The guardian leaned forward in his seat. “Apparently not.”
My senses told me this angel was about ten thousand years old. Young by their standards, but certainly stronger than any Earth-born supernatural I’d met—or guardians from Purgatory for that matter. I could feel intense pain emanating from him, but he used no magic. Nothing to fight back.
I grabbed the door handle. “I’m not going to sit here and watch this.”
“Take care, sensor. These people appear to be dangerous.”
“We’ll see.” I got out and raced toward the mob.
Grabbing the nearest guys, I flung them onto a nearby bank of snow about thirty feet away. Then I grabbed a couple more, knocked their heads together, and tossed them as well. A woman turned toward me and splashed a vial of liquid on me. Very strong stuff and it explained a lot. The witch who’d concocted the freezing spell was super powerful.
“Nice try,” I said, punching her in the face.
I caught her as she slid to the ground and tossed her to the side of the road. A man to my left splashed another vial at me. I rolled my eyes and kicked him in the face. A sharp pain dug into my side. I looked over and found an older woman had stuck a knife in me. I pulled it out and flung it far away, then knocked her out. There were still six humans left. Pushing through the pain, I knocked heads together until they were all unconscious.
The angel lay on the ground, face frozen in horror. I touched my wound and coated my fingers with blood. Leaning down, I pressed it to his lips. A moment later he blinked. Then he slowly sat up and looked around.
“I did not expect them to do that. They should not have even seen me,” he said.
I gave him my hand and helped him up. “There’s a witch out there brewing spells for humans to use on supernaturals. I’m afraid it worked against you, too.”
“You are a sensor,” he observed. “And immortal.”
He nodded toward all the humans I’d tossed into snow banks. Even though we’d never met that show of strength gave me away.
“Yeah. One of a kind, apparently.”
“Thank you for intervening.” He gave me a respectful nod. “I will not forget.”
The angel flashed away.
Something caught on the periphery of my senses. I walked to the side of the road and followed the magical trail toward a line of trees. There was a small section of disturbed snow. I dug through and found a crystal rock there. It pulsed with life and had a “keep away” spell to prevent others from tampering with it, but the stone’s heavier magic remained dormant. I touched the surface and got the smallest hint of peace and tranquility.
This was what the angels had been chanting over on the news. What were they up to? I decided it was best to leave the stone alone and buried it in the snow again. If the stone was part of their plan to restore order, I didn’t want to mess with it.
A moan came from nearby. One of the people I’d knocked out was starting to stir on his snow bank. I hurried back to the vehicle and climbed into the seat. Kerbasi was giving me one of his speculative looks.
“The daimoun was right. You defend whoever is the innocent party—no matter which race they are.”
I started the Jeep. “Is that a compliment?”
“I’m not certain,” he admitted. “What were you doing on the side of the road?”
“I found one of those angel rocks they’ve been chanting over. Still not sure what it does, though.”
His expression turned disturbed. “I’ve no idea, either.”
Chapter Thirty-seven
I cradled the container of soup I’d brought for Emily. Micah, Olivia, and Kerbasi trailed behind me as we made our way through the clinic. We’d already changed into scrubs.
“This is one of the nicer treatment facilities I’ve seen,” Micah said, looking around.
I glanced back at him. “What are they doing elsewhere?”
In Juneau, Lucas made use of Aeson’s mansion since it had plenty of room, but I hadn’t heard what any of the other cities had done.
“It varies.” Micah shrugged. “I’ve seen them use warehouses, storage facilities, and even old factories. Nothing this clean and organized.”
“Paula takes pride in her work and Derrick is big on taking care of his people.” If nothing else, I could give the alpha that.
“Speaking of the doctor.” He paused. “I need to see her. Can you take Olivia with you?”
“Sure.”
“Thank you.” Micah turned on his heels and headed toward the other end of the clinic.
The rest of us reached the antechamber to Emily’s room and went through the motions of suiting up. It was a good thing none of us were mortal because all the scrubbing, washing and changing would have chafed our skin—especially during such cold weather. I explained to Olivia the extra steps involved in preparing for the isolation chamber. She followed my example, taking it all very seriously.
I sensed Yerik’s son in there with Emily, which hurried me along. He didn’t even know her. Why would he visit? I asked Kerbasi to help Olivia with her gloves, booties, and hair cap while I went ahead into the room.
Stepping inside, I found him sitting on a chair. He had it perched on two legs with his feet up on the wall. He didn’t look a day over twenty, though he was really closer to fifty. His skin was pale and his eyes were a striking shade of purple. Emily didn’t appear upset that he was there, but she didn’t look excited, either. She just lay on her bed, using an arm to prop up her head up as she spoke to him.
“How can you not have a name?” She frowned at him.
He ran a hand through his shaggy brown hair. “No one ever gave me one.”
Like all nerou, he was heavily muscled, but he had a fascinating way of making himself appear smaller and less intimidating. I couldn’t put my finger on how he was doing it.
Her forehead wrinkled. “So what did they call you in Purgatory if you didn’t have a name?”
“Whatever fitting term came to their minds.” He grinned.
I walked over to the bed and handed Emily the sweater she’d requested and the soup. She put the food on a side table and pressed the knit sweater to her nose. Her eyes closed as she inhaled deeply. For a minute, she did nothing but breathe in Hunter’s scent until she finally lowered it and pressed it to her chest.
“God, I miss him.”
I sat on the bed and pulled her into the crook of my arm. “I do, too.”
Yerik’s son put the chair back down on four legs. “You loved him a lot, didn’t you?”
“Yeah.” Emily nodded. “He was always there for me.”
I wanted to tell her she was young and would meet lots of boys in her life, but a first love was the hardest to get over—whether you lost them through a break-up or death. She’d have to figure out those things on her own. Some lessons couldn’t be taught through well-meaning speeches.
“I’m here, Em, if you need anything.”
She looked up at me. “I know. Thanks.”
Yerik’s son leaned forward. “Would it cheer you up if I let you choose my name?”
“You’re a braver soul than I if you let her do that,” Kerbasi said, entering the room with Olivia.
“Hasn’t your mother suggested anything yet?” I asked.
The nerou leaned back in his chair again. “Yeah, she wants to call me either Tormod or Gus. I don’t even know if those would fit me.”
Emily studied him. “I don’t see you as a Gus, but maybe Tormod.”
“Thorn would be more appropriate.” Olivia came to stand next to him. “Because he’s a thorn in everyone’s side. The baby of our group.”
He gave her a cocky look. “Are you still mad about your hair?”
“What did you do to her hair?” Emily glanced between the two nerou.
“I just trimmed it a little. She let it grow too long and it was getting caught all the time.” He gave a careless shrug. “I did her a favor.”
Olivia smacked him on the side of his head. “It’s taken me half a year to get it this long again.”
Her hair was a few inches past her shoulders now. How short had he cut it?
“Anyway.” He turned back to Emily. “If you like Tormod, we’ll go with that.”
She tapped her chin. “I don’t know. Thorn is starting to sound more like you.”
“You wouldn’t.” His eyes widened.
Kerbasi stirred. “That’s exactly what she’ll do if she’s so inclined.”
Emily gave the guardian a defiant look. “No, I’ll go with Tormod because his mother likes it. Family is important. If she cares about him the way Mel cares about me he’ll figure out he never wants to lose that.”
I pulled her into a hug. Sometimes it was easy to forget how important you were to someone until a crisis happened to remind you. I would have done anything to make Emily happy. If there’d been a way to save Hunter in time, I would have done it.
Micah entered the room. “Do you have a hug for me, too?”
Emily leaped out of my arms and ran to the nephilim. “Micah!”
He lifted her off her feet and hugged her tightly. I’d known he cared about her, but with him purposely staying away I hadn’t realized how much it bothered him. It was easy to assume he didn’t really miss us. His expression of relief at seeing her told me otherwise. He’d done whatever it took to rescue his daughter, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t made painful sacrifices.
“I missed you, little sensor.” He set her down. “When I got the news of your illness I can’t tell you how hard it was to stay away.”
A hurt expression crossed Emily’s face. “Then why did you?”
“It was necessary if I wanted to get my daughter back.” He glanced at the guardian and frowned. “The plan to free her and the other nerou required the utmost secrecy, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t want to see you.”
Emily looked at Olivia. “How long were you stuck in Purgatory?”
“For about six hundred and forty years.” She spoke in a matter-of-fact tone, but when she looked at Micah her expression turned to one of regret and sadness. Too many lost opportunities. She’d lived out numerous human lifetimes without him.
Emily shook her head. “That’s awful. You definitely needed him more than I did.”
It was strange seeing this other side of my adopted daughter. Between fighting off the plague and grieving for Hunter, she’d somehow become more sensitive to others.
“So what is there to do around here?” Yerik’s son—or rather, Tormod—asked.
“Good question.” Micah looked at me. “Do you have any ideas, Melena?”
I thought it over. “Well, I’m supposed to be helping out DHS, I but haven’t had a chance to get by the office. I’ve gotten a bunch of calls from O’Connell demanding I assist him with some local problems. Do you think any of the nerou would be up for joining me? There might be some fighting involved.”
“I’ll go.” Tormod stood.
“Actually, I’d like to go, too.” Olivia looked at her father. “Something tells me it’s important we work with Melena on this.”
He gave me a martyred look. “My daughter hasn’t even been here a day and you’re already stealing her from me.”
“Not until tomorrow at the earliest,” I reassured him. “I’ve got to call O’Connell first and make the arrangements with him. Plus, I won’t keep them out all day. You’ll still get plenty of time with her, but she’ll need something to do while you’re healing plague victims.”
His shoulders slumped a little. “Very well, but you better take good care of her.”
“I will,” I promised.
Chapter Thirty-eight
“And this, ladies and gentleman, is a branch of the supernatural division for the Department of Homeland Security,” I explained, bringing them into the reception area.
“Welcome,” O’Connell said, inclining his head.
He was standing in his office doorway with his arms crossed. The agent wasn’t entirely convinced of this idea, but I’d told him it was the only way he’d get me to show up.
I turned to face the nerou. “That guy frowning over there is the boss.”
I could afford to inflate his ego a little if it made him more cooperative.
“Who else works here?” Olivia asked.
“Just him and me at the moment. There are hundreds of cities the department has to cover so they can only afford to put a small number of agents in each one.”
I doubted they even had a branch in every city, but I didn’t want to overload the nerou with too much information at once. They were still looking at me funny when I talked on my cell phone. Explaining traffic lights had been another fun conversation on the way over.
“What exactly do you guys do?” another nerou asked.
I’d brought four of them with me—Olivia and Tormod, plus two nerou healers whose skills with diseases were too weak to be useful. They could handle trauma injuries with great finesse, but not illnesses. Micah had explained this wasn’t uncommon and that some healers had specialized abilities. They’d volunteered to come with me after they heard we were going out.
O’Connell came to stand directly in front of the nerou.
“We manage relations between supernaturals and humans—especially since they decided to come out publicly.” He scowled at me like it was my fault. “And for the near future we’ll work to resolve disputes. My superiors want to see order returned as soon as possible.”