Indebted Read online

  I can’t help the tears that slide from my eyes. “Aspire,” I whisper to him as my hand cups his cheek. His eyes close briefly, savoring the contact.

  Feeling Reed tense against me, his eyes snap open as he begins scowling right before he says, “We are busy right now, Zephyr. Come back later.” Quickly, Reed covers me with a silk sheet.

  “I cannot. This is important,” Zephyr replies from somewhere outside of our room. From the distance, it sounds like he is standing near the stone bridge that traverses the jade-tiled pool in the courtyard. “You should answer your phone.”

  “He was kind of in the middle of something, Zee. He still is—how important is it?” I ask, trying to hide the irritation in my voice.

  “Very,” Zephyr replies and at the sternness of his voice, dread seeps through my senses. It causes my arms to tighten on Reed, pulling him nearer to me.

  “What’s wrong?” I ask, hearing panic in my own voice.

  A growl comes from Reed then as he leans his forehead to mine. “Evie, it’s okay, whatever it is, I’ll take care of it,” Reed says soothingly, trying to calm me down. But I have seen too much lately to be reassured by his words.

  “Is it Dominion?” I ask Zephyr with my heartbeat drumming rapidly in my chest. I look over at Reed, seeing that he is already dressed. Startled by the fact that I hadn’t even seen him move, I sit up in the large bed, pulling the sheet up with me and wrapping it securely around me. Zephyr steps into our room then, keeping his eyes averted from me as he speaks directly to Reed, but he is using their Angelic language that I can’t understand. My panic increases. Zephyr never does that. He never speaks in anything but English when I’m around because he knows I can’t understand them. Something is wrong—something big—something he doesn’t want me to know about.

  “What’s going on, Zee? What’s happening?” I ask them, looking between their two faces as they debate something important. If it has to do with Dominion, it can’t be good for me. The military headquarters that acts as the high court for Power angels put me on trial for my life only days ago, which wouldn’t have been so bad if they hadn’t also told me at the time that the only right I possess, in their eyes, is the right to pray for death.

  The next thought has all of the blood draining out of my face as I whisper, “Brennus—”

  “No, it is not Dominion or the Gancanagh,” Zephyr says rapidly, trying to reassure me, but still, his face looks grim.

  There is only one other thing that can be severe enough to warrant a look like that from Zephyr and my brain can’t even move past the name that it keeps repeating over and over like a prayer. Russell. Something inside my heart recoils painfully.

  “Where are Brownie and Russell?” I ask them, watching their faces closely. They both have blank expressions, like they are deliberately trying to hide something from me.

  “They are still in the Ukraine,” Zephyr replies in a calm, soothing voice. “They are being very cautious and they are moving slowly. Many, many kingdoms have risen and fallen in that part of the world. Many beings still like to call it home,” Zephyr explains with patience.

  I exhale a breath that I didn’t know I was holding as his words register with me. I know I won’t be able to completely relax until they are both safely with us. I still have no idea yet what I will tell Russell about Reed and me. I made Buns and Zephyr promise that they wouldn’t breathe a word of the binding vows to either Brownie or Russell. I have to be the one to tell Russell and it has to be face to face. No matter what I say to him, he’s going to have a hard time understanding why his soul mate has chosen to bind her life to someone else, after all of the lifetimes we have shared together. I don’t think I’m going to be able to explain it to him, my need for Reed. I don’t even understand it. All I know is I tried to live without Reed and it was impossible. I was dying inside every day.

  “Maybe we should go to them. We can pick them up and bring them back here,” I say, because I’m extremely worried about them. Brownie is a Reaper angel, and although she’s immensely stronger than a human, she does not possess the brute strength of a Power angel. Russell is part Seraphim angel and part human, like me. His strength will soon rival that of Reed and Zephyr, and all other Power angels, but he has not fully evolved yet, so he is at a disadvantage should he run into a fallen angel…or Brennus.

  “Zee and Buns are going to go to the Ukraine. They are leaving within the hour,” Reed says softly and I bounce out of the big bed and head to the bathroom wrapped in a sheet. After I retrieve some clothing on the way, it only takes me seconds to change before I am back in the room, searching for a bag to pack some of my clothes.

  When I look up, I see Zephyr and Reed studying me. “How long will it take us to get there?” I ask, trying to gauge what I will need to take for the trip. Buns has done some shopping for us, but Zephyr has been attempting to lock her down. He has been trying to explain to her that she is a target for the Gancanagh, too, since she is my friend, but she doesn’t want to listen to him. She has never really had to take any of this into consideration before because she is a divine Reaper angel. Since her job is to negotiate for human souls, she has essentially been immune to the fighting taking place between divine Power angels and the Fallen. As for other beings, they too, leave her alone because of her divine status. But the Gancanagh have vowed to get me back. They have even gone so far as to attack Dominion’s compound while I was there to “rescue me.” It would be nothing to them to use Buns to get to me and I can’t have that.

  “You are safer here for now, love,” Reed says and he uses his sexy voice when he says it.

  My eyes narrow because I’m onto his attempts to soothe me, I say, “I want to go, too. I can help, if there’s trouble.”

  “No, you cannot, not right now, Evie,” Zephyr replies in a low tone, like he is talking to a child. “You are too emotional right now.”

  “I can handle whatever comes, Zee, I promise. I’ll be fine, trust me.” I reply, not looking at him and continuing to pack my clothes into the bag.

  “Evie, listen to me,” Zephyr insists as he moves nearer to me in order to make me look at him. “I can see that you believe that, but I can prove to you, right now, that you are unable to separate yourself from your emotions.”

  “Zee, I’m fine—really. Let’s go,” I insist, crossing my arms in front of me in defiance.

  “Brennus has Russell,” Zephyr says quietly.

  Panic hits me and I struggle to take the next breath. My heart twists and pounds in my chest as my hands shoot out to grasp Zephyr’s forearm so I won’t fall down. Flashes of Russell’s smile, his face, the way he looks at me when I enter the room come to my mind in an instant. “How?” I breathe, searching his face. “We have to go now! I have to talk to Brennus—he will listen to me—”

  “Shh…Evie, it’s okay. The Gancanagh don’t have Russell,” Zephyr says with a soft tone, putting his warm hand over mine to comfort me. “I said that to emphasize my point. Right now, you will do anything, agree to anything, in order to keep the ones you love safe. We can’t have that.”

  “That was mean, Zee,” I accuse him with a grimace as my hand trembles underneath his. Reed hovers near me and I can tell by the look on his face that he wants to jump in and comfort me, but he is trying really hard to hold himself back from doing it.

  “I am sorry you think so,” Zephyr replies with an even tone; his amazing blue eyes reflect his regret. “I have decided that I need to take a different approach with you from now on.”

  “Oh yeah, have you decided on the scare-me-half-to-death approach?” I ask with a salty tone in my voice as I look at him.

  “No. My approach will be to emphasize what is best for you. I will be your mentor and the first thing that you will learn is that we will protect you from now on, not the other way around,” Zephyr says. “The word is out about you, Evie, and it is trickling down like rain to even the lowest level of demons. Many will come for you and they will die. We are organized and well
equipped to deal with them, but you must listen to us and believe that we have your best interests in mind.

  “I already know that, Zee,” I reply rapidly. “But, you have to understand that I have your best interest in mind as well.”

  Some of the sternness leaves his face then as he glances over at Reed and then he looks back to me again. “Evie, you are a Seraph and it is in your nature to guard and protect, but we are ancient warriors while you are still very young and have had little training. You have been born on the front line of a battle that you are still ill prepared to fight. I will train you so that, one day, you may fight at my side. I promise that I will teach you all that I know so you will become very powerful, like me.”

  Hearing the sheer arrogance of his last words makes a small smile curl in the corners of my mouth. I move forward and put my arms around his waist, hugging him tight. “It’s hard for me to remember you’re scary old, Zee, because you look as young as me.”

  “I am scary old and you will listen to me from now on,” Zephyr replies as he picks me up off of my feet and gives me a bone-crushing hug.

  “I’ll hang on your every word if you let me come with you to get Brownie and Russell,” I whisper to him because it’s hard to talk when all of the air is being squeezed from me. “You can explain all of the strategy that you have planned to protect me.”

  “Nice try,” Zephyr replies, setting me back on my feet, “but there is little chance that I will take you to the Ukraine with us. You are staying here with Reed. I am sure you will find something to do while we are gone.”

  “How come Buns gets to go and I don’t?” I ask Zephyr as I pull away from him.

  “Reed will have his hands full watching one wild card. He does not need another unpredictable female to pin down,” Zephyr replies.

  “Are you sure that’s the reason, Zee, or is it that you can’t be away from Buns?” I ask, watching him close.

  “Is it my fault that neither of you respects authority?” Zephyr counters gruffly, but I can see that he is worried about Buns and unwilling to let her out of his sight for too long. Since we have been here, it is rare to find one without the other. Zephyr guards Buns close. Several plots take shape in my mind as I consider ways to make Zephyr take me with him to get Russell.

  Seeming to read my mind, Zephyr says, “Reed is staying here alone. What if he needs your help?”

  “Zee!” I exhale as if he drenched me in icy water. He knows me well enough to know that I can’t seem to tear myself away from Reed for very long. I’m constantly monitoring him at all times. A part of my brain is always tracking him. Reed explained that it’s instinctual for Seraphim to protect what they consider theirs. I don’t think that I can stop doing it, even if I wanted to. I reach out involuntarily to Reed, hugging him to me. His arms immediately wrap around me, encompassing me in a feeling of security.

  Zephyr grunts in satisfaction. He knows he has just outmaneuvered me and so do I. “We are leaving soon, Reed. I want to go over some things with you before we go.”

  “I will meet you in your rooms in a minute,” Reed says to Zephyr over my shoulder, snuggling me closer to him. Zephyr nods and is gone in a fraction of a second.

  “It’s going to be okay,” Reed whispers against my hair.

  I’m quiet because I know better. My dreams have made it horrifyingly clear to me that something big is coming. It’s so big and terrifying that I have trouble remembering what I dream when I awake. My conscious mind keeps trying to blot it out, denying what the future holds in store for me. A word keeps filtering through my mind: kazic…kazic…mer. “Do you know the word ‘kazic?’” I ask Reed as my cheek leans against his shoulder.

  Reed stiffens and replies, “It means ‘to destroy.’ Where did you hear that word?” he asks me quietly.

  I ignore his question. “What does ‘mer’ mean?”

  “It means, ‘the great,’” Reed responds instantly. “What is this about?”

  “I don’t know,” I reply, giving him a smile as he pulls back to look at me. His eyes narrow, telling me he is not buying my attempt to cover the fact that his answers have freaked me out.

  “Again, where did you hear those words?” Reed asks with persistence. He wants to interrogate me about it and I really don’t have many answers for him.

  “I think I may have dreamt them,” I reply, resting my cheek back on his shoulder.

  “What else did you dream?” Reed asks in a low tone, his hands running up and down my back gently.

  “I can’t remember,” I say.

  “Try,” Reed replies, brushing his lips against my hair.

  I tip my face up to meet his. “I will, I promise,” I breathe against his lips as I kiss him. Reed’s phone rings again on the desk.

  Leaning his forehead to mine, Reed gazes into my eyes, “That is Zee. Let me speak to him and I will be right back, and then it will be just you and me…alone.”

  The thought of being alone with Reed without the potential of being interrupted is a delicious one. “Okay,” I agree in an instant, causing a grin to appear on Reed’s face. He kisses me one more time and then he is gone from sight.

  Left alone in the room, I look around for something to do. There is a television in the next room, but Chinese T.V. is really weird and I can’t understand much of it because I can’t speak their language either. The commercials are bizarre, too. There is always some sort of huge, stuffed animal mascot bouncing around on the screen holding the product and looking jovial. It reminds me of Yo Gabba Gabba!

  Spotting Reed’s new laptop on the desk, I open it up and log on to the Internet. I love this computer; it’s uber fast. Surfing the Internet for a while, I check the Facebook website under Leander Duncan. Russell has been using his site that I had set up for him to correspond with his family and me. He has posted pictures of Brownie and him as they have been traveling through Europe in the last week. He has written about what he has seen. I especially like the picture of them traveling through the rural vineyards in France. He looks stoked.

  I post a note on his wall, telling him that I miss him and I’ll see him soon. I do miss him. He is my best friend, but I don’t know how he will feel about me after I tell him what I’ve done. I try not to think about it and move on to other websites. I really want to talk to someone about how I should tell Russell about what happened between Reed and me while I was at Dominion’s chateau. I need some advice. I wish that I could ask Uncle Jim what I should do. The thought of my uncle sends waves of sorrow through me because I miss him, too. There has to be someone I can talk to about this.

  Molly, I think as my adolescent friend pops into my mind. Summer is almost over and she will be going back to Notre Dame soon for her sophomore year. I haven’t spoken to her since I left Crestwood with Russell. I was afraid to contact her, because if I let her know where I was going, Reed could have persuaded her into revealing it to him. His uncanny ability to use his voice to persuade humans would’ve rendered Molly unable to refuse to answer any question that he asked her. If she had any clue where I was all summer, he could’ve found out instantly and been there to take me back to his home.

  I couldn’t allow that to happen at the time. I was sure that the only way to protect Reed from being seen as a traitor to his own kind, the divine angels, was to leave him so that when Dominion caught up to me, he wouldn’t be executed for helping me. I didn’t know that Dominion would arrest Reed and Zephyr anyway and torture them to find out what they knew about me. I also didn’t know that while Reed was being tortured, the Gancanagh, the undead vampire-like species that wants me to give up my soul to become one of them, was targeting me. Maybe it’s better if I try to avoid telling Molly how I had spent my “summer vacation,” I think, cringing at the lies I’ll have to come up with to protect her from all of this.

  I know that Molly has probably emailed me a zillion messages, but I haven’t checked them because I had been afraid that Reed could have been able to find me if I logged onto my email. Now,
with all of Brennus’ resources and the fact that he has ransacked both Reed’s house and my storage unit to collect all of my possessions, I think it’s pretty safe to assume he is monitoring things like my email. Creepy vampire, I think as Brennus’ face looms in my mind.

  He may be monitoring my email, but that doesn’t mean I can’t send Molly one from a different account. With that in mind, I create a new account under a fake name and write her a quick message, telling her that I’m alive and that I need to talk to her. Sending the message, I contemplate what I can tell her when she writes me back. Maybe I can say that I had an opportunity to travel that was just too good to turn down. While thinking about different excuses, an email alert window pops up on my screen. Molly must be online, I think excitedly. I look at the message line, it reads: “I miss you.”

  Quickly, I open up the message, but it’s blank. It has an attachment to it so I click on the attachment and I wait briefly while a video feed sets up. Curious, I watch as a dark, hazy room comes into focus. Loud, bangin’ music is playing in the background of the video as the camera pans past several colorful looking individuals. It looks like this is some kind of nightclub filled with scenesters. The camera is moving down a dreary, graffiti enshrined hallway. Panning around, there are several emos standing near the wall watching a band that is in the back of the club on the stage. The camera moves again to the bar where people are milling around trying to get the attention of the bartender.

  Slipping in and out of focus several times, the cameraperson uses the lens to scan the crowd near the band that has just started playing a whiny cover song. The thumping of the amps and flashes from a strobe light make the video chaotic as I try to see what this is all about. The camera is slowly coming back into focus and is zeroing in on one particular individual who is milling around with a group of friends. I recognize Molly immediately. She is sipping her drink coyly, holding it close to her as she laughs at something someone leaning near to her is saying. I can’t see her companion well because he has his back to the camera.