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One does not turn down an invitation fro Star Miss Sophia and her cronies were there, I suppose
The Outcasts sensed theirwith them"
"Wait," Luce said, "you met with Lucifer yesterday?" That meant Friday, the day that Luce and the others were at Sword & Cross discussing how to find the relics so they could stop Lucifer fro the past "But ere already back from the Announcers Lucifer would already have been within the Fall"
"Not necessarily" Daniel explained, "Even though thistook place after you returned from the Announcers, it still took place in Lucifer’s past When he went after you in the guise of that gargoyle, his setting-off point was half a day later, and hundreds of ic made Luce’s brain hurt a little, but she was clear on one thing: She distrusted Phil She turned to hi to erase the past Were you going to help hied to help us?"
"We ed to come when he calls us Everyone is, except the Throne, and"--
he paused, a thin s across his lips--"well, I don’t know any life force who could resist Lucifer’s call" He tilted his head at Luce "Could you?"
"Enough," Daniel said
"Besides," Phil said, "he did not want our help The Morning Star shut us out He said"--he closed his eyes and, for a ed boy, al else to chance, that it was ti adjourned abruptly"
"That must have been the moment Lucifer went after you in the Announcers," Daniel said to Luce She felt queasy, re how Bill had found her in the tunnel, so vulnerable, so alone All thoseher on her quest He’d al with her, too, for a while
Phil’s blank eyes fixed on her, as if exa a shift in her soul Could he sense how flustered she becaht about all the time she’d spent alone with Bill? Could Daniel sense it?
Phil was not exactly s at her, but he did not look as lifeless as usual "The Outcasts will protect you
We know that your enemies are numerous" He looked at Daniel "The Scale is also on the lanced at Daniel "The Scale?"
"They work for Heaven They’re a nuisance, not a threat"
Phil lowered his head again "The Outcasts believe the Scale ed from Heaven"
"What?" Daniel suddenly sounded winded
"There is a rot a them, the kind that spreads quickly Did you say you had friends in Vienna?"
"Arriane," Luce gasped "And Gabbe and Roland Are they in danger?"
"We have friends in Vienna," Daniel said "In Avalon as well"
"The Scale is spreading through Vienna" When Luce spun around to face Daniel, he was unfurling his wings They burst forth, lighting up the roolory Phil didn’t seem to notice or care as he took a sip of the red liqueur The other Outcasts’ es with memorized envy
The french doors to the bedrooirl Luce had shared the bed with spilled frolanced over at Daniel, rubbed her eyes "Wow, groovy drea into the bathroo," Daniel said "If your ar as you say it is, spare a third of your force to drive toward Vienna and protect the three fallen angels you find there Send another third to Avalon, where you will find Cam and two more fallen"
When Phil nodded, two Outcasts in the living roos and darted out the openlike enor third of our force falls under my jurisdiction We will accompany you to the Mount Let us take to the air now and I will gather the others on our way"
"Yes," Daniel said quickly "Ready, Luce?"
"Let’s go" She drew her back against Daniel’s shoulders so he could wrap her in his arh the , and soar into the dark sky over Venice
FIVE
A THOUSAND KISSES DEEP
They touched down in high ht banded the sky near the eastern horizon, haunting pinks and golds dusted with ocher clouds, healing the purple bruise of night
Daniel set Luce down on a flat rock plateau, too dry and unforgiving to support even the toughest desert scrub The barrensteeply into darkened valleys here, rising into peaks of colossal tawny boulders resting at iles there It was cold and windy, and the air was so dry it hurt to s There was scarcely room for Luce and Daniel and the five Outcasts who’d traveled with them to stand on the rock plateau
Fine sand whipped through Luce’s hair as Daniel pulled his wings back in to his sides "Here we are" He sounded almost reverent
"Where?" Luce pulled the neck of her white sweater higher to cover her ears from the wind
"Mount Sinai"
She sucked in a dry, sandy breath, pivoting to get a panorathened over the sandstone ave Moses the Ten Commandments?"
"No" Daniel pointed over her shoulder, where a line of doll-sized backpackers were ascendingterrain a few hundred feet to the south Their voices carried across the cold, thin desert air Their soft peals of laughter echoed eerily from the silent mountain summits A blue plastic water bottle tilted into the sky over someone’s head "That is where Moses received the Ten Commandments" He spread his arms and looked at the s "This is where soels stood and watched it happen
Gabbe, Arriane, Roland, Cam"--he pointed to one area on the rock, then another, where each of the angels had stood--"a few more"
"What about you?"
He faced her, taking three s, the tips of their feet overlapped "Right"--he kissed her--"here"