Wesley nodded, his expression softening a little. “Yeah, I’m fine.” Like everyone, he got along well with Trish; Alex wouldn’t be surprised if he’d even told her about his family having angel burn. She touched his arm, unconvinced.

“Man, that’s gotta hurt,” said Sam, wincing. Then he noticed Sophie, and scowled. “Who’s this?”

Looking back, Alex saw the police had arrived in full force now, and were sweeping through the square. “CIA,” he said. “It’s okay, we can trust her. Come on, we’ve got to get out of here.”

Sophie’s poise had returned, so that now she was as cool and businesslike as he remembered. “My truck’s parked nearby – let’s go.” She led the way, hurrying across the square.

Liz glanced around as the team followed. “Wait, where are Willow and Seb?”

“I don’t know,” bit out Alex, walking in long strides. “Hopefully still alive.”

Liz started to say something else and stopped, looking stricken. Kara cleared her throat. “Hey, is Miss CIA who I think she is?” she asked, obviously changing the subject.

Alex had told Kara what had happened the day of the Second Wave – how Sophie had left Willow at the cathedral with no escape plan. “Yeah, that’s her,” he said grimly.

Sam was still glowering with suspicion. As they reached the street, he hauled Alex to one side. “That’s who? She’s not another half-angel, is she?” he hissed.

And despite everything, Alex almost laughed. “No, Sam. She’s not another half-angel.”

It took us over half an hour to walk to Tepito by back streets. The sandals pinched at my feet; I ignored them and walked even faster. When I peered over my shoulder, I could still see a reddish glow in the sky over the centro; hear the incessant blaring of sirens. Once there was a distant explosion – a burning car, maybe. My breath clutched at the sound; for a second I almost went faint, seeing again the bodies in the cathedral. Seb glanced at me in concern, his fingers tightening around mine. We hadn’t stopped holding hands since we’d started walking. Distantly, I supposed I should pull away, but there was no way I could have brought myself to, right then. If it hadn’t been for the warmth of Seb’s hand, I’d have gone crazy.

Swallowing hard, I searched mentally for Alex again. At first there was nothing, and then faintly, through the chaos of my mind, came the familiar feel of his energy. It was like getting a static-y radio station, but it was there. He was alive. That was pretty much all I could tell, and in a way it was enough – though remembering the cold look that had been in his eyes before Seb and I went into the cathedral, my heart ached even more than before.