Phoenix Contract: Part One (Fallen Angel Watchers Book 1) Read Free Page A

Steve’s offending hands.
    Without a word, he unzipped the case and revealed a sword three feet in length.
    The ebony blade was composed of a non-metallic material, perhaps bone or stone. The surface drank in the light and rippled, creating hypnotic patterns which pulsated with power. Silver Celtic circles were etched into the blade, and a winged dragon formed the silver hilt and stunted cross guard. The wicked weapon rested on a red velvet lining, glowing with incandescent beauty. It was perfection. It was power.
    “Give it to me! It’s mine. It’s meant for me.” Unexpectedly, Jesus lunged off the car and made a grab for the weapon. Steve shouted a denial, and their voices soared as a tug-o-war broke out over the case. For a stunned second, Troy and Katsue watched the dispute unfold.
    Finally, Steve won the upper hand. He thrust the case toward Troy. “Take it.”
    “Damn it!” Troy cursed and grabbed for the case.
    He collided with Katsue as she also lunged forward. They caught opposite ends of the case and bought it to a sudden stop. The unsecured sword flew overhead.
    Frozen in place, the Alastors watched with expressions of comical surprise as the weapon arched through the air.
    Clink. The tip of the blade struck pavement and produced a shower of sparks.
    Clink. Clink. Clink. It skipped like a stone.
    The sword came to a halt but did not topple. The blade balanced precisely on its trusting point in unnatural suspension, then rotated in slow circles before beginning a graceful swoop earthward.
    Greed dominated Katsue’s thoughts, drove her to possess the weapon. She had to have it. The cosmos urged her on, a thousand tiny voices whispering through her mind, urging her to grab the sword. Before the men reacted, Katsue dove for the weapon and caught the hilt in her palm. Her fingers closed around the grip, and the weapon glowed with a fiery halo.
    Streamers of crimson energy crackled along blade and hilt, enveloping Katsue’s hand and forearm in electrical arcs, streamers of pure mystical energy. The molten silver hissed as it scorched her palm, and the sickening smell of burnt flesh wafted into the air on black smoke. Searing pain set every nerve in her body on overload, and she screamed in anguish. Her gripping fingers retained a tight hold on the weapon’s hilt, refusing to let go.
    The rushing sidewalk filled her field of vision until everything went white. Katsue crashed to the ground, and her face smashed against the hot pavement. Her nose crushed with a wet squish, and blood gushed from her nostrils. Clutching her prize, she screamed and thrashed and fought to be free, yet she hung on with a death grip.
    A feminine voice, haughty and regal, echoed through Katsue’s mind, filling every hidden crevice of her being:
    You are unworthy.
    “Damn it, Kat, let go.” Troy pried her fingers open and tore the sword from Katsue’s hand along with several layers of burnt flesh in the process. Katsue screamed one last time and then collapsed into blessed blackness.
     

Chapter Two

     
    A relic from another era, the elevator in the archeology building had doors that were slow to part, and any sort of motion between floors created a cacophony of creaks and moans. Dreadful to enter, and always a relief to depart.
    Aiden McLachlan preferred the stairs, but her companion couldn’t have made the climb. The elevator doors opened, and she breathed a sigh of relief upon having survived another ride in the steel crypt. Together, the slender young woman and the frail black priest exited to the lobby.
    “And so my trip to London came to a premature end, and I reluctantly returned here to the States,” said Father Matthew Bunson, concluding his tale with a swipe of his smooth shaved head. The priest wore a simple black cassock over a button-down shirt and black trousers, his clothing meticulously pressed with crisp lines and defined seams all the way down to his polished leather shoes. He walked stooped forward and leaned