The hounds within me stirred as my fangslengthened from the impulse to turn her, to make it so there couldonlybeeternity for us. However,she would no longer be River if I did that and somehow ruined herconnection to life. She may grow to hate me for it and it couldmake her become like her father. I would rather die than have thathappen. I was going to have to continue to deny every one of myinstincts for the rest of her fragile life.
I watched her, mesmerized by her and thebliss she took in soaking in the warmth. I fed on death; she fed onlife. That was the way it had to stay. A warm smile spread acrossher lips when she turned to focus on me.
“Is that what drew you here?” I asked andwaved a hand at the stained-glass angel.
“Not everything is a vision or insight withme. Sometimes I’m simply curious. Despite its destruction, there isstill something calming about this place.”
She felt calm while all I wanted was to getout of this place. I had River now, because of that, I wouldn’tchange the past, but I still hated these winged bastards and theircreator for the chaos they had caused by throwing Lucifer out ofHeaven rather than dealing with him themselves.
Her hip bumped playfully against mine whenshe walked by me before she stepped up to move past the altar andtoward a door at the back. She wiped away the cobwebs hanging fromthe doorjamb before taking hold of the knob. She pushed against thedoor, but it didn’t budge.
“What an odd vine,” she murmured.
Her fingers stretched out to brush oversomething I couldn’t see from my angle, but her words caused myblood to run cold. “No! Don’t touch it!” I shouted at her.
I leapt onto the altar, racing across thedebris toward her. Her hand was still stretched out when she turnedtoward me with a confused expression on her face. Before herfingers, the vine twisted and a piece of it shot toward her.
She almost fell over when she took a stepback and her heel caught on some debris. Arriving at her side, Igrabbed her and spun her around as another vine lashed out at her.The vine hit me in the back. Its prickly red leaves sliced likeshards of glass through my shirt and across my skin as it slid overmy flesh.
“Shit!” I exploded at the same time the vinereleased an audible cry of pleasure.
Reaching behind me, my hand enclosed around athree-inch-thick vine as more of them shot out to try to ensnareus. River gasped in my arms when a vine sliced across her cheek.Another cry from the plant filled the air. My fangs extended asblood beaded across her skin and rolled down her face.
All of the red leaves stood up as one; theydid an odd shimmying motion. I’d witnessed this kind of attackbefore when they’d been trapped deep within the bowels of Hell,feeding on whatever scraps were tossed their way. Now they haddiscovered a feast on Earth as the needle-like tendrils beneath theleaves rolled and vibrated eagerly.
I pulled River closer in an attempt to shieldher from the vines shooting out to slice over my skin. I grabbedone as it dug into the flesh of my wrist, slicing to the bone.Flames shot up my arm and around my back, searing into the plantand causing its pain-filled scream to echo in my ears. I tore myburning shirt away and tossed it aside before it could searRiver.
She threw her hands over her ears as flamestore across the vines, scorching the leaves and causing the screamsto echo higher. I kept my flames away from her flesh, but shedidn’t shrink from them, and then I realized flames were spreadingover her arms too, rising and falling with mine.
Her ability to release fire was fueled by herfear, but like her ability to control the flow of life, it appearedher fire also reacted to me. I didn’t know if she realized herflames were rising up to join with mine as she remained bent overwith her head down against the vines. Like my flames didn’t hurther, hers did not burn me.
Releasing her, I took a step back. My breathcaught when I realized how much of an angel she looked like withher head bowed low, her back hunched forward, and the flames on herback protecting her like folded wings tucked against her spine. Yetthere was something entirely demon about her with those flamesencircling her as she rose up before me.
Unable to keep the fire away from herclothing this time, her shirt and bra fell away from her, baringher flesh to me. The shells on her necklace heated, but it didn’tbreak as the flames didn’t quite reach it.
She focused on the vines still dancing andslithering across the wall, unable to decide if they were willingto brave coming at us again or go without the blood. Lifting myhand, I took the choice from them as I set fire to the rest ofthem. River raised her hand beside mine, adding her flames to theinferno.
The vines withered and broke, screaming asthey fell on the debris littering the floor. River’s hand fell awayas the flames died and she stepped forward. She didn’t have tospeak for me to know she intended to try to put the fire out; Igrabbed hold of her arm before she could.
“We have to get out of here,” I told her.
“It’s going to catch on fire,” sheprotested.
“We can’t stop that.” Smoke wafted up fromthe pile of debris beneath our feet as flames ate at the vines andcrept toward what was left of the ceiling. “Come.”
I lifted her so her chest was pressed tomine, keeping her as covered as I could with my body while I walkedwith her toward the hole we’d entered through. “Those things aredead, right?” she asked.
“The ones in here are,” I answered.
Her face paled. “In here?”
“There will be more.”
“Great.”
I should have prepared her better, or Ishould have been better prepared, but I’d never expected for theseals to start falling at all, never mind so rapidly. The vines hadbeen kept behind the sixth seal, which meant seals four and fivehad also fallen and their occupants were now free.
The hounds.Still alive, I reassured myself, but something was seriously wrongif three more seals had been opened. How many more had fallen thatwe didn’t know about yet?
