Demon Games [4] Read Online Free PDF Page B

know what was coming. But they were fighting a losing battle as the forces of darkness continued to gather strength under his brother’s leadership. Jenos had been groomed to take over from Moriel should anything happen to her, and Lucien knew how fond the two of them were of each other.
    ‘I’m sorry,’ he managed.
    She nodded her thanks, turning again to regard the distant hills. ‘How is the boy?’ she asked.
    The change of subject was unexpected, but Lucien understood. ‘Trey has been through so very much already, and yet he remains strong – coming to terms with what he is and the powers that he possesses. I’m sad that so much has had to be placed on the shoulders of one so young.’ He looked at the battle-angel. ‘Thank you for saving him from my brother.’
    Moriel shrugged, her wings making a hushing sound. ‘I am not certain that he needed my help.’
    ‘That is not true. You saved his life.’
    ‘After he had saved mine.’
    Lucien paused. ‘Thank you anyway.’
    There was a loud crash from the street below, and the battle-angel tensed, her hand going to the long sword that hung from the belt at her hip. When it became clear there was no threat, she folded her arms again.
    ‘Now I need your help,’ Lucien said.
    Moriel waited.
    ‘Something is happening to me,’ he continued, letting his tongue explore the front of his mouth, finding the sharp tips of the fangs that were emerging there – fangs that he had had removed long ago, and which he had thought were gone forever.
    The Arel stared at him. ‘You are changing back into the thing you most despise, Lucien Charron. I can see it.’
    ‘I cannot find Hag,’ he said. ‘If anyone can help me, it is she.’
    ‘Hag has gone into hiding. She, like so many of us that oppose Caliban and his followers, has been forced underground. Your brother knows who his enemies are, and, as his power base grows, he is intent on removing all who stand in his way.’
    ‘Do you know where she is, Moriel?’
    The battle-angel stared at him, and the faintest glimmer of a smile crossed her features for a moment. ‘Yes, I know where Hag is.’
    The vampire looked up at her, studying her exquisite yet unreadable face for any sign that she might be willing to help him.
    ‘Come, vampire. Let us leave this place.’ She offered him a hand, which he took. She pulled him to her and, grasping his body close to her own, spread her wings and leaped from the roof into the night sky.

 
6
    Alexa Charron looked around her at her surroundings; the nether-creature that stood by her side remained silent. It was a dark and austere space, the cavernous room broken up by dark stone columns which supported a ceiling too cloaked in shadows to be clearly seen. Into the columns had been carved representations of various nether-creatures, which seemed to shift and move in the light given off by the torches that hung from the walls. Alexa concentrated hard, screwing her eyes up and taking a deep breath, which she held as she tried to reverse a spell that she had ‘kept switched on’ for more than six years now. She wanted to see what Philippa had seen here, and when she opened her eyes again the reception of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel greeted her. She glanced around at the opulence that had replaced the murk, taking in the gold leaf on the mouldings, the sumptuous furnishing and carpets, and the marble pillars that supported the magnificent ceiling high overhead. The famous brass clock stood in the centre of the space, a miniature Statue of Liberty crowning the piece.
    The demon at her side nodded, somehow aware that she was viewing the room through new eyes now.
    Alexa turned her head to look in the direction of the beautifully polished brass-and-glass revolving door. She stepped towards it, closely followed by the nether-creature. When she stopped in front of it she found the illusion was maintained beyond the glass: a busy Park Avenue bustled with traffic and pedestrians, all battling