03 Saints (15 page)

“Cheers,” Sara said before disappearing into the night again.

“We’ve got about three blocks to go,” Reaper said when Sara was gone.

We rounded the corner of the alley, and I breathed in the smell of the city. It wasn’t an amazingly awesome smell, but it was familiar and lovely, because of that familiarity. People passed us on the streets, searching for a destination. The streets were less busy with the dark, but there were still plenty of people out on the town.

“I love the way the city feels. It’s always so alive, no matter the time of day,” I said.

“I love the pizza,” Reaper replied.

“Even though you don’t eat?” I asked.

“Food isn’t necessary, no, but I still crave certain foods. Necessity and desire don’t always go hand and hand,” Reaper said.

“I bet Sara would be the best delivery girl in the history of the world. She could get you real Thai food from Thailand, if you wanted it.”

“She could. She wouldn’t, but she could. If I asked her, she’d probably take me to the Amazon and leave me there for a couple of days as a reminder to not take advantage of her.”

“I knew I liked her for a reason,” I said.

“Most of my people are like that,” Reaper said proudly. “I like strong people; people who know that when I ask for something, it’s because it’s necessary – people with fire in their spirits, passion, none of this servitude crap.”

“Doesn’t that make it dangerous as a leader, though? With people like that, don’t you have others questioning your authority?” I asked.

“People can question my authority all they want. It’s my determination and my plan I don’t want them to question,” Reaper said.

“What if someone does try and…you know, take over?” I asked.

“I’m not a tyrant. I have a standing rule that anyone who wants to challenge me has to face me in unarmed combat…to the death,” Reaper said.

I wasn’t sure if he realized what he was saying. I arched an eyebrow at him in a question.

“So, what you are really saying is that you keep on ruling, because your people don’t want to fight you to the death? Doesn’t that seem a bit tyrannical?” I asked.

He frowned. “No one has complained…”

“Well, I wouldn’t either if I had to duel you to the death,” I said pointedly.

“I’ll have to think about that,” he said thoughtfully.

“It’s probably a pretty good way to keep people in line, though” I said. “Provided you can handle yourself.”

He smirked, but didn’t give rise to the macho ego-stroking most men would have succumbed to.

“I’ve heard you can handle yourself,” he said. “Took King down with a single move…even though your shoulder was still weak.”

“I just tricked him, is all,” I said. “People always underestimate what they haven’t seen.”

“I like that,” Reaper said. “It’s a good saying. Here we are…”

He stopped in front of a tall, elegant building with a large entrance. People moved in and out of the structure, despite the lateness of the hour. Most of the people were humans, though I sensed a few Watchers in the crowd, their grace unyielding and obvious despite their best efforts.

“Crap…” I said, recognizing the building. It was a building I had always admired. I suddenly found it gaudy and worthy of a wrecking ball. “Where would you be if you were my friends?”

“That depends on a number of things. How many of them there is, what they know about the security, who is doing the spying, what their background is…” he said.

I sighed. “Whatever happened to simple answers?”

“Politics,” Reaper said dryly. “Let’s move through this crowd for a bit, and I’ll look for a good place. Don’t be shy about being seen. Hopefully, if your people are here, they’ll find us first.”

We started to walk through the crowd of people; Reaper’s eyes were in constant motion as he searched for a likely hiding spot. I searched the crowd, eyeing every face for a familiar detail.

Not long into our search, I stopped Reaper with a hand to his gut. One of the faces I had seen belonged to someone who wasn’t a stranger. Was it possible we had gotten lucky? I didn’t believe in luck – the good kind, at least – but this was too big a ‘coincidence’ for me to ignore.

“What is it?” Reaper asked.

“You see that boy there?” I asked.

“The one with black hair?” he asked.

“He is a thief, a liar, and has a silver tongue to rival even you,” I told him.

“You know him?” Reaper asked.

“Yes!” I said. “That’s Spider. Keep an eye out for bad guys, okay?”

Reaper nodded, his eyes moving to rake the buildings and streets again. I snuck up on Spider as he focused on getting close enough to pick the pocket of a man in an elegant suit. Just as he was about to go for the man’s wallet, I put a hand on his shoulder.

“Were you about to steal from that man?” I asked in a demanding, authoritative voice.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Spider said out of reflex, snatching his hand away from the man’s pocket.

He tried to pull away from my hand then froze when he recognized the sound of my voice. He slowly turned, uncertain his ears were telling him the truth. His green eyes widened in shock when he saw me. We stared at each other for a long moment. Then, he reached out and pinched me hard on the arm.

I swatted him in the shoulder. “Ow!”

“You are real!” he said.

“Of course!”

He smiled, cool and calm as always, not bothering with the sentimental tears most would succumb to. I knew it was an act. His eyes gave away his emotion.

“You look good, doll.” He gently touched a cut on my face. “I like a little toughness on my women. What you say we go back to my place?”

“Spider…you are eight, and I am so not interested,” I said.

“Eleven, doll. Eleven.” His smile changed as he looked at me. He put a hand on my shoulder, sincerity shining out from behind the light of his green eyes. “I’m glad you’re okay. You are okay, aren’t you?”

“As okay as possible,” I said. I grabbed him by both shoulders, cutting the platitudes short. My next question was difficult to ask. “What happened in the sewers? I thought you were dead…”

“Knocked out by a piece of concrete. Eli saved me…” His jaw tightened at the words, but he didn’t elaborate. “Serenity got us all out of there before the place blew. She said she heard you screaming about there being a bomb…then you were taken.”

“Got everyone out?” I asked carefully, afraid to ask directly.

“Daniel and Alex are fine,” he assured me. “Worried about you, but fine. They think Marcus has you.”

“He doesn’t. I’ll tell the story all at once, after I see him…them. I don’t want go over it more than that, okay?” I said.

“Okay…” he agreed.

“We should get off the street…” Reaper said, joining us.

Spider eyed Reaper suspiciously. The thoughts he had been letting me hear were suddenly scrambled. He recognized Reaper for what he was in an instant. Our months apart had given Spider more awareness of my world. It was an awareness I was glad he had found. Knowing about Watchers was dangerous as it was – awareness was a lifesaver.

“This is Reaper,” I told Spider. “He’s the reason I found you.”

Spider and Reaper exchanged polite, cautious nods. Reaper was more curious about Spider than Spider was about him. Something about my thief friend had piqued Reaper’s interest. He was looking at Spider as if they had met, as if they were old friends from another lifetime. His silver eyes were full of an emotion I couldn’t place.

“Where are the others?” I asked Spider. “Are they here?”

“I can take you to them,” he said.

“Let’s go!” I demanded.

Spider smiled at my tone. “I can’t wait to see Alex’s expression.”

“Me, too,” I agreed.

Spider’s smile was tinted with mischief as he started to lead us down the street. He was obviously a fan of surprises. I assumed he thought Alex’s reaction to this surprise was going to be epic.

“You okay?” I muttered to Reaper, as we followed after Spider. The emotion still hadn’t left his eyes.

He nodded and shrugged casually. “Your friend just looks familiar. Past life, maybe.”

“Oh…okay.” I skipped ahead to join Spider. “Are the kids here?” I asked, not bothering to hide my excitement. “Are they okay?”

Spider nodded, tucking a wallet he had just stolen in to his pocket. “They wouldn’t stay behind. We tried to make them, but Sprint said she would run us down and beat us up if we left them, then Ethan backed her up….I don’t mess with Ethan…”

“Good. I mean, I’m glad they’re safe. Tell me more about what happened in the sewers,” I said.

He started talking, using his gift for arranging words to soothe my worry in a way that only Spider could manage. It was the same gift he used to talk people into giving him money. Even as he kept up a constant monologue, he was alert, wary. A couple of times, he took us in a circle to make sure we weren’t being followed. I appreciated his cautiousness, but every detour we took irritated me. I was anxious to get the reunion started. I was anxious to see Daniel.

He explained how everyone had gotten out, how they had determined Marcus had me and had started their search for me. The search had eventually brought them to New York; they had been here for the past month. I could sense him leaving things out from the story, but I understood it was things he thought the others should get to tell me; things that weren’t his place to tell. Lost in his story, we walked into a bank. It sounded like the start of a bad joke, but it was true.

When the scenery changed from hard concrete to beautiful marble, I stopped walking. It was night, so the place was empty and dark, but I could tell it wasn’t the sort of bank Joe Everyman had an account in. The elegance surpassed any I had ever seen. There was something familiar about the casual elegance.

“What the heck?” I asked Spider as I eyed the opulent foyer of the prestigious bank.

“Apparently your boyfriend has a bank,” Spider said.

“He never mentioned it,” I said.

“He acted kind of embarrassed about it, but he also decided it was the best place to hide. He has some condos on the top floor. Talk about a place to live! Man, I’ve never seen something so decked out before!”

“Oh,” I said.

I started tugging at my shirt and messing with my hair, wishing I had remembered to put on makeup, and otherwise fretting about my appearance in ways I never fretted about it. I was worried what Daniel would think. Would he think I looked different? Would he still be attracted to me? Would he be mad I had walked out on him at the church so many weeks ago? Would my harsh words still be on his mind? How would I tell him he had done so much for me in the past month and half? He had been my protection against the pain. How would I express that? How could I ever tell him how much I needed him?

“You look amazing, Clare,” Spider told me, noticing my nervousness. “He won’t be able to help but be amazed and fall in love with you all over again.”

I stopped trying to make my hair lie flat and took a deep breath. “You sure can be sweet when you try,” I told Spider.

“I just call it like I see it, doll. You’re always a babe, no matter the bruises, or whatever else.”

He smiled at me, as proof his words were sincere, and talked in my ear about important nothings, to keep me distracted. He led us to the back of the bank and we stepped into an elevator hidden behind a heavy door. His words were certainly a distraction, but not enough of one. I let him talk, even while my thoughts remained on what was waiting for me upstairs.

Reaper was silent, his hands jammed into his pockets as he lounged in the corner of the elevator. I couldn’t even begin to imagine what he was thinking. His face was a mystery, impossible to read – not that I was trying very hard.

The elevator finally stopped on the sixth floor. Spider stepped in front of the heavy doors when they opened, and let me walk out first.

The elevator had opened directly into a large, immaculate room. The room had two sofas and two squishy chairs in the center that looked as if they had gotten a lot of wear and tear from some very messy kids recently. Two steps were beyond the furniture, creating a landing that led out on to a balcony. There was a fireplace on the wall to my right and doors along the wall to my left. Stuck in the far corner of the large room was a small kitchen cluttered with remnants of the last meal cooked in it. The floor was slate, covered with rugs, and the walls were covered in modest wallpaper. The room was elegant and simple. It was obvious Daniel’s hand had been behind it. He had decorated this room and walked its floors.

The butterflies in my stomach made it feel as if it were moving. He had to be close…

“Spider…is that you?” I heard a voice call from one of the rooms on the far side. I recognized the voice in an instant.

“Nah…he’s busy picking pockets and trying to pick up girls he’s not man enough for,” I called back.

“Hey!” Spider exclaimed.

There was a short pause of startled silence, in which I felt the person inside the room thinking over the implications of hearing my voice. There was doubt and shock mingled in with the silence. Then, without any heed to dignity Alex ran from the room and tackled me. I fell back from her weight and landed on the floor hard. She ignored my pain and hugged me tight. As she clung to me on the floor, she started crying.