“I guess he’s stupid,” Will said calmly to Jenna.
“I don’t have business with you, Moon Angel,” the man growled. “My business lies with this bright one.”
Will chuckled and swung his arm out, his sword appearing as it buried itself deep into the demon’s chest. The demon choked looking surprised.
“Your business is done,” Will said pushing him back.
The demon slumped to the ground and began convulsing.
“Step back,” Will suggested, hiding behind the elevator sides.
Jenna did the same just as the demon exploded.
“Gross!” Jenna said poking her head around the corner looking at what was left of the demon. “Won’t we get caught with all this…mess?”
Will shook his head and walked off the elevator, “It’ll disappear within a few minutes.”
“Really?” Jenna asked surprised.
“Our world is different from this one. For example, we may be immortal but we’ve found ways to kill each other.” He held up his sword, “by infusing our powers and magic into a weapon it becomes deadly to Angels” he said looking around before opening the door to their room. “What concerns me most is did we happen upon him or were we followed?”
Jenna shivered at the thought, “What happens if we were followed?”
“I don’t see how we could’ve been-“
There was a knock at the door cutting Will off. He opened it and James strode in.
“What happened out there?” he jerked his thumb to the hallway.
“Demon attacked us,” Will answered, “what I’m wondering is how he got here. He had to have followed us.”
“How? You’re good at going undetected,” James scratched his chin.
“Not with this many people.”
“Do you think Lena?” James said quietly, probably trying to make it so Jenna didn’t hear.
“What would Lena have to do with a demon?” Jenna butted in, crossing her arms.
“Nothing,” Will said over his shoulder then answered James, “you know what to do.” James nodded and left.
“What was that about?” Jenna asked.
“Don’t worry about it, Angel.”
“No, Will,” Jenna pushed. “What about Lena?”
“I’m just covering all our bases,” Will answered. “Don’t question how I do things.”
“Don’t tell me what to do!” Jenna snapped.
He narrowed his eyes, “When it comes to this mission, I’m in charge, and you will do whatever I say.”
“What are you doing with Lena?” Jenna matched his scowl.
“Nothing, just watching her. One thing you need to know about our world, Angel, is there are few you can trust.”
“Why?”
Will laughed, “Power can do strange things to some.”
James burst through the door with Lena in tow. He threw her into a chair.
“What the hell is this all about?!” Lena screamed.
“You need to stop disappearing like that,” Will said menacingly.
“I was checking the perimeter,” She spat.
“You don’t do a thing unless I tell you to!” Will yelled.
“You’re not my boss,” Lena snarled.
Will’s eyes flashed as he brought up his hand, which was covered in ice.
“The moment you decided to guard Jenna was the moment I became your boss,” he clenched his fist and the sound of ice cracking filled the room.
Jenna flinched, terrified. Will looked as angry as he did when he turned her mortal. She looked at James who hung back casually, watching the scene before him as if it were a daily occurrence.
“What are you going to do? Ice me?” Lena laughed. “You’ve lost your mind, Dark One.”
Will grinned, “I lost my mind long ago, Guardian. Don’t push me; I don’t have a problem icing you.”
“Can I ask where we’re all going to sleep?” James butted in.
No one answered.
“I mean, you only got one room, mate,” James continued, “and the demon gave you the room with one bed.”
Still, Will ignored him as he stared down Lena.
“I call the bed,” James said jumping on it.
“Jenna gets the bed,” Will said finally turning away from Lena.
James groaned and got off, “Of course she does. Jenna gets everything.”
“Don’t pout, you baby,” Will said going over to the couch and pulling out a hide a bed.
“Are we going to share this?” James teased.
“Nope, you’re going to sleep here.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll be in and out,” Will shrugged.
“You need sleep too,” Jenna pointed out.
“I’ll get sleep, later.”
“Suit yourself,” James shrugged and laid back closing his eyes.
Moments passed and no one moved until Lena, still watching James pointed, “Is he?”
“Yes,” Will smiled at James. “He’s already asleep.”
“How?” Lena asked getting up from the chair.
“He can sleep whenever he desires-- he’s always done that.”
“Is he a heavy sleeper?” Lena grinned.
“Don’t even think about it,” Will warned. “He’ll chop your head off before he wakes up.”
Lena’s smile turned to a disappointed frown, “Darn.”
“Jenna,” Will said, “Get some rest. Once your dad gets here, we’ll be off again.”
“How are you going to transport all of us?” Jenna asked.
“We’ll have one of the Guardians run,” Will answered and left the room.
“Jenna,” Lena sat on the bed next to Jenna and whispered.
“What?” Jenna whispered back.
Lena looked over at James uneasily then back at Jenna, “I don’t think we should go with the angels.”
“What? Why not?” Jenna asked confused.
“These two were the ones who turned you mortal,” Lean pointed out but continued before Jenna could say anything. “They claim they did it to protect our world from Silas, but really they want the Sun to be theirs.”
“Why would they want the Sun?”
“They want to be the sole rulers of the sky,” Lena looked worried. “My grandmother was at that meeting a long time ago. She told me the Moon Queen herself said they wanted the skies.”
Jenna felt like she had a bucket of ice water dropped on her, “What?”
“I haven’t found the right time to tell you because Will was always around, but,” Lena looked at James again, “I’m scared they’re only here to finish what the queen ordered back when they turned you mortal.”
“I don’t know if I can believe you,” Jenna muttered.
“You have to!” Lena begged, “I’ve been born to protect you! I wouldn’t be doing my job if I go along without saying anything.”
“I don’t know who to believe!” Jenna suddenly shouted standing up.
James jumped, his sword appearing out of nowhere, “What!?”
“Go back to sleep,” Jenna snapped.
Seeing that everything was fine, he shrugged and lay back down, putting his sword away.
Lena looked at James and then rushed to Jenna and whispered in her ear, “Just think about it, please. We can go in the morning.”
“I don’t know what to think about anything,” Jenna admitted.
“You didn’t get all your memories back, did you?” Lena stepped back looking at her curiously.
Jenna shook her head.
“Just ask Will what the Moon Queen asked him to do to you.”
“What?”
“Have you ever wondered why James does whatever Will asks?
Jenna thought about it for a second, “Now that you mention it, he does, doesn’t he? Why is that?”
“Just ask Will who he really is,” Lena walked back to the bed and stripped down to her underwear before climbing in.
“What?” Jenna asked confused.
/>
“Ask him how he knows the Queen.”
“Why?”
Lena sighed, “It might help make up your mind, Jenna.”
She nodded and slowly walked to the bed.
“Umm, Lena?”
“Yeah, Jen?”
“Are you going to sleep in just your underwear?”
“Why not? This is how I always sleep.”
“It’s just we’re sharing the bed…”
“Does it bother you?” Lena smiled.
“I’m not used to it,” Jenna admitted.
Lena groaned, “Fine, but I’m not putting pants on.” She reached down and quickly pulled her shirt on before falling back on the bed.
“Thank you,” Jenna whispered as she climbed in the bed fully dressed. Her mind was miles away going through everything so fast. Where was her dad? How was he going to find them? What did Lena mean about Will and the Queen? Was it true they only wanted her to rule the skies? What were they going to do with her? Most importantly what was she going to do? How was she going to do what Eliana had told her to do? Thankfully Jenna hadn’t dreamt about her since they’d left to find Mae but she couldn’t shake the warning Eliana had given her.
There was a soft knock at the door in the middle of the night. Everyone sat up quickly, alarmed, except Will. He’d been sitting in the chair reading the book Jenna had given him. He tucked it away and went to answer the door.
“Where is she?” Jenna’s dad’s voice drifted in.
“Richard,” Will nodded as Richard tried pushing past him.
“Dad!” Jenna jumped out of bed and ran to the door. “Let him pass, Will!”
“My Sun Angel!” Her dad said when Will let him pass.
Jenna jumped into his arms and hugged him tight. She clung to him feeling more like herself now that something was familiar to her.
“How did you find us?” Will asked as Richard pulled away from Jenna.
He looked at Will then to Jenna, smiling, “I used the GPS tracker on Jenna’s phone.”
“What?” Will slapped his hand to his forehead. “Stupid Guardians!”
“Give me your phone,” James held out his hand to Jenna.
“What are you going to do?” Jenna asked as she handed it to him.
He squeezed his fist, crushing her phone.
“Why?!” Jenna asked surprised. “That phone cost a lot of money!”
He shrugged, “Remember that demon?”
She nodded.
“He could’ve tracked you using that,” James turned to Lena. “Your turn.”
“What, no!” Lena held on tight to her phone.
“Why not?” Will asked moving forward. “Richard, give me your phone.”
Jenna’s dad handed it to him without complaining. Will crushed it the same way James had and threw the newly smashed phone into the trash.
“What’s the matter, Guardian,” Will stepped toward her.
“Nothing. I’m just supposed to have my phone on me at all times,” she explained, “my supervisors will be checking in on me.”
“Too bad,” Will answered and he and James lunged for Lena at the same time.
She screamed and tried avoiding them, but they were too fast. James had her down, and Will was straddling her as he took the phone from her. She kicked and screamed a string of curse words at them until Will had crushed her phone too.
“You guys are going to get me into a lot of trouble!” she spat still lying on the floor.
Will returned to his chair and James stood to his left, leaning up against the desk.
“Your supervisors don’t matter,” Richard took a menacing step closer and Jenna could see a hint of soldier in him. “All that matters is Jenna and her safety. Why do you think I ran? There were spies in our unit!”
“What?” Lena gasped. “Did you report it?”
“I did, then I took Jenna and ran,” he nodded. “You can’t trust there’s only one spy. You have to act like the rest are spies. Now, the question is are you really here for Jenna or are you a spy?”
Lena looked as if she’d been slapped, “No! You’re right okay? It was something that needed to be done; although, you’re still going to get me in trouble.”
“Good girl,” Richard nodded then looked at Will. “You know how to give back Jenna her powers?”
Will looked at Richard for a long time before answering, “We do.”
“So what are we waiting for?” Richard took hold of Jenna’s elbow and pulled her toward the door. “Let’s go!”
The hallway was void of any demon remains and the group was quiet as they made their way down the elevator and out the back door of the hotel.
“One of you will have to run,” Will said as they stepped outside.
“Fine by me,” Richard nodded.
“James get the Guardian,” Will said.
“Which one?” James asked.
“Lena.”
“I can run,” Lena stepped back.
“Which is it?” Will grabbed her elbow and squeezed it hard enough to make her wince. “Are you with us?”
“Are you going to be questioning my loyalty this whole trip?” Lena asked exhausted.
“We’ll be questioning everyone and everything,” Will snapped pushing her away from him into James’ arms. “Don’t take it personally.”
“Ugh! Fine!” Lena said, “take me away, Angel.”
James grimaced as he leaped into the air with Lena. Will took hold of Jenna’s arm and pulled her closer to him.
“Here’s where we’re heading,” Will handed Richard a paper. “Try to keep up.”
“I can hold my own,” Richard grunted. “You just take care of my little girl.”
Will’s grip tightened on Jenna, but he only nodded. Lifting Jenna up in his arms, he jumped into the sky, spreading his wings and taking off.
“Can I ask you something?” Jenna said over the wind.
Will slowed down making it easier for her to hear him, “Go ahead.”
“Why does James do whatever you say?”
“I’m his Captain.”
“How do you know the Queen?”
Will laughed, “Are you serious?”
She folded her arms and glared.
“Everyone knows the Queen,” Will was still laughing, “you can’t live in a kingdom and not know who your ruler is.”
“What’s your relation to the Queen?” Jenna reiterated.
Will shifted Jenna in his arms trying to hide his discomfort.
“Will,” Jenna warned. “Tell me.”
“She’s a relative,” he shrugged.
“Does she want to rule the skies?”
“Where did you hear… oh, Lena,” Will groaned.
“Well?”
“Yes, the Queen wants to rule the skies.”
Jenna was about to answer when Will shushed her looking around in alarm.
“What is it?” Jenna whispered.
“I don’t know…” his voice trailed off still looking around. “Crap!” He began flying faster than Jenna had ever flown with him. “We need to find James, now!”
Jenna searched the sky frantically for James and Lena but couldn’t see a thing.
“There they are,” Will said flying harder. “James!” he shouted. “Drop!”
Jenna didn’t see how James could’ve heard Will, but he had because he quickly dropped to the ground like a bullet. Will plummeted too without warning. Jenna would’ve screamed, but she left her voice up in the sky along with her stomach.
They landed hard, jarring Jenna, making her bones feel rattled.
“What’s going on?” James asked quickly, his sword already out.
Lena stood behind him with hers out as well.
“Griffins,” Will answered.
“We need to hide,” Lena said.
Will was about to agree when a sound above alerted him.
“We don’t have time,” He said looking around.
“What do we do?” Lena asked as she crouched d
efensively in front of Jenna.
“Run,” Will grabbed Jenna and pulled her as he took off running.
The others ran too and before long Jenna was tripping over her feet trying to keep up.
“Will!” Jenna called out. “I can’t keep up!”
Without a second missed, he had her in his arms, still running hard.
“Stop!” he called out a few minutes later.
They all halted, looking around for the beasts. Jenna was terrified; she couldn’t see anything, didn’t even know what to do if she did see them.
Growls and snarling suddenly filled the night and Jenna screamed, losing it.
“Shh!” Will clamped his hand down on her mouth. “Those are Grims. I called them.”
“Will!” Jenna started crying. “I’m so scared!”
“You need to calm down,” Will snapped.
“They’re less than a mile away and coming fast,” James said.
“Take Jenna and go,” Will pushed Jenna to James.
“But-“
“I’ve got back up, plus Lena,” Will drew his sword. “Go, now!”
“There’s twelve of them! You can’t do this on your own!”
“Take her to a safe place and come back,” Will demanded, “I’ll hold them off.”
“I can’t do that!”
“Go! That’s an order!” he barked.
James clenched his teeth and took hold of Jenna, “This isn’t going to feel good.”
“Wha-“ Jenna’s question was cut off as James teleported them. It felt like she was being pushed through a door too small for her. She felt squeezed, smashed, and out of breath.
Reappearing somewhere else, she gasped for air and slumped over.
“Sorry,” James apologized. “Stay here. Don’t move. If anything comes, hide. If they find you, kill them.”
“With what?” Jenna panted.
He pulled out a dagger and handed it to her, “I’ve got to go.”
James disappeared before Jenna could say another word. Anger and irritation washed through her, though, it was quickly replaced with abandonment. She looked around her but found trees everywhere. She shivered and crept closer to a tree. It should be early afternoon but still the sun remained hidden. She missed the warmth and the light it gave. A twig snapped near her, and she clenched the dagger harder. She didn’t know if she were capable of fighting. The bug man, she reminded herself sternly. She’d killed something already; she could do it again.
The Sun Angel Page 19