“They think they’ve won already. More importantly, our own people feel like that too. We need to let them know the war has just begun. This is our home. Our land. Nobody gets to waltz in and take over. ”
My mind swirls with conflicting emotions. Who is the enemy in this room? Whose side am I on? I stare carefully at the floor, desperately trying to avoid looking at either Raffe or Obi.
If Obi senses something, then he might start to suspect Raffe. If Raffe senses something then I can’t really expect him to trust me. Oh, God, if I piss off Raffe, he might renege on our deal and disappear to the aerie without me.
“My head hurts,” I whimper.
There’s a long pause where I’m convinced Obi is working things out. I’m almost positive that he’s about to shout, “My God, he’s an angel!”
But he doesn’t. Instead, he gets up and puts my bowl of stew on his chair. “We’ll talk more in the morning,” says Obi. He guides me up and over a couple of steps to a cot in the shadows I hadn’t noticed before. Raffe’s guard does the same across the room.
I lie down awkwardly on my side with my wrists tied behind my back. Obi sits on the cot and ties my ankles together. I’m tempted to make a quip about requiring dinner and a movie before getting so kinky, but I don’t. The last thing I need is to start making sex jokes while I’m being held prisoner in a camp full of armed men in a world where there are no laws.
He puts a pillow under my head. As he’s doing this, he brushes hair out of my face and sweeps it behind my ear. His touch is warm and smooth. I should be scared, but I’m not. “You’ll be all right,” he says. “The men will have strict orders to be gentlemanly toward you. ”
I guess it doesn’t take a mind reader to know that I might be worried about that. “Thank you,” I say.
Obi and his man collect the bowls of stew and leave. The lock clicks behind them.
“Thank you?” asks Raffe.
“Shut up. I’m exhausted. I really need to get some sleep. ”
“What you need is to decide who’s on your side and who’s not. ”
“Will you tell them?” I don’t want to get specific in case someone’s listening. I hope he understands what I mean. If Raffe and I make it to the aerie, he’ll have intel on the infant resistance movement. If he tells the other angels and they kill off the movement, I’ll be the Judas of my kind.
There’s a long pause.
If he doesn’t tell, will he be the Judas of his kind?
“Why did you come here?” he asks, blatantly changing the subject. “Why didn’t you run away like we both know you should have?”
“Stupid, huh?”
“Very. ”
“I just…couldn’t. ”
I want to ask him why he risked his life to save mine when his people kill us every day. But I can’t. Not here, not now. Not while someone may be listening.
We lie in silence, listening to the crickets.
After a long time, as I drift away to a numb place, he whispers in the dark. “They’re all asleep except for the guards. ”
I’m instantly alert. “You have a plan?”
“Sure. Don’t you? You’re the rescuer. ” The moon has moved, and the light coming through the window is dimmer now. But it’s still enough for me to see the darker shadow of his form getting up from his cot. He comes over to me and starts untying me.
“How the hell did you do that?”
“When you’re storming the aerie, remember that ropes won’t hold angels. ” He whispers the last word.
I’d forgotten how much stronger he is than a man.
“You mean you could have gotten out all that time? You don’t even need me. Why didn’t you do it already?”
“What, and miss the fun of rattling their tiny little brains wondering what happened?” He swiftly unties me and pulls me to my feet.
His evasive maneuver doesn’t escape me. “Ah, I get it. You can escape at night, but not during the day. You can’t outrun bullets, can you?”
Like most people, my first introduction to angels was through the looping footage of the Archangel Gabriel being shot. I can’t help but wonder if the angels would have been less hostile if we hadn’t immediately killed their leader. At least, they think he was killed. No one knows for sure because the body wasn’t recovered, or so they said. The legion of winged men floating behind him dispersed with the panicked crowd, quickly disappearing into the smoky sky. I wonder if Raffe was part of that legion.
He arches his brow at me, clearly refusing to discuss the effect of bullets on angels.
I give him a smug smile. You’re not as perfect as you look.
I walk over to the door and put my ear to it. “Is there anyone else in the building?”
“No. ”
I try to turn the knob but it’s locked.
Raffe sighs. “I was hoping not to show excessive strength and raise suspicion. ” He reaches for the knob, but I stop him.
“Well then, good thing I got us covered. ” I pull a slim lockpick and tension wrench out of my back pocket. The soldier who searched me before tying me up did a fast job. He was looking for guns or bulky knives, not skinny little picks.
“What’s that?”
I get to work on the lock. It feels good to surprise him with a talent that angels don’t have.