Fallen Angels 05 - Possession Read Online Free Page B

was hers.

    As Adrian manifested himself in Heaven, he hummed that Eric Clapton song—in tune, because there was no one around to annoy with his fake tone-deaf routine.
    “… would you know my name…”
    The lawn was a bright spring green, and the sky as brilliant and resonant a blue as a cathedral’s stained glass. To the left, the protective walls of the Manse of Souls stood sturdy and tall as a mountain range, the drawbridge down over a moat that shimmered in sunlight that had no obvious source.
    Up on the parapet at the top of the wall, only two victory flags waved in a lazy way—one colorful banner was missing.
    What the
hell
was Jim thinking?
    Adrian kept walking. Off to the right, next to a croquet setup, there was a table set for tea, four chairs surrounding all kinds of damask and porcelain and silver. No one was sitting at it. In fact, as he looked around, he got the distinct impression he was alone.
    Made no sense—Colin had summoned him here, so the archangel had to be—
    The whistle was high-pitched and distant, floating across the landscape to his ear. Pivoting around, he looked toward the river, and then started marching over in the uneven gait he was still adjusting to. Funny, he hadn’t noticed before how much grass there really was—but with his bum leg, he’d been learning new things about what distance really meant.
    The archangel Colin was down at the tree line, by the old-fashioned British campaign tent that was his private quarters. Standing in the stream that wound around his little slice of Heaven, he was buck-ass naked, the rushing water teeming up to his hips.
    “Moving a bit slower now, mate?” the guy said as Ad got in range.
    Whatever—his gimp routine was not the reason he’d come. “We have a big fucking problem.”
    Typically, Colin was good for a wisecrack or two—not tonight, evidently. The archangel emerged from the river, his powerful body glistening, his strong legs leading him over to where he’d hung his white towel on a tree branch.
    “How bad is it down there?” he asked as he covered up.
    Ad grunted while he lowered himself onto a rock, its warm face feeling good on his sorry ass. “So you know where Nigel is.”
    “But of course.”
    “Then you also know why I’m not going to waste time here.” Ad held up his palms to cut the oh-no-I-couldn’t-possibly’s. “Jim’s just taken a left-hand turn off the road and into the weeds. No one down there is in the game—except for Devina, and you know what? If Jim’s distracted now? That ain’t nothin’ compared to what’ll happen if the demon gives him that girl.”
    Colin’s response was just a shake of the head. And that was
so
not good enough.
    Ad cursed. “Seriously. Before we lose this whole goddamn thing, you need to step up. I already know I can’t go to Nigel about anything—he and I are oil and water and then some.”
    Colin pushed his dark wet hair out of his harsh face. “I had hoped…”
    When that was as far as the guy got, Ad shrugged. “Hoped what? That Jim slipped in the shower and hit his head hard enough to wake the fuck up? Hell, if there was any chance of that, I’d cock him upside with a two-by-four myself. But let’s not kid ourselves. The savior’s no longer in this game, and I don’t think he’s coming back—even if Nigel threatens to rip him a new one.”
    Colin curled his hands into fists, like he wanted to do a little swinging himself. “Jim is the
sine qua non
. There is nothing we can do to turn him over, if that’s what you’re suggesting.”
    “Like I want the job?” Ad laughed harshly. “Are you fucking me.”
    “That is not why you came?”
    “I want to win. That’s the only reason I’m here.”
    Colin lifted an aristocratic brow. “You are actually engaged in the war. Quite a shift for you, is it not.”
    “We can’t lose this.”
    “Because of Eddie?” When he didn’t reply, the archangel frowned. “One need not apologize for loyalty to the dead,