Iniquity (The Premonition, #5)(17)

Reed ignores my questions and counters. “How did you come by it?”

“He asked me to wear it.”

“For protection?”

My face reddens. “No. It was because he was my friend. We were friends—”

“Friends?” Reed asks skeptically.

My cheeks flush more. “He was sort of my boyfriend when he gave it to me—but he was so weird about it,” I try to explain. “He was so hot and cold all the time that I was never really sure where I stood with him...but he insisted that I wear it on a chain around my neck, like a pendant.”

“This ring that you gave me, Evie, it just protected me.”

“It did?”

“It lit up with a blue glow. It cut through your magic when I needed to get to you. I fell right through your magic barrier to the other side.”

“How did it do that?”

“I don’t know, but it fought off the evil invitation Sheol just sent you. Whatever was controlling that magic couldn’t harm me the way it did the rest of you,” Reed says. “I can only assume it was because of this ring. Xavier recognized it. He must know what it does.”

We pass by a frozen lake on our way out of town. “Invitation? How can you say that was an invitation? They were trying to kill us.”

“But they backed off. It was an invitation to you, presented with a warning, and wrapped—” reaching toward me, Reed pulls a petal from my hair and shows it to me, “—in a love letter. Sheol just invited you to join them.”

A bone-deep chill runs through me. “Or everyone I love dies,” I say with a hollow voice.

“Not everyone. I have Jim’s ring. We need that other ring. We can’t let Xavier get it, not until we know what it does.”

My heavy breathing fogs the windshield. Reed turns on the defroster, and as the glass becomes clearer, red taillights shine in front of us. Reed tries to pass the battered Aston Martin on the icy road, but the car in front of us swerves into the passing lane, blocking us.

Reed applies more pressure to the accelerator and our car lurches forward, crashing into Xavier’s bumper. Our white car shakes violently as it pushes against the black one, nudging it aside. Xavier’s car begins to spin out; it circles to the right as Reed moves the wheel to neatly avoid it on the left. And just like that, we’re clear of the Aston Martin.

I look out the back window, seeing Xavier’s car regain the road from the shoulder and pursue us. The fogged windshield of the Aston Martin cracks and shatters violently as Xavier’s booted foot kicks it away. When it bows out in pieces, he drops his leg and uses his arm to begin clearing away the glass.

“What’s he doing?” My eyes go to Reed who’s watching the rearview mirror.

Reed frowns grimly, “Evie, get to that ring as fast as you can. Don’t stop for anything. When you have it, find a safe place to hide and call me. I’ll find you.” He opens the sunroof with a touch of a button. “Here, take the wheel.”

“You’re kidding, right?” I ask with a squeak, my eyes widening.

“We have to stop Xavier from getting there first.” He grasps my limp hand and puts it on the steering wheel.

My eyes stray to the rear window again in time to see Xavier break the windshield out completely. He lunges through the opening onto the hood of his car, taking two running steps with his red wings spread wide. Leaping forward from the hood, he glides through the air and lands on the back of our car as his vehicle spins off into a ditch. The Lamborghini bounces hard upon impact, and then it decelerates rapidly. Xavier’s powerful wings beat the air, lifting the back tires off the ground. I have no time to protest as Reed climbs out through the sunroof. His dark, ashen wings open wide as he emerges from the car and lofts into the air. He catches Xavier around the throat with his forearm and yanks him off our car.

The tires swerve over the road when the back ones thump onto the ground again. I manage to hold onto the wheel, scrambling into the driver’s seat. I touch the brake, coming to a stop. Shifting the car into neutral and engaging the safety brake, I turn to look out the rear window. Snow drifts in anaconda patterns over the barren pavement. With both of my hands gripping the seatback, I watch Reed’s wings thrash. He locks arms with Xavier whose wings serrate to red dagger points, and it’s clear that both angels are trying to rip the other’s arms off.

Like a revolving door, Reed spins free from Xavier’s strong fists. He runs at our car, hitting the back end; it slides forward on the road despite the brake. “GO!” Reed shouts at me. Then he turns back, catching Xavier around his waist before he can move to my door. Reed throws him back. Xavier tumbles across the ground, skidding to a stop. Growling, he rises to his feet, running at Reed with weapons in his hands.

I jump out of the car as Xavier uses his spade-shaped blades to slash at Reed. He misses with the one in his right hand, but not with the other in his left. The razor edge connects with Reed’s cheek, cutting it from his lips to his ear. My wings eject from me as I scream. Reed rears back from Xavier. I lift my hand, making Xavier’s car rise into the air from the ditch; it crashes down on the pavement directly behind him. Before Xavier can hurt Reed again, his feet leave the ground as he’s thrust back through the empty windscreen of his car. He lands hard in the driver’s seat, staring at me with a murderous expression. The shattered glass on the pavement collects and finds its way to the front of the car, settling into place and smoothing to transparency.