Dark Kiss (Harlequin Teen) (27 page)

He had his arms crossed and he trudged along the sidewalk, headed slowly toward downtown.

“That’s him?” Bishop said.

The sound of his smooth, deep voice sank into me and made me shiver. I wanted to forgive him, even while memories of his betrayal still swirled all around me.

My conflicting emotions toward Bishop weren’t helpful right now. All they could do was distract me.

“Yeah,” I finally said. “I don’t get it, though. Why would they tell Kraven there’s supposed to be four of you and then send another one?”

“No idea.” He didn’t sound happy about that.

I had a flash of what happened last time with Roth and the worry over us making a mistake and actually killing some innocent kid. “Just make sure to check him first. Don’t just, you know,
do it.
”

“I will. You can leave now.” He paused. “If you want to.”

I eyed him sideways while we kept walking and I drew my coat closer to block the chill. Since we weren’t exactly walking hand in hand, I felt the cold night all too well. “And miss all the excitement?”

He kept his tense attention on the kid. “I know you don’t like this part.”

“Bishop, the day I start to like witnessing someone get stabbed through the heart is not a day I’m looking forward to.”

He shook his head. “You’ve been so brave about all of this.”

That made me snort humorlessly. “That’s not exactly a word I’d use to describe myself.”

He finally met my gaze and my heart betrayed me by skipping a beat. I guess it had already recovered from being broken. Fickle heart.

“I just wish I understood how you can do this,” he said.

He had no idea what the truth really was—that I was a…a
nexus,
like Natalie said. Since I wasn’t ready to share that at the moment, he’d just have to keep guessing.

Bishop pulled me to a stop. The kid had also stopped walking and turned to face us.

“Are you following me?” he asked.

“Us?” I was the first to speak. “Um, maybe. Hi there. How are you tonight?”

He looked at me like I might be a bit crazy. “This is a bad neighborhood, you know. Dangerous at night.”

“Your point?”

“What do you want with me?”

Bishop stepped forward. “We know you’re lost and we want to help you.”

The kid’s eyes weren’t as dark as I thought they were at a distance. They were a medium brown, flecked with gold. They tracked back to me and his brows drew together. “Do I know you?”

“Me?” I pointed at myself.

“Yeah, you look familiar.”

Bishop and I exchanged a glance. “It’s all yours,” I told him, waving my hand and stepping backward.

That earned me the barest hint of one of his rare but amazing smiles. It worked like a lightning bolt right to my heart. My heart honestly couldn’t make up its mind about the angel—it was either broken or doing backflips.

Bishop turned back to the kid. “Have you dreamed about Samantha? Is that how you know her?”

“Dreamed about her? Actually…yeah, I have. Is that strange, or what?”

“Not strange. It was a sign that we’re here to help you right now.”

The boy frowned, but then his attention shifted to something behind us and his eyes widened with fear. “I’ve dreamed about something like that, too.”

I turned to look and a gasp caught in my throat.

A large man was barreling down the sidewalk. He wore a dark blue business suit, which was wrinkled and dirty. I could smell him from ten feet away—like something rotten found at the bottom of a garbage can. His face was so pale white it seemed to glow like the moon in the darkness.

And his eyes—they were black and glazed, with no emotion or intelligence in them. Only hunger.

They were like Carly’s eyes had been. It was enough to freeze me in place with horror.

Bishop shoved me out of the way as the man stormed toward us, and then Bishop was tackled to the ground, landing hard on his back. I shrieked, thinking that this monster was going to hurt Bishop, but I couldn’t figure out what to grab or kick to help him.

But the angel had been chosen for this mission for a reason. I’d only seen a glimpse of his fighting skills before. Tonight I got to see more. He slammed his fist into the man’s face and used the leverage to flip him onto his back. The man fought back, but Bishop had taken full control of the situation.

“Can you understand me?” Bishop demanded. “Can you still think clearly enough to answer me?”

A line of drool slid out of the man’s mouth as he powered forward, fighting hard and wildly against Bishop, but not making any indication that he understood what he was asked.

“Last chance,” Bishop growled, getting to his feet to stand in front of me, as if trying to block me from any harm. “Can you hear me? Or has the hunger taken your mind completely?”

The man was back on his feet and he surged toward Bishop.

Suddenly the golden dagger was in Bishop’s hand and he arched it toward the man’s chest where it met its mark. I clamped a hand over my mouth to stop from screaming. It had all happened so fast.

A high-pitched screech that didn’t sound human escaped the man’s throat as Bishop yanked the blade back out. The man fell hard to his knees.

“Samantha, get back!” Bishop grabbed hold of my coat sleeve and pulled me away so there was a dozen feet between us and the monster who’d just attacked us.

The kid we’d been following also leaped by us, just as a swirling black vortex appeared out of absolutely nowhere. Even in the dark of night, this was even darker, a pitch-black hole hanging in the middle of the air about four feet in diameter. With its appearance came a horrible whirling sound, like a tornado, so loud it made it nearly impossible to think.

It felt as if a powerful vacuum was drawing us into it. The three of us slid forward on the pavement toward the vortex. I just stared at it with wide eyes, terrified. Bishop kept a tight grip on me to keep me from moving any closer to it, his rubber-soled shoes braced against the ground as an anchor. I reached out and took hold of the other kid’s arm.

The man with the black eyes was closest to the vortex. I felt his gaze bore into me for a long, horrible moment. Finally, the man hissed out his last breath and slumped backward.

The very next moment, it was as if the vortex literally reached out and yanked him back into the darkness. One moment the swirling, thunderous darkness was there, the next it shrank away and disappeared, leaving nothing behind but silence.

My heart thundered in my ears as I stayed exactly where I was for a few seconds, not moving, not breathing. The kid next to me was staring in shock at the space where the black hole had just been.

“What the hell was that?” he managed to ask after a moment.

“That,” Bishop said, “was the Hollow.”

Chapter 18

The kid stared at him. “You killed that guy and he got sucked into a big black hole.”

“Pretty much,” Bishop confirmed.

“And you’re supposed to help me?” He shot a glance at me. “What about you? How can you be so damn calm about what just happened?”

“Do I look calm?” I gripped my hands together to keep them from shaking. “I guess I’m only screaming on the inside right now.”

“What’s going on?”

Bishop eyed the boy. “Show me your back.”

“What?”

“Do it,” he snapped like a pissed-off drill sergeant. Whatever small amount of patience Bishop had had earlier had all but disappeared.

The kid glanced warily at the knife Bishop still held. “Yeah, okay. Whatever you say. You really want to see my back so much? You got it.”

He turned a little and pulled up his shirt enough for me to see there was an imprint of wings on his dark skin—and it was just like Bishop’s and Zach’s mark.

A third angel.

“Crazy tattoo, right?” He pulled his shirt back down. “I can’t remember much of anything lately, but I have no idea what would have possessed me to get something like—”

He gasped as Bishop sank the dagger into him. I watched in horror, not expecting it to happen so quickly. I hadn’t even had a chance to catch my breath.

The kid dropped to his knees and looked at me with confusion on his pained face. “I thought you wanted to help me.”

“I’m sorry,” I choked out. It was all I could think of to say. All that I could say.

The boy fell all the way to the ground and let out his last breath.

I braced myself, thinking for a moment the vortex would open again. I jumped when Bishop touched my arm.

“Why doesn’t the Hollow open again? He—he’s
dead
.” I couldn’t look at the body.

“It’s not the same as a true death. The ritual is specific and the dagger knows the difference. Think of it like an invisible shield surrounding each of the team members, protecting them when they entered the city—enough to fool the city’s barrier. It also blocks their memories and any abilities they have. This dagger cuts through that so their true selves can be returned.”

The dagger knew the difference?

It could cut through the shield. Natalie thought it could also cut through the barrier surrounding the city—if it was in my hands.

“Okay.” I just nodded, stunned. “Talented dagger. Does it talk, too?”

“Not recently.” He gave me a half grin and wiped the dagger off on his jeans before sheathing it. He crouched down next to the kid to check his back again. “Maybe Heaven felt that reinforcements were needed already. It’s been a week since I arrived. That was as long as I was originally given to find the others.”

I just stared back in the direction where the entrance to the Hollow had been. It wasn’t something I ever wanted to see again. Natalie had returned from that—from somewhere that was supposed to be one-way only.

“That man was the type of gray you’ve been telling me about,” I said, my voice shaky. “The ones you can’t reason with, who have no self-control when they feed too much.”

“That’s right.” He rose to his feet again. “There’s no coming back from that.”

“He
was
like a zombie.” I’d always loved zombie movies, even the really bad ones like the
Zombie Queen
sequel. But that—what I’d just seen—that had been real.

“That’s why we’re out patrolling the streets every night. This one—” he nodded at the new angel, currently DOA “—can help with that while I focus on finding the Source.”

I bit my bottom lip. “Are you close? Any leads?”

His gaze scanned the dark street before it returned to mine. “I’m positive she hangs out at that nightclub of yours. Stephen was lying to me. I think I saw her the other night—she matches the description of the demon from last time. Dark hair, brown eyes, thin, twentyish.”

I fought to keep my expression neutral. “You’re like a detective.”

“The sooner I finish this, the sooner I can go back to Heaven and find a way to help you.”

God, I felt so torn. I didn’t want him to hurt Natalie, even though he claimed to only want to “talk” to her. I worried what that talk would lead to if he didn’t get the answers he wanted.

I paced back and forth on the sidewalk. Not one car had driven by since we’d arrived. It just showed how deserted this part of the city was. At the moment, that was a blessing. This wasn’t an unseen alley, this was the middle of the street, and we were currently babysitting a temporarily dead angel.

Since we were stuck here waiting for him to wake up, it gave me a chance to ask all sorts of questions. Bishop had no chance to dodge them.

“If you were to stab that angel again with that dagger, it would kill him, right?”

“Yes.”

“And would the Hollow open up? Or is it just for demons and grays?”

“The Hollow takes anything supernatural that dies here in the human world—even angels. It’s something to be avoided at all costs. But it happens.”

“Wrong place, wrong time. Doesn’t seem fair.”

“Sometimes it isn’t.”

He thought the Hollow was the end. But Natalie was proof that that wasn’t true.

“You okay?” When he touched my arm his warmth sank into me. When he smiled, it made me light-headed.

I nodded. “I’ll be better when that angel stands up again.”

“He will.”

“You have faith?”

His knee-weakening smile widened. “I try to.”

The cold breeze in the air picked up and I cinched the belt on my coat tighter and shoved my hands deep into the pockets.

“I meant what I told you before,” Bishop said after a moment of silence passed between us. “When I get back to Heaven, I’ll find a way to help you.”

“And Carly, too.”

He nodded. “Carly, too.”

I swallowed past the lump in my throat. More time. More questions. “Why didn’t you tell me about Kraven?”

The smile was gone just like that. “Because there’s nothing to tell.”

“How long ago were you human? You—you said it was a long time ago.”

“Not long enough.” Despite his vague answers, there was no mistaking the bitter tone to his voice.

“And when you said you were one of the bad guys—”

“I shouldn’t have told you that.”

“I want to know more. I mean, you’re an
angel
so, um…” My mouth felt dry. “You were redeemed, or whatever, for what happened.”

His expression grew grimmer. “Sometimes I wonder.”

“Tell me more. Tell me—” I was about to say something else, ask something else, when I heard a groan. The angel had finally woken up. It was a huge relief—every minute that passed had made me wonder if he’d be the exception to the golden-dagger shield-busting rule. His eyelashes fluttered open and he slowly propped himself up on his elbows.

“I wouldn’t exactly call that a good time,” he said, “but it is entirely effective.”

Without thinking twice, or worrying that he might react the same as Roth had, I went to his side and helped him up to his feet. Call me Florence Nightingale. I checked his chest to find a tear on his shirt and blood on the fabric, but the wound had healed completely.

“How are you feeling?” I asked.

“Bruised, but intact.”

Bishop moved closer to give the new angel his own inspection. “I’m Bishop.”

“Yeah, they told me all about you before I left. And what to expect from that dagger there, not that it helped, since I promptly forgot everything, including my own name.” The guy grinned and clasped Bishop’s outstretched hand. “I’m Connor.” He glanced at me. “And you are?”

“Samantha.”

Connor looked at Bishop. “You know she’s a gray, right?”

“Well aware. But she’s different from the others, so take it easy. Without her, we wouldn’t have been able to find you. She can see the searchlights. We can’t.”

“Cool.” He still looked a bit guarded now that his senses had alerted him to the fact that I was one of the monsters. “So you have superpowers, huh?”

I tried to smile at him. “I can also read your mind, if I’m so inclined. And zap you if you’re mean to me.”

Connor cocked his head to the side as he regarded me. “Huh. Sounds a bit like a
nexus.
”

I stopped breathing. Then I struggled to keep my expression neutral. It was a secret that I didn’t want revealed to anyone.

“Sure,” Bishop said with an amused grin. “The daughter of an angel and a demon is standing right here in front of us. I think I’d already know something like that.”

“It was just a wild guess.” Connor shrugged. “I don’t know.”

Slowly, the grin faded from Bishop’s face and a frown replaced it, as if he was giving the possibility more thought. But when Bishop spoke again, I was deeply relieved it was to Connor. “I’d heard there were to be only four of us. You’re the fifth.”

“I’m always late to the party. Sorry about that. Feel free to pay me back by stabbing me through the chest.” He rubbed the spot over his heart. “Oh, wait. You already did that.”

“How long have you been here?”

Connor scratched his head. “A couple of days. Is this a fun city to hang out in? I have been needing a vacation for a while.”

“This isn’t a vacation.”

Connor slapped him on the back. “Sarcasm, my friend. It’s my thing. Get used to it. So are you going to intro me to the others, or what?”

Bishop gave him a sidelong glance. “Oh, they’re going to
love
you.”

The three of us walked back to St. Andrew’s in silence, apart from a few random comments from Connor. I knew who the joker of the group was going to be, but I didn’t mind. Frankly the fact that he wasn’t a demon had already won me over.

He’d made a wild guess and nailed what I was. It had seriously freaked me out.

I felt fragile, like a piece of glass left on the edge of a tall counter, about ready to crash to the ground at any moment. My emotions were hard to control, but that was exactly what I had to keep doing. I couldn’t let myself break down now.

Seeing that gray for myself, though, the proof I’d been hoping didn’t exist…it had scared me deeply. I’d wanted to believe that all grays were like me. That they thought like me, not wanting to feed. Not wanting to hurt anyone.

But an image of Carly kissing Paul in the booth at Crave earlier haunted me. She hadn’t seemed to realize how bad it was and what it could do to her.

But she hadn’t seen what I had.

Natalie told me that losing a soul wasn’t harmful to a human, that it freed them. Had that been a lie, as well? Was anyone in this damn city telling me the truth?

The thought was like a clawed hand that took hold of my throat and kept squeezing tighter and tighter. It was best that I didn’t say anything right now. Best that I went home and thought about all of this on my own.

“I should go,” I said when we got back to the church. “I don’t want to go back in there and see Kraven and Roth again.”