Midnight Fire - Rise of the Dark Angel - Book One (21 page)

             
Phoenix could see the tension in his shoulders and mistook his agitation as fear of getting hurt. She stopped and wrapped her arms around him, offering comfort.

             
Jayden smiled as he pulled her close to him. He found it amusing Phoenix
would be comforting him. He wasn’
t worried about getting hurt, as none of the humans could harm him in any way
, a perk of being immortal
. He was worried one of his new friends, or even worse, Phoenix
would be harmed. He didn’t know how he’
d protect them all.
He was
scared
the escape w
ould somehow bring harm to the girl he couldn’t live without.
He found he was looking forward to spending time with Chastity. He couldn’t seem to turn off his emotions
, anymore
.

             
“I’
m
just
worried
,
Phoenix
but
I know everything will work out. I won’t let anything happen to you or our friends,” he vowed to her. She snuggled into his arms
deeper
,
causing his body to immediately
tense
. He rubbed her silky hair and when she sighed it nearly dropped him to his knees.

             
He pulled back
,
slightly and placed
his fingers underneath her chin, looking
deep into her beautiful eyes. Even in her frightened state they seemed to have a sparkle
about
them that was unexplainable. He couldn’t resist her pull any longer and he slowly brought his head down and captured her soft pink lips.
He’d tried not to kiss her after their first night. She made too many emotions stir in him and he was afraid of losing control. He didn’t want to fight it anymore, though.

             
Phoenix let out another sigh and there was zero resistance as he pulled her more tightly to him and deepened the kiss. He couldn’t seem to get close enough to her and wanted the rest of the world to fall away and run off
together so
the two of
them could be completely alone
.

             
He was firm in his decision that he couldn’t let anything happen to the group of people. He’d been avoiding Vyco because he didn’t know what he was going to say to him. He had to let Vyco believe he was s
till helping him; otherwise he’d
just send in Demons. Vyco would find a way to get what he wanted.

             
While Jayden was ha
ving his own thoughts, Phoenix
couldn’t think of a single thing except the
pure pleasure she was feeling
. If she thought the first kiss was powerful, it was nothing compared to how she was feeling at that moment.

             
His tongue
rubbed
against her lip asking for entrance and she gladly opened her mouth
allowing
him in.
The feel of his
hands rubbing against her back caused
her bones to melt and she felt her knees
giving out
. All her worries faded into nonexistence as she escaped into the
ecstasy
of Jayden’s arms and mouth. He rubbed his lips over hers causing her so much pleasure she knew why newlyweds always looked so happy. She groaned when Jayden started to pull away from her.

             
He
didn’t let her go
but
he didn’t bring his lips back down to hers
,
either. He simply stood there for a few moments with her locked in his arms
,
while they looked at each other, both of them breathing heavily.

             
“We should get back inside
,
now,” Jayden finally said, while pushing a piece of her hair away from her cheek and tucking it behind her ear. That small touch se
nt another shiver down her body
and she wanted to demand he kiss her again.

             
“Believe me
, I’
d much rather stay out here tasting you
r
delicious lips
but
your brother’
s going to be freaked out right now
.
If we don’t head in he’
ll send out a search party,” Jayden said with a laugh
. Phoenix knew she was defeated
because
she knew her brother well
and Jayden was right. She was surprised John hadn’t already shown up.

             
“Fine, we can go back in,” she said reluctantly. She was worried Jayden hadn’t liked the kiss as much as she had. She was sure
he’d been with many girl
s before,
since he was gorgeous
,
kind
and perfect in every way
possible. T
hough
,
she knew she wasn’t terrible, he could be with absolutely anyone he wanted.

             
“Hey, that was amazing and I plan on sneaking off with you again as soon as we get our first chance,” he said and brushed his lips against hers far t
o
o briefly before taking her hand and leading her into the cave. His words cheered her up immensely and she was read
y to face whatever chaos they’
d left behind.

             
“I’
ll take you up on that offer,” Phoenix said with a smile as they walked.

             
“Oh
,
you
will
be
the death
of me,” he said as he pounded his hand against his chest. She felt powerful and sexy knowing she was affecting him so
much
, even if he was affecting her
equally, if not more
.

             
They entered the dining hall, where there was
an
unusual treat of hot chocolate and cookies out.
N
ot many people were eating or drinking
, which was strange
. After the kiss Phoenix shared with Jayden she was practicall
y glowing
,
all worries erased
so she had no problem grabbing a large cup of hot chocolate and a few cookies. The two of them sat down with Sadie and Brian, who looked at Phoenix like she was about to crack up or something. Everyone in the room was tense and she was practically bouncing in her seat.
             

             
Phoenix made eye contact with Sadie and then Sadie’s eyes widened as she looked at Jayden and then back to Phoenix. She smiled and her mood lifted as well. She went and gathered her own snack and soon the four of them
were
visiting, t
heir worries pushed to the back
of their minds.

             
The two hours went by
quickly
and everyone headed back to the
meeting area and waited for the elders to appear. There were quiet murmurs throughout the room with people trying to stay relaxed
but
uncomfortable with the unknowing.

Eight Hours Earlier

             
Chastity knew they
were getting closer to the cave. S
he quickly spotted the guards before they were aware of her. It didn’t take them too long though, as the other women, though as quiet as they could possibly be
,
weren’t aware of how to remain hidden.

             
She watched as the guards carefully approached the group of women. They were communicating
with
one another
on some type of hidden devices
and Chastity knew their group looked exactly
like what
they were, escaped prisoners
.
But,
the guards were cautious and making sure it wasn’t a trap for them.

             
She wished they’
d announce their presence and get it over with. She knew
it was coming soon
because they wouldn’t let the women get
too
close to the cave without questioning them first. She watched as they made their game plan and finally got in position to surround the girls. She acted as if she was oblivious to their presence.

             
“
Stop
where you are,”
came
the voice of one of the men. The women around her started to shake in real terror
, thinking they’
d been captured by the enemy. Even if Chastity hadn’t been aware of them she would’ve known they were friendly by the
ir
tone of voice. It was commanding
,
without being cruel.

             
The men stepped out
,
with their weapons drawn
,
but
not threatening. Their expressions were cautious
but kind
. She was impressed with th
eir demeanor
and knew the women would be protected from that moment on.

             
“Who are you?”
The
same man questioned. The women were c
owering in fear around Chastity
and though she didn’t want to draw undue attention to herself she knew
she’
d have to be the one to speak up.

             
“We escaped from one of the prison camps and heard
there’
s safety out here. Hopefully
, you’re the good guys
because if you aren’t we already know
we’
re dead,” she said
hoping
she had the proper amount of fear and hope in her voice. The men looked from her to the other cowering women and then at each other
.
T
he leader lowered his weapon towards the ground. His men soon followed him. They apparently passed the test and the men didn’t see them as threats.

             
Chastity knew the men were still watchful
but
they believed the
women’s
story and the initial threat was
over with
. The men converged together and Chastity could hear everything they were talking about
but
pretended she couldn’t.

             
“I think they’
re telling the truth. Mike
,
have you spotted anything from up there,” the leader asked into his concealed microphone. He waited a few moments and relaxed further. “Larry, do you copy?”
He
asked again.

             
Chastity sat down with the other women
,
who were still shivering in fear. She knew they were still fearful after their time of capture
.
T
hough
,
it looked to them as if the men were the good guys, they didn’t give their trust
so
easily.

             
“We have a group of six women
who
escaped from one of
the prison camps. I think they’re telling the truth. They’
re terrified
right now and Mike hasn’t spotted anyone
n
ear our
perimeter
,” the man said again. “Okay
, we’
ll bring them in,” he finished and turned his attention back to the girls.

             
“You’ve heard right. W
e do have a safe
place
for you. I’m sorry for all the precautions
but
we have to make sure the enemy isn’t using you as bait to find out where
our
hideout is
located.
We’
re clear to head in,” he said
. Then,
his voice gentled. “I know you’
re scared right now
but
I promise
you, you’re safe with us
.
L
et’s
take
you to
our camp,
where you can get some clean clothes, food and drinks. Once we make sure there are no immediate medical problems our elders would like to speak with you. The more information we get about the camps, the more chances we have of saving others.”

             
One of the other women stood up with a light of hope shining in her eyes and then the o
thers soon stood as well. “We’
ll follow you,” she shyly said and they walked for a couple
more
hours. Chastity was impressed with how well they were able to hide the
cave.
She found
all the safety measures they had in place
amazing too
. The enemy wouldn’t be able to spot them easily, which is why the people had remained safe for so long.

             
There were several men and women who met them at
an entrance
a human eye wouldn’t have spotted easily. Chastity had to contain her excitement
.
She’
d soon be with her brother
again. She’
d missed him
more than she even imagined possible. She was curious to know Phoenix, as well
because she hadn’t ever seen her brother act the way he was acting
when she’d talked to him last
.

             
They passed several people
,
who all began talking at once, though the elders tried to get them to the infirmary quickly. Chastity knew that gossip would
spread
like wild fire
and it wouldn’t take long for the people to know
about their presence
.

             
They passed down the darkened
hall
and something in the air seemed to shift. Chastity went on instant alert
,
looking
around her. She still didn’t want to draw attention to herself but something was different and she felt uncomf
ortable. She was never confused
and couldn’t comprehend
what she was feeling.

             
Just then a boy, no
,
a man walked into the room and she couldn’t take her eyes off him. He was barely a man and couldn’t be much older than twenty. He was devastatingly handsome for a h
uman and had mesmerizing eyes.
T
hose eyes turned towards her and
rose
in surprise. They
gazed
at each other as if in a trance until one of the older gentlemen cleared his throat and both of them turned their heads. She didn’t look up to notice if anyone else in the room noticed their moment.

             
“What’
s happened
, D
ad?”
The
guy asked and Chastity’s head
whipped
up again at the sound of his voice. It was beautiful in a way she’d never heard before. She shook her head
,
trying to get it cleared. She kept telling herself
it must be because she’
d been hanging with humans for
too
long.

             
“These women escaped from one of the prison camps
,
John. We were just getting
ready to listen to their story. Go ahead and
sit down,” Larry said and then turned his full attention back to the group of women.

             
Chastity had to tell the entire story once more, as none of the other women seemed able to spe
ak. Some hot food was brought
to them and the other women dived into it as if they hadn’t eaten in months. Chastity knew they hadn’t eaten anything nearly
as
good in too long to remember. She forced herself to nibble on the food so
she didn’t
arouse suspicion.

             
The men and women listened to their story and Chastity could feel the compassion from them. They truly cared about the women and felt terrible about what they’d gone through. She knew
it
was only a matter of time before the group stood up to the enemy
.
W
ithout
help they’
d be slaughtered.

             
“Janet is going to lead you to the bathing area, where you can have some privacy while you get cleaned up and
receive
fresh clothes. Then
,
you can rest a while a
fter your long journey. If
you’re up to it after that
,
we’
d very much like for you to meet the rest of our group
. They’
re anxious to know more about what is going on in the rest of the world
.
Our people need to be more aware
because I have the feeling
soon we’ll be going
to battle,” Larry said to the women, who all nodded their understanding.

             
Soon
,
Janet led them out of the room and Chastity
took in
the home they’
d created. The bathing area was a complete luxury com
pared to the prison camp they’
d just come from. The cold or heat didn’t affect her
but
she could see the pure pleasure in the other women’s faces as they sunk into the natural hot spring tub. It was
huge
and the women were offered to bathe separately
but
none of
them wanted to wait
.
T
hey’
d been together for so long
and in such humiliating circumstances that
there wasn’t a modesty issue
, either
.

             
No one interrupt
ed them as they bathed.
They were given more time
than Chastity was sure
the others
were allowed.
The elders were being very kind
to the
broken
women, which
increased
Chastity’s opinion of the
new camp
. She was anxious to find her brother
but
knew sh
e couldn’t rush things. She’
d see him soon.

             
She also found herself anxious to find the man
called
John. She was afraid of what her curiosity meant
but
she
didn’t
care. There was something about him
,
pulling her towards him and she
hoped
it wasn’t the same thing that
had
happened to her brother
because she really didn’t want to fall for a human.
             

             
She could imagine Josiah was amused by her predicament. She’d always been stubborn, especially for an Angel. Most of the Angel’s did as they were told with no questions asked.
She
never
did
anything without knowing why
she
was
doing it.

             
She
never disrespected Josiah,
she was
just far more curious than most.
She
spent
more
time on earth than any other planet.
She
was
fascinated by Josiah’s creation. Maybe that was the
reason
she
felt
she
had to help the people. Chastity wouldn’t have left Josiah’s presence without
knowing she had to help the people and
Jayden.
She’
d fight to the death to save he
r brother’s
soul
.