| |
“SO... WHO'S THE HOTTEST angel?” Alyx asks the question as she zips through pictures on her LightTab. When she shows me a shirtless picture of Archangel Michael, I'm slack-jawed—for multiple reasons. To begin with, I can't believe a shirtless picture of Archangel Michael actually exists. Also, he's huge. He's got giant pecs, giant abs, and giant arms. His body is basically a one giant muscle.
“In my opinion...” Alyx continues, “I'd pick Gabriel or Azrael. Gabriel has the most gorgeous curly brown hair I've ever seen. And Azrael? He's got this dark, broody, Angel of Death thing going on. Hell, I'd throw Amber in the mix too. I still think she's gorgeous.”
My answer comes easily. “I'd pick Jophiel.”
“Ehh... Jophiel's okay. Don't get me wrong, he's beautiful, and his freckles are cute, but I'm not really into blonde boys.”
I don't care if she's into him or not. It's less competition for me if she isn't.
Competition? Ha! As if I could get an angel to like me.
“Do you think angels can have sex?” Alyx asks—and a few seconds later, she looks horrified. “Hold up... can spirits have sex?”
“I have no idea.”
“Ask Taishi the next time you see him,” my roommate requests.
“I'm not asking him that!”
“Aww... why not? I need to know or I'll—”
Our conversation is interrupted by a loud bang on the door. When I peek into the hallway, I'm surprised to see Taishi. He's wearing his samurai clothes today—which is a really good look for him, if I'm being honest.
“Hey Taishi. What's up?” For some reason, he looks frazzled.
“We need to find Cynthia. Immediately.”
He says it with such urgency, one might think she was in grave danger or something. “What's wrong with Cynthia?”
“Nothing's wrong. It's good news, actually. She might finally have a chance to meet Colton.” When Taishi's eyes flicker over to Alyx, she exuberantly waves.
“Hey, Taishi!” She greets him like they're buddies, even though they're far from it. “I'm just wondering... can angels and spirits have sex?”
Oh my god. I can't believe she asked that. If spirits can blush, my face must be bright red right now.
Taishi ignores her question, which is a shame, because I was kind of curious myself. “I got Cynthia to visit the Victoria and Albert Museum, which isn't far from Colton's neighborhood. In fact, he should be passing the museum shortly.”
“How'd you get her to go there? Teach me your secret!”
“I manifested the museum's ads on her social media accounts. Then I showed her pictures from a Queen Victoria television show she enjoys. Basically, I implanted the idea in her mind,” Taishi explains. “She's at the museum right now, so we've got to go!”
“You did all this without me?” I unleash my poutiest pout and hope he feels guilty.
“Well... yes. Sorry.”
“I want to learn how to mess with social media!” I whine to my instructor as I follow him out of the room. “You never teach me anything cool!”
“Shhh.” Taishi's finger hovers over my lips, but he doesn't touch them. “I need to concentrate now.”
“On what?”
“On getting back down to earth.” Taishi takes my arm and closes his eyes. “It's not as easy as I make it look, Riley-san.”
He sounds like he's boasting, but I don't point it out. Before I know it, we're standing in front of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
“There she is!” Taishi exclaims, pointing at Cynthia. He sounds way too excited about a potential celebrity meet and greet. He's really dedicated to the cause—and to his 9.86 rating. “Follow her, Leigh! I'm going after Colton.”
“Okay, but... what am I supposed to do?”
“Stay with her and make sure she doesn't leave the area.”
“And what if she does try to leave? What am I supposed to do?”
“Try shouting at her like you did before,” Taishi suggests. “You seem to be good at that.” Before he goes, he slips a thoughtshare into my ear.
“Nooo! Not this thing again!” I whine. “I hate this device!”
“We need to stay in contact somehow. Don't complain.” With a hand on the hilt of his katana, Taishi dashes away to find Colton.
I can hear Taishi's thoughts as he chases after Cynthia's favorite actor. “This better work. If it doesn't, I'll have failed her. Leigh doesn't deserve to start out with a zero out of ten. I don't want to let her down.”
Awww, Taishi! I don't want you to feel that way! I intentionally communicate through my thoughts. Besides, we haven't failed yet! I think we've got a pretty good chance to succeed today.
“Stop listening to my thoughts, woman!” Taishi telepathically chides me.
Oh? But you're the one who slipped this stupid thing in my ear? Or did you forget? If it bothers you, I can always take it—
Taishi's thoughts drown mine out. “There he is!”
Who? Colton?
“Yes... Colton! Who else could I possibly be referring to?”
Geez. He didn't have to be an asshole.
Oops. In my mind, I just called Taishi an asshole, and I assume he heard that. Telepathic communication is still the weirdest thing in the world. I don't like to have someone in my head.
“Get her to leave the museum now, Riley-san!” My instructor transfers the command to my mind. “He's on a bike, and he's heading directly toward you.”
Oh god. Now I'm really feeling the pressure. If I still had a beating heart, I'm sure it would be racing right now. In full panic-mode, I dash into the museum and scream into Cynthia's ear. “YOU NEED TO LEAVE THIS PLACE. IT'S VERY BORING.”
I must get through to her a little bit, because a sneer suddenly creases her nose.
“You don't even like Victoria and Albert! Not really!” I scream at her. “You like the actors who play them, but you don't give a crap about the old royals! Not to mention, this porcelain teacup collection is stupid!”
“Is she leaving, Leigh?” Taishi telepathically asks. “Is she on her way out, because she needs to leave now!”
This is so intense, I'm about ready to pull my hair out. I didn't realize a celebrity encounter could be such a nail-biter. As loudly as I can, I yell, “GET OUT OF THIS MUSEUM RIGHT NOW, CYNTHIA WHITE!”
My scream is so effective, it not only chases Cynthia away, it also works on others. At the same time, a visiting old couple also decides they've had enough. As we leave the museum together, my eyes are so wide, I feel like they might pop out of my head.
Taishi suddenly drops a question into my mind. “You're leaving now?”
Yeah. We're on our way out. I think the thought and hope he hears it.
“Alright, Leigh. We're heading your way!”
I can see them at the end of the street—Colton Crane on his bike, and a supernaturally fast samurai chasing after him. When Colton and Cynthia are about to cross paths, my instructor resorts to drastic measures. He kicks one of Colton's wheels, knocking him off the bicycle.
“Oh my god!” I gasp. “Taishi... why did you do that?”
“Because I had to make this happen... no matter what,” Taishi says—but I think he looks a bit sheepish, especially when he sees the cut on Colton's forehead.
Cynthia rushes over to the scene of the wreck. She already looks surprised by the falling biker, but when she sees Colton's face, her surprise is tripled.
“Colton Crane?” she gasps. “Are you alright?”
When the actor sits up, he's rubbing a knot on his head. “I... think so?”
“Do you need me to call an ambulance or something?” There are a few other onlookers, but they mostly mind their own business. A lot of Londoners are like that. They don't pay much attention to anything that's going on around them.
“No. I don't think it's too bad.” As he rises from the pavement, Colton's face is contorted by a grimace.
“Are you sure?” Cynthia's grimacing too. I think she's trying to empathize with his pain.
“No. I'm alright. Thanks for checking on me.” Colton drags a hand through his dark brown hair. For a few seconds, Cynthia looks awed by the falling tendrils. I don't blame her. He does have gorgeous hair. “I should really wear a helmet next time, huh?”
“Yeah. That's probably a good idea.” Cynthia's cheeks are so red, it's adorable. This encounter has her blushing like crazy. “It, uh... it was really nice to meet you, by the way. I'm a huge fan.”
“Oh, really? Thank you! That's very kind of you,” he graciously replies.
“I actually went to see Ogres and Elks a few days ago, and I thought it was really good.”
She has to be lying, right? To this day, I still feel exhausted when I think about Colton's stupid play.
“Aww. Thanks. That's very sweet!”
I'm glad Colton's being nice. I always hoped he would be.
“Well, if you don't mind, I'm going to shove off,” Colton says. “I have a meeting with a producer in ten minutes, and I can't be late.”
“Sure... sure...” Cynthia nibbles her lip as she sidles away from him. “Seriously, though... it was awesome to meet you.”
As Cynthia and Colton part ways, I slowly turn to Taishi. He looks extraordinarily pleased with himself, despite having caused the bicycle crash.
“Wow...” As I speak, I pop out the thoughtshare and hand it to him. “After all that... their encounter only lasted two minutes.”
“At least we succeeded,” Taishi says. “And that means you've successfully completed your first mission. How do you feel?”
“I feel... alright.”
“Your rank will be ten out of ten,” he informs me. “You officially outrank me.”
“Pfft. Puh-lease. No one really outranks the great Taishi Nakamura!”
“The great Taishi Nakamura?” he repeats with a sly smile. “I like that. Can I officially change my name to that?”
Is he actually attempting humor—and was that a real smile on his lips? I'm stunned. I didn't think he was capable of smiling.
Our success must have put him in a good mood.
And you know what? I'm feeling pretty good about it too.