On the way upstairs I met Morgan, who was exiting the bathroom, toothbrush in hand. "Hi Lucas!" She was all sunshine and rainbows, as usual.

"Hey, Morgan" I shoved my hands in my jacket pockets and leaned against the wall."Where'd you vanish to?"

"Went for a walk." She flashed me a smile that could have been a crest commercial. "Oh! And Aden phoned a couple minutes ago, they said to tell you that their man contacted them, and your friend and her family are fine. Apparently they're sheltering with a bunch of families in the school gym or something."

"Oh thank god." I leaned back against the wall, clunking my head on the wood a little. Relief rushed through me. "Thank god."

Morgan smiled. "Friend of yours?"

"Best friend, yeah. I'm really relieved she's alright."

"Well, good." Morgan tucked her toothbrush into her nightgown pocket, and the brush stuck up over it slightly. "Say, have you looked around the church yet? It's pretty neat. I just finished looking outside. The vineyard is really cool."

"Oh yeah? Further exploring, huh?" I nodded, and swallowed, then asked, "You know how Aden can see ghosts?"

"Yes, all Malake ha-Mawet can." Morgan started walking toward our rooms and I followed.

"Well, uh...can you?"

Morgan shook her head. "I don't see them, sorry."

"Oh." I felt sort of relieved and disappointed at the same time. Had I really wanted to know the answer to what I'd been about to ask her?

"Your sister?" Morgan stopped at the doorway to my room, and I remembered how I'd found the cardboard box half opened. My expression must have darkened because she said hastily. "The only reason I know is because when I first arrived in your closet I knocked the box over and the pictures fell on the floor." Her cheeks flushed, and in spite of how annoyed I felt, my brain was making a mental note about how cute she looked right now.

"I'm really sorry, Lucas."

My senses were muddled when I watched her lips form my name, and I wished she would say it a few more times. It'd never sounded so good. 

Had we been standing this close before? I was suddenly hyper aware of her, the fruity smell of her shampoo, mingled with something else. Strawberry lip gloss? Her lips were so red and her skin, her perfect, pale skin...

I badly wanted to reach out and touch it, to run my fingers across the smoothness of her shoulder, onto the side of her neck, clasp her cheek and kiss her. The urge was so overwhelming that I nearly trembled, holding myself back. What if she didn't want me to? What if...

Our faces were so close. To my shock she reached up and ran a fingertip over my cheek, sending a trail of tingles in its wake. She moved closer, pressing her body into mine. Then she grabbed my hands and placed them on her waist. It was a struggle to continue breathing regularly.

"Go ahead," she whispered.

I faltered. "With what?"

"Kissing me."

Finally I did what I ached to do. Her skin was every bit as soft as I'd imagined, and when my lips met hers I tasted strawberries. It lasted for about ten glorious seconds, and then we heard footsteps come thumping up the stairs toward us.

"Shit," Morgan whispered. She whirled around, and I gave a grunt of surprise as she planted a hand in the center of my chest and shoved. I stumbled into my dark bedroom. 

Morgan, silhouetted by the light in the hall hissed at me,"That never happened," and shut the door firmly, leaving me to fumble for the light switch. What the hell was that about? I paused to listen, hearing Morgan greet someone in her usual cheerful fashion. The reply was a low murmur, but I thought it was probably Aden. What was with the secrecy?

The church's endless quiet was starting to get on my nerves. I was used to traffic and noise, car alarms and people yelling. You would think I would welcome the silence, but after awhile it was too deep. Almost eerie. I joined the other's in the common room, trying to immerse myself in noise and chatter, but it was evident that they were also feeling the effects of cabin fever.

"Where's the damn Malake," Freckles snapped as I walked in. "Is she with you?"

"No," I stammered. "I don't know where she is."

"No one's seen her for this entire day. What exactly is she up to? For all we know she's contacting Sloan."

"And telling him what exactly?" Tiny scoffed, shifting in his chair the huge black man glared down at Freckles. " It's not like our location is a secret. You need to just relax, that's all."

"Don't tell me to relax." Freckles glared back at him. "Who put you in charge?"

"Stop acting like a bunch of adolescents." Amazon scolded them. "Honestly."

Freckles ignored her. He stood up and faced Tiny, and I would probably have laughed, if the tension in the room hadn't been so electric. Tiny made Freckles look like a midget by comparison.

"I said...who put you in charge?" Freckles spat.

I shouted and dove backwards as Tiny strode forward, landing a solid blow on Freckles jaw, which sent the red head spinning in an almost a complete circle before he hit the ground with a muffled thud. Freckles should have been unconscious and bleeding, from the weight of his opponents swing. Instead he jumped up and came at Tiny with a savage yell. I gasped as he swung at Tiny, landing a blow on the side of his face. Amazon backed up and took a seat at the table beside Aden. 

The girls were watching the fight with mild amusement. As Tiny shook off the blow and came at Freckles again, Amazon began to pour Aden a cup of tea. Bignose and Curly didn't look at all put out either, and I realized this must be a fairly normal occurrence for the Malake ha-Mawet.

I jumped back again, taking shelter behind one of the tattered arm chairs as the two men rolled onto the floor, punching and biting and yelling. The blows they were landing would have probably killed a normal human being. By now they were both bleeding, Tiny from a split lip and Freckles from his nose, which was crooked and gushing. The wall shook when they crashed into it, and books rained off the bookshelves onto their writhing forms. One second they were clawing, biting and punching and the next second they were on opposite sides of the room, panting and staring at one another. Tiny shook his head, drawing a sleeve across his bloody mouth. Freckles was bent double, hand on his knees, blood dribbling onto the carpet.

"Feel better? Good. Do not ask me or Aden to clean that up." Amazon took a sip of her tea and looked at the men pointedly. "Go get a tea towel for that nose, boy."

Freckles limped into the kitchen, and I could hear him opening drawers.

"He can barely see past the blood," Amazon said to Tiny. "Go on and help him."

To my surprise, he shrugged and shuffled into the kitchen. More drawers opening, and then the dull murmur of deep voices from the kitchen. Aden caught my stunned expression, she smiled and said,

"It's no big deal, happens if the boys get too antsy. I was expecting a fight sooner, to tell you the truth."

"No wonder the Malake isn't here," Amazon said crossly. "It's because the girl has got enough sense to stay away from these meatheads."

I looked at her with wide eyes. "They wouldn't try to fight her would they?"

"Oh heavens, no." Amazon laughed. "They're not that stupid. They just beat up on one another when they get bored, that's all."

Aden raised a brow at me. "Besides, the Malake are more then capable of holding their own. Don't take in those big blue eyes and the angelic blonde curls and think she's a sweet little angel. They're not."

Beefcake laughed from his seat on the sofa. "Too true! My cousin had his nose knocked in by one of those bastards before. They're just as deadly in a fight as we are, so get if you've got pictures of dainty little angels with wings and halos in your head, you can get them right back out again. That's not reality at all."

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xoxox - E