break, you do.”
I gazed out at the unchanging mountains. And for the hundredth time, I was glad that no one was aware of what I’d done. Even with Jonah’s broadcast, all most people knew was that after the earthquakes, humanity had started spontaneously marshalling – and then the angels had “perished”.
After the battle, Alex and I had stayed on in Pawntucket for a few months, helping to rebuild. The work was long and hard, but after a while the town square didn’t have that defeated look any more. It made me smile every time I saw it.
People everywhere had been doing the same thing: tearing down the trappings of the Edens, fixing roads, clearing away the ruins. The Denver Church of Angels had been razed to the ground. Now, a few months on, there was electricity again, phone service, the internet. But already the world felt like a very different place, though it was too soon yet to tell what direction it was heading in.
And – I guess inevitably – there was also the small, continued existence of the Church of Angels. Even now that everyone knew the truth…some people couldn’t bear to give up the beautiful creatures who’d ensnared us.
Thinking of the angels now, just a dimension away, I knew their fate was in their own hands. Paschar’s vision was right: I was the one who could have destroyed them.
I’d just tried to choose a better way.
“Are you sorry?” I asked softly, turning to look at Alex. “I mean, not that the angels are gone, just… everything’s so different now. Especially for you. You trained your whole life for something, and now it’s over with.”
Alex was still lying on his back. He shrugged, eyes half closed. “Yeah, it’s weird. But I’ll figure something out. Maybe I’ll start a bungee-jumping business.”
He could if he wanted to – now that everything was over with, Alex had been able to access his old bank account, with the funds he’d received for being an AK for years. We wouldn’t be hurting for money anytime soon.
“I could definitely get into bungee jumping.” I flopped down and crossed my arms on his bare chest. “Hey, if the CIA starts back up, you could always work for them again.”
He opened his eyes and studied me with a slight smile. “Are you sure you’re not as psychic as you used to be?” he said finally.
I blinked; I’d only been kidding. “You mean you’ve
Alex sat up, carrying me with him. “A few days ago, when we drove down for supplies. They’d gotten my cell number somehow. It was when you went to the drugstore, remember? My phone went off, and it was them.”
“Oh,” I said faintly. I could guess what was coming next.
Alex’s toned stomach was creased as he sat leaning forward, running a blade of grass between his fingers. “The thing is…they’re starting up a paranormal intruder division. They want me to run it.”
The words echoed inside me. The whole time we’d been up here together, I’d been imagining us having a quiet, peaceful life from now on – the thought of it being taken away before it had barely begun made me want to cry.
“So…I guess that would pay a lot,” I said at last.
“Yeah, it sounded like they’d give me a blank cheque if I wanted it.”
I cleared my throat. “And – it’s what you love, right? I mean, it’s what you’ve done your whole life; it’s part of who you are. I totally understand that.”
Alex looked up in surprise. “Willow, I told them no.”
“You…really?”
“Yeah, of course.” He snorted and tossed the grass aside. “It’s just so typical of those guys. When there was an actual paranormal intrusion, Dad struggled to get
I hated mentioning this, though knew I had to. “But Alex, won’t you get bored eventually if you’re not doing something exciting? I mean, you could probably do whatever you wanted for the CIA. Hunt terrorists or fight crime or—”
“Willow, no,” Alex interrupted softly. He put his hand on my cheek. “Listen to me,” he said. “I have been worrying about saving the world since I was five years old. I never had a choice, and that was okay – it was just what had to be done. But now the world’s finally getting back on track; it doesn’t need me any more. That means I can do—” He stopped, shaking his head with a sudden grin.
“Anything,” he said.
All at once the sun shining down seemed even brighter. “You really don’t want the CIA job?” I asked.
Alex looked like he was trying not to laugh. “What gave it away? Anyway, what about you? The CIA would snap you up in a second, if they knew what you’d done.”
I smiled and stretched my legs out. “I think I’ll pass.”
We sat basking in the sunshine. A hawk was circling high overhead; the only other movement was the clouds drifting across the sky.
“You know what I’d really like to do?” Alex’s blue-grey eyes had turned thoughtful.
I’d just started to brush the grass from his warm back. “No, what?”
“I’d like to travel.”
I stopped mid-motion and glanced at him in surprise. “Is there even a single state you haven’t seen?”
Alex nodded, leaning back on his hands as he gazed out at the mountains. “All of them. I was always on the hunt before – I never got a chance to just enjoy any of it. I’d like to see the country again and…” He shrugged, looking a little embarrassed. “Well, see exactly what it is we’ve saved.”
I began to smile as I imagined it. I swiped the rest of the grass from his back and then slowly caressed his spine.
“You know what?” I said. “I like the sound of that. A lot.”
Alex’s gaze flew to mine. “Really? You want to?”
“Yeah,” I said. “I think I do. We can take the truck and go all over.”
He cupped his hand behind my neck and kissed me softly, then pulled me onto his lap with a grin. “Nah, let’s get a couple of motorcycles. I’ll teach you to ride, and you can be a biker chick. You are going to look seriously hot in leather.”
I laughed and twined my arms around his neck. “Okay, deal. But you’re not allowed to have one of those big biker beards, so don’t even think about it.”
“I can’t have a beard?”
“No. Definitely not.”
“Hmm. We may have to negotiate this one.” Alex took a strand of my hair and tickled it across my face. For as long as I’d known Alex, he’d looked so much older than his age – weighed down with responsibility for the whole world.
Now his stormy eyes were simply…happy.
For a moment, as the breeze whispered, I thought of my mother. Alex’s family. Sam. Everyone who’d fallen in battle; the groups we’d sent out; Alex’s old friends who’d died years before.
And I knew that this was what we’d all been fighting for: the freedom to find joy in the world, now that we still had a world to enjoy.
My heart felt almost too full for speech. I touched Alex’s face, tracing the dark arch of one eyebrow, and finally cleared my throat. “So how’s this for a plan? We’ll spend a few more weeks up here, then hit the road for a while. Then after that…just be together.”
He took my hand and turned it over. Slowly, he kissed my palm; my pulse skipped at the feel of his summer-warm lips. Below, the mountains shone like a new dawn.
“Who said you’re not as psychic any more?” Alex said softly. “You just read my mind.”
