“We might need to stab them again,” she said after the third or fourth dip in the paint. “Their wounds are closing, and it won’t be long before they wake up.”
He stared at her.
She glanced up from the half-finished gate. “Would you mind?”
Would he mind stabbing a demon so she could have more blood for finger painting? Why, no, he wouldn’t.
Shifting his hands into half demon form, he trudged over to the fallen foes and slowly crouched, careful to keep from passing out again. His awareness was sharpening the longer he stayed awake.
Just to gauge her reaction, he stabbed all five claws into a demon’s stomach and stirred them around a little. The creature twitched a bit but remained otherwise unaware.
Raum watched Sunshine, waiting for her to react to the gore.
Instead, she leaned over, dipped her fingers straight into the blood-and-guts soup and then flashed a sweet smile at him. “Thank you.” And she went right back to drawing the hellgate.
Maybe he was hallucinating as a side-effect from the venom. Maybe this was all a fucked-up dream.
“How do you even know how to draw a hellgate?” She was an angel. She could teleport and had no need for them. That lent credibility to his hallucination theory.
When she glanced at him again, her eyes were somber. “I was once trapped and couldn’t flash to save myself. Afterward, I studied and practiced so I would never end up in that situation again.”
He wanted to ask her what happened, but even drugged, he was smart enough to know that now wasn’t the time. But the thought of her being hurt by anyone made him want to start stabbing eyeballs himself.
“It’s done,” Sunshine said a moment later, climbing to her feet. She bent and wiped her bloody hand on one of the demons’ shirts and then pulled a rag from the pouch on her holster to clean under her nails. Raum just wiped his claws on his pants. He was way past trying to be clean.
“I’ve had enough demon blood and ash to last an angel’s lifespan.” She glanced up. “Do you think you can activate the hellgate, or should I try? I studied, but I’m a little rusty.”
“You should practice then.”
She shot him a look. “I figured rescuing you from a dungeon wasn’t the best time to freshen up my skills.”
“No time like the present.”
“Fine.” Replacing the cloth, she went to the hellgate and closed her eyes, holding her hands out like she was feeling around for something in the dark.
“You don’t need to use your hands.”
“It helps me visualize. Now hush.”
His lips curved. He liked snarky Sunshine.
He’d sworn he was done with his fixation on her, but the drug in his system was lowering his inhibitions and making his resistance slip away. Learning she wasn’t actually planning to kill his brothers had pretty much dismantled his last wall of defense, and now he didn’t know how to keep her at arm’s length.
He watched her concentrating, a line between her brow, her lips pressed together.
She was just so…pretty. Pretty and perfect.Shiny.And he loved shiny stuff. Of all the shit he’d stolen, all the treasure he’d ever collected, he coveted her the most.
Which made no damn sense. That venom had really done a number on him.
Her eyes popped open a moment later. “I think it’s done.”
“Youthinkit’s done?”
The look she gave him was priceless. “Yes, Ithink, because I’m out of practice and you insisted I do it, so if we end up in China, consider it your fault.”
“Alright.”
“Stop smirking at me.” She shook her head, but if he wasn’t mistaken, a hint of a smile played about her mouth. “I never thought that’d be something I’d tell you, Mr. Grumpy. Maybe I should get some more of that venom and give you a daily dose.”
