Acropolis Read Free Page A

moment for his words to
register. The mark? My mark?
The taxi driver glances at me in the rearview mirror, and I open
the car door, lowering my voice as I step outside.
    "Emma Chase?"
    Will grunts.
    "No, the Pope, you imbecile."
    I clench my fist. I hear my aunt yelling now
in the background. She's agitated. It doesn't take long for me to
realize Will is gearing up to fly, his mother trying her best to
prepare him for the worst. Chills creep up my spine.
    "Look, Will, this is my job. If there's
trouble, they need to send in a Guardian . . ."
    "There's no time, Con. They need someone now.
And I'm the closest to the location. Forget the plane. You need to
take flight."
    I reach into my pocket, grab enough money to
pay the driver, throw it into the taxi and walk away. I'm not used
to dealing with foreign currency yet, and I'm pretty sure I just
grossly overpaid the man, but I am beyond distracted and it's
Council money anyway. My eyes instinctively search the buildings
around me. I need a good place to take off. Flying in daylight is
risky, but gargoyles have an advantage. We are born with the
ability to foil radar.
    "Explain," I order as I walk toward a
dilapidated building with little foot traffic. It will have to do.
Will hesitates on the other end of the line.
    "Hell if I know. I wasn't told much. She's
been caught in a compromising position, and she has been admitted
into the hospital. You've seen her records. You tell me."
    "Shit. Where is she?"
    Will gives me the name of a hospital in
Atlanta, Georgia. According to her records, Emma is from Illinois.
She is a long way from home. Her mother is determined to exhaust
all medical avenues. She wants to save her daughter. No one can
fault her for that. I had been ordered to Georgia where I was
supposed to catch the same return flight to Illinois as Emma and
her mother. The rest was up to me. I hate when plans change.
    "Look, just watch the facility. Don't go in
without me. I'm on my way."
    I start to scale the building as Will
protests in my ear. I ignore him and end the call abruptly, pulling
an ear piece out of my pocket and shoving it into my ear. The next
call I make is to the Director.
    "I didn't think it'd take you long," Gibson
says, his voice strained.
    "Will isn't a Guardian."
    I say the words angrily. Will is family.
Being related to a colleague isn't unusual in the world of
gargoyles. Gargoyles marry gargoyles. Their children are gargoyles.
It is just the way our people work. It is our duty. It is why each
family is represented by a crest. Very rarely does a gargoyle
deviate from this plan. I am one of the exceptional few, having
fallen for someone unsuitable. Worse yet, it had been a mark. Hence
my demotion. And even though every gargoyle takes his or her place
in the Inner Circle when they come of age, I know Will isn't ready.
He's only been in service a few months.
    "Neither are you, Reinhardt. Not
anymore."
    "But I've been trained for it," I argue.
    Gibson sighs, the sound carrying across the
line.
    "We don't plan for this to get out of hand.
We only need an Extraction."
    "Extractions go wrong," I point out.
    I am way out of line, questioning authority,
but I'm apparently getting good at being demoted anyway so why stop
now.
    "Conor . . ."
    "Why Will?" I protest.
    "He won't be alone. We have Roach working
from the inside."
    I have a hard time refraining from being
completely and utterly insubordinate. Roach is a jackass.
    "How bad is the situation?"
    Gibson is quiet a moment.
    "Not bad . . . unusual. The girl has
developed a new symptom."
    I am on the roof of the building now.
    "Symptom?"
    "The doctors call it haemolacria.
Crying blood. It's usually indicative of an underlying condition,
tumor, head injury, etc, but you and I both know she doesn't have a
medical condition. What we don't know is what this means. If it's a new ability she doesn't
have control over then . . . we fear she's broadcast her position
unintentionally."
    "Sweet Jesus!"
    I drop the call and