The deck was filled with women lounging by the pool and watching children play in the water. A few angels were posted along the railings. Some watched over the pool like lifeguards. Others gazed into the horizon with binoculars.
I sighed, relieved Ian wasn’t among them. Finally, one day without having to see his icy glare. He was starting to annoy me. Since the day he’d chased us away from the I-95, I couldn’t go anywhere without seeing him. He never said a word, though. He just watched me with accusatory eyes.
“You are so going down!” Lucy hollered as she ran to the surfing machine.
“Not this time!” Raffi cried back.
“Wait, Lucy! Raffi!” I grasped his thin arm, surprised by its strength. His cherub-like face gazed back at me with warm amber eyes, so like his sister’s. “Didn’t we just pull you out a few days ago with a broken nose?”
“I’ve been practicing. Besides, Val’s a healer.”
“A healer?” How did I not know that? That made sense. Her father, Raphael, was known as an angel of healing.
“Yeah, she’s good at it too. I can do a little, but I haven’t taken the advanced classes yet.”
“There are classes for that?” Tristan had mentioned attending an angel academy. I’d envisioned classes like history and music, cherubs learning to play the harp and stuff like that.
“Duh, how else are we gonna learn? The Thrones have specialized training according to the house they’re from.”
I chuckled, amazed by how much teen speak he’d picked up. He sounded like Lucy.
“I bet you flunked out and that’s why you’re down here,” Lucy taunted.
“Lucy! That’s not nice!”
Raffi’s cheeks pinked. “Yeah, well, Phanuel had it out for me, and the instructors didn’t’ want to get on his shit list…oh, crap! I mean, bad list. Don’t tell Val I cussed. She’ll take me back home herself for sure.”
“I won’t. I’ve heard worse.” My eyes darted to Lucy, who was giggling. “And you don’t have to explain. What’s wrong with you, Lucy?”
“Ugh, fine. Sorry. But I have a bald spot now because of him. See?” She lifted a braid that covered a small hairless gap.
“I’ll ask my sister if she could do something about it,” Raffi said, looking hopeful.
“I think she has better things to do than grow back Lucy’s hair. Here.” I handed him the surfboard. “Be careful.”
Lucy rolled her eyes. “We’re not babies.”
“Yeah, besides, Zac’s helping us.”
Zac stood by the surfing machine wearing nothing but swimming trunks. Waves of his damp golden hair rested on broad shoulders tanned by long days in the sun. You could literally see women drooling as they watched his every move. He waved Lucy and Raffi over.
“Okay, but don’t take too long. I’m sure Zac has better things to do. I’ll be with Hunter if you need me.”
Hunter sat near the pool with his guitar on his lap surrounded by children. Javi, Neto, Hali’s girls, and others sang along with him. He paused, singing the words, and then strummed the guitar as the children repeated the lyrics he was teaching them.
It was sweet. He was sweet. Over the past few days, Hunter had been kind and helpful, charming Gibbor, humans, and angels alike. He’d even managed to make Mrs. Carmichael smile.
After he had talked about Tristan and his family, I hadn’t wanted anything to do with him, especially since he was so friendly with Dorian. But when I overheard Hunter telling-off Dorian for making things up about Tristan and the other angels, I realized Hunter was trying to keep the peace. Hunter made sure everyone knew what he’d shared with us were only stories the Gibbor had heard about over the years, and he regretted ever mentioning them. When I asked Aunt Marmie, she looked embarrassed, saying the Gibbor did tend to enjoy their version of a soap opera. She said it was like Guiding Light: The Angel Edition.
I’d desperately wanted to talk to Tristan about it. But every time I even came close to the stairs leading to the I-95 corridor, Ian or one of his cronies in a black trench coat appeared.
There were times when I’d spotted Tristan in the distance, but before I could make my way over to him, he’d disappear.
I sighed as I made my way to Hunter, wondering if Tristan was avoiding me. He’d promised friendship, and I desperately missed him.
Hunter glanced up, his handsome face lighting up. His face quickly dropped, his brow furrowing with concern.
“Are you okay?” he mouthed.
I nodded, giving him a half-hearted smile. I placed the towels and backpack filled with drinks and snacks down on the ground and sank onto a deck chair. With Dorian dominating Jo and Tristan practically avoiding me, Hunter was the only person who seemed to check in on me. It was as if he sensed the melancholy behind my fake smiles. He always managed to make me laugh by telling me stories about his time in Austin and being part of the student group who looked after a longhorn steer, the university’s mascot.
There was a shriek followed by Lucy yelling, “Dude, again?”
All eyes turned to the surfing machine. Raffi was face down at the edge, his feet kicking the air.
“Hold on, Raffi!” Zac quickly pulled up his hair into a man bun and jumped in to grab him.
Smart move. Zac had seen Lucy’s bald spot.
“Teen angel over there bites the big one. Seriously.” Lucy tossed her surfboard on the floor beside me. She snatched up a towel and dried herself off.
I chuckled as Zac did his best to keep Raffi from grabbing his man bun. “I guess angels aren’t perfect.”
She plunged her hand into the backpack and took out a handful of candy and a couple of sodas. She tossed a can to me. “You think?”
“I’m glad you’re having fun with Zac, but you shouldn’t be taking up all his time. I’m sure he has important work to do on the ship.”
Plopping down next to me, she unwrapped a Blow Pop and popped it into her mouth. “He’s the one who wanted to do it, practically begged Val to let him, at least that’s what Raffi told me.”
“Why would Zac do that?”
Lucy scowled. “Why not? I’m delightful. That’s what he said.”
I laughed. “Yes, you’re fun to be with. What I meant was he’s a Throne, a leader. Hanging out with you and Raffi, no matter how delightful you are, is not what I imagine a leader would be doing.” Opening the can, I took a swig.
“I think it has something to with the time he manhandled Val.”
Brown droplets of soda spewed into the air. “What?”
“Oops! I wasn’t supposed to say anything. I promised Raffi.”
I wiped my chin, shocked that Zac would do such a thing. “Maybe manhandle means something different to angels?”
She took the candy out of her mouth, waving it as she spoke. “Nope, he hurt Val. He didn’t mean to, though. Raffi said they were arguing in the angel academy gardens. He couldn’t hear what they were saying. Did you know their angel powers don’t work in Heaven? I didn’t. Anyway, where was I? Oh. So, this was before Zac was going to marry some angel chick named Ana. Val didn’t want him to. She grabbed his arm and tried to stop him. Zac jerked away, trying to shake her off. Nearly tore her arm off.”
“Oh my god!”
“I know, right? He’s that strong! Anyway, he’s been trying to make it up to her ever since. Raffi says Zac hasn’t been the same since then.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s afraid of hurting anyone else. He holds back his strength.”
I thought back to when Zac held me when we flew out of Nevada. He’d kept asking if he was hurting me even though I could barely feel his grip.
“What else did Raffi tell you?” I asked, hoping that maybe he knew something about what was going on with Tristan.
“Something about Remi turning angels into babysitters. He clammed up right away after he said that, so I don’t know for sure what he was talking about. I’ll get it out of him soon enough.” She curled her fingers and pressed them into her palm, cracking her knuckles.
“Be nice, Lucy.”
“I am! But I need to know if Zac is still holding back his power. He’s supposed to be a fighter. He’ll get hurt.” Lucy gazed at Zac, doe-like eyes watching his every move.
“You like him,” I said in a sing-song voice.
She whirled about, her cheeks pink. “Do not!”
I lifted an eyebrow.
“I mean, he’s cool to hang with, but I don’t like him like that.”
“I wonder who did this for you.” I smiled, tugging one of her double Dutch braids. “Jo and Aunt Marmie don’t know how, and I know for a fact you didn’t do it yourself. I only know one person who braids hair like this. Not to mention, you’ve been wearing them for days. For someone who thinks they’re,” I lifted my fingers into air quotes, “lame, you sure seem to like them suddenly.”
“Well, that’s because…you see…it’s too hot to wear my beanie…and…stop laughing!”
“You’re cute.”
She stuck out her tongue. “I didn’t make fun of you and your face.”
“What’s wrong with my face?”
“You have this ‘Whoa is me’ face.” She placed an arm across her forehead dramatically. “I’m so sad. I can’t find my boyfriend.”
“Tristan’s not my boyfriend.”
“Ha! I didn’t say Tristan.”
I growled. “Okay, I’ll stop teasing, but for your information, Tristan and I are friends. And I’m not sad, I’m worried because I haven’t talked with him since we left the dock.”
She chomped on the Blow Pop, chewing thoughtfully for a moment. “If you’re such good friends, then why don’t you talk to him? I see him in the crew mess all the time.”
“I’ve tried, but …Wait. You’ve been down to the crew mess?”
“Pfft! I’m there every afternoon for lunch with Blaze. Seriously, where have you been? It’s like you’re not even on this ship.”
“How do you get past Ian and the Archangels?”
“I ignore him and keep on walking. He doesn’t scare me.”
My jaw dropped. I was in total awe of my little sister. Maybe I should take her down there with me and sic her on Ian.
“Zac said I had to apologize to you,” Raffi said, sitting down in the seat next to Lucy.
“Yeah, at least you didn’t try to balance yourself with my hair this time,” she snapped.
Zac! That was the answer. Zac could help me get to Tristan.
“Where’s Zac?” I scanned the deck. I didn’t see any angels. They’d all disappeared.
“Remi called for a meeting. Bor-ring! They stand around complaining about how we’re in danger. In danger of boredom, is more like it. Who cares if the ship is moving too slow? Don’t get me started about the early morning training. They won’t even let me hold a sword.”
I sat up, startled. “What’s wrong with the ship?”
His eyes grew wide. “Crap! Don’t tell anyone I told you.”
There was a pause in the music as Hunter hit the wrong cord, making the guitar squeal. The children covered their ears, laughing. He chuckled with them, giving me a wink before continuing to play.
“Nothing’s wrong, really,” Raffi said. “It’s just we should’ve reached the Hawaiian Islands by now.”
“And what about the training?”
“That’s no secret. The angels practice their sword fighting,” Lucy said. “Jo knows about it too. She’s there watching Dorian.”
“Can you believe they let him train with a sword? So not fair!” Raffi huffed.
“No way!” That was it. I had to find Jo. I couldn’t believe she hadn’t told me about any of this.
“Did you enjoy the show?” Hunter suddenly appeared. He gazed down at me with a twinkle in his eyes.
“Did you know about Dorian training with the angels?”
“Sure. Ian and his friends asked for volunteers.”
“And you turned them down,” Lucy snapped.
“I sure did, little lady. I’m a crooner, not a fighter.” He chuckled then turned to me. “Speaking of music, Ms. Marmie and some of the Guardians plan on having a slumber party for the little ones while the adults have a nice dinner and dance. I wanted to ask you if…” he whisked off his cowboy hat, placing it on his chest, “Ms. Karenna, would you do me the honor of being my date?”