The Weight of a Wing (Excerpt)

Chapter Three

"I brought beer!" Alise said with a cheerfulness she didn't feel as she entered the apartment. Cassie had a low tolerance to alcohol and tended to act silly when drunk. Two cans were more than enough for a Wednesday night. Actually, it was Thursday already. The clock on the wall showed it was quarter past midnight. They had a full workday ahead of them, so better start rolling. "Is the pizza ready?" she asked as the smell assaulted her nostrils.

"Yes," Cassie said, putting on an embarrassed smile, and hurried to hide her hands behind her back. The tips of her fingers were green. So were the tips of her ears, for that matter.

"What did you do?" Alise stared at her, too tired to get upset. Besides, it wasn't the first time it had happened. Her roommate had messed with Alise's herb collection before.

"I was trying to make a dressing for the pizza," Cassie said. "You'll love it." She kissed her fingertips. "It's dynamite!"

A smile appeared on Alise's lips when she saw the girl's enthusiasm. Oh well. The side effects would wear off by morning. "I'll go change, and then we can eat."

She hung her bag on the back of a chair and went to her room. The halter top was ruined, but she tossed it into the laundry basket anyway. While not bleeding profusely, the skin opened with every move she made and would continue to do so for a while, so she put on a large bandage and a loose shirt that wouldn't cling to her skin and, most importantly, would hide any new stains that might appear on the back of her jeans.

When Alise returned to the living room, Cassie handed her a plate with a hot slice of pizza. "Here."

The girl popped a can open and filled her glass. Alise thanked her with a smile. Cassie was a convenient roommate who put up with her strange little habits without complaining or asking too many questions, and Alise enjoyed her company. So what if she stuck her fingers in Alise's herbs once in a while?

"Oh, damn." Cassie pulled at her navy T-shirt containing a fresh tomato sauce stain. It reminded Alise of another kind of stain, and she looked away while Cassie took another bite of pizza and then ran to the bathroom to clean her shirt.

Lost in thought, Alise slowly chewed on her slice. She didn't want to lean back and leave some sign of her injury on the couch, so she leaned forward and propped her elbows on her knees instead. A soccer game was on TV, and she muted the sound. She didn't see the attraction of watching men running after a ball when it would have been easier to make the ball come to them. But Cassie liked watching sports, so she couldn't discuss the subject openly with the girl since Cassie didn't know.

She was reaching for the glass when the apartment door nearly came off its hinges, and two bruised and battered Guardians burst in.

"What are you doing here?" She stared at them, shocked by their entrance, while cheese dripped off her pizza and onto her fingers.

"Gorem got away," Rafe said, breathing heavily.

Alise needed a second to digest the news. She should have expected it. Gorem was too smart to be caught that easily.

"We thought he might come after you—" Rafe said.

"Since you sent us to him," Vale finished, and moved to the window to glance outside.

"We kind of destroyed his house." Rafe smiled a feral grin, displaying no remorse. "Are you alone here?"

Cassie chose that exact moment to return. "Oh ... hello," she stammered, startled by the presence of two strangers in her living room.

"I guess not," Rafe mumbled. "Is she your girlfriend?" He smirked at Alise, but she kept her cool.

Cassie blushed.