Angel Fever (Immortal Legacy #3) - Ella Summers Page 0,55

were pretty desperate to nab him. But then, just as we’d finally cornered the pirate king, the proximity alarms we’d set went off. Through the pirate king’s security cameras, we saw that another bounty hunter, one named Jinx, had just broken through the building’s front door. And he had his whole crew with him. It turned out he’d been trailing us the whole time, standing by and watching as we did all the work to knock out the pirate king’s forces. And now he was sweeping in to steal our bounty.”

I continued mixing my potion in the cauldron. “Bounty hunters are devious.”

“Yes.” He grinned at me. “But Leda is more devious than all of them put together. She asked Bella to make the Living Death potion and then use it on the pirate king.”

“Did the ruse work?” I asked him.

“Yes. When Jinx and his crew arrived, they saw with their own eyes that the pirate king was dead. Since the reward would be paid out only if he was brought in alive, Jinx and his men left in disgust. And we were able to collect on the reward.”

“Your sister is very clever.”

“She certainly thinks so,” Zane said fondly. He clearly admired his sister.

The night the Guardians ‘saved’ Zane, I’d been right there watching him and his sister Leda fight off a rogue vampire. The woman was nothing if not resourceful. I’d been shocked by how effectively a human could fight a far superior foe.

Zane’s gaze dipped to my potion once again. “I promise I won’t tell anyone you are trying to escape.”

“You are pretty clever yourself.”

His lips formed a charming smile, the kind that melted hearts and seduced women.

“You know I’m married,” I told him.

“Yes, to the archangel General Damiel Dragonsire.” He seemed completely unfazed. “You’re trying to get back to him. I’ve seen it.”

“You can see the future,” I realized.

“On occasion.”

It was a rare gift that only very few powerful telepaths possessed.

“And you’re trying to save your father, the archangel General Rhydian Silverstar, from the demons.”

I watched him closely. “What else have you seen?”

Zane shook his head. “So many possibilities. But no path is certain, no future set in stone.”

“Can you read the Guardians’ minds?”

“No.”

“Magic doesn’t work in their temple,” I said. “And they never leave it.”

I’d hoped that Zane was powerful enough to pierce the spell’s black veil. I’d learned a lot from eavesdropping on the Guardians’ meeting, but I knew there had to be so much more hidden away inside their devious minds.

“This has nothing to do with their temple,” Zane told me. “It’s the Guardians themselves that magic doesn’t work on. They nullify it. That’s why they can’t use potions, artifacts, or Magitech. As long as they hold them, the magic inside of magical objects cannot work. I think that’s why the Guardians stay hidden away inside their temple. If they got too close to any of the magic we’re all using, things would stop working.”

That made sense. If the Guardians themselves nullified magic, then they’d want to stay clear of all the magic ‘balancing’ and whatever else they had going on here in the Sanctuary.

“How do you know all of this?” I asked Zane.

“I might not be able to read their minds, but I have seen visions of them.”

“See anything interesting?

“Most of my visions of the Guardians are only fragments, but there was one which was very clear. Long ago, the Immortals ruled the universe. The Guardians, like the gods and the demons, served them. Until one day, the Guardians, driven by jealousy and hatred, killed the Immortals with trickery. Then they imprisoned the Immortals’ magic and souls inside relics, what we now refer to as the immortal artifacts.”

“They sound like people who can’t be trusted,” I commented.

“No, they really cannot,” he agreed. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t use them to grow powerful enough to stop them from…doing whatever they are planning to do.”

“Your pragmatism would make you a good Legion soldier.”

He chuckled.

“Is something funny?” I asked him.

“Yes. You’re trying to recruit me into an organization that you yourself left.”

“I left during a bad era. The Legion of Angels wasn’t always like that. Despite everything that happened, I still believe in what the Legion stands for: to protect the people of Earth.”

“And so do I,” he replied. “Go, Cadence Lightbringer. Find your husband. Save your father. Family is everything. I would do anything for mine.” He glanced at my potion, like he was tempted to drink it and escape this place with me. “Anything.”