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I’d been at the Blues’for a full week. We’d reached the point where I felt comfortable helping myself to their coffee and they were no longer cooking me breakfast. I took my steaming mug and bowl of oatmeal out to the back deck to eat in the cool October air.
We were less than a week away from Halloween, and Sierra was attempting to convince Nate to “dress up” as an angel for the holiday.
“You can just let your wings out and pretend it’s your costume,” she said. “You don’t have to wear anything special.”
“Please tell me you don’t actually think that would work,” Nate said.
“Why not?”
He stood up from his deck chair and stripped out of his shirt. A second later, large, blood-red wings were stretching out behind him. I stared in open fascination at them. I hadn’t realized not all angels had silver wings.
“I fail to see your point,” Sierra said lightly. “Is it because they’re red?”
He rolled his eyes before giving her an amused look. “Besides the fact that they’re way too big and realistic to pass for cardboard cutouts, they also have feeling and move.” He curled them in, creating a cocoon around Sierra.
“Oh, I’m aware,” she said with a teasing lilt.
“Fuck, Sierra,” he groaned.
My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I took the opportunity to remove myself from the deck.
“Hey,” I answered, closing the glass door behind me.
“Hey,” Sam said. He sounded tired. “How’s it going there?”
“It’s great. Sierra and Nate are awesome. Oh, and why are your wings a different color than Nate’s?”
“We were born into different orders. We’re like different breeds of angel.”
“Interesting.” I moved deeper into the kitchen and stared at the woods through the window above the sink. “Are you okay?”
“I still haven’t found Asura.” Frustration bled through his words. “I think she left the city, but she had to have a better plan than this. She wouldn’t build up an army of demons just to show her face once and disappear.”
“Maybe her plan is to play with your head,” I suggested. “She’s already succeeding in stressing you out.”And driving me out of my home,I added silently. But there was no point in saying that out loud. Sam had enough to worry about, and I was genuinely enjoying my time with the Blues.
“I’m not going to let her win, Siren. Just stay with Nate until I can fix this.”
“Do you think if I came back, it would help draw her out?”
“No,” he snapped. “I don’t want you anywhere near her.”
“Sam—”
“Stay where you are, Siren. I mean it. Look, I’ve got to go. I’ll talk to you later.” The line went dead before I could so much as say goodbye. I was tempted to throw the phone, and I might have given in to temptation if it hadn’t started ringing again.
“What?” I snapped.
“Hello to you too,” Nacio answered.
“Shit. Sorry, I thought you were someone else.”
“Glad to know it’s not me you’re pissed at.”
“So what’s up?”
“Orlando says he has news and wants the whole family to get together tonight. I know you’re out of town, but it sounds like this is important. Is there any way you can make it?” Orlando had never called a family meeting. That was more Nacio’s style. Orlando was more reserved, hiding his feelings under humor and a flippant attitude. I was fairly sure Quinn was the only one of us he ever talked to seriously.
