Intuition: The Premonition Series (18 page)

“Reed…be nice please,” Evie says, tryin’ to be stern to Reed, which never works ‘cuz she always ends up smilin’ at him anyway.

“I’ll see ya later, Red. I’m gonna go and see if Zee’s available to train me. Ya know, y’all can come, too. I bet he can teach ya how to fight and protect yerself ‘cuz yer gonna have to learn sooner or later,” I urge her. I want her to figure out that the angels are not always gonna be ‘round when she needs them. I shouldn’t have to spell it out, since we both barely lived through the inconvenience at the 7-Eleven. Evie needs to, at least, be able to defend herself against a Reaper, like Alfred, ‘cuz he is still out there, waitin’ to get at her again.

“She is not ready yet, Russell. She hasn’t evolved fully and that makes her too vulnerable to train,” Reed says as he sits down next to Evie on the sofa.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, Reed, but I don’t see the Fallen puttin’ things on hold ‘til Red fully evolves. Y’all should start now with at least the basics so that she has a chance if they attack her without y’all to protect her,” I argue my point adamantly.

“Why would one of us not be with her, Russell?” Reed asks in a quiet tone from where he sits, not lookin’ at me, but at Evie.

“Don’t tell me that with all of yer life experience and military trainin’, y’all can’t imagine a scenario in which Evie could be facin’ those freakin’ fallen cannibals without ya.” I must have hit a nerve ‘cuz I hear him growl a warnin’ to me.

“Right now her strength for surviving lies in two areas: persuasion and flight. She needs to try to run first, and then, if that option is unavailable, she is very persuasive in turning angels to her favor,” Reed says, takin’ Evie’s hand in his.

“It wouldn’t hurt to give her another weapon in her arsenal. I don’t understand ya. Y’all say ya love her, but then ya don’t even try to help her,” I say, but no sooner had the words left my mouth, then Reed is standin’ directly in front of me with his hands in fists at his sides. It’s freaky how fast he can move in a fraction of a second.

“Never question my motives where Evie is concerned. What you are proposing is an unnecessary risk at this point in time,” he says by my ear. He’s tryin’ real hard not to show the agitation he feels just below the surface. Knowin’ this, I press on.

“What are ya afraid of, Reed? Would it bother ya that Evie might not need ya to protect her?” I ask with equal quiet, meetin’ his eyes without flinchin’, even as my instincts are tellin’ me to be cautious. “No, that’s not it is it…” I say, studyin’ his face for a moment. “Yer afraid—yer afraid she’ll get hurt—ya can’t stand seein’ her in pain.” Reed growls again and I can tell I have come close to the mark. “Yer losin’ perspective,
general,”
I say through clenched teeth. “Y’all have to prepare for every eventuality, isn’t that what Zee’s always sayin’?” I ask him, lookin’ in his eyes.

Evie is right here, tryin’ to step between us, which is becomin’ more and more of a habit as this livin’ situation wears on. “Okay— this is so much fun, you two, I don’t know what I’ll do when it ends.” Evie says with sarcasm. “Russell, I think you’re right. I think it is about time I started to learn how to defend myself,” she says. I look past her to Reed, who is scowlin’ fiercely.

“We’ve been usin’ the dinin’ room to train, since Reed already started remodelin’ it when y’all were sick. It’s just ‘bout perfect for what we need with all the vaulted ceilings and wood floors. We could use some mats if yer gonna train, too,” I explain, lookin’ at Evie.

“No, we won’t because she is not training with you and Zephyr,” Reed says with his eyebrows pullin’ together.

“I say she is,” I reply, defendin’ what I believe. Before I know what is happenin’, I’m off of my feet and propelled to the back of the library where I come to rest against the wall with Reed’s forearm diggin’ in my chest.

“Do you want to see her die, is that it?” Reed asks, holdin’ me off the floor. “Because it would only take Zephyr a momentary lapse in concentration to snap her in two,” Reed says, searchin’ my face.

Evie is there in seconds, holdin’ on to Reed’s arm and sayin’, “Reed, put him down, now!”

Reed complies, droppin’ me to my feet instantly and steppin’ back a few paces. He isn’t lookin’ at her though, he is lookin’ at me. “Reed, listen to me, ‘cuz I’m only gonna say this once. I love her, too. I want her to survive probably more than y’all do.” I explain, runnin’ my hand through my hair in exasperation. “Here’s what I’m afraid of—I’m afraid that, for whatever reason, someone in Heaven is gonna get it in their head that Evie, or me, or both of us, could do all right without the help of angels and decide to call all y’all back to test the theory. If that day comes, wouldn’t ya want her not to be at the mercy of the next fallen angel that crosses her path?” I ask him, hopin’ he will see reason. “‘Cuz I don’t think I’m gonna be much help, at least ‘til I get my wings, and then, who knows…” I say grudgingly, wishin’ I knew when all of this is gonna occur so that I can have a timeline for kickin’ some angel ass. “But, I’m gonna do everythin’ in my power to be ready for when I can help, and I will protect her with my life, if it comes to it.”

“That won’t be necessary because I’m going to learn how to defend myself so no one has to die for me,” Evie says in a stern tone, lookin’ from Reed to me and back to Reed. “I’ll tell Zee myself, so there is no miscommunication.”

“We need to discuss your safe—” Reed begins, but Evie cuts him off.

“My safety—Russell’s right.” Evie says with genuine concern. “I can’t rely on you to protect me all of the time. I need to be able to defend myself if I can.” It isn’t sittin’ well with her to be just comin’ to this conclusion now.

“Yes, I agree, when you are stronger and it makes more sense, but now—” Reed begins again, but is again cut off by Evie.

“I can’t marinate in denial anymore, Reed. I need to take care of myself. I can’t rely on you to do it for me.” Evie says, puttin’ her hand on Reed’s cheek to get him to look at her.

“You don’t need to do this,” Reed assures her.

“Reed, I’m over the shock of still being alive. I need to do something to insure I stay that way. When are you training, Russell?” Evie asks.

“Zee?” I say in an even tone. It takes Zephyr less than two seconds to join us in the library. He moves past us to the windows. “Can y’all train Red to defend herself?” I ask.

“I was wondering when we’d get to this. Evie, are you ready to learn?” Zephyr asks Evie, lookin’ directly at her with his discernin’ eyes.

“No, she is not,” Reed replies for her.

“I am aware of your thoughts in this matter. I am now asking Evie. I want to know if you are fully awake now?” Zephyr asks Evie evenly.

“What do you mean, Zee?” Evie asks, lookin’ down at the floor, tryin’ to hide the fact that she already has some idea of what he means.

Zephyr says, “What I mean is that you have so much sorrow in you that you have been walking around like you are asleep half of the time. If we are to do this, I am going to need you to break the shell you have created around yourself, or else, I will end up hurting you.”

“I see. I thought I was doing a better job at hiding my emotions, but I guess the only person I was fooling was myself. I’ll go change and I’ll meet you in the dining room, or is it gonna be the training room from now on?” she asks.

“Are you sure, Evie?” Zephyr asks.

“I’m fully alive now, Zee, and I intend to stay that way,” Evie replies, squarin’ her shoulders and walkin’ toward the library doors like a warrior.

That’s my girl, Red,
I think, smilin’ after her as she leaves the room. Then, I see the dangerous look on Reed’s face and I stop smilin’.

“Do you know how long we have been killing?” Reed asks as he continues to scowl.

“No,” I reply.

“So long that you would believe it was forever,” Reed says with a stern look.

“Oh,” I say, tryin’ not to look impressed.

“And, do you know what it takes to kill one of us?” Reed asks with menace.

“Yeah. Zee explained that ya have to tear y’all apart for it to be effective,” I say, tryin’ not to adopt a smart-ass tone that won’t help this situation.

“Right. How eager are you to see Evie tear another angel apart? Do you really think that she is ready to do that?” Reed asks me.

“Under the right set of circumstances, I’d say she’d do all right with it. Don’t underestimate her, Reed; she is a force of nature and she’s had centuries to hone her iron will, even if she doesn’t remember any of it,” I say as an explanation. “I haven’t even begun to go all the way back in my memories and I’ve already learned that.”

“What do you hope to accomplish by telling her all the stories of the past? She doesn’t remember your lives together,” Reed asks me.

“I don’t know, Reed, maybe I’m hopin’ to accomplish exactly what yer hopin’ I won’t accomplish,” I reply, exhalin’ and rubbin’ my neck in irritation knowin’ he was listenin’ when I told Evie ‘bout her life as Aoibhe. It’s private. It was when she was mine and I won’t share that part of her—of us—with him.

“It’s not helping her,” Reed says with concern.

“No, what’s not helpin’ her is allowin’ her to live like nothin’ can get to her ’cuz we both know that’s not the case,” I reply in disgust at havin’ to say it out loud.

“You think she doesn’t know that she is in danger all the time? I want her to feel safe here. I want her to heal and she can’t do that if she is afraid. Are you listening to her at night? She has nightmares all the time,” Reed says slowly, as if I don’t have the wit to comprehend the situation.

“I know that, but I don’t think they are all from trauma. Some are ‘cuz Alfred is still out there and she’s gettin’ premonitions ‘bout him,” I reply as an explanation.

“Yes. I am aware of that,” Reed’s tone is calm. “That is why we haven’t left Crestwood. Zee and I are strategizing ways to induce Alfred into making a move. We believe that by making our ranks seem disordered he might be baited into acting recklessly, but I am unwilling to risk Evie as a lure,” Reed says. “We need to find a way to make him feel arrogant again because right now he has lost many of his allies. The Fallen will no longer follow him. They are probably hunting him as well. This will work to our advantage because he will be desperate to obtain Evie’s soul. It is his only hope for survival.”

“Why aren’t we out there huntin’ him?” I ask in frustration, thinkin’ that Alfred is bein’ allowed time to gain more allies and strategize a means of gettin’ to Evie.

“We are the superior power. Our strength lies in the fact that we are not fractured. We are ordered while he is disordered. We will await him because we have what he wants. He will come and he will die,” Reed replies as if lookin’ forward to the day Alfred decides to make his move.

“I hope yer right, Reed—for all of our sakes,” I say, and then I leave the library to change for trainin’ with Zee.

CHAPTER 7

Trainin’

It doesn’t take long to realize this isn’t gonna be easy. The first time Zephyr takes a swipe at Evie durin’ trainin’, Reed loses it and the two of them end up brawlin’ for several minutes until Buns and Brownie step in to pull Reed off of Zephyr. In Zee’s defense, he wasn’t really tryin’ to fight back so much as not get killed. But, it effectively highlighted Reed’s lack of perspective where Evie is concerned. So he is banned from the trainin’ room while Evie is workin’, a fact that doesn’t seem to sit too well with him, since it’s his house. When Evie says the alternative is for us to train somewhere else, he falls in line and mostly just paces outside the room ‘til Evie finishes fightin’ for the day.

Zephyr starts our trainin’ by teachin’ Evie and me basic defensive and hand-to-hand combat tactics to get us used to self-defense strategies. He works with us for a full month before he starts introducin’ us to weapons. We have been workin’ with long poles that resemble javelins and act as an equalizer when confrontin’ an angel with the ability of flight. Since neither of us can use our wings yet, Evie ‘cuz hers aren’t strong enough, and me ‘cuz I haven’t gotten mine yet, the poles come in handy to ward off an attack from above. I’m not sure where we’re supposed to find a large stick when confronted by surprise by an angel, but strategy is not the lesson for the day.

I pause after bein’ clobbered, yet again, as Zee easily plucks the javelin from my hand and whacks me with it to make his point. “ZEE! Damn, that hurts! I think ya broke my knuckle…yer as mean as the nuns of St. Vincent,” I say, rubbin’ my knuckle, attemptin’ to ease the ache. Zee chuckles from his position in the air above me. His large wings are creatin’ a stir of wind that’s fannin’ my face as I bend over my hand in pain.

“You let me disarm you, Russell, and you pay the price,” Zephyr says, grinnin’. “Does it hurt?” he asks.

“Yeah, a lot,” I reply.

“Good. Maybe you won’t do it again,” he says, handin’ me back the stick as he dips in closer.

“Ya know, Zee, the humans have it completely wrong, don’t they?” I ask, still holdin’ my hand with the other.

“That has been my experience with them, but I’m not sure exactly what you are referring to,” Zee counters, anglin’ away from Evie while she attempts to impale him with her javelin. She’s fast, much quicker than I am, and has an almost innate ability to find a weakness in his defenses. I can hardly track the movement of her javelin as it slices through the air in lungin’ thrusts. Her angel speed makes her deadly and accurate. It occurs to me that she’s more highly evolved than I am, but still, it seems second nature to her, or maybe she’s just meant to survive. I, on the other hand, must struggle.