the Council.”
“I’ll
take my chances.”
“You
sure?”
“I’m
not hoping to see any other Council members naked, so I think I’ll stick with
you.”
She
snickered at that. “Good choice.” She gave him a quick kiss on the chin and
Cross felt the impact of it straight through to his soul. The Shadows roared.
“Anyway, Uriel gave me a lot of human money, so bail will probably be simple.
How much do you think it costs to get three people out of jail? Thar’s the one
who knows stuff like that. Like forty dollars?”
Cross
blinked, ignoring the blinding pain in his head. He was completely clueless
about money. Elementals didn’t pay for a lot of human products. They just
took them. “Sure. Forty dollars sounds right.” He guessed.
Nia
nodded, shrewdly. “And if that doesn’t work, I’ll hire them a lawyer. Or
stage a political prisoner protest rally. Or just jump in and steal them. Or
we could tunnel into their cell.”
Job
would really not like any of that. Not that Cross cared what Job
thought. Absolutely not. Still… “Let’s try bail first.”
“Right.”
Nia grabbed the phonebook, again. “Alright. Step one. Find the jail.” She
began flipping through the pages, looking for an address. “Oh perfect! Look
at this. Map!” She ripped the rendering of Mayport Beach right out of the
book and headed back over to him. “So, it looks like we have to go that way.”
She pointed to the left. “Do you know how to drive a car?”
“No.”
“Me
neither. No point in stealing one, then.” She gave a disappointed shrug.
“We’ll have to walk.” She started off with total authority, red hair bouncing.
Cross
almost smiled.
Nia’s
self-confidence was incredibly appealing. He’d never met anyone so cheerfully
sure of themselves. There wasn’t a doubt in Nia’s mind that she could stroll
into the police station and save the day. And, really, Cross didn’t doubt it,
either.
His
Match was a savior.
God
knew, she’d saved him.
He
fell into step beside her. Nia liked to lead the way and Cross was okay with
that. The second she put herself at risk, though, he planned to yank her
back. She could protect the whole world if she wanted, but Cross was going to
protect her . To him, Nia was the world. He was literally only
alive because of this woman.
“Sweetie,
the sword isn’t really blending with all the human-ness.” She gestured to the
weapon that he still had clutched in his hand. “Is there any way you could put
it away or something?”
“No.”
Cross wasn’t about to walk around unarmed. Not with the Air House in town. He
barely let the sword leave his hand back in the Shadowland, for God’s sake, and
he was the only one there. Cross’s loving parents had taught him the
importance of being battle-ready.
“I
just don’t think they’ll let you walk into the police station looking like Rob
Roy.”
Cross
seriously doubted the humans could stop him. That was one of the many upsides
of carrying a sword. It stopped people from stopping you. Still, he didn’t
want to upset his Match. He could compromise.
They’d
reached the street, by that point, and Cross used his elbow to smash in the
window of a vintage VW Bug. The car appeared to be made of nothing but rust
and bumper stickers. The largest one was vivid purple and advocated “turning on,
tuning in, and dropping out.”
Cross
had no idea what that meant.
Nia
winced slightly at the broken glass. She looked up and down the street
nervously as Cross reached through the window and grabbed a trench coat from
passenger’s seat. Khaki green and covered in military-style snaps, it looked
like it had served on the front lines of several wars.
The
damn sleeves ended at his elbows, though.
Why
were humans so small?
Cross
rolled his eyes, pushed the sleeves up even more. Then, he slid the sword
behind his back, so it was
“I’ll
take my chances.”
“You
sure?”
“I’m
not hoping to see any other Council members naked, so I think I’ll stick with
you.”
She
snickered at that. “Good choice.” She gave him a quick kiss on the chin and
Cross felt the impact of it straight through to his soul. The Shadows roared.
“Anyway, Uriel gave me a lot of human money, so bail will probably be simple.
How much do you think it costs to get three people out of jail? Thar’s the one
who knows stuff like that. Like forty dollars?”
Cross
blinked, ignoring the blinding pain in his head. He was completely clueless
about money. Elementals didn’t pay for a lot of human products. They just
took them. “Sure. Forty dollars sounds right.” He guessed.
Nia
nodded, shrewdly. “And if that doesn’t work, I’ll hire them a lawyer. Or
stage a political prisoner protest rally. Or just jump in and steal them. Or
we could tunnel into their cell.”
Job
would really not like any of that. Not that Cross cared what Job
thought. Absolutely not. Still… “Let’s try bail first.”
“Right.”
Nia grabbed the phonebook, again. “Alright. Step one. Find the jail.” She
began flipping through the pages, looking for an address. “Oh perfect! Look
at this. Map!” She ripped the rendering of Mayport Beach right out of the
book and headed back over to him. “So, it looks like we have to go that way.”
She pointed to the left. “Do you know how to drive a car?”
“No.”
“Me
neither. No point in stealing one, then.” She gave a disappointed shrug.
“We’ll have to walk.” She started off with total authority, red hair bouncing.
Cross
almost smiled.
Nia’s
self-confidence was incredibly appealing. He’d never met anyone so cheerfully
sure of themselves. There wasn’t a doubt in Nia’s mind that she could stroll
into the police station and save the day. And, really, Cross didn’t doubt it,
either.
His
Match was a savior.
God
knew, she’d saved him.
He
fell into step beside her. Nia liked to lead the way and Cross was okay with
that. The second she put herself at risk, though, he planned to yank her
back. She could protect the whole world if she wanted, but Cross was going to
protect her . To him, Nia was the world. He was literally only
alive because of this woman.
“Sweetie,
the sword isn’t really blending with all the human-ness.” She gestured to the
weapon that he still had clutched in his hand. “Is there any way you could put
it away or something?”
“No.”
Cross wasn’t about to walk around unarmed. Not with the Air House in town. He
barely let the sword leave his hand back in the Shadowland, for God’s sake, and
he was the only one there. Cross’s loving parents had taught him the
importance of being battle-ready.
“I
just don’t think they’ll let you walk into the police station looking like Rob
Roy.”
Cross
seriously doubted the humans could stop him. That was one of the many upsides
of carrying a sword. It stopped people from stopping you. Still, he didn’t
want to upset his Match. He could compromise.
They’d
reached the street, by that point, and Cross used his elbow to smash in the
window of a vintage VW Bug. The car appeared to be made of nothing but rust
and bumper stickers. The largest one was vivid purple and advocated “turning on,
tuning in, and dropping out.”
Cross
had no idea what that meant.
Nia
winced slightly at the broken glass. She looked up and down the street
nervously as Cross reached through the window and grabbed a trench coat from
passenger’s seat. Khaki green and covered in military-style snaps, it looked
like it had served on the front lines of several wars.
The
damn sleeves ended at his elbows, though.
Why
were humans so small?
Cross
rolled his eyes, pushed the sleeves up even more. Then, he slid the sword
behind his back, so it was
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