Seals (28 page)

Ariel put her hand back on Kara’s
shoulder.

“I came here to thank you on behalf of my
fellow archangels and of the entire legion. I also wanted to tell
you something, Kara.”

“What thing?”

“You’ll be happy to know that you’ve been
given a special leave from the legion.”

Kara wrinkled her brow. “Like a
permanent
leave?”

It was too good to be true, a dream come
true.

“In a matter of speaking, yes.” Ariel
smiled. “I know it’s something you’ve wanted for a long time, and
no one deserves it more than you, Kara Nightingale. I believe the
fate of the mortal world and Horizon will be safe from any enemies
for a
very
long time.”

Kara’s eyes brightened. “I—I don’t know what
to say?”

“
Thank you
would be a start,” laughed
David smugly.

She’d have punched him if she didn’t want to
kiss him so much.

“Thank you.”

Kara was aware that masses of guardians had
gathered around and were listening to their conversion and trying
to get a closer look at her. She could tell by their timid
expressions that they didn’t want to push in, but that they still
wanted to watch.

“You’ll be missed,” said Ariel. “By
everyone. That’s a promise.”

“But mostly by me.” David’s eyes shone the
deepest blue. It was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.

And then she did something that she never
thought she’d be able to do. Even though Metatron, Ariel, and all
the other guardians were watching her, she cupped David’s face in
her hands and kissed him.

She kissed him softly at first, but then she
kissed him fiercely. She crushed her lips on his, like there was no
one else in the world but her and him. She kissed him again and
again. Then she grabbed the back of his hair and pulled him into
her so she could drink in his wonderful scent.

David wrapped his arms around her tightly
and kissed her back. Her elemental energy pulsed. Angels’ touches
and kisses were a thousand times more electrifying than mortal
ones. She never wanted it to end.

Finally she pulled back, suddenly aware that
many eyes were watching. But the smile on David’s face, the love
that danced in his eyes, was worth it.

Ariel smiled at her brightly. Even Metatron
had a goofy look on his face as he puffed on his cigar.

Applause filled the air. Guardians whistled
and cheered. Ashley and Jenny laughed and clapped their hands. Even
Peter, who stood with his hands in his pockets, wore the widest
grin she’d ever seen.

David’s eyes were wide. “I can’t believe you
did that. In front of everyone! Don’t get me wrong, you’ve made me
really, really happy, and I really, really liked it but…you sure
you’re all right?”

“I’m more than all right.” Kara didn’t fight
her own grin. “I haven’t felt this good, this amazing, in a very
long time.”

She squeezed David’s hand. “Let’s go
home.”

Chapter 26

“
S
o they’re saying
it was a tornado?” Kara had been drilling the old man with
questions for the past hour.

“But we don’t get tornadoes here. We get
snow storms.”

Mr. Patterson polished the surface of his
brand new counter.

“I’ll admit it does sound preposterous,
especially here, but on rare occasions this city has seen one or
two tornadoes.”

Kara screwed up her face. “I don’t know. It
doesn’t make sense.”

“Are you a weather specialist? An
atmospheric scientist? A tornado expert?”

“No…but then how come Cedarview didn’t get
hit? It’s the next street over? They’re saying it was a big one, so
why
only
our street? If it really was a tornado, why did it
skip all the other streets in the entire city and just plow into
ours? It’s almost like something was
controlling
it. You
know what I mean?”

The old man shrugged.

“No. But Mother Nature is mysterious in her
ways. Can you hand me that small red box over there, the one with
tiny crystal orbs? Yes, that one. Careful please, I’ve only just
replaced them. Thank you.”

Kara watched Mr. Patterson as he carefully
emptied the box of crystals and placed them into his glass display
counter. She would never truly understand his fascination with
glass orbs.

The last streaks of sun spilled in through
the front bay window.

“Are you happy the shop’s almost back to its
pre-tornado state? If you truly believe that’s what happened.”

He was still gazing adoringly at the crystal
orbs.

“There’s still a little painting to be done
on the exterior walls and the front sign, but it’s almost
done.”

The old man let out a long sigh. “Yes. It’s
been a rather a
complicated
week.”

“What do you mean complicated?”

Kara hated how her boss continued to speak
in riddles. She always had the feeling that he was keeping
information from her, like he didn’t trust her.

No, she was just being foolish. What secrets
could an old bookstore owner truly have?

“It’s not important anymore,” replied Mr.
Patterson. “What’s important is that our lives are back to what
they were before the apocalypse—”

The old man dropped one of his precious
crystals.

“The apocalypse?” Kara leaned over the
counter, snatched up the rolling orb, and held it up to inspect it.
“If that’s what you want to call it. But I don’t see how the damage
to our street can be called an apocalypse.”

Mr. Patterson looked irritated.

“Never mind that. I’ll take that back
now.”

Kara lowered the crystal but still didn’t
give it back. Not yet.

“I’d like to know your thoughts, on this
apocalypse,
as you call it.”

She couldn’t explain it, but she had the
strangest feeling that Mr. Patterson didn’t think it had been a
tornado after all. He kept avoiding her eyes when she mentioned it,
like he wasn’t able to lie. What could have been aimed at their
street and destroyed it like a bomb had gone off? What was he
keeping her from her?

“What happened to the rest of the world,
then?”

She handled the orb between her fingers.
“What’s your theory on that?” she asked. “I’ll admit a lot of
strange things have happened lately. Don’t you think this past
week’s been really odd?”

“Not more than usual, dear.” Mr. Patterson
eyed the crystal in Kara’s hand.

“What? Where have you been?”

The old man held out his hand. “I’ll take
that now, thank you.”

Feeling a little rebellious, Kara tossed the
crystal orb in the air, but the old man caught it before she had
time to blink.

She pulled back, shocked and impressed.

“Okay, it’s not like I was going to keep it
or anything. So...”

She leaned over the counter.

“For the past week, there have been reports
of strange occurrences all around the world. Crops dried out, but
then miraculously grew back the next day. Sick animals and people
were suddenly cured of incurable diseases. And there’s peace in the
world, well, for the most part. Most people on the Internet are
calling it an environmental disaster or an example of global
warming. But the truth is, I haven’t found any
real
evidence
to explain what happened last week. No scientist can explain it.
Don’t you think that’s strange?”

“Stranger things have happened.”

Kara rolled her eyes.

“Fine. Be in one of those
mysterious
moods.”

The sound of construction outside spilled in
through the window.

“Well, it’s five o’clock. I’m done for the
day.”

She brushed the dust from the front of her
shirt and inspected her jeans to make sure they were spotless.

“I’m off with David to catch dinner and
movie.”

The thought of spending two hours with David
sent a nervous flutter through her chest. This wasn’t their first
date, yet she felt overly nervous. Her heart pounded in her ears.
Why was she being so silly?

“Bye, Mr. P.”

As she turned to leave, she paused when she
caught the delight in Mr. Patterson’s eyes. “What? What’s that face
for?”

Mr. Patterson’s smiled. “Nothing, dear. Just
glad you’re out and about, having fun just like you should be.”

And then he added in a whisper, but not low
enough. “After all, no one deserves it more than you.”

Kara’s brows narrowed slightly.

“Huh? Well, thanks I guess. But I haven’t
done more than usual, maybe a little painting.”

She watched him for a moment, but his
expression didn’t change.

“Okay then, thanks.” Her smile returned.
“There aren’t many warm nights like this left.”

“Yes,” said the old man, still watching her
with that bemused expression. “I believe you are right.”

“See you tomorrow,” Kara pushed open the
front door of the tiny bookstore and jumped onto the street.

A breeze cooled her hot cheeks. The evening
sky was still a bright blue, and although the days were getting
shorter, it was a perfect evening for a date.

A handsome young man leaned against a parked
car. He wore jeans and a simple white t-shirt that clung to his
body, just enough to hint at the muscles beneath. The evening sun
kissed his tanned features, and his skin glowed.

Kara’s heart caught in her throat.

“You look nice,” said David, causally.
“Better than nice.”

Heat rushed to her face, and she failed to
keep a giant smile from spreading over her face.

“So, where are you taking me?” she
asked.

“It’s a surprise.”

He smiled at her, and she felt her knees go
weak.

As she and David began to walk along the
sidewalk, something in the reflection on the store’s bay window
caught her attention. She halted.

“What?” said David. “Did you forget to clean
a spot on the window?”

Kara frowned and touched the glass. “No.
That’s not it. I thought…I thought for a moment…”

David leaned closer, his arm touching hers.
“You thought what?”

Kara swallowed hard. Bracing herself, she
said, “It’s going to sound really weird, but for a moment I thought
I saw wings.”

“Wings?” laughed David playfully.

“Golden wings,” she said with a straight
face. “Glorious wings. They were shining like something out of a
fairy tale. You think I’m crazy, don’t you. And now you’re
wondering what you’re doing with such a nut case.”

David twirled a lock of her hair in his
fingers.

“Yes. You’re nuts. But that’s what I love
about you. You keep it interesting.”

Kara was about to object, but he put his
hands on her waist and pulled her closer to him. He leaned in and
kissed her.

The kiss was like coming home or being born
again. They had kissed before, but somehow this was different, more
intense. His lips were hot and soft against hers, and she trembled
at his touch. She threw her arms around his neck, forgot all about
the mysterious golden wings, and embraced the love of her life.

STEEL MAIDEN

CHAPTER 1

T
HE TEMPLE VAULT WAS completely dark.

I’d been crouched inside a cabinet with my
chin resting awkwardly on my knees for about six hours, and now the
muscles in my body screamed and burned. Acid from hunger worked
away in my empty stomach, and the air was hot and stale. A cold
sweat trickled down my back, but I kept my breathing low and
steady, held my position, and waited.

I could hear muffled male voices and the
shuffling of feet.

Pricks
.

If the temple guards discovered me now, they
would slit my throat before I could even begin to explain why I was
here, hidden in a cupboard in the vault. The truth is, there was
only one reason why someone would sneak into the temple vault at
night—to steal the high priests’ treasures.