Wicked Kiss (Nightwatchers) - By Michelle Rowen Page 0,21

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