Sword's Blessing by Kaitlin R. Branch Page A

she asked, frowning, and bit in to her sandwich. It was indeed better than expected.
    “No idea.” Eli nodded to the door, where Samantha was walking in. She looked perplexed. “Maybe she can shed some light on it.”
    “On what?” Samantha asked, idly picking up a handful of fries and munching through them quickly. Giselle raised an eyebrow. Eli hadn’t been kidding about her being hungry, had he?
    “Apparently seeing horns and wings is weird?” Armand shrugged. “Doesn’t seem wrong or anything.”
    “Interesting.” Samantha mumbled through a bit of hamburger. “We’ll just add it to the list of questions.”
    “List of questions?” Eli leaned back.
    Giselle sat forward. “Did they…did they have a suggestion?”
    “Yeah.” Samantha shook her head. “Mom knew just where to go. Kind of creepy, but she’s right. It’s our best shot at this point, and I should probably talk to her anyway.”
    Eli frowned. “You’re talking about going–”
    “To New Orleans. Bourbon street, to be precise.”
    Giselle turned to stare at Armand, expecting a reaction. They’d talked about that woman so recently. Armand was biting into his sandwich again and didn’t even feel her look. She turned back to Samantha. “You mean…the prophet there?”
    “That’s the one.” Samantha cocked her head. “How do you know about her?”
    “Her prophecies are in your file. And I met her once.” Little miss is fit for the cause, sho’ nuff. The child here though…I en’t so sure. Not quite ready, me thinks. He don’t even know who he is yet.
    “I recognize that look. Let me guess, said something somewhat troubling and utterly incomprehensible?”
    Giselle stiffened. “How did you know?” she demanded.
    “Easy!” Eli laughed. “It’s pretty much her thing.” He looked over at Samantha. “Are you sure about this? It’s going to be a pretty obvious move, and now we’ve got both sides after us.”
    “I’m pretty sure she’s been waiting for us anyway,” Samantha replied, and finished her burger and sat back. “On the bright side, New Orleans isn’t far away.”
    “Five hours or so.” Eli hummed.
    “Can’t we make a teleport like before?” Giselle asked.
    Eli shrugged. “We could, but if they put a little work into it, it’s relatively easy to track. Come on, you found us in ten hours or less. Usually we jump and then drive six hours in one direction or another.”
    “I see.” She rubbed her arms. “They sure do keep these places cold.”
    “Southern summer,” Eli clapped. “Bet you half their sales come from the air conditioning.”
    “Not a bet I’d take.” Samantha said, leaning over to Giselle conspiratorially. “You are allowed to tell him to shove it you know. He’s just glad for company.”
    “No, it’s fine,” Giselle said with a smile. And it was. She’d never been with people so relaxed and happy despite their tribulations. Angels carried their burdens with joy, but it was the quiet gladness of a job well done, and not the outpouring of love for life as it was, with its oddities and peculiarities. “Might as well get started, right?”
    “Might as well indeed.” Eli slapped Armand on the shoulder. “Let’s let the ladies finish their meal in peace and we’ll clean up the car.”
    “Sure thing.” Armand rose. He paused and reached out with a napkin, dabbing at Giselle’s lips with a low chuckle. “Ketchup.”
    She stared at him, caught like a deer in the headlights. He was so like her Armand, so achingly close. “Thank you,” she croaked, voice barely making it past her throat.
    “Sure. Oh, and have this.” He shrugged out of his jacket and offered her a smile. “Must be troublesome to keep the human form when it’s so cold.”
    Her breath caught, for a moment wondering if Armand could have come back and not told her. How else would he have known how the cold wormed through her? She grabbed his hand, breathless in hope. “Armand?”
    “Manas,” he said with a