Page 19 of Wicked Savior
Damn it.
I forgot to get the security upgraded.
* * *
Vargas sendsme an image of an angel, and I immediately stop adding notes to the plan and follow his signal. When I come out of the brick beside him, he jumps and glares at me.
I chuckle. “Now you know what it’s like to be around you these days.” My eyes dart to the street. “Where is he?”
Vargas motions to a corner diagonally across from us. “There. He’s waiting for her to come out of the coffee shop next door.” He points to a storefront.
She steps out, and the angel steps toward her. With a wave of my hand, I stop the traffic and move to intercept him. Focused on my target, I miss the warning signs and leave my back open. Power strikes hard, and pain explodes between my shoulder blades. I swivel around to face my opponent. Gabriel stands behind me. He readies another hit, but I know it’s only a diversion. Spinning, I start running toward Evren.
“Evren!” I shout, pointing at the angel coming toward her. Another hit slams into me, and I stumble, but at least I have a shield up now. I keep moving.
Evren turns to look, but I can tell by the way her head is swiveling, she can’t see the angel striding toward her.
Another blast hits me. This one is stronger than the previous one and burns through the flimsy shield I raised a minute ago.
Fuck, that hurt.
The angel is a foot from Evren. I’m too late. With a burst of speed, he grabs her shoulder, and they disappear from the sidewalk.
I turn toward Gabriel to fire off my own shot, but he’s gone, too.
Damn it.He’s gone after her.
I pull out my phone and bring up an app.
The world is high tech now. As a ruler, I decided a long time ago to use every tool and weapon at my disposal. Technology is certainly a tool I enjoy.
The tracker I planted behind her ear shows me she’s about thirty miles from here, halfway up a mountain. I send the location to Vargas via our private telepathic channel and shimmer out.
Vargas and I both appear at the same time. It’s a cave. We peer around the corner. Evren is standing in the middle of the opening with the one angel holding her arms from behind, and Gabriel standing directly in front of her. He’s made himself visible to her again.
“I deserve to know why you want to kill me. I haven’t broken any laws. At least, I don’t think I have, but I don’t really know your laws. Have I broken a law?” she asks, frowning up at Gabriel.
My mouth twitches. She’s full of questions, even when she’s facing death.
“Do you think we don’t know about your experiments?” Gabriel snarls at her.
Evren shrugs. “You’ll have to be more specific. I’m conducting several experiments.” Her head is tilted to the side while her green eyes are fixed on Gabriel with a puzzled expression… and not an ounce of fear.
Impressive.
“You’re trying to revive the Druids,” he spits out. His anger makes the cave shake. “Wait. What other experiments are you conducting here? Are they on humans or supernaturals?”
“Right now, I’m trying to find out how the Druids got their magic, and why they’re almost extinct,” she admits. “But your theory is sound. If I figure out the secret to their magic, I will try to help them. This world is going to need Druids. Humans must evolve to survive. Giving them their own power will create a human force that can help protect other humans. It’s not as if the angels or other supernaturals will put them first.”
Gabriel shakes his head, disbelief creasing his brow. Whether it’s because she isn’t scared of him or because of her frank answer, I can’t tell. Maybe both.
Regardless, I refuse to let him kill her. Carefully taking aim, I hit the angel holding Evren with a massive bolt of power, and he disintegrates.
Gabriel roars in anguish.
Evren doesn’t flinch. Her eyes are on the sword pointed at her heart.
I fire at him, but he’s placed a shield around them both. I move closer to Evren and ready my next hit. If I can hit him hard enough to bring his shield down, I can grab her and disappear.
