Free Human by Alycia Linwood Page A

explode.
    "If Heaven is so awesome, why are you here all the time?" I glared at him. It was a bit difficult to be angry with him when he was looking so pretty and innocent, but I had to stand my ground. My sister's place was here with her friends and me, not in some world she knew nothing about.
    "I have to be. It's my purpose to take care of situations like this one," he said proudly. "My presence here is of great importance for angels."
    I sighed; all of my anger seemed to have disappeared almost as fast as it had come. "I guess I have to do everything by myself."
    "If you change your mind, you know how to find me." He started walking away from me, his black boots leaving large footprints in the snow. If looks were daggers, his back would be full of holes. Why had I even thought he'd be willing to help me? Maybe angels weren't exactly how I pictured them, or Amadeo had spent too much time with humans. It didn't really matter because I was going to save my sister no matter what.

    My cell phone vibrated in the pocket of my tweed coat, making me jump. I froze when I saw an unknown number for which I was sure was Devin's. My hand was shaking a bit when I brought the cell phone to my ear.
    "Yes?" I said, trying to sound calm. There was a good chance it was a wrong number. Or maybe not.
    "Ariel?" Devin said softly, almost like a whisper. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Could he have found out about my little meeting with Amadeo?
    "Yeah, it's me. What do you want?" For some reason, I was glad he couldn't see the sneer on my face. He really knew how to pick the wrong moment to call. How dare he call me while I was plotting his murder? Now I was being rude.
    "Can you come to see me?" I had a feeling he was holding the cell phone somewhere in front of him because his voice sounded far away. Then I realized something. He hadn't just barked and yelled at me to come immediately; he'd actually asked me.
    "Why?" Just because he was being polite didn't mean he didn't want to send me to his homeland.
    "I need to... talk to you."
    "About what?" I stopped only a few steps from my street. There was no point in going home if I had to meet Devin somewhere. The only thing that worried me was that it was getting dark.
    "It's important," he said, a hint of desperation in his voice. "Please."
    "Umm, ok. Where are you?"
    "I'm near your house," he said, and I nearly dropped my cell phone. I looked around in panic, but couldn't see him anywhere. If my sister came out, would he recognize her for what she was? I needed to get him away from here and fast.
    "How do you know where I live?" If he had followed me and watched my house, then he knew about my sister. Oh, God.
    "Your friend told me."
    "You promised you wouldn't mess with her mind!"
    "I didn't. I simply asked her and she told me." He sounded honest, but that did nothing to calm me. Would Italia give him my address just like that? But then again, she believed we knew him.
    "Ok, wait for me near the supermarket," I said, hoping that would keep him away from Christina. The supermarket was on the other end of my street and there were always many people, so I didn't have to worry about being alone with a demon.
    "Ok," he said and I ended the call. Just at that moment my cell phone vibrated again and a message symbol appeared on the screen. It was my mom asking me if I was going to come to dinner because Christina was studying with her friend at her house. I felt instantly relieved, the tension draining out of my shoulders. Texting my mom to tell her I was planning to come to dinner, I hurried to get as fast as possible to the supermarket.

    Devin stood in the shadows, watching people scurrying around like ants and carrying loads of bags with groceries. As I neared him, I realized he was wearing only his black sweater, blue jeans and black boots. Wasn't he cold without a coat and gloves? I felt even colder just by looking at him.
    "Hey," I said, stopping not far from him, in the dim light of