Something seeped into her, pushing at her, shredding her soul, her very existence. A thick oily sludge blanketed her. Her breath quickened as she put more effort into staying in her body, maintaining control. Sweat broke out on her brow. She folded in her seat, concentrating on just staying . . . her
She gritted her teeth. “Dexx. Go.”
He put Jackie in gear, her tires squealing.
Sven lowered his head, his arms spread as his lip curled.
Smoke rolled around them. Jackie struggled to break free. She rumbled and roared, but didn’t move.
Let me in. Let me see him.
Paige dug her nails into the leather seat.
Jackie roared in pain.
Something pushed at Paige, like someone’s hand inside her chest.
She deflected it with every ounce of will she had.
The foreign force stopped.
Sven’s beautiful face shown.
Her gift flared. Names rose to her lips.
“Mammon, Shax, Abaddon.” Her voice was so distant. “Rise. I need you.”
From the smoke from Jackie’s tires, three bodies materialized.
Jackie ceased her struggle, her motor purring as she faced off against the demons.
Dexx’s chest rose and fell as he wrung the steering wheel. “Pea, what’s going—”
One of the demons stumbled forward, his arms flung wide. Surprise and shock raced across his expression.
Sven watched through narrowed eyes.
Dexx pushed himself as far back in his seat as he could manage.
Something inside her slid, went sideways.
A stick crashed against Jackie’s door.
Then the demon flew toward the car, crashing into Jackie’s windshield, his face plastered against the cracked glass. His fingers stretched. His bloodied mouth moved. His black eyes glazed.
His soul permeated her existence. He pushed at her, tearing at her, making room for him within her body.
A wild roar burst from her.
The body plastered to the windshield disappeared, leaving only smears of blood in its place. Molten heat sizzled along the glass, melting the cracked edges back together.
She stared through eyes that weren’t her own, fought for control of lips that refused to obey her commands. One thought shot through her.
Not again.
Names flew from her mouth, names she didn’t know.
Bodies appeared around them. Men, flexing hands, hopping in place, preparing for battle.
Shit. Shit.
“Hey, demon,” Dexx shouted.
Paige—the demon—turned to him and snarled.
Dexx retrieved a canteen from the driver’s side door, and splashed water onto her.
The demon screamed, releasing an ethereal roar from Paige’s throat.
Now was her chance. She had to move. She gathered her strength and pushed.
The damned demon didn’t even budge.
“Come on, Pea.”
Strong fingers wrapped around her, raising her out of her pained existence. A sword of light slammed through her. The demon screamed, shrinking away from the pain, his presence shriveling. Her soul stretched, filled her fingers, filled her toes. She opened her eyes.
What the fuck?
A blinding light erupted over the scene, cascading around them.
The demons roared as one.
Shivers ran down Paige’s spine. She stood outside of the car, her legs wobbly.
What in the hell was going on? How had she gotten out of the car?
Dexx stared at her through the passenger window. He reached for the door.
She waved him away.
He ignored her, pulling at the handle, pushing at the door.
It didn’t move.
She felt the presence of another, someone large and awe inspiring. She looked around.
A man stood immediately behind her, wearing a white suit with a blue tie.
She craned her neck, taking a step back. His head blotted the sun, rays of light streaming around him like a crown.
He gripped her arm, holding her close, engulfing her in warmth. Hope attacked her defenses. “Call Xael.”
“Who?” Her voice came out in a squeak.
The man surveyed the gathering crowd. “I cannot call him and cannot deal with these as should be done.” His heavy gaze landed on her. “Call Xael.”
“No.”
He shook her. “Call him.”
“Who is he?” She knew. Xael. She’d heard the name before. An angel. A damned angel. No. She wasn’t playing. No.
Sven popped his neck and flexed his fingers.
“He can fight these vermin.”
Paige attempted to step away. Rachel played with angels. Paige wanted no part of them.
He didn’t allow it. “I offer protection, guidance—”
“I don’t want help from an angel.”
Sven reached out with his hand and twisted.
Paige crumpled to the ground with the force of his power.
The angel knelt beside her. “I cannot fight them and defend you. You must call Xael.”
Three demons attacked Jackie.
The car let out a battle cry as Dexx mashed his foot on the accelerator.
“He’s better versed at this type of battle. Paige.”
Paige struggled to rise to her feet, to help Dexx. Her legs wouldn’t obey. Something pressed against her, demanding entrance.
The angel’s jaw ticked. “Please.”
She didn’t have much more time to think about it. Sven was nearly in and once there, he could push her out, take control of her gifts. She reached toward her power, grabbed hold and called. “Xael. I need you.”
The moment stilled. Jackie paused, one tire raised. A demon crouched, preparing to toss her. Dexx froze midair, his legs sprawled, his arms reaching toward his opponent. Sven’s head tipped to the side, watching her with keen interest. The other demons froze in various poses of battle.
A blinding white light enveloped the scene. If Paige could have moved, she would have shielded her eyes, but she was just as frozen as everyone else. A crash of thunder cracked across the residential street.
And a man appeared, kneeling in the middle of a shallow crater. He stood, his arms flexing and for one moment, Paige could see the shadow of his wings against the light.
He turned toward her, realigning his gray, pinstriped suit jacket and red tie. “Raphael,” he said, nodding toward the angel beside her.
She had one glorious oh-shit moment before the time freeze relented. Chaos ensued. A gunshot rent the air. A demon roared in pain. Another grunted. Dexx hit the hood of his car with a metallic clank.
The demons stopped mid-action and turned to Paige, the archangel, and the newcomer.
“What did you do?” Sven asked, straightening.
Paige didn’t even get a chance to shake her head.
Xael reached inside her chest, grabbed hold of her gift, and sent the demons back one at a time.
Sven retreated several steps as the angel’s attention turned to him. “I have the key.”
Xael’s lips twisted along with the hand in Paige’s chest. “I care not, vermin.”
Power raced from her. She couldn’t breathe through the overwhelming pain.
Sven didn’t budge.
Xael squeezed harder.
Her head fell back. A scream of silence issued forth.
Sven took a step back. A shocked smile graced his lips. “Next time, boys.” He disappeared in a cloud of white smoke.
Xael released her with a curse, and said something she couldn’t comprehend.
Strong arms caught her, held her close. Soft words whispered against her ear.
Darkness overtook her.
BLOOD BOILING NAUSEA woke her. Stumbling, she managed not to fall. She fought the urge to throw up. Or scream. Either one sounded great at the moment.
Raphael.
She closed her eyes and tried to pull away.
“D
o not fight me, child,” the archangel said. A chair slid across linoleum. “Here. Sit down. Your stomach will be fine in a little while.”
Paige sagged into the wooden chair. “Where are—” The smells, the bright, cheery interior brought back childhood memories. Realization halted her words.
“We thought to bring you to a place you felt safe.” Raphael kept his attention focused straight ahead of him. “You feel safe here.”
Alma’s kitchen. Pain knocked on her heart, reminding her of the times before the betrayal. “Used to feel safe here.” She rose. “I need to get back.”
“There are too many.”
Xael leaned against the wooden island. He took a green apple from the silver pot sitting beside him. “You worry too much, Raphael.”
The archangel’s jaw clenched.
“Les?” Alma called from the front of the house. “Is that you?”
“Oh, crap.” Paige kept her eye on the door. “That’s my grandmother.”
Raphael frowned at her. “I know who she is, child.”
“Don’t ‘child’ me,” Paige snapped. “Get us out of here!”
Xael raised a single eyebrow, taking a step toward her.
Alma stepped into the room. She halted, her white gaze bewildered. “Paige, what are—”
The kitchen disappeared and pain took its place. Paige’s blood boiled. Her limbs threatened to split from her body. A new setting materialized around her.
This time, she did throw up.
“Xael.” Raphael’s tone dripped in condescension. “What have you done?”
The other angel held up a hand and munched on his apple. “You might want to look after your charge.”
Paige looked up at them both from the grass. They’d materialized on the shore near Fanny’s inn. The sun sank toward the horizon, setting the world around her in a wash of reds and pinks. “Please.” She wiped her mouth. Her stomach told her it was empty. Awesome. “Continue to ignore me.”
“Why have you brought us here?” Raphael reached for her arm.
Paige scrambled away from him on all fours. Slowly, she pushed herself to her feet a safe distance away. “I’ve had enough with the angel bus. We’re not going anywhere unless there’s a different form of ‘ranspor’ation.”
“The hunter comes.” Xael’s eyes went dead.
Paige touched her lips. Her mouth had gone numb. “Wha’ ‘id you ‘o to me?”
Xael’s bland expression folded in confused disgust. “You’ll be fine.”
Jackie’s wonderful rumble filled the air accompanied by the sound of flying gravel.
“I believe we owe them answers, Raphael.”
“We owe them nothing.” The archangel watched the car’s approach.
Dust rose in Jackie’s wake. Gravel crunched as Dexx put on the brakes. He flew out of the car and ran toward them. “Paige.”
She limped toward Dexx. First her mouth. Now her legs? The entire right side of her was numb. Had she suffered a stroke?
He wrapped her in his arms, putting his body between her and the angels. “What’s wrong? Why the limp?”
“My s’omach’s affecting my ‘egs.”
“And your mouth’s broke?”
“Her body will be fine,” Xael said. “Traveling with angels is somewhat discomforting to humans. Currently, her nervous system is not working properly. It will right itself.”
Dexx pulled away to give Paige an are-you-shitting-me look.
“Eventually.”
“We should not be here,” Raphael said.
“She’s your charge.” Xael walked toward Paige and Dexx. “Your job is to protect her—”
“As I was trying to do.”
“—not hide her.”
“Pro’ect me?” Paige raised her head. Her tongue felt as though it were three times its original size. “From wha’?”
Raphael’s lips tightened.
Xael sent him a suffering smile. “The child needs to know.”
“The child needs—”
“—instruction, like those before her.”
Raphael straightened, his angular face brightening. His jaw muscles ticked.
Dexx tightened his hold on her. “Neither one of you are making any sense. If you don’t have a point or purpose for being here, maybe you could leave. Leaving would be nice.”
Paige pushed out of Dexx’s arms and stumbled toward the inn. Her limbs were too heavy. It was exhausting to breathe. She needed a nap. A long one. “If what you have to say goes along something like, ‘You need to find your way back to the Lord,’ you can stuff it.” She nearly toppled over. “Hey, I can talk again.”
“Hey.” Dexx took her arm. “Congrats. Now, if your legs would work.”
“Shut up.”
“Stop,” Raphael commanded.
Paige was in no mood to be commanded. She’d just hared off in search of Sven, found Sven, and had been nearly overtaken by demons. She still had no idea where the frelling key. If that wasn’t bad enough, some monkey-jerk of an asshole angel had shoved his freaking hand into her chest to use her gift. She wasn’t in the fucking mood.
Xael released a long sigh.
Paige’s head smacked into an invisible wall, followed closely by her foot, then her entire body. “What the—”
Dexx used his fingers to test the limits of this new obstacle. His fingertips whitened as he pressed against it. “It’s solid.”
Paige stood up a little straighter and faced Xael. “All right. In 30 words or less. I need a nap.”
The angel stared at some point above her head with his pitch black eyes. “He created the demon talkers. It’s his job to keep you safe and to instruct you in the ways of the demon talkers. He—”
“Your thirty words are up,” Dexx interrupted.
Xael’s expression went flat. “I had six more.”
Paige held up her hand, staring at Raphael. “Hold up. You created demon summoners?”
The archangel gnashed his teeth, looking away. “Demon talkers. Never summoners.”
“Okay. Then if you created me, then why did the angels help my mother take Leah?”
“You misuse your gift,” Raphael said fiercely. “This is not what I created your line for.”
What a pompous . . . asshat! She crossed her arms over her chest. “I misused my gift? I misused my gift? Huh, right. Okay. Then what did you create us for?”
“You realize,” Dexx said, clenching his fist, his expression neutral, “that you’re inviting him into a conversation that’s well over thirty words long.”
She quirked her lips at him. What little patience she’d had was long gone. Her leg tingled with sensation. She applied full weight to it. Angel travel. Never again.
“Also ,” Dexx continued, “that tone of voice? Danger, Will Robinson. Tread carefully.”
Thunder rolled over Raphael’s angular features. “I created you to control the demons, not to summon them. Not to let them lose. They are to be punished and used as I will it.”
A chuckle burst out of her. She twisted away, letting her arms fall to her sides. “Oh. Oh. Oof. Oh. Oh, man. Wow. Shit. Wow.” Laughter bubbled forth as she rounded on him. “As—oh-ho. As he wills it. Oh, man. So, I’m a shovel.”
Dexx took a step back, raising a finger at Raphael. “I warned you.”
“But she laughs.” Xael’s brow furrowed in confusion.
“False advertisement. Trust me. She’s pissed. Pissed. Stop saying stupid things.”
“Why?” Raphael flexed his shoulders, shadows of his wings popping into existence. “She is a woman. I fear no one.”
Dexx took another step back. “Your death wish, dude.”
Paige ran her tongue in her cheek, allowing Dexx’s banter to continue, to buy her time to figure out what she needed to say. What did she need to know? This entire time, her entire life, she thought she was a by-product of demony stuff, but now? A tool for the angels? Really? She opened her mouth, pinching the corners together with her thumb and foref
inger, before releasing them with a pop. “You mean my great grandmother was a spy for the angels? Is that why she went insane?”
“It is not easy to be the demon talker,” Raphael said. “It was never meant to be.”
Paige’s lips rounded.
“Each time a demon talker came into existence,” Xael said, crossing his arms over his chest, “he would send one of us to instruct. Usually me.”
Paige shook her head. “So why didn’t you come to me? Why didn’t you tea—”
“I did,” Raphael said through gritted teeth.
“I think I’d remember.”
“Why do you question me?”
“Why?” The question exploded from her chest. “Why? My life was ruined because of you, because of your stupid need to fuck with my life, because I wasn’t good enough—”
“You are not.”
Paige stopped in shocked surprise.
Dexx’s lip curled. “You want to repeat that?”
“You became an agent of the enemy,” the archangel said, his voice calm. “You sided with them, worked with them. Gabriel and the Lady Rachel are well within their right to protect Leah.”
“To destroy my life because you failed me?”
The archangel flinched.
“Why? How?”
“Why?” Xael asked. “Why did we decide to use humans who are obviously inferior?”
That wasn’t the why she’d asked, but it was a good one anyway. She balled her anger in her fists and ground her teeth.
“Demons use the pathway to the soul,” Xael said.
Dexx raised his eyebrows. “And, what, you can’t?”
“We can.” Xael ran his tongue along his lower lip. “We usually destroy the soul when we do.”
“Wow.” Paige bared her teeth and concentrated on the lake behind the angels. “Now I see why you’re so jealous of the demons.”
Xael smiled in surprise. “Jealous?”
“Humans are weak.” Raphael’s eyes flared, a golden light shining through for a single moment. “We have other agents inside. Having a human demon talker is merely convenient. As long as she remains convenient.”
Paige didn’t miss the gender emphasis. “What made grandma go insane?”
“As with your grandmother and her grandmother before her.” Raphael clasped his hands in front of him. “We give you a choice. Seek redemption for your defects by working for us, or suffer the consequences.”
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