The Sweetest Burn (Broken Destiny #2)(60)

A crashing sound made me jerk up with my sling at the ready. Relief filled me when I saw that it wasn't Demetrius or another demon, but a familiar bus driving over fallen tree limbs, rubble and other debris left after the realm tunnels' retreat.



       
         
       
        

"Get in," Jasmine urged, opening the door. Then she yelled, "Adrian's down!" at Costa, and jumped out of the bus.

"Is he dead?" she asked, hurrying over.

I continued to search Adrian with my hands. The worst of his wounds seemed to be his head and a very nasty gash on his stomach. "No, but he's hurt pretty bad."

"We don't have any more manna," Jasmine said, telling me something I already knew, not that I had been about to share that information with Demetrius.

I glanced at the bus, then back at the street sign that Demetrius's unearthly winds had blown over.

"Help me load Adrian into the bus, then follow me. I think I know where we can get some."





  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

I WASN'T ABOUT to put Demetrius's promise to kill me the next time we met to the test, so I didn't go into the Eden realm alone. I pulled Adrian, Jasmine, Costa and even Brutus into the stunningly gorgeous realm. Now, no one could be taken as a hostage while I got the manna that Adrian needed. Zach was our supplier, so either he had some, or he knew where to get it.

Once through, Brutus took one look at the endless sunlight and ran for the nearest set of bushes. Zach seemed to be in the exact same spot that he'd been before, so either he'd been waiting on me, or he was really comfortable in that position. I knew it wasn't the time difference. What had been about half an hour on the other side should have equated to a lot longer here.

"I need manna," I stated. The words were simple, but my thoughts conveyed everything I didn't want Jasmine and Costa to overhear. How could you not have told Adrian who his real father was? I know that you knew! You always know things like that!

"Jasmine, Costa, would you go down to the tree with the white flowers at the bottom of the hill?" Zach replied. "Bring me several of their blooms. They contain manna."

I gave Zach an incredulous look as Costa took Jasmine's arm and started down the hill. "Manna grows on trees?"

He shrugged. "Where else did you think it came from?"

I clenched my fists to keep from doing something rash. Then I knelt beside Adrian and began applying pressure to his head and stomach wounds, all the while cursing Zach with my thoughts. We hoarded manna like gold because Zach only gave us a little at a time, yet it literally grew on trees in realms that he had unlimited access to? Unbelievable! 

"You now have unlimited access to them, so you no longer need me for your supply," he replied in an unruffled tone.

My fists clenched tighter on the wadded-up fabric I held to Adrian's stomach. "That's information we could have used several months ago," I managed to say very calmly.

His pointed glance settled on my clenched hand. "Until you passed the first challenge and the slingshot merged with your body, you wouldn't have been able to enter them."

"But I'm a Davidian," I protested. "Judians can cross into demon realms, so I should be able to cross into Archon ones."

He let out a snort that somehow managed to sound both elegant and imperious. "The forces that guard these realms are much stronger than the ones that guard the demon worlds. No bloodline is enough to give a human the ability to cross into them. Only the hallowed weapon in your flesh is powerful enough." Then Zach shocked me by adding, "You can't tell Adrian about Demetrius," as casually as if he were remarking about the weather.

"No way," I said at once. "I know what it's like to have people conceal really important information about your lineage from you. Adrian might have done that to me when we first met, but it was wrong, and I won't do the same to him."

"Will you never take anything on faith?" Zach muttered, holding up a hand when I started to respond. "If you need a reason, here it is. Tell Adrian now, and you will both die."

I didn't take those words as a threat. If Zach wanted us dead, we would be, many times over, so he must be warning us based on foreknowledge. Times like this, he seemed to want us to succeed, although his habit of sitting on the sidelines during most of our battles was an infuriating way for him to show it.

"Fine," I said, shooting a guilty look at Adrian while thinking, I'm sorry. "I won't tell him. But Demetrius might, now that he knows I know."