The Stone Warriors: Damian Read Online Free PDF Page B

curse.
    “Let us be clear,” he said, wondering in spite of himself where she was going with such determination on her face. “You agree that the blood debt is paid.”
    “Yeah, yeah. Look, you seem like a nice guy and all that . . . Not. But I’ve got bigger problems. I can’t let Sotiris get his hands—”
    Damian reached out to touch the woman’s shoulder, halting her resolute stride. “Did you say Sotiris?” he demanded in disbelief. “He still lives?”
    THE FEW DOUBTS that Casey had clung to about Damian’s identity vanished in a heartbeat. He didn’t ask who Sotiris was, he asked if he still lived. This was one of Nick’s stone warriors. More than once, she’d seen him eyeing the small set of statues that held the place of honor in his vault back home. It was where he kept everything of value, all of those dangerous artifacts she and the other hunters searched out for him. He’d invited her in on occasion, when she was delivering a particularly crucial device or charm, one that he didn’t want to touch himself for reasons that he’d never explained, and she’d never questioned. But she’d noticed those statues and the sadness in his eyes whenever he looked at them. She didn’t know exactly what they meant to him or even who they were, but she’d never asked, and never discussed it with any of the others, either.
    That didn’t mean she’d missed the obvious, however. The connection between the statues in his vault and his prime directive about actual magical statues was too obvious to ignore. Especially now, when she was pretty damn sure that one of those statues was standing before her in the flesh. As tempted as she’d been to walk away before, there was no question of what she had to do now. She looked up at the big warrior. “You know Sotiris?” she asked, already knowing what his answer would be.
    “He’s the one who cursed me and the others,” he said, seeming more hurt and confused than angry. “And you’re telling me he still lives in this time?”
    “Maybe it’s a different man,” she said hopefully. “The name—”
    “The name means nothing. The man you speak of is a powerful sorcerer?”
    Casey nodded. “Not just powerful, but evil in the deepest sense of that word.”
    “It is he,” Damian said, mostly to himself. “Are there others like him?” he asked her.
    “I don’t think so. No one on his level, anyway,” she said, shaking her head. “Look, this is all beyond my pay grade. But my boss will know. He knows everything.” She intentionally avoided mentioning Nick by name. He was obviously not the Nicodemus that Damian was looking for; that man had to be long dead. She didn’t know exactly how long ago Damian had been cursed, but it was probably measured in millennia rather than centuries. Only a truly powerful sorcerer could still be alive after all this time, and as she’d told Damian, Sotiris was the only sorcerer around anymore with that kind of juice. Magic was her business; she’d know if there was anyone else. And if she didn’t know, Nick would, and he’d have shared it with his team. Power like that was a threat they all needed to know about.
    On the other hand, “Nick” was close enough for anyone with a brain to make the same familial connection that she had, and she’d seen nothing to indicate that Damian was a stupid man. But if he was one of the statues, then it was up to her Nick to decide what happened next. She’d call him first chance she got, but right now. . . . She abruptly realized that Damian was still holding on to her arm, gripping it like a lifeline, and it occurred to her how horribly disorienting all of this must be to him. Sure, he was a big guy who could hold his own in a fight. But this morning he’d been a fucking statue! And then, from one minute to the next, he’d been thrust back into a world he couldn’t possibly understand, and now he’d discovered that his ancient enemy, the very sorcerer responsible for