Avenging Angel (The Fallen #4)(23)
Author: Cynthia Eden

She yanked her eyes right back up. Clothes. The guy seriously needed clothes.

And with just that thought, they appeared. A black T-shirt. Jeans. Even boots. A complete outfit to cover him.

Tanner’s eyes widened. “Nice trick.”

Angels were always able to conjure clothes. Since they had wings sprouting from their backs, they had to be able to use their powers to make articles that would fit around them. Except she hadn’t been able to use that particular talent since she’d fallen.

Until now.

First the fire, now conjuring. It looked like her powers were flooding back. Finally. No more weakness.

Marna glanced over her shoulder. Bastion was still there. With both Azrael and Sammael walking the earth, he’d be the ruler of the death angels now, but once, he’d been her only friend. “Bastion.”

His head lifted.

There was no emotion in his eyes or on the face that appeared to have been carved from stone. He looked at her as if he didn’t even know her. Why? Didn’t he understand?

“I miss you,” she said.

Did he flinch?

“Who the hell are you talking to?” Tanner pulled her closer to him.

Bastion bent and placed his hand over the vampire’s chest. Just that simply, another soul was taken.

The air seemed to chill, and goose bumps rose on Marna’s flesh. Tanner swore, and then he scooped her into his arms. “Screw this.”

Holding her tightly, he rushed toward the alley entrance. Her arms wrapped around him, but she said, “Tanner, no, I can—”

Bastion was in front of them. Staring at her with eyes that seemed to blaze.

“Stop,” she told Tanner.

He froze.

He wouldn’t see the angel. Couldn’t. Fallen angels could always see their winged brethren, but most others couldn’t. Not unless he had the blood of celestial beings in him. Since demons were descended from the Fallen, some of them could see the angels who walked among the humans—as long as their bloodline was strong enough.

But vampires? Shifters? No, they wouldn’t see angels even though they sometimes strolled right beside them.

“I’m . . . sorry,” Bastion told her, voice stilted.

Her arms were around Tanner’s neck. She could feel the tension coursing through him. Tanner stared at the alley, glanced at her, stared again at the alley’s entrance. “All right, who the f**k is there?”

She licked her lips. “An angel.”

“I know that. Which winged ass am I dealing with?”

A muscle jerked in Bastion’s jaw. His gaze dropped, then hardened when he saw the way Tanner’s hands held her so tightly. “Be careful with him,” Bastion warned her. “He’s not someone you can trust.”

Her stare turned back to Tanner. Right then, he was the only one she could trust.

“Who is it?” Tanner gritted.

“Bastion.” She sighed the name. “He’s—”

Tanner ran right at the angel. In a flash, Bastion vanished.

“No!” Marna leapt from his arms and almost fell flat on her face. She managed to stumble and barely stay upright. “I need to ask him—”

“Baby, this alley is a bloodbath. That smell will have every predator in a ten-mile radius coming out.”

The predators were already out. She glanced over her shoulder and saw the eyes in the darkness. The flash of fangs.

Tanner’s hand wrapped around her wrist. “Come on.”

Bastion was gone.

Only the monsters remained.

And they were closing in.

Tanner pushed her behind his body. “Stay the hell back,” he ordered those who waited in the darkness. He lifted his claws. “Or I’ll start slicing you apart.”

Silence.

But maybe that silence wasn’t enough. Marna’s shoulders straightened. Time to send a message. She glanced down at her hands. “I’ve got this,” she whispered to Tanner.

He frowned over his shoulder at her.

Her chin rose. She could do this.

He stepped away.

Marna sent a ball of fire racing into the alley. The fire caught the vampire’s dead body. Incinerated him, and sent the others fleeing back—back to whatever hole they’d crawled from.

The rush of power was amazing. Using fire . . . when she’d been an angel, it had never felt this way. Like the energy was pouring from within her, surging inside her.

Not as good as the pleasure that Tanner had given her, but still good.

Marna smiled. “Now you know to stay away,” she said into the flames.

The warning wasn’t just for the monsters. It was for the angel who lurked nearby. She wasn’t the same woman she’d been. Every day, she was changing. Becoming more. It was time for the rest of the world to realize that fact.

And to stay out of my way.

He watched the action from his perch on the rooftop. The little lost Fallen enjoyed her fire. He could see the thrill on her face.

Angels didn’t enjoy the rush of power. Angels didn’t enjoy anything.

She wasn’t an angel anymore. She liked the crackle of the blaze. Liked the heat of the licking flames.

She’d used her fire on the vampires. Finally, that power had broken free for her.

He watched as the shifter took her from the alley. Bundled her into an SUV and shot down the street.

He would be a problem. The panther watched Marna too closely. Touched her too much.

Do you think she’ll be yours?

That wasn’t the fate that waited for Marna. She deserved to have her vengeance. Deserved all the power that would come her way.

The panther? He’d get what he deserved, too. Death.

Because Tanner Chance was the key that he needed. In order to unlock all the power and magic inside of Marna, she would have to break. Chance could be used to break her.

When she broke, it would be brutal, and it would be beautiful. Just like her.

He leapt off the rooftop.

There was still plenty of time in the night, and there were some vamps that needed killing. Did they truly think they were just going to get away after attacking her?

No. Not likely. He’d make them pay.

And he’d enjoy the sound of their screams.

But first he’d follow his little angel. Just in case the shifter planned to stash her someplace else.

He liked to know where she was—all the time. That way, she’d never escape him.

Never.

Tanner raced through the streets. A fast left. A hard right. His blood seemed to burn in his veins, and he clutched the steering wheel so tightly, he could feel it starting to bend beneath his fingers.