Inescapable (The Premonition Series) (37 page)

“And I am sure I will completely regret doing so, but if you will forgive me, then I must help,” he grins back.

As Reed and Zephyr discuss strategy, my very long day catches up to me. Resting my head against Reed’s shoulder, my eyes droop and I must’ve fallen asleep on the couch because the next thing I know I am being lowered into the bed I had slept in the last time I was here.

“Reed…what time is it,” I ask, trying to sit up in the bed.

“Shhh, it’s late. Get some sleep, Evie, you are exhausted,” he says softly.

“Where are you going? You have to stay. I haven’t had much time with you today, well, much time when we weren’t arguing about something. You didn’t tell me about Chicago.” I say, trying to keep my eyes open and only managing to do it for brief intervals.

“I can tell you tomorrow,” he says, smiling at my stubborn determination to stay awake.

“I’ll fall asleep faster if you stay with me,” I say, scooting over so that he can lie next to me.

When he relents and gets into the bed beside me, I hug him to me. “If I could save a moment of time, this would definitely be one. I never seem to get enough time with you,” I whisper dreamily, feeling his arms around me.

“Come away with me and you can have eternity with me,” he says, but his tone is strained with worry.

Smoothing my fingertips over his cheek, I say, “If I leave now, Russell will always be the regret that will lie between us, like a disease. I never want there to be anything between us. I want it to be just you and just me.”

Reed’s face inches closer to mine on the pillow as he says, “Let me try to explain something to you, Evie. All of these years that I have been here, it is as if I have been sleeping. I have to always pretend to be something that I am not—pretend to be human. When I am not pretending to be human, then I am hunting evil, vicious angels who want nothing more than to…” his voice trails off and there is hollowness in his tone that reflects the loneliness of his existence. “But now, I am awake, for the first time in my existence, and not only am I awake, but I feel flames when you are near me. You have changed things for me. There is no reason to pretend around you. If I had to live without you now…now that I know what I have been missing…” The need in his voice makes me want to promise him anything, give him anything, just to fill that void in him. “I cannot go back to sleep, Evie. You are the only thing that makes me want to live. If you leave here, if you ascend to Paradise, or even if you are cast into the abyss, or taken there by the Fallen…I will have to follow you, no matter where you go. Even if I have to pursue you into the dark…if you cease to be, then so will I. You are my sin and my redemption.”

“Reed, don’t talk like that—I would never want that for you, never.” I say, hugging him tight.

“Then it’s your job to survive. Promise me that you’ll do everything in your power to live,” he says.

“Shhh, Reed,” I say immediately, trying to soothe him.

“I mean it, Evie. I spoke to Zephyr, and he told me what you did—what you said—trading your life for mine.
I
can’t have
that,”
Reed whispers.

“Reed, I’ve never been in love before, and as far as being loved in return…never like this. There is no limit to what I would do for you,” I whisper to him, trying to make him see how much he means to me. “You make me want more—more time, more of your love, more of you—and I promise you, I’ll make sure you’re never, never bored again.”

“Evie, if I have you, I know I will never be bored again,” he smiles, and holds me until I fall asleep in his arms.

CHAPTER 19

Art Exhibition

In the morning, I awake to sun streaming in the windows of Reed’s guest bedroom. Reed is next to me when I open my eyes.

“This is for you,” he says simply, extending an ebony box to me. Taking it, I sit up and rest against the pillows.

What is it?” I ask with a small smile.

“Your birthday present. Open it,” he smiles at me with an air of anticipation.

When I lift the lid to the box, an exquisite necklace rests against a bed of black silk. I know absolutely nothing about jewelry, but the stone in the center of the platinum setting is the most beautiful gem I’ve ever seen. It is blood red in the shape of a shield.

“What is it?” I ask in awe as my fingers tremble a little when I touch the beautiful jewel.

“It’s a rock. I found it a long time ago,” he explains with a shrug.

“This is a rock?” I ask him as my eyes widen.

“Technically, it’s a red diamond,” he says, taking it from the box. I gather my hair and allow him to put it on me. “I cut the facet of the stone—shaped it—but I wanted to have it set properly, so I took it to a friend of mine in Chicago.”

When he finishes clasping it to me, I lift the gem to look at it as I say, “And you found this diamond?” I ask in disbelief. “Just lying around?”

“Yes. It reminds me of you…it, too, is full of hidden fire,” he says, his voice soft with affection. “Do you like it?”

“It’s perfect,” I breathe as I wrap my arms around his neck, hugging him tight. “When did you find it?”

“A few centuries ago—in Africa,” he replies.

“Of course you did,” I say to cover up my shock. “You’ll have to tell me all about it.”

I spend the next few weeks at Reed’s house waiting for the dust that I’ve unwittingly stirred up to settle. I can’t go to my classes, but Reed has taken care of that for me. He picks up all of my assignments from class, and then he tutors me so that I don’t fall behind. I can tell that he believes this is a waste of time, since he plans for us to leave Crestwood as soon as Russell is safe, but he is kind enough not to say it. I am hoping that I can stay long enough for things to go back to normal. Well, maybe not normal, because normal is a stretch for me, but back to the way things were before, so it will be safe enough to stay. I don’t want to leave Crestwood. I would miss Brownie, Buns, Freddie and…Russell.

Brownie and Buns think I am shacking up with Reed in our own private love nest. I let them think it because I can’t come up with a better excuse for me being here night and day. If they only knew the complete torture it is to try to sleep in the same house with Reed. His very presence sets my blood on fire, but I am completely breakable right now. Thankfully, my supposedly active love life doesn’t stop them from coming over to check on me daily. Since field hockey has ended for the season, I don’t have to make excuses for not going to practice. But, they are worried that I am getting too obsessed with Reed again.

“Sweetie, you should come back to the dorm. We miss you,” Buns says one night when we are sitting in Reed’s media room watching movies. Zephyr is here, too. He just can’t stay away when Buns and Brownie come over.

“I know I should go back to my room, Buns, but it’s just so much nicer here. You’re both welcome here anytime you want to come and hang out. Plus, this way, Zee can hang out with us, too.” I reply, gazing at Zephyr who is seated between Buns and Brownie, looking very content.

I think, secretly, both girls prefer coming here as well, because of Zephyr, but I don’t say it. So, things fall into a routine, of sorts. The girls visit me everyday after class, and I scheme over ways to get through to Russell. I miss Freddie though. I talk to him everyday on the phone, but he’s not into coming to Reed’s house to see me, which annoys me.

Reed invites my Uncle Jim to his home in Crestwood for Thanksgiving. It is under the guise that Reed would have to spend it alone, since his parents are supposedly in Europe on business. Since Uncle Jim and I usually just make a couple of turkey lunchmeat sandwiches to celebrate the occasion, Uncle Jim agrees to come to Crestwood to celebrate the holiday. When they meet again, Uncle Jim seems to really like Reed, but then, what’s not to like?

We pass Zephyr off as Reed’s cousin who has come into town at the last minute. It doesn’t seem like much of a stretch. They do have a fair resemblance to one another, since both Reed and Zephyr appear young, like they are entering their twenties. When you speak to them, however, it is absurd that no one can see that they can’t possibly be as young as they look. Neither of them can pull off slang well.

After the best Thanksgiving dinner I’ve ever tasted, all due to Andre and his sheer genius in the kitchen, Reed introduces my uncle to his gaming room. Uncle Jim finds particular interest in Reed’s high-tech, liquid-cooled Alienware Notebook. It is fun to watch my uncle and Reed with their heads together discussing gaming strategies and speculating on upcoming technologies. I enjoy spending the day with them, but in the back of my mind, I worry about Russell, who had gone home to be with his family.

Russell hasn’t spoken to me since my birthday, when he’d called me creepy. When school starts up again after the break, I try everything I can think of to get Russell to come to Reed’s house so that I can speak to him, but he ignores all of my attempts. I call him, and he won’t answer his phone. I leave him text messages, I send emails, and I even break down and write him letters. Reed will absolutely not bend when I plead with him to let me go and try to talk to Russell.

Zephyr, it turns out, is one of the best assets I could have ever prayed for because he agrees to watch Russell for me while I am grounded. He doesn’t complain about it either, at least, he didn’t complain until today. He walks in the door, going straight to the library to pour a drink from the bar. Following him into the room, I try to speak, but he holds up his hand to me, rubbing his head as if he has a killer headache.

After he has a few sips of his drink, he turns to me and says, “Explain the sour blond girl to me.”

“I’m sorry, the sour blond girl?” I ask him in confusion as I walk across the library to his side.

“Yes, the one that never stops speaking, but really has nothing relevant to say. The one that makes me want to kill something,” he expounds, and then takes another deep sip from his glass.

I inhale a huge breath, making a gasping sound, and say, “Candace!” Grabbing the glass out of his hand, I take my own large sip of it. “What’s he doing? Did he get back together with her?” I ask in a pained voice as the liquid burns a path down my throat. Frowning at me, he takes the glass from my hand, replacing it with a glass of water. Then, I start ranting, “Why am I even bothering to try to save him, if he has decided to slowly kill himself with her? She’s like taking poison, you know, but that slow poison that doesn’t kill you all at once, it kills you by degrees, a little bit each day.”

“I see your point. At first, I thought she was just for comfort. But, the fact that he didn’t get rid of her, leads me to believe that her incessant talking makes him unable to think about anything else—or anyone,” he replies significantly, holding his glass out of my reach when I would’ve stolen it from him again. “Drink your water,” he says in a stern tone.

“I think he likes girls that talk a lot. His sisters talk a lot he once told me. Maybe Candace is his type.” I say, trying to sound offhand about it.

“How is that possible, when she is nothing like you, and you are his soul mate?” he asks me with a quirk of his eyebrow.

“He won’t answer any of my phone calls, and I think he’s deleting my text messages without reading them. He thinks I’m a monster…maybe I am,” I say despondently. “I have to do something.”

“Why? He is in no danger from—I am sorry, what was her name again?” Zephyr asks me.

“Candace,” I reply, wrinkling my nose as if I smell something awful. “If he’s with her again, that means he’s in pain… and if he’s in pain, it’s my fault.”

“Some pain is unavoidable,” Zephyr replies.

“You have to take me with you when you follow him tonight, Zee. I have to see him for myself. I have to make sure that he’s okay. I can’t just stay here. He’ll never forgive me if I don’t talk to him,” I plead with Zephyr, hoping he will see my point of view.

“You want his forgiveness? For what?” he asks me, and his tone becomes severe. I don’t say anything, but he gets the picture. “You want forgiveness for what you are—because you are not entirely human?” I nod, dropping my eyes from him because his stare makes me squirm a little. “He cannot absolve you for that, and maybe you should stop seeking absolution for something you have no control over.”

“You have to let me see him. Please?” I beg. “Reed won’t do it. He’s being way too over protective. I know he’s just being cautious, but you both said that the souls have all but disappeared. You haven’t seen any other angels in days, especially after you took care of those Fallen that were hanging around campus. They seemed to have gotten the message: come here and we’ll kill ya dead.”

“Yes,” he says with a slow smile, “it has been quite satisfying protecting you. You are like a lure for the supernatural, drawing us all to you. Maybe we should let you out. I still feel like killing something.”

Even though Zephyr had said it teasingly, I jump at his comment. “It’ll have to be tonight then. Reed is supposed to make an appearance at the fund raising event tonight,” I say.

“He won’t be pleased that you went out without him,” Zephyr predicts, watching me for my reaction to his words. “And, you did promise to follow orders to the letter,” he reminds me, throwing my words in my face.

“I said I’d stay here until it was safe. And, I’ll be going with you as a chaperone, what could be safer?” I ask him, playing to his ego.

He narrows his eyes at me. I widen mine, attempting to look innocent. “If you get Reed to agree, then I will take you with me, but he has to agree. I’m not going to be in the middle of your manipulation. Let me know what he says. No, don’t bother, I’ll ask him myself before he leaves,” Zephyr replies, watching me over the rim of his glass as he takes another sip.

“Fine, Zee!” I say in frustration, and then I add, “Just how old are you? You don’t let me get away with anything.”

“It’s not age, it’s experience, and I’m not wrapped around your little finger like everyone else around here,” he replies, smiling. “You’re really cute though. We need to work on your ability to play on your opponent’s weaknesses.”

“What are your weaknesses?” I ask him scathingly.

“I don’t have any,” he says with a straight face, which makes me burst out laughing.

“Uh huh. I’ll find them…trust me,” I grin.

In the Range Rover outside Russell’s dormitory, I shiver in the passenger seat. The weather has definitely turned from fall to winter. I want to ask Reed to turn the car back on, so that I can blast the heater vents directly at my frozen fingers, but I already feel really guilty for making him do this, so I’m trying to be as undemanding as possible.

“Are you cold?” Reed asks softly.

“No,” I shake my head, “I’m okay.”

“You are shivering,” he points out.

“I’m fine,” I insist.

“Evie,” Reed says my name with exasperation.

“Okay, I’m fffreezing,” I say, “please ppput the heat on.”

Reed immediately starts the car. Turning the heat on full, he points the vents at me. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asks with a frown.