Incendiary (The Premonition Series (Volume 4)) (93 page)

“That’s your plan?”
I ask
skeptically
, thinking
that
they’re going to get caught
.

“Swee
tie, they think Reapers are hare
-brained,” Buns explains. “We’ll just prey
upon their expectations.”

“We’ll l
ead them away,” Brownie promises
. “All y
ou need to do is get in there.”
Remembering the dark energy surrounding the Knights Bar, h
ackle-like goose
bumps ri
se beneath
my skin. I force down
the shiver that begs
to run through me, managing a nod instead. “Alright then,
” Brownie nods
back and we
clasp
each other in a group hug, like we used to do after a huddle
in field hockey.

The male a
ngels su
rrounding us wear
slightly lecherous
expressions when we straighten
up. St
ill holding Anya’s hand, I spy
the suit of armor, the only decoration in the room.
Leading her to it, I grasp
the battle
axe clutched by
the armor’
s
silvery glove. Wrenching it aw
ay, I listen while the weapon hums
its eerie music in soft vibrations.

Anya’s skin prickles next to me as she surveys
the wicked
,
serrated blade of the a
xe
head.
She asks
, “Whose ax is that
?”

“
It was a
gift
,” I
reply while I tug
at her hand, following Buns
and Brownie out of the archive.

We split up, Brownie and Buns hurrying away to approach the hallway of the Knight’s Bar at the opposite end f
rom us. Preben and the Powers co
me with Anya and me, trailing us like silent shadows. Nearing the passage, I
pause
just bef
ore the archway. Preben produces
a small mirror on an extendable p
ole, angling it so that we can
observe the occupants of the corridor.
Tau stands
motionless in the center of the hall, directl
y across from the medieval armor
sentinels that
I had
placed there to guard the doors.
Seeing my father causes
my stomach to clench in pain and my legs to go numb with fear. I t
ry
hard not to panic
, but my labored breath sound
s
loud
in
my ears.

He could stop me…
my mind booms, but I force
mysel
f to calm down and evaluate the situation
.

Cole stan
d
s
just beside Tau.
He has
adopted a casual slouch, leaning against the wall mired by silent
,
decaying watermarks. He’
s studying
Xavier as the latter
paces
the floor between the empty alcoves, his supernatural speed causing him to resemble the
elongated,
crimson body of a Chinese, ceremonial dragon.
Fla
nking them on either side a
re
dozen
s of
Dominion Power
s.
Low murmurs of A
ngelic
conversation drifts
to us in
soothing
,
melodious
rhythms. These
conversations cease
when Buns and
Brownie’s placid voices insert
themselves between the harmonious strains.

I recognize
Bun
s
’s loquacious resonance
as she says
, “Sweetie, I thought it was Truman Copote that said
,
‘
when the going
gets weird, the weird turn pro
.
’
”

Appearing at the
opposite
entrance
to the hallway
, Brownie counters
, “No, that was definitely Hunter S. Thompson…”

Brownie st
umbles
to a halt, much like a deer in headlights, while grasping Buns by the elbow. Buns’
s
eyes fly
wide with feigned shock worthy of an Oscar.
Backing away, Buns
mutters
, “Uh
oh…”
before she turns
on her heels
and run
s
away
in a blur of long, golden curls
.

Xavier stills
, his face brightening from a snarl to one of hope
.
Brownie begi
n
s
to spew a delicious panoply of nasty words while she
bo
lts
in the opposite direction
from
that
which
Buns had taken
.
Xav
ier does
n’t hesitate, but l
aunches
h
imself forward to pursue Buns
with the
intensity of a devoted lov
er. When several Powers follow him, I ho
ld my breath and send
up
a silent prayer to Heaven that
they won’t harm her if they ca
t
ch
her.

C
ole’s dark, hazel eyes scan Tau’s until he receives
a quick nod from his auburn head. A fraction
of a second after that, Cole i
s gone, following Brownie
toward the North Tower.
O
nly a handful of Powers remain
behind with Tau to
cover the Knight’s Bar. Tau takes
a couple of steps away from us, toward where the Reapers had show
n themselves at the other end
of the
hallway. But he pauses
, his
back becoming rigid. He glances
back
over
his shoulder toward
where we’
re hidden just beyond the bend in the
corridor. Preben quickly pulls
the
small
mirror back behind the cover of
the wall. Setting it down
on the floor, he silently pulls
his sword from its sheath, causing my eyes to narrow in panic.

Taking a deep breath
, I go
down on one knee, coaxing a shimmering clone to spill from me. Directing h
er forward, she strolls
to access
the corridor. I make her stop dead when Tau sees her. “Tau!” I project
my voice, while my clone quails
.

“Evie!” my name i
s torn
from Tau like a
desperate, involuntary appeal
.

I gi
ve my father no time to work out my ruse
before I mak
e my clone run
, tearing a path along our corridor away f
rom us.
Realizing
that I have
to hide my entire contingent and myself
,
I ho
ld
up my palm, expe
l
l
ing
what little energy I’ve
gathere
d in a soft burst.
I only manage
to erect a th
in illusion of an empty hallw
ay; it hovers
like a soft cloud. Should
Tau touch it, the illusion will disappear and he’ll
find me there before him.

When Tau breaches
our
corrid
or, he pauses
. He turns in my direction instead of the
direction my clone had run.
He takes a couple of steps and then he pauses again. His storm-
gray eyes hover
above mine. 
Scrunching my eyes closed, I ho
ld my
breath, but not before inhaling
the
clean
scent of my father within
arm
’s-
length of me. He turns away then and a
soft breeze car
esses my cheek as he
disappears
from the corridor in
the opposite direction in
pursuit of my clone.
Opening my eyes, I do
n’t
expect the brutal pain that tears
at my heart when I see
that he’
s gone.
It
almost
feels
as if he has
betrayed me again.

The few
Dominion
Powers that remain
to guard the Knights Bar quic
kly scatter as I release
several
more
clones
,
all
of which escape
in different directions. The corridor i
s
clear,
so
I stand
up, dropping the
magical
façade
that shrouds
us.
The air feels heavier
upon
my skin the closer I get to the Knight’s Bar
. Approach
ing the medieval armor
guards blocking
the doors, I wave
my hands in their direction, pushing them aside in a rattling cl
atter of metal against cold, gray stone
.

Reaching
the doors, Preben steps
in front of me, holding up his hand to stop me from opening them. “Let
us enter first, Evie,” he states,
pulling the
bardiche from the handles of the doors.

He fli
ng
s
the doors wide, stirring the evil
current of energy rushing by
us into the room. A shiver shakes me as I ask
Preben, “What d
o you see?”

He folds
his beige, falcon-like wings beh
ind him as he observes
, “Bright
light pouring in from glassless rosette windows, broken furniture, rusted human armor, chandeliers hanging askew.”

T
he Prostat Power angels prowl
in through the doors, disappearing from my sight. “Are they still there?” I a
sk
Preben
while my voice stra
ins as I fi
nd it suddenly hard to breath
e
.

“Yes,” he says
, blinking in surprise
. “Can’t you see them?”

“No,” I reply
, in a clipped tone.

“What
do you see?” he asks through narrowing eyes.

“Brennus,” I whisper
.

Just bey
ond the threshold, Brennus stands
, watching me with a small tilt of
his head. A slow smile stretches his full lips as he extends his hand to me. H
is lipid, light-green eyes be
c
k
on
me to join him within.
Dressed in a
dark, elegant suit, he affects
a po
i
sed demeanor, as if he had
been expecting me at precisely this moment.

Abruptly, Preben slams
the doors closed, pushing the bardiche through the handles again. His expr
ession i
s grim when my eyes me
e
t his in question. “You kn
ew he was in there!” Preben accuses
.

My brow darkens
in confusion as I
answer, “Uhh, yeah—
”

“How am
I to help you if he is beyond my
reach?” Preben growls, showing his unease.

Anya
pipes
up
, say
ing, “It will not be long. As soon as we go in, be prepared to fight.”
When she steps
next to me, her
skin i
s as pa
le as her
gossamer
gown
.
Fear mak
e
s her hands shake as she ho
ld
s
them together in a desperate attempt to get them to stop.