The Sweetest Burn (Broken Destiny #2)

I shook Jaz off, ignoring her insistence to come with me and Costa’s urgings for me to wait. Then I ran outside, slamming the door on the Mustang and locking it. I’d just thrown the car into gear and hit the gas when a dark figure appeared right in front of me.

I slammed on the brakes when his face was revealed in the headlights, but still, I banged into him. Zach didn’t react in anger at nearly being run over. Instead, the Archon’s mouth quirked, as if I’d amused him by hitting him.

“Get out of the car,” he said in a pleasant voice.

I revved the engine instead. “Move away, Zach! You’re not stopping me from going after Adrian.”

“No, I’m not,” he agreed mildly. “But if you get out, I can get you there much faster and safer.”

I hesitated only a second before killing the engine and getting out of the car. Archons claimed that they never lied, and so far, that hadn’t been disproven. If Zach really could get me to Adrian faster, I wouldn’t waste any more time arguing.

And if he was about to prove that Archons could lie, then I’d find a way to make him pay.

“Let’s go,” I said. “Are we going to fly or something?”

I’d never seen him do that, but if a gargoyle could fly, an Archon should be able to. With another faint smile, Zach shook his head. Then he grasped my hand and pulled.

I fell forward into blinding light. For a moment, I felt like I was the one flying because my body was suddenly weightless, soaring and free. Then the light crystallized into colors and shapes. Warmth poured over me, soft grass teased my feet and, when I inhaled, the air was scented so heavily with flowers and flora that breathing it in felt like the world’s most extravagant aromatherapy treatment. I looked at Zach, and for a split second, I saw something bright and formless shimmering inside him.

Then it faded into his normal appearance of a young, attractive African-American man with close-cropped hair and deep, walnut-colored eyes. Another glance showed that we were in the middle of a vast, flowering field, with lush trees offering shade from the warm, radiant sunshine. Blue-tinged mountains cradled the horizon, and sparkling creeks wound through the valleys below. Everything was so beautiful, it looked like Zach had pulled me inside a Monet painting, but instead of being charmed, I was panicked.

“What is this? You promised to take me to Adrian!”

“And I will,” Zach replied, his faint eye roll adding, O ye of little faith. “He’s right through that door.”

I looked around, seeing nothing but the same exquisite landscape. “What door?”

“The invisible one,” Zach replied, maddening me. “It can’t be seen, Ivy. Only felt, so stretch out your hands and feel it.”

I clenched my fists instead. “We don’t have time for this. Adrian could be dying right now.”

“He’s not,” Zach said, his tone turning sharp. “And it’s past time you learned what you already should have figured out. Everything the demons have is a duplicate of something else.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I snapped.

Zach shot me a warning look for my choice of words. “Adrian isn’t hurt at the moment, but that could change, if you choose to keep arguing with me instead of doing what I say.”

I wanted to slap him, but I didn’t because he might smite me on the spot. Plus, he was right; the longer I argued, the longer it would take for me to get to Adrian.

So, I thrust out my arms and began to walk. I looked ridiculous, as if I was trying out for a spot in an old-style zombie movie, and worse, I didn’t feel anything. Right as I was about to demand that Zach at least play hot or cold to give me a hint on which direction, something sizzled across my hands.

I stopped, reaching out again after I’d instinctively yanked them back. Another sizzle, this time up to my forearms, and right before my eyes, my hands disappeared.

I swung around, staring at Zach with awed comprehension. “Adrian just showed me that hallowed objects have evil counterparts, and if everything demons have is a duplicate of something else, then there aren’t just demon realms and demon gateways. There are also Archon realms and gateways, so this—” my wave indicated the bright, stunningly beautiful landscape around us “—is an Archon realm.”

Zach smiled; a pure, genuine smile without any of his usual irony, sarcasm or challenge. The difference was night and day, and for a moment, I again glimpsed that incredible, ethereal form that pulsed against the edges of his skin, reminding me that his body was only meant to cover up what he really was.

“Close,” he replied. “Archons do come and go from places like this, but we dwell in the higher realms. This realm and others like it were originally made for humans. After the fall of man, all of them were sealed off, yet they still have gateways.”

Stories I’d long ago dismissed as myths filled in what he didn’t say, and I looked around with a fresh sense of awe.

“Eden,” I breathed. “This realm is Eden, or at least, one of the Edens.” And if it was a realm... “Time moves differently here, doesn’t it? That’s why you’re not concerned about getting me to Adrian.”

Another smile, though this one had his usual, ironic edge. “Haven’t you noticed that if you merely stop worrying for a few minutes, you are able to think far more clearly?

“Have you seen my life?” I countered. “It’s been a nonstop roller coaster of stress, danger and impossible expectations, so worry-free contemplation time? Not in large supply.”

Zach sighed. “Your mind should rule your circumstances, not the other way around.”

My fingers began to drum against my leg. “Easy for an all-powerful Archon to say.”

His eyes blazed with light for a brief moment. “I am not all-powerful. I can be hurt and killed, as can those I love. Our differences are fewer than you allow yourself to believe.”

Hardly. If I had his abilities, people wouldn’t be dying on the streets of Marquette University right now. Zach knew what was going on, yet instead of helping them, he was lecturing me about worrying and willpower. He might not be in a hurry to save anyone, but I was.

“Is that so?” Zach said, raising a brow. “What if I told you that Adrian will survive tonight, but many people won’t, unless you do something to help them? Would you still be in a hurry to return, if you knew that only strangers’ lives were in danger instead of Adrian’s?”

He really thought Adrian’s was the only life I cared about? “Can I cross through the gateway without you?”

Zach’s lips curled; definitely not a real smile this time. “Yes. When you get to the other side, mark the spot where you came out. Then, return the same way. No one can follow unless you pull them through, so on this side, you’re safe.”

My irritation with him vanished with this news. “I can pull anyone over here with me?”

“Anyone,” Zach repeated, challenge edging his tone. “Except demons, of course. Archons can’t cross into their worlds and demons can’t cross into ours. So, what will you do?”

I gave Zach a hard look as I stretched out my hands, feeling for the energy surge that marked the gateway. He might be content with letting people die when he could do something about it, but I wasn’t.

“Just you watch.”