“I don’t doubt it, Penryn.” He says my name as though he is tasting something new, rolling it over his tongue to see how he likes it. There’s an intimacy in the way he says it that makes me want to squirm.
I toss the remaining blister packets onto his lap. “Now you know how to use them. Welcome to my world.”
I turn around, showing him my back, emphasizing my lack of fear. At least, that’s what I tell myself. It’s also convenient that by turning my back on him, I can let my hands shake a little as I dig through my pack for something to eat.
“Why are you guys here, anyway?” I ask as I rummage for food. “I mean, it’s obvious that you’re not here for a friendly chat, but why do you want to get rid of us? What did we do to deserve extermination?”
He shrugs. “Beats me.”
I stare at him, open-mouthed.
“Hey, I don’t call the shots,” he says. “If I was good at marketing, I’d spin you an empty story that sounds profound. But the truth is that we’re all just stumbling around in the dark. Sometimes we hit something terrible.”
“That’s it? It can’t be as random as that.” I don’t know what I want to hear, but that’s not it.
“It’s always as random as that.”
He sounds more like a seasoned soldier than any angel I’ve ever heard of. One thing’s for sure—I’m not going to get a lot of answers out of him.
Dinner is instant noodles and a couple of energy bars. We also have bite-sized chocolates plundered from the office for dessert. I wish we could light up the fireplace but the smoke from the chimney would be a sure sign that the cottage is occupied. Same for the lights. I have a couple of flashlights in my bag, but remembering that it was my mother’s flashlight that probably attracted the gang, we crunch our dried noodles and oversweetened energy bars in the dark.
He scarfs down his portion so fast that I can’t help but stare. I don’t know when he last ate, but he certainly hasn’t eaten in the two days I’ve known him. I’m also guessing that his super-healing consumes a lot of calories too. We don’t have much, but I offer him half my share. If he had been awake the last couple of days, I’d have had to feed him a lot more than this.
My hand stays out with the offered food long enough to make the moment awkward. “Don’t you want it?” I ask.
“That depends on why you’re giving it to me.”
I shrug. “Sometimes, as we’re stumbling along in the dark, we hit something good.”
He watches me for another moment before taking the offered food.
“Don’t think you’re getting my share of the chocolate, though.” I know I should conserve the chocolate, but I can’t help eating more than I’d planned. The waxy texture and burst of sweetness in my mouth brings comfort that’s too rare to pass up. I won’t let us eat more than half my stash, though. I stuff the rest way down in the bottom of my pack so I won’t be tempted.
My longing for the candy must show on my face because the angel asks, “Why don’t you just eat it? We can eat something else tomorrow.”
“It’s for Paige.” I zip up my pack with finality, ignoring his thoughtful look.
I wonder where my mother is now. I’d always suspected that she is more clever than my father, even though he is the one with the masters degree in engineering. But all her animal cleverness won’t help her when her crazy instincts are demanding her attention. Some of the worst times in my life have been because of her. But I can’t help but hope that she’s found a dry place out of the rain, and has managed to find something to eat for dinner.
I dig through my pack and find the last styrofoam cup of dried noodle. I walk to the door and leave it outside.
“What are you doing?”
I think about explaining to him about my mother but decide against it. “Nothing.”
“Why would you leave food outside in the rain?”
How did he know it was food? It’s too dark for him to see the cup of noodles.
“How well can you see in the dark?”
There’s a brief pause as though he’s considering denying that he can see in the dark. “Almost as well as I can see in the day.”
I squirrel away the intel. This little piece of information may have just saved my life. Who knows what I would have done once I found the other angels? I may have tried to hide in the dark as I snuck into their nest. That would have been a nasty time to find out just how well angels can see in the dark.
“So, why would you leave valuable food outside?”
“In case my mother is out there.”
“Wouldn’t she just come in?”
“Maybe. Maybe not.”
He nods as if he understands, which, of course, he couldn’t. Maybe to him, all humans behave as though they are crazy. “Why don’t you bring the food in, and I’ll tell you if she’s nearby.”
“And how would you know if she’s nearby?”
“I’ll hear her,” he says. “Assuming the rain doesn’t get too loud.”
“How good is your hearing?”
“What?”
“Ha ha,” I say dryly. “Knowing this stuff could make a big difference in my chances of rescuing my sister.”
“You don’t even know where she is, or if she’s alive.” He says this matter-of-factly, as if he’s talking about the weather.
“But I know where you are, and I know you’ll be headed back to the other angels, even if it’s only to get revenge.”
“Ah, is that how it is? Since you couldn’t get the information out of me when I was weak and helpless, your big plan now is to follow me back to the nest of vipers to rescue your sister? You know that’s about as well-thought out as your plan to scare off those men by pretending to be an angel.”
“A girl’s gotta improvise as the situation changes.”
“The situation has changed beyond your control. You’ll only get yourself killed if you follow this path, so take my advice and run the other way.”
“You don’t understand. This isn’t about making logical, optimal decisions. It’s not like I have a choice. Paige is just a helpless little girl. She’s my sister. The only thing up for discussion is how I’ll rescue her, not whether or not I’ll try.”