Angel in Chains (The Fallen #3)(30)

Az kept staring at that glass as if he were hypnotized. Not good. “You can’t see my future,” he finally said, voice rumbling.

“Because of what you are?” Heather asked, and then she laughed.

Jade hated that grating sound. The woman laughed like a hyena.

“Don’t fool yourself into thinking you’re the only angel I’ve met.” Her hand brushed down his arm.

He was the only angel that Jade had ever met. And the witch was standing too close to him. The witch also needed to stop that touching bit. Now.

“I told you why I turned you over to those men before.”

Being in the dark sucked. Jade wished she knew more about what had happened between Az and Heather. Hello, jealousy. She recognized the feeling for exactly what it was.

“Poor Azrael. You think your job is to save the world.” Heather’s lips twisted as she turned her focus on Jade. “When you’re really just here to destroy it. Bit by slow bit.”

Bull. Az had done nothing but help since—

“Isn’t that what the legend says about you?” Heather taunted. “You and your brother Sammael—the two who fell from grace so they could wreck the world.”

Az lifted his brows. “That’s not exactly the way the story goes.”

“Close enough,” she murmured.

Eyes narrowed, Jade began to stalk toward the witch.

“The legend says that one day, a brother will be slain by another. When that day arrives, hell will come to claim the earth.”

Wasn’t that just a lovely tale to share? “Most legends are no more than lies,” Jade said, shrugging. “Good to scare kids and fun to entertain bored bitches—I mean, witches. Witches who don’t have enough power to see what will really be coming in the days ahead.”

“I already know his future.” Now Heather was talking to her, not Az, and her cheeks flushed red. “I saw it when he fell. I took his blood, and I saw what could be.”

Jade noted the phrasing. “There’s a big difference between what will be and what could be.” She could yank that clawlike hand off Az. Or she could be a lady for a few more minutes.

The witch inclined her head. “Angels are harder to read, they take a whole lot of power, but humans, ah, humans I get right every time.” And her hand fell away from Az.

Good move, but . . . “I’m not bleeding for you.” They were wasting time with this talk. She’d come to the voodoo shop for one reason—weapons. Tanner had promised Jade that he could give her what she needed.

No way am I going into an ambush without power.

But Tanner wasn’t speaking, and Az—well, at least he’d managed to look away from the mirror.

“Sooner or later, you will bleed.” Heather seemed absolutely confident. The red had begun to fade from her cheeks so the woman must have been getting her control back.

The crazy witch could be as confident as she wanted to be. But Jade was getting out of there. The incense in the place was driving her crazy and making her temples pound.

“Give us the weapons,” Jade said, “and then we’ll get out of here.”

“You don’t need to leave.” Tanner frowned at her. “This place is safe. You can stay here until our meeting at dawn.”

Jade didn’t want to stay there, but Az was nodding. What? Since when was he game-on for trusting these two?

“There’s a room you can use upstairs,” Heather said with an airy wave of her hand. “Get some rest, and we’ll make sure that you stay safe.”

She’d make sure, huh? “Why doesn’t that reassure me?” Jade muttered.

“Because you expect everyone to betray you.” Heather’s instant answer. “Most of the time, you’re right. This time, you’re wrong.”

Doubtful. “You already betrayed Az.”

“To save others.”

So she said. Because he was the evil angel.

“This is personal.” The witch’s voice had softened. “Brandt took away something very precious to me.” Her hands fisted. “Now I want to take everything away from him.”

Join the club. “I’m not here to trade sob stories with you, lady.”

Heather stiffened.

“I want weapons.” That had been the deal. Az might be able to kill with a touch—still scary—but she didn’t have that super skill, and regular bullets just weren’t going to cut it for her.

“Of course.” Heather strolled toward a heavy, wooden cabinet. She swung open the doors.

Wow.

Dozens of weapons gleamed back at Jade. Knives. Guns. Bullets. Even what looked like an old broadsword.

“Will you feel better if you’re armed with silver?” Heather’s voice held only mild curiosity.

“Yeah, I will.” Lots better.

“But we’d feel even better,” Az said, finally speaking, “if we have more of these.” Then Az pulled out a bullet from his pocket. Because of its color, she recognized it instantly. It was the same bullet that Jade had dug out of his back.

She hadn’t even realized he’d retrieved it from the nightstand back at the cabin. Tricky angel.

The witch glanced at the bullet, and Jade saw the slight widening of her eyes. Such a faint movement, and Heather recovered quickly.