Page 77 of Angel Betrayed

Then the hound flew through the air because Sam had just grabbed the beast by the tail and yanked it away from her.

Or maybe not.

Seline pushed to her feet. Sam grabbed her arm.

“Sammael!” Not Rogziel’s scream this time. Az’s. The Fallen was racing toward them.

Sam pulled her closer. “Don’t be afraid.”

Way too late for that. She had hellhound saliva on her neck.

Sam started chanting. It sounded like Greek—no, Latin. Then smoke swirled around them, closing tighter, tighter, rising...

Seline screamed.

And the world disappeared.

“No!” Rogziel bellowed as Sam and Seline vanished.

The Fallen shouldn’t have been able to escape, not without—magic. His eyes narrowed. Trust Sammael to be dealing with the witches. But at least he still had one sinner to punish.

Az stumbled to a stop in the middle of the charred earth. The hound rose to its feet.

Rogziel announced, “It’s nothing personal, Azrael.” He’d known the Fallen for centuries. “But the job has to be done, you understand that.”

Az blinked slowly. “Rogziel.”

“You knew I’d come for you sooner or later.” Not too long ago, Azrael had been an angel with power. Now he was just another Fallen on the road to hell. Rogziel sighed. “Unfortunately, your death won’t be quick. You didn’t earn that mercy.”

Az straightened his shoulders. No wings. Pity. What did that feel like? To be stripped of everything you were and cast out?

Rogziel pointed to the Fallen. The hellhound’s ears perked at the signal. Rogziel nodded and said, “Prey.” The hound would understand and attack.

The beast whined.

Rogziel frowned. He glared at the hellhound. “Prey.”

The hound hurried forward but didn’t attack. The beast put its nose against the charred ground and sniffed. Then its body stiffened, and it looked to the right.

Ah, now Rogziel understood. The hound had caught the scent. Sam and Seline hadn’t truly vanished. They’d just moved too fast for even his eyes to track, but the hound would be able to track them. “Kill him first,” Rogziel ordered, “then we’ll hunt the others.” Power flowed in his voice. Hellhounds always obeyed their masters.

The hound turned its head toward Rogziel. The beast’s lip curled back to reveal bloody teeth. Took a good bite out of Sammael. No wonder the beast caught the Fallen’s scent so easily.

But then the hound leapt up—and raced away from the parking lot. Away from Azrael.

Impossible. “No! Come back!” The hound couldn’t get too far away or it would?—

Vanish. The hound disappeared in a flash of smoke. When a hound hunted, it could vanish. Become a ghostly demon that stalked its prey. The hound was of two worlds. Hell and earth. So it could have two bodies. One insubstantial. The other a true monster that would make even the most hardened of paranormals tremble with terror.

The roar of an engine reached Rogziel’s ears. He spun back, too late. Az plowed a motorcycle right into him. Rogziel flipped and slammed into the ground. Az drove away, spewing gravel in his wake.

Rage burned in Rogziel’s gut, dark and ugly, as it twisted within him. They will all suffer. They will beg for death, then hell will claim them.

When the smoke cleared, Seline was still screaming. Sam’s ears ached, and nausea rolled in his belly. The next time he bought a transport spell from Mateo, he’d make sure he read all the warning labels.

“It’s okay,” he told Seline, “you’re safe.”

She stopped screaming. Her eyes narrowed, and she slugged him.

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