A/N: This chapter is more like a preperation for the chapters to come. Ahhh! I'm sorry if it's a bit boring, I promise i'll make up for it, just let me LIVE:clears throat: sorry, please enjoy.

Nari Streeter

Chapter Nine: My Angel

Nari took a deep breath, slowly letting the air rush out of her lungs. Her back hurt from being hunched over for so long, but she didn't dare move. Her wings pricked uncomfortably against the stone wall of the vacant corridor in the Saint Patrick's Cathedral. Everything was cold.

Tell me you love me.

A warm hand brushed over her shoulder.

Nari jumped, adrenaline spiking her system as she lurched back to look up into the eyes of the intruder. She felt herself slowly relax, gritting her teeth as her heartbeat increased by several notches. Nickoli was staring down at her, his dark brow wrinkled with worry.

What was she suppose to say?

"Why are you on the floor?" he asked suspiciously.

Nari scrambled for an explanation. She couldn't tell Nickoli anything. If she breathed even one word…who knew what Wolf would do? "Um…" she started, shakily getting to her knees, "I…got dizzy, coming down the stairs. W-wolf said I would be okay if I just kind of stayed here until I got my bearings. I think I might be a bit sick."

Nickoli's eyes softened as he extended his hand down to her, "You work too hard," he said with a slight laugh, "your body can only take so much you know."

Nari nodded, letting him help her to her feet, he must have trusted her a lot to believe such a stupid answer. Her head spun slightly and a wave of heat washed up from her back. Maybe she was getting a little sick…

"I was just going down to the cathedral," Nickoli said, nodding at the arched doorway, "want to come with me?"

Nari hesitated, fear prickling goosebumps on her arm. What would Wolf say? She nodded numbly, craving the peace and quiet of the Cathedral's pews.

The pews were practically empty when they walked in. An old man with a battered coat sat at the far end, his eyes closed over his folded hands. Nari wondered if he was just sleeping, grateful for a place off the street to which he was condemned.

Nickoli sat near the front of the rows, his wings out in the open like it was no big deal. Nari glanced nervously over at the sleeping homeless man, wondering how he'd react if he woke up and saw them. She felt a chill travel down to the tips of her feathers as she sat next to Nickoli, breathing in the deep scent of redwood benches.

The quiet was smothering, pressing in from all sides like a wet blanket. Nari felt like she couldn't breath, the carved faces of plastic angels staring down at her from every corner. A light glowed dimly from behind a smooth curtain at the front of the large room.

Nickoli took a deep breath, closing his eyes and stretching forward to lean against the pew in front of him. Nari followed his lead, hanging her arms over the pew and closing her eyes to ward off the demons of that night.

"Nari?" Nickoli asked softly, his eyes still closed, "can I ask you something personal?" Nari muttered something she hoped sounded like a yes, burying her face in her arms.

"Do you believe in God?"

The bell began to chime again, announcing the late hours to all who would listen. Nari blinked, surprised at the question. "I've…never really thought about it," she whispered, keeping her voice low so the old man wouldn't wake up, "the School is all I've known since I was a kid…God wasn't exactly a topic I thought about constantly. You know what I mean."

Nickoli opened his eyes, staring at her silently through his dark lashes. He lifted his head to look at her more clearly, "Actually…I don't know," he fingered his sleeve self-consciously, hesitating as if to gauge her reaction, "I didn't come to the School until I was seven…"

"What?" Nari lifted her head, staring at him in confusion.

Nickoli shrugged, turning his gaze to his folded hands, "My mother…she died when I was two, and left me alone with my dad. After she was gone, I don't think he wanted me as much. He used to drink a lot, always staying out really late."

His voice faltered as he turned his head away so Nari couldn't look at him, "Not that it matters to you," he laughed, "you probably don't want to hear it…"

"No," Nari blurted, scooting closer to him on the bench, "tell me," she said softer, "please? I want to listen."

Anything to help her forget.

Nickoli kept his gaze on the floor, slowly tracing small circles across the top of his hand, "It was a car accident," he said after a moment, "a car accident is what killed my mother. A teenager, underage, rolled his truck on top of her car. She died in the hospital a week later. I don't really remember what she looked like…"

He sank lower into the pew, his eyes closing slowly like he was going to fall asleep. "He used to hit me a lot. My father. Always when no one was looking. Always where the bruises wouldn't show. My grades dropped, and I stopped talking to people…lost everything I had. Until one day, I fought back."

Nickoli took a deep breath, finally turning to face Nari, "I hit him in the head with a nine-iron, and he fell over. I didn't want him to get back up, so I hit him again. And again. And again. Social services took me to a boy's home…I didn't see my father after that. Two months later, the School came, saying they were from some stupid behavior correction facility, and they were taking on children without charge."

A small smile quirked at the edge of his lips, "I guess the rest is history."

Nari felt her stomach sink, "I had no idea."

Nickoli folded his arms behind his head, leaning back to stare at the ceiling, "It's no big deal. There's a thousand other kids that share the same story as mine…if you look at it the right way, I was one of the lucky ones."

Nari snorted, "Yeah. Because all the lucky people get bird wings mutated onto the backs in a life-threatening operation that usually ends in a slow and painful death."

"At least I'm alive," Nickoli retorted, "no…I'm better than alive," a genuine smile spread across his face as he tilted his head to look at Nari, "I'm with you."

Nari ducked her head to hide the blush creeping up her neck. It usually wasn't like her to be this open with people. Keep low, stay hidden, don't draw attention to yourself; that had been one of the rules of survival. She grinned wirily to herself. A bang-up job she'd been doing with that.

"Oh, boy," Wolf's voice echoed from the back of the Cathedral, "are we having a party?"

Nari felt her heart jump into her throat as she spun around. A smug grin was plastered across Wolf's face as he set down the bags of food he'd been carrying, "Now tell me," he continued, tapping his chin with his pale finger, "why wasn't I invited?"

Nickoli got to his feet, "We were just talking," he said truthfully, "I wanted to see the Cathedral. Don't worry though, Nari's feeling better, I think it was just her lack of sleep finally catching up with her."

Wolf's eyebrows shot up, momentarily confused. Nari felt the muscles in her shoulder knot; she screwed her eyes shut tightly. Oh, God, don't say something stupid.

"Yeah," Wolf said after a moment, "just lack of sleep. Speaking of which, we should probably all get some shuteye. Nickoli, help me carry these bags up?"

Nari kept her eyes on the floor as she followed Wolf and Nickoli up the stairs. The blood roared against her temples as she gritted her teeth to keep them from chattering. Nickoli had rearranged the room slightly so that the boxes were out of the way and the couch was pushed into a far corner. The bed was against the other wall, an old pillow that had been buried in the boxes throw on top.

After Wolf shut the door behind them, the room fell into pitch darkness. Nari stayed frozen on her feet as she listened to Nickoli feel his way over to the couch and lay down. Her throat constricted when Wolf slipped his cold fingers into hers, leading her silently across the room.

"Don't worry," he said, loud enough for Nickoli to hear as he pushed Nari down on the bed, "we'll find Max soon."

His hot breath was suddenly against her face as he quickly leaned in, "If you said anything," he hissed, sliding his arms around her stomach, "I'll slit his throat before he even gets the chance to scream."

Nari laid back against the lumpy mattress, trembling slightly as Wolf latched his arms around her waist, his burning breath against the back of her neck. Across the room, Nari could just make out the glint of Nickoli's eyes as he watched them. Nari stared back, trying to make the message in her stare strong enough for him to hear.

Help me.