Amber Dan-Dwayne Spencer (romantic books to read .txt) 📖

The Sheriff stretched his evil arm, transforming it into a three-fingered hand reminiscent of a bird’s claw. It extended toward Stoney with five-inch talons. With a single swipe, he gouged three slashes across Stoney’s chest.

Stoney screamed in pain, dropped his daggers, and staggered backward. Behind him, Flower kept one hand on his bare skin. The gashes healed instantly. He twisted, breaking her grip on the handle when diving for the knives, and like a graceful Balinese dancer he brought them up, whirling in his hands. He scissor sliced deep gouges in the floating demon’s side. A hellish, foul-smelling stream of red steam sizzled, billowing from the wounds cut by the blessed blades.

Coming to the demon-sheriff’s aid, the divine seductress, Calypso, floated toward him. She stopped. A puzzled expression furrowed her delicate brow before looking down. A thorned bush shot up from beneath her, wrapping its branches around her dangling feet. Slowly, it climbed and cocooned her legs.

Roger’s voice came from behind me, but he wasn’t speaking English. “Defend nos in proelio. Uriel, succurrat... esto praesidium nobis. Defend us, for we are in battle. Uriel, come to our aid… become a protection for us. Defend nos in proelio. Uriel….” Chanting, he read Latin from the book in his hands. As he spoke, an orange mist drifted off the page and wafted along the ground to where it solidified, transforming into the thorned bush imprisoning the Nymph.

My faith faltered, and I expected Phoenix to annihilate them both for interfering. I yelled, “Phoenix, I’m the one you want. Come and take the talisman if you can.”

I expected the fallen angel to fry me with some spectacular show of his arcane might. I knew I had no defense against his superior force, but I couldn’t let him attack my friends. They might have a chance if only I could distract this winged terror long enough for them to deal with his hellish sidekicks.

Phoenix jerked my direction, just as if I had pulled the strings of a marionette. His eyes large and bewildered, he stepped toward me, and fear overtook me.

I closed my eyes, waiting for his attack. I waited, but no bolt of lightning or column of fire fell from heaven. I opened them and to my astonishment, Jimmy, wearing the translucent blue armor I saw before, had surprised the fallen angel by engaging him in battle.

Phoenix flexed his wings, trying to free himself from the headlock Jimmy held him in. The astral armor radiated brightly as he slammed his gauntleted fist into the winged hellion’s face. With crackling pops, the air sparkled, and scattered bolts of lightning arched from Phoenix’s wingtips across to where Jimmy stood pounding the angel into submission. The brilliant bolts crackled, sparking, and dancing over the translucent-blue, astral-armor and leaving Jimmy unharmed. A pungent scent reminiscent of burnt wiring filled my nostrils and made me light-headed.

I remembered the words of Reuwel. “Jimmy must survive and only then will he come into the power of his gifting.” The big lug had not only survived but possessed a brilliant blue armor supernaturally protecting him from Phoenix’s mystical strikes. Tapping into the strength of Samson, Brawny Jimmy Dugan wrestled with the fallen angel.

“Unhand me, mortal. You know not what damage I can inflict upon you.” The chorus-like harmony of the angel’s voice sounded so appealing, but Jimmy didn’t look impressed. His supernatural shielding must have been deflecting the charm of Phoenix’s voice.

The rookie cop had been hiding—grim terror written on his face. When he heard the angel’s voice, his fears dissipated, for he came out of hiding and uncontrollably moved toward Phoenix, attracted by his charm. He stood in the open—dazed.

The young officer ran toward Phoenix. Almost running over Flower, he stopped twenty feet from the angel and fell to his knees. “Master, what can I do for you? I am at your command."

Releasing the handle on Stoney’s harness, Flower reached out and grasped his arm. The officer went wide-eyed. Glancing around at where he was, he screamed like a child, jumped up, and ran behind the upright vault beside the statue of the harp playing angel.

Without Flower’s power protecting him, Stoney hesitated, enamored by the sound of Phoenix’s voice. A dull, glassy expression glazed over his eyes. It was the same expression I saw on Seth’s face at the carnival. For Stoney, it lasted only a second, but that second was long enough for fate to interfere.

The demon-sheriff took advantage of Stoney’s temporary stupor. Wasting no time, he extended his claws another six inches. Laughing maniacally, he tore deep gouges into Stoney’s perfect abs.

Stoney gasped for air and fell limp. His irises rolled up under his open eyelids as his face took on a gray pallor. He gasped one last time before he died.

Roger was too far away for Flower to help him resist Phoenix’s charm; while I stood by—helpless. My contribution, as I saw it, was to hold on to the talisman so neither the angel nor his ilk could claim it.

Roger looked up at the angel with admiration. Losing his concentration, the thorned bush stopped entangling Calypso, releasing her to push free of its pain-laden branches.

She fixed her gaze on him and demanded, “Give me the book.”

Roger obeyed, offering it to her.

I felt helpless to intervene. I didn’t have glowing armor or the ability to read chants out of the cryptic Book of Uriel. Neither did I have supernaturally blessed swords. Fearfully, I thought all I could do was watch.

A thud drew my attention back to Jimmy as he grappled with Phoenix. Executing one of his signature wrestling moves Coach Garcia taught him, Jimmy threw the angel over his head and to the ground. Phoenix slammed hard onto his back. Wings sprawled and air knocked out of him, he bounced, flipped over in the air, and