He said this like I should be ashamed of not being invited to a shindig where a freaking wendigo nominates one person to convert or slaughter. It took everything I had not to roll my eyes, but as my left eye started to twitch, I figured I was starting to lose that battle.
The thin man shivered. “Is it cold in here, or is it just me?”
The headmistress tilted her head to the side as she studied me. “Well, it looks as if the only thing our Gabriella is good for is snaring the commander.” She chuckled. “Soulmate.” As she dismissed me for the below-average demi that she thought me to be, she grabbed the trail of her dress and spun around. “Come on, Thalan; let us mingle.”
Remy whispered, “This party blows.”
Then Ezra whispered, “When I unbind your powers, you might feel like you want to pass out. Don’t.”
“Good advice, oh wise one,” I snarked.
He jerked his head toward a small door behind the DJ booth. “That is where the kitchens are. Head that way, pretending to look for a bathroom. I’ll be on your heels.”
I sighed. All these clandestine meetings were falling under the pretense that my bladder is weak, but I guess it could be worse.
I walked hurriedly toward the kitchens. And as soon as I made it inside the door, a hand was laid upon me from behind, steering me into a cooler where herbs were kept.
“We must hurry,” Ezra said. “It’s going to be painful but try to relax.”
I gave him a what-the-hell look. “Why would you even say that?”
He shrugged. “Pep talks aren’t really my thing.”
“So, just say nothing.”
He stared at me blankly for a few seconds until I groaned. I had way too many smartasses in my life.
“Okay. Get on with it.”
With his huge hands, he grabbed either side of my head. Heat swirled from his palms that would have made me sweat if we weren’t in an icy cooler. My knees almost buckled, but the pressure he had on my head kept me upright.
“Stay with me,” he commanded.
“Trying,” I gritted out.
It might have been seconds or minutes later, but I found myself on my knees with sweat dripping off my forehead and onto the cement of the freezer floor. My vision darkened. Power swirled back to me stronger than I ever recalled. It must have been building even with the bind around my mind.
“I’d like to give you time to recoup, but we don’t have any,” he said, his voice sounding so far away. “Let me help you to your feet and get you back out there.”
I felt like my intestines had been jerked out of my body, reorganized, and a toddler had shoved them back in. But I could again feel my bond with Finn, and in that, there was hope.
I was weak now, but I could already feel my body beginning to heal itself. In a few minutes, this academy wouldn’t know what hit them.
The music was blasting out a rap song about lucid dreams, but my head no longer throbbed as the lyrics pumped out of the speakers. Everyone was dancing and swaying to the music, celebrating the upcoming sacrifice with wine and champagne. They were all so jovial, whether it be because they were sadistic and longed to see a young girl torn apart by a wendigo or because they were happy that it wasn’t their necks on the chopping block. I didn’t know, nor care. Regardless, I was able to sit on the barstool and catch my breath as I dabbed at the sweat with a bar napkin.
“Are you good?” Ezra asked.
Emotionally? Hell no, I wasn’t. I felt like I was dreaming, a very realistic dream. However, physically, I was doing as good as could be expected.
“Peachy.”
He gave me a half-smile. “I’ve got to go talk with my brother. Stay at least a few feet from Thalan.”
I waved him away then leaned my elbows back against the bar, watching the crowd. I felt the air around me grow colder as I watched a young male who was bartending as he poured someone a glass of wine. Then I swiveled on my stool to scan the crowd.
I could feel Finn. He was so close.
Out of the side of my mouth, I said to the cold air next to me, “I need you to do me a favor. Go as fast as you can and tell Finn to be patient. Tell him, if he storms in here right now, my plan will backfire. Also, tell him that, for some reason, the headmistress wants him close, so he needs to do the opposite. I don’t want him anywhere near those lavender fields.”
Remy’s voice was barely above a whisper when she replied, “Glad someone has a freaking plan. Is it just me, or is this like a total shitshow?”
“Tell him that they will try to harm me to get to him. Give me three hours, and then he can storm the damn gates.”
“I don’t want to leave you.”
The bartender came closer, grabbed a rag, and then turned back to the other side.
“I know.”
“Can you feel him? Is he close?”
I slightly nodded. “I can feel him. That’s why I’m worried. He is in sight of this school. He needs to back away. I can feel his anger and his bloodlust. He knows that I can feel him, and he’s waiting for a sign, but not patiently, so please go and hurry back.”
She sighed, but she did as I asked.
It took an hour before my friend returned. When she came over to me, the bar was now crowded, so I evacuated my seat and found us a corner near the golden doors. Waiting a few minutes to make sure that no one watched me, I asked her what had happened.
She didn’t answer right away, causing my anxiety to rise.
“Remy …”
She sighed. “Did Trev or his hot-ass brother talk to you?”
I looked around for the brothers who were currently missing from my eyesight. “Um … no. About what?”
She hesitated before saying, “I couldn’t find the commander.”
Impossible. I felt him.
“So, where did Richard and Dan say he had gone? Did you see Hannah?”
“Nope. Didn’t see any of them.”
My powers thrummed inside of me. She was lying.
“Remy, what is going on?”
“Shh … They’ll hear us,” she said as students started coming closer to our hideout. “You know we are all going to be stuck at this damn academy, right?”
I watched the headmistress twirl around with a portly fellow. “Maybe. Maybe not. But why are you saying that now?”
“I’ll be back,” Remy said.
“Wait.”
But it was too late. She was already gone.
What the heck was Remy up to? I knew that Finn was alive and not hurt, because I could feel him. He was so close, rage and hunger burning through him. He was agitated and close, but where was he?
Trev grabbed ahold of my elbow. “Did you eat any of the candy in the bowls?”
I staggered to the left, making him almost scoop me up from the floor. A few people laughed as I giggled.
“Whoopsie,” I said.
“Yeah, whoopsie. I should have told you, but I’ve been a little distracted trying to converse with Thalan so he doesn’t get too close to you.”
I stumbled again.
“That wasn’t real candy. You’ll be hallucinating in no time. Hopefully, with your uncanny powers, you will burn through the drug relatively fast, but for the next fifteen minutes, at least, you’re going to be riding dragons and seeing purple elephants.”
“Elephants!” I squealed. “Oh em gee, they are my favorite animal. So damn loyal, they are. Super stoked about that. Don’t know about dragons, though. Am I flame retardant?”
He shook his head and sighed.
As Trev steered me through the crowd, I looked for the headmistress, but she was nowhere in sight.
I dug in my heels and whispered, “I got to go find Finn.”
“Nope. You need water.” He was talking to someone while I swayed my hips to the music.
Someone pushed me down in a chair, and then I heard Ezra’s deep voice. “She needs to sleep. She’ll heal faster.”
“We are kind of on a time crunch,” Remy said.
&nb
sp; I slurred, “Oh, hey, bestie who is hiding a secret. Would you like to share with the class? I know you’re lying, so spill it. You know I could just try to sift through your thoughts; pluck them from that brain of yours.”
“Shit,” Ezra said. “Try to block my body.”
A warm hand covered my spinning head. The heat from their palm made me sigh right before the world turned dark.
I had to be dream walking. I felt someone pulling me toward them. I swear, if it was that witch, Camaella, I was going to ball up in a fetal position and cry for my archangel mommy. That had me laughing as the dream began to grow clearer.
I walked across a meadow to the familiar archangel. Sandalphon sat on a rock near a creek bed. The muddy water flowed down the stream behind him, and the sun was shining on his blond hair, making him look every bit the angel that he was. His blue eyes twinkled as I neared.
“Hello, Gabriella.”
I didn’t understand why I was here. If I could dream walk to anyone, it would have been Finn.
“Not who you wanted to see?” Sandalphon chuckled. “I have been waiting here patiently for you to fall asleep. We need to talk.”
I nodded. “Okay. Do you know where Finn is?”
“I do.” He stood from the rock. “I need a favor, and then I’ll get you through to Finn.”
“I don’t know if I’m in a position to be doling out favors. I’m kind of in the middle of a shitshow right now.”
He chuckled. “I’m well-aware. I heard my brother, Uriel, talked with you?”
I nodded. “I also got to talk to the seven who are now … you know.” I pointed up to the heavens.
He smiled. “I heard that, as well. I’m glad you got to visit them. My brothers and sisters are big on not giving out too much information at one time.”
I snickered. “Yeah, I kind of noticed.”
“It’s actually for an excellent reason. One slight alter of a plan could change your future. According to Haniel, your future could be amazing, so none of us want to rob you of that. Normally, I wouldn’t interfere, but I’m worried.”
He rubbed a hand on the back of his neck. It was such a human thing to do that I smiled.
“What can I help you with?”
“I watched you grow, and my love for you is immeasurable, just like it is for another child that I watched grow. Finn is like my own son. He needed more love than you did, though. You had a wonderful mother, along with a horde of aunts and uncles who loved you. Finn’s life was hard with having the father that he does. In all sense of the word, he is mine.”
All of a sudden, I had a pit in my stomach. “Is something wrong with Finn?”
“He is … hurt.”
I clenched my fists. I had known something was wrong when I could feel him nearby, but Remy claimed she couldn’t find him. “But he is immortal.”
“He isn’t dying.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. “Tell me where he is.”
He nodded. “I’ll send you to him right now, but first, Gabriella, the favor I need of you is to try your hardest not to kill any wendigos. You’ll have many opportunities, but if you kill them, I can promise that you will regret it.”
I started to ask what the heck I was supposed to do with the wendigos—play patty-cake with them?—but before I could ask, I felt this tug in my stomach, as if something was trying to pull me away from Sandalphon.
He frowned. “Someone is trying to wake you up. I want you to see my boy. Go now.”
He pushed both hands toward me, and a massive amount of energy hit me, sending me flying to a different time and place.
I twirled around until my eyes landed on him.
Finn stood in front of me in a field of lavender flowers. His black hair was in stark contrast to his eyes, those damn eyes. Green jewels pierced mine. His hands were in his pockets as he half-stood with his feet braced apart. He had on black cargo pants, and the T-shirt that he wore was pulled so taut I could see his pec muscles as he crossed his arms.
My heart raced as I grew closer. He was magnificent.
I heard the rumble from his chest as laughter bubbled from his lips. “Thoughts, Maka, I can hear your thoughts.”
I ran toward him. “Don’t care.”
Right before I flung myself toward him, he took two steps backward.
“Gabriella, baby …” He held both hands out in front of him.
“What the hell kind of greeting is that?”
He wouldn’t make eye contact as he said, “I’m not sure if I should touch you.”
“Why?” I was feeling the tug in my stomach again. Aggravation at whoever was trying to wake me made me shout, “Finn, why are you acting so weird?”
I took a step toward him and grabbed his wrist. His eyes looked horrified for a second before his body relaxed.
“Finn, what are you doing in a field? A field that I don’t recognize. I thought you were close to the Empowered Academy.”
He shrugged. “I was.”
Something was very wrong. Finn looked at me with such sorrow, a longing on his face that was tearing my heart into pieces.
“Finn, talk to me.”
“Something happened, Gabriella.”
“Like …?” I tried to lighten the situation. “If you tell me that you went and got yourself captured while I was back at the bar hallucinating, I’ll flip the hell out.”
A small smile curved his lips. “No one could contain me, Maka. I’ll find my way back to you.”
“What does that mean? Where the hell are you, Finn?”
He put a piece of my hair behind my ear oh so gently. Then, cupping my chin, he leaned down and kissed me. I threw myself into his arms, and he tangled his hand in my hair, lightly jerking my head back, exposing me more to him as he settled his lips on mine. The kiss ended way too quickly for my liking.
With his eyes, he scanned over my face, landing briefly on my bandaged hand before he pulled me in for another hug. Finn’s warm breath whispered against the shell of my ear, sending shivers down my body. “You do realize that I am going to kill Trev, right?”
“He really had to obey the headmistress. There was no other way. Besides, my fingers are currently in the process of healing back, thanks to Raphael’s gift. Cool, right?”
“Maka, the things you get yourself into.”
This wasn’t the time to smile, but Lord help me, I couldn’t stop my lips from curving upward.
I pulled back from him a little and gave him a watery smile. “I dreamed of you, and that day, you know.”
He looked saddened for a second. “You don’t have much time. I can feel you slipping away from me, and we need to talk about something very important. Two things can kill a wendigo—another wendigo and the Flaming Sword. Their souls are trapped in beastly bodies, living every day over and over. The fallen, the archangels, nor the fully blessed are capable of killing a wendigo. They can be sent to hell and trapped there, but they don’t die.”
Why was he telling me all of this?
Someone was shaking me awake. I gripped his forearms so that I could stay with him, but this time the tug was too strong.
As I was quickly disappearing from him, I heard him whisper, “I’ll find my way back to you.”
I came awake with a start. Two faces were staring at me with concern, but I ignored both brothers and the cold air that was pressing into the chair with me. I looked around the dim room where bodies still gyrated to the loud music. I could smell the sweat from here. My hand itched under the bandage where my fingers were regenerating.
“Do either of you know where Finn is?”
The brothers both were too quick to say, “No.”
I raised my eyebrows. “First, Remy lied, and now both of you? If you know where he is, I need to know. Something isn’t right. I can feel him, but I can’t see him.”
Trev laid a hand on my shoulder. “We will find him together, I promise. For right now, can we focus on Luna? She has fifteen minutes before the wendigo is to be set u
pon her. Besides, I can swear to you that I don’t know exactly where Finn is.”
Now I narrowed my eyes. “But you have an idea.”
Ezra cleared his throat. “We do, but we’re probably wrong. We need to know for certain. The headmistress left during the party, and she isn’t back yet, which makes no sense. We overheard a guard saying the headmistress let out thirty wendigos right before the party, so maybe she went to check on them?”
“Why would she let out such a vast amount of wendigos?” I asked.
“We can’t focus on where she went and why right now,” Trev said. “We have a problem.”
“Like bigger than the one that we’re currently facing?” I asked.
“Sort of,” Remy answered. “The headmistress disappearing while you were out is a big deal. The brothers said that she must remain within certain distances from the wendigos in order to control them.”
Ezra added, “The word is the headmistress came across some intel regarding the commander.”
My stomach tightened. What had Finn gotten himself into?
Remy whispered, “Tick, tock. Luna is one dead chicken in fourteen.”
“It’s crowded and dark in here,” I said. “I need one of you to get me close to Luna. I have to tell her of my plan, or this will backfire.”
Trev asked no questions. Instead, he helped me stand. “You’ll need to act still wasted,” he whispered. Then he steered a wobbly me toward where Luna was strapped down.
Her blue eyes were blazing with fury at anyone who got too close to her, but when she saw me approaching, she shook her head. “Don’t do anything stupid.”
“Don’t worry,” I said. “We’re still going to leave you strapped down.”
“Um … well, if this is a rescue attempt, you guys suck at it.”
As I looked at Luna, I knew what to do. Chamuel was right; my gut wouldn’t lead me astray.
Tugging my arm out of Trev’s grasp, I pretended to stumble as I caught myself using Luna. “Forgive me for not asking,” I whispered as I slammed my palm against the center of her chest.
She hissed before her eyes rolled back into her head.
Captured: Academy of the Seraph Page 7