Of Alliance and Rebellion (16 page)

“I’m going to punch you again. You want me to punch you again.”

“Do you guys, uh, want to be alone?” Eli asked.

Both of their heads snapped in his direction. “No!” they said simultaneously.

The door opened and bounded off the wall with a crash. Silence reigned as all four of them looked at the doorway that housed one irate Jayden. His green eyes flashed. “Do I want to know what
friends with benefits
is?” he asked.

“No,” all four of them said in unison.

“I tried to visit Anahita,” Jayden said as he walked into the room, his eyes never leaving Max. “She would not even see me. Kept assuring me she was fine. From the other side of a
closed door
.”

Remembering what Eli and Jericho had said about Jayden’s ability, Max imagined a wall surrounding his thoughts and tried his best to make sure Jayden couldn’t see through it.

Jayden narrowed his eyes and tilted his head to the side, but after a tense moment, he merely pointed his finger at Max and said, “If I find out this casual agreement you two seem to have is anything other than Anahita’s greatest wish, you will be destroyed.”

“See,” Luke said beneath his breath. “They are anything but predictable, even when around their Temptations.”

“You have no idea,” Jayden said, the threat in his tone clear. “Now, who wants to tell me why we are using Anahita as bait?”

Eli sighed heavily. “Told you guys to stay away from him,” he said.

“He came to us!” Max protested.

“I gleaned this plan from
your
thoughts,” Jayden said, turning his attention to Eli.

Jericho laughed outright before catching it and trying to disguise it as a cough when Eli glared at him.

“I’m distracted, okay?” Eli said, running a hand through his hair. “Genesis doesn’t sleep much, and I miss my wife, if you know what I mean. We’ve been stretching the Impulse pretty thin these days.”

Jericho definitely looked like he knew what Eli meant. Genesis was the first child born of an Impulse Pair. She was still a newborn, so if she had any special powers or there were any effects on her life, no one could tell yet. Apparently, she was normal in the keeping-her-parents-up-all-night sense. And Eli and Abilene would have to continue to see to each other’s physical needs on a regular basis or face the same effects that plagued Oliver. The Impulse didn’t take vacations, even for new babies, as it turned out.

“Yeah, that’s the part I’m not looking forward to myself,” Jericho said, slapping Eli on the back. “Worth it, though, right?”

Eli’s eyes seemed to twinkle. “You have no idea,” he said with a wide, lopsided smile.

Max turned to look at Jayden again and caught the angel looking at the two fathers wistfully before blanking his expression entirely. Jayden walked over to them and took the vacant chair at the head of the table. “So, Anahita,” Jayden said, most of the ire gone from his voice. “Why have you chosen to spy on her?”

Luke spoke up first. “She’s meeting with another angel who is directing her mission to kill Max, Oliver, and myself. We figured some intel would not be remiss.”

Jayden nodded. “Remiel,” he said.

All attention, already focused on Jayden, sharpened in a nanosecond. “You know him?” Eli said, his words measured.

“Come on, humans,” Jayden said. “Anahita has taken over
my
mission. It stands to reason I know everyone she knows,
especially
the head of the Warriors.”

“Jayden,” Jericho said, leaning forward, “why wouldn’t you tell us this before?”

Jayden straightened and seemed to glare down his nose at Jericho. “I did not know if it was pertinent yet.”

Max scowled. “
Everything
is pertinent.”

Jayden turned his head and narrowed his eyes at Max. “Indeed.”

Max had the urge to stretch the neck of his shirt away from skin that suddenly itched.

“Before you get your feathers ruffled,” Jayden continued, “you should know that I was telling you everything I thought you needed to know as soon as I knew it. For example, I told you the location of these two.” Jayden gestured to Max and Luke with a wide sweep of his hand. “I have my suspicions about Remiel’s motivation, but I was saving judgment until I was sure.”

“You have
suspicions
?” Eli asked, straightening.

Jayden sighed. “Do not speak to me as though I owe you all I know,” he said softly. “I have gained much in Grace, but everything else I have known for my entire existence is now lost to me. I cannot betray my brethren lightly. You must know that.”

Max felt the slightest softening toward the angel, but refused to allow it too much hold.

“Will you tell us your suspicions now?” Jericho asked.

Jayden looked at the man, then opened his mouth with obvious reluctance. “I am not sure my mission—now Anahita’s—comes from the Most High,” he said.

He saw the others lean forward in his peripheral vision, and Max made himself slouch in his seat, though everything in him perked up, telling him the angel knew much more than the simple words promised.

“I first suspected when I discovered that He spoke to you all. That He spoke
fondly
to you all. You’ve dubbed it
the Voice
,” Jayden said. “Some of you embrace it, others spurn it”—his eyes flicked to Max briefly—“but it is always constant on His side. He
likes
you. Why would He order me to kill you? And this
Knowledge
Max, Jericho, and Dahlia have…” He paused to glance at Max. “You sense that we are evil whenever we get close to killing you, correct?”

Max nodded and saw Jericho do the same.

Jayden smiled wryly. “Angels are not evil, are they.” It was not a question, and Max frowned. That was an excellent point. “We would only be
evil
if we were pursuing a mission outside of the Most High’s will,” Jayden continued. “I was given the order to guard the Trees from all human interference when Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden. But I was only given those orders that once. The Most High never again repeated them.” He paused and looked at the table. “Remiel did,” he finished softly.

“What does that mean?” Max asked, finally leaning forward. “Spell it out for us, angel.”

Jayden’s eyes flashed. “Much has changed since the humans’ betrayal in the Garden of Eden. Anger has had time to abate. Humanity has again become a favorite with the Most High. It is a fact that some of the brethren—who have
always
remained faithful to the Most High’s commands—resent. It is ...
possible
... that some of those brethren would have organized themselves to mete out the punishment they believe is due.”

“I thought angels didn’t have free will,” Jericho said. “How would they be able to organize themselves into a rebellion?”

“That is true,” Jayden said. “There are two possibilities: this could be the Temptation of several of the brethren, and they are facing their Falls by doing this; or, this could be the manifestation of some of the brethren obeying the Most High’s initial command to the letter, disregarding His changing feelings toward humanity. He has not spoken to us on the matter since the beginning, and that allows us to assume His original order still stands. Though,” Jayden said, looking across the room at nothing, “I’m beginning to see such beliefs are ignorant at best.”

“Then why not disregard these beliefs?” Max asked.

“No free will, remember,” Jayden said. “We are limited in our actions. Only those who approach their Fall have leeway in this, and even then, that leeway leads to destruction, so most avoid Tempting themselves by following laid down edicts to the letter if not the spirit.”

“Great,” Max muttered. “Beings with nearly limitless power who are a bunch of yes-men.”

Jayden looked at Max. “And women.”

As if Max could forget.

“You have to admit,” Luke said, “that such a thing could lead to problems.”

Jayden smiled at Luke. “I think you will find that I do not
have
to do anything. But in this situation, yes, I can allow myself to admit that one of the brethren could do much harm.”

“A rebel faction of angels,” Jericho muttered to himself.

Jayden’s head tilted to the side. “Unfortunately, I fear that is exactly what we face.” He let out a sigh. “They will make a formidable opponent.”

Max laughed. “Are you being serious?” he asked. “A
formidable opponent
? We’re dead. That’s basically what you just told us.”

Jayden frowned. “That is a great possibility,” he said, as though he’d just considered it. Max clenched his fists in his lap to keep from throttling the obnoxious being. Jayden turned to Luke. “What did you hope to gain by talking to Anahita?” he asked, for once sounding as though he did not think the plan had been totally repugnant.

“Who she was answering to. If she was a threat”—Luke paused and looked at Max briefly before returning his attention to the angel—“to Max or any of us.”

Jayden tsked. “I could have answered both questions, human,” he said. “You are wasting our time and resources by seeking to do things that do not need to be done.”

Eli leaned forward. “Well, then, is she a threat to us?”

“Oh, yes,” Jayden said almost before Eli had finished his question. “Very much so.”

Max tightened his fists. “Care to elaborate, or are your words so wise they encompass everything we would ever need to know?”

Jayden stared at Max for several seconds. “I do not like you,” he said finally.

Max put his hand over his chest. “Break my heart, why don’t you.”

“Ladies,” Eli snapped. “You can slap-fight this out later.” He focused on Jayden. “It isn’t a
terrible
question, Jayden.”

Jayden took a big breath. “You say
ladies
as though it is an insult to call us such, but I tell you now, Anahita is a
lady
who will happily slit your throat. She is much more motivated to complete her mission than I ever was, and I was motivated indeed.”

Max leaned forward; he couldn’t help himself. “Why?” he asked. “What is her motivation?”

“Anahita is an outsider,” Jayden said, looking Max square in the eye. “Completing this mission will admit her to the ranks of Warrior.”

Max cocked an eyebrow at the angel.

“That is all you will hear from me,” Jayden said firmly. “If you want to know more, I suggest you ask her yourself. She is
yours
. Do you not want to know everything about her?”

The words were a clear challenge, and Max refused to rise to the bait. But the truth was, Max
was
curious. He found himself wanting to know what made Anahita tick. It was very un-frenemies-with-benefits.

“This ...
observation
of Anahita is not the worst plan I have ever encountered,” Jayden said with a sigh. “I, myself, cannot tell you what the angels under Remiel’s command are up to since I have Fallen. Anahita could be a useful tool.” Jayden thrummed his fingers on the tabletop. “I will allow you to continue to use her thus for two reasons. One, Remiel’s rebel faction poses a threat to my Grace and to the children.” He looked at Max again. “And two, when Anahita finds out—and it will be
when
not
if
—she will not forgive you for using her. You will no longer be in her life, and I will not have to find a way to put you there myself.”

“Forgive me?
She
is planning to kill us!”

“Tell yourself whatever you need to, but even without knowing exactly what you have said to each other, I know Anahita has been forthcoming with you. She will not abide duplicity. I will be lucky if she forgives
me
for allowing you to do this, and we have loved each other for centuries. You are not even kind to her. You do this, you are doomed never to have her.”

Max snorted and shook his head. “I don’t
want
her, remember?” But Jayden’s words had wormed their way into his heart, and Max felt sick to his stomach.

Jayden smiled gently at Max for the first time since they had met and said nothing. If Max was not mistaken, there was pity in Jayden’s eyes.

Max shook his hair into his face and turned his eyes away to glower at the tabletop.

“Grace and I will watch little Genesis for you tonight if you wish,” Jayden said.

“Yes,” Eli said quickly. “Yes.”

“You will want to ask Abilene first, of course,” Jayden said.

“Oh, yeah,” Eli muttered. “Thank you for offering.”

Jayden chuckled. “I am selfishly motivated,” he said. “Your pornographic thoughts are distracting to more than just
you
.”

The angel rose to his feet and walked out of the room, but Max never looked up from the table, afraid that if he did, everyone would see the inappropriate anguish written across his face. He took a breath to speak, and the Voice whispered urgently,
Do not do this
, right before Max said, “We do it. We use her.”

Anahita sat on the edge of the coffee table where she had been sitting since Max tore out of her living quarters forty-five minutes ago.

She needed to move. She needed to do something.
Anything
.

Instead, she sat here, the hard edge of the table putting her bottom to sleep, reliving those final few moments with her Temptation. And with each remembrance, the weight in her gut grew heavier and heavier until Anahita had the strongest desire to lie down in the comfortable bed in her bedroom and never rise again.

She did not like this
man
business. It was much too complicated, and the pleasant feelings were much too short-lived and did not outweigh the feelings of despair that every encounter thus far had caused.

“Anahita.”

She jerked to the side, nearly sliding off of the table. Her eyes widened. Remiel sat in the same chair he’d been in—was it only two hours ago?

“Remiel,” she said. She had to clear her throat before talking again. “Back so soon.”

“I—” He cleared his throat. “I never truly left.”

Anahita felt the blood drain from her head, and she fought dizziness. “You ...
watched
us?”

Remiel’s lips twisted and a flash of annoyance crossed his face—rare emotion for him indeed—and then was gone. “Why the concern?” he asked. “Did you do something shameful?”