Page 17 of Gray

“Now’s not the time for introductions,” the biggest of the three said, facing Lily.

She shrieked and lunged at him.

Few things shocked me, but these guys did the trick. Who were they? Angels? But angels weren’t real… right? Whoever they were, they’d come to help. That’s all that mattered right now. I’d worry about the details later.

As they fought, I rushed over to the discarded lower half of Lily’s body and pulled out the salt I’d stashed in my other pocket. I shook it over the exposed flesh of the hips, trying to ignore the putrid stench that assaulted my nose. The salt would prevent her from reconnecting.

“Ew.” The smallest of the guys appeared in front of me and curled his nose at the legs. “That smells like ass. Why are ya touching it?”

“It’s how you stop a manananggal,” I said, trying to ignore the way my heart thudded harder when meeting his eyes. “The sun is deadly to her when she’s in her monstrous form, so you have to prevent her from—”

The demon—formerly known as Lily—screamed as the biggest of the men shoved a sword through her chest. I stared, shocked, as her body disintegrated, the flesh melting off her bones and turning to a dark gooey substance on the ground. Her legs then did the same, and I jumped to my feet to get away from them. The goo smelled even worse.

“You’re safe now,” the blond guy said, smiling at me. A smile that made my chest squeeze. “Oh no. Are you in shock?” He fanned at my face. “Ray, do you have any snacks? Sugar might help him.”

“I ate it on the way over. Sorry.”

“I don’t need sugar.” I shook my head. What was wrong with me? “How is this possible? I stabbed her three times in the heart, and it did nothing.”

“This bad boy can kill anything,” the one who’d introduced himself as Raiden said, holding up his sword. “Celestial steel is badass, huh?”

“Celestial steel? Who the hell are you guys?”

“I’m Gray,” the blond said. “You know Raiden already. And that’s Galen. But he’s kind of grumpy, so be careful.”

Galen glared at me. “What the fuck did you think you were doing? You almost got yourself killed.”

Having been a Marine for almost twelve years, I was used to commanding officers screaming in my face and belittling me. But this wasn’t the Corps. And this guy was mistaken if he thought he could barge in and talk to me like he was my superior.

“I was doing my goddamn job,” I said.

“Looked like you were getting your ass kicked to me.”

“Okay, okay.” Gray stepped between us. “Enough of that. We’re all on the same side here. I think.” He cocked his head at me. “What’s your name?”

I debated on telling him. They could’ve been some type of demon themselves for all I knew.

“He asked you a question,” Galen said, eyes narrowing.

“Mason. But everyone calls me Hawk.” I glanced between the three of them. “What are you? You damn sure aren’t human.”

“Oh, yeah. I guess you’d wanna know that,” Gray said before yawning. He then gave me a sleepy little smile. “We’re Nephilim.”

“Nephilim?” I searched my memory, coming up short.

“Half angel, half human,” he explained. “We’re the sons of fallen angels.”

Chapter Three

Gray

Rich cognac, somewhere between brown and red. I couldn’t look away from his eyes. My stomach felt all funny too, like a jar of butterflies had been set loose, their wings fluttering like crazy.

“You’re bleeding,” I said, reaching up to touch his cheek.

Mason watched me and swallowed hard as my hand made contact with his skin. “It’s nothing. I’m fine.” He stepped back from me and wiped at the blood, smearing it a little. “So you’re the sons of fallen angels? Seriously? I didn’t think angels were real.”

“Demons can be real but not angels?”