped me in diffusing the situation, but I did not like the way he was looking at us. There was a challenge there. I did not know why, but he was challenging us, with the way he stood, with the half smile he directed towards Ambriel.

“I think introductions are in order,” I said. “You seem to already know my name, and Ambriel's as well, so that leaves you.”

Dez answered for him. “This is Lucas. He's been working with the Guardians since he was young, like me with the specialists.”

Humans and their funny names.

“Guardians? Is that what they call themselves.”

Lucas nodded. I tried my best not to watch him, but that was where my eyes wandered naturally. I had to talk to Dez. There were things I had to ask.

A question resurfaced, and with it anger. “Gavyn?” I asked, an accusation.

“He's looking for his family. You know what his father passed down to him?”

I nodded, exchanging a quick look with Ambriel, who was still staring at Lucas. “You let him go off into that storm? What could you possibly have been thinking?”