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"Fine" He rolled his eyes "Then do it for Grigori Stay on carass, rolled back his shoulders, and unfurled his wings "I can't always be here to watch over you And God knows Grigori can't"

Caht behind his shoulders, sleek and gold and ecked with brindled stripes of black She wished they repulsed her, but they didn't Like Steven's wings, Cah they'd survived a lifetis a dark, sensual quality There was sonetic about the about Cas once, lifting his feet o the ground The wings' apping was tremendously loud and kicked back a swirl of wind that raised leaves froround

"Thank you," Luce said, crisply, before he coasted under the deck Then he was gone in the shadows of the woods

Ca her now? Where was Daniel? Wasn't Shoreline supposed to be safe?

In Cam's wake, the Announcer--the reason Luce had come down here in the rst place--spiraled up from its shadow like a small black cyclone

Closer Then a little closer still

Finally, the shadoandered into the air just over her head

"Shelby," Luce whispered loudly "Get down here"

Shelby looked down at Luce At the cyclone-shaped Announcer teetering over her "What took you so long?" she asked, sprinting down the stairs just in time to watch the whole ht into Luce's arms

Luce screamed--but luckily, Shelby clapped a hand over her ainst Shelby's ngers

The girls were still huddled three steps down froht cross over to the shady side Luce couldn't straighten her knees under the weight of the shadow It was the heaviest one she'd ever touched, and the coldest on her skin It wasn't black like ray Parts of it were still twitching, lighting up like bolts of distant lightning

"I don't have a good feeling about this," Shelby said

"Come on," Luce whispered "I su"

"My turn? Who said anything about edon earth she wanted to do was touch the beast in Luce's arms "I know I said I'd help you track down your relatives, but whatever kind of relative you've got in hereI don't think either of us wants tofroeneral nastiness of the shadow "I'm not a Nephilim If you don't helpto do?" A voice behind them from the top of the stairs Steven had his hands clairls He see over them, as if he had doubled in size His deep brown eyes looked stor o them, and she was scared Even the Announcer in her arirls were so startled they screamed

Jarred by the sound, the shadow bolted from Luce's arms It moved so fast she had no chance to stop it, and it left nothing behind but a freezing, foul-s Luce could sense all the other kids trooping o toward the mess hall for lunch On his way out, Miles stuck his head over the railing and peered down at Luce, but he took one look at Steven's red-hot expression, widened his eyes, and

"Luce," Steven said,me after school?"

When he lifted his hands o the railing, the wood underneath them was scorched black

Steven opened the door before Luce even knocked His gray shirt was a bit wrinkled and his black knit tie was loosened at the neck But he had regained the appearance of serenity, which Luce was beginning to realize took e ort for a derammed handkerchief and stepped aside

"Please coh for a large black desk, just long enough for three tall black bookshelves, each one crammed with hundreds of orn books But it was coined a demon's o ce would be like There was a Persian carpet in the center of the roo east at the redwoods Now, at dusk, the forest had an ethereal, almost lavender hue

Steven sat down in one of two maroon desk chairs and motioned for Luce to take the other She surveyed the frasawed onto every spare inch of the wall Most of thenized a few sketches of Steven hi depictions of Francesca

Luce took a deep breath, wondering how to begin "I'm sorry I summoned that Announcer today; I--"

"Have you told anyone about what happened with Dawn in the water?"

"No You told me not to"

"You haven't told Shelby? Miles?"

"I haven't told anyone"