Cade opened his mouth, then shut it. He folded his arms across his chest, scowling.
“I’ve been there. I even lived there for a while. I know where to go and how to move about the city without calling attention to myself. Speaking of which, you two need to keep those things hidden. So that means no flying.” Lukas flicked his finger at Cade’s wings.
My jaw dropped. Lukas was out of his mind. He knew exactly what Cade was capable of. He had a taste of it yesterday, yet he still dared to piss off the powerful archangel.
Cade fingers curled into a tight, deadly fist. His face turned pink, then red, then another shade I didn’t know existed. Seconds passed, and Lukas was still alive. I was shocked.
“Flying is faster,” Cade finally said in a low growl, his lips barely moving.
“Well, then, kiss those suckers good-bye. Newly fallen angels have to give up their wings as a tithe to Rahab. You’ll be a targeted if you go into the city with them. Not to mention bringing attention to yourself if the hunters see you flying in the desert.”
Cade’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.
Lukas smirked. “You didn’t know that, did you? You probably didn’t know that the fallen can choose whether they want to be in the demon lord’s army of hunters. Isn’t that nice of him? Either way, no wings for you. So either hide them or give them up before you get into the city because you don’t want to know what happens if you get caught with them. Believe me, I’ve seen it. It isn’t pretty. Oh, and speaking of pretty.” Taking a few steps back, he scooped a couple of handful of dirt and tossed it over Cade and Big John.
There was a beat of silence before all hell broke loose as Tovah and I yelled at Lukas.
“Lukas! One does not disrespect the archangels. Explain yourself.”
“Knock it off! Stop being an ass!”
Cade lunged for him. I immediately placed myself between them, hoping he wouldn’t flatten me into a pancake. Fortunately, Big John was faster and latched onto Cade’s waist, holding him back.
Lukas gazed down at me, his gray eyes twinkling with amusement. “Chill, Senna. I’m doing them a favor. They need to be uglified.” Turning to Big John, he explained, “Your skin can’t look too perfect. Being in the sun will help with that, but you look too angelic.”
I thought about the hunters I’d seen yesterday. They had a hardened look about them. They were very different from the graceful beauty Cade and Big John exuded.
“Ugh, Lukas is right,” I said.
“Told ya. And they’re not the only ones who need to blend in. Check in the sack.”
I dug into the large, leather-worn bag and pulled out several pieces of long-sleeved clothing, robes with hoods, and knee-length boots. “What is this?”
“Put it on. It’s what the others in the city wear. There are clothes for Big John and Cade, too.”
“I can vouch for Lukas and his words. He was sent to the city to get as much information as he could in preparation for this day,” Tovah said when Cade glared at the fitted shirt and hooded robe Big John held out to him. “He may be…crass sometimes, but he would never do anything that will bring harm to the Sanctuary or Senna.”
“Thanks, Tovah—I think,” Lukas said.
“Fine.” Cade snatched the clothes. “But you can’t expect us to ride all the way there. It’ll take days. And I thought horses were afraid of angels.”
“They don’t particularly like angels, but they’re not afraid. Big John rides his horse all the time,” Lukas said.
Big John nodded, patting his horse. “It’s true. I’ve never had a problem with my horse.”
“Besides,” Lukas continued. “If riding is what keeps Senna from being shot down by the hunters, then yes, we’re going to ride there. You’ve seen them. They’re out there looking for witches. And even if you aren’t a witch, they’ll shoot you too if you’re caught in the desert.”
“Then you shouldn’t go,” I said. “I can’t have you risk your life.”
Lukas eyes softened as he gazed at me. “Don’t worry. I have this to protect us.” He held up his crossbow. The arrow’s tip was covered in a purple paste just like the one he shot at Cade yesterday.
“Your weapon is of no use to any angels—fallen or not. It’ll hardly cause any injury,” Cade said.
Lukas gave him a wicked smile. “That’s where you’re wrong again. These arrows will take the hunters and you down. It would’ve taken you down yesterday if the wind hadn’t thrown off my aim. Wanna give it another go?” He aimed the crossbow at Cade.
“Will you two stop it?” I rolled my eyes. The hunters were the least of our worries. These two were going to kill each other before we could even step out of the Sanctuary.
“Is this the stuff from your pouch that you got in the city?” I asked.
“Yep, I lined all the arrows with it. And it does work.”
“Do you mind if I take a look?” Big John asked.
“Of course.” Lukas handed the crossbow to him.
“Be careful, Jahoel,” Tovah said. “It contains powerful magic.”
“I can see that,” he said.
“Who gave it to you?” I asked.
Lukas hesitated a moment before turning to Big John and taking back his crossbow. Avoiding eye contact, he hopped onto Milo. “Someone in the city. It’s not important. We have long day ahead. We should move out.”
I shook my head. He was acting strange. What was he hiding and why did his face suddenly look flushed?
Getting onto Mika, I headed out to the boundary’s edge and stopped. I took one last look at the Sanctuary, memorizing each beautiful flower and snowcapped mountain.
We waited for Cade, who walked around his horse, appearing to size her up. For someone who was in such a hurry to leave, he was sure taking his time. Sensing Cade’s hesitancy, the horse pawed at the ground nervously, shaking her thick mane.
“I’ll help him,” Big John said.
“Wait. I think he’s going to do it.”
In one swift movement, Cade leaped onto the horse. The horse whinnied, threw up its legs, and charged out of the Sanctuary.
It was a second later that Cade yelled.
14
It was a mile away from the boundary where I finally found Cade lying flat on his back in the sand. His horse stood a few feet away, gazing at him warily.
Snickering, I got off Mika and stood over him. He held his arm over his eyes, shielding himself from the bright light. All I could see were lips moving as he mumbled to himself.
“Nap time already?”
He lifted his arm a tad. Even from under his arm’s shadow, his eyes were a vivid blue. “You find this amusing?”
“Why, yes, I do.” I grinned.
Lukas slowed Milo and peer down at Cade as he passed us. Big John followed close behind him.
“You know, the idea is to ride the horses to the city,” Lukas said.
“You’re funny, too. Before the war, you’d probably have made it as a comedian,” Cade said.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“It’s a jokester who got paid for being funny,” Big John said.
“That sounds like Lukas all right. “I laughed, holding my hand out to Cade. “Want some help with your horse?”
Shaking his head, he stood, brushing the sand off his body. He headed back to his horse.
“He doesn’t need help,” Lukas said. “He’s the all-mighty archangel, remember?”
I glared. Now Lukas was being an ass. As arrogant as Cade had been acting, at least he was trying.
And he was failing miserably.
Every time Cade approached the horse, she kicked her legs, flinging sand everywhere. He’d take a step, flailing his arms telling the horse to calm down.
“Are you coming? He might be at it for hours,” Lukas said.
Poor Cade sailed through the air, landing with a hard thud.
“Uh, I’ll stay and help Cade. We’ll catch up to you.”
“All right.” Lukas let
out a frustrated breath. “Big John and I will scout ahead. Don’t take too long.”
After Big John and Lukas rode off, I jumped off Mika and went to Cade.
“The horse is cursed,” he said, spitting out a mouthful of sand.
I chuckled at the sight of him. Lukas didn’t have to worry about Cade’s good looks giving him away anymore. He was a mess. “She is not. You’re just making her nervous.”
Groaning, he stood and ran his hands vigorously through his hair, sending sand flying everywhere. “Why? I’m not going to hurt her.”
“She doesn’t know that. Horses are sensitive. They can pick up on what you’re feeling. Are you nervous?”
“Of course not. I’m a highly trained archangel. I’ve been in many battles.”
I raised an eyebrow, not saying a word as he rattled out a list of battles I’d never heard of. After a couple of minutes of epic eye rolling, he finally realized I wasn’t buying his nonsense.
“Okay, so I’ve never ridden a horse before,” he said.
“Thank you. Was that so hard?”
He looked at me, and then he did something so unexpected I almost wish he hadn’t.
He grinned.
His lips curled up into a glorious smile, lighting up his handsome face. “So you’re the horse expert. What do I do now?”
My stomach went into a free fall. I took a step away and pushed back my hood, wishing I could turn off the hormones that suddenly decided to reappear. Now was not the time to get all hot and bothered. The sun’s searing heat was bad enough.
“Let me talk to her.” I went to his horse, thankful for the distraction.
Reaching into the small pouch around my waist, I pulled out a couple of sugar cubes and whispered in her ear as I gently stroked her. “Don’t worry about him. He’s a little crunchy sometimes, but he’s harmless. He could use your help. He thinks he knows everything. He doesn’t.”
“Are you actually talking to a horse?”
“Of course.”
“And she understands you?”
“Yep.” I leaned in close to her ear and whispered, “See what I mean?”
The horse looked over to Cade, studying him. She snorted and then nodded, as if saying she understood.
I turned to Cade. “She’s ready to meet you now. Introduce yourself to her.”
He laughed. “What?”
“Tell her who you are.”
“You’re joking again, right?’
“Come on, Cade. I’m burning up here.” At least when riding, there would be some wind blowing even if it was hot.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” he muttered as he went up to his horse. “Um, hello…horse. I’m Cade, your resident archangel. I’m a nice guy when you get to know me. I play a mean game of cards. My favorite color is blue. I have a sweet tooth like you. Uh, let’s see…I’m an Aries.” He glanced back at me. “Should I go on?”
I folded my arms across my chest. “Will you stop messing around and take this seriously?”
“I am being serious. You know, humans in the old world would call this a first date.” His eyes twinkled with amusement.
“Yeah, yeah. Go ahead and try petting her. Let’s see how she responds.”
“I usually don’t pet until the second—fine, I’ll do it. Scowl any harder and your head is going to pop off.”
I wished my head would pop off. I wasn’t mad. That was the problem. If I were, my stomach wouldn’t be running around doing flip-flops like it was right now. He was being silly and kind, and it was freaking me out. It was hard to concentrate on anything besides those sensual lips curled into a sexy lopsided grin.
Cade slowly approached his horse and placed his hand on her back. The horse craned her neck. She eyed him for a moment before ducking her nose near his arm. He responded by stroking her head.
“It worked,” he said, sounding surprised.
“Told you.”
“Thank you, Senna.”
“It was nothing,” I said quickly. The way he said my name with that sexy voice of his was not helping the situation. I turned to get back on Mika, eager to get some space between us, when he stopped me.
“Please. Let me apologize. I think we got off on the wrong foot.”
The warmth of his hand on my arm seared through layers of clothing.
No. I groaned. He was being sweet now. I couldn’t handle this side of him.
“You think?” I snapped. Being snarky was the best I could come up with to keep him at a distance.
“You’re still mad. Fair enough. While I was lying flat on my back, it gave me time to think about how awful I was to you. I’m not usually like a—how should I describe it?”
“Arrogant bonehead?”
“I wouldn’t say that.”
“Blockhead?”
“I don’t think—”
“Knucklehead?”
“Seriously, Senna.”
“Asswipe to the tenth degree?”
His eyes widened for a moment. Then he threw his head back and laughed. “That bad, huh?”
“Yeah.” His laughter was contagious. I couldn’t hold back anymore, and I chuckled with him. He was making it impossible not to like him.
When his chuckles quieted, we stared at each other in awkward silence for a few moments before his face turned serious. “I’m sorry, Senna. There’s a lot on my mind, and there’s so much at stake here.”
The touch of his hand, the deepness in his voice, the sincere expression on his face…it was too much. I pulled my arm out of his grasp. I needed to leave now. “I get it. Being responsible for saving the world can be a little stressful.”
“Wait a second.”
My breath hitched as he leaned down, his lips slightly parted. He was so close I could see every inch of his flawless face in vivid detail. The pupils of his eyes were tiny darts in a sea of blue. His scruff was a mixture of a reddish brown that lined a perfectly sculpted jaw.
A light breeze blew. His masculine scent, a sensual mix of musk and woods, filled my senses. It washed over me, keeping me under his spell.
He lowered his head, his fingers brushing over my hair as if he were about to cradle my head and kiss me. My heart went into overdrive.
“Keep this on. It helps with the glare,” he said as he pulled the hood back over my head.
“Uh, thanks.” Mika’s nose shoved my back, making me snap out of my daze. I was so messed up. It was the bright light and the heat under all these damn clothes. Yeah, the desert. I wasn’t used to the desert heat. It was making me see things that were not there.
I forced myself to ignore how graceful Cade’s body moved as he mounted his horse. The way his powerful leg glided through the air with ease while his foot barely touched the stirrup. Or how he ran his hand over her sleek coat before clicking his tongue. And how his chiseled jaw peeked out from underneath his hood.
Tearing my eyes away, I turned and stared at the empty air until I could make out the faint outline of the poplar trees. This was what I was fighting for. The Sanctuary and the people in it were all that mattered, and I couldn’t let anything get in the way of that—especially myself.
15
My lips were chapped, my butt ached, and there wasn’t a speck of shade in sight. We’d been riding for hours, and the sun stayed motionless high in the cloudless sky. Cade wasn’t kidding about the eternal light being a part of the curse. It was hell out here. If we didn’t get out of this heat soon, the sledgehammer whacking against my temples was going to crack my skull in two.
“I don’t see anything, Lukas. Are you sure the shelter is near?” I squinted, looking out in the distance. No buildings, no animals, not even an insect. There was only the hazy heat swaying over the sand.
“Yep. I stayed there myself. It just over the hill,” he said. “The hunters use the town to store some of their supplies. There’s even water for the horses.”
“Good. The horses are getting tired. They need a rest,” Cade said, patting his horse affect
ionately.
“I’ll wait at the top of the hill,” Lukas said to me. He tapped Milo, making him trot ahead, and ignored Cade again.
I scowled, making my throbbing headache even worse. Since we’d left the Sanctuary, Cade appeared to be making amends with all of us. Why couldn’t Lukas at least pretend to get along with Cade? When Cade apologized to Big John, he simply patted Cade’s back, saying he understood.
Maybe Lukas was jealous of their relationship. Lukas had always been Big John’s right-hand man. They did everything together. There were moments when Cade and Big John looked at each other and seemed to communicate silently, leaving Lukas and me out of the loop. When Big John caught me staring, he said he knew Cade and his family very well, then quickly changed the subject.
Interesting how over the past twenty-four hours, I was finally seeing Big John in a different light. He had a life before the Sanctuary. The fact he wasn’t ready to share it with me made me sad. He was one of the very few I trusted. He always seemed so open with me. Now I knew better, and it hurt.
Even Lukas was different. I seemed to have left my thoughtful best friend behind at the Sanctuary. Every time Cade approached Lukas, Lukas pressed his lips in a thin line, clenched his jaw, mumbled some excuse, and rode away.
At one point, Cade finally got Lukas to ride beside him. It might have been because I kept giving Lukas my death glare. But even that didn’t seem to help.
Cade had spoken quietly to Lukas, but I couldn’t quite make out what he told him. I thought I heard him apologize and ask about his throat. Lukas just gave him a curt nod and steered Milo to Big John, saying he had to check on a location.
“Show me that paper again, Big John. What did you call it?”
“A map,” he said, handing it to me.
I glanced down at the document, reading the words “Map of Nevada” written across it. As we rode through the desert, Big John pointed to the paper, showing us the many small towns and where they once stood. When we passed, all that was left were countless sand dunes.
Archangel's Fire Page 8
