Angel Magic (11 page)

 
The sound of flapping wings interrupted Rahmiel’s kiss.

 
The Guardian Angels were back.

Chapter Eight

 
The Angels moved quickly to Rahmiel and two grabbed him while Kari frantically wrapped herself in the blanket. She scowled at the Guardians, who were looking at her with way too much interest. But they managed to wrap a glowing white band around Rahmiel’s arms, wings and ankles to prevent him from moving.

 
“What are you doing? Let him go,” she yelled.

 
“Rahmiel must come with us.”

 
“I can’t go with you,” Rahmiel spoke in a calm tone. “Did you forget I’m bound to the lady?”

 
Lemuel moved into Rahmiel’s face. “It can’t stand in the way of justice. We’re taking you to the Assembly for a hearing.”

 
Rahmiel gave a disgusted sigh. “What about the famine demon? You’re just going to let it keep feeding, getting stronger? And what about the Old Laws of Binding? Your council has done away with the Old Laws?”

 
“No. But they may need to make exceptions.” Lemuel looked at the Angels flanking Rahmiel and nodded. In a flurry of wings they were gone.

 
Kari was too stunned to move. “I’m stranded. You’re taking Rahmiel and I’m stranded,” she screamed skyward, hoping the Angels would hear.

 
The jungle birds in the canopy stopped twittering. Nothing else happened.

 
Kari sank down onto the thin blanket. Surely they would realize they’d left her stranded there. Rahmiel would tell them. They’d return soon. Wouldn’t they?

* * * *

Rahmiel was furious but he forced himself to remain calm. The way they had looked at Kari.
And then leaving her there, all alone.
What kind of Guardians were these? He wanted to rip them apart with his bare hands.

 
The Guards placed him in an energy cell where he had little movement. He could sit or lie down, but he couldn’t stand.

 
He flopped back into a reclining position and tuned Lemuel out. The ass knew the truth—people were going to die tonight because Kaphawn was free and growing stronger. Last night two died. Tonight the body count would be higher. But Lemuel thought he was administering justice. Tell that to someone the demon will suck life out of tonight.

 
He didn’t dare think about Kari, alone on the island. Not if he hoped to appear calm.

 
Lemuel finally shut his mouth and left. Probably going to his lavish palace for the evening, Rahmiel thought.
While Kari hides under the damn blanket, scared to death.

 
Once Lemuel was gone, he sat up. “What if there is wild boar on the island?” he snarled at the remaining Guards. “What if she dies? She’s an innocent. Do you want innocent blood on your hands?”

 
The Guards pretended not to hear him, but he knew better.

 
“Are humans now worthless? Their lives have no value? Is that the way of the Overland? I thought we were oath bound to use our powers to help our weaker brethren. Did you take new vows?”

 
“No, we hold to our vows,” one of the Guards shot back.

 
Rahmiel hid a grin. Undisciplined, just as he’d figured. Back in his day, a Guard could hold up to little baiting. Lemuel was a lousy leader.

 
“She’s not strong, you know. Not like an Angeli girl. She can’t fight a wild animal or fly away from it. She has no weapons or tools. If something bites her, she’ll get an infection in that climate. Even if she can survive boar attacks, she won’t know what safe to eat. She will die unless she is rescued from that island.” He let his anger show in his tone.

 
“I’ll talk with Lemuel in the morning. We’ll send someone for her.”

 
“What if morning is too late? Sunset is soon there. What if a boar gets her or a large monkey thinks she’s invaded its territory?
A couple of bites to the neck and she’s dead.

 
Our bond won’t protect her from Earth creatures. I’ll make sure the Assembly knows you chose to leave her in deadly danger.”

 
There was silence.

 
“You can wing there in a moment’s time, scoop her up and drop her off at her friend’s home. Or even bring her here. That would be even quicker. No one would even know you were gone. I can’t get out of this cell, anyway.”

 
The Guards, young men he’d never served with, glanced at each other. One gave a slight nod. “We will discuss it.” They left the room. They were gone for a long time.

 
Hopefully they are using what little honor they have to rescue Kari. Rahmiel had observed some interesting things while he was on ice. There was something he thought he could do…he was able to do it while in the ice, but he hadn’t been able to move, being frozen. He suspected the energy cell wasn’t as strong a prison as the ice. Soon the Guards would be back with news of Kari. Once he knew she was safe he would act.

 
The Guardians arrived back at his cell in a flurry of wings. Kari, looking exhausted and cold, stood with them. At least she’s safe from Kaphawn.
Those bastards, leaving herthere alone.
 
He felt as if a great weight lifted off him. “Put her in here with me, so I can warm her.”

 
Kari looked so pitiful. It must have rained. She and her blanket were soaked and her lips were blue. The Guards allowed her to enter the cell.

 
He held her tight and stretched his wings forward to warm her. “I’m so sorry,” he crooned. “I had no idea those idiots would treat you like that. Back in my day it would never have happened.”

 
“They could have taken me to Tressa’s,” she said.

 
“We couldn’t take her home. We’ve never navigated around Earth without Lemuel,” one of the Guards mumbled. “Today was the first time we’ve ever been there.

 
It took us a while to find her.”

 
“That is still no excuse.” Rahmiel rubbed his hands up and down her back and was pleased when she snuggled closer. The Guards watched him, and he made a face at them. “How about a little privacy, boys? Kari doesn’t need you staring at her. You’ll make her uncomfortable. Like you did earlier.”

 
One of the Guards blushed. With a glance at each other they turned their backs.

 
“I want you to close your eyes, Kari. Feel the bond. Okay?” Kari nodded. Her pink lip color started returning.

 
He closed his eyes and pulled her tight and fell into the intricate pattern that glistened behind his eyelids. He sought the Ether.

* * * *

“Where are we?” she asked, a moment later.

 
He opened his eyes and shouted with laughter. “It worked.”

 
They were in a small oval-shaped chamber made of a foamy white, springy substance. Rahmiel let go of her and jumped up. He landed with a bounce, and then pulled her up by her hands to bounce with him.

 
“We’re in Ether. It is a space between dimensions. In school as a child the teachers described it as the pith around the pomegranate seeds. Dimensionally speaking.”

 
“How did we get here?”

 
“I could observe the Ether when I was in ice. Finally I started trying to get here. I could see other beings here, from other dimensions, or an occasional shaman from Earth, or a Scholar from Angeli would show up for brief times. I found I could get here and stay for a long time. But I hadn’t figured out how to get out of the ice. I figured if I stayed in Ether it would eventually melt. But it was too boring. At least in ice I could watch Earth and the Overland. I kind of phased us here.”

 
“Okay, I understand none of that. But I gather we are safe?”

 
He noticed she was hugging herself, still cold, so he began to rub her arms and back. Warming Kari up was making him feel pretty warm. And she smelled so good.

 
Edible. The memory of her taste and smell as he tongued her came to him in a rush, and he felt the heat burn through his body and center on his cock. Had it always felt so intense? In the ice he had no physical reactions at all, though he still found women and sex interesting. Now, innocent touches on this girl’s back and he was ready to explode.

 
He eased away from her a little. “You can stand or walk around. Or lie down. You can’t fall through to anywhere.”

 
“It’s like stiff bubbles. Or craft foam. Or
children’s modeling
clay except it’s fluffy.

 
This stuff is cool.” She played with it for
awhile
, as did Rahmiel. They could shape it or brush it aside. They made it into balls and threw them, but they didn’t hit with any force. They could sculpt it into shapes, like bucket seats, and it retained the shape they gave it. They played with it, digging through a wall to the next, empty section. The wall promptly healed itself.

 
Kari giggled as her stomach growled. “Any chance we can leave here and go home?

 
Or to Tressa’s?”

 
“It would be best to stay here. I know the Guardians will be looking for me. They will be looking for me in the places I’ve been before. Also, I would like to try a few things out here, now that I can move.”

 
“What about Kaphawn?”

 
He slumped down next to her. “We won’t be able to stop him tonight. It’s already far past sunset. But I can feed you.” He reached out a hand. Soon his hands were full of little white pillows.

 
“It worked.” He grinned then popped one of the pillows into his mouth. “Not bad.

 
Like dried fruit. With juice inside.”

 
He pressed one of the small pillows to her lips and she took a bite. The texture was like a dried apple, rather rubbery, and the pillow held a juice with a faint banana flavor.

 
“What is it?”

 
“I don’t know.
Some type of food native to this realm.
They won’t be able to find us here. The Angeli know it exists, and some have entered it briefly. But none have been here for a thousand years. Unless someone popped in while I was looking at Earth.”

 
“You learned all of this by watching?”

 
“Yes, and listening. There are beings that frequent this realm who are not so different from Angeli. Perhaps, in eons past, we were one race. Their language is similar to Angeli. So I listened to Elders teaching the young how to navigate here.”

 
Kari held up one of the morsels. “These are probably low fat. How do you get them?”

 
“It is all a matter of focus and intent. I don’t think humans can do it, though.”

 
Kari squeezed her eyes shut, concentrated on food, reached out her hand and opened her eyes to see a handful of little white pillows. “It’s not hard.”

 
“Huh. Well,
good
. You can eat as much as you want.”

 
He slumped back onto the foamy nothingness and frowned at her. “I think we can learn to use the Ether to our advantage with the demon. In all the time I observed this place, I never once saw a demon here. If we could learn how to navigate from here to places on Earth, it could be very helpful. But we have to do it together. I don’t want to take the chance of losing you in the Ether.” He grabbed a handful of little pillows and munched them quickly, still frowning in concentration.

 
Kari soon felt not only full, but the juice in the odd food quenched her thirst as well.

 
“Now what?” she asked when he slowed down his food intake.

 
“Come here,” he patted his thighs.