Shadow of the Sun (20 page)

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the two keys. The symbols on the ends glistened beneath the lamplight. They spread out on my palm. Andrew leaned over to see them for himself. His finger smoothly traced the two crossed arrows. An electric current grew between us.

“
This,” he whispered, pulling his finger away when the current intensified, “is the Definitive Sun. It symbolizes angelic protection against our enemies. It’s the symbol of the Ladies of Light. The Halo of the Sun bestows the Guardian symbol—not the Nebulous Sun—to the males who are protectors of mankind. The shield represents the protection of the light from all who wish to diminish it.”

“
Does Karen have one of these?” I pointed toward one of the keys. “You know, because she’s my Guardian?”

“
She’s your Guardian,” he stated simply, as if that answered everything. “Normally you would be guarded by a male, since all Guardians are male, but I suppose you’re different—special—and you deserve protection from someone more powerful. But sometimes the symbol isn’t on a key or necklace. Sometimes it’s branded into your skin.”

When I didn’t reply, his golden eyes shot up to see my expression. I let the silence spiral for a moment. “You mean . . .”

“
If she was branded,” he jumped in, “then she’s your Guardian for life. That’s very rare. But she would gladly have accepted a gift as generous as being the one to protect the Illuminator. It’s a great honor.”

For a second I swelled with pride before swallowing it down. “So—” I curled my hand around the keys and placed them on the desk “—what do these keys unlock?”

His dark hair fell forward some, and he pushed it back so he could see me clearly. His jaw tightened, then he said, “A library.”

“
That’s all?” I was highly disappointed. “Is it like some super library that holds all the worlds’ secrets? Because I’d love to know who shot Kennedy.”

He coughed out a laugh. I was surprised he got the joke. “It holds our history,” he said. “It’s the Divine Library.”

“
The Divine Library,” I repeated in awe. Now I was interested. “You mean your history since the beginning?”

He nodded slowly. “It’s odd that you would be sent these keys. They should have been kept safe by the Halo of the Sun, but if we have diminished . . .” He frowned, as if there was some painful internal struggle. “And how the Shadow of the Sun could have been attached to the chest, well, I can’t fathom what that means.”

I struggled not to interrupt. I was interested to hear what he had to say, and I didn’t know how to put my question without angering him again. He was beautiful and mighty when angry but also terrifying. “Why would Karen and the Elders call the Guardian’s symbol a Shadow of the Sun symbol?” I prompted apologetically. My question sounded a little more pointed than I meant it to be.

The same rage flare behind his eyes, and he took a steadying breath and it disappeared. “I don’t know, but I plan to find out.” His voice was laced with threat. If I were the one responsible for all of this confusion, I knew I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of his wrath.

“
Now that we covered the basics—”

“
Your journey,” Andrew cut in, knowing exactly what I was going to ask, “has never been known. Zola, the prophetess, never explained much about the Illuminator’s journey. But there are pages about the Illuminator, and I’m sure that now there are many more than the last time I was around.”

“
Pages? Like in a book? In the Divine Library?” I asked, my curiosity running on high.

“
Yes, but the Divine Library is hidden deep within the mountains of Italy, near our old home. There are more precious treasures there then just books, but you have to possess both keys to enter.”

“
I do have both keys,” I pointed out.

“
No, you don’t,” he stated matter-of-factly. “One is for the library, the other is for something else.”

“
And that would be?”

He picked up one of the keys. “I don’t know. This one isn’t for the library, but it’s definitely important if it was sent to you.”

I leaned my head back against the chair. “And why did you say ‘this isn’t good’ when I told you about the Shadow’s warning?”

Andrew pulled a strand of my hair away from my face. The gesture was sweet. Each second I fell in deeper.

“
You’re tired. We should sleep.” He was trying to distract me.

“
We will, after you tell me what you meant.”

“
I’ll tell you if you get ready for bed. I won’t look,” he assured me, turning around.

Of course he wouldn’t; he was the perfect gentleman. And, of course, now that I had finally met a man who treated me how I deserved to be treated, it turns out he’s an angel and completely out of my league. I sighed under my breath and pulled my slacks and shirt off before slipping under the covers in my underwear. The sheets were freezing, and little goose bumps rose on my skin.

“
Tell me,” I prompted.

He turned on his heel, faced me, and peeled his clothes off all the way down to the boxer briefs I had bought him. I meticulously surveyed every glorious inch of him. His skin was a lustrous golden brown, and I was right: he did have a six-pack. My cheeks heated. He sure did know how to make me blush.

He pulled a blanket out of the tiny closet and lay next to me on top of the covers. Head on the pillow, the rest of me had already curled up into a little ball. He propped himself up on his elbow and regarded me. I basked in his alluring hotness. Illuminator or not, I still had eyes.

He took a deep breath, as if he were about to tell a very long, complicated story. “The Ladies of Light come in cycles,” he began in a serious voice. “The cycle disperses power evenly throughout the years so that no single group of angels gains control for eternity.”

I nodded. “Like how the president only gets a four-year term and can only be elected for two terms in a row?”

“
Yes,” he said approvingly. “Exactly like that. When the cycle is up, the Halo of the Sun and the Ladies of Light join together to help vote in the next leaders. This happens every one-hundred years for both groups.”

I yawned. “That’s fascinating, really, but it doesn’t explain your reaction.”

His hand traced the side of my cheek and electricity shot between us. I wondered if I would ever again be able to touch someone who wasn’t an immortal. Would my handshake burn someone to a crispy critter?

You’re delirious, Gabriella.

“
You’re tired, I can tell. Rest. We can talk about this tomorrow.” He looked at me with quiet desperation.

It was tempting, but I thought I could hold my eyes open to hear this. Why was he trying to hold back on the information? Maybe it was something so awful he couldn’t fathom putting it into words. Like my death? I shuddered. Andrew mistook the reason and spread out his blanket to cover me too.

“
Please tell me, and then I’ll go to sleep,” I promised, full of determination.

He reached above my head and flipped the lamp off. We were plunged into darkness. We stayed in motionless silence for a whole minute. I thought he wasn’t going to tell me, but he finally whispered, “When new leaders are chosen”—he took a deep breath, as if bracing himself—“they’re awakened.”

Don’t wake them
, echoed in my head. The shock of Andrew’s statement, that the Shadow might have been warning me about other angels, lodged in my throat like a big rock. Everything that had seemed permanent and unquestionable was now thrown into doubt. Then a wave of penetrating cold broke over me.

CHAPTER
15: DREAMS

Why would the Shadow warn me that I shouldn’t wake the angels when I didn’t even have the power to do it? Andrew, lying next to me in the dark, was quiet. The complete silence was broken by the whirring of the heater, and I jumped. My mind wasn’t working in this tired state; my thoughts were nothing more than an incoherent babble in my brain.

“
Gabriella,” Andrew said in a delicately inflected voice. He reached out and tucked my hair behind my ears. “Please, say something.”

“
I—” I didn’t know how to respond. He waited patiently, something I was not used to. “We . . . Well, we need to find the others.” What other options were there? Something was afoot, and we couldn’t figure this out on our own, prophecy be damned.

Again, there was nothing but silence between us, and the dark was like a velvet curtain over my eyes.

“
How do we do that?” he whispered gently with benign interest.

“
We, um . . .” I knew what we had to do, but at the same time I was highly against it and knew he would be too. “We let the FBI capture us.”

He exhaled a long, heavy breath. When he spoke, his voice was calm, serene. “We’ll talk about it in the morning. Sleep,” he commanded, and suddenly, unexpectedly, he brought his warm lips to my forehead. There was a spark that lit between us, a tiny bolt of lightning.

“
Sorry,” I mumbled, not thinking.

His body shook with silent laughter. “Goodnight, sweet Illuminator.” His tone was as smooth and rich as melted chocolate.

I was still aching with curiosity, however. “Andrew?” I asked, my voice almost inaudible. “Are you going to sleep? I mean,
do
you sleep?” I’d never known an immortal before.
The possibilities
, I thought wryly.

His laugh was low and throaty. “Of course I do, but I’ve been ‘
asleep’
for years. I’m not tired.”

This time I was silent, barely acknowledging his explanation with even a yawn. I anticipated the sleep that was about to dominate my greater senses. I was exhausted and knew I needed rest. As I faded toward a dream state, Andrew’s warm arms wrapped around me, his hot breath in my hair. He kept the blanket between us. Perhaps he was just trying to soothe me, and honestly, he was. I didn’t object as I fell comfortably onto his shoulder, tucked beneath his arms, and soon I was asleep.

<>

Flowing auburn hair glittered against the sun like molten copper. A knife tucked securely into a holster around a leg. Glacial blue eyes turned toward me over a perfect shoulder, staring,
cautioning
me. Her face was that of an angel; her body that of a goddess. The tattoos that covered every last inch of her skin were intricately woven in a pattern that seemed to have no beginning or end.

She turned away from me, her short, white dress billowing in the wind. It was silk-like, so thin I could see through it. Her tattoos went beyond her arms and legs; they snaked up her back to circle around the shape of two arrows crossed together.

Automatically, my hand reached out to trace the symbol. It was familiar. As I took a step toward the goddess-like warrior, another hand reached out and yanked me back. The skin was dark brown and beautiful, just like the angel before me. My head moved, as if in slow motion, to see whose face belonged with the hand.

He was tall, roughly six-four. I had to look up and up.

“
Luke?” I whispered. He was not threatening, though his light-blue eyes bored into mine. The hair falling toward his face was the same shade of auburn as that of the woman’s.

He was scared, anxious. Naturally my eyes scanned the area around us to see where the threat was. Behind me, in the distance, a small army was a moving sea of leather. Weapons were strapped to sheaths or in their hands. My eyes widen, but when I turned to share my distress with Luke, he was staring in another direction. There was no mistaking his feelings. He trembled with stress. What could be worse?

My movements felt dream-like—as if I were sleepwalking. I turned toward what caused his unease.

I tensed in alarm. Two women, dressed all in white, stood at the top of a small hill. Their dresses were identical to that of the goddess who stood only feet below them. Their eyes were pure white, and they unsettled me. The women were warriors, their eyes fierce, their skin intricately marked. And though it didn’t make sense, I could feel that the large army behind me was absolutely frightened of the two women. For some reason, I could feel the women’s power too, and I shook with fear.

Everything was silent, even though the wind blew around us. The sun was low in the sky, casting long shadows from the beautiful women. Squinting, I shielded my eyes from the light.