The Tree

  “Betrayal is hard to process.” His eyes automatically sought out Tae again.

  “Erik,” Elana sighed, following his gaze.

  “I know, I know. Don’t worry. I’m going to talk to him.”

  Elana nodded and moved over to join her girlfriend in conversation with Matthias. Erik sighed. No time like the present, he supposed. He patted Melinda on the shoulder and walked over to the reception desk. Zaha noticed him first and her eyes went wide and darted around, obviously looking for Daniel. When Zaha didn’t see him she actually met his gaze and gave him a small smile.

  Tae noticed and turned. When he saw Erik, his whole body stiffened. It was the first time they’d seen each other since the meeting at the Organization’s base in Brisbane a couple of weeks ago.

  Tae’s face showed sadness before he closed his expression off. Erik knew that trick well. Had been using it all his life.

  Erik tried a smile out as he closed the distance between them.

  “Tae, can I talk to you in private, before the meeting?”

  Tae nodded immediately. “Yes.”

  Erik turned to everyone else in the lobby. “We’ll meet you in the meeting room in a little while.”

  He waved and they moved off to the back of the lobby where a number of smaller offices lay empty.

  “I’m sorry,” Tae blurted as soon as the door closed behind them. In the silence that followed, Tae leaned back on a desk that sat in the room, while Erik paced back and forth in front of him.

  Erik finally sighed. “You don’t have to apologize.”

  “Obviously I do, because you’ve been blowing me off,” Tae said, anger creeping into his voice.

  “You’re right. And for that I apologize. I needed time to think and I didn’t want to talk in case I said something I was going to regret later. I should have let you know what I was thinking.”

  Some tension left Tae’s shoulders and he stood straighter.

  “The truth is that when I figured out you’d been spying on me, I was pissed as hell. But you didn’t owe me anything then. You didn’t know me from Adam and it’s ridiculous to think you owed me any loyalty.”

  “Doesn’t mean you feel any less betrayed,” Tae whispered, crossing his arms.

  Erik gave him a small smile. “True. But I know what it’s like to be stuck between two choices, neither one of them good. As for lying about how strong you are?” Erik shrugged. “I can’t say I wouldn’t do the same thing. Never tell a potential enemy your strengths and weaknesses.”

  “But you’re not an enemy, you’re my friend,” Tae argued.

  “I know, but I wasn’t at the time and I get that.” Erik nodded.

  “So you forgive me?” Tae asked.

  “What I’m saying is that there’s nothing I need to forgive you for.” Erik explained, shaking his head.

  “Yes, there is. I should have told you when we started to become friends.”

  Erik closed his eyes for a moment. This was more difficult than he thought it would be. Tae wasn’t wrong. Just because he understood why Tae had done what he’d done didn’t mean he wasn’t hurt by it.

  Tae stopped Erik’s pacing with a hand on his arm and Erik turned to face him.

  “I see so much, Erik. All the time. With my whole body. All I can do is try to figure out which paths will make the good visions come true, and try to stave off the bad ones for as long as possible. I make a lot of mis takes but all I can do is try again and again. It’s exhausting. I think you understand that.” Tae paused and they shared a quick bitter smile before he continued. “The feeling that the whole world is resting on your shoulders? That it’s up to you and no one else? It makes it hard to trust others.”

  Erik nodded. “Here’s what we’re going to do. We fake it ‘til we make it.”

  Tae raised his eyebrows.

  Erik continued. “We start acting like friends again and the forgiveness and trust will come back in time. Those things don’t just reappear when you want them to, but we can work on building them back up.” Erik looked away for a moment. “This is hard for me too. I haven’t had real friends in . . . well, a long time. But I do remember one thing. Friends are supposed to forgive each other when they fuck up and honestly apologize. We both fucked up. We do our best to forgive each other and we move on.”

  Erik held out his hand and Tae slipped his own into it. They shook twice before Tae simply pulled a startled Erik forward into a hug. They both sank into the contact; a tactile reaffirmation of their connection and friendship.

  When they pulled away Erik leaned on the desk next to Tae, their hips touching.

  “So . . . Zaha?” Erik broke the comfortable silence.

  Tae blushed. “I like her.”

  “I can see that.” Erik let the smile drop. “How is she doing, though?”

  Tae looked down at the ground for a moment before flicking his eyes back up to meet Erik’s questioning glance. “She’s okay. She still hasn’t heard from her friend Carlie so she’s worried, obviously, but there don’t seem to be any after-effects from almost getting dragged into the darkness.”

  Erik hummed a non-committal note. Other than being able to see Daniel, of course. “Have you guys gone out yet?”

  “No. We’re going slow. She doesn’t like that I’m two years younger than her and she’s a little cautious about dating a non-Muslim. She says her family will be fine with it but both people she’s dated before were Muslim. We’re going slow.”

  Erik shrugged. “Good idea. Think things through before you make a choice you can’t take back.”

  “My ears are burning! Is someone talking about me?” Daniel’s voice rang out as he floated in through the ceiling.

  Erik stiffened and Tae immediately noticed.

  “What going on?” He asked, tensing himself and looking around.

  Erik silently turned to face his haunting. The expression on his face was enough.

  “Daniel,” Tae stated.

  Erik nodded. “Go join the others. I’ll be up there in a moment.”

  “By yourself?” Tae asked, glaring back and forth with a look of intense concentration.

  “That remains to be seen.”

  Tae left without another word, closing the door behind him.

  “Daniel,” Erik said

  “Yes, Erik?”

  Daniel’s ghost faced him, still in the outfit that he had died in. Still horribly injured. Erik noticed something else this time. His eyes were sunken in farther. Not a lot, but enough for someone who knew his face intimately to notice. His skin was still translucent but the brown of his skin was grayer. What was happening? Did Daniel even know? Would he tell Erik if he asked?

  “What are you doing here?” Erik asked instead.

  Daniel crossed his arms, lying back on empty air so he mimicked Erik’s posture against the desk. It made the edges of the hole in his chest pull and flex. It took Erik a moment to pull his gaze away from the sight of his failure.

  Daniel smirked and looked away. “Just because I think this is a very stupid decision doesn’t mean that I’m not going to come with you.”

  “Will that even work?” Erik asked.

  Daniel shrugged and smiled. “It’s worth a shot isn’t it?”

  “And if I said I didn’t want you to come?”

  Daniel met his gaze and Erik refused to look away; refused to give in. Daniel was the first to speak.

  “Look, Erik. What do you think you can do to stop me? And haven’t I helped you so far?”

  “Debatable,” Erik muttered.

  Daniel snorted. “I led you to your friends. I want to protect you. That’s why I don’t want you to go on this trip. If you insist on going through with it, though, I’m definitely coming along. You’ll need me.”

  “To do what?”

  “Be the eyes and ears you need, where no one else can see,” Daniel said.

  Erik was silent. He had no idea what to say. He could not deny that Daniel would be useful. He would also be a distra
ction and could cause tension with the others.

  “Didn’t Matthias and Daya’s little trick convince you that I’m here to help?” Daniel asked.

  Erik wanted to nod but he had gone over it too many times in his mind. If it was really Daniel, which he still believed, then yes, they could use all the help they could get. But if it wasn’t Daniel? If it was something darker and more sinister? Then he’d be inviting an enemy into his camp. The truth was that neither of these things really mattered. Daniel was right. There was no way to stop him. Better to not antagonize him and just agree to it and keep a close eye on him.

  “Fine, come along. You might be of some help.”

  Daniel smiled. It was the same bright sparkling smile that Erik still remembered from their time together. He returned the smile as he pushed off of the desk and headed for the door.

  Daniel’s voice sounded from behind him. “Also, if you do happen to die? Well, it would be nice for us to be together again.”

  He stumbled. There it was. The moment of uncertainty. Was that the same dark humor that Erik had always loved? Or was that real malice in Daniel’s voice? How much did the man blame Erik for his death? More than Erik blamed himself?

  Erik refused to respond and left the room with the chill and blankness that Daniel exuded at his back. Zaha and Melinda were behind the lobby desk playing on the computer. The others had likely already headed up to the meeting room. He moved across the lobby, waving at Zaha when she looked up. Erik saw the moment Zaha spotted Daniel. Her eyes went wide. The paling of her skin was more obvious against the silver and pale teal-patterned hijab she wore.

  He looked back and saw the wide, chilling smile that Daniel was giving her. He tried to give her an encouraging look until Melinda called Zaha’s name, brought her back to the physical world around her. After that she looked down at the screen and refused to raise her eyes as they moved across the rest of the lobby.

  The elevator was waiting for them. The same round golden teardrop as before. They rode up quickly and the doors opened to reveal the same meeting room that they had once used to negotiate with Byron.

  Tassi and Yonas were seated around the table, along with everyone else, which made Erik raise his eyebrows in question. He approached the empty seat between his mother and grandmother and stood behind it.

  “What are you two doing here?” He asked the two Suits.

  They looked at one another, and Tassi, her long braid wrapped around her head like a crown, finally spoke.

  “We’re going with you,” she explained.

  “As spies? Doesn’t seem like the Agency trusts me at all,” Erik said with a smirk.

  “We are going to protect you and also as extra firepower in case you need it. You don’t know what you’ll face on the other side,” Tassi said with no facial expression.

  Erik nodded, but he did notice they hadn’t addressed the whole spy or lack of trust accusations.

  Yonas spoke up. “You don’t like us. That’s clear. So just think of us as another tool to get the people you do care about home safe.”

  Erik narrowed his eyes in response. It sounded like they were basically volunteering to be cannon fodder. Erik felt a nauseous roll of disgust in his belly because he knew he would agree because he wanted everyone else safe. He swallowed and carefully did not look at Matthias. Whatever the Suits had planned he could handle. They would all be watchful.

  Finally, Erik nodded at them and turned to face the rest of the table.

  “There are some new developments that you need to know about.” Erik gestured to his grandma. “Gram, you wanna fill them in on New York, and earlier today?”

  “Yes.” She stood, her white shirt bright against the dark blue jeans she wore. Her dark brown skin practically glowed. She filled them in on New York, with Matthias and Erik chiming in with what little they knew. Then she spoke of the daylight attack in San Francisco. Dayida added nothing. She simply stared forward, not reacting to anyone’s looks, as her part in the fight was described.

  “Well, we can’t go now,” Daya stated.

  All of them noticed the look Erik and Matthias shared.

  “We can’t go now! This is probably all a trap!” Elana practically yelled. Erik was surprised. He had only known her a few weeks, but he had never seen Elana so volatile before. From the looks Matthias and Patrah wore, neither had they. Daya looked at her girlfriend sympathetically.

  “That’s exactly why you have to go,” Hettie answered.

  “Why? To die?” Elana asked.

  Erik held back the sarcasm of asking what in the hell she had to lose. He looked over at Daya. He knew what she had to lose.

  “No. Because it’s our only chance to get any information from the source. We’re flying blind. We don’t know what they intend with New York. Is it a full-scale invasion? Is it a small rogue cell? Are there cracks in their plan that we could exploit? The only way to get that information is in Zebub,” Erik answered.

  Everyone was silent and watching. A flash of orange and brown in the corner let him know where Daniel was, but he did not focus on the ghost as he continued.

  “I won’t say that things haven’t changed. We have an assurance of safe travel, but the Angelics only respect strength. We may have to be ready to defend ourselves at any time. I don’t know what we’ll face, but I know we have a better chance if we’re all together,” Erik finished.

  Tae was nodding. Elliot was looking at his aspirant thoughtfully. Even Elana seemed to be wavering. Daya’s face remained as hard as ever.

  “I don’t like it,” she stated calmly.

  “Neither do I. I just think that we have to go. So we can maybe prevent something worse,” Erik answered.

  “Do you know what it’s like to lose someone you love? To find out the horrible things they did with her body? To find out—” Daya’s voice choked off and Elana had long since turned her back to them and was facing the wall.

  Erik tilted his head at her.

  “Are you serious? You think I don’t understand the danger we’re in? The things . . . the people that we could lose? The ways we could lose them?” He was quiet, as he thought of Daniel. It wasn’t quite the same thing. He was asking her to visit the world of the Angelics, who had desecrated Elana’s body. On the other hand, Daniel had been a non-Blooded. Someone who had been pulled in just to be used against Erik, and then thrown away like so much trash. They both had their pain.

  He looked up and saw the apology written across Daya’s face. He waved it away and rose from his chair, moving around the table until he stood in the space between Daya and Elana. He turned to face Daya and crouched so he wasn’t looming over her.

  “I know it’s a much more dangerous thing I’m asking you to do. Even on top of the massive danger that’s already part of your day-to-day life. I won’t presume to understand what you’re feeling. But whatever it is? It’s valid, and if you don’t want to do this anymore? If you want to pull out? I won’t think less of you.”

  Daya looked over her shoulder at Elana, who had turned back to face them.

  “We’ll need to talk about it,” she said quietly.

  “I understand,” Erik said as he returned to his seat.

  The rest of the meeting was ironing out other details, such as what to take and when they would meet. Afterwards everyone else took the elevator down, and Melinda was sent up to join him in the meeting room. She looked oddly shy and he realized they had not spoken, only the two of them, since their time in the Brisbane training facility.

  He looked down at her and smiled conspiratorially. “You want to see my office?”

  She returned the smile. “Totally.”

  They made their way to the elevator and stepped inside. Instead of going down, the elevator rose up through the glass roof, as if it didn’t even exist. They were shrouded in complete darkness but Melinda made no sound. She just gripped his hand tighter. Then they were through and the glare of light was all around them. The very top floor was small. A simple d
ome on the roof. There was only one room, the office of the head of the San Francisco branch. His office.

  The walls were lined with TV screens, all of them muted. His predecessor had kept them loud and blaring, which made sense, as he’d been a loud, blaring sort of man. Especially when he was informed that he was no longer in charge. There had been much yelling and flying spit.

  As they stepped out, Melinda looked all around in wonder. Erik didn’t blame her. The office still struck him as well. He’d only been up here a handful of times. The dome above them was clear glass. The room was dominated by a circular desk of faceted crystal that reflected soft rainbows from the right angle, with gold edging, and supports. The desk was covered with computers and monitors smaller than the ones that lined the walls.

  There were a couple of stuffed chairs between the elevator and the desk and Erik turned them so they were facing each other. He fell into one and gestured for Melinda to take the other.

  “What’s going on?”

  She looked up at him and smirked. “I thought you said we were going to go get ice cream.”

  He saw the spark of mischief and smiled as he stood. “I did say that, didn’t I?”

  He squeezed through the gap left in the circle of desk and reached underneath it. Though he hadn’t spent much time in the office, he had made sure the mini-fridge was stocked. It had been filled with nothing but bottles of liquor before. Given the things that the former head of the Agency had been complicit in, Erik could almost understand. He pulled half a gallon of vanilla-caramel-swirl from the small freezer compartment and two spoons out of the drawer above the fridge.

  He maneuvered back to Melinda and cracked the lid on the ice cream. Scooting his chair closer to hers, he handed her a spoon and dug in as she did the same. After a few bites each, he looked to her.

  “Why don’t you tell me what’s going on?”

  The floodgates opened and while they ate she talked about her training and the small city she had made. Her voice got quiet as she described how Patrah had reacted, and what had been said.

  Erik sat with it for a moment, sucking down another spoonful of sweet ice cream. Then he spoke.