Wicked Kiss (Nightwatchers) (6 page)

The gray watched me carefully. “What exactly do you think
you’re doing?”

“Defending myself from a killer.” My voice shook.

He laughed. “Seriously? You’re one of us, in case you weren’t
aware. I saw you last week with Stephen at Crave.”

Suddenly, I recognized him. He was one of my Aunt Natalie’s
minions who’d hung out at the nightclub. This was one of the grays who’d held
Bishop in place while Natalie tortured him.

Fear and hatred stormed inside me.

“You’re not supposed to feed!” I held the sharp piece of wood
out in front of me like I was a vampire slayer. I wanted to check Cassandra and
make sure she was all right, but I knew I couldn’t turn my back on this monster
for a second.

“I didn’t. Not for a long time. I tried to follow the
rules.”

“Why are you so strong? Grays aren’t any stronger than humans.
What are you?”

He studied me without looking the least bit concerned about my
impromptu weapon. “You know butterflies start as ugly caterpillars, right?”

My heart pounded so hard I could barely hear over the sound of
it. “Is this science class?”

He shrugged. “You need to come with me. We can be friends.”

“I don’t want any more friends. Not like you.” Something
occurred to me. My gaze snapped to his. “Where’s Stephen? I need to find
him!”

His lips stretched over straight, white teeth. “Come with me
and we’ll all have a nice chat.”

Crap. Even the possibility that he knew where to find Stephen
was like throwing out tantalizing bread crumbs and then asking me to follow him
to the loaf. But I couldn’t trust him.

“No way. Tell me where Stephen is.”

“Nah. Not if you’re hanging around friends like these.” He
flicked a glance at Cassandra.

I swallowed hard, not sparing more than a worried glance at the
unconscious angel. “Why are you different than other grays?”

“Am I?” He gave me a grin—one of those frustrating ones that
showed that he believed he knew something I didn’t know...and he wasn’t
talking.

Even from a distance, I felt his evil like thick slime
spreading over my skin. He had no remorse about the dead girl lying four feet
away from him. Not even a glimmer.

It was as if he had become one of the zombie grays—but he
wasn’t mindless. It shouldn’t have been possible.

Whatever he was, it was wrong. Dark. Malicious. He knew right
from wrong, yet he’d chosen to destroy someone’s life anyway. He might have
control, but he didn’t bother to use it.

When he stepped closer to me I took a shaky step back.
Cassandra was in my sightline, but she still wasn’t moving.

“You need to join with the people who understand you,” he said.
“Don’t get caught on the wrong side of this tug-of-war.”

“How many are left?” I asked, my voice choked. “How many
grays?”

“Have you seen the papers? They’re calling us a kissing mob. A
gang of people who randomly kiss strangers. They have no idea what we can really
do. What we really are.”

I’d seen it. It was buried in the
Trinity
Chronicle
as an amusing fluff piece on page fifteen. Nobody realized
what a threat it was. Nobody realized that the dozens of people who’d gone
missing or turned up mysteriously dead in recent weeks—articles that ran much
closer to the front of the newspaper—were related. It was a mystery. There were
no signs of trauma found on the bodies, apart from the mysterious black lines
left around their mouths. Those lines didn’t fade on a dead victim.

“Give that to me before you hurt somebody.” He looked so calm
it was maddening.

When he reached for the piece of wood, I slashed it at him,
cutting his arm.

He snarled at me. “Bitch!”

This time when he grabbed for my weapon I slashed the palm of
his hand. Blood dripped to the ground as pain flashed across his expression.

He whacked me across the face so hard that the makeshift stake
flew out of my hand, and hit the wall. White-hot pain momentarily blinded
me.

I opened my mouth to scream, but he clamped his hand so tight
over my mouth I thought he might break my teeth.

He began to drag me down the street. “I think you need to feed.
I can set you up. Your head will get a lot clearer soon. Promise.”

“Let go of me!” My screams were muffled by his hand. I tried to
bite him. I fought against him, scratching and clawing, but his bleeding arm may
as well have been made of steel. This guy wasn’t human. Not in any way. And he
was more than just a gray.

If he shoved me in a small room with a human, based on how I’d
dealt with Colin earlier, I wasn’t sure if I was strong enough to resist. Maybe
for a little while, but not forever. It would be my worst fear come to life.

Suddenly, Bishop stepped out from behind the corner up ahead.
For a moment I thought it was all my imagination, that my brains had been
rattled when the gray hit me. But it was true.

He was here.

And he looked mad enough to kill.

Chapter 6

My heart leaped at the sight of him.

Bishop’s gaze was narrowed and dangerously fixed on the gray.
“Take your hands off her right now.”

The gray removed his hand from my mouth, instead twisting it
painfully into my hair to hold me still. I shrieked. “Is this the rescue party?
Go check on the blonde. She’s one of yours. This one...she’s one of mine.”

“Wrong,” I snarled.

Bishop’s eyes flashed bright blue. The dagger was already
clenched in his grip. “Roth, check on Cassandra. I’ll handle this.”

Roth, who’d been standing just behind Bishop, moved toward
Cassandra just as the gray shoved me away from him. I slammed hard into the
wall, knocking my breath away and rattling my bones. I wheezed for a second and
struggled to stay on my feet. This time, I tasted blood.

I whirled around to see Bishop charge the gray, dagger in hand.
Much better than a piece of sharp wood.

“Be careful!” I yelled.

He wasn’t being very careful. He didn’t hesitate—just as he
hadn’t hesitated with Cassandra.

At the last second, the gray brought his foot up to smash
Bishop right in the face, knocking him backward. He landed hard on his back, but
leaped back up a moment later, shaking himself off.

“Interesting,” Bishop said with a frown. He was now bleeding
from a vicious cut on his forehead.

“Good word.
Interesting.
I’ll take
it.” The gray grinned. “And I’ll take the girl when I’m finished with you and
your friends. She’ll be happier with her own kind.”

“You can try to take her. You’ll fail.”

“We’ll see.”

Bishop studied him with narrowed eyes. His gaze flicked to the
victim lying nearby before grimly returning to the gray. “What are you? I
thought you were a gray, but you’re something else.”

“Nope. Just a run of the mill ‘gray.’” He even made sarcastic
air quotes as his smile stretched. It was a term made up by Heaven and Hell, not
by grays themselves. “Time changes things. By not slaughtering all of us last
week, you gave us the time we needed to adapt, to evolve. We’re glad you sent
Natalie’s ass back to the Hollow. She was a serious buzzkill.”

“Bishop,” Roth growled. “We need Zach. Her back’s broken.”

I stared at him with horror. I didn’t think a broken back could
kill an angel—only being stabbed by the golden dagger could do that—but if she
didn’t get healed quickly it could cause serious problems. She could be
paralyzed.

Bishop swore under his breath. “Let’s get this over with.”

He stormed toward the gray again, but was deflected. He landed
hard on his shoulder this time and I heard a sickening crunch. His dagger
skittered across the pavement away from him.

“Bishop!” I yelled, terrified he’d been hurt as badly as
Cassandra.

Roth got to his feet and rushed the gray but the gray easily
slammed his fist into the demon’s face.

I watched this with sheer disbelief. Grays weren’t supposed to
be any stronger or any more dangerous than humans. Except for the kiss.

But this guy...

He’d just taken down two angels and a demon without even
breaking a sweat. What was going on here?

Bishop struggled to get to his feet, but the guy slammed his
foot down on Bishop’s broken shoulder. Bishop let out a roar of pain and
rage.

Without thinking, I started for him, fists clenched.

“Stay back, Samantha,” Bishop snarled. “Don’t get closer.”

My steps faltered. I trembled as I searched the side street,
looking for something that might help.

The gray laughed loudly, and then glanced at me. “Ready to
go?”

No. But I was ready to kill him. Seeing Bishop hurt had brought
something out from deep inside of me—something that saw red and wanted to
inflict injury.

But before I could take even another step closer—against
Bishop’s wishes—the golden dagger sliced through the air, hitting the gray
directly in the chest. He snarled with pain, then yanked it out and threw the
now-bloody weapon away from him.

I spun to see who’d thrown it. Zach had arrived and was
crouched beside Cassandra. His eyes blazed bright blue in the darkness. Bishop’s
weren’t the only eyes that did that; it was an angel thing.

Zach had thrown the knife with perfect aim. And here I thought
he was a peaceful angel who saved kids from drowning and could heal
injuries.

He was also a deadly warrior when necessary.

For a horrible second I thought the dagger’d had no affect at
all on this gray, that along with his super strength, he’d somehow become
immortal and omnipotent.

Not the case.

He dropped to his knees. Blood soaked the front of his white
shirt. He sent a hate-filled glare in my direction.

“Take a good look,” he growled. “This is your future whether
you like it or not. Soon enough, they’ll kill you, too.”

He shuddered, then he fell forward onto the pavement.

There wasn’t even a moment to catch my breath before the Hollow
appeared out of nowhere and opened wide.

I’d seen it twice before. Both times it had scared me so much I
could barely function.

Seeing a black, swirling vortex appear out of absolutely
nowhere wasn’t the most natural sight in the world. It opened like a mouth with
a bottomless hunger, ready to take whatever supernatural was in its path. It was
triggered by a death, by blood, but it didn’t seem to differentiate between the
living and the dead. If you were in its path, then you were in serious
trouble.

It was torture to think that Carly was in there somewhere—still
alive. And I had no idea how to get her back out again.

The gray was closest. With fingerlike tendrils of living,
breathing darkness, the Hollow reached out like a horrible hand and pulled him
into the vortex. I swear, it was bigger this time, and stronger, as if all of
the supernaturals it had taken had made it gain a few pounds. It shifted as if
scanning the area, stopping on me for a brief moment. I swear, the Hollow looked
at me. Right at me.

“Carly!” I screamed. “Carly! Where are you?”

Maybe if she could hear me. Maybe...

The horrific swirling gateway began to inch closer to
me...nearer and nearer...

But then Bishop grabbed hold of me and tried to drag me back,
his teeth clenched with pain from his massive shoulder injury. It was enough to
snap me out of my daze. I held on to him tightly. The Hollow wouldn’t hesitate
to grab me. It had tried before, and I had the strangest feeling that it was
annoyed that it hadn’t succeeded.

“We’ll find Carly,” he shouted, barely loud enough for me to
hear him over the roar of the Hollow. “But it won’t be tonight. I’m not losing
you like this.”

To my right, I saw a horrific sight. Cassandra’s unconscious
body was sliding across the pavement toward the vortex that had moved away from
me. It reached for her, black smoky fingers curling around her ankles.

But then seemingly out of nowhere, Roth launched himself
through the air, tackling Cassandra, and rolling them both out of range.

With no one left in its sights, the Hollow began to swirl
smaller and smaller until it finally, thankfully, disappeared completely. The
thunderous sound—like being in the middle of a tornado—vanished like somebody
had pressed the off button on a gigantic stereo.

I still clung to Bishop. He pulled back from me, checking my
face, my arms, making sure that I wasn’t hurt. His brows were drawn tightly
together and his left arm hung slackly at his side.

“Are you okay?” he demanded.

I fought to breathe normally, but I nodded. “Bishop, your
shoulder...”

“It’s nothing.”

“It’s shattered.”

“I’ll live. But you...” His gaze moved over my face, his brows
tight together. “You’re not seriously hurt.”

“No. But Cassandra is.”

He swore under his breath. Then, with a last searching look, he
pushed up off the ground and went to Cassandra’s side.

It was so quick I’d barely had a chance to let the tantalizing
scent of his soul affect me. I wished I could say that after what had happened
with the gray it didn’t bother me, but it had. My hunger surged forward. I
squeezed my eyes shut and tried to push it back.

“Can you fix her?” Bishop’s words to Zach were tight. Roth,
Zach and Bishop gathered in a circle around Cassandra.

I stayed where I was, a safe distance away, watching
tensely.

“I think so.” Zach gently rolled Cassandra over onto her
stomach.

I’d experienced something extremely similar nearly two weeks
ago when a searchlight had led me to Roth. When he’d been “reborn” after the
ritual, he’d immediately sensed I was a gray. And he’d been sent here to
kill
grays. He quickly and efficiently broke my neck.
I’d been only moments away from death when Zach managed to heal me. And I swear,
when an angel heals you, it’s as if nothing ever happened. Better than that,
really. My neck had honestly never felt so good. Still did. He was like a
Heaven-sent chiropractor.

“Cassandra, can you hear us?” Bishop asked, touching her
shoulder gently.

“Yes,” she whispered.

“Hold still and let Zach help you.”

“All right. Go ahead.” Her pain-filled eyes narrowed. “And
hurry up.”

I couldn’t help but smile shakily at that. The angel was very
bossy and it didn’t matter what the situation was. I wondered if all host angels
were the same.

Zach pushed her sweater up farther to reveal more of her
winged-tattoo-like imprint, identical to Bishop’s and the other angels’. Then he
placed his hands on Cassandra’s spine and closed his eyes. His hands began to
glow white. Cassandra cried out, and every muscle in my body tensed in
sympathy.

I remembered that this felt worse before it felt better—like
fire burning straight through your flesh and into your bones.

Finally, Zach returned her sweater to its regular position and
helped her to her feet. She wavered unsteadily for a moment, but then got her
balance.

“You’re next,” Zach said, before he quickly worked to heal
Bishop’s broken shoulder and facial cuts and scrapes.

This was close. Too close. That gray had wanted to crush him
into dust right in front of me.

Cassandra looked at Zach. “Thank you.” Then at Bishop. “Both of
you.”

Roth cleared his throat. She flicked a glance at him.

“I saved you, sweetheart,” he told her flatly. “You almost got
sucked into the Hollow.”

Her expression tightened, but she finally nodded. “Thank you,
Roth.”

“Yeah, whatever.” He laughed. “I saved an angel’s ass. Can’t
believe it. Good thing you’ve got a nice ass.”

Her cheeks turned red before she looked at me. “I apologize for
failing you.”

I stared at her, stunned. “Failing me? He knocked you out
cold.”

“It’s unacceptable.” She shook her head, looking angry at
herself. “I should have expected—”

“Expected something like that?” Bishop said, crossing his arms
over his chest. “You’re not omniscient. You didn’t know. That was different than
anything we’ve ever been faced with before.”

“It was horrible.” She let out a shaky sigh and let Bishop put
his arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him.

Despite everything we’d just experienced, the sight made my
face start to burn. I fought hard not to let my inner flare of jealousy show on
the surface. “He knew where Stephen was.”

Bishop’s gaze flicked to mine. “Did you want us to let him
live?”

My attention brushed against the dead girl nearby and my throat
closed. “No. He was a monster. But I—I don’t understand why he was that
strong.”

He let go of Cassandra to come stand right in front of me. I
studied the ground, feeling his gaze on me, before I finally looked up to meet
it. He raised his hand as if to touch me, but then his hand dropped to his side,
clenching into a fist. “I haven’t seen anything like that before. Feeding too
much...it must make them very strong just before it destroys their minds.”

“Maybe he was about to change,” Roth said. “Maybe this was the
last gasp of strength before he lost himself completely.”

“I’m glad Cassandra will be staying with you,” Bishop said.
“She can keep you safe.”

“I’ll do my very best,” Cassandra said softly.

She hadn’t exactly kept me safe a minute ago—or herself, for
that matter. That gray would have easily dragged me out of here if Bishop hadn’t
shown up. But I couldn’t hold it against her. That gray’s strength had been a
surprise to all of us.

“Go home. Get some rest,” Bishop said to me, then turned to
Cassandra. “We’ll talk more tomorrow.”

She nodded. “Again, thank you for your assistance. I thought we
were on our own.”

“Bishop tends to stalk from a discreet distance,” I said.
“You’ll hardly notice him, really.”

His gaze snapped to mine and a smile tugged at his lips. “I’m
not stalking you. Never have.”

The smile helped warm me. “Watching from a distance. Secretly
observing my every move. I think you might need a dictionary, angel.”

“You’re welcome, by the way.”

My cheeks heated again, for a completely different reason this
time. “Thank you.”

Finally, with effort, I tore my gaze from his and began walking
away. Cassandra caught up to me a block later. We exchanged a look, and I
couldn’t help but notice her expression and mood were much graver than they had
been when we’d left the church.

“You okay?” I asked.

She just nodded, keeping her eyes on the path ahead of us.

Even for an angel, being broken and then healed again had to be
a traumatic experience. I’d planned to dislike her forever, especially due to
her immediate connection with Bishop, but I found I couldn’t after what had
happened.

I wasn’t saying I liked her, but despising her for being
perfect, blonde and beautiful wasn’t a good enough reason for absolute and
immediate dismissal.