Azrael's Light [Demon Runners of Unearth] (Siren Publishing Classic) Read Online Free PDF Page A

beast-man terrorizing the city. Sorry, baby, boss’s orders. You’re stuck with me.”
    Alice’s face turned four different shades of red, and if looks could kill, Brick would be struck breathless and stone cold in an instant. Something about the pixie endearment embarrassed her. Why, Diane had no clue. Brick may have been built like a mountain, but he was a good man. She wouldn’t have trusted Alice’s safety with anyone else.
    Alice opened her mouth to argue, but when Brick glared down over her, she closed her mouth. Diane walked them to the door and locked it behind them, silently wishing them a safe journey. It might not be a long trip, but it was more littered with danger than either of them knew. When Brick referred to the beast-man, she suspected he had been more on target than he knew. It was a rare day when she missed her powers, but using them to guarantee the safety of her employees was a regret she battled every day.
    As much as she preferred living as a mortal, it left her unable to protect those she loved from the real monsters roaming the streets at night. Living with one foot in each world was forbidden. For the gods of Unearth, it was all or nothing.
     
    * * * *
     
    Watching from the shadowed alley across from the club’s back exit, Azrael grudgingly admitted the entire situation left him confused. Not one thing about the entire scenario made any sense. He wished it were a simple black-and-white runaway story but suspected Alia’s disappearance connected to a larger picture.
    He despised being left in the dark, but what did he expect? This mess was Lilith’s doing. On her best days, she was a secretive and conniving witch.
    The knowledge that there was more to her story ate at him. There was a persistent nagging calling him to dig deeper, but he had no idea where to begin the search. The only lead he’d been given was the club. The club led him to the owner, a green-eyed beauty who guarded her territory like a mother bear.
    Was she only protecting the den itself, or could there be someone in it? He needed answers, and he needed them now. He couldn’t waste any more time worrying over something he couldn’t control, no matter how beautiful the bear.
    He grudgingly admitted that he was impressed with her strong will, even knowing that he would have to crush it into dust, which was a terrible shame.
    For the first time in longer than he could remember he’d come across someone who he couldn’t read clearly. And it went well beyond the missing Kor that should be stamped on her forehead. That was only one small facet of the woman’s mystery.
    The gods knew she was incredibly sexy. There was no mistaking the razor-sharp intelligence glittering in her eyes. She was clearly no pushover, and he’d met very few mortals who didn’t buckle and hang their heads in fear while standing in his shadow. He’d been frustrated with her refusal to cooperate but intrigued as he watched her stand as tall and as fierce against him as her small frame would allow. If he didn’t know better, he would think she had some demon or even a god’s blood in her. Yet he’d looked her over thoroughly and could see no evidence of the Light anywhere.
    The Light was a signature that was only visible to other immortals. The strength and color of the Light varied from being to being, but it was always there radiating from their eyes, a clear identifier for all who had the ability to see. It was even possible for an immortal to have both signatures, the Light marking them as immortal and a visible Kor if their time was near. And adult humans always had the Fates’ mark upon them simply because their life spans were so short.
    Except this little barmaid didn’t have the Light signature marking her as an immortal or a death glyph that marked her as a human. She had to be one or the other. The gods decreed it.
    And he was certain she’d hid something from him. It was obvious she’d wanted him out of her club as soon as possible.