The Devil's Third (32 page)

“Do you want me to grab you a blanket and pillow,” he asked me. “I was just getting mine, so it wouldn’t be any trouble.”

I gave him a half-smile. “Yes, please.” He reached above me, the hem of his black T-shirt rising, revealing his hip bone and taut stomach. For some reason, I had the urge to run my finger across it but glanced away instead. “Can you get Nathan a blanket and pillow as well?”

Brayden grunted, and then tossed the items to Nathan, his eyes never leaving mine, saying,
I’m being nice for you
.

“Thanks,” Nathan said in a flat tone after the pillow hit him in the face and fell into his lap.

Brayden smirked, then handed my stuff to me. I thanked him and was surprised when he leaned over and kissed my cheek. “Sleep well,” he whispered. He kissed it again before turning away to settle himself in for the duration of the trip.

That was unexpected, and I didn’t really know how to react. I mean, Brayden reminded me of home, and the familiarity of his presence did bring some comfort to me. However, I hadn’t forgotten about the things he told me in the hotel room and that he thought Anwar walked on water. No. No matter how much I cared for him, I had to remind myself of his misguided ways.

“What movie would you like to watch?” Nathan asked. I turned to him and caught him looking at Brayden with disapproval, but his eyes softened when they rested on my face.

I chose
The Goonies
since it was filmed in Astoria, and I really liked the movie. But I must have fallen asleep at the beginning of it because the last thing I could remember was Chunk spraying whipped cream in his mouth.

Chapter Thirty-One

Nathan

All four of us slept most of the way to Portugal, which made time fly by. We made ourselves presentable before leaving the plane and roaming the airport to stretch our legs while it refueled. We had an hour to kill, and I knew Paige would love some coffee.

“I think we should stick together,” Paige said, latching onto Tree’s wrist, pulling him next to her. “There might be dark spirits around.”

“Even so, there are too many people for them to cause any shit.” Brayden was on the other side of Tree, watching an Indian couple walk by. They were wheeling their luggage behind, talking in Hindi. The female had a bright red dot in the center of her forehead close to the eyebrows. A bindi is what they called it. It had several meanings, one of them was to protect the person from demons or bad luck.

I squeezed Paige’s hand. “I don’t think you’ll have to worry about it. I’m sure Bael called his hounds from hell off for the time being.”

Paige straightened her back and raised her chin. “It didn’t stop Aosoth, though. I don’t want to take any chances.”

“Don’t worry, Paige,” Tree said. “I’ll stick with you throughout this trip. You and I are in this together. Remember?”

Paige leaned her head against his arm. “Yeah, we are. Thanks.”

“This airport is so white and sterile looking compared to Portland’s,” Brayden said to no one in particular. “At least at the food court there’s a splash of color here and there.”

He was right. Straight ahead was a bright, turquoise sign that said
My Bistro
. Against the white wall, the color jumped right at you. There was a large picture–hung between two metal stands–of a coffee cup on a saucer filled with a frothy cappucinno. A delightful expression shown on Paige’s face when she spotted it. She hurried her steps, pulling both Tree and me with her.

After we ordered and paid, we sat at one of the square, stainless steel café tables in the eating area, waiting for our food.

“Omigod. This cappucinno is awesome.” Paige took another sip and closed her eyes. “Mmmmmm. I’m in coffee heaven.” She looked at me, a mischievous grin forming on her face. “I think I might order another one before we go.”

Brayden laughed. “Have you forgotten what an overdose of caffeine does to you?” He raised an eyebrow, smiling at Paige.

Jealousy swept through me. Brayden and Paige had years of fond memories together, which would forever connect them. Memories and inside jokes I was clueless on and when brought up, made me feel awkward. I wasn’t used to those types of feelings. I knew what they were. Insecurities. It didn’t bode well with me, and I shifted in my seat, dropping my eyes to my coffee cup. In truth, I became more annoyed with myself than the present company. Since I’d been with Paige, she stirred emotions in me I could only describe as foreign, and the others were long forgotten
human
feelings abandoned after I became immortal. However, I wouldn’t trade it or her for the world.

“No,” Paige answered him, sliding her hand on my knee beneath the table, causing me to look up and see her smiling face.

Tree nudged my arm with his elbow. “She gets hyper and doesn’t shut up,” he told me.

“She gets silly,” Brayden added.

“I recall you mentioning this before,” I said to him, remembering it clearly. It was at Paige’s mom’s funeral before Paige passed out. Reminding them would be in poor taste, so I kept my mouth shut, but the memory of it caused me to narrow my eyes, and my lips formed a tight line.

Brayden’s cheeks bloomed red. He caught his infraction. Harmless on his part; however, it shifted the lighthearted mood around our table to a quiet, dismal one. Both Paige and Tree were quick enough to have caught it as well.

Our food was brought to us, and Paige ordered another cappuccino to go. Tree smiled and shook his head at her, brightening the melancholy mood. “I take it you decided to be our source of entertainment for a while?”

“We have an eight hour flight ahead of us,” Brayden said to her. “This should be interesting. I think I’ll enjoy watching you spazzing out.”

Paige flicked a hand in the air, waving off their remarks. “I’m immortal now. I don’t think I’ll get jacked up on caffeine like I did once upon a time ago.”

She was wrong.

Thirty minutes into our flight to Ethiopia, Paige was talking a million miles an hour. She couldn’t sit still. She moved from seat to seat, talking to Brayden, then to Tree. She told Tree what Jade said to me about Carrie. I didn’t mind her telling him, but I didn’t particularly care for Brayden knowing about it when right now his motives seemed questionable. Nevertheless, he’d find out sooner or later, so I kept quiet except for when Tree pelted me with questions about it. Of course, he was stunned by this information and told us as soon as Paige finds and destroys the incantations, he wanted to go straight home to Carrie. I assured him Paige and I would head back to Astoria with him.

We had eight hours ahead of us and the first five went by rather quickly due to the conversations initiated by Paige in her hyper state. Brayden shared some information that threw me back a couple paces. The reason Anwar performed a blood oath with Bael was he grew tired of this world and being immortal. He wasn’t happy with the changes and thought if he could be a part of Bael’s revolution to change back to the old ways, bring earth to its ultimate glory, Anwar would find peace and joy again. But since it was no longer going to happen, Anwar was stuck in a binding agreement he now regretted. I knew the last part from the conversation I had with him, but I was unaware of his unhappiness. In my mind, though, his actions toward Paige and I were inexcusable. As heartless as it may seem, I had no sympathy for him. Period.

Paige bit her lip, worry etching her features. “Do you think Anwar would take his own life?”

I shook my head. “No. His spirit is still bound to Bael unless Bael voids the pact between them.”

“So Anwar is totally screwed now,” Tree said.

“Pretty much,” I answered. What Anwar told me earlier had me puzzled, though. Why would he tell me where his journals were, and he wanted me to have them? I hadn’t really thought about it, but now it seemed he was planning on leaving. It didn’t make sense, and for some strange reason an unexpected wave of deep sadness went through me. I turned in my seat and stared out the window into the star-filled night. If I were being honest with myself, a part of me still cared for Anwar.

The Anwar I used to know.

I thought about families I knew back in the Civil War. Good families with strong bonds ripped in two when one brother decided to fight for the south and the other fought for the north. I had watched in the shadows as it all played out. The war spilled into loving households, and then into their hearts, pitting brother against brother, father against son. And now, this war against good and evil had essentially done the same thing to Anwar and me.

With a heavy heart, I closed my eyes, tuning out the other conversations. Visions of smoky fields and the sound of gunfire encompassed my mind. Young men screaming in agony, writhing on the ground, their chests soaked in blood, some with limbs missing. Bayonets fixed, hand-to-hand combat, no mercy. A bloodbath.

I must have fallen asleep because I awoke with a jolt, my forehead damp with sweat. The loud speaker blared our landing in Abbis Ababa. Shem ended his announcement with the current time of 9:12 in the morning in the capital city of Ethiopia.

Vivid dreams of war still swam in my head, and the smell of gunpowder lingered in my nostrils. A warm hand touched my arm. Bleary eyed, I turned, meeting Paige’s nervous expression.

“Are you okay?” She removed her hand from my arm and placed it on my cheek. “You don’t look so good.”

“I’m fine,” I said, not wanting her to worry.

“I can’t believe we’re in Africa.” Tree rose from his seat and stretched. “This is wild.”

“Are you sure?” Paige asked me, her eyes never leaving my face. “You look pale.”

“Maybe he needs to eat,” Brayden said from behind us, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Ignoring his comment, I covered Paige’s hand with mine. “Yes, I’m sure.” I leaned next to her ear and whispered, “I was having disturbing dreams about the war is all.” I pulled back and continued in my normal tone. “I am hungry.”

“I think we all are,” Paige said, following my lead. She stood and smoothed her clothes. She offered me her hand, and I took it, allowing her to pull me to my feet.

Brayden was leaning against the edge of a seat, texting. “I’m telling Anwar we just arrived. He wants us to hurry. I told him we’re hungry and . . .” He looked at us and held a hand up. “Wait. He’s answering me . . . He said to grab some food from Shem’s supply and head to the Sof Omar caves now.”

“Anwar is not our boss,” Paige said, annoyed. “Tell him he has no right to tell us what to do.”

I agreed with her. Who was Anwar to demand our immediate presence? If he for one second thought we were going to take orders from him, he had a rude awakening ahead of him.

“It’s not Anwar who said it,” Brayden told us, reading the text. “It was Bael.”

Paige shrugged. “So. He’s not our boss either. He can piss off.” She moved toward Brayden and held her hand out. “Give me your phone.”

A delightful expression crossed Brayden’s face, giving me the impression he enjoyed Paige’s spunk. He handed her his cell and stood beside her while she texted Bael.

“What are saying to him?” Tree asked.

Brayden laughed and looked at Tree. “She’s actually telling him to piss off.”

Tree raised his eyebrows, his eyes widening. “Paige, do you think you should be provoking him?”

“He expects it,” she offhandedly said, “and likes it . . .” She looked up. “My feistiness,” she added. But then she frowned when she read his response.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

She sighed. “He can only keep the locals at bay for so long, so we have to get there as soon as possible. He spun some tale of a group of scientific researchers, which is us, doing some top secret . . . whatever . . . whatever. So the cave is off limits. I just told him we’ll be on our way within an hour.” She handed Brayden his phone back.

“I spoke to Anwar,” Shem said, exiting the cockpit. “There’s a driver by the name of David waiting for you right now. I’ll grab some chow for on the way there, while you freshen up.”

“You’re not going?” Paige asked, her tone pitched in surprise.

“No, darling.” Shem knelt in front of a shiny, wood paneled wall with a flat screen TV mounted to it, facing a small, white leather couch. He opened a drawer and pulled out what looked like a duffel bag. “Franco and I will wait here for you.” He rose and shook the nylon, black bag. It transformed into a perfect square. He moved to the refrigerator and removed ice packs from the freezer, placing them in the cooler.

“Oh,” Paige said, disappointment shadowing her face.

“It makes sense,” I said. “He’ll have his jet ready for us, and then we can leave right away. Not to mention, he’d be safer here.”

“True. I just enjoy his company, and I trust him. We don’t know anything about this David guy who will be driving us.”

I rubbed her shoulder. “I’m sure David is a fine gentleman and will get us to our destination safely.”

While Brayden and Tree were getting ready, we chatted with Shem, patiently waiting for our turn to use the spacious restroom. I had to hand it to him, he spared no expense when he bought this Bombardier Global 8000 jet. The luxuries were unbelievable and much welcomed. Shem was always thinking ahead. For example, he bought disposal toothbrushes, knowing he’d be flying us to Africa. He was a thoughtful person, and I told myself I’d find a way to show my appreciation for his loyalty and generosity when we returned to Astoria.

***

After we went through the airport, following the same routine as everyone else, Shem led us outdoors to the parking area. It was pouring rain. A channel of water ran the length of the sidewalk. We paused beneath the awning while he called David to tell him we were here. There were groups of taxi drivers in orange and blue vehicles lining the street. People were coming and going in all directions.

“I can’t believe it’s raining,” Tree said. “In Ethiopia. I was expecting it to be hot and miserable.”

“Me, too,” Paige said, looking about. “This doesn’t even look like we landed in Africa.”

She was right. In all my travels, Africa was one place I’d never been to. The scenery was ordinary. There were islands in the middle of the road with grass and trees, beyond them was the parking lot. In the distance were more trees and mountains. I imagined, though, once we were on our way through the countryside, the landscape would change dramatically.