The Demon's Song - By Kendra Leigh Castle Page 0,15
most importantly, that she was alive to appreciate both. Yeah, she was twitchy. But she’d handle it. Based on the other night, she seemed to be able to handle just about anything.
She was almost to her car when she caught a flicker of movement, no more than a shadow, out of the corner of her eye. She hadn’t even finished spinning around to confront whatever—or whoever—might have made it when a man dropped from the sky and landed not ten paces from her. And he didn’t just fall. He landed gracefully, like a cat, and directly on top of another man who seemed to have appeared from thin air. The unlucky landing cushion gagged and squawked, a noise that would have been an ear-piercing shriek if he hadn’t been pinned to the pavement, the other man’s hand around his throat.
Sofia’s sharp gasp seemed overly loud in the relative quiet. Her mouth dropped open, though she covered it quickly with her hand. Her heart began to pound.
She knew the guy who’d dropped out of the darkness. And she’d caught a glimpse, at the moment he’d landed, of shadows that could almost have been wings.
“You,” she breathed, unable to run, unable even to move. Shock froze her in place. Phenex raised impossibly blue eyes to hers. They gleamed unnaturally at this distance, beautiful and strange. He was dressed much the same as he had been the other night, in worn jeans, run-down boots, and a faded blue T-shirt. His auburn hair was vibrant beneath the fluorescent lights. When their eyes met, he grinned, though there was a ferocity to it that had Sofia backing up a step. Still, she couldn’t escape the burst of wild joy she felt at the sight of him. Out of all the confusion and horror the other night, he was the one thing that had stayed with her, crystal clear. She’d dreamed not of blood, but of him, as though he continued to protect her even when she was at the mercy of her imagination. And he really existed. He’d come to see her.
He was…strangling someone. Very effectively. And he looked as though he was enjoying himself. Her pleasure at seeing him vanished as quickly as he had appeared. Phenex cut her off neatly before she could start shouting for help.
“Get in the car and go home, Sofia. I’ll meet you there.”
His voice, compelling in a way her memory hadn’t done justice to, brooked no refusal. The man beneath him thrashed and bared his teeth. Long, pointed teeth. Sofia’s stomach sank as the pieces fell easily into place. This wasn’t a social visit.
She knew that Justin had made it too easy to just walk away.
“Oh, God. Was he…following me? Am I being followed?” she asked. Her voice sounded strange and thin.
“Not after I’m done with him. Go home.”
Much as she hated being ordered around, Sofia wouldn’t argue when staying was the last thing she wanted to do. Without another word, she ran to her sporty little sedan, got in, and started the engine, trying not to panic. Looking in her rearview mirror as she peeled out, she saw a blur of black shoot upward into the night sky, out of the harsh glare of the lights, leaving nothing but empty space behind.
“He flew,” she muttered to herself as she tried to focus on the road, her heart pounding. “With wings. Hijo de puta.”
She hadn’t been to church in years, much to her parents’ chagrin, but it was impossible not to make the connection between the man with the black wings and the images she’d been exposed to every Sunday growing up. Except…angels were supposed to have white wings. And there weren’t any stories about them flirting with human women. Or playing guitar at clubs filled with vampires.
But then, not every angel in those long-ago stories had stayed in Heaven.
Sofia groaned and pushed her foot down harder on the gas. Whatever Phenex was, she’d worry about it when she was safely—she hoped—home.
It took her a half hour to get back to the apartment, and by the time she found a parking place Sofia had nearly decided to quit her job, pack up her stuff, and relocate somewhere sunnier. A lot sunnier. And really, really far away from what appeared to be a hotbed of violent supernatural activity. She knew she’d gotten away too easily the other night. She knew it. After seeing everything she’d seen, it hadn’t made any sense when Justin had let her go.