Damoren Read Online Free PDF Page B

under his jacket. The men’s eyes locked onto the weapon. The hammer clicked three times as he cocked it back. He held the gun down at his side, just like Allan with his Egyptian sword. “He said you were dangerous and to stay the hell away from you.”
    The German nodded. His gaze moved from Dämoren and back to Matt. “I can’t say I blame him for telling you that. Under the circumstances at the time, it was true. Did Clay tell you that he was a member?”
    Matt ’s eyes narrowed. “Never said anything about that.”
    “ Clay was a brother for over twenty years before our disagreement. He was among the best.”
    “ What disagreement?”
    Schmidt ‘s tall stature straightened a little higher. “He took in a boy, who not only was bitten by a fiend but showed multiple signs of demonic corruption.”
    “ And you told him to kill me?”
    “ Yes.”
    “ And he refused, so you threw him out?”
    The old man shook his head. “He left of his own volition.”
    Matt chewed his lip, studying the two men. Their stone faces said nothing. “And now that Clay is gone, you still want me dead?”
    “ No.”
    “ Why not?”
    “ Dämoren.” He nodded to the massive revolver. “It’s bonded to you.”
    “ Bonded to me?”
    “ Don’t pretend you don’t understand, Mr. Hollis,” Schmidt said with a knowing smile. “The bond with a holy weapon is unlike anything else. A love deeper, more selfless than anything.”
    Even as the old German spoke, Matt knew what he meant. Clay said he’d loved Dämoren more than his late wife, even more than himself. Matt’s infatuation with the weapon had started early. Even then, he’d known to keep that a secret from the old man as to not arouse jealousy. Only after Clay had died, and Matt inherited the widowed gun, did he fully understand the love of which Clay had spoken. “So what do the Valducan Knights want with me?” he asked, finally.
    “ Only to talk. Recent events have made contacting you necessary. We’d hoped to catch you in Boulder, but you’d killed the lamia and left before we had arrived. Once we heard of the killings here, we came hoping to catch you. Mr. Havlock found and neutralized the demon two weeks ago. We’d begun to worry you weren’t coming.”
    “ I was in Utah.” He pulled the red folder out from under his arm. “And if your group knows enough about me to fill this, why didn’t you just contact me instead of making me drive all the way up here?”
    Schmidt nodded and ran a finger over his neat moustache. “We have far more than that information about you, Mr. Hollis. Our duty is to protect the weapons.”
    “ Then why the game?” Matt’s patience was running low. He’d driven a thousand miles and paid Cesar three grand to get over the border for nothing. Getting back to the States would cost the same, if not more, and he didn’t have that much. He’d have to liquidate antiques, maybe even sell some of Clay’s gold coins. Just the idea of that pissed him off even more.
    “ Ah,” Schmidt said, as if somehow embarrassed. “Some of us wanted to see how you operated. How fast, and how quietly, before you were contacted.”
    “ So you didn’t know? Wasn’t the fact I was in and out of Boulder before you even got your little game started, enough? If what you want is so important, shouldn’t that have been your test?”
    The German sighed and brought his hands together as if about to start a prayer. “I believe this meeting is starting very poorly, and I do apologize. Perhaps we can let emotions cool and go somewhere else to discuss this?”
    “ Hell with you. Just tell me what you want and get it over with. Not unless you’re going to pay me back for how much your little test has cost me.”
    “ Maybe a peace offering, then.” He slid a hand inside his suit jacket.
    Matt raised Dämoren , aiming at the German’s chest.
    The old man gave an assuring smile. “Relax, Mr. Hollis, this is an offering of trust.”
    Matt kept the pistol