Blood and Feathers by Lou Morgan Read Free Book Online

anywhere in this dump that’s safe to sit?”
    “Not you as well,” Mallory muttered from somewhere near the sink, where he was unpacking his shopping bags. He seemed to have bought a lot of bread, and even more teabags, and little else. “Alice spent the night on the sofa and appears to have survived. Although a gentleman should never sit while a lady is standing.”
    “Mallory,” said Vin, sitting on the sofa and putting his feet up on the table, “You know perfectly well that I have never claimed to be a gentleman.” He beamed at Alice and patted the seat next to him. “Go on. My arse isn’t that big. And I don’t bite. Well, not hard.”
    Alice suddenly couldn’t help herself. She laughed. “I’m fine, thanks. And what kind of name is Vin, for an angel?”
    “Couldn’t very well go around calling myself Vhnori on Earth now, could I? Doesn’t exactly blend in. So people call me Vin.”
    “And by people, you mean...” Alice realised he was smirking at her again, and changed the subject. “So what’s Mallory’s real name?”
    “Mallory.” The answer came from under the sink. “Just plain, unambitious Mallory. Told you I was boring.” He stood up and rubbed his hands together. “Alice, Vin is a friend of mine. You can trust him as you would me. When Gwyn told me we had...”
    “Don’t tell me he’s around?” Vin cut across Mallory’s words. It was becoming clear that Gwyn was not terribly popular among the other angels, or at least, not among the angels she had met. This didn’t really surprise Alice. Mallory snorted. “Don’t be an idiot, Vin. Of course he’s around. You don’t think he’d rely on me to take care of her all on my own now, do you?”
    “D’you think he ever gets tired of being a babysitter?” Vin asked, ducking to avoid the smack that Mallory aimed at the back of his head.
    Alice stared at them both with wide eyes. She could still hear Mallory’s voice in her head telling her that angels weren’t exactly the most pleasant of characters, and yet these two seemed to be the opposite of everything he had described. As one, they turned to stare straight back at her, and she felt her cheeks flush. “I know what you’re thinking, Alice,” Mallory said quietly. “But you have to ask yourself why we’re down here. Gwyn’s a Descended, and we’re both Earthbound. Remember that.”
    “Give the girl a break, Mallory. You’re always so serious – lighten up! Besides, I brought you a present.”
    “Did you?”
    “I was a couple of streets away when I picked her up.”
    “Picked who up?” Mallory’s hand crept to the back of his belt. Suddenly, Alice wasn’t sure she liked the way their conversation was going, but, again, it was almost like Mallory could read her mind. “It’s alright, Alice. I’ve been expecting it. It’s one of the Fallen. They were bound to try their luck sooner or later.”
    “I thought you said it was safe here?”
    “I did. It is. But that’s not to say it’ll stop them from trying.”
    “And out there, it’s one of the Twelve?”
    Vin was on his feet. “The Twelve? The Twelve? You failed to mention the Twelve were loose. Slip your mind, did it?”
    “Oh, stop whining. If it was one of the Twelve who followed you, you wouldn’t be standing there getting lippy with me. ‘Her,’ you say? Who is it? Lilith?”
    “The one and only. Haven’t seen her for a while, and let me tell you: time has not been kind.”
    “Where’d you leave her?”
    “In the churchyard, round the back. She’s not going anywhere.”
    “In that case” – Mallory gestured to the door – “I’ll meet you there.”
    Vin nodded, looking first at Mallory and then at Alice, and with a smile that was just a little less bright than the one he’d flashed when he walked in, he ducked out through the door. Mallory pulled out his flask, shook it and, remembering it was empty, picked up a bottle from the floor. He refilled it carefully, taking a swig and then