Incendiary (The Premonition Series (Volume 4)) (42 page)

“Where is he
going?” I ask, squeezing his hand tight
in mine.

“Th
ere’s a ship in the Bal
tic Sea waiting for us,” he explains
, looking up at the sky.

“Are Cole and Xavier
coming, too?” I ask
, hoping for a negative answer.
I have too much history with Xavier. He had had a starring role in every daydream I had in high school.
..and then he broke my heart.

“It’s their bo
at,” he replies
, watching my eyes close briefly.

“How ar
e we getting there?” I ask
.

“We’re going to fly,” he says, not looking happy
about it.

“You mean…with our wings?”
I ask
with a sinking feeling
.
Reed nods
.
Half in denial
about what’s happening, I ask
, “Where’s the boat going to take us?”

“We can discuss th
at
when we get there,” Reed replies
,
hi
s voice silky before he caresses
his lips against mine.
Somehow I know he’s stalling me on the location.

“That bad, huh?” I ask
, fee
ling uneasy
. “We can’t leave witho
ut Russell. Is he here?” F
ear
is
thread
ing
through me.

“He’s right behind me. We had to stop and get medical attention
,” Zephyr answers
next to Buns. She
turns and hugs
him to her, letting her hands rove over him to make sure he’s not hurt.
“I caught the last part. Xavier will be an interesting chall
enge,” he says
, looking at Reed significantly.

“I l
ook forward to it,” Reed replies
easily
.

My eyes fall
on Russell, seeing how
exhausted
he is
.
“Are you okay
,
Russell?”
I ask
. He’s holding Anya’s hand and they both have been bandaged in a few places.

“Yeah, I could u
se some food—
a bed
—
ESPN
,” he replies with
weariness in his tone
.

“
The army is pulling o
ut to a new position,” Reed says
, watching Russell’s reaction.
“We’re flying—
w
ith wings.”

“Y’all are evil,” Russell states
tiredly.

Zephyr seems
to agree with Russell.
“How long do we allow this
to
go on?” Zephyr asks
Reed
in a serious tone
. “The Seraphim
believe that they are in charge of Evie.”

“We need answers a
nd they have them,” Reed replies, “and
Tau is Evie’s father, so we attempt to compro
mise—”

Z
ephyr cut
s
in,
“They are Ser
aphim, no offense Evie, but Seraphim
are not known for their
ability to compromise.”

“
None taken.
I’m
only half Seraphim,” I reply
, shrugging.

“They have information that Evie needs. I’m willing to cooperate to see some of those questions answered
. Are we
all
in agreement that we
play along
for now?” Reed asks
all of us, like we all have equal say.

“I’m in, s
weetie,” Buns says
, smiling at me.
“I like boats.”

“Me, too,”
Brownie chimes
in immediately, letting her copper butterfly wings spread out of
her back. Preben’s eyes follow
their delicate lines.

“You will need
me, so I will come,” Zephyr says with the hubris
that accompanies
a few billion years of life experience.

My eyes drift to Russell’s and he says
, “It goes witho
ut sayin’ that I’m goin’ where
ver y
ou
are, Red.”
I nod
, expecting not
hing less
from him.

Everyone’s eyes
in our group fall
on Anya
. Reed sp
e
aks to her in Angel and she looks
from Russell to me. Straightening
her shoulder
s
, she nods
her ass
ent.

My eyes drift to Phaedrus and he smiles
, saying, “Oh, I have to go…
I’ve been sent to aid
Tau.”

“You’re on his side?” I ask
him, feeling irritated.

“Perhaps he’s the one prayin
g for a miracle,” Phaedrus murmurs
.

“Are you sure you’ve never b
een a parent, Phaedrus?” I ask
. “Because you’ve got that guilt thing down.”

“It’s a gift,” he replies
.

Around us, angels are lifting off into the
air, having been give
n their orders to mo
ve out. “Okay, but if Tau
turn
s out to be a stalker
, we’re gonna have words
,”
I warn
Phaedrus
in a grave tone,
knowing
I’m in for trouble…aggravating
, messy trouble.

**

After flying for hours through w
hat feels
like a snow
pocalypse, we land
among the multitude of angels on the deck of one of the coolest ships I’ve ever seen. Militaristic and sleek, it is like a floating city
with military grade aircra
ft on the vast deck. The sun is
just beginning to rise over the
aft
of the ship
,
as a Power angel on board le
a
d
s
me to a room.

Pausing at the threshold, I say
, “Uh, this is a single room.” A single, berth-style bed, a small closet, and a tiny shower are the only appointments in the small space.

“This is the room I was told
to give you,” the angel replies
.

Narrowing my
eyes at him, I ask
, “Who instructed
you to give me this room?”

“Xavier,” the angel offers the
name freely
.

“He
’s on my last nerve,” I mutter
,
before stumb
ling into my room
,
feeling
a
s stiff as a
P
opsicle
.
Reed follows
me
,
and it’s annoying that he doesn’t even seem fatigued.

“Xavier
was
teasing you about your flying so that you’d get angry and try ha
rder,” Reed says
, watching me step
in
to the bathroom and turn on the shower.

Wa
l
king to him, I put my finger to his lips, saying, “Shhh, let’s not talk about Xavier…in fact, let’s not talk…
” Dragging Reed
into
the small shower with me, we do
n’t talk for a long, long time.

Reed leads
me from the shower to the single bed.
Wrapped
in a towel with my head pillowed on Reed’s
chest, we fall
asleep in each other’s arms
on the
bed—
grateful just to be together.

**

Genevieve…Geneviev
e
…come ta me,
mo chroí
…it will be ye dat wears me crown
…
forever from harm…
ye belong ta me…

“EVIE!” Reed shakes
me hard, and my
eyes
open
to the glare of
bright sunlight.
Standing
outside
on the deck of the ship in my tow
el, I’m
dizzy and disoriented. Reed, in a
towel too, lifts me off my feet and carries me past gawking Power
s as
the
breeze lifts
my hair like
a
windsock
.

“Ye will be returned ta me
,” I whisper
as the warm
th of Reed’s body penetrates
the
thin layer of
ic
y fros
t covering me
.

So
meone drapes
a blanket around my shoulders
as we enter
a dim hallway.
Several Powers usher
us into a posh room
as one tells
Reed that Tau wants to see us. M
y eyes rest
on a set of glass
doors that lead to a balcony overlooking the sea.
Reed si
t
s
down
o
n a leather chair
, settling me on hi
s lap. He strokes
my hair as
I slowly beco
me aware that I’m numb from cold. Tre
mbling in his arms, he whispers
words in Angel in my ear.

Lifting my hea
d off Reed’s chest with
my teeth
chattering
,
I beco
me lucid enough to realize I’m not in
our
bed.
Glancing around, it’s plain that we’re no longer in steerage, but in one of the presidential suites of the ship.
It’
s masculine in its appointments
with dark
,
wood floors an
d shelves—
more like a den than
what I’d expect to see on a ship.

Seeing Tau watching me from a
n
elegant
chair across
from the one we’re in, I look
away, resting my cheek back against Reed’s bare ches
t again
.

“Do
es she do that often?” Tau asks
Reed in a soft tone.

“I’ve never know
n
her to walk away in her sleep,” Re
ed replies
, sounding concerned.

I feel muddled—
my mind is foggy and it’s hard to focus.
“D
dd
id I j
jj
ust…w
ww
alk outside in m
mm
y
ttt
towel?” I ask
Reed in a small voice
,
my teeth chattering
.

Rubbing my arms, Reed says
lightly
, “Yes, but don’t worry, I think the crew enjoyed it.”

“
Where were you going?” Tau asks
me.

“I d
dd
on’t
kk
know,” I rep
ly
, embarrassment creeping over me.

“Would you like something warm—
c
offee? Tea?” Tau offers
, his gray eyes scanning my face.

“Cccofffeee,” I reply
, gritting my teeth
,
while
pulling the blanket tighter to me
.

Handing me a
cup of coffee, I wrap
my cold finger
s around
it.
S
omeone pounds
on the door of the cabin then, making me
stiffen
.

“Enter,” Tau barks
, not taking his eyes off of me.

“Red!” Russell says
, bursting through
the door. “You
okay?” he asks, looking worried when he sees
me on Reed’s lap.

I nod with
my teeth still chattering.

“I came lookin’ for y
ou
when I felt their energy. I c
a
n
sm
ell the magic…it’s thick
—
you
r
room is foggy with it,” he says
, sitting down in the chair next to us.
“Ah shoot, he’s playin’ with you
, isn’t he?” Russell ask
s
.