She pushed a sheet of paper across the table. “The Church of Angels email address this was sent to belongs to the preacher at the Metropolitan Cathedral here,” she said. “You might have seen that it’s a Church of Angels cathedral now. And you know the tabernacle, right beside it? It’s been redone into the office space for the Church. The preacher is the head honcho there – and believe me, he’s as devout as they come.”
Alex angled the page towards him, sharing it with Willow; a pang hit him at the sight of Juan’s familiar looping handwriting. He started to read:
Yes, I can verify that arrangements are underway for the Seraphic Council’s planned visit to Mexico City. They have several vital orders of business there; one is to select an angelic head for the Church in Mexico. As we discussed, the utmost security during their stay is vital – the general populace is not to know of their presence. However, rest assured that Church officials will of course be allowed to pay homage to them, as will a few selected members of the public. We shall discuss this when next we speak. Meanwhile, please send a precis of all security arrangements. Remember, their safety is vital for all angelkind.
“Seraphic Council?” said Willow. Her hair tickled his cheek as she bent close to read. “Didn’t Nate mention that to us?”
“Yeah, but I’d never heard of it before.” Alex frowned down at the page. “We knew all about their habits at the camp – nothing about their politics.” It was interesting news that this Council, whoever they were, planned to appoint an angelic Church head for Mexico – Alex had always had the impression that Raziel, who was head of the Church in the US, had simply grabbed all the power for himself. So did that mean this Seraphic Council were above Willow’s father, in the angelic scheme of things?
But more than that, Alex found himself staring at the phrase
their safety is vital for all angelkind.
Kara reached across and tapped the words. “That’s the reason we came here,” she said. “It sounded like if we did away with this Council, then maybe it would be a real strike against the angels – only we didn’t know that for sure, or when they were arriving, or even where, exactly.”
“Past tense,” noticed Alex, straightening up to look at her. “You do now?”
“Some of it,” said Kara. “When we first got here, the cathedral had just reopened and I went there a lot, pretending to be a devotee. I, ah...well, I’ve managed to get kind of friendly with the preacher’s main assistant, a guy named Luis.”
Alex smiled wryly; he had no trouble reading between the lines. Obviously, Luis was not supposed to be talking to random devotees about this stuff – and just as obviously, Kara had the poor guy so enamoured he couldn’t help himself.
She crossed her forearms on the table. “First of all – this thing is huge. Much bigger than we’d even hoped.” She took a breath. “The reason the high-ups at the Church are so concerned about the security risk is because the Seraphic Council is like the angels’ heartbeat. They’re called the Twelve, and their energy is the original angel energy – apparently it’s to do with them being the ‘first formed’. And the angels can’t live without them.
Literally
can’t live without them. If the Council of Twelve dies—”
“They all die,” finished Willow faintly. She looked at Alex; the blood had drained from her face. “My dream – the twelve angels vanishing, the sound of millions of them screaming...it all fits.”
“Jesus,” murmured Alex, sinking back against his chair. His heart started pounding as his eyes locked on Willow’s. They had a second chance to destroy them. They actually had a second chance. If they managed to get rid of the Council, then eventually humanity would start to recover; the world would be safe. His family flashed through his head. Willow’s mother. They
had
to succeed this time, so that what had happened to the people they loved would never occur again, not to anyone else.
“Do you have any other details?” he asked Kara finally.
“According to Luis, they’re going to be coming in early January and then staying for three weeks at the Nikko Hotel,” said Kara. “It’s one of the most exclusive hotels in the city – the whole top floor is reserved for them. Security’s going to be tight, but there’s a reception planned for the last day they’re here – and apparently the Council are going to be holding private audiences then, so that selected people can worship them in their angel forms. I’m trying to convince Luis that me and some of my friends should be on that list.” She gave a hard smile. “Because I’m so
devout
, don’cha know?”
Alex nodded. It definitely sounded like the best time to do it, if the Council were going to be in their angel forms with their vulnerable halos on display.
“And hopefully we can pull it off with as little damage to us as possible – I really don’t want this to be a suicide mission.” Kara rested her chin on her palm, her face tight with worry. “But everything depends on the team being able to take out the Council – because this is probably the only chance we’ll ever get at them. If we fail...” She shrugged. “Well, I doubt they’ll let us get away to try again later.”
“I think you’re right – this is our only chance,” said Willow in a steady voice. She told Kara about her dream; Alex watched Kara go still.
“So it’s sort of...fated for you two to be here,” she said.
“Looks that way,” said Alex, playing with his fork. His mind was ticking over everything Kara had said. Depending on Luis the assistant to get the team into the reception sounded a little too flimsy for comfort to him. But even if everything went to plan, the hardest part was going to be escaping after the Council was killed, once people figured out what they’d done. There were almost certainly going to be casualties.
He rapped the fork against the table, and left aside the logistic difficulties for the moment. “Okay, so this reception is around eleven weeks away. If you need your team trained for then, what are you doing sending them out on hunts
now
, before they’re ready? Are you trying to get them killed, or what?” He explained what had happened at the Zócalo; as he’d already surmised, Kara had been the lone gunman who’d actually been hitting the angels, at the other end of the square.
“Sounds like the others all stayed together,” said Kara morosely. “Damn it – I
told
them to fan out.”
“You shouldn’t have sent them out there in the first place! God, you should have seen them out back just now, when those three angels were attacking – it was complete chaos. What did you think you were doing?”
Her dark eyes flashed. “What I’ve been
doing
is being in charge the best way I know how ever since Juan died, okay? And they seemed like they could handle it! They’d all been hitting the bullseye over ninety per cent; they’re already experts at scanning; they—”
Alex let out a disbelieving laugh. “Come
on
, Kara, you know how different it is shooting angels for real, instead of just hitting targets! I remember Dad telling you that often enough, anyway.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not your dad! And it wasn’t exactly my
plan
to have Juan die before we even got started, so that I had to be in charge of training this bunch—” Kara broke off. Exhaling, she ran a hand across her face; there was silence. “Oh, hell, I messed up, okay?” she said finally, her voice weary. “They’d been doing target practice for what seemed like for ever, and I’d just found out about the Council, and this being our only chance – and I guess I sort of freaked. I thought it might be good practice for them, or something – like we couldn’t just
sit
here with all this going on; we had to get out and do something.”
Alex sighed – he could understand this kind of frustration all too well. “Yeah, I know. Don’t beat yourself up over it.” He looked down at his plate again; took a disinterested bite. “No one could be like Juan, anyway. He was one of the best leads I ever worked under.”
Kara leaned back, crossing her ankle over her knee. She gave him a long, appraising look. “I bet
you
could be like Juan,” she said at last. “Maybe even better.”
Alex’s muscles stiffened; he could see Willow watching him, and knew she was thinking the same thing as Kara. His voice came out sharper than intended. “No way. You’re in charge, Kara. I’ll help however I can, but I’m not going to come in here and take over your team.”
She rolled her eyes. “What about if I begged and pleaded?” she said. “Alex, seriously; I’m barely holding it together here. Give me an angel to shoot and I’m fine – but this?” She shook her head. “Even when you were a kid you were a great AK. I bet you’d be fantastic at all the strategy stuff, and the training – it’s just in your blood; you’ve been around it your whole life. God, I remember you taught
me
the best way to go for a halo, and you were only around fourteen!”
Willow touched his hand; her voice was steady. “You’d be great. I know it isn’t really something you want, but you’d be so, so good at it.”
“You’ve got to do it,” said Kara. “You have
got
to. Or else we don’t even stand a chance against the Council.”
So here it was, the thing he’d dreaded so much – as inevitable as the coldness of ice. Alex’s bruised cheek gave a throb. Somehow he’d known this would happen, from the moment he first saw Sam flailing around with the gun, screaming at the angel to come and get him. There was no getting away from it. He couldn’t say no, even though he wanted to refuse this more than anything he’d ever faced – because it wasn’t just a team’s safety he’d be responsible for now; it was all of humanity’s.
“If I’m lead, then the first priority is to get floor plans for the hotel,” he said finally. “I also need more specific security information. A
lot
more specific; every detail you can find out – how many guards, exactly what’s happening at this reception, everything. And as soon as the team is ready, we’ll have to start taking them out on safe hunts – the safest we can manage, so they can get some real-life practice. I don’t want any of them dying if I can help it.” His mouth twisted. “Not even that jerk-off Texan.”
“You got it, chief,” said Kara softly.
Chief. Alex resisted pulling a face. “Are you okay with this?” he said to Willow.
She nodded. She looked resigned, as if she too found this inevitable. At the same time, apprehension flickered deep within her green eyes, and he knew how worried she was. “Of course,” she said. “This is what we have to be doing.”
“So, I guess I’ll tell the team tonight,” said Kara.
Alex started to eat again; the food had lost all its flavour. “Tomorrow,” he said. “Let me get some sleep first, okay?”
Kara nodded. And though he was exhausted, Alex didn’t know whether that was the real reason he wanted to put the announcement off, or whether he just wanted a few more hours’ reprieve before he had to take this on. He glanced at Willow, wishing again that they were alone. He wanted to find out how she really felt about staying here, given the reception she’d received.
Willow seemed to guess what was on his mind; her fingers rested fleetingly on his arm, telling him it was okay. She pushed her chair back. “Is there a restroom I could use?” she asked Kara.
Kara turned, pointing with a slender brown arm. “Yeah – just go through that door and it’s upstairs, second door on the left.”
After Willow had disappeared, Kara said, “So. She does that too.”
Alex didn’t look up from his meal. “Yeah, gosh, just like a real human being. Do you think you could stop being such an idiot about this? As a special favour to me?” He shovelled another bite of spaghetti into his mouth.
“She’s very pretty,” said Kara after a pause.
“I know.”
“So...can I ask you a personal question?”
He looked up sharply; her beautiful face was bland. “Yeah, you can ask,” he said. “I might not answer, if it’s none of your business.”
She tapped her pink nails on the table. “Well, I’m guessing you two are – intimate, am I right?”
Alex held back a snorting laugh and took another bite of spaghetti. If Kara thought he was going to discuss his sex life with her, she was insane.
“Okay, fine, don’t tell me,” she said. “But what I’m getting at is, aren’t you worried about angel burn?”
He let out a groan and dropped his fork. Kara went on before he could say anything. “I mean, all right, she’s not on the side of the angels; I get that. But that doesn’t mean being close to her won’t physically hurt you somehow. I’m not saying she’d do it on purpose, but—”
Alex gritted the words out. “Listen carefully and I’ll say it again – she is not like them. She doesn’t feed. How could she give me angel burn?”
Kara shrugged, her expression arch. “I don’t know. Who the hell knows anything about a half-angel?
She
doesn’t even know, so how can you?”
“Yeah, well, thanks for your concern,” he said, picking up his fork again. “I feel fine.”
“Good,” she said. “Glad to hear it.” She picked up the sheet of paper with Juan’s writing on it, turning it over thoughtfully. “Course, you don’t always
know
these things, do you? Some of those cancers, for instance, can take a real long time to start showing themselves—”
He glared at her; he would have happily smashed the plate of spaghetti in her face. “Kara, I’m serious –
shut the hell up
.”
A strained silence fell. “Hey,” she said eventually, touching his shoulder. “Don’t be mad at me, Al. I mean, just put yourself in my shoes – I really hope that if I came strutting in here with some half-angel boyfriend, you’d start asking a few questions.”
He managed a smile at her old nickname for him, and knew she was right. If he had been in her place, he’d have been saying the exact same things. He shook his head. “Kara, Willow is...she’s the kindest, most unselfish person I’ve ever known. She’d die before she hurt me, or anyone else.”
Kara lifted a hand. “Okay,” she said, and he knew she was holding back from repeating what she’d said before – that it might not be something Willow was doing on purpose. “Just keep it in mind, all right? That’s all I’m asking.” She changed the subject adroitly. “You know, I really cannot get over how much you look like Jake now – you’ve actually grown into those shoulders of yours. What a difference a couple of years makes, huh?”