Emblaze (24 page)

Go me.

He moved forwards, taking the step up to me as I took the step down. This time he kept his expression neutral.

Taking his hand was like holding something unnatural - my mind boggled. His grip was firm - all man - but his skin was so soft, like a newborn baby"s. these two sensation -

strength and innocence - are not supposed to go together. And there was something else -

a spark, crackling between us.

I flinched at the sensation. Uri"s hand steadied me and his eyes lifted, amused. „First, you touch the human, then the spirit, then … the angel."

I was about to ask what that meant but, like he had done once before, just as I"d seen my angel maker do, his face dropped what minimal expression it held and became vacant.

Still holding my hand, still there, but … not.

No crackle. Not even a snap or pop.

And it felt strangely familiar.

„You look … superficial," he said suddenly, moving back as soon as I released his hand in shock. It had only been five or six seconds, but he had definitely gone somewhere momentarily and returned just as quickly.

I shrugged, trying to regain my voice. „Not by choice, though I"m not complaining."

„Clearly," he said, judgement rolling off the word.

Whatever.

He looked at me as if he"d read my mind, one eyebrow twitching slightly. Of course, that was about the most I"d ever seen from Uri. Unlike Nox, he didn"t smile much.

„You do not fear me as much as you should," he said, a question in the statement.

Damn angels - whether exiled or not, light or dark, they were all creatures of pride.

„If I spent all my time fearing the things I should, I"d never stop screaming."

Uri tilted his head. "True."

Oh, comforting.

„What are you doing here, Uri? Is this another “
You need to surrender”
conversation?

Because I"m kinda in a hurry." Not that that mattered - right now he was stalling time. I looked past him to see Lincoln standing by the black sedan. He had one hand on the roof of the car, eyes closed and his head bowed as if he were praying. He looked like he"d been trapped in some state of torture. Another cheering thought.

„I believe you"re going to see one of our fallen?"

He didn"t „believe" anything. He knew. Angels always
knew
. I nodded.

„He"s called the Keeper. That"s all I know. I have to give him payment so we can stay here. Apparently returning him would cause more harm than good."

„Perhaps," Uri said. „Though you would be wise to keep your eyes open."

„What does that mean?" He wasn"t just telling me to be careful.

„The Keeper is a collector. He has many things that were never intended for this world.

But some, in the right hands, would be more … appropriate."

„Okay …" My hand planted itself on my hip. „But you"re going to have to be more specific.

I have no idea what you"re talking about," I said, feeling once again the frustration of talking to these otherworldly beings who seemed to know so much and have so much control yet at the same time just didn"t get it. „If you want to help, Uri, help!"

His interest in me grew, making me want to calm myself, hide my anger from him.

„It is not for us to take action and not necessary for us to have the desire to … help, as you put it. Already with you we walk a fine line."

I was about to snap back, but caught my breath when I saw something moving behind him. It was like when I"d seen Nox in Jordan. Something like sunspots or heatwaves, floated in the background. Something … living.

„What … what are those things?" I asked, fighting back a shiver.

„Reflections," he said after a pause.

„I don"t understand."

„No."

Irritated didn"t cover it. I hated the way this worked - no information when I wanted it, only when they deemed it appropriate. Who the hell gave them so much control?

„So is this like last time? You have some message for me and one from Nox or something?"

„Nox does not trust me to deliver his messages," he said, bitterness in his tone.

I couldn"t figure them out. They had some kind of understanding and yet a mutual disdain for one another.

„Are you two really brothers?" I asked, unable to stop myself.

„Do we look like brothers?"

„You look like twins, exactly the same," I said.

„Then, we are the same."

I didn"t know why I"d bothered. „Just say what you came to say," I said, crossing my arms.

„I have."

„That"s it? Surely you can give me something more to work with. You do realise what"s happening here, don"t you? Phoenix is going to bring back Lilith." And I don"t know why, but at that moment, I was quite sure he"d be successful.

„Trails will come and they will go. Those that are left standing must evolve. It is the way of the universe."

„More tests?" You"re supposed to be good, an angel of light!" I snapped.

„Girl, all existence is a test. Some just get challenged in more obvious ways. And I do not give myself that title. I am Angel Elect. Humans have decided elect must be light, malign must be dark. You also gave us wings and halos." Uri looked over his shoulder towards Lincoln and I felt the urge to redirect his attention - to protect Lincoln. I took a step towards Uri.

„Don"t. Leave him alone."

„And what is it you think I can do to him that has not already been done?"

With that he turned back to me. We were now close, too close.

„Is it all decided?" I asked, my voice quivering at the thought. I needed to know.

„You have choices, as always. Consent remains yours to be given freely. But you have certain inclinations firmly embedded so your path will not be altered easily. Though there are those who believe otherwise and are determined."

„How do I stop Phoenix?"

„You cannot. Only he can stop himself. He must choose, as must you. For him, the right choice has not yet crossed his path."

„Will it?" I asked, feeling a faint spark of hope.

His head tilted to the side, a finger twitched. Normally I wouldn"t notice the minuscule movements on an ordinary person but Uri was not ordinary and he did not move at all unless encouraged. Something about my reaction fascinated him. I quickly set my mind and face to blank, which only captivated him further, earning me a small up-curl at the corner of his mouth.

„Look for what is old, not necessarily alluring to the eye, but certainly beguiling to the angel within. Goodbye, Violet."

I swallowed. Question time was over.

„Goodbye, Uri," I said, my eyes drifting again to his surrounds and feeling the urge to reach out and touch - no, more. Those floated things behind him, and even the shadows that seemed to hover below them, were so lifelike and disturbingly light. I wondered if they were angels, perhaps in their true form. Whatever they were I felt a sense of protectiveness towards them a desire to be near them. I was drawn to them.

Uri turned his curious gaze from me, the sands started to whirl around him. Even though it was amazing, it wasn"t dramatic, it just had to be. I felt the change as normal gravity returned and my stomach lurched with all that was not human about what had happened.

Why was I the only one could see these things? But then I opened my tightly clenched fist and stared down to find grains of sand that had remained behind.

Well, that"s new.

-

I started making my way slowly down the rest of the stairs, trying to readjust my movements and slow my breathing. The entire visitation by Uri had left me on edge. He was certainly and unwanted surprise but although he left me more unnerved than Nox had ever done, at least he didn"t make me feel like he was trying to ensnare me.

When I joined Lincoln at the car, he held the door open for me and looked at the ground.

I could feel his power, the silken honey flavours thickening all around him. Nothing had changed for him - he hadn"t witnessed the conversation with Uri, he"d been halted in time and space like everyone else.

„Are you okay?" I asked, as I slid into the back seat. Because despite what I knew, he looked different and seemed as if he was out of breath, too.

„Are you?" he replied, his voice shaky. „I swear I could"ve … Did you just use your power or … I think I had some kind of déjà vu."

He felt it, too.

When I"d tried to reach out to him through our link, he had registered something. I bit down on my lip and considered telling him everything. But right now I didn"t know if he"d believe me. Crossing the realms like this was not normal for Grigori and I hadn"t told anyone about my encounter with Nox in Jordan. At the time it hadn"t seemed like something I needed to keep secret, but so much else had happened since then that I"d started to wonder if it had been just another trick of the mind. Now … well, it felt like I"d become a radar for all things wrong and weird. People already looked at me strangely. I didn"t want Lincoln to become one of those people.

Before I knew what I was doing the words came out. „Everything"s fine."

He nodded, still holding the door open,
still
not looking at me. I was certain he knew I was lying.

„Max will ride with you in the back. I"m going to sit up front."

„Oh. Sure."

I sank back into my seat, telling myself it was better this way. Reminding myself that if he were sitting beside me now, looking the way he did, any progress I"d made in the steady -

breathing department would have flown out the window. Breathing while wearing the bodiced dress was already challenging enough. But still, the knot in my stomach - the one that wasn"t about being Grigori or making good decisions and was all teenager - twisted.

„You"re Morgan"s partner, right?" I asked the perfectly groomed black-clad guy sitting next to me.

„Yes, I"m Maximilian," he said. „Or just Max," he added with a small smile.

Wow, another ninja who"s almost normal.

„Did you arrange the car?" I asked, anything to break the tension that was riding along with us.

The sedan was a significant improvement on the earlier taxis - not quite a limo but large and black and equipped with a suited driver.

Max cleared his throat. „No. the car was sent courtesy of the Keeper."

„Oh," I said, realising it would probably be better not to ask any more questions with the Keeper"s chauffeur listening in. I looked at him again and my curiosity grew, mostly because … he was human.

Thankfully, the drive was not long. Santorini was a relatively small island so even though we had probably driven half its length, the car soon pulled to a halt outside what I was sure

- from the bright roaming light I"d been watching on our approach - was a lighthouse.

We all got out, Max giving me his arm to help me keep my balance on the gravel in my extreme high heels. He walked me to the door, Lincoln following a few paces behind.

„Where are we?" I asked, nervously pushing back the power I could feel emanating from the place.

„Akrotiri Lighthouse, the bottom point of Santorini. I"ll be outside with the car," Max said, stopping at the foot of the stairs leading to the front doors. „This is as far as I"m permitted."

He moved back to the car, beside which the chauffeur still stood. It was disconcerting that the driver, too, obviously didn"t want to move any closer to the lighthouse.

Lincoln had approached so silently that his words startled me.

„Are you ready? We can leave right now if you"d prefer?" Something in his voice sounded hopeful.

But I had to go in there and give this exile the jewellery. Josephine said that would be all.

How bad could it be?

Yeah! „Cause dealing with exiles is always straightforward! And Josephine can
definitely
be trusted.

A wave of nausea washed over me.

I knew, deep down, something was very wrong.

Despite my intense desire not to believe anything that came out of her mouth, Josephine had been right about one thing - Phoenix would be on his way by now and this might be our only hope of staying on the island.

Just show him the jewellery and let him have it.

I could do that.

Before Lincoln, with that concerned look on his face, had a chance to say anything else I reached out and knocked on the door.

„
But the wicked are like the tossing sea, which cannot rest,
whose waves cast up mine and mud."

Isaiah 57:20

Words failed me when the door opened and I found myself staring at a faceless man. If that"s what he was. My stomach churned. I was torn between squinting to see if I could see anything in the shadows of his hooded cloak and turning on my heel to make a run for it.

The last time I"d stood before a faceless figure I had done something that would stay with me forever. Suddenly, everything I had been telling myself a moment earlier seemed ridiculous.

We need to go, we need to go!

I started backing away and looked over my shoulder. Max was standing by the car watching us, straining to see who had just opened the door.

„We need to go," I hissed urgently, under my breath.

But Lincoln didn"t take his eyes off the doorway. His power swirling around me, so intense it was like swimming inside a beehive. He was standing rigid and pale, looking beyond the cloaked figure.

„It"s too late for that."

I followed his gaze and clapped a hand over my mouth.

Another eight figures, all cloaked, all faceless, stood behind the one at the door. The weirdest part - I could sense only one exile nearby.

These …
things
were hollow, but they were smiling - I could
feel
it. The nauseous sensation returned tenfold. I was quickly regretting my decision to go through with this.

The figure at the door spoke - not out loud - but inside my mind.

„Welcome. You will follow me. The Keeper is waiting."

Holy Hell.

I almost dropped to the ground it was so invasive. Like dozens of cockroaches clawing their way out from inside my head. Fear intensified and I retreated another step, but Lincoln"s hand was there, flat on my back, pushing me forwards. He had heard the words too.