Page 143 of Stealing Embers
I follow Ash through a set of doors and up a flight of stairs.
“The teacher’s quarters are on a separate floor,” she says by way of explanation.
It’s an effort to keep from hammering Tinkle with questions as well as keep my pace steady. The desire to get to Sable drives me hard. I need answers, one of which is whether or not this creature is reliable. I’m counting on Sable to fill in the blanks.
Ash leads us to a part of the academy I’ve never been to before, but the stairs we’re ascending are dark stained wood, just like all the other staircases in the sprawling U-shaped building. Carved floral designs decorate the banisters, also typical. The walls are a familiar chalky white. Nothing new there.
At the landing there’s another set of thick wooden double doors. When Ash pushes them open, the world is flipped on the other side.
“Are we in a spaceship?” I genuinely want to know.
The plaster walls of the academy have been replaced by white plastic panels. Rows of them cover the walls and curve onto the ceiling, creating a tunnel that bends at the end of the hallway.
“Wait, it needs to scan us.”
“What?” I squeak.
The panels to our left and right, as well as the ones overhead, light up blue and then flip to angry red a moment before an alarm starts.
“Shoot, I forgot about the little guy. He must have tripped the alarm.”
Several staff members in various stages of undress pour out of doors on each side of the hallway tunnel. One of them is Deacon. Seeing us, his face pulls down into a frown. After hitting some buttons beside his door the blaring noise stops and the red lights fade.
I shake my head to rid it of the ringing in my ears. The movement displaces my hair and covers the little beastie on my shoulder. I can feel his little rodent hands grasp and tug my hair as he parts the strands like a curtain so he can peek through.
Deacon waves off the people who have exited their rooms and they lumber back inside their apartments. Most have bed head and a few are wrapped in towels. Dark smudges mar the skin under their eyes and the men sport heavy five-o’clock shadows.
I cringe.
The academy faculty has been working tirelessly over the last several days to find Blaze and Aurora and then Steel and me when we went missing as well. Nephilim might not require the same amount of sleep as humans, but they deserved a rest.
“What are you two troublemakers up to now? And which one of you set off the alarm?”
How are we supposed to explain this one?
Deacon’s unshaded gaze bounces back and forth between the two of us the longer we remain mute.
“Well . . .” I start.
Deacon’s hand shoots out, grazing my right cheek. Grabbing a handful of my hair along with Tinkle, he tries to yank the little creature off my shoulder.
I yelp as my head is jerked forward, just as Tinkle shouts, “Unhand me, you beast.”
Deacon’s brows shoot up, which is just about the most animated I’ve ever seen him.
“Can you let go of my hair and my . . . Tinkle please.”
“Excuse me? Your . . . Tinkle? Ow!” Deacon jerks his arm back. The little Celestial glides to the ground. Strands of my platinum blonde and red-tipped hair float to the floor with him. Pretty sure I have a bald spot now.
“It bit me.” Deacon blinks down at the animal at our feet. “What is that?”
“That’s what we’re here for. We need to see Sable.” Ash answers as I bend over and scoop up the pissed-off looking squirrel. He brushes his hand down his body as if trying to rid himself of Deacon’s touch. I’m so deliriously exhausted I don’t know whether to laugh or cry right now.
“Is it . . . safe?” Deacon’s head tilts left and right as he inspects the Celestial. Reaching out a finger, he pokes Tinkle in the stomach like he’s the Pillsbury Dough Boy. Tinkle bats his hand away and bares his tiny teeth at the large Nephilim.
“Touch me again, Gigantor, and you’re going to lose more than a finger.”
“Everything all right down there?” Sable calls from the bend at the end of the hallway. “I heard the alarm.”