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.I’m afraid of what I might see.”“But what would their motivation be?”She sat back on the table, bare feet swinging.“Donny was first.He fears death.Like a full-on phobia in terrifying Technicolor.He encountered the Angel of Death when he came for the girl he was in love with ever since he was a child.The young woman died, because a Keeper couldn’t save her.”“You?”Callie shook her head.“Eva, actually.Donny loved this girl.Worshiped her.Only her Da didn’t approve.So Donny turned his life around, studied for years to be worthy of her.Then the demon came and Donal tried to vanquish it.When Eva showed up it was too late.In repayment, the Tuatha Du Dannaan made him a deal of service that he would come to the Tír when he dies.But I don’t think Donny ever forgave Eva, not truly.”“And Chase?”“I found him and his sister in the streets of Dallas back when most of Texas got wiped back to the dark ages during the Seven-Year War.That was when demonic activity first became prevalent, and there are demons well-versed in either taking human form or possessing one.After all, a lot of lesser demons used to be human once.They generally remember how it goes, and Lucifer’s a shining example of how it’s done.”“And they got Chase’s family.”“They got the whole bleeding neighborhood over the age of eighteen or so, masquerading as relief workers.I’d spent weeks tracking them.Chase and his sister were travelling the streets, trying get money and food enough to reach a church compound in Corpus Christi.I took them.When Chase was old enough he joined the Texan militia, then tracked me down when the war ended.He wanted to hunt demons.”“He was in love with you.” Puzzle pieces snapped into place: Chase rarely spoke to Liam directly, and never with anything other than a surly tone.But the hunter watched Callie and Liam’s interactions with searching observation bordering on—what was the word Callie had used? Possession.Chase had a knack for finding the two of them alone, which was then usually followed by something like what Liam referred to as the Wet Towel Incident.Callie smiled.“Infatuated, more like.He was very endearing.It took time and experience, but he eventually came to the conclusion I’d been trying to convince him of—human relationships aren’t a good idea with someone like me.If he lived to be a hundred, I would still look the same as I do now, as when I ascended the first time over a century ago.I would have to hunt when he couldn’t.I would still have to fight in the End of Days, with the possibility of humanity falling, if Keepers fail.” She pressed the heel of her hand against one of her eyes, as though seeking to relieve a nagging pressure there.“I’m sorry you’ve been dragged into the middle of this.”“I’m not.”“What, not in the middle?”“Not sorry.The way I see it, everything happens for a reason, even if we don’t see it immediately.I’m sorry about Eva.I’m sorry you’ve been betrayed.But I’m not sorry I met you.”His hand inched toward hers on the table.His heart dropped a bit when she moved away from him.She pulled a corner of map around with her and bent to study it.“How did you know her?” she asked.“Her? Her who?” Then Liam knew.He let out a breath that was almost, but not quite, a low laugh.“Eva.”Callie leaned on her elbows, hands cradling her smiling-sad face.“You said she was a colleague.”“She was here when I arrived—a friend of Sulie’s.We met a few times over the years, being in essentially the same business, always over trouble.The La Laurie mess.Another involving the entire opium den household of a Turkish Sultan’s brother—that one was a jinn.” He paused to consider the words brought on by memory.“I guess something finally got her, after all this time.” He shook himself free of reverie.“I never knew what she was, exactly.She just always seemed to be wherever there was that kind of trouble, and biding her time for something.”“That was Eva,” Callie murmured.She looked out the window, eyes distant.“I wonder if it was her that sent you that dream.”That was a possibility he hadn’t considered [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]