Archangel's Fire Read online

  It was the same here, except these dunes were smaller and appeared to line up and down the desert in a straight row.

  One of the mounds caught my eye as a light flickered from it. I drew closer and stopped Mika. Reaching down, I brushed my hand over the mound. Hot sand spilled down, revealing a large object made of glass and metal. “What’s that?”

  “That’s a car,” Big John said. “It’s a vehicle that humans used to transport themselves from one place to another. I’ve been told they go very fast. Even faster than the fastest horse.”

  “Are all of these mounds cars?” I went to the next and wiped off the sand. “Here’s another one. Do they still work? Maybe we could use one. It would be faster.”

  Mika tossed her head back and whinnied.

  “Sorry, girl.” I stroked her mane. She was so sensitive. “What I meant to say was that you wouldn’t have to carry my sorry ass across the desert anymore.”

  “I highly doubt it,” Cade said. “They’ve been sitting there for years.”

  “That’s too bad. I wonder if—oh, wow.” Reaching the top of the hill, I finally saw what Lukas was talking about. A huge building, bigger than the even the guardians’ temple, sat at the foot of the hill. It was the same color as the desert. Half the building was covered in sand. If it wasn’t for the large red circle hanging high off the ground, I probably would have thought it was another large dune. Dozens of mounds, the same size as the ones with cars buried underneath, were neatly in front of a huge building.

  “I’ll check the building and the surrounding area. Come on, Milo.” Lukas clicked his tongue and rode off, leaving a cloud of dust behind him.

  “Wait, Lukas,” Big John called, but he was already halfway to the building. Big John turned to Cade, worried.

  “I’ll go with him,” Cade said.

  “We can’t go on like this,” Big John mumbled when Cade was out of earshot.

  I sighed as we slowly descended the hill. It was bad if even Big John was worried. “I know Lukas is being a pain. I’ll talk to him about it. He’s not used to you being so chummy with someone other than him.”

  Big John’s eyes widened. “You don’t see it?”

  “See what?” I shifted in the saddle, not able to find a comfortable position.

  He shook his head. “Lukas is looking after you.”

  “Lukas is always looking after me. Has been since we were kids.” Big John knew that. Why did he look so surprised? “I know we’re on a dangerous mission. Despite what he thinks, I can take care of myself. Besides, he’s not in this alone. There’s you and Cade.

  “That’s the problem.”

  “What is?” I lifted myself off the saddle slightly, shifting again.

  “You’re attraction to Cadriel.”

  As if shocked, too, Mika suddenly stopped. I yelped, my arms flailing as I tried to latch onto Mika. I slid off, smacking onto the ground and sending up a cloud of hot sand.

  I gazed into the vivid blue sky. Was I that obvious? All I did was help Cade with his horse and that was all. Lukas wasn’t even there. The only interaction I had with Cade all day was polite small talk for like five minutes. Other than that, I stuck close to Lukas or Big John.

  Was that why Lukas was so grumpy? An image of him leaning in for a kiss when we were in the stables flashed through my mind.

  I groaned. Big John was right. We were never going to succeed if we couldn’t work together. Once I got Lukas alone, I was going to straighten him out. There was no room for petty jealousy. There was too much at stake here. I was his friend and always would be. And Cade…well, he was more than likely leaving here when this was all over. Besides, there was no way we could ever have a relationship. It was forbidden. After what happened with Hannah, Lukas knew better than to even think there could be anything between Cade and me.

  “Are you all right, Senna?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Are you sure? You look pained.”

  I squirmed underneath Big John’s insightful gaze. This was not a conversation I wanted to have with him. Something told me I’d break down if I did, and I couldn’t do that. Not now.

  “Uh, something spooked Mika.” I pushed myself off the ground, scrambled to my feet, and scanned the area, looking for anything to help me change the subject.

  A large tumbleweed rolled by and hit against a large rectangular metal object.

  “Really, Mika? Was this what freaked you out?” Taking the reins, I kicked the thistle aside and headed toward the metal objects. Four of them stood within a few of feet apart from each other. A half a dozen of the wind witches danced between them. A couple of them rolled away and made their way to a small building close by. They clacked against a wall-length window.

  “What’s a gas station?” I asked after reading the faded blue letters.

  Big John scanned the horizon nervously. “That’s a place where humans would fill their cars with fuel. Those metal containers are fuel pumps.”

  “I thought you said the cars don’t work.”

  He leaned over and pulled out a nozzle. After he sniffed it, he quickly put it back. “They don’t, but the gas could be used for other types of vehicles. Come on, let’s get you to the shelter.”

  When we reached the building, I was relieved to see several water barrels lining the entrance. Mika immediately dunked her head in. Poor thing. She wasn’t used to this kind of heat.

  The main entrance of the building was made entirely of glass with an entrance sign on one and an exit on the other. People before the war were strange. Why did they need instructions on how to go in and out of building?

  “I’ll check the other side,” Big John said. “Stay near.”

  I nodded, pushing off the hood. My hair was drenched in sweat. I dipped my hands into water and took a drink. It was surprisingly cool. Taking Mika’s lead, I dipped my head, feeling instant relief.

  “Having a nice bath?”

  I whipped my head up at the sound of Cade’s voice.

  “Don’t sneak up on me like that,” I said, brushing the water droplets out of my eyes. “You scared me. I have enough things to worry about as it is.”

  “There’s nobody here. Lukas and I searched. Come on. It’s cooler inside, and there’s food.”

  After prying the glass doors apart, Cade step aside, holding them open as I stepped in. My jaw dropped in awe. I’d never seen so many clothes and shoes.

  “What is this place?”

  “This where humans use to shop. A department store,” Big John said, stepping in after me.

  “People actually traded for something like this?” I went to one of the racks and fingered a pair of pants with holes in the knees. Lukas’s mom would burst out laughing if I tried trading these pants for sack of flour.

  “Back then, they used currency called dollars. Like this,” Big John went to a square metal box sitting on a counter and opened it. He waved a couple of green rectangular-shaped papers.

  “Who wore this?” I picked up two triangular pieces of cloth held together by string.

  “Uh…” Big John’s face turned red.

  Cade arched his brow. “Women used to wear that.”

  “Really?” I placed the so-called clothing against myself, trying to figure out how it was worn. It was flimsy. No way could that thing hold up a pair of pants. Maybe it was to decorate a dress. Taking it off the hanger, I wrapped it around my waist.

  “It’s pretty.”

  Lukas chuckled. “That’s not how you wear it.”

  “And how would you know that?” I snapped.

  He moved the garment’s string from my waist, tying it to behind my neck. The rectangular pieces of cloth dangled over my chest. “I found a stack of magazines hidden in the library.”

  Big John’s face grew even a brighter red.

  “I think it was called sports something. And it had a lot of women wearing these contraptions,” Lukas said. “And only that.”

  “Are you sure? If I was wearing only this then—oh!
” I gazed down at the position of the rectangles. For some reason, my eyes flicked to Cade.

  My heart pounded in my ears as Cade’s eyes drifted to my chest. There was a brief flutter as the familiar sensation pulsed over me. It was coming from Cade. I eagerly waited for the image. I was finally going to see what he desired. I knew that nothing could come of it—that it would make things worse with Lukas—but I couldn’t help myself. I wanted to know.

  Cade’s eyes wandered up to meet mine. Surprised crossed his face when he saw me watching him, and he quickly turned and rifled through a large black bin.

  I ripped the material off, my face heating up again.

  “I never knew you to be shy.” Lukas grinned.

  “It’s not that. I’m just hungry.” I wasn’t lying. My mouth watered at the thought of having something other than sand particles in it.

  Big John handed his satchel to me. “There’s bread and cheese. And I found this. You might like it.”

  It was a yellow spongy bread wrapped in a clear package.

  “Thanks.” I took off the wrapping and bit into it. My knees melted right then and there. It tasted so good. I’d never tasted anything so sweet.

  “This is amazing. Is this what people eat in the city?”

  Lukas frowned. “Only the hunters. The humans are given small rations of food and never anything like that. Children beg on the streets for any tiny morsel from the hunters.”

  I stopped chewing. A big lump formed in my throat. The thought of children in the city never crossed my mind. Of course there would be. My heart ached at the thought that someone like Lily having to beg for food. I swallowed, feeling guilty about being able to have such a treat, and then placed the remaining piece of bread into my pouch.

  “What’s wrong? Don’t you like it?” Big John asked.

  “I can’t eat this, not when people are going hungry,” I said.

  Cade glanced up at me.

  “Don’t be silly,” Lukas said. “You didn’t know.”

  “That’s the point. I didn’t know. You did.”

  He scowled. “Not this again. I already explained why I had to keep it from you.”

  “I know. But you’ve been back for over a year. And you knew how the people were being treated. What if it was Lily who was going hungry?”

  “But she’s not. Look, Senna, if you would—”

  “What would you have done, Senna?” Cade interrupted, his voice echoing across the room. “You didn’t know about being a witch or about how to break the curse.”

  “I don’t know. Maybe find a way to bring them back to the Sanctuary. If Lukas was able to get back, then the others could, too.”

  Cade shook his head. “You couldn’t possibly bring back all of them. There are thousands. You couldn’t have saved them all.”

  “See, even the archangel agrees with me,” Lukas said.

  I scowled. “You’re missing the point. Both of you. I could’ve saved some of them. Maybe even just one, but I didn’t have a chance to try. You didn’t give me a chance.”

  Cade’s eyes widen. “So even though you didn’t know you were a witch or had angels to assist you, you would have gone for them?”

  “Of course, wouldn’t you?”

  There was a beat of silence. Even though Cade stood a dozen feet away with boxes and clothing racks between us, the energy between us as his eyes locked with mine was electric.

  Cade cleared his throat and looked down at the bin, breaking the connection. He laughed and pulled out a rectangular pink-and-white object.

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “That’s a device that plays music,” Big John said.

  “No way.”

  “It can’t play music now. It needs electricity.” Cade tossed it back in the box and continued to rummage through it. His face beamed when he pulled out a packet containing small red and white discs. “I’ll be right back.”

  “It’s been a long day, Senna, You’ll have your chance to help the people in the city soon enough,” Lukas said. “There’s bedding in the back. We can bring it up front and rest up a couple of hours.”

  I watched Cade head out of the building. That was the problem. I couldn’t stop. Even as Lukas disappeared into the shadows and Big John waited for me to join them, I couldn’t help but want to follow Cade to see what he was up to.

  “Uh, yeah, that sounds good. I’ll help you in a minute. I have to…uh, check on Mika first.”

  I spun around and made my way outside, but not before I caught a glimpse of Big John’s disappointed face. Thoughts about Hannah and Sylas flickered in the back of my mind, warning me to stay away from Cade. I should’ve listened. I should’ve gone with Lukas because what happened next changed everything for me.

  I leaned against the glass doors, watching Cade rip the packet open. He scooped out one of the discs and held it out to his horse. She looked at him skeptically.

  “It’s peppermint candy. Try it. You’ll like it. I promise,” he said.

  Slowly, the horse sniffed the object. Her tongue flashed out, swiping it out of his palm. She munched on it, grunted with appreciation.

  “It’s good, huh?” Cade patted her head and gave her another. “So we can be friends now?”

  The horse stomped her hoof, nodding her head.

  “Senna was right. You are smart. Now, don’t you tell her that. You either, Mika and Milo. I don’t want her getting any ideas.” He gave the other horses some of the candy, too.

  “Pepper, that’s what I’ll name you,” he said, kissing her nose.

  After I quietly closed the door, I slid back inside and slumped against the wall. I wish I hadn’t seen that. This was a side of Cade I couldn’t deal with. The arrogant jackass needed to come back. It was the only way I’d come out of this unscathed.

  16

  Someone was calling my name.

  And poking my ribs.

  Moaning, I flipped over onto my stomach. All I wanted was little nap. I wasn’t asking for much. Twenty minutes. Hell, I’d take ten if I could get it.

  “Senna, are you awake?”

  We’d been in the building for a couple of hours when Big John suggested Lukas and I should try to get some sleep while he and Cade rode around the perimeter.

  It was hard to believe it was actually late at night. Before Lukas and I settled in, we went out and brought Mika and Milo to the front of the building where there was some shade. The sun was high in the sky in the same exact spot it had been since the moment we’d left the Sanctuary.

  Going from inside the dark building to outside wasn’t fun either. The bright white sunlight was so intense I had to keep my arm over my eyes and squint in order to see anything.

  After I helped Lukas bring the pillows to the front lobby near the glass doors, he handed me a magazine and pointed to a photo with a woman wearing similar clothing to what I’d thought was a belt. As I flipped through the pages, I noticed how everyone looked perfect. They were like the guardians with flawless skin and delicate hands. Some of the women even had color on their fingernails. It was very pretty. Mine were stubby with dirt underneath.

  After tossing the magazine aside, I made a bed out of the pillows. They were so soft and the material felt cool to my heated face. I fell fast asleep the moment I laid down.

  “No,” I mumbled, burying my face into cloudy softness.

  “I need to talk to you about something,” Lukas said.

  “It can wait.” Reaching beside me, I grabbed another pillow and placed over my head.

  He snatched it off. “This is serious.”

  I flipped over on my back, rubbing my eyes, until they focused on a frowning Lukas.

  “Oh, all right. This better be good,” I said sitting up. “Hey! Where are you going?”

  “I’m making sure we’re alone.” He dashed to the door, peeked out, and then came back and sat next to me. “There’s something off about Cade.”

  “What about him?” I grabbed one of the plastic water bottles Luk
as had found in a section of the building that was labeled Camping Equipment. It was almost empty. I made a mental note to make sure to fill it up before we left.

  “I don’t trust him.”

  Oh, boy. I took my time, taking a long drink as I thought about how to explain to him that there was no need to be envious of Cade.

  “Yeah, I get it. He’s a stranger. And I admit he came across as a bit arrogant at first, but he’s not that bad. I think you’ll actually like him if you get to know him.”

  Lukas studied me in an awkward silence. I looked down at my pillow, picking off imaginary lint. I couldn’t explain why I was so uncomfortable in the first place. I didn’t have anything to hide.

  Okay, so I was a little attracted to Cade. And maybe I enjoyed being with him more than I should. But it was true. Cade was nice and likable. If he had lived in the Sanctuary, we would’ve all been friends just like we were with Big John.

  “I don’t believe it,” he said.

  “Believe what?” I took another sip of water.

  “You’re falling for him.”

  I coughed, choking on the water. “Don’t be ridiculous,” I wheezed.

  “I know you, Senna. You like him.”

  “Of course I like Cade. I like Big John. I like Mika and Milo. Hell, I even like you sometimes. What’s the big deal?”

  He scowled. “That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

  Yes, I knew. And I was fighting against it with every cell in my body.

  “I can’t let what happened to Sylas happen to you.” His face shifted. Hurt swept over his gray eyes. “I don’t want to lose you too.”

  I wanted to wrap my arms around him and tell him I would always be with him. He was my best friend. I sensed those were not the words he’d want to hear.

  “You’re not losing me, silly.” I playfully slapped his arm as I stood. I felt his eyes following me as I made my way to the glass doors. Just as my eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight streaming through the window, I felt a force slap against my back. A vision flashed through my mind. I was staring outside the glass door like I was now. Lukas whirled me around and kissed me hard. In a blink, the image was gone, but the vibrant energy coming from behind me was still there.