Read Haze for Free Online Page B

fuck off.
    ‘I wonder what Jude would think if he could see you now, all clueless and peace-loving.’
    I push the thought aside before it digs in. ‘Get on with it.’
    ‘Fine.’ She turns back to the surf for a moment and we watch a kestrel wheeling across the sky in an effortless arc. ‘Semyaza and the rest of the Fallen are most likely in another dimension, maybe trapped there. Unless of course you and Jude set them free last year.’
    I give her a filthy look.
    ‘Come on, what do you think you two were doing? What else but the Fallen would have brought you back together after all that time? And why all the secrecy if you weren’t doing something wrong?’
    Taya waits for me to bite. I don’t. It’s not hard: we both know I can’t remember.
    ‘Anyway,’ she says, ‘that many supernatural beings couldn’t have crossed over without leaving a residual footprint.’
    ‘Like what?’
    ‘Natural disasters, sudden wars—’
    ‘Even after all this time? It’s been a hundred and forty years, hasn’t it?’
    ‘We’re talking about former members of the Angelic Garrison. We know their stint in hell dulled their glory, but they’re still angels and that sort of power doesn’t disappear. It seeps into everything and everyone.’
    ‘Wouldn’t they have a good influence?’
    ‘They were fresh out of the pit. They would have reeked of the place.’
    The kestrel loops towards the headland.
    ‘So when something weird or inexplicable happens, we check it out. Look around, chat to the locals, keep an eye out for demons. If pit scum are sniffing around, there’s a good chance they’re on to something. They have a better nose than us for that stuff.’
    She’s talking about the surveillance jobs Daisy mentioned when I was at the Sanctuary. I wish it was Daisy sitting here explaining this to me, but she messaged me yesterday to say Daniel had ordered her to Syria to check out a demon sighting. One of the few Rephaim at the Sanctuary who doesn’t think I’m the enemy, sent on a sudden mission. Convenient.
    ‘And you work in bars to do that?’
    ‘Every two-horse town in the world has a bar or a coffee house. That’s where people talk.’
    I pause. ‘Is that what I used to do?’
    ‘Only if you thought there was the chance of a fight.’
    I turn my empty cup around on its saucer. ‘Semyaza was the ringleader, right? I don’t understand how Nathaniel lost contact with him in the first place. Didn’t all the Fallen escape hell together?’
    ‘Nathaniel didn’t sin again with the rest of them, so the bond they sealed before their fall was broken.’
    What the hell were they thinking? Semyaza and two hundred angels get sent to hell thousands of years ago for seducing human women. They finally break out, and do the same thing all over again. Except Nathaniel. And now he and the Rephaim are obsessed with finding Nathaniel’s missing brothers.
    ‘Aren’t you even a little bit curious about them?’
    ‘No.’ She says it quickly, as if even thinking about it is wrong.
    ‘You’ve never wondered which one is your father?’
    Taya’s eyes darken. ‘This is what hanging out with Outcasts does. It muddies the water. Don’t let Rafa fill your head with that crap.’
    Maggie is on her way back with Taya’s latte. She comes to my side of the table, places the cup down and slides it across with one finger. She forces herself to look at Taya. ‘Anything else?’
    ‘I wouldn’t mind a chat with your boyfriend.’
    Maggie stiffens. ‘Why?’
    ‘He needs to understand to keep his mouth shut.’
    I hide my surprise. Taya still doesn’t know Jason is Rephaite. Does that mean Micah hasn’t told anyone he saw Jason shift with Maggie at the Retreat? Why would he keep that to himself?
    ‘Jason gets it,’ I say.
    ‘That doesn’t let him off the hook. And what about your idiot tattooed friends?’
    ‘The Butlers? Rafa’s taken care of it.’
    Maggie clears my cup and goes back inside.
    ‘How’s the bite?’ I