Sword's Blessing Read Free

“Nevada.”
    “Explains why it’s so damn hot.”
    “You weren’t asleep that whole car ride, were you?” Eli asked, quirking a lip.
    Samantha beamed. “I was meditating. You’re the one who skipped us from Saskatchewan to Nevada. Do you know, immigration is probably writhing in their beds because of you?”
    “Hey now, we’d been in Canada for six months, it was time to get going.”
    “Ah, home sweet country. Can we please go to Rio next time?” Samantha’s smile was teasing, and Eli laughed.
    “C’mon,” he said as they pulled into a hotel parking spot, “We’re in Vegas. Show it a little love.”
    “Right, right. Can we gamble?”
    “Mmm…” Eli eyed his credit card. “Not unless you want them to know right where we are. We’ve got enough cash for the hotel, but not so much on the splurging.”
    “We’ll get some more cash right before we leave.”
    Their luggage was small, two rolling bags with appointments for Samantha, some pictures and a computer she’d insisted they get so she could at least have a hobby while they waited for the buzz about her ascension and his leave taking of the Damned to settle down. Eli said it would take a year or two, but eventually someone else would screw up and they would be the enemy number one.
    At least most of Eli’s money still worked. He’d said Hell probably wouldn’t bother cutting him off because of the paper work involved. She worried about it none-the-less. If anyone saw her account active, they be tracked right quick, if only by her father.
    The unlimited cash had its uses besides the obvious, too. This was probably the plushest hotel they’d stayed in yet. Samantha leaned out the window, peering around the city with avid curiosity. There was one thing to say about being on the run. She’d never seen so much of the country. “Some time we should do Europe.”
    “Are you ever going to try and get a hold of your father?” he asked quietly.
    Samantha grimaced. “I don’t want Cyrene getting on his scent,” she said, thinking of the frantic search her father had put on for her in the weeks after their fight with Cyrene. “Leaving that note to stop searching for me was dangerous enough.”
    Eli nodded. “I’m glad he listened, though.”
    Samantha was silent for a few moments, still staring out the window. She wanted to see her father, apologize for not explaining things, but the notion was impractical at best. A frown tugged at her lips. “Eli. Come here.”
    Eli made his way to the window, where Samantha pointed. “The couple down there, walking together, dark brown hair. Do you recognize them?”
    Eli frowned as he looked at the crowns of the man and woman’s head. “Not off hand.” The man looked up, as if studying the sky and Eli drew a breath. “We saw them in Canada. In that coffee shop.”
    “Yeah…I think I said I’d kill for the girl’s smooth hair.”
    “That was only yesterday.” Eli frowned.
    “Are they Damned?”
    “No. Damned don’t run in packs. It’s just not done. We’ll meet, talk for a bit, but not travel together. Given their looks I’d say they’re actually Angelic.”
    “How can you tell?” She frowned. “I would have expected blonde and blue eyes. They’re both…I dunno, eastern European?”
    Eli nodded. “Damned change their appearance with a little thought, but Angels stay roughly the same as when they ascended. They might age in either direction, but other than that… No, it’s in the posture, especially on her. See how straight she stands? There’s a reason we joke about the angels having a rod up their as–”
    “Eli.” Samantha rolled her eyes. So much for their nice clean life on the run she thought to herself wryly. “It can’t be coincidence.”
    “No, it can’t.” Eli rubbed his temples. “They aren’t making trouble for us either.”
    “Unless someone catches on they’re tracking us, and tracks them to find us.”
    “Unlikely. But possible.” He watched as the two