will not let you summon a Fallen to this house,” and was gone before I could defend myself.
I hadn’t summoned anyone. They were coming for me, to kill me.
I raced over to my desk, grabbed a pen, and started writing as quickly as my mind could formulate coherent thoughts. I stared at the letter for at least five minutes, fighting back tears before placing it on top of the desk.
“Maybe just tape it to the door,” Caius suggested, clearly never having run away before.
“Amateur. She should leave it on the desk,” argued Arcturus in that know-it-all voice he sometimes used. He sat on the desk, patting it with his hand.
“Dude seriously, for an angel, you really are dumb,” Caius scolded Arcturus.
“Please. We don’t really have time for this. I just need you to help me get the rest of my stuff together. And don’t forget Mr. Fluffy Rabbit.”
I sealed the envelope and addressed it to The Larsons.
Out of nowhere, a vision popped into my head.
Jenny was sitting on the front steps talking on her cell phone when two guys came walking by. They paused in front of the house. The gate was closed, but one of them opened it with a wave of his hand. Oh no. As he leaned on the railing and smiled, Jenny stood, then backed up a step.
“I see Remi doesn’t learn. He’s left you all alone out here, has he?” The boy smiled and reached out to take Jenny’s hand. Then the image broke up like interference in a satellite signal, but not before the stupid looking one lunged for Jenny’s neck.
I felt Emeria’s hand on my arm at the same time that she whispered, “Let’s go” in my ear. When she spied the cherubs, she rolled her eyes. “The kids stay.”
Emeria levitated us both off the ground. I pulled us both back down with a strength I didn’t know I had. Emeria jerked back, eyebrows raised in surprise. Caius and Arcturus seemed disinterested in the entire thing, each gathering up my supplies into the bags they’d brought, as if they didn’t know she was there.
“The cherubs go where I go,” I insisted, determined not to be bullied.
“I came for you and you only.”
“I’m not leaving without them. Caius, Arcturus, let’s go.”
“I can’t protect them. If you insist on bringing them, you’re on your own. Gavin’s already putting himself on the line for you. It would not bode well if you get yourself and your little cherubs killed today.”
“It’s the least you can do since one of your idiot brothers is hitting on Jenny Larson right now,” I countered with venom.
“Those are not my ‘brothers,’ Grace,” Emeria fired back. “Those are the Seekers who were sent to kill you. Lucky for you, they found sad, innocent Jenny Larson sitting on the steps and couldn’t help themselves. Now let’s go before Gavin sends the cavalry looking for his poor, human, sorry excuse for a girlfriend.”
New Home Renovation
Emeria dropped us off in a courtyard, then left without saying a word. It felt like I had been there before. The grounds were a green maze of shrubs stretching as far as the eye could see. The cherubs and I walked around leisurely until we reached a fountain. Caius dipped a hand into the fountain, and the water changed to sparkling crystals as it fell from his fingers. Faint music claimed the night air. A statue of an angel playing a trumpet stood sentry in a clearing as dark clouds, as if racing, passed overhead, exposing small pockets of moonlight. Giant black iron gates seemed oddly familiar.
Another vision began just as I started toward the house. I listened to familiar voices coming from inside. I found myself inside the parlor, outside the room with the voices.
“She’s too young, Tyler. Afraid she’ll see through his act when she’s older?” Dad’s tone was angry, volatile, and not like I’d ever seen him. Facing a man who seemed vaguely familiar, Dad inclined his head in my direction, then fixed his eyes squarely on the man.
Mom entered the room and moved in my direction, coming to a stop right in front of me. Could they see me?
I crouched behind a large, marble statue.
The man spoke in an even tone, deep and unafraid. “Gabriel, let’s not get excited. No reason for all this melodrama.” He circled Mom, slowly taking her in from head to toe, as if Dad wasn’t in the room. He smiled slyly, just enough for Dad to notice that his thoughts