A Gift of Wings (9 page)

Aidan dropped onto the sofa and stared out the window at the lake as he sipped his scotch. “Damn it, Kev,” he breathed.

It wasn’t like his brother was going into this blindly; he knew what he was getting into. Still…. Working for their father was bad enough; having the sort of dual reporting that Kev was going to have made it all so much worse. Caught between Lucifer and the Metatron, there was no way he wasn’t going to be royally screwed. And what about himself? He’d agreed to become second in command to the Forces of the Fallen. What did he know about being in command of anything?

Clenching his teeth, Aidan went to pour himself another drink. One wasn’t going to cut it tonight. Calling on Zeke after all this time had been tough. It had been two years since he’d seen the angel, and that last conversation hadn’t been pleasant for either of them. Aidan had been sure he had lowered himself in Zeke’s estimation by renouncing his wings and leaving their world. But Aidan hadn’t been able to stay. Not after what had happened to his mother, what he’d done to her. And it seemed that Zeke had understood all this time.

Then there was Kev. Encountering his older brother so unexpectedly had knocked Aidan for a bit of a loop. And finding out what Kev was taking on was almost more than he could bear. He didn’t want to lose his brother too. Gods, now that he had been pulled back into that world, he was back in with a vengeance. He shook his head, his hand clenching around his glass, and bit out another curse.

Harley hopped up onto the sofa beside Aidan and climbed into his lap. Putting his front paws on Aidan’s shoulder, he pushed his nose against his cheek before licking him and then settling down. He curled up in a semicircle with his belly and chin facing upward. Aidan sighed and rubbed his free hand against the ferret’s belly. The warmth of the little creature and the softness of his fur helped to soothe some of his worries.

With a last pat, he moved the sleepy ferret off his lap and walked over to the liquor cabinet to pour himself a third. Then, remembering his new role, he thought better of it. He had to start serious training tonight; best not to drink himself into a stupor now. Instead, he carried the glass into the kitchen and placed it in the sink before making his way down the hall to his bedroom. Maybe he could manage to catch a little sleep before he had to get ready for tonight.

His footsteps echoed hollowly in the hall, a staccato accompaniment to the anxiety that was settling deep into his bones.

CHAPTER 7

When Lucky woke up the following morning, she felt amazingly rested, and she realized with surprise that she didn’t remember having any dreams during the night. Given the events of the day before and the fact that her last two nights of sleep had been broken by odd dreams, she had gone to bed convinced she would get very little rest because her dreams would be filled with threatening dark clouds and menacing yellow eyes. Relieved that those fears had not been realized, she turned on her back, stretched, and relaxed. Shu and Tef had curled up on either side of her in the night, and she took both hands out from under the covers, so she could pet the two cats simultaneously. Her efforts were rewarded by a chorus of purrs: one quiet and somewhat motor like, the other a deep bass rumble that she felt in her chest as Shu pushed himself against her, turning to expose his belly. Lucky chuckled and rubbed his tummy, causing the cat to go boneless against her.

“You are spoiled rotten, aren’t you?” she asked.

Tef, not to be ignored, butted her head against Lucky’s other hand. “Sorry, sweetheart,” Lucky apologized, scratching the tabby under her chin. “I didn’t mean to neglect you.”

For several more moments, Lucky luxuriated in the peacefulness of lying in a warm bed and doing nothing more strenuous than petting the cats. Then she glanced at the clock and decided she’d better get up and begin her day. She had a job to find. She couldn’t work full-time until she turned eighteen, but since her birthday was so soon, there was no reason she shouldn’t start a serious search as soon as possible.

Pulling a sweatshirt on over her pajamas, she wandered into the kitchen in search of something quick for breakfast. Shu and Tef followed meowing, hoping for some breakfast of their own. After popping a slice of bread into the toaster, she shook some kibble into their bowls, made sure they had fresh water, and then poured herself a glass of milk and got the jar of peanut butter out of the cupboard.

Carrying her peanut butter toast and milk, she padded back down the hall to her room. She stacked up pillows to lean against, powered up her laptop, and curled up against the pillows, her legs crossed under her, the computer on her lap, and peanut butter toast and milk within easy reach.

First, she had to work on her résumé. She hadn’t had that many part-time jobs as a student, but she had had a few, and she’d made good grades and had been involved in several extra-curricular activities. She hoped that would count for something. She also knew she had to figure out what kind of job she hoped to find. She was unsure about waitressing; although, she’d heard from her friends who’d done it that they made decent money in tips. It was all dependent, of course, on the restaurant and the clientele. Maybe she could find a job at a library—she loved books. She checked through a few job ads online, but didn’t see anything that interested her.

Flipping back to her skeletal résumé file, she filled in all the details she could think of. She left her objective statement pretty general for now, since she hadn’t yet settled on a particular type of job. She saved the draft, then went into the computer room to turn on the printer. Her eyes caught and held on the boxes of papers and pictures they had moved from G-Ma’s closet, but she looked away, focusing on the printer instead. She couldn’t face those boxes just yet.

Back in her room, she thanked the powers that be for wireless networking as she hit “Print” and heard the soft clicks from down the hall as the printer began spitting out her file. She’d ask Josh to look it over and give her advice before she handed it to anyone.

While she had been working, she had heard Josh and Ben leaving his room and heading to the kitchen. From the slamming of drawers and the clanging of pots and pans, it sounded like they were making real food for brunch. She wondered if they would mind if she joined them. Not that she was all that hungry—it hadn’t been that long since she had finished her peanut butter toast—she just hadn’t had real breakfast food in a while, and the idea of sitting down at the table and sharing a meal like a family seemed suddenly appealing.

Retrieving her résumé from the printer, she tossed it on her bed and then followed the sounds of cooking to the kitchen, where she found Ben beating a bowl full of eggs and Josh chopping vegetables. Lucky grabbed a mushroom from the stack next to the cutting board and popped it in her mouth. Speaking around the mushroom, she asked, “Are you making enough for me too?”

“We were planning on it, squirt, but we won’t be able to if you keep eating the veggies.” Josh added the last remark as a piece of red pepper followed the path of the mushroom. Lucky wrinkled her nose at him as she chewed the crunchy vegetable.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” she asked.

“Toast,” Ben answered, gesturing toward the loaf of bread sitting on the breadboard. After pushing Josh out of the way so she could retrieve the bread knife from the drawer, Lucky began cutting the sourdough round into medium-thick slices for toast. She slid a couple slices into the toaster as Josh dumped the chopped vegetables in the skillet to sauté.

“Smells good,” Ben said, adding some cream to the eggs before handing Josh the bowl.

“I’m a master at the art of scrambled eggs,” Josh asserted.

“Master?” Ben remarked, giving Lucky a wink. “You probably shouldn’t start that again. Last time, it didn’t go so well for you.”

“Very funny,” Josh responded, but the smile he directed toward Ben was warm and affectionate.

Josh spooned the egg-vegetable scramble onto three plates to which Lucky added toast, while Ben rummaged through the refrigerator to find butter and some cherry preserves. With an extra trip for coffee, they carried the food into the dining room where someone had already placed napkins and silverware.

“What are you up to today, Lucky?” Ben asked as they sat down.

This really is like a family meal,
Lucky thought. What she said aloud was something about getting a start on her job search. “I’d like you to take a look at my résumé, if you don’t mind,” she said, looking at her cousin.

“Sure, no problem,” he replied. After taking a sip of coffee, he continued, “Have you thought about checking at that little gift shop in the Oriental Institute—what is it called? The Suq or something? I know you’re into archeology and all. Maybe they would be willing to hire you, at least part-time.”

Lucky’s eyes lit up. “That’s a great idea. I’ll walk down there this afternoon. You can give me comments on my résumé before then, right?”

“Yeah, I can take a look at it as soon as we’re finished with breakfast. School doesn’t start for another couple weeks. Until then, I’m a free man, and my time is my own. After that, I’m a slave to the books.” Despite the dire sound of his words, Lucky could sense his anticipation. She knew how excited he was about beginning his graduate studies.

“Just make sure you find time in your busy academic schedule for us,” Ben teased. “You can’t be taking your loved ones for granted.”

“No worries there. If I don’t take some time to play, I’ll go nuts. Too much studying and no play make Josh a very cranky boy.”

The light-hearted conversation continued while they finished breakfast, cleared the table, and cleaned up the dishes. Lucky found herself liking Ben even more the more time she spent with him. He and Josh were good together, and she was comfortable around him. She had known him for just over two days, and already he felt almost like family.

After the kitchen was all tidied, Lucky went to take a shower while Josh reviewed her résumé. When she was ready, he went over the marked-up copy with her, explaining what he meant by his comments. Lucky thanked him for his help, and after making the suggested changes to the electronic file, she printed a handful of copies and placed them in a manila folder which she tucked into her backpack.

“See you guys later,” she called, heading out the door.

As she walked toward the university, Lucky noticed that she was casting furtive glances at almost everyone she passed, looking for anything out of the ordinary. She didn’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed when she found nothing the least bit odd.

She was walking down Woodlawn toward 58th Street when it finally happened—in a way she hadn’t been expecting. A trio of crows flew over, cawing loudly, and then fluttered down to the sidewalk about half a block in front of her. She was a little startled, but also pleased. They were attractive birds, their dark feathers shining in the sunlight. But when they all turned in her direction and, to a bird, began eyeing her up and down, she was more than a little spooked. And when they began marching toward her, their black eyes glittering with intelligence and a strange sense of purpose, she had an almost irresistible desire to turn and run in the opposite direction. Refusing to give in to what seemed a completely irrational fear, she continued her course, but she did slow her steps. With little more than a yard of distance between them, the birds suddenly took to the air, flying past her head and shoulders. They were so close she could feel the breeze generated by the beating of their wings against her cheeks and hair. They circled her once, twice, three times, and then, with a final chorus of caws, they flew up and away.

Lucky stared after them, stunned, her hand pressed to her rapidly beating heart. What in the world had that been about? She’d always had a fondness for crows: the lonesome sound of their rough calls heralded fall for her, and she had heard that they were extremely intelligent. Now she wondered if maybe she needed to rethink her attitude toward them. The birds hadn’t exactly been threatening, but they hadn’t been friendly either.

After her heartbeat had returned to normal, Lucky jaywalked and turned onto 58th Street. The entrance to the Oriental Institute was on the far end of the block, adjacent to the main quad of the University of Chicago. Climbing the stone steps, she walked through the open outer door and into the lobby of the museum.

The Suq gift shop was to her immediate left, and tables and shelves with books and items for purchase spilled out into much of the lobby. An information desk was on the opposite wall, the space between it and the Suq offering a direct path to the glass doors leading into the museum proper. Only a few people were looking at items in the shop, and the girl at the check-out desk was reading a book, glancing up periodically at the few shoppers.

Lucky walked up to the girl and asked if there was someone she could talk to about the possibility of working there. When the girl informed her that the manager was currently unavailable, but that she’d be happy to take her résumé and pass it on, Lucky handed her one of the printouts she had tucked into the folder in her backpack. She started to leave, then turning back to the girl, asked if she could have one of the manager’s business cards, or at least a name and number. After looking through the desk drawer, the girl handed her a card. Lucky smiled and thanked her.