Sinful Things

29

When the song ends, I hear applause and cheers from some of the other balconies, and realize we have an audience. My face flushes, and I gesture at Marcus to come toward me. “Get in here, you’re causing a scene.”

Our onlookers hoot, and Marcus gives them all a wave and a charming smile before tucking his wings and shooting toward me.

“I didn’t know you played guitar,” I say. “Or sang.”

He lands gracefully on my balcony and his wings vanish as he sets the guitar down. “I stopped after Jonah disappeared, but you inspire me.”

I roll my eyes, but I’m smiling too. “You’re so cheesy.”

“It’s true.” He steps forward and holds out his hand. This time, I take it. “No other girl has ever made me feel the way you do. For the first time in years, I want to make music again.” He brings my hand to his lips. “I’m so sorry for everything that happened last year, and I want to make it up to you. Let me take you to dinner.”

“Okay.”

His eyes brighten. “Okay?”

“I think you earned a meal after that performance, if nothing else.”

He lets out a whoop, and then picks me up like I weigh nothing and spins me around. He sets me down and steps back with a grin. “Come on. I know a good place that’s only a fifteen-minute flight from here.”

I throw on a sweater and grab my purse, and then we launch ourselves off the balcony. My wings are jet black and blend into the night sky, while Marcus’s are bronze and white, his feathers glinting like metal under the bright moonlight. True to his word, it takes about fifteen minutes of leisurely flying before he starts to veer down, and then we land behind a little diner called Angela’s. The logo has a hamburger and milkshake with wings.

I raise my eyebrows at Marcus as we set down. “This seems very on-the-nose.”

He winks. “You’ll love it. Best food for miles.”

I glance around. I’ve been to this little town once before to feed off a trucker at a bar, but otherwise have never had a reason to come out here.

When we step inside, a short, round woman with curly hair rushes over to us. “Marcus, dear! It’s been too long!”

“I’ve been busy at school,” he says, with a sheepish grin.

“Who’s your girlfriend?” she asks, smiling at me.

Marcus doesn’t bother to correct her. “This is Olivia.”

“Is she…” She wiggles her eyebrows. “Like you?”

“Close enough,” he says with a wink.

“Come, come.” She leads us to a booth in the corner. The place looks like something out of the 1950’s, with sparkly laminate tables edged in metal and plastic booth seats in neon blue. There’s even a mini jukebox below the window.

We slide into the booth, and Marcus immediately leans over and queues up something. “Elvis,” he says with a grin. “My mom’s favorite.”

I raise my eyebrows, but say nothing.

Angela hands us some menus and tells us to order anything, before heading behind the counter. “On the house, of course.”

“What’s that all about?” I ask when she’s gone.

“I’m a very loveable guy,” Marcus says.

“She knows about…our kind.”

“Jonah and I used to come here during our first year at Seraphim Academy in the middle of the night to get waffles and chicken. They’re the best, you have to order them.” He doesn’t even glance at the plastic menu in front of him. “Angela was always kind to us. Treated us like a mom. Made us feel a little less homesick, you know? Anyway, one night, she had a heart attack right there behind the counter. A bad one. Jonah called 911, but I knew no one would arrive in time, not out here in the boonies. So I healed her, even though we’re not supposed to do things like that. Jonah used his Ishim invisibility to keep anyone else from seeing what was happening, but there was no hiding the healing glow from Angela. She was already a believer in angels and a devout Christian, and she swears she saw my wings. After that, it was impossible to convince her we weren’t angels. So I just gave up, and let her feed me.”

“A good deed,” I admit. “But you could have gotten in a lot of trouble for that.”

He spreads his hands. “What’s the point in having these powers if not to help people? And not just angels, but everyone here on Earth?”

“That sounds odd coming from someone in the Order.”

He looks out the window with a frown. “I was invited to join the Order, and it seemed like a cool clique that all my friends were joining. Once I realized what they were really about, it was too late to back out.”

Angela comes and takes our order, and I let Marcus talk me into trying these infamous chicken and waffles.

Once we’re alone again, I sigh. “I’m still upset with you.”

Marcus shakes his head with a smile. “You said you forgive me. You’re not allowed to take that back.”

“I forgive you for your part in how the three of you treated me last year. I don’t forgive you for letting Jonah go to Faerie.”

Marcus’s face darkens. “I didn’t want him to go.”

“Then why did you let him?” I throw my hands up. “All three of you knew where he was going. Even Grace knew. Did not one of you stop and think, hmm, this might be a bad idea?”

“Of course we did. I tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn’t listen.”

"What about Callan and Bastien?"