Angel of Darkness (25 page)

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Authors: Cynthia Eden

Tags: #General, #Fiction, #Romance, #Paranormal

BOOK: Angel of Darkness
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“B-bitch is dead!”
Keenan’s fists were at his sides. “She didn’t plan to kill your brother. Another vampire forced her to attack him.” If this Mike was really a vampire hunter, he would
know
all about mind control and compulsions.
Mike lifted his gun. Aimed and fired.
The bullet never broke Keenan’s skin.
“
What the fuck?
”
“She gave you the chance to walk away.” Everything around him was red. The fury nearly blinded him. “Then you came back, and you
burned her.
” He shook his head. “It’s ending. You’re not hurting her again, you’re not—”
Mike’s laughter stopped him.
“Left ... her ...” Mike spat blood and what looked like a tooth onto the ground. “Fool ... did just what he ... said.”
The wind seemed to chill. “Who? Who said?”
More laughter. “Left her ... dead before you get back.”
No, her attackers had been gone. She’d still been conscious, and he’d stopped the fire. She’d said ...
I-I’m okay.
The breath burned in his lungs.
She’d been alive and ... he’d left her. The fury had been so strong and the need to punish driving him—
To kill.
“Bitch will ... s-suffer.”
His breath heaving out, Keenan stalked across the road. “No, she won’t.”
“She is!” Mike’s wild laughter tossed on the wind that shouldn’t be there. “She’s ... sufferin’ now.” His lips were curved wide, showing that bloody grin. “Justice.”
Keenan shook his head. Bull. No one was left to hurt Nicole. She was—
“He said you’d ... leave her.”
“He?”
Get back to Nicole.
The whisper filled in his mind and had his body tensing.
“He’ll kill her.” Mike’s laughter choked in his chest. “When you find ... her ... Vamp will be ripped open—”
Keenan lunged forward and grabbed Mike, yanking him up. “Who?
Who’s
after—”
Mike’s eyes widened. His breath rasped. Pain and fear tightened his face. “W-wings ...”
And he died.
He
died.
Keenan stared down at his hands. Hands that had grabbed Mike.
One touch.
Death
.
Keenan’s hands lifted. Mike’s body dropped to the ground, as hard as stone. Frozen in death.
Sam had been right. All the powers were coming back, and he’d just gotten the power he’d dreaded the most.
“No.” Keenan stumbled back and then stared up at the perfect blue sky. “
No!
”
If his touch could kill, then he couldn’t touch Nicole again. Couldn’t—
Vamp will be ... ripped open
—
He couldn’t let her die. Keenan shoved back the rage and trapped it deep inside his body. He spun and ran back for the motorcycle. He’d stop whoever was after Nicole, stop him, kill him—with a touch.
Because the angel of death was back.
He could almost feel the beat of his wings as he raced down the highway.
 
When Sam came upon the battered motorcycles on the old highway, he smiled.
And knew that his plan was working.
He braked his truck—he rather enjoyed that truck—and climbed out to survey the wreckage. Two men, still alive. Groaning and twitching on the ground. One man ...
Sam walked closer, his booted feet thudding on the concrete.
One dead.
Sam’s head cocked as he crouched and studied the body. Big Mike. A semi-legend in vampire-killing circles. Mike and his brother Jeff had followed the motto that the only good vamp was a dead one. So they’d staked every vamp they could find.
At least, they had until old Jeff had gotten good and drunk one night and let a sweet little newbie vamp with a good ass and a bad bite get too close.
The urge to fuck could blind even the smartest hunters.
Sam’s gaze tracked over the dead man. No wound that he could see. Not on the outside, anyway. But if Big Mike had died the way he suspected, the marks would be on the inside.
Smiling, Sam rose. So the Fallen had come into more of his old powers. Good. Keenan would probably be afraid now, and worried that every person he touched he’d kill.
Sam sauntered back to his truck.
Keenan should be afraid. Very afraid.
That was why Keenan would be so glad to see him. Ah, yes, the Fallen was just where he wanted him to be.
My game, my rules.
 
“
Nicole!
” Keenan yelled her name as he jumped from the motorcycle. Smoke rose, curling in the air above the dying fire. Blood stained the ground, but Nicole wasn’t there.
“
Nicole!
” His voice thundered out as he ran up the porch steps. Maybe she was inside. Maybe Mike had just been messing with his head.
Yes, she was inside. Probably cleaning her wounds or getting ready to rip into him for leaving her behind. She
was
inside. She had to be.
Two minutes later, he realized she was gone. All that remained was an empty house and a blood trail that led to the woods.
He stared at those woods. Had she gone chasing someone? He sucked in a breath and ran into the brush, trying to follow the light spray of blood that he saw on the ground. He shouted her name as he ran, afraid that he’d be too late.
Stay away from her, Az.
He hadn’t fallen just to lose her.
The woods cleared up ahead. An old, red dirt road cut through the trees. Fresh tire tracks had sank into the dirt.
The blood trail disappeared.
Gone.
No, not gone.
Taken.
And he’d killed the one man who could lead him to her. Mike had told him ...
He’ll kill her.
Who the hell was “he”?
Nicole was strong. She wouldn’t be easy prey.
But she’d been bleeding and covered in blisters and burns. His head tilted back as he glared up at the blue sky. The sunlight would work against her.
If she could just survive until night, until he found her ...
Stay alive.
Because if she died, there would be hell to pay.
He whirled and began running back to the house. Mike might be dead, but two of those bastards in his gang had survived. He’d find them and they
would
talk—or they’d die, too.
His legs pumped as he ran faster, faster, and the trees passed him in a blur.
Is she hurting?
He burst out of the woods—and found Sam lounging against the side of a shiny black pickup truck.
Sam lifted a brow when he saw Keenan. “Everything okay?”
He didn’t hesitate. He ran right for Sam. The Death Touch never worked on anyone with pure angel blood. So when he drove his fist into Sam’s stomach, he didn’t worry about killing the guy. It would take a lot more than a punch to kill Sam, but the jerk
could
be killed.
Sam took the punch and didn’t even flinch. “Ah ... good to see you, too, Keenan.”
Keenan grabbed his shirt. “Where is she?”
Sam blinked at that. “Uh, which she?”
His back teeth ground together. “Nicole.”
“Oh, yeah. Your little vamp.” Now his brows lowered as his gaze darted toward the house. “I thought she was inside.”
“No.” If Sam didn’t know where she was, Keenan was wasting his time. He thrust the guy back and jumped on the motorcycle.
But Sam was there beside him, moving with his enhanced speed, a speed that hadn’t returned fully to Keenan, not yet.
“Got the touch back, don’t you?” Sam asked and he was
smiling.
Keenan revved the engine.
“I saw the little playdate you had with Big Mike out on the highway.” Sam’s appreciative whistle rose even over the howl of the motorcycle. “Playing rough, are you?”
Big Mike.
His head turned, slowly, and red began to flicker over his vision once more. “How did you know I was out here?”
Sam shrugged. His eyes didn’t waver. “I knew the minute you bought this place. Little happens in New Orleans that I don’t know about.”
Time seemed to slow down. No—maybe
he
just moved real fast. Because in the next second, the motorcycle was on the ground and he had his hands around Sam’s throat.
Sam was still smiling. “Gettin’ your speed back, too.”
“
Little happens that you don’t know about?
” His voice was a growl, all he could manage right then with the fury choking him. “You knew Big Mike, you knew where I was hiding with Nicole—you knew it all!
Dammit, where is she?
”
“Easy.” Sam wasn’t fighting back, yet. “I don’t—”
“It was a trap! They came at her with bullets and fire while she was weak. When I went after them—”
Sam knocked his hands away. “You shouldn’t have left your girl. You never leave her behind, not if you—”
“
They tried to kill her! They weren’t getting away!
”
Sam nodded. “Still don’t have control, do you? I thought ... after six months ... maybe you’d be used to the emotions by now.” He rocked back on his heels. “Guess not.”
“Where is she!”
Sam stabbed a finger in Keenan’s chest. “Get control. Emotions are shit. They screw with your head. Fear. Anger. Need. Lust. Humans are born with those feelings, and they still drive them crazy. What do you think they do to beings who’ve been without ’em for centuries?”
They tear me apart.
Like Nicole’s captor was tearing her apart?
The wind whipped against his face.
“Control,” Sam snapped out. “If you lose it, you’ll be no good to her.”
“I have to find her!”
“Then let me help you.” Sam’s voice seemed so sincere. The guy was very good at controlling his image, Keenan knew that. “I know where Mike’s men would run. I can show you where they went to lick their wounds.”
“If she dies ...”
“That will really suck, won’t it? You fell to save her, and those bastards up there still take her from you.” Sam’s voice thickened. “ ’Bout time someone showed those assholes that they aren’t the only game in town. ’Bout time they realized even precious
angels
can suffer.”
Keenan swallowed his rage.
Control.
“Take me to them.”
“You’ll owe me if I do,” Sam said, his eyes watchful.
“
Take. Me.To.Them.
”
“Then I guess we have a deal.” Sam held out his hand. “I was coming out here to say I’d have your back, that you could count on me.” He still sounded
so sincere,
but Sam’s eyes showed no emotion. “I never expected to find ... this.”
Keenan couldn’t believe him.
Sam’s offered hand didn’t drop. “Do we have a deal? I’ll help you ... and when the time comes, you help me.”
Help you do what?
Did it matter? He grabbed Sam’s hand. “Deal.”
Brimstone teased his nose.
“Then let’s go find those hunters.” Sam’s smile was evil. “And make ’em beg to tell us everything they know.”
Keenan nodded and finally realized just how far he had fallen.
Because the brimstone scent wasn’t coming from Sam.
From me.
C
HAPTER
T
HIRTEEN
 
S
he wasn’t dead. Why wasn’t she dead? Nicole sat up, but didn’t rise far. Her arms were chained to the floor. Thick, dark metal chains secured her.
Where was she? The last thing she remembered ... Carlos had been—
Carlos.
He wasn’t a human. Wasn’t just prey. He was a shifter.
Which brought back the question ... why was she still alive?
And not just alive. She tested those chains again. When she stretched her arms, she didn’t feel the lash of pain. She was weak, yeah, but the blisters were gone, and the wounds in her shoulder and side were healed. Night had fallen, she could tell that instinctively, but the darkness wouldn’t have healed her. She would have needed blood.
Blood she hadn’t gotten.
A metal door groaned open and a musky scent teased her nose. “Awake, are you?” Carlos shuffled inside, then came to a quick stop.
It was dark in there, but her vamp senses were enhanced so that she could see him perfectly, and she saw the surprise that flashed across Carlos’s face.
He didn’t expect me to be healed, either.
So she’d
definitely
not gotten any blood. But she felt great. Why?
Keenan.
The answer whispered through her mind. His blood was different, and it was starting to make her stronger.
“How the hell did you do that?” He sprang at her. His hands slid down her arms. His claws scratched her skin. “You were barely alive. How did you—”
She lunged for his neck.
He swore and dove back.
“Careful there, shifter,” she taunted, “get close enough again, and I’ll rip your throat open.” And, oh, but she wished she had her silver bullets right then. But no, that gun she’d taken from the feeding room was back at Keenan’s. She hadn’t thought she’d need silver in order to fight off humans.
Carlos was on his ass now, and his eyes glittered at her. His claws scraped across the cement because, yeah, she was sitting on hard cement, in some kind of locked room.
No, wait. Her gaze darted to the left. That window—it was stained glass. Her nostrils twitched. She could smell the shifter now—
won’t ever forget what that woodsy smell means again
—but she could also smell ...
Death.
He laughed. “Figured it out, did you? Well, hell, I thought ... what better place to store you?”
Than a cemetery.
She was in a mausoleum. One that had been altered to include her chains. At least he’d taken out the dead body.
But she suspected he had plans to leave another body,
hers
, in its place. “Why am I still breathing?”
“Because I need you to be.” He rose and brushed off his hands. “When you stop being useful, I’ll drive a stake into your heart.”
She didn’t see a stake on him. She pulled at her chains—no give.
“Your ... friend. The man who was with you in Mexico. . .”
She stared at him, not letting her expression alter.
“He’s your lover,” Carlos said.
She didn’t speak.
His nostrils flared. “I can smell him all over you! I know he’s been fucking you.”
“If you know, then why’d you ask?”
Bastard.
“Because I’m still surprised an angel would fuck something like you.”
He knew about Keenan. Oh, that couldn’t be good.
I’m in chains—how can anything about this be good?
“Something like me?” She said carefully. “What, you mean compared to an
animal
like you? At least I don’t grow fur and piss on the ground when I—”
Ah, now the stake was out. He’d had it tucked in his boot. His right hand gripped the stake as he bared
his
fangs at her. “Maybe your dead body would be just as useful to me.”
The scent of flowers wafted to her nose.
She tilted her chin up. “Maybe.”
He shook his head. “You’re trying to push me, but that’s not going to work,
querida.
” He backed up a step. “You’ll get death, but only when I’m ready to give it.”
So why was he waiting?
“He’ll come for you.” His twisted lips mocked her. “As soon as he figures out where you are, anyway. If it takes too long, I’ll just have to make sure he gets a tip.”
“Why do you want Keenan?” If he knew Keenan was an angel, then Carlos had to realize that he didn’t want to tangle with her lover.
“The angel has something I need.” He gave a quick laugh. “Something you need, too.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“When I’m done with him ...” Carlos laughed. “Dust will be all that’s left.”
Angel’s Dust.
Fear shoved into her gut as she understood. She needed Keenan’s blood to live. Hell, his blood was probably why she’d healed so quickly.
An angel’s blood.
And that vamp in the feeding room, he’d said demons could be killed by Angel’s Dust. But to make the Dust ...
“Guess you’ve already learned how powerful the new lover is, huh, vamp?”
She didn’t speak.
“I’ll have to drain him dry to get enough for the mix.” He lifted a brow. “Is he a bleeder? How long do you think it will take for him to—”
“Screw you!”
His gaze raked her. “Maybe. Later.” His claws tapped against his chin. “You know, I just thought you were another walking parasite, and then I learned you were strolling around with one very precious gift.”
Keenan.
“Do you know how many demons I’ll be able to kill with his blood? Do you know how many
Other
will fucking bow to me?”
The chains dug deeper into her flesh. “The stories ... they’re wrong.”
Can’t let him get Keenan.
“Demons
came
from the Fallen, so Keenan’s blood won’t do anything to them!”
“His blood will kill them.” Absolute certainty in his voice. “What creates—can destroy. You should know by now that’s the way of the
Other
world.”
She swallowed back that rising fear. “He’ll kill you.”
He tucked the stake back into his boot and sauntered toward the door. “I don’t think he will. He’ll be too worried about saving you.”
“You won’t be able to hurt him! You won’t—”
Carlos’s claws lifted, and they were wicked sharp. “Did you know that angels can’t be injured by most weapons?” He nodded, not waiting for her to respond. “
Si
, they’re like the ancient demons that way. But now I know your Keenan’s weaknesses.” He turned away from her. “
Both
of them.”
Then he yanked open the door, that echoing groan filled the tomb, and after he stalked out, she was left with silence.
She pulled at the chains.
Nothing.
“What did he mean?” She whispered to the shadows. Shadows that were too dark near the left wall, right where the floral scent was strongest.
Silence.
She pulled harder. The thick metal dug deeper into her wrists and blood began to drip onto the floor. “
What did he mean?
” She shouted. “Dammit, I
know
you’re there!”
The air shifted around her, as if a fan had been turned on. Or as if wings had flapped.
“
Answer me!
”
“He knows what can hurt Keenan,” came the dark, cold voice. Az. Like she’d ever forget the sound of his voice.
“The gunshots didn’t hurt him.” Was the chain starting to give? She tugged harder, rising to her knees and straining as she stretched forward. “There weren’t any bullet wounds, no—”
“Weapons forged by man can’t hurt him.” He’d moved. She couldn’t see him. She just had the impression of dark shadows shifting. “And he controls fire,” Az said, “fire can burn his flesh, but it can never
kill
him.”
Fire’s kiss could sure kill her. “Then what is it? What makes him—”
“
You
make him bleed easily enough.”
She swallowed. “Yes.” She did. Biting him was as easy as biting a human. A slice right through the flesh.
“Because your weapon wasn’t forged by mortal hands.”
Her weapon was her teeth.
Carlos’s weapons would be his very, very big claws—and his teeth. Teeth that were sharper than hers. Not weapons forged by man. Shit.
“Get me out of here!” The chains wouldn’t break. “Get me out!”
“I can’t.” Said flatly.
“You’re just going to stand there?” Her eyes narrowed as she strained to see. Az seemed to
be
a shadow.
“I’m going to wait,” he said. “My job is to wait and then to take.”
Her soul.
“Do you fear death?” He asked her, and she could have sworn the guy sounded curious. Great.
“What
I
fear is what is going to happen to Keenan!” If Carlos got to him, he could take Keenan’s head with a swipe of his razor-sharp claws.
No.
“You care.” Again, the faintest hint of curiosity or ... surprise? “I didn’t expect that.”
“Well, a year ago, I never expected I’d get turned into a vampire and I’d have an angel stand by and
refuse
to help me while I’m trapped in a crypt.”
Silence.
But he was still there. She could feel him.
“Don’t you ever get tired of watching people die?” She gritted. The chain was just locked too tightly around her wrist. She’d always had too-sharp, too-big wrist bones.
“I do what I was born to do. Watch. Shepherd.”
“Shepherd?” Yes, the bones were too big in her wrists and her hands ... That was the problem.
“I take the souls when they are ready to leave this plane.”
“And you’re never tempted? Never once do you think, hey, maybe this woman wants to live longer with her daughter and not die from cancer when she’s only twenty-eight. . .”
Her mother
and the pain still bled inside her. “Or maybe this guy wants to have a chance to see—”
“I know why you were at the church that night.”
That shut her up. Figured he’d know. “I never made it inside the church.” The doors had been barred to her. Talk about a big glowing sign of things to come.
“He watched you then.”
Keenan.
“He watched too much, I knew it, but ...”
“But
you
didn’t stop him.” Ah, sounded just like Mr. Hands Off. “You could have stopped him from falling!”
“If I had, you’d be dead.”
Right. There was no win-win in this game.
“He’s losing himself in you.”
She wasn’t sure what that meant. And the chains wouldn’t break, so that meant there was only one—
“If he goes too far, there will be no saving him. Once the line is crossed, he’s lost.”
What line? “Keenan’s not lost! He’s had my back this whole time and, by damn, I will have his!” Once she got out of there.
“Carlos can kill him.”
The chain wouldn’t break.
“I can’t see a Fallen’s future, can’t see what will be, so I don’t know how quickly he’ll die.”
Screw this. She sucked in a deep breath and slammed her right hand and wrist into the concrete. Once. Twice.
The chain wouldn’t break, but she could. Her wrist bones were twisted, mangled, but now she could get them out of the chain. One hand down.
It will heal.
“Why?” His voice, showing more emotion. This time, there was no mistaking the confusion.
“Because he’s not dying.” She pounded her other wrist against the cement and ignored the waves of pain that rolled through her. She and pain were starting to become good friends. Tears slipped down her cheeks but she didn’t realize she was crying until she tasted the salt on her lips. She rammed her hand into the ground. Once, twice more, and the bones shifted. Nicole slid that hand free. “
He’s not dying.
”
“How will you save him? You can’t even fight now, you can’t—”
“I’ll just get a little bite first ...” She rose, but almost staggered from the pain. “Then I’ll be ready.”

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