Angelic Avenger Read Online Free PDF Page B

peer through the groupies at the stage. It would have been wasted effort. If I had any doubts Honora and her band had a fan following, they were doused by the sheer excitement racing through the room. I spotted a stool available at the back corner of the bar and made a move toward it. Toward the back of the club, there weren’t as many people. Those that were there chatted among themselves and lacked the expectancy that was rife in the crowd toward the front of the stage. The regular in-crowd, I assumed and took my place among them as discreetly as I could. Sliding on the barstool, I turned to get my first look at the band that was warming and chatting on the stage.
    The only thing that kept me from dropping my drink was that it was sitting on the bar. Honora had told me the band had nine members, other than herself, and that tonight, they’d all said they’d be there. Usually, someone begged off for various reasons and they went on with whoever could get there. The fact that I’ve never seen nine more beautiful people together wasn’t what shocked me, but it was a fact worth mentioning.
    They were all carrying angel blood. Every single one sported angelic heritage. They might not have been a full half, but they were all at least a quarter magical.
    Honora stepped onto the stage and stood in the center of the men like a rose among its thorns. That made eleven. Apparently, they’d picked up a stray, but I wasn’t going to complain. It was enough to make anyone shiver, but it made me shake. Remember when I said I was dead, but not buried? For those guys, I’d rise from the grave. They were that yummy.
    The entire band glowed with various levels of inner light characteristic of halflings, with Honora’s light being by far the brightest. I knew that I was in for a treat. I’d heard the angels sing in full chorus; however, this was going to be a bit wild and untamed in a way that those choirs weren’t. With that much magic creating it, I was willing to bet the room was going to be so full an incubus could feed off it.
    I took a drink of my apple martini and tried not to choke on it when a light even brighter walked in from off stage. The dark-haired man carried a saxophone that shone with polish in the dim light, showing how well loved the instrument was. Unlike the others, his light had a distinct color, a trait carried only by the most powerful. His entire body shone with a faint blue light that gave me shivers for a completely different reason. If the other men were enough to drag me from the grave, the newcomer was enough to pull me out of that wonderful crematory vault I paid for and visited regularly, ashes and all.
    He was taller than the others were, standing over six feet and he wore his dark hair conservatively short. His jeans were well worn, but the black T-shirt he wore was new and the shoes were shined, as was his belt buckle. I was willing to bet this wasn’t his regular gig because he carried himself with a confidence that depicted high-powered success. When he glanced out across the crowd, I expected to find his eyes dark, but clear, icy blue met mine in a clash as if they were looking for me. With a start, I realized that I knew him, or rather, had encountered him before, that morning. It was the man from the nursery minus his expensive suit. I liked him better in casual clothes, which wasn’t necessarily a good thing, or maybe it was. For the first time, I was glad I didn’t have to breathe. Our gazes locked for a heartbeat and I was glad when he broke away.
    He dropped his head down to say something to Honora and her gaze followed his nod to rest on me. I toasted her with my drink and she grinned as she turned her face to him and said something that made him laugh. Whatever it was, I knew I was going to owe her a sincere thank you when he blew me a kiss before taking a space off to the side of center stage as they fell into place for the first number.
    The bartender didn’t refill my glass through