The wind stopped howling. The smoke vanished. Sam and Tomas slammed into the ground. But in an instant, Sam was back on his feet. On his feet, and with his weapon pressed against Tomas’s throat. “Obviously,” Sam told the dumbass, “you’re not.”
Tomas glared up at him. “How the hell did you do that?”
He used his left hand to yank at the charm around his neck—a charm Mateo had given him. “Let’s just call it my little get-out-of-jail free card. It’s real handy for breaking spells.” He let the claw slice Tomas’s throat. “You take me to Seline, now, or you die.”
Seline glared down the long, winding road. The sun was rising slowly in the sky, and she was already baking out there.
No one was on this road. That freaking Fallen had dumped her in the middle of nowhere. No phone. No people. No help.
No Sam.
And, oh, damn, she was worried about him. What if Az killed him? What would she do then?
Her shoulders hunched even as her head tilted back, and she stared helplessly up at that stretching expanse of blue sky.
“Please,” she whispered, aware that her voice was thick with emotion that nearly choked her. Az had known her mother. Sam could be dying. “Help me.”
Because she knew Rogziel had gone after Sam. Despite his strength, Sam couldn’t defeat both Az and Rogziel, and if Rogziel brought his hounds with him, there wouldn’t even be a chance for Sam to survive.
Her eyes squeezed closed. She was lost, had no clue, and Sam—
“Sam is stronger than you think.” A soft laugh floated in the air. “He’s stronger than pretty much any angel on earth or above it.”
Slowly, Seline opened her eyes. A woman stood before her. Small, delicate, with close-cropped dark hair and a delicate, almost elfin face.
The woman wore all white, a bright contrast to her light brown skin, and strong, powerful black wings spread behind her.
Seline’s knees trembled. Rogziel usually kept his wings hidden, an old angel trick. This woman—she wasn’t bothering with tricks.
And she also wasn’t standing in front of Seline. The woman hovered about a foot in the air.
Black wings . . . Rogziel had black wings, too. All punishment angels did. And, because of Sam, she knew that all Angels of Death did, as well. Seline swallowed back her fear. “Are you here to kill me?”
The woman glanced around. “Um, no.”
The scent of flowers was strong. Roses. The woman smelled like roses.
“Then you’re a punishment angel.”
“Um . . .”
That really wasn’t an answer.
The woman flew closer. Those wings fluttered behind her. “You look a lot like Erina.”
Seline licked her lips. “So I’ve been told.”
The angel’s bright stare raked her. “It’s a pity you never knew her.”
Her throat hurt when she cleared it. “Yeah, it is.”
The angel’s gaze saw too much. “Why didn’t you call sooner?” the woman asked softly. “All these years . . . it sure took you long enough, Seline.”
She was missing something. “What?”
The angel pointed toward the blue sky. “If you’d wanted help, you should have asked sooner.” A soft sigh slipped from her lips. “As it is, you’ve almost waited too late now.”
“You’re kidding me!” A hot spoke of anger burned in her belly. “You’re telling me that to make this nightmare stop, all I had to do was ask?” In-freaking-sane.
“Ask and you shall receive,” the angel told her with a slight nod. “You asked and now help is here.”
“Here to do what?”
The angel’s feet touched the ground. Her wings curled in behind her, and a hard, fierce expression crossed her face. “To punish.”
“Yeah? Who exactly are you here to punish? Me? Sam? Azrael? Or what about that power-mad Rogziel? Do you know what he’s been doing?”
“I’m not the one who will give Rogziel his punishment,” the angel said in a serene, clear voice.
“So you’re not going to do anything?” Seline demanded, her voice closer to a screech. “You’re just gonna stand there and watch him kill angels?”
No emotion flickered over the angel’s face. “Rogziel is not the same angel he once was.”
“No shit! I figured that out the first time I saw him slice open a vampire and smile.” But how did you get away from someone who had the power of heaven on his side? “I thought you said you’d help me.”