Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
More demons met them in Anahuac. One man, one woman—both with matching grim expressions carved on their faces.
Sam pulled into the dusty motel parking lot. He seemed to have connections all over Mexico. Connections that he used without even the slightest hesitation. The demons had guided them to the motel. It seemed they’d heard screams but had arrived too late.
Too late.
The place appeared deserted. Probably not a good sign. No other cars were in the lot, and the door to the motel’s main entrance swayed drunkenly in the breeze. It looked like even the desk clerk had cut and run.
Seline walked slowly toward room 12. The door had been busted down. Shards of wood littered the floor. She stepped over the wood and crept inside the entranceway. The room itself was a total wreck. Furniture smashed. Bed overturned. Mattress slashed.
But no dead Fallen.
No Fallen at all.
“You think he left willingly?” One of the demons asked from behind her.
Seline’s gaze darted around the chaos of the room. “Doubtful,” she muttered. But this wasn’t like the other scenes. The victims hadn’t been taken away. They’d been slaughtered where they stood.
Sam had entered the room seconds before her, and now he crouched near the window. His fingers were smoothing over what looked like deep grooves in the floor.
She inched closer to him. Very deep grooves. The kind of grooves that were made when something clawed the floor.
Just as something had clawed the other victims. “A Fallen couldn’t do that,” she noted.
He looked up at her with a hooded gaze. “No.”
“Shifter?” Her best guess.
“Only one with very big claws.”
My what big claws you have.
The better to rip you wide open.
She took a slow breath. Did humans even realize that the old Red Riding Hood tale was based on truth? A hungry wolf had gone after Red one day. No matter what the stories said, she hadn’t made it back to Grandma’s house in one piece.
“A bear?” Seline guessed. Yes, bears had big claws. She frowned at the claw marks. They’d sunk deep into the wood, and they were so wide. “A tiger?”
“It’d have to be something bigger than a tiger.”
That wasn’t good to hear.
Sam stalked toward the open doorway. The demons backed up, being sure to give him plenty of room. Smart demons. Sunlight fell on him and threw shadows in his wake. His hands rose to his sides, stretching far out, and he looked for all the world like he was trying to feel ?—
“He hasn’t gone far.”
The demons glanced at each other. Seline ignored them and crossed to Sam. She touched his shoulder, being careful not to let her fingertips reach his scars. “How do you know?”
He turned his head, and his gaze met hers. “Before he fell, Tomas was a guardian. Guardians always leave a distinct trail in their wake.”
A guardian angel—those were supposed to be the nice ones. Pity she’d never had a guardian on her side. “You actually see this trail?” She rose onto her toes and peered over his broad shoulders.
“No, I feel it.” He caught her hand and pressed a quick kiss to the inside of her palm. “And I want you to stay here while I go find him.”
“Bad plan,” she retorted immediately with a hard shake of her head. “Where you go, I go, remember?”
He stared back at her, face determined. “I’m not going far, and I don’t want you out in the open while I hunt.”
Still, bad. “But I don’t want to be a sitting duck!” Az was after her. What if he decided to pop back in while Sam was gone? He’d already used that separate-and-attack technique before. She didn’t want to give him another shot at her.
Sam jerked his thumb toward the demons. “They’ll watch your back.”
Like she trusted them. Never trust a demon you don’t know—her motto. And even if you did know the demon… be careful. Since she had demon blood, she knew just how tricky her so-called brothers and sisters could be. “I want to come with you. I can help!”
“You’ll slow me down.”
Blunt and pretty brutal. She managed not to flinch, but she was pretty sure her cheeks heated. “I’m not without power, you know.”
“But you can’t come close to fighting the ones hunting out there.”
Did any more of her pride need a hit? Maybe he should just call her useless. Sure, her demon power scale might not be the best, but she could fight in other ways. He acted like she hadn’t spent years fighting Other.
Was inept written on her forehead?
He released her hand. “I have to go. Tomas could be out there, hurt, and I need to find him.”
Right. She had to suck it up and deal with the situation. Put on your big-girl panties. “Go. I-I don’t want to slow you down. Help him.”
His eyes narrowed, but then his attention shifted away from her as he pointed at the demons. “Guard her with your damn lives or else I’ll make sure you lose them.”
Black eyes wide, they nodded quickly.
Then he was gone.
Seline rubbed her palms on her jean-clad thighs. One demon immediately took up a position near the broken door. Seline eyed the guy. Please . She could take him. No kind of protection there. But at least there were three of them in the room. Three against, well, whatever might come.
She spun around and let her gaze sweep the room once more. Maybe she’d find a weapon, or some kind of clue. Something.
Her shoes padded over the deep claw marks.
Sam didn’t hunt. Or, rather, he didn’t leave the motel so that he could go racing across the town after Tomas.
He hadn’t lied to Seline, not really. Even Fallen could never truly lie. He’d felt the slight shift in the air that told him a guardian had passed by, but he had no idea where that guardian was now. The trail didn’t work like that.
Usually, the only way to tell if an angel was close…you had to smell them. Those who hadn’t plummeted and burned smelled like damn roses. You could always smell them before you saw them.
But Tomas didn’t carry that scent any longer, and Sam wasn’t sure where the guy was or even if Tomas was still living.
The threat was close, he knew that. Tomas might have escaped. He hoped Tomas had. But either way, it was time to spring his trap.
So he walked away from Seline. He left her open and vulnerable in the unsecured motel room because he knew Mateo had spoken the truth about what he saw. The witch couldn’t lie about the visions that came from his scrying mirror.
Az was fixated on Seline, for whatever reason. Sam wasn’t the type to spend his days running, so he wasn’t going to grab Seline and race away with her.
His jaw clenched as he waited in the shadows and watched the motel.
He wasn’t running, but, dammit, he was going to use Seline as bait because Sam had what his brother wanted.
So fucking come and get her, Az.
The bait couldn’t be more tempting. Now he just had to wait for his bastard brother to make his move. Then I’ve got you. And any shifter that had been dumb enough to pair up with his brother in this blood bath.
A twig snapped behind him. Sam smiled. Trying to sneak up on me?
That wasn’t going to work?—
Seline heard the rumble of thunder in the distance. She was on her knees near the bed. A Bible lay on the floor. An old, worn Bible that looked as if it had been read many times. Her fingers hovered over it as the rumble faded.
Then the attack came.
The male demon flew through the air and thudded into the wall on the right. Seline jumped to her feet as the woman—Rosa—screamed.
And fled.
Seriously? She fled?
Can’t trust a demon.
Rosa jumped out of the window and hauled ass. But when Seline got a good look at the man in the broken doorway—tall, blond, strong, and with the shadowy image of black wings stretching from his body—she thought about running, too.
But in the next instant, Az was in front of her, and Seline knew that she wasn’t getting away.
Okay, Sam. Now’s the time for you to haul that sorry hide of yours out here.
Because she knew a setup when she was shoved into one. She wasn’t stupid, and she’d gotten pretty good at reading a Fallen’s twisted truth.
She threw up her hands and sent a burst of power right at Az. “Don’t touch me!”
Her power slammed into him, and he stumbled back. Right. Take that. She truly wasn’t weak. If people wanted to be dumb and think she was… their funeral.
She blasted him again. Again. He retreated a few clumsy steps. A furrow appeared between his brows, and his arm lifted.
“I said, don’t touch me!” Another blast of power. Harder. Stronger. Az hit the floor this time.
Her hands were shaking. Sam sure needed to hurry the hell up.
Because Az was already rising again. He stood on his feet, stared right at her, and said, “Help me. ”
She blinked. “What?” Her hands were still up in the air.
“Help…me.” His blue gaze burned with intensity. His hand lifted, but it was in a beseeching gesture, not one that looked like an attack move.
“You’re here to kill me,” she whispered, not taking a step toward him. Did she really look gullible?
He shook his head. “Here…followed…to protect you.”
She needed a weapon more powerful than, um, herself. Hurry, Sam. Just where was he?
“Woke up…” Az rubbed his head. “Didn’t know who I was.” The words came stronger. “Didn’t know where.” His hand waited between them, still open to her. “Then you saved me.”
Technically, she’d been about to serve him up to Sam, but Seline didn’t bother to point out that pesky detail. “You’ve been killing angels.”
Again, he shook his head. “I haven’t killed anyone.”
The crazy thing was that she actually wanted to believe him. Huh. Maybe she wasn’t so good at understanding angels and their half-truths.
“I didn’t even know my own name,” Az told her, “not until you said it.”
She remembered the confusion in his eyes. But she also remembered the fire. “Nice try, jerk. But you burned me in that warehouse.”
“Not me.” He shook his head. “I didn’t stir the fire.”
“Then who did?”
The thunder rumbled again. Louder. Closer.
“Help me, and I’ll give you anything,” he promised.
“Help you? How am I supposed to help you?” The delusional, psychotic angel wanted her help. Figured. Sometimes, she felt like she had a beacon for crazy. That would explain Rogziel.
“My brother is the one killing. Not me. I know because I remember what he’s done.”
With that disclosure, it sure felt like someone kicked her in the gut. Keep him talking. Because if Az was talking, then he wasn’t killing her.
She didn’t take Az for a multitasker.
She also didn’t take Sam for the killer on this one. “I’ve been with Sam, and he hasn’t been killing anyone.”
“Have you been with him every moment?”
No, not every moment, but?—
“He’s slaughtered before. That’s what I remembered first. He killed so many.” Az’s hand fisted. “I have to stop him. You can help me.”
Help the guy kill Sam? Right.
“Anything—I’ll give you anything if you help me.”
So that was why he’d been following her. He thought she’d be the perfect tool to help eliminate Sam.
Hmm. Anything from a powerful Fallen. Tempting.
But, no. “Sorry, bud, I’m not?—”
For sale.
Her words were drowned out by Sam’s roar. Jeez. Freaking finally.
Then she saw Sam racing toward the broken door. Sam—and his blood-soaked chest. What the hell? He’d been shot, over and over again.
Not thunder. The sound that she’d heard had been gunshots.
And he’d still come back for her. Now that was impressive. Damn straight she wasn’t going to turn on him.
“Get away from her,” Sam snarled as he advanced on them.
“I’m not here to hurt her.” Az whipped up his chin. “I am just here to send you to hell.”
Sam smiled, and it wasn’t a pretty sight.
Where do you want to be when two Fallens go at it?
Not there. Seline tried to inch toward the open window. She figured Sam would have this. He’d better.
She’d just reached out to touch the windowpane when the room exploded.
Rogziel smiled when Room 12 blew up. The explosives had been so carefully placed after Tomas had been contained. The devices had been hidden well, and activated with just a press of a button.
Humans could be very useful and so clever with their toys.
He knew the blast wouldn’t kill the Fallen. Just as he knew that the bullets his man had fired into Sam’s body wouldn’t slow the bastard down for long.
Not long, just a few precious moments. That slowdown, that weakness was just what he needed.
Time to take out two sinners.
The smoke billowed, and Rogziel stalked toward the motel. The only humans around worked for him. His team—one that he’d ordered to seek cover in the nearby woods. All the innocents were gone.
Suffer, sinners, suffer.
The blast had blown Sam out of the motel room. He lay in the parking lot with some of his flesh torn away. His clothes burned as he pushed himself to his feet. He stared at the wreckage and screamed, “Seline!”
Interesting. Another way to punish.
Rogziel flew forward. “She won’t walk away from that.” Not weak Seline.
Sam’s head whipped toward him. The smoke and fire had covered Rogziel’s scent, just as he’d planned, and Sam hadn’t even been aware that the true threat was so close. Rogziel saw the fury in the Fallen’s eyes, and he said, “She won’t walk away, and neither will you.”
“Fuck you!” Sam tossed a ball of fire his way.
The ball withered to smoke before it could touch Rogziel’s skin.
He expected another attack. Instead, Sam whirled and rushed toward the burning building.
Rogziel frowned. The Fallen thought to save someone? Now that was surprising. He hadn’t anticipated this sacrifice.
Pity it was too late for Sam to atone.
Before Sam could rush straight into the flames, Az appeared in the smoke. His arms cradled a too-still Seline.
How perfect. Rogziel should have known that Azrael would kill her.
Sam roared and lunged for his brother.
The Fallen didn’t understand that rage made them weak, even as it made his little pet hungry. The beast was close now. Just minutes away. Soon it would burst free and feed.
Seline coughed.
Rogziel stopped smiling.
The smoke was choking her, and the arms around her were way too tight. Seline blinked her streaming eyes. “Ease up, Sam. We’re out, it’s?—”
Sam wasn’t holding her. Someone was yelling. Fire crackled, and Az held her in his arms.
“You’re safe,” he told her, and she realized that his clothes were smoldering.
In the next instant, she wasn’t in his arms any longer. Sam had her. Yeah, thanks for the too-late rescue. Sam shoved her behind his body. “Run,” he ordered as he faced off against Az.
She glanced around. She hadn’t been burned because Az had protected her with his body. He saved me. That just didn’t jive with the story she’d been given. A crazy psycho wouldn’t care about protecting her. “Sam, wait!”
Something was very wrong. Two fire attacks, and she was sure neither had come from Az.
Sam sent a blast of energy at Az, and the Fallen flew back into the fire. Sam spared her a brief glance over his shoulder. “Rogziel is here, and you need to run.”
She stumbled back. Her gaze swept around the parking lot. She didn’t see Rogziel, but since the creep could fly, he could be anywhere.
Az leapt out of the fire and barreled into Sam. Power crackled in the air as they tossed psychic attacks at each other. They rolled on the ground, and a deep crevice appeared beneath them.
Too much power.
Lightning crashed between them.
Not right. “Stop!” She wasn’t running. Where would she run to? If she ran, she’d probably rush straight into Rogziel.
Sam and Az didn’t hear her. Or if they did, they just ignored her. Sam had his hands around Az’s throat, and he lifted his brother up high—then tossed him about twenty feet.
The flames flickered. The scent of smoke burned her nose. Smoke and…wait. That wasn’t the normal smell of fire. That scent was more like…brimstone.
Once you smelled hell, you never forgot it.
She spun around. The lightest scent of flowers tangled with the brimstone. She knew what that light, sweet scent meant. An angel was close.
Rogziel had appeared in the middle of the parking lot. His wings—black, strong, and powerful—stretched behind him.
He wasn’t alone. At his side, a real-live freaking monster crouched. It wasn’t a wolf. It was bigger. Triple the size of any wolf shifter she’d ever seen. Its fur was thick and black and matted. One long streak of white fur cut across its right eye. Its fangs were longer than her hands. Its claws were like thick butcher knives digging into the ground, and its eyes—eyes locked not on her but on Sam—were blood-red.
Redder than any fire in hell.
Rogziel patted the beast on its back. Then Rogziel lifted one of his bony fingers and pointed right at Sam.
No. “Sam! Behind you!”
He whirled around, and she knew he’d caught sight of the creature. His body tensed, and she was pretty sure he growled, “Shit,” but then Rogziel turned that bony finger toward her. No…no, he was targeting her! Telling the weird beast to?—
“Attack!” Rogziel’s screamed command drowned out everything else.
The beast charged at her. It moved so fast that its legs blurred. She turned away and tried to run, but the fire waited in front of her.
She spun to the left. There were woods that way. The ground was actually shaking as the beast pounded after her.
“Seline!” Sam was there. He grabbed her arm and shoved her behind him, using his body as a shield.
Too late.
The beast slammed into him. The animal’s thick fangs sank into Sam’s arm, then, using that painful grip, the hound tossed Sam away like some kind of rag doll. Blood littered the ground in his wake. “No!” Seline screamed. What the hell was happening? What was that thing?
The beast’s attention was on Sam now. Sam rose to his feet. The gashes on his arm went all the way to the bone.
No mortal weapon can kill a Fallen.
But she wasn’t looking at a mortal weapon, and Rogziel was laughing. The Punisher had planned too well.
A setup. From the beginning. A setup.
The creature lunged for Sam again. Its teeth were heading straight for Sam’s throat.
Sam threw a ball of fire at the beast. The flames hit the animal but just dissolved right into its dark fur.
Then the animal got even bigger.
“Fuck, a hellhound, ” Sam snarled.
Hellhound?
The beast slammed its paws into Sam’s chest.
Seline stopped just standing there like a scared scream queen. She grabbed the hound’s tail and yanked as hard as she could.
The hound howled and snapped at her, taking those deadly teeth away from Sam’s throat.
Rogziel just watched and laughed.
“Leave him alone!” she yelled. Where was Az? She didn’t dare look away from the hound, not with those teeth so close to tearing into her.
Sam’s hands flew out. He grabbed the hound’s neck and snapped. She knew that crack meant the hound’s neck had been broken. She jumped back as the heavy body collapsed.
Sam pushed the hound to the ground. “We don’t have much time,” he told her even as his gaze flew around the lot. She saw his stare lock on something to the right.
She followed his gaze— Az. Rising slowly and frowning.
A low growl rumbled near her feet. Seline looked down. No way. The hound had been dead.
“You’ll have to do better than that,” Rogziel taunted.
Bones snapped back into place. The beast rose slowly, rolling its neck back into position with a crack that chilled her blood.
Can’t kill it.
Its claws swiped out and tore open Sam’s side.
Then the beast turned its hellfire stare on her.
“You’d better, run, Seline,” Rogziel called out. “This time, my pet is going after you. Get ready to see your daddy, little demon.”
What she saw was her death, burning in the hound’s eyes.
She didn’t have time to move. The beast leapt up, and its paws slammed into her chest. The hound took her to the ground, trapping her with its huge body. Its fangs snapped toward her throat. She could smell brimstone, ash, and death.
“Hell’s waiting, Seline!” Rogziel roared.
In the hound’s eyes, she saw that hell.