Part 12 (1/2)

'Oh no you don't,' Maria says. 'Under no circ.u.mstances-'

'Mom, I've told you: I can only tell Gabe and Jude.'

'And I still don't understand. Why can't you tell me?'

Dani spreads her fingers on the table. Her nails are short and neat, painted a delicate shade of sh.e.l.l pink. 'Because it's too dangerous.'

'That doesn't rea.s.sure me, Daniella.' Maria glowers at me. 'What's to stop one of you kidnapping her?'

'If we wanted to s.n.a.t.c.h her, she'd be gone already,' I say, matter-of-fact.

'Again: not very rea.s.suring.'

'They're not going to kidnap me, Mom, I promise.'

Jason catches Dani's eye. 'Are you sure you're okay to do this?'

'You said I could trust them and I do.'

Jason squeezes her fingers, gives Jude and me a sharp look. 'Come on,' he says to Maria. 'We'll wait out back.'

Maria hesitates and then she kisses the top of Dani's head. 'We'll be right outside, baby. You remember what I told you: you are more important than what you see.'

Dani nods and then waits for them to grab their coats and leave through the back door. There's a strange flutter in my stomach. Dani wipes her hands on her jeans and pushes up the sleeves on her pink and grey jumper. Takes a deep breath.

'I had the vision for the first time a few weeks ago. Usually I only see them once, but this one kept coming back. Sometimes it happened when I was watching TV, other times I was outside playing. I had to stop riding my bike because I fell off and hurt my arm.' She holds up her wrist and shows us traces of a bad graze. 'I go into a kind of trance when it happens.'

'You're lucky you didn't hurt yourself worse,' Jude says. He sits forward. 'What did you see?'

Dani closes her eyes, and her face creases with concentration as she remembers. 'I see a man, taller than anyone I've ever seen, with huge wings. His eyes are like little fires, but the flames are blue. There are others with him, but I can't see their faces clearly.'

'Do you know who he is?' I ask.

Dani sucks in her bottom lip. Nods. 'Someone I can't see is called Orias. The one I can see is Semyaza.'

My heart stutters. Jude's eyes lock on mine for a good five seconds.

'How do you know their names?' Jude's voice is quiet.

'I hear them talking. Semyaza has his eyes closed and Orias is telling him to stop watching.'

'Watching what?'

'You and Gabe.'

'How can he do that?'

Dani shakes her head. 'I don't know, but he sees you.'

'Why us?' But I already know the answer. Why else would we be here?

Dani brings her knees up to her chest on the chair and wraps her thin arms around them.

'Because Semyaza is your father.'

WHO'S YOUR DADDY?

Semyaza is our father. The leader of the Fallen. The instigator of the fall and the angel most despised by heaven.

And wherever he is, he's watching us.

The walls and the windows and the kitchen become a smear of beige. The house is too hot. My t-s.h.i.+rt is too tight against my throat. I stand up. My chair thuds on the carpet behind me and the table sways under my fingertips.

'Gabe...' Dani's voice is far away. Blood rushes in my ears. I need to move. My legs are shaky but they're still solid, propelling me forward. I pa.s.s carpeted stairs, an alcove with a computer, a painting of the sky. I keep walking until I reach the front door. I wrench it open and step onto the porch. Cold air hits me, nips at my bare arms. I suck in a deep breath and the air stings my nose, my throat, my lungs. The world sharpens. I stare out at a street lined with two-storey houses, neat lawns, American flags and oversized letterboxes. Vivid trees hug the road-splashes of reds and yellows-and dried leaves lie in deep piles in the gutters. An ugly orange face carved with jagged teeth and crazy eyes stares at me from the neighbour's porch. I blink, try to fit it into the storm of thoughts and fears gathering in my head. And then I remember it's nearly Halloween. I almost laugh at the irony.

Gooseb.u.mps crawl over my skin, snap me back into the moment. It's cold on the porch and there are no answers out here. I go back inside. Jude is still at the table, staring through the window at the cloudless afternoon sky. Jason and Maria are hugged into jackets, standing near the swing, deep in conversation, oblivious to the fact our world just tilted sideways. I pick up my chair and sit back down.

Jude looks stunned, disconnected. 'What does it mean?'

I don't have the words to answer him.

'Who gives you these visions?' he asks Dani.

'I don't know.'

Jude rolls his shoulders and cracks a joint in his neck. Dani flinches at the sound. 'Sorry,' he says, and takes a steadying breath. 'Do you know what Semyaza sees when he's watching us?' Jude asks.

I suppress a shudder. That sentence totally creeps me out.

Dani scratches the back of her hand. Her nails leave angry marks on her pale skin. 'I'm not sure, but every time I see Semyaza, the vision changes to show the three of us.'

'Doing what?' I ask.

'We're in a forest. You cut yourselves and I keep saying the same thing over and over again.'

'What do you say? Do you remember?'

She closes her eyes and wets her lips, and then speaks in a language I've never heard before. Guttural sounds, sounds that are barely human. But they reverberate in the marrow of my bones and my teeth itch. I clench my fingers into fists to still the trembling.

'Do you know what it means?' I ask and she shakes her head. I turn to Jude. 'Do you?'

He's staring at Dani, studying her as if she's the answer to a particularly challenging puzzle. 'No, but it has to be one of the tongues of angels. Why else would we not know it?'

Dani's fingers flutter to her lips.

'Does that mean an angel is sending her those visions?' I ask.

Dani isn't listening. She's still caught up in the idea she can speak an angelic language, her face filled with wonder. I don't feel wonder, I feel confused. And seriously freaked out. 'Why would they show you the Fallen?'

Dani finally registers I'm speaking to her. She stops touching her lips. 'There are things I don't see but that I sort of know when I come out of the trance. I think maybe Orias is my great-great-great-step grandpa, or whatever.' She looks from Jude to me. 'He's Jason's father,' she says, as if we didn't understand.