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“What?” Alex peered blearily up at her. She was dressed, her hair damp. A few feet away, Jake was snoring, still wearing the clothes he’d had on the night before.
“Juan’s just been out doing a final scan. He thinks there’s some more activity up in the hills, where the canyons are — we’re going to go check it out before we leave. ” Rita shook her head with a slight smile as she glanced at Jake and then back to Alex. “You two look terrible, you know that?”
“Yeah, yeah. ” Alex yawned.
After a shower and some coffee, he felt better. He and Jake sat in the backseat of the truck as Juan drove them up through the winding hills above Los Angeles. Jake stretched his legs out. “Hey, did you see that girl last night? The blonde in the pink T-shirt?”
Alex’s head was leaned back against the seat, his eyes half closed. “Hard to miss her, the way she was stuck to your mouth all night. ”
“Yeah, she totally wanted me. I told her I was a marine on leave. I wanted to go outside with her or something, but she wouldn’t leave her friends. ”
“Wow, sounds like she could hardly control herself,” said Alex, holding back another yawn. Through the window, Los Angeles was spread out below them in a sea of houses and buildings, fading off into the distance.
Jake laughed. One of his bent legs fell sideways, his knee tapping against Alex’s own. “Yeah, you’re just jealous — didn’t notice you getting any. ”
After half an hour or so, Juan pulled over to the side of the road. They were up in the canyon-studded hills above the city now, in a quiet, wooded area. They climbed out of the truck; Alex checked his pistol briefly before tucking it into the holster under his waistband. Around him, the others were doing the same.
“OK, I think there are at least two up here, maybe more,” said Juan, glancing around them. “Jake, you and Alex make a team; so will Rita and I. Check in with me every thirty minutes till we’re done. ”
“Got it,” said Jake, pulling out his cell phone to check the time. As Juan and Rita headed off down a wooded path, he looked at Alex. “You scanning, bro?”
“I’m on it,” said Alex, closing his eyes. Lifting his consciousness up through his chakra points, he explored the area around them, feeling the various energies nearby. There weren’t many. A lone walker in the woods, a dog, Juan and Rita. He felt the chill of angel energy heading toward the walker but disregarded it — Juan and Rita would take care of that one. Scanning farther out, he picked up another.
“That way, a quarter of a mile or so,” he said, opening his eyes and nodding up the road. “I think it’s near one of the canyons. ”
They started walking along the road. The fresh air felt good, clearing his head. Beside him, Jake had his hands stuck in his back pockets, a habit they both shared. “Hey,” he said after a pause. “Can I ask you something?”
“What?” asked Alex.
His brother lifted a muscular shoulder. “Do you ever . . . think about doing anything else?”
Alex was startled. “What? You mean, not hunt angels?”
“Yeah,” said Jake, glancing at him. His eyes were like looking in a mirror.
It had hardly ever even occurred to Alex. He went silent as he considered it. “Not really,” he admitted. “I mean, we sort of have to, don’t we? It’s not like there are that many people around who can fight them. ”
“Yeah, I know,” said Jake, looking down at the road as he walked. “But all the other AKs got a choice, didn’t they? They had other lives first. You and I never did; Dad just told us it was what we were going to do. ”
Alex nodded slowly, knowing what he meant. “Yeah,” he said. “It just . . . feels like me, though. Who I am. I mean, I don’t know what else I’d even do. ” He thought of the tattoo on his bicep. Jake had a matching one; so did most of the AKs.
As they passed a line of oak trees, a steep canyon opened up to their right; Jake gazed out at it without speaking. “No, me neither, really,” he said finally. “I guess I just wonder about it sometimes — what it would have been like if Mom hadn’t been killed. Like, talking to that girl last night — her life was just so totally different from ours. I could hardly even imagine it. ”
“Wait a minute,” said Alex. “This is you, right? You’re saying that you talked to her? You found out things about her life?”
Jake grinned. “Yeah, OK, I didn’t find out that much. . . . ”
Alex stopped suddenly, putting his hand on Jake’s arm. “It’s getting close,” he said. They cut across the road to a wooded glade, crouching behind some trees. Soon a woman with brown hair appeared a few hundred yards away, strolling down the road. She stopped every so often, leaning against the low stone wall that separated the road from the canyon and staring out at the view. Alex scanned, and got a jolt of angel energy; the aura was pale silver with hardly any blue. The creature was ready to feed, probably hoping to come across a hiker or walker.
“Trawling,” said Jake, watching her. “Christ, this could take hours. ”
A tickle of anticipation went up Alex’s spine. He nudged Jake’s arm. “Hey. Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
Jake looked at him and groaned. “Oh, man, you’ve got that stupid gleam in your eye. ”
“Come on, let’s do it,” said Alex, not taking his eyes off the angel in its human form. “It’ll take forever otherwise. ”
Jake shook his head, starting to smile. “If Cully ever found out that we did this . . . ”
“I know: he’d kill us. ” Alex glanced at him with a grin. “Do you want to lure it, or should I?”
“I’ll do it this time,” said Jake. “I know how much you love springing into action, hotshot. ”
Alex laughed. “Yeah, you know it. . . . ” As his brother got up, Alex took his gun out and screwed the silencer on.
“OK,” said Jake, slapping him on the shoulder. “You got my back, bro?”
“Got your back,” said Alex.
“Cool,” said Jake. “Then let’s go get us an angel. ”
And as Alex kept his gun trained on the woman leaning against the wall, Jake stood up and started casually across the road.
Alex awoke with a jolt. His dream voice was still echoing in his ears, screaming his brother’s name. Oh God, the dream again. The same stupid dream. Breathing hard, he swallowed and covered his eyes with his forearm. He had thought he was over this — seeing those last twenty-four hours replayed over and over in his head. It had been almost two years now; why couldn’t he just accept that Jake was never coming back? That he was gone forever and it was all Alex’s fault?
On second thought, maybe there were some things that you could never accept, no matter how much time passed.
Letting his arm drop to the pillow behind his head, Alex opened his eyes. It barely made a difference; the room was almost pitch-dark, its curtains showing only the faintest sliver of light. In the other bed, he could hear the soft sound of Willow’s breathing. As his eyes adjusted to the dimness, he could just make out the small curve of her body as she lay curled under the covers. He hesitated, gazing at her — and then shifted through his chakras, lifting his consciousness up through his body until it hovered outside of himself, above his crown.