When Angels Fall

Chapter 22

I take a deep, shaky breath, closing my eyes, then reopen them and stand. Kuzo looks at me in surprise.

"What are you doing?" he asks. I smile slightly.

"I'm going to help. It's partially my fault Mara's gone. Whether or not you will admit it," I add quickly, knowing Kuzo was about to argue. "And I want to help."

Kuzo looks at me for a moment, then nods and stands as well. He kisses my cheek, taking my hand.

"Alright. I'll introduce you to everyone." I really do smile this time, and rest my head on Kuzo's shoulder as we leave my room. When we get downstairs, I expect everyone to still be in the dining hall, but Kuzo leads me to the library. Opening the door, I see that everyone has indeed formed together in here, gathered around one of the large mahogany tables near the middle of the room.

"What are they doing?" I ask Kuzo quietly.

"Probably looking at a map of Boston."

He's right, I see as we get closer. There's a large map spread out on the table, and the angels are poring over it. A few of them look up when we approach, the one I remember as Maxmillian, and one other whose name I don't know. They walk over and smile, and I appreciate that they don't act like I was just crying, which I'm sure is obvious on my face.

"Hi," says the girl who was sitting directly to my left. I get the feeling she's very elegant by the way she walks. "I'm Inara."

"Nice to meet you," I say, smiling as I shake her hand. She actually gives a slight curtsy before returning to the table. The other angels whom I haven't yet met also notice I'm here, and come over one by one to introduce themselves.

Delaney is the angel beside Inara, and on Azi's other side was Zöe, the one who looked ready to murder someone. Out of the boys, other than Ithuriel, Adriel, Kuzo, Maxmillian, and Abel, only one is left, the one in the tux.

"Good morning," he says politely, shaking my hand. "My name is Tam. I daylight as a doctor in Namibia." My eyes widen, and I grin.

"That's great!" I exclaim. He gives me a half smile, which looks more like a grimace, before heading back to the table, and Kuzo and I follow. Iathoth glances at me when we approach and offers a smile. I return it, then turn my attention to the map.

It's very intricate, tiny words and lines marking every side road and back alley, all the way out of the city. Even the wharf, which is a surprise. Most maps don't include the wharf.

"We're looking at any place easily accessible to demons, but not humans," Abel explains to me, walking around to my right. "They would choose a place that wouldn't be noticed when they arrived."

"Does Mara have a store she always goes to?" I ask. I notice Abel wince slightly at her name, then sigh as he shakes his head.

"No. It changes a lot. The only place that stays the same is the coffeehouse on Cambridge Street." I blink, tilting my head as I lean over the map.

"That's the coffee shop I go to," I say, glancing at Kuzo. He nods.

"I know. You've probably passed each other a few times, to be honest."

When I look back at the group, I notice Adriel watching me with a glare, but it's gone as soon as I see it. I've already made up my mind not to like him, and he's just reaffirming my distrust.

"We will make search parties," Iathoth says, then points at a spot on the map that I recognize as being the church above the Nexis. "Beginning here, and branching out. Report in if you find anything that could lead to Mara. And be careful." Everyone immediately forms into groups of two or three, and I look up at Kuzo.

"I'm coming," I say, leaving no room for argument. Kuzo rolls his eyes and nods, then kisses my head. Maxmillian tugs on my sleeve.

"Me too?" he asks hopefully. It's hard to believe he's millenia old, since he acts like a preschooler. Kuzo snickers lightly.

"Sure, Max."

Maxmillian glares at the nickname, his eyes briefly flashing amber. "I've told you not to call me that!" he whines. I grin as Kuzo laughs.

"I know, but your reactions are awesome. Yes, you can come," he answers the question, then takes my hand. In a flash of light, we're right outside the church. The other angels gradually arrive, as well, reforming into their groups as Iathoth travels between them, giving them snippets of paper with their routes.

When he hands our paper to Kuzo, he looks at me.

"I apologize for being so sudden in informing you of your father," he says softly. I shrug.

"It's alright. I would've reacted the same no matter how you told me."

Iathoth nods, still looking downtrodden, then pats my shoulder as he heads to his own group, with Adriel and Inara. Kuzo looks over the paper, and we set out.

"Where are we headed?" Maxmillian asks, walking on Kuzo's other side.

"Towards the wharf," Kuzo replies, inspecting the route and leading the way.

I glance at the paper over his arm. "And what exactly are we looking for?" I question, confused.

"It'll look like a giant, circular, glowing thing on the ground," Maxmillian says, waving his hands to demonstrate. I nod, though I'm still confused.

We continue walking through the city, steadily heading toward the docks. It's a sunny morning, crisp and warm, and leaves are steadily falling from the trees. It's early October, so autumn is right on time. The scent of the water gradually becomes stronger, and we finally see the wharf. Maxmillian makes a gagging face.

"Ugh, I hate the smell of fish," he grumbles, holding his nose as we pass a fish market. I laugh.

"Well, Boston is a fishing town," I point out as Kuzo ruffles Maxmillian's hair, which just makes him grumble more.

I look around as we walk, trying to find the portal that Maxmillian mentioned. But I don't see them. We spend a good two hours walking around the wharf and going over our path, but we don't see anything.

"Maybe we need to keep looking," Maxmillian sighs. I realize that I'm a few inches taller than him, but before I can say anything, there's a buzzing in my head, like static, before I hear Iathoth's voice speaking clearly in my mind.

"We found something," he says. "The alley to the east of Hudson Street."

By the looks on the faces of Maxmillian and Kuzo, I'm not the only one who heard Iathoth. We glance at each other, then start running away from the wharf, back into the city.