Seventh Seal - Jacquelyn Faye Page 0,59

slid from the corner of her eye and she nodded even harder than before, smiling as she nimbly bit the leafy greens from her fork.

Charlie set our glasses on the table and blinked as a thundering boom echoed in time with the contact. She even picked them up and looked at the bottom of the glasses. "What was that?"

Candace pointed outside.

Charlie turned, gasped, and backed toward the register.

"Relax. I think they're here for me," I said and stood, frowning at the winged angel through the glass.

It stared back at me, not moving from the rippled grass where it landed at the edge of the park. From its back, it unsheathed a silver sword that erupted in yellow flame as it was exposed to the sunlight. Pointing the tip of the blade in my direction, its maw opened, exposing rows of razor-sharp teeth. Something told me it wasn't there for the turkey burger.

"What does an angel of light want with you?" Charlie's voice quivered in fear.

"Beat's the hell out of me. I haven't seen one in a month. Thought they gave up trying to drag me to Hell."

I could feel her 'I told you so' stare at Candace.

"Do not go out there, Lady."

"If I don't. It will come in." I headed for the door, practically dragging Candace with me as she tugged on my shirt, frantically trying to keep me inside.

"Please."

"Stay here, Candy." I looked at Charlie over my shoulder and nodded toward Candace. When the elf's arms were around her, I opened the door and stepped outside. Only when the door clicked behind me did I started walking toward the very un-angelic looking angel. How anyone who had ever seen one could mistake them for creatures of good, I would never know. They were the stuff of nightmares, with pretty wings. "What can I do for you?"

"You have shattered the natural order and are an obscenity."

"What the hell are you talking about? I'm not pregnant."

It tilted its head in confusion. They were bright on the outside just not in the head. "You have accumulated the powers of a god."

"I had the powers of a god. The god you dragged kicking and screaming into Tartarus. So?"

"It was decreed eons ago that there shall be no new gods."

"You know you guys should really advertise this stuff. How the hell was I supposed to know? Don't get a mortal preggers. Don't become a god. I swear, you guys make this shit up as you go along."

It closed the distance between us and brough the sword down in an arc that nearly sliced me in half. Under the bright, midday sun, I was practically powerless, but I was still a witch. My shadows couldn't help me. The only vampire at my disposal was Yuki. Ellis could function in daylight, but he probably didn't even know I was in danger. Dar, on the other hand, was already running from the store. I could feel him. Yuki wasn't far behind him. Either way, I'd most likely be dead before they got there. I barely managed to dodge the sword as it sliced into the concrete beside me.

I almost laughed. It had barely missed, but the blade was embedded in the ground. Just as I thought there was an opening, I launched a bolt of fire but nearly got cleaved in half as it swung its sword sideways, flinging chunks of concrete behind its blade.

Luckily, my vampiric speed kicked in and my body bent like a reed in the wind, the flaming trails close enough to my face that I wouldn't need to bleach anything for a few weeks. At my awkward angle, I didn't have a chance in hell of blocking the fist that bashed me in the midriff.

Every ounce of air in my lungs exploded as I gasped for breath and instinctively rolled away. Yuki shot over me like a cruise missile and blew the thing back long enough for me to catch my breath and un-collapse my lungs.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah." I managed to wheeze as Dar helped me off the cold concrete.

"We need to get it away from the center of town." He lifted his head and frowned over my shoulder.

Turning, I saw why. Yuki wasn't holding her own. It was faster than she was, a far cry from the other angelic beings I'd fought in the past. "What the hell?"

"It is an arch angel," he answered.

"That's bad?"

"Very." He nodded without tearing his eyes from the battle behind us.

"Can we beat it?"

"I doubt it.