Dancing With the Devil Read Online Free Page A

swirling
mass. Jumping into purgatory would be reckless and foolish, and while I was
used to being both, I had no way of knowing if I could find my way out of
purgatory and to whatever level of Hell Lucifer was on.
    And I sure didn’t want to run into Lilith. Blech.
    Mikayla went to the storage room and came back with a broom
and dust pan. Zayfeer stood over the body of the demon he’d slain with his
sword raised over his head. The sword glowed as he chanted words too softly for
me to hear. As Zayfeer finished the chant, he slammed the sword into the demon’s
chest. A bright light, much like the Mark’s but with a blue tint, zigzagged
from the sword into the massive body. Fissures appeared all over the demon’s
scaly skin, the halves of his body splintering into tiny pieces. Another flash,
this one smaller, and the demon disappeared.
    Zayfeer looked at me with that smug grin and spread his
hands in a what do you think gesture.
    The black goo faded, but the glass bits remained. I figured
Z could put his very nice muscles to good use cleaning those up. Then he could
help me navigate purgatory.
    I gave him a thumbs-up even though my heart wasn’t in it. “Grab
that dust pan from Mikayla and get to work on the broken glass. I’ve got some
plywood around back that was left over from my apartment remodel. I’ll get it
and we can board up the window.”
    “Oh, no need.” He pointed the tip of the sword at a large shard
of glass, barely touching it. The sword once again sprang to life with its
incandescent glow. The glow spread to the glass and both turned yellow, then
orange, seeming to meld together. Zayfeer raised the sword with the glass stuck
on the end and faced the open window. He poked at the center of the space and
the glass stayed put.
    Looking over his shoulder, he gave me another self-satisfied
smile. Behind him, my guardian angel Cephiel appeared on the sidewalk, the
lapels of his wool trench coat turned up around his neck and a knit hat pulled
securely over his head. He stared at the floating fragment of glass, brows
crashing down, before shifting his attention to Zayfeer and then farther into
the shop to me. “What in all that’s holy is going on here?”
    “Hey, Ceph,” Z said. He poked another large piece of glass
and the sword glowed. He lifted the glass to the opening and I heard a snapping
sound as the piece locked into place. “Long time no see.”
    Cephiel had gotten rid of the salt in his salt-and-pepper
hair. He’d also lost a few pounds and toned up. All because of my WA nemesis,
Marcia. She was president of our group, and even though Ceph was an angel impersonating
a Catholic priest, she’d worked some kind of magic on him. He had it bad for
her.
    Totally icked me out.
    Ceph closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh. “Dear God.”
    “Sorry, not God. But from what I hear, the Big Guy’s not too
happy with you these days.”
    Cephiel’s eyes flipped opened and he muttered something
under his breath before he gave me a disapproving frown. “What have you done
this time, Amy?”
    “Me?”
    Before I could retort further, Zayfeer struck the tip of the
sword into the floor and hundreds of glass fragments rose into the air in
unison. With one swift flick of his wrist, they went flying in Cephiel’s
direction.

Chapter Five – Strange Angel
     
     
     
    “Stop!” I held up a hand and the flying glass came to an
abrupt halt in midair.
    My magic or Zayfeer’s? I checked my chest and found my magic
lazily watching the show and doing her nails. I couldn’t get a beat on Z’s
magic. Dark? Light? Harmless? It seemed to sail around the shop like a bird,
never stopping, reminding me of my own air magic, but the flightiness made it
hard to lock onto.
    Cephiel’s was easier. He might have been an angel but his
magic was heavy, rock-like. Maybe that’s why God had sent him to Earth. Ceph’s
magic was terrestrial. He blended in well here.
    Zayfeer held the sword pointed at the window opening,