Incendiary (The Premonition Series (Volume 4)) (46 page)

“What
do y’all want to know?” I ask
them with a resigned sigh.

“Let’s start with Evie and work our way u
p to Anya, shall we?” Buns asks
. “I’ve
never seen Reed and Evie argue—
disagree, sure but argue,
never.”

“They’re fightin’?” I
say
, surprised to find that I don’t feel good ‘bout that.

“They are,” Brownie says in a shamin’ way that makes
my face burn.

“It’s about y
ou. What did you do?” Buns asks
, wrinklin’ her nose at me like I smell foul.

“We hugged…and I kissed her on the to
p of the head—
comforting
ly, not passionately,” I blurt
out. “Just like I would’ve done if
either one of you were cryin’ you
r eyes out.”

Brownie and Buns both look at each other and lose
a little o
f their swagger. “Oh,” Buns says
in a cowed tone.

“Can
I go now?” I ask
them, feelin’ like I won a battle, but the war is still ahead of me if I don’t retreat now.

“And Anya?” Brownie asks
, causin’ me to shut my eyes brief
ly. Smellin’ blood, they rally and go
in for the kill. “Spill it,” she demand
s
.

“She’s gotta go, y’all,” I state
in an authoritative tone.

“What do you mean she has to go? She is your
aspire
,” Brownie retorts
. “I examined the binding em
blem myself. They’re your wings—
”

“No question,” Buns finishes
for Brownie.

“So what?” I a
sk
them in agit
ation. “I don’t know her at all—
at all at all!
”

“So yo
u get to know her,” Brownie says
, like I’m slow.

“Now?
This has to happen now?” I ask
them, while pullin’ my hand through my hair in exasperation. “This can’t wait until after we kill Brennus? After we get rid of all the evil freaks stalkin’ us?”

“There’s probably always going to be some kind of evil freak
s stalking you,” Brownie points
out.

“You kinda taunt them into it b
y your very nature,” Buns agrees
.

“Not like Brennus. He’d like nothin’ better than to get close to Anya. If he so
much as touched her…” I trail
off.

“She’d
be his minion,” Brownie finishes
, causin’ my eyes to shoot to her blue ones in anger.

“H
is
sclábhaí
,” I mutter
, usin’ Brennus’ word for slave.

“T
here’s the white hat!” Buns says
excitedly, nudgin’ Brownie with her elbow.

“I KNEW IT!” Brownie agrees
with gl
ee. “So you told her to go away—
t
hat you don’t want her—
so she’ll be out of danger!”

“It’s very old-fas
hion of you, Russell,” Buns says
, her stern tone creepin’ back in.

“Very D
ar
k A
ges meets—” and then she says something in Angel I ca
n’t understand.

“Yes, very—” and Buns hisses
the w
ord in Angel, too, as she nods her head.

“Fine, I’m—” and I try to say the word, fail
miserably, a
nd shrug when I see
them both grin. “Can I go now?”

“Nope,” Buns says
with a frown.

“Not a chance,” Brownie agrees
.

“Why not?” I ask
them with a sigh.

“You
just made a big mess,” Buns says
.

“HUGE mess,” Brownie adds
.

“You don’t shun a
Throne,” Buns warns
.

“I mean,
are you crazy?” Brownie asks
with an incredulous grin.

“Naw…it’s a good plan. I tell her to go away. I take away any chance of reconciliati
on, and she’s safe,” I explain
, watchin’ their frowns deepen.

“Horrible plan
,” Brownie states
.

“The worst,” Buns agrees
.

“Why?” I ask them in a frustrated tone as my brows pull
together.

“THRONE,” they say
in unison.

“So?” I mutter, and see
them glance at each
ot
her again in exasperation. “You’
r
e
all angels. How much different can she be from y’all?”

They both snort
in unison.

“Karma is w
hat they do, Russell,” Buns says
sympathetically.

“Everything to t
hem is a circle,” Brownie chim
e
s
in. “
Reap what you sow kind of thing—
and this is personal.”

“Very personal,” Buns agr
ees
.

“You made
it personal,” Brownie continues
.

“So, what’
re
y
’
a
ll sayin’?” I ask
them warily.

“You ignore her,” Buns says, “
and y
ou get paid back ten fold.”

“Huh?” I ask
.

“You say go away, she could go so far you’ll ne
ver see her again,” Brownie explains
, and a
pain I wasn’t expectin’ squeezes
my chest.

“Or, she could get so close and never let you to
uch he
r again,” Buns counters
.

“Or, she could just get off this boat and leave before the Gancanagh get a c
hance to touch her,” I counter
right back.

“Ughh, I almos
t feel sorry for him,” Buns says
to Brownie.

“I know, right?” Brownie agrees
. “You need our help.”

“Desperately,” Buns states
, twistin’ her blond hair like a bratty little sister.

“Ahh
h,
y’all
are trippin’,” I sigh
, wavin’ my hand at them. “I’ve been around. I know a thing or two and I don’t want her here.”

“O-kayyy,” Buns says
.

“Splendid,” Brownie agrees
.

“I love fireworks,” Buns says
, steppin’ aside and openin’ the door to the cabin for me.

“Big, noisy ones with lots of fire,” Br
ownie adds
.

“All the colors of the spectru
m
—
y
ou know,
Brownie, this makes Anya
sorta single, right?” Buns asks
slyly.

“I do believe you
are correct, Buns,” Brownie agrees
.

“When are you removing your mark
from Anya, Russell?” Buns inquires
.

“Can’t we deal with all the formalities after we b
attle the Gancanagh?” I grumble
.

“Why wait?” They ask
.

“‘Cuz I don’t want
to deal with it now,” I retort
angrily.

“There’
s something there,” Brownie states
intuitively.

“You feel something for her
,” Buns agrees
.

“I do
n’t know what I feel,” I reply
. “The thought of her stayin’ makes me hurt and the thought of her goin’ is…confusin’.”

“The we
ight of love…” Brownie whispers
, lookin’ at me the way she did when we were trapped together in the basement of the evil church. She had told me then that she wanted to live ‘cuz she had never been in love. “You should know for sure that you don’t love her before you let her go, Russell. You can’t just let Phaedrus remove the binding between you, not without truly knowing what you were to each other. And she deserves an honest explanation for why you would like her to leave now.”

“Because
you can’t make her do anything—
sh
e’s her own angel,” Buns explains.

I scowl
at them. “But, if I’m honest and she decides to stay then I’ve lost this chance of convincin’ her to go.”

“Stub-born,” Buns replies
.

“Psych-o,” Brownie agrees
in a sing-song voice.

“Y
’all
just keep you
r mouths shut ‘
bout any of
this conversation. I don’t want
y
’
a
ll blabbin’ it to Anya,” I say
, le
ttin’ my eyes narrow as I look
at each of them sternly.

Buns gasps
, “Russell! We are the very epitome of discretion.”

“We’re Reapers!” Brownie says
, like that explains everythin’.

“Yeah, well…good,” I say
, pushin’ past them and out into the hallway.

Buns sti
ck
s
her head out of the cabin
sayin’, “We’ll pray for you!”

“You’r
e gonna need it,” Brownie calls
emphatically.

“We can still help you. Come to our bea
ch party—it’s tomorrow—
on the p
ort side
basketball courts,” Buns calls
after me.
I shake
my head at them like they’re the ones who need prayers.

Don’t
G
o

“Powers don’t know wh
at to make of Anya,” Zephyr says as he co
me
s
to stand next to me by a basketball hoop. He must’ve caught me watchin’ Anya standin’ with Brownie and Buns by the refreshment table two courts away. This ship is equipped like a luxury liner but with the capabilities of a battleship. From what I’ve been told, it rarely docks at any port, but is serviced by a steady stream of companion ships organized and mai
ntained by
Power
s.

“What do you
mean?” I ask
Zephyr, seein’ that Buns has gotten to him and made him wear board shorts and flip
flops to the beach party. I had
nothin’ else to wear but what Brownie gave me, so I’m wearin’ them, too.

“She’s a Throne. She out
ranks Powers, but she’s gone rogue, so
she’s taboo now,” Zephyr replies
.

“So, they
’ll stay away from her?” I ask
, feelin’ better than I sh
ould ‘bout that. My eyes slip
over her long, dark hair, lingerin’ on the seriously sexy, black bikini top and wrap skirt she’s sportin’ this evenin’. With her supple, black wings elegantly displa
yed, she’s absolutely stunnin’.

“The Powers might stay away, but she seems to have intr
igued the Seraphim,” Zephyr says as we both watch
Cole walk up to our girls and engage them in conversation. Everyone here speaks in Angel, a fact that irritates me to no end. I’m tryin’ hard to learn it, but I feel like a cockroach tryin’ to learn English.

“I hate that guy,” I mutter
under m
y breath, but Zephyr still hears
it.

“He is annoying,” Zephyr agrees
, seein’ Cole reach out and touch a flower on Bun
s
’s lei.

“Why’
s he hangin’ ‘
round us?” I ask
Zee, chan
gin’ my position so that I can
better observe Cole.
He favors his right hand
.

“It’s n
ot us…it’s them,” Zephyr replies
, noddin’ his head toward the girls. “Our Re
apers are fascinating, alluring—
” he
says
.

“Sexy,” I add

“That, too,” Zee agrees
. “
And Anya is
int
repid and seductive…” he trails off when I growl at him involuntarily. Zephyr tries
to
suppress his grin when he adds
, “I have already found the angel for me.”