Page 36 of Angel's Vengeance

It was usually a fleeting sensation, but it lingered within him and gave him the wherewithal to offer up some of that soothing energy by way of voicing gratitude.

And because he couldn’t resist, a not-so-small bit of showmanship.

“Words are failing me,” he said, shaking his head.“It has been quite some time since I’ve had to answer for my own emotions, and I fear I have yet to improve the skill set.”

“Yeah, well, welcome to the club of sentient beings.It’s a common affliction among its members and has no known cure.”

Apparently.

He chuckled softly, more to hide his discomfort with his spoken truth than the reality of her rejoinder.“No, I don’t suspect there is one, but perhaps small strides toward rectifying my behavior aren’t entirely out of the question.At least, not yet.”

Then Rhode turned to face the building behind them and pulsed his power into the mechanical latches and electrodes that had long been shut down for the fall and winter seasons.Slowly, gears cranked, doors lifted, and starved light bulbs connected with newly completed circuits.Maneuvering his power had become more natural, more centered and grounded in the lightness that came from his enlisted fire.The act was easy and, dare he say, almost pleasant, the way his muscles responded innately to wield the metallic magic that he’d hated for so long.

But for some reason, standing next to Neela, with flecks of gold in her eyes that mimicked the twinkling lights adorning the building’s sign and internal sundries, his metallic manipulation didn’t feel alien or abhorrent.Something was different.Something felt ...

“Grateful,” he rushed out, then cleared his throat and looked out across the myriad of games and machines that had come to life because of his power.Because of her connection to it.“I am grateful, Neela.Grateful for you.”

That was all he could say.Somewhere, buried below the rubble of his past and the atrocious dig site of his present sat the proper words he needed to use.Phrases that spoke of true emotion, of familial ties and vengeance earned and private memories that chose to make themselves known while others merely grazed his consciousness.Entire tomes articulating every confusing need and desperate desire sat concealed beneath what he was not yet strong enough to clear away.

But for now, he could do this.He could meet her where he was and where he knew she would happily wander.

“Cyro will remain where he is.A supreme spy never rushes and cannot excel at reconnaissance without mastering patience over performance.”Then he extended his hand toward the arcade and waited for her to take the first step.“I think it’s time to learn a bit about your world.Not Cyro’s, but yours.”

Neela’s eyes widened as they flitted among the games’ glowing lights.“You opened the Arctic Arcade for me?”

Rhode nodded but still couldn’t read her tense expression.And to his profound relief, he soon realized he didn’t need to.

Because that time, when she grabbed him by the arm, he happily followed.

Chapter18

It felt like a trick.The cruelest, most cunning machination designed not only to lure prey into a web but stuff it full of so many enticing emotions that it had no choice but to lie down, belly up, and sigh in rapturous defeat.But after many long moments passed and nothing swept in to steal Neela’s joy, she thought that maybe,maybeRhode had truly meant this to be a peace offering, one that filled her little gamer heart to bursting.

Bursting, ironically, with her own form of gratitude, though he had no way of knowing it.

Neela stepped into the center of the arcade and couldn’t decide which dancing display of lights should command her attention first.“Do you know how often I dreamed of coming here?”she asked, hovering her fingers over the jets of an air hockey table that was just begging for a puck.Neela reached around toward the goal, gingerly plucked the hard disc from its cradle, and plopped it onto the cool blue surface, laughing as it skated away from her finger each time she poked it.

“I do not.”Rhode joined her at the hockey table but kept his hands braced behind his back like a reserved home inspector scrutinizing the latest construction.“But I should like to hear of it.”

“Really?”She swallowed hard and watched a display of mixed emotions war on his face.

“Really.”

Not feeling entirely up for the acrobatics required to interpret his statement, she gleefully glossed over it to clarify hers.Seemed safer, at any rate.

Neela abandoned the hockey table for a wall of Skee-Ball machines whose backsplashes glowed with eager red numbers that promised high scores in the thousands for those brave enough to compete.Before she even looked to see whether any balls were free, the metal catch holding the row of balls back was released, and nine polished orbs scuttled down the ramp, ready and waiting for her to play.

She smiled at Rhode.“Your handiwork, I take it?”

Instead of the stoic nod and monosyllabic response she was expecting, however, he walked over to her side, retrieved a ball, and rolled it down the ramp.To her infuriating surprise, the ball bounced off the rim of the fifty-point slot and settled comfortably and conveniently in the hundred-point cylinder.The red lights above went all sorts of ballistic, flashing and strobing in anticipation of more points.The tinkering carnival music pinged its metallic notes, and even the angel at her side couldn’t help but crack a smile as he leaned down for another ball.

“Uh-uh.Not so fast.”Neela swiped the ball from the holster and sent it flying before it fell into the way-too-freaking-large ten-point catch basin of shame.

The dark chuckle next to her seemed so ominously off in a place of joy such as this that she honestly wasn’t sure Rhode had ever had an excuse to laugh before.Like, an honest-to-goodness, belly-busting, tears-leaking-from-your-eyes, can’t-breathe kind of laugh.

The realization was as shamefully heartbreaking as it was savage in its ruthlessness to steer the conversation toward greener pastures.

“I tell you what.Open the lane up next to this one and we’ll have a good old-fashioned Skee-Ball battle.Winner gets to hear the loser’s dreams.”

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