Midnight Fire - Rise of the Dark Angel - Book One (13 page)

             
“Phoenix,
over here,” the two girls heard
and turned their heads.
Jayden had two seats right next to him
available
at an overcrowded table. Phoenix sighed a
bit,
happy he’
d thought of her
and saved a place.

             
“Oh
, he is
nice on the eyes
. H
e saved me a seat
,
too
,” Sadie whispered, which had the two girls giggling some more as they made their way toward the table. Jayden had eyes only for Phoenix, which made her blush a bit as she took her seat.

             
“I see you were successful in picking today,” Jessica said, all innocent smiles for the people around the table. Her words caused a ripple
of laughter to erupt
and Phoenix blush
ed
even more. Only Phoenix saw the slight glare
Jessica
sent her way.

             
“Well, I’
m always trying to find new things,” Phoenix finally said and the table continued to laugh.

             
“I
,
for one
,
am glad I stumbled upon Phoenix,” Jayden practically purred, while looking deep into her eyes. Phoenix forgot how to speak for a few moments, until Jessica, not
liking
to be ignored, interrupted the moment.

             
“You must have been so frightened out there on your own
,
Jayden,” Jessica said with a truly impressive sympathetic expression. Phoenix once again had to fight the bile
rising
to the top of her throat. She was relieved Jayden didn’t seem deceived by the other girl
’
s charm.

             
“There’
s certainly a lot of bad stuff going on out there
but
I’
d go through it all again if it meant running into this beautiful girl and having her rescue me,” Jayden said
,
while running
his finger down her arm. Phoenix couldn’t stop the goose
bumps
from instantly appearing
on her flesh, or
the blush that stole over
her entire body. One little touch fro
m him and she felt things she’
d never felt before. It was confusing and exciting at the same time.

             
“Oh
, that’
s so romantic,” Sadie sighed -
looking a bit love struck herself, as her
eyes
whipped back and forth from Phoenix to
Jayden
.

             
“Gag me,” Jessica mumbled underneath her breath, which only Jayden heard. He gave her the full power of his smile, which seemed to instantly shut her up. She reached down and started picking at her food.

             
“Where are you from?” Brian suddenly jumped into the conversation. Phoenix couldn’t understand the antagonism
radiating from the boy she’
d once
liked
. Maybe he was jealous Jessica seemed to
have forgotten
all about him
.
Phoenix could swear something was going on with him and Sadie
, though
,
and didn’t see why that would matter to him.

             
“I've been all over the place
,
really and never anywhere for long.
That ended up being a go
od thing when the enemy came in
because we aren’t easy to trace,” he said, evading the question. The way he spoke seemed to silence
people’s
questions. It was almost as if his entire
demeanor
seemed to shout to trust him.

             
“Can you hunt?” John asked, not seeming to feel any of the tension from the other people at the table. He was oblivious to teenage drama
,
though
. It was probably because
he
w
as technically an adult
.

             
“Yes, I’
m very good at hunting,” Jayden said with a twinkle in his eye. He laughed a bit at the question as if he found it amusing, which Phoenix didn’t understand. Most of the guys liked to
hunt
. I
t wasn’t that big a deal.

             
“That’
s great, you’
ll have to go out with us as soon as you feel comfortable,” John said and went back to his food.

             
“I’
d love to,” Jayden told him. Phoenix noted that he wasn’t really eating, just pushing his food around. She was sure
it was the stress from the day
because she wasn’t able to eat much either, though it was one of her favorite meals.

             
“Are you going to eat that?” John asked, eyeing the meat on Jayden’s plate. John was always hungry after hunting, since the guys did so much hiking up and down the hills.

             
“No go ahead, my stomach seems to be a bit upset,” Jayden said, looking relieved to pass on his tray. John cleared his own dinner and then started working on Jayden’s. A couple other guys picked from his plate as well and soon all the food was gone.

             
“You’
re such pigs,” Jessica piped in, barely touching her own food. Phoenix knew she always
snuck
into
food
later
but
wanted to put on a show in front of the guys, like her eating was something to be ashamed of or something. Phoenix really didn’t understand all the games the stupid girl played.

             
“Hey
,
not all of us sit around twirling our hair all day,” one guy piped up from the other end of the table. Phoenix had to fight the smile from popping
to
her face as the boy called Jessica on her crap. Jessica sent him a glare
but
stayed at the table. N
ormally
,
she would’ve sulked off
and then sought Brian
out
later
,
but
Jayden seemed a big enough draw to keep her there that night.

             
“Did you hear about the other people
who
came in tonight?” Brian spoke, still seeming to be in a bad mood.

             
“Sadie said something about some new people and
that
they
have
information
,
but
that was all she said,” Phoenix answered, giving her attention to Brian, wondering what the people had to say.
             

             
“I don’t know much
but
my dad said they were
escapees
from one of the camps and they had some
valuable info for
us. I think the elders are planning a huge breakout
at one of the prison camps
.
I know some of the people here have family members in a few of
them
and are sick with worry
.
They’ve been
trying desperately to figure out how to get them out.
Apparently
these new
people said the camps are really
,
really bad,” Brian said, liking the attention focused back on him.

             
“I ca
n’t imagine how horrified I’
d be if it was my
family members
in one of those places, while I was safe here,” Phoenix said, as a shudder racked her body.

             
“I would move heaven and earth to get you out,” John said and Phoenix knew he was speaking the truth. Heck, if she
was
in one of those places and
he couldn’t get her out, he’
d get in so he could protect her, even though she wouldn’t want him to.

             
“Well
,
we’
re lucky our family is safe,” Phoenix said, sad for those
who
weren’t.
             
             

             
“I heard
they’
re worse than any prison
ever was
and
that
they starve people, use them as slaves and force them to do unspeakable things,” Jessica said, making sure she sounded important. She didn’t seem all
too
sad about the conditions of her fellow human beings, which was disgusting to Phoenix.

             
“I hate
to even think about what they’re going through
because it makes me feel
guilty I’
m here
,
” Phoenix said and couldn’t stop the tear
from falling
.

             
She jumped a bit when Jayden’s hand
gently
wiped
her
tear away
and
their eyes
connected
. Someone bumped against Phoenix, breaking the connection and she heard a slight growl
but
thought it had to be her imagination.

             
Jayden wanted to pull Phoenix from the crowded room and be alone with her. He could feel her tears
,
like
each one was
ripping through his
soul
.
W
hen she smiled
or laughed with joy, his blood would boil
over. When she was sad
or felt pain, it was like a thousand knives were ripping through him, shredding him to pieces.

             
He had to control himself not to
say
anything
to
Jessica
,
as she did everything she could to belittle Phoenix. He hadn’t been able to stop the small growl from escaping when the girl shoved people down the table to
bump into Phoenix and
break
their connection.

             
He forgot other people were aroun
d when he
looked into her eyes
.
His dark nature came right back to the front of his mind when one of the petty humans upset him. He could so easily destroy them before they knew what hit them, though that wasn’t what he was there for
. He wanted to embrace the rage and do what simply felt good
but somehow managed to hold onto his control
.

             
“Once everyone finishes their meal, please go to the meeting hall,” one of the elders announced from the front of the room,
making
the crow
d go silent
as they stared forward, waiting to see if anything else would be said.

             
The elder
turned to
leave
and people started rising from the tables, not wanting to waste any time. Everyone had heard about the new arrivals and wanted to know what was going on. Any thoughts of food were all but forgotten.

             
“Do you want to show me the way?” Jayden asked Phoenix as soon as she started to rise.
He watched how her cheeks turned red at his request and thought
he’
d much rather drag her
in the opposite direction
.
He’d get her alone soon
for some much needed
privacy
.

             
“Of course,” Phoenix answered and he felt the shudder ripple through her delicate body when he took her arm and placed it through his. He didn’t want to get jostled from her in the crowd of people.

             
“I’
ll run ahead and save us seats,” Brian said, not trying to disguise his dislike of the new guy getting all the attention.

             
“Tha
nks Brian, you’re so thoughtful.
I’
ll go with you,” Sadie said, seeming to be the only girl not completely affected by Jayden. She certainly noticed his attractive looks
but
she
wasn’
t all gooey eyed over him
and seemed able to pull herself together a bit more. Her willingness to go with him seemed to perk Brian up.

             
Brian took
Sadie’s hand and led her toward
the cavern, which caused
a giggle to escape
. Jayden
realized
when a
human girl liked a guy she wasn’
t able to control her response
to him. He wanted to test his theory on Phoenix
but
it was hard to do in the
sea of people
.

             
He kept their bodies close and found he enjoyed her sweet scent and the way her breath kept hitching in her throat. He thought
,
maybe it was a good thing th
ey were surrounded
because he may not be liable for his actions if they
were alone
.

             
They finally reached the cavern, which
only took
minutes
but
felt longer, with the strange feelings going crazy in his normally perfect body. Phoenix led him to a
spot
and sat down by Sadie
.
Jayden
quickly sat
on
Phoenix’s
other side. He rec
eived another glare from Brian
but he just smiled at the boy and gave all his attention back to Phoenix. She was
staring
straight ahead at the group of adults
in
front,
giving
him plenty of time to look her over.

             
He tried to figure out why she was so stunning to him
. He’
d seen many
beautiful
humans during his existence and there really shouldn’t be anything about her that set her apart
. He did enjoy how
her hair was like spun silk, cascading down her back
like a black river
. He was
grateful she didn’t feel the need to
cut it short
as so many women did. She had
large,
sparkling blue
eyes
that
seemed to have
an
innocence
about them
,
so few possessed.

             
She was considerably smaller than most of the others
surrounding
her. Her body kept drawing his view
,
though.
Her curves drew his eyes as much as
the beauty of
her eyes
did
. She was the most appealing female he’d ever been around.

             
“We’
re going
to sneak out after the meeting. Y
ou have to come with us
,
Phoenix,” Brian said, ignoring Jayden.

             
“Are you going to the springs
,
again?” she asked eagerly.

             
“Of course,” he said
with a flirtatious smile.

             
“The
n you can count me in. My back’
s sore from sleeping on the ground
,
earlier. Do you want to come
,
Jayden?” she asked shyly. He found it humorous she had no clue of her
effect
on him.
Did she really think she needed to ask?

             
“It sounds great,” he told her and diverted her attention from the other boy.

             
“Okay
, Brian
we can
meet at the same place.
I’ll
show Jayden where,” she said, perking up. She glanced at Jayden
,
again and he
grinned. T
he elders began to speak
a
nd everyone fell silent
.

             
The men talked about a group of people
brought in, who’
d escaped from a prison camp about twenty miles from where they currently were.
They had some ideas on how they’
d be able to stage a rescue
and the elders seemed both hopeful and excited at the prospect of rescuing more people.

             
When the meeting broke up
everyone was in better-than-
normal spirits
.
I
t wa
s a perfect night to sneak away
because the council would be busy long into the night and not searchin
g for stray teenagers. John
was asked to join the council and couldn’t watch out for Phoenix
. He lectured
her
for a good f
ifteen minutes about being safe
and not leaving the group. He also insisted they take a radio
,
just in case. He promised not to out them if they did
,
so the group agreed.

             
Jessica tried several times to
push Phoenix aside and
take
Jayden’s
arm
but
he shrugged her off, which had her
stomping off in a huff. She wasn’
t
used to such outright rejection
and Phoenix knew another fight was sure to happen.

             
Jayden
enjoyed hanging with the teenagers. After the newness of him being there wore off, they
treated him as one of the group.
He still caught them occasionally shooting him glances, noticing
something different
but
not able to figure out what it was.

             
He’d only ever been
around humans
for brief periods of time. He didn’t know if they’
d eventually
figure
out
he didn’t belong in their world.
If they were to know what was out there, lurking in the dark, none of them would be able to sneak out into the night. None of them would even be able to sleep, for fear of what would be after them. 

             
He wondered where they thought all their legends came from. They brushed if off to a vivid imagination of some book author, or movie producer but in reality those stories had come from live witnesses, who’d been lucky enough to survive. Thanks to the gullibility of the human race, they’d always deemed those lucky survivors to be crazy. The humans looked at the movies and books to be simple entertainment. 

             
He remembered the author of the very first vampire book written. The man had lived a tragic life and seen things no mortal should ever have to see. Jayden didn’t understand why they didn’t destroy the man. It seemed to him the darkness liked the fame they received when they were talked about. They didn’t try to hide away as much as the Angel’s did. They wanted to be glorified and they wanted to have the world awed by them.
He’d never felt that same need.

             
There were humans more gifted than others and they’d been allowed glimpses of the light. Most of them were those who’d come back to earth with the blessing of Josiah. He allowed a few select to remember their experience. He said it was to keep faith alive. Jayden was
starting to understand
the importance of that as he looked around at the tragedy the world had become.
             

             
“We’
d better get back before John changes his mind and sends out a search party for Phoenix,” Brian said with a laugh.

             
“I don’t see why the rest of us have to be punished just because Phoenix can’t take care of herself for a few hours,” Jessica said, not even trying to hide her bad mood
from
being ignored the entire evening.

             
“I can take care of myself just fine
, Jessica.
John worries about me because he loves me,
not that you’d know anything about that,
” Phoenix said, snapping back
in frustration
. Jayden was happy to see Phoenix
had a backbone
.
             

             
“Well, I don’t want to leave yet,” Jessica said as the rest of the kids started getting out of the hot springs and quickly
dressing
. The air
was cold
and Jayden had to cover himself
quickly
so none of the
others
would notice he had no reaction to the
frigid
air, like the rest of them.

             
“Suit yourself
but
I wouldn’t want to be out here alone,” Sadie said, tired of Jessica’s
attitude as well
. Jessica
stayed in the hot water
until everyone started to leave
,
then rea
lized they’
d called her bluff
and quickly scrambled to catch up. The hot springs were fun to go to as a group
but
it would be terrifying to be out there by
yourself
. There were simply t
o
o many
predators
waiting for a lone person.

             
“You guys are lame,” Jessica said,
catching
up
with them
. Everyone ignored her pouting. The group was large so they took turns sneaking back inside, not wanting to make a lot of noise or call attention.