Embrace, Entice, Emblaze (128 page)

A thought that had me smiling even more.

————

We were right. The other door to the bar was still ajar and all the Grigori inside were sitting around a table at the far end. But Spence and I could hear just fine.

I could make out five Grigori. Josephine, two of her ninjas who had been on the plane— I hadn’t bothered to get their names yet—

someone I had never seen before, and Lincoln. They were talking to each other across the table, but I could hear additional voices and noticed a speakerphone in the middle of the table. They were on a conference call.

298

Emblaze.indd 298

1/4/13 4:14 PM

Emblaze

“We need to decide on acceptable casualties,” Josephine said

matter- of- factly.

My eyes narrowed as I looked back at Spence. He just raised his eyebrows as if to say, “Well, that’s Josephine.”

“It’s too early to be talking about acceptable casualties!” Lincoln said, and though I could hear his conviction, I could also sense the weariness. He was exhausted. “We should be focused on defusing

this situation. There are a number of plans we can make for all stages of this process that we should be concentrating on.”

“And what plan would you suggest, Lincoln Wood?” Josephine

asked, condescendingly. I had half a mind to barge in there and show her a close view of my fist.

Lincoln turned to the man I didn’t know. I got my first good

look at him as he leaned to the side, idly resting his chin in his hand, all but yawning. Dressed in faded black jeans and a T- shirt, he also had a long, leather jacket that was hanging off the back of his chair. I almost scoffed— we were hardly in leather- jacket climate. But then I caught a glimpse of what it concealed. The man had more weapons than I’d ever seen one person carry— strapped

inside were more than a dozen silver blades.

Are
they
all
Grigori
blades?

The stranger looked at Lincoln through dark eyes. He had such

sharply defined cheekbones, he looked like he could do with a few extra pounds, and his jaw was in dire need of a shave. His hair was buzz- cut short, and I could see the scars that read like a road map over his scalp. I swallowed hard. Even though I had my own on my 299

Emblaze.indd 299

1/4/13 4:14 PM

Jessica shirvington

wrist, generally Grigori didn’t scar. Whatever had inflicted those wounds had done so before this man became Grigori, before he

was even seventeen.

“Oh, this’ll be grand,” he said, watching Lincoln as he kicked

out his feet under the table. “Let’s hear it, then.”

“You have people who are near. Call them. Get them here.”

“Not bloody likely, mate.”

“Gray, you and I both know you’re lucky we showed up when

we did. You had no permission to be on this island and no way of getting off without the Keeper discovering you. It’s a miracle you survived as long as you did. That’s why you came groveling to us.

How did you end up stranded here for over a month?”

“Someone’s sick idea of a joke.” Gray flashed a cold smile. “I’m not one of your troopers. I made that choice a long time ago. I don’t answer to you or your bleedin’ Assembly.”

“Fine,” Lincoln said sharply. “Then leave now. But we won’t be

taking you off the island when we leave, and since the Keeper and I are now so friendly, I’ll be sure to let him know where to find you.”

“Christ, you don’t waste time with negotiations, do you?”

“We’re out of time,” Lincoln snapped. “How many can you have

here by tomorrow?”

Gray sighed, “Some. A fair few more if you give me a couple

of days.”

Lincoln turned back to Josephine, a steely determination on his face. “With Rogue and Academy forces, our numbers should rival

anything he has.”

300

Emblaze.indd 300

1/4/13 4:14 PM

Emblaze

“And, again, your plan is?” Josephine responded, feigning lack

of interest.

I was quite sure I wasn’t the only one fully aware that Lincoln had just taken over as commander in chief. I felt a swell of pride for him, but the anger wasn’t far behind. He was having this meeting behind my back. Surely, I would be a part of one of those potential plans when it came to stopping Phoenix?

Lincoln strode across the room confidently, but I could see how much he was straining. He started to open his mouth to go on but halted midstride, a look of fury passing over his features for just a second before he returned to his previous stance.

“Excuse me,” he said to the group, pulling his phone out of his pocket. “I have a call I need to take.” He walked out the back doorway.

I looked quizzically at Spence, who shrugged. I hadn’t heard his phone ring.

We stayed where we were, listening as Josephine went on. “He’s

gone. There are too many unknowns here to be sure of anything,

Drenson. Griffin has kept his team close; they will be loyal to the end. He’ll be back tomorrow, if not tonight, and we have no new information about the girl other than that the meeting with the Keeper was successful— the pair are indeed kindred in soul. This doesn’t help us in any way.”

While Josephine spoke, she passed an assessing eye over Gray,

who was displaying no curiosity in her conversation. Her final

look— and message— was nevertheless received clearly: he wouldn’t repeat a word of it.

301

Emblaze.indd 301

1/4/13 4:14 PM

Jessica shirvington

“Well, Lincoln appears to have a plan. Let’s get through this

mess they’ve created first, then we’ll deal with the girl,” said the male voice on the loudspeaker.

“Hmm,” Josephine contemplated. “Her power is unknown,

and those who have some concept of it are tight- lipped. It’s only a matter of time. We can’t afford to leave it for too long.”

“No,” he agreed.

A hand clasped my upper arm and spun me around. Lincoln— a

very, very angry Lincoln— snapped his other hand over my mouth

before I could speak. Spence jumped up.

“Shh!” Lincoln mouthed.

We both nodded and let him drag us into the stairwell. Once

the door had closed, he turned on us.

“
What
are you doing?”

“I…I…They were talking about me.”

His eyes flashed menacingly in the direction of the bar.

“Violet, you can’t be here,” he whispered sternly, and then, as if deciding something on the spot, he started pulling me toward the stairs.

“Hey, Linc, come on, man. We just wanna know what’s going

on,” Spence tried, but it was a lost cause: Lincoln was fuming.

“Spence,” he growled, keeping his grip on my arm, “I guess I

should be grateful you didn’t just make yourself invisible and come right on in. Go for a walk.”

We
so
should’ve done that.

Spence stood tall.

302

Emblaze.indd 302

1/4/13 4:14 PM

Emblaze

Good
for
him
.

“Eden?” he asked, and I appreciated him letting me decide.

Most guys just go ahead and do the macho thing.

I looked at Lincoln, who was not about to calm down in a hurry.

“It’s okay. I’ll catch up with you in a bit.”

Spence hesitated a moment, then sighed. “Only ’cause I know

you, man,” he said to Lincoln. “But”— he gestured toward the

hand still gripping my arm— “go easy.” And with that, he spun on his heel and headed for the foyer doors.

Lincoln’s hold on me loosened instantly, but he didn’t let go.

Instead, he led me up the stairs and toward my room. “Key?” he

demanded, stopping outside my door, hand out, not looking at

me. I took out my key and handed it to him.

He unlocked my door and dragged me inside.

“Stay in here. We’re going to the volcano in an hour. Until then, don’t leave your room. Can you manage that?”

“You can’t just order me around, Lincoln!” I said, ripping my

arm out of his hold.

“Actually, I can. Griffin left me in charge. Right now, you have to accept that there are people here who know more than you do, have more experience than you do, and might have good reason for not involving you in certain things.”

“What? So you want me to pretend I didn’t just hear you

talking about launching some kind of army? Stop treating me like a child!”

“Violet, I just caught you spying on a private meeting. If you

303

Emblaze.indd 303

1/4/13 4:14 PM

Jessica shirvington

don’t want to be treated like a child…” He clenched his jaw for a moment and looked away from me. “Stop acting like one.”

I was speechless. He had never spoken to me like that before.

Lincoln was understanding; he included me in things, encouraged my opinion. He’d never told me to stay away before, even when it meant I could be in danger. And he’d
never
called me a child. It was almost as if he had deliberately said the one thing he knew would upset me the most.

He went back to my door and didn’t turn round to face me

when he stopped to say, “Just stay in your room…please.”

I wanted to tell him to go jam his head up his ass. I
wanted
to fight back and stand up for myself, but I was so stunned, I

couldn’t manage anything more than the meek “Yes” that fell

from my lips.

————

After pacing the room for a few minutes, I collapsed onto my

bed and put a pillow over my head. I had an hour until we were

supposed to meet downstairs.

Of course, the minute I stopped seething about Lincoln and

closed my eyes to finally get some rest, I felt the room change, like it had lifted off the ground. I was so tired, my body lethargic, wanting to stay still. This time, it was easier for me to break the hold of the spell, but it was also physically draining. I just didn’t have the energy, which wasn’t good, considering I’d already had a visit from Uri. It had to be Nox on his way, distorting my reality to make room for his.

304

Emblaze.indd 304

1/4/13 4:14 PM

Emblaze

I pushed the pillow off my face and tucked it under my head.

Okay, so not the most defensive move, but an improvement.

This time, the sands cascaded down from the tops of the walls

until Nox appeared, standing beside Steph’s bed.

He looked the same and yet different. There was the smoothness

he always had— the easy look of someone inviting but with an ulterior motive, always working an angle. Then there were his clothes.

Unlike Uri, he enjoyed the material aspects of humanity, and today he was indulging in a to- the- ground, slim- fit black tunic that was tapered at the waist and had a raised collar.

Please.
I rolled my eyes.

“It is very
Matrix
, don’t you think?” he asked, not coming any closer, displaying the same repulsion toward me as Uri had done.

I wondered fleetingly what he’d do if I sneezed on him.

Probably run screaming.

“If you’re going to offer me a pill that lets me live in ignorance, I’ll take it.”

This earned me a smile, though not a very warm one.

“I’m tired, Nox. I’m sure you have something completely messed

up to tell me, but honestly, I don’t care.”

“You do look below average. Even for you.”

I pushed up onto an elbow. He was eyeing Steph’s bed.

“You know what? You suck.”

Not my strongest ever comeback
.

I could see the same movements in the background behind him as

I saw each time he or Uri visited. They were so delicate— translucent 305

Emblaze.indd 305

1/4/13 4:14 PM

Jessica shirvington

forms like jellyfish— but when my eyes focused on one spot, they seemed to dissolve and re- form in another place, still moving as if trying to go somewhere.

Searching.

Nox watched me and followed my gaze. “You see them?” he

asked, trying to hide his interest.

I nodded.

“Do they call to you?”

“I…I don’t know.” And yet I did feel a distinctive pull toward

them. “What are they?”

“If you are meant to know, you will.”

“Like I said, you suck.”

He raised a single eyebrow and then motioned to Steph’s bed. I

collapsed back onto mine as he slid down onto the other, lying on his back and carefully positioning himself in the middle.

Weirdo.

“I have never been told that before,” he said, preoccupied with testing the springs.

“Well, you do. All of you, actually, angels in general— suck.

We’d be better off without you.”

He laughed lightly and it was a clear warning. I felt his presence terrifyingly close to me, despite the fact he hadn’t moved an inch.

“Without us, you would be nothing more than lowly beasts. It

is only through us that your dim minds have the faculty of higher intelligence. Without us, you would still live in trees until the larger, more territorial creatures wiped you out.”

306

Emblaze.indd 306

1/4/13 4:14 PM

Emblaze

I didn’t have a response for that and from the way he said it, I was fairly certain one would not be welcome anyway.

“Would you get off my best friend’s bed?” I settled for.

“Did you like my gift?” he taunted, not moving.

“I’m sorry?”

“Oh, I know. It was a shame I could not be there. Uri insisted

on taking the first visit this time and I missed my chance to talk to you in the dress, but I watched. I believe I made a significant improvement. Would you really have attacked that girl?” he asked, smiling.

The
dress. It was him.

“How…? Josephine arranged the outfit.”