A minute after they go Van says that she, Annalise, and Nesbitt are returning to the bunker and that Gabriel will stay with me here while I try to make contact with Marcus. We’ll all meet again at the Red Gourd in a week.
I have a short time to say good-bye to Annalise. I pull her over to the side of the room, not to talk but just to hold her and say good-bye quietly, without everyone staring at us, which they are doing anyway, except for Gabriel, who is standing at the bar with his back to us.
“Are you worried about your father joining the Alliance?” she asks.
“A bit. But I don’t think he’ll join anyway. I don’t think he’ll be interested, not in me, not in the rebels.”
“You’re his son. He cares about you. He found you for your Giving.”
“That’s different. He made it as short and as unsweet as possible. He doesn’t trust me. He won’t fight with me. And I can’t see him following Celia’s orders and acting ‘like a soldier.’ It just won’t work.”
Annalise kisses me and says, “Talking of working with Celia, I’m so proud of you, that you agreed to work with her after how she’s treated you in the past, what you’ve been through with her.” She kisses me again and leans close. “You’re my hero. My prince.” She kisses my ear and then whispers, “I love you.”
And I’m not sure I’ve heard her right but I know I have and I don’t know what to say.
She moves to kiss my lips and look into my eyes, and with her lips close to mine she whispers again, “I love you.”
And I think I ought to say it back but it’s really difficult and I’m sure everyone’s listening, and then she says, “I’ve got to go. They’re waiting.”
And I kiss her.
And I’ve still not said it.
And she’s moving away from me and I pull her back and I put my lips to her ear and I manage to say it, incredibly quietly. And she starts to giggle and I can’t help but smile. And we kiss again. And then harder and I’m not bothered about the others anymore.
There’s a loud cough and clearing of the throat from Nesbitt. Annalise giggles again but I keep kissing her until she slides out of my grasp.
And they’re gone.
And it was over too quick but I did say it and so did she. And we’ll be together again in a week. Just one more week and I’ll see her again.
Peanuts
We’re still in the pub. Gus and I are sitting in the booth. Gabriel is standing at the bar, sipping a beer and eating a bag of nuts, occasionally throwing one up in the air and catching it in his mouth. Gus is bigging himself up, and his role in this “mission,” and I’m trying my best to knock him down. It’s childish of him and of me, and I’m not sure which of us is the bigger kid.
Gus says, “Marcus has a few contacts in the Black Witch community. Those he knows he can trust and rely on, those who will never betray him.”
“Is anyone stupid enough to try?” I ask.
Gus ignores me. “Marcus likes to know what’s happening in the world. But he rarely goes to gatherings these days. He relies on me for information.”
“Just you? Didn’t you say he has a few contacts?”
“It doesn’t matter who else he uses.”
“So you don’t know who they are.”
“What is important is that he trusts me.”
“You’re very honored.”
“What I am is extremely discreet and equally cautious.”
I yawn.
“I leave messages for him in a secret place and he picks them up. He knows I’ll be leaving him another message in the next twenty-four hours.”
I stretch and look over to Gabriel. He’s moved on from catching the peanuts to missing them and sending them bouncing off his nose and cheeks.
I’m telling myself this is serious; in fact, it is very serious—if not deadly serious—but Gabriel seems to think that the mood needs to be lightened and he’s doing his best to make me smile. He throws a handful of nuts up in the air and turns to look at me, mouth open as the nuts shower over him, and I snigger.
Gus can’t see Gabriel from where he’s sitting but looks round and works it out. “You can clear that mess up now!” he shouts and Gabriel does a mock salute and throws another nut in the air, which he catches perfectly in his teeth and crunches on.
Gus says to me, “You’re like children.”
I shout to Gabriel, “Gus thinks we’re not serious enough!”
Gabriel replies, “Gus doesn’t know us very well at all.”
“That’s fine with me.”
Gus curls his lip. “And with me too.”
“OK. So we leave a message for Marcus to meet me somewhere,” I say.
“No, dipshit. You wait for him where I leave the messages. You’re the message.”
I swear at him and ask, “When?” I expect him to say dawn or midnight or something like that.
Instead he says, “Now. The sooner you’re out of my sight, the better.”
“I need some lunch first, for me and Gabriel. We’ll go after that.”
Gus sneers. “This is more important than your stomach.”