Dance of Ashes and Smoke (Age of Monsters Book 1) (23 page)

T
he music trickled louder through the trees, signaling the real start of the party. Jax and I parted with reluctance, no desire to leave our little bubble.

“You’re turning blue, love. We need to get back before they come looking for us.”

I nuzzled into him. “They’re too busy partying. They don’t care where we are.”

“Maybe not, but you’re going to get frostbite and I find myself rather attached to all your bits.”

“Fine. We can always pick this up later tonight in front of the fire.”

He groaned and kissed me. “I’ll hold you to that.”

We bundled back up and held hands as we made our way back through the woods to the party. I couldn’t stop smiling like an idiot, but couldn’t find it in me to care.

Writhing and dancing bodies had taken over the clearing as music pumped loud through the air. Jax grinned at me and yanked me into the mass, pulling me close as we moved to the song. Our hands roved and teased, our bodies plastered together as the song drove us.

“You never mentioned you were such a good dancer.”

He flashed his dazzling smile. “It never came up.”

He matched my every movement, smooth and graceful. A pang hit me as I remembered his clumsiness at Tai Chi. He must have faked it.

Noticing my frown, he slowed. “What’s wrong?”

I shook it away, wanting nothing to mar this night. “Nothing.”

He wasn’t fooled. “I wasn’t pretending. Tai Chi and dancing are nothing alike to most people.”

I snorted. “You didn’t mention mind reading was one of your powers.”

“You’re just easy to read.”

“I don’t like the thought of that. I’d rather be mysterious.”

“Oh, don’t worry. There’s still plenty I look forward to learning about you.”

I warmed under his words. “Maybe we should duck out early.”

He winked and chuckled, spinning me around until I was shaky and giggling.

The lot of us danced long into the night, switching partners, booze flowing, singing along. We rejoiced in being alive. We took the moment we had and relished it, spending this one night really living, keeping the nightmares at bay.

Summer and her girlfriend ended up dancing beside Adele and I. She smiled over at us, raising a glass of the same purple stuff I’d enjoyed. Olivia and Malek were on the other side of them, and judging from Liv’s red tinged cheeks, they were getting along quite well. Something about the night bred romance. Couples wandered off together, probably to spend their last free night in bliss in case the morrow brought more tragedy.

More and more people disappeared, the party breaking up. Jax set Adele on his shoulders as we made the trek back to our cabin, the night frigid, but lovely. I hoped it meant the sun would be out the next day and melt the snow off.

Other groups clutched arms and giggled through the snow drifts before and behind us. It was like we were in some sort of Victorian Christmas story, lanterns and candles lighting our way to preserve batteries in flashlights.

Would it be our last night of peace and celebration? Or would we join together to mourn the dead next? Hope was a strong force inside me now, but I also wasn’t naive.

Not everyone would make it through the coming storm alive.

I held tight to every moment of the night, not wanting to forget a second of it.

By the time we reached the steps to our cabin, we leaned against each other, the cold and long walk making us weary. We giggled as we bumped into each other, racing to reach the warmth inside, punch drunk from exhaustion and the cold.

Liv took Adele inside, smirking over her shoulder at us as Jax and I lingered. When the door closed behind them, we sprang at each other, neither of us satisfied with the little time we’d had.

I’d wasted too much of it.

Shivering from more than the sensation of his mouth on my skin, I pulled away. “I’m freezing.”

His lips curled against my neck, his voice muffled. “Come on.” He released me and led me back into the cabin.

The goofy, giddy smile refused to leave my face. Thankfully, a matching one stretched across his.

Liv glanced up from her spot in one of the chairs when we fell through the door laughing. She raised a brow, but didn’t comment, returning to her book. Jax collapsed on the couch after ruffling Adele’s hair where she played on the floor with her stuffed bear and R2D2.

I sat in front of Jax, between his legs, and leaned back against him, as I tried to steal some of his warmth. He rubbed his hands up and down my arms and pulled me to him. Watching Adele play with her toys, Liv reading, and the warmth of Jax’s arms comforted me. We were together and alive.

I closed my eyes and listened to the crackle and pop of the fire and breathed in the delicious scent of it mingling with the winter air. It brought to mind memories of home. Snow-capped mountains, sledding, snowball fights with Alcott, hot chocolate and books by the fire, cozy at home with my family. I prayed one day we would have that again.

The warmth and flickering of the fire relaxed me, lulling me, calming me. If I focused on the light, I could pretend I was back home, with Liv cuddled up on one side and Alcott on the other after a fun day playing in the snow. Mom and Dad with Liv’s parents talking and laughing in the other room, everything back to the way it was before. When we led simple, happy lives full of the outdoors, a refuge instead of an enemy. Snow, a friend who invited us to play with it instead of a killer bent on destroying us. Surrounded by my real family, instead of the makeshift one of almost strangers.

My breath stalled, and I closed my throat off, determined to keep the pain locked away. The touch of Jax’s hand sliding down my arm eased the pain behind my eyes and I could breathe again. I could remember my new family weren’t strangers. They were everything I had left and I would do whatever it took to protect them.

Adele almost fell over, her battle against sleep finally lost. With a smirk and a wink, Liv took her to the bedroom, leaving Jax and I to grin at each other. He lifted me up to the couch with him, hands searching, backs arching, lips devouring and fell back on the sofa, our clinging bodies refusing to part.

We knocked heads as we tried to wiggle out of our jackets, giggling softly. It cooled our ardor for the moment, our kisses softer, learning the shape of each other’s mouths, the taste, the silk of his hair brushing against my cheeks, the hard softness of his skin, the purple and golden hues in the flashes of his constantly laughing eyes. How he could still laugh so much after everything was a miracle. One I vowed to cherish.

A harsh knock at the door ripped us apart.

I sprang from the couch, rubbing confusion and panic from my eyes, trying to calm my pounding pulse. Jax stumbled to the door, throwing it open with a growl.

Summer stood there, an apologetic grimace on her face. “Sorry. I know it’s late. But we got a ding on the message boards. And I want to go over everything with Monet and Olivia.”

I nudged Jax out of the way. “What did you find?”

Summer smiled with a wicked fierceness. “We know where she’s headed.”

H
oping she wasn’t already asleep, I called for Olivia as Jax ushered Summer inside. She stomped the snow off her boots before entering, sitting with almost wild eyes on one of the chairs.

Once Olivia joined us, I frowned at Summer. “Say that again.”

“We know where she’s going.”

“Where?”

“Austin. First, I need you two to tell me everything you can remember about your encounters with her. Everything you’ve learned. In detail.”

Jax headed for the kitchen. “I’ll brew coffee.”

Liv and I told Summer the story three times and showed her the book Liv had risked her life and mine to recover. We made lists of everything pertinent we could remember or find. The sorceress was making her way down to Texas which interested Summer a lot.

“We need a bigger HQ. Fort Hood would be perfect. It could be a training center, safe haven, and deployment hub. And a town nearby is still intact, so we think she’ll hit there before Austin.”

I’d be sad to leave this new home behind, but she was right. It would be perfect. “You’re sure she’s headed to Austin?”

“Yes. The Uprising there discovered the lead monster called her in to help. Austin has one of our biggest cells and we can’t afford to lose it. But she’s taking her time with these small towns. It’s like she’s somehow found out about the few towns left alone and wants them obliterated. She doesn’t even try to force them into the cities. I guess she feels they didn’t kill enough humans when they came out of the shadows. Maybe she’s going for pure intimidation or scare tactics.”

“So, what’s the plan?”

Summer rubbed her temples. “Unfortunately, there’s not much we can do for the small towns she’s targeting on the way. Not if we want to stop her from rooting out our people in Austin. We need to beat her there.”

The thought of the mass of people she and her monsters would kill left a bad taste in my mouth. A taste of blood and ash.

She read my expression. “I know. I don’t like it either. But I can’t see another way, can you?”

With a sigh, I shook my head. “No. We have to focus on the bigger picture. Although, could we spare some sort of elite squad to send out to the towns?”

“We don’t know where she’ll hit other than that one near the army base. We don’t even have a list of the towns left intact. They tend to keep to themselves, not wanting anyone to know about them.”

I gnawed on my bottom lip, staring down at the lists we’d made. “Understandable. I want to know how she found out.”

“Probably her dragon shifts.”

“Right.” I thought of Aria, remembering she’d mentioned her brother was the monster leader in Austin. I didn’t envy her near future.

“I want to leave no later than the day after tomorrow. We need a day to prepare.”

“And give everyone time to recover from tonight.”

Summer snorted. “I shouldn’t have allowed it to get so big.”

“It was a good idea. It gave everyone something to fight harder for. It will give them hope.” Liv looked up from the book she still pored over, speaking for the first time in a while.

“That was my thought.”

I itched to leave right away, wanting to end it, but they were right. Especially when I remembered we’d be leaving Adele behind. She needed the memory of a celebration to hold onto, one not marred by our departure. Especially in case something happened to us. “How many are we bringing with us?”

“Everyone able to fight over the age of sixteen. I’m leaving a few to keep those who stay behind safe, but we need everyone we can manage.”

“How are we going to get all the way to Texas in such a large group without drawing notice?” Liv asked.

“I’m going to split everyone up in small squads, each squad taking a different route, leaving at different times.”

I raised a brow, impressed. “You’re good at this. What’d you want to be before?”

“I’ve never had a choice. I was always going to be this.”

Her words spoken in such a matter-of-fact tone saddened me. What it must have been like to never get to dream or hope for her future, to imagine becoming an astronaut or Food Network star or even an accountant. Bred from birth for battle and monsters and darkness.

The new world was doing its best to break us and she’d always lived in it. Her strength humbled me.

Summer gathered our notes. “I’m going to let the others know what we’ve figured out here. Get some sleep. You’re going to need it.”

She left, the door clicking shut behind her, leaving us with hope and fear vying for dominance. We had a mission, a real mission finally.

One which could get us all killed and the hope of peace dead along with us.