Angel Fire (28 page)

Seb bent down to pick up his bag. “No. What do you do?”

“We’re Angel Killers,” said Alex. “AKs. Those angels you saw” – he nodded at the Torre Mayor – “if we can get rid of them, we can destroy all the angels in the world. That’s our goal.”

It was as if he’d knocked the breath out of Seb. He straightened up slowly, staring. “You...this is a joke,” he said. “You’re going to kill all the angels? Really?”

“No joke,” said Alex. “There’s a group of us; that’s what we’re trying to do. If you come back with us, then you help us fight them; that’s the deal. All right?”

Seb stood gazing up at the tower. From nowhere, I got an image of a young girl with big eyes and a grimy face. Seb would have come with us no matter what it was we did, I knew that – but something about this young girl in his thoughts made his shoulders straighten a little.

“Yes, all right,” he said. “I’ll help you fight.”

We started heading back through the park, Seb walking on the other side of me from Alex. I could tell how much he still wanted to be talking to me, but he stayed quiet, his steps long and loping. Alex took my hand, weaving his fingers through mine and letting Seb go a few paces ahead of us.

“So what happened?” he asked in an undertone.

I explained as best I could, from Seb first finding me to Alex finding us together. Uncomfortably, I was aware of how much I was having to leave out – such as Seb putting his arm around me and me not even minding at first, because it had felt so natural.

“But Alex, are you really sure you’re okay with this?” I finished. “I mean – Seb doesn’t have to come back to the house with us.” Though I knew if he didn’t, I’d be counting the seconds until I saw him again. There was so much I was aching to ask him; so much I needed to find out.

Alex glanced at Seb. I caught a hint of resigned dislike; then it faded as he seemed to push his own feelings aside. “Yeah, I’m sure,” he said quietly. “If he can teach you how to change your aura, so you can be safe...that’s all that matters, Willow.”

I hesitated, not totally convinced – but before I could say anything else, Alex looked down at me again. “Hey – what were you going to tell me before Sam and Trish ran off? You seemed so worried: I almost had a heart attack when we got back and you weren’t there.”

My angel. I swallowed hard. Ahead of us, Seb was standing against a tree, waiting for us to catch up.
Seb, please, please have some answers for me
, I thought.
I really need you to.

“Nothing,” I said to Alex. “Sorry, I was just having a freak-out moment about the hunt. I mean, thinking about actually having to shoot something.” I forced a smile. “I wasn’t born to be a gun moll after all, I guess.”

He searched my eyes; I felt both guilt and relief when he believed me. “Yeah, I know how much you hate the thought of it,” he said, squeezing my hand. “Just promise me you’ll try to shoot if an angel’s ever actually coming at you, all right?”

“Promise,” I said. More than that, I was promising myself that if Seb
didn’t
have answers for me, I’d tell Alex about all of this immediately.

We caught up with Seb; he peeled himself off the tree and joined us again. When we reached the Metro station, I glanced at him as we headed down the concrete stairs. He was jogging slightly, with his curly head down, knapsack bouncing on one shoulder. He looked so normal – so totally human. I could see why the team still felt wary of me; to look at Seb, there was no hint he wasn’t completely human. And in his case, even his aura blended in with everyone else’s.

His aura. As we jostled our way to the ticket machines, it suddenly struck me exactly what it would mean if I could learn to disguise my own. I knew it wasn’t what Alex had had in mind when he’d asked Seb to teach me – it hadn’t even occurred to him; he just wanted me to be safe. But if I somehow managed to get my angel self under control – and if my aura looked human, so that I blended in with the rest of the AKs...I swallowed hard, feeling almost dizzy.

I could take part in the Council attack.

A
LEX
WASN
’
T SURE WHICH CAUSED
a bigger ruckus back at the AK house – the news that the Council had arrived five weeks early and were at the Torre Mayor, or that there was another half-angel in the world, and hey, here he was in their house with them. He explained everything to the team as best he could; it felt like he’d set a bomb off. Soon after, Kara cornered him in the kitchen.

“Another half-angel – perfect, that’s just what we need right now,” she said, her hands on her hips. “Who
is
this guy? Can we even trust him?”

Alex was making himself a mug of instant coffee; he made another one for her without asking – she was as addicted to caffeine as he was. “I don’t think
I
can trust him as far as I can throw him,” he said dryly. “The guy’s got serious designs on Willow. But I think the team can trust him, yeah. And if he can teach her this aura thing, it’ll be worth it.”

Kara stood against the counter beside him as she sipped her coffee. She rolled her eyes. “You know, that’s so reasonable it makes my head hurt.”

Alex touched his forehead, where – speaking of hurting heads – another headache was starting to throb. “Reasonable – right. I’m just trying to talk myself out of taking a swing at the guy next time I see him. If you’d seen the way he was looking at her...” And for that matter, the way Willow had been looking at Seb, with her green eyes so full of wonder. Annoyed with himself, Alex pushed the image away and took a gulp of coffee. “Anyway, even if I threatened the guy at gunpoint, he’s not going to just go away – he’s spent his entire life looking for another half-angel. So I might as well keep him close, where I can keep an eye on him.”

“Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer,” Kara murmured. She shook her head, looking deep in thought. “God, this is just unreal. And if there’s two of them, then there must be more, don’t you think? They can’t possibly be the only ones – or can they?”

The thought of Willow and Seb being the only two of their kind brought a small chill; it sounded like Noah’s ark and creatures going two by two. “No way, there have to be more,” said Alex. “It must be pretty rare, though, when the angels themselves think Willow is the only one.”

“And somehow the two of them found each other,” mused Kara. Alex gave her a dirty look, and she shrugged. “Sorry. But it is sort of...poetic.”

“Yeah, how’d you guess? I feel so much like writing a sonnet right now.”

“Okay, okay. I
said
sorry.” Kara sighed, and ran a hand over her close-cropped hair. “Anyway, I’d better go and meet Luis – see if I can find out what’s going on with the Council.”

Alex nodded. “Be careful.”

“Always am.” She went to the kitchen table where her leather bag lay and pulled out her gun, briefly checking its cartridges before tucking the weapon back into hiding. “All right, see you later,” she said, hooking the bag over her shoulder. “I’ll text you in a while to check in.”

Once Kara was gone Alex stood where he was for a few minutes, worry over the Council throbbing at his skull. He’d thought he had almost two months left to train everyone, but if the Twelve were following their original plan, they’d only be in Mexico City three weeks.
Three weeks.
And he still had a team that who went running off without thinking.

He closed his eyes, squeezing his temples with one hand.
Don’t panic,
he told himself.
It’s not as long as you thought you had, but you can do it – you can get them ready in time. And maybe Willow got it wrong, and it wasn’t even the Council at all
.

That last one seemed like way too much to hope for. Alex let out a breath. Anyway, no point in worrying about this just yet – he’d have to wait and see what Kara came back with.

The only other half-angel in the world.

He frowned as he looked down, swirling the coffee in his mug. It couldn’t really be true, could it? And if it was, then Christ – what were the odds of Seb being around Willow’s age, and just happening to stumble on her things in a marketplace? Or getting a “feeling” that he should go to Chapultepec, on the only day of Willow’s life that she’d ever been there?

Remembering what Kara had said, about the two of them finding each other, a prickle ran up Alex’s spine.

He shook his head at himself in irritation; he didn’t even believe in fate. Seb was obviously as psychic as Willow was, that was all. And had been determined to find another half-angel. Once he had, learning that she had a boyfriend must have ruined the guy’s day – because although Alex was certain that for Willow, the moment when he’d found them staring at each other really
had
just been about meeting another half-angel, he severely doubted the same was true for Seb. No guy looked at a girl the way Seb had been with only species solidarity in mind.

And now he was here in their house...and would be alone with Willow all the time, teaching her how to change her aura.

Alex put down his mug, a little harder than intended, and went to find them. He eventually discovered Willow and Seb up on the second floor, where a small balcony overlooked the concrete courtyard. Seb stood lounging in the doorway with his hands in his jeans pockets; Willow was on the balcony itself, leaning against its metal railing. They’d obviously been deep in conversation, but Willow broke off with a smile when she saw him.

“Hey, you,” she said, resting a hand on his chest and craning up on her tiptoes to kiss him; Alex saw how carefully blank Seb’s face went, and knew more than ever that he’d been right
Yeah, take that, angel boy,
he thought before he could help it.

Willow sank back to her feet. “I’d better go see if Liz wants help with dinner,” she said. “We’ll talk later, okay, Seb?”

“Yes, I’d like that,” he said softly. He watched her go, his eyes lingering on her petite form.

Alex propped himself against the metal railing where Willow had just stood. “Okay, let’s get something straight,” he said in Spanish. “If you think I don’t know you’re after my girlfriend, you’re crazy. And if you try to put any sleazy moves on her while you’re here, you’re going to regret it.”

Seb’s knapsack was at his feet. He took out a pack of cigarettes; tapped out the last one and lit it. Settling back against the door jamb, he gave Alex a considering, faintly humorous look. “Sleazy moves?” he repeated. “Don’t worry, I don’t do sleazy moves.”

“Let me rephrase,” said Alex coldly. “Any moves. Just keep your hands off her.”

Seb was silent as he blew a stream of smoke towards the sky. “This isn’t really any of your business, you know,” he said finally. “Whatever happens between Willow and me is up to her. Not you.”

Alex gave a short laugh. “Not my business? Think again – this is my girlfriend we’re talking about. And I want to make sure that
you
know it’s up to her.”

“Well, you can put your mind at ease then.” Seb’s voice was mild, but with a thread of steel through it. “Because I don’t pressure girls, and I don’t make moves where they’re not wanted. If Willow only wants to be friends, that’s all we’ll be.”

Alex nodded slowly, watching him. “Okay,” he said at last. “But if you do
anything
to hurt Willow – if you make her uncomfortable in any way while you’re here – I will seriously make you wish you hadn’t.”

Seb took another another puff of his cigarette. “Be my guest. Look, I really don’t want to discuss this with you. But I’d die before I did anything to hurt Willow – or before I let anyone else hurt her, either. End of conversation, okay?”

Watching Seb as he smoked, Alex wondered, despite himself, what it would be like to finally find another of your own kind, after searching for so many years. He knew that if he were Seb, he wouldn’t be prepared to just walk away from Willow either. The realization didn’t exactly make him warm to the guy.

“No, not quite end of conversation.” Alex shifted on the railing, his arms folded over his chest. “How long have you known you’re half-angel?”

Seb’s eyebrows rose. “Is that any of your business?”

“You’re training my girlfriend how to disguise her aura? Yeah, it’s my business.”

Seb regarded him for a moment. The look on his face wasn’t amused, exactly, but it was heading in that direction. “You’re big on the girlfriend thing, aren’t you?” he observed. “She’s not your property, you know.”

The comment brought Alex up short; irritatingly, he knew Seb was right, and that Willow would say the same thing if she’d heard him. “No, she’s not,” he said at last. “But as the leader of this team, I need for you to answer my question.”

Seb stretched across to the railing to tap ash off his cigarette. “You know, I’m trying my best to think of the possible relevance here...fine, whatever. I’ve known I was half-angel since I was five.”

“So, that’s what – around thirteen years?”

“Yeah, I just turned eighteen.”

“Okay. You’ve known for thirteen years. Willow has known for about three months. When she first found out—” He broke off, remembering Willow’s despair, her struggle to deal with all of this. “It was really hard for her,” he finished. “So what I’m getting at is – I think she probably needs you, okay? She needs someone who can help her with this.”