Read The Blood of Angels: Divine Vampires for Free Online Page B

against his white shirt, setting off his charcoal colored suit coat, which almost matches his eyes.
    “You like Chloe, huh?” Zeph asks. His gaze skips back to me, something curious there. He is thinking about me, wondering. I can see it on his face. He said he couldn’t read my mind, but the way he looks at me, I wonder.
    “She’s nice.” David shrugs. “I feel bad for her, Mr. Zeph. Her daddy lost his job and she says Santa isn’t going to come to her house.”
    Chloe is sitting at another table, quietly putting together a puzzle and still sucking on that long strand of hair.
    “Oh, I don’t know.” Zeph looks at me, as if I’m the one his words were meant for. “Santa is magic, after all. Maybe he’ll hear her Christmas wish.”
    “Really?” David studies his face carefully.
    “He knows just what people need, Santa does.” Zeph’s eyes are still on me, and I squirm a little on the desk. “And he has all of his little elves to help make those Christmas wishes come true.”
    “Chloe, you forgot your mittens!” Chloe’s mother tucks mittens into the pocket of the girl’s coat and I’m surprised, although I shouldn’t be, that it’s Lynn, Joe’s wife, who had been so worried a few weeks ago about her husband not having a job this Christmas. Lynn waves to her daughter, who gives her a wan smile and waves back as her mother heads out the door. It looks as if the family is going to have Christmas dinner, at any rate.
    “You know, David…” Zeph’s voice drops a little, but not so low I can’t hear him. “Another name for an elf… is a fairy…?”
    “Really?” David looks at his picture.
    “And sometimes, I think Santa’s elves—or fairies—work all year round, giving gifts to the people who need them.” Zeph’s eyes meet mine. “Isn’t that a nice thought?”
    “I like fairies.” David nods, coloring his fairy’s hair yellow.
    “Excuse me.” We all look up at the sound of the voice, seeing the man in the uniform and cap standing there with a huge box of food. “Where should I put this?”
    Again, I shouldn’t be surprised, considering what I do for a living, but there’s Joe, carrying out his new job, delivering a donated Christmas dinner which, unbeknownst to him, is going to end up on his very own holiday table.
    “Right here on the desk, thanks.” Zeph stands and points.
    I slide out of the way as Joe sets the heavy box down. His daughter has spotted him and comes to give him a big hug. It’s clear Zeph has never met Chloe’s father before, and his eyes widen as the dominos fall into place for him, too.
    “Have a good holiday.” Joe gives his daughter another quick squeeze and waves before he heads out the door.
    “You, too!” Zeph returns the wave and turns back to look at me. His eyes hold a depth of knowing which calls to me, and I feel like I want to drown there. There’s that funny feeling in my middle again. There’s something familiar about this moment, something so familiar… almost as if…
    “Fate.” He says the word under his breath as he sits at his desk, putting his palm near me on the desk. “You never know just what’s going to happen next, do you?”
    “Sometimes.” I turn to face him fully, my wings fluttering slightly, brushing over his hand as I settle myself.
    “Someone knows.” Zeph puts his chin on his fist and contemplates me. “Who do you think The Maker is, Sam?”
    I stare at him, everything inside of me going quiet.
    How does he know about The Maker?
    “Tell me, little one…” His fingers brush my wings, a sweet caress, and he smiles. “What are you going to ask for this year?”
    I stare at him, our eyes locked, something caught between us which seems very familiar to me. I gaze at him in breathless wonder.
    How does he know?
    * * * *
    “I don’t get how he knows so much about us,” I whisper to Alex as we stand in line. Christmas Eve requisitions are usually handled easily enough, through regular communication, but