Frozen Vengeance (12 page)

The second absurdity in the conversation was that she thought the ghost might be flirting with her, and she wanted to laugh, but what would be the point of that.

Angelica turned back toward the ghost. “To quote my friend Scarlet,
pull the other

one.
” She paused, then said, “Let’s cut the bull, shall we?” She was quoting Scarlet

again, her favorite source of colloquialisms. “You want something from me, or you

wouldn’t have followed me here, so get it over with and tell me what you want.”

“You wound me with your words, Miss Angelica.” He lifted his transparent hand, laying it over the general vicinity of his heart.

“I saw the way the man was treating you, so I came to aid, to be your protection in any way I could. That is all I wanted.”

Angelica felt like a jerk. Here was this guy—ghost, trying to do something nice and she’d become so hardened that she was seeing the worst in him, not the best.

“I’m sorry, Michael. I didn’t mean to insult you.”

“All is forgiven, Miss Angelica, but can I ask you to tell me what you are doing with this man?”

Angelica took in a deep breath, sank down onto the bearskin blanket, and told Michael the whole story.

Chapter Eleven

Hell is not a hot place with fire, brimstones, and roasting pits for the wicked. Hell is a frozen, windswept, icicle right at the top of America, called Alaska.

Athera pulled her coat tighter around her and burrowed her chin deeper into the collar. She hated the cold and this place was horrible. The icy wind made her wallow in misery. That, and the fact that she
had
known where Angelica was before they looked at the map with the orb.

Athera remembered Heath—the precognitive Outsider—grabbing her arm, his eyes going crazy with swirling colors as he had said, “The ice-bear is going to take her. He is going to take her, and he is going to punish her for what she’s stolen from him.”

The moment the orb had touched Alaska, Athera had remembered. Some ice-bear had Angelica, the Therin that she was supposed to breed with, and he wanted to hurt her. Time was not something they had a lot of, so Athera would do anything, suffer any cold, to get her friend back, and get her before the ice-bear could harm her.

They stood on a frozen runway near a tiny village in the north of Alaska. They’d just arrived in a small plane, and her stomach was still rolling from the hairy landing.

“We need to get somewhere warm. Winter has come early this year,” their pilot told them. “Follow me, people.” He walked toward a building further away from the runway, his small wiry form seeming to float through the snow.

Athera grimaced at each step as she followed him through the clingy mush. The things she did for her friends, seriously, she needed to have some psychiatric treatment.

The pilot—James Marsh—opened the door to the building, or at least he tried. A gust of wind took it out of his hands and slammed it back against the door frame.

Laz reached forward and helped James up. “Wind is strong.”

“No shit. We nearly didn’t make that landing,” James said as got up and led them into the small building. He went to the stove and started building a fire.

Archer walked past Athera toward James and picked up a piece of wood to pass it to the pilot. “That’s why we hired you. We were told you are the only pilot with the balls to fly in this kind of wind.”

He laughed. “Damn right, but it’s gonna get me killed soon enough.”

Athera was the last into the room. She pulled the door shut against the wind and shivered from the cold blast of air.

Looking around the area, she sighed. Scarlet stood as close to Archer’s warmth as she could get. Laz lounged in one of the kitchen chairs that the small cabin sported and James had just gotten the fire lit.

It was only Archer, Scarlet, Athera, and Laz on this mission. Archer had tried to make Scar stay, but she had thrown a temper tantrum of note, and gotten her way in the end.

“I need help unloading your gear before I bug out. You call me on the radio when you are ready for me to fetch you.” James straightened, the fire now lit and warming the room up.

“I’ll help,” Archer offered and led the way back to the door.

“I’ll see you all in about two weeks.” James shook his head. “I still don’t know why you’d think of this as some kinda vacation. I think you’re all nuts.”

“To each their own,” Laz drawled as he stood and followed the other men out. “I’ll help, too.”

Athera glanced over at Scarlet. “I hate the cold.”

The other phoenix nodded, and Athera noted that her lips had a slight blue tinge to them. “Get closer to the fire,” Athera advised as she moved up to the warmth. Holding out her fingers to the fire, she felt frozen.

“Phoenixes don’t belong in this kind of cold. It saps our energy,” Scarlet said through chattering teeth.

“I’m praying to any deity that will listen that Angelica is okay because we’ve been here a day and I feel like I’m never going to be warm again.”

When the door blew open, Athera stuck her hands as close to the flames as she could. She watched the other Eternals carrying the gear in. “Where is James,” Athera asked when she didn’t see the pilot. Then, her keen hearing picked up the sound of the airplane’s engine. “Question answered,” she muttered.

Laz dug through one of the bags. “We need to get the map out. Where did you stash it, Archer?”

Archer had wrapped his arms around Scarlet lending her some of his body warmth. “It’s in the green bag, in the front flap.”

Laz dropped the bag he was holding and reached for the green backpack. He unzipped the front flap of the bag and pulled out the map. “You ready, Ath?”

Athera unzipped the top part of her parka and pulled out the thong holding the orb, shivering as her cold fingers grazed her skin. She pulled out the orb and went to stand next to Laz as he unfolded the map on a small table.

Athera extended her hand with the cord of the orb wrapped around her fingers. Laz put his hand over hers, and she enjoyed the warmth of his fingers on hers.

She tilted her head to look up at him. “How do you stay warm in this cold?”

“I’m a Necromancer. We are all about death and cold, so I don’t feel the drop in temperature like you do,” he answered. “Now, concentrate on Angelica.”

“I don’t see why the damn talisman couldn’t give us a direct location. I’m getting sick of this hopscotch around the state.” Archer rested his chin on Scarlet’s head, and wrapped his arms tighter around her. It was obvious he didn’t like to see his
She
suffer in the cold.

The orb went nuts, spinning in wide arcs.

Laz didn’t look up from the map. “Quiet, Archer, we are trying to get a reading and it

doesn’t help you insult whatever power is running this thing.”

When Archer didn’t answer, the scry-orb swung in a lazy arc then dropped to a

small mark on the map.

Athera leaned down to stare at the mark. “Lincoln. It’s a small village.”

“Yeah, we are going to get a lot colder because we are going over open country to get there,” Laz pointed out.

“I spoke to James. There are snowmobiles in the shed way down the runway as well as some extra fuel to take with us,” Archer said.

“At least we don’t have to walk.” Athera was grateful for that. The idea of walking to the village wanted her to get back on the plane and go home.

“I’m hoping Angelica is there, because I’m sick of this iciness,” Scarlet said from her spot in Archer’s arms.

“I have a feeling we have reached the last part of our search. Angelica will be in this village, then we can get her and go home,” Archer said.

“Good, let’s get some food in us and rest up for a bit.” Laz folded the map and put it back in the front pouch of the green backpack.

“It’s still morning, so why don’t we leave now?” Athera asked. She was eager to get Angelica back and she didn’t want to postpone any more. There had been too much time wasted already.

“It’s too far away. The days here are short” Laz looked up. “I don’t want to be out there in the cold, Ath.”

“I agree,” Archer said. “We’ll get some rest and leave the next morning.”

Athera gritted her teeth. She wanted to snap at them all, but she was out voted, and Scarlet was too close to hypothermia to be out at night.

“Okay, then.” She stomped off to the supplies bag and started pulling out food to make for them.

They had made a list of cooking turns for once they were away from civilization, and she’d gotten the bad luck of being first. Athera sincerely hoped they liked burned food because she had zero cooking skills.

* * * *

The village hall was the largest structure, set in the center of the outspread village. It had always reminded Colt a bit of a Viking long house. A square room with a fire pit in the middle. That’s where the similarity ended. Around the fire pit in the town hall was a circular set of tables, and behind the fire pit, tables were the council members’ chairs. So, the leaders of the village sat across from each other with the fire in the middle.

Elders—titles each of the five people in the room had, yet only two were actually old, Sarah and Hamish. They were both grey with age, and the only humans that sat on the council. The rest of the council was Therin shifters, most polar bears, some, other forms, all part of the village populace.

Colt took his seat around the fire and nodded a greeting to the council.

“Colt, thank you for coming directly to this meeting.” Sarah stood, her hands braced on the table. “Well almost directly.” She smiled.

Damon—an Artic fox shifter—leaned forward in his chair. “We have been worried about you, and we would like to know where you have been.”

“Sarah, please sit,” Colt said. “This is a long story.” He stood up pushing his chair back and faced the circle of faces across the roaring fire.

“I was taken captive by Phoenixes.”

There was a murmur of surprise and disbelief before Aaron stood as well.

“The Phoenixes are a myth. You’ve never been a dishonest male, so perhaps someone has messed with your head.”

Colt laughed, the sound bitter and biting. “You will not turn this situation into a play for power, Aaron. We all know you want my seat as head of the council and leader of the village.”

“I’m not—”

“I’m not interested in your political maneuvering, and no one has messed with my head. I have proof. The prisoner I brought with me is one of the Phoenixes.”

Shocked silence filled the room.

“Tell us what happened.” Sarah motioned for Aaron to be quiet and waited for Colt to tell his story.

He stayed standing to relate about his saga, leaving nothing out. His eyes focused on the fire and he soaked in the warmth like a lifeline. He couldn’t look at the council as he told them about his repeated rape. He finished with how he had taken Angelica captive.

“She is going to pay for what she did. I will have my vengeance.”

“No, Colt.” Sarah stood, her spine stiff, her chin tilted at a stubborn angle. “You won’t.”

His head snapped up, a glare aimed at Sarah. “You won’t stop me, Sarah. She’s going to clear her debt to me.”

“Then, what?” Hamish interjected in a voice that sounded like brittle leaves. “You are going to kill her?”

“Yes.” Colt’s expression was cold. He was going to kill Geli, and he wouldn’t flinch.

Then, why did you just get a jerking sensation of guilt in your gut? You can’t do it.

Colt ignored his inner voice and focused on Sarah.

“Colt, you have known me since I was a girl.”

“Yes, what does that have to do with it?”

“You know that I have…abilities, which are more than human.”

She was trying to make a point, that much was obvious to Colt.

“Spit it out, Sarah.” He leaned forward bracing his hands on the edge of the table.

“You cannot kill Angelica because she is your mate.”

The silence lasted a heartbeat before Colt burst out laughing, and stood up straight. “She is not.”

There was no way in hell that Phoenix was anything to him but an enemy.

“The council has decided…”

Sarah’s tone was soothing, but Colt was having none of it.

“I don’t care what the council has decided,” he hissed. “So, spare me, okay. I will do with the Phoenix as I damn well please. You all got me?”

“Colt!”

The command in Sarah’s tone was so strong, Colt felt himself knocked back from the power it carried.

Sarah might be human as she claimed, and it was obvious she aged similar to one, but she had a power that no one could explain. She saw things others didn’t and could move mountains if she chose. There was a very good reason why she sat on the council. Sarah didn’t usually take the lead like this, but she was a powerful member of the group.

“You will listen to me, bear! Are we clear?” Sarah spoke in a low voice, but power seemed to coalesce around her from the air.

“Yeah, we’re clear.” Colt gritted his teeth, but when Sarah wanted to talk, she had a way of making you listen.

“The moment I touched that young woman you hold prisoner, I knew. She is destined for you, and we will not let you hurt her.”

Colt made a rude sound and Sarah pinned him with a killing look. He stood straighter, feeling like a child scolded by his mother.

“The council has discussed this, and we were divided, but after hearing what happened to you, I think we all agree.” She looked at each council member in turn, and waited until they all nodded their heads in acknowledgment.

Colt held up a hand to stop her for saying anything else. “Wait.”

“This meeting convened before I even got here?”

Sarah nodded her head. “Yes, I knew we had to discuss Angelica, and I wanted to do it before you came to the meeting.”

“You had no right to do that. I am the leader of this village. I have to be here for every meeting.” Colt sucked in his anger and held it in check. He had a feeling he was about to experience a coup de tat, or a mutiny at the very least.