As Seb walked off, Alex was tempted to yank him back by the strap of his battered knapsack and take out Willow’s picture himself. Thinking about what he’d told Kara, Alex knew that it was true – he was certain the team could trust Seb; Willow’s psychic insights were never wrong about that kind of thing.

Whether he’d ever like the guy was a totally different matter.

I helped Liz with dinner that night, though things had gone pretty stiff between us. Not that we’d ever become bosom friends, but we’d at least started talking a tiny bit when we cooked together. Now her mouth was a thin line as she made the salad, and I knew it was because of Seb. When we’d first gotten back to the house, Alex had told everyone what had happened, his tone as matter-of-fact as if this kind of thing occurred every day. Even so, the team had been...surprised to have another half-angel suddenly appear. To put it mildly. That, plus the Council arriving early, had put everyone seriously on edge.

I set the table in silence. My own thoughts were still way too confused to try to alleviate whatever was going on in Liz’s head.

We both looked up as the door opened and Kara rushed into the kitchen. “Where’s Alex?” she said, yanking off her jacket. Without waiting for an answer, she called out towards the boys’ dorm, “Alex! Alex, we’ve got to talk!”

“What’s going on now?” asked Liz, wide-eyed.

“Luis is gone,” said Kara tightly. She paced the kitchen. “Totally gone; no sign of him. I went to his apartment and it’s just abandoned, like—” Alex came in, and she whirled towards him. “Alex! Luis is—”

“I heard,” he said tightly.

The others started arriving behind him as Kara explained. “He was visiting his family this weekend, but he was supposed to be home by now; I already had a date with him tonight,” she said, her words tumbling over themselves. “But there wasn’t any answer, so I let myself in, and...he’s just gone. I mean, his bag’s there, so he got home all right, but it’s still unpacked. There was a half-eaten sandwich on the table, and a cold cup of coffee...” She trailed off.

I bit my lip and glanced at Alex; he was standing behind one of the kitchen chairs, leaning on its back with both arms. “You didn’t try to call him, did you?” he asked sharply.