Phoenix’s Refrain by Ella Summers

5

New Orders

Unfortunately, Faris and Grace noticed that Zane and I were riding one of those tornado elevator things off the flying asphalt island, and my annoying parents followed us out of River-the-rogue-Guardian’s secret Vault.

We passed through the glowing curtain but did not return to the Lost City. The spell dropped us off inside my office in Purgatory’s main Legion building.

I looked around. “Strange that it brought us here. The passages between portals are usually set, locked on both ends.”

“Usually but not always,” replied Zane. “According to River, the tornado elevator can take someone anywhere on Earth. It reads your thoughts to decide where to go. You must have been thinking of this place.”

I glanced at the rather substantial pile of paperwork on my desk. “I was thinking of all the work I still have to do.”

Zane looked at the stack. “When’s the last time you filled out a mission report?”

“Uh…never.”

I was kidding. Mostly.

“I’m not good at writing things down,” I said. “My assistant Lucy usually does it for me. But she’s on vacation right now. The last apocalypse was a tad too much excitement for her, so I told her to take a few weeks off.”

Angel pounced on one of the piles of paperwork, sending loose sheets flying everywhere. I caught the wayward pieces of paper with my telekinetic magic and reformed the stack. On the plus side, thanks to my chronic case of disorganization, it wasn’t any more chaotic than it had already been.

“You might not be good at filling out your paperwork, but your spells are topnotch, Leda,” Zane said, grinning.

I returned the grin. “Thanks. I’ve been practicing. I can even fold the pages into little magic origami birds and make them fly. Wanna see? We could send a flock of them down the main corridor and watch everyone duck for cover.”

“You might be an angel now, but you’re still the same old Leda,” Zane laughed.

“Of course. I’m incorrigible. Calli always told me that.”

“You’re not just incorrigible; you’re incurable. What am I going to do with you?” Faris said, making himself comfortable behind my desk.

“Err, perhaps not try to turn me into a weapon,” I suggested, flashing him my teeth. “I might misfire. And hit you instead.”

Faris leaned back in my chair. It was sturdy, but I was still worried it might snap under the weight of his ego.

“Insolence is not an endearing trait in a daughter,” he told me.

“I’m sorry you think so. I was hoping we could share a big hug later.” I spread my arms wide.

Faris looked at me like he thought my kind of madness was contagious. “You’re not as funny as you think you are.”

“Sure she is,” Grace laughed, opening up her arms to me.

I just stared at her. She’d called my bluff. Damn it. Grace chuckled.

“If you two are quite finished being ridiculous, I will be taking my leave of you now.” Faris rose smoothly to his feet and grabbed Zane’s arm.

“What do you think you’re doing?” I demanded.

“Taking the Ghost, of course.”

I knocked his hand away from my brother. “I don’t think so.”

“Indeed,” Grace said stiffly. “I will be taking him.”

Faris glowered at her. “If you think I will allow you to take him—”

“I didn’t say I was giving you a choice, Faris.”

“If either of you want to take Zane, you will have to get through me first,” I declared. “He is under my protection.”

“Don’t be foolish, child. The Guardians likely let Zane go for a reason,” Faris pointed out. “I intend to find out what that reason is.”

“I do not believe for a second that Zane is working with the Guardians. I know my brother.”

“He’s not your brother,” Faris said with strained patience.

“He is more my brother than you are my father.”

“You’re being very unreasonable. And quite emotional.” He said it with distaste, like emotion was a sin.

“Zane was with the Guardians for a long time, Leda. Two years. Who knows what they did to him. Or how they’ve worked over his mind,” Grace said gently—or at least she pretended to be gentle.

I had to say, I got really worried when my parents stopped bickering for a moment and actually agreed on something.

But still I insisted, “My gut tells me that this is the same Zane he’s always been.”

“Your ‘gut’ is irrelevant here,” Faris said with obvious disdain.

“Leda, are you sure you’re not just believing what you want to believe?” Grace asked.

Neither Faris nor Grace seemed impressed by my confidence in Zane.

“You’re the Demon of Faith, Grace. So how about having a little faith?” I told her.

“Clever, Leda.”

I took a bow. “Thank you.”

“But you know things don’t work that way,” she said.

“Like I said, I know my brother. And I know you two too. That’s why I’m not letting either of you take him. You’re both itching for an excuse to nab a telepath, especially Faris.”

Grace looked at Faris. “She’s not wrong about you.”

“Oh, do shut up.” The expression on his face was positively searing.

My office door creaked open. I spun around to find Nyx stepping through the doorway. The First Angel was wearing her black hair short and straight today. It framed her face, following her jawline. Nyx possessed some pretty spectacular shifting magic. But she didn’t seem to be in the mood for pretty things right now, not like when her hair was long and flowed weightlessly in the air, as though it were floating underwater. No, her hair was stern today. Just like her face. And her no-nonsense black uniform.

“Pandora.” Her voice was somber, but also a tad exasperated. “I’ve been trying to contact you for hours.”

“I hope it wasn’t important.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Don’t play games with me. Nero tried to cover for you, but his excuses, creative as they might be, didn’t fool me for a second. Where were you?”

“Out,” I said vaguely.

“Obviously you were out. Because you certainly weren’t in.”

“I was just having some quality family time.”

Nyx’s face told me she didn’t buy my story one bit.

“You have been fighting.” She picked debris off my jacket. “Extensively.” She pointed out the monster blood on my boots.

“That’s normal with my family.”

“You’re pregnant.”

“I know.”

“Well, apparently, it just slipped your mind. Just like my orders for you to remain here.”

“I was with Faris and Grace. Surely, a god’s orders supersedes your orders?”

I glanced back at Faris, but he was gone. So was Grace. They’d both vanished. I’d thought the room had grown suddenly very quiet and peaceful.

Nyx gave me a hard look.

Typical. When I didn’t want Faris and Grace around, I couldn’t get rid of them. But when I actually needed them, they were nowhere to be found.

“They were right here just a minute ago,” I told Nyx.

Nyx sighed, a rare show of emotion. “I believe you.”

“You do?”

“No one is crazy enough to lie about going on an outing with a god and a demon.”

“I might be crazy enough.” Then I added quickly, “But I’m not lying.”

Nyx shook her head. “So was this dangerous, monster-fighting excursion at least fruitful?”

“I guess. Kind of. We were in the Lost City.”

“Didn’t get enough of it your first time around?”

“Well, no. That’s why I went back there. I’ve been having these visions again, like I had back then, and…” I stopped when I saw the look on her face. “You think I’ve lost my mind.”

“No. I’ve had visions of my own.”

“Oh, right. Of me at the head of a demon army.”

Her dark brows drew together. “How do you know about that?”

Oops.

I smiled and shrugged.

“If you’re going to eavesdrop on people’s private conversations, Pandora, you should take care not to admit your guilt later.”

“I’ll try to remember that,” I said quickly.

I didn’t want her to remember what had happened after that conversation I’d overheard between her and Ronan. I didn’t want her to know what else I’d seen that I shouldn’t have. Because then I might have been in actual trouble.

“So the visions,” I said. “They’re coming from this secret place. The Vault, she called it.”

“She who?”

“River. She claims to be a rogue Guardian.”

“Be careful, Leda.”

“I am being careful. I’m not even sure I trust River. She could be trying to manipulate us.”

“So this River is the one who sent you the visions?”

“She said she didn’t send me the visions. All she said is they came from the Vault. Like those memories were the treasures held in that vault. But like I said, I’m not sure I can trust her. If she’s telling the truth, and she really is a rogue Guardian, she might be able to help us take down the Guardians. And if she’s lying to me, well, we might be able to use her to take down the Guardians anyway. If we can find her again.” I looked at my brother. “Do you know how to find her?”

But before he could speak, Nyx said, “That is your brother Zane.”

“Yes,” I said cautiously.

“Your brother who was abducted by the Guardians two years ago.”

“Yes. He says River helped him escape the Sanctuary.”

“Be careful,” Nyx told me again, like I was never careful or something. “The Guardians might have let him go; maybe they want him out here for some reason.” Nyx turned an assessing stare on him. “Or maybe he is willingly helping them.”

Déjà vu. Faris and Grace had said the same thing.

“No, he’s not helping them,” I defended my brother.

“Just to be sure, I want the Legion’s doctors to check him out,” Nyx said,

“What do you think they will find?”

“I don’t know. That’s why I want him checked out.”

“Nyx—”

“I’ll go,” Zane said, stepping forward. “I have nothing to hide.” He smiled at me. “And the sooner they realize that, the sooner we can have a long-overdue reunion.”

“And return home to see the rest of our family,” I said.

Zane reached out to squeeze my hand. “Absolutely.”

Two Legion soldiers stepped into my office. Man, Nyx worked fast. I hadn’t even seen her call them in. She must have done it telepathically. And the soldiers must have been waiting just outside my office.

Nyx watched them lead Zane away. When they were gone, she turned to me and said, “Obviously, you’re bored, Pandora. You have too much time on your hands. It seems relieving you of your duties wasn’t a good idea after all. It gives you too much time to think up ways to put yourself in danger.”

“I didn’t go to the Lost City to be dangerous. I did it because this investigation is important,” I insisted. “These visions mean something. Something with global, even galactic ramifications. It’s important.”

“So is my next assignment for you.”

Apparently, my protests had fallen on deaf ears.

“What is the assignment?” I said cautiously.

“Some good, long hours in the classroom for lessons on angel decorum and etiquette. It’s long overdue, and now that you’re pregnant, you have all the time in the world.”

“Angel school?” I groaned. “I would rather kill monsters.”

“I know you would. But, much as you like to forget it, the Legion of Angels is not a democracy, Leda. It’s an army. So when I give you an order, you don’t have a choice in the matter. And that means bright and early tomorrow morning, you will report to Classroom 169 in Building One for some long-overdue lessons in angel manners.”