Deliver Me from Darkness: A Novel of the Paladin Warriors Read Online Free PDF Page B

figure out why she was being hunted and what would happen to her next.
    It didn’t make sense that she was so damn powerful. There were very few full-blooded Paladin anymore. That’s what happened when the pickings were slim. There were fewer offspring in general, and the rest became less powerful as more and more of their blood was diluted by human mothers.
    Calhoun tugged at his lip thoughtfully with his thumb and forefinger. “You think her mother could have been a merker-human cross, her father Paladin?”
    Now Calhoun was really grasping at straws. A Paladin male would never mate with a creature that held demon blood, no matter how diluted the bloodline. Besides, “Would that matter?”
    “Shit, no.” Calhoun sighed, running his hands over his face and through his hair. Light played off the paler strands, reminiscent of the otherworldly glow he summoned with his power. Good. Clean. There were other words that could be used to describe Roland’s friend, not all of them flattering, but that was Calhoun’s essence. Calhoun deserved someone like that too. He deserved a mate who would make him happy. One who could erode the corrosive mantle of responsibility he’d donned in response to the ever-increasing demands upon him as son of the Paladin leader.
    The dark part in Roland considered letting his friend struggle with the issue—maybe if Calhoun thought the woman part merker he’d lose interest in her—but the issue of her origin couldn’t be ignored. Maybe she could never be Roland’s woman, but that didn’t change his instinctive urge to protect her. And he didn’t relish the idea of killing a friend.
    “Her essence is bright,” Roland said. “Clean. Pure. And when she teleports, she’s traveling through His planes.”
    Calhoun sat up straighter, his eyes widening. “How do you know?”
    “She, uh, kind of dragged me along for the ride.”
    Calhoun’s gaze sharpened. “How was that possible?”
    Roland shook his head, still bemused. “I don’t know. I had a hold of her at the time, and…”
    Calhoun’s eyes turned steely, his grip tightening around his mug.
    Roland lifted an appeasing hand. “Hey, she was trying to set me on fire. I was just trying to stop her.”
    “Huh.” Calhoun’s fingers drummed on the ceramic mug. “And you were able to tolerate it?”
    Roland shrugged. “We weren’t there long.”
    “Still…”
    Calhoun didn’t finish the statement, but Roland knew what he was thinking. It was amazing Roland hadn’t been fried on the spot. Only those with pure souls could linger in His planes without discomfort. And since Roland no longer had one…Perhaps that was it. He no longer had a soul.
    “So.” Roland cleared his throat. “What are you going to do with her?”
    Calhoun took his time in answering. “I don’t know. She’s obviously in trouble. I should bring her to Haven.”
    It was clear the thought of doing so was distasteful to Calhoun. Roland saw it in the rolling muscle of Calhoun’s jaw, the tension in his hand as he raised his mug and took a slow, methodic sip.
    “Do you think that’s such a good idea?” Roland had thought it a good idea before, back when Calhoun was tucking a dirty urchin in his clean sheets, but now?
    He brushed aside any thoughts of “mine” before they could rear their ugly head. The presence of her gift was enough cause for concern without factoring in his possessive instincts. The creatures of the underworld wouldn’t be the only ones hunting her for her power, though for far different reasons.
    “Do you have a better one?” Calhoun asked.
    Roland was quiet for a moment before finally saying what they both were thinking. “They’ll want her for themselves.”
    A prize to be possessed. A power to be controlled. Just because the Paladin had once been angels before being commissioned by God didn’t mean their tenure on earth hadn’t affected them.
    “Damn it, I know.” Calhoun slapped his cup down so hard that it sloshed, the