“...So we had a huge argument.” I say, “And now I'm staying the night here.”

“What?!” Rhys splutters. We're lounging on the sofa at The Tower.

I beam at him, “I know, right? Isn't it great?”

Rhys fights a smile, “Maybe, but your dad isn't going to like me any more because you decided to come here for the night.”

“You know what? I don't really care what my dad thinks. I'm going with you to Arizona. So, what are we going to do there?”

“I didn't lie... much. I don't have a terminally-ill father or anything. But there are people there who are like my family. There's Eve, the mother figure. Darren, who's like a dad to me. Then there's Chloe and Carmen, who are like siblings to me. Chloe is ten now and Carmen is eighteen.”

“Oh. So you lived with them?” I ask.

“Yeah. They have an angel bloodline so they know all about who I really am.” Rhys says.

I snuggle closer to him, “Good. It means we don't have to hide anything.”

“Too right.” Rhys relaxes, kissing the top of my forehead. Then he stiffens, “But how are we going to convince your dad to let you go?”

I look up at him, both of us wearing a strict poker face, wondering what will happen.

After showering in the huge bathroom, I clamber into Rhys' bed, tucking the duvet up to my chin.

Rhys strides  in to the room, his drenched hair dripping on to his bare chest, his long legs only half covered by his boxers. He takes a double take when he sees me in his bed.

“You're not supposed to be in my bed.” He says, as he runs a hand through his soaking hair, causing some of the drips to fall on to his bare chest. I think I'm about to drool. The whole sight of Rhys standing there, in nothing but his boxers makes me almost hyperventilate. Imagine what being in the same bed as him while he's looking like that would do to me. Rhys walks over to the bed and I sit up, wanting to drink in everything before it's too late. “I arranged another bedroom for you.”

“That's sweet!” I smile innocently at him, “But I prefer this bedroom.”

Rhys fights a smile and takes my hand, attempting to haul me up, “I know you do but this isn't your room. You know I don't have to sleep. You won't be able to sleep here because of me.”

“Are you worried I'll be distracted by your extreme hotness?” I smile.

Rhys shrugs, smiling, “Maybe so.”

“Well, I'm afraid you can't do anything about it!” I say stubbornly, lying back down and turning on my side. Rhys grasps my arm and drags me back into a sitting position.

“Come on!” He says, raising an insistent eyebrow.

I cross my arms stubbornly, “No. I'm sleeping here.”

Rhys sighs and then looks at me, “Why do you want to sleep here?”

“Because I'm worried and I want to be as close as possible to you.” I reel off confidently. Rhys looks at me and his face goes slack. He jumps over my side of the bed and clambers between the sheets.

He lays there silently for a moment, the wetness of his hair being absorbed by the pillow. Then he turns on his side to face me, “Really? Is that why you want to sleep here?”

“Yeah.” I say, snuggling up to him, curling my arm around his waist, “Well, that and the fact I always seem to get to sleep easier with you beside me.”

He kisses my forehead and I feel a warming in my belly. I tilt my head upwards and feel his lips move smoothly against mine. I press my lips against his, wanting the passion to flow through the both of us, fuelling the kiss. I feel Rhys' soft hand travel down my thigh and latch on to the soft fleshy patch on the inside of my leg, behind my knee. He hoists my leg up and gently places it on his waist, pulling me closer. I quickly inch as close as I can to him, loving the feel of his hands stroking my back gently. Our lips move against each other slowly. I wind my arm around his neck, pulling his face closer to mine.

Rhys pushes himself closer, wanting this as much as me and then he's on top of me, a sudden passion scalding the both of us in a fiery heat. I curl both of my legs around his waist, our lips colliding against each other desperately. The edge of Rhys' lip snags against my tongue and Rhys shudders warmly, his lips pressing with more force on mine. His hands roam the front of my shirt and he clutches the hem, pulling it over my head which is the only time we pause kissing.

His hands fumble at my pants, pulling them off, throwing them carelessly to a corner of the room and I just get my fingers hooked on Rhys' boxers, ready to pull them off when -

Rhys jumps back, gasping for breath. His eyes are wide and his chest moves in rhythm with his ragged breaths. I half-sit up, my elbows taking the brunt of my weight. We both stare at each other cautiously for a moment and Rhys pushes his hair back with a shaky hand. He stands up – wobbling slightly – from the bed and goes over to a corner, picking my pants and shirt up. He takes my hand and lifts me from the bed, almost angrily.

He goes over to the far wall and pushes it. The wall slides back to another bedroom. Rhys walks over and pushes me on to the bed. He throws my clothes on to the bed and then leaves, the wall sliding closed after him.

I stare after him, reeling with shock. What just happened? I slip back into my clothes and lay down in the cold, empty bed, staring up at the ceiling.

I toss and turn all night, unable to sleep. I'm thankful for the sun when it rises. I change into fresh clothes after having a shower and then go downstairs, my stomach rumbling demandingly. In the main room, there's a bowl of cereal on the table and a note.

I'm having a shower. Eat the cereal.

I look at the note and sigh. It means he's still annoyed about yesterday. I sit down and take slow bites of the cereal, my eyes drooping, sleep crawling up on me.

“Come on.”

I look back to see Rhys standing behind me. I put the cereal down without reluctance and follow him out of the door. He gets in the car without waiting for me and switches the engine on.

After hesitating, I lower myself in the seat and reach for the seatbelt. It doesn't move. It's jammed. I yank on it, willing it to move with my mind. I yank on it again. It doesn't even budge. I sigh frustratedly and cross my arms. I can do without my seat-belt for one ride.

Rhys looks at the seatbelt and then at me. He clicks his tongue in irritation and then reaches across, pulling the seatbelt around me forcibly and leaning across, our faces an inch apart, his attention solely on the belt. Once it's on, he starts to pull back but I put my hand over his. He turns to meet my gaze steadily, his expression completely neutral.

“Why aren't you talking to me?” I ask.

“Don't be so stupid.” He attempts to free his hand from my grasp but I hold on steadily.

“Don't avoid it, Rhys. Whatever happened last night...”

“Look, I don't want to talk about it!” Rhys snaps and snatches his hand away. I look at my knees silently, subdued as the car rolls through the mist and whizzes down the roads until we get to school. He pulls up outside the school entrance, not in his parking space like he usually does.

“Are you not coming?” I ask him, turning slightly to face him.

“I have some things to sort out.” Rhys says, not meeting my gaze.

“Then, I'll come with you.” I offer.

“NO!” Rhys yells and then sighs, “Look, your education is very important. It'll look suspicious if we're both not here. Go and I'll pick you up after.”

“You don't need to.” I say, “I'm going to Avril's house after.”

I get out of the car and slam the door shut in frustration. When I get to the entrance, I glance back to see Rhys bring his fist down on the dashboard, looking as frustrated as I am. Then he drives away, kicking up gravel behind him.

                                                                                        ***

“Hi, Ethan.” Avril blushes.

I grin at her, cocking my head to one side and putting on a gravelly voice, “Hey, Avril. Wassup?”

“Not much. Congratulations on the last match by the way. Listen, Ethan, I was wondering if you could...” Avril sighs tiredly, “I can't do this, Donna.”

“Yes, you can.” I say, grabbing her by the shoulders, “You can. Hey. Look at me. You're Avril Burns, the craziest girl I've ever met and ever will meet. You do the most courageous things without thinking twice. You do things that for someone else, is impossible. Are you gonna bow down to asking someone on a date?”

Avril looks at me doubtfully and then sighs in submission to me, “Okay. Let's go again. Hi, Ethan.”

“Hey, Avril. Wassup?” I repeat, trying my best to act like my best friend's crush.

“Not much. Congratulations on the last match, by the way. Listen, Ethan, I was wondering if you would go to the cinema with me Friday night?”

“Why not?” I shrug, “Why don't we just make out right now?”

Avril stares at me, shocked and then we both burst out laughing. We fall back on the bed, still cackling, clutching our stomachs. I vaguely register the fact that my phone is ringing. I sit up, shushing Avril, and put the phone to my ear.

“Hello? Donna?” Rhys' agitated voice bounces in my ear.

“Yeah, it's me.” I reply, “Is there something wrong?”

“Where are you?” I can hear Rhys' car roaring in the background, “Where are you, Donna?”

“I've told you before, I'm at Avril's house.” I say into the phone, wondering what could be wrong.

“I need you to get out of there. Take any short cuts you can think of. Come straight to the Tower. Now.”

“What's wrong, Rhys? What's happened?”

“Look, there's no time to explain. I want you to get out of there. Keep on the phone with me and run straight to the Tower. I want you to do it now, Donna.”

“Fine, fine. I'm coming.” I turn and give Avril a quick squeeze. I bound down the stairs and out the front door.

“Straight to the Tower, Donna. Don't stop for anybody. Okay? Don't stop for no one!”

“Okay, I won't!” I say as I run down the road. I can hear him pacing about, hear the shuffle of the carpet as he moves around. I cut across the road, manoeuvring round beeping traffic and cussing drivers.

I run down the street and stop to get my breath back when I spot Starbucks in the distance. Rhys yells into the phone, “Don't stop! Why have you stopped? Donna, why have you stopped??”

“How do you know I've stopped?”

“I can't hear your feet moving! Start running, what are you doing?!”

I whiz down past Starbucks' and turn swiftly left down the alley which led to the Tower. I can hear Rhys yelling into my ear. But his words don't register much. I stumble to a stop, looking at the person in front of me, panting for breath.

It's Elijah, held by the scruff of his neck by another angel. One I've never seen before. Elijah looks ragged, his face is disfigured with multicoloured bruises, bones are sticking out where they shouldn't be and huge bags burden his eyes.

“Elijah.” I breathe. I hear Rhys yelling into the phone. It slips from my fingers to the ground; I ignore it. The person holding Elijah captive takes a confident step forward, throwing Elijah to the floor. I gasp, my eyes locked on Elijah.

“Let me introduce myself.” The angel says. She has long tresses of white-blonde hair, dark captivating eyes and a perfect round mouth. “I'm Serena, the Master's favourite subject.”

I know that no matter what happens, I can't let Serena sense the fear thumping through my veins, “Seems like your Master can't decide who his favourite really is. First it was Rhys, then Elijah and now you. Is he confused?”

“No!” Serena snarls, glaring at me, “What can He do? All his subjects keep turning out to be traitors! First your pathetic boyfriend and then this dog!”

She turns to kick Elijah viciously in the ribs. I gasp and narrow my eyes at her, “You bloody well leave Elijah alone!!”

“Or what?” Serena's head snaps round to look at me.

“Or I'm going to have to take care of you myself.” I don't know this sudden brazenness was coming from, but I felt somewhat proud of myself. It's about time I stood up for myself instead of hiding behind Rhys. I recall last night and my cheeks burn but I suppress the feelings raging inside of me.

“Oh, really? A feeble mortal against me, an invincible fully-fledged angel?” Serena curls a twist of her hair around her finger, looking at me snidely.

“Yes.” I say, crouching low into a defensive stance. She runs forward abruptly and launches me over her shoulder. I fly straight into a wall, my shoulder taking the crunching impact and slide down to the ground. I stand up, a little shakily but fully intact. I run straight at her, taking out my pouch of powdered steel (the only thing that can harm angels) and throw a handful of the stuff at her eyes. She screams in unbearable agony and reels back. I watch her stumble over her own feet and then land on the floor in an ungraceful heap. I stand over her triumphantly for a moment and then I turn to Elijah, who is curled up on the floor.

“Elijah!!” I cradle his head in my arms gently, “What happened to you? What have they done?”

“They found out.” He says, his voice a barely-audible whispers, “They found out I told you. You have to go. You have to go before they come. Don't worry about your family. I have people protecting them, so does Rhys. Go now, save yourself.”

“But, Elijah, we can't leave you behind.” I say, tears filling my eyes.

He clutches my hand and his hand leaves red bloody smears all over mine, “Promise me. Promise a dying rogue angel that you will go and save yourself and Rhys. Whatever I've done in the past was strictly on orders. I don't want to hurt you any more, I've never wanted to hurt you, no matter how much it seemed like I was drawing pleasure from the things I did to you.”

“You're not going to die, Elijah.” I say, stroking his hair softly, “I won't let you. I will take you with me.”

“You can't. It'll raise too many questions, too many suspicions.” As he says it, I know he's right.

I hold his hand, “You can get through this, Elijah. I know you can. You're stronger than this.”

He chuckles weakly, “I wish I was. Escape while you can.”

“Oh, she's not escaping.” I look back to see Serena standing up, her eyes red and swollen, but otherwise unharmed.

I turn and stand up, facing her. “Serena, it's over. Just go, get out of here.”

“I don't think so!” Serena is so fast, she blurs. Before I know it, she's right in front of me, her black eyes burning into mine, her fingers painfully piercing into the soft flesh of my upper arm.

“It is far from over, human. Understand this. I will take your life, under every and any circumstance. You think you're so good, just because you have a handful of steel? It takes more than that to beat me, Donna Morrison.”

She steps back and cups the air in her palm. As I watch, a ball of fire begins to appear in her palm, not burning her, but it's still there, floating a few inches above the skin of her palm. She aims it at me, snarling like a feral cat chasing a mangy mouse. I close my eyes, ready for the blow, for the feel of the fire coating me in a red-hot pain, for the searing blade of unbearable agony.

But nothing comes.

I open my eyes. Serena is on the ground, wrestling Rhys. I watch as he pins her arms to the ground, his legs pinning hers, his face darkened with anger. Then his face slackens as he looks at Serena.

“Serena?”

“It's me, Rhys. Or should I say, traitor?” Serena pushes Rhys off herself and stands up, dusting down her clothes.

“You know her?” I ask.

“Yes.” He says, “Serena is my friend... A double agent, of sorts.”

“What does that mean?”

“I'm sorry.” Serena smiles sweetly at me, her whole face rearranged to look more kinder, more softer, “The Master was watching me and so, I had to put on an act. I'm sorry if I hurt your shoulder. I'm not really your enemy, I just have to act like it. So Rhys has someone on the inside.”

“I'm sorry.” I run a hand through my hair, “I really thought – Your eyes...”

“They'll be fine.” Serena waves it away and then looks at Elijah. “Come on, Elijah.” She says, helping him to his feet, “The Master is no longer watching us. I apologise for being rough with you.”

“It's okay, Serena. It had to be done.” Elijah smiles feebly at her, his white face discoloured, making the eerie bruises stand out even more on his face.

“What's going on up there?” Rhys asks, “What happened to Elijah? Why has he sent you down here?”

“It's bad, Rhys. And it's getting worse and worse by the minute.” Serena shakes her head, “The Master is almost done assembling his army. He's rapidly preparing for battle, and not like the one before. This will be bigger. Much more bigger. What can I say about Elijah? They found out. They found out that Elijah had been giving you two information about the battle. He was furious. I was sent down here to warn you. I've clouded the Master's vision so he can't see this town for the next two days.”

“Thank you, Serena.” Rhys says solemnly, his eyes on me, steely, guarded.

“You have to get out of here in the next two days. I can't possibly delay him any further.”

Rhys sighs and then nods, “Very well. Donna, go home and pack your bags. I'm coming. Serena, take Elijah to my house and start his treatment. I'll be there in a moment.”

Serena walks off obediently, supporting Elijah, rounding the corner, out of sight.

I look at Rhys, “Pack my bags? Why do I need to pack?”

“We're going to Arizona.”