back away from her and then stopped, forcing myself to stand my ground. I had never backed away from anything or anyone in my life. I wasn’t about to start now. Olivia looked at the whip in her hand and her eyes widened. “I’m so sorry,” she started.
Colton was beside me in a flash. He must have felt the stab of terror. He looked at us, spotting the problem immediately.
“I’m so sorry, Belleeza. I wasn’t thinking . . .” Olivia stammered timidly. Her usually brazen tone was replaced with uncertainty. She was trying to subtly put the whip behind her back but accidentally dropped one side of it. Suddenly, Liam was at Olivia’s side, delicately taking the whip Olivia passed to him and putting it behind his back. Guilt swarmed through me as I could see Olivia’s face, fearful of how I might react. I didn’t intend to scare her. I never wanted to scare any of my fellow angels. I knew I had somehow developed a reputation that it was a regular occurrence.
Many angels looked at me with the same fear they looked at demons. It didn’t bother me much usually. I refused to let it. As a warrior, it was good to possess such a feared reputation. For some reason, it did bother me with Olivia and Liam. Colton squeezed my shoulder in a display of both support and recognition that I did not need the back-up. He took a step back. He knew me well enough to know I could handle this. Anyway, I would resent the interference should he try to fix the problem for me.
“No worries, Olivia,” I said, fixing my face to match my lighthearted tone. “You just startled me.”
The look on both Olivia’s and Liam’s face told me they knew I was lying, but neither of them were about to confront me about it.
“Okay, okay.” I grinned, appreciating their respect for me. “You got me—I didn’t expect to see a whip, and the memories were just a little too fresh for me.” I held out my hand for the whip as I said, “May I?”
Fear flashed into their eyes before dissipating as they handed me the whip. I could not believe it. For a second, they actually thought I might use the whip on them. Just what kind of things were people spreading about me these days? I was torn between anger and amusement. Colton made a face, gritting his teeth as though he heard my thoughts. He shrugged, grimacing, telling me I probably did not want or need to know.
“I’ve never used a whip before,” I said, inspecting it with my hands. “May I keep this today? If nothing else comes from tracking him, I’d like to get the chance to show Big Jack what it’s like to be on the other side of this thing.” The quality in the whip was extraordinary; the leather was some of the softest I had ever felt. It was clearly made of a beast not from Earth. Something from our realm, I supposed. I could feel it was infused with some kind of power. I heard of items like this but never had one. Only a few had the ability.
“Of course, keep it!” Olivia answered quickly.
“I can’t take this,” I said, shocked at her offer of such a prized piece of handmade workmanship. “If I could just borrow it until we find Jack. The quality is incredible.”
“Of course you’ll keep it. I’d be honored.”
I looked at Olivia; her face was neutral but for a small grin and smiling eyes. Liam was simply beaming at her with pride.
“I made it,” she said proudly. “It’s infused with essence of angel and holy water. The whip will basically poison the demon, and the holy water will not allow the wounds to heal. The accuracy should be unmatchable as well, compared to any other whip.”
I was more than impressed. Colton joined my side once more, sharing my fascination as we both inspected every detail of her work. “Belleeza is right,” Colton said before looking up. “This is some kind of remarkable—not just the infusion with power either. The whip itself is designed to a tee. Flawless.”
“Thanks,” Olivia said humbly. “When we have more time, I’ll show
Colton was beside me in a flash. He must have felt the stab of terror. He looked at us, spotting the problem immediately.
“I’m so sorry, Belleeza. I wasn’t thinking . . .” Olivia stammered timidly. Her usually brazen tone was replaced with uncertainty. She was trying to subtly put the whip behind her back but accidentally dropped one side of it. Suddenly, Liam was at Olivia’s side, delicately taking the whip Olivia passed to him and putting it behind his back. Guilt swarmed through me as I could see Olivia’s face, fearful of how I might react. I didn’t intend to scare her. I never wanted to scare any of my fellow angels. I knew I had somehow developed a reputation that it was a regular occurrence.
Many angels looked at me with the same fear they looked at demons. It didn’t bother me much usually. I refused to let it. As a warrior, it was good to possess such a feared reputation. For some reason, it did bother me with Olivia and Liam. Colton squeezed my shoulder in a display of both support and recognition that I did not need the back-up. He took a step back. He knew me well enough to know I could handle this. Anyway, I would resent the interference should he try to fix the problem for me.
“No worries, Olivia,” I said, fixing my face to match my lighthearted tone. “You just startled me.”
The look on both Olivia’s and Liam’s face told me they knew I was lying, but neither of them were about to confront me about it.
“Okay, okay.” I grinned, appreciating their respect for me. “You got me—I didn’t expect to see a whip, and the memories were just a little too fresh for me.” I held out my hand for the whip as I said, “May I?”
Fear flashed into their eyes before dissipating as they handed me the whip. I could not believe it. For a second, they actually thought I might use the whip on them. Just what kind of things were people spreading about me these days? I was torn between anger and amusement. Colton made a face, gritting his teeth as though he heard my thoughts. He shrugged, grimacing, telling me I probably did not want or need to know.
“I’ve never used a whip before,” I said, inspecting it with my hands. “May I keep this today? If nothing else comes from tracking him, I’d like to get the chance to show Big Jack what it’s like to be on the other side of this thing.” The quality in the whip was extraordinary; the leather was some of the softest I had ever felt. It was clearly made of a beast not from Earth. Something from our realm, I supposed. I could feel it was infused with some kind of power. I heard of items like this but never had one. Only a few had the ability.
“Of course, keep it!” Olivia answered quickly.
“I can’t take this,” I said, shocked at her offer of such a prized piece of handmade workmanship. “If I could just borrow it until we find Jack. The quality is incredible.”
“Of course you’ll keep it. I’d be honored.”
I looked at Olivia; her face was neutral but for a small grin and smiling eyes. Liam was simply beaming at her with pride.
“I made it,” she said proudly. “It’s infused with essence of angel and holy water. The whip will basically poison the demon, and the holy water will not allow the wounds to heal. The accuracy should be unmatchable as well, compared to any other whip.”
I was more than impressed. Colton joined my side once more, sharing my fascination as we both inspected every detail of her work. “Belleeza is right,” Colton said before looking up. “This is some kind of remarkable—not just the infusion with power either. The whip itself is designed to a tee. Flawless.”
“Thanks,” Olivia said humbly. “When we have more time, I’ll show
Similar Books
