Taking Angels (The Angel Crusades) by CS Yelle Page B

has the
power to…” Trish started, unable to finish the thought.
To kill me. We all understood without her saying it. We
stared at her, our combined fear filling the room at the
prospect.
“We need to go over there,” Elisa insisted.
“I can’t ask you to put yourselves in danger like
that,” I protested.
“It’s the only way,” Trish agreed.
“We won’t let you go there alone,” Cassie added.
“If we go in the day it should be safer, more
chances to be caught if he does try something,” Trish
pointed out.
I nodded my agreement. It made sense.
The girls scurried, getting ready as I sat watching
them flit around me. It felt good to have them on my side.
I didn’t feel so alone anymore.
Chapter 8
    We sat in front of Allister’s house in Trish’s Jeep,
the top down, the wind blowing our hair in our faces in
the early Saturday morning hour.
    “Here’s the deal.” Trish glanced at me then turned
to look at Elisa and Cassie in the back seat. “We can’t tell
anyone else about this. It’s too unbelievable and it could
be dangerous if we let the Parks think we’ll out them on a
whim. It might force them to get rid of us to feel safe. We
need them to realize we’re here to protect our girl Britt,
that’s all. Now put your hands in here and swear.” She
stretched her right hand out so it hung suspended between
the seats. Elisa put her hand in, then Cassie and, finally, I
set mine on top of theirs.
    “We all swear we won’t tell a soul about what
Britt told us and we’ll keep Allister’s secret no matter
what it is.” She moved her gaze to each as she spoke and
finished with a nod. “This I swear,” she added.
“This I swear,” we said in unison.
     
“Now we have a pact that can’t be broken.” Trish
smiled.
    We marched up to the front door, standing on the
large porch with white railings and a porch swing on one
side. I reached up and swung the large metal knocker to
strike the door. The impact echoed inside the large house
and we waited impatiently before the closed door.
    “Well, I guess they’re not home,” I said, losing
my nerve and turned, starting to leave.
Elisa snagged me by my collar, pulling me back
just as the door opened inward and Angelina stood staring
at us, her head cocked to one side like a dog listening to a
high-pitched note no one else can detect. Her right
eyebrow lifted and her lips puckered as if she just tasted
something very unpleasant. She looked perfect as always,
not a hair out of place.
“May I help you?” she asked, her voice light and
soothing yet tinged with disapproval.
“Is Allister here?” I barely heard my own
whispered words.
She opened the door wider to usher us into the
foyer.
“Please come in.”
The ceilings stretched so high it reminded me of a
gymnasium. The stone floors shone sending our
reflection back at us, the dark surface like a deep, cool
pond.
“Would you please wait in the study?” Angelina
pointed to the doorway on our right.
We nodded and moved into the room lined with
cases filled with books. The shelving rose to meet the
high ceilings. A ladder, slid to one side, allowed access to
the far reaches of the highest shelves.
Angelina closed the door behind us and we moved
around the room, staring in awe. A large cherry wood
desk took up the entire end of the room in front of the big
bay windows facing the street. Overstuffed leather
furniture filled the room on the other side of the desk.
The chairs and couches showed wear from years, maybe
centuries, of use while reading the infinite volumes of
text lining the shelving. Their deep, rich brown leather
exuding a welcoming smell of worn leather beckoned us
to sit.
Trish tentatively sat down in a huge chair while I
eased onto a couch, the squeaking of the leather against
our jeans echoed around the room. Elisa and Cassie
moved behind the desk to stare out the window at the
street. The same street we’d driven down countless times
in our lives holding new