yet I don’t see any physical light on or around her that would explain why my head thinks she’s too shiny to stare at for too long.
“What are you?” I slur, my tongue feelin’ heavy. Morax had wings too, but he looked different from her.
She cocks her head and looks over to someone I can’t see before her gaze returns to me. “I’m an angel,” she tells me, just as two more winged males from the group she arrived with step in on either side of her.
You’d think bein’ told you were dropped on the stoop by an actual angel your whole life would prepare you more for the off chance that you’d actually meet one. But no amount of bein’ thought of as Heavenly Bell or a little slice of heaven prepared me for this moment. All I can think right now is that this mornin’ I was told I was a demon, and damn, I bet those swords on their back are goin’ to hurt when they try to kill me.
I yank out of her grasp, surprised that I somehow have control of my body again. I would celebrate, but I’m too worried about the smitin’ I’m sure is about to go down. I stumble on my shaky legs, and when she tries to help me, I hold my hands up to ward her off.
“Please don’t touch me,” I say, really kickin’ myself in the ass for not actually askin’ any questions about how this whole demon thing works when I had the chance. “All y’all...demons, angels, whatever, I just want y’all to stay away from me.”
Concern crosses her pretty face, but I don’t fall for it. There’s a whole group of them and one of me, and I’m not exactly operatin’ on all cylinders right now.
I want to reach for my phone again, but I’m sure one little movement will have me tippin’ right over, and I don’t think it has anythin’ to do with the alcohol I consumed. I was fine until that asshole Morax did somethin’ to me.
Was it his touch? Did one of his snakes bite me?
“I can help you if you come with me,” she says, and my eyes widen. First Morax, now her?
“No, thank you. Get away,” I say, my voice as shaky as my knees, but hey, my manners are still intact. Kinda.
I make a mental note to tell my mama that she was wrong when she used to scold me as a kid that usin’ my manners wouldn’t kill me.
The angel woman frowns at my response. I get the impression that she’s used to bein’ seen as salvation, which is not at all how I’m lookin’ at her.
“But—” she starts to argue.
“You heard her. She doesn’t want to go with you.”
My eyes snap to the voice, and I see none other than Alder and Flint walkin’ up to stand beside me. My stomach flips as they settle in next to me, and I’m relieved at the sight of them, even though I’m tryin’ to breathe through the nausea that’s bubblin’ up my esophagus.
The angels look at Alder and Flint with a distasteful sneer. “Demons.”
“Legion,” Alder says smoothly, his hands dipped into his pockets, givin’ him an air of bored confidence.
“You have no rights here,” the angel says to Alder, her speckled wings flarin’ slightly before tuckin’ back in. “We traced a Balance Breaker here, and he was very interested in this female. She needs to be questioned, and that’s our jurisdiction. We can take it from here.”
Alder cocks his head, his watercolor tattoos lookin’ dark and vibrant in the club’s dim lightin’. “I find it odd that you’d be more concerned about her than the Balance Breaker you’re supposed to be hunting. You know, the one that just gave you the slip.”
The angel’s lips purse. “We have this whole place warded, so he can’t shift away,” she tells him arrogantly. “I wouldn’t expect the dregs of Hell to understand, but he was interested in her for a reason,” the angel comments, gesturin’ to me, “...and we need to know what that is.”
“You’re forgetting one little thing, angel dove,” Flint cuts in, all cool tone and false jovial grin. “Free will. If she doesn’t want to go with ya, then she doesn’t have to.”
The three angels tense, and I feel the agitation between the group hike up even more. I’m stuck between three angels and two demons, with a cotton mind that has no idea what the hell is goin’ on.
After