Night of the Dark Horse (An Allegra Fairweather Mystery) Read Free Page A

fine,” he said. “Grab hold of my shoulders. I’m going to take off.”
    I loved flying Air Casper. Not only was it really quick, but it gave me the chance to get up close and personal with my favorite angel. I put my arms around his neck and prepared for takeoff. As usual, he took off vertically and gradually leveled into a horizontal position. It was good to feel his body lifting me on the air currents. I closed my eyes. I wasn’t even cold anymore. Then his muscles began to tremble. He dipped sharply, losing height.
    “I can’t...” He panted. “I’m going down.”
    We descended rapidly, crashing the last few feet into long grass. Casper was beneath me so he bore the brunt of the crash, landing face down in soggy ground. I rolled off him. He lay still.
    “Casper?” I poked his shoulder. “You awake in there?”
    He groaned and rolled onto his back. “Looks like I can’t fly with a passenger. At least not until I’m stronger.” He looked embarrassed. “A guardian angel who can’t help his morsub isn’t much use.”
    When Casper mentioned help, he didn’t mean in terms of solving a case. That kind of help was forbidden by the Powers-That-Be because Casper could zoom about invisibly and learn things I couldn’t, which would give me an unfair advantage. Apparently the Power-That-Be didn’t consider the many times Casper had saved me from certain death as being an unfair advantage. Once I used to discuss this with Casper and try to understand. Now I accepted that the Powers-That-Be weren’t always logical. They danced to their own tune, and I just had to deal with it.
    So, when Casper mentioned help, he really meant protecting me.
    “I can look after myself.”
    “That defeats the purpose of having a guardian angel. Anyway I’m no use to you at the moment. I—”
    “Can it, Casper. I’m in no mood for a pity party.”
    “Angels don’t do pity. I was trying to be practical.”
    “Forget it. Just concentrate on getting well.”
    “I’ll still watch over you.” He got to his feet as though to emphasize the watching over thing. “Even though I might not be able to help you out of a dangerous situation.”
    “Well, it’s the thought that counts, right?”
    “Ouch.”
    I hadn’t meant to sound snarky. I tried again. “What I meant was that I appreciate you watching over me. Look you’d better get back to Cloud 9 and take a nap or something. I can walk back to Ronan’s.”
    Casper’s big shoulders hunched as though he was totally pissed off with his weakened state.
    “Don’t sweat it,” I said. “You’ll get better.” When he didn’t reply, I patted his muddy cheek. “Even if you don’t, I’ll still love you.” It was a throwaway line. Too late I realized I shouldn’t have mentioned the L word. The Powers-That-Be didn’t like romantic relationships between angels and their morsubs. If they suspected I cared more for Casper than I should, we could be separated permanently. “I mean I love you as a friend.”
    Casper held my eyes. “I know what you mean.” My heart skipped a beat.
    The tension stretched between us until I had to break it or kiss him. I chose the sensible option and asked, “You sure you can fly by yourself?”
    “It’s difficult, but so long as I don’t have a passenger, I can stay airborne.”
    “Guess I’ll see you ‘round, then,” I said.
    “Don’t count on it.”
    “It’s okay. I really can take care of myself.” I waited for his wings to appear, fully intending to watch him take off, but nothing happened.
    He looked kind of embarrassed. “Do you mind turning around?”
    I grinned. “Does this mean you’re about to strip?”
    “You should be so lucky,” he quipped. Then his face fell. “I’d rather you didn’t see me take off in my weakened condition.”
    “I don’t care what you look like. Anyway, I thought angels weren’t vain.”
    “This has nothing to do with vanity.”
    “Then what?”
    “I don’t know how to explain. My