Chapter 26
TWENTY-SIX
ANDREAS
“I tell ya, I’m startin’ to understand why you two are so murderous and violent,” I said with a laugh as Bodhi dumped another one of her glittery potions onto the cut on my arm. “I’m feelin’ stupid strong right now, I gotta say.”
Regan rolled her eyes but she snort laughed at me. She rubbed the blue glowing gel Bodhi had given her over the puncture wound on her hand. “You should’ve seen us before…” she said softly.
I frowned. “Before what?”
Her face fell. “Before we lost the others.”
My eyebrows rose. Smooth, jackass. It was easy to forget there should’ve been a whole room full of Virtues not just three.
The girls kept saying the others were coming back but my brother and I did not understand what that meant - because the obvious seemed impossible.
However, we’d decided asking for clarification came in above our pay grade so we hadn’t.
The doors to the infirmary flew open and slammed into the walls.
Bodhi screeched and leapt into the air, throwing two vials worth of green potions right into Zuriel’s face.
He growled and caught the dagger Regan had apparently thrown right at him.
He stopped and turned to glare at Chanel on the other side of the room, or I assumed he was glaring based on the way she jumped away from my brother and her whole face went pale.
And then she hiccupped…and burped.
Zuriel closed his eyes and hung his head. He reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Let me see if I’m following this…”
My stomach fell right out of my asshole. Nausea crashed into me. I’d never been on the receiving end of Zuriel’s infamous rage, not like this. I wanted to look to my brother or to Regan but I didn’t dare move.
“So not only did Christopher outsmart all four of you again, not only did you not catch him again, but he also managed to steal the human princess’s tiara you all assured me you wouldn’t let him touch?
” He opened his eyes and aimed lasers at us with that glare.
He put his hands on his hips but I suspected it was to stop himself from wringing our necks.
“And then he didn’t even keep the tiara?
He put it on a random human girl’s head and just … vanished.”
Silence.
“Is that right?” His eyebrows rose to his dark hairline. “Did I cover everything?”
Bodhi slid behind a cabinet and ducked down like she was hiding.
“I said did I cover everything?”
I nodded because words died on my tongue.
Regan cleared her throat. “Yes, essentially. Our plans have not been going as expected lately, we’re still not sure why—”
“Really?” He looked pointedly to me then to Kaso.
“Figure it out. I’m done with this. I gave you his file at the start of October.
It’s now the beginning of February. Unacceptable.
You’ve got ‘til Valentine’s Day to capture him — not because I’m being nice but because I have bigger problems to handle right now.
By dawn on the fifteenth either you’re handing Christopher over to me or I’m catching him myself. ”
He turned and stormed back toward the door but vanished before he even reached it.
I let out the breath I’d been holding.
Kaso bent over and put his hands on his knees.
“I don’t think we need to explain how bad it would be if—”
“Nope.” I shook my head and held my hands up to Chanel. “I got the memo. We dead dead if he has to do it.”
“So we don’t give him a reason to.” Regan cursed and started cracking her knuckles. “We have to change our strategy. Christopher is in our heads. We need to think outside the box and we need to do it fast.”
Chanel pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. She raised one pointer finger up. “Would this be one of those last resort moments we’ve talked about Regan?”
She sighed and nodded. “Yeah, I think it is. We’ll follow you.”
For the first time Regan didn’t seem to think twice about carrying me, normally she’d get all flustered and irritable. That either meant her affection towards me was growing or she decided I wasn’t worth her energy. I was hoping for the former.
My brother made a fool of himself by having Chanel carry him in the cradle of her arms but Chanel seemed to enjoy the goofiness. That made me happy. Most women didn’t understand all the intricate facets of Kaso’s vibrant personality.
I was just about to ask Regan where we were going when we dropped from the sky, slicing through the clouds with ease. My stomach dropped but in a fun way. Flying with an angel was better than any rollercoaster ever.
Actually, that would make a great idea for a rollercoaster. Maybe we should make that. My thoughts had wandered to a potential new hobby so Regan had to clear her throat to get my attention.
I smiled down at her. “Yes?”
“Your feet are literally flat on the ground.”
I jumped back and out of her arms. “Sorry, I was …distracted.”
She smirked. “Clearly. I’m afraid to ask.”
“He’s over there,” Chanel called out, interrupting my thoughts about rollercoasters and Regan’s smile.
“Who is?” I asked with a frown.
“Mendrion,” Regan answered softly.
I gasped. “The angel? Like one of The Watchers?”
She nodded. “Indeed. C’mon, let’s make this quick.”
Chanel led our little group through the snow covered forest to where a lone towering figure stood, barely visible in his white cloak surrounded by freshly fallen snow.
We were several feet away still when his head turned to the side, his face still hidden by the white hood.
“Ask yourself if this is dire enough to warrant interruption on this special day,” his deep voice sent a cold shiver down my spine.
Kaso and I stopped moving at the same time. We looked to each other with wide eyes. We weren’t children, we knew our fair share of angels and higher ups, but we’d never had the chance to meet the rest of The Watchers. In fact, up until this ordeal, we’d only ever met the one angel — Zuriel.
Chanel, however, did not slow down. “I’d like to think I make the single exception to that rule?”
The man turned to face us as he pushed his hood back off his head.
He was tall with a solid build and light brown skin.
His dark brown hair and eyes were a nice combination.
He was handsome without being dauntingly pretty like my brother.
But it was the aura around him that sent goosebumps across my skin.
He looked down at Chanel and the harsh lines of his face softened slightly. “Oh, ‘tis only you, daughter.”
“Daughter?” Kaso hissed and stopped short. He grabbed my arm and yanked me back. “Did he just say Chanel is his daughter?”
I snorted.
“Hello, father.” She bounced over to kiss his cheek. “We’re sorry to bother you, I didn’t realize what day it was—”
“Not a bother for you.” Mendrion glanced to the side. “Or your partner in crime.”
Regan grinned and gave him a light salute. “Phil come out yet?”
“Phil?” Kaso shrieked. “Who the blazes is Phil?”
“Groundhog,” Regan answered with a shrug. “It’s Groundhog day.”
Mine and Kaso’s jaw dropped.
Mendrion laughed. “You’re too young to understand, perhaps too human as well.
I love this day, it fascinates me. The humans have decided a groundhog is to predict whether or not spring is coming or if winter is extended.
And by the sight of a shadow? Hilarious.
Can’t make this stuff up, seriously, where do the humans get these ideas? ”
Chanel tried not to laugh.
I glanced ahead toward where he’d been looking and spotted a group of middle aged men wearing black cloaks and black face masks and those silly hats they used to wear for a while.
One of the guys held a groundhog in his hands as if that was totally a normal thing to do on a Monday morning in the snow.
“Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye!” The older human shouted into the microphone being held up to his mouth so he could hold a scroll. “Now, this second day of February two thousand twenty one. The 135th annual track of Punxsutawney groundhog club—”
“Oh, it’s starting. You’ll have to excuse me,” Mendrion said as he spun back around.
“Father,” Chanel spoke softly but urgently. “We need your help. Please?”
“The word Punxsutawney is a great word, you just don’t hear words like that used these days,” Mendrion spoke mostly to himself as if he hadn’t heard his daughter at all.
Kaso’s eyes bugged out as he looked to me, his skin nearly green now.
I slammed my lips together to stop myself from laughing at his expense. I put my finger over my mouth and shook my head.
“Punxsutawney Phil, the seer of seers, the prognosticators of all prognosticators, was awakened from his borough at seven-twenty-five a.m. by his handler and friend,” the announcer man continued then paused to glance at the other human beside him holding said groundhog in his leather gloved hands.
“Look at him,” Mendrion said with a chuckle as he scooped popcorn from his cup. “Unhand me you fools, that’s what Phil’s thinking.”
Regan leaned in front of him slightly. “Uncle?”
He waved her off. “This is a lot more fun when there’s other human spectators for the event. That newest plague—”
“Father,” Chanel hissed as she squeezed his arm.
He flinched and looked down at her. “Chanel, Phil’s about to make his prediction. Don’t interrupt my fun—”
“Father, Zuriel gave us a deadline—”
Mendrion groaned. “I cannot help you with your silly little vampire, Chanel. That is your mandate as a Virtue. I am a Watcher and not one like Eloa, either.”
“Fair,” Regan whispered at the mention of her mother’s name.
“I’m not asking you to do anything, I’m asking for advice.”
“Oh, advice? That’s all?” He looked up to the men holding the groundhog. “He’s about to make his prediction, just go ask him—”