Intuition: The Premonition Series (56 page)

I can’t understand anything they are saying because they refuse to speak English. Reed and Zephyr are answering a stream of endless questions. I’m fairly sure that I wouldn’t be able to follow the exchange, even if it was in English, because they talk to each other so rapidly that I hardly know that there is any pause between one of the council members speaking, and then Reed’s or Zephyr’s reply. Every once in a while, they all pause and look at me with baffled expressions on their faces. I don’t shrug when they do this because I know they hate shrugs.

I have to fight hard to stay alert and focused on what is happening now because I’m at a loss for what to do next, since the plan that I had made before I came here has already been executed. My plan, to last long enough for the divine angels to see why Reed and Zee could be confused about me, has been carried out successfully. Well, I think it’s been successful, because they all look confused about me now, except for Reed and Zephyr, because they are used to me.

Coming here, I didn’t have any hope beyond that, no plan B. I thought that if I achieved my plan, it would be enough. Whatever happened after that would be okay because it would essentially be over. No more running, no more hiding, no more endless days of trying not to think of Reed from one moment to the next. No more Gancanagh or Brennus…no more of anything. That had seemed peaceful to me on my frantic journey from the cave of the Gancanagh to the island of the Chateau. But now, I feel warmth radiating off of Reed next to me. I smell him; his sensual scent is in the air, on my hair, all around me and I find that I crave more…I want so much more, but I didn’t negotiate for more. I didn’t negotiate for my life.
How much time do I have left? Will they let me say goodbye?

Slowly, I become aware that everyone in the place is looking at me again. Reed, standing just next to me, has a pained expression and Zephyr looks worried, too.
Is my time up? I
wonder as Reed’s fingers tense in my hand. “The council would like to question you further about the Gancanagh. They need specific information: how many Gancanagh did you see, how do they operate, who is their leader, and they want to know if you have precise locations?” I nod to him, because I have that information. “The council realizes that you were injured in your struggle to get away from the Gancanagh. They want you to tell them as much as you remember. Can you do that?” he asks, and I nod again.

“May I have some water?” I ask, because my throat is as dry as it was last night right before I started trippin’ out. Luckily, the extreme hunger isn’t back, in fact, I don’t have any appetite at all. I just want to crash on the floor and not move for a long time.

I am given some water, and then the questions begin. I answer as many as I can as thoroughly as I can, but I don’t name Finn. I know it’s a small point in this because he will be wherever Brennus is, but I feel something for him—a messed up sense of loyalty for the help he gave me when I needed it, and I can’t overlook it despite his hand in my capture.

I also don’t mention Russell because I have to protect him. I tell the council that I managed to get a grenade from their arsenal and I threatened to blow them all up if they didn’t let me go. It sounds plausible enough and no one seems to notice the lie except for Reed who studies me with tightness around his eyes. His jaw goes rigid when I explain the cell and not being given enough water for days, but when I talk about my fight with Keegan, he has to pace the room until I finish. He is deathly still when I speak of Brennus, hanging on my every word and studying the marks on my neck when I am again asked to show them to the council.

Maps are brought out and I try the best I can to pinpoint the location of the cave and describe the entrance. I tell them that I had dropped the grenade back down the hole once I had escaped, destroying that way out so that the Gancanagh couldn’t follow me immediately. I indicate that there are several ways into and out of the tunnels, but the only way I had been shown was by the big rock that looks as if it has been placed there to hide the cave entrance.

I know that there are several holes in my story that are going to come back and trip me up later. When they analyze the fact that I had been bitten twice and wouldn’t have been in any condition to walk, or do much else, I hope that they will think, that because I do not share the same physiology as angels do, it will make my story more plausible. Maybe they won’t expect me to react like one of them to a bite from a Gancanagh because I’m also human. Reed knows something is not right about my story and I can only hope that he realizes that I’m protecting Russell.

It’s apparent from the way the war council is barking out orders that they are mobilizing to check out my story. Units are being assembled as I notice angels that appear to be officers, getting their orders from Cillian and Ursus. For the moment I am forgotten and that is just fine with me. I drift off into a daze again while things heat up around me.

I come crashing back to reality when I feel a Power behind me grasp both of my arms, hooking them together. There are several more Powers approaching me in a casual mien. Reed argues with them in Angel, like he is trying to reason with them. As I look around with wide eyes, I see concern on Preben’s face as he watches me being held, but he doesn’t try to stop the Powers swarming around me. Intense fear radiates through me when I see Zee turn away so he doesn’t have to see what is coming.

My breathing become erratic as I hone in on the Power angel coming toward me. His face is not registering any enjoyment, rather, he looks like he is here to do a job and the quicker he gets it over with, the quicker he can be doing something else. Killing scenarios pulse in my mind when he lifts the knife in his hand. He has pulled it from a brazier that a couple of the other divine beings had brought in. The knife blade is glowing evilly and his intentions are clear to me. He is going to kill me with that freaking hot knife. I struggle to get away from the Power holding me—I can’t hear anything now but the pounding of my heart.
I didn’t get to say goodbye,
I think, watching the blade coming closer to me.

Then, something in me snaps and I stop futilely pulling my arms forward. Instead, I use all of my strength to flip my legs up so that I launch my body up and over the head of the angel holding me. I straighten my arms while in the air and manage to wiggle out of his grasp by using velocity and force. When I come down behind him, I plant my foot in the middle of his back and thrust him toward the knife-wielding angel in front of him.

Preben catches me just as I try to evade another angel coming up on my left side. I attempt to roundhouse kick Preben, but he catches my leg easily, scanning its length as he holds me to him. A deep growl sounds from behind me as Reed approaches us. “Who has been training you?” Preben asks, continuing to hold my leg, while he smiles.

“Zephyr trained me…and Bruce Lee,” I reply in a stilted voice, trying to pull my leg back, but Preben won’t let go of it. His face is registering humor and something suspiciously like desire.

“Let her go,” Reed orders Preben. Preben’s eyes lock on mine. He lets go of my leg gently, allowing his fingertips to tail up my calf as my leg eases down to the ground.

Reed pulls me into his arms. Everyone is watching us again, but I don’t care because I only have a couple of seconds before someone else tries to kill me so I have to say goodbye. I grasp Reed tight around his shoulders, burying my face in his neck. “I’m sorry, Reed—I don’t want to be a coward, but I didn’t get to say goodbye to you—I just need to say goodbye. Then it will be all right…I have to tell you… how much I want to…that I need…” I breathe, but my throat is too tight and I can hardly talk, but this is too important to fail at so I try again. “I want to tell you how much I…” the tightness in my throat gets worse so I have to whisper the rest, “I love you.”

Reed’s arms tighten on me. “Shh—they weren’t going to kill you, love—it’s okay—I’ve got you. No one here will ever call you a coward, Evie,” Reed says quickly, trying to soothe me as he rubs my wings gently, making my legs feel wobbly beneath me.

“But, I thought…” I say, choking on my words.

“Shh—it’s okay…” he hushes me, leaning his forehead against mine. “They want to fix the Gancanagh bites on your neck. The wounds will not stop bleeding on their own. We will have to sear them so that they close, and then they will heal,” he explains, continuing to hold me tight.

“So, they aren’t trying to kill me right now?” I whisper, because it doesn’t make any sense to me. Why are they going to keep me alive?

“No. You are proving to be too intriguing to kill,” he says in a soft tone.

“What about you? Are they going to let you and Zee go?” I ask.

“They have not ruled on that, but it looks promising,” he says. My arms tighten on him as hope surges within me.

“We have to take care of your bites now, Evie,” Reed whispers in my ear, pulling back from my embrace to look in my eyes. There is worry and pain in his eyes because he knows that this is going to be painful for me. “Zee. Can you help me?” he asks over his shoulder.

Zephyr walks behind me to gently embrace me by pulling me back against his chest. He leans down near my ear and says in a low voice, “This will hurt, Evie.”

“How much?” I ask feebly.

“More than healing me…less than healing Russell,” Zephyr says with concern.

Swallowing hard, I gaze at Reed. He manages to get all of the Powers near me to step back. Then, walking over to the brazier, Reed extracts another hot knife from it. Zee unlatches the gold collar from my neck, holding it in his hand while he holds me immobile with his other arm crossing my chest.

“You know,” I say, moistening my lips as I see the glow of the knife, “maybe we don’t have to do this now—I’m starting to feel better,” I lie.

Reed frowns. “We shouldn’t wait any longer. You have a fever and you keep losing blood. We have to do this now,” Reed says with sympathy.

“But the council might have more questions for me—I really should focus on that instead of just…” I trail off as Reed walks toward me. “Okay—that looks really hot and I think that the cure might be worse than the pain I’m in now so let’s just stop and talk about this rationally,” I argue, because I can feel the heat from where I’m standing a few feet away and it’s clear that this is not going to be fun for me.

“I’m sorry,” Reed says between his teeth as his hand comes up to cover my eyes. He pushes my head back gently against Zee’s chest, turning it to the side to expose the bites.

“Me too,” I whisper, right before the searing heat of the knife sticks to my neck, engulfing it in writhing pain. I can smell my skin burning, the stench of it sticking in my nose worse than the reek of the Gancanagh. I can’t hold back the scream that tears from me, even though it would have been nicer for Reed and Zee if I had. Then, every bad word that I have ever heard while growing up comes tumbling out of my mouth like a torrent of sound. My knees buckle, making Zee the only thing holding me up when Reed pulls the knife away from my throat. He drops the knife, picking me up in his arms. My throat is throbbing like he is still burning me, which makes it hard for me to croak, “I want to go home.” I try to hold back my tears because I can’t show weakness.

“Soon,” Reed promises, taking something from Zephyr’s hand and rubbing it on my neck. It’s some kind of salve that is slick and sticky. After he finishes rubbing it on me it stings painfully, and then it burns more than before he put it on. I dig my nails into Reed’s back, trying to get past the pain of it. Finally, the pain eases a little to a manageable level.

“Next time you do that, I want some cognac first,” I pant when I am again able to speak. Zephyr and Preben laugh like I have made a joke, but I’m completely serious.

“Would you like to rest for a while, Genevieve?” Preben asks. I nod, but I have to stop almost immediately because it stretches the skin on my neck painfully. “I will take you to a room where you can sleep until the council wants to speak to you again.”

“I’m staying at the Chateau?” I ask him, because I hadn’t expected to be a guest of the Power angels; I just expected to be executed.

“For now,” he replies, looking satisfied.

“Am I a guest?” I ask because I want to try to gauge my status here.

He grins again, like I said something amusing, and then he replies, “If you like.”

What does that mean? I
wonder, and then I ask, “Can I leave?”

“No,” Preben replies, and I start to get the picture.

“Is Reed staying?” I ask, holding my breath. Part of me is hoping that he doesn’t have to stay—a very small, noble, and pure part of me. The rest of me wants him to have to stay with me.

“I don’t know. I’m not involved with his issues, just yours,” Preben replies, and then he turns to Reed and says something to him in Angel, so that I can’t understand him. It is intentional and it instantly irritates me.

“What did he say? I ask Reed, holding onto him tighter.

“He said that I should convince you to go with him now, so that you can rest and he will make sure that you are unharmed. I am to stay here and answer more questions, but you need to rest,” he indicates the massive strategy meeting that is going on at the platform between the warlords. The whole place is in an uproar, which is taking the focus off of us.

“I’m fine, I want to stay with you,” I reply, holding on to him tighter.

“You need to rest and I am fine. I will see you in a few hours, I promise,” Reed assures me, while caressing my cheek.