the images from her dream. He’d been there twice, on hunting trips with Juan and a few of the others.
“Definitely? You’re positive?”
Alex shrugged. “No other place is that big. Plus that square you described has got to be the Zócalo – it’s one of the largest squares in the world.” He rubbed his forehead, where a dull ache was beginning to pound.
Willow started to say something and stopped, touching his arm. “Are you okay? You look really pale.”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” He dropped his hand. “Listen, if what you’re leading up to is that you think we need to go there—”
“We do need to go there,” she broke in anxiously. “The Sierra Madre isn’t where we’re supposed to be; Mexico City is – I’m sure of it. Only, I don’t know what’s going to happen once we’re there. The dream didn’t feel very...cheerful, exactly.”
Great. He let out a breath. “Willow...”
“Alex, listen to me. It wasn’t just a dream; it was a premonition. We have to go.”
His voice hardened. “You do know that Mexico City is literally about the last place on the planet I’d ever want to take you, right? The Church of Angels is huge there – and the city was full of angels even before the Invasion. Any angel that saw your aura would know exactly who you are. We’re in enough danger just sitting here, but at least we can do a scan first. In a city that size? No way.”
“I know.” Willow was still touching his arm; her fingers felt warm against his skin. “But how often do angels scan auras when they’re in their human bodies? Don’t they usually wait until they’re in their angel form, about to feed?”
“The ones I’ve tracked usually do,” he admitted.
“And you’ve tracked hundreds,” she pointed out. “So it must be pretty typical. If an angel saw my aura when it was about to feed on someone, then we’d probably see it, too. We’d have a good chance of getting it.”
When it came to Willow’s safety, probably and good chance were not his favourite words. Looking down, Alex took her hand, playing with her fingers. “How strongly do you feel we need to go there?” he asked at last.
“Really strongly,” she said without hesitating. “The sound of all those angels screaming...” She trailed off. Slowly, she said, “Alex, it feels like something’s going to happen in Mexico City that could cause the angels serious harm. Only we have to be there for it to take place. We have to be.”
Alex fell silent. Willow’s premonitions had never steered them wrong so far, and if what she’d dreamed was even partly accurate, then she was right, no question – they had to go. And even apart from her dream, he knew it would be a lot easier to recruit people in a city, rather than up in el monte . If he were on his own, then Mexico City would be exactly the place he’d head for. Plus there were the rogues: angels who believed their kind didn’t have the right to destroy humanity – Nate had told them about how they did something called “marshalling”, where they implanted a tiny bit of resistance in a human’s aura to make it unpalatable to angels. There were bound to be some rogues in Mexico City; if he could somehow hook up with them, it might be just what was needed to swing the balance in an almost-hopeless fight.
Alex massaged his forehead as the headache jabbed again. Yeah, going to Mexico City was all really logical...except he’d already nearly lost her once.
Willow took in the movement of his fingers on his brow. She didn’t comment this time, though he saw the concern in her eyes. “Alex, we have to go,” she said instead. “We really do.”
“All right,” he said finally. He managed a smile. “I mean, if you’ve got a psychic girlfriend, then I guess you’d better listen to her, right?”
She reached across and gripped his hand; he knew she was only all too aware of how much he dreaded anything happening to her. “Okay,” she said softly. She started
“Definitely? You’re positive?”
Alex shrugged. “No other place is that big. Plus that square you described has got to be the Zócalo – it’s one of the largest squares in the world.” He rubbed his forehead, where a dull ache was beginning to pound.
Willow started to say something and stopped, touching his arm. “Are you okay? You look really pale.”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” He dropped his hand. “Listen, if what you’re leading up to is that you think we need to go there—”
“We do need to go there,” she broke in anxiously. “The Sierra Madre isn’t where we’re supposed to be; Mexico City is – I’m sure of it. Only, I don’t know what’s going to happen once we’re there. The dream didn’t feel very...cheerful, exactly.”
Great. He let out a breath. “Willow...”
“Alex, listen to me. It wasn’t just a dream; it was a premonition. We have to go.”
His voice hardened. “You do know that Mexico City is literally about the last place on the planet I’d ever want to take you, right? The Church of Angels is huge there – and the city was full of angels even before the Invasion. Any angel that saw your aura would know exactly who you are. We’re in enough danger just sitting here, but at least we can do a scan first. In a city that size? No way.”
“I know.” Willow was still touching his arm; her fingers felt warm against his skin. “But how often do angels scan auras when they’re in their human bodies? Don’t they usually wait until they’re in their angel form, about to feed?”
“The ones I’ve tracked usually do,” he admitted.
“And you’ve tracked hundreds,” she pointed out. “So it must be pretty typical. If an angel saw my aura when it was about to feed on someone, then we’d probably see it, too. We’d have a good chance of getting it.”
When it came to Willow’s safety, probably and good chance were not his favourite words. Looking down, Alex took her hand, playing with her fingers. “How strongly do you feel we need to go there?” he asked at last.
“Really strongly,” she said without hesitating. “The sound of all those angels screaming...” She trailed off. Slowly, she said, “Alex, it feels like something’s going to happen in Mexico City that could cause the angels serious harm. Only we have to be there for it to take place. We have to be.”
Alex fell silent. Willow’s premonitions had never steered them wrong so far, and if what she’d dreamed was even partly accurate, then she was right, no question – they had to go. And even apart from her dream, he knew it would be a lot easier to recruit people in a city, rather than up in el monte . If he were on his own, then Mexico City would be exactly the place he’d head for. Plus there were the rogues: angels who believed their kind didn’t have the right to destroy humanity – Nate had told them about how they did something called “marshalling”, where they implanted a tiny bit of resistance in a human’s aura to make it unpalatable to angels. There were bound to be some rogues in Mexico City; if he could somehow hook up with them, it might be just what was needed to swing the balance in an almost-hopeless fight.
Alex massaged his forehead as the headache jabbed again. Yeah, going to Mexico City was all really logical...except he’d already nearly lost her once.
Willow took in the movement of his fingers on his brow. She didn’t comment this time, though he saw the concern in her eyes. “Alex, we have to go,” she said instead. “We really do.”
“All right,” he said finally. He managed a smile. “I mean, if you’ve got a psychic girlfriend, then I guess you’d better listen to her, right?”
She reached across and gripped his hand; he knew she was only all too aware of how much he dreaded anything happening to her. “Okay,” she said softly. She started
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