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I swallowed. “They’re – they’re part of us. We’re both half-angel. ”
Someone at the rear had peeled off and was heading at a run back towards town. I watched nervously, wondering if she was going for reinforcements.
Scott snorted. “Yeah, you’re supposedly half-angel – who are you really?”
I stared at him. “What? Come on, Scott, don’t you recognize me?”
“Those angels flew right inside you!” he barked. “The Willow we knew is on our side – I’m not taking any chances. ” Scott had always been expert with a football; he didn’t look any less so with a rifle as he stepped closer.
“Stay. Back. ” Seb’s voice was a razor blade. “My angel can survive without me. If you shoot, he will grab the machine gun and fire on you all. ”
The bluff worked. Scott lowered his rifle a fraction, his handsome face cautious.
“But I am on your side!” I cried. “I’ve been fighting the angels for years – we both have. ”
“Yeah, that’s exactly what you would say, isn’t it?” he demanded.
“But the half-angel thing can’t be true, can it?” protested Rachel, stepping closer. “I thought it was just a story!”
How had they already known I was half-angel? Before I could respond, a dark-haired guy said, “Either way, that doesn’t mean this is her! After two years? And now, after this morning?”
“Way too convenient,” put in someone else.
“Of course it’s really me!” I exclaimed. “Rachel – remember how crazy we made Mr. Kovak in biology? We refused to dissect frogs, remember? And, Scott, you flunked sophomore English – Coach Campbell was furious at you. ”
“Angels are psychic,” muttered someone darkly.
“I’m psychic, remember?” But it was clear that nothing I said or did would convince them. “We’re here to help! ”I said anyway, raising my voice. “Pawntucket’s about to come under attack—”
“Attack?” Scott hissed. “You’ve led them right to us, haven’t you?”
“No! You’ve got to listen—”
Scott snapped the rifle to his shoulder again; with no hesitation, Seb let loose a burst of machine-gun fire, scattering it at his feet. As Scott jumped back, I stood breathing hard, my mind spinning. This could not be happening.
“Stop!” shouted a new voice. Running footsteps were heading towards us. “Stop!”
A guy wearing an old duffle coat and a grey thermal cap came sprinting up, with the girl who’d taken off before and someone else a few paces behind. Panting, the guy glanced at me and then the crowd, his expression incredulous. “What are you doing? This is Willow!”
“You don’t know what happened!” Scott said hotly. “She—”
“Yeah, Leslie told us,” broke in the new guy. Average height, a boyish face. “And it’s still Willow! She’s half-angel, remember? I told you that. ”
I stared, wondering who this was and how he knew me – and then suddenly the figure who’d been bringing up the rear propelled herself into my arms. “Willow! It’s you; it’s really you—”
Nina. Tears jumped to my eyes. I forgot everything else as I held her tightly, weak with relief that she hadn’t believed the terrorist stories after all.
She pulled back, swiping at her eyes. “Oh, god, I can’t believe you’re here!”
“Me neither,” I said faintly. Nina was an inch taller than me, with golden-brown hair that used to be straightened paper-flat. Now it framed her cute, snub-nosed face in a bob, making her brownish-green eyes look even larger.
Scott still held his rifle half at the ready. “Yeah, but – come on, that’s not how being a half-angel works, is it?” he sputtered. “An angel flying right inside you?”
My neck warmed. I felt so self-conscious, confirming to all my old classmates that I wasn’t completely human. Steadily, I said, “Well, that’s how it works in our case, and we’re the only half-angels that we know about. Our angels are part of us. ”
Nina’s gaze widened as she glanced from me to Seb – but to my amazement, she didn’t look disbelieving. More than her hair must have changed in two years.
“Listen, if Jonah and Nina are sure it’s her, that’s good enough for me,” Rachel said firmly.
The murmurs of assent relaxed my spine a little, and then it hit me: Jonah? I turned and gaped at the newcomer as memories of the Denver Church of Angels whirled past. No way – it couldn’t be. Then mentally, I put him into a grey suit with an angelic blue tie; his gentle brown eyes were just the same.
It was really him.
“Yeah, we’re sure,” Jonah was saying. “Come on, Scott, put your gun down. All of you. ”
Though his voice was mild, everyone obeyed. I stood staring, trying to take this in. “But – what are you doing here?” I blurted out.
Jonah glanced at me with an embarrassed smile. “Hi,” he said belatedly, stepping forward and offering his hand. “It’s great to see you again, Willow. I mean, it really is. ”
I shook his hand in a daze. “You too,” I said softly. Our hands stayed gripped longer than necessary; suddenly my throat was tight. Jonah had been Raziel’s assistant. He’d risked his life to help us try to stop the Second Wave.
I let go. “Um – this is my friend Seb. Sebastián Carrera. Seb, this is Nina Bergmann, and Jonah…I’m sorry, I don’t know your last name. ”
“Fisk. ” Jonah extended his hand to Seb. I saw him glance at the empty truck and dreaded the question I knew would follow: Where’s Alex?
“Listen – we’re here for a reason,” I said hurriedly. “Pawntucket’s in danger; Raziel plans to attack in five days. At least, I hope we’ve still got five days. ”
Jonah stared at the mention of his former employer. “Raziel’s going to attack here?”
Nina gripped my arm. “Quick, tell us everything!”
I told them what I’d gotten from the angel in the corridor. “Something’s happening here that the angels weren’t expecting,” I finished in a rush. “Something they feel threatened by. ”
Jonah looked pale. “Yeah…yeah, I guess maybe there is. ”
Scott’s jaw had turned to stone. “Oh, man, only five days – and the others are out checking the food stores! We’ve got to get them back so we can start planning, do something! Town hall, right? One hour!”
He and the others took off at a run, leaving only Nina and Jonah. “Shouldn’t we go too?” Nina asked anxiously.
Jonah still looked pretty shaken, but his voice was steady. “Scott’s got people to help him. And besides—” He glanced at Seb and me, his fists moving in his coat pockets. “We’ve got to talk,” he said intently. “I need to find out what the Angel Killers have been doing and tell you what’s been going on here. You, um…probably need to hear about it, Willow. ”
Suddenly I had a terrible feeling that Jonah had a tendency towards understatement. “Yes, all right. ” I glanced back at the truck. “Should we move this? It’s kind of out in the open. ”
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