Ghosts of Koa, The First Book of Ezekiel Read Online Free PDF

officers. He didn't look happy, his seemingly sweet nature driven out by a dark and seething gaze and what looked like an alphabetical storm of curses. He wasn't defending her... was he?
    Too little, too late, pal.
    She shook her head. It had been a popular idiom of the old world. An anthem, really. Apparently, the new world wasn't any different. Choosing gravel, she pulled down her hood and ventured forward into the Fifth Demesne.

    Caleb Rai walked into the Demesne Five Police headquarters, a heavy box tucked under one arm. He adjusted it once more, wishing he had brought a duffle bag instead. About a week's worth of clothes, case files, and personal items equaled about fifty pounds of pain-in-the-ass. But it was necessary. Sleeping in at precincts had become the norm since Koa had reared its head. Work was always piling up, as were the leads, and going home nightly simply became less of an option for Azure police. Especially if you aimed to make a higher rank.
    The Azure rat race, and not a slice of cheese in sight.
    He looked around, already feeling drained. The station was teeming with at least one hundred APs, each one of them scurrying back and forth and going at their daily duties. Joseph was supposed to have met him at the door about twenty minutes ago, and Caleb had gotten tired of waiting. He had arrived in Demesne Five only two weeks before, to move into his Riverdale condo and give himself a tour of the demesne. He wanted to keep in tradition by getting into headquarters ahead of schedule too. His debriefing with the captain was at twenty-hundred, and he'd gotten in a little early to get settled into his new office.  
    He checked his watch and sighed with exasperation. 7:25 pm. Joseph was a good guy. Funny, fair, and smart as a fox, especially where the lab was concerned. But today, he was just screwing with his timetable. If he didn't find his office soon, he'd have to roll into the interview with a carton full of granola bars and boxer shorts. Not exactly what he called dignified.  
    He creased his brow, trying to decide which way to venture first and nixing every idea that came to mind. His office was somewhere around the west wing, in the Detectives sector, but interrupting the APs to get the guided tour felt like a dick move--
    "Rai!"
    Caleb breathed out in relief as he turned to see someone jogging towards him. Under the mop of messy black curls and the nutmeg complexion, Caleb could tell it was Joseph, and like usual, his grin was so wide that the top of his head almost separated from its bottom. They hadn't seen each other since they'd graduated from AP training a little over four years ago... and the asshole had grown a goatee.
    "Sorry, man. I got held up in the lab. We're hot on some Koan tail right now so time is of the essence."
    "The rock star life of a forensic scientist," Caleb said, grinning. "What's with the face pubes?"
    Joseph grinned, stroking the bristles at his jaw. "We're men of the law now, dude. Gotta be dignified."
    "Right." Caleb snorted as they started to walk.
    "So. What happened?"
    Caleb looked at him and decided he didn't have to answer. Technically, by law he wasn't required to, but on a personal note, it was just a dumb question to ask. He cut Joseph a lethal glare and kept walking.
    Joseph chuckled. "All right, hot shot. At least I didn't ask if you dropped the soap, yeesh! So sensitive."
    Caleb sighed, giving in. "Lots of bars, lots of metal, lots of sweaty guys with cock-sized problems and problem-sized cocks, who made a huge deal of both. And I wasn't interested in any of it. So I'm out, so I'm here, so this conversation's over."
    "Fine, fine," Joseph said, laughing, his hands in the air. "I was just trying to catch up!"
    They made a turn past the busy desks, and Caleb noticed that some of the APs had stopped what they were doing to stare at him. Not one of them looked happy to see him. A few were sizing him up, even. Not surprising. He'd already mixed it up with a couple