Part 12 (2/2)
”Not steady on his wings at the moment,” Lucan remarked. ”I caught him crawling across the yard.”
Tamaes stirred and groaned, ”Prissie.”
Taweel's hold tightened on his apprentice. ”She is here, safe and sound.”
Lashes fluttered until reddish-brown eyes opened enough to search her out, and Prissie lifted her hand. ”Here I am.”
Tamaes's gaze wandered to the others in the room, then he reached up to grasp his mentor's arm. ”All safe?” he asked.
Taweel grunted softly, and Tamaes took it as an affirmative. ”May G.o.d be thanked,” he murmured, and with a sigh, he sagged back into unconsciousness.
Jedrick shook his head. ”The arrowhead was poisoned. He needs time.”
”I will remain here,” Taweel declared.
”So be it,” Jedrick replied simply. ”Padgett will check on him later.”
Nodding curtly to Prissie, Jedrick leapt up through the ceiling with a short flick of s.h.i.+mmering wings. Taweel leaned forward, giving himself a little room, and awkwardly extended his wings in the confined s.p.a.ce. With a soft tutting, Lucan lent him a hand so the Guardian wouldn't b.u.mp anything off Prissie's bedside table. She watched in awe as he lifted them up, out, then forward, carefully draping their soft folds over Tamaes. Lucan briefly fussed at the edges before murmuring, ”I will be on the roof. Rest easy.” Then, in a flash of pearly white light, he whooshed upward and disappeared from view.
The room felt big and empty without the looming warriors, and when Koji jumped off the bed to hurry to Taweel's side, Prissie followed. ”Is there anything I can do?” she whispered as she knelt on the braided rug.
Taweel shook his head. ”Normally, our activities do not disturb our charges. Please, forgive the intrusion.”
”Don't be silly! I want you here if it means you'll be safe!”
His lips quirked, and he pointed out, ”Your safety is our charge, little one.”
”Yours?” she asked in surprise. His thick brows drew together, and she clarified, ”I thought it was your job to watch over Milo.”
”Tamaes is my apprentice. If he cannot be by your side, I will be.”
”Oh, I didn't realize!” she exclaimed softly. ”So in a way, you're mine too!”
”In a way.”
She stared pensively into this second Guardian's scarred face, noticing anew the faint lines that criss-crossed Taweel's dusky skin. Tipping her head to catch his bashful gaze, she said, ”Thank you.”
”Back to bed. You will only worry him if you catch cold.”
Prissie obediently returned to her place, snapping off the light before wriggling down under her covers, but Koji climbed onto her windowseat. He lay at an angle across its cus.h.i.+ons, gazing down at his injured teammate. After a time, he dangled one hand, wiggling his fingers in a silent plea for Tamaes's attention, but the warrior was too far gone to respond. Instead, Taweel lifted one big hand and clasped Koji's in a gentle expression of shared concern.
Their closeness made Prissie feel a little lonely, but with a flutter of wings, Omri flew over. He landed with a soft plop on her quilt and skipped lightly to her pillow. A smile crept onto her face as the yahavim blinked at her with faceted eyes that glittered darkly against his luminous skin. ”You're like a tiny drop of suns.h.i.+ne, aren't you?” she murmured.
He hummed, then clambered up onto her pillow and curled up where he could watch her.
”I haven't needed a nightlight since I was little,” she said. ”But I think tonight I want one, and you'll do nicely.”
Omri's response was a funny little series of hums and clicks that made her look to Taweel for a translation. Both he and Koji were watching her with bemused expressions. ”What?” she asked self-consciously.
The big warrior shook his head. ”He is scolding you, little one.”
Her face fell, but Koji interjected, ”I have only ever heard Omri scold Taweel. I believe it means he likes you.”
”He has taken to you,” the Guardian agreed.
Prissie gazed at the glowing sprite as Koji quietly explained, ”A yahavim always knows what is needed.”
”And what do I need?”
Omri hummed insistently, and Taweel huffed. ”You and Tamaes both need rest.”
”Oh,” Prissie breathed, carefully nestling down beside her tiny companion. She was sure it would take a miracle for her to get back to sleep after so much excitement, but miracles seemed so much more possible when you shared your pillow with a wee bit of heaven. Within minutes, she found her way into peaceful dreams.
11.
THE CLa.s.s.
PARTY.
Heavy chains slow his progress, but as you can imagine, he is difficult to pin down,” the cherubim reported. ”Do you remember him?”
”You bet,” Baird replied, glancing up from his messages. ”s.h.i.+mron should too.”
”I have already conferred with him,” Jedrick a.s.sured. ”However, I wanted to check with you. You are somewhat removed from the situation, and that makes your perspective ... unique.”
The redhead paused in the process of texting and remarked, ”If I had a nickel for every time I was called unique, I'd have a pocketful of change!”
”Myron,” his captain sighed, using the Wors.h.i.+per's first name.
Smile fading, Baird said, ”Everyone's talking about the whacked out weather up your way. Goes without saying that he's the one stirring things up.”
”Agreed ... though that is the least of our worries.”
”The rest of the escapees?”
”They cannot hide for long.”
Baird nodded. ”Is Adin the one who planned that little jailbreak?”
<script>