Part 16 (1/2)
”Are you questioning my taste in prey?”
”There's easier pickings,” Murque pointed out.
”She's cozy with that whole Flight,” Dinge added peevishly. ”They crowd around her like a misbegotten Hedge!”
”Let them fret and flutter,” Adin replied dismissively. ”The girl's only a means to my ends.”
”Isn't that what you said about the Observer we s.n.a.t.c.hed?” Murque grumbled. At his superior's narrow glance, he hastily added, ”No offense, my lord. I just don't see what you're aiming for. If it's not the apprentice ... and it's not the girl ... then, what?”
With a superior sniff, Adin announced, ”I hear interesting things.”
”Do tell, my lord,” Dinge coaxed with a sly smile.
”That Tower, for instance.”
”There's plenty of towers,” Murque remarked.
”True,” Adin conceded, his eyes glittering. ”But this one moves.”
Prissie couldn't have been more frustrated, for a thousand little things seemed to be going wrong. Gum in her hair. Spiders in the bathtub. Missing library books. Her Sat.u.r.day had ranged from one small catastrophe to another, and she was in no mood to smile by the time her father dropped them off at the door of First Baptist. She'd have to dredge one up, though. Tonight was their church's annual living nativity, and she and Tad would be reprising their roles as Mary and Joseph.
”Careful! There are still icy patches,” called the shepherd who was scattering salt on the walks.
Prissie thanked him for the warning. ”A sprained ankle would top off a day like today nicely,” she whispered with a sour face.
Koji offered, ”You may hold onto me.”
”Says the angel who can't skate,” she teased.
”Angel?” interjected Beau, who was walking right behind them. ”Koji's a shepherd tonight.”
”O-obviously,” Prissie floundered. Really. Could the day get any worse?
It felt as if someone was out to get her, and stepping through the doors into the foyer only confirmed her suspicions. She was sure Milo would have called it some kind of providence, but she was convinced it was a divine conspiracy. With a hearty groan, she asked, ”Not you too?”
Ransom exchanged a glance with Marcus, then shrugged. ”You talking to me, Miss Priss?”
”Not tonight.” Prissie shook her head and walked on by. She was too worn down by disasters to bicker with an annoyance.
”Blunt,” Ransom said with a mock wince.
Marcus only grunted and fell into step behind her.
With a quirk of an eyebrow, Ransom followed suit, remarking, ”Brave.”
Koji laughed softly, and Prissie threw him a questioning look. ”Ransom is good at seeing the heart of things,” he whispered.
Two long tables in the foyer were arrayed with coffee makers and cookie platters for those who wanted to stop in for some fellows.h.i.+p. For the most part, however, the living nativity was a drive-by scene, and folks came from all around to inch past a makes.h.i.+ft stable set up in the corner of the parking lot. There were plenty of live animals, people in costume, and seasonal music.
All Prissie needed to do was dress warmly, hold a bundled-up doll, and spend a couple of hours in the spotlight. She was just heading over to get into her costume when Tad came jogging through the foyer. ”Priss!” he called urgently.
She turned as her big-big brother slowed to a stop. ”The sheep are loose, and they need my help to herd them back into the pen. Can you quick find a stand-in?” He was already jogging backward toward the entrance. ”Sorry!”
”It's okay!” she replied, then sighed as she turned to Koji. ”What next?”
”Stand-in?” Ransom asked curiously. ”You have a part in the nativity?”
”Yes,” she replied curtly, looking around for help, then waving urgently. ”Momma!”
Mrs. Pomeroy hurried over and listened calmly to the explanation. ”I see!” she said, her gaze sweeping the foyer. Almost immediately, she zeroed in on Marcus and Ransom. With a hopeful smile, she asked, ”Gentlemen?”
Marcus cuffed his friend's shoulder. ”He'll do it.”
”No!” Prissie protested. She lifted pleading eyes to her mother's face. ”Momma!”
”It's settled,” Naomi said with finality.
Prissie knew better than to argue when her mother took that tone, so she said nothing more as Mrs. Pomeroy grabbed Ransom and Koji and hustled them to the changing rooms. Marcus watched them go, then fixed Prissie with a stern look. ”Be nice,” he growled.
”Why should I?” she countered peevishly.
”Because he's my friend.”
That took her aback. She knew firsthand what it meant for an angel to claim a human friend. It was a rare thing, counted as precious, and her face fell. ”Oh ... right.”
The Protector smiled. ”Thanks, kiddo.”
”Well, this is definitely not a role I ever planned on playing,” Ransom said out of the corner of his mouth.
”It was nice of you to step in.” Prissie replied with grim politeness. They could hear the whoops and hollers of those still trying to herd the sheep back toward the church. ”I was really surprised to see you here.”
”At church?” he replied, pausing to smile as flashbulbs went off from the window of a pa.s.sing car.
”At my church.”
”What's the big deal? Do I need a members.h.i.+p card or something?”
”Of course not,” she grumbled, adjusting her grip on the swaddled bundle in the crook of her arm. ”I was just really surprised to see you and Marcus.”
”Your brother invited me,” he explained, giving a small wave to the kids staring at them from the windows of a slow-rolling minivan.
”Which one?”
”Jude this time,” he replied. ”He said if I came, I'd get to see angels.”
She gaped up at him. ”What?”
”Oh, hey! There they come!” Ransom exclaimed, rolling his eyes at the robed figure making his way over. ”Hey, Mr. Mailman! Are you Gabriel?”
”That's the general idea,” Milo replied with a grin. Someone had sprayed golden glitter in his hair, and he wore a halo made from silver pipe cleaners; still, he maintained a certain dignity. ”I heard you were pinch-hitting this evening. How does it feel to be in Joseph's shoes?”