Seb and Willow ran along the side of the cathedral. Her angel had returned to her, leaving them bathed in shadow. All at once, Seb stopped short, feeling both Willow’s sudden, pulsing fear and a rushing sensation like a wind tunnel: a huge flock of angels was heading right towards them. Oh god, their half-angel energy – Seb didn’t know if the angels would stop long enough to sense them; couldn’t take the chance. Too hurried to be gentle, he shoved Willow up against the rough stone wall of the cathedral, his body hiding hers as he grabbed hold of both their auras with his thoughts – struggling through sheer force of will to bring them so close to their bodies that they couldn’t even be seen, so that he and Willow were only shadows in the darkness.

Their auras seemed to scream in protest; Seb’s muscles shook with the effort to hold them in the unnatural position. Energy roared over his senses as more than fifty angels sped past barely a wing’s-length away, soaring over the cathedral.

The rushing faded. Mental silence, with only the physical sounds of fighting still going on. Abruptly, Seb became aware of how closely he was pressed up against Willow – the warmth of her body next to his. Letting go of their auras, he pulled away, feeling drained and trembling.

Willow’s eyes looked huge as they stared at each other. He saw her swallow. “I – I didn’t know you could do that,” she said. Distantly, the wailing of sirens filled the air.

Seb shook his head. “No, me neither,” he got out.

Behind them, the fighting was still going strong, though the angels who’d been joining in had departed, apparently joining the larger flock. There was the sound of breaking glass nearby; in the distance he saw a pack of dark figures running. A car on fire.

Suddenly Willow gasped. “Oh my god – Alex! I totally forgot—” She fumbled in her jacket pocket for the cellphone, then searched her other pocket, her expression turning frantic. “My phone’s not here! It must have fallen out in the cathedral—”

Seb slapped at his trouser pocket, but knew already he didn’t have his phone, either; he was so unused to carrying one that he always forgot it. The thought faded as he stared at the burning car. Without answering Willow, he reached for his angel self and flew upwards into the night, hovering above the cathedral as he scanned the streets around them.

The centro was on fire.