Origin of Angels: Elemental Legacy Book 1 (19 page)

TWO BLOODY WEEKS. HOW COULD WE accomplish anything in such a short timeframe? I stepped closer to Faine to better gauge her reactions. “What will happen if we don’t meet the angels’ expectations?”

Even in the dim light, her expression deflated. “He didn’t say, but it can’t be good. I wish I could tell you more, my love, but this is truly all I know.”

Damn. I fisted my hair and spun away. I had to think. The end of days could mean a variety of things, but none of them were ever good for the status quo. I had delayed our departure long enough. Jett had given me instructions to search Mexico and South America for any stray Elemental families, even though none were known to be in the region. They’d disappeared as of late. Our whole goal was to gather the people before the Order was any wiser. How could we find them in two weeks, let alone bring them to Faeresia?

There was no time to consider this further. I clasped Faine by the wrist and pulled her in for a quick embrace. “We’ll figure it out.” I stared at her until she looked at me. “I will not lose you again. No matter what, you will be here with me, or I will join you in the eternities. I’ve lived in hell since you left, and I do not intend to sink into the abyss again.”

Her fingers traced my lips. “I wouldn’t think of leaving you a second time, Am — Zach. I simply hope I have a choice.”

The warmth of her touch soothed my anger. She lifted to the tips of her toes, her hand coming behind my neck to bring me close. Our lips fit together as if made for each other. Time held no meaning for me as our bodies molded. My whole frame quaked from my need to show her how much I loved her, but the clearing of a throat yanked me from my fervor.

Pushing her behind me, I whirled. “What?”

Roger Wayne stood five feet from us, his lips curved in a surly grin. “I came to see if it was too late to sign up.” He folded his arms, a smile playing at his lips. “I can wait.”

He was a disturbed young man. “Our team was chosen by Jett. If you want to be assigned, you need to see him.”

Before I could go back to what I was doing, he said, “He’s gone. Everyone has, it seems, except you.”

Skeptical of his motivations, I eyed him warily. “What made you change your mind? If I recall, you were offered a position on Taylor’s team.”

He stood stiff as a stick for a few moments. “I didn’t want to go where they were headed.”

His answer sent a chill along my spine. “How would you obtain the location?”

He shrugged as if our plans were common knowledge. “When you’ve been raised the way I have, it wasn’t difficult.”

Faine sized him up in less than three seconds. “We have all the team we need. Good day.” She grabbed my hand and yanked me into the building. A smile erupted from my face even though I tried to hide it. I let her corral me into a corner. She glanced around as if making sure we were alone. “The boy will get us all killed if he comes.”

My gut clenched at the thought, but I had to laugh. “You’re immortal, and so am I.
Has it been so long you’ve forgotten?”

Her dark brows lifted in accusation. “You know what I mean. Valen has sentenced multitudes to a non-life. If given the right circumstances, he could do the same to us.”

I frowned, not liking the way her body slumped. “You saw it, didn’t you?”

She closed her eyes, breathing deep. “The boy must stay here.”

I’d learned a long time ago not to ignore Faine’s visions. Each one came with a physical cost, and I wanted to protect her from the ability I had hoped she’d lost. “I will order him killed if he so much as steps a foot into the borderlands.”

She nodded, giving a sigh. “You might want to make sure he understands.”

She was right. I excused myself while she went to talk to Luke. There was a time when I hated him for his connection to my bondmate, but I could not deny their friendship any more than I could deny my love for her. Roger was gone when I reached the courtyard. We were in sore need of leaving, but I couldn’t before I knew he would stay put.

A voice erupted in my mind. Styx didn’t bother with pleasantries.
“Hurry. He’s taking a colt.”

I raced for the stables, hoping I’d make it in time. No matter what, I could catch Roger in the air, but I didn’t want to waste hours I didn’t have. I spotted him in the pasture and drifted to his side. My fist came out to connect with his cheek. He staggered backward, clutching his face. “Hey, man, what do you think you’re doing?”

I took a step back to distance myself. It would be too easy to pulverize the bloke. “Stopping you from making a foolish mistake.”

He smirked, rubbing his jaw. “Tell me of a mistake that isn’t foolish.”

Always joking. I’d taken a trip into his mind a time or two, and it wasn’t a pretty place to be. And because I’d been to the depths of his depravity, I didn’t begrudge him his coping mechanisms. Since I was past arguing with the lad, I went straight for compulsion. “You will remove yourself to your apartment and wait there until you are told you can leave.”

His body snapped rigid as he resisted the
order. “I ... need ... to ... help.”

With regret, I intensified the compulsion. “Do as you are told. Someone will be by later to give you further orders.”

His eyes glazed over. “Okay.”

Off he went. I sent the bridle and saddle back where they belonged, then set out to find my team. Styx stopped me halfway across the field. His massive frame was not something easily maneuvered, so I stopped. “I’m late.”

“I’m going,” he said. “So is Bastion. You haven’t taken us anywhere in weeks. We need to stretch our wings. This place is too confining.”

Faeresia had lost some land mass since Rayla transformed it. “Fine, but you’ll both be cloaked. Mortals are not ready to see you, and they never will be.”

He laughed. “Humans scare easily.”

Rubbing his flank, I sneered.
“Only because you enjoy scaring them.”

Faine caught up with us, the morning sun encasing her in glory. Luke trailed behind her, talking to Lysanne. The rest of the group followed in a staggered array. In all, we had twenty. I was familiar with most of them, but I would have been more comfortable with my own selection. Jett never did anything lightly, which was the only reason I had agreed to lead these people.

Once they were all near enough for earshot, I gave them our orders. “We will be searching the South American continent for Elemental families. You have each been assigned to this team because you bring needed talents for our mission. It is up to you to tell me when you think your skillset will benefit us. Otherwise, I will assign tasks as we go along. Are there any questions?”

One of the Altasian’s spoke up.
As was usual with his people, his tall frame and blond hair blended in with the others. “Is the Order active in the area?”

When I replied, I looked in his general direction, unsure sure who the speaker truly was. “Scouts have searched the area for obvious signs of their compounds, but known locations have been abandoned. We are less interested in the Order as we are the Elemental families they are trying to take from us. Our goal is to extricate as many Elementals and their families as possible.” No one needed to know we might not find any.

Someone else called out, “What if we do come against the Order?”

I swept a look from person to person, infusing my words with my resolve. “We will do what we must.”

THE HILLSIDE, ALTHOUGH FULL OF CATTLE, was bare of trees, except those few off in the distance. Green grass the most vibrant shade I’d ever seen covered every square inch, and there were low walls of rocks scattered about as if God had put together a jigsaw puzzle.

A light mist clung in the air while the turbulent sky covered any hint of the sun. Thunder roiled close enough to make me wary. Moist earth lent a much needed aroma, only wafting in occasionally to hide the scent of the cows. For a second I considered it, and this was still better than the borderlands.

Since I was already headed in the direction of the trees, I started for them again. If it did decide to dump buckets, I wanted some shelter.

Taylor let out a grunt. “Since you are going to insist on leading, you should perhaps know our intended location.”

Why did I have to keep reminding myself I needed these people? I waited for him to catch up. “Sorry. Where to? On second thought, where are we?”

“Near Dingle, lad.”
He motioned ahead. “Unless you’d like to head on up to Galway without us.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Ireland?” I’d had enough of the place the last time we were here. “Why?”

“I should think our tasks to be obvious. The O’Briens have been abducted, or so we’ve been told. We’re here to make sure there are none left to rescue before we rendezvous with another team in a couple days.”

I sniffed deep, searching for the salt scent. “We’re near the coast?” He nodded and waited, as if for me to finish. “Don’t you realize there is an Order base not far from here?”

Tawny eyes glinted with light not brought by the sun. “Abandoned, dear boy. We’ve scouted each location thoroughly. They have moved. Not even security remains at the compound.”

I shook my head. “I wouldn’t count on it. Have any of you actually visited the place?”

At first, I thought he’d blow me off, but his posture changed. Alert as a cat at night, he watched me. “We sent a wraith squad to check.”

A frown found my mouth. “
Don’t wraith have different abilities than fae?”

He shrugged.
“A few. Why?”

“The machine they used was calibrated specifically for fae frequency. If
wraith are not counted as fae, they would not trigger the device.”

Doubt crossed his features. “They may be cursed, but they are still fae.”

“I dunno, dude. I don’t think it’s wise to risk it…especially all of us at once. If the machine kicks on, I’d be the only safe one in this group.”

He scrubbed his scruff. “Well, then, we shall send you in first.” I couldn’t quite tell if he was serious, so I laughed. He folded his arms, appraising me. “Not equal to the task?”

Did he just call me out? My pride bristled, but I kept my expression on the light side. “It wouldn’t do you any good to send me in alone. I’d be the same as a wraith. If it is a trap, I could also be dead. You sure you really want to risk Rayla’s wrath?”

This time he laughed, and the others joined in. With the humor should have come a better mood, yet unease lingered between
us. “Rayla may be powerful; however, she is not the one I fear offending. You shall be well guarded.”

He probably wouldn’t answer me, but I had to ask. “Who are you afraid of?”

Seriousness sank into his expression. “The only being a fae fears is the one who can evict us from this world. Keeping you safe is part of our bargain. You needn’t worry.”

Words, nothing more.
He couldn’t protect me if we were ambushed. These people had no idea how many fae had joined Valen, and there was no way they knew how many soldiers the Order had. The last thing I wanted was to get myself taken back to Faeresia, so I nodded and left it alone. “How far are we from Dingle?”

“A few miles.”
He pointed to a few stray cottages on the horizon. “Before we do anything, we need to check the homes. Perhaps there are strays, or at the very least, clues.”

I’d play detective for a time, but all I wanted was to get word on my girl. It didn’t matter if my plan didn’t reach any further than there because the likelihood of us finding the Order without Lambert wanting to be found was dismal, at best. This time I waited for Taylor to take the lead. I’d already put him on alert a few too many times this trip. Being a good soldier had been drilled into me far too much for me to risk his anger. Pissing him off would come later.

LEVI COULD NOT BE TRUSTED. IT was a given, so why was my husband fawning all over Levi as if he’d been gone on a trip instead of cozying up to the enemy? Heath shot a look over his shoulder, giving me a silent scolding. I gave him one back. This wasn’t the time to take risks, not with so many people involved.

To my surprise, he didn’t come to talk me into anything. He left it to Gibbit. “You know, miss, he’s right. It’s better to get the goods from a scoundrel than to go in unprepared.”

I knelt to bring my friend into better view. “Are you sure?”

Usually uncomfortable with close proximity, I leaned away when he came closer. “It could mean the difference between going back with what you came for or getting caught. I won’t say he can be trusted, but if it’s me decidin’, I’d let him come.”

I checked Gibbit’s belt for new loot. When I didn’t see anything, I nodded. I wouldn’t put it past Heath to bribe him, but Gibbit had looked out for me in the past. I’d made the mistake of discounting his
efforts before. I wouldn’t do it again. “Thanks,” I said. “I’m counting on you to make sure he doesn’t get in touch with the other side.”

Gibbit made a solemn bow. “It will be done.”

I smiled, ruffling the tuft of white hair sticking out of the hole in his cap. “Why don’t you just cut it?” I asked without thinking.