“Brennus gave me a gift before I left… do you know what it was?” I ask Reed between sobs, but I don’t wait for him to answer me before I go on. “He ordered the fellas to kill Alfred. They ripped him to shreds on the floor of the copper mine and I…I enjoyed it.”
Reed’s fingertips are gentle as he brushes a tear away from my cheek. “You are an angel, that kind of vengeance is innate in you. Do not expect to react like a human when you see a fallen one destroyed,” Reed says in a soothing tone, not at all surprised or repulsed by what I told him.
“No, it was more than that… Alfred told me he turned you in— that when I left you he was the one that called Dominion to tell them where they could find you and Zee. He bought my portrait and used it to induce Brennus into taking me. He killed my uncle, and if it were not for Russell, I would’ve joined them just so that I could tear him apart with my bare hands,” I say in anguish, because I know that it proves that I’m evil.
“Again, all perfectly acceptable emotions for Seraphim,” Reed replies like a caress as I sniffle on his shoulder. “Shh…you are safe… I’m here.”
I shake my head at him adamantly. “No…I’m not safe. He is in me. Brennus’ poison is in me and I still crave him…like a narcotic, and I don’t know what I’m going to do when he finds me because he will,” I reply, beginning to tremble in Reed’s arms. Reed strokes my wings soothingly, but I can’t slow down the words that tumble from my lips. “He told me he would be coming for me because I’m his and I believe him—he will come for me. He calls me his pet and mo chroí and you should’ve seen what my blood did to him when he drank it… it was like a narcotic for him, too. The Cherubim said it is retribution—that he will crave me as others have craved him,” I say as I continue to weep. Reed picks me up, placing me on the pillow of the bed while he arranges the blankets over me. He lies down beside me and pulls me to his side and lets me cry until I quiet.
“He is wrong about so many things,” Reed says, gazing into my eyes. “You are mine and you will be avenged.”
“ No!” I say in a squeaky-rasp. “He wants to fight you because I told Brennus that he will never exist for me because I love you. He wants to kill you and I can’t—”
I can no longer get the words out. I can hardly breathe, but I have to make Reed understand that this can never happen. He can never wage that war because I can’t lose him, not when I’ve just gotten him back. Black spots dance in my field of vision because I can’t get enough air in. Reed looks alarmed, speaking to me rapidly in Angel, but I’m too disoriented. The melody of his voice is having no affect on me and it only takes a few moments more until everything goes black.
Slowly, I awake to the sunlight streaming in the bedroom from the open balcony doors. A gentle breeze stirs the feathers on my back as a sheet covers the lower half of my body. As I lie on my stomach, I stretch, feeling the softness of the bed beneath me. It takes me a few seconds to notice that I’m not wearing anything but the sheet. Puzzled by this, I glance over to see that I’m not alone in the bed either. Reed is lying next to me and it takes me another few seconds to realize that he is sleeping. I have never seen him asleep; since he requires so little sleep, he is always awake when I’m awake.
I think for a second that he must have stayed with me last night until I see that he has taken a shower and changed into a different sarong, this one is blue and he smells incredible. It has been so long since I’ve seen him that I don’t waste any time, but let my eyes fall over every beautiful piece of him that is visible above the sheet. With the sunlight falling on him like a finger of heaven, I have no problem seeing all of his characteristics that I have missed so much.
As my gaze roves over his wings, something catches my eye. It is the smallest speck of white jutting out gently from the edge of one of Reed’s feathers on the interior of his wing. Reaching out, I gently use my fingernails to grasp the edge of the white and when I pull it, it proves to be a small scrap of paper. It has been folded several times to make it small and the edges are curled. I unfold it and iron it out. My hand shakes a little when I see my own handwriting etched on it. It’s a piece of the note I had written him when I left with Russell months ago.
I read the quote I had included in it for him from Shakespeare: Doubt thou the stars are fire; Doubt that the sun doth move; Doubt truth to be a liar; But never doubt I love…I love thee best, O most best believe it.
“That is mine,” Reed says with a voice low from sleep. He reaches out and takes the scrap of paper from my hand. With military efficiency, he folds it back up, hiding it again between the feathers of his wing.
My eyes widen in surprise. “They let you back in here?” I ask stupidly, because it’s obvious that they did or he probably wouldn’t be here now.
He gives me a sleepy smile. “Yes. You can have visitors. They are just concerned about you leaving. There are guards posted at both exits. Preben and his men are patrolling outside as we speak and they come in here every few hours to check on you,” he says with a tired look.
“I’m sorry I woke you…how long have we been asleep?” I ask in an attempt to recover from finding hidden messages secreted on his body.
Reed glances over at the clock on the desk and says, “You have been sleeping for thirteen hours and nineteen minutes and I have been sleeping for six hours and forty-seven minutes.
My jaw drops when I hear this. He never sleeps more than a couple of hours a day. He must be sick, I think with a worried frown, reaching out automatically to place my hand on his forehead to check. Reed says with a sweet smile, “I’m not sick. I have not been sleeping well lately. I think I just needed to catch up.” He takes my hand from his forehead and kisses it.
“Why do you have that paper hidden in your wing?” I ask with admiration for his cleverness in concealing what I wrote to him right under the noses of the angels who wanted to find me and prove that I exist.
He smiles again, but this smile can also be seen as a grimace when he says, “You asked me last night how I could refuse to cooperate with killers. I kept that for the times it became difficult not to comply.” I stiffen when I hear his reason.
“What?” I murmur, because the note that I had left him frustrated me to no end. It doesn’t contain the depths of emotion or longing or passion that I have for him. “You should’ve complied. You should’ve told them anything they wanted to know about me,” I say, shaking my head over what he has gone through because of me. “I can’t believe that you kept that note. You have no idea how frustrating it was to leave that note and not be able to tell you just how much I love you and just how badly I wanted to stay.”
“You should have stayed,” he says, and the pain in his eyes hurts me.
“I know that now,” I reply, dropping my eyes from his. I worry the sheet between my fingers before looking into his eyes again. “I’m so sorry…I thought that I was doing what was best for everyone.”
He frowns. “You thought that being without you was best for me?” Reed asks.
My throat feels tight. “I thought that it would save you from being seen as a traitor,” I explain. “But, I was losing the battle to stay away from you. Right before Brennus showed up, I called my voicemail because I had to hear your voice,” I tell him honestly.
Reed’s smile is intoxicating. “You did?” he asks with tenderness, like my weakness for him is a good thing.
I nod as I stare into his eyes. “I couldn’t help it. I can’t be without you. I missed you every day.”
Desire shows in his eyes as I slowly lean over to him, focusing on his exquisite mouth. I graze my lips over his, feeling their firmness beneath mine. When I rest against his chest, I instantly become aware again that I’m not wearing anything at all. A small sound of pleasure slips from me as Reed pulls me closer, wrapping his arms around me.
He nibbles my lower lip gently as he tugs it with his teeth teasing me. Then, he groans a little, releasing my lip to whisper against my mouth, “We have to talk.”
&nbs
p; “No… let me show you how much I missed you,” I whisper, and I am gratified by a sexy growl from him.
He tries to hide his desire behind a serious expression. “The war council—” Reed starts saying, but stops when I rain soft kisses on his chest. Slowly and deliberately, I let my tongue touch his skin. An instant after that, I am flat on my back with Reed hovering above me looking like he might devour me.
He kisses me again, before he says, “Evie, what I have to tell you is very important.” Then, he averts his eyes from me so that he can’t see my body lying beneath his.
“What I have to show you is more important,” I counter, trying to get him to look at me again.
“It’s about Brennus and Russell,” Reed says softly. I still as if he had hit me. I think he sees that I can’t form words because those two names, spoken together, are doing painful things to my mind. “Russell is okay. He is with Brownie and they are on the move. We have been in touch with them and they will keep moving from place to place until we can catch up to them. Zephyr has been in almost constant contact with them and is in charge of their evasion,” Reed assures me, but I don’t feel reassured. I feel cold and sick, like he has just splashed icy water on me.
I think he notices because he gathers me up in his arms, holding me close. “Scouts were sent to pursue the information you provided to the council and the cave was uncovered. They found several corpses and a couple of human survivors, but the Gancanagh weren’t there. They are more than likely in pursuit of you and Russell,” he says, pausing to stroke my hair. “It is fortunate that the human women didn’t see what happened between Russell and the Gancanagh. They didn’t talk about Russell, just you. They corroborated what you told the council. It seems you were discussed among the Gancanagh. Brennus’ soldiers were excited that you were going to be one of them,” he says as his lips turn in a grim line.
I feel a millisecond of relief regarding the information about Russell. Then, what Reed is saying starts to race around in my mind. Brennus is hunting us. He’s not going to let us live, not after what we did to them. He will destroy Russell, and then he will torment me for eternity.
Reed continues, “The council wants to speak to you again. They want to know if you heard of any of his other holdings—residences— businesses that they can investigate.”
I shake my head. “Do you think he knows where I am?” I ask Reed, feeling numb.
“The Gancanagh have a highly developed sense of smell. He could easily follow your scent, since you were openly bleeding. I don’t know if he was able to follow you after you entered the plane and left the area. Would he have known where you were heading?” Reed asks.
I think about it for a few seconds, and then I nod. “Alfred told us that he had turned you in to Dominion and that you were subsequently arrested. I told Brennus how I feel about you. He’s very clever; he has existed for a very long time…he can probably put two and two together,” I say, closing my eyes as my heart pounds. “If he figures out that we went to Quebec, he would only need to walk into airport security to smell me all over the offices. I was there for at least ten hours and my neck wouldn’t stop bleeding. We had to file a flight plan there, so it would tell him exactly where we were heading,” I reason. “And, if he can follow me here, then he can follow Russell, too, because he used his fake passport and Brennus knows our names. The real ones and the fake ones,” I say as my eyes widen in fear.
Panic is threatening to crush me. “You have to call Russell!” I plead. “You have to warn them—oh my God! What am I going to do? I can’t protect Russell from here! We have to go, Reed,” I say, scrambling out of his embrace and looking around for the ridiculous outfit I was wearing earlier. I don’t see it right away, so I wrap the sheet around myself and run to the small cabinet in the room. But, it doesn’t have anything other than sarongs in it.
Reed follows me to the dresser, trying to get me to look at him. “Russell is safe enough. He and Brownie are constantly moving. They are somewhere in Europe right now and they are treating it like it’s a sightseeing adventure.”
I whirl around to look at Reed. “Oh right, Reed! That’s some vacation! Being hunted by demons and hoping that you don’t stumble into a fallen angel, or God forbid, a Power who thinks you’re a freak!” I go to the closet, searching inside it to see if there is anything I can wear in there.
Sighing heavily, Reed says, “It’s less than ideal, but they are doing well. Zephyr is extremely good strategically. He will keep them ahead of the Gancanagh until we can protect them.”
I want to believe everything he’s saying. But after what I have been through with the Gancanagh, I know that we can’t afford to be wrong. Being wrong makes Russell and Brownie very, very dead.
“When can we leave?” I ask, giving up on my search for clothing and sitting on the edge of the bed wrapped in the sheet.
“That is what we have to talk about, Evie,” Reed says, sitting next to me. A look of confusion shows on his brow, like he doesn’t know how to say the next part of what he needs to say to me.
My panic increases. “Oh, my God! What’s wrong, Reed?” I ask, losing color.
He immediately grasps my hand and clasps it tight in his own. “The council ruled that Zephyr and I acted in accordance with all of our laws. They have agreed to release us immediately,” he says in a soothing tone as he studies my smaller hand in his.
I exhale in relief. They’re letting him go. He’s free, I think, and then suddenly, the reality of what he is saying to me hits me. He is free, but he didn’t say that I am free, too.
“When will you leave?” I ask in an even voice that makes me feel a little bit proud of myself because it doesn’t break or crack, but I can’t look at him.
“That depends on you,” he replies in his sexy voice.
My head snaps up as I gaze into his beautiful green eyes. He wants something from me. He used his sexy voice on me. I hear the waves hitting against the breaker in the gulf beneath my open balcony doors while I inhale the scent of water and Reed as they mingle together to entice and entrap me.
Reed continues in a soft tone, “Right now, I cannot act in your defense. I have no influence with the war council on how they treat you, or what they do with you.” He squeezes my hand tighter in an unconscious way.
“How will they treat me?” I ask as my lips twist in a sad smile. He hesitates as anger enters his eyes. “Please tell me,” I whisper.
“They are a war council—they wage war. They have found a new weapon and it makes some of them anxious to test it. Some want to know just how attracted the Fallen are to you,” he explains.
I turn white in an instant. Am I to be an enticing lure? Will they hold me out as bait for all the evil out there?
“Oh,” I say, trying to keep my hand steady in his so that he won’t feel it shaking. He has been through enough with me. He doesn’t deserve me making him feel guilty for having to go on without me. What else can he do?
“You will have to stay here with them and I will have to leave. I’m not a part of Dominion, I will not be allowed to stay,” he explains.
“So, how long do we have until we have to say goodbye?” I ask, angry with the war council for their interference in my life. I should have the right to go if they don’t believe that I’m evil enough to destroy me.
“I cannot leave you,” Reed says.
“You just said they won’t let you stay,” I state as my eyes search his.
“Yes, but I cannot leave you here,” he replies with his jaw tensing.
“But…they won’t let me go,” I murmur, wondering what I’m missing.
“They might not have a choice in that,” he replies with a seductive smile.
“What are you saying? Have you figured out another loophole?” I ask as a glimmer of hope pulses through me like electricity.
“Yes,” he purrs in my ear.
A sigh of relief issues from me. “Oh, thank God! You are so brilliant! What is it? Whatever it is, I’m in,” I
say gratefully, seeing his eyes light up with hope and desire.
“Bind to me and they cannot keep us apart,” he says as he nuzzles my neck in a seductive way, making me feel weak and languid.
“What do you mean?” I ask, fascinated by the way he is looking at me—possessive and protective. “Are you saying that we need to get married or something?” I ask, feeling a little foolish because he already told me once that angels don’t marry.
“No. Humans marry; it is a sacrament that we do not engage in because it’s only for their lifetime on Earth. Binding is older and different—angelic…a little more intense,” Reed explains, studying me as his finger traces my collarbone just above my sheet.
“How is it more intense?” I ask in a whisper, trying to focus on what he is saying instead of what he is doing.
“When we swear a binding vow to each other, making us one, then I can act on your behalf with the war council. They will lose their authority over you because your fortune will be tied to mine so whatever fate exists for you, exists for me,” he informs me as his finger moves over my shoulder and down my arm, tracing the veins and artery that run down the inside of my arm to my palm. “They will not be able to do to me what they are planning to do to you because I’m not half-human. So if we are one, they have to treat you like they would treat me.”
I close my eyes, savoring his touch for a moment. Then, I open them when what he says registers in my mind. “Are you sure that they will treat me like they treat you? Or, will you be treated like they treat me?” I ask, countering what he is saying.
What if it doesn’t work out the way he wants and he then is subject to whatever fate I’m given? The thought of that makes me ill. I can take what happens to me, but if he has to suffer because of what I am, it will cause me more pain than I can conceivable endure.
“I’m certain,” he says, unwavering, but he is really good at tricking me when it comes to things he’s afraid will hurt me.
Intuition: The Premonition Series Page 43
