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I blinked. "Yes, I do."
"Good. What is it?"
I caught Theo's grin out of the corner of my eye and fought the urge to say something sarcastic at her tone.
"Ok, straight down to business. Got it. Well, if everyone is situated and has no issues, then I suggest you all go and change into desert appropriate wear. Cole, if you can attach yourself to Dr Taylor. Get some info off him for the security team - what creatures he's seen, whether there's a particular location they're more frequent visitors too. How they've kept them off till now. If they're hellions, fire won't drive them back. Relay any information back to Theo - I'm assuming you're joining the first perimeter team?"
I turned to Theo who nodded. "Yes, I'll take the first shift, get to know the land, see if there's anything that sticks out anywhere. Maybe do some preliminary scouting if Cole finds out anything interesting from Taylor."
"Carlisle, I'd like you on the main team tomorrow, but for now, I think it best if you stay in camp and get set up. Dr Taylor told me they have a tent set aside for first aid, and that you are very welcome to take over. Lily, Sariel, you're with me this afternoon."
"What are we doing?" Sariel asked.
I studied her briefly, trying to look at her with my team leader head on rather than as a woman. She was tall and slender, but her loose clothing didn't reveal much. At the moment, she didn't seem like she could hold her own against a mugger, and yet she was a decorated angelic warrior. I wanted to see it for myself before I put her in any situations where she could get hurt. In case it endangered the team, I told myself.
"The Concordia has provided me with a vague location for the artefact we are seeking. I would like us to have a look over the site and determine if there is an entrance into the city ruins. If the scroll is as powerful as they've implied, it could well be drawing hellions and other supernaturals to it, so make sure you're prepared in case we encounter any problems along the way. Meet back here in ten."
Sariel paused, and for a moment I thought she was going to argue with my orders. Instead, she pressed her lips together and nodded, then turned and disappeared back into the tent she was sharing with Lily. Lily grinned at me.
"So, twenty minutes, boss?"
"Ten," I told her firmly.
She grinned at me and disappeared into her tent. Cole and Carlisle headed back towards the centre of the encampment, and I looked at Theo, who immediately flushed and looked away.
"Theo?"
"Yeah, boss?"
"Theo."
He sighed. "Yeah, boss. We've got an even bigger fucking problem. She's mine too."
Shit.
Chapter Seven
SARIEL
Ishifted my weight from one foot to the other and the gravel beneath my boots crunched softly. Sweat beaded on my forehead, just under the rim of the beige baseball cap I'd pulled down to shield my eyes. The stark sun seemed intent on baking everything in its path, including me. Beads of perspiration trailed down my back despite the layers of clothing intended to shield me from the desert's unforgiving embrace. Seven minutes flat – that's how long it took for me to slip into the practicality of cargo trousers, a shirt layered over a white tank top, and these sturdy military-style boots meant for terrain rougher than this. I glanced back over at our tent. Alastor had said ten minutes, butwhen I'd left, Lily was still dressed in her underwear, for some reason deliberating between two shirts.
I checked my watch. Eight minutes. I shifted the pack on my back, more from impatience than from its weight. It held what I would consider the essentials for a foray into hot desert land: a compact first-aid kit, a flint striker, a multi-tool, a reflective blanket, and a lightweight cotton sarong that could double as insulation from cold, but also work as a temporary sunscreen. A compass, water purification tablets and two water bottles completed the kit Alastor had recommended in his preliminary email to me when he'd explained our mission brief. I'd also added a couple of knives, not counting the one at my waist and the small one concealed in my right boot, and basic climbing gear. Alastor hadn't mentioned whether today's trip would take us along the salt flats, or up into the mountains, and I wanted to be prepared. Some climbs couldn't be simply flown up, the cliff walls in the wadi canyons around this area could be too cramped for any decent wingspan.
I took a deep breath, feeling the hot air travel down my throat. I had been to similar climates before, but it had been a very long time ago, and it was going to take some getting used to the heat. I was already feeling a little drained of energy, but also strangely restless. I didn't know whether I just wanted to get on with the mission at hand, or whether it was because of those two shifters.
The strange feeling I'd had when I'd taken Alastor's hand had happened again with the wolf shifter, Theo. No, not exactly the same. Similar. Alastor's had felt powerful, like a tidal wave of... something... something that wanted to consume me, devour me. Something primal. I felt a shiver down my spine just thinking about it. Theo's touch had felt like another wave washing over me, but whereas the sensation with Alastor had burned through my veins, Theo's had been a spreading of warmth, like collapsing in your warm bed after a long hard day, feeling that safety andcomfort fall over you as you drifted off to sleep. Angels didn't really have a concept of home; we were consigned to different barracks regularly, but if I could put a name to the feeling that had overwhelmed me when I'd taken Theo's hand, it would feel like home.
Not that everything about Theo was comfortable. His soft brown hair was really annoying, the way he constantly reached up to push it out of eyes, why didn't he just get it cut short? I'd had the strongest temptation to run my fingers through it, push it out of his eyes for him. Totally inappropriate. I wondered briefly if it was as soft as it looked. And the way he just kept smiling at everyone. Who does that? Especially as we were discussing the mission, it was almost as though he didn't take anything seriously. And when he smiled at me, well, that was definitely annoyance I felt, when my stomach turned over like that, I was sure of it.
I suppose I couldn't expect anything more. He wasn't a demon, but he was a wolf shifter. I'd never met one, but I had heard from other angels that they didn't have too much intelligence. He certainly seemed more of the physical kind of guy, with those muscles... not as powerful as Alastor, not as big, more lithe and agile...and that smooth Mediterranean skin...
I shook myself. What in Heaven's name was wrong with me? Since those two men had touched my hand, I couldn't stop thinking about them, and more specifically, their physical attributes. We were about to head out on the mission for the first time, I had to get my head in the game and focus. Yes, that's it, Sariel, think about the mission. Scouting the area where Alastor thought the entrance to the city was.
Which was ridiculous in itself. If there was an entrance, surely, the humans would have discovered it already. I had assumed we'd be needing digging equipment of our own, possibly even some kind of machinery to dig down to the city remains, muchlike the humans were doing on this site. I didn’t think he'd even considered that as I hadn't seen any equipment that looked like that was its purpose, but then, this whole mission seemed to be rather slapdash.
If it were up to me, we’d have approached this first excursion with more precision, more... strategy. For starters, I would never have left our reconnaissance to chance. No, I would have scouted the area from every angle, memorised the lay of the land, accounted for variables. My hand tightened around the strap of my backpack. How could he not see the value in thoroughness? It’s a glaring oversight, one I can't reconcile with the importance of our task. What else might he have glossed over? I wondered if I should suggest it before we left. I could fly over the site and... no.
I took a deep breath again. I needed to remember my own mission, above this one. This mission was a means to an end. The true mission was to integrate myself with this group and drive them to achieve more so that the Concordia would realise I was team leader material. With my own team, it would be an easy thing to prove my worth to Gabriel once again. No, I needed to keep my head down, despite the frustration simmering at Alastor's clear incompetence as a leader. Out here, beyond the comfort of celestial bureaucracy, I needed to trust a demon to lead. The thought left an acidic taste in my mouth. A part of me chafed at the thought of taking orders, of blending into this motley crew until those higher-ups within Concordia realised the error in their judgement. To think that an angel of my rank was relegated to working under a demon — and not just any demon, but a hell hound shifter. The pets of hell.
