Angel Fire (40 page)

“It still is,” pointed out Liz, overhearing. “Even
more
famous now. But that empty column on the Paseo de la Reforma just looks weird – like it’s waiting for something to happen.”

Kara was standing beside the cathedral’s massive wooden doors. Despite his worry, Alex held back a smile when he saw she had on a pair of pink satin angel wings. “They’re really you,” he said as they reached her. “Or have you got angel burn, and I should shoot you?”

Kara rolled her eyes; the long, braided wig she was wearing made her look like Cleopatra or something. “It’s called camouflage, dear. You should probably all get some too, so our group doesn’t attract attention. This
is
Church of Angels central – where the people are whacked-out and the angels are plentiful.”

Sam recoiled. “What,
us
wear those things? No way.”

“No, it’s a good idea.” Alex reached for his wallet; taking out a few hundred pesos, he handed the notes to Sam. “Here, go and get us some, okay?” As Sam opened his mouth, he added, “And no complaining, Tex, or I’ll make you wear the pink ones.” The others snickered; Sam gave him a dark look and headed off to one of the angel-wing vendors wandering around the square.

“Listen, I was just about to text you myself,” said Kara in a low voice. “I finally managed to get the security code today – the whole thing, first try. If they only change it once a week, it should be good for another three days.”

Alex’s heart leaped. “Really? Are you sure?”

“Yeah. And I’ve got an idea of when the best time might be for us to try to break in too, but...meanwhile, something’s come up.”

“What?” Alex felt his exhilaration fade. The look on Kara’s face did not herald good news.

She fell silent, her beautiful features twisted in thought. “Let’s wait till we get inside,” she said finally. “You can see what I mean for yourself.”

Sam returned with a cluster of angel wings and they put them on, helping each other straighten them. “Perfect – you all look like real devouts now,” said Kara. “Just gaze around wonderingly, and you’ll fit right in.”

The white wings on his back felt ridiculous. But the team looked ready, Alex saw with approval – alert and reasonably relaxed; a big change from only two weeks ago, when they’d had their first hunt.

“Okay, I want all of you scanning and prepared, in case any of us is attacked,” he said. “Stick together – don’t anyone go wandering off. If we do have to defend ourselves, try to do it without being noticed; I’d sort of like to avoid starting a riot today.”

“Riots, bad – got it,” muttered Brendan.

A cavernous coolness fell as they entered the cathedral. When Alex had been here years ago, an altar had stood just inside the entrance. Now it was gone, as was the organ behind it, turning the cathedral into a vast airy space. White pillars marched in a silent line to the single, lavish golden altar far away down the aisle – it stretched from floor to ceiling, ornate with detail, glinting like liquid. A golden angel took pride of place here, holding a trumpet to its lips as smaller angels cavorted around it. From some unseen source, harp music fluttered through the air.

Hundreds of people were inside, though the cathedral was so large it didn’t seem crowded. Many sat praying in the long pews; others wandered respectfully about, taking photographs and videos, or lighting candles that stood on small winged stands. Alex spotted one or two being fed from, their faces alight as angels stood beside them – hands buried deep in the humans’ life forces as their halos burned brighter and brighter.

Sam had seen too; Alex could practically feel him twitching for his gun. “Steady,” he whispered to him.

The AKs moved down the central aisle, their feet echoing on the marble floor. Kara gazed dreamily up at the domed ceiling with its newly-painted pink and white rococo angels that soared between the round windows. Alex knew he couldn’t do the blissed-out look as well as she was; he just tried not to look like he completely hated this place.

To either side, the space where chapels to individual saints had once stood was devoted to different aspects of the angels’ love. Pretending to be showing them the “love for our planet” chapel, Kara led the AKs to a painting of three angels holding a globe of the world between them.

She pointed upwards, as if indicating a detail of the artwork. “Okay, don’t look now, but that door behind me leads to the main administrative offices,” she said to the team. Alex had seen it several times before; he took a sideways glance anyway at the dark, arched door in the corner.

“You can see the keypad right beside it,” went on Kara. “Like I was just saying to Alex, we’ve got the code now and it shouldn’t be changing again till Thursday – and from what I’ve seen, there’s a few times during the day when we might be able to slip in without being noticed. Evening service is the main one – everyone seems pretty distracted then. There’s another issue that’s come up though.”

Alex had been standing with his back to the stone wall as he listened, pretending to look at the cathedral while he kept an eye out for angels. The two that had been feeding were gone now, at least in their angelic forms. Scanning, he didn’t sense any of the creatures in the main space – but a tingle crawled up his spine at the number of them in the unseen office area.

He bent his head towards Kara. “Jesus, how many of them are
back
there?” he muttered.

“That...is the problem,” said Kara. Her eyes met his. “It’s a new development we have to deal with – ’cause I’ve got a bad feeling it’s here to stay. Come on, let’s give the rest of these guys a quick look around at the layout, then maybe we can all go to a cafe or something. I’ve seriously had enough of this place for one day.”

They exited the cathedral about twenty minutes later, climbing up its worn stone steps into the late afternoon. As they crossed the road and started across the square, Alex took out his phone and texted Willow:
Home in a while. We’re OK. I love you
. Her response came promptly, making him smile:
Hurry back, I miss you!

He’d bought cellphones for the rest of the team the day after Seb arrived, not wanting to ever again be in a position where someone was missing and he had no idea what was going on. Now he and Willow often sent a few texts back and forth during the day – tiny notes that made him feel more laid-back about Seb’s presence in the house. Not that much more, though, if he was honest.

Alex shook his head at himself in disgust as he walked. He’d never thought he was a jealous person – and he trusted Willow completely. But knowing she and Seb were alone together all day, even though all they were doing was working on her aura, nagged at him like a pebble in his shoe. Not to mention that he’d lost count now of how many times he’d walked in on them having one of their long, intimate conversations. Just a few nights ago, he’d found them up on the balcony; Willow had been wearing Seb’s sweater draped across her shoulders as they talked. Though they’d been sitting at least four feet apart, the sweater had irritated Alex far more than it should have; he’d found it an effort to even be civil to Seb. It wasn’t the kind of thing you could mention though, without sounding like a jealous jerk.

But he couldn’t have held back what he
had
said to save his life – the words had finally burst out of him, after two weeks of biting them back. “So you know he’s in love with you, right?” he’d asked once Seb had gone back inside, leaving his sweater on Willow’s shoulders.

Alex had been sitting beside Willow on the cool concrete floor with his arm around her. She’d gone still as she stared up at him. “I know he cares about me a lot,” she said finally. “But Alex, we’re just friends. I told him that the first day.”

“Willow. Come on, seriously – haven’t you noticed? The way he looks at you all the time – plus, you must
feel
it, right? With both of you being psychic?”

Her cheeks had tinged with pink. She’d fingered the sweater’s sleeve with one hand, apparently unaware she was doing so. With an effort, Alex had managed not to yank the thing off her shoulders.

“No, not really,” she said, her voice soft. “I mean, once or twice maybe, I guess I’ve gotten a flash of something, but—” She stopped; then seemed to notice she was holding the sleeve and dropped it, rubbing her hand on her jeans. “We’re friends,” she repeated. “He knows that’s all it is.”

Alex had stared down at her, taking in the short spikes of hair that looked almost cherry-coloured in the half-light. Right then, they’d almost matched her cheeks. And looking down at her face as she gazed out over the courtyard, Alex had longed to be psychic himself – to be able to just reach into her head and find out what she was thinking.

Walking across the Zócalo now with the rest of the team, Alex told himself for the hundredth time that he was being ridiculous – because he
knew
how much Willow loved him. And unlike she and Seb, when they were alone together they didn’t sit four feet apart. Just that morning, they’d managed some time in his bedroom: soft words; Willow’s body against his; her lips as she kissed his neck, his tattoo, his chest. He went warm, remembering...and tried not to dwell on the fact that if she didn’t talk to Seb so much, they could be alone like that more often.

Alex’s phone beeped again in his jeans pocket. Pulling it out, he saw another text from Willow:
Did I tell u I love u, by the way? It was a HUGE oversight if I didn’t
.

His irritation over Seb faded. Christ, he really was an idiot.
Oversight corrected
, he texted in response.
Did I tell u that I want to kiss u for a very long time later?

Her reply came in seconds:
That’s definitely a plan I can get behind
.

Alex smiled as he put his phone away, but felt slightly wistful too. He wanted it all with Willow, everything – and he’d never realized it more than in these last few weeks, with the fate of humanity hanging in the balance. If they managed to defeat the angels, the only thing he’d ever want would be to live the rest of his life with Willow. Marry her, if that’s what she wanted. Just
be
with her, for ever.

But for now the present was all they had, and the only promise he could make was that he loved her. Because the reality was that no plan they put into place would be foolproof: when the AKs made their strike, there was a very real chance that he and the team could die. Alex didn’t let his thoughts go down this path very often; the idea of any of his team being hurt was agony. He shoved his hands in his pockets, trying not to think about it now.

Anyway, maybe he didn’t know what the attack on the Council would bring – but at least now that the team was trained he could leave them on their own without worrying too much. And so, for just one night, he and Willow were going to have some real privacy, like he’d promised. Alex’s blood quickened at the thought. She didn’t even know yet; he wanted to surprise her.

No Seb, no other people. Just the two of them in each other’s arms, being truly together in the way they both longed for.

I nudged gently at my pale-blue aura, watching it shimmer and change to a vibrant rose. It wavered before me for a few minutes, the colour of sunrise. Okay, how about green now; green would be nice...and though I’d thought I was totally immersed in my aura, somehow my thoughts drifted then to the Council attack. Alex. How important it was that I got this. And the playful mood was gone, slipped away like mist in the wind.

I opened my eyes and stared at my silver aura. The house was silent around us.

“Willow, stop – you’re doing so well,” said Seb, responding to the silent berating that was going on in my head.

He had on the same long-sleeved grey T-shirt he’d worn when I first met him, with the sleeves pushed up slightly. The hair on his tanned arms was lighter than on his head; almost golden – from years spent on the road in the sun, maybe. Pushing the thought away, I slumped back against the sofa. “It doesn’t feel like it.”

Seb shrugged. “You must keep your aura separate from everything now, that’s all. Like, you can walk and talk at the same time, yes? You don’t think about walking. It’s like that.”

He was always so patient – he’d told me all this about a hundred times now. But as he stretched across to rustle another cookie out of the bag, I could sense again the conflict that had been with him since almost that first day: he wanted me to be safe around the angels, yet as far from the Torre Mayor as possible when the team attacked.

I sighed. I hadn’t really meant to discuss this with him, but I heard the words come out anyway. “Seb, I’ve got to be there when it happens. For so many reasons. I can’t just sit here at home.”

His eyes met mine. He didn’t ask what I was talking about. “If you learn how to hide your aura in time, then I’ll be there too,” he said.

I bit my lip. I hated the idea of anything happening to Seb, almost as much as I did anything happening to Alex. “You’re part of the team now, though,” I said. “Wouldn’t you go anyway? Whether I did or not?”

“No.” Seb looked down, turned the cookie over in his hands and then rested it on the table uneaten. “When the attack happens, I’ll be wherever you are – doing whatever I can to protect you.” He gave a small smile. “I wouldn’t be anywhere else.”

On the one hand, I was touched – enormously. On the other, I felt a little irritated that he seemed so convinced I couldn’t take care of myself. “Seb—”

“
Querida
, no, that’s not it,” said Seb before I could say anything else. “You know I don’t think that; you can take care of yourself very well. But if there’s an attack and the team fails, the angels will find out everything. I won’t leave you on your own in that kind of danger.” He shrugged again; his eyes held a gleam of humour suddenly. “You can try to make me if you like. You won’t have much luck, I don’t think.”

My chest tightened – what I felt was far too deep to put into words. Thankfully, with Seb I didn’t have to try. I let out a long breath.

“You’re still calling me
querida
,” I pointed out finally. “Brothers don’t do this.”