carried across the dark expanse above. A faint bleep of energy landed on my radar, and that was all the warning I got before the girl launched herself at me, teeth bared and fingernails scratching like a wild animal.
We smacked back against the dirt together. My reflexes were sharper, and I rolled on top of her. I lunged for her wrists, hoping to pin them above her head, but she bucked me off in a single spurt of athleticism. I skidded over the dirt, hearing her land agilely a few feet away. I looked up just in time to see her spring into the air, soaring toward me.
Tucking into a ball, I rolled out of her range.
“Now!” Dante boomed. From the corner of my eye, I saw him hol I ked up juding the rod up, readying himself to attack the girl if I failed.
I shut my eyes, homing in on her thoughts. I could feel them zooming this way and that, like frantic insects. I dove into her head, shredding everything I came across. I tangled her thoughts into one giant mass and whispered a hypnotic,
Much faster than I expected, the girl’s defenses sagged. Just as Dante had predicted, I felt myself gliding toward her, like my soul was being reeled in by a powerful force field. She offered no resistance. The sensation had a dreamlike quality; woozy and slippery, and blurred at the edges. There was no defining moment when I felt the change; I merely blinked and found myself viewing the world from a different angle.
I was inside her, body, mind, and soul, possessing her.
“Nora?” Dante asked, squinting at me skeptically.
“I’m in.” My voice startled me; I’d commanded the response, but it had come out in her voice. Higher and sweeter than I would have expected from a fallen angel. Then again, she was so young. . . .
“Do you feel any resistance? Any backlash from her at all?” Dante asked.
This time I shook my head no. I wasn’t ready to hear myself speak in her voice again. As much as Dante wanted me to practice commanding her body, I wanted out.
I hastily completed a short list of drills, commanding the fallen angel’s body to run a short distance, hurdle a fallen tree branch with ease, and untie and retie her shoelaces. Dante was right; I had full control. And I knew, somewhere deep inside, that I was dragging her against her will through the motions. I could have commanded her to stab her own wing scars, and she would have had no choice but to comply.
“A little longer,” he argued. “You need more practice. I want this to feel like second nature. Run through the drills again.”
Ignoring his request, I commanded her body to expel mine, and again, the transition was as easy as it was abrupt.
Cursing under his breath, Dante rammed the rod back into the fallen angel’s wing scars. Her body crumpled as though dead, arms and legs hitting the ground at funny angles. I wanted to look away but couldn’t. I kept wondering what her existence on Earth had been like before. If anyone missed her. If she’d ever be free again. And how bleak her outlook must be.
“That wasn’t long enough,” Dante told me, clearly annoyed. “Didn’t you hear me tell you to practice the drills again? I know it’s a little uncomfortable at first—”
“How does it work?” I asked. “Two objects can’t exist in the same space at the same time. So how does possession work?”
“It all boils down to quantum realm, wave function, and wave-particle duality.”
“I haven’t taken quantum theory yet,” I said with a touch of rancor. “Break it down into something I can actually understand.”
“From what I can tell, everything happens at a subatomic level. Two objects
“That’s all you can give me?”
“Have a little faith, Grey.”
“Fine. I’ll give you faith. But I want something in return,” I said, eyeing Dante shrewdly. “You’re good at surveillance, right?”
“You could do worse.”
“There’s a rogue archangel wandering around town named Pepper Friberg. He claims a fallen angel is blackmailing him, and I’m pretty sure I know which one. I want you to get me the evidence I need to nail her.”
“Her?”
“Women can be crafty too.”
“What does this have to do with leading the Nephilim?”
“This is personal.”
“All right,” Dante said slowly. “Tell me what I need to know.”
“Patch told me that any number of fallen angels out there could be blackmailing Pepper Friberg for numerous things—pages from the Book of Enoch, glimpses into the future, full pardon on a past crime, information deemed both sacred and secret, or even to be elevated to the status of guardian angel—the list of what an archangel could provide could go on and on, I think.”
“What else did Patch say?”
“Not much. He wants to find the blackmailer too. I know he’s been following leads and tracking at least one suspect. But I’m pretty sure he’s looking down the wrong holes. The other night I saw his ex talking to Pepper behind the Devil’s Handbag. I couldn’t hear what they said, but she looked confident. And Pepper looked furious. Her name is Dabria.”
I was surprised to see a shadow of recognition cloud Dante’s expression. He crossed his arms over his chest. “Dabria?”
I groaned. “Don’t tell me you know her too. I swear, she’s
“It’s not that.” Dante shook his head, pity creeping into his countenance. “I didn’t want to be the one to tell you.”
“Tell me what?”
“I know Dabria. Not personally, but—” The sympathy on his face deepened. He looked at me like he was about to break awful news.
I’d taken a seat on a tree stump to tell my story, but now I jumped to my feet. “Just tell me, Dante.”
“I have spies working for me. People I employ to keep an eye on influential fallen angels,” Dante confessed, sounding almost guilty. “It’s no secret Patch is highly respected in the fallen angel community. He’s smart, clever, and resourceful. He’s a good leader. Years as a mercenary gave him more experience in battle than most of my men combined.”
“You’ve been spying on Patch,” I said. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I trust you, but I’m not discounting the possibility that he has influence over you.”
“Influence? Patch has never made my decisions for me—I’m capable of doing that on my own. I’m in charge of this operation. If I wanted spies sent out, I would have done it myself,” I said, my irritation evident.
“Point taken.”
I paced to the nearest tree, facing away from Dante. “Are you going to tell me why you’re divulging all this in the first place?”
He expelled a reluctant sigh. “While spying on Patch, Dabria has popped onto our radar more than once.”
I shut my eyes, wishing I could tell him to stop there. I didn’t want to hear more. Dabria followed Patch everywhere—I knew that. But the tone of Dante’s voice suggested he had much more devastating news to deliver than simply telling me that Patch had a stalker who also happened to be his gorgeous ex.
“A couple nights ago, they were together. I have evidence. Multiple photos.”
I clenched my jaw and swung around. “I want to see them.”
“Nora—”
“I can handle it,” I snapped. “I want to see this so-called evidence your men—
