it.”
He laughed softly, shaking his dark head. “You can’t stop me
from feeling bad, boss. But I promise I’ll make it up to you.”
“You don’t have anything to make up to me, Emo, but I will
let you come back to work at the Angel Network. I really need you. Darma is
anything but a suitable substitute.”
Something passed through his gaze but he laughed, shaking
his head. “I can’t believe Darma is kicking demon ass.”
“I know, right? And to all appearances even enjoying it.”
“What about Slayer?”
“Oh.” Heat flushed my face. “You heard about that, huh?”
“I’ve been following you through Flick.”
“Flick?”
“He came to see me almost every day. He really helped.” Emo
cocked his head, a silky black wave falling across his flawless, golden
forehead. “You didn’t know he was one of my sponsors?”
Frowning, I shook my head. The little twerp had never even
hinted that he was involved. I was surprised he had the insight and compassion
to help a struggling Tweener through his Settling. He’d certainly never shown
me any compassion.
“I’m not surprised. They’re not supposed to tell anybody.”
“Yeah. Well, he didn’t.” I grinned, reaching out to clasp
Emo’s hand. It felt large and warm and real. At last. “I can’t believe you’re
here.” And that he’d beaten back the dark. Though I’d never tell him that. He’d
been so close to giving in to the evil riding his soul. It was a testament to
the Angels’ powers that they’d managed to pull him through. Then it occurred to
me that he’d come to my father’s house first rather than coming to see me.
Suddenly I was slightly miffed.
“You came to my father first…why?”
“He’s my other sponsor, Astra. He’s also my guide during the
re-acclimation phase.”
“Oh. I didn’t realize you had to get re-acclimated to Earth.
But I guess it makes sense.”
“Yeah, about that phase…”
Movement near the door pulled my attention from Emo. My
father stood on the other side of the kitchen, his handsome face pleasantly
blank, his blue eyes intense. Fear washed through me. I had a sudden
premonition that he had bad news for me…about Dialle.
“What’s wrong?”
James Phelps, Seraphim and right-hand angel for the Big Guy,
slid a glance toward Emo. “Can you excuse us for a minute, son?”
Emo nodded but I bristled. “I don’t have any secrets from
Emo, Father. He can stay.”
My father didn’t respond, he simply held Emo’s gaze until my
friend touched my arm and gave me a sad smile. “I’ll see you later, Astra.” I
watched him walk out of the room, past my father, and realized his dismissal
made me mad. I glared at my father. “Don’t treat him like an invalid.”
My father wiggled his fingers and the door closed behind
Emo, ensuring that Emo wouldn’t hear whatever we were about to discuss. “He is an invalid, daughter. Whatever you might want, he’s still in a delicate
condition. He must be eased back into life on Earth.”
“He seems fine.”
I got stern face for my comment. “He’s not.”
I’ll admit it. I still backed down when confronted with my
father’s stern face. “But I need him in the office. How soon until he can come
back to work?”
“Not for a while. Maybe never.”
I swallowed hard, feeling the blood rush from my face. My
hand reached out and touched the firm surface of the long, wooden table that
dominated the center of the massive, brick-floored kitchen. “He’s still sick?”
My father took pity on me. “Not really sick. Just delicate.
He’s worked very hard to win the battle against the dark influences vying for
his soul. He won, he’s on the mend, but he can still revert and regress. We
need to keep him as far away from stress as possible until he regains his
confidence.”
I nodded, feeling a little better. “Which means he can’t
help me with Dialle.”
“Not even a little.”
I thought about this for a minute and nodded, feeling
He laughed softly, shaking his dark head. “You can’t stop me
from feeling bad, boss. But I promise I’ll make it up to you.”
“You don’t have anything to make up to me, Emo, but I will
let you come back to work at the Angel Network. I really need you. Darma is
anything but a suitable substitute.”
Something passed through his gaze but he laughed, shaking
his head. “I can’t believe Darma is kicking demon ass.”
“I know, right? And to all appearances even enjoying it.”
“What about Slayer?”
“Oh.” Heat flushed my face. “You heard about that, huh?”
“I’ve been following you through Flick.”
“Flick?”
“He came to see me almost every day. He really helped.” Emo
cocked his head, a silky black wave falling across his flawless, golden
forehead. “You didn’t know he was one of my sponsors?”
Frowning, I shook my head. The little twerp had never even
hinted that he was involved. I was surprised he had the insight and compassion
to help a struggling Tweener through his Settling. He’d certainly never shown
me any compassion.
“I’m not surprised. They’re not supposed to tell anybody.”
“Yeah. Well, he didn’t.” I grinned, reaching out to clasp
Emo’s hand. It felt large and warm and real. At last. “I can’t believe you’re
here.” And that he’d beaten back the dark. Though I’d never tell him that. He’d
been so close to giving in to the evil riding his soul. It was a testament to
the Angels’ powers that they’d managed to pull him through. Then it occurred to
me that he’d come to my father’s house first rather than coming to see me.
Suddenly I was slightly miffed.
“You came to my father first…why?”
“He’s my other sponsor, Astra. He’s also my guide during the
re-acclimation phase.”
“Oh. I didn’t realize you had to get re-acclimated to Earth.
But I guess it makes sense.”
“Yeah, about that phase…”
Movement near the door pulled my attention from Emo. My
father stood on the other side of the kitchen, his handsome face pleasantly
blank, his blue eyes intense. Fear washed through me. I had a sudden
premonition that he had bad news for me…about Dialle.
“What’s wrong?”
James Phelps, Seraphim and right-hand angel for the Big Guy,
slid a glance toward Emo. “Can you excuse us for a minute, son?”
Emo nodded but I bristled. “I don’t have any secrets from
Emo, Father. He can stay.”
My father didn’t respond, he simply held Emo’s gaze until my
friend touched my arm and gave me a sad smile. “I’ll see you later, Astra.” I
watched him walk out of the room, past my father, and realized his dismissal
made me mad. I glared at my father. “Don’t treat him like an invalid.”
My father wiggled his fingers and the door closed behind
Emo, ensuring that Emo wouldn’t hear whatever we were about to discuss. “He is an invalid, daughter. Whatever you might want, he’s still in a delicate
condition. He must be eased back into life on Earth.”
“He seems fine.”
I got stern face for my comment. “He’s not.”
I’ll admit it. I still backed down when confronted with my
father’s stern face. “But I need him in the office. How soon until he can come
back to work?”
“Not for a while. Maybe never.”
I swallowed hard, feeling the blood rush from my face. My
hand reached out and touched the firm surface of the long, wooden table that
dominated the center of the massive, brick-floored kitchen. “He’s still sick?”
My father took pity on me. “Not really sick. Just delicate.
He’s worked very hard to win the battle against the dark influences vying for
his soul. He won, he’s on the mend, but he can still revert and regress. We
need to keep him as far away from stress as possible until he regains his
confidence.”
I nodded, feeling a little better. “Which means he can’t
help me with Dialle.”
“Not even a little.”
I thought about this for a minute and nodded, feeling
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