"Everybody ran down to the lake. Tyler had been restrained and was being carried by some of the members of the football team. He shouted to be released. They laughed and dropped him in front of her.

"She looked down at the helpless boy, and it made complete sense to her. She looked out among the crowd. Everyone shouted for them to take off his clothes and throw him in the lake, but that wasn't what Katie-Anne had in mind. She made another announcement: 'I'll go to the dance with whoever gets baby Tyler to cry the loudest.' Everyone but me laughed because they thought she was kidding. But it turns out she was dead serious.

"She begged a few guys on the team. And they began kicking him all over his body. A few kids didn't want to take part so they left. A few others thought it was funny but didn't have the nerve to join in. And then there were the guys who were hitting Tyler. They were big and knew how to inflict pain.

"I screamed at Katie-Anne to tell the guys to stop. But she just laughed as Tyler was groaning on the floor. The he stopped moving.

"They panicked, started swearing and freaking out. I shouted for them to help me get him to a hospital. They said it was too late. I pointed out that no one had a medical degree and that he may just have pa.s.sed out. One of the guys bent down to hear his heart beat. He said he heard nothing. They decided to push his body out into the lake. I tried to stop them but they kept pushing me out of the way.

"Then, in a moment I relive every day without the help of collectors, I saw Tyler's chest move. It was slight and weak. But it moved. I know it did.

"That's when I plowed into the guys with every thing I had in me. They weren't expecting me to put as much force as I did into getting past them, so I was able to take a few of them down to the ground. The three that remained standing pushed Tyler's body into the lake.

"I was so horrified by the sight of Tyler's body floating out to the middle of the lake, I rushed the guys again. This time they were expecting it and the biggest guy, Jeff Moore, rammed my head into a tree. I heard my skull crack.

"As I was dying, I kept thinking if only I could get to Tyler. If only I could close my eyes and appear in the middle of the lake. I just asked Omnis that I be able to defy the laws of physics and transport myself to the middle of the lake and save him. That's all I wanted to do, save him.

"The last thing I saw before I died was Katie-Anne's face. And as it faded from my view, I thought about the 56 times she said 'no' to being with me. I smiled as I lay dying. To think I was lucky enough to have avoided evil 56 times."

"What happened to Tyler?" I ask.

"I don't know."

"Maybe someone came for him."

"Maybe." But we both know the odds were slim.

"I'm sorry you died so awfully."

"The twins beat all of us in that arena. They're glory hogs."

"Reese, why did you tell me?"

"Why did I tell you my Core?"

"Your what?"

"Oh, so now you want to sign up for Angel 101?"

"Please," I beg.

"It's the story of an angel's last few minutes on Earth as a human."

"So in your Core you cried out to be able to transfer yourself from one place to the other and that's how you got the power to Blink?"

"Yeah."

"Why did you tell me your Core?"

"I want you to know that just because you love someone doesn't mean they are worthy of being loved."

"You don't think Marcus is worthy of love?"

"He is, but so are you. And he hasn't given it to you, has he?"

"No." He puts his arms around me. I lean my head against him. We're both lost in our own thoughts.

"Reese, how does the poem go?"

"A lot has happened since my Core, Emmy. Now, I'm so far from the sap that memorized that poem, I can't even begin to remember how it went."

I turn to him and look deeply into his eyes. I never thought angels had ghosts but I see that they do.

"How does the poem go?" I push gently. He looks away from me for a full minute or so. Just when I think he's chosen not to tell me, he begins. As he speaks, I picture him pre-Guardian. A nave kid committing a poem to memory to impress his love.

"I know I am but summer to your heart, And not the full four seasons of the year.

And you must welcome from another part, Such n.o.ble deeds as are not mine, my dear."

"That's the end," he says. But it's not.

There's more and he knows that.

"I don't remember the poet's name," he says. It's Edna St. Vincent Millay, but he knows that too.

CHAPTER FOUR: PICTURE SHOW.

When I get to school Monday, I thought I'd have to hunt Ameana down, but as it turns out, she's standing by my locker waiting for me. Miku saw her first. I never told Miku what I did. I don't think Reese did either.

She turns to me and says, "Hey, I forget to tell Rio something, I'll be right back." I look at her. She read the panic in my face.

She hugs me. "She won't kill you. We need you. She might just maim you," she jokes. I go from panic to terror. "Emmy, I'm just kidding. Go, get it over with."

Miku disappears around the corner, and I head towards my locker. I never thought that I would pray for a Runner to interrupt me, but right now, they would be a welcome diversion. I look around, and wouldn't you know it, not a gun-toting Wall Street guy around anywhere.

"Reese said you wanted to see me," she says with perfect articulation.

"Yeah, I wanted to talk."

She looks around and motions for me to follow her. She takes me to an empty cla.s.sroom.

"Mr. Walt won't be back for a while, he eats lunch in some cafe a few blocks away."

I look at her curiously.

"We had every teacher followed. Rio said they all have souls, but we just wanted to be extra careful."

"I guess that's smart."

"So, what is it you need?"

"I wanted to tell you what I did. I asked Reese not to tell you. I wanted to come to you myself."

"I'm listening."

"I kissed Marcus."

"I see."

"I'm so, so, sorry. I shouldn't have done it. It's just that I was so.... Look, I'm sorry. I just had to tell you."

"And now you have," she says plainly as she heads out the door. I stop her.

"Wait, that's it? You're not mad at me? You don't want to kill me or anything?"

"I'd have to get in line now, wouldn't I?"

"I'm so sorry."

"Let's not do this, okay?" She seems removed, like she is watching a movie.

"Please, yell at me. Do something. I totally stepped out of line. I had no right to do what I did. You should ... be throwing me across the room or something."

"I can if you wish."

"Ameana, please."

She bites her lip and closes her eyes. She's trying to calm herself. I can tell. Only she really didn't get upset, so I don't understand why she would need calming down.

"I have to go, Emmy. Lunch is almost over. I don't want to be late for my next cla.s.s."

I reach out for her and get a hold of her stylish jacket. "You don't care about cla.s.s."

"No, I care about Marcus," she snaps.

"I know, I'm so-"

"-sorry. I got that. Can we go now?"

"Yes, I just wanted to tell you the truth," I say as she heads out the door. She stops dead in her tracks and whips her head to face me. Every single hair falls perfectly into place.

"What do you know about truth? You haven't told the truth since I met you. You lie to us about not having a secret even after Rio says you do. And now you hunt me down all weekend just so you can lie to me."

"I'm not lying. I kissed Marcus."

"I know you did. Did you think he wouldn't tell me? That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about you standing here telling me that you are sorry you did it. That's such bull. You have wanted him since the moment you saw him. Now you come and tell me about it? Why? So you can say 'Hey, I did a bad thing, but I apologized, so I'm a good person?'"

"That's not why I did it!"

"Then why? So I could absolve you?

"Well, I...."

"You want me to tell you it's okay that you kissed my boyfriend because I'm an angel and I forgive? Screw you."

I can't bring myself to look at her. Her voice trembles with anger.

"I can't leave you here alone. Let's go." With that, I follow her out of the cla.s.s and into the hallway. We walk down to the cafeteria in silence, just the three of us: me, Ameana and my shame.

"Here, she's all yours," Ameana spits as she walks me over to where Miku and Jay are seated. She turns on her heel and storms out of the cafeteria. I sit down and put my head on the table. Jay says, "If you're gonna p.i.s.s off an angel, it shouldn't be the one who can drop you fifty stories without ever touching you."

Miku chimes in, "Yeah, it should be a weak and ineffective angel like Jay." I can hear the smile in her voice. It's not helping.

Mercifully, the school day ends. I have no idea what I learned. Cla.s.ses had become a series of long drawn-out sessions of Charlie Brown-like speeches. Anyway, none of it would matter if we didn't make any headway in finding Julian.

As I walk to my locker, I thought I would see Ameana again. But when I get to my locker there is someone waiting for me.

"Hey, Sara."

"Hey, I've been calling you all weekend."

"Yeah, I had my cell phone off."

"You finally get a phone and you keep it off all weekend?"

"Well, I was kind of busy."

"Busy doing what?"

Kissing other girls' boyfriends....

"I had to help my mom out with a few things," I lie.

"Well, I got your message, and I thought we could hang out tonight."

I am about to say no as a habit, but then I reconsider. I should give Ameana some s.p.a.ce. Marcus is avoiding me, so I should make that easier for him by not being around.

"You know what? Let's do it. What time?"