“I’ll kill you and send your ass straight to the Hollow, demon,” Bishop snarled. He was still being held in place by Kraven, despite fighting hard to break free. “If you touch her again, if you even look at her again, I swear I’ll do it.”
The demon stopped struggling against the new angel and stared at Bishop incredulously. “Why are you defending a gray? I’m just doing what I was sent here to do. You know…the reason you found me and brought back my memories? Stupid bloody ritual, by the way.”
Looked like we agreed on something at least.
Bishop appeared to be having trouble getting himself under control. There was a crazy look in his eyes now. My stomach twisted for him.
“That gray over there was able to find us,” Kraven explained. “Find you, too.”
“She’s got some freaky power,” the new demon said. “She zapped me.”
“Yeah, I know. Doesn’t tickle, does it?”
“What is she?”
“A pain in the ass. But bottom line, dude, you need to chill the hell out. Now. Or there’s going to be a big problem.”
“I’m fine.”
“Yeah, looks like it. I strongly suggest you don’t give us any more trouble if you know what’s good for you. If you screw up this mission, you’ll have me to answer to.” He flicked a look at the new angel. “We have to keep a close eye on Bishop, too. He’s a mess right now.”
Bishop laughed then, a broken and humorless sound that made a chill run down my spine. “A mess. Yeah, I’m a mess for others to clean up. Can’t see the light, can’t find the others. Can’t heal. Can’t do much except stand and wait and watch and wonder why and where and how and who…”
Kraven eyed him. “Uh, right, whatever you say. Gray girl? You feeling okay enough to help out a bit here?”
What I desperately wanted to do was to leave, to run away and leave them all behind. But I was still here, mostly because what just happened had weakened me to the point that I couldn’t do much of anything except wait to see what happened next. And I couldn’t turn my back on Bishop when he needed me the most.
Giving the new demon a wide berth, I made my way over to Bishop. His knuckles were red and bleeding. Concern swelled in my chest.
“I’m sorry,” he said, shaking his head. “I said I’d protect you, but I failed. I’m sorry, sorry, so sorry.”
I was feeling better. Physically, anyway. Mentally—well, I knew I had some brand-new nightmares to look forward to. But right now I just wanted to help Bishop. “Take my hand.”
Bishop watched me with glazed eyes, but he didn’t move. Finally, I reached for his hand myself. It scared me how quickly he’d lost it, lost his control, his mind, everything. I knew he hated this. But I couldn’t be with him all the time to help him out. Thankfully there were the others we’d found to help patrol the city when he wasn’t feeling one hundred percent. But was he really going to get better when he went back to Heaven?
I couldn’t think that far ahead. I could think only about this moment. Live in the now. The eternal now. If I didn’t, I was seriously going to freak out.
When I touched him, the now-familiar energy crackled between us. He squeezed his eyes shut and I glanced over at Kraven, who was watching us carefully.
He nodded at me. “So that went smoothly, didn’t it? Awesome plan, don’t you think? Who says angels and demons can’t work well together?”
I just stared at him dumbly. I guess my shock hadn’t totally worn off.
He grinned. “Oh, yeah. Everybody says that. With everything that’s gone wrong, you’d almost think we’d been set up to fail, wouldn’t you?”
I considered that with a gnawingly sick feeling in my gut. “Do you think they knew this would happen to him? That slamming through the barrier would screw up his mind so much?”
He shrugged. “Dunno. Maybe his noggin was weaker than they expected. Not a huge shock there. But luckily, he found you. Can you imagine how screwed we’d all be if he hadn’t? Work that mojo, gray girl. Consider me a true believer now. Hallelujah.”
I’d take it as a compliment if he didn’t sound completely sarcastic. “I don’t want anything to do with you. Any of you.”
“Any of us?” He gave me a knowing look. “Come on, now. I think you’ve picked your favorite. It’s adorable that you’re so open to caring for those with special needs.”
I just glared at him.
“I still don’t get it,” the new demon said miserably. He’d stopped struggling as if he’d finally accepted that he was outmatched. “Can somebody explain to me what the hell’s going on? I thought we were supposed to kill grays, not hold hands with them and exchange valentines. Was there a memo I missed somewhere along the way?”
“Nah,” Kraven said. “This is new. Trust me. I had problems with it, too. Still do. But it is what it is. What’s your name?”
The demon hesitated, giving Kraven a look that clearly showed he didn’t trust him…or anyone else. “Roth.”
“Well, Roth, welcome to the team. Unless you give us a hard time, and then we’ll have to kill you—for real next time. The crazy angel who nearly broke your nose has the annoyingly self-indulgent name of Bishop. The other angel is Zachary, but he’s cool with us calling him Zach.”
Zach was the one who’d healed me. I looked over at him. “Thank you.”
The demon stopped struggling against the new angel and stared at Bishop incredulously. “Why are you defending a gray? I’m just doing what I was sent here to do. You know…the reason you found me and brought back my memories? Stupid bloody ritual, by the way.”
Looked like we agreed on something at least.
Bishop appeared to be having trouble getting himself under control. There was a crazy look in his eyes now. My stomach twisted for him.
“That gray over there was able to find us,” Kraven explained. “Find you, too.”
“She’s got some freaky power,” the new demon said. “She zapped me.”
“Yeah, I know. Doesn’t tickle, does it?”
“What is she?”
“A pain in the ass. But bottom line, dude, you need to chill the hell out. Now. Or there’s going to be a big problem.”
“I’m fine.”
“Yeah, looks like it. I strongly suggest you don’t give us any more trouble if you know what’s good for you. If you screw up this mission, you’ll have me to answer to.” He flicked a look at the new angel. “We have to keep a close eye on Bishop, too. He’s a mess right now.”
Bishop laughed then, a broken and humorless sound that made a chill run down my spine. “A mess. Yeah, I’m a mess for others to clean up. Can’t see the light, can’t find the others. Can’t heal. Can’t do much except stand and wait and watch and wonder why and where and how and who…”
Kraven eyed him. “Uh, right, whatever you say. Gray girl? You feeling okay enough to help out a bit here?”
What I desperately wanted to do was to leave, to run away and leave them all behind. But I was still here, mostly because what just happened had weakened me to the point that I couldn’t do much of anything except wait to see what happened next. And I couldn’t turn my back on Bishop when he needed me the most.
Giving the new demon a wide berth, I made my way over to Bishop. His knuckles were red and bleeding. Concern swelled in my chest.
“I’m sorry,” he said, shaking his head. “I said I’d protect you, but I failed. I’m sorry, sorry, so sorry.”
I was feeling better. Physically, anyway. Mentally—well, I knew I had some brand-new nightmares to look forward to. But right now I just wanted to help Bishop. “Take my hand.”
Bishop watched me with glazed eyes, but he didn’t move. Finally, I reached for his hand myself. It scared me how quickly he’d lost it, lost his control, his mind, everything. I knew he hated this. But I couldn’t be with him all the time to help him out. Thankfully there were the others we’d found to help patrol the city when he wasn’t feeling one hundred percent. But was he really going to get better when he went back to Heaven?
I couldn’t think that far ahead. I could think only about this moment. Live in the now. The eternal now. If I didn’t, I was seriously going to freak out.
When I touched him, the now-familiar energy crackled between us. He squeezed his eyes shut and I glanced over at Kraven, who was watching us carefully.
He nodded at me. “So that went smoothly, didn’t it? Awesome plan, don’t you think? Who says angels and demons can’t work well together?”
I just stared at him dumbly. I guess my shock hadn’t totally worn off.
He grinned. “Oh, yeah. Everybody says that. With everything that’s gone wrong, you’d almost think we’d been set up to fail, wouldn’t you?”
I considered that with a gnawingly sick feeling in my gut. “Do you think they knew this would happen to him? That slamming through the barrier would screw up his mind so much?”
He shrugged. “Dunno. Maybe his noggin was weaker than they expected. Not a huge shock there. But luckily, he found you. Can you imagine how screwed we’d all be if he hadn’t? Work that mojo, gray girl. Consider me a true believer now. Hallelujah.”
I’d take it as a compliment if he didn’t sound completely sarcastic. “I don’t want anything to do with you. Any of you.”
“Any of us?” He gave me a knowing look. “Come on, now. I think you’ve picked your favorite. It’s adorable that you’re so open to caring for those with special needs.”
I just glared at him.
“I still don’t get it,” the new demon said miserably. He’d stopped struggling as if he’d finally accepted that he was outmatched. “Can somebody explain to me what the hell’s going on? I thought we were supposed to kill grays, not hold hands with them and exchange valentines. Was there a memo I missed somewhere along the way?”
“Nah,” Kraven said. “This is new. Trust me. I had problems with it, too. Still do. But it is what it is. What’s your name?”
The demon hesitated, giving Kraven a look that clearly showed he didn’t trust him…or anyone else. “Roth.”
“Well, Roth, welcome to the team. Unless you give us a hard time, and then we’ll have to kill you—for real next time. The crazy angel who nearly broke your nose has the annoyingly self-indulgent name of Bishop. The other angel is Zachary, but he’s cool with us calling him Zach.”
Zach was the one who’d healed me. I looked over at him. “Thank you.”
