Demon Forged Read Online Free PDF Page B

finally said.
    “So when I’ve pissed her off like this, how do I keep her from chopping off my head?”
    That was simple. “Toss another nosferatu in her path.”
    “And I will throw you both in line after it,” Irena bit out over her shoulder, and Alejandro’s rigid tension began to ebb. That she’d answered meant her temper had cooled. She stopped and waited for them, her gaze fixed on Deacon. “How did you come by the nosferatu?”
    The vampire must have realized her anger had passed. He relaxed, sliding his hands into his pockets. “I’ve been looking for a location on this side of Rome to hole up in if I was caught out near sunrise—mostly tombs and catacombs that aren’t open to tourists during the day. I scoped out the one we’re heading to last night, and just missed being seen on my way back up. That’s when I called you.”
    Irena nodded, but the explanation didn’t settle well with Alejandro. For a nosferatu to be seen without the creature detecting a vampire in return stretched his belief. Nosferatu did not just see. Like Guardians and demons, each had sharply attuned senses.
    For that reason, they made no attempt at silence as they walked. Any nosferatu would hear their approaching footsteps, their heartbeats. As long as Irena and he did not use their psychic senses or Gifts, they might be mistaken for human, and the nosferatu taken by surprise—not because of their presence, but their strength.
    At the edge of a small, deserted square, two modern apartment buildings flanked a narrow church. Scaffolding climbed its ornate façade, the stone used for the repairs darker than the weathered original. Aluminum fencing separated the square from the broken plaster and limestone rubble piled just inside the chained and padlocked gate. Despite the Renaissance-era façade, the church was nearer to Irena’s age than Alejandro’s. Like many other churches in Rome, this one had been rebuilt on an ancient site.
    A plastic sign wired to the chain-link fence said the church would reopen to visitors by the next season. Alejandro’s gaze searched the upper levels of the building for light; he heard no movement from within.
    Irena cocked her head as she listened, then turned to him. A question joined the glitter of anticipation in her green eyes.
    Her Gift could slice through the metal locks. It’d give them away, but Irena wouldn’t want to take the nosferatu by surprise. No, she wanted it to run, so that they could hunt it down.
    Alejandro didn’t want to give it the opportunity to escape. He shook his head.
    “We climb,” he said for Deacon’s benefit. Flying or jumping over the gate would also reveal them to the nosferatu—and would risk them being seen by humans.
    Irena narrowed her eyes, but a smile curved her lips as she clambered over the fence. They traversed it more quickly than humans would—but lingering would risk exposure, too, and the authorities being notified. Although Alejandro had developed connections within the Roman police force when he’d led the Guardian team that had covered up the vampire massacre, they’d be smarter to avoid police involvement from the outset.
    Deacon produced a set of lock picks and made quick work of the front doors. Alejandro dipped his fingers into the stoup of holy water as he entered.
    Irena’s mouth flattened when he made the sign of the cross, and she followed Deacon down the nave’s bare aisle. Carpets had been rolled up and tucked beneath benches; paint-dotted plastic draped the altar and the pews. “You will give Deacon the wrong impression of Guardians by performing such an empty ritual.”
    His eyebrows drawn, Deacon glanced over his shoulder at Irena. “Don’t drag me into this.”
    Ah, it hadn’t taken much time for the vampire to catch on. Alejandro allowed himself a smile. At least his Latin invocation had not invited comment. The first time Irena had heard him recite a prayer, she’d laughed tears into her eyes. Then she’d taught him