by Susan Illene
“What shall I search?” Kerbasi asked. He wasn’t invisible anymore.
Lucas grunted and walked away.
“Search for inner peace and stay out of my way,” I said, brushing past him.
“Your humor eludes me.”
Ignoring him, I went into the first bunkhouse and climbed a short set of steps to enter. It was set up a lot like military barracks with bunk beds and wall lockers in neat rows across each side of the room. No personal items had been left behind. Even the mattresses had been stripped of their covers.
I headed across the room and passed through a doorway into a latrine. Urinals, toilets, and sinks were on the left and a large open shower on the right. Other than the same light layer of dust I’d seen in the previous building, it was totally bare.
Kerbasi was poking around the other bunkhouse when I entered it. The layout for this one was very different. There were four separate rooms with two beds in each. They had the same wall lockers as the other building, but they also had vanity tables with mirrors. One room had a baby crib.
I cringed at the sight of it. Jerome—my father—had kidnapped me last year and threatened to bring me to his compound. He’d insisted it was my duty to help propagate the sensor race.
We’d only just met and he’d already begun planning how to use me for his own ambitions. I was to be handed over to his men and impregnated as soon as they could confirm Lucas hadn’t already done the job. Nephilim were cursed to never have children, but they could circumvent that with sensors.
That was what galled Jerome the most. I’d chosen a supernatural over my own kind. It didn’t matter that he had allied with a female nephilim since he wasn’t sleeping with her. I, on the other hand, had chosen to defile myself with the enemy. If Lucas hadn’t rescued me I would have ended up in this place and might have already had a baby against my will, with a man of Jerome’s choosing.
My chest tightened at the memories of that brief time with my “father”. He’d kept me tied to a bed and drugged for days. I’d lain there helpless and incoherent for most of it except when he wanted to tell me about the horrible things he had planned for me. All my dreams of finding a loving and regretful father were lost. I’d never expected him to be cruel and sadistic—or to find out he’d killed my mother for hiding me from him.
I clutched at the rails of the baby crib and saw a rattle had been left in the corner. It symbolized so many worries in my mind I was afraid to touch it. Turning my flashlight, I caught sight of a rocking chair in the corner. My stomach lurched. Could I have been born in this place? Had my mother stood in this very room twenty-eight years ago, holding me close and plotting how to get me far away? What would she think of me now?
I rushed out of the bunk house, brushing past Kerbasi in the hallway, and leaped down the steps to get outside. My lungs seized up. It took several tries before I could get air into them again. This place—it represented every dark thought I’d ever had since meeting my father.
The night sky twinkled down at me. If I just kept my gaze directed at it for a few minutes then maybe I could get through this. I hadn’t thought visiting the compound would bother me so much, but now that I was here I just wanted to leave.
Warm arms enveloped me and a hard chest pressed against my back.
“He can’t hurt you anymore,” Lucas said softly in my ear.
He’d known just the thing to say.
“I know.”
He turned me in his arms and kissed me gently on my forehead. I tilted my chin up and our gazes met. It was during times like these that I found it hard to believe we’d once hated each other. Already I could feel my anxiety melting away and he’d barely said a word.
It was through our suffering that we most often found common ground. Some people think love is a weakness, but if it’s returned in equal measure it can make you twice as strong.
“Find anything?” I asked.
“No. There are several outbuildings as well.” He turned me so I could see where he pointed. “But it appears they are just for storage.”
“This is where they kept the women.” I nodded at the bunkhouse behind him. “But there’s nothing other than furniture left in there now. The other building was empty too.”
“I called one of my contacts. Ownership of the land hasn’t changed in almost fifty years and it isn’t for sale now. It’s still theirs.”
I pulled away from him. “They plan to come back once things calm down.”
“Perhaps.”
“When I find my father…” I began.
“I’ll hold him down for you,” Lucas finished.
***
We barely made it to the airport on time. Between driving back from the compound and stopping by the hotel to grab our stuff we’d cut it close. Lucas had also insisted on buying me breakfast along the way. He’d only wanted a cup of coffee for himself, but I suspected the real point was to give us a few more minutes together. Not that he’d ever come out and say it.
Now I was holding the plane tickets in my hand, looking up at Lucas’ stoic face. Whatever emotions he was feeling, he’d hidden them somewhere even my empathic abilities couldn’t reach. He had to continue searching for his brother and I had to resume my life in Fairbanks. We both had responsibilities and no way to make them mesh together yet.
“There is something you should know before you go.”
I lifted my brow. “What?”
“Nik is having trouble with Derrick. I’m aware you consider the werewolf a friend—though I know not why—but you need to look at him objectively.”
“He’s just angry at us for not letting him see Zoe.” I crossed my arms. “He’ll get over it eventually.”
Derrick, the alpha werewolf for Fairbanks, was justifiably upset. Zoe had orchestrated the murder of his family and he wanted revenge. But she was too powerful for him to fight and she had secrets that could hurt him if he found out. Ones I’d only told a few people. We were keeping him away from her for his own protection, but it was hard to convince him of that.
“It’s worse than you think.” Lucas gave me a stern look. “Talk to Nik when you return and listen to what he has to say.”
How much trouble had Derrick been causing? I hadn’t heard anything since he’d stopped talking to me, but if there’d been something serious I would have caught it.
“Fine. I will,” I reassured him.
His shoulders relaxed a fraction. “Good. I’d prefer you resolve this situation before we leave for New Orleans on Friday.”
Right. The ball. It was looming over my head like an executioner’s blade and not something I looked forward to. Lucas thought it was important we go and let all the significant people in the supernatural world see us together. They say relationships are all about compromise, but they didn’t have to attend a ball filled with their enemies. All the assurances in the world weren’t going to make me feel any better about it.
“I’ve got my dress ready and I’ll handle the Derrick situation,” I promised, giving him my best fake smile.
Lucas pulled me close and held me tight. “Take care of yourself, Melena.”
After one last lingering look, he walked away. He’d probably flash back to Chicago as soon as he was out of sight. I hated to watch him go again, but Micah came first. He had to find his brother or we’d never rest.
“Ready for another plane ride?” I asked Kerbasi.
The fearful expression on his face said it all.
***
The guardian managed to make the hour-long flight to Seattle without losing his breakfast, but we still had the longer trip up to Anchorage and the final one to Fairbanks. Those would be the real test. The guardian was already looking green and it was still an hour before we would board the plane.
I handed him my iPad. “Finish watching Ghost. I’m going to the restroom.”
He gave me an irritated look before taking the tablet from me. I grabbed the headphones and shoved them into his ears.
“Don’t
mute the volume or turn it down, either. You’re writing a report on this tonight and if it isn’t good I’ll make you watch the movie again.”
It wouldn’t be the first time I’d caught him zoning out and not listening. It was my job to teach him humanity, but for someone who wouldn’t be free of me until he became a better person, he sure didn’t try all that hard. I suspected he was still in the denial stage about the whole situation.
“Very well, but I don’t understand that man.” Kerbasi frowned. “His sacrifice would have allowed him to go straight to heaven. Why linger on earth for some silly woman?”
He honestly didn’t get it. I had a really long way to go before I ever got rid of him.
“Just watch the rest of the movie. You can tell me all your thoughts about it when you write your report.”
I made my way over to the restrooms. Not many women were in there, allowing me to get into a stall right away. After finishing, I came back out and headed toward the sinks. A brilliant flash of light lit up the room, bringing me to a halt. This one was much brighter than what any nephilim could produce, but not unfamiliar.
Was she really going to show up here? Now?
Two elderly ladies standing at the counter continued checking over their make-up. They showed no sign that a beautiful brunette emerging behind them might be odd. It was just as well. It probably would have given them heart attacks if they’d known an archangel stood that close to them. The first time she’d flashed in front of me I’d felt my heart climb into my throat and was fairly certain it would have run away if I’d let it.
“Leave now,” my visitor ordered the two ladies.
Another woman came out of a stall and didn’t even get the command, just a look. All three of them walked woodenly as they exited the bathroom. A spell went up after the door shut, ensuring anyone else who wanted to come inside would change their minds.
No one else was left except me. I was trying really hard to feel special about that, but the archangel’s arrival left my stomach feeling queasy. I didn’t like being caught off-guard like this.
“Ariel.” I cocked my head. “Is there some sort of plumbing problem in heaven I should know about?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. We don’t need…” She waved a hand at the stalls. “Toilets.”
Of course they didn’t. I studied the slender archangel. She wore her usual flowing white robe and her hair hung loosely to her waist. Though she kept her face expressionless, I could sense tenseness in her mood. Could she actually be nervous?
“So what are you doing here?” I asked.
She clasped her hands together. “I’ve come to speak with you about something urgent.”
“I gathered as much.” If only she could get to the point.
“I admit the location is less than ideal.” She sighed. “But it is difficult to catch you away from the others and the news I have must be told in private.”
I supposed it could have been worse—she could have waited until I was home alone in the shower.
“Okay, what is it?”
“There is someone who needs to speak with you, but first you must give me your word that you will tell no one you’ve met with him—especially not Lucas.”
“Who is it?” I asked.
“I cannot tell you until you give me your oath.” She held her arm out toward me. “And you must take my hand when you say it.”
I stared at her open palm. “Why do I have to do that?”
“It will seal your oath and prevent you from breaking it. Only those authorized to know of this visit will be able to bypass it.”
“Another one of those tricks you’re able to use on me because you’re my guardian angel?” I asked. She was the only one of her kind who could circumvent my immunity to magic.
She nodded. “It is necessary.”
“Whoever you want me to meet isn’t going to make Lucas happy, are they?”
“Lucas is only out of Purgatory because I helped you,” she pointed out. “Now I must ask for your assistance in return.”
She had me there. I owed her for telling me where the portal was located and for interceding for us after I got him out. Lucas and I could have been returned to Purgatory and confined there for decades as punishment. Helping Kerbasi find his humanity was actually light punishment in comparison.
“Fine.” I took hold of her hand. “I swear I won’t tell anyone.”
Somehow I suspected this would come back to haunt me, but what else could I do? She was my guardian angel. She wouldn’t do anything to purposely hurt me.
She grasped my palm and heat surged into it. It almost felt like a burning sensation, but the pain wasn’t unbearable. She kept her grip tight and didn’t let go of my hand until it passed.
“Thank you,” she said.
I checked over my hand. There wasn’t a visible mark and it didn’t hurt anymore. I detected a trace of residual magic under the skin, but nothing another sensor would pick up—unless I activated it by trying to break the oath. That much of the details had come to me while she was sealing it. She’d thought of everything when she’d designed the spell.
“Now tell me who you want me to meet,” I demanded, looking up at her.
Ariel closed her eyes. I could sense her using some sort of telepathic means of communication. A flash of light appeared a moment later. It was dimmer than hers had been, but the person who arrived was far more shocking than anyone I’d expected.
My jaw dropped. An almost exact replica of Lucas stood before me. Even his supernatural signature was the same to my senses. It was only his longer hair gave him away.
“Micah,” I gasped.
“It is good to see you again, sensor.”
Chapter Five
I opened my mouth, closed it, and opened it again trying to find something to say. For the past few months I’d imagined him lying somewhere unconscious and helpless while his body wasted away. Now he stood before me with an amused expression on his face, looking healthy and fit. He was even wearing his usual style of clothes—jeans and a black t-shirt.
“Does someone want to tell me what’s going on?” There. I’d formulated a coherent question. One I’d be expected to ask under the circumstances.
Micah leaned against the sink counter. “It’s complicated.”
“Oh, I gathered that much.” I gave him an accusing look. “Your brother is out there smashing down doors all over the place looking for you. Hell, he’s killing people just to get a scrap of information that could help him. Now you show up and say it’s complicated? How about you try that again?”
“Lucas is doing exactly what we need him to be doing. I assure you that almost every lead he is getting is directed where we need him to go,” Micah answered in a patient voice.
“Perhaps you should tell him that!”
“He is being watched.” Micah’s jaw tightened. “This is the only way we can involve him in our plans.”
“What plans?”
“We don’t have much time.” Micah took a step closer to me. “All I can tell you for now is that you’ll find out more when you go to Theirn’s ball in New Orleans. You’ll meet an important leader there who will explain what you need to know.”
“Lucas will be with me. How am I supposed to get away from him?”
“That will all be taken care of.”
“How will I know they’re the right person and not some random sup who hates me and wants to draw me out?” It wasn’t that farfetched of an idea.
Micah gave the archangel a questioning look. She nodded.
“There is a female sensor you met a few months ago—Honor. She will be the one to escort you to the leader.”
Honor. The girl who’d come forward to answer my questions after the battle to retake control of Fairbanks. Most of the sensors got away but we managed to capture some, including her. She’d been the one to help us find our people who’d been taken hostage by Zoe. I’d tried to convince her to stay in Fairbanks once we freed the sensors, but she
’d insisted she had to go.
“Okay.” My mind raced. “I can work with that, but why all the cloak and dagger?”
Micah’s face hardened. “You’ll understand soon enough. The less you know for now, the better.”
Yeah, this conversation wasn’t the least bit frustrating.
“At least tell me how you got free.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “Didn’t Zoe put you under a sleep spell?”
“She did, but it is one that must be maintained. For most people they only need it renewed once a month, but for me I need it every two weeks. I woke up confined at the sensor compound in a locked basement. Ariel freed me shortly afterward and got me away from there.”
We hadn’t found a basement when we went there, but the entrance might have been hidden. They’d certainly had decades to design and build it. Plus put protections in place so Micah couldn’t get out.
“Okay,” I said slowly. “Then why didn’t you come see us after that. Lucas should have been back from Purgatory by then.”
“It is difficult to explain…”
Ariel put a hand on Micah’s shoulder. “It is okay. The oath she’s taken will prevent her from speaking of the plan. We don’t have much time, but we can at least tell her part of it.”
He nodded.
She leveled her gaze with me. “We are working to free the nerou.”
It was like a bomb dropped on my chest. The nerou were the hybrid offspring of sensors and nephilim. Without exception, all of them were confined to Purgatory soon after birth. If either of the parents tried to stop an archangel from taking their child, they would be killed. I didn’t know why. Only that it was better to never get pregnant in the first place than risk that happening. Now I had an archangel standing before me saying she wanted to get them out.
“Let me get this straight.” I put a hand up. “You wouldn’t let me free them while I was in Purgatory, helped me prevent Zoe from doing it, but now you are working on it?”
“Zoe got impatient and took matters into her own hands without our knowledge. As for you, I wasn’t entirely certain you could get Lucas and yourself out. Much less the nerou.”