“I’ll make arrangements. Please meet me above this cave in a half an hour,” he instructed. “I will know where it’s at by sensing your presence.”
“I didn’t know you could still do that. I’ve had so many changes.”
“The one thing that hasn’t changed about you is what I’m tied into,” he said and hung up.
“What’s that?” Mia asked, not knowing herself. She walked into the cabin of the sailboat and handed the phone to Ted. “I’m going to meet Angelo up there.”
“I’ll go with you. I just have to complete these transfers.”
“I’ll take Kevin and Fergus with me,” Mia said. “You finish your work so we can party later with the others.”
Ted smiled. He knew Mia didn’t care for the get-togethers at the bar with the rest of the PEEPs. The island was rife with spirits that congregated in the restaurants and bars. Mia did it because it was good for the team to be all together.
Mia pumped the rented bike’s pedals hard up the hill. She knew she may be a little late because she wasn’t able to locate Kevin and Fergus in time. It’s not that she needed a chaperone with Angelo. She should be fine as long as she kept her distance. Mia arrived at the site with seconds to spare. The superhuman genes kept her performance high even on the steeper terrain. Mia arrived sweaty but happy with her accomplishment.
She put a finger to her carotid artery. Her pulse was high, but her heart was pumping with a steady beat.
Angelo watched her from the trees as she pulled her silver-blonde hair back in a ponytail. Her body glistened with sweat under the PEEPs cut-away sweats she chose to wear. She was beautiful.
Mia looked around and smiled as Angelo walked out of the trees. His large, Italian, muscled frame seemed at odds with the clothing he wore. He looked more like a well-dressed mobster than the leader of the North American Wing of the Brotherhood.
“Little Bird, I had forgotten there were no cars here.”
“It was either a bike or a horse. I thought perhaps the horse would pick up my unusual scent and take off,” Mia explained. “It was hard going up that damn hill, but it will be a breeze on the way back.”
“Be careful you don’t go too fast and end up in the lake,” he teased.
“Now, that’s highly probable,” Mia admitted. “Thank you for coming so quickly.”
“One doesn’t dally when ATzxes are spotted,” he said.
Mia pulled off her backpack. “I brought climbing gear.”
“Mia, we don’t need gear,” Angelo said.
“What if we’re being watched?” Mia said, looking around.
“I sense no one here,” he said. “Come.” Angelo held out his hand, and when Mia put hers in his, he held her tight to him. His wings appeared and wrapped around them. When he let go, they were a few yards into the cave.
Mia stepped away, dizzy. “What did you do to me?” she asked.
“Just transported us. I tried to read your mind, but you’ve fortified since we last met. Your body, however, I had no trouble reading,” he said. “Why do you keep me from your thoughts?” he asked. “I hear you share them freely with angels and fallen, but not me?”
“I used to know who you were, and then things changed. Or maybe I changed. I’m a very dangerous person to be in association with, especially one climbing the ladder of the Brotherhood of the Wing,” Mia said. “I wouldn’t have called you if I could have avoided it.”
Angelo looked down at her. He couldn’t read her anymore. He reached for her, and she backed away. It made him angry, but not angry enough to hurt her. She would always be his little bird, no matter who she aligned herself with. “Show me where you found the ATzxe.”
Mia opened her hand and produced a small ball of light. “It’s a new trick,” she said, pleased with herself.
“You’re using the friction of the telekinesis to ignite the oxygen,” Angelo observed. “Nicholai teach you that?”
“No. He spent his time tossing me face down in the mud.”
Angelo laughed. “He’s a great teacher.”
“Here,” Mia said, stopping.
“Direct your light on the wall,” he asked.
They saw the dark shadow twitch and start to slide down the wall.
“Be careful, it’s going for your feet,” Mia warned.
“Primitive. It hasn’t latched on to a spirit to gain intelligence,” Angelo observed. “Shine it on the floor.”
The DTD moved deeper into the cave. Angelo followed, keeping Mia just behind him. He stopped, flexed his fingers, and cast a ball of light that hung high in the cave. The floor was a mass of DTDs. Their eellike bodies twisted around each other.
“It looks like hundreds of them,” Mia said.
“We need to purge the cave with fire. I’ll call for backup.”
Mia heard a sound behind her. She ventured out towards the entrance, and standing there, bold as life, was a man who bore a remarkable resemblance to Edwin Gifford. He wore the garb of an eighteenth-century ship’s captain. Behind him, floating in the lake, was the Peacock and the Devil’s Pride.
“Captain George Wall, I presume?” Mia asked.
“Aye. Who be askin’?”
“She’s Abigor’s Emissary,” Captain Waite identified as he was pushed forward by two massive pirates. Mia saw his hands were bound behind him.
“Captain Waite, are you alright? What are you doing here?” Mia asked.
“Stephen told me a tale about a certain Rosa de Familiare and a treasure…”
“My treasure!” Captain Wall said. “I followed him. I sensed he was up to no good.”
“There is a distinct possibility that it is on this island,” Mia said.
“Maybe in this
