Free Wicked Edge by Nina Bangs

store. “And see, Edge isn’t here.”
    “Yes, he is.” The whisper came from a shadowed corner of the store.
    Passion along with everyone else turned to stare as Edge glided forward. He made no sound as he moved, darkness and earthly endings trailing behind him. Power flowed from him, pushing at her, and she wanted to wrap her arms around herself to keep from shivering. At this moment, Passion didn’t doubt for a moment that Death was among them.
    No explanations were needed. Edge stared at Ganymede, his amber eyes shining with…nothing. Nobody was home in those eyes.
    “Shit.” Ganymede sounded more annoyed than terrified.
    That was okay, because Passion was terrified enough for both of them. She’d witnessed more violence in her short time at the castlethan she had during her entire existence as an angel. Of course, she couldn’t quite remember how long that existence had been, but it was certainly longer than one night.
    Dacian moved forward. “This isn’t just a random attack of bad temper.” He waved Sparkle off the counter.
    She slid down and sidled away from Edge. “You don’t want to do this, sweetie.”
    Edge didn’t acknowledge either of them.
    “Hate to admit I’m wrong, because being wrong doesn’t happen to me, but I think Edge was right. Someone’s messing with our heads. And I’m really pissed at whoever it is because they broke my string of a million years without making a mistake.”
    Ganymede’s tone was the same snarky one Passion remembered from the seawall, but as she stared into his eyes, she saw a transformation that iced the blood in her veins.
    His eyes darkened and became the eyes of the chaos bringer—ancient, timeless. Passion knew if she stared too long, they’d drag her into their depths where memories of screaming horrors lived. She jerked her gaze away. She wasn’t ready for that.
    “Time to die.” Edge’s voice was a monotone, no excitement, no emotion, just Death delivering his message.
    “You can’t fight him, Mede.” Sparkle moved behind Ganymede and rested her hand against his back. “He doesn’t know what he’s doing. Besides, if you two get into it, humans will die. The Big Boss will come calling.” She paused. “And I might lose you.” The last was said so softly that Passion almost didn’t hear her.
    “Then they’ll die. And if the Big Boss comes, he comes. I have the right to defend myself.”
    Silence fell. Energy built, expanding, pushing at the limits of the room, flowing out through the open door. The walls made creaking sounds, the storefront window shattered.
    You’re an angel, for God’s sake, do something.
But Passion had nocommunication lines to home, no way of summoning help. Punishment meant she couldn’t contact Ted. Anything she had to say got said during Hope’s nightly reports. She glanced at the other angel. “You’re not being punished. Call Ted.” Her order was a frantic hiss.
    Hope looked at her from glazed eyes. “I can’t focus. I have to concentrate. Passion, they’re going to destroy everything.”
    Well, maybe not everything, but since she and Hope were standing about five feet away from Edge and Ganymede, she was pretty sure she’d be history. She might technically be an angel, but she was in human form. Hope would survive, though. She was still an angel in good standing.
    “Damn, someone needs to do something.”
    Dacian’s voice startled Passion. She looked at him just as he drew back his upper lip to expose impressive fangs. She gasped. His eyes shone completely black, no pupils, no white, just…black.
    “Vampire.” She was too numb to feel shocked.
    He leaped at Edge, just a blur of movement. Edge didn’t even look at him. He simply held up his hand and Dacian slammed into an invisible wall.
    Ganymede glanced at Sparkle. “Get everyone out of here. Fast.” Then he focused on Edge.
    “It won’t do any good, Mede.” Sparkle sounded scared. “You might be able to control
your
damage, but Edge