He stares at me intensely, but I can tell he’s not really lookin’ at me, and instead is focused on somethin’ else. His fingers dig into my skin, and his face starts to go red like he’s strainin’ to make something happen, but I have no idea what.
“Fuck,” he snarls and then seems to abandon whatever it was he was tryin’ to do and starts tuggin’ me the other way.
Frownin’, I strain to look behind me to see what spooked him, and that’s when I see the group that just walked through the club’s door. My mouth drops open in surprise at the prominent white and cream wings hangin’ off their backs. The winged people scan the crowded bar as though they’re lookin’ for somethin’, and judgin’ by Morax’s reaction, my guess would be that somethin’ is him.
A female and a male break away from the group, and they’re both pretty enough to be on a poster or star in any damn movie of their choosin’. It almost hurts to look at them. They’re also carryin’ long swords in an X at their backs and go completely unnoticed by every club patron in the room.
I want so badly to ask who they are, but I can’t.
“Curse this realm to shit. There’s too many, and I can’t fucking shift!”
My head swings back toward Morax at his words, and he grinds to a halt. Luckily, I’m able to stop this time before I run into him. I don’t know what made him halt in his tracks, and I can’t see around him because he whirls around to face me again.
“I’ll be back for you,” he says before he shoves me and then turns and hurries away, disappearin’ into the throng. My bleary mind is slow to react, and the room spins as I teeter from his push. When I put my hands out to catch myself on somethin’, I realize too late that there’s nothin’ close enough to stop my fall.
I go down, my palms and butt hittin’ the floor, the club music and cacophony of voices suddenly way too much for my sensitive ears and bruised brain.
I try to get up, but I’m so damn dizzy and disoriented that it’s all I can do to stay on all fours instead of lyin’ spread out like roadkill just askin’ to be trampled.
What the hell is wrong with me?
Just when I feel a sob clog my throat at the feelin’ of helplessness, a pair of arms are helpin’ me up.
“Are you alright?”
I have to blink several times at the face to get my eyes to stay still long enough to realize that it’s the winged lady.
She lifts me like I’m a rag doll and holds me out for a second before settin’ me gently on my feet. She’s also oddly brighter now that she’s closer. I squint as I take her in, and 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
