From the Ashes

by Angela White

  A few people still viewed him with resentment–Tonya, Mitch, Peggy–but the Eagles and the camp were firmly behind their line-walking leader. He had brought them through the fire with only a slight burn. If Angela had died, things might have gone differently, but fate had saved them all.

  5

  “We’re not taking the Level tests this time around.”

  It wasn’t a surprise, but hearing it from Kyle sent fresh tension through the team disposing of the bodies. Other than curt answers, none of Kyle’s team had spoken to him in a week. He hadn’t expected their support, but the isolation was nearly intolerable.

  “Let Daryl know what event you want to oversee.”

  Daryl, who was smothered in guilt over the way he’d graduated to second in command, said nothing. He thought their team was being unfair to Kyle, but if he spoke out, it would be viewed as sucking up. Right now, they were reluctantly accepting Kyle’s decision to have Daryl replace their fallen XO.

  “What event are you covering?” Shawn sneered, implying Kyle wouldn’t be there.

  Behind them, bodies burned hotly.

  “I’m not,” Kyle answered curtly.

  “Got better things to do now, I guess,” Shawn accused, glaring.

  “I have duty over Angela.” Kyle moved toward the trader’s neat truck. “Marc is testing this time around, and doesn’t trust anyone else.”

  Kyle climbed into the driver’s seat and got set to roll back to where his heart now waited.

  His men exchanged worried glances. The team leader they knew would have struck back at that open challenge.

  “What the hell’s wrong with him?” Morgan asked.

  “We need to talk to Adrian,” Shawn suggested reluctantly. Going to the boss over your Eagle leader was a huge no-no that violated their unspoken code to handle things in-team.

  “Maybe call a vote?” Crone added. He was the only one eager to see Kyle replaced.

  “I’ll handle it,” Daryl stated, choosing to do what he thought was right. Seen as sucking up or not, it was part of his new duties to support their team leader.

  “How?” Shawn demanded.

  “I’ll start with talking to him instead of throwing challenges,” Daryl responded pointedly. “We’ve looked up to him the entire time we’ve been Eagles. Why does that disappear without him even getting the chance to explain?”

  “You think it’s all innocent?” Crone asked snottily.

  Sure that it wasn’t, Daryl didn’t lie. “No, but I do think there’s a reason to his madness.”

  Daryl slung the bag of tinder over his shoulder, glad it didn’t smell like the small pellets of shit that it was full of. “He isn’t breaking any rules, you know. We’ve watched the shadows on that tent more closely than we ever did Rick’s. We’d know.”

  Daryl’s tone was grew hard as the others absorbed that light blow. “Kyle may want her, but he won’t cross that line until it’s legal. And yes, I’ll bet my new place on it–for those of you taking notes and wanting the slot.”

  The six other men shared leery glances. They were relieved not to have to talk to Adrian, but it was obvious that they didn’t trust Daryl as their new XO. They wanted their team back the way it was before.

  6

  “Judging by the lack of marks, I’d guess that it was Eagles this time, instead of camp members,” John observed, ignoring the sudden nausea that sank into his stomach. He gathered a tray of supplies as quickly as he could. It had been a busy day for medical care. “They don’t leave me as much evidence.”

  “Yeah,” Dale agreed dejectedly. He and Ray resembled each other enough to be related. That helped with new arrivals until they saw the lingering glances and soft brushes, and then they understood. Most glared, but more than a few would remark on it. Only once had there been a different reaction. When the vet had seen them, he’d started joining them for evening meals. Dale had assumed the vet was also gay, but would never ask. He was just glad to have someone else sitting at the table.

  “Eagles did this?” Ray asked angrily. As Kevin’s XO, he had a lot of interactions with the other Eagles and Adrian, and no longer had problems with the senior members. It was the incoming rookies that Ray usually had to set straight.

  “No, not since you got hurt...”

  “Saving Adrian,” John finished.

  “Explain ‘this time’!” Ray demanded.

  Dale and John both shut their mouths.

  Ray scowled angrily. “Don’t worry over it. I’ll know before I hit the rack tonight!”

  Dale groaned. “No. Don’t do that, okay?”

  Ray tried not to relent. “Then tell me.”

  “Sometimes the rookies say shit to me.” The failed Eagle couldn’t hide his hurt. “And sometimes they want to see a little queer blood.”

  “Who?!”

  “I won’t tell you that.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because it’s like you said the other night while we were at the movie. I don’t have a real place here yet. When I do, they’ll leave me alone.”

  “They should anyway!” Ray growled.

  “Yeah.” Dale dropped his head, chest heavy. Wasn’t there ever going to be even a little peace and happiness for him?

  Ray felt Dale’s misery peak and moved closer. “Hey. Damn. Are you okay?”

  John left the tent to give the couple a moment of privacy–one Ray would take advantage of to offer comfort. John personally believed the males had the right to love whomever they chose, but the idiots getting a free ride in Safe Haven weren’t about to accept that view. The three men who’d beaten Dale in the shower didn’t have a set place here, either.

  John was angry, stomach aching loudly, and his feet took him straight to Adrian’s tent.

  7

  “Is it a variation of Stockholm Syndrome, in either case?” Adrian asked.

  In the hour John had been here, smoking and relaxing, they’d moved onto other topics.

  “Unlikely,” John stated sourly. “Bonding after a crisis takes strange forms. In time, they’ll both recover and choose what suits them. I expect they’ll stand by their men, as well. From what I’ve heard from the other freed females, Jennifer is much harder than any of the men are giving her credit for. We already know how determined Rebecca is.”

  “And my camp?”

  John blew out a tired grunt with the lungful of smoke. “Will fall in line, so long as you approve.”

  Adrian didn’t respond to that. Yes, they would, but not without causing problems first, testing the strength of those underage bonds.

  “How about you?”

  John stubbed the roach out. “I’m surviving.”

  “Angela wants to try.”

  “She’s not strong enough yet.”

  “That’s what Marc said, but she makes those calls.”

  John didn’t argue. The pain was becoming intolerable without the pills. He was spending too much time stoned on them.

  “She’s healing well.” John wanted to ask Adrian how she was recovering so quickly and stopped himself. That would reveal a faint edge of envy that the doctor didn’t want known. “When?”

  “In the next week or so. She’ll tell me.”

  “Okay.”

  As they stood up, Adrian clapped John gently on the shoulder. “How about cutting off early and getting some rest? Bags that dark under your eyes are not a good advertisement for a doctor.”

  John looked at him without amusement. “When will we head for Arkansas?”

  Always a quick thinker, Adrian stared back steadily. “We have been all along.”

  “I mean openly. When will the Eagles start gearing up for the fight waiting there?”

  “Sometime after Wichita,” Adrian answered, pushing back the heavy worry. “Right now, they still need a break, too.”

  Adrian left to do his rounds, and John returned to the medical tent. Ray and Dale were gone, and the doctor headed straight for the medicine cabinet.

  When the flap rus
tled a bit later, the doctor was in his chair, waiting for the pills to work.

  Anne didn’t say anything as his angry gaze went over her muddy clothes and new bruises. She set her broken glasses on the table and grabbed a bottle from the medicine cabinet. He had his demons to fight, and she had hers.

  8

  Marc found Angela in the usual place as full dark settled over dystopian Kansas views–perched on the top of the highest, sturdiest structure inside the perimeter. This time, it was Adrian’s semi.

  It’s like she can’t get close enough to the sky, Marc thought.

  He noted her shadows, and the newest layer of awning on the outer edges of the perimeter. It was a deflecting glint that would interfere with the sights on a scope and make it rough to pick out a single target. They only had one side of the camp covered so far, but it was something they were adding to every day that Safe Haven wasn’t on the road.

  Marc nodded to Kyle, Angela’s senior shadow.

  The mobster quickly vanished toward the QZ.

  No doubt to check on Jennifer, who he hadn’t been able to get near since returning from the dump and burn. It would be a short moment, though, because Kyle had duty over the farthest perimeter from the girl for the next five hours. Now doing schedules together, Marc and Kenn had agreed that a separation was needed, and this first day of it had to feel like it wasn’t ever going to end. Tomorrow wouldn’t be any better for Kyle.

  Marc only held a bit of sympathy. He had always been a little leery of Kyle, but he’d honestly thought the man was one of the good guys. It’s like he and Adrian switched places on me, Marc thought with a resentful frown.

  Reaching the semi, Marc called, “Permission to come up?”

  “As you would, grunt,” she replied cheerfully.

  Marc cleared the top of the truck and stopped, stunned at the sight of the shield above the camp. Right over Angela, it was pure purple.

  Marc was glad the sheep weren’t paying much attention yet. For now, only Adrian and a few of his Eagles knew of the magic building itself around Safe Haven.

  “Watch this…”

  The colors above them faded, and then began to change like a rainbow.

  “It feeds off of emotions, reacts to them.”

  Marc sat down next to her, mind racing for a response. “What is it?”

  “Can’t you guess?”

  He flashed to their clubhouse in the snow. “Protection.”

  Angela flushed at the thoughts now rolling through his mind. They’d experienced something like this once before. The shield had been a lot closer then, almost hot to the touch, but so strong that nothing could have gotten through. It was right after he’d had said I love you for the first time.

  “It’s so nice to be able to remember those moments.”

  Angela slowly leaned against his arm and happiness settled into Marc’s heart. He had Angie and Charlie. He wanted little else.

  Angela didn’t bat a lash when his arm slid around her, still concentrating. She was making the shield fluctuate in small ripples. Sort of like a pond, she thought.

  “Brace.” Angela inhaled deeply, pulling energy from the bubble.

  “Noise coming.” Marc let off the button an instant before a crackle of harsh static went through. It was loud enough to make the dogs start yapping and the wolf come from under the truck.

  Curious, Marc waited.

  Radios lit up again, “Just a pulse. At ease.”

  Marc’s mouth dropped open as Angela let go of the mental link.

  “There’s something new for ya!”

  Marc didn’t say anything, working on accepting it. She was able to send her thoughts over the radio. What would she be capable of in a year? Or ten?

  Angela had been lying low about her gifts over the last two weeks. She wasn’t too weak to use them anymore. She wasn’t sure she was strong enough to control them. However, seeing Charlie in the line of fire today had reminded her how serious the challenge ahead was. Complete control or not, she wouldn’t be sitting back anymore.

  “Is that frightening to the big, bad Marine?” Angela joked awkwardly in the silence.

  “A little.” Marc’s expression darkened. “For you.”

  “Me too, Brady, but also for our son. He’ll always be a target. First, to trap me, and then, to trap him.”

  Not sure how to change that, they sat in silence as the camp slowly settled back down from the pulse of energy she’d sent.

  Neither of them was surprised when Adrian came through the shadows a minute later. His expression said he wasn’t happy about what she’d done, and a sharp glance passed between them.

  Adrian left soon after, delivering a hard, warning sweep of her guards as he vanished.

  “What was that about?” Marc asked, stifling his jealousy.

  Angela leaned closer to Marc’s heat. “He wants to be sure I’m not preparing for a suicide run that I haven’t told him about.”

  Those words sent Marc’s profile into an instant scowl. “Are you?”

  “No. One gunshot wound at a time, please.”

  Marc wasn’t amused by the joke, still too hurt from the near loss.

  Angela didn’t offer ear candy. He had to deal with it, just like she did when the nightmares woke her up gasping for air.

  “Are you sleeping through yet?” Marc asked.

  Angela winced at his accuracy. “Some nights.”

  “You can wake me. I’ll stay up with you.”

  “And still work your shifts as alertly?”

  “No.” That’s the line, he realized. If it would hurt the camp, or even affect them badly, it was too far. That was her limit now.

  “Yes, it is.”

  Marc’s mind kicked into high gear, picking out the mind-reading and the things she knew, but shouldn’t if she were too weak. Not only had she caught his conversation with Charlie, she knew that he approved of the down time she was being forced to take.

  “You know that I can block them, right?” Angela viewed him with shuttered eyes. “Your thoughts.”

  Marc wasn’t sure where she was going. “...yes.”

  “I can stay out of your mind.”

  “No, please, don’t.”

  His fast response had her raising a brow. “Why not? Most people find it to be–”

  “I’m not most people!” Marc interrupted sharply.

  His voice dropped into flames. “And I can love you there, baby cakes.”

  Angela giggled, and the bubble above them flashed into a deeper purple. It drew their attention back to the shield.

  “Why can’t the camp see it, but some of the Eagles can?” Marc asked.

  “Belief, mostly.”

  “But it’s always there, even if they don’t believe in…magic?”

  “Yes.”

  Despite talking to Adrian, Marc had to ask, “What happens when they find out?”

  “Then I will have run out of time,” she responded shakily.

  “And you’ve considered–”

  “Not letting them know? Of course, but it’s unlikely this would remain a secret, Marc. It’s growing too fast, and I have to put it somewhere.”

  “He could find things,” Marc said, unable to lock down on the jealousy this time.

  “He will now that he knows what you do–that I’ve been laying low–but it won’t be enough,” she explained, ignoring his emotions. “I’m still evolving. So are my gifts.”

  Still evolving, Marc repeated silently. Like something else… “What’s coming for us?”

  The witch’s red eyes blended with roiling blue, matching the color of the bubble above them. Everything you fear and more, the witch answered sleepily. She’d been dozing contentedly while Angela played.

  “When?”

  “Not long,” Angela stated, refusing to let the witch start revealing painful truths. She planned to fight that fate.

  “What can I do?” he asked.

  “Help me with my plans.”

  “You know it, honey
.” Marc tugged her closer. “We’ll start in the next week.”

  “Tonight would be better,” she said quietly.

  “Sure. At the mess?”

  Angela drew in a breath. She’d missed his heat last night while he stood duty. “My tent, in an hour.”

  Marc’s body flared to life and he gave a jerky nod. “Okay.”

  Catching his sudden nervousness, Angela snickered. “To make plans.”

  Marc tried to snap out of it. “Yeah, plans.”

  Angela laughed and the shield responded with a wave of deep violet.

  She had run a few simple tests on it, and suspected Adrian had, as well. It didn’t let the bugs in or the smaller flying debris when the wind gusted. The bags and trash were caught on an updraft and disappeared into the clouds. That was something even the Eagles hadn’t noticed yet. Fascinating, it had caused Angela’s nightly routine to end in a high place, studying it. She had the sense that the shield was important for more than their protection, and she was determined to figure out what it was in time to use it. That Safe Haven was being gifted with it as a defense, she had little doubt.

  9

  “I’m Leslie.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  She’d come from the shadows in silence, but what she wanted shouted from her arched back and painted face.

  “Nice night.”

  Kyle grunted. She sounded nervous and she should be. Need to accept one or not, he was in no mood to turn down yet another offer to replace the sleeping girl in his tent. None of them stirred anything in him now, not even lust.

  “Do you... Can you talk right now?”

  Kyle stared pointedly. “What do you want?”

  Leslie stepped a little closer, top artfully sliding off one shoulder. “I’d like to help.”

  There was no response from his body, but Kyle forced himself to ask, “Why?”

  It was more of a conversation than he’d given any of the other women who’d tried, and Leslie grinned, encouraged. “You’re high up here is why most of them chase you, I guess. I like it that you look after the pregnant girl. It shows you’re a gentleman.”