Angel Burn (Book 1 Of Angel Trilogy)

Chapter 6| Enemy Sighted

Chapter 6| Enemy Sighted

Normal POV

ENEMY SIGHTED, PAWTUCKET, NY. RESIDENCE: 34 NESBIT ST.

Natsu got the text in his Aspen hotel room on Thursday night and was packed and checked out in less than twenty minutes. He spent the next day and a half driving. Finally, in the early hours of Saturday morning, he reached Pawtucket, a sleepy-looking town crouched in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains. Heading for the main drag through town, he found a Good Rest Mote—there was always a Good Rest; they were as dependable as clockwork—and checked into a room to get a few hours' sleep. The temptation, as always, was to go after the angel immediately, but he knew better. When you were this tired, you were likely to mess up and do something stupid.

He awoke at dawn, instantly alert. Taking a quick shower, he let the hot water beat down upon him and then got dressed. As he pulled on a T-shirt, the tattoo on his right bicep: with AK in black lettering and his red angel mark, disappeared under the shirtsleeve. The motel did a breakfast of sorts—it was food, anyway—and so he went to the main building to grab some donuts and coffee, which he ate back in his room as he checked over his gear. A habit left over from his days out hunting with Gray. Respect your weaponry, and it'll respect you, the big southerner had said over and over. Maybe there had been a time when Natsu had rolled his eyes a little, but now he knew that Gray had been right. No matter how prepared you thought you were, it only took one mistake to kill you.

Natsu loaded a full magazine into the semiautomatic rifle, then clicked it home and sighted along the rifle's length before replacing the weapon in its case. The pistol he tucked into his holster, which was worn under the waistband of his jeans and almost invisible if you didn't know it was there. He preferred the rifle, but it wasn't always possible to use it if people were around. Finally, he took the pistol's silencer and stuck it in his jeans pocket.

He was ready. He gulped down the last of his coffee, then shrugged into his leather jacket and loaded his car, programming the GPS for Nesbit Street. A moment later, he was pulling out onto Highway 12, the main road through town.

As he followed the robotic voice's directions, he took the place in with mild curiosity. Pawtucket was like a thousand other small towns he'd seen. The business center downtown had been slowly eaten away by shopping malls, leaving everything looking run-down and frayed around the edges. The high school―THE PAWTUCKET LIONS KNOW HOW TO ROAR! proclaimed the sign―was the largest building in the place. And once the students graduated, they probably hit the ground running and never look back, thought Natsu dryly. The only thing the place had going for it was its backdrop of the Adirondacks, with autumn splashes of color covering the mountains like a patchwork quilt.

There weren't many angels in upstate New York. He knew that the one up here most likely had a clear field—Christ, it had probably fed on hundreds of people already.

The GPS directed him to a tree-lined avenue of Victorian houses. Natsu passed an early-morning dog walker with a basset hound; apart from that, the street seemed quiet, the grass still damp with dew. As number thirty-four came into view, his eyebrows rose. Ohh-kay. So this one was into kitsch in a fairly big way. That wasn't something he'd seen before—they usually liked to keep a low profile; the neighbor who you knew was there but never caught sight of. Maybe this one had decided that you could hide better by being blindingly obvious. Or maybe it just liked plastic wishing wells a whole lot.

He parked the Porsche a few doors down. Apart from the circus in the front yard, the house just looked shabby: flaking green paint with gray wood showing through. Two cars sat in the drive: a brown Subaru and a blue Toyota. Natsu turned off his engine, then leaned back in the leather seat and closed his eyes. A few deep breaths later, he had lifted his focus up through his chakras and was carefully exploring the energies in the house.