by Jenny McKane
“Now we’re getting somewhere,” he said, his hands on his hips now. “We might just have a chance, what with you finding this backbone I never knew you had.”
She ignored Asmodeus and walked around him to the table where Plaxo was lying. Someone had brought him a blanket and a pillow to lie on. Sunny got herself comfortable and she began to wait.
And wait.
People came and went. Ate dinner. Took short showers. Tried to plan the next moves—the militia had another report and had to move on in a day or two. Gabriel and Metatron were likely consulting with Asmodeus about what the loss of their powers meant. Sin kept his orbit near Jericho and listened with rapt attention as she planned their next operation.
And Eli? Eli glowered and stayed about a foot away from Sunny.
She didn’t care what he had to say at that point, so much that she fell asleep with her forehead on the wooden surface. Eli, for what it was worth, didn’t try to press the issue. Yet. Sunny knew another storm was brewing on his end—she could practically feel the anger pouring off him in waves—but she didn’t have time to care yet. They could have it out and scream and shout at each other another time.
A warm hand on her shoulder shook her awake. As she picked up her head and blinked, she realized it was dark now and many of the campers had their lights out. How long had she slept? Eli was gone, too.
Jericho sat beside her.
“Sunny, go take a shower in my camper and get a few hours of sleep,” she said, pulling Sunny from the chair. Initially resisting, Jericho continued. “I’ll be out here with first watch and I’ll have whoever is on duty sit right here with him. If anything changes, we’ll wake you up right away.”
Sunny wanted to protest and stay with Plaxo every moment, but she was losing the battle in her mind.
She was also covered in disgusting, flaking gore now and she needed it off her skin. Reluctantly agreeing, she took Jericho up on her offer, cleaning herself quickly and toweling off. Jericho had left out a pair of clothes for Sunny, which she gratefully put on.
Without so much as another thought, she crawled onto the bed and collapsed, her exhaustion hitting her full on.
She slept and it took Metatron nearly shouting at her to wake her up later that morning.
“Sunny,” his said, his voice loud. “Get up! Nino is here.”
Sunny blinked a few times, not moving, as she shook off the sleep fog and remembered that she was in Jericho’s bed. And Nino was here?
That mean Zepar had found him! Sunny shot up from the tangle of sheets and struggled to free herself as she moved to the door.
“How long ago? How is Plaxo? Is he going to be okay? He can save him, right?”
She lobbed the questions but didn’t stick around long enough to hear the answers. She was jumping down the metal stairs and running toward the common area, leaving Metatron in the dust.
“Nino!”
She yelled as soon as she saw the smaller dream demon, Plaxo’s kin and closest friend.
“Nino came as soon as the general appeared, Lady Hunter,” he was holding Plaxo’s head in his arms. “This is not good, Lady Hunter, not good at all. Nino will need to take Plaxo to be healed, and even then, it’s not guaranteed. Plaxo is really hurt.”
Fresh tears welled in her eyes as the stark reality of it all, but she nodded and put her brave face on, hoping she’d get back to the camper before the tears started.
“Don’t fret, Lady Hunter,” Nino said as he scooped Plaxo into his arms. “Nino believes Plaxo can be healed. Nino will send word as soon as possible.”
She didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to Plaxo before a portal appeared a few feet from the table. Had it been there the whole time? Nino didn’t look over his shoulder as he walked through the portal and it closed behind him, sealing the two dream demons in the demon realm.
Nobody spoke immediately following their departure. Sunny turned back to the camper she’d just slept in, determined to salvage her shoes and get on with whatever was next in their journey. Plaxo’s injury had cut her deep, but it also reiterated the fact that they weren’t playing a game. This was real, and Camael and Gideon’s plan to unleash those terrifying red feral bastards had just hit too close to home.
When she’d put shoes back on and promised Jericho she’d replace what she was taking, Sunny met the archangels outside over a late breakfast of campfire bacon and eggs. She was certain they were delicious, but Sunny couldn’t taste anything.
She was trying to let her brain and her heart process the events from the last 12 hours and the bombshell that’d been dropped on her in regards to Gabriel and Asmodeus.
Gabriel and Metatron motioned for Sin to grab Eli and Asmodeus appeared from one of the trailers on his own. When everyone assembled, Sunny still couldn’t meet Eli’s eyes and kept her gaze on Metatron, instead.
“So, what do we do now?” He was looking at Sunny.
“What options do you see for us? Returning to Sedona? What else?”
Metatron nodded. “Yes, we could head back to Arizona right now and try to track Camael and Death on our own, but maybe if the militia could use our help, we could tag along with them,” he offered. “It seems clues are popping up all over the place and they’re really on to something with the sacred lands and the portals.”
Except, this time when they went with the militia, they’d be unable to break the portals. They needed Plaxo for that.
“What’s their next stop?”
Metatron glanced behind him at Jericho as she worked to move equipment and bags to waiting trucks. “I believe she said the entire caravan was moving east and headed to Gallup, New Mexico,” he said.
Sunny was certain that each person assembled at the table had an opinion as to what they should do next. She knew that their idea might not have even been one of the two presented—in fact, she was certain Asmodeus had an idea of how he wanted to approach it all but was not speaking up for some reason. They all had an opinion but Sunny had the decision to make.
And it wasn’t a difficult one to make.
“I guess we’re headed to New Mexico.”
Chapter Twenty-four
Eli
She’d lost her ever-loving mind. That was the only explanation for what the hell Sunny was about the past day.
First, she’d taken the fuck off in that store when he told her to stay put, nearly getting her dream demon killed.
And then she’d summoned another demon using that ring? And now they were following this militia on another wild-goose chase, this time without the portal-breaking dream demon?
None of it made a lick of sense to Eli and it had him nearly shaking with anger.
He found it harder and harder to not notice Sunny’s insistence on making bad choices, most of them done in the heat of the moment and without much regard to any consequences that might arise. She was shooting from the hip at every turn and it was only a matter of time before that method backfired and she shot herself in the foot.
It wasn’t that he didn’t think Sunny was capable and getting better at the role she was thrust in, it’s just that she seemed less and less inclined to gather any sort of feedback from the rest of them for their input—she was still so untested and new to it all. Why couldn’t she see it?
He chugged a beer one of the militia guys had handed him and crushed the can in half with his hand when he was done.
There was still a burn in his chest, a faint memory of the panic he’d felt when he ran back into the store to grab Sunny.
She’d been gone. Fucking gone.
Eli wasn’t that surprised, honestly. He could read Sunny’s face pretty well by now and he knew when she was hiding something, but he didn’t have time to shake a little sense into her and convince her that running through the back door was a really bad idea. He’d just hoped that his tone and command to wait for him had been received and understood.
Obviously, it hadn’t.
The swarm of ferals that had blasted out of the l
aundromat had been half groggy and mostly confused—it was the only reason they weren’t all dead now when they realized Gabriel and Asmodeus were down their supernatural weapons.
He’d seen Gabriel lay waste to fields of enemies before like they were made of butter. A flick of the wrist, if he was in a hurry, something more elaborate when he was trying to make an impression, and their enemies would be piles of ashes. There was nothing quite like what Gabriel, Michael, and Raphael could do.
Sure, legend had it that Camael had the sword of flames and power, and that made him far more powerful than any other archangel, but Eli wasn’t totally convinced of that and on top of it, nothing quite compared to leveling your enemy without having to lay a finger on them.
So, because the ferals that swarmed at them were groggy and not fully fed or rested, between the militia and he, Sin, and Metatron, they’d beaten the swarm back body by body. It’d been gory and inefficient, but Eli was fairly certain he’d cut at least nine demons in half alone—he had no clue how many the others had to fell before they could get to the diner’s building.
That was when he’d run after Sunny and found her missing.
The militia had stayed outside the building and taken the alleyway to the back of the diner while Eli and their team had followed Sunny’s path through the emergency exit and up the back steps into the abandoned kitchen.
The sounds of struggle had been unmistakable, and his adrenaline kicked into full gear in an instant. Eli didn’t wait to make sure he had people behind him, he just ran as fast as his legs could carry him to Sunny. It wasn’t hard to find them with the racket the dream demon was making because of his extensive injuries. He’d been in bad shape.
But Sunshine, at first glance, had been covered in blood. From shoulder to kneecap, there wasn’t a dry spot on her and it was all Eli could do to keep his shit together as the panic he’d felt the day Lacey died came bursting forward, threatening to drown him.
How he managed to keep from completely losing his shit, he still didn’t understand, but when Sunny had assured him that she was unhurt, the rage was the first feeling to follow the helplessness.
How could she? She’d promised him.
And now, almost a half a day later, Eli was still pissed. Despite the fact that they had bigger problems on their hands with the dream demon being taken to Hell for healing (leaving them without the means to destroy the portals) and with a new assignment looming—Eli was pissed off and was likely going to stay that way for a long time unless he and Sunny had some words.
She had just put her bag in the back of Asmodeus’ car when Eli cornered her.
Her eyes grew wide as she took in not only his sudden appearance, but also the look on his face. He wasn’t here to give her a pep talk or to talk about anything nice and squishy, and it seemed obvious that Sunny could tell. She chewed her lower lip and at least had the decency to look nervous.
Sunny didn’t speak first, surprising Eli. Normally, when she was nervous or angry or anxious, her mouth kind of ran away with her and she let anything and everything tumble out of her mouth. But instead, she crossed her arms over her chest and set her face in a stubborn expression and waited on him to start.
Eli almost didn’t know how to react. Almost.
“We need to clear a few things up about what happened yesterday before we go a single step further,” he said, stopping himself from jabbing a finger in her direction. She had him that worked up.
She sighed, at least giving him that. She knew there were things that weren’t right. It took a little of his anger and steam out of him.
“Look, I’m sorry I didn’t wait for you,” she said, getting directly to the point. “But I had to move before your fight set the entire zip code of ferals down on our heads. And I don’t report to you, Eli. You can’t treat me like one of your subordinates—I’m your equal.”
She looked like she wanted to continue, but she snapped her mouth shut instead.
“I don’t treat you like anything less than an equal, Sunshine,” he snapped, the accusation stinging a bit. She was way off base with that one—wasn’t she?
“It’s not true,” she argued. “You act like I report to you and that your word is bond—end of discussion. And you might think that, but I sure don’t.”
“Would it kill you to just listen to someone else once in a while? Someone who actually knows what they’re doing?”
He knew he’d fucked up the moment the words were out of his mouth. Her beautiful blue eyes went wide and then quickly narrowed on him—and Eli swore if they could shoot fire right now, he’d be burned to a light crisp.
Eli also knew that he had a point to what he was saying.
“You just run in like your good luck is never going to run out,” he said. “We’ve had this discussion before—your luck is going to run out eventually and you’re going to get hurt!”
The anger was back and sizzling again when he thought about the consequences of her continuing to act rashly. It was going to be bad, really bad, and Eli wouldn’t survive it.
“What if it’s not luck?” she countered, her hands on her hips and her body language mirroring his own now. “What if I’m making the decisions that I’m supposed to be making? Did that ever occur to you? You’re not the only one with a damned brain in their head.”
Oh, she was mad now and it just fueled Eli’s own anger.
“You got a brain? Try using it once in a while!” He was yelling again, and people were stopping what they were doing, mostly packing up, to watch them. He even saw Gabriel move out from one of the campers and assess the situation.
“I do,” she said, much quieter than him. Her voice was so low and level that it was almost unnerving. “I’m working with everything I’ve been given and if you don’t like how I’m doing things, what’s stopping you from leaving?”
It was like a dagger to the heart. Was she daring him to leave? Was she hoping that he’d call her bluff? Hurt ricocheted through his chest and he clamped his lips shut and stormed off, punching the side of a picnic table as he passed it.
Son of a bitch, but she was infuriating.
He didn’t need to hear Gabriel’s footsteps fall in behind him to know the archangel was following him.
“Not a good time, Gabriel,” he growled, but the annoying angel just kept up with him as he stalked away from the encampment into the desert surroundings. “I’m serious.”
“Oh, I don’t doubt that,” Gabriel said, his voice amused. “But I don’t really care. You need to get control of your feelings for her before they wreck this team.”
That stopped Eli short. He spun around and faced Gabriel, ready to go again.
“What did you just say to me?”
Eli’s chest was tight and he was taking short, aggressive breaths.
“You heard me,” Gabriel said, not backing down. “You need to get over this white knight bullshit of yours because not only is that not what Sunny wants, it’s not what she needs. You’re trying to keep her in one box and she’s moved way beyond that. Everyone sees it. Everyone but you.”
“Bullshit,” Eli said after a pause, but there was no force behind it.
He was still refusing to meet the archangel’s eyes, but the truth of what the angel had said was starting to trickle down. The problem was that Eli was carrying a lot of scars and baggage from his life as a Hunter and he wasn’t certain he’d be able to let all that go at the drop of a hat, especially not since his feelings towards Sunshine Bonnard grew more intense with each passing day.
What if what Gabriel was saying was true? What if this inability to trust Sunny’s instincts did the exact opposite and ruined everything for them? Driving a wedge through their team and making them more vulnerable than ever?
He scrubbed a hand over his face and let out another frustrated growl.
“Son of a bitch,” he growled.
“Exactly,” Gabriel practically beamed. “You owe her an apology, big guy. The sooner the better.”
&nbs
p; Chapter Twenty-five
Eli had her blood boiling, that was for sure.
The ride from their campsite outside Shooting Star to the outskirts of Gallup, New Mexico took about four hours and she stormed through her thoughts, ravaging Eli in her mind, the entire time.
Damn him.
Who did he think he was talking to her like that? Would it kill the asshole to put a little faith in her and everything she’d learned over the past two years?
She dug her fingers into her palms in the backseat where she sat silently and stewed. She’d hardly felt Sin take her hand in his and try to unclench her fingers. Startled when she finally realized he was holding her hand, she let him relax her hand between his.
From his expression, she could tell he really wanted to offer her some sort of comforting words, but in the driver’s seat ahead of them, Mr. Manly Testosterone Face was driving and had basically sucked all the joy and will to engage in conversation from the cabin of the car. Asmodeus was sleeping in the passenger seat, all too happy to take it when Sunny had darted into the backseat as soon as she realized Eli was going to insist on driving.
His words played over and over in her mind as they drove. Use your brain. Reckless. Get people hurt. She was surprised he hadn’t up and accused her of getting Plaxo’s neck nearly ripped open. She could see it in his eyes—he wanted to. And that was enough for her right now.
Gabriel had hinted at Eli’s complicated feelings for her, but she’d refused to listen. There was no way that his feelings were more than a teammate and mentor, was there?
She sighed again just as Sin found a great acupressure spot in the center of her palm and massaged some serious tension away.
It felt like the world was sitting on her shoulders right now and the one person who had been her rock, her fellow human who understood exactly what their job entailed and the toll it took on them, had suddenly turned into her biggest antagonist. It killed her to fight with Eli, when all she wanted to do was confide all of her insecurities and lingering questions to him—to seek clarity through his wisdom and usual stoic nature. Her life felt empty without his quiet, comforting strength and it’d been replaced by this confusing, stifling anger he seemed to throw at her constantly.
