Free Angel Eclipsed (The Louisiangel Series Book 2) by C. L. Coffey

which hung down her back, almost to the bottom of the mini skirt she wore. “You’re female,” I blurted out, earning a bark of laughter from Raphael, a look of horror from Cupid, and a disapproving scowl from Michael.
    Before Michael could vocalize his disapproval, Paddy grinned at me. “I blame the Catholics,” she told me, with a rich Scottish accent. “Patricia,” she added. “But everyone calls me Paddy. I’m a Saint,” Paddy added, a twinkle in her green eyes. “As an English girl, I’d like to think you’ve heard of me anyway, but I’m pretty big over here too.”
    Saint Patricia? I gave Cupid a helpless look and he winced. “We haven’t covered saints yet,” I admitted, sheepishly.
    “Stop teasing her,” Raphael chided Paddy, as he bumped her with his hip. Unlike Paddy he had an Irish accent, but his voice was deep and rich. “While there is a Saint Patricia, Paddy here hasn’t been called Patricia since the 4 th century. And don’t let that Scottish accent fool you. You’re looking at the Patron Saint of Ireland.”
    My jaw hit the floor. “But you’re...” I spluttered off into something incomprehensible as I tried to wrap my head around this one. “You’re a Patricia, not a Patrick,” I tried again. “Can you even do that?” Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Cupid face palm, and I found myself cringing in embarrassment. It was a pretty stupid question.
    Paddy took it with another laugh. “I take it you’re not clued in to why I have a day celebrated after me either? That’s kind of refreshing,” she gave me a grin. “Firstly, I’m Scottish, not Irish. When I was child, I was taken from my home and over to Ireland as a slave. Then one day I had a dream where God told me to run, so I did. I escaped back home to Scotland. When I had another dream in which God told me to return to Ireland, but disguised as a man, I didn’t question it. I was free thanks to him.”
    “Why would he make you go back there?” I asked, wondering if I would have been able to return to a place which had made me a slave.
    “Raphael needed my help to banish the Snakes from Ireland,” Paddy replied with a shrug, like the answer was obvious.
    I looked at Raphael, arching an eyebrow at him. “That’s one of the reasons we’re here,” he explained.
    “You’re going to banish the snakes from New Orleans?” I asked, cynically. “Good luck with that one,” I scoffed. It wasn’t like they lined the streets, but there was more than one species of snake indigenous to Louisiana. Banishing them from the city wouldn’t take anything less than a miracle. My eyes narrowed at that thought.
    “The Plague of Snakes was a faction of men,” Paddy informed me. “They thought they could raise Luc-”
    “The Plague of Snakes is nothing you should worry yourself with,” Michael said, cutting Paddy off.
    Paddy’s cheeks reddened as she frowned at the same time as she bit her lip. I shook my head and stared down at her. “They thought they could raise who?” I demanded. “Lucifer?”
    “Angel,” Michael said in a low, warning tone.
    I ignored him, keeping my attention focused on Paddy. “You’re here because you think that Lucifer’s back,” I said, staring her down. She stared back at me, her green eyes unwavering, but she refused to either confirm or deny my accusation.
    “Angel,” Michael snapped. “This is none of your concern.”
    I pointed myself in his direction, my hands finding my hips as I glared at him. “How is it not my concern?” I snapped back at him. “Like I told you before, what I did – it unlocked something. Lucifer-”
    “Enough!” he bellowed, silencing me. His brown eyes suddenly seemed molten as he glared back at me. A muscle in his jaw twitched and I knew I was crossing into dangerous territory. As the archangel in charge of the House I resided in, I was well aware that he seemed to have some power over the angels he oversaw. If he commanded me to walk off a bridge,