“Very personal,” Buns agrees.
“You made it personal,” Brownie continues.
“So, what’re y’all sayin’?” I ask them warily.
“You ignore her,” Buns says, “and you get paid back ten fold.”
“Huh?” I ask.
“You say go away, she could go so far you’ll never see her again,” Brownie explains, and a pain I wasn’t expectin’ squeezes my chest.
“Or, she could get so close and never let you touch her again,” Buns counters.
“Or, she could just get off this boat and leave before the Gancanagh get a chance to touch her,” I counter right back.
“Ughh, I almost feel sorry for him,” Buns says to Brownie.
“I know, right?” Brownie agrees. “You need our help.”
“Desperately,” Buns states, twistin’ her blond hair like a bratty little sister.
“Ahhh, y’all are trippin’,” I sigh, wavin’ my hand at them. “I’ve been around. I know a thing or two and I don’t want her here.”
“O-kayyy,” Buns says.
“Splendid,” Brownie agrees.
“I love fireworks,” Buns says, steppin’ aside and openin’ the door to the cabin for me.
“Big, noisy ones with lots of fire,” Brownie adds.
“All the colors of the spectrum—you know, Brownie, this makes Anya sorta single, right?” Buns asks slyly.
“I do believe you are correct, Buns,” Brownie agrees.
“When are you removing your mark from Anya, Russell?” Buns inquires.
“Can’t we deal with all the formalities after we battle the Gancanagh?” I grumble.
“Why wait?” They ask.
“‘Cuz I don’t want to deal with it now,” I retort angrily.
“There’s something there,” Brownie states intuitively.
“You feel something for her,” Buns agrees.
“I don’t know what I feel,” I reply. “The thought of her stayin’ makes me hurt and the thought of her goin’ is…confusin’.”
“The weight of love…” Brownie whispers, lookin’ at me the way she did when we were trapped together in the basement of the evil church. She had told me then that she wanted to live ‘cuz she had never been in love. “You should know for sure that you don’t love her before you let her go, Russell. You can’t just let Phaedrus remove the binding between you, not without truly knowing what you were to each other. And she deserves an honest explanation for why you would like her to leave now.”
“Because you can’t make her do anything—she’s her own angel,” Buns explains.
I scowl at them. “But, if I’m honest and she decides to stay then I’ve lost this chance of convincin’ her to go.”
“Stub-born,” Buns replies.
“Psych-o,” Brownie agrees in a sing-song voice.
“Y’all just keep your mouths shut ‘bout any of this conversation. I don’t want y’all blabbin’ it to Anya,” I say, lettin’ my eyes narrow as I look at each of them sternly.
Buns gasps, “Russell! We are the very epitome of discretion.”
“We’re Reapers!” Brownie says, like that explains everythin’.
“Yeah, well…good,” I say, pushin’ past them and out into the hallway.
Buns sticks her head out of the cabin sayin’, “We’ll pray for you!”
“You’re gonna need it,” Brownie calls emphatically.
“We can still help you. Come to our beach party—it’s tomorrow—on the port side basketball courts,” Buns calls after me. I shake my head at them like they’re the ones who need prayers.
CHAPTER 15
Don’t Go
“Powers don’t know what to make of Anya,” Zephyr says as he comes to stand next to me by a basketball hoop. He must’ve caught me watchin’ Anya standin’ with Brownie and Buns by the refreshment table two courts away. This ship is equipped like a luxury liner but with the capabilities of a battleship. From what I’ve been told, it rarely docks at any port, but is serviced by a steady stream of companion ships organized and maintained by Powers.
“What do you mean?” I ask Zephyr, seein’ that Buns has gotten to him and made him wear board shorts and flip flops to the beach party. I had nothin’ else to wear but what Brownie gave me, so I’m wearin’ them, too.
“She’s a Throne. She outranks Powers, but she’s gone rogue, so she’s taboo now,” Zephyr replies.
“So, they’ll stay away from her?” I ask, feelin’ better than I should ‘bout that. My eyes slip over her long, dark hair, lingerin’ on the seriously sexy, black bikini top and wrap skirt she’s sportin’ this evenin’. With her supple, black wings elegantly displayed, she’s absolutely stunnin’.
“The Powers might stay away, but she seems to have intrigued the Seraphim,” Zephyr says as we both watch Cole walk up to our girls and engage them in conversation. Everyone here speaks in Angel, a fact that irritates me to no end. I’m tryin’ hard to learn it, but I feel like a cockroach tryin’ to learn English.
“I hate that guy,” I mutter under my breath, but Zephyr still hears it.
“He is annoying,” Zephyr agrees, seein’ Cole reach out and touch a flower on Buns’s lei.
“Why’s he hangin’ ‘round us?” I ask Zee, changin’ my position so that I can better observe Cole. He favors his right hand.
“It’s not us…it’s them,” Zephyr replies, noddin’ his head toward the girls. “Our Reapers are fascinating, alluring—” he says.
“Sexy,” I add
“That, too,” Zee agrees. “And Anya is intrepid and seductive…” he trails off when I growl at him involuntarily. Zephyr tries to suppress his grin when he adds, “I have already found the angel for me.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that—it just came out—” I begin.
“I know—it is instinct. She is definitely your aspire. You must speak with her, Russell. She put herself at risk to come here,” Zephyr says.
“Don’t you think I get that?” I ask him in frustration. “She’s vulnerable here. She’s not gonna get a second chance, Zee! If I die, my soul still has a shot at Paradise. All y’all just…” I trail off, unable to put into words what I’d feel if she or any of them were harmed.
“It is worth the risk to our lives,” Zephyr replies calmly.
“Is it?” I shoot back.
“You have seen Brennus. You tell me if it is better to ignore his evil,” Zephyr says.
“I’m not plannin’ on ignorin’ him,” I respond in a low tone. “I just don’t think we need all y’all to come with us to Ireland. Buns and Brownie should take Anya somewhere else.”
“You want to tell them that?” Zephyr asks, while watchin’ the girls chattin’ it up.
“They might listen, if it was comin’ from you,” I say, lookin’ for his help.
“And I might get called back to Paradise in the next few seconds…” he says, and then he pauses and looks up at the ceilin’. “Nope. That’s not going to happen either.”
“When did you learn sarcasm, Zee?” I ask sullenly.
“It was forced upon me when I began associating with half-humans,” he replies smoothly.
“Well, it’s unbecomin’ of an angel of your stature,” I retort sourly, while his grin widens.
“We fought them in Ireland before this,” Zephyr points out, indicatin’ when Evie was in Ireland with the Gancanagh and we stalked them, lookin’ for a way to rescue her.
“I know, but this feels different to me. We’re not in control,” I say, tryin’ to see if he’s pickin’ up what I’m layin’ down. The Seraphim are callin’ the shots now.
“Yes, that is a problem,” Zephyr agrees in a low tone.
Lookin’ across the courts, I see Cole lean in close to Anya and whisper somethin’ in her ear. Another low growl rumbles from me as my eyes narrow to slits and killin’ scenarios flicker through my brain.
Zephyr grasps my upper arms, sayin’, “You are going to be living on raw emotion where A
nya is concerned—like anyone would who is newly committed.”
“Why are you so sure she’s my aspire?” I retort in a snarl.
“One need only to look at you now to know,” Zephyr says, his ice blue eyes borin’ into mine. “If your goal is to make her go away, you will completely rule that out if you show her that you are jealous.”
“I can take him,” I state as my hands become fists.
“I have no doubt, after all, I trained you,” Zephyr replies with a genuine grin.
“Naw, I think I’ll go pick a fight,” I reply, tryin’ to pull away from Zephyr.
“That is not indifference, Russell,” he says in a determined tone.
“Indifference has never been a weapon in my arsenal,” I admit, takin’ a deep breath and tryin’ to calm down.
“I did not come up with this plan. I am merely attempting to help you execute it if this is what you believe you have to do,” Zephyr replies, while soundin’ like a true wingman.
“Yeah, okay ” I growl, before lightly shruggin’ off his hand from my arm. “Maybe I should go back to my cabin then,” I add, while searchin’ for the nearest exit. I’m just in time to see Evie arrive.
Dressed for the party in a white bikini top, Red smoothes her hands nervously over her matchin’ wrap skirt. Loose, auburn hair flows down her back between her crimson wings and a white, exotic flower peeks seductively from behind her ear. As she searches the room, she worries the long strand of wooden beads ‘round her neck.
“Evie’s here,” I tell Zephyr.
“Yes, and she has an escort,” Zephyr replies. My eyes narrow as I look behind Red to see Xavier trailin’ her. He’s even bigger and broader without his body armor on and his powerful, crimson wings make mine look, well, small. Dressed for the party in board shorts and wooden necklace equipped with a shark tooth, I wonder briefly what he’s up to.
Xavier leans in close to Red’s cheek and whispers somethin’ in her ear while gesturin’ toward the dance floor. She wrinkles her nose at him and says “no,” which makes a slow grin tug at the corners of Xavier’s mouth.
Glancin’ ‘round again, Evie spots Buns and Brownie, but she ignores them and continues to search the room, until finally, her eyes rest on Zee and me. A moment after that, she is at my side with her hand on Zephyr’s arm.
“Zee,” she says, her voice full of worry, “you have to tell him that I’m fully capable of going with him—I’m a scary monster now, you know—you’ve seen me—”
“Where is Reed going?” Zephyr asks ‘cuz like me, he knows by her demeanor that the only one she could be talkin’ ‘bout is Reed.
“He volunteered to go on ahead of the ship with the detail from Dominion to Brennus’ estate. They’re supposed to secure the position and ferret out any unforeseen complications there. It’s dangerous—he can’t smell magic like I can and they won’t let me go too,” Evie says in a rush of words that can only be accomplished by a female.
“Who won’t let you go?” I ask.
“The idiot Seraphim, Preben and his stupid Dominion Powers…Reed,” she replies sullenly, before clenchin’ her teeth when Xavier chuckles behind her. “Would you mind telling Xavier that if he doesn’t want to become an albatross, he should stop laughing,” she mutters, which only makes him laugh harder.
“I’ll go,” I volunteer, ignorin’ Xavier and focusin’ on Red.
“Thanks, Russell, but I think Zee will be able to convince Reed to let me go…he’s still a little raw about the Twinkie thing—” Red replies, before I interrupt her.
“Naw, I mean I’ll go to Brennus’ crib. I can smell the magic, maybe even better than you can, and he’s not as focused on me as he is on you—” I explain.
“NO!” she interrupts me with her hands on her hips. “You have to stay here.”
“Why?” I ask, my eyes narrowin’.
“Because you’ve been bitten too many times for it not to affect you. Brennus’ thrall is no joke—he can control you—” she starts.
“No, he can’t,” I reply. “He tried to get me to kill Anya when we were in the pub, but I didn’t do it, did I?” I ask her rhetorically.
“He wasn’t there,” she retorts. “That was a hologram of him. What happens when he’s in the same room with you and he uses magic too?” she asks me.
“Then it will be a war of words and I’ve been workin’ on some spells,” I reply.
“You’re being ridiculous. Zee, tell him that he’s being ridiculous,” Evie says, while turnin’ back to Zee with a look of frustration.
“We’ll locate body armor—get briefed on the mission,” Zephyr says to me over the top of Evie’s head.
“WHAT!” Red glares at Zephyr.
A grin breaks over Zephyr’s face before he kisses Evie on the forehead. “I will go and protect them both for you. There is no need to worry.”
“I’m going with you!” she insists, her small hands in fists.
“You will remain on this ship,” Xavier says behind her in a stern voice that at once surprises me as it irritates me.
“Who is this guy again?” I ask Red in a derogatory way.
“I’m her shadow,” Xavier cuts in, answerin’ my question with a blank expression, not the least bit intimidated by me.
“She has a shadow, and it looks nothin’ like you,” I reply, standin’ up to him.
“And you have an aspire that has been waiting for you for a long while. Perhaps it’s time you cast your shadow beside hers,” he replies, unruffled.
“Ah, naw! You didn’t just go there,” I grit out, before comin’ eye to eye with Xavier.
“But, I did,” he replies with an easy grace that is like a hallmark of the Seraphim. “You once told me that you could see forever in Anya’s eyes, but trust me when I tell you that she’d be satisfied with you just knowing that they’re green.”
“What?” I respond, feelin’ like he just hit me in the gut.
“Exactly. You know very little, so don’t interfere with how we decide to protect Evie,” he replies with the complete assurance that he has the upper hand.
“I may not know much, but I know I’m not the one that left her alone here to fend for herself, all the while not knowin’ what she was or where she came from,” I counter, takin’ back some of the power he just took from me.
“It’s such a shame, you know even less than that—you know nothing,” he volleys back. “If you plan to go with the contingent from Dominion, you had best hurry. They’re not like Anya, they will not wait for you.”
While ponderin’ ways to smash his face in, I feel small flakes of snow drift onto my face and arms, meltin’ like gentle kisses against my skin. Xavier, on the other hand, is covered in big, fat clumps of slushy snow that Evie has created with the flick of her wrist.
Xavier’s lips twitch while he turns toward Evie to see her cross her arms over her chest and glare at him.
“Evie!” Xavier grins at her. In an instant, he pulls her up off her feet in a bear-like hug while he shakes his blond hair, showerin’ large dollops of meltin’ snow onto her silky skin.
For a moment, I feel as if I’m watchin’ two angelic lovers engagin’ in a form of adolescent flirtation. Xavier rubs his cold, wet cheek against Evie’s and she gasps as the combination of frigid water and masculine skin combine to cause an unwillin’, feminine giggle to tumble from her.
“Xavier, stop!” she breathes. “Put me down!”
“You stop first,” he retorts, lookin’ up as the snow continues to fall upon them.
“Fine,” she manages, flickin’ her wrist again to make the snow stop fallin’.
To say that I’m freaked out by what I just saw would lessen the impact it has on me. Glancin’ at Zee, I see that he’s disturbed, too.
“How long have you known each other?” Zephyr asks in a calm voice.
“High school,” Evie frowns, and swats at Xavier’s hand when he doesn’t release her right away once her feet are on the ground.
“An
d how long have you known Evie?” Zee asks while his eyes shift to Xavier’s.
“A little longer than that,” he replies, no longer smilin’.
“How much longer?” I ask.
“Longer,” he shoots back with a blank expression.
“Russell,” Zephyr says next to me, but his eyes don’t leave Xavier’s. “We should prepare to leave.”
“Yeah…okay,” I murmur, before glancin’ at Evie. “It’ll be okay, Red. I’ll make sure they don’t miss anthin’ ugly or undead.”
She reaches out to Zephyr and me, huggin’ us like she’ll never see us again. “Take me with you,” she says, and the force with which she holds us translates her growin’ desperation and fear.
“We will return to you,” Zephyr says in a gentle voice.
“Of course we’re comin’ back. We’re not punks,” I say, glancin’ at Xavier and seein’ him scowl back at me. Where’s your empty expression now, I think with a slow smile.
“If you let me go with you, I’ll be able to show you where all their surveillance was set up—how they operate, what shifts consisted of—” She continues, employin’ another angle to convince us of her position.
“Zephyr is a Prostat Power, Evie,” Xavier says, usin’ an Angelic word that I’d never heard before now. “Very few angels ever reach his level of excellence. The Gancanagh will never hear him coming if they’re still there.”
“I know he’s a wicked assassin, Xavier. He’s the one who trained me,” Evie says, while lettin’ us go.
“You’ve been trained?” he asks in a deadly calm tone.
“Yes,” she replies.
“When?” he counters.
“When what?” she responds, turnin’ to face him.
“When were you trained?” he asks. “Before or after your evolution?”
“Uh…that’s a gray area for me,” she replies evasively.
Lookin’ over the top of her head, Xavier asks Zephyr, “When was she trained?”
“We began during the latter part of her evolution into angel,” Zephyr replies calmly, and he doesn’t flinch when Xavier’s brows draw together and a low growl escapes from him. Red and I both adopt defensive postures in front of Zee, just in case Xavier decides to attack him. The entire room quiets at once, while everyone’s focus falls on us.
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