Blood and Feathers Read Online Free Page B

Mallory had perched himself on the arm of the chair opposite her and put one foot on the edge of the table. “Where would you like us to start?” he asked, kindly. Alice stared back at him, and he nodded. “Good point. Anywhere.
    “You know our names. And you’re a smart girl. You’ve seen his wings. Mine aren’t quite so impressive. It would be a bit of an anticlimax, frankly, if I was to join in with all this, so I won’t. But they’re there. Buy me a drink, maybe, and...”
    “Mallory!” Gwyn snapped.
    “Sorry, sorry. You know what we are. And we’ve already told you we knew your mother.”
    “Did she know that you were...?” Alice stumbled over the words, although even as they came out of her mouth, she realised how they sounded.
    Mallory blinked at her. “Think, Alice. Think .”
    “Oh.” She felt cold.
    “There you go.”
    “But that’s...”
    “Impossible. Yeah. I get that. Almost as impossible as Feathers over there.”
    “But...”
    “If you want to have a conversation, you’re going to need to start finishing those sentences, Alice. Otherwise, I suggest you sit tight and listen. When I’m done, you can ask me as many questions as you want. Provided you can actually get them out.” He paused, but Alice shook her head and sat in silence.
    “So. Angels 101. Real, obviously. Not all harps and haloes. Again: obviously. We’re not so big on the sitting around on clouds singing praises, either. We’re soldiers.”
    “Soldiers?”
    “Back with the talking again, Alice?”
    “Sorry.”
    “That’s my girl. Soldiers. Like I said, you’re smart. And if I know your father, you’ve read the books, haven’t you?” He pointed to a tall bookshelf in the corner of the room, stuffed with battered paperbacks. Alice nodded mutely. Satisfied, Mallory continued. “‘And there was war in Heaven...’ Ring a bell? I bet it does. And you know what? It’s all real. The Morningstar, the Fall. All of it. They’re down there – literally down there. And they want out. They want to be in charge. They’ve been trying to get out for thousands of years. Our job is to keep them down there, out of the way, by any means necessary.” He reached behind his back, and pulled out a sturdy-looking handgun, which he turned over in his hands before tucking it back into his belt. Alice’s eyes bulged.
    “You don’t smell like he does,” she blurted.
    Mallory looked a little flustered, and opened and closed his mouth. Obviously he didn’t have an answer to that, and he looked towards Gwyn for help. Gwyn folded his arms, enjoying Mallory’s discomfort.
    “Mallory and I differ in several respects,” he said. “Apart from, as you say, our... scent, Mallory has already mentioned the difference in our wings...”
    “Compensating!” Mallory coughed into his fist.
    Gwyn shot him a dirty look and continued. “What he hasn’t told you is that his wings have been clipped. What you’re looking at, Alice, is a perfect example of an Earthbound.”
    “An Earthbound?” Alice asked, glancing from Gwyn to Mallory. He looked uncomfortable, even embarrassed.
    “Suspended. You see, if an angel brings disgrace upon himself, his general may choose to exile him. His wings are clipped and he is banished to Earth to serve out his sentence. Such angels are known as Earthbounds. Mallory is one of them.”
    “And lucky for me, I get you to keep an eye on me.” Mallory growled, then turned back to Alice. “It’s not as bad as it sounds. Honestly. I...” He paused, running a hand through his hair. “I was under a lot of pressure and I made a couple of bad choices.” He cocked his head and narrowed his eyes. “I’m sure you, of all people, can understand that.”
    It was Alice’s turn to feel uncomfortable. She didn’t like what Mallory was suggesting. It was like he knew things that had happened a long time ago; things she didn’t want to talk about. Eager to change the subject, she pointed at Gwyn. “So if you’re