AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“He’s lying,” she said with a quick glance my way. The flames had returned to her gaze, and she looked both beautiful and terrifying.
“What? Who’s lying? And wait, are you a… an…?”
“Yes, I’m an angel, and Parker was lying.”
Whoa. There was a lot to process there. I wanted to respond with something intelligent, but instead I just said, “Um, are you sure?” like some kind of mortal idiot… which I guess I was, considering the company.
“Almost everything he said was a lie, but I don’t know why.”
“So does that mean…?”
“Yes, Melony is fine. They never had a confrontation.”
Finally I found some helpful words. “Then why didn’t you stop everyone from going to ward the town?”
“Because something’s not right. I didn’t want to alert Parker to the fact I was on to him.”
“How did you know he wasn’t being honest?”
She p
ointed to herself and smiled. “Angel.”
“Right.”
“We need to act fast before he realizes that I haven’t joined the others. Do you still want to help?”
She probably should have asked that before she catapulted me into the sky, but whatever. I was in this to win it, even though I had no idea how victory might look or what it would ultimately entail.
“Yes. I’ll help. What do you need me to do?”
She flashed me a magnanimous smile that sent a shiver right through me. “You, my dear, are going to serve as our bait.”
Wonderful.
25
“Where are we going?” I shouted into the wind as the angel and I picked up speed. “And how will I be used as bait?”
“We’re going to the place where this whole thing started,” Greta said as we zipped toward our location.
Not even a minute later, we clunked down right in front of Mrs. Haberdash’s house, the place I’d been headed on my own, anyway.
“What’s the plan?” I asked as Greta made her wings disappear with a quick flick of both wrists.
“Haven’t really got much of one.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out my brooch. Even though I hadn’t been granted magic long enough to know what I was doing with it, I immediately felt relieved. If nothing else, my instinctual abilities could protect me—at least for a little while. I hated how much I wanted it, even though I was already beginning to suspect that magic did terrible things to a person’s mind. Even knowing it could corrupt me, I wanted it. Desperately.
“It’s a decoy,” Greta explained, dashing my hopes just as quickly as she’d lifted them. Oh, well. It was definitely for the best. “Wear it. Pretend you’re searching for something specific.”
I thought about this for a moment. I also thought about how unfortunate it was that my pajama pants had no pockets. I shoved the decoy into my bra to keep it safe, then asked, “What should I be looking for?”
“Doesn’t matter. Just tear around the house and generally make a nuisance of yourself. If one of the Haberdash heirs is around, they’ll come find you.” She stepped forward and I studied the back of her simple pastel pantsuit. There was no sign of the enormous wings that had delivered us to this location mere seconds ago. No tears from where they’d emerged through the fabric. No hint that she was anything other than an ordinary human being.
“What will you do?” I asked skeptically.
She glanced toward the horizon and frowned, which was not exactly comforting. “I’ll be watching from nearby, just as soon as I come back from informing Mr. Fluffikins of my observations.”
Horror flooded my chest. “So I’ll be alone in there?”
