The Turquoise Tower (Revenant Wyrd Book 6) (31 page)

“Maeven!” Angelica trumpeted when Jovian and Maeven stepped into the dining hall. Maeven looked like he was overcome with all kinds of sensations. Most overwhelming of all was seeing the giants filling up the back of the room. Angelica launched herself at Maeven, who nearly toppled over on impact. She hugged him tightly, and he returned the hug. “How are you feeling?” she asked, pulling back to look into his eyes, as if somehow she would learn the secrets of how he felt within.

“Alive,” he said. “I should be fit to head out tomorrow. That is, if the groo are here by then.”

“The groo have been here since this morning, just waiting for you all to leave,” a red-headed giant said, stepping forward. Maeven was amazed at how large the chamber was, easily holding all the giants. “My name is Phaleco, and I’m happy that Jovian’s forcing your shift helped to heal you.”

Maeven bowed to her, unsure of the normal giant greeting. “So am I.”

In the middle of the room sat a table that was lit from underneath so the light shined up through the center.

The giants arranged food on tables in the back of the chamber, and everyone helped themselves to cuts of roasted meats, strange tubers in a light sauce, and various other vegetables. Angelica passed most of the vegetables up and dove into the dessert the giants had found in the back of the building. In fact, she heaped most of the gooey dishes on her plate, forsaking everything else save a small wedge of boar meat.

“While we’re all here,” Russel said as everyone arranged themselves around the odd metallic table. “I’ve been thinking about this angelic power thing we’ve discussed.”

“Do you know what it is?” Angelica asked around a mouthful of food. Russel looked at her oddly, trying to figure out what she’d said, and laughed when meat dropped out of her mouth and back onto her plate.

“Angelica, really, are you a savage?” Joya asked, scowling at her sister.

“It’s good!” Angelica argued.

“You were saying, Russel?” Joya said.

“Okay, well, the alarists have darklight, right?”

Joya nodded.

“And that sends whatever they strike beyond the Black Gate?” Russel asked again.

“So we’ve been told,” Jovian remarked. “Who knows where they go really? I mean, it’s not like anyone has ever been struck by darklight and then came back from beyond the Black Gates.” Just saying that reminded Jovian of Sylvie and how she had supposedly traveled beyond the Black Gate and somehow made it back out.

“True, but for the sake of argument, let’s just stick with what we’ve been told,” Russel said. “Anyway, I imagine that angels must have a similar power, right? If alarists have darklight from their connection with Arael, then angels must have something else, like purelight, from their connection with the Goddess.”

“What’s this purelight?” Angelica asked between mouthfuls.

“Yeah, I’ve never heard of that,” Joya said.

“Well, it’s really something I just made up.” Russel blushed. “But I think it’s worth trying out. It makes sense that angels could use a pure measure of energy from their faith in the Goddess. And if we can, I want to be the one who names it. Oh!
And
the one who gets credit for discovering it!” He smiled widely and took a huge bite of boar meat.

Angelica shook her head, watching juice dribble out of his mouth. His smile faded when the first bit of juice soaked into his shirt.

“That’s unfortunate, that’s my good shirt,” he mourned.

“You
have
more than one?” Angelica asked.

“Alright, this purelight, as you wish it to be named,” Joya said. “How, exactly, would we go about calling on it?”

“Not sure exactly,” Russel said, setting his fork back down. “That’s still a mystery. If only we had an alarist here to ask.”

“Well,” Angelica said. “That will give us something to do on the way.”

“I don’t think you will have a lot of time to play around,” Phaleco said, drawing all attention to her. “I don’t think you understand precisely how fast the groo are.”

“Well, how long will it take us to get to the tower with them?” Angelica asked.

“Days.” Phaleco said. “Less than a week.”

Her proclamation stopped all conversation. Dinner passed in near-silence, everyone mulling over what would happen when they reached the Turquoise Tower, and Angelica worried about the outcome. She had lost her appetite and pushed her plate away.

She hadn’t told anyone, but she feared there would be nothing after meeting Arael. For some reason the idea of meeting him there filled her with a dread far beyond words. If she had to describe the feeling, she would say it was like a black wall of doom sweeping up before her, threatening to plunge her into oblivion.

That night Angelica slept horribly, and whenever she did drift into peaceful sleep, she was startled awake by dark musings that she couldn’t remember once her eyes opened. When the dawn came, it found her sitting at the dining-hall table studying the way the light shimmered from beneath, glimmering off the smooth metallic surface.

Russel strode in an hour after she’d found her way there. His dark hair was messy around his head and his clothes rumpled from sleep. Angelica couldn’t help the way her body reacted when the man was around. Something about the way he looked made her heart hammer despite her better judgment. She knew there was no sense in getting involved; after all, there was no telling if she would even survive what was coming, let alone if Russel would.

But it just wasn’t fair. She’d never really thought about romance, not the way Amber always had, with her head in a new romance book seemingly every day. But if the end really was looming up before her, wouldn’t it be nice if she had at least known the touch of one lover?

And she thought Russel would be perfect for the job. There was something about the way he had held her tightly during that first storm, like he was trying to keep her out of sight of the sentry. And the smell of him when they were near one another. And the way that he seemed to get her jokes.

“Couldn’t sleep?” Russel asked, pulling Angelica from her musings.

“No, you?” she asked. Russel came to sit beside her, setting down a cup of the thick liquid the giants liked to serve them. Angelica liked it because it was sweet.

His leg brushed hers when he sat down, and her heart skipped a beat. It felt warm, and right. She leaned back in her chair, willing herself to calm down.

“I slept fine,” he said. His voice was like a purr of velvet against her skin.

Stop
, she told herself.

“Anything you’d like to talk about?” Russel asked.

Angelica shook her head, not trusting her voice.
Goddess, this is dumb!
She scolded herself. She’d always made fun of women in stories who let their hearts get the better of them, but now that she was here, and the doom of facing Arael was looming before her in just a few days, she couldn’t help thinking of all the things she was going to miss out on if they couldn’t best him.

“Why are you crying?” Russel asked, leaning forward to brush a tear from her face.

“Was I?” Angelica asked. Now that she was aware of it, she could feel the hot tears burning her cheeks.

“What’s wrong?” Russel said, placing his hand on the back of her neck. Angelica’s eyes drifted down to his strong arm and the thick coat of black hair that covered it. She liked the way the woven hemp bracelet contrasted with his tan.

“It’s stupid,” Angelica said.

“If it bothers you, it isn’t stupid. Just tell me.” Russel spoke softly, encouragingly.

Like a floodgate had opened, the words flowed from her. “What if this is the end? What if this meeting with Arael only ends with my death? All I can see beyond that point, beyond that future, is darkness, and it scares me what that darkness could be. I feel doom looming up before me, and I don’t know what to do about it. I’m deathly scared.” Unbidden, the tears flowed down her face.

“But there
is
something after death, so to see darkness is silly. There’s a whole other life just beyond this one. You can see proof of that with your visions, with who your mother was,” Russel argued. “Why would death be the end?”

“But it’s the end of my humanity!” Angelica cried out. “And there’s so much humanity I haven’t experienced yet, so much I don’t know, and haven’t felt. I’ve never known what it’s like to fall in love, to kiss, to have sex! I’ve only known the bad, the evil, the contempt that others feel for my family and I!”

“Angelica,” Russel looked deep into Angelica’s eyes. “This world is horrible, and this world is cruel. All we can do is survive, and hope to find that one person that we can take solace in, that one person who we can share the torment with, and who helps make it better.”

“But I will never
have
that. I will—”

Russel silenced her with a kiss. His mouth slanted over hers, chasing all thought from her mind except how moist his lips were, how firm his tongue was. She’d never kissed anyone before, and Angelica wondered at how incredibly
soft
Russel’s lips were. Angelica’s eyes fluttered shut as she took in the scent of Russel’s hot skin, the way his facial hair scratched her lips as they parted for his tongue. The way his hand was firm behind her back, pulling her in close to him.

Quite a while later, Angelica was arranging herself in her chair once more, a blush coloring her cheeks.
So that’s what everyone goes on about?

“That was. . . ” Russel raised his eyebrows. “Wow. You sure you never did that before?”

“No,” Angelica blushed, sliding back to her own chair and straightening her dressing gown back around herself.

“Couldn’t prove it by me,” Russel said, fidgeting with his clothes and sitting back up to his cup of brew. “So, do you feel any better?” He wasn’t poking fun at her, he was being sincere.

“I did, but now all of the worry is back again,” she confessed. “But thank you, at least I got to know what it was like.”

“Don’t talk like that,” Russel said, sliding his chair closer to her. “Everything will work out. You’ll see.” But there was a tone in his voice that told Angelica he didn’t really believe it.

“How can it be?” she asked. “We’re going up against Arael, who’s been around since before mankind. We haven’t even gotten our wings yet.”

“These things have a way of coming around. You’ll be fine. It isn’t always about age or experience; sometimes it’s about luck. Plus, you have Sylvie LaFaye in there, right?” Russel asked, his hand idly stroking the back of her neck. Now that they’d their first moment of closeness, touching seemed natural.

“Yea,” Angelica said. She didn’t tell Russel that she had essentially locked her mother out. She hadn’t even felt that second presence in her body in a very long time. Would she be able to channel it if needed?

“Alright then. Now I think we should go get washed up before the others come.” Russel said, setting his mug down and standing.

“You go first, I will after,” Angelica said.

“Who said anything about going first?” Russel said, a sparkle in his eye as he pulled Angelica up out of her seat and her heart did another summersault.

Breakfast came and went, and before Jovian knew it they were being led out of the building and into the brightness of another day. The wyrded cloak around his shoulders did a lot of good chasing away the cold of the morning, but not all of it. To say he was snug would be a lie. The cloaks chased away death from exposure and made their travel more bearable, but he was still cold.