Angel Fire

by L. A. Weatherly

Page 66

 

  “Okay,” he said finally. “I’ll keep checking out the Torre Mayor, in between training the team. Kara, I want you to start casing the cathedral. Figure out the routine there, and find a way for us to break into the offices – we’ll get you a video camera like Wesley said. But we’ve got to know what we’re going to be walking into. ”

  “Will do,” said Kara. Glancing at Seb, she hesitated, her reluctance clear. Like the others, she hadn’t warmed to him; Alex doubted that his little revelation just now had helped. “Seb, if you wouldn’t mind – would you go over the map with me, see if I’ve missed anything else?”

  From the amused spark in Seb’s eyes, he knew exactly how much Kara didn’t want to be dealing with him. “Yes, I’d be happy to. ”

  Everyone started dispersing, heading off to the kitchen or the TV room. Alex gave Willow a wry look as they walked across the firing range. “The guy doesn’t like making things easy for himself, does he?”

  Willow glanced over her shoulder as Seb and Kara bent over the map. “He just. . . is who he is, I guess. ”

  Alex could hear the unmistakable note of fondness in her voice. Unbidden, a conversation he’d had with Kara that morning came rushing back. She’d been standing at the kitchen counter, long legs crossed at the ankle. Blowing on her coffee, she’d said, “Sooo. . . how are things going?”

  His eyes had narrowed at her arch tone. “What do you mean, ‘how are things going?’”

  Kara’s shrug had been elaborately casual. “Willow and Seb seem awfully close already, don’t they? They’re always talking whenever I see them. ”

  They were always talking whenever Alex saw them, too. “They’re friends, that’s all,” he’d said shortly as he took a teaspoon out from the drawer.

  “You said he wants more though. And, boy, he’s really good-looking, isn’t he? Those eyes, and that sexy stubble. Willow has to have noticed. ”

  Alex had made a face before he could stop himself. Earlier, he’d seen Willow’s cheeks go pink when Seb had come out of the shower room wearing only his jeans, his chest slightly damp. And though her cheeks probably would have gone just as pink if it had been Sam or one of the others, Alex still couldn’t help wishing that the only other half-angel in the world had been short, with acne.

  “I’m glad you’ve got the hots for Seb,” he’d told Kara coldly, jamming a piece of bread in the toaster. “Do you actually have a point you’re trying to make?”

  She’d given him a level look. “Just be careful, okay? I don’t want to see you get hurt. ”

  The genuine concern in her voice had grated on Alex. It still did; he pushed the memory away. He and Willow had reached the stairwell by then, where it was relatively quiet for now. She reached for his hand. “Alex, look – I know you and Seb haven’t really hit it off, but he’s a good person, okay? And he’s my friend. ”

  “Yeah, but—” Alex broke off; he’d been about to say, But you know the guy’s in love with you, right? It was completely obvious; Seb couldn’t take his eyes off her.

  “What?” said Willow.

  “Nothing,” said Alex finally. He shook his head, irritated with himself. “Sorry, it’s just all this Council stuff – I guess it’s getting to me. Yeah, I know you’re friends. I’m fine with it. ”

  She seemed to smile despite herself. “What – really?”

  He smiled too. The love in her eyes was so obvious that he felt like a jerk for caring about Seb at all. “Yeah, really,” he said. “I’m glad that you’ve got another half-angel to talk to. Anyway, how’s the aura training going?”

  Willow’s green eyes sparkled suddenly. She stood on a step so that she was taller than he was, and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’ll tell you if you kiss me. ”

  He grinned in surprise, slipping his hands around her waist. “I don’t know, you drive a hard bargain. . . all right, I give in. ”

  She trailed her fingers over the back of his neck as they kissed; Alex shivered, pulling her closer. “Maybe we could sneak away into your room later,” she whispered against his mouth.

  “Maybe we could just spend the rest of our lives in there, and never come out again,” he murmured back. Nothing sounded better. His lips travelled down to her neck, lingering against her warm skin; he couldn’t help smiling. “And don’t get me wrong, I definitely like the idea – but you always used to be so worried about us not having enough privacy in there. ”

  “I still am,” she said faintly. “But Alex, I just—” She pulled away to look into his eyes; he saw deep happiness in her expression. “I just really want to be close to you. I mean—” She touched his cheek and smiled ruefully. “Well, as close as we can be, with a dorm full of people just outside. ”

  Which unfortunately wasn’t as close as either of them wanted – but was a lot better than nothing. “Oh man, it’s a date,” said Alex, drawing her back against him. Then he stopped as his responsibilities crashed over him like a freight train. They had less than three weeks now. Three weeks. He glanced tensely towards the range. “But I should probably head over to the evening service at the cathedral first and check the place out; then look over the blueprints for the Torre Mayor again, see if I’ve missed anything—”

  Willow put a finger over his lips. “It’s okay. ”

  He made a face. “No, it really isn’t. You deserve—”

  “I deserve to be with you, and I am. Always. Alex, it’s fine – this is so important, don’t you think I realize that?” He could hear her frustration though, and knew how much she hated it that she couldn’t go to the angel-filled cathedral with him and try to pick up something psychically. From the moment they’d met, they’d been a team – having to sit at home with her half-angel aura must gnaw at her.

  “Of course I know you realize it,” he said softly. “God, if anyone in the world understands what’s at stake, it’s you. ” He tucked back a short strand of her hair and smiled. “So, have I earned the right yet to know how the aura work is going?”

  Willow sighed. “Still not that well, actually,” she confessed. “It’s a lot harder than I thought. ”

  Discouragement was clear on her face. Alex squeezed her hand and shook his head in joking disbelief. “After all that? You got – wait a minute” – he counted on his fingers – “one, two, three, four, five kisses out of me? And the aura work isn’t even going well?”

  She grinned, and pressed close to him again. “So sue me,” she murmured against his lips.

  My psychic skills had always come so effortlessly that I’d thought disguising my aura would be easy too, once Seb explained it to me. It wasn’t – just seeing my aura took practice at first. It seemed so unnatural to even notice it, like being awakened by your own snores. After three days, I could finally bring my aura easily into view, but now trying to change it made me feel like I was in the second grade attempting advanced calculus. And for Seb it was all so simple – not to just see his aura, but to then sort of mentally grasp it, changing its colours with his thoughts.