Free Geist by phaedra weldon Page B

these guys have been coming after us hard. Seems they're led by a rather nasty Virtue." 
    "Like my dad?" 
    "Yeah. Nona pissed this one off by locking him in a bottle."
    "Gah...she did? Didn't she get in trouble? I mean, that's evidence she went rogue on them. Aren't you guys afraid this Virtue will tell the others about mom doing that?" 
    "Nope," Dags laughed. "If there is one thing Virtues suffer most from? It's hubris. He's not telling anyone that she kicked his ass. But he is determined to grab me and expose her. So that's why Nona's not with us. And why I think that getting word to her would be a bad idea."
    "Who's the angry Virtue?" 
    "A real prick. And he's creepy." Dags shivered. "Like stalker, pedophile creepy." 
    "Name?" 
    "Raziel." 

-12-
    Can You Keep A Secret? 

    The next morning at OMG o'clock we moved from the hotel in two vans to what Jason called his "Safe House". I noticed we were in a kidnap van—no windows. But was that for Dags' benefit so no one would see him? Or for Jason as a Revenant? 
    I had no idea where were going. Alice and I stayed ready inside the little Mind Theater where we could pop out if needed.
    We traveled into an underground parking garage and Jason and TC jumped out first. Nick secured the van and the side door opened. 
    Rhonda stood just outside, along with Umayma- Frejya's Revenant-and Tel - Loki's Revenant. Tel looked less like a rock star this go round. He'd removed his piercings and traded in his leather for dark jeans, a white hoodie and a black suit jacket. His fingers still gleamed with an assortment of silver rings. His black hair was slicked back into a neat ponytail. 
    Umayma was as beautiful as ever. Dressed in skirts, a soft linen top and thigh-length jacket, she was the epitome of Middle Eastern sophistication. 
    Jason led the way to a set of elevator doors where Joe waited. Jason slid a card into a slot once we were all inside. The doors closed and up we went. 
    "Any intruders?" Jason asked as he looked back at Tel and Umayma. 
    "None we could sense," Tel said. 
    I looked over at Alice. "What's with all the cloak and dagger?" 
    Alice looked really serious. "He told you about the bishop, right?" 
    "Yeah—but that's not really his uncle is it?" 
    She avoided my question. "They've tried twice to take him. Took out one of the Revenants, but didn't kill him. Now that they know Dags has his facilities back they're afraid he'll use the Grimoire to stop whatever it is they want to do." 
    Wow. "So...is he really this guy's nephew?" 
    "No...Darren's father died in the line of duty. He was a detective. His mother was killed in a fire. Tragic death. Darren was just a child when he was orphaned. There was never any mention of an uncle." 
    I watched her. "That really didn't answer my question." 
    "Zoë—" she faced me. "Right now, the answer is no. They are not blood related. But this man is being manipulated by the Virtues. There is a manhunt out for Darren. A reward to find him." 
    "A reward?" My jaw dropped. "Just so they can get that book?" 
    She nodded and pointed to the screen as the elevator doors opened. 
    I gaped as everyone filed out of elevator and into a freak'n penthouse! 
    Sah-weeet! 
    "I wanna see!" I shouted.
     Dags moved away from the crowd to a wall of windows that looked out onto a patio. With a quick look around he reached out and unlocked one of the panels, which was actually a sliding door. Once through it he moved to the far side of the patio and opened his palm. 
    I manifested a transparent version of myself and ran to the edge to look down. 
    We were in mid-town—I recognized my old stomping ground. I used to have a killer condo across from the stadium, next to the Landmark Art Center. Wherever we were—it was new. Or new since I'd been down here. I looked behind me to see that most of the penthouse rose three stories above the patio itself. Mirrored glass was all anyone could see from the outside. 
    Nick stepped up beside us