Devil's Advocate (The X-Files: Origins #2)(69)

“Would you?”

Sunlight sat back and pursed his lips. “I need to think about how best to do it. This has to be done in such a way as to keep both of you completely out of it.”

Ethan nodded.

“Oh, please,” said Dana.

“For now, though,” said Sunlight, “you two need to stop looking into this. No more peeks at Uncle Frank’s case files. No more talking about it to anyone. Dana, if you have another vision, you come and tell me. I want you both out of it.”

“What about the angel?” asked Ethan. “If you’re right and he knows about her, how do we keep Dana safe?”

Sunlight nodded. “That’s a good question. Dana, you need to start being careful. No more walking home alone at night. No more jujutsu classes. No more late visits here. No going out after dark at all. Not alone. Can you do that?”

Without meaning to, Dana cut a look at Ethan. “I…”

“Dana?” Sunlight said in a warning tone. “You’re a smart girl. Be smart. And Ethan, be a gentleman. If Dana wants to see you, then go visit her at her house. Don’t ever let her walk home in the dark alone again.”

Ethan paled. “Yes, sir.”

Sunlight nodded and reached out one hand to each of them. They hesitated, then took his hands. His skin was very hot.

“We’ll get through this,” said Sunlight. “I promise. Let me handle everything.”

A shadow fell across the table, and Corinda was there. “Oh, hey! I didn’t see you all here. I’ve been so busy you just snuck right past me. Is everything okay, Dana?”

“Yes,” said Dana, giving Sunlight’s hand a final squeeze. “Maybe it is.”





PART THREE

THE RED AGE



The treachery of demons is nothing compared to the betrayal of an angel.

—Brenna Yovanoff





CHAPTER 63

Craiger, Maryland

5:11 P.M.

Ethan and Dana stood on the street, holding hands, both of them trembling. They seemed to vibrate at a hundred different frequencies.

“That was…,” began Ethan, but he paused, uncertain how to finish.

“Weird?” suggested Dana.

“More than that. Different, strange, scary, bizarre. I may run out of adjectives.”

“Sunlight’s a little hard to take, I guess,” she said.

“A little?” Ethan shook his head. “His plan is out there. Can’t wait to tell the guys in the science club about this.”

“Are you making fun of him?” Dana demanded.

“No. It’s just that if all this new age stuff is real, then it has to be part of science. Tisa, Jerry, and Sylvia all seem to think there’s something to ESP and all this. I have to admit that I still don’t know where I stand. I trust you, Dana, but this is still hard for me to wrap my mind around. I want to talk to the science club guys some more. Maybe we can figure out a way to tie it all back to something we can … I don’t know … measure? Study? Understand?”

Dana said nothing for a minute. “Either way,” she said, “I feel better having Sunlight on our side.”

Ethan nodded. “We can use all the help we can get.”

They began walking. He lived closer to Main Street, and her house was more or less in a straight line three-quarters of a mile past his and two blocks over. The sun was tumbling toward the west, seeming to drag the day’s warmth with it. The wind smelled of seawater. The trees on either side of the street were crowded with noisy birds. Crows and grackles seemed to dominate the chatter, their black wings glistening, their black eyes always alert and watchful.

“So, what now?” asked Ethan after they’d walked a few blocks. “We just pretend that we’re not involved at all?”

“That’s what Sunlight said.”

“Can we?”

“Can’t we?” countered Dana.

Ethan made a face. “No, I mean how can we? We’re part of this. It’s ours.”

She stopped and faced him. “This isn’t about taking credit, Ethan.”

“I didn’t mean that.”

“Then what did you mean?”

He took too long in answering, and Dana gaped at him. “Are you serious? You want the credit for figuring this out?” she demanded. “That’s it, isn’t it? This is all about you wanting to be a forensic scientist. You want to break the big case.”

“No,” he said, but there was not enough emphasis in his voice. “We figured this out together.”

“‘We’?” she fired back. “I seem to remember it being my theory about the religious stuff that helped us figure it out.”

Ethan scowled. “So, then you want to take the credit for it. You can’t get all high and mighty with me and say that this is all about me wanting to be a forensic scientist when you’re acting like you’re the great detective, figuring it all out.”

“I did figure it out,” she yelled.

“Only because I showed you the case files, Dana. Let’s not forget that I took a heck of a risk with that.”

“Like I’m not taking risks every time I close my eyes,” said Dana. “Like I’m not taking risks walking out the door in the morning.”