Free Flying High by Annie Dalton Page B

said Lola.
    Reuben gave her a serene smile. “I guess we do what he says.”
    Lola looked appalled. “Give the device to the evil de Winters! Are you crazy!”
    A strange calm flowed into me, a welcome sign that my angel intuition had totally kicked in. “Reuben’s right,” I said. “Come on guys, we’re going to a party!”
     
    We stole down the drive to the headmaster’s house, careful to keep in the shadows. As we got closer to the house, a terrible tiredness came over me. Like, ‘What is the point?’
    There was no way we could pull this off alone - and no matter what anyone said, we were totally alone. With our tags out of action, we couldn’t even call home for back-up.
    If the Agency really cared about us, they wouldn’t put us through this, I thought miserably. It’s simply too much responsibility. We’re just kids! We’re not even properly trained yet.
    It was an effort just to keep walking by this time. It felt as if I had invisible stones in my pockets weighing me down.
    Lola whispered, “Anyone else getting a PODS vibe?”
    Reuben pulled a face. “Just a bit.”
    Lola gave a low chuckle. “That’s a relief! For a moment, I thought I was having a major crack-up!”
    My depression vanished like magic. “Totally,” I hissed. “I can’t believe I almost fell for that old doom ‘n despair routine!”
    “Me neither. I suppose we should have expected it,” whispered Lola. “The de Winters might be human, but they’ve been in cahoots with the PODS since history began. This place must be saturated with evil vibes.”
    “It is. You can feel it.” Reuben tapped his solar plexus. “But it’s so pretty here, you think you’re imagining it.”
    We had almost reached the house. By this time, the atmosphere was totally hideous. Lola said it was like wading through evil cosmic treacle. Normally we’d use our tags to access extra angelic protection. Unfortunately this was not an option.
    The house was absolutely ablaze with light. No-one had drawn the curtains, so we could see into the downstairs rooms. It was the most luxurious place I’d ever seen, like a celebrity’s house from a twenty-third century copy of Hello!
    We slipped through a side entrance and crept stealthily up a velvety carpeted corridor. I heard chinks of crockery and a murmur of voices.
    Passing an open door, we saw staff in uniforms bustling around a vast dining room, smoothing crisp tablecloths, buffing up silver and twitching at gorgeous flower arrangements, making everything perfect for the big party. And everything was indescribably perfect, yet something made me want to bolt out of that house and never come back. My mates obviously felt the same way, because at the same moment they grabbed hold of my hands.
    “Ahh, that’s so touching. Excuse me while I puke,” said a mocking voice in my ear. Brice hadn’t gone away after all. He’d just made himself invisible.
    “Are you trying to give me heart failure?” I snapped. “What are you doing here, anyway?”
    “You didn’t seriously think I’d trust my brother to a bunch of little halo polishers?” Brice inquired.
    I was completely confused. “But you said your family would see you.”
    “I said I couldn’t let myself be seen . My people might run with the PODS, but they don’t interact with the dead , sweetheart!”
    “So if you’re here, why do you need us?” hissed Lola.
    “I told you, Sanchez. We’re going to save Dom. My way.”
    You can’t glare at someone who’s invisible, so I had to resort to sarcasm. “You just ooze charm, don’t you,” I said in disgust.
    “Oh, he oozes ,” said Lola scornfully. “But charm? I don’t think so.”
    “Will you give the guy a break?” sighed Reuben.
    “Hey, buddy, I can stand up for myself, you know!” objected Brice’s disembodied voice.
    This was definitely the weirdest situation of my short angel career.
    OK, so I admit I still haven’t quite finished reading The Angel Handbook, but I’ll bet