"I want to live-to have your freedoms, your cares, your life."

"But you already-"

"I haven't." He swallowed, lowered his head. "I am not-what you think. I wasn't an errant mortal, who is doing good to wipe the stain off my soul." With a deep breath, he met her eyes-and the sorrow, the despair cut into her heart. "My name is Zachariah. I am not mortal. I am an angel, exiled to the wastelands of Between because I wanted more."

"Heaven above," she whispered.

"I do not even know if my Father realizes I am gone." He closed his eyes. "Or if he would care."

"Zach." She ached for him, knowing what that exile meant, how her own had torn away all that she was. And she knew what she was about to offer would cost her. "I can help you. But I won't-until you let my friends go."

He looked at her, and the ache intensified. Despite all he had done, she couldn't lay blame. Not completely.

She jumped when a loud snap shot through the room. The door lock. One by one, she heard locks click over. By the time the last one echoed through the house, Zach was sheet white, his hand trembling as he held it out to her. He looked painfully human, vulnerable, trusting. Claire forced herself not to believe it.

"I have opened the way. They will be able to pa.s.s. After you help me."

Annie pushed herself off the bed when she heard the series of clicks.

That b.a.s.t.a.r.d unlocked the doors.

"Regina-" Using the wall as a crutch, she reached the door just as Regina appeared, Hillary in tow. "Did you hear?"

"Yes. Do you think-"

"Let's go find out."

Regina helped her down the short hall; Hillary ran ahead of them.

"Hil-wait for us-"

The girl reached for the door k.n.o.b just as they caught up to her-and jerked back with a shriek when the bell chimed. Leaving Annie next to the wall, Regina eased her daughter aside and opened the door.

Annie nearly hit the floor when she recognized who stood on the doorstep.

"Good morning." Theresa smiled, giving Annie a slight nod when their eyes met. Well, d.a.m.n it- "I'm the local welcome wagon, and I just wanted to drop by and say hi."

She stepped forward, holding out her hand-and flinched when it pa.s.sed over the threshold.

Annie stilled, waited for retribution to drop on Theresa's head. Nothing happened. But she jerked her hand back, her face white with shock.

Regina reached out to help her, gasped when her hand smacked into an invisible barrier. Annie clutched the wall, wanting to strangle the angelic b.a.s.t.a.r.d for handing out false hope.

Theresa's nervous jabbering pulled her out of her revenge fantasy.

"Did you know we have some of the biggest rats here? They seem to love the sea air. You're lucky, living on the street side of Beach. If you were on the ocean side, you'd have to watch out for them, they love to burrow in and settle."

Regina's face went white. "I have a bas.e.m.e.nt."

"A bas.e.m.e.nt?" Theresa nearly shouted it. She might as well have stuck a neon sign on her forehead stating "I am a diversion." Annie started forward, anger smothering her pain. "Quite unusual for California. Did you know-"

"Can I help you?" Annie interrupted her, and swore the girl lost about five more shades of color off her face. "We're a little-occupied today, with all the moving in."

She tried not to flinch, but Theresa noticed. Her gaze shot down to Annie's hip, then back to her face. "Sorry to bother." She pasted a smile on her face. "Can I ask a favor? Would it be possible to-"

"No." Zach stalked down the stairs, favoring his left hip. Annie's heart jumped when she saw Claire with him. Paler than the pristine wall behind her, but alive, and whole. He stepped to the door and grabbed Regina's arm. Theresa blinked, but Annie gave her points for not backing away. Even a blind man could have seen the anger pouring off him. "You will go. Now."

"Sure-just wanted to introduce myself, let you know if you need anything I'm right around the corner-"

"Now."

She jumped, stumbling as she retreated. And froze when Claire came around the door, one hand closing over Zach's wrist.

"h.e.l.lo, Theresa."

Brown eyes widened, panic jumping off her, causing sparks to dance across Annie's ring. "Claire-I didn't-"

"Know I was acquainted with Regina?" She tilted her head-and winked. Theresa relaxed, moving closer to the door. Still keeping Zach in place with her grip, Claire gave her an easy smile. "She's a longtime customer. I was thrilled when I found out she moved to Santa Luna, and came over to see how I could help."

Oh, she's good. It could have fallen apart, right then, if Claire wasn't the whip smart witch/ex-demon/fallen angel Annie knew and loved. She had to find a way to shorten that t.i.tle-for future introductions.

With a sharp jerk Zach freed his arm and stalked forward. Annie held her breath; let it out in a painful whoosh when he halted, as if he'd run into a wall. The binding spell worked-and he was just as trapped. Served him right. The evil eye he gave Claire over his shoulder had Annie pushing off the wall.

"You will leave." Zach all but snarled the words. "Immediately."

"Sure." Theresa pasted on a smile, but sweat trickled down her face. "I'll tell my brothers you said hi."

Claire looked startled, then nodded. "Give them my best, and tell them not to bother coming over. Regina got all the help she needed."

"I-okay." Theresa backed down the sidewalk. "I'll try to catch them before they-bye, then."

Annie didn't see if she made it down the sidewalk without tripping. Zach slammed the door and lunged at her. Claire stepped in his path.

"No harm was done. A neighbor, being friendly. It is what we do, as humans."

Swinging her gaze back and forth, Annie let the questions running through her mind stay on a mental treadmill. Fists clenched, Zach backed away, pain tightening his face when he put weight on his left side. Part of her felt a petty satisfaction that he hurt.

"You knew her."

"Of course I did." Impatience snapped in her blue eyes, but it didn't edge her quiet voice. Annie would have been shouting and punching by now. "She lives here. Zach-you can't find suspicion in every act. Mortal life isn't neat and-"

He disappeared before she could finish.

"Something I should know?"

"Annie." Claire strode to her, reaching out to support. And Annie realized she wasn't limping, wasn't flinching when her right leg moved. "How is your hip?"

"Hurts. Where the h.e.l.l have you been? Where did he take you? Are you all right? What happened to your leg-"

"Dial down the interrogation." She slid one arm around Annie and glanced over at Regina. "Where was she resting-"

"Don't even think about it."

Claire looked at her. "You can't-"

"You dare, after blocking every attempt I made in Huntsville to keep you from running yourself into the ground? I'm not going to be easy, either. So quit while you're ahead."

With a sigh, Claire guided her to a chair next to the fireplace. "I have been properly chastised. Please sit, so I don't have to pick you up off the floor."

Annie eased herself down, her hip screaming at her. "Okay, I'm down. Now," she crossed her arms. "Start answering."

THIRTEEN.

Simon inched along the back wall of the house, spotted the walk down to the bas.e.m.e.nt, just feet away.

Contact with the house had that alien power spiking through him. Instead of pain, he felt-euphoria. And an invincibility that a former combat medic should brush off as deadly.

Reaching the walk down, he did a fast check of the stairwell. It was empty. He c.o.c.ked the shotgun, his bandaged hand forcing him to constantly adjust his grip, and headed down the stairs. His free hand hovered over the doork.n.o.b. Power licked at his skin, but nothing like the angry burst that sent him and Eric across the lawn.

He took in a deep breath and closed his hand over it. Let his breath out when he still stood in the same place, every appendage intact. He turned the k.n.o.b and eased the door open. His first step met with resistance, like trying to move through a wall of jello. To his relief, the second step proved easier, and once he crossed the threshold the resistance disappeared. He just hoped it wasn't some kind of warning system-because he just tripped it.

Closing the door behind him, he stopped, waited until his eyes adjusted to the darkness. Gradually, obstacles separated from shadow, showing him a roundabout path to the staircase at the far end of the huge s.p.a.ce. Now that he was inside, the euphoria faded, replaced by the instinct and sensitivity that kept him alive half a world away.

Making his way through the bas.e.m.e.nt, he listened for any sound, any hint he'd been discovered, or was walking straight into an ambush. Every second of silence made him more wired instead of calm. By the time he reached the top of the stairs he had to stop, take in a few slow breaths, focus himself.

He's just one-angel, G.o.d forgive me. After a silent prayer he ran the banishing through his head, thankful for his freakish ability to remember pretty much everything he read. Get him out, get Claire and Annie clear. Then deal with your conscience.

Touching the doork.n.o.b, he paused. That guardian was inside, and he didn't think a simple banishing was going to do more than p.i.s.s it off. But he had to trust Claire. She believed in him-G.o.d only knew why-and he wasn't about to let her down when she needed him.

He took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and cracked open the door.

"Let me see that hip." Claire bent over her friend, beyond relieved that the injury from Zach looked more like a sunburn than a serious multi-degree burn. A bottle of aloe vera gel sat on the small night table, along with a pile of clean washcloths. Sitting on a chair next to the bed, Claire squirted a generous amount of aloe on the cloth and laid it over the raw skin. "How does that feel?"

"Fine. What the h.e.l.l happened? Where have you been? And-"

"One question at a time, Annie." Leaning back, Claire let out a sigh, rubbing the leather band on her wrist. "I saw Marcus."

She told Annie, forcing herself not to press her hand against her scar, which started to throb again.

"But he's okay?"

"When I left, yes. Jamal is Marid-the most powerful Jinn in existence. He'll keep Marcus safe." She turned in the chair, facing Regina. "There are things about me, about people around me, you don't know. I hope you can still trust me, despite that."

"You haven't given me a reason not to," Regina said. She sat on the small settee, Hillary curled up beside her, asleep. Regina studied Claire, dark eyes not accusing, but calm, and more trusting than Claire deserved. That calm wrapped around her, spread over her daughter. "I already knew you were a witch-the real thing. So don't consider me surprised to find out you have-unusual friends. I know about Father Simon, too. I started attending his church just after we moved." A smile touched her lips. "You lead an eventful life."

"Thank you." She cleared her throat, closed her eyes against the sting of tears, and looked at Annie. "There is something else you both need to know, about Zach. He lied to us."

Furious, and unable to walk it off, Annie clutched the bedspread. Blue sparks shot across her sapphire.

"What the h.e.l.l, Claire. You can't help him-how do you know he's not lying about this, too? He could-"

"I felt him, Annie." Claire's quiet voice cut right through her anger. "I know that power-how could I not? It has been so long I almost forgot I-" She cut herself off, obviously remembering she had an audience-one that didn't know everything about her. "He is hurting, in ways you could never understand. To be caught Between, forever-it is like being shown the one thing you can never have, then forced to exist with the desire, always just out of reach."

"Claire." Annie recognized the anguish, and understood why Claire felt the need to help the lying little b.a.s.t.a.r.d. "You can't trust-"

"Why not? He's desperate, Annie. And for him, this is the only way to have that chance to be free. I can show him a different way, give him another option."

Panic clawed at her. "What?"

"I can help him fall."

The first floor was deserted. Here, Simon felt the hum of that power, but it was distant, m.u.f.fled. As if the source were blocked, by the physical, or the metaphysical. He guessed Claire and Annie did everything they could to protect the innocents caught up in this.

Sliding along the wall, he tested every step before he took it, aware of the noise potential with the old floor, and a bas.e.m.e.nt beneath him. He followed the glow of Annie's power, strong and blue as it edged the closed door at the end of the hall.

It took longer than he liked to get to that door. Shotgun pointed down at the floor, he reached out for the k.n.o.b. And swung the shotgun up when the door flew open.

"Simon." Claire laid one hand on the barrel of the shotgun, stepped aside. "What took you so long?"

"How-"

"Theresa. Dead giveaway. Come in, we don't have much time." He lowered the shotgun, keeping it against his side as he saw the woman and girl on the small sofa, the girl's eyes wide. "Regina, Hillary-this is Simon."

"Father," Regina said, standing. "Thank you. I know what a risk you're taking-"

"You are a member of my church."

She smiled. "A recent member. Your sermons are always inspiring."

"I-thank you." He turned to Claire. "Where is-"

"Preoccupied. I gave him quite a bit to think about. Can you do what I asked?"

"Yeah. Where do you-"