Sparks of Blue (Dark Light Book 2) Read Free

give me orders,” Kai said. His deep voice was cold and deadly. He rounded the bed and pulled a blue-burning sword from the sheath he’d hidden at his side in the same breath. The little demon wasn’t nearly fast enough to avoid the blade, and his body erupted in a mix of black and blue flames. The black flames were hellfire, but the blue was all Kai. Even the usual tell-tale scorch mark on the floor disappeared beneath Kai’s power.
    “Ohmigod!” a female voice exclaimed. Belle looked over to see young Gwen Manning attempting to scurry backward on her hospital bed. “What the heck is going on here? Who are you?”
    Kai sheathed his sword, hiding it once more from mortal sight, and said nothing. Which was for the best. Kai didn’t exactly have what one would call “people skills.”
    Smiling gently, Belle held her ground so as not to further startle Gwen and said, “Take a deep breath. My name is Belle. We’re not here to hurt you.”
    Gwen looked back and forth between them, her shoulder-length, light brown hair swaying with the motion. Her hazel eyes were wide, and she opened her mouth several seconds before she finally looked straight at Kai and said, “What happened to your sword?”
    Belle didn’t have time to cringe.
    “I sheathed it.” Ever blunt, just the way she remembered.
    Gwen shook her head again. “Uh-uh, I don’t see a sheath.” Her gaze settled on the IV lines in her arms and she mumbled, “Man, what did they give me?” She reached as if to jerk them from her arm and Belle rushed forward.
    “Be careful!” Belle dropped her hand on Gwen’s, ceasing the movement just in time, and said, “You could hurt yourself doing that. Let me take them out for you.”
    “Why should I trust you?” Gwen challenged.
    Opting, for once, to take a page out of Kai’s book, Belle looked Gwen in the eyes and said, “I’m a healer. He’s an angel. We’re here to protect you from the demons.”
    Gwen’s focus snapped to Kai, who fortunately remained silent and was likely frowning, and then back to Belle. Seconds ticked by and Belle wondered what was swirling around in Gwen’s head. Not for the first time did she wish one of her abilities was mind reading.
    A whoosh of air rushed from Gwen, and she slumped back against the bed as if in relief. “Finally,” she exclaimed. “I was starting to think I was crazy.”

Chapter Two
     
    “No offense,” Gwen declared as she followed Belle into the hotel room, “but I thought angels could afford something a little … nicer.”
    Belle jerked her thumb over her shoulder. “Take that up with him, I didn’t pick it.”
    Thanks, Belle. Kai shut the door and flipped the so-called security latch as Gwen’s attention swung his way. In the short hour since they’d met, he’d come to realize this sickly human had more spunk than half the angels he fought beside. Apparently, she didn’t have one of those debilitating problems.
    “So?” Gwen pushed when Kai didn’t offer an answer.
    “It’ll suffice for tonight,” he returned, moving toward the window on the opposite wall. The curtains were drawn, as he and Belle had left it, so he had to lift an edge to look outside. Their room was on the second floor, facing the front parking area and the road beyond. It was evening, and the sky was covered with sporadic clouds so the passing vehicles had their headlights on. He didn’t see anything suspicious.
    One of the beds squeaked, and Gwen asked, “So what are we doing tomorrow, then? Am I dying?”
    “Wow,” Belle said. She planted her hands on her hips as Kai looked toward the women. “That’s a positive attitude. I’m pretty sure I mentioned I’m a healer; so no, you’re not dying.”
    Gwen snorted inelegantly from her seated position and arched a brow. “Sorry, but I’m not sure what ‘healer’ means to you. I am sure I’m cursed. My heart’s going to fail at midnight on my thirtieth birthday—which is two months away. It’s already getting