She glanced around. She hadn’t been burned because Az had protected her with his body. He saved me. That just didn’t jive with the story she’d been given. A crazy psycho wouldn’t care about protecting her. “Sam, wait!”
Something was very wrong. Two fire attacks, and she was sure neither had come from Az.
Sam sent a blast of energy at Az, and the Fallen flew back into the fire. Sam spared her a brief glance over his shoulder. “Rogziel is here, and you need to run.”
She stumbled back. Her gaze swept around the parking lot. She didn’t see Rogziel, but since the bastard could fly, he could be anywhere.
Az shot out of the fire and barreled into Sam. Power crackled in the air as they tossed psychic attacks at each other. They rolled on the ground, and a deep crevice appeared beneath them.
Too much power.
Lightning crashed between them.
Not right. “Stop!” She wasn’t running. Where would she run to? If she ran, she’d probably rush straight into Rogziel.
Sam and Az didn’t hear her. Or if they did, they just ignored her. Sam had his hands around Az’s throat, and he lifted his brother up high—then tossed him about twenty feet.
The flames flickered. The scent of smoke burned her nose. Smoke and . . . wait. That wasn’t the normal smell of fire. That scent was more like—
Brimstone.
Once you smelled hell, you never forgot it.
She spun around. The lightest scent of flowers tangled with the brimstone. She knew what that light, sweet scent meant. An angel was close.
Rogziel had appeared in the middle of the parking lot. His wings, black, strong, and powerful, stretched behind him.
He wasn’t alone. At his side, a real-live freaking monster crouched. It wasn’t a wolf. It was bigger. Triple the size of any wolf shifter she’d ever seen. Its fur was thick and black and matted. One long streak of white fur cut across its right eye. Its fangs were longer than her hands. Its claws were like thick butcher knives digging into the ground, and its eyes—eyes locked not on her but on Sam—were blood red.
Redder than any fire in hell.
Rogziel patted the beast on its back. Then Rogziel lifted one of his bony fingers and pointed right at Sam.
No. “Sam! Behind you!”
He whirled around, and she knew he’d caught sight of the creature. His body tensed, and she was pretty sure he said, “Shit,” but then Rogziel turned that bony finger toward her. No . . . no, he was targeting her! Telling the weird beast to—
“Attack.” Rogziel’s screamed command drowned out everything else.
The beast charged at her. It moved so fast that its legs blurred. She turned away and tried to run, but the fire waited in front of her.
She spun to the left. There were woods that way. The ground was actually shaking as the beast pounded after her.
“Seline!” Sam was there. He grabbed her arm and shoved her behind him, using his body as a shield.
Too late.
The beast grabbed him. The animal’s thick fangs sank into Sam’s arm, then, using that painful grip, the hound tossed Sam away like some kind of rag doll. Blood littered the ground in his wake. “No!” Seline screamed. What the hell was happening? What was that thing?
The beast’s attention was on Sam now. Sam rose to his feet. The gashes on his arm went all the way to the bone.
No mortal weapon can kill a Fallen.
But she wasn’t looking at a mortal weapon, and Rogziel was laughing. The punisher had planned too well.
A setup. From the beginning. A setup.
The creature lunged for Sam again. Its teeth were heading straight for Sam’s throat.
Sam threw a ball of fire at the beast. The flames hit the animal but just dissolved right into its dark fur.
Then the animal got even bigger.
“Fuck, a hellhound,” Sam snarled.
Hellhound?
The beast slammed its paws into Sam’s chest.
Seline stopped just standing there like a scared scream queen. She grabbed the hound’s tail and yanked as hard as she could.
The hound howled and snapped at her, taking those deadly teeth away from Sam’s throat.
Rogziel just watched and laughed.
“Leave him alone!” she yelled. Where was Az? She didn’t dare look away from the hound, not with those teeth so close to tearing into her.
Sam’s hands flew out. He grabbed the hound’s neck and snapped. She knew that crack meant the hound’s neck had been broken. She jumped back as the heavy body collapsed.
Sam pushed the hound to the ground. “We don’t have much time,” he told her even as his gaze flew around the lot. She saw his stare lock on something to the right.