by Reese Monroe
Justin spoke up. “I had a few guys help us, and we put it all in a trailer. It’s here in the south garage.”
“He can really mess with minds, girl. He just strolled up to a few guys and told them to get to work. And they did.” She shook her head, then pointed at Justin. “You stay out of my head, you got that?”
“I’m an immortal Shomrei, but even I wouldn’t chance a look into your head.” He flicked her shoulder and turned toward the kitchen.
Theo twined his fingers with Sadie’s, and they followed after Justin and Dasha. “You must be hungry.”
“Starving.”
She walked into the kitchen to a full spread of food. Sandwiches, chips, chili, soup, soda, brownies, and cupcakes—chocolate with white frosting. Her favorite.
“What’s all this for?” She turned to Theo. “This is awesome!”
“A little belated graduation and birthday party. You really didn’t get to celebrate,” he said. “Unless you call making a trip to Hades a celebration.”
“Um, that’d be a no. This is way better.” She planted a tiny kiss on his cheek and whipped around to the table of junk food.
She bit her cheek to keep herself from crying over his sweet gesture. He made her feel so treasured.
After filling her plate, Sadie plopped down next to Dasha at the table, while Theo and Justin moved across the room, talking.
“You two seem…very much a couple.” Dasha bit into a cupcake.
“It’s freaking awesome.” She smiled. “How are you? How was your last final?”
“Crappy. Got a C, but I held on for a B-minus, so I’m good. Mom’ll be proud.”
“She’s okay with you staying here for the summer?”
“I told her I was going to do a little internship in theater for experience. She ate that shit up.”
Sadie laughed and fell into some comfortable chatter with Dasha about what was going on with Theo.
“A rock? Let me see!” Dasha squealed, grabbing Sadie’s hand.
It felt nice having her best friend there, talking her through things and giving her support. She didn’t seem at all weirded out by what Sadie was telling her.
“Hon. You know I have to ask you this because I love you, right?” Dasha said as she grabbed her hand. “You sure about all this? I mean, you’re engaged after knowing him only four days.”
She nodded. “I know. This goes against every strain of logic I have in me.”
“And you have a lot in you!”
“I told him I wasn’t ready for anything more than the ring right now. But, Dash, this is real. It’s so strange.” She rubbed her shoulder.
Dasha sipped her soda. “But still, I ask again. You sure?”
“I am. For once, I feel like I belong somewhere. With someone. Like I could make a difference in someone’s life. Hell, bunches of peoples’ lives, if I’m going to be keeping demons like Aggie away from them. Look what he did to Isabelle.”
“Oh, and she’s okay, by the way. Doesn’t remember anything past seeing you in the bathroom. Justin went around with his little mind-control thing after we packed, too, just to make sure everything was cleaned up.” Dasha leaned in closer. “He’s wicked strong.”
Sadie saw a light flicker in Dasha’s eyes. “You like him.”
“Maybe.” She leaned back again. “Remember when we talked about how Theo might be able to help find that Nicole Carrigan woman who took you in when you were a baby?”
“I do.”
“Well, Justin’s pretty resourceful computer-wise, you know?”
“And just how do you know that?” She winked.
“We spent the day together, dork, and the drive up here. Anyway, I—well—I hope you don’t mind, but I worked a little on finding Nicole, and Justin helped me iron out a few things.”
“You did?” Sadie’s heart stuttered.
Dasha nodded as she leaned to the side and dug out a piece of gum from her back pocket. Always cinnamon. “Yeah, well, I was waiting around for you guys and needed something to do.”
“Dash, oh my gosh, did you find something?” Sadie glanced at Theo, then back to Dasha.
“You said you tracked her to Colorado through a speeding ticket she’d gone to court for?”
“Yeah. Public records.”
“Well, it looks like a Nicole Carrigan joined Facebook yesterday. It’s weird, though, because the profile picture is just blank and nothing’s filled out.” She cracked her gum and crooked her eyebrows. “But there are a few pictures of a young kid tagged to her timeline from a Wendy Brush with a comment that said something about how the little rascal already missed her and how the visit was great fun.”
“You’re serious? Does Nicole’s profile say where she is?”
“It’s blank, but Nicole left a comment on one of the pictures, and it tagged her location. You know how we had to change the settings to turn that off? She must have forgotten.” Dasha grinned. “Colorado.”
“It’s got to be the same person. Oh my gosh. We should tell—”
Hair prickled along Sadie’s neck, then her bare arm. She stood and found Theo by the fridge still, talking to Justin, but it clearly wasn’t about sports any longer. They’d both shifted into tense-jawed discussion.
“Theo,” Sadie said. “What’s wrong?”
Justin cocked his head at her, then looked at Theo. “She felt that?”
Theo stepped to her side. “What is it?”
“You’re anxious all of a sudden. What’s wrong?”
He smiled, and his chest puffed out as if proud, yet she hadn’t figured out what she’d done.
“A splice is opening, love.”
“Aggie?”
“No. Something less intense. I need to go.”
“I’ll go with.”
“It’s in Iowa. Near the Quad Cities. I have to breach time to get there.” He kissed her forehead. “I’ll be fast.”
“Take me with you. You can do that, right?” She might as well give this a try.
“I can, but I’m not so sure that’s a good idea.”
“You said it was less intense and that it’ll be quick.” She nodded. “So, you must not be too worried.”
He glanced at Justin and he shrugged. “She’s a badass karate chick. I say go for it.”
Sadie pointed to Justin. “Yeah. What he said.”
Theo stared at her for a long, hard second. “Fine. Let’s go get some things, and I’ll tell you how this is going to work.” He reached for her hand. “It’s my way or no way, Sadie.”
She glanced at Dasha, then took Theo’s hand. “Bring it.”
Chapter Thirty-five
“You sure you’re okay?” Theo asked Sadie as they stepped out from the splice. She looked about as green as the trees around them.
“Fine.” She swallowed hard and looked around. “Where are we?”
“Southwest corner of a small town just outside the city,” he said, waving her toward him. They needed to get moving. The splice would open soon.
She stepped beside him, eyes scanning her surroundings. Already she fell into the Gatekeeper roll. To accept and deal with everything thrown at her so quickly, he was simply amazed.
But also worried. He’d had Justin check into what Aggie might have meant about her “other half,” but he hadn’t come up with anything. Old records showed “unknown” for parents. He’d found Sadie’s birth certificate, and it, too, reflected that.
Her parents were truly anonymous. Almost as if she’d been dropped off on a doorstep with no witnesses as to who—or what—had left her there.
“Have you always been strong? Did I hear you tell that to Dasha once?”
“Yeah. I mean, I’m tiny—er—was tiny. Barely five feet, yet I could lift heavy things forever. The group home kids didn’t mess with me, let’s put it that way.”
He smiled, picturing her, his little Mate, defending herself from the rotten kids picking on her. “And you were never placed in a home?”
“A few ti
mes. Not for very long, though. No one ever wanted me.” She pointed ahead. “So. How do you know where to land?”
“Instinct. The Great One guides me.” He started walking. “What do you mean no one ever wanted you?” That sounded harsh, but the way she slipped it in right before asking him another question led him to believe she was still hurt by it.
“Pretty much what I said. If the people I’d stayed with wanted me, they would have adopted me.” She looked straight ahead. “How do you get back, then?”
“Same splice. It stays open for me to return home.”
“So that’s how you can cover a whole country.” She pointed up ahead. “What’s that?”
“Damn it. Splice is already opened.” He drew out his Mavet and held it up. “You have yours?”
She nodded and pulled it from her ankle holster.
He grabbed her hand. “Remember the plan if things go bad.”
“Run. Call Justin. He’ll get me help.”
Theo dipped his head and drew in a deep breath. Head tilted back, he pulled in another one. Sulfur. Nearby. West. “Come on.”
He took off in a sprint, and Sadie followed close behind. She sure did get speed, didn’t she?
A thick wall of sulfur rammed into him. His stomach clenched, and he slowed to a stop. Sadie mimed his motions, dagger up, knees bent.
Movement along the edge of his vision caught his attention. “Get down.”
She squatted and turned toward the movement. He tossed his dagger and said the vanquish. Another demon burst through the vapor of his comrade and tackled Sadie. Fangs out, he chomped at her neck. She deflected with her forearm, and the sharp teeth sank in. She yelped, then kicked, the momentum pitching him over her, and she rolled into a back handspring and hopped to her feet.
Theo scanned the area and found no traces of other demons. He stepped toward the one wrestling with his Mate and watched, ready to intervene, though Sadie didn’t appear to need much help at the moment.
Two daggers clashed, sending a spark into the air. He sensed poison emanating from the weapon, though, and Sadie had been infected with that more than he cared to remember.
He stepped forward to help, but she buried the blade into the demon’s neck and recited the vanquish. She stumbled forward when the demon disappeared, but she stayed upright.
“Oh my gosh, what a rush!”
He let out a laugh. “A rush, huh?”
She wiped away the sweat clinging to her forehead and nodded. “Do they always smell that bad?”
“Unfortunately.” He slid his weapon into his holster and leaned against the tree trunk of an ancient cottonwood looming over them.
“How do we seal up the splice?”
“Come on, I’ll show you.” He pushed off the tree. “Ready for another jog?”
She grinned and took off running. Such spunk. He bolted after her, then patted her butt when he caught up.
“Wait,” she yelled as she skidded to a stop. “Look.”
He followed her line of sight.
“See that?”
A small body of water was surrounded by sprawling oak trees and bright green grass. “Beautiful. It’s not like the desert out here in the Midwest is it?” he said.
“No. The two people in white robes. Standing right there.” She stepped forward. “They’re beautiful.”
He squinted but saw nothing. From the conviction etching Sadie’s forehead, he had no doubt she truly saw something. “Tell me, what do they look like?”
“Long blond hair. Tall, thin. White robes. And dang, they’re almost glowing.”
“Robes? Cinched around the waist?”
She nodded and stepped forward. “No. Don’t go. Please.”
Theo strained to look, but couldn’t see anything. No people. No angels. But what she’d described was an angel. Two of them. Together. Watching her.
That couldn’t be good.
Angels rarely came to earth, and even more rarely did they hide themselves from his sight, because they were usually there to guide him or give him instructions of some sort.
But they’d revealed themselves to Sadie instead of him.
That didn’t make sense. Well, unless his time was over as a Gatekeeper. That didn’t make sense, either. He would have to perish before being replaced, and he couldn’t die until after he was mated. Then again, everything with Sadie has been different.
Touching the Mavet, acquiring abilities only a Mated Shomrei should, and now seeing Heavenly Hosts when he couldn’t.
And Halena, she was leaving her post to come here, which was something Gatekeepers rarely did. But maybe she’d been prompted by The Great One in preparation for something.
Yes. Something was up in the Shomrei world and all of this was related. Had to be. Maybe these Heavenly Hosts were part of that. Were bringing a message to Sadie.
He stepped up to his Mate and rested his arm around her shoulder. “Do you still see them?”
“No,” she whispered. “What just happened there?”
“I think you saw two Heavenly Hosts.”
She glanced up at him. “Those are the good guys, right?”
He smiled. “Think of them as…assistants to our boss, The Great One.”
“Like angels.”
He gave a nod.
“You couldn’t see them?”
“Seems they were meant for your eyes alone. But how you described them tells me they’re Heavenly Hosts.”
“They faded almost right away when I noticed them.”
“Hmmm.”
“I’m not liking that you don’t know what’s going on.” She faced him, hands on hips. “You always know what’s going on. I mean, you should, since you’re the millennium-old Gatekeeper. You’re the oldest, right?”
He dipped his head, sensing a meltdown coming. Fear, doubt, all of it tumbled through her facial features and clouded her normally bright eyes.
“So, how come only I could see them? And then they—why didn’t they say or do something? Doesn’t make sense.”
“It doesn’t.”
“Why couldn’t you see them, Theo?” She placed her hand against the tree as if to help her stand straight.
“Are you okay?”
“Um. No. I’m seeing things now. Not to mention running faster than a Corvette drives at top speed. I’ve gotten engaged to someone I’ve known less than five days, and, I’m sorry to go all girl on you here, but I’m really starting to freak out.”
He’d wondered when this would happen. She’d been taking things way too eagerly and positively. “Sadie. It’s okay.”
“I’m thinking not, Theo.” She looked in the direction where the angels had been and squinted. “I feel like my head is spinning out of control. Tell me something. Talk to me. Give me some information, that’ll help.”
“Want to see my fangs again?” he joked.
She froze, eyes wide, then doubled over laughing. “I didn’t expect that one.”
“I’m full of surprises like that.” He brushed his hand along her spine and rested it at the nape of her neck. “Heavenly Hosts, or angels as the world knows them best, are here, observing, helping, learning.”
“Learning?”
“Ways to help the humans, to guide them away from the path of destruction since it’s pretty much ingrained in humans. You can thank Adam and Eve for that. But Heaven is not without its influences.” He guided her to a standing position. “The Great One creates beings like us to help monitor evil’s pull on the world. We present choices to the humans they don’t know exist. Evil betrays, deceives, and it’s our duty to shed light. Maintain some semblance of balance. Protect those who can make a difference in this world.”
She stepped beside him and started walking. He wasn’t sure toward what, but he let her lead.
“Go on. Tell me more about how you were created.”
They hadn’t gotten that far the other night. Though he wasn’t complaining because it had led to much touching and bonding. “The Great One c
reates Gatekeepers with his breath. I look now as I did then.”
“So you were never a baby.”
“Right. Fully grown. Supplied with much knowledge, though it took some time to master it all.” He smiled. “We’re created for one purpose—to serve.”
“The Great One?”
“And humans. You’ve seen the evil that leaks out from Hades. Without the Gatekeepers, things would be chaotic. Even more than they are now.” He grabbed her hand. “Where are you leading us?”
“Not sure. Just walking. Enjoying the green trees. Keep going. Tell me more about this mother-type you had.”
“Sabrina. She was with Justin and me for a few years to help us adjust and learn.” He smiled. “And she told me of my Mate.”
“Me?”
“Of course, we didn’t know your name or anything about you. But she shared her knowledge with me.”
“So that’s why you’re so sweet.” She smiled. “Where’s Sabrina now?”
“She moves on to Gatekeepers as she’s needed, but in between she resides with our Great One in the heavens.”
“Now that’s a mom, all right.”
“Tell me, love. Do you know anything of your birth parents?”
“Not a lick.”
“Ever try to find out?”
“Yeah. I broke into my group home leader’s files. Ms. Sergeant Kick Ass is what we called her. Another kid who was a drop-off like me wanted to see if they knew more than they were telling us.”
“Drop-off?” He scanned the area, taking in the trees flanking them.
“No parents. You know, just dropped off at the doorstep.”
“I get it.” He squeezed her hand.
“Anyway, we were digging through files. Mine was pretty much empty. As in, only a sheet of paper that said confidential. Of course, that piqued my interest even more. I picked the lock of the safe, where I guessed confidential stuff was hidden.” She grinned and swung their clasped hands. “I was right.”
His heart soared with hope. Had she found something when he and Justin couldn’t?
“More dead ends. My file just had my birth certificate, which I’d already seen, that said unknown for parents.”
“What happened next?”
“I got so busted. I thought Sergeant Kick Ass was going to kill me. But I turned on the tears and asked her to help me find something. She didn’t know anything.”
