Page 8 (1/2)

"Bet that co his attention to cooking the last of the batter-coated shri now, as they always did when Shadoe was near Her proximity--the unique force of two souls in one vessel--allowed hireatest levels of power of which he was capable Life-force energy from souls was the primary source of seraphim sustenance and the reason why the Fallen had turned to blood drinking--they still needed life-force energy to survive, but the stripping away of their souls forced theh direct an, "you hunt varocery store, he was a dragon"

"He was"

She took a deep breath "Are there also deo hand in hand"

He pulled the last of the tempura out of the oil with a strainer, then turned the burner off "The dragon was a des that fall under that designation"

"Vas and drink blood that are demons But they’re not els The vaels Really" Her lips thinned "But aren’t deht?"

"My mission is sharply defined"

"Your mission?"

"I’m a soldier, Lindsay I have duties and orders, and I follow them I expect those whose job it is to hunt demons feel the same way about their responsibilities It’s not ardless Frankly, I have enough oncare of them?"

"Yes"

She stared at him a moment, then nodded slowly "I didn’t know If sorip on the counter tightened It was a miracle she was alive today "How do you sense this vibe? How does it feel?"

"Like I’ is about to jump out at me My stomach quivers and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up But it’s really intense There’s noelse"

"Sounds scary Yet you hunt the things that scare you Why?"

Lindsay set her chin atop steepled fingers "I don’t have aspirations of saving the world, if that’s what you’re asking I hate killing But I can feel the evil in these things for a reason I can’t turn ht"

"You feel you have a calling"

She took a slow, deep inhalation The silence stretched out "So like that"

"Who knows that you hunt?"

"You and your guards, and whoever you tell"

"All right This is a no-brainer, but I have to say it anyway: you’re going to have to trustyou otherwise"

"That’s what you intend to do? Help me?" Her shoulders went back "Did you know about me when you saw me in the airport?"

"Did I know you could sense de the the scope of her query so he could answer honestly "No I saw you, I wanted you, and you made it clear there was a possibility I could have you I acted on that"

Lines bracketed her mouth and eyes A muscle in her jaitched with tension "And that sort of coincidence just rolls right off your back?"

"I happened to be in the saht time After that, we ht?"

"Actually, I thought you were the hottest ht tiht I missed my connection"

"And I was attacked by a va, which resulted in the crash of ed "Randoel Aren’t you supposed to preach about a divine plan or so?"

"Freedom of choice, Lindsay We all have it Today you and I were affected by the raaze "But you don’t really want to get into a theological discussion withabout the events that led you to hunt I’ to push you--yet--but we’re at an i on with you"

She stared back "You’re so sure I have a story to tell"

"I saw you in action It takes years of practice to learn hoield a blade like that Who taught you?"

"I taught myself"

Fierce ad to forge your blades? You ured out ons don’t In fact, aside from two points of weakness, they have an iht off of him if he’d shifted"

Lindsay held up her left hand and showed the pad of her thuht criative reaction to my blood, too I always smear a little on my blades before I toss theives et the job done Found that out the hard way"

Adrian’s mind spun with the implications She was mortal, but even if she’d been a naphil like Shadoe, her blood shouldn’t have any effect on others

She continued to eat, blissfully unaware of his confusion

Reining in his thoughts, he said, "So you dedicated what had to be a substantial portion of your free tihten you You have a strong sense of right and wrong, Lindsay, but no one who’s sane begins killing things without provocation No matter how evil you sense someone may be, you had to have witnessed that evil firsthand to resort to lethal force So else keeps you et it?" Her expression ary and assessing "Hoould you do that, exactly ? Why would you?"

"Why not? Our goals are the same You’ve been lucky so far, but that won’t last One day soon you’re going to take down a demon or vaet Either way, your days are numbered"

"Can you teach me the difference between vampires and demons?"

"So you have a preference" He crossed his arive you backup I can train you how to hunton surprise Right now you’re floating aiive you focus and specific targets"

Lindsay leaned back in her chair "You don’t even know , provided hi the front line in a battle in which I’m outnumbered I can use every soldier"

"But this isn’t all I do I have a regular life and a job"