The Crusaders rally, Seb realized. As they came out onto the Zócalo, they could see it – a solid, fist-waving mass of people gathered near the Palacio. Their auras were blood-red, merging together and throbbing towards the sky as the people chanted, so that the crowd looked like a single, angry creature. Seb stopped in his tracks, neck prickling. He’d seen auras like that before – usually around street gangs before a fight. Never around thousands at once.

Nearby, hundreds of people wearing angel wings had gathered, screaming just as furiously: “The angels will provide! If you have true faith, the angels will provide!” Though mostly damaged, their auras were a furious red too, straining towards the Crusaders. Dozens of grim-looking security guards patrolled the edges of the crowd, while overhead several angels cruised, with glinting wings.

Willow glanced at Seb. Her green eyes looked larger than usual, accented with eyeliner. “This really isn’t good,” she whispered to him, and he knew she meant the seething auras, rather than the angels on the hunt. Like him, she had to be picking up on the vibes of the rally too – the organized fury surging all around them.

“It’ll be all right,” he muttered back.

“Did we know this was happening?” demanded Sam, frowning at the scene.

Seb rolled his eyes. Sam had been watching it on the news with the others when he and Willow returned to the house the previous day. “Yes, we knew,” said Alex briefly, leading the way towards the cathedral. “It doesn’t affect us.”

Except that it did.

As they neared the Catedral de los Ángeles, they could see slow-moving lines snaking out the entrance; stretching all the way down to the tabernacle. “That doesn’t look right – the doors are supposed to be open by now,” said Kara. “Alex, I’m just going to go and check.” Before he could respond, Kara was running off, her long braided wig bouncing down her back.

Alex glanced towards the cathedral with a frown. “Here, everyone,” he said. He was carrying a large plastic bag; he dipped into it, passing out angel wings. As he handed a pair to Seb, their eyes met – Seb could see Alex’s controlled dislike of him. The feeling was mutual.