Darkest Knight by Karen Duvall

behind her, his eyes narrowed as he scanned both sides of the road. He popped out of human form like an exploding firecracker and spread his impressive wings. Rafe wasn’t the type to flaunt his angelic beauty. What he did flaunt was far more lethal to any baddie who might be lurking nearby. I had no doubt his show was also for Aydin’s benefit, just in case.
    When we arrived at the spot where I’d seen the woman, I scrutinized the disturbed snow. There was the indentation of footprints, but none leading to that area. It was as if she landed there from out of the blue. Maybe she had.
    I sniffed and smelled nothing but pine and a well-used squirrel’s nest that had me wrinkling my nose at the stench. Ammonia tended to wipe out other scents, at least it did for me. I detected no other odors. But I did see something.
    “A crow’s feather?” I said, bending down to pluck the black plume from the snow. “A damn big one, too.”
    “Not a crow.” Rafe stood rigid, his broad chest expanding before a deep sigh escaped his lips. “That feather belongs to one of the Fallen.”

eight
    “WHAT DOES THE FALLEN WANT WITH US?” I asked, though I doubted either Rafe or Natalie could give me that answer. The angels who fell had no ties with the Hatchet knights, not once they chose the darker road. The Arelim and the Fallen kept to opposite sides of the fence and their paths rarely crossed.
    “I wish I knew,” Rafe said, his voice lowered to a whisper. He appeared deep in thought and I imagined he was speaking telepathically to the Arelim about our curious find.
    I clamped my jaw to keep from saying I told you so.
    Natalie held her hand out to me. “Can I see?”
    I frowned. Though spells could affect me, I was immune to cursed objects and charms. But I wasn’t so sure Natalie could escape whatever nastiness the feather might contain. However, it could just as easily be harmless as a feather duster. “I don’t know, Natalie. It might be dangerous if you touched—”
    She snatched it away from me. “Too late.”
    Her tenacity surprised me, yet I admired her for it. I didn’t think she had it in her.
    Rafe looked ready to pounce. “Don’t hold it too tight,” he warned, though Natalie had already gone into her psychometric trance.
    An entire minute passed in silence.
    “She should have said something by now about what she senses,” I said, concern tying a knot in my stomach.
    Natalie groaned and whispered, “No. It can’t be.”
    “What can’t be?” The fine hairs on my skin bristled.
    She swayed slightly, then gasped as her eyes popped open with only their whites showing. Her lips were turning blue.
    “Oh, my God,” I said. “She’s suffocating.”
    Rafe lurched toward her and I shouted, “No! Don’t touch her. Break the connection and you could destroy her mind.”
    “She’s dying,” he said, his eyes shining as he pierced me with a pleading look. “We have to make her stop.”
    Whatever she had connected to was using the feather to steal her breath. Nothing I knew of had such power, but whatever this was obviously did. And it was killing Natalie.
    The veins at her temples swelled like slender blue worms just beneath her pale skin. Her mouth opened wide as she struggled to breathe. I knew how she felt. I’d experienced the same thing just hours ago. I had survived and I was determined she would, too.
    Broken mind or certain death, I didn’t know which was worse. We had already lost too many knights. I refused to count Natalie among the fatalities.
    I nodded at Rafe and he grabbed the feather from her.
    Natalie gulped in air like a drowning person and just before she crumpled to the ground, she whispered, “Maria.”
    I sat beside Natalie’s bed as she slept. She’d lost consciousness right after saying the name Maria. It sounded so familiar, but I couldn’t recall anyone I knew by that name. It nagged at me like a fly buzzing in my ear. I should know what it meant, but the harder I tried to