My eyes seek his.
Black hooded orbs stare down on me.
They flash red, and he glances away, shaking his head. He steps back.
I drop my hand.
“No.” His brows scrunch. “Not for me,” he says again. Resolved, his wings extend, forcing me back a few more steps.
Our moment is over.
Anger blinks across his face.
“Now, stay in here and be a good girl. Everything will be over soon.”
Aiden disappears from the room, leaving me ... how? And what was that when I touched his face? I only know one other person who affects me like that with a strange electrical current.
Chapter Eighteen
Shay
FRIDAY, JUNE 7, THIRTY-nine days after prom.
I BOARD THE PRIVATE plane, sweating like a pig. We’ve been at this for a month. Trying to find another demon who knows where Aiden is keeping her. No one is talking. Either they really don’t know, or they’re more scared of the one calling the shots on their end. My guess is the latter.
It got hot quickly here in the southwestern states, even though it is still early in the morning. Sleep tries to take over my body. I need rest, but I can’t stop thinking about what Oriana said, “It might not be a demon who is keeping her.”
Does that make Aiden not a demon?
The same seat I sat in before beckons to me. The soft leather caresses my body and pulls me under.
I dream of Zoe and I in Las Vegas but not hunting for demons. It’s a vacation for us. She’s never been outside the state, and I know Sin City would be on her bucket list.
She’s happy perusing in and out of the different casinos, each having its own style and décor. We walk together, take in the lights from the Stratosphere, eat a fantastic meal at the Bellagio, and take in a show at MGM.
It’s perfect.
Someday, we’ll have that chance.
“Shay.” Vash shakes me awake. “You’ve got to see this.” He points to the TV.
We watch the news clips scroll between flooding in Texas and volcanoes erupting all over the world. Thousands of lives are being extinguish by mother nature. Picture after picture portrays death. Interviews of survivors telling their stories break our hearts. The land is devastated beyond fixing.
“Do you think the scorching temperature we left is also part of this?” I ask.
“Could very well be. I’ve been trying to get a hold of Kieran or Sidelle. Neither is picking up their phones.”
“That could be bad, or they are busy trying to save as many people as possible and don’t have time to call us.” I slip my phone out of my back pocket. “Flip to the local news around Vegas. I have a feeling that the city is also affected.”
Me: I’m sure you have seen the news. Vash & I left LV and are heading home. Don’t worry about us. Keep doing what you’re doing & we’ll regroup later.
Vash changes the station and finds a news flash about severe drought invading Nevada and the surrounding states. Cracked land, empty food shelves, and the hospital overflowing with patients are all shown. Hundreds are still dying from dehydration.
My phone pings from an incoming text.
Kieran: Yep. Busy here. Try to text more later.
Vash’s phone also chimes, and he shows me the text.
Sidelle: Was in TX trying to stop the flooding but didn’t help. Tried to save as many people as we could in Italy. K’s with me. Now, we’re in Australia. B back soon.
We’re both distraught. We hadn’t known how bad it was. I was so focused on Zoe I didn’t look around me. And now, all those souls are gone.
The pilot interrupts my thoughts.
“Sir, we’re running into slight turbulence from heavy winds. Visibility is less the lower we go, but it’s unstable in the higher altitudes. We can see smoke down there.”
Vash jumps to the intercom and presses the button.
“Take us down to the nearest airport.” He stares out the window. “Now.”
His urgent voice startles me, and I spin to my own window. The plane is descending. Below us, fires rage across the heartland. The sky is thick with black smoke billowing upward. From this height, I can see the damage the flames are making. It’s covering thousands of miles. We bank right, and fires burn as far as the horizon goes.
All the crops are ruined.
In a matter of minutes, we are landing on a small runway.
“Sir, we’re at Emporia Municipal Airport. Wichita is to our southwest and Topeka is north of here.”
“Thank you,” Vash says.
“I’ve called ahead and ordered you a vehicle. It doesn’t seem like it’s arrived yet. I’ll bring your bags around as soon as we’re done taxiing.”
“Okay.”
“What are we going to do here?” I ask. “We can’t stop the fire from spreading.”
“No, we can’t. But we can help the hospitals, drive people to the city, and help them protect their homes. Anything. They’ll need capable bodies here.” He looks directly at me. “I know you’re anxious to get back to Minnesota, but without Kieran and Sidelle, there’s no use having a meeting without them. We can be here for a day or so and head out early tomorrow morning. Maybe Kieran and Sidelle will also be back from Europe by then.”
I nod. It’s all I can do. I know we must help these people. The smaller towns won’t have the medical needs or manpower. Plus, Vash is right. We have no other information to go on except that Oriana confirmed that someone kidnapped a girl and is holding her in a vocivus room. We can spare another day or two. Zoe would want us to.
Clutching my cell phone, I swipe it to “on,” so I can draft a text to Kieran.
Me: We’re in Kansas, outside of Wichita. Fires are spreading across the Midwest. Vash and I are stopping to help. Be back in MN in a few days.
Immediately, I find a response.
Kieran: OK, Sid and I will wrap up here. She can’t stop the rain, but it sounds like you guys could use her glamour to put out the fires.
Vash and I wait inside the plane. The air is too thick with smoke to be outside. In a few minutes, Sidelle and Kieran appear outside the plane.
“You rang?” Sidelle asks as the door drops to let us out. “Word on the street is that you guys need my help.” She winks. “We weren’t doing anything. You know, hanging around the massive pool falling from the sky that someone created. And they didn’t even serve us any drinks.”
“I showed Sidelle your text about the fires; we came here.” Kieran rolls his eyes. “All the angels are stretched thin helping the entire world with all of the mess that’s going on, so it might be only us here to cover the Midwest.” He fists his hands. “I suspect that this is what Aiden wants.”
“How so?” I ask.
“Whoever is pulling the strings here needs us saving the Ordinaries, so we can’t focus on finding Zoe. It’s the perfect cover. Misdirection. And it’s working. Between the flooding, droughts, volcanoes, and now fires, every Order is stretched thin.” He turns to Vash. “We met up with Alpha Nickola in London, and she confirmed that Knights and Marqs are breaking through the Veils’ gates in record numbers. They’ve sent as many as they can afford to Stonehenge to squash any more coming through. But many are breaking across the barrier using some lesser known locations. Knights have been spotted near the Drombeg Circle of Ireland; Marqs are rising out of the ground near the Carnac Stones in France and on the Balearic Islands of Spain. Europe is overflowing with demon activity.”
“We can’t think of that now,” Vash says. “We can only do what we can do here.”
“What are we waiting for?” Sidelle asks. “Why are we still standing around doing nothing when there are a ton of folks and land that needs saving?”
“No vehicle,” I say and rotate my hands, imitating driving. “Vash and I can’t appear and disappear all over the world. We need human technology to get from place to place.”
“Well, duh, silly boy. That doesn’t mean that Kieran and I need to stay here
and wait for you to drive to wherever.” She cocks her hip out. “So, what’s the plan? K and I have our work down to a science, but from the looks of this place, that won’t work out as well. We’re not even near any cities.”
“But we are in the middle of nowhere, and you can call for rain and extinguish the fires. Or at least try to. If that fails—”
“It won’t. I’ve got this.”
Sidelle strides a few steps away from us and raises her arms. She stops and calls to Vash, “The pilot?”
“He’s fine,” Vash answers.
A slight breeze picks at her black hair, but nothing as forceful as the gusts of wind in the south. Clouds increase over the blue sky. Darkness blankets the lands, and it hides the sun’s rays and mixes with the fires’ smoke. Her body glows bright green with enough glamour to force rain to be squeezed from the clouds. It pitters down, caressing the ground. Hissing and popping sounds are heard around us as the coolness of the water hits the raging fires.
Smoke billows as the heat dies.
The prairie grasses are saved; it’s not a total loss.
The rains continue to fall, but Sidelle’s glow is growing dim. She’s tiring, using all her reserves. Her footing falters and her arms lower. She’s swaying. Kieran catches her body as she collapses into his waiting arms.
Our vehicle finally makes its way toward us, and Vash and I pile into the front, as Kieran gently lays Sidelle across his lap in the back. I glimpse behind me and watch him stroke her hair. Our eyes meet, but neither of us says anything.
Turning back to Vash, I ask, “Where next?”
“We need to see how far the rains went and to make sure the cities are safe.”
Vash turns the ignition switch, and we drive down the two-lane highway toward Wichita. All around us I notice that the ground, crops, and grass smoke. Heavy, soaking rain saturates into the land. During the hour-long drive to the city, it continues to pour.
Maybe this is our second lucky break.
Chapter Nineteen
Shay
WE MAKE OUR WAY SOUTHBOUND along County Road Fifty, turn left onto Inter-state 135, and head into Wichita proper. The most logical place to stop and regroup is the Botanical Gardens on the west side of the city. It should be private enough from human eyes. Plus, the radio station we listened to on the way said that the city is in lockdown due to the excessive heat advisory.
As we pull into the parking lot of the gardens, Vash secures a map, and we head into the Shakespeare Garden. Teak benches surround a beautiful, two-tiered limestone fountain. Hawthorn trees line the perimeter. Wild flowers fill in between stone paths.
We pass under a large trellis on our way.
It’s magical, and I would hate to see this place burn.
The heat has risen, and the winds have picked up. It’s not raining here, but the char smell lingers in the air.
“How bad is Europe?” I peel off my black jacket and use the bottom of my T-shirt to wipe my face. “Vegas was really hot and thinking back on it, unnaturally so. I should have known something was wrong. But I was too anxious to get back to Minnesota.”
“It’s the same as here,” Sidelle says. “Strange weather. High temperatures, lots of rainfall.” She pinches one of the yellow daisies from its stem and plucks the pedals, watching them fall in the breeze. “Why did you go to Las Vega, anyway?”
“I was looking for someone.”
“Did you find them?” Kieran asks.
“Yes, and some trouble along the way,” Vash confirms.
“I was looking for an old friend who owed me a favor. Oriana is a Knight who I’ve crossed paths with before, and I helped her out of a jam. She hears a lot of stories from the demons that pass through the city. When they relax or are drunk, they get loose lipped and they talk. So, I knew that she would probably know who and maybe even where Zoe is being held.”
“We found the demon at the Purple Zebra,” Vash says. “And convinced her to leave her gambling habit for a few minutes to talk with us outside. Some Knights found us in the alley and wanted to make a name for themselves by taking out an Alpha.”
“But we wiped the floor with them, eventually,” I say. “Oriana said that someone kidnapped a girl and is keeping her in a vocivus room.”
“Really?” Kieran asks. “She’s said vocivus?”
“Yes, why?”
“Because Michael said that only angels can create them.”
“What are they?” Sidelle asks.
“They’re special rooms placed within the Void.” Kieran paces to one of the benches and sits, shoulders slumped. “The space moves from Level to Level, so they are hard to track. Only the creator knows exactly where it is and can bring anything into the room or can exclude any item. Powerful Light can be used to bring items in, if it’s not already in the room. The only way out is if the creator lets them go.”
“Well, we know that Zoe is being kept in that type of room by Aiden,” I say. “Now, we have to find out where and if there’s a way of breaking her out.”
“Yes, and we need to continue helping the Ordinaries with this mess. The angels are doing all they can, but once a soul dies, they cannot bring them back. Massive amounts of souls are making their way into the Heavens lately.”
“What about my people?” Sidelle suggests. “If we can get my father to open a porta, Summer will help. I know they will. They can take care of the rains to dowse the fires, and maybe my father can stop the downpour that’s causing the flooding.”
“Let’s try it.” Kieran slaps his hands against the bench and stands. “It’s all we’ve got for now. Sidelle, go see your father and get as many fairies as he can spare. I know you probably don’t want to, but you may need to contact Finn, too, and get help from Winter.”
“I’ll go see my father first, and if I cross paths with Finn, I’ll update him. I haven’t seen him since the battle in Winter.” A green shimmer envelopes her body and she disappears.
“All right, what else do we have?” Kieran asks. “Shay, why don’t you get some rest? We’ll hang out here for a while and see if Sidelle comes back. You look horrible, and you’ll need your strength when we rescue Zoe.” He claps me on my back. “There’s going to be an upcoming battle if the weather keeps up like this. The next phase will probably see animals dying in mass numbers like on the beaches of Italy.”
“Yeah, okay. I’ll see if she’s sleeping and can Dream Walk to me.” I lie on one of the benches and close my eyes. My mind fights me, but eventually my body relaxes and I’m asleep.
I find myself standing on a beach, like the last time. No footprints mark the pristine sand. “Zoe?” I call out to her, in case she can hear me. The gentle waves lap against the shore as the bright sun warms my face. “I’m here, waiting for you.” It’s relaxing, and I wish I could stay here forever. I’m mentally and physically stretched to the limits. It’s been almost a month since I’ve held Zoe in my arms, and we’re no closer to finding her. She’s going to turn eighteen in a couple of weeks, and I won’t even be able to be with her on her special day. It’s not fair.
I’m pouting like a petulant child. I can be selfish for this minute. No one is around and seeing me fail. I can have this moment. My strength is waning.
God, I miss her.
“Zoe, I need to see you. Please come visit me in my dreams.”
Today, I have my wings out. They twitch as if someone is watching me. I turn around, but no one is there.
Millions of tiny sparkles light and merge together, forming an orb. As the circle solidifies, a shape appears. A girl with long, brown hair emerges. She’s wearing yoga pants and a purple T-shirt. Her smile breathes fire into my body. Her athletic build is running across the sand towards me. “Shay!” the person yells.
I know that voice instantly as her body solidifies. “Zoe!” I lift my body with my wings and gather her into my arms. “I’m so happy to see you.” My wings wrap around us like a protective bubble. I kiss her feverously, not allowing her to talk.
>
Finally, we break apart.
“Shay, I’ve missed you so much.” She places her head on my shoulder. “Tell me everything. But first, what day is it?”
“It’s Friday, June 7.”
“My birthday is in two weeks. My phone died probably four weeks ago. Tell me something good.” She leans up and gives me a soft kiss on my cheek.
“I love you.” My hand wraps about her waist and refuses to let go. I pull her down to the sand, never breaking contact. I proceed to tell her everything that is happening on earth. I describe the natural disasters, and what we’re doing about it. About all the souls that have died. And what Kieran thinks will still happen. I end the story with Sidelle’s trip back to Fairyland to enlist the help from Summer.
“Aiden lets me see where you guys are at and what you’re doing through a special mirror,” Zoe says. “There’s been sound on and off. My heart broke the day I saw all these colored orbs release into the Heavens, the day of the flooding. I guessed what they were, and now you’ve confirmed it.” Her eyes tear. “With everything that is going on, you guys haven’t had time to look for me.”
“No, we haven’t. Zoe, I’m sorry. We’re all doing what we can. When I was in Vegas, someone corroborated that you are being held in a vocivus room. And we think that Aiden created it especially for you. Only he can let you out, so it doesn’t matter if we know where you are, we can’t break you out of it.” I hang my head.
“It’s okay, Shay. I know that all of you guys are doing everything to find me and help the humans. They need it more than me. I’m not dying in that room.” Zoe bumps my shoulder. “Well, maybe a teensy tiny bit from boredom, but I’ll survive. There are people out there around the world who are not that lucky.”
“You’re amazing, you know that, right?” I kiss the top of her head.
Wars & Wings (Enlighten Series Book 3) Page 10