Jordan rolls his eyes and crosses his arms over his chest.
I pull him aside and hiss in his ear, ‘Do you think I’m doing this for fun?’
‘Hell, no. I wish you didn’t have to, that’s all. But I agree with Amber, you need the truth and DNA will give you that.’
‘So you agree I should do it.’
‘Absolutely.’
I drag him further away and whisper more softly, ‘You don’t think this is a scam the Dark Prince concocted to have me abducted again?’
He doesn’t answer right away; his frown tells me he’s putting a lot of thought into it. ‘You need this proof, Ebony. I’ll be with you all the way. If I see anything suspicious, I’ll get you out of there fast. You trust me, don’t you?’
I don’t know why I hesitate. Of course I trust Jordan. He and Amber are the two people I trust with my life.
‘I have more news, Ebony,’ Mr Zavier calls out. He waits for us to return. ‘Having a sixteen-year-old daughter has understandably come as a shock to Dr West. He had no idea Rachel had fallen pregnant. And since he has a young family now, at this initial stage he would like to move forward with discretion.’
Now that I’ve made my decision this is disappointing. ‘I understand. How long does he want to wait?’
‘Oh, he doesn’t want to wait. He’s requested an immediate paternity test to settle the matter today.’
‘Today?’ Amber yelps, and squeezing my hand she leans over and whispers in a barely audible voice, ‘Are you sure you don’t want time to check Dr West out on Google first?’
‘Dr West will perform the tests himself in a private consulting room at his clinic,’ Mr Zavier says. ‘It will be off the record so there will be complete privacy for both of you, and he will expedite the pathology, as long as you accept these terms.’
I glance at Jordan and find him staring at me with a look in his eyes that’s so miserable it’s like the world is ending. I haven’t seen this look since the day we first met outside the nightclub Chill. ‘What’s wrong? Is there something you’re not telling me?’
He pulls me in for a hug. ‘I’m just happy for you.’
Mr Zavier says, ‘Ebony, I must first assure myself this is something you positively want to do.’
I take a deep breath. ‘OK. Yeah, I want to do it.’
‘Do you confirm you wish to meet this man willingly?’
‘Sure. I mean, yes, sir.’
‘Excellent. And just to be one hundred per cent clear, do you confirm no one is coercing you into attending this meeting?’
Jordan scoffs. ‘What’s with the twenty questions, Mr Zee?’
Mr Zavier gives him a scathing look. ‘If you don’t like what you’re hearing, young man, the door is over there. No one is forcing you to be here.’
They stare at each other with neither backing down. Amber whispers, ‘What’s with those two?’
I shrug and slide my hand into Jordan’s, linking fingers. ‘Relax, Jordan, it’s all right.’ I tell Mr Zavier, ‘No one is coercing me, sir.’
Jordan squeezes my hand. ‘Ebony, wait, I . . . uh . . . I gotta talk to you about this.’
Mr Zavier glares at Jordan. ‘You heard my niece. Now be quiet, or leave, Mr Blake.’ And to me he says, ‘Since Dr West lives nearby in Ferndale –’
‘Ferndale?’ Amber gasps. ‘That’s on Mount Bungarra, on the north-east slopes.’
‘That’s correct, Miss Lang, about fifteen minutes by car from the monastery on Ridge Road.’
‘He’s that close?’ I tug over the computer chair and flop into it.
Mr Zavier smiles down at me. ‘Dr West hasn’t always lived in Ferndale but his grandfather is a long-time resident of the picturesque town. It’s why young Adrian West spent time in the valley. He has fond memories, especially of Rachel, his first love.’
He hurries on excitedly: ‘Ebony, I took the liberty of checking your schedule for this afternoon. You have a free study period followed by double English Extension. According to your teacher you’re ahead of other students and would have no problem catching up.’
He stops to give me a moment to absorb what he’s saying. ‘We would have plenty of time, but I suggest we leave at the start of lunch so I can return you home before your curfew.’
‘How do you know about our curfew?’ Jordan asks.
‘The afternoon you came to my house I noticed how concerned you were with the time. And over the past several weeks neither of you have attended any evening school events. I recently learned your legal guardian is overseas. That’s when I figured he must have set you a curfew in his absence.’
Jordan’s hand squeezing mine hasn’t let up. He’s starting to breathe faster too. And his heart is racing. Something isn’t right. He looks . . . tortured. Under his breath he mutters almost soundlessly, ‘What am I doing? What in hell am I doing?’
I pull him aside, giving our profile to Mr Zavier. ‘Jordan, what’s going on?’ I whisper.
He sighs. ‘Nothing.’
‘That’s not true.’
He laughs, or tries to, but the laugh is off. ‘Ebony, you know I would never lie to you, right?’
I don’t answer. I’m starting to get strange vibes from him.
‘Come on,’ he says. ‘Let’s get this trip organised. I just have one request.’
‘What is it?’
‘That I come with you.’
Amber hears this last part, and as we turn back she says, ‘And me too.’
I put Jordan and Amber’s request to Mr Zavier. He gives Jordan a long-suffering glance before he tells me, ‘If you’re sure this is what you want, Ebony, then of course your friends can come. The problem is my car seats only two.’
Jordan says, ‘Then we’ll go in mine. It seats four.’
‘My car is specially configured for my long legs,’ Mr Zavier says, searing Jordan with a fierce look. ‘We will make the trip with mine.’ He shifts his glance to me. ‘You understand, don’t you, my dear? Of course, your friends are welcome to follow.’
‘Ebony rides with Amber and me,’ Jordan persists.
‘That’s a very powerful car you drive, young man. Fast. Italian. Supercar. I would feel more comfortable if Ebony rode with me.’
‘It doesn’t make sense when my car can fit all of us.’
Then Mr Zavier says, ‘Do you have a licence to drive that vehicle?’
‘This is starting to sound like blackmail.’
‘Just looking out for my niece.’
Jordan accepts the terms. ‘We leave at the same time and drive in tandem.’
‘Agreed,’ Mr Zavier says, already rushing off to his first class for the day. ‘I’ll see you girls in the lab in fifth period.’
27
Nathaneal
Jez offers to take the first shift. Without waiting for my OK, she leaps on to the ledge above and disappears over the snow. About to enter a tent, Michael notices I’m not following and frowns. ‘Are you coming in?’
‘Soon. There’s something I need to do first.’
He glances to the ledge above where the snow Jez dislodged still trickles down. ‘Can I give you some advice, Thane?’
‘About what, in particular?’ I tease, knowing exactly what’s coming.
‘Fire,’ he says, ‘of the black-haired-turquoise-eyed kind.’
I can’t help but laugh. ‘You mean, Je–’
He claps his hand over my mouth, his eyes darting to the upper ledge. I continue in a mind-link. I don’t need the burning wrath of that black-haired-turquoise-eyed fireball coming down on me, thanks, cousin.
Thoroughly amused at the Great Prince Michael, whose legend precedes him everywhere he goes, cowering at the thought of offending one young female angel, I lift my hands in the universal surrender gesture to assure him I won’t mention her name aloud. Michael, I don’t need your advice on this.
He links, I know. I simply suggest you use a mind-link rather than a face-to-face conversation. That female Seraph sure knows how
to dig her claws in. He shakes his head and grins.
I appreciate your concern, cousin, but it’s not necessary. This conversation won’t take long, I assure him.
His eyes flicker to the overhanging ledge so quickly that a human being wouldn’t catch the movement. The people of Earth have a saying: if you play with fire, you will get burned.
That happens to be true, but, Michael, fire of the black-haired- turquoise-eyed kind doesn’t interest me.
Good, because I promised your red-haired-violet-eyed fiancée that I would bring you back to her in one piece.
I remember, and I can’t help but smile at the memory of Ebony making Michael swear on our holy High King.
He pats my shoulder. Remember, you need your rest too.
As he turns to enter the tent, I can’t help one last attempt to tease him. Yes, Father.
‘You don’t have to babysit me,’ Jez says, by way of greeting when I return from a brief scout around and sit beside her on a rock wall covered in ice.
‘That’s not why I’m here.’
‘Then why are you here? Can’t you sleep for thinking of what your sweet little high-school girlfriend is doing to fill in her nights while you’re away?’
‘I came to thank you for accepting to join this difficult mission; I needed another healer on board. But if you insist on hurling your hatred of Ebony at me, I’ll leave now.’
She grips my arm to stop me rising. ‘Please, stay. I apologise, Thane. I’m sorry.’
‘Do you even know what you’re apologising for?’
‘Don’t get me wrong, I’m not apologising for hating her. Don’t expect me to ever apologise for that.’ Realising what she just blurted out, she closes her eyes. ‘I can’t help what I feel.’
‘We’re not made to feel hatred, but apparently you do.’
‘What are you saying? That I’m a dark angel in disguise?’
‘No, Jez, but you need to know I love Ebony. That’s the way it is.’
‘But, Thane, why? I don’t understand. For all those years before I met the girl, I had images of what Ebrielle would be like, and I imagined someone stunning and talented, intelligent and suited to you in every way. But Ebony is none of those things. She’s such a . . . a . . . nothing.’ Her eyes turn to me, pleading. ‘Thane, do you feel anything for me?’
Giving myself a moment to simmer down, I close my eyes and count. Her description of Ebony as a ‘nothing’ incites rage inside me of a kind I’ve felt only once before, when I faced the King of Skade in battle.
I don’t have time for this distraction, but I don’t want to hurt Jez either. Born in the same year, same province, to parents who were best friends, we became good friends too. So, taking a deep breath, I choose my words with care. ‘I have never felt for you what you wanted me to, Jez. I’m sorry that hurt your feelings.’
Looking down at her boots she whispers, ‘Was it something I did?’
I peer at her sideways – and her stunning turquoise eyes flutter up at me. She has not stopped trying to get my attention since we were babes in our cribs. Intelligent, talented, a skilled healer, known across the provinces for her exotic beauty, why can’t she let go of her obsession with making me her life partner? What is the real reason? Angels take partners for eternity. Wouldn’t she want someone who wants her as much in return?
‘Did I push you too hard,’ she persists, ‘to make you love me?’
‘Yes, you did, but that’s not the reason. I don’t know why any of us think and feel certain ways. I only know that we do. Jez, I have loved Ebony for far longer than you can imagine.’
Her head snaps up. ‘What do you mean? You only met recently.’
‘She forged a mind-link with me from her mother’s womb just before she was born and subsequently abducted, letting me know she was coming, that the seven years that had passed since we’d been together in Peridis were almost over and we could finally be together again, but in our corporeal bodies at last. I was so overexcited I ended up ruining everything. The time came for her birth and the midwife Myrinda, hurried me out. My fingers fumbled in the silk strands of the protective birthing chamber. One ray of light beaming out from the Lavender Forest that dark night was all it took to alert the enemy to her position.’
She inhales a sharp breath. ‘I didn’t know any of that.’ She stares into the darkness and the swirling snow that has begun to fall again. ‘You really knew her in the spirit world?’
‘We were lovers for three thousand years.’
She gasps, her mouth gaping open. I lift her chin with my finger, closing her mouth with a smile. ‘Are you OK, Jez? Do you understand the torture it’s been to come so close to being together again, only to have Ebony stolen and hidden away from me? I was only seven at the time, but my soul was much older.’
‘Why didn’t you tell anyone?’
‘I wanted to tell everyone, to shout it from temple balconies all over Aarabyth, but the enemy took her away that night, and left behind so much grief. My father’s soldiers hid in the trees not to give away the position of the birthing chamber. The enemy attacked from the sky with fire and explosives. I can still remember the scent of soldiers’ flesh burning as they fell to the ground. I still see the flames corroding their wings in my nightmares.’
‘So you kept it to yourself.’
‘No one knows other than Ebony’s parents, who still can’t recall anything from that night. I suspect Michael knows something, and recently I told my brother Gabe. And now you know.’
‘You must hate me!’
I take her hand and place it between my two palms. ‘I don’t hate you, Jez. I don’t know if I can hate. But that doesn’t stop me from determining right from wrong, or being able to act and make harsh decisions when they’re called for. I can still get angry. From Peridis, Ebony and I saw the wars, both of angels and of men, and, unable to do anything, we wept.’
Tears flow freely down her face, freezing like twin glaciers before they fall away. I pat the top of her hand. ‘Jez, I would like us to remain the friends I believe we were always meant to be, before you fell in love with my adorable eyes.’
She giggles, as I hoped she would, but her creamy skin flushing bright pink is a surprise. ‘How did you know about that?’
‘We’re Seraphim. Our words rumbled through those school halls from one set of ears to another’s without much thought for consequences in those youthful days.’
She laughs and adds softly, ‘I’m sorry, Thane.’
‘What for?’
‘Everything,’ she says, and this time, for the first time, she looks as if she truly means it. Suddenly the smile dissolves, she pulls her hand from mine, grasps the hilt of her sword and cocks her head.
What do you hear?
The wind picks up and it starts snowing heavier. She relaxes her stance slightly. ‘It’s just the wind.’
On our feet now, we both listen to the darkness, searching for the sound of movement. Snow whirls around us. After a while Jez sighs. ‘We did have fun in those school halls.’ She smiles to herself. ‘It’s a shame Ebony missed that.’
‘Yes, it is.’
‘Does she recall the mind-link she forged with you?’
I take my time answering. ‘Not yet.’
‘So you think she will in time?’
‘I’m hoping she does.’
‘And if she doesn’t?’
‘That will make no difference to me.’
‘Thane . . .’ she starts, and stops when she sees the look in my eyes.
I don’t want to hear it, but until she asks she won’t be satisfied. ‘Go on. Spit it out.’
‘Since Ebony has no memory of a vision she supposedly experienced, isn’t it plausible the girl you found is not the infant Ebrielle sixteen years later? How do you know with certainty Ebony is the same Ebrielle you knew in the spirit world?’
I don’t answer. First my brother has doubts, now Jez. I don’t dare ask my father for his opinion.
She misreads
my silence for an invitation to be candid. ‘What if the real Ebrielle is still waiting for you to find her?’
‘Real, Jez? Real?’
‘What if the Ebony you found is part of an elaborate plan to keep you away from the real abducted angel?’
‘Ebony is not a decoy.’
‘How can you be so sure?’
‘I just know, all right?’
She lays her hand on my arm as I prepare to leave. ‘Think about it, Thane. Just promise me you’ll think about it.’
28
Jordan
After spending my first two periods ditching classes and searching the internet on a library computer, I don’t find anything that connects Mr Zee to Dr West. I find loads about Dr West, his home town, where he went to boarding school, his achievements and placements in research and medicine in Brisbane, Melbourne and London.
At least he looks legit.
Just before morning break I have a free period and meet Skinner in our usual disgusting conference room, but once I start asking questions about Dr Adrian West he gets in a foul mood and is no help at all. He rambles on about how behind I am on my mission. ‘Get a move on,’ he says. ‘You’re taking too long, dude.’
‘I’m doing the best I can,’ I shout.
He moves fast, lifts me off the ground, and shoves my back up against a timber post between stalls. ‘Listen to me, Jordan, if you don’t make your move on Ebony now, or tell her something that will end her relationship with the prince right away, it will be too late and your mother will rot in Skade.’
He lets me go and storms out. Shoving my hands in my pockets I stare after him, wondering what’s got him all worked up. My pockets start vibrating. Strange, as I only have one phone. I pull it out and see it’s not my phone at all, but both my hands trembling. I shove them back in my pockets and go to fourth period.
Before I walk into class I meet up with Danny. ‘Hey, Jordy, you look like death. What’s going on?’
‘Long story. Don’t worry about it.’
‘Are you sure I can’t help?’
I think about how two heads are supposedly better than one, but there’s so much I haven’t told him and don’t have time to explain now. ‘Nah, but thanks anyway.’ A sense of urgency comes over me and I change my mind about going into class. ‘If anyone’s asking for me, tell them I’ll be in the library.’