Intuition: The Premonition Series (4 page)

“Holy freaking… Buns!” I say to her in awe.

“Exactly!” she replies, getting dressed again, and all the while smiling at me.

“Will I?” I ask, unable to form the complete sentence.

“Yes,” she replies. “At least I think so. I’m not positive because you’re both angel and human, but since everything else is evolving like an angel, I can only assume that this will, too.”

“Can you take any form you want?” I ask.

“No, that’s about all I can do,” she says in a casual air. “Brownie is the same. We never really honed the skill too hard because we rarely ever use it. It comes in handy when I want to evade humans and I have somehow gotten trapped, but mostly I can just outrun them or fly away.”

I rub my forehead in annoyance. “Okay. I think it’s time we started the Angel one-o-one class, so that I can be let in on all of these little pitfalls that I keep stumbling into,” I say in exasperation, as I pace the room. “Because now, I have to worry if the chair in the next room is really a chair and not some evil angel waiting for me to sit down in it so it can kill me.”

“Evie, we have to transform into something animate. Chairs are safe,” she says, chuckling at me.

I put my hands on my hips and glare at her amused face. “Yeah, great, so you’re saying every bug I see could be a threat though.”

“Well, I wouldn’t worry too much about bugs unless you see a horde of them. Then you can worry. If you noticed, I turned into a swarm of butterflies, not just one.”

“So scale is important?” I ask.

“Yes,” she replies. “And about the Angel one-o-one thing…” Buns says in a tentative voice.

“What about it?” I ask, my tone suspicious.

“Well, we all had a discussion about what to tell you and what not to tell you. Reed made a point and I think he’s right that we can’t just go blurting out all the secrets of Paradise and Sheol to you. There are laws which forbid us to reveal things to humans, and since you’re part human and have a soul, we have to be careful,” she says as she watches my face darken. “Don’t get me wrong, once their side slips and reveals something, I’m all about explaining it to you. Here’s the thing: if your soul does leave your body—I want to make sure it gets into Paradise because I can’t bear the thought that I’ll never see you again.” Her voice has a catch in it when she says, “I’m not heading into the negotiations for your soul having tipped the scales in their favor because I revealed something to you that allows you not to act on faith.”

“Buns, I have wings sticking out of my back, what more proof is there?” I ask her gravely.

She smiles at this and replies, “You could just be a freak and I could be lying to you about everything.”

“Well, I know I’m a freak, but I’m pretty sure this is all real,” I reply.

“Exactly. You’re
pretty sure
… but you don’t know. So you
have faith
that God exists and that I am a divine angel and that’s the part we want to preserve,” she says. “I’m not letting you suffer in Sheol because I said too much. But, I love it when Alfred messes up, then I can tell you so much more,” she smiles conspiratorially.

“That’s not fair, Buns,” I say, not wanting to see her point.

“I know, just think how I feel. I have all these secrets I want to tell you but I can’t. It’s really hard,” she replies with agitation over having to keep it all in.

I know I have to let her off the hook because I remember how it felt when I wasn’t able to tell Russell what was going on just a month ago. Was it really only a month? It feels like years—like I was younger then and now I feel so much older—at times I feel ancient, like none of this is new to me.

“Do you think they’ll get him?” I whisper, and I realize a part of me wants Alfred dead so badly that nothing short of his annihilation will suffice. I want his blood; I want to avenge my uncle. Then there is the other part of me that still can’t reconcile the fact that, because of me, Reed is now at risk while he hunts for Alfred. Even though they all say that the risks are minimal, I still feel a nagging fear that something could happen to him and I will lose him forever.

Buns shrugs. “I don’t know, sweetie.”

“Do you think it’s safe now? I want to pack so that we can leave if they get back tonight,” I say, walking toward the bathroom door.

“Sweetie, do you think Reed is going to let you go now?” Buns asks, looking sheepish.

“We have to go, Buns! I have to get out of here,” I say in desperation. “I can’t sit in my room after what just happened staring at the walls and wondering when Alfred’s going to finally get me,” I add, turning the handle of the bathroom door. I step out of the bathroom right into the arms of Reed. He looks sad; his face is a mask of regret.

“He will never get you—please trust me that I will never allow him to get you,” Reed says by my ear.

“Reed, I didn’t know you were out here…are you okay? What’s wrong?” I ask because he is holding me so tight that I’m sure something else has happened. “Where’s Zee, is he okay?” I add with panic seeping into my tone.

“He’s fine. Alfred got away,” he says, sounding as if he is choking on the words. I exhale the breath, grateful that everyone I love is safe.

“Okay…so we’re all fine then,” I say in relief.

“I’m not okay,” Reed replies, and I instantly panic again. I hadn’t seen any wounds on him, but maybe I missed something. I am about to have a complete freak out when he says, “How did the possessed one get by me?”

I sigh, “Oh, well, that was my fault because I didn’t know that the compact that Freddie… I mean Alfred gave me for my birthday is really a portal thingy. I guess when I opened the lid, I let it in.” I feel guilty for what I’d done, even though I had no idea I was doing it.

Reed releases me before he retrieves the compact and box from the counter. Looking around for Buns, so that she can help me explain, she has already left the room.

“This is it?” Reed asks in an angry voice that he never uses with me anymore. Flinching a little, I lean up against the doorjamb of the bathroom and nod. “Did he ever give you anything else?” he asks, still not very much in control of his anger. Paling, I shake my head no. Reed crushes the compact into a very small piece of metal in his hand. The box goes next.

I flinch, saying, “I’m sorry, I never thought such things existed— I mean, maybe in fairytales, but not in real life. I wasn’t keeping it from you. I just noticed it in my closet. It fell down off the shelf when I went to get my suitcase…” I’m babbling, but I can’t stop. “I’m just stupid, that’s all. I just don’t think and I can’t seem to stop doing really stupid things…” I have to stop talking because Reed covers my mouth with his index finger. I scan his face to see if my attempt at an apology has had any effect on him.

He still looks angry to me when he says, “This is not
your
fault. This is
my
fault. You couldn’t have known what would happen when you opened it. I’m sure it never occurred to you that a demon would jump out of it and try to strangle you. Please do not call yourself stupid again,” he finishes, removing his finger from my mouth. He turns and walks to the door of my room, calling over his shoulder, “Get packed. We’re getting out of here.”

It only takes me a half-hour to pack up what I’ll need for our trip to the ski resort. Reed and Zephyr decide that taking two cars is a better idea than going in just one. Buns and Zephyr will take the lead in the black Range Rover. Reed and I will trail them in the red Range Rover I had gotten for Christmas. I guess the strategy is that one car can always divert the enemy away as a decoy, while the other sneaks away with me safely inside.

Reed tosses the keys to me after he loads my luggage in the hatch. I catch them and look at him questioningly for a brief moment, before I smile and rush to the driver’s side, sliding into the seat. Buckling my seatbelt, I start the engine and it purrs to life with quiet menace when I touch my foot to the accelerator. Adjusting the rearview mirror, I see the reflection of my eyes in it. They’re almost clear again; there are only traces of red in the corners. I breathe a sigh of relief that I don’t still look like a freak show. Shifting my chin, I move the scarf I have wrapped around my neck a little to the side to see if my neck looks better. That’s subjective; the bruises are now a faded yellowish color. I pull my scarf back up to hide the marks from sight. Reed sits unsmiling in the passenger seat, watching me.

Unbuckling my seatbelt, I crawl over the console and sit in Reed’s lap. Wrapping my arms around his neck I press my forehead to his and look in his eyes. “Thank you,” I say in a gentle tone. “I know that this outing is a stretch for you. You’re probably fighting the urge to pick me up and take me back into the house, or at the very least, to drive the car yourself, so that you’ll be absolutely sure nothing will happen to me.”

A small smile touches Reed’s lips. “I marvel at how well you seem to know me. If only I could know you as well. You seem to know what I’m thinking, whereas I have no clue most of the time of what you’ll do next,” he says.

“You’re wrong…I don’t know what you’re thinking most of the time, but you seem to have a theme going on lately. It’s that ‘Evie’s Continued Survival List’ except you seem to have thrown out the con side. Now you’re just focusing on the pros,” I say, snuggling closer to him and kissing the place just beneath his ear tenderly.

“There are no cons,” he breathes into my hair, and for a second, I believe him. I press my teeth to his earlobe and nip him gently.

“How about now?” I ask, smiling at him and hearing him groan.

“Okay, one con, but I’m sure that will not be a problem much longer,” he says, referring to our inability to act on our desire for each other until I’m safely sturdy enough to handle it. “I think Zephyr is waiting for us to go,” Reed says, reminding me that we’re holding them up. I look over to the other vehicle to see that Zephyr has rolled down the driver’s side window and is waiting for us patiently.

“Oh,” I say, blushing. “Time to go.” I crawl back into my seat, buckling my seatbelt again. I follow the black Range Rover out and we get on the road to the resort. “How long until we get there?” I ask Reed, while watching the road ahead.

“Depends on how fast you drive. It shouldn’t take more than three hours, if you drive the speed limit,” he says blandly because I can tell that he thinks driving slowly is a waste of time. There is no danger in it, no thrill. I can also tell that Zephyr agrees with this philosophy wholeheartedly because I have to keep the pedal almost to the floor to keep up with him on the highway.

“You said that I know you very well. On some levels I think you’re right. But, on others, I hardly know you at all,” I admit as Reed holds my hand casually, not even aware of how perfect he is.

“What would you like to know about me?” Reed asks somewhat guardedly, probably because he thinks I’m after some of his trade secrets that he’s not allowed to reveal.

That isn’t what I’m after. “Relax, I’m not going to make you tell me why archeologist have found dinosaurs bones if Creation is a true story,” I say, smiling at him and watching as his smile travels all the way to his eyes.
I love that.
“No, I was just after a story from your life. Something about you.”

“I told you, Evie, I didn’t really begin to live until I met you,” he says. I roll my eyes at him, not buying it. “You don’t believe me?” he asks me, scanning my face.

“No, you’re an artist. I’ve seen all of the beautiful carvings you’ve created, so I know you’ve at least had something going on before me,” I reason.

“Most of those carvings were done while sitting in some desolate hole somewhere waiting for my prey to arrive,” he replies, looking out of the window at the scenery flashing by. “It was something to do when I couldn’t read one more sonnet I didn’t understand because I had no basis for the emotions being discussed. I travel through human civilizations on the fringes.” He glances at me then, probably trying to gauge my reaction to what he’s telling me. I school my face, trying not to let him know just how my heart hurts because of his lonely existence.

He is quiet for a little while before he continues. “For the most part, I watch civilizations rise and I see them fall. Once in a while, I try to participate, like I have recently here, but that’s not my purpose. I have to be careful that I remain guarded about what I am,” he says. “I could tell you about my impressions of Sparta, of the warriors who were torn apart when their civilization was overrun. I can tell you about the Spanish Inquisition and the atrocities all perpetrated, supposedly in the name of God, but I’m merely an observer of the deeds of men. I cannot participate to any great extent, even when I would’ve felt justified to tear some of those men to shreds.” His smile is grim. I shiver, thinking of all the evil he has witnessed.

“I’ve had to take time off from humans, after seeing some things that have disturbed me.” My imagination goes wild thinking of what must have been so bad as to disturb an angel whose sole purpose is to kill and tear apart other angels. I am ashamed when several things come to mind, some events in the not so distant past. “Sometimes, I’ve been able to stay out of human societies for decades. It’s more difficult now, than it used to be, but not impossible.”

“When I do participate more closely with humans, I can’t form any lasting friendships with them. Sometimes people form an attachment to me for whatever reason.” He pauses to glance at me for a moment. “Take, for example, JT and Pete. They don’t know why they like me, they just do,” he says, smiling despite the grim life he describes. “But, I will only be able to hang around with them for a few more years at the most because they will notice that I’m still nineteen, while they’re older.” He laughs humorlessly. “So I’ll move away and start a new life somewhere else…but now I have you. You can come with me. We can go wherever we desire, wherever you desire,” he says, bringing my hand to his lips and kissing it. I place the palm of my hand to his cheek and watch as he closes his eyes, savoring the feel of my skin on his.