Chapter 36: Miles

Headmaster Simmins bursts open the door to our dormitory, his chest heaving as he tries to gather his breath.

I move Katrina off of me, setting her down gently beside me on the catch, before I stand up, crossing my hands over my chest. I don't like people coming in unannounced.

"What's going on, Headmaster," I ask, angling my head to look past him and through the crack in the door, scanning to see if anyone was coming up behind him.

Simmins hurries through the door and shuts it the rest of the way before turning the deadbolt and spelling the door with a silencing barrier. "I've just received word from one of my scouts that the BOUA is headed towards the campus now." He states breathlessly.

Fuck, I had been worried the BOUA would get word of Katrina's existence, but I was hoping I had shut everything down at Hectate quickly enough that word wouldn't spread to them.

"Do you know why they're coming?" I ask as I pace the floor, glancing over at Katrina, still perched on the couch, her eyes staring widely at the Headmaster and me.

"According to my inside source, they got word that Michael's gift has been used. They want to interrogate Katrina. My source also told me that Shiva sent them."

I felt chills run down my spine. If Shiva had sent the BOUA, it meant they were not only here to interrogate Katrina, but they were here to exterminate her, or worse, bring her back to Braham, Jehovah's younger brother. Braham was known as a collector of sorts. When Jehovah died, Braham claimed the angel race as his own. He forced the remaining Angels to leave Heaven and return to his home in Kerala, where it is said his temple lies. He'd see Katrina as the last piece to his set, and he'd want to make her his.

"How far away are they?" I ask, already formulating a plan in my mind.

"They should be here within the hour, and Miles, they're bringing their Hellhounds. They're sniffing the school and the surrounding woods to ensure we haven't hidden any angel or demon descendants."

"Okay." I nod, understanding what Simmins was telling me to do without telling me what to do. If the inquisitors pry into his mind, they won't be able to gather much information from tonight. They'd only see glimpses of Simmins talking to Katrina during dinner.

"I have to go now and prepare the students for the assembly; it's in half an hour," Simmins responds, removing the silencing spell from our door and hastily retreating.

"What is Simmins talking about? Who is the BOUA, and what do they want with me?" Katrina asks, worry littering her eyes.

"Listen, Kitten, I promise to explain everything to you, but right now, I need you to get a quick overnight bag and meet me back out here. You've got about five minutes before we have to leave unless you want to end up imprisoned with me facing charges and a possible title removal."

She looks into my eyes, hesitating for a second, before nodding her head and rushing back into her room. I sent a quick text to my cousins, letting them know about the recent events and that I would be taking Katrina with me to a safe house. I couldn't risk giving them the location; if one of them were captured by the BOUA, it could put Katrina at risk of being captured. The BOUA used cyclopses for their interrogations. Cyclopses were able to pull memories and the truth from anyone. No matter how strong the person way. Their divine gift, The Reckoning of Truth, was a unique gift bestowed upon them by Cronus himself.

**SHIT.** Aphelion replied.

**LUKA AND I WON'T BE IN TOWN; WE HAVE THINGS TO TAKE CARE OF IN THE UNDERWORLD. NOT SURE HOW LONG WE WILL BE GONE. I'LL TRY TO KEEP IN TOUCH. CELL SERVICE IS SPOTTY AT BEST IN TARTARUS.** Samael texted back.

I waited for a response from Beckett, but nothing appeared. He had either shut off his phone, or he was ignoring us. He'd better hope it's because of the latter.

**IF YOU SEE BECKETT BEFORE WE GET BACK PLEASE LET HIM KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON."** I reply hitting send looking down at my phone waiting for my cousins to reply.

Text bubbles appear once under Aphelion's picture and then under Samael's picture, but no more messages are sent. Whelp Beckett fucked up this time; he would have to patch up things with Katrina, but he would also work things out with the other heirs.

"Kitten," I holler down the hallway as I spot the BOUA van through the dorm window making its way onto the campus, "We've got to go now!"

I open the jar on the fireplace mantle and grab some travel dust. It's where I keep my special stash in case I need to get somewhere quick. Traveling dust was hard to come by as only one demigod could create it. Gertrude had discovered her unique gift in grade school when she'd fallen asleep and woken up on top of the Eiffel Tower instead of in Ms. B's history class. She secretly started selling travel dust, once she learned how to transfer her magic signature into particles, to our classmates, allowing younger students to travel places without their parent's permission. When Gertrude turned eighteen, she started a legit business, and her sales went off the charts. Now she can barely make enough to keep up with the requests, so I only use the dust in critical situations.

"Where are we going?" Katrina asks, her breath hot on the back of my neck.

"I'll tell you once we are there," I reply, not wanting to be overheard in case the BUOA placed an enhancement charm on our voices.

"Damnit, Miles!" Katrina growled, her anger rising, "I'm tired of all these damn secrets!"

I cut her off mid-sentence, planting my lips on hers, startling her as I sprinkled the travel dust over my head, envisioning my bunker just north of Fairbanks. I feel a lurch in my stomach as the magic begins to work. Katrina clings to me tightly as we begin to move, her eyes squeezed shut and her face buried into the crook of my neck.

"You can open your eyes now, Kitten," I tell her once the room stops spinning.

"Miles!" She growls, the anger evident in her voice as she steps back from me, eying her surroundings, "You have a lot of explaining."

"I'm sorry, Kitten, I wouldn't usually whisk you away without giving you fair warning beforehand, but there was no other option. We had to leave the academy immediately. I couldn't risk your freedom by being cordial."

Katrina walks toward the table in the dining room as she looks around the bunker. We landed in the kitchen, so there wasn't much for her to see, but maybe taking in her surroundings would help calm her.

"Where are we?" She finally asks as she pulls out a chair, sitting down in it with her legs spread open in a non-lady-like manner.

"We're in a small town right outside of Fairbanks. This is one of my most secure bunkers. Only I... Okay, well, now only we know of its location. No one will be able to find us here."

"Why are we here?" She asks as she accepts the coffee I slide towards her, black with no sugar, letting out a soft moan of contentment as the warm liquid touches her mouth.

"Because the Bureau of Unaffiliated Angels is looking for you. They want to find you and squeeze as much of the truth out of you as possible. They already know that you're affiliated with Michael one way or the other, and they aren't afraid to stoop to whatever means to find out why you possess Michael's divine gift. " I replied, cringing at how the BOUA would obtain the information they needed from Katrina.

"Why? Why are they interested in me now? It's been more than a week since I... Since what happened at your club." She responds, looking down, trying to hide the emotional turmoil in her eyes that always came when she remembered that night at the club.

"Kitten," I whisper, stepping closer to her and tucking my thumb under her chin, forcing her head up, "Don't ever hide your emotions from me." I caressed the underside of her jaw with my thumb as I tried to silently remind her that I was hearing for her before I took a step back, "I think the council informed Braham of your existence. He's a collector of sorts, and he controls what remains of the Angels. Technically speaking, you should be his to command and control."

"I will never let anyone control me!" Katrina snarls, her eyes filled with disgust.

"I'd never let him take you, Kitten. It's why we are here now. Once the BOUA realizes you aren't at the academy, they'll leave and look elsewhere. Headmaster Simmins will then be able to get a decree written that states the BOAU is not allowed on campus."

"So, what do we do now?" She asks.

"Now we wait."