Angels and Monsters Teaser

One of the newborns tossed the body of a victim towards our hiding spot. The victim’s heart was still beating and if they weren’t drained, the change would begin. After a beat, the woman arched her back, screaming. “It’s burning!”

“What should we do?” Edward asked, his heart breaking for the woman at our feet.

“We can’t just let her change,” I hissed. I bent down, looking at the woman. She was sobbing, begging for death. If someone drank from her, she would get her wish. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. I brushed my lips against her neck, finishing what the newborn did not and ending the woman’s suffering. Her blood didn’t hold the allure that it once did. I felt guilty for drinking her last pint; almost like going off a diet and gorging myself on chocolate. Her heart stopped beating and I said a quiet prayer for the woman.

She thought you were an angel, Bella. An angel to take her to heaven, Edward said in my head.

I felt like the angel of death, I said, purging her blood from my system. I had forced it to stay in my mouth as I put her out of her misery. It felt wrong to drink from her. So, I just acted like a conduit to end her pain.

“Sean! Smell that?” asked one of the newborns.

“All I smell is blood,” Sean replied. “I need more.”

“I smell it, too. Strawberry and freesias,” said a woman. Another sniff. “Leather and horses, too.”

We’ve been had, Jasper thought to me.

“What should we do?” Edward hissed to Jasper.

Run, Jasper replied, shooting off in one direction. Edward grabbed my arm and we darted in the opposite direction. Our movements were light and fast. However, we could hear the newborns gaining on us. Edward looked behind us. Three newborns were on our tail. Without faltering, Edward scooped me onto his back and kicked it into high gear. He was moving so quickly that the sewers seemed to blur. I tightened my hold on Edward’s neck as he easily moved through the sewers. Within moments, we reached a grate, heading out to Lake Michigan. Putting me down, Edward kicked out the gate and we dove in, swimming north toward Wisconsin.