“What is it?”
Alex took the file from me and rummaged past a few pages, then pulled out a tattered-looking Ziploc bag with a single black feather locked inside. I raised my eyebrows, squinted back at the circled smudge.
“
That
is that?” I asked skeptically.
“No. This”âAlex dangled the bagâ“is from a different crime scene.” He pulled a sheaf of papers from the folder and dropped them in front of me. “But that,” he said, gesturing toward the circled smudge, “is also a black feather.”
Nina stood up. “Are you saying that both of these murders were committed by crows?” She slammed her fist into her palm. “Damn birds!”
I continued looking through the file. “Homicide,” I read, flipping through a thin file with another Ziploced black feather enclosed. “Accidental drowning ... victim was recovered on shore near Crissy Field, DOA, five-inch black feather wasâugh”âI shudderedâ“recovered from victim's throat. Murder-suicide in Por-tola Valley, one dead in fiery crash on Devil's Canyon Slide.” I scanned the last article. “Brendan Joel found dead when his car went off the road.... Three-to-four-inch black crow feather found in the victim's right hand.” I shook my head. “I don't get it. What's with the black feather?”
I held up my hand to silence Nina before she could answer.
“It's like a sign. Every time the angelic plane crosses the human planeâ”
Nina crossed her arms in front of her chest. “In non-Heaven speak, please.”
“Every time an angel touches a human, something is left behind.”
“I don't remember any black feathers,” I said.
“I don't have my wings, remember?”
“Well, if Ophelia is a fallen angel, too, how come she's got hers to toss around all crazy?”
Alex's eyes were downcast. “She's embraced the darkness.”
“You mean she's playing on Team Satan, right?” Nina asked.
“We try not to mention it.”
“So bad-good angels, like you, don't leave anything behind?” I shrugged. “I guess that's good.”
Alex took my hand, turned my wrist so it faced upward. There was a tiny red dotâas though from a ballpoint penâon the pale flesh of my wrist. He smiled; I gawked.
“That's from you?”
He dropped my hand. “You don't have to look entirely disgusted.”
“I'm not, it's justâ”
“You were expecting a halo burn?”
I put my hands on my hips, tapped my foot angrily on the floor. “No, you make it hard to forget you're a
fallen
angel.”
“Just be glad you're not covered with those stupid crow feathers.” Nina shuddered. “Birds totally freak me out.”
Alex raised an eyebrow. “Doesn't vampire trump fowl?”
“It was a pre-vamp thing,” I said, using my hand to partially cover my mouth. “She's still not over it. So, this?” I brushed my index finger over the tiny strawberry-colored spot.
Alex shrugged, suddenly looking slightly bashful. “Yeah, sorry.”
“No, it's ... kind of nice.” I felt the blush creep over my cheeks. “Anyway, back to the crime scene.”
“And the Vessel.”
“And the crow queen.”
Alex and I both swung to face Nina, who held her hands palm up and hunched her shoulders. “Sorry, sorryâjust trying to help.”
I tapped my index finger against my chin. “So, Ophelia comes into town and just starts randomly killing people and that means the Vessel is here? That's weird.”
Alex wagged his head. “I don't think they're random.”
I fanned out the photographs and newspaper clippings in front of me on the table. “A diplomat, a couple, a teacher ... some of these are outright murders, some of these look like accidents. I don't get it; what's the connection ?”
Alex sank onto one of the dining room chairs and began stacking the photos. “I think they were all guardians.”
Nina raised her black brows. “Of who?”
“Not who, what.” Alex looked at me. “The Vessel has seven guardians.”
“And there are six incidents with Ophelia's trademark,” I said.
“She's picking off the guardians?”
I eyed the fat stack. “Apparently, she's pretty good at it. So, where's the last guardian?”
“Lucky number seven?” Alex shrugged. “Don't know. But I plan on finding him before Ophelia does.”
“And finding the Vessel.”
Nina came and sat at the table with us, leaning closer. “So back to this Ophelia chick. How do you know all this stuff about her?”
I saw the muscle twitch in Alex's jaw. “Ophelia and I had a history.”
“Define history,” Nina said, one black eyebrow arched.
“Nina!” I hissed, secretly thankful for my best friend's reliable nosiness.
“I'm asking because âhistory' could mean a lot of things to people like us.” Nina gestured to herself and to Alex. “Like, we used to hit the movies together, or we assisted in overthrowing the Soviet power structure together.”
Alex looked at Nina, alarmed.
“She's always had a thing for Russians,” I explained. “So, just for clarity's sake, which was it? Dating or ... history?”
Alex suddenly became very interested in spearing his next bite of dinner. “The first one,” he finally murmured.
I swallowed, suddenly very aware of my stomach, of the mu shu pork that sat like a steel fist at the bottom of my gut. I forced a wan smile anyway. “How nice” was all I could muster.
Nina sat back in her chair. “So, this seems pretty cut and dry to me. Ophelia follows the Vessel, we follow Ophelia, nick the Vessel from her, and, bada-bing, bada-bang”âNina slapped her hands togetherâ“we hightail it to Rome to do some shoe shopping.”
“It's not that easy. We need to find the Vessel before Ophelia does. That's the bottom line. Once it's in her hands, this world is as good as over.”
“Dramatic.”
I glared at Nina and let Alex continue.
“I figure I can hold off Ophelia while you go after the Vessel.”
Nina crossed her arms, shaking her head decidedly. “We don't do minion work.”
Alex's eyes were set hard as he glanced at Nina and me. “You need to stay away from Ophelia. She'sâshe's not like anything you've ever seen at the UDA.” I opened my mouth to protest, but Alex held up a silencing hand. “She's evil incarnate.”
“But you don't need to stay away from her?” I asked.
“She's not going to expect me coming after her when the Vessel is near. I think she'll assume I'm after the Vessel, too. Again.”
Nina arched an eyebrow. “Again?”
“Alex, um, was responsible ...”
Alex shrugged. “I lost the Vessel the first time. I went after it, found it, and then lost it.”
“How do you lose an ancient artifact stuffed with human souls? Did you leave it at the donut shop? Maybe trade it for a couple of maple glazed?”
I watched Alex's jaw tighten. The takingâand losingâof the Vessel of Souls was a sore subject for him. I cleared my throat and tried to give Nina the look of deathâloosely translated as “shut up already”âbut she persisted.
“I mean, if I'm going to risk my afterlife to help you ...”
“You don't have to risk anything. I asked for Sophie's help.”
“Okay, if my best friend is going to risk her first life to help you ...”
“When Alex was in favorâ” I started.
“I got duped, okay?” Alex said. “I heard about the Vessel, I lusted for it, I stole it, and then someone stole it from me.”
Nina sat back, impressed. “Way to get your wings cut off, lust monster.”
The look of sadness in Alex's eyes stung. I wanted to slip my arms around him, to brush the clutch of curls that lolled over his forehead, but the air suddenly seemed heavy and charged. Somehow, a heartfelt “there, there” didn't seem to suffice for someone who had stolen the Vessel that could change the fate of the world, had been thrown out of Heaven for it, and was now relegated to a life of day-old donuts and subpar mu shu in the earthly realm.
“What about the guy who stole it from you? Are you sure it's not on his mantle somewhere? Maybe holding the remains of his Aunt Fanny or something?” Nina asked.
I watched Alex's Adam's apple bob as he swallowed thickly. “I'm sure. He was destroyed. The Vessel wasn't recovered.”
“Destroyed?” I asked, my voice coming out in a harsh whisper.
“I'm just lucky I got what I did. And a second chance. I can actually go back if I return the Vessel. It would prove that I no longer lust for power.” Alex's eyes held mine. He blinked, those soft eyelashes batting, and I would have scoured the world for him, right there in that moment.
“Yeah, see right thereâI'd be out of the angelic realm in a heartbeat.” Nina licked her fingers. “So, you've got me. We'll do it. Heck, I'll even go a few rounds with your ex. I can take her.” Nina flexed a nonexistent bicep.
“No,” Alex said firmly.
“What's she going to do? Kill me again?” Nina grinned at her own cleverness.
I rolled my eyes, but Alex's look stayed hard. “I mean it.”
The same chill seemed to creep up my spine and I hugged my arms across my chest. “Is anyone else freezing?”
Nina and Alex stared at me and I yanked the afghan off the couch. “Oh. Right.”
Nina yawned, exposing sharp incisors. “Evil, schmevil. How bad can a fallen angel be? And what'd she do to you? Break your heart? Cheat on you with Cupid?”
“Just stay away from her, okay?”
I pushed away my dinner, suddenly feeling very full. I wanted to believe Alex. I wanted to believe that he had our best interests at heart. Ophelia could be bad news. Fallen angels always are. So was Ophelia really that badâor did Alex really have something to hide?
I looked at him sideways, my appraisal hidden by a few strands of hair that fell over my forehead. I didn't want to love him, didn't want to feel that rush of adrenaline that washed over me whenever he walked through my door, whenever he walked back into my life. I wanted to believe all the best about him. In the Underworld I could see through magical veils. Horns, fangs, tails, bad intentionsâeverything that could be hidden with a charm or a spell was hung out in clear sight to me, but when it came to Alex Graceâand loveâeverything was as clear as mud.
“Do you think she'd really try and come after us?” I asked.
“Maybe. She might consider you an enemy, especially if you were standing in the way of her getting what she wanted. But believe me, you'd know if Ophelia was after you. She's never been one to keep a secret.”
Nina snorted. “Does she travel with a marching band or something? Like, the fallen angel's equivalent of the angelic trumpets?” She grinned, her fangs catching the light.
I narrowed my eyes at her. “You really have a way of comforting people.”
“Hello? Vampire, remember? Empathy has never really been our strong point.”
The thought of Alex's psycho-killer ex-girlfriend rattled me a little, but with the entire Underworld behind me, I wasn't
that
concerned.
“I don't think she'd be able to find us.” I jutted my chin toward Nina. “Nina doesn't have a paper trail above ground and mine's pretty limited. We're pretty far off the grid.”
Nina held up a finger. “Except for my Facebook page.” She whipped out her iPhone and started mumbling to herself while she typed.
“Am embarking on a Heaven and Earth scavenger hunt.”
“Way to keep under the radar,” I said.
Alex bit his lip, considering whether or not to share his information. Finally he sighed and said, “Opheliaâand fallen angels in generalâcan read minds. They don't really need to go looking for anyoneâat least not the conventional way.”
Heat surged from my toes to the frazzled red hair follicles on my head. I thought of all the nights I had lain awake, thinking of Alex's firm chest, the way he tasted, those soft, full lips pressed up against mine. “All the time?” I asked meekly.
Alex grinned, breaking the somberness in the room. “If we so choose.”
I promptly tried to erase all further thoughts of Alex in anything other than wholesome activitiesâincluding the velvety sweet tone of his voice as he murmured in my ear. It wasn't working, so I urged my inner voice into a loud rendition of the
Gilligan's Island
theme song. And then I imagined Alex's smooth chest glistened up with coconut butter as he reclined on the beach.