Hidden Wings (18 page)

Kade raised my hand, and placed the cold weapon in its grasp. “Just aim for the head or the heart.”

I took it in my hands. I’d never shot a real gun before. Jeremy had some shooting games that we’d play on his PS3, but his guns were plastic replicas. But I must admit…I was a great shot in those games. I could only hope that a head shot in a game, was as easy as one in real life. Actually, I hoped even more, that I didn’t have to use it at all.

“Thanks. Again,” I breathed. “It seems like you saving me is becoming a habit.”

“It’s my job,” he grinned.

“I thought your job was ‘escort’.”

“That’s part of it. With you, I think there will be many, many more additions to my description,” he grinned. I loved his smile. It warmed my inner being.

“At least you’ll have job security,” I smiled.

“Well, just promise me one thing,” he said.

“And what’s that?”

“That you won’t go running off with anyone else tonight,
except me
. Remember, you’re mine for the evening. My priority… that is,” he said with a laugh. “They need my help, so don’t go anywhere.” He said with a wink. I watched his warm hazel eyes turn black as he turned and ran to help Alex and Dominic.

My heart fluttered, and I found myself smiling, despite all that was going on. And it was because of him.

I was in awe watching the three of them battle. They looked as if they were rigged to wires; flying and flipping effortlessly around the giant, chopping at his legs, waist, and arms. But their efforts didn’t seem to phase it. It was too heavily protected within its suit of armor. The giant swung back with a large, super-sharp blade, but its swings were much slower; easier to read.

Despite his slow swing, if one of those should hit, they’d definitely be in a world of hurt… or worse…dead.

The monster’s neck and heart was covered in a steel plate, which was their vulnerable spot - their kill zone. I’d learned that from watching all the heads roll from Kade and Dominic’s blades.

Take off the head and they’re sure to be dead.
That was my new mantra for the night.

I wondered why Kade didn’t take the head off of the shifter. I turned and stared at its lifeless body lying on the ground feet from me. Maybe shifters were easier to kill. Maybe they didn’t need to have their heads taken off.

I heard footsteps running through the bushes to the right of me, and quickly pointed the gun in the direction. My stupid cast made it hard to hold straight, so I grasped it in my left hand, my clumsy hand. Dammit!

Just then, Malachi and Alaine came from the darkness.

“Emma!” she called, with a wide smile on her face. But, I wasn’t going to fall for that trick again. I kept my gun pointed at them.

“Whoa!” Malachi exhaled with hands up in the air, stepping back. “Emma, put the gun down. It’s us. Use your nose. We smell sweet. Well…then again, Alaine might have a little odor, but that’s because she’s sweaty and rubbed up against some Darkling,” he jested, sniffing around her with a scrunched up nose. Alaine glared at him, then rolled her eyes and shook her head.

They slowly stepped forward. I sniffed the air, and didn’t smell any stench on them, and as they got closer, I could see the whites of their eyes. The shifter had completely black eyes.

I exhaled and lowered the gun. Alaine ran over to me and wrapped me in a tight embrace. She smelled sweet, like a bouquet of roses. Then, I knew undoubtedly it was her.

“I’m so glad you’re okay sweetheart,” she said, squeezing me tighter.

“Me too,” I replied. This felt like a horrible nightmare, but having her close to me helped.

“Damn, that dude’s monstrous! And, I thought my guns were huge! Well, looks like they need my help,” Malachi said, gripping his blade, glancing at the Darkling with a gleam in his eyes.

“They can’t kill it. It’s protected by all that heavy metal,” I said.

“Well, that’s because they’re not using the right tools,” he said with a wicked grin. He sheathed his blade, and pulled out two grenades from his ammunition belt. He popped the two pins and ran towards the Darkling. “Move it or lose it!!! And by that…I mean body parts!!!” he yelled in mid-flight.

The others immediately took cover as Malachi sped towards them with two live grenades in his hands. Alaine pulled me to the side of the burning car, and we ducked behind one of the doors.

I had to peek. I wanted to watch this. This was going to be the kill of the night, and I knew it. Malachi did a single back-flip in the air, landing on top of the giants back. He then shoved one of the grenades in the back of his armor at the base of his neck, and the other somewhere in his backside. He then, kicked off, flying through the air, landing a few feet from us. After another leap, he was crouching down between me and Alaine.

The monster Darkling struggled to reach the grenades, but his armor was too bulky. After a few more seconds… tick, tick, tick…

BAM! A huge explosion!

…and BAM! Another immediately after.

Malachi pushed my head down as pieces of Darkling rained down everywhere, pelting everything around us.

Disgusting!

“Now that’s what
I
call going out with a BANG!” Malachi gloated, standing up beating his chest.

“Better watch out… looks like
you’re
head’s about to explode,” Dominic hollered from the trees.

“Hey man, at least I took care of business! You pansies were giving it a massage,” Malachi scuffed.

“Whatever,” Alexander muttered. “
We
didn’t have the grenades.”

Alexander, Kade and Dominic jogged over to us, looking a little battle weary. Kade stood near me, offering an adorable smile, and as he did, my heart melted…as usual.

They all gathered around Alaine awaiting instructions.

“We need to find James, and head toward the Weeping Rock to look for Caleb,” Alaine spoke. “I think we’ve taken care of most of the Darkling, but we’ve got to be ready for anything. We’ll all be going in together, that way Emma will be better protected. So, are you all ready?”

“Yes,” they cheered in unison. They sounded like a football team before a big game.

“Let’s get Caleb and get the hell out of here,” she said. “I saw James heading in that direction earlier. Let’s move and hopefully we’ll run into him along the way.”

Chapter 12:

Kade grabbed my cast again, leading me, staying right at my side. Alaine and Malachi led the way, while Dominic and Alexander took up the rear.

There would probably be a lot more Darkling where we were headed, and I hated the fact that I was worthless when it came to fighting. I needed to get this irritating, bulky cast off.

“Hey,” I nudged Kade. He turned with raised eyebrows. “Can you cut this thing off?” I raised my casted arm, just as Alaine turned around.

“How does your arm feel, Emma?” she asked.

“It feels fine. Doesn’t hurt at all. I’d be better help if the cast was off. At least I could hold the gun properly.”

“Have you ever fired a gun before?” Malachi asked in a cocky tone.

“Yes. But not a real one,” I responded hesitantly.

Malachi sneered and Alaine smacked his arm.

“Malachi, check and see if it’s still broken,” she said.

Malachi huffed, but took hold of my casted arm. He closed his eyes, heat emanated through my arm.

“Nope. It’s not broken but there’s still some tissue damage. No big deal. I’m sure she can handle it. Right, Emma?”

“Right,” I chimed, pulling my cast from his grip.

Alaine nodded. “Come, Emma,” she said, taking a knee. I knelt down beside her, and she took my cast placing it upside-down on her lap. She then pulled a small sharp blade from a hidden pouch attached to her ankle.

That was awesome. Like secret assassin awesome.

“Don’t move,” she ordered, with a smile. I held my breath as she proceeded to slice the cast off like it was a soft stick of butter. In a few seconds, she peeled it from around my arm and handed it to me. She took my wrist and turned it in her hands, pressing it forward and back. “Does it hurt at all?”

“No,” I said in complete amazement. Just a few days ago, my arm was broken, twisted, and looked like the only thing holding it together was the skin.

“Well, you’ve defied death and have healed unbelievably fast. I’d say you’re a rarity…something special,” she breathed, in awe.

“Will I get any other powers?” I asked.

“Yes, but Nephilim don’t show any of their powers until after their eighteenth birthday. That’s why the Fallen send the Darkling out to kill them before they turn. If you were a normal Nephilim… you’d be dead. But you’re not. The Darkling that was sent to kill you assumed you were dead, but the car was wrapped around you in such a way that the Darkling wasn’t able to make sure you were dead. He fled with that assumption.

“How do you know all of this…all this information?” I questioned. It was like she was there…watching.

She paused, and then it hit me.

“Watchers?” I whispered.

She looked at me with wide eyes and then turned to Kade, who shrugged his shoulders.

“When this is all over Emma, I promise that you and I will have an undisturbed conversation,” she said with a smile. “But right now, we’ve got to move. Time is running out, and they know we’re here. We’ve got to get to Caleb out before it’s too late.”

There was a light tap on my shoulder.

“Emma, would you like me to hold your cast until we get back?” Alexander asked, pulling a small knapsack from off of his back.

“Sure,” I said, handing it over. “Thanks Alex.” I was going to toss it, but was glad that he offered to take it. It did have some sentimental value. A reminder of my friends, and the normal life I had only days ago.

“No problem,” he said with a smile.

We were on the move, quickly making our way down the darkened road. The stars loomed above our heads. In L.A. I’d never noticed the stars before…at least not like this. They were huge here, and beautiful, like large specks of sparkling stardust sprinkled across the sky.

“Off the road,” Alaine urged, in a whispered tone.

There was movement ahead so we all ducked into the cover of the trees and stood in silence. I could only hear one sound…the sound of one heart, my heart, and it was pounding furiously.

I took in long, deep breaths and closed my eyes, instantly felt a warm, calming feeling rush over my body. I opened my eyes and Kade was standing behind me, inches away, his arms around the sides of me, pressing me lightly to the tree.

“Stay near to me,” he whispered.

It took everything within my being to keep from turning around, wrapping my arms around him, and planting a kiss on his full lips. The warmth of his breath, as he whispered in my ear, sent waves of tingles coursing through my entire body. I tried, with all of my might, to keep sane, but his closeness had my head in a fog. But, Alaine and the others were only feet away, so I fought the almost unbearable, yet pleasurable urges his touch was sending through me.

His scent, though mixed with sweat, was still sweet and made me feel intoxicated. I took another deep breath and held it, trying to snap myself back into reality. We were on a mission; a mission to find James and save Caleb, who was kidnapped because of me.

“Alex. Dominic,” Alaine whispered. “There are two Darkling on the road ahead, about fifty yards down. Take them out, as quickly and quietly as possible.”

Jeeze, she sounded like some type of military commander but as soon as she spoke…they responded. Kade took a step back putting distance between us, and somewhat lifted the fog.

I took in a deep breath.

Alexander and Dominic moved from the back of us and headed in the darkness, in complete stealth mode, towards the sounds on the road ahead. I tried to focus, but I couldn’t see a thing. It was pitch black. How could any of them see in this darkness? Did they have some kind of special angel night vision?

If I was supposedly three-quarters angel, then why couldn’t I see a thing? At this moment, I felt one-hundred percent human and completely vulnerable. And, on top of that, I’d still have to wait a whole year for my “so-called” angel powers to kick in?

God…if you can hear me now, could you please give me something to get through this…I’m really not picky…I’ll take anything!
I’d need all the help I could get.

Sounds of swords thrashing cut through the darkness, and then I distinctly heard two loud thuds. It sounded like bowling balls being dropped on the ground. I hoped that Alex and Dominic completed their mission, and it wasn’t the other way around.

“Let’s go,” Alaine commanded.

Kade grabbed a hold of my hand, and after the shock, we ran down the road.

“The cave should be just ahead,” Alaine said looking through a small black contraption. It must have been night vision binoculars or something like it. She had this whole covert mission thingy down to a science. “It seems clear. Let’s move.”

Seems clear? That didn’t sound promising!
All clear
, or even just
clear
, would have been cool, but when she added the word
seems
, well… that meant that there could be something there; something hiding, something that could jump out and injure or kill us.

And then my heart started hammering again… like mad. I had to stop painting horrifying pictures in my mind.

I needed to touch Kade again. I needed to feel like everything would be alright.

He was intently listening to the last instructions, in which I heard mention of the possibility that some actual Fallen might be there, when I suddenly, without thinking, grabbed hold of his hand and held it tight. His head snapped to the side, and then I noticed his white teeth gleaming in the darkness. He squeezed it back, letting me know that it was alright, and I instantly felt better. Warmer and a bit more positive. He was my balance - the yin to my yang.

And then, an all too familiar clearing of the throat, cut through the darkness like Alaine’s knife over my cast. I knew it was Malachi.

I could feel his piercing gaze, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t going to let go of Kade. Not now. Not when we were going into a place where I was supposed to be exchanged and executed. Right now, I needed his touch like I needed to breathe, and as long as he was alright with it, I was too.