Infernal Affairs Read Online Free PDF Page B

underneath.
    The demon was small, just like the false body that he’d formed for himself out of light, shadow, and will. He had skin the color of polished gray stone, and hard green eyes with slit pupils. He was hairless, with thin ears pressed close to his scalp. He also had a pair of small horns, made from some striated mineral substance, black and green.
    His mouth hung open for a second. He saw the doctor. He saw me. Then he saw the scalpel, still in his flesh.
    He screamed.
    It was more than a scream, in fact. The force of it flung all three of us backward, and I felt its power hit me like a brick wall. I stumbled and tried to maintain my balance. Dr. Rashid fell to the ground, and Miles dropped to one knee.
    The door to the autopsy suite opened, and Lucian burst in, followed by Derrick. He had his gun ready. But he stopped when he saw the figure of the small demon-boy, still lying on the autopsy table, his alien eyes darting in every direction.
    The boy leapt off the table. His form shimmered again, and the blond-haired human returned. Had Rashid seen the demon’s true form? I couldn’t tell. He just kept staring at the boy. He still couldn’t believe that he’d been about to cut into something that was very much alive.
    The boy didn’t seem to care that he was naked or bleeding. He was more terrified of us. He held out one hand, as if to keep us at a distance. I felt his power building again, and I took a step back instinctively.
    “We’re not going to hurt you,” I said. “I promise. We’re here to help you.”
    The boy stared at me. I felt his mind pushing against mine. I let him in, let him sift through my thoughts and memories, despite how cold his touch was. I needed him to trust me. It was the only way he’d agree to leave with us.
    “You’re mage-born,” he said, matter-of-factly.
    His voice was slightly high-pitched and had a strange metallic quality to it. He also had an accent. I could only imagine what his native tongue was.
    “Yes,” I said. There was no use explaining any of this to Rashid. Selena would just have to deal with that particular mess later. “I don’t know how you got here, but someone’s coming after you. We have to leave now.”
    “He’s not coming,” the boy said, looking behind me. “He’s already here.”
    I turned.
    A four-legged creature was standing before us. Its bottom half was equine, with hooves sheathed in black metal that steamed as they touched the floor. Its top half was naked, bone white and covered in ink that writhed before my eyes. They were ritual tattoos, each one designating a mystical event in the demon’s life. Judging from the amount of them, the creature had to be more than a thousand years old.
    I couldn’t decide what to reach for, my athame or the howler, which was in my pocket. Derrick had the time bomb, but there was no time to signal him. I had no idea where this demon came from, what its weaknesses were, or even if it had any. But I already knew that my gun was useless.
    My hand closed around the hilt of the athame. I kept my eyes on the centaur demon, trying not to shake beneath its gaze.
    “I don’t know exactly what you’re after,” I told it, “but maybe we can work something out here.”
    The demon made a sound deep in its throat. Possibly laughter.
    Then it leapt at me.

3
    A few things occurred to me.
    Which bones would break first? My ribs, probably.
    I imagined them pulverized, the way to my heart open and free of debris. The monster would reach in and plunder everything, my guts, my soul, my memories. All of it would be gone, all the connections, all the hardware, everything. Only a vegetal shell would be left behind.
    But the impact never came.
    I saw something flash forward out of the corner of my eye. A blurred gray form slammed into the demon, knocking it sideways. I stumbled and fell, hitting the ground hard, but the shock barely registered. I couldn’t believe that I was still alive.
    I looked up and saw both