“She’s picking off the guardians?”
I eyed the fat stack. “Apparently, she’s pretty good at it. So, where’s the last guardian?”
“Lucky number seven?” Alex shrugged. “Don’t know. But I plan on finding him before Ophelia does.”
“And finding the Vessel.”
Nina came and sat at the table with us, leaning closer. “So back to this Ophelia chick. How do you know all this stuff about her?”
I saw the muscle twitch in Alex’s jaw. “Ophelia and I had a history.”
“Define history,” Nina said, one black eyebrow arched.
“Nina!” I hissed, secretly thankful for my best friend’s reliable nosiness.
“I’m asking because ‘history’ could mean a lot of things to people like us.” Nina gestured to herself and to Alex. “Like, we used to hit the movies together, or we assisted in overthrowing the Soviet power structure together.”
Alex looked at Nina, alarmed.
“She’s always had a thing for Russians,” I explained. “So, just for clarity’s sake, which was it? Dating or ... history?”
Alex suddenly became very interested in spearing his next bite of dinner. “The first one,” he finally murmured.
I swallowed, suddenly very aware of my stomach, of the mu shu pork that sat like a steel fist at the bottom of my gut. I forced a wan smile anyway. “How nice” was all I could muster.
Nina sat back in her chair. “So, this seems pretty cut and dry to me. Ophelia follows the Vessel, we follow Ophelia, nick the Vessel from her, and, bada-bing, bada-bang”—Nina slapped her hands together—“we hightail it to Rome to do some shoe shopping.”
“It’s not that easy. We need to find the Vessel before Ophelia does. That’s the bottom line. Once it’s in her hands, this world is as good as over.”
“Dramatic.”
I glared at Nina and let Alex continue.
“I figure I can hold off Ophelia while you go after the Vessel.”
Nina crossed her arms, shaking her head decidedly. “We don’t do minion work.”
Alex’s eyes were set hard as he glanced at Nina and me. “You need to stay away from Ophelia. She’s—she’s not like anything you’ve ever seen at the UDA.” I opened my mouth to protest, but Alex held up a silencing hand. “She’s evil incarnate.”
“But you don’t need to stay away from her?” I asked.
“She’s not going to expect me coming after her when the Vessel is near. I think she’ll assume I’m after the Vessel, too. Again.”
Nina arched an eyebrow. “Again?”
“Alex, um, was responsible ...”
Alex shrugged. “I lost the Vessel the first time. I went after it, found it, and then lost it.”
“How do you lose an ancient artifact stuffed with human souls? Did you leave it at the donut shop? Maybe trade it for a couple of maple glazed?”
I watched Alex’s jaw tighten. The taking—and losing—of the Vessel of Souls was a sore subject for him. I cleared my throat and tried to give Nina the look of death—loosely translated as “shut up already”—but she persisted.
“I mean, if I’m going to risk my afterlife to help you ...”
“You don’t have to risk anything. I asked for Sophie’s help.”
“Okay, if my best friend is going to risk her first life to help you ...”
“When Alex was in favor—” I started.
“I got duped, okay?” Alex said. “I heard about the Vessel, I lusted for it, I stole it, and then someone stole it from me.”
Nina sat back, impressed. “Way to get your wings cut off, lust monster.”
The look of sadness in Alex’s eyes stung. I wanted to slip my arms around him, to brush the clutch of curls that lolled over his forehead, but the air suddenly seemed heavy and charged. Somehow, a heartfelt “there, there” didn’t seem to suffice for someone who had stolen the Vessel that could change the fate of the world, had been thrown out of Heaven for it, and was now relegated to a life of day-old donuts and subpar mu shu in the earthly realm.
“What about the guy who stole it from you? Are you sure it’s not on his mantle somewhere? Maybe holding the remains of his Aunt Fanny or something?” Nina asked.
I watched Alex’s Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed thickly. “I’m sure. He was destroyed. The Vessel wasn’t recovered.”
“Destroyed?” I asked, my voice coming out in a harsh whisper.
“I’m just lucky I got what I did. And a second chance. I can actually go back if I return the Vessel. It would prove that I no longer lust for power.” Alex’s eyes held mine. He blinked, those soft eyelashes batting, and I would have scoured the world for him, right there in that moment.
“Yeah, see right there—I’d be out of the angelic realm in a heartbeat.” Nina licked her fingers. “So, you’ve got me. We’ll do it. Heck, I’ll even go a few rounds with your ex. I can take her.” Nina flexed a nonexistent bicep.
“No,” Alex said firmly.
“What’s she going to do? Kill me again?” Nina grinned at her own cleverness.