“You know what I meant.”
Mark put down his fork. “It's complicated, but I would say that we assist people, demons and magical beings of every sort who are being tortured by creatures more powerful than themselves.”
She frowned. “I don’t understand.”
Daniel's fork clattered on his plate as he stood up. “Maybe instead of just talking about it, we should show her.”
15
Surcy took Tristan and Mark’s hands, and they took Daniel’s. Am I really helping demons with a mission? What if they aren’t telling me the truth about their plan? Can I actually trust them?
Images flashed in her mind. Of the pictures on the walls of their house. Of her smiling and laughing. Of her kissing them. Is there any life in which I could love evil men? In the deepest regions of her heart, she knew she could not. If they were evil, she wouldn't have loved them.
“Surcy?” Mark’s ice blue eyes locked onto hers. “If you’re having doubts—“
“No, I’m not.” She reassured him.
Why did I say that?
“Do you know where to take us?” He asked, still watching her too-closely.
She nodded, the image he’d pressed into her mind still fresh. With angels, they didn’t need to know the address or the name of where they needed to go, all they needed was an image. If someone concentrated really hard on a place, an angel could see it. And she had a perfect picture of where Mark wanted to go.
Taking a steadying breath, she teleported them.
A second later, they were standing on the roof in a city far from their own. A fog lay heavy over the crowded buildings as far as she could see, but the smell of the salty ocean came to her, light and teasing.
“So what is it that we’re looking for here?”
Mark pulled a necklace from beneath his shirt and stared down at it. She saw a flash of a silver pendant with swirling colors that moved within a large stone for a brief moment before he wrapped his hand around the gem. Squeezing it tightly, his breathing became rapid.
Something’s wrong.
She reached out a hand for him, but Tristan caught her wrist. Her reluctant gaze moved to the big man. He shook his head in warning.
What’s going on? What are they not telling me?
A second later, Mark gasped and his eyes flashed open.
She took a step back, her heart pounding. His blue eyes were now swirling silver pools. He looked without seeing and his mouth moved, speaking words no one could hear.
The gem fell from his hand, landing against his chest, and the swirling silver disappeared, replaced by blue eyes once more. He would have sagged to his knees, but Daniel caught him.
“What did you see?” Daniel asked, his voice tense.
Mark took several deep breaths, blinking slowly. “I—I saw her. I know who she is and where she is.”
She?
Daniel grinned and clapped him on the back. “Then, let’s go find her.”
“Is this the woman we’re here to help?”
Daniel and Tristan exchanged a glance, but Mark spoke first. “Yes, and it’s very important. She needs our help."
He turned and led them all toward the door on the roof. He pulled the handle, but it wouldn't budge.
“Locked.” He grinned back at her just before he pulled again. The metal on the door creaked as he bent it back and yanked the door open.
Wow. That was… I don’t know.
Her cheeks flamed again. She bowed her head as she walked past him, trying to hide her embarrassment.
Did I just find his strength attractive?
The demons followed her down the dark stairs, the only sound their steps on the concrete.
When they emerged onto the street below, Surcy hesitated. The sidewalks were filthy, but more than that, a general sense of danger and misery hung over the streets like a cloud.
“This way,” Mark said, leading them to the left.
They passed a homeless person lying sprawled on the sidewalk. Down the first alley, six people crowded around a fire burning in a trash can. Trash crunched beneath their feet as they walked. A chill settled beneath her skin that she couldn’t quite shake.
“What is this place?” she whispered.
Daniel answered. “It used to be a thriving city, before it was cursed.”
“Who would do such a thing?"
His gaze slid to hers, but before he answered, she saw them. Angels walked in a group along the opposite sidewalk. Their wings folded gracefully on their backs, although hidden from the sight of the humans by magic.
“There’s your answer.” Each of Daniel’s words were laced with bitterness.
She frowned. “That can’t be true. An angel’s job is to protect humanity from the cruelty of demons, but not to interfere with their lives otherwise.”
Daniel smirked. “And yet, they do it all the time. All at the whim of that bastard Caine.”
One of the angels turned and looked straight at her. She stiffened, waiting to see what they would do. Surely they would recognize one of their own kind, even without her wings. Yet his gaze moved on.
Her heart twisted. Were my wings all that made me an angel? What am I if even my own kind don’t recognize me?
And then an even more disturbing thought made a shiver run through her body. It’s a good thing they don’t recognize me, since now they see me as an enemy.
“Are you all right?” Tristan asked.
She folded her arms over her stomach. “Of course.”
“It’ll get easier,” he promised.
For reasons she couldn’t explain, his words brought her comfort.
They walked until they left the main part of the city and moved to a neighborhood filled with tiny, rundown houses. When they reached the end of a cul-de-sac, Mark gestured to one particularly awful looking house.
“She’s there, in that house,” Mark said, pointing.
“And what will we do once we see her?” Surcy glanced between the house and her demons.
Mark spoke as if to himself. “We'll save her from the angels.”
16
Mark
